:waving I'd be the one that posted Warren's denial that he is embracing Chrislam and since those postings are well buried in that thread, I'll repost here since it's been brought up again.
Before I do, let me explain why I feel it's worth posting Warren's response. Believe me, it's not because I delight in obnoxious contrariness, I truly don't.
But, since we are Christians it behooves us to check, recheck and check again things like this for several reasons. Not the least of which is the fact that we shouldn't be a party to bearing false witness. The blogosphere is chock full of wild accusations about everyone and we can't just take something we read and run with it as if it's as true as what within the pages of the Bible.
But, there is also this reason: If we build upon what isn't true when we speak out against things like Chrislam...and I emphatically agree that we need to take a stand against Chrislam...and the falsehood gets exposed, it weakens our entire argument as well as our ability to share the gospel. If we are sharing the gospel with someone caught up in Chrislam and go on about how Warren is supposed to be a Christian but is leading people astray...then the person we are trying to reach reads for himself what Warren has done and said, is he really going to listen to us anymore?
There is enough in Chrislam that Christians need to be focused on exposing. Whether or not Warren is pushing it is beside the point...Chrislam is out there and it deserves our attention. As long as Warren's embracing of it is in question, then we shouldn't bring him up in the discussion.
So, what has Warren said regarding his own involvement of Chrislam:
Several of the above comments are completely incorrect, based on believing 2nd hand false rumors instead of finding out the facts before speaking up. "Only a fool believes all he hears" Proverbs 14:15
The so-called "Chrislam" rumor is 100% false. If the guy who started this libelous myth, or anyone else who passed it on, had obeyed our Lord's command (Matt. 18:18-20) to come directly to me, and then asked what I actually believed – they would have been embarrassed to learn that I believe the exact opposite. As a 4th generation Christian pastor, my life & ministry is built on the truth that Jesus is the only way, and our inerrant Bible is our only true authority.
As an evangelist, I spend much of my time speaking to non-Christian groups. You cannot win your enemies to Christ; only your friends, so we must build bridges of friendship and love to those who believe differently so Jesus can walk across that bridge into their hearts. Besides, it is not a sin, but rather COMMANDED by Jesus that we love our enemies. In the past 10 years, Saddleback Church has baptized over 22,000 new adult believers – simply because we express love to those who don’t know Christ yet.
It is nonsense to believe that you must compromise your beliefs, or water down your convictions in order to love someone, or even just treat them with dignity.
Jesus was called "the friend of sinners" by the legalistic Pharisees because he hung out with (and clearly loved) unbelievers. I HOPE YOU will 1) Always believe that EVERYONE needs Jesus as their Lord & Savior. 2) Have the courage to associate with nonbelievers in order to love them and bring them to the Savior. 3) Consider being called "a friend of sinners" a Christ-like compliment. 4) Refuse to pass on rumors until you've checked for the truth with the person accused. The false statements above should be removed.
God bless you.
Rick Warren
As far as this:
Did Warren really pray in the “name of Isa?†Here is how he closed his prayer at the Obama Inaguruation:
I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus, who taught us to pray …
Well, good...great as a matter of fact. When Warren concluded his prayer in the name of Isa (sometimes spelled Esa) Muslims from all over the world would immediately recognized that he was praying in the name of Jesus.
Many well meaning Christians like Warren view "social justice" and working together with others of different faiths as not only a valid view of the Gospel, but they actually believe this is what Jesus would have them do and what the Bible teaches. I disagree with them, and if I were to ever have a sit down with Pastor Warren, I wouldn't hesitate to voice my concerns as to where the "social justice gospel" is leading. However, true Christians who do embrace the "social justice gospel" will still state, as Warren does, "
that Jesus is the only way, and our inerrant Bible is our only true authority".
I don't think there is any evidence that Warren is either embracing or endorsing Chrislam. However, I do believe that Warren's brand of "Let's join hands and work together to solve society's ills" social justice is doomed to failure.
As for Chrislam...there seems to be a need for a "Wikipedia" type "disambiguation" of the term. Chrislam is an actual religion founded by two men who are arguing over which was the true founder which combines both the Bible and the Koran. It's a false religion and there is no salvation in it. It has about 1,500 followers.
Chrislam is also a group that is united to bring about peace and harmony to the nation of Lebanon. It's a political group but it's adherents talk about the "the divinely revealed religions" so it too fails the litmus test of Jesus being the One "Way, Truth and Life".
Chrislam is also aptly applied to a ecumenical movement within some Christians churches that have done things such as place Bible and Korans in pews. It's this brand of Chrislam that we Christians need to be most diligent about because this is the one that is worming it's way into well meaning, but misguided churches.
I think a source of where a lot of this is coming from is this:
http://encounteringislam.org/
This is a group that is dedicated to building bridges between Christians and Muslims and I believe that they are the group largely responsible for putting Korans in pews next to Bibles in the churches that use their material. The Encountering Islam site might seem innocous, except if one reads it with a mind of what's not being promoted. Look carefully through the site and look for the Gospel...it's not there. But, if one keeps looking for and clicking links, one will eventually come across this, which seems to be the core beliefs of what paying $300 for the Encountering Islam course will teach:
The 16 core ideas are:
1. God initiates and advances work in history to accomplish His purpose.
2. God calls His people to join Him in fulfilling His purpose.
3. God's purpose is to bless all peoples so that Christ will be served and glorified among all peoples.
4. God accomplishes His purpose by triumphing over evil in order to rescue and bless people and to establish His kingdom rule throughout the earth.
5. The Bible is a unified story of God's purpose.
6. God's work in history has continuity and will come to an ultimate culmination.
7. The Christian movement has brought about positive social transformation.
8. The mission task can and will be completed.
9. The world's population can be viewed in terms of people groups.
10. The progress of world evangelization can be assessed in terms of church-planting movements within people groups.
11. Completing the mission task requires the initiation and growth of church-planting movements that follow social avenues of influence.
12. Completing the task requires effective cross-cultural evangelism that follows communication patterns within cultures.
13. Completing the task requires strategic wholism in which community development is integrated with church planting.
14. Completing the task requires collaborative efforts of churches and mission agencies from diverse cultures and traditions.
15. God calls His people to embrace strategic sacrifice and suffering with Christ in order to accomplish His global purpose.
16. By participating in the world Christian movement, every believer can find a way to live with vital, strategic significance in God's global purpose.
http://www.perspectives.org/site/c.eqLLI0OFKrF/b.3448385/k.7491/Core_Ideas_of_Perspectives.htm
16 Core Ideas...and Jesus being the One true God and the Way, the Truth and the Life is significantly absent from the list.
