08.18.06

The ‘OPEN THEISM’ of Rick Warren

Posted in All, Theology, In The News... at 8:18 pm by Pastor Bill

Perhaps you caught the interview on fox news with Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback community church regarding the Jonbenet Ramsey case. He was fielding questions from the audience about the ‘why’ of pain and suffering in our world. It was sad and disturbing to say the least, hearing his explanations for these events. The show opened to thunderous applause as the host asked “Can Rick Warren change the world”…to which Rick neither denied or affirmed, unfortunately.

Rick obviously doesn’t believe in the sovereignty of God, that God ordains all that happens, or that God can stop evil from happening in our world. He said “Not everything that happens in the world is God’s will.” “If I get drunk and drive over somebody and they die, that’s not God’s will, that was my will.” Apparently he believes that God is not in control of when and how people die. He made a big point that evil is never God’s will or plan or purpose. Has Rick forgotton what GOD has said in the Bible? God said in Isiah 45:7, “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster, I, the Lord, do all these things”.

Rick doesn’t believe that God brings disaster, even though God has clearly said that he does, and uses them to fulfill his purposes. Rick says that events like 9-11 “is only a result of bad choices…it happened not because God planned those things but because He gave us freedom to choose.”

The saddest result of the interview was the numerous times they threw him a hanging curveball, a great opportunity to explain the gospel, the need for every person to confess sin and trust in Jesus as savior, and he never went there. When someone asked him “how do we stay happy, keep happiness around us when all this bad stuff is going on?” Rick said you “only need to realize that God’s purpose (his book for sale) is greater than any pain you go thru.” So much for the gospel. But should we really be surprised?

Fortunately, God is clear that He is maker and owner of the universe. He has planned our existence from eternity past. He is not a puppet on our strings, that we can manipulate by our own choices. He reveals that our problems come not from ‘bad choices’ but from the sin that is in our hearts and lives. We are controlled by sin, our master, until God rescues us by saving us through His grace, through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, and giving us faith to receive this forgiveness and pardon through Jesus alone.

Lord, please raise up men who will speak up for you with honest reliance upon your word, instead of their own philosophies and man-centered religion. And let us listen to them when they preach your word and message.

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08.01.06

“A CHURCH FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T LIKE ………………..CHURCH”????????

Posted in All, In The News... at 4:51 pm by Pastor Bill

What’s up with that? Perhaps you’ve seen those billboards advertising a new ‘breed’ of church and Christianity. Often times they use slogans like ‘Blue jeans, coffee and guitars’ as a hook to bring the people in. Their not so subtle point is that they are rejecting anything that smacks of ‘religion’, and want people to come into their church who ‘don’t like the way church has been done lately’.

I’m sure their intentions are good, but they seem to be missing the point. I believe that they are correct in seeking to worship God without all the religious trappings or ceremonies or standards that are man-made. There has been way too much of that in almost every denomination. Often, ‘religion’ can get in the way of finding Christ and entering into a true relationship with God.

But there is also something seriously wrong with believers who don’t LOVE church, and an equally serious flaw in expecting ‘unsaved’ people to ‘enjoy’ church… Read the rest of this entry »

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