Rick Warren and His Pragmatic Approach to Everything

Over at the JewishJournal.com, the following article on Rick Warren was published today:

Religious Leaders Meet for Interfaith Dialogue at Sinai Temple

As extensive security and police cruisers guarded the entrance, Rabbi David Wolpe, Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church, Najeeba Syeed-Miller, CEO of the Center for Civic Engagement and Dialogue, and Reverend Cecil “Chip” Murray, retired pastor of First AME Church came together at Sinai Temple in Westwood on Tuesday, April 20 for an interfaith dialogue in honor of the 62nd anniversary of Israel’s independence. Moderated by Tavis Smiley, PBS National Talk Show host, the event was also hosted by America Jewish Committee (AJC).

During the hour-long dialogue, Smiley directed pointed questions to each of the guests. Without shying away from the difficult issues, Smiley pressed them on questions of church and state, the value of inter-religious dialogue, and the reality of what could be accomplished through events like this.

Mentioning the introduction by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel of Martin Luther King prior to King’s “I Have a Dream” speech nearly 40 years ago, Smiley asked the group to address the fact that “it seems like this kind of inter-religious dialogue has been going on for years.”

“I could suggest that the evidence suggests that it ain’t yielding a whole lot,” he said.

In response, Warren was frank: “I don’t think that dialogue has a very good track record, but working together does have a good track record. I don’t think you have to agree to get things done.”

Throughout the evening, a common theme was how to find issues upon which people of different faiths can agree, and therefore on which they can work together. The most important aspect of any interfaith effort, all panelists agreed, was that those involved treat one another with more than just tolerance, but respect, and even love.

“Tolerance is, you have your opinion, it’s wrong, but I’m not going to hurt you for it,” Wolpe said. “Love is, you have something to teach me, I have something to teach you, we have a connection that goes deeper even than our teaching. I see in you another image of God.”

Not only did this group talk on how people of different faiths can agree, but there were also prayer in multiple languages.

Did you notice that Rick went straight for the pragmatic jugular of working together? As Ken Silva at Apprising.org says in his piece “Rick Warren and Purpose Driven Roman Catholics” (concerning Rick Warren’s chameleon-like ability to change his colors):

…and this, yet again, is Warren professing to believe one thing and actually doing something else. So as I answer Dr. Piper’s request for “help to know why I should feel bad about this decision” I’ll tell you that the above would place Rick Warren, at the very least since it concerns a matter as central to the historic Christian faith as the Gospel of Jesus Christ, right here in Scripture — he is a double-minded man, which then makes him unstable in all his ways (James 1:8).

Rick is compromising the Word of God:

2 Corinthians 6:14-15 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? (15) Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

Yes, I understand that feeding the hungry, helping the poor, doing justice to those wronged are all Christian works, but where does Scripture say that we must yoke ourselves up to unbelievers to do it?

We don’t read where Rick, when given the opportunity, witnessed to these folks. Where is his concern and compassion for the LOST that were sitting in the room with him? Oh, that Rick would repent, and worship Christ alone! Then he would present the Gospel like a man of God, not a man-pleaser who downplays the very thing that makes us different from Jews, Muslims, and others of various faiths.

Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.