No. But I do believe that Faith should be grounded in reason, not feelings, and the whole of the book is based upon warm fuzzies.
Do you think a "what we believe" section of a church website is meant to represent every facet of a church's theology?
Of course not. But I do believe it is evidence that Saddleback Church is a distinct branch under the Protestant umbrella.
Do you think there is any reason why there should be a set of basic principles listed by a church before going into church doctrine and deeper theological issues?
It is always a good idea to start at the top, and then go deeper into things. However, when the next step in going deeper into things (such as a book) is based on feelings, then I don't think it is very deep at all.
Maybe you believe that before someone sets foot in a church, they should read the enire Bible, and throw in a couple of commentaries on each passage while you're at it?
Of course not - but I think such scholarly, rational, and philosophical tracts should be available for those who seek them. And they should be based on facts and reason, not feelings. If someone at Warren's church sought serious intellectual treatment of a given topic, he would have to go towards Calvinism, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Catholicism, Orthodoxy...something with a deep theological reserve.
There are plenty of books on the rational basis for Christianity. PDL was meant to address the emotional longings of people rather than address the intellect. I think it is an important endeavor because people today have been trained to respond primarily to emotion, and must therefore be reached at that level first and be given an emotional call for faith to drive a rational one. Just because a pastor has written a book addressing one facet of faith to a broad audience does not mean he excludes all other more weighty theological tomes.
But I do believe it is evidence that Saddleback Church is a distinct branch under the Protestant umbrella.
The "What we believe" points listed on the website does not exclude doctrine of many branches of Protestant belief. It is a very broad set of statements with which very many churches would agree.
If someone at Warren's church sought serious intellectual treatment of a given topic, he would have to go towards Calvinism, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Catholicism, Orthodoxy...something with a deep theological reserve.
I am sure Saddleback draws from sources older than itself and it seems like they would lean Calvinist from their site. Just because a church is nondenominational does not mean they have a shallow faith. Reading their outreach materials also does not give one a good basis for judging their theology.