Rick Warren: Daniel's Plan, or Devil's Plan?

Rich Warren of Saddleback Church, considerd by some to be "America's Pastor", has gotten a lot of positive attention for his "Daniel Plan" health and fitness program he introduced to his church this month. But, as Marsha West writes in this excellent article, Warren has shown an astounding lack of discernment by having this spearheaded by three men of very questionable (New Age & Hindu) spiritual backgrounds.

This is not the first time Warren's spiritual associations have been called into question. Either this man Rick Warren is terribly naive, or he is simply one of those "wolves in sheep's clothing" that Jesus warned us about. I have my own opinion regarding that (and it's probably not too hard for you to figure out where I'm leaning in regards to that question.)

Meanwhile, here's what Ms. West has for us:

By Marsha West

January 28, 2011NewsWithViews.com

Pastor Rick Warren continues to work at “fulfilling people’s needs.” His latest endeavor is “The Daniel Plan,” a 52-week health and fitness program. Pastor Rick has decided it’s high time to lose 90 pounds. But there’s more to his health plan than meets the eye.

“The church says all of its more than 5,000 small groups will go through "The Daniel Plan," which is part of Saddleback's "Decade of Destiny," a 10-year plan launching this month "to help individuals succeed and be who God designed them to be in every aspect in life." (see Online Source)

On January 15, over 6,000 people flocked to Saddleback’s main campus while thousands more watched online at the other Saddleback campuses.

It would appear that Pastor Warren has good intentions and that he genuinely wants his congregants to be the picture of health. He says that Christians should honor God with our bodies and he draws from Scripture to prove his point, 1 Cor. 6:19 and Rom. 12:1, for example. Who can possibly dispute that Warren’s plan to get the sheep shipshape is anything but admirable? 

RECIPE FOR AWITCH’S BREW

Into a cauldron of green tea add in 1 eye of a knut, 4 lizard’s tails, 3 dragon incisors, 4 forked tongues, 7 pages from the Message Bible, 1 page from the KJV Bible, then stir the pot while chanting “I am God…I am God…I am God.” While the brew simmers get in a crossed-legged yoga position…meditate …go deep…deeper still…until you’re in a trance, then allow the kundalini energy coiled like a serpent at the base of the spine to run through your body…until an ecstatic experience erupts whereby you will shift between ecstasy and horror……viola, enlightenment!

In his new endeavor to help Saddleback congregants get healthy, Pastor Rick has enticed unsuspecting people, many of them professing Christians, into drinking his witch’s brew.

Many of you are thinking, “Rick Warren wouldn’t do that!” Oh really? Stay with me and you’ll discover what “America’s Pastor” is up to. Many of you will find what I’m about to reveal unbelievable. Don’t take my word for it. At the end of this article I have included a number of links that reveal the truth about this man. Do the research.

Full article here:

The War Against the Christians

If one were to judge based on what we get from our hypocritical mainstream news media, one would think persecution of Muslims is rampant worldwide, and persecution of Christians is practically a non-issue. Indeed, quite the opposite is true.  Clifford D. May of National Review echoes my sentiments so well in this article that I don't really feel the need to say a lot in the way of introductory comments on this one. The article pretty much speaks for itself. Read on...

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The War Against the Christians
The most important story not being told

January 14, 2011 12:00 A.M.

Imagine if Muslims in Europe were being arrested for nothing more than peacefully practicing their religion. Imagine if Muslims in South America were being sentenced to death for “insulting” Jesus. Imagine if mosques were being bombed and burned by terrorists in a growing list of Christian-majority countries.

Now here’s what you don’t need to imagine because it is all too real: In recent days, Christian churches have been bombed in Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, and the Philippines. In Indonesia a mob of 1,000 Muslims burned down two Christian churches because, according to one commentator, local Islamic authorities determined there were “too many faithful and too many prayers.” In Iran, scores of Christians have been arrested. In Pakistan, a Christian woman received the death penalty for the “crime” of insulting Islam; the governor of Punjab promised to pardon her — and was then assassinated for the “crime” of blasphemy.

I could provide dozens more examples of the persecution and, in many cases, “cleansing” of Christians in what we have come to call the Muslim world. If the situation were reversed, if such a war were being waged against Muslims, it would be the top story in every newspaper, the most urgent item at the U.N., the highest priority of all the big-league human-rights groups.

What we have instead is denial...

Full article here.

Related Links:
www.persecution.com
www.christianpersecution.info

Christianity in China

In a time when there's so much negative news, not just in the world at large, but in the church world as well, its good to come across a really positive story concerning the church world.

In this article from FoxNews.com "Christianity in China", we get some interesting insight in to the explosive, but relatively under-the-radar, growth of Christianity that's taken place in China over the last several decades. Good stuff. And it calls to mind the Lord's words in Matthew 24 v. 14: "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached as a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come." Even so, come Lord Jesus.

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Christianity in China

By Lauren Green

Published January 20, 2011 

FoxNews.com

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/01/20/christianity-china/#ixzz1Bir8kJg

While religion in China may not be a big topic for discussion during President Hu Jintao's meeting with President Obamathis week, many experts say that an explosive growth in Christianity may be transforming the officially atheist regime.

According to China Aid, a Texas-based human rights group, the number of Christians in China has increased 100-fold since 1949. Current estimates range from 80 million to 130 million active members. And one startling estimate from a Chinese Christian businessman has that number doubling or even tripling in the next generation.
Christianity could become one of the macro forces shaping Chinese culture, say experts like Dr. David Aikman, author of "Jesus in Beijing."‬‪

"If the Chinese become Christianized ... which doesn't mean you have a majority of people who are Christians, but it means about 25 to 30 percent of people in positions of influence, in politics, in culture, in the media. If you have that component of a major power that accepts Christianity enthusiastically as a guide to life, that is going to change the world view of the leaders of China."‬‪

Full article here: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/01/20/christianity-china/  

Aslo... from this interesting website I came across, ChristiansInChina.com, I found these interesting facts I thought it would be good to post: 

Basic Facts:

• In China, there are two official churches: three-Self Patriotic Movement (Protestant) and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (Roman Catholics)

• There are around 20-50 million Chinese who are members of the official Chinese churches, with the majority Protestants

• However, most of the Christians in China belong to so-called house churches (private gatherings might be more appropriate). Estimates put the population around 70-120 million

• The Christian population has grown exponentially since 1949, especially during the past 30 years. By one account, the Christian population in China in 1997 is 20 times more than it was in 1949. Since 1997, the population has almost doubled

• Overall, about 5% to 10% Chinese call themselves Christians

• In 2007, about 50 million copies of the Bible were printed in China, making it the top nation where the word of God is spread and read

From: http://www.christiansinchina.com/basic-facts-about-christianty-in-china/ 

See also: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2659766n (2007 video article from CBS News.)