Rick Warren and John Piper - Who pipes for whom
“Take heed that no man deceives you” – Matt 24:4
Part 2
Warren is called an “Evangelical”, but I would contend that he is a “New Evangelical”. The heart of New Evangelicalism is a repudiation of all so called “negative” aspects of biblical Christianity.
The New Evangelical will NOT preach plainly against sin. He will NOT practise separation. He will NOT identify and expose false teachers. He has repudiated this type of “negativism”, in spite of the fact that it is plainly a part of the whole counsel of God. Warren, Prince, Hybels, Osteen and many others walk this “yellow brick road.” (The road of yellow brickis an element in the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and functions as a guideline that leads to the Emerald City where the Wizard is - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_ brick_road )
RW, with a congregation of over 20,000 members, has re-branded Christianity, and propagated his form of it in churches around the globe. Warren’s philosophy and ideas (actively employed by Brian Houston of Hillsong), rather than being biblical, are based on the New Age.
Here are some concerning quotes by RW that line up almost word for word with a famous New Ager Alice Bailey:
I happen to know people who are followers of Christ in other religions.
- Rick Warren
The Christ has no religious barriers to his consciousness; it matters not to him of what faith a man may call himself - Alice Bailey & (spirit guide) Djuhal Khul.
The church is bigger than any organization in the world. Then you add in Muslims, you add in Hindus, you add in all the different religions, and you use those houses of worship as distribution centres, not just for spiritual carebut health care.” —Rick Warren
The day is dawning when all religions will be regarded as emanating from one great spiritual source; all will be seen as unitedly providing the one root out of which the universal world religion will inevitably emerge. Then there will be neither Christian nor heathen, neither Jew nor Gentile, but simply one great body of believers, gathered out of all the current religions. — Alice Bailey & Djwhal Khul
On the “interspiritual” website Spirituality & Practice you’ll find Richard Foster the mystic listed right alongside false religious teachers Deepak Chopra, the Dalai Lama, Brian McLaren, Thich Nhat Hanh, Eckhart Tolle, and Marianne Williamson. With this in mind, Steve Gladen, is “now the Pastor of Small Groups at [the] Saddleback Church” of pretending to be Protestant Purpose Driven Pope, Rick Warren.
Two “of the books that shaped Steve Gladen’s life, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home and Celebration of Discipline(CoD); both books written by Richard Foster, are sold at Saddleback’s Pavilion Resource Centre (bookshop). The Spiritual Discipline’s page at Saddleback Church’s The Spiritual Growth Centre, where in addition to the Quaker mystic Counter Reformation Spirituality of Foster and Dallas Willard, we find other books which are also in step with its sinful ecumenical squishy spiritual skubalon.
So Gladen’s first books, flowed out of the anti biblical monastic traditions of apostate Roman Catholicism; and now—with endorsement from men such as Rick Warren—this meditation is permeating throughout SBC (Slowly Becoming Catholic), in an allegedly evangelical denomination.
An additional concern is RW’s recent church marketing campaign that has nothing to do with helping believers improve their overall fitness. Rather, it is Warren’s boastful claim that The Daniel Plan is nothing short of “God’s Prescription for Your Health”
Well it looks like Daniel, but to begin with, the biblical Daniel wasn’t in need of a diet or fitness programme. To attempt to use him as a spiritual model to motivate Christians to healthy living demonstrates a thorough ignorance of the Scriptures or a dishonest marketing ploy.
The fact is that the following three named “doctors”, who are “gurus”, who have their own personal religious worldviews that shape their understanding of what “prescription” people really need. They each hold spiritually dangerous ideas and practices.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Mark Hyman, and Dr. Daniel Amen, are the three members of Rick Warren’s Daniel Plan. These men would be perfect for an Oprah Winfrey show, but rolled out to the Christian Church? Did the biblical Daniel partner with the Babylonian court magicians and soothsayers of his day? Obviously not!
Dr Mehmet Oz
Oz was born to first-generation Muslim parents in Cleveland, Ohio. His father’s side of the family embraces Sharia. Dr. Oz claims to be influenced by Sufism (“whirling dervishes”), a mystical Islamic contemplative practice in which the “adept” spins himself into an altered state of consciousness in order to commune with Allah. Oz teaches that “all who do good from the truth of their own religion” will be accepted. Oz praises Reiki as his “favourite treatment.” In a recent infomercial Dr Oz embraced green coffee beans as the newest panacea for weight loss. In the real world, permanent weight loss is difficult, there are no quick fixes; but not in the Land of Oz.
Dr Hyman is the author of: UltraCalm: A Six-Step Plan to Reduce Stress and Eliminate Anxiety. The book presents his “simple, powerful method for generating a peaceful and harmonious state in the body-mind.” Hyman’s “prescription” to achieve this level of “natural healing intelligence” is not even camouflaged in pseudo-scientific language but expressed in outright New Age terminology.
Dr Amen, is founder of the famous Amen Clinic, which purports to diagnose brain-behaviour disorders and prescribe dietary, chemical, and meditative treatments. Licensed in both child and adult psychiatry, Dr. Amen recommends that everyone should strive to meditate daily for 12 minutes. He explains that this Kundalini-based Hindu practice “is based on the five primal sounds: saa, taa, naa, maa, and aa.” (An interesting choice of syllables for Christians to “contemplate:” Sa-ta-na...).
Rick Warren, as a shepherd of the sheep and “America’s Pastor” is fully responsible to the Lord for what he is feeding them. He has brought in hirelings—and those who are leading his sheep into meditative techniques, opening them to direct communication with “seducing spirits” (1 Tm 4:1).
It’s “Dr. Daniel”, and NOT the Daniel of the Old Testament who is the impetus for The Daniel Plan.
On the day of the 2009 inauguration of President Obama in Washington D.C. this was Rick Warren’s prayer:
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....humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus, who taught us to pray: Our Father...”
Trying to be both hip and ecumenical at the same time, Rick Warren ended up committing an Evangelical ‘blooper’, because “the compassionate and merciful one” is not found in the scripture, but is a direct Islamic reference to Allah!
“Isa” which is supposed to be the Quran’s name given to Jesus is from the following quote - quite a different Jesus! Islam scorns our Saviour!
O’ Follower of the book, do not exceed the limits of your religion, and do not speak lies against Allah, but the truth, the messiah, a son of Marium (Mary) is only an apostle of Allah, and his word which is communicated to Marium, and a spirit from Him, believe therefore in Allah, and his apostles, and say not – (there are) Three.
Desist; - it is better for you, Allah is only one God, and far be it from his glory that he should have a son, whatever is in the heavens, and whatever is in the earth is his, and Allah is sufficient for a protector.” - Quran 4:171
God’s Word declares:
And in all things that I have said to you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of your mouth - Exodus 23:13
Warren once again is seeking to be all things to all men! Warren’s wonky wording has him trying to placate the Muslim faction on the one hand, and at the same time showing allegiance to the Lord Jesus; it’s a "pipe dream"! [See 2 Cor. 6:14 -18]
John Piper, when giving his defence for inviting Rick Warren to his last conference, said on a video clip
I don’t think Rick is Emergent, at least not fully...Actually, at his core, I think he is deeply theological. Not emergent. I think he has sound doctrine.
Yet John Piper does speak against Chrislam:
We don’t stand together on a common love of God, or a common understanding of God. They don’t worship the true God according to Jesus. “He who has the Son has life; He who does not have the Son does not have life.” The Bible is so crystal clear that Jesus is the litmus paper as to whether or not we are talking about the same God...
Warren is still forging new partnerships with the likes of Tony Blair, an ex- Anglican, now Roman Catholic, but neither showed any concern about the major doctrinal differences between Evangelicals/Protestants and Roman Catholics. “It’s all about working together to do good,” Warren stated. In a 2005 interview with American television talk show host and journalist. Charlie Rose, Warren said that “minor doctrinal differences” should not keep the two groups separated. ...we are never going to agree on a lot of things, but I found we do agree on purpose. (There’s that word again.)
Blair and Warren have ambitions to see churches with like-minded vision planted all over the world. Warren stated that the more lights, the brighter the world will be. His view that a “second reformation” is needed and that people of various faiths can be part of it has been documented time and again.
Note Warren’s description of his new reformation.
When RW says “second reformation,” he is comparing this with the first reformation, when Christians broke away from the Roman Catholic Church 500 years ago. How can he say that a future reformation from God could include Muslims, and those of other religions, and practising homosexuals? What kind of reformation is that? It will be the one the Bible warns will come in the last days when mankind will join together, and bow down to one world leader – the Antichrist!
Although Saddleback is considered to be a Christian Church and its pastor is considered by many to be America’s foremost and most influential “Christian pastor”, one is hard pressed to come to these conclusions.
Tony Blair has special entrance to see the pope of Rome now that he has become a Roman Catholic.
Tony Blair has recently defied the Pope by making clear he “strongly supports” plans for gay marriage.
Undoubtedly, Tony Blair and Rick Warren are very important players in the coming One World Religion.
Men like Warren are constantly in the spotlight for doing the wrong thing.
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privately shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction - 2 Peter 2:1
The woman, who coined the term New Age, occultist Alice Bailey, said that this new enlightened age would come not around the Christian church, but rather through it. She said the outer layers would be initially kept intact (i.e. Christian terminology would still be used) but the changes would take place obscurely from the inside.
Is this not what we are witnessing today through the Purpose Driven, contemplative, emerging, interfaith church?
Calvary Chapel founder Chuck Smith stood in front of thousands at Greg Laurie’s Harvest crusade and introduced Rick Warren as his friend, allowing him to pray with the crowd. Has there been any outcry by Christian pastors or leaders to these occurrences? Not much! We might say the silence is deafening.
Because we at CWM love the Gospel and know its message is the only hope for any person, in connecting the dots as this article attempts to do, we believe it is a biblical mandate to contend earnestly for the faith (Jude v. 3) and warn those who are in spiritual danger.
The Obama administration has had formal contacts with the Muslim Brotherhood, a group dedicated in its own words to “eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within, and sabotaging its miserable house.”
Ingrid Mattson, then-president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), prayed at the National Cathedral on Obama’s Inauguration Day – despite the fact that ISNA has admitted its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. In fact, so overwhelming is the evidence of ISNA’s involvement with the Brotherhood and Hamas that the previous summer, federal prosecutors had rejected a request from ISNA to remove its unindicted co-conspirator status. Obama even sent his Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett to be the keynote speaker at ISNA’s national convention in 2009.
Along with adviser Valarie Jarrett, who else do you think was there? That’s right....Rick Warren!
Since beginning this article some months ago, it seems Piper has gone off the deep end. Last year he held his regional conference at Warren’s very own Saddleback Church. Now Piper is making regular appearances on stage at Louie Giglio’s Passion Conference including last year’s 2012 event, which had over 42,000 young impressionable College students, experimenting in a new flavour of Christian devotion.
Leaders in the contemporary Christian world, Beth Moore, Francis Chan, and Louie Giglio, as well as worship leaders; Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, David Crowder, and Hillsong United were at Passion.
Beth Moore and Louie Giglio, led the audience in a Contemplative prayer practice.
Incidentally Louie Giglio was a returning speaker at Hillsong’s 2012 Conference.
Rick Warren, Joel and Victoria Osteen, Judah Smith, as well as T D Jakes (who denies the Trinity) were back for this year’s 2013 Hillsong love fest.
The church’s mission on their main website is ‘Championing the cause of the Local Church’, while their conference positioning statement is:
“The Church is God’s solution for the earth.”
Jesus commissioned us to be builders of the Church, and the Church to be builders of people.
Yes...that’s right according to their mission statement: “an institution is God’s answer for the world!” You know the verse. “Go into all the world, and build churches.” [See Matt 28:18 - 20] No... Jesus’ mission statement was, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel’, and ‘I will build my Church’! The Lord Jesus isn’t abdicating His throne anytime soon. Nevertheless the Houstons are set on building global success regardless—Destined to Reign in an earthly realm of their own making! They have deceived themselves into believing they have a divine mandate to accumulate power, wealth and influence!!
The TRUE cause (purpose) of this $55 million dollar per year juggernaut called Hillsong is to amass wealth and property, which is nothing more than Satanic ‘purpose’ dressed up in ‘Christian’ phraseology.
Read the lyrics by Hard rock band Van Halen who produced songs like “Runnin with the Devil”.
Compare Hillsong’s definition of success, with Van Halen’s song “Best of Both Worlds”.
You don’t have to die and go to Heaven...Or hang around to be born again Just tune in to what this place has got to offer... We may never be here again.
I want the best of both worlds...I know what it’s worth ...
Give me the best of both worlds...I want Heaven right here on earth.
Anton LaVey, the high priest of the satanic church, explains the essence of Satanism:
....knowing this, realizing what human potential is,... here is one of the essential points of Satanism; (to) attain his own godhead in accordance with his own potential. Therefore, each man, each woman, is a god or goddess....”
The shocking truth is Hillsong and the other counterfeits such as Warren, Prince, and Osteen are promoting health, wealth, prosperity and human potential, the antithesis to true biblical Christianity! [See Phil 2:5 - 10, 2 Cor. 5:14, 15, Matt 6:24] We cannot serve God and money! Yet most people believe these churches are just another Christian ‘flavour’. Their goal is to make God famous, at the same time making themselves famous. This popular ‘faith’ is Robert Schuller’s self esteem, and Freemason Norman Vincent Peale’s positive thinking repackaged; this insidious seduction slithered into the church over fifty years ago.
Meanwhile, Bobbie Houston is already dusting off the welcome mat for Beth ‘’Mystic’ Moore if a number of tweets between the two of them are anything to go by? Shazam (http:// www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shazam)!!....Beth Moore is already on the guest speaker list for the “girls glam it up” ‘Hillsong’ Colour Conference for 2014!
Moore, a self confessed mystic from Southern Baptist roots is happily promoting this Contemplative/ Centering Prayer(CCP), which is a form of meditation, an altered state of consciousness.
In Be Still a DVD released in 2006 by 20th Century Fox, Moore uses contemplative-speak to praise “a true lover of God” who “spoke about practising God’s presence”. Moore is speaking of apostate Roman Catholic Carmelite mystic Nicholas Herman (1614-1691) aka “Brother Lawrence.”
Lectio Divina (Latin for divine reading) is a traditional Roman Catholic practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God’s Word. It does not treat Scripture as texts to be studied, but as the Living Word.
Traditionally Lectio Divina has four steps: read, meditate, pray and contemplate. First a passage of Scripture is read, and then its meaning is reflected upon.
Although Lectio Divina involves reading, it is less a practice of reading than one of listening to the inner message of the Scripture supposedly delivered through the Holy Spirit. These roots of Scriptural reflection and interpretation go back to Origen in the 3rd century, after whom St. Ambrose taught them to Augustine. Origen believed that The Word (i.e. Logos) was incarnate in Scripture and could therefore touch, and teach readers and hearers. Origen taught that the reading of Scripture could help move beyond elementary thoughts, and discover the higher wisdom ‘hidden’ in the Word of God.
In his November 6, 2005 Angelus address, the former pope Benedict XVI emphasized the role of the Holy Spirit in Lectio Divina.
Piper and Beth Moore had a contemplative time at Passion 2012.
They read Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: All about our wonderful Saviour, His power, His Dominion, His Salvation, His work, His Blood. Yet they stood there in deathly silence for almost 2 minutes, with the words “Jesus Speak to me” on the big screens in front of them. This is eerie.
Contemplative Monasticism subtly brought in by Evangelicals if you please.
Why on earth are Roman Catholic mystic practices, which were developed in monasteries by men who rejected the gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone by Christ’s work alone being promoted in supposedly Protestant Evangelical churches?
Not to be left out, Rick Warren invited Pete Scazzero, to teach Roman Catholic Monastic Mysticism at the Radicalis Conference, at Saddleback Church in Feb 2010. Scazzero with his wife, Geri, are co-founders of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, a ministry that integrates emotional health and contemplative spirituality to pastors, leaders and local spirituality.[58]
If Warren continues with this magical mystical tour, he may find himself “Back in Rome in 40 Days”
Rob Bell and Shane Hipps of Mars Hill Bible Church promote the use of Lectio Divina, as well as the Prayer Examen, a daily discipline where you look for the message of God in your life, developed by one of the arch enemies of the Reformation, Ignatius Loyola.
Loyola believed his Church held the truth:
That we may be altogether of the same mind and in conformity with the Church herself, if she shall have defined anything to be black, which appears to our eyes to be white, we ought in like manner to pronounce it to be black. For we must undoubtingly (sic) believe, that the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Spirit of the Orthodox Church His Spouse, by which Spirit we are governed and directed to Salvation, is the same.
Passion Paradigm
The latest Passion Conference, (1st - 4th January 2013), was held at the Atlanta Dome in Georgia, USA, with some 60,000 University Students rocking the stadium. Grammy winner Chris Tomlin led some of the worship with songs such as -God’s Great Dance Floor, a single from his latest album. Once again ‘worship’ inspired by Commercial rock. Dumbed down worship! It’s the same idol just with a different name.
Watch the clip - http://cetf.co/14B2o3W
Piper emphasized that Jesus Christ is the slain lamb, and conquering lion who has fulfilled God’s redemptive purposes, and that a recognition of Christ’s identity and accomplishments should evoke extravagant praise from those who follow Him. “The immensity of His worth is reflected in the intensity of your worship,” he said. “We were made for the eternal admiration of the excellence of Jesus.”[61]
Christ’s worth is not predicated on our ability or inability to acknowledge His worth. He has plenty of stones ready to cry out. As Christians, our actions show we don’t have a clue who God really is, especially when it comes to praising God. Most modern worship is like the stench of five day old trash.
Piper referenced objectivist philosopher Ayn Rand, who stated that “admiration is the rarest and highest of pleasures.” Piper said,
The reason admiration is in fact the greatest pleasure of the human soul is that God made the world so that we would be satisfied in the intensity of our enjoyment, and He would be magnified and glorified in our enjoyment of Him.
I’m sorry but I need a Christian lobotomy to understand half of what he just said. This type of so-called “Christian teaching” is like a high calorie donut, with all the sugar going to your head. I need a terminology time out!
Yes... it’s absolutely true that we need to glory in our glorious Christ, but not to get some evangelical ‘kick back’ in the process. It’s not about life enhancement! It’s not about our glory. It’s not our best life now! It’s not a ‘trade up’ of our beat up Chevrolet life, to a heavenly Trans Am. It’s not from good to better. No...It’s DEATH to our old life. We should be more concerned about pleasing Him and obeying Him, NOT seeking pleasure through Him.
Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be my disciples. - John 15:8
Stop this Christianized tomfoolery which I’m sure half the students don’t ‘get’ anyway! Piper is not preaching Christian orthodoxy, but “Christian” Philosophy, "professing themselves to be wise, they became fools". He may be sincere, but he’s sincerely deceived. All this non sense has come out of the poisoned chalice of the purpose driven paradigm propaganda of Rick Warren.
Meanwhile in the lead up to President Obama’s 2nd term inauguration, as a friend of Obama, Louie Gigilio who runs these Passion Conferences was selected to deliver the benediction at the ceremony, largely in recognition for his work against human trafficking. Asked to pray the benediction, Gigilio was out muscled by the gay lobby who were concerned about his attitude toward homosexuality. In a statement Gigilio said that the issue is not one of his priorities:
Due to a message of mine that has surfaced from 15-20 years ago, it is likely that my participation, and the prayer I would offer, will be dwarfed by those seeking to make their agenda the focal point of the inauguration. Clearly, speaking on this issue has not been in the range of my priorities in the past fifteen years. Instead, my aim has been to call people to ultimate significance as we make much of Jesus Christ.
Mmmm....a message that surfaced? Oops...How unfortunate. If only that CD was lost, he wouldn’t be in this position. That sounds like an attempt to distance himself from his own words, as if to say, “Besides, that’s not me anymore; I’m about getting people who are enslaved free from human traffickers”. Back then, it wasn’t just a message. Giglio called homosexuality a sin, declaring that legalizing gay marriage would risk “absolutely undermining the whole order of our society.” Now, it’s not on his radar. It’s no longer his priority. Now it’s the approval of men.
The only thing that has been dwarfed is his witness for Christ, lost in the soup of human opinion. Religious sound bites that seem Christian, but that only make the waters muddier. Gigilo is calling people to ultimate significance, as he makes much of Jesus Christ? Making much of the Saviour? Pilate made much of the Christ calling Him ‘King of the Jews’ yet he let Him die at the hands of the Jewish leaders. Tell me where in Colossians (or the Bible for that matter) are any of these or ideas found?
And He (Jesus) is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the pre- eminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell - Colossians 1:17-19.
John Piper is becoming a “bridger” of spiritual deception. The work of subverting the Gospel can’t occur without those who have a prominent standing amongst the Christian community bridging the gap between biblical Christians and emerging spirituality teachers.
So while a Bridger will not stand in a church and teach from his pulpit or at conferences that there is no literal hell or that the substitutionary penal atonement of Christ was Divine child abuse, he will favourably quote from the books of those who do teach that. Or he might ask a leader to endorse his latest book on the back.
A Bridger will speak at conferences with these same men, and have photos taken with them. He will quote, selectively, from their material and throw in the qualifier that he “doesn’t agree with everything the guy teaches or writes”, but he has found someone’s book on leadership helpful, or that his work amongst the poor in East Africa is vital and inspiring.
This is increasingly the way error is disseminated. Flagrant heretics such as Brian McLaren and Rob Bell are not difficult to spot. Their open denial of cardinal doctrines raises red flares to anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of Scripture and belief in its authority. The enemy of souls is not so stupid as to carry error forward only on the backs of the ravening Wolves. He needs the Bridgers. A Bridger gives credibility publicly, successfully providing a gateway to error for those who are taken in.
We cannot afford to be naive in this hour of growing spiritual delusion. Satan works in the area of pride and Christian leaders who have not checked that impulse in their hearts are vulnerable.
May God keep all of us faithful!
What else needs to be said?
Rick Warren is a traitor to the Christian cause and Christian message!
Will John Piper continue to dance to this man’s tune and global agenda?
Help, Lord; for the godly man ceases; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaks proud things: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us? - Psalms 12:1-4.
John Piper has come under the spell of Rick Warren for over a year now. Is this just an initial infatuation, or is this the start of a beautiful new partnership, only time will tell? Then there are the worrying signs that he is joining forces on a permanent basis at Passion, with Gigilio’s global conglomerate.
There needs to be concern expressed over this current curiosity.
Those who defend heretics, even if they do not believe in their teachings, are guilty of lending credibility to their heresies, and will be held accountable to God for the souls that are destroyed as a result – Al Dager http://logosresourcepages.org/Positions/timothy_2.htm
You shall not raise a false report: put not your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. You shall not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shall you speak in a cause to turn aside after many to wrest judgment - Exodus 23:1-2.
We say to Mr. Piper - please wake up!
Lance Goodall and his wife Norilyn left the Australian church growth movement in 2009. They both have a concern for the knowledge of God and His glory. They carry in their heart, a love for God’s honour, for His Word, and for the salvation of the lost.
