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Rick Warren: Fundamentalism... "one of the big enemies..."
True
or not?
Steven Colbert Interview: "Are you a fundamentalist preacher?"
Rick Warren: "No. A fundamentalist is somebody who stops listening. There are
fundamentalist Christians, fundamentalist Jews, fundamentalist Muslism,
fundamentalist atheist, fundamentalist Secularist.... Its an attitude that
doesn't listen to anyone else."
"God get's enjoyment out of watching you be you.
[-speaking to Colbert turns
God's Word into jokes] ... When my children
were little, I used to watch them sleep at night.... I got so much pleasure out
that, cause I made them. I'm their Daddy.... When you be you, God looks
down and He goes, 'That's my boy!'" ...
[Even if you're not "born again" into His family?]
Colbert: "If you ask Jesus to come into your life, will he?"
Rick Warren: "Absolutely.
[Even if you've never been
convicted of sins, learned about the Biblical Jesus,
repented, or heard the true whole Gospel?]
This preview was prompted by the following
note from Lighthouse
Trails Research Project:
January 10, 2006: According to a
news story
in the January 8th edition of the Philadelphia
Inquirer, Rick Warren says Christian fundamentalism will be an enemy
of the 21st century.
Excerpt from article:
"Warren
predicts that fundamentalism, of all
varieties, will be 'one of the big enemies of the
21st century.'
... 'Muslim
fundamentalism, Christian fundamentalism, Jewish fundamentalism,
secular fundamentalism - they're all motivated by fear. Fear of each
other.'" ["The purpose-driven pastor"]
What does Rick Warren define Christian Fundamentalism to be?
In a
May 2005 interview
between Rick Warren and the Pew Forum on
Religion, Warren stated:
"Today there really aren't that many Fundamentalists left; I don't
know if you know that or not, but they are such a minority; there
aren't that many Fundamentalists left in America ... Now the word
'fundamentalist' actually comes from a document in the 1920s called
the
Five Fundamentals of the Faith. And it is a very legalistic,
narrow view of Christianity." Quote by Rick Warren, May 2005
What are those Five Fundamentals of the Faith?
[From
www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/pewreligion.htm#fundamentals]
1. The Deity of our
Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:1; John 20:28; Hebrews
1:8-9).
2. The Virgin Birth
(Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:27).
3. The Blood
Atonement (Acts 20:28; Romans 3:25, 5:9; Ephesians
1:7; Hebrews 9:12-14).
4. The Bodily
Resurrection (Luke 24:36-46; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4,
15:14-15).
5. The inerrancy of
the scriptures themselves (Psalms 12:6-7; Romans
15:4; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20).
See also
Spirit-Led or Purpose-Driven?
Part 4: Dealing with Resisters:
"When a human
body is out of balance we call that disease.... Likewise, when
the body of Christ becomes unbalanced, disease occurs.... Health
will occur only when everything is brought back into balance. The task of church
leadership is to discover and remove growth-restricting diseases
and barriers so that natural, normal growth can occur."
Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, page 16.
Scott Peck, famed author of
The Road Less Traveled,
used the same analogy. "There's a term
therapists use; it's 'resistance,'" he wrote in Reflections on
Leadership, "which refers to people who don't like to or want to be
healed or converted, so they resist."[5,
page 92]
Yes, those who trust the fundamental
truths in God's Word for guidance will look like enemies to church leaders who demand
conformity to man's social guidelines. Those who
refuse to compromise their faith cannot share the global vision for
pluralistic solidarity. Unwilling to set aside
God's "divisive" old truths, they cannot march to the drum beat of
facilitators trained to
manipulate minds and mold collective thinkers.
Here are a few links and summaries
that expose the conflict and confusion that surround the word
"fundamentalism." The first link offers a Biblical definition and
explanation. The others expose the world's hatred for Biblical truth:
Are We Fundamentalists? There
are now two kinds of evangelical.... The old is the authentic, biblical position. The new is far off the track, not
in its basic view of salvation, but in its readiness to compromise with doctrinal
error and worldly ways. The new is selling the faith for earthly respect and
recognition... and churches are being ruined.
"Today, old-style evangelicals are in the
minority.... This booklet attempts to give a clear picture of the present alarming
scene, in order to encourage believers to take a clear stand.
"Old -style evangelicals are often called fundamentalists,
particularly in the USA. New -style evangelicals adopted the term, 'new evangelical'
to describe themselves in the 1950s. ...We are told that the fundamentalist label was
first coined in America in 1920 to describe militant evangelicals. ... It would be
fairer to say that fundamentalist is someone who cares about the defense and
preservation of the Gospel..."
More
Postmodernism and
You: "To
the majority of Americans below fifty today, questioning the
truthfulness of another's religious views is intolerant and
morally offensive. This
prohibition against
differing with other's viewpoints
is postmodern. Strangely, it turns out that one exception is
allowed.... it's okay to question and even denounce religious
views when dealing with what is pejoratively labeled
'fundamentalism.' Today, when people refer to 'fundamentalists'
they no longer mean just religious extremists like the Shiites
waging holy war against the West. Today, fundamentalism may
refer to anyone who claims to know truth
or who charges another religion with falsehood."
See
Modern versus Postmodern Culture
Ministries will Restructure, as will Churches, Businesses, Individuals, and
Families:
"While preparing to minister in Dallas on January 5, I heard the Holy Spirit very clearly say,
'Tell them...' I quickly grabbed a pen and wrote the following as it was given to me:
"'Opposition to the apostolic and prophetic
will also be the greatest this year.' He is going to expose
wineskins (new or old) and religious spirits, taking off the masks
of those who oppose His move. Those who refuse to move in current
truth will begin to openly criticize leaders in the Body of
Christ that are moving in the flow of the apostolic and the
prophetic. Some have been doing so in a very subtle way, but this
year, it will become obvious. When they do, God is going to begin to
judge them....
"'I must bring further changing of paradigms, not
just to those who have not been moving in the flow of My Spirit, but
even to those who are in the flow of My Spirit.' I heard Him say,
"Restructure, Restructure, Restructure."
"Ministries will restructure, churches will
restructure, businesses will restructure, individuals will
restructure (the way they do things, their time, the way they think,
and the way they operate), and families will restructure.
"Teaching on the kingdom of God will bring about great
changes of paradigms, taking us back to the original mandate of
Genesis.... Kingdom theology is going to be at the forefront."
Fundamentalism
Education Project
(link apparently obsolete): "The growing influence of
fundamentalist religious movements poses a challenge to our
mainstream religious communities, civic freedoms, and our safety
and well-being. This phenomenon is of concern to mainstream
religious leaders and their congregations because
fundamentalists create sharp divisions among communities of
faith.... Religious clergy and lay people have immense interest
in understanding and exposing how fundamentalists distort the inclusive messages within Christianity, Judaism, and
Islam...
"Understanding
and countering this phenomenon is important for all of
us.... The Texas Faith Network is organizing the Fundamentalism
Education Project to provide resources for clergy, lay people,
activists and others about religious fundamentalism, and to
energize and organize religious leaders to rightfully reclaim
the compassionate and tolerant foundations within their
respective religious traditions."
This fits right
into
UNESCO's
Declaration on the role of religion.
Bush, Gorbachev, Shultz and Soviet Education: "'There really
is only one sin--separateness,' Corinne McLaughlin states in her
book. '...war is more likely to spring from rampant nationalism,
ethnocentrism, and intolerant religious fundamentalism -- all
extreme and separative attitudes.... [A} primary cause of the
earth's suffering is that humanity is caught in the illusion of
separation.... What is needed as a cure for separateness is a
deep sense of community -- that we're all in this together.'
Mikhail Gorbachev shares her contempt for nationalism and
religious fundamentalism, i.e. Biblical Christianity."
Why 9-11?
"...after the Oklahoma City bombing and after the downing of TWA
Flight 800, the Clinton administration's FBI put out a report on
terrorism. It was called Project Megiddo. And it explained...
that right-wing Christian
terrorists posed the gravest danger to the republic
and were most likely to incite violence in the months and years
ahead.... Right-wing Christians were the perceived
threat. They were the enemy. Islamists got short shrift in the
FBI report."
John 16:2
and
Preparing for
Persecution
The UN
Plan for Your Mental Health :
"Children who refuse to conform may be considered handicapped.
According to a Teacher Training Manual from the National
Training Institute for Applied Behavioral Science, 'Although
they appear to behave appropriately and seem normal by most
cultural standards, they may actually be in need of mental
health care in order to help them change, adapt, and conform to
the planned society in which there will be no conflict of
attitudes or beliefs.'"
Anarchist website
targets Christians:
"The American Family Association is likened to Afghanistan's
fundamentalist Taliban movement at the website infoshop.org,
which describes itself as 'your online anarchist community.'...
It invites visitors to 'join us as we kick some dirt into their
graves, burying their hideous fascism once and for all.'"
Matt 24:9
Redefining 'terrorism' threatens our liberty: "In the Dec.
17 Newsweek, Anna Quindlen draws first blood in her column 'The
Terrorists Here at Home.' What 'terrorists' does she refer to?
Abortion opponents, whom she characterizes as ultraviolent.
Quindlen writes: 'There's no real ideological difference between
these people and the people who flew planes into the World Trade
Center....' By blurry implication, she tars the entire pro-life
movement as violent."
Luke 6:22-23
Christianity Under Siege: The Stones Cry Out: "Around the
world, Christians not only are being subjected to name calling,
they also are being denied basic rights. They are being killed
or forcibly converted to Islam. In the United States they are
one way or another being forced to convert to a brand of secular
humanism gleaned from
Hegel,
Marx, Freud,
Marcuse,
Gramsci,
Dewey, Maslow, Rogers and
Darwin and the entire pantheon of
secular gods. If they are not converted, they are silenced in a
thousand subtle and not so subtle ways. ..."
See
Preparing for Persecution,
Luke 6:22-23
and
The Mainstream Media
Christians a 'hate group'
(link apparently obsolete): "Much of the manual prepared by
President Bill Clinton's attorney general, already used to
indoctrinate an untold number of law enforcement agencies in
this state, has stirred disquiet in the ranks of the West
Virginia Family Foundation.... Under 'hate group ideology'
identification, for instance, it is written, 'Homophobia
recently has been added to their agenda.' ...The same section
identifies some hate-mongers as those who 'blame the federal
government, an international Jewish conspiracy or communism for
most of this country's problems.'
"Another catch phrase which has crept into the vocabulary
of hate crime law advocates is 'domestic
terrorism.' An 8-hour course, billboarded on the West
Virginia State Police Academy, is titled simply 'Domestic
Terrorism,' and topics advertised are 'philosophies
of hate and anti-government groups,' and threats such people
pose."
See
Clinton's War on Hate Bans
Christian Values
The Enemy of
The People?
(After Oklahoma Bombing) "Day
after day, the media's accusing pens pointed to suspected foes of American
togetherness -- those whose 'enraged rhetoric' had created a national 'climate
of hate and paranoia.' ... 'Their coalition," said
Time, 'included well known-elements of far-right thought: tax protesters,
Christian homeschoolers, conspiracy theorists...' All were implicated, for all had questioned the
government's growing control over local schools, private property, and
personal lives.'...
"We shouldn't be surprised. The Bible tells us that
'the
whole world is under the control of the evil one,' and he has always
despised God and His people. Today, as our culture shifts to the
global paradigm, political and educational 'change agents' are
turning biblical values upside down.
"Emotional appeals work.
It's easier to shout, 'Stop
spreading hate!' than to encourage rational debate. It's more effective to discredit
discerning citizens by linking them to violent anarchists than to give factual answers
to legitimate questions. It's quicker to invalidate unwanted information by tying it to
wild speculations than to provide honest responses -- especially when facts and truth would
undermine the planned transformation.
"History has shown that nothing crushes well-informed
resistance faster than well-planned disinformation and false accusations. Nothing
unifies a nation faster than a common enemy.
Hitler knew those lessons well. He had watched the
Bolshevik Revolution. His book, Mein Kampf, explains the winning strategies to any
future revolutionary. Notice his insight into group psychology:
-
'The art of truly great
popular leaders in all ages has consisted chiefly in not distracting the attention of
the people, but concentrating always on a single adversary.... It is part of a great
leader's genius to make even widely separated adversaries appear as if they belonged to
one category, because... the recognition of various enemies all too easily marks the
beginning of doubt of one's own rightness.'
"Hitler focused his fury on an influential, well
educated ethnic group whose religious beliefs opposed his own. "It was a stroke of
genius on the part of Hitler to find this common denominator in the Jew,' explains the
Encyclopaedia Britannica. 'This enabled him to discover the Jew behind all his changing
adversaries... in short, behind everybody and everything that at a given moment opposed
his wishes or aroused his wrath.'"
See
Preparing
for Persecution
From
Mary Thompson:
"...'absolutism] in the pursuit against
'absolutism/fundamentalism' is a contradiction in terms which
seems to escape them. By lumping every profession of faith,
without discernment, they create another form of absolutism of
their own making. Their 'fundamentalism' is the denial of the
existence of absolute Truth itself. They will use any militant
'ism' in the quest to denigrate fundamental Christianity, the
real target."
Megashift
(by Jim Rutz): "Pew warmers are passé. They're stuck at half past yesterday
and simply are not ready for the high demands of the current explosion."
Page
87
"Why should we keep changing? Because the world is
changing daily.... Old wineskins simply will not hold new wine."
142
Finally,
a memorable warning by Rev. Dr. Martin Niemoeller, written July 1, 1937.
Niemoeller, a committed Christian pastor who refused to conform to
Hitler's rules for churches, was arrested by the Third Reich and
probably tortured and killed within its cruel system for punishing
dissenters.
"In
Germany, they came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up
because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I
didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the Trade
Unionist, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I
was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time, no one
was left to speak up."
For encouragement, read
The Loneliness of the Christian
"If
you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you
are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world
hates you.... If they persecuted Me they will
persecute you... for they do not know the One who sent Me."
John 15:19-21
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