Posted on 08/28/2005 7:04:42 PM PDT by buckeyesrule
Friday, August 26, 2005 12:01 a.m.
It is one thing to help 25 million readers find purpose in their lives. It is another when one of those readers is the man responsible for ending what journalist Samantha Power has called "the most clear-cut case of genocide since the Holocaust." Paul Kagame, Rwanda's president, was so impressed by Rick Warren's best-selling book, "The Purpose-Driven Life," that he invited the founding preacher of California's Saddleback Church to come to his country. Mr. Warren not only accepted but asked his network of believers to come to Rwanda in small groups to plant churches, care for the sick, educate the citizenry and assist the poor.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
I don't know Warren's heart, nor do I know God's will as it specifically relates to Warren and this missionary trip. It could very well be that by this excursion He brings Warren to a more complete understanding of the Scriptures and a boldness to proclaim the Gospel message without the smarmy anti-intellectualism.
I'm sure Marlowe would agree with me that it's common courtesy to ping people if you're going to mention them in a post.
I will decide to whom I address my comments. I was not interested in Harley's response to my comment.
I would suggest that Jesus Christ had an 'anti-intellectualism' attitude to the religious leaders of his day. I think Warren is in excellent company.
Like guys like who???? Piper? Frumanchu? Calvin? Don't go dragging others into a HarleyD thought pattern. This has nothing to do with doctrinal areas except helping the poor.
I agree with the author. I'm simply saying Rick Warren is naive. You must disagree with the author and believe he isn't naive. You look at the glass half full. I take a more pragmatic approach. History has show us what happens to Christian leaders who take it upon themselves to interject themselves into moral/social issues. (Does Billy Graham/Nixon ring a bell?)
There is nothing wrong with helping others. You want to give Rick Warren money for his Rwanda effort fine with me. But what's the difference in helping Rwandans verses helping Nigerians? Or helping victims of the hurricane? There are poor people all around.
If your goal is to evangelize it should be noted in the article that 95% of all Rwandans consider themselves Christians-higher than the US. Perhaps the US is where evangelism should take place.
Rick Warren may have the best of intentions. I don't know. Can we truly say that about the Rwanda President? If Rick Warren told me he truly feels sorry and wants to help I'd believe him. I'm a bit more skeptical of the Rwanda President saying he read PDL and has seen the light. Frankly wasn't there a convict a while back that said the same thing?
(BTW-Calvin would probably disagree with me as he was very big on this type of thing.)
"I take a different tack. Rwanda is a disgrace to American Christians because we did not stick our nose into Rwanda when we had the resources to do so. I'm not speaking of an effort through the government which is too often conflated with Christianity. I'm only speaking of professing Christians that should have joined together and assembled a force to fight the evil Muslim hordes. That we failed when we had the capability to defend our brothers and sisters in Rwanda speaks to the fact that most American Christians worship at the idol of American government and place their trust in it."
What does fighting Muslims have to do with Rwanda?
You.
Frankly Harley I am at a loss as to how to respond to your post.
So I won't.
Have a nice day.
[snip]Muslim leaders credit the gains to their ability during the 1994 massacres to shield most Muslims, and many other Rwandans, from certain death. "The Muslims handled themselves well in '94, and I wanted to be like them," said Alex Rutiririza, explaining why he converted to Islam last year.
With killing all around, he said, the safest place to be back then was in a Muslim neighborhood. Then as now, many of Rwanda's Muslims lived crowded together in the Biryogo neighborhood of Kigali.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/07/international/africa/07RWAN.html?hp
right. so why would you want to fight the "muslim hordes" who were saving lives?
Then in the interest of peaceful discussion perhaps you should limit your snide remarks to FReepmail instead of instigating another flamewar. Unless that's your objective.
You could suggest it, and you'd be just as wrong as Warren in that regard. Christ did not preach anti-intellectualism so much as He preached anti-legalism.
We shouldn't be preaching "stop thinking and act." We should be preaching "act on the right thinking."
"I am not sure that he is fully prepared for the enormous task that he has set himself."
Every pioneer missionary has heard this statement by Wolfe. Carey in India, Judson in Burma, Stamm in Africa, Mueller in England. It is the "reasonable" statement forged by the enemy to frustrate and discourage any one called by God to an important task. Now I guess we can stand back and wait until it is safe to support the work with prayer and whatever we have been given to help or we can exercise radical faith and see that God has opened His vineyard for the harvest and take our place as laborers called at any time of the day to sacrifice whatever He has demanded. It seems the safest course is to risk faith for the increase than to bury it until it is safe.
Well then, that leaves you out, doesn't it?
Being intelligent and having an attitude of intellectualism is not the same, but I suppose with your limitations, you can't understand the distinction.
As do I. I don't knock the man's ministry, but I do have some issues with his methods. What i don't understand is why the moment anyone expresses reservations about his methods, it is viewed as an all-out assault on the man, worthy of an all-out counterattack. We have doctrinal differences, and each side is convinced of the rightness of their positions, beyond anyone's ability to change them. So be it. But to actively attempt to silence any well-intentioned reservations, based on scriptural understandings which may differ, is not Christian.
Harley expressed a genuine concern, and for his trouble he was flamed. It is a narrow mind that cannot listen to another viewpoint without trying to silence it. One can state their disagreement with another's viewpoint without flaming, and without rancor, and with well-reasoned counterpoint. There are some, though, whose insipid, derogatory, and insulting remarks deserve the strongest of responses.
I understand it much more than you might think. Every time you allude to your alleged intelligence, you make a fool of yourself.
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The question is why were the Muslims able to protect themselves and others when the rest of the population remained at risk?
The United Nations Assistant Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) was established in October of 1993. Three months before the genocide the UNAMIR commander, General Romeo Dallaire cabled the UN dept of Peacekeeping asking permission to confiscate a cache of machetes that he had learned had been shipped to Rwanda.
Interestingly, Kofi Annan’s deputy Iqbal Riza, the same man in charge of the Iraq oil for food scandal, denied permission for the weapons to be confiscated. Kofi Annan himself was aware of the plot for genocide and failed to act.
We can only conclude that these inactions by officials at the UN excerbated the genocide and yet the Muslim population seemed prepared for the event and reaped the benefits of the tribal conflict. It is only too convienent that the Muslims were seen as the protectors of an event that could have been mitigated three months prior to its genesis.
You are out of your league.
All true.
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