Jennifer Knapp, Lesbianism, Rick Warren, and Scripture. Oh My!

Rick Warren, in his talk at TED2006, stated (at approx. 21:00 in the video) that “God Smiles when You Be You”. He states a few seconds later that God gets pleasure out of “you being you.”

Friends, there’s a big problem with this message. Rick was speaking to an audience that was primarily non-Christians. Jesus Christ was never mentioned. Instead a humanistic message that “God loves us for being us” was given. This message is not the Gospel, obviously, but the worst part, is that as a Christian pastor, Rick Warren basically just opened the floodgates for any behavior at all. Believers and non-believers alike can now simply do whatever they want, and think (based upon Rick) that God will smile upon them, and receive pleasure from people being whoever they desire to be.

Being a pastor myself, my first thoughts were, “What do Scriptures say about this?” The first passage that came to mind was this:

1Peter 1:14-19: As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, (15) but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; (16) because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” (17) If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; (18) knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, (19) but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

Now let’s take Rick’s message and apply it to Jennifer Knapp, the “Christian” who is now publicly stating that she’s a lesbian.

She appeared on Larry King Live just the other day, and made this statement:

Larry King: You say you’re the happiest you’ve ever been right now?
Jennifer Knapp: I’m pretty darn happy.
Larry King: So you’re glad all of this happened?
Jennifer Knapp: I am not a regretfull person.
Larry King: No, but you feel better?
Jennifer Knapp: I’m… I… I feel blessed to be able to fully be who I am. I love being able to be a musician and part of that process for me as a musician is being open and honest and to not feel like I have to lie or hide anything. I don’t necessarily want to talk about it all the time, but I don’t have to hide it either.

So based on what Rick Warren states, that God takes pleasure in “you being you”, Jennifer is currently being smiled upon by God, and He is taking pleasure in the fact that she is a lesbian.

Huh? How does that work?

Peter, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote “..be holy yourselvces also in all your behavior, because it is written, ‘YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY’”

So which is it? Is Rick right, or is God right? Did God actually mean what he said in Scripture? If so, how does it apply to me? When will the evangelical world wake up and see that Rick Warren’s humanistic man-centered Gospel is at direct odds with what Scripture teaches?

I pray that Jennifer comes to her senses, and that she is “snatched from the fire.” Her behavior and blatant lesbian lifestyle have made herx profession of faith as a Christian into nothing. What a sad commentary this is on the holiness of the church and the lack of biblical discernment on the part of Jennifer.

Be sure to check out Ken Silva’s Apprising.org article here where the videos of Jennifer on Larry King Live are posted.

Facebook Topic Transplant – Scott S. and Belief in God

At the request of Scott S., this page has been removed. Please contact Scott S. personally for info re: his beliefs in God.

- Rob

Transcript of John Piper’s Video of Why He Invited Rick Warren to Speak at the 2010 DG conference

Words mean things.

Recently there’s been a big stir in evangelical circles because John Piper has invited Rick Warren (of Purpose Driven Life fame) to come and speak at the 2010 Desiring God conference. Posts have gone up everywhere. For the sake of helping bring some clarity to the situation, I decided to transcribe the video, so you can not only listen to what John Piper has said, but you can read it.

I’ve tried to separate what Rick was quoted as saying from what John says to minimize confusion. When I can tell the difference, Rick’s words will be italicized.

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Here’s the transcript:

So I made a list… Here’s my list.. talking to him on the telephone two hours ago about what he thinks about a whole group of… of things. So I’ll just give these to you quick ‘cause we could talk about this for half an hour easy.

The bible is totally inerrant, and valuable in every way.

Penal substitution is of the essence of the Gospel, and the Steve Chalk approach that says “God’s pouring out his punishment on His own Son to free us as divine child abuse” is just horrific to Rick Warren. It’s absolutely essential that we get substitution right in the Gospel.

God is sovereign and central over all of life. I.. I think Rick Warren meant it when he began the Purpose Driven life with “It’s not about you. Anybody wants to know why he’s on the planet must being with God.” That’s page one of day one on… in the Purpose Driven Life.

“People are lost. They’re going to Hell. I am not a universalist” he said. “I’m an evangelist.” What drives my life is Matthew 24:14: “This gospel must be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations and then the end will come.”

Uh, He’s a baptist. That’s relatively insignificant to me, but a little… little icing on the cake, that it’s a Southern Baptist church out there though they don’t wave that banner.

What would you think he would believe about women elders? He’s just totally there as far as the… the office of elder is concerned.

“We don’t have ‘em”, he said. “Can’t find it in the Bible. Women have all the spiritual gifts and they have all the… the gifts of pasturing but as far as the office of pastor, the office of elder goes,” he says, “the bible says it shouldn’t happen. I’m committed to the bible. Therefore we’re not gonna go there.”

Uh, repentance: He’s been criticized for not highlighting repentance in the purpose Driven life and the way he would explain it is to say:

“I totally believe in the… the necessity of… of repentance and I totally am committed to the call for repentance though I may not use the word as often as some would want me to. So, check out the reality if not… if not the language.”

Emergent church: “Brian McLaren’s new book: Off the charts… uh, old fashioned liberalism. It’s as Raushenbush boil… boiled over, warmed over,” he.. he said. “I’m not emergent.”

I could even tell you other things he said he’s not but that… that might offend uh… too many people.

Uhm, memorize Scripture every week. Preaches for an hour. Doesn’t do any drama in worship. Plants a church a year. Uh, rejects the Prosperity Gospel. ZERO FAITH in politics, and he gave me a long and elaborate explanation for why he did the inaugural prayer, and I don’t… I don’t  think it would right for me to share how he made that decision but he hasn’t talked to Barak Obama since that and has no desire to be putting his faith in politics.

He said: “I… I…If… if… if politics were the way to change world I’d be a politician. The only thing that’s gonna change the world is changing peoples’ hearts through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

And on and on, so I… I’m uh… I’m uh… I need … I’m gonna need help to know why I should feel bad about this decision. (Laughs)

Uh, because let me put it out: One… One… one bigger, one bigger, uh  context: If you see a man do things that you wouldn’t do, if you see him express attitudes that you wouldn’t have. Uh, if he has strategies in ministry that you wouldn’t do, what’re you going to do with that? How do you rank up who you’re gonna hang out with and in what ways you’re gonna hang out? And who are you gonna criticize and who you’re not gonna criticize?

And uhm… I’m real eager that this glorious thing God is doing in the young, restless, reformed, whatever uh this this thing is called that God’s doing – awakening people’s love for the supremacy of God in all things – I’m real eager that that not become a… a brittle, narrow, ugly, excessively separatist movement and so I am not devoting my life to finding a lot of enemies to attack. I’ve got some and I like to do it by simply hammering on truth. I… I’m gonna hammer on truth.

In fact I said it to Rick, I said “OK, if you come, how about you and I do a uhh… ohh what do you call it… interview for an hour or so, and we’ll do this kind of thing right here, and I will put…”

He said: “In a heartbeat! No holds barred. Ask me anything you want theologically about anything.”

So I hope we can fit that in and fold that in, we’ll see if that’ll work in the conference.

Separatism or uh, who you do things with is… is an important, Biblical question. And so I… I don’t put Rick Warren in the group that I am gonna hold at arm’s distance.

On… On the Calvinism thing, on Reformed Theology he said, “I got… I got, I need to tweak. I need to tweak some traditional ways of talking about total depravity.” Well, every time I hear any reformed person talk about total depravity they… they tweak it, saying like… things like “Uh, We could do more bad things than we do. So it doesn’t mean total in that way.”

And he said “I’m stumbling over limited atonement because of some texts.”

Well, I got some really close Reformed friends who stumble there. I told David here on the way over, I said “Rick if you’ll give me a half an hour I could persuade you on limited atonement. I know I could.” So I’ll try to get that… that half an hour.

But as far as election, as far as the irresistibility of God’s grace, as far as His keeping power in the substitutionary atonement, the necessity of justification by faith, these central things – We’re there, and I’m not gonna push somebody like that away when they’ve got so much to offer.

Practically, and here I just think he could put me to shame with his aggressively, in-your-life, transformative discipling of his church. Uh, they have a membership covenant that you have to sign, and it is really rigorous and there are no inactive members and he said, “We discipline people in this church. They don’t fulfill their covenant? They’re gonna be disciplined.” And on and on.

So uh, I am not gonna draw the circle there and suppose you disagree with me on that. Now you’re face with the question: “OK, I’m with John Piper theologically. I’m not with Rick Warren on a bunch of things. John Piper has just chosen to hang out with Rick Warren. What do I do with John Piper?” That’s called secondary separation issues. And there you are. I hope… I hope we can disagree about WHO we hang out with. OK? Because a lot of traditional fundamentalists have said “No, if you hang out with somebody that I believe I should separate from, then I’m gonna separate from you.”

And I wanna say: Look. Let’s… Can we disagree about whether he would come to your conference and you still be willing to eat with me, talk with me? So I would encourage you to think through that issue of secondary separation.

The way I have chosen to live my life for the sake of reformed theology and the supremacy of God, and the inerrancy of Bible, and the importance of solid Reformation Gospel truths, the five Solas and so on, is to give all my energy to putting them in a positive, aggressively, uh, spreadable form, NOT to spend my time shooting at the people who don’t like them. And uh, at age 64 looking back over the years I think I have uh, got some work to do with my marriage, and my kids, and my soul, but I do not regret that approach to.. to Reformation advance.