Purpose-Driven Socialism
As unpopular as it may be for me to say so, Pastor Rick Warren, author of the best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Life, is another false teacher garbed in sheep’s clothing—and an extremely influential one at that. His website claims he has 500,000 churches plugged into what he’s doing. His books have sold millions of copies. He appears regularly on national television and travels the globe holding and speaking at various conferences. Warren is one of the great change agents of our day. But the change is not necessarily for the better.
As of this writing, Warren sits on the advisory board of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation. That raises the legitimate question: Why would any solid evangelical, Bible-teaching pastor sit on the advisory board of a foundation that seeks to bring the religions of the world together? This is a clear violation of 2 John 9-11 (which we have already discussed) and 2 Corinthians 6:14:
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
From those two verses alone—and I could cite many more—Rick Warren should not be on Blair’s advisory board.
An article in the February 14, 2011, Christian Post, “Rick Warren to interview Tony Blair at Saddleback Church,” announced:
Mega-church pastor, Rick Warren, will speak to former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, on Egypt and peace and a globalized economy next month at Saddleback Church. Warren is expected to award Blair with the Annual International Medal of Peace. The award is given to individuals who exemplify outstanding contribution toward alleviating the five global giants.
Author Roger Oakland and two members of his ministry attended the event at Warren’s church and offered the following report on his website:
At the forum, both Warren and Blair stated that the only way a global peace could happen on planet earth in the future would be for all faiths to work together and do good together. The audience at the forum appeared to be mesmerized and awe-struck as they were wooed with discussion on faith, good works, democracy, and coming together. Beneath the vernacular, however, was another story. During the time that Roger Oakland and his co-researchers were at the Blair/Warren forum at Saddleback this past week, the team only heard one Bible verse mentioned. It was quoted so quickly it was hard to recognize if it was a verse or a paraphrase of a biblical verse. Clearly the Word of God was not included as a crucial element in this inter-faith plan to save the world.
Rick Warren’s endorsement of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation appears on Blair’s website:
I honestly don’t know of anyone better suited for this challenge. It’s why I agreed to serve on the advisory board. The Tony Blair Faith Foundation’s potential for doing good is staggering.
It is also an interesting side note that in The Purpose Driven Life Warren makes positive references to three Fabian socialists. He quotes George Bernard Shaw on page 33, Aldous Huxley on page 248, and Bertrand Russell on page 17. While Warren acknowledges that Russell was an atheist, he quotes him as saying, “Unless you assume a God, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless.” Warren quotes Huxley as saying, “Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you.” And he quotes George Bernard Shaw as writing, “This is the true joy of life: the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clot of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”
“Recognized by yourself as a mighty one”? The Bible says that in our weakness the Lord is strong. In 2 Corinthians 12:9-12 we read:
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
The warning signs have been around for a long time that Rick Warren is someone that the Church should not be following. He is also a member of the one-world-oriented Council on Foreign Relations.
Copyright 2012 ©Brannon Howse. This content is for Situation Room members and is not to be duplicated in any form or uploaded to other websites without the express written permission of Brannon Howse or his legally authorized representative.
