11 Sep 2009
I recently received the following email from a church member:
In the recent issue of the Florida Baptist Witness, there was an article about Rick Warren entitled, "Rick Warren asks Muslims for help." I'm wondering about his approach of encouraging Christians and Muslims working together. This seems opposed to what we know about Islam. I'm just curious about your reaction to that article.
If you would like to read the article in the Witness, just click here: RICK WARREN ASKS MUSLIMS FOR HELP. For all of you who are interested in my reply, I've posted it below.
I'm continuously disappointed with Rick Warren's illusionary vision of creating world-wide utopia in this Christ-rejecting world by working together with anti-Christ forces, such as Christ-denouncing Muslims. The "five global giants"—conflict, corruption, poverty, disease and illiteracy—that Rick wishes to vanquish are all inevitable consequences of a fallen world's rebellion against God. How can Rick Warren hope to eliminate this planet's problems by joining forces with those who believe it is an unpardonable sin to confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God? To seek cures for the world's ills with those who are carriers of this earth's fatal disease is the epitome of spiritual insanity.
If I understand my Bible correctly, Warren's job is to preach the Gospel, not solve the world's problems. There is nothing he can do that will better benefit mankind than to devote himself exclusively to preaching Christ, who alone is the hope of the world! By failing to do so, Warren devotes himself to an exercise in futility. For instance, he speaks of joining forces with Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus in order to tackle the world-wide problem of poverty. Yet, our Lord promised that poverty will prove to be a perpetual problem until He returns (Mark 14:7). By teaming up with Christ-rejecting religions can Rick Warren do what Christ not only didn't do during His earthly sojourn, but also vowed would never be done until He returns to the earth?
Now, I'm very much aware of the bountiful biblical admonitions to care for the poor. Our Lord Himself exemplified the importance of ministering to people's physical and temporal needs before addressing their spiritual and eternal need. Still, Christ taught us to minister to the thirsty by giving them a cup of cold water "in His name" (Mark 9:41). He did not teach, as Rick Warren advocates, that we do it in the name of ecumenism, which precludes doing it in Jesus' name, since all other faiths balk at the mere mention of the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9-11).
As Christians, the Bible instructs us to do everything we do in the name of Jesus and for the glory of God (Colossians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 10:31). This includes ministering to the poor. There is simply no way that we can tackle poverty in the name of Jesus or for the glory of God if we do it Rick Warren's way. Warren may make a name for himself as a unifier in a politically correct world, but the name of Jesus won't be magnified. Ecumenism may be encouraged at the expense of the Gospel, but the cause of Christ won't be advanced. Some physical needs may be ministered to, but men's immortal souls will be forfeited. And while religion in general may receive a boost in the world's opinion polls, Christianity in particular will be reduced in the eyes of the world to just another menu item at today's religious smorgasbord. I don’t know about you, but this gives me a serious case of spiritual indigestion.
Don Walton
|
