rick warren evil ... and more

Bob Hyatt already exposed him [sarcasm] as a cheat while many others have found him to be a crook, a heretic, the antichrist, etc.. People simply love to hate Rick Warren. Rephrase - "Christians" simply love to find error in others. They remind me of the first servant in Mt 18.21ff who failed to allow the forgiveness offered him to effect a change in his heart and in turn effect a change in his relationship with others. In the end it wasn't his debt that condemned him, it was his failure to change, i.e., repent not only of a sin but to turn his entire worldview around.

Todd Rhoades provides a brief summary of the nonsense that I also observe on the internet. Warren's theology aside, what is it about Christians that cause them to feel a need to expose everything, to make up stuff, to be glad that they (think they) caught someone, etc.? The answer; these "reporters" are like the first servant in Matthew.

I've seen the same thing with Todd Bentley and the Lakeland stuff. Bentley has wrong doctrine and even wrong (certainly questionable) practice and suspicious motive. But how can there be so much judgement on his motives? How can there be so much to report, i.e., how is it some bloggers find fodder nearly daily? I may be wrong but those that do seem to be glad about the announcement of Bentley's martial failure. They not only seem glad but anxious to find more "dirt" around it, e.g., was the emotional affair more than that? Frankly, how many men would be honest enough to admit to even that much sin in their lives? Few. Net - I don't think Bentley and the Lakeland activity was correct and I am saddened by the huge numbers that were taken in with it. On the other hand, I'm more saddened by the huge numbers and the aggressiveness of those that were against it.

Speaking out is one thing. Ranting is another. Coincidently, Tony Foeller posted A Dicipleship Lesson from Harrison Ford. I love the conclusion. This wrong behavior is what I see in the critics referenced above. There is a necessary and right way to expose error. Sadly this is often not the case in the Christian community.

I was watching Harrison Ford in the movie “Clear and Present Danger” recently. Toward the end of the movie his character, Jack Ryan, was duking it out with a bad guy. The bad guy had a gun while Ford’s character was unarmed. As I’m watching I think to myself, “Why doesn’t he just take out that laser-pistol-thingy or the whip he used in his other movies?”

The answer is obvious: the character Jack Ryan can’t use the weapon that Han Solo used in “Star Wars”. Nor can he use the weapon that Indy wielded in the “Raiders of The Lost Ark” movies. That’s just silly.

So here’s the lesson. A believer can no more fight with the weapons of this world (his/her former way of life) than Jack Ryan can fight with Han Solo’s or Indiana Jones’ weapons. It’s just silly….preposterous!

Believers are to think, act, behave, react, and engage their culture very differently than non-believers. We can’t do it now the way we might have done it then. Before I knew The Lord I would fly off the handle, yell, scream, and throw a tantrum to get my point across. But now that I’m His disciple I am learning that I need to be meek (have power that’s under control), sympathetic, empathetic, compassionate, and merciful.

According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, I’m new. Old things have passed away and all things have become new. My battle is not with flesh and blood (i.e. people are not my enemy). Sin is my enemy. I couldn’t fight sin with the “weapons” of my old lifestyle. But now that I’m a new creation in Him, I have new weapons that are more than adequate for the job. Get it?

While it might have been cool to see Jack Ryan fight with a laser-pistol thingy or a whip, it would have been completely out of character. And a believer can’t fight with the world’s weapons if he/she wants to display the character of Christ.