Let's consider a particular scenario: You're a Christian, a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. You have a wife and a family with growing teenagers. Your kids are not doing too well at school, so you decide you want to take them to a motivational coach, who will help them focus on their strengths and get themselves better organised with their school work, etc.
Ok, but then I come along and happen to notice this motivational coach coming to your home. I've done some research on his teaching methods and note, with concern, that he promotes sexual activity as a way to build confidence and 'expand horizons' and he has no qualms about encouraging teenagers and unmarried people to engage in sexual activity. So, I contact you and warn you of the danger of letting this person teach your children. Additionally, I tell others I know of the dangers of accepting this motivational coach into their midst because of his promotion of immorality. You listen to my communication and decide to ignore it because of this person's value as a motivation coach. So, you proceed to bring him in and, sure enough, he tells your children to engage in sexual activity. I and others persist in reminding you of what the Word teaches about sexual purity and that you should not be allowing someone who promotes sexual immorality to teach that to your children. We persist to such a degree that you decide to tell your children about sex and tell them how the Bible defines sex as right and necessary and set within a marriage. Then, however, you start telling them about how some very, very confused Christians - meaning me and others - have been talking against sex and running away from sex, and tell them that there is nothing wrong with sex and they should not be dismayed by such confused people.
Is that a straw man argument or not? Nowhere did any of these "confused" Christians say anything against the Biblical definition of sex. All we did was tell warn you against someone encouraging your children to engage in sex that falls outside of the Biblical definition!! Moreover, since you clearly know what the Biblical definition of sex is, how would you explain how you allow your children to be taught to engage in unbiblical sexual activity?
Yes, I know, that's not a very good parable mainly because I have thoughts stumbling over each other and racing ahead in my mind. But, in essence, this is what the esteemed Rev. Rick Warren has just done.
To recap for the benefit of those of you who're thoroughly mystified, Rick Warren has started his Saddleback church in California on a 'Decade of 'Destiny' and has decided that 2011 will be the year of health and has set up what he calls 'The Daniel Plan' to encourage people to live healthy, eat right, blah, blah. Apparently, none of this has ever been said before, so people don't know that they need to eat right and exercise, etc. It requires Saddleback to make people aware of these things.
Ok, that was a rather pitiful attempt at sarcasm. But, I digress.
Anyway, as part of this 'Daniel Plan' - so called because of Daniel and his friends who, as captives in Babylon, decided to forego the Babylonian king's dainty dishes and lived on a diet of vegetables and fresh water, though he did it to honour God and not to 'be healthy' - he's called in three health experts, three renowned doctors, to teach his church how to be healthy. First of all, none of the doctors are believers. Ok, that's not a big deal. If all they're going to do is tell people how to lose weight by eating right and exercising, can't faut that. But wait - in checking these experts out, what if you find that they promote what is called "holistic" health, which is a euphemism for saying they try to incorporate 'spiritual' health into what they're promoting. But...but, we just noted that none of them are believers, so what 'spiritual' health can they possibly be pushing? Aha! Therein lies the rub. All of these gentlemen promote 'meditation' and laud its benefits. Two of them say 'meditation' AND 'yoga', while one pushes 'meditation'. If you're a believer in Christ, the hair on the back of your neck is standing up just about now. Anyway, several Christians began to question this, including yours truly. Scroll down to look at my first and second letters to Saddleback in this regard and you'll get the rest of the picture.
Suffice to say that these guys have been encouraging 'meditation' and 'yoga', etc to Saddleback, just like they do to the rest of the world. It's not their fault, that's what they do with everyone. At least, they're being true to what they believe and are not being hypocrites, unlike certain 'famous leaders' who will remain unnamed.
That's right, they've been telling the Saddleback church, that's people who say they are believers in Jesus Christ, to 'meditate' and practise yoga. Now this is the eastern kind of mantra meditation, transcendental meditation, the sort of kooky, occultish stuff that most Christians were warned about in Rabindranath Maharaj's book 'Death of a Guru'. This is not 'read the Scriptures and think/ruminate about what you read' meditation, which is what the Bible exhorts us to. This is the real deal - the occult, eastern, weird stuff that's done by hindus and buddhists. In short, nothing that is remotely Christian in essence or practice.
Now, watch the video below and wait for the bit where Rick Warren starts bemoaning the fact that "confused" Christians are whingeing about 'meditation' and running scared every time meditation is mentioned. He then proceeds to explain what biblical meditation and then decries all those 'confused' Christians who don't seem to understand that there is nothing to be worried about in biblical meditation.
Have you seen it yet? Have you seen the problem yet?
Yep, that very little problem - somehow Rick Warren forgets to mention that, despite his actually telling his church what biblical meditation is, this is NOT the same as the meditation his esteemed health panel has been telling his church to adopt! They're worlds apart! Somehow, he tries to make it sound like the critics are all idiots because they're opposing what the Bible does not - oh man! How does this wolf get away with it?? How does he continue to pull the wool over people's eyes?? He sets up a straw man and proceeds to tell his people how the Bible is at odds with the straw man.
Here's what I think, Rick Warren is a tool of judgement upon the church at Saddleback and American Christianity and a lot of the church across the world. I think he is the epitome of the false teacher that people love to gather for themselves today, who tells them what their ears are itching to hear. With the same mouth he teaches truth and lies. Not surprising, since the devil himself knows the Scripture thoroughly. Why wouldn't a man know the scripture and still be a wolf in sheep's clothing - a man who pretends to be a Christian, but is a false teacher par excellence. Because this biblically illiterate and spiritually lazy generation want nothing more than to be stroked and tickled and entertained, God has given them over to delusion, so that they may believe a lie. If you don't believe me, read the Bible.
So, here it is, me nailing my colours to the wall. I'm saying it out loud now. I never have before but this incident forces me to voice it out. Rick Warren is an apostate, false teacher and one of those roundly condemned in the Bible, numbered among the false prophets and teachers that Jesus warned us of in Matthew 24. And his end, and those end of those who follow him blindly, will be destruction, unless he repents.
I'll take militant atheist Richard Dawkins any day over this man. Dawkins says what he believes and sticks by it - there's no middle ground. Rick Warren, on the other hand, is a chameleon, a hypocrite, a liar and a deceiver.
If you have any love for God and the Body of Christ, pray for this man to be saved. Else, he will draw numberless millions into judgement with him. Your friends, your family, your loved ones. Pray, pray without ceasing. Pray for God to have mercy. Jesus said that for such a person who causes others to stumble, it would be better for him to have a millstone tied around his neck and be cast into the sea. His judgement will be terrible.
Even for such as he did Christ shed His blood. While there is still an opportunity for him to repent, pray for Rick Warren and his people in Saddleback, that their eyes be opened and the scales fall away, so that they may see clearly and walk after the Lord Jesus.
Spread the word around to those you care about and urge everyone to test this man and his teachings by the Scriptures.
I await the indignant emails, calls and messages from those eager to protect their 'anointed' leader.
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