Here is David Cloud's slant on Rick Warren's book.

Text of forwarded message follows:



>A REVIEW OF RICK WARREN'S "THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE"
>
>April 3, 2007 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, 
>P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, 
>[log in to unmask]; for instructions about subscribing and 
>unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph 
>at the end of the article) -
>
>The book "The Purpose Drive Life" by Southern Baptist pastor Rick 
>Warren of Saddleback Church in southern California has sold more 
>than 18 million copies and has wielded a vast influence.
>
>Bruce Ryskamp, president of Zondervan, said, "The Purpose Driven 
>Life is more than a bestseller; it's become a movement."
>
>Over 12,000 churches from all 50 states in America and 19 countries 
>have participated in Warren's 40 Days of Purpose, which is drawn 
>from the book. Over 60,000 pastors subscribe to Rick Warren's 
>Ministry Toolbox. He has provided materials and teaching to 
>Christians in more than 117 countries on all seven continents.
>
>Richard Bennett observes, "The movement is becoming a global empire."
>
>Rick Warren has been called "America's pastor," and it is for good 
>reason. He is so shallow in his teaching, so positive in his 
>approach, so slighting of repentance, so neglecting of unpopular 
>doctrines such as hell and judgment, so tolerant of heresies, so 
>enthusiastic of rock music, so soft-spoken on that nasty subject of 
>worldliness, that apostate America can't help but love him.
>
>All of these characteristics are reflected in his best-selling book.
>
>A FOUNDATIONAL ERROR IN WARREN'S BOOK IS THE EXTREME SHALLOWNESS AND 
>INSUFFICIENCY OF HIS GOSPEL.
>
>In chapter 7, "The Reason for Everything," Warren explains to his 
>readers how they can become a Christian.
>
>"If you are not sure you have done this, all you need to do is 
>receive and believe. ... First, believe. Believe God loves you and 
>made you for his purposes. Believe you're not an accident. Believe 
>you were made to last forever. Believe God has chosen you to have a 
>relationship with Jesus, who died on the cross for you. Believe that 
>no matter what you've done, God wants to forgive you. Second, 
>receive. Receive his forgiveness for your sins. Receive his Spirit, 
>who will give you the power to fulfill your life purpose. ... 
>Wherever you are reading this, I invite you to bow your head and 
>quietly whisper the prayer that will change your eternity. 'Jesus, I 
>believe in you and I receive you.' Go ahead. If you sincerely meant 
>that prayer, congratulations! Welcome to the family of God!" (The 
>Purpose Driven Life, pp. 58, 59).
>
>This is one of the most superficial "gospels" I have ever seen. 
>There is nothing here that would offend or convict the Pope or a 
>Mormon. It's not the gospel that was preached in the book of Acts or Romans.
>
>For one thing, there is no clear dealing with the sin issue. 
>Warren's book is intended for wide distribution in society at large, 
>and it is not enough in such a context merely to mention the word 
>sin. The average person in North America will admit that he is not 
>perfect and that he is a "sinner" in some sense, but he also thinks 
>of himself as a pretty good person. When he thinks of himself as a 
>sinner, he does not mean what the Bible means, that he was shaped in 
>iniquity and conceived in sin (Psa. 51:5), that his heart is 
>deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9) and 
>full of evil (Ecc. 9:3), that he is unrighteous and unprofitable 
>(Rom. 3:10-11), that in his flesh dwells no good thing (Rom. 7:18), 
>and that his very righteousness is as filthy rags before a holy God 
>(Isa. 64:6). Warren's incredibly shallow approach allows any person 
>who will admit that he is a sinner in any sense to pray a prayer and 
>then think of himself as a genuine Christian, even though he might 
>continue to deny what the Bible says about sin.
>
>There are many other things we could expose in Warren's gospel. 
>There is nothing about God's holiness and justice. There is no clear 
>teaching on what Jesus did on the cross. There is nothing about the 
>blood. He invites the reader to "believe on Jesus." What Jesus? 
>People today believe in all sorts of false christs, but Warren does 
>not warn them of this nor does he take the time to identify the true 
>Jesus of the Bible in any clear fashion and to distinguish Him from 
>false ones. Just a vague "believe on Jesus" and presto you are ready to heaven.
>
>And Warren completely ignores repentance. There is not a hint here 
>that the sinner must repent of his sin and idolatry. This is not the 
>gospel that Paul preached. Paul summarized his message as follows: 
>"Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance 
>toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). 
>Warren says that he believes in the Great Commission and he mentions 
>it in passing in The Purpose Driven Life, but he ignores repentance 
>which is a part of the Great Commission. Christ gave the Great 
>Commission in Luke 24:44-48 and He commanded that "repentance and 
>remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations." 
>Paul boldly preached repentance to the philosophers and idolaters in 
>Athens, and if he were alive today he would certainly preach 
>repentance to the idolaters in America! Paul said that God "now 
>commandeth all men every where to repent" (Acts 17:30), and we can 
>be sure that God hasn't changed His mind.
>
>WARREN TEACHES A SELF-ESTEEM THEOLOGY UNDER THE GUISE OF WORSHIP AND SERVICE
>
>Though Warren professes that his teaching does not exalt man but 
>rather exalts God and he claims that he does not teach a self help 
>program, in reality he teaches nothing less than a Robert 
>Schuller-style Self-Esteem theology.
>
>Notice the following statements:
>
>"The moment you were born into the world, God was there as an unseen 
>witness, smiling at your birth. ... It proves your worth. If you are 
>that important to God, and he considers you valuable enough to keep 
>you for eternity, what great significance could you have? ... 
>Anything you do that brings pleasure to God is an act of worship ... 
>You may be gifted at mechanics or mathematics or music or a thousand 
>other skills. All these abilities can bring a smile to God's face. 
>... You only bring him enjoyment by being you. Anytime you reject 
>any part of yourself, you are rejecting God's wisdom and sovereignty 
>in creating you. ... God also gains pleasure in watching you enjoy 
>his creation. ... When you are sleeping, God gazes at you with love, 
>because you were his idea. He loves you as if you were the only 
>person on earth" (pp. 61, 64, 74, 75).
>
>Here worship is turned on its head by making it as much about me as 
>about God. I am so loveable and so important and so desirable to God 
>that whatever I do brings God pleasure and therefore is worship. 
>Wonderful me! The self-esteem theology is more about celebrating 
>self than dying to self, even when it talks of dying to self! Warren 
>says that if I reject any part of myself I am denying God's 
>sovereignty. What about sin and what it has done to "myself"?
>
>Consider another statement from Warren's popular book:
>
>"If you want to know how much you matter to God, look at Christ with 
>his arms outstretched on the cross, saying, 'I love you this much! 
>I'd rather die than live without you'" (p. 79).
>
>Thus the cross is sanctified by the self-esteem theology so that it 
>is about me and how the Lord couldn't live without me. Wonderful me!
>
>Consider another statement:
>
>"God is a lover and a liberator, and surrendering to him brings 
>freedom, not bondage. When we completely surrender ourselves to 
>Jesus, we discover that he is ... not a boss, but a brother..." (p. 79).
>
>The self-esteem God is dedicated to liberating me. He is not a boss! 
>There's nothing to fear. He's just a Big Buddy, a Powerful Pal.
>
>Warren quotes from Olympic runner Eric Liddell. "To give up running 
>would be to hold him in contempt."
>
>Thus to deny what I am gifted at and what I like to do is to deny 
>God. Isn't it clever how that Warren has identified self will with 
>God's will so that they have become one and the same?
>
>In fact, things I am gifted for and enjoy oftentimes come into 
>conflict with God's perfect will. God oftentimes calls upon an 
>individual to give up even legitimate things for which he or she is 
>highly gifted and qualified. Many men have given up such things when 
>God called them to be a preacher or a missionary. Peter, James, and 
>John gave up fishing. In the 1980s I met a Chinese man in Singapore 
>who was a brilliant chess champion. God had saved him and called him 
>to preach and he was preparing himself in a Bible College. He told 
>me how that for awhile he had written a column on chess for a 
>newspaper for extra income toward his Bible training, but he 
>discovered that it was not possible to keep the chess moves out of 
>his mind when he was trying to study Scripture so he gave it up 
>entirely, though he was highly gifted at it and enjoyed it. That is 
>true dying to self.
>
>Note the following quotes from chapters 30 and 31 of The Purpose 
>Driven Life which deal with finding my place in God's will:
>
>"Listening to your heart. The Bible uses the term heart to describe 
>the bundle of desires, hopes, interests, ambitions, dreams, and 
>affections you have. Your heart represents the source of all your 
>motivations--what you love to do and what you are about most. ... 
>Don't ignore your interests. Consider how they might be used for 
>God's glory. There is a reason that you love to do these things. ... 
>How do you know when you are serving God from your heart? The first 
>telltale sign is enthusiasm. When you are doing what you love to do, 
>no one has to motivate you or challenge you or check up on you. ... 
>The second characteristic of serving God from your heart is 
>effectiveness. Whenever you do what God wired you to love to do, you 
>get good at it. ... Figure out what you love to do--what God gave 
>you a heart to do--and then do it for his glory. ... What I'm able 
>to do, God wants me to do" (pp. 237, 238, 239, 243).
>
>Note that Warren does not warn his readers that the heart is 
>deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). 
>What a gross, inexcusable omission! While it is true that you can 
>trust your desires to some small extent when you are a mature 
>Christian who is delighting in God and immersed in His Word and 
>obeying Him (Psa. 37:4), how many of the readers of The Purpose 
>Drive Life are in that condition? A great many of the millions of 
>readers are doubtless complete unbelievers or nominal Christians or 
>novices or carnal, and to teach them that what they love to do is 
>God's will is frightful heresy. Many are professional sports 
>fanatics, for example. Others are rock & roll fanatics. Others are 
>fanatics about modern fashion trends. Are they fanatic about such 
>things because that is the way that God made them? No, they are 
>fanatic about such things because they are conformed to the world 
>and walk in the way of sinners (Psa. 1:1; Rom. 12:2).
>
>There are many things that professing Christians are gifted for and 
>effective at that are NOT God's will!
>
>Again we see that when Rick Warren's theology is examined carefully 
>it is about self fulfillment, but it is presented under the guise of 
>worshipping and serving God.
>
>Warren builds his self-esteem theology upon strange versions of the 
>Bible. Consider an example:
>
>"The Bible says, 'Noah was a pleasure to the Lord.' God said, 'This 
>guy brings me pleasure. He makes me smile" (The Purpose Driven Life, p. 69).
>
>Warren is quoting Genesis 6:8 in the Living Bible. In fact, this 
>verse should say, "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." It 
>has nothing to do with God getting pleasure from Noah. It has 
>everything to do with Noah getting favor from the Lord! The Living 
>Bible perverts this verse, turning it upon its very head. 
>Nonetheless, since it fits Rick Warren's theology he grabs hold of 
>it and pretends that it is Scripture.
>
>Consider another example of how Warren builds his self-esteem 
>theology upon inaccurate versions of Scripture.
>
>"The Bible says, 'Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the 
>way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self'" (p. 19).
>
>Here Warren quotes Matthew 16:25 in The Message. Actually, the verse 
>should say, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and 
>whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."
>
>There is not a hint here about self help or finding your true self. 
>The verse is not teaching about finding your self but about finding 
>your life. What Warren quotes as Scripture is actually a 
>prefabrication by Eugene Peterson, the author of The Message.
>
>The Message also takes away the Lord's solemn warning that whosoever 
>will find his life shall lose it. This fits in perfectly with 
>Warren's unscriptural positivism.
>
>WARREN SLIGHTS OVER HELL AND JUDGMENT AND THE FEAR OF GOD
>
>The Lord Jesus Christ preached on hell frequently. There are nearly 
>100 references in Scripture to fearing the Lord, and God's judgment 
>is a never-ending theme of Scripture.
>
>But when it comes to Rick Warren, he does not mention God's 
>judgment, never urges his listeners to fear the Lord, and he makes 
>only one passing reference to hell. This is on page 37, and in the 
>same section he quotes C.S. Lewis twice. Lewis believed that hell is 
>a mere metaphor and a state of mind: "And every state of mind, left 
>to itself, every shutting up of the creature within the dungeon of 
>its own mind--is, in the end, Hell" (Lewis, The Great Divorce, p. 65).
>
>Not only did the Lord Jesus Christ preach much on hell, but he 
>preached it hot and furious.
>
>"And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to 
>enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into 
>the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, 
>and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it 
>off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two 
>feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be 
>quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 
>And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to 
>enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to 
>be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is 
>not quenched" (Mark 9:43-48).
>
>There is no a hint of this kind of preaching in Rick Warren's 
>woefully inadequate ministry.
>
>If ever there were an hour in which the people of this world need to 
>hear hell and judgment and the fear of God preached fiery hot and 
>powerfully plain it is this present unbelieving, mocking, 
>blasphemous, pleasure mad, self-loving, self-content, self-righteous 
>age, but the popular preachers won't touch it. Too negative. Too 
>damaging to self-esteem. Too dogmatic and intolerant. Too likely to 
>offend and cut into the size of my audience.
>
>WARREN PROMOTES EVERY STRANGE BIBLE VERSION
>
>In The Purpose Driven Life, Warren uses 15 different Bible versions, 
>including two Roman Catholic ones (The New American Bible and the 
>New Jerusalem Bible). His favorites are the "dynamic equivalency" 
>versions such as the Living Bible, the New Living Bible, Today's 
>English Version, the Contemporary English Version, and The Message. 
>The latter seems to be his most favorite.
>
>As a result, it is often impossible to know exactly what Scripture 
>he is quoting because it is so strangely paraphrased and wildly inaccurate.
>
>On page 70 Warren quotes Hebrews 11:7 from The Message.
>
>"By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was 
>warned about something he couldn't see, and acted on what he was 
>told ... As a result, Noah became intimate with God."
>
>In the dependable King James Bible this verse says:
>
>"By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved 
>with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which 
>he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which 
>is by faith."
>
>We can see that The Message adds to and takes away from the Word of 
>God in an amazing manner. It adds the bit about Noah building a ship 
>in the middle of dry land. It omits the fact that Noah was moved 
>with fear. It changes "became heir of the righteousness which is by 
>faith" to "became intimate with God."
>
>On page 20 Warren quotes 1 Corinthians 2:7 from The Message:
>
>"God's wisdom ... goes deep into the interior of his purposes ... 
>It's not the latest message, but more like the oldest--what God 
>determined as the way to bring out his best in us."
>
>In the King James Bible this says:
>
>"But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden 
>wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory."
>
>It is obvious that The Message is not a translation in any sense of 
>the word; it is a presumption. It is not God's thoughts but man's. 
>It is almost childish, not because it is simple but because it is ridiculous.
>
>Warren claims to have quoted more than 1,000 Scriptures in The 
>Purpose Driven Life, but most of the quotations are similar to the 
>previous examples and have no right to be called Scripture.
>
>When I visited a service at Saddleback Church in 2003, I observed 
>that only a few people were carrying Bibles into the auditorium. The 
>reason became clear when I saw the multiplicity of versions that 
>were used in the preaching. It would be impossible to follow along 
>in one's Bible. The result is that the people do not bring their own 
>Bibles and do not therefore carefully test the preaching. How could 
>they, when any biblical statement they would attempt to examine has 
>dozens of contradictory variations?
>
>WARREN SLIGHTS SCRIPTURAL BAPTISM
>
>The Purpose Driven Life has a page and a half dealing with baptism, 
>but there is not a word about the mode, which is one of the most 
>important aspects. He leaves the reader with the impression that 
>pouring, sprinkling, or immersion is equally acceptable. Obviously 
>it would offend many readers if he were to present a truly 
>Scriptural position on baptism as a burial in water, but what else 
>would a true Bible believer and a true Baptist do?
>WARREN CLAIMS THAT GOD LOVES ALL KINDS OF MUSIC
>
>In chapter 8 of The Purpose Driven Life, Warren becomes a prophet, saying:
>
>"God loves all kinds of music because he invented it all--fast and 
>slow, loud and soft, old and new. You probably don't like it all, 
>but God does! ... Christians often disagree over the style of music 
>used in worship, passionately defending their preferred style as the 
>most biblical or God-honoring. But there is no biblical style! ... 
>God likes variety and enjoys it all. There is no such thing as 
>'Christian' music; there are only Christian lyrics. It is the words 
>that make a song sacred, not the tune. There are no spiritual tunes" 
>(pp. 65, 66).
>
>This idea that music itself is neutral and that any music can be 
>used in the service of the Lord has opened the door for the world to 
>come into the churches as few other things.
>
>Though the Bible nowhere says nor even hints that God loves all 
>kinds of music, we are to believe that he does because Rick Warren 
>says so. His only evidence for this outrageous statement is his 
>reasoning that since God "invented it all" he must like it all. But 
>where is the evidence that God invented all music? Are you telling 
>me that the devil and sinful men are not involved in the field of 
>music? That is a ridiculous thought, seeing that the devil is called 
>"the god of this world" and music is one of the most powerful 
>influences among men. Sinful men have used music since Cain's 
>children built the first society apart from God and made musical 
>instruments to satisfy their carnal pleasures (Genesis 4:16-21).
>
>Styles of music are not neutral. Rock musicians have testified that 
>they play their particular style of rhythm for the very reason that 
>it is lascivious. Frank Zappa said: "Rock music is sex. The big beat 
>matches the body's rhythms" (Life, June 28, 1968). Gene Simmons 
>says, "That's what rock is all about--sex with a 100 megaton bomb, 
>the beat!" (Entertainment Tonight, ABC, Dec. 10, 1987). John Oates 
>said, "Rock 'n' roll is 99% sex" (Circus, Jan. 31, 1976). Patty 
>Labelle said, "Rock and roll was something that's hardcore, rough 
>and wild and sweaty and wet and just loose" (Rock Facts, Rock & Roll 
>Hall of Fame and Museum, Ohio). And punk rock manager Malcolm 
>McLaren agreed, saying, "Rock 'n' roll is pagan and primitive, and 
>very jungle, and that's how it should be!" (Rock, August 1983).
>
>Note that they are not talking merely about rock music's lyrics and 
>associations but also its RHYTHM! These men and women of the world 
>believe there is such a thing as a sexy rhythmic pattern. Rapper 
>Missy Elliot's album, "Miss E ... So Addictive," was described by as 
>"a seductive cocktail of quirky rhythms and hypnotic beats."
>
>Why do these secular rockers describe their heavily syncopated rock 
>rhythms as sexy, primitive, seductive, rough, hardcore, naughty, 
>loose, wild, and hypnotic? They are testifying the very opposite of 
>Rick Warren's philosophy; they are saying that music is not neutral 
>and that the heavy rock & roll backbeat that can be heard on any 
>Sunday at Saddleback Church is sensual and licentious and that is 
>exactly why they love it.
>
>As for the idea that there is no biblical style of music, I could 
>not disagree more fervently. The Bible tells us exactly what type of 
>music to sing in our churches, as follows: "Speaking to yourselves 
>in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody 
>in your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19). Spiritual songs are not 
>the same as unspiritual or sensual or worldly, hymns are not the 
>same as rock music, melody is not the same as raucous repetition. 
>Spiritual is something that is set apart from the world unto a holy 
>God; different in character than the things of the world. The Bible 
>gives plain instruction about the Christian's affiliation with 
>worldly things, and any music that draws the child of God into 
>fellowship with the world is to be rejected (James 4:4; 1 Jn. 
>2:15-16). The Bible forbids the Christian to be conformed to the 
>world (Romans 12:2). Yet the Contemporary Christian Music that Rick 
>Warren uses in his church is nothing if not conformed to the world's 
>musical styles.
>
>WARREN PROMOTES AN UNSCRIPTURAL JUDGE NOT PHILOSOPHY
>
>The Purpose Driven Life contains extensive documentation of Rick 
>Warren's dangerous and unscriptural "judge not" ecumenical philosophy.
>
>On page 164, Warren says, "God warns us over and over not to 
>criticize, compare, or judge each other. ... Whenever I judge 
>another believer, four things instantly happen: I lose fellowship 
>with God, I expose my own pride, I set myself to be judged by God, 
>and I harm the fellowship of the church."
>
>In typical New Evangelical fashion Warren makes no distinction 
>between judging hypocritically (which is forbidden in Matthew 7) or 
>judging on the basis of personal preference in matters not taught in 
>Scripture (which is forbidden in Romans 14) and judging on the basis 
>of the Bible (which is required by God).
>
>The child of God has an obligation to judge everything by God's 
>Word. The believers at Corinth were rebuked because they were 
>careless in this regard and were tolerant of false teachers (2 Cor. 
>11:1-4). The Bereans, on the other hand, were commended because they 
>carefully tested everything by the Scriptures (Acts 17:11). The 
>Bible says "he that is spiritual judgeth all things" (1 Cor. 2:15) 
>and Jesus taught that we should "judge righteous judgment" (John 
>7:24). We are to judge preaching (1 Cor. 14:29) and sin in the 
>churches (1 Cor. 5). We are to try the spirits (1 John 4:1).
>
>To test preachers and their message carefully by God's Word is not a 
>matter of pride, but of wisdom and spirituality and obedience.
>
>On page 34 of The Purpose Driven Life, Warren says: "God won't ask 
>about your religious background or doctrinal views. The only thing 
>that will matter is, did you accept what Jesus did for you and did 
>you learn to love and trust him?"
>
>If this is true, why does the Bible say so very much about doctrine 
>and why did the apostles call for doctrinal purity on every hand? 
>Paul instructed Timothy to allow "no other doctrine" (1 Timothy 
>1:3). That is the very strictest stance on doctrinal purity, and it 
>is precisely the stance we find throughout the apostolic writings. 
>Rick Warren has a lot to answer for, because millions of people are 
>basing their lives upon his teaching rather than upon the pure Word of God.
>
>If God is unconcerned about doctrine, why did the apostles spend so 
>much time warning about false doctrines and doctrines of devils? 
>See, for example, 2 Corinthians 11:1-4; Galatians 1:6-12; 
>Philippians 3:18-21; Colossians 2:8; 1 Timothy 4:1-5; 1 Timothy 
>6:20-21; 2 Timothy 4:1-4; 2 Peter 2; Jude 3-23.
>
>Rick Warren requires his church members to sign a covenant promising 
>to protect the unity of the church (The Purpose Driven Life, p. 
>167). This is a dangerous and unscriptural covenant. The child of 
>God is not instructed to submit to a church or to its leaders 
>blindly and at any cost. We are commanded to "prove all things" (1 
>Thess. 5:21), and all things means all things. The Bereans are 
>exalted because they "searched the scriptures daily, whether those 
>things were so" (Acts 17:11). No preacher or church is above being 
>tested by God's Word. The Bible says, "Let the prophets speak two or 
>three, and let the other judge" (1 Cor. 14:29). Preaching is to be 
>carefully judged by God's Word. The pastor has God-given authority 
>(Heb. 13:17), but it is not unquestionable authority and it is not 
>his own authority; he is not a shepherd over his own flock; he is an 
>undershepherd over God's and he will give an account to the Great 
>Shepherd (1 Pet. 5:1-4). The pastor's authority is not in his own 
>word; it is in God's Word (Heb. 13:7); and if he strays from the 
>Word of God he has no authority over God's people and he should not 
>be followed. Blind loyalty to a church is Popery and it is a gross heresy.
>
>Warren even claims that "conflict is usually a sign that the focus 
>has shifted to less important things" (p. 162).
>
>If this were true, then the apostles and preachers in the early 
>churches were side tracked much of the time, because they were 
>frequently involved in doctrinal conflicts. Paul was involved in 
>such conflicts almost continually. Many of his epistles contain 
>lengthy sections in which he takes a stand against false teachers. 
>In his epistles to his fellow preacher Timothy, Paul repeatedly 
>warned about false teachers by name (1 Tim. 1:19-20; 2 Tim. 1:15; 
>2:17-18; 4:12, 14).
>
>WARREN PROMOTES HERETICS
>
>In keeping with his unscriptural judge not philosophy, Warren 
>uncritically quotes from a wide variety of theological heretics, 
>especially Roman Catholics such as Mother Teresa, Henri Nouwen, 
>Brother Lawrence (Carmelite monk), John Main (Benedictine monk who 
>believes that Christ "is not limited to Jesus of Nazareth, but 
>remains among us in the monastic leaders, the sick, the guest, the 
>poor"), Madame Guyon (a Roman Catholic who taught that prayer is not 
>from the mind and does not involve thinking), John of the Cross (a 
>pantheist who believed the mountains and forests are God).
>
>Warren does not warn his readers that these are dangerous false 
>teachers who held to a false gospel.
>
>Mother Teresa and Henri Nouwen, who are quoted at least four times 
>in The Purpose Driven Life, were universalists who believed that men 
>can be saved apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ. When Mother 
>Teresa died, her longtime friend and biographer Naveen Chawla said 
>that he once asked her bluntly, "Do you convert?" She replied, "Of 
>course I convert. I convert you to be a better Hindu or a better 
>Muslim or a better Protestant. Once you've found God, it's up to you 
>to decide how to worship him" ("Mother Teresa Touched other Faiths," 
>Associated Press, Sept. 7, 1997). Henri Nouwen said, "Today I 
>personally believe that while Jesus came to open the door to God's 
>house, all human beings can walk through that door, whether they 
>know about Jesus or not. Today I see it as my call to help every 
>person claim his or her own way to God" (Henri Nouwen, Sabbatical Journey).
>
>Why does Rick Warren continually and non-critically promote 
>heretics? The Bible asks, "Can two walk together, except they be 
>agreed?" (Amos 3:3).
>
>WARREN'S SHALLOW ENCAPSULATIONS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT FAITH
>
>On every hand Rick Warren presents his own shallow encapsulations as 
>the true essence of biblical Christianity. For example, in chapter 
>39 he lists "God's five purposes for your life." They are (1) Love 
>God with all your heart, (2) Love your neighbor as yourself, (3) Go 
>and make disciples, (4) Baptize them into [a church], and (5) Teach 
>them to do all things.
>
>There is nothing in these "five purposes" about holiness, contending 
>for the faith, separation from the world, separation from false 
>teaching, reproving sin and error, and many other things that are 
>emphasized in the New Testament Scriptures. Obviously Warren's five 
>purposes for life are not the sum total of God's.
>
>My friends, we don't need some misguided man's abbreviated form of 
>Christianity; we need the "whole counsel of God" as found in the 
>Scriptures (Acts 20:27). The Bible as a whole, not a few select 
>parts thereof, is the sole and sufficient authority for faith and 
>practice. The Lord Jesus Christ instructed the churches to teach 
>"all things" rather than a few things (Mat. 28:19-20).
>
>
>
>
>
>--
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>4/5/2007 3:33 PM
End of forwarded message text:

John


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