By Jon Taylor
Background and Context
Some of the recent statements and inter-faith projects that Rick Warren has been involved in have led evangelicals to question whether Rick Warren is promoting Chrislam. His choice of words pertaining to who God is in his prayer at the inauguration of President Obama, the controversial signing of the Yale Centre for Faith and Culture ‘Love God and Neighbour document’, his decision to use a Muslim doctor in relation to his ‘Daniel Plan’ programme at Saddleback Church, plus his address at the Islamic Society of North America Conference, have led some to that conclusion.
On the 20th June this year, the American internet newspaper ‘Huffpost’ reported the following.
‘(RNS) Jack Van Impe, a popular End Times broadcaster, has ended his decades-long run on Trinity Broadcasting Network after a dispute over naming ministers that he accuses of mixing Christian and Muslim beliefs.
Earlier this month, Van Impe named California megachurch founders Rick Warren and Robert H. Schuller as proponents of “Chrislam”, which he defined as “a uniting of Christianity with Islam.” TBN pulled the episode before a repeat broadcast could air.’ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/20/van-impe-rick-warren-robert-schuller_n_880741.html
Chrislam originated in Lagos, Nigeria. Approximately half of the population profess some form of Christian belief whilst the other half are Muslim. In addition to widespread corruption and socio- economic problems, there has been a history of hostility and bloodshed. Chrislam’s advocates therefore seek to emphasize the similarities between the two faiths in an effort to unite the worshippers and bring a cessation to the conflict.
Pastor Shamsuddin Saka was formerly Muslim, though when he returned from a hajj pilgrimage to Mecca almost two decades ago, as he was praying and lying down, he believed the Lord told him to “Make peace between Christian and Muslim”.http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/february-13-2009/chrislam/2236/
He has attempted to do exactly that by holding Chrislam services at his centre of worship where both the Bible and the Quran are preached from. Saka insists that Abraham has many sons and stresses that the Bible and Quran teach the importance of loving your neighbour. Services combine elements of Islam and Christianity and for want of a better description they have been described as Islamic Pentecostalism. More recently on June 26th 2011, Chrislam services were celebrated in over sixty churches across the United States.
Rick Warren has readily confirmed that he has not been promoting Chrislam. Geoff Suratt, Pastor of Church Planting at Saddleback Church and Brandon Cox, Planter of Grace Hills Church, Arkansas have both rallied to Warren’s defence by publishing their refutations online. Those statements and Rick Warren’s comments will be examined later. Firstly though, the issues and events leading up to the controversy will be evaluated. Following that, the three statements will be presented and then conclusions will be drawn thereafter.
Are Yahweh and Allah one and the same? This question is of great significance since confusion has arisen as to whether Allah is the name that Arab Christians should use to worship the God of the Bible. Furthermore Muslims themselves believe that the God of the Qur’an is the God of the Bible.
‘And dispute ye not with the People of the Book, except with means better (than mere disputation), unless it be with those of them who inflict wrong (and injury); but say, ‘We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to you; our God and your God is One; and it is to Him we bow (in Islam.’ (Surah 29:46)
No doubt some will contend that if you examine the derivatives of the terms used to describe God then the name prescribed is merely a matter of semantics. Others are convinced that one’s intention to worship the One true God overrides the academic pursuit of defining God’s name in a theologically accurate way. However, there are major differences which are irreconcilable.
Firstly, Allah is unknowable whereas Yahweh is knowable.
Jeremiah 9:24: ‘But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, exercising loving kindness, judgement, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight says the LORD.’
John 10:14: ‘I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.’
2 Timothy 1:12 ‘For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.’
1 John 4:7 ‘Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.’
Secondly, none of Allah’s ninety nine names or attributes involves love, whereas the Bible clearly teaches that God is love.
In relation to the first point it is a tall order for someone to love a person that they do not know and to know someone intimately that they do not love.
If God was singular (one person) then He would have been narcissistic prior to creating any other beings. God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son to die in our place and God requires that we must love one another (John 3:16, 1 John 4:7-8).
Thirdly, great controversy has arisen surrounding the root of the name ‘Allah’
This has led some to argue that it is in fact fair minded and gracious to allow Arab Christians to refer to the God of the Bible as Allah and even include the same in their translation of the Scriptures.
There are those who maintain that ‘Allah’ is remarkably similar to the Hebrew title ‘Eloah’ the singular form of Elohim meaning Mighty, One, Strength. Others correctly confirm that ‘God’ is a pagan term used in Bibles also.
However Elohim is used to refer not only to the Creator but also rulers, messengers and persons (Psalm 82). In Hebrew religious usage, neither of these terms denotes a name, but simply a title. The name Allah more than likely originates from the Sumerian moon god, the chief god of the Kaaba. Evidence for that is the widespread usage of moons on minarets, mosques and Islamic flags.
Whilst the term ‘God’ is used frequently by the majority of Biblical Christians in English speaking countries, as the French may use Dieu or the Spanish Dios, God’s actual name indisputably relates to the tetragramme YHWH. ‘Allah’ means ‘the God’ whilst Yahweh is derived from the verb ‘to be’. YHWH is I AM because He is self-existing, in other words always was, is and always will be. This was also confirmed to Moses at Mount Horeb where the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob declared that is His name forever and would be a memorial to all generations (Exod. 3:14-15).
Every time ‘the LORD’ is rendered in the Bible it relates to YHWH. Notwithstanding, YHWH even confirms to us in His word exactly what His name is and the fact that He is not willing to have His glory shared with anyone else. ‘I am the LORD, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another,’ (Isaiah 42:8)
Fourthly, Allah is singular whilst the Godhead contains Father, Son and Spirit
Muslims deny that Jesus died on the cross and rose again. The underlying issue is that all Christian-type cults and also Islam deny the deity of Jesus and that He is the Messiah and equal with the Father. The Bible consistently affirms the equality of the Son with the Father (John 1:1, 5:18, Phil. 2:5-6, Col. 1:15-18) and John gives us the litmus test to discern whether a spirit is from God:
‘By this you know the Spirit of God: Every Spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every Spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.’ (1 John 4:2-3)
The Inauguration Prayer Rick Warren accepted an invitation to pray for President Obama at his inauguration on the 20th January 2009. Two sections of that prayer resulted in controversy because of the connection with Islam. The first relates to how he commenced his prayer by using the words ‘And you are the compassionate and merciful one.’ Please click on the link provided immediately below this quote to view the prayer in its entirety.
‘Let us pray.
Almighty God, our Father, everything we see and everything we can’t see exists because of you alone. It all comes from you. It all belongs to you. It all exists for your glory.
History is your story. The Scripture tells us, “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is One.” And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.’ http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctpolitics/2009/01/rick_warrens_in.html
This prayer seems to open in a typically evangelical sense and Warren quotes the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is One” But then there is an affirmation of identity to the ‘compassionate and merciful one’. One may think that this relates to Yahweh and that Warren may have been referring to Psalm 103:8 ‘The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.’ Or maybe he was quoting a more well-known verse often set to lyrics ‘The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy.’ from Psalm 145:8?
However, in the Qur’an, in every one of the one hundred and fourteen Surah’s except Surah nine, between the title of the Surah and the opening verse is inserted the words ‘In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful’ . The specific words uttered suggest recognition of the Bible but also a possible reference to Allah. Furthermore, it is recited several times a day during prayers.
At this stage some people would suspect a hidden agenda by subtly syncretising Christianity with Islam. Others may think that it was an unfortunate selection of words and when one considers how individuals will obviously pick up on the glaring similarity with the vocabulary mentioned here compared with that of the Qur’an and the daily prayers in the Mosque, it is little more than coincidence. Or maybe it was a genuine affirmation of the God of the Bible, based on the Psalms and the fact that there are some similarities between the two faiths this was merely a semantic confusion and it wouldn’t be necessary to read into it any further.
In the penultimate paragraph and before closing with the Lord’s Prayer, Warren petitions to Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus) and Jesus (but with a Spanish pronunciation) and also includes the name used for Jesus in the Qur’an ‘Isa’.
‘I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus, who taught us to pray:’ http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctpolitics/2009/01/rick_warrens_in.html
The problem is clearly that the doctrine concerning Isa in the Qur’an is markedly different to Jesus in the Bible. According to the Qur’an, Jesus was a prophet, but not God and neither died on the cross nor resurrected from the grave. Remember Paul warned the Corinthians ‘And if Christ is not risen then your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.’ (1 Cor. 15:17). Clearly the Jesus depicted in the Qur’an is irreconcilable with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Bible. It is therefore not appropriate for a Christian, regardless of nationality or culture, to pray in the name of Isa, for the same reason that it would be wrong for an Arab Christian to pray to Allah. A Muslim would understand praying in the name of Isa as relating to their understanding of who Jesus is from the Qur’an. In fairness, and at this point however, although there is a possible case to suggest that Christianity is being either merged purposefully or accidently with Islam, since the God of the Bible and the God of Islam are not the same, other events will be investigated to develop a fuller picture of what Warren actually endorses.
A Common Word Between Us and You
Rick Warren was also one of many prominent Christian leaders who signed a document promoting good will between Christians and Muslims, written by scholars at Yale Divinity School for Faith and Culture and also published in the New York Times.
On October 13, 2007, on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, 138 Muslim scholars and clerics sent an open letter “to leaders of Christian churches, everywhere.” The signatories to that letter, titled A Common Word Between Us and You, include top leaders from around the world representing every major school of Islamic thought. http://www.yale.edu/divinity/news/071118_news_nytimes.pdf
This time, on the penultimate line in the second paragraph, there is an unmistakeable reference asking forgiveness from the ‘All Merciful One’ and the Muslim community from around the world. Again, to refer to the full text, please click on the link immediately under the highlighted section below. The parallel between the chief proponent of Chrislam, Shamsuddin Saka, and his ‘loving your neighbour’ teachings and the document provided below draw a striking resemblance.
“LOVING GOD AND NEIGHBOUR TOGETHER
A Christian Response to
‘A Common Word Between Us and You’”
In the name of the Infinitely Good God whom we should love with all our Being
Preamble
As members of the worldwide Christian community, we were deeply encouraged and challenged by the recent historic open letter signed by 138 leading Muslim scholars, clerics, and intellectuals from around the world. A Common Word Between Us and You identifies some core common ground between Christianity and Islam which lies at the heart of our respective faiths as well as at the heart of the most ancient Abrahamic faith, Judaism. Jesus Christ’s call to love God and neighbour was rooted in the divine revelation to the people of Israel embodied in the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18). We receive the open letter as a Muslim hand of conviviality and cooperation extended to Christians worldwide. In this response we extend our own Christian hand in return, so that together with all other human beings we may live in peace and justice as we seek to love God and our neighbours.
Muslims and Christians have not always shaken hands in friendship; their relations have sometimes been tense, even characterized by outright hostility. Since Jesus Christ says, “First take the log out your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye” (Matthew 7:5), we want to begin by acknowledging that in the past (e.g. in the Crusades) and in the present (e.g. in excesses of the “war on terror”) many Christians have been guilty of sinning against our Muslim neighbours. Before we “shake your hand” in responding to your letter, we ask forgiveness of the All-Merciful One and of the Muslim community around the world. http://www.yale.edu/faith/acw/acw.htm
Common ground is being loosely connected between Christianity and Islam in an effort to produce a peaceful resolution. The tragedy is that lasting peace can only be achieved by trusting in the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ. For Christians to ask forgiveness from the All-Merciful One is a humanistic resolution to a spiritual problem through a different God. No distinction in the above document is made between Christendom (the things said and done in the name of Christ) and Christianity (true followers who believe and follow Jesus and obey His commandments). Hence the crusades are conveniently lumped in with ‘many Christians’. Common ground based on love of God and love of neighbour is meaningless. Two different Gods are depicted in the Bible and the Qur’an as are the doctrines that are expounded and the fundamental presuppositions of the respective faiths.
The ISNA Conference Rick Warren gave an address at the 2009 Islamic Society of North America Conference. To summarise, Warren spoke concerning the need to respect the diversity of every person. He discussed why he believes it is necessary to work together to restore civility to civilization. He mentioned promoting peace, freedom and protecting freedom, reasoning that there are problems that can never be solved by governments. Four major problems, according to Warren, include conflict, corruption, poverty and disease. He reasoned that, since approximately half of the world is either Christian or Muslim (please note that allows for a very open ended definition of what a Christian is), Christians and Muslims need to cooperate through various projects. He therefore believes the fate of the world depends on peace between Muslims and Christians. The fate of the world actually depends on God’s sovereign will and actions (Isaiah 40:21-24), not a coalition of two major world religions. The whole speech is roughly twenty five minutes and can be accessed in three parts via these links. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBlb6jIRqkE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSffL-sN85A&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k73ypE3zqg&feature=relmfu
Reporting on his speech, the Islamic Society of North America posted an article on their site with the following:
“Tolerance is not enough,” Warren said. “People don’t want to be tolerated, they want to be respected, they want to be listened to. They want to be valued.”
Armed with four ideas for action, Warren called on Muslims and Christians to work together to create respect, restore civility to civilization, promote peace and tackle major world problems.
“I am not interested in interfaith dialogue, I am interested in interfaith projects,” Warren said. “Talk is very cheap.” http://www.isna.net/articles/News/Rick-Warren-calls-on-Muslims-and-Christians-to-work-together.aspx
The Daniel Plan
Earlier this year Pastor Rick Warren from Saddleback Community Church embarked on a fifty two week health and fitness programme which he christened the ‘Daniel Plan’. He enlisted the services of three renowned medical professionals, namely Dr. Daniel Amen, Dr. Mark Hyman and Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Over nine thousand participants from Saddleback and elsewhere have used Facebook, twitter and the Saddleback Community website and are actively involved in the week by week health journey. Warren himself is personally committed to his cause.
Whilst Amen and Hyman both have questionable spiritual affiliations, Dr Mehmet is a Muslim and has an interest in alternative medicine.
Warren responded to criticism that people might have about the doctors not being part of his church or not being Christian altogether. Hyman is Jewish and Oz is Muslim…”My statement on that is: if I have a brain tumour, I find the best brain surgeon I can find. I’m not asking what his background is or what his belief is,” he told online viewers. “If you are dying, you might even let an atheist save your life http://www.christianpost.com/news/rick-warren-loses-8-pounds-in-saddlebacks-health-plan-48514/ ().”
It seems strange that Warren would go out of his way to include a Muslim doctor who likes to use Sufi Islam music whilst treating patients! Canadian Medicine interviewed Dr. Mehmet Oz concerning that:
I understand you play mystical Islamic Sufi music for patients during operations. Are you inspired by Sufism?
Influenced by it. The biggest influences for my alternative medicine interest are my wife and her family. They are very insightful people. My father-in-law is a very well-known heart surgeon, Gerald Lemole. I saw how they were using it in their own family and to create a healthy environment, and I liked it. In Islam, of course, it makes you realize that you have to have your own connection with the divine, there should be no one between you and God, so it makes you very autonomous, very free thinking. Organized religion are the rules, Sufism and other mystic sects of Christianity and Judaism allow us to transgress those rules and actually begin to enjoy the game. http://www.canadianmedicinenews.com/2008/06/interview-dr-mehmet-oz.html
Rick Warren, Geoff Suratt and Brandon Cox Response
Geoff Suratt, Pastor of Church Planting at Saddleback Church provided in his blog in response to allegations that Warren was advocating Chrislam.
If you tend to believe everything you read on the internet, often forward “shocking” emails or take anything you “see for yourself on YouTube” as truth, then this post will do nothing to dissuade you from believing that Pastor Rick Warren espouses “chrislam”. On the other hand, if you tend to research rumours before you pass them on or try to find the truth about people before attacking them on the internet this post might help.
Let me be very clear: Pastor Rick Warren does not believe in, promote or validate chrislam on any level. I have worked for Pastor Rick for the past 6 months, I have met with him on multiple occasions, I listen to him preach every weekend, I have read every book he has written, I have followed his ministry closely for almost 20 years. Pastor Warren is not perfect; he is very open and honest about his challenges and flaws. But his theology is tightly bound to Biblical Christianity. Brandon Cox has an excellent post if you are interested in researching what Pastor Warren actually believes and teaches.
You can also read what Pastor Warren says for himself below. This is an answer he posted yesterday in the comment section of a blog where others had attacked him:
“Several of the above comments are completely incorrect, based on believing 2nd hand false rumours instead of finding out the facts before speaking up. “Only a fool believes all he hears” Proverbs 14:15
The so-called “Chrislam” rumour is 100% false. If the guy who started this libellous myth, or anyone else who passed it on, had obeyed our Lord’s command (Matt. 18:18-20) to come directly to me, and then asked what I actually believed – they would have been embarrassed to learn that I believe the exact opposite. As a 4th generation Christian pastor, my life & ministry is built on the truth that Jesus is the only way, and our inerrant Bible is our only true authority.
As an evangelist, I spend much of my time speaking to non-Christian groups. You cannot win your enemies to Christ; only your friends, so we must build bridges of friendship and love to those who believe differently so Jesus can walk across that bridge into their hearts. Besides, it is not a sin, but rather COMMANDED by Jesus that we love our enemies. In the past 10 years, Saddleback Church has baptized over 22,000 new adult believers- simply because we express love to those who don’t know Christ yet.
It is nonsense to believe that you must compromise your beliefs, or water down your convictions in order to love someone, or even just treat them with dignity.
Jesus was called “the friend of sinners” by the legalistic Pharisees because he hung out with (and clearly loved) unbelievers. I HOPE YOU will: 1) Always believe that EVERYONE needs Jesus as their Lord & Saviour. 2) Have the courage to associate with nonbelievers in order to love them and bring them to the Saviour. 3) Consider being called “a friend of sinners” a Christ-like compliment. 4) Refuse to pass on rumours until you’ve checked for the truth with the person accused. The false statements above should be removed.
God bless you.
Rick Warren
There you have it in Pastor Warren’s own words; he believes that Jesus is the only way to Heaven, he believes that the Bible is God’s Word and he does not teach that Islam and Christianity should be merged in any way. You may disagree with how Pastor Warren shares his faith, but as Jesus said, he that has never said anything that was misconstrued should throw the first stone. http://geoffsurratt.typepad.com/inner_revolution/2011/07/rick-warren-and-chrislam.html
Brandon Cox, Planter of Grace Hills Church, Arkansas adds the following in a response entitled ‘Does Rick Warren Endorse Islam’
‘It’s a funny thing. Since we’ve announced that we’ll be planting a new church in cooperation with the new Saddleback Network and that Rick Warren has endorsed and sent us, I’ve gotten quite a few questions about the controversy over “chrislam.” I’m not going to link to any articles – Google tells the story, and it’s a sad and frustrating one.
The rumour is that Rick Warren and other prominent religious leaders are promoting a new belief system known as chrislam, which is a kind of twisted entangling of Christianity and Islam. Let me make a few things clear…
1. Rick Warren affirms that Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved for eternity. Here’s what Rick says about the issue: “If you can be saved without Christ, missions is a crock. We’re better off not to go.” This is from a recent interview between John Piper and Rick Warren in which Rick had an opportunity to set the record straight on a number of issues.
2. That Saddleback is involved in “chrislam” is crazy. The church hasn’t removed any crosses from the property. They haven’t put Korans in the pews (they don’t even have pews). They don’t teach from any Islamic religious traditions. In fact, Rick and the church affirm that we must be more clear than ever before that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven in light of an increasingly pluralistic society.
3. “Mature” Christians should really be more discerning. It’s funny how often I hear Christian leaders encourage believers to be more “discerning” about doctrinal error and how we should be “exposing” false teaching. I agree (and so does Rick Warren), but what’s sad is that there doesn’t seem to be any expectation that mature believers should be equally discerning about malicious, unfounded gossip. If our favourite guy on the radio or television quotes a verse and slams a leader, it must be true. Sadly, plenty of believers continue to quickly latch onto the latest hype over guys like Rick Warren, and I believe it grieves the Holy Spirit and breaks the heart of Jesus who has to watch His own body divide in this way.
If you’ve spread the “chrislam” rumour, or any one of hundreds like it, not only about Rick Warren, but about any other Christian leader, here’s my advice:
1. Repent.
2. Apologise to the leader.
3. Confront the sources of malicious gossip. Ask them if they’ve verified their words, gone to the source, or approached their work of “exposing” in a way that would line up with Jesus’ clear instruction to go to a leader one-on-one first.
4. Spread the truth.
5. Talk about Jesus more than your favourite (or least favourite) Christian leader.
6. Light a candle. It’s much more productive than standing around shouting at the darkness.
You have no idea just how forgiving Rick is, and this is because of his understanding of just how forgiving Jesus is. If you’ve ever watched a depiction of the trials of Jesus, you’ve felt what I’ve felt. Why didn’t He just defend Himself? Why didn’t He set the record straight and beat the dog-snot out of those false accusers? I’ve often felt the same about Rick. But at the end of the day, there’s a greater goal to be accomplished. I’m proud of Pastor Warren for deciding to spend his time and attention on the spreading of the gospel for the redemption of the nations rather than defending himself against every false accusation.
Make no mistake, Rick Warren loves Muslims deeply!! If you don’t, you have a problem with Jesus who loves Muslims even more than Rick does.
If you’ve been the centre of unfair criticism, consider yourself blessed to be so identified with Jesus. And if you’ve handed out the criticism? Thank God that Jesus died to fully and completely forgive you and to grant you His smile when you trust Him! http://www.brandonacox.com/culture/rick-warren-endorse-chrislam/
Conclusion
A useful question for a Christian to consider is this: “If Christianity were a crime, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” After all, what we believe will ultimately inevitably affect what we do. Although neither reading the Bible, nor praying, nor attending church or even persuading others (as John Wesley discovered prior to his conversion), automatically makes a person a Christian, since salvation is by grace alone and faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ, all those practises are an integral part of the faith and are carried out because a person believes and consequently desires to obey God.
Is Rick Warren directly promoting Chrislam? Well, Warren doesn’t preach from the Qur’an as well as the Bible or hold Chrislam services and in his defence against allegations of promoting Chrislam, he states that Jesus is the only way and that the Bible is inerrant. He flatly denies promoting Chrislam. If Chrislam were a crime, would there be enough evidence to convict Warren in view of the above? Probably not. Chrislam seeks to bring an end to conflict by combining Biblical and Qur’an teachings. Warren is attempting to establish peace through interfaith social welfare projects.
Is Rick Warren indirectly aiding the cause of Chrislam? Most likely, yes. He claims to be an Evangelical though runs perilously close to the edge of the cliff when he engages with individuals from other religions, in particular Muslims. The content of his prayer at Obama’s inauguration with reference to ‘the compassionate and merciful one’ and ‘Isa’ are really not helpful to the cause of the gospel, when some are genuinely confused, believing that Yahweh and Allah are one and the same. The signing of the ‘Loving God and Neighbour Together’ document asking forgiveness from the ‘All-Merciful One’ and Muslims is clearly a reference to the God of the Qur’an. This compromise is conceding dangerous ground since if someone believes that Christians and Muslims do worship the same God this may be enough to persuade some that both religions are valid and seek to combine the two faiths. In short, it would obviously be wrong for a Christian to pray to Allah and either praying to or asking forgiveness from the ‘All-Merciful One’ is a clear violation of the first commandment.
Warren’s Daniel Plan involved the endorsement of a Muslim doctor in a church directed programme. Either a new or a weak believer may erroneously adopt the view that since Warren employed him in that capacity there may be no problem playing Islamic Sufi music during operations.
Warren says that he is not interested in inter-faith dialogue but inter-faith projects. Though his concern for the socio-economic problems is commendable, persuading and reaching out to those of other faiths with the gospel (Matt. 28:19-20) is of far greater importance than solving conflict, corruption, poverty and disease through interfaith projects. The Lord Jesus never established a political party, nor advocated interfaith projects to alleviate the world’s social ills, but came to seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).
Some may even argue that in Acts 17, when Paul addressed the Areopagus, he spoke of the ‘Unknown God’ and use that as an excuse for Warren’s vocabulary and methods (instead of gospel proclamation to those from other faiths) and try to persuade others not to be so clear cut concerning God’s name . Yes, Pauldid make that reference, but he spoke clearly of the One that ‘has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.’ (Acts 17:31). That Man is Jesus Christ of Nazareth ‘for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’ (Acts 4:12)
References
Jack Van Impe leaves TBN after Criticism of Rick Warren, Robert Schuller http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/20/van-impe-rick-warren-robert-schuller_n_880741.html
Religion & Ethics News Weekly Feb 13th 2009 Chrislam http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/february-13-2009/chrislam/2236/
Rick Warren’s Inaugural Invocation http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctpolitics/2009/01/rick_warrens_in.html
Loving God and Neighbour Together : A Christian Response to a Common Word Between Us and You http://www.yale.edu/divinity/news/071118_news_nytimes.pdf
Yale Centre for Faith and Culture A Common Word at Yale Loving God and Neighbour Together A Christian Response to ‘A Common Word Between Us and You’ http://www.yale.edu/faith/acw/acw.htm
ISNA Convention 2009-Session 8A Part 13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBlb6jIRqkE
ISNA Convention 2009-Session 8A Part 14 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSffL-sN85A&feature=relmfu
ISNA Convention 2009-Session 8A Part 15 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k73ypE3zqg&feature=relmfu
Islamic Society of North America Rick Warren calls on Muslims and Christians to work together Posted in http://www.isna.net/articles/News/Rick-Warren-calls-on-Muslims-and-Christians-to-work-together.aspx Original source http://articles.ocregister.com/2009-07-04/cities/24654447_1_churches-minister-church-pastor-rick-warren-lake-forest-church
Rick Warren Loses 8 Pounds in Saddleback’s Health Plan http://www.christianpost.com/news/rick-warren-loses-8-pounds-in-saddlebacks-health-plan-48514/
The Interview: Dr Mehmet Oz http://www.canadianmedicinenews.com/2008/06/interview-dr-mehmet-oz.html
Rick Warren and Chrislam http://geoffsurratt.typepad.com/inner_revolution/2011/07/rick-warren-and-chrislam.html
Brandon A Cox Does Rick Warren Endorse Chrislam http://www.brandonacox.com/culture/rick-warren-endorse-chrislam/
