Posted on 11/24/2007 6:17:27 AM PST by alpha-8-25-02
A Slice alert today as the Christian Post reports this morning that Rick Warren, Leith Anderson, the head of the National Association of Evangelicals, Bill Hybels and other evangelicals have signed a document urging Muslims to love God together with them and to find peace between the two religions. This is where it has all been heading, folks. Youve been warned for a long time now that this new spirituality is coming. Heres a quote from the article:
Christian leaders urged for an interfaith dialogue that moves beyond polite ecumenical talks between selected leaders. Instead, leaders of both faiths should hold dialogues to build relations that will reshape the two communities to genuinely reflect our common love for God and for one another, the Christian letter stated.Given the deep fissures in the relations between Christians and Muslims today, the task before us is daunting. And the stakes are great. The future of the world depends on our ability as Christians and Muslims to live together in peace, the letter added. If we fail to make every effort to make peace and come together in harmony you correctly remind us that our eternal souls are at stake as well.
The letters main emphasis is the absolutely central commonality between both religions: love of God and love of neighbor.
Other signers of the letter include Miroslav Volf, founder and director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture; Dr. Martin Accad, academic dean of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (Lebanon); Robert E. Cooley, president emeritus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary; Harvey Cox, Hollis professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School; and Bill Hybels, founder and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church.
The letter includes an apology to the Muslims for various wrongs that Christians have done them.
In the Christian response, Muslims have been asked to forgive Christians for their past sins such as the Crusades and excesses of the war on terrors as taught by Jesus Christ who said to First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out your neighbors eye (Matthew 7:5).
Scratch Bent Tree from the list - they are on the Purpose driven database as having done ‘40 days of community - full church wide. http://www.purposedriven.com/en-US/40DayCampaigns/PDCampaignChurchFinder.htm
They also may be a bit far for you. (If not, Prestonwood Baptist is in the same neighborhood, and they are big enough to have programs for everyone.)
Metrocrest Presbyterian is a little west of those two. http://www.metrocrestchurch.org/pages/worship.htm
For Baptists, I’d look for SBoT congregations
http://www.sbtexas.com/default.asp?action=congregations
For Presbyterians, PCA:
http://www.ntpresby.org/
I’m not as familiar with Bible churches in that part of town - most of the Bible churches that come to mind are well to the east of you.
I trust that you had a good Thanksgiving.
As for Warren, nothing suprises me. What we see more and more are the natural progressions of his foundational false teachings and unbiblical associations.
This is a little naive. The concept of love is not prominent in the Islamic faith, nor should it be considering the theology of Islam. How can a Moslem love God?
Firstly, there is no belief in the redemption of sinful man by a loving, merciful God at the expense of His own blood and suffering. This is the basis of Christian love and gratitude; that Christ died for us. Absent this and one is left with a powerful, omnipotent being who should be ....yes.......feared, respected, obeyed etc etc. All of the above. But "loved"? That's a stretch.
In fact, I think that Islam is what results when love and mercy is removed from religion. All that is left is a rigid series of dictates which must be obeyed on pain of death and which can be spread by whatever means necessary.
Well, when you are theologically liberal, i.e. Arminian, your theology eventually leads to this kind of thing. You can trace this back through his Purpose Driven methods back square to his theology.
God loves the whole human race and wants to save them all. ~ Arminianism.
When men never have the chance to receive the gospel, God uses a different standard.
Therefore, Muslims loving Allah must be loving God and we should embrace them as brothers.
Don’t get me wrong here, we share a common brotherhood in humanity with all men and we should work to live in peace, but to do so by compromising the gospel?!?! Amazing! Let’s not follow the sin of Judas.
thanks for trying. HONEstly, we don’t need to go to a big church. We are looking for a real Bible teaching church in our community and one of these days we will find it.
I geuss I’ve never heard any preacher say christian women should not wear bikini’s. Seems a little strange. But hey I feel like I live in a parallel universe pretty much everyday anymore. LOL!
How old are you and what planet have you been living on?
I dare say that most Bible-centered preachers would strongly suggest that wearing a bikini in public and following the Biblical command to dress modestly (1 Tim 2:9)are not reconcilable.
I would expect nothing less from John MacArthur.
Good responses on this thread. If nonsense like this does not show these "Christian leaders" for the spiritual frauds they are, I don't know what will. How they can maintain their power base in American society, through the funding of the naive and gullible who support them, should be even more frightening as to the state of what is understood as contemporary Evangelical Christianity.
But then, this is the same Rick Warren who was palling around with dictator Bashar Assad.
"...It's time we recognized the nature of the conflict. It's total war and we are all involved. Nobody on our side is exempted because of age, gender, or handicap. The Islamofacists have stolen childhood from the world." [FReeper Retief]
"...That the totalitarian force pitted against freedom wears a religious makes this civil war among mankind all the more difficult to engage. Loving freedom as we do, it seems reprehensible to deliberate against a religion. But this is no ordinary religion as it demands absolute obedience of all to their religion at the cost of freedom itself." [FReeper Backtothestreets]
Yep, that will work. Ya know, Mooselimbs are such peace loving people and all. sarc/
Commonality...love of God and love of neighbor
Since when do Muslims worship the Lord Jesus Christ as God? Mr Warren must be inviting them to pray to some other entity.
Since when do they respect their neighbors? The Koran instructs them to butcher neighbors who do not kowtow to the moon god.
Okay - perhaps “covenental enemy” might be better. I agree with you that our struggle, ultimately, is not against flesh and blood.
Most of the North Texas PCA churches are solid; SBoT churches should mostly be ok (although I’d cross check them against the ‘purpose driven’ list; Bible Churches seem to buy into fads such as Promise Keepers and Purpose Driven. You might call Dallas Theological Seminary and see if they can point you to a less ‘trendy’ Bible Church in your area. (I’d recommend Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship (Tony Evans), but I know you aren’t going to go that far.)
Orthodox Presbyterians are good, solid, folks, but they are scarce in Texas - the closest to you would be over in Bedford. If you go a little more liturgical, the Missouri Synod Lutherans are generally a safe bet.
I should have made this more clear - we should love Muslims, evangelize them, invite them to church. I am just offended by the assertion made in the letter that Christians and Muslims can love God and their neighbor together - asserting equivalency between the two religions.
To some extent, in order to establish rapport and common ground, we need to find the equivalancies. There are some - and there is the Pauline imprimatur to that appraoch at Mars Hill. If St. Paul can commend polytheists for worshiping the Unknown God (even if in ignorance), than we can commend Muslims for worshiping the One True God of Abraham. The other stuff - fundamentally important - must be addressed, but that doesn't remove the commonalities between two monotheistic Abrahamic religions.
I no longer put my trust into DTS. The have yet to make release a statement claiming the emergent movement to be heretic. I also know to many from there involved in the emergent movement.
I would love to drive out to Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, but yes, it is to far. We plan to visit Coppell Bible. It is a small church, but the pastor has a good heart and it is solid Bible teaching. I’m tired of hearing watered down fluff.
Don’t go into the light, Rick.
Goes back to what I said above - Bible Churches are usually quick to jump on the latest trendy thing. PK and Purpose, mentioned above. Contemporary music; post-modernism constructs.
That's one reason I go to a connectional church - there's a second chance for someone to tell you that you are going astray.
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