Considering that the 4th century ‘church’ lured converts by superimposing my Messiah’s faith and message onto the traditions and practices of sun worshipping, asking people to ‘try Jesus’ is just an insult to the injury and degradation that occurred long ago.
Dead on. Bravo! The numbs of Christianity have long ago forgotten that we are a Jewish sect. IMHO we should occasionally try to act like it. Find a copy of When Christians Were Jews; That is, Now by Wayne-Daniel Berard, ISBN 978-1-56101-280-0. I think you'll find it fascinating.
God can, will, and does use all of His creation to draw His children to Him. Many of the pagan practices were just people who, having God’s law written on their hearts, were seeking truth, though they did not understand who and what truth is. God can, will and does use that genuine desire to know, worship and love Him to reveal himself. God’s creation is good, using any of it to bring people to know Him is not an affront to Him.
Pastor Warren’s challenge was to try placing your trust in Jesus. Those who look to this world for comfort, freedom and salvation will not find it here. His proposal was not like those who hawk wealth building programs. His proposal was that when one trusts Jesus, one finds relief from the burdens of this world so that no matter the conditions of this world, one is happy, content, peaceful and free.