Rick Warren with Chuck Smith and Greg Laurie (Calvary Chapel)

At Calvary Chapel’s 20-year anniversary Harvest Crusade (8/16/09), Chuck Smith, founder of Calvary Chapel, introduced Rick Warren as “my good friend who pastors Saddleback Church” and asked him to lead in prayer (see transcript of prayer at end of post).

Full video:
http://www.harvest.org/crusades/2009/anaheim/webcast/player.php?id=136

In 2006, Chuck Smith denounced the teachings of Rick Warren. http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/recall.htm

The teachings and positions of Rick Warren have come into conflict with us at Calvary Chapel. Pastor Chuck has directed us to discontinue this product [Purpose Driven Life] effective immediately.

So what has happened behind the scenes in the last 3 years? Apparently, a lot. The fact that Smith can say “my good friend” in public ministry after stating that his good friend’s teachings are in conflict with Smith’s beliefs, is extremely suspicious. I am not a Calvary Chapel member, but I would never trust anyone who does such an obvious spiritual back-flip.

Chuck Smith’s response to a caller on the next day’s Pastor’s Perspective radio show: [K-WAVE.org click on Podcasts, then 8/17/09]

Caller’s (John’s) Question: Should pastors share a platform at an evangelical event with someone who typifies the Emergent Church, a minister?

Smith: [chuckle] That’s difficult, John, because, you know, you might say in a sense that last night I was on the platform with a minister that they say that he is a part of the Emergent Church, that he has, you know, sort of a different emphasis in his ministry, more of a social emphasis on what the church should be doing socially for people rather than the spiritual emphasis, and so I was on the platform with him but, you know, I think that it would be divisive. Now the man, I’m convinced, loves the Lord, has a large church, and is, you know, feels that he is called of God to really deal with the social problems of our world today. Now it could be that God IS calling him to that, but that isn’t why God has called ME to do and so, but I can still look at him as a brother in Christ – he believes that Jesus died for our sins and he just has a different emphsis as far as what he feels should be the priority of the church today..
We were both invited to be there but we were on the platform together, sat next to each other, and he is a brother in Christ, and so I didn’t really have any real problem with sharing, being on the same program together with him.

According to scripture, the spiritual emphasis is everything. There isn’t a secondary “emphasis” that someone can pick and choose to focus on. Warren is apostate and unfortunately Smith won’t call him on it because he doesn’t want to be “divisive”.

*********************

Rick Warren’s prayer:

Father, I want to thank You that every person here tonight is here because You wanted them to be here, because You never made a person You didn’t love, You never made a person You didn’t have a purpose for, You never made a person that Jesus didn’t die for. And I ask You tonight every person here will see a clear picture of Jesus, what He can do in their lives. Father, there are people here tonight who are confused. Would You help them realize that Jesus is the Truth. And I’m sure there are many people here tonight that feel guilty and ashamed, maybe about their past. Help them to experience the freedom of forgiveness so they can start over with You, a new life.

Lord, we know that there are probably some people who have a tough week, or a tough month, or a tough life, or maybe they’ve been out of work for six months and they’re feeling discouraged and depressed. I ask You to help them to experience the joy of salvation. Lord, there are other people here who are worried and are anxious and are stressed out about the future and about their job. Help them to discover the peace that passes all understanding.

And Father, tonight all of us who know you and are Your children we pray that there will not be a single person exiting this stadium tonight that doesn’t know You. Thank You that You know everything about us and You still love us. And our prayer is that every one of them here tonight who don’t know You will accept You into their heart. Jesus, only You can make the changes that we want to see in our lives. Only You can restore our loneliness and relieve it and heal our past. Only You can give meaning and purpose and only You can give us a home in heaven.

So Father, I ask that You speak through Greg again tonight as You have every night for 20 years. Speak through him with clarity, with simplicity and with power. Anoint his words so that they’re like arrows piercing our hearts all the way into the furthest seats. We thank You in advance what You’re going to do in lives tonight. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Perfect Life Can Be Found in Heart’s Desires

From Slice of Laodicea:

Thank you, Rick Warren, for providing the rotten root producing this rotten fruit. The article is from the Wausau Daily Herald. How’s this for a life’s philosophy? The columnist, Mary Duwe writes:

 

I began to redesign the view from a new point of view. My new slogan, dated 3-03-03 and inscribed in the back of the book “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren, became, “My perfect day starts gradually waking up in the morning, wherever I am, at any age, bounding out of bed because there is something waiting for me that I love to do, I believe in, I am good at doing; a purpose bigger than me. I can hardly wait to get out of bed to begin again today.”

(Bold emphasis mine.)

Well, think of all the Purpose-Driven guys out there, bounding out of bed, to do something they love, something they’re good at, serving a purpose bigger than themselves—members of the Taliban, for example, or the Mexican drug cartel that is currently turning the southern border of the United States into a war zone, North Korea’s Kim Jong iL or Fred Phelps as he prepares his latest “God Hates F-gs” assault on a grieving family at a funeral. They love what they do. They serve a purpose bigger than themselves (the devil), and they’re really, really good at it. Come to think of it, Hitler would have qualified rather well for this new way of looking at life. Who would deny he was good at genocide, loved taking over countries and enslaving his people?

The Purpose-Driven columnist says she learned things on her new life’s journey:

• Only your heart knows true desire.

• Only your heart sees life as a sacred experience.

• Only your heart can identify your sacred moments.

• Only your heart comprehends the conditions needed for perfect possibilities.

• Only your heart surrenders to the awesome wonders of impossible accomplishments.

Yes, just like the guys flying planes into the World Trade Center whose hearts were set on killing thousands of Americans and whose “sacred moment” came as they entered eternity supposedly to get great rewards from Allah for their efforts. The heart, Scripture tells us, is a dangerous guide for us to follow.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

–Jeremiah 17:9

Rick Warren has not bothered to inform his interfaith and secularist followers that only hearts that are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, can be given right desires by the Lord. He has informed millions that “finding a cause bigger than yourself” and “finding out what you’re good at” is enough to give you a fulfilled life. Rick Warren has misled so many by denying the true Gospel that calls us to follow Christ alone and His desires for our lives. Warren is a celebrity as a result. But some day before God, the souls of these misled people will be on his hands. We’ve done all we can to warn.

Jesus’ Death and Resurrection

Isaiah 53:3-5

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

John 20:1-18

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.

So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.

And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.

Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,

And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.

For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,

And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.

And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

Gay Rights Supporter

Does Warren oppose the Redefinition of Marriage? Does he oppose Gay Marriage?

No.

From a video Warren made in December 2008:

I oppose the redefinition of the meaning of marriage. (at 3:45 and at the end of the video)

From October 2008:

Now let me say this really clearly: we support Proposition 8 — and if you believe what the Bible says about marriage, you need to support Proposition 8. … So I urge you to support Proposition 8, and pass that word on. I’m going to be sending out a note to pastors on what I believe about this. But everybody knows what I believe about it.

From April 2009:

I am not an anti-gay or anti-gay marriage activist. Never have been, never will be. During the whole Proposition 8 thing, I never once went to a meeting, never once issued a statement, never once even gave an endorsement in the two years Prop 8 was going.

How can anyone know what Warren actually believes? In an article by Berit Kjos:

So where does Pastor Warren actually stand on this issue? What is the source of his moral cues? God’s Word — or forceful leaders who have traded His unchanging Truth for today’s evolving moral pragmatism?

In October and December 2008 he was opposed to gay marriage, drumming up support for a traditional marriage proposition. In April 2009, he denied his own claim, unable to keep his stories straight, exposing himself as a public hypocrite and a gay-rights supporter.

Warren Apologizes for Support of Prop 8

From OneNewsNow:

Rick Warren disavows support for Prop. 8

Jim Brown – OneNewsNow – 4/8/2009 7:00:00 AM

California mega-church pastor and author of The Purpose Driven Life Rick Warren says he apologized to his homosexual friends for making comments in support of California’s Proposition 8, and now claims he “never once even gave an endorsement” of the marriage amendment.

 Monday night on CNN’s Larry King Live, Pastor Rick Warren apologized for his support of Prop. 8, California’s voter-approved marriage protection amendment, saying he has “never been and never will be” an “anti-gay or anti-gay marriage activist.”
 
“During the whole Proposition 8 thing, I never once went to a meeting, never once issued a statement, never — never once even gave an endorsement in the two years Prop. 8 was going,” Warren claimed.
 
However, just two weeks before the November 4 Prop. 8 vote, Pastor Warren issued a clear endorsement of the marriage amendment while speaking to church members. ”We support Proposition 8 — and if you believe what the Bible says about marriage, you need to support Proposition 8,” he said.
 
The following is a complete transcript of Warren’s comments just weeks before the Prop. 8 election:

“The election’s coming just in a couple of weeks, and I hope you’re praying about your vote. One of the propositions, of course, that I want to mention is Proposition 8, which is the proposition that had to be instituted because the courts threw out the will of the people. And a court of four guys actually voted to change a definition of marriage that has been going for 5,000 years.
 
“Now let me say this really clearly: we support Proposition 8 — and if you believe what the Bible says about marriage, you need to support Proposition 8. I never support a candidate, but on moral issues I come out very clear.
 
“This is one thing, friends, that all politicians tend to agree on. Both Barack Obama and John McCain, I flat-out asked both of them: what is your definition of marriage? And they both said the same thing — it is the traditional, historic, universal definition of marriage: one man and one woman, for life. And every culture for 5,000 years, and every religion for 5,000 years, has said the definition of marriage is between one man and a woman.
 
“Now here’s an interesting thing. There are about two percent of Americans [who] are homosexual or gay/lesbian people. We should not let two percent of the population determine to change a definition of marriage that has been supported by every single culture and every single religion for 5,000 years.
 
“This is not even just a Christian issue — it’s a humanitarian and human issue that God created marriage for the purpose of family, love, and procreation.
 
“So I urge you to support Proposition 8, and pass that word on. I’m going to be sending out a note to pastors on what I believe about this. But everybody knows what I believe about it. They heard me at the Civil Forum when I asked both Obama and McCain on their views.”

During his CNN interview on Monday, Warren expressed regret for backing Prop. 8. ”There were a number of things that were put out. I wrote to all my gay friends — the leaders that I knew — and actually apologized to them. That never got out,” he admitted.
 
Additionally, Pastor Warren said he did not want to comment on or criticize the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision last week to legalize same-sex “marriage” because it was “not his agenda.”

Warren Denies Anti-Gay Activism on Larry King Live

I am not an anti-gay or anti-gay marriage activist. Never have been, never will be. During the whole Proposition 8 thing, I never once went to a meeting, never once issued a statement, never once even gave an endorsement in the two years Prop 8 was going.

.

See full video on Larry King Live

Related post:
Playing Both Sides of the Gay Agenda

Memorizing the Bible

I have added a new page to this site (see tab above) to download a PDF file which explains how to memorize scripture.

I would recommend this approach for anyone who is interested in scripture memorization and for those who are weary of fumbling around looking for a particular verse.

How to Memorize the Bible

Catholic Purpose Driven

Purpose-Driven and the Roman Catholic Church
by Susan Bertalotto
September 2005

How much do you know about the Catholic Church and the followers of Catholicism? Most people are aware that Mary (the mother of Jesus) is on a very high pedestal, that Catholics go to mass every Sunday (the “good” ones, anyway), go to confession at least once a year, and take the Eucharist when at mass. That’s about all I knew as of two years ago, until I moved to Mexico – a VERY Catholic country.

About 95% of the people in the town I live (of approx. 150,000) are Catholic. The rest are protestant, Jehovah’s Witness, or Mormon. It was quite an eye-opener when I observed and understood the rituals and sacraments that the Catholic people put themselves through. Being very religious people, they believe the church – the CATHOLIC church – is the only true way to God. They also believe in Jesus Christ as God’s Son, they believe in the Holy Spirit, they believe a lot of what I believe. In fact, their Bible is very similar to mine. I have a Spanish Bible of the Reina Valera version (like King James version) and I have compared the Latin America Catholic Bible to that version. In John 14:6 of the Catholic Bible, Jesus says “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by me.” Also 1st Timothy 2:5 of the Catholic Bible says that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man. When I asked Catholic people I know about some of the verses in their bible, each time the answer was “We don’t read the Bible. Why should we? We have The Church.” So they believe what the church has taught them – Mary is the mother of God, Mary is still a virgin and she was ascended into heaven (as Jesus was), Mary is also seen in the form of other idols: Guadalupe, Carmelita, Fatima, etc. (they wear different outfits, but they are all Mary). There are many rituals at Christmas that people are extremely involved in. Some of these rituals cost money; i.e. buying clothes for the “Hijo de Dios” (Son of God), a baby doll that must be put to bed and awakened at intervals (every few days) to change clothes.

The above paragraph gives you a glimpse of what Catholic people will do to ensure that they are “saved”, as followers of a church, NOT followers of Christ. What does this have to do with purpose-driven, you ask? Before I moved to Mexico, I was struck by the PD program as being very “catholic” – do A, B, and C and you are on your way to heaven. Go through all the “rituals” and everyone will disregard what’s inside your heart. Signing the covenants is quite important in a PD church. In the PD church I was very involved with, as a staff-member, cell/small group leader, singles coordinator, we (the whole church) were told to complete the bases (101, 201, 301, 401), sign the covenants, and then we were set, ready to go out and bring others into the church. Some of the people who had completed the bases were cell/small group leaders or ministry leaders and were NOT Christians! It was quite disheartening to see what was happening in that church.

Once I moved to Mexico, and saw first-hand the deception and control that the Catholic church wields toward its followers, purpose-driven started looking more Catholic by the day! PD changes people’s mindset, making them believe that the church is everything. Don’t try to convert people on your own, bring them to the church so it can be done “right”.

“The church” has replaced God.

And then this: I found a page on the official PD site that lists Catholic churches with Protestant churches, listing the Catholic churches using the PD program. Catholics don’t even believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to God! How can they use purpose-driven?? But the answer is easy: the PD program does NOT state what to believe, only what the beliefs are “based” on. So any church (Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, Hindu, Unitarian, etc.) can use PD as a means to bring more unsuspecting “sheep” into their belief system. What happened to the Bible as the only resource for doctrine?? Tossed out like dusty, musty trash!

Excellent article:
Transubstantiation (the Eucharist)
by Mary Ann Collins, A Former Catholic Nun

Purpose-driven site:
Purpose Driven Catholics(link has been removed)
“Helpful” Catholic Links(link has been removed)

What is the difference between Christianity and Catholicism?
There is a very simple difference:

Christians believe that JESUS CHRIST is the only Way to God, according to the doctrines outlined in the Bible.

Catholics believe the way to god is through sacraments, priests, Mary, and above all, the Catholic Church.

What does Rick Warren think is the difference?
“…when it comes to the basics, [the beliefs] are pretty much the same.”
(question #36)

Purpose Driven Church – No Cost Christianity

Purpose Driven Church – No Cost Christianity
by Susan Bertalotto
December 2001

Do the following scenarios sound familiar in YOUR church?

“The pastor is preaching differently. He now preaches ’sermon series’. And the topics for the next two to three months are printed on a card and mailed to my house. The topics he’s using are from life experiences, and we rarely use our Bibles anymore. We’re not even encouraged to bring our Bibles. It’s like our church changed from ‘preaching from the Bible’ to telling life stories and finding paraphrased scripture to fit the story.”

“We don’t have an ‘altar call’ anymore. People who want to get saved just fill out a card, or prayer is offered, but the pastor says ‘no one wants to embarrass you or put you on the spot, so you don’t need to come down for prayer if you’re embarrassed to do so’. Jesus says in Luke 12:8 that ‘whoever confesses Him before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God’. And isn’t it biblical that people get prayed for? What’s going on?”

“When was the last time we had communion as a church body? Since when can’t we have communion on Sunday morning anymore? If someone gets offended by the remembrance of JESUS (Luke 22:19), are we supposed to stop doing it to make them feel ‘comfortable’?”

The Purpose-Driven Church (PDC) curriculum and book were written by a Southern Baptist named Rick Warren. He is the senior pastor of Saddleback Valley Community Church in Lake Forest, CA. Included in the book are very detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to run the Sunday morning service. It is amazing how the PDC affects the Sunday morning service! There are to be no silences in the service. Everything has to be programmed beforehand so there are no surprises. So there is no place for God. The ‘audience’ is not encouraged to seek God in the Sunday morning service. God is put in a box for an hour and a half while man ‘draws people to God’.

In the beginning, the PDC was created to bring unchurched people into the church, get them saved, and disciple them with the doctrine of the day. The major flaw with that thinking is REMOVING THE HOLY SPIRIT from the equation. Because the Holy Spirit is not a part in bringing people to God (bridge events and ‘comfortable’ services are supposed to take care of that), the Spirit of God is subdued in churches that are ‘Purpose-Driven’.

According to Mr. Warren, ‘There is no such thing as Christian music. There are only Christian lyrics.’ (Purpose Driven Church pg. 282). Shouldn’t the Spirit of God be behind Christian music and lyrics? The PDC book does not refer to the power of the Holy Spirit until the end, seemingly as an afterthought.

IDENTIFYING A PD CHURCH
One way of identifying a PDC is the jargon and acronyms. Here are a few:
Core Meetings, S.A.L.T. Meetings (Salt and Light Together), Bridge Events, BASE Classes (101, 201, 301, 401), baseball diamond classes, ‘Our Target’, Life Development Institute, Seeker Services, Community/Crowd/Congregation/Committed/Core illustration, ‘Growth Without Compromising Your Message & Mission’, S.H.A.P.E. (Spiritual gifts, Heart (Motivation), Abilities, Personality, Experiences), C.L.A.S.S. (Christian Life and Service Seminars).

If your church is PDC, your pastor has access to (and is probably using) the sermons and outlines from Saddleback Church, and is using a paraphrased Bible for scriptural quotes. The sermons and outlines are very much the same as the one you heard last Sunday (and the Sunday before) — usually with points that use the same first letter or are in the form of an acrostic. They are basically assembly-line sermon series . Your pastor did not get these sermons from the Holy Spirit through prayer and fasting! Also included are life-stories, skits, and video clips (perhaps some of them inappropriate to be seen by children).

The bridge events (reaching out to the community) are non-events – inoffensive and innocuous. Jesus and God are usually absent, in Name and in Spirit. Everything is organized and controlled by the church staff to make everyone feel comfortable, and to make the attenders feel ‘happy’.

FEEDING ON MILK
In Romans 8:8, Paul says, “So then those who are living the life of the flesh, catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature, cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him.” (The Amplified Bible) Why would we want to please man when God is the One we serve and love?!

Hebrews 5:13-14 “For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness, for he is a mere infant, But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law.” (The Amplified Bible)

The PDC is designed to keep you wanting the milk, not the meat, of the Word of God. If you want anything more from the teaching in your church, you will be labeled a complainer, a person who is unwilling to help the new Christians who are being spoon-fed.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 says “For the time is coming when people will not tolerate sound and wholesome instruction, but, having ears itching for something pleasing and gratifying, they will gather to themselves one teacher after another to a considerable number, chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the errors they hold, And will turn aside from hearing the truth and wander off into myths and man-made fictions.” (The Amplified Bible)

Unfortunately some have chosen to use another way to ‘reach people for Christ’, with distortions, deceptions, and pride. We don’t need man-made programs to help people know they need God. God has already outlined that for us in His Word. There is too much sin, flesh, and garbage between man and God. But we humans, in our infinite wisdom, bombard them even more garbage. Promises to take care of their ‘felt-needs’, promises of ‘no-cost Christianity’. When all they need is JESUS to pull them out of their sin and show them the Way to God. In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the WAY and the TRUTH, and the LIFE; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” If we truly believe that, then we must live it. Let’s always keep our focus on what is true, and we will only find that in the Word of God.

NO-COST CHRISTIANITY
‘No-cost Christianity’ is not an option according to the Bible. In the Ministry 301 class, the way a person is supposed to find his spiritual gifts is to fill out a personality profile, find his S.H.A.P.E., and then go into the ministry. But in 2 Corinthians 12:9 the Lord told Paul “My strength is made perfect in WEAKNESS”. God does not glory in our strengths. He glories in our WEAKNESSES, our self-denial (take up My cross and follow Me), our willingness to put away human desires and follow Jesus (humbleness). Worldly and business values teach us to find our strengths and use them to make our mark in this world. But the Bible teaches the exact opposite! Do you know of any time your pastor has taught (on a Sunday morning) that we as Christians must allow God to work through our weaknesses, not our strengths and egos? Most likely not! That is a very unpopular teaching, but it is a very fundamental instruction from the Bible. There is a cost for following JESUS. The cost is completely turning away from SIN, the cost is denying our own desires and following the Word of God, not a compilation of stories to make us feel good. This teaching dulls our spirits, keeps us from seeing the real truth. It may feel good for a time, but in the end it is not satisfying.

God is wanting His people to stand up for His righteousness, not hide under a cloak of ‘niceness’ and ‘feel-good platitudes’. If we truly want others to know God, we must have the BOLDNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT to show them who is God.

Read these articles for more information:
The Transforming Church
Market-Driven Church

NEW AGE
Be careful of the material you are being taught in your church through the PDC curriculum since NEW AGE spirituality is the basis for some of the classes and sermons.

WE BUILD PEOPLE
WE BUILD PEOPLE strategy is a Rick Warren-endorsed adaptation of PDC, implemented by the Assemblies of God.

More on Warren & That JESUS Thing

More on Rick Warren & That JESUS Thing
by Susan Bertalotto
January 2009

In my previous article, I wrote about Rick Warren praying to God in Isa’s name, along with Jesus’ Name. There are some in the blogosphere who claim that Jesus Christ and Isa (the Muslim jesus) are one and the same. Obviously Warren believes that also, otherwise he wouldn’t have lumped Jesus Christ and Isa together. Warren was pandering to the Muslims by using their version, their perception, of a jesus. He knew exactly what he was doing. Why wouldn’t he use Jesus’ name only in English? It would have made it biblical, and more clear. But Warren is not known for being clear in his apologetics; he is known for his ignorance and sloppiness. “Fence-straddler” is his middle name.

He also used the name “Jesús”, which in Spanish, is a direct translation for Jesus. Isa is not a direct translation and if you use Isa with a Muslim, s/he will not believe you are speaking of the Mediator between God and men. S/He will believe, rightly so, that you speak of the Muslim jesus, a substitute for Jesus Christ. One blogger contends that Jesus and Isa are the same, but Isa’s history has been “corrupted” over the years. I fully understand translations and how limiting some words can be since I live in Mexico. If the translation “Isa” was corrupted over the years, so be it. That doesn’t make it any more scriptural to pray in the name of a false god. The name of Jesus has been translated into many languages from the Hebrew, but in the case of the Arabic word Isa, it is not the same as Jesus Christ or Yeshua.

Anyone who says they are one and the same is believing a lie. This is not a minor point — Jesus Christ is the very foundation, the Cornerstone of Christianity. There is a reason that Christians pray to the Father in Jesus’ Name — because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for our sins which enables us to humbly come before the Father. Since when does Isa get the credit ?? Allah does not have a Son named Jesus. Neither does he have a son named Isa. But the true God does have a Son. BIG difference.

If you throw out Who God Is, you can agree with anyone. And pay the price.