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What's wrong with PDL? It'd be tough to decide where to start the critique.

Warren’s tendency to promote the teachings of Catholic mystics like Henri Nouwen and John of the Cross, his mixing of New Age techniques with Bible-based prayer and meditation, and his use of Jungian occult-based psychology to identify a Christian’s personality and spiritual gifts is well known. Nouwen's books are also recommended on Warren's Pastors.com website.

Today I personally believe that while Jesus came to open the door to God's house, all human beings can walk through that door, whether they know about Jesus or not. Today I see it as my call to help every person claim his or her own way to God - Sabbatical Journey - by Henri Nouwen

That notwithstanding, and nevertheless, my primary objection is concerning Warren's twisting Scriptures to lend biblical credence to his misguided teachings.

On page 68 of The Purpose Driven Church, for example, we see how Warren uses a verse from The Living Bible to biblically prove his conviction that intelligent Christians should be open to "new ideas":

The intelligent man is always open to new ideas. In fact, he looks for them - Pro 18:15

However, the literal translation of this verse:

The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge - Pro 18:15 (KJV)

In the more contemporary New American Standard it is rendered similiarly: The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. To posit, therefore, that this verse is advocating being "open to new ideas" is wildly off the mark... and dangerous. Are the likes of homosexual pastors or New Age mysticism in the church referred to by this passage? If not, how then are they discounted?

The literal understanding of this verse in the context of Scripture, any "knowledge" that a prudent man seeks is based on the objective truth of God’s Word and does not imply any use of "new ideas." The terms "knowledge" and "new ideas" are not synonymous, and it is irresponsible of Warren to suggest otherwise by using this paraphrase. Yet in an attempt to bolster his pragmatic arguments, Warren has ignored the plain meaning of the text and found a dubious translation that adds a foreign element that is in line with his presupposition.

Rick Warren chooses to cite Ephesians 4:6 from the New Century Version:

He rules everything and is everywhere and is in everything - PDL, p. 88

The literal rendering is:

One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all" (KJV)

The KJV wisely accounts for the context in order to correctly identify the word "all" as meaning within the Body of Christ, not "everything" in the world. By advocating the use of this poor translation, isn't Warren unwittingly supporting PANTHEISM, the unbiblical belief that God's divine essence is IN everything He created? Furthermore, while God is omniprescent, he doesn't live in my wall, or my desk, or my pen; God lives in heaven and indwells the believer's heart.

On page 105 of The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren writes: "You have heard people say, 'I can't make it to the meeting tonight, but I'll be with you in spirit.' Do you know what that means? Nothing. It's worthless!" Worthless? Contrast his statement with what the apostle Paul said:

For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ - Col. 2:5

In the heading of Chapter 7 from The Purpose Driven Life, the following verse is cited:

The Lord has made everything for his own purposes. - Proverbs 16:4 (NLT)

To the undiscerning reader this verse would be allowed to stand on its own merit. However, this is not the complete verse, even though it is falsely cited as such. In the New Living Translation:

The Lord has made everything for his own purposes, even the wicked for punishment. - Pro 16:4 (NLT)
The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. - Pro 16:4 (KJV)
The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil. - Pro 16:4 (NASB)

Why does Warren present this verse with a sentence-ending period as if it is cited in its entirety when clearly it is not? Why did he not accurately note the reference as Proverbs 16:4a is rendered fully so as to avoid confusion? Could it not be fairly surmised that the second half of that verse did not fit in with Warren’s watered-down, feel-good theme of the book and therefore he felt the necessity to deliberately leave it out?

On page 76 he chooses a weak rendering from The Living Bible for Psa 14:2. However, what is important with that verse is that Psa 14:3 is pivotal to understanding God’s truth about the complete sinfulness and rebellion of natural man, but Warren fails to cite it. Instead he chooses to present a weak translation of a single verse to imply that God is actively seeking out "purpose driven" God-pleasers. What Warren doesn’t tell us, however, is that God finds NONE who do good, NOT EVEN ONE. This is such an important truth about man’s utter sinfulness that Paul reiterated it in Romans 3:10-12 to emphasize the point. So why did Warren leave that part out? Because it would negate his "purpose driven" argument.

And far be it that I would be condemned for being overly critical of Warren’s sloppy hermeneutical methods, let me point out there are many instances where Warren has outright mishandled Scripture to prejudice his readers and promote his presuppositions. He does this through quotations of Eugene Peterson The Message.

This is a paraphrased Bible though promoted as a "reading Bible" instead of a "study Bible", The Message is a very flawed interpretation of God’s Word no matter how one uses it. In reviewing The Message, Berit Kjos wrote,

It doesn't take a Greek scholar to recognize the appalling distortions of God's holy Word. Any Bible student willing to compare Peterson's Message with a Greek/English Interlinear Lexicon and take time to look up key words in a credible New Testament Bible dictionary will discover alarming deletions, distortions and additions to the original text. If Peterson is right, then all our other Bibles - the KJV, NASV, NIV, Greek-English interlinear Bibles - are false. (See Berit Kjos' more in-depth analysis, with comparison chart, titled What Kind of Message is The Message?)

The most alarming feature of The Message is in how it has chosen to reinterpret certain scripture verses that for centuries have been mainstays of the Christian faith to combat the assault against Christ’s deity. Use any literal translation of the Bible, and any capable Christian would be able to adequately defend Christ’s divinity against the attacks of Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses alike. Yet, The Message has taken many of those precious scriptures and mangled them beyond recognition to the delight of the community of various cults. In fact, there is probably not a Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness that wouldn’t feel comfortable using The Message alongside their extra biblical teachings. This fact by itself should be cause for great concern.

Warren decided to look at the Bible in "new, fresh ways": by arrogantly ignoring the rules of credible exegesis. It seem almost as if Warren simply flipped around in various Bibles until singling out various nice-sounding verses, regardless of their specific context, to make his teachings appear as if they were fully grounded in God's Word. How many Christians will swallow Warren's biblical presentation whole without realizing how badly he has twisted Scripture to suit his purpose?

Islam is defended by Rick Warren as a valid "faith" that he cooperates with in working (through his P.E.A.C.E Plan) for what he calls a New Reformation. In its advancement, he says he "would trust any imam or priest or rabbi...."

A month after the September 11 tragedy, a Muslim cleric, Fisal Hammouda, shared Bill Hybels's Willow Creek pulpit for a discussion about Islam. The imam and pastor discussed strong ties between Christianity and Islam, and the congregation was impressed. They learned from the charming Hammouda that jihad, more often than not, was an individual "holy war" to overcome personal weaknesses such as a sweet tooth. Seriously? Hybels was concerned that there "are some Christians spreading rumors and half-truths that the Qur'an encourages violence." It may be that Pastor Hybels has never read the many verses in the Qur'an condoning and commanding violence (especially for temporal and eternal rewards) and that he simply was misinformed. However, when Hammouda claimed that Muslims "believe in Jesus, more than [Christians] do in fact," Hybels knew enough to disagree. Yet he didn't seem to have the heart to tell the congregation that Islam's "Jesus" is someone invented by Muhammad, and therefore can't save anyone. That lack of disclosure by the pastor was not inconsequential. How many among the thousands who attended the "seeker-friendly" service left with the same enthusiastic feeling noted by one church member: "I didn't know they believed in Jesus"?¹ What of those who came seeking the truth?

Hybels's mentor in ministry is Robert Schuller, whose compromises with Islam are notorious. From personally preaching in the mosque of the Grand Mufti in Damascus, to allowing the Islamic leader's cleric son to preach from his own pulpit, these things are nothing new for someone who sponsors "Christians and Muslims for Peace" at his Crystal Cathedral. Exactly where his head is in all of this can be ascertained from a statement he made to an official of the Muslim American Society. He said that "if he [Schuller] came back in 100 years and found his descendants Muslims, it wouldn't bother him...."² Perhaps Schuller has been influenced by his good friend, Billy Graham, who said, "I think Islam is misunderstood, too, because Mohammad has a great respect for Jesus...And I think we're closer to Islam than we really think we are."³

Schuller calls Muslims "Christians", says we should not try to change anyone’s "religion", went to Rome with plans of the Crystal Cathedral to obtain the Holy Father’s blessing before building it, has shared his pulpit with Catholics, atheists, agnostics, and occultists, some of whom, such as Larry King, a Jewish agnostic, Schuller has asked to pray.

I don’t think anything has been done in the name of Christ and under the banner of Christianity that has proven more destructive to human personality and, hence, counterproductive to the evangelism enterprise than...attempting to make people than...attempting to make people aware of their lost and sinful condition⁴
To be born again we must be changed from a negative to a positive selfimage...from inferiority to self-esteem...⁵
If Christianity is to succeed...it must cease to be a negative religion and must become positive...⁶
The classical error of historical Christianity is that we have never started with the value of the person. Rather, we have started from the ‘unworthiness of the sinner...⁷

Warren begins Purpose with "the value of the person", a theme repeated throughout. Although not guilty, as is Schuller, of outright contradiction of the gospel, Warren does a masterful job of removing from it anything that those who need it might fi nd offensive. Anyone familiar with Schuller’s writings recognizes an undertone of the same compromise in TPDL. (cf. Deu 1:17; 10:17,18; II Chr 19:4-7; Mat 22:15,16; Act 10:34; Rom 2:6-12; Gal 2:3-6; Eph 6:8,9; Col 3:23-25; I Pet 1:17)

Willow Creek Community Church is the largest evangelical church in America. Schuller's "Hour of Power," which Graham helped him begin and continues to enthusiastically support, is the number one evangelistic TV program worldwide. Here's another troubling question: Where then are the heads of the sheep these pastors shepherd, and the thousands of evangelical pastors from around the country who flock to their conferences?

Rick and his wife, Kay, attended Schuller’s Institute for Successful Church leadership during his last year in seminary. "He had a profound infl uence on Rick," Kay says. "We were captivated by his positive appeal to nonbelievers". ⁸

The similarity between Schuller’s teachings and Warren’s PDL ideas cannot be denied. Warren has obviously patterned his approach to a "successful church" after what he learned from Schuller. Warren’s The PDL, which has sold more than 20 million copies and has been followed in its Forty Days of Purpose program by thousands of congregations, tells the reader that he is exactly the person God made and intended him to be. Missing is anything to convict the sinner of his rebellion against God and the coming judgment. It is all about success and fulfillment in this life. This humanistic approach is very appealing. No wonder corporations and athletic teams study it (NASCAR, Coca Cola, LPGA, Oakland Raiders, etc.). It echoes Schuller.

Willow Creek one-time assistant pastor Lee Strobel is now a pastor at Rick Warren's Saddleback Valley Community Church. While pastoring at Willow Creek in 1994, Strobel wrote a book titled What Jesus Would Say. It takes an irreverent, humorous, "sympathetic look" at immoral, prominent, ungodly personalities such as President Clinton, Murphey Brown, Bart Simpson, and Madonna, and suggests what would happen if Jesus had "chats" with these people. In exploring what he thinks Jesus would say to modern celebrities, Strobel is striving to make religion relevant to a cynical contemporary world. (As bad as that idea is, isn't purporting to speak for God a bit presumptuous at best, and blasphemous at worse?)

In Madonna, Strobel says he thinks Jesus "would see by her own admission that it's her sense of mediocrity and her desire to overcome that that's driving her -- it's a self-esteem issue. Jesus, opines Strobel, would look beyond Madonna the media icon to see Madonna the person, someone who lost her mother at a young age and who was turned off by the trappings of traditional religion. If people have a less than compassionate concept of God than this, Strobel lays the blame on evangelical Christians⁹

Strobel authored a book in 1993, Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry & Mary: How to Reach Friends and Family Who Avoid God and the Church. The book is endorsed in its Foreword by Bill Hybels. (The book is also endorsed/recommended by thirteen more neo-evangelical psychologizers, including Max Lucado, Tony Campolo, Howard Hendricks, Stuart Briscoe, C. Peter Wagner, Joseph Stowell, Elmer Towns, Bill Bright, and Gary Collins.) In this book, Strobel makes it clear that he was drawn to Hybels' church, not by the message of truth, but by the music of the world. After he found himself comfortable with the music and modern style of worship, he simply reasoned his way to a conversion experience. Strobel is completely geared to a needs based religion. His purpose is to meet man's needs, based on his own perception, rather than honoring man's obligation to worship and glorify God. Strobel's purpose is to find out what works, and not to find out what is Biblical. His purpose is to please lost, unregenerate men, and not to please God. To read Strobel's book (and by nature of endorsement, Bill Hybels' thoughts also) you come up with the idea that the problem with people is that they are simply unchurched. To the contrary, they need to be seen as lost and in need of a Savior.¹⁰

Would it be non-sequitor to state Rick Warren's theology is any different than one of the pastors preaching at Saddleback, or the many evangelicals who evidently have had a hand in formulating it? I’m not suggesting that Warren holds any of Schuller’s heresies. Yet, like Hybels and other "church growth" gurus, he has definitely adopted many of Schuller’s compromises and methods. When Schuller claims that he is the father of the churchgrowth movement, it is no idle boast.

The watered-down Schuller approach, designed to offend no one, is even reflected in Saddleback’s doctrinal statements regarding, for example, sin:

Every person, although endowed with the image of God, inherited a disobedient heart from Adam, the very first man. This attitude of disobedience (called sin in the Bible) unless rectified through Christ - forever keeps man from forming a relationship with his Creator.

No explanation of Christ’s payment on the Cross for sin. Nor does not "forming a relationship with his Creator" even come close to "He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (Jn 3:36); "whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rv 20:15).

Many would like to unite church and stage... When the old faith is gone, and enthusiasm for the gospel is extinct, it is no wonder that the people seek something else in the way of delight. Lacking bread, they feed on ashes; rejecting the way of the Lord, they run greedily in the path of folly.¹¹

Endnotes:

1. Chicago Tribune, 10/12/01.

2. Newsday, 8/31/97.

3. "Talking with David Frost," 5/30/97.

4. Schuller, Time, March 18, 1985.

5. Schuller, Self-Esteem: the New Reformation, p. 68

6. Ibid, p. 104

7. Schuller, op. cit., p. 162

8. Christianity Today, 11/18/2002.

9. Santa Barbara Press, p. D4, 1/8/95.

10. Plains Baptist Challenger, pp. 5-7, 1/96.

11. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, "Another Word Concerning the Down Grade", The Sword and the Trowel, 1887

Celebrate Recovery

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. - Pro 14:12

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. - Pro 16:25
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. - Jas 1:17

True science can only concern itself with the physical side of man - those things governed by physical laws, e.g., physics and chemistry. The nonphysical, i.e. man’s mind, is utterly out of bounds to the army of the Lab Coated and their empirical, objective instruments, for mankind’s will and emotion mock the scientific method. Psychotherapy nevertheless maintains its clinical façade because of its pseudo-medical terminology. For example, one might think that a person’s problematic "mental health" indicates that he is "mentally ill", and therefore he ought to see a doctor and possibly be committed to a "mental hospital". However, a mind (or anything mental), being nonphysical, cannot be "ill" (although a there can be a pathology of the body or its various organs); neither can it be examined by a doctor in a hospital for "mental patients". These terms sound scientific and have influenced multitudes to think of psychotherapy in terms of medical science, but in reality they’re nonsensical.

In plain language, what do patient and psychotherapist actually do? They speak and listen to each other. What do they speak about? Narrowly put, the patient speaks about himself, and the therapist speaks about the patient....Each tries to move the other to see or do things in a certain way. - The Myth of Psychotherapy: Mental Healing as Religion, Rhetoric, and Repression, by Thomas Szasz (research psychiatrist)

Psychotherapy is neither brain surgery nor any other form of medical intervention; nor is it rocket science. In other words, a Ph.D. or M.D.is not a necessary requirement to handle the medium of "talk". Nevertheless, wouldn’t having advanced degrees make one more effective in the psychotherapeutic conversation process? No. The many research studies comparing the effectiveness of professional therapists versus nonprofessionals have given equivalent results. In other words, nonprofessionals do as well as professionals.

What does one study to earn a Ph.D. in clinical psychology? Mostly about theories pertaining to human behavior: e.g., Sigmund Freud's gleanings from Greek dramas, his speculations about infantile sex, psychic determinism, and the unconscious; Carl Jung’s beliefs about archetypal images, the occult and the collective unconscious; Alfred Adler’s "masculine protest" and "inferiority complex" concepts; Abraham Maslow’s humanistic psychology, "hierarchy of needs" theory and New Age obscenities; B. F. Skinner’s stimulus-response behavioral dogmas; Erich Fromm’s godless view of love; Arthur Janov’s primal scream; Carl Rogers’ client-centered therapy, Fritz Perls’ Gestalt, and a legion of swine-demon inbred spawn of Satan speculative ideas, the host of proselytizers of which are eager and willing to trample the pearls of wisdom proclaimed by the Word of God.

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. - Mt 7:16-20

What then of the aforementioned theories as are required for necessary certification so as to be qualified to "talk"? Have they, over the years, formed an historic body of knowledge from which developed true and helpful insights regarding mankind’s nature and remedies for the problems of life? Much to the contrary, the field of psychotherapy is its own lunatic asylum! Freud was a cocaine addict who lusted for his own mother. Jung was suicidal and communed with a demon. Rogers abandoned his cancer-stricken, dying wife for another woman, but relieved his guilt by contacting her through a ouija board after her death. Rogers later ended his own life through assisted suicide. And the list goes on. ("Physician, heal thyself" comes to mind.) Furthermore, there are more than 450 different (often contradictory and utterly bizarre) psychotherapeutic systems and thousands of methods and techniques. Karl Popper, regarded as the preeminent scholar in the area of philosophy of science, concluded, after a lengthy study of psychotherapy, that its theories:

"though posing as sciences, had in fact more in common with primitive myths than with science," and that "these theories describe some facts but in the manner of myths. They contain most interesting psychological suggestions, but not in testable form."¹

Eighty leading educators, writing a piece edited by Sigmund Koch, concurred:

"The entire subsequent history of psychology can be seen as a ritualistic endeavor to emulate the forms of science in order to sustain the delusion that it already is a science"²

Two prolific authors and critics of psychotherapy, summarize the scene today:

The entire field is amassed in confusion and crowded with pseudo-knowledge and pseudo-theories resulting in pseudoscience.³

In psychotherapy the values, favored theories, and beliefs of the therapist rule. The client must conform to what the therapist presents for the process to be effective, and a willing client is normally quite receptive to whatever is presented. So whether or not the client’s problem is resolved, he has been influenced, even co-opted, by the value system of the therapist. And yet, Scripture tells us:

through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, ...his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness - II Pet 1:2, 3

That would seem to cover everything worth being concerned about.

Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. - Jno 6:67,68

Where are His "words" found but in the Holy Scriptures? So, if we call ourselves Bible-believing Christians, shouldn’t we, then, be those who continually go to the Bible for "all things that pertain unto life and godliness"?

And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. - II Cor 11:14,15

Which light do you follow? That cast by the "Father of Lights", your own (essentially believing the lie the serpent told Eve in the Garden), or perhaps that of one who's intention is to deceive and lead astray from the truth? There can be no doubt concerning the author of that which sole intent is distraction from The Truth. The Bible is insufficient, you need something as an adjunct or supplement. As if the power that spoke the universe into existance is impotent in any manner or fashion. Peter walked on water. For how long did he do so, and what was he doing as long as he did? When did he begin to sink?

Paul warned the Ephesian elders of the coming apostasy for "three years...night and day with tears" (Acts 20:31). He warned of the wolves coming into their midst dressed in sheeps clothing. He wasn't warning about wolves in the congregation, but of the leaders of the congregations being wolves dressed as sheep. It didn't take long, it started in his day, and the apostacy so vividly described by him (II Tim 3:1-7; 4:3,4; I Tim 4:1,2; II Thes 2:3) is definitely at hand.

The Bible is insufficient when it comes to flying an airplane, repairing an engine, transplanting a kidney, but not when it comes to those "things that pertain to life and godliness". Paul says that through Scripture alone the man or woman of God is "throughly furnished unto all good works" (II Tim 3:17). Christ said that the Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive" (Jno 14:17) and who guides believers "into all truth" (Jno 16:13). He said that those who continue in His word, which "is truth" (Jno 17:17) know "the truth" (Jno 8:32), not part of the truth, and are thereby set free, not partially free.

I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you....Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. - Acts 20:20,26-27

By "profitable," Paul did not mean monetarily advantageous, but all that is necessary and helpful for a joyful, fruitful and triumphant Christian life whenever and wherever lived. How encouraging, comforting and inspiring it must have been to those early Christians to know that "all the counsel of God" was available to them! What need did they have for 12-Step programs, or "Christian" psychology? Surely that attitude is precisely what is needed presently and in our time.

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. - Mt 6:24; Lk 16:9, 11, 13

"In those days there was no king, and every man did what was right in his own eyes" - Jgs 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25)

ENDNOTES:

1. Karl Popper, "Scientific Theory and Falsifiability," Perspectives in Philosophy, Robert N. Beck, ed. (New York: Holt, Rinehart, Winston, 1975), 344,346.

2. Sigmund Koch, "The Image of Man in Encounter Groups," The American Scholar; Autumn 1973, 636.

3. Martin and Deidre Bobgan, Pshchoheresy, (Eastgate Publishers 1987), 31.