Posted on 11/21/2006 5:49:44 AM PST by TommyDale
Millions and millions of people have purchased his books.
His California church attracts thousands every Sunday.
He seems to be the go-to guy whenever the establishment, ultra-secular press wants to quote an evangelical leader they like.
I'm talking about Rick Warren, author of "The Purpose Driven Life" and the pastor of the Saddleback Church.
Ever since I first pointed out the way he betrayed the persecuted church and our Jewish brothers and sisters living in captivity in the totalitarian police state of Syria, I have been expecting to get blasted.
Millions and millions of people have purchased his books.
His California church attracts thousands every Sunday.
He seems to be the go-to guy whenever the establishment, ultra-secular press wants to quote an evangelical leader they like.
I'm talking about Rick Warren, author of "The Purpose Driven Life" and the pastor of the Saddleback Church.
Ever since I first pointed out the way he betrayed the persecuted church and our Jewish brothers and sisters living in captivity in the totalitarian police state of Syria, I have been expecting to get blasted.
I thought for sure I would hear from these millions of well-educated, well-informed, biblically astute purpose-driven disciples.
It has been six days. God created the whole universe in that amount of time. And, so far, I haven't heard one cogent argument, apologia or rationalization for Warren's actions by any of his flock.
I'm told he's got one of the best PR machines money can buy. He sure is not getting his money's worth.
On the other hand, I can tell you hundreds of thousands of people are reading my critiques of his misadventures in misguided foreign policy. We can actually count those readers on WND. And they are being spread far and wide in a viral way by e-mailers and bloggers.
Is the strategy now to ignore Farah?
Is the strategy to pretend WND doesn't exist?
Is the strategy to ignore the hard facts presented here about what Rick Warren said and did in Syria and hope the controversy blows over?
I've got news for you. It's not going to blow over. I won't let it.
I demand an apology from Rick Warren – not to me, for heaven's sake, but to Christians in Syria who choose to worship outside the state-approved churches he toured. I demand an apology to the Jews who suffer the humiliating life of dhimmitude in Syria today while Rick Warren tells the world they don't exist.
This is a world I know something about.
It was just about a year ago that my Jerusalem bureau chief, Aaron Klein, was prevented from entering Syria for one reason – he's Jewish!
Funny, I don't remember Rick Warren protesting that action – minor, really, compared to the indignities Jews in Syria live with daily, but well-publicized nonetheless.
Perhaps Rick Warren hasn't seen the Syrian TV show – a big hit in Damascus – that renews the blood libel direct from "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion," entertaining millions with a graphic story of a rabbi who slits the throat of a young Christian boy so he can use it to prepare the Passover motzah.
Perhaps Rick Warren hasn't noticed that the Syrian government has published an updated version of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion," an anti-Semitic story that claims Jews run the world by proxy.
Perhaps Rick Warren is not aware of hundreds of years of genocidal pogroms that have taken place in Syria at the expense of the Jews.
But of course he must know about all these things, because he says he's an avid reader of my column and an expert on the Middle East because of his membership in the Council on Foreign Relations.
Rick Warren thinks it is commendable that Syria has opened its arms to Christians fleeing Iraq. What he doesn't know or doesn't say is that many of those Christians fleeing Iraq are fleeing bullets and bombs and terrorists that have entered Iraq through Syria. He also doesn't explain President Bashar Assad's penchant for keeping his friends close and his enemies closer.
I'm not going to let this matter slide. Not me. Not this Syrian-Lebanese-American Christian journalist. If Rick Warren thinks dialogue with everyone is so great – let the dialogue begin right here. The persecuted church in Syria can't speak for itself. But I will stand with them in answering Rick Warren's lies about their tormentors.
So you say.
(And you can't even spell "apostasy" correctly.)
Actually, they are proper paragraphs. many here run on far beyond their original thought, and you may be getting used to that (lack of) style.
"He's trying to bait people and it's pretty obvious..."
He's trying to 'bait' a secularist, apostate judas goat named Rick Warren, and he is also doing an investigative reporter's job.
Joe Farah is a devout Christian, exposing a secularist pretender.
So, Paul's writings have been thrown out?
a secularist, apostate judas goat named Rick Warren,
= = = =
Obviously, Holy Spirit has a different perspective, confirming Rick's ministry with thousands drawn to Christ and matured in Christ.
Not my construction on reality.
Stop asking foolish questions. The gospel was the same regardless who Paul spoke to. Man was still sinful. Man had still GREATLY offended God. Man still needed a Savior. The Savior was the only way to salvation. The basic elements remained the same. Yes, he tried to relate to the people he was around -- however, he did not EXCLUDE people from whom he would reach out to. Saddleback Sam "purposefully" went after a specific demographic to the exclusion of others. It was a marketing Scheme - designed to appeal to the baser desires of the surrounding community. It was a "feel good" about yourself Christianity that rarely spoke of the holiness of God, His anger towards humans, and our need for repentance. That's Rick Warren.
The Apostle Paul did not shy away from calling sinners sinners and expressing their need to repent. He did not try to "make them feel good about themselves and their worship experience", rather he sought to show people the crucified Christ and to sacrifice all of their baser selves to the Holy God.
In short Quix, I know the apostle Paul. I've studied his works extensively since I was a child. Warren is no Apostle Paul.
I liked his book and the study we had at our house and am very disappointed that his actions don't live up to his writings. I sent an article about him that I found on FR to my pastor who pushed our having the Purpose Driven Life in our church.
On the nose. Itching ears. Itching ears. Gotta get some salve for those itching ears.
Yes it was. The author also does an excellent book/talk about ways to learn the names of the books of the Bible. It was fun.
And when he embraces Antichrist, what will you do Quix?
IOW, they don't mistreat Christians as severely as other Islamic countries do.
What a relief.
Syria is a Ba'athist country, which means that it embraces a secular form of Arab nationalism that is itself based on fascism.
What this means is that Syria is an equal-opportunity nation: everybody gets treated like s***.
Oh for heaven's sake. Why criticize someone who wears a Hawaiian shirt? That borders on the ridiculous.
Oh for heaven's sake. Why criticize someone who wears a Hawaiian shirt? That borders on the ridiculous.
(Money and success can be potent rot-inducing agents).
I've been encouraged by so many authors and Joel Osteen as well. I know he's a dirty word to some folks here but God has given this man the gift of encouragement. He talks common sense to folks about family life and other areas of our lives that need encouragememt.
Nothing can 'beat' the Bible. I like all kinds of books that teach and encourage and have been greatly helped by them, but the Bible is the manual we go to when we really hurt. It's got more encouragement in it than other books. Ever read it?
I thought the book and study we did were pretty good. I'm not always the most intuitive of folks and don't catch what others may. I probably wouldn't read the PDC and wouldn't join another group to discuss it. Each person gets something different out of any book they read. Some are blessed, some are not. I liked the Prayer of Jabez and Joel Osteen's book (what I've read of it) and I suppose others here don't like them. That's what makes the world go round.
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