Posted on 11/20/2006 5:44:21 AM PST by Esther Ruth
Megapastor Rick Warren's Damascus Road experience (Megapastor Rick Warren admits he's in CFR)
Posted: November 20, 200 1:00 a.m. Eastern
WASHINGTON – Rick Warren, the superstar mega-church pastor and bestselling author of ''The Purpose Driven Life,'' had a Damascus Road experience last week – and like Saul of Tarsus, one of the after-effects appears to be blindness. Warren went to Syria and could find no persecution of Christians. He could find no persecution of Jews. He could find no evidence of extremism. He could find no evidence of the sponsorship of terrorism.
Despite the temporary loss of vision that prevented him from seeing any evil in the totalitarian police state, Warren's hearing was apparently not affected – for his ears were tickled by what he heard and apparently accepted lock, stock and barrel from the second-generation dictator, Bashar Assad, and his state-approved mufti.
(Column continues below)
But that's not the story Warren is telling – at least not in the official press releases he is sending out from Rwanda in response to my confrontations with him last week in which I accused him of betraying his own country in a hostile foreign land and of being a propaganda tool of the Islamo-fascist regime in Damascus.
In fact, after I called him out last week in my column, Warren e-mailed me claiming to have been misquoted by the official Syrian news agency.
''Joseph, why didn't you contact me first and discover the fact that I said nothing of the sort?'' he pleaded. ''The trip was a favor to my next door neighbor, had nothing to do with policy, and was done with the State Department's knowledge – who told us to expect exactly what Syria did – a PR blast. I don't pretend to be a diplomat. I'm a pastor who just gets invited places.''
I pointed out to Warren that WND had indeed attempted to contact him about his trip. No one from his Saddleback Church ever returned our calls the day the story broke.
''I'm sure since you were warned in advance by the State Department that you took the precaution of recording your own words,'' I suggested in my response. ''We look forward to seeing the transcripts or hearing the recordings.''
I also asked if he could respond specifically to the words put in his mouth by the Syrian news agency. And lastly I suggested that he should have ''counseled with me, or other people knowledgeable about the Middle East before doing so much damage with your reckless trip.''
I really didn't expect to hear back from Warren – but, a few minutes later, I did, with an absolutely stunning retort.
He let me know he is a close friend of President Bush ''and many, if not most, of the generals at the Pentagon.''
He also told me he did not tape anything while in Syria, ''because it was a courtesy call, like I do in every country.''
Warren explained that he had also counseled with the National Security Council and the White House, as well as the State Department, before his little courtesy call for a neighbor.
''In fact,'' Warren added, ''as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Oxford Analytica, I might know as much about the Middle East as you.''
He continued: ''I hope you'll not choose to believe Syrian propaganda even though, as you pointed out at the start of your article, you've been wanting to criticize me for some time. In spite of your rush to judgment, I think you write great, insightful columns. You are almost batting 1,000.''
No sooner had I received this surprising response from Warren, I also got an e-mail providing a link to a YouTube video of Rick Warren in Syria explaining how great the Assad regime treats Christians and Jews and how Damascus ''does not permit extremism of any kind.''
Not one to let lies go unchallenged, I wrote back to Warren with a link to the YouTube video: ''If you didn't tape anything, what's this? Do you really believe Syria does not allow extremism of any kind? There are more terrorist organizations based in Syria than anywhere else in the world!''
It might be that Rick Warren, deep in the bush of Rwanda, never received those last questions, because he never responded – at least not in the last three days.
He did, however, within minutes make sure the YouTube video he recorded independent of his meetings with the Syrian brown shirts was removed from the network. Vanished. Kaput. Sterilized. Cleansed.
Stay tuned for more on Rick Warren's ''Agenda-Driven Life'' in the coming days – sponsored, of course, by the Council on Foreign Relations.
Calvinists notions of the script, imho, are fairly wholesale dismissive of the WHOLE counsel of Scripture on such matters.
Not new information re my perspective, I suspect.
I actually checked out World Magazine website. Thank you!
I didn't really mean him specifically. I've just been wondering lately how journalists escape the scrutiny they put ALL other professions through. Not a one of them has to endure the probing they put other people through. Where's the fair play?
I do like a Big Bang with some regularity.
One does have to have some amount of credulity to believe Farah. My girlfriend liked the book though I haven't read it.
However, I wouldn't exactly call her theological beliefs orthodox either.
Actually I'm tempted to join CFR next time they send the info just so I can say "Yes, I am a member and resistance is futile, you will be assimilated." Followed by an evil laugh.
"Hmmmm. We should ask Joe Farrah's ex-wife and daughters if Joe has any credibility himself."
What does this have to do with the fact that Warren's basically working for Assad AND is on the CFR?
These are both newsworthy to say the least, and appear to be credible on their own merits as news items.
I have never forgotten that. You don't hear much about it anymore.
You are right in your decription of him and his followers. A case where he became God to his followers and God was forgotten.
I haven't seen that TV portrayal for awhile, but it seemed pretty accurate.
LOL!
He calls it "casual". I call it disrespectful to God.
As do I. I see he had no problem dressing up for terrorists who want to kill us. And that he kept his feet on the floor out of "respect".
When I was first dating my bride, my pastor suggested we go through the book together. She is Catholic, and I am Lutheran.
We both saw much the same things wrong with it. When I asked my pastor about it, he smiled and said that was why he told us to go through the book. If neither of us caught the problems, we probably needed to be more serious in our faith.
I've never found it surprising that books other than the Bible were flawed.
I learned to spit out the bones early in my reading career.
Probably under 6 years of age.
A few years ago I got a piece of junk mail asking me to subscribe to the CFR magazine. Used to keep it in my desk to show I was part of the "conspiracy". Sad fact is, if you want to rise in power you have to belong to the right groups and clubs.
Thanks for the information about Haggard. I never knew about him either or his take on global warming and voting for Rats. Evidently this guy was messed up completely. Again I say practicing Christians have to be awake during these times of religious confusion. Our only true Shepherd is Jesus Christ.
Aw nuts, now I got to update my scorecard again. Can't we just say the Methodists did it?
Not whether or not He does, but IF God wrote the script, would that be a bad thing, from a Christian's point of view?
I don't like Rick Warren and his ridiculous peace plan. I also think Purpose Driven was missing some key points about sin and judgment. And Rick Warren seems to be on some sort of power trip. However, this CFR consiracy stuff is silly.
Great picture, huh?
Of course, by definition, all God does is RIGHTeous, perfect, etc.
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