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Emphasis Mine In Bible Verses
NOTE: To paraphrase means to restate a text or passage in another form or other words - usually to clarify meaning or make it easier to understand. It DOES NOT mean to alter the meaning of the original text which, in many cases, is exactly what the paraphrases (The Message, Living Bible etc.) have done. However, to be noted is that traditional translations have very often rendered Greek and Hebrew words according to preconceived ideas or biases. See Mishandling the Word of God.
Ill-Chosen, Unsuitable And Inappropriate Quotes
What is extremely reprehensible is that the pages of The Purpose Driven Life are liberally sprinkled with quotes from a wide variety of spiritually lost people. At least one led a decadent lifestyle, another was a staunch supported of hallucinogens, and at least two were active opponents of Biblical orthodoxy. Additionally, on more than once occasion Warren refers to monks, nuns, and mystics as examples to be emulated.
Didn't Paul Quote Pagan Philosophers?
Yes, On at least three occasions Paul did quote unbelievers but he neither named them nor supported their inspiration or wisdom. In the first instance Paul was simply pointing out that one of their own bore testimony to how unreliable the Cretans could be.
In the second example Paul used the words of a man the Athenians would have been familiar with. However he ignored the original author's intent but changed the core truth of the quote to reflect a Biblical truth.
Titus 1:5 - "Epimenides of Phaestus,or Gnossus, in Crete.
Paul accompanied Titus to Crete the largest of the Greek islands and left him there to organize the churches Paul had planted and appoint elders who would continue his work.
The reason I left you in Crete was that you would set in order what was unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. (Titus 1:5 BSB)
Paul then proceeded to set forth the character that an elder as God's steward must have - He had to be blameless, the husband of one wife, above reproach, not self-absorbed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, violence, greed etc. He had to be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. And most importantly he had to hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he could encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it. Vs. 6-11
He then went on to quote one of the Cretan 'prophets' "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons" which Paul said was true. In other words he was warning Titus about the character of people as testified to by one of their own, he was likely to come across and told him to "rebuke them sternly, so that they will be sound in the faith".
Acts 17:28 - Attributed to Menander, a prominent Athenian Greek playwright born around 342 BCE And Aratus [310 B.C]
‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’ (Acts 17:28 BSB)
When Paul visited Athens he was deeply disturbed in his spirit to see that the city was full of idols. (Acts 17:16 BSB)
Undoubtedly, the writers quoted meant this statement in a pantheistic sense however, Paul ignored the original intent. Instead, to effectively make his point, he turned the core truth of the quote into how God is the source of our life and we are His offspring. He then went on to say
Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man's skill and imagination. (Acts 17:29 BSB)
This is NOT what Rick Warren does. In more than one instance he supports what the person is teaching. See examples 1 and 2 below. To positively quote people like brother Lawrence, Richard Foster, Gary Thomas and Henry Nouwen is to open a door to some very unbiblical (to say nothing of dangerous) ideas and concepts that an unsuspecting believer (who thinks Warren is someone they can rely on) may very well walk through.
Brother Lawrence, Richard Foster, and "Breath Prayers"
Gary Thomas and Sacred Pathways
Bernie Siegel
Madame Guyon and Automatic Writing
Aldous Huxley
Albert Schweitzer
Anais Nin
William James
C. S. Lewis
Henri Nouwen
Mother Theresa
Billy Graham
1.) Brother Lawrence, Richard Foster, and "Breath Prayers"
In Chapter 11, Rick Warren says that attending church once a week and/or having a daily quiet time is insufficient to develop a close relationship with God. However, there are six "secrets" to having a friendship with God, one of which is including God in every activity, conversation, problem, and even thought (Pg. 87).
To this end Warren quotes what he calls a "classic book on learning how to develop a constant conversation with God" (Pg. 88). The book referred to is "Practicing The Presence of God" written by a "Brother Lawrence" (real name Nicholas Herman) who lived from 1614-1691. Being uneducated he entered a Carmelite monastery as a layman and worked in the kitchens of the monastery. However, he was also a mystic who advocated a "higher" form of prayer.
Rick Warren then quotes the Bible as saying "pray all the time" (1 Thessalonians 5:17. The Message).
Note: This passage reads "Pray without ceasing" in word for word translations including the KJV, The NASB and the BSB. The Greek simply reads "unceasingly pray".
He then asks how it is possible to do this and says "another of Brother Lawrence's helpful ideas was to pray shorter conversational prayers continually through the day rather than trying to pray long sessions of complex prayers. In this regard Warren suggests that "one way is to use "breath prayers" throughout the day as many Christians have done for centuries".
You choose a brief sentence or a simple phrase that can be repeated to Jesus in one breath: "You are with me." "I receive your grace." "I'm depending on you." "I want to know you.” "I belong to you." "Help me trust you.” You can also use a short phrase of Scripture: "For me to live is Christ." "You will never leave me." "You are my God."... Practicing the presence of God is a skill, a habit you can develop. Just as musicians practice scales every day in order to play beautiful music with ease, you must force yourself to think about God at different times in your day. You must train your mind to remember God.
Richard Foster
In his book Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home released in August 1992 (just three years prior to the release of The Purpose Driven Church) Richard Foster wrote about "breath prayers" as a way to fulfill Paul's instruction to "pray without ceasing" then brought up brother Lawrence - almost exactly the same format followed by Warren in The Purpose Driven Life.
(I have to wonder if this was a coincidence considering that in his book The Purpose Driven Church, Rick Warren said that Richard Foster and Dallas Willard (among others) have "underscored the importance of building up Christians and establishing personal spiritual disciplines" [04])
There is no question that all of us need to come to a greater awareness of the constant presence of the Father is an acknowledged Biblical precept that most of us need to practice. However,
Richard Foster wrote...
As Christians over the centuries have sought to follow the biblical injunction to "pray without ceasing", they have developed two fundamental expressions of Unceasing Prayer. The one is more formal and liturgical; the other is more conversational and spontaneous.
The first has its origin in the Eastern Christian hesychastic tradition and is usually called aspiratory prayer or breath prayer. The idea has its roots in the Psalms where a repeated phrase reminds us of an entire Psalm, for example, "0 LORD, you have searched me and known me" (Ps.139:1). As a result, the concept arose of a short, simple prayer of petition that can be spoken in one breath, hence the name "breath prayer".
He then went on to say (All Emphasis Added)
The most famous of the breath prayers is the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." As you can tell, this prayer is derived from Jesus' parable on self-righteousness, in which the tax collector beat his chest and prayed, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" (Luke 18:13). It came together in its present form and was used extensively in the sixth century and was revived in the Eastern Church in the fourteenth century.
Pray Without Ceasing
When Paul spoke about praying without ceasing, he did not mean nonstop talking, but rather an attitude of God-consciousness and God-surrender that we carry with us all the time. Every waking moment is to be lived in an awareness that God is with us and that He is actively involved and engaged in our thoughts and actions. He certainly did not mean short, endlessly repeated phrases.
The words "without ceasing" were translated from the Greek adialeiptos used three other times in the New Testament
1.) God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly (Gk, adialeiptos) I remember you (Romans 1:9 BSB)
2.) and continually (Gk, adialeiptos) recalling before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 1:3 BSB)
3.) And we continually (Gk, adialeiptos) thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as the true word of God — the word which is now at work in you who believe. (1 Thessalonians 2:13 BSB)
In none of the other occurrences of adialeiptos can it possibly be imagined that 1.) Paul never stopped thinking about the Roman Church, 2.) that he spent every waking moment reminding the Father of the Thessalonian's good points or 3.) he never stopped thanking God for their faith. That our prayers "should be frequent and persistent makes a whole lot more sense all four times adialeiptos was used.
Note the following two parables told by our Lord,
Luke 11: Immediately after Jesus taught the disciples what we call The Lord's Prayer, he told them the parable of the two friends, one of whom had already gone to bed, whom we will call friend A, when he was disturbed by the other (B) who had a visitor and no food to set before him. Initially the first was reluctant to get out of bed and answer the door, but friend B was so persistent that A had no choice but to get up and give him what he asked for.
Luke 18: This chapter begins with Jesus teaching the disciples that they ought to ought to pray at all times and not lose heart. To illustrate this He told them another parable about a judge who was pestered by a widow who wanted legal protection from an opponent. Verse 4 says he was initially unwilling but eventually He gave her what she asked for, not because he feared God, but because her persistence wore him down, and he wanted some peace. In verses 6 and 7 the Lord said that if such a person as the unrighteous judge would give in to the widow's persistence, would not a righteous God "bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night"
Jesus' point was that if a reluctant friend and an unjust judge will do what is asked because of the persistence of the petitioner, then certainly a compassionate God will do far more. In other words, when we are so dependent on God for every moment of our lives, it would be well if we pray persistently, conveying not only our needs, but also worship and praise.
However, to be noted is that even persistent prayer does not guarantee we will get what we want.
Breath Prayers vs. The Lord's Prayer
Breath prayers contradict Jesus' teaching in Matthew 6:7-8, when He said (Emphasis Added)
"And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
The key is the word "meaningless". While there is no question that God hears and understands the pain, longing, and passion behind many of the requests that come to His ears. The problem being that all too many people in this world use some mantra or chant, some form of prayer beads, or other kind of religious ceremony or ritual that they believe is going to make God incline His ear favorably towards them.
Jesus was not forbidding meaningful repetition, but meaningless repetition. However, meaningless repetition is exactly what contemplatives continue to indulge in and exactly the kind of praying that is taught by people like Richard Foster and encouraged by Rick Warren. It is a poor facsimile of prayer that God will not hear. In fact, "Practicing The Presence of God" is one of the founding documents of the Contemplative prayer movement.
In any case, "breath prayers" or repeating a word or phrase over and over again is nothing but the 'Christianized' version of the mantra - one of the primary methods for achieving an altered state of consciousness. of Contemplative Prayer below
See Contemplative Prayer
Although not meant to replace other kinds of prayer the basic idea behind Contemplative Prayer is to totally center one's mind on God - not by conscious thought, but by simply feeling God within - an indescribable union with Him. Unfortunately, in this world of 'warm fuzzies' people are obsessed with how they feel. Thus they assume that if they feel the presence of God, He must be there. Chapter 3 - What is Alpha?
See The Source of The Tradition (Chapter 2 of Contemplative Prayer)
Many Christian mystics claim that Contemplative Prayer as it is taught and practiced in the modern church is rooted in the tradition of the Desert Fathers. This is very far from being the whole story.
Contemplative Prayer is not only unsupported by Scripture but the methods used by 'Christian' mystics to achieve a "higher realm of consciousness" is exactly the same as the methods used by Buddhist meditators, Hindus, New Agers, Shamans, etc. However, since it is certain that regardless of personal belief something does transpire during mystical experiences we need to remember that evil spirits have been practicing the art of deception for thousands of years, and willingly give people whatever experiences they will fall for.
Gary Thomas and Sacred Pathways
In Day/Chapter 13 - Worship That Pleases God, Rick Warren quotes his "friend" Gary Thomas, author of Sacred Pathways. Before even opening the book, one gets a glimmer of some of the contents by reading the The Publishers Weekly endorsement on the back cover, that says (This endorsement is also on his site). [02]
"Creative and well-written ... Thomas cites Henri Nouwen as an example of 'the sensate’ which is a happy illustration since Thomas himself shows great potential for becoming the Henri Nouwen of evangelicalism." Publishers Weekly.
See Henri Nouwen
Gary Thomas also wrote
It is particularly difficult to describe this type of prayer in writing, as it is best taught in person. In general however, centering prayer works like this: Choose a word (Jesus or Father, for example) as a focus for contemplative prayer. Repeat the word silently in your mind for a set amount of time (say, twenty minutes) until your heart seems to be repeating the word by itself, just as naturally and involuntarily as breathing.” [03]
See Section - Contemplative Prayer
John Climacus who was quoted in Sacred Pathways recommended the use of The Jesus Prayer based on the publican's prayer in Luke 18 and consists of the single sentence.. "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner". This short and simple prayer is highly regarded in the Eastern Orthodox church and by various mystics through the centuries
However, repeating this endlessly makes absolutely no sense, since the Bible tells us that believers who have repented have already been forgiven their sins. The only time we need to ask for forgiveness is when we fall into sin again.
Thomas also refers to Thomas Merton and Henri Nouwen some four or five times each, Teresa of Avila once, and Mother Teresa at least thrice.
Various other people are also quoted without the slightest hint as to their backgrounds, their beliefs, whether they professed to be believers or not
Bernie Siegel
In chapter 3 - What Drives Your Life?, Rick Warren says "Hope is as essential to your life as air and water. You need hope to cope". He then quotes Bernie Siegel who "found he could predict which of his cancer patients would go into remission by asking, "Do you want to live to be one hundred?” Those with a deep sense of life purpose answered yes and were the ones most likely to survive. Hope comes from having a purpose." (Pg. 31)
Bernie Siegel was a Connecticut physician who, in 1978, attended a workshop in which guided visualization, and contact with a spirit guide completely changed his life and how he practiced medicine. In his book Love, Medicine & Miracles, Bernie Siegel wrote
"In June 1978, my practice of medicine changed as a result of an unexpected experience I had at a teaching seminar. Oncologist O. Carl Simonton and psychologist Stephanie Matthews (then his wife) gave a workshop - Psychological Factors, Stress, and Cancer - at the Elmcrest Institute in Portland, Connecticut.."
The Simontons taught us how to meditate. At one point they led us in a directed meditation to find and meet an inner guide. I approached this exercise with all the skepticism one expects from a mechanistic doctor. Still, I sat down, closed my eyes, and followed directions. I didn't believe it would work, but if it did I expected to see Jesus or Moses. Who else would dare appear inside a surgeon's head? Instead I met George, a bearded, long-haired young man wearing an immaculate flowing white gown and a skullcap. It was an incredible awakening for me, because I hadn't expected anything to happen.
"George was spontaneous, aware of my feelings, and an excellent adviser. He gave me honest answers, some of which I didn't like at first...
"All I know is that he has been my invaluable companion ever since his first appearance. My life is much easier now, because he does the hard work... George also helped me see things about medicine that I'd missed before. [04]
Read more about Bernie Siegel on the web site of Ankerberg Theological Research Institute. Miracles of New Age “Energetic Medicine” – Part 2 by Dr. Ron Rhodes https://
Incidentally, many Christians view the New Age movement as merely self-indulgent silliness. Unfortunately, there's far more to the movement than astrology, crystals, weird workshops, and psycho babble. Many New Age spiritual leaders who have a firmly entrenched anti-Christian world view hold that the Fall was really man's ascent into knowledge, assisted by Lucifer -- whom they hail as the bringer of light and wisdom. Many expect an imminent, apocalyptic transformation that will lead humanity into the New Age.
See
Beware The New Age
Please Note that the author Lee Penn is a Catholic and the link points to a Catholic web site.
However, the article is well worth reading.
And The New Age Movement - Roots, Expansion & Diversification, Goals, and Dangers
www.inplainsite.org/html/new_age_overview.html
Madame Guyon and Automatic Writing
Chapter 25.. Transformed By Trouble is headed by one quote from Madame Guyon and another from the book of 2 Corinthians. Madame Guyon (1648 – 1717) was a French Catholic mystic, whom Rick Warren quotes as saying
Evelyn Underhill, herself a mystic and author of books on mystical experience (Mysticism was her magnum opus), believed that there was a common ground to all authentic mystical experience, be it Jewish, Hindu, or Muslim. She referred to Guyon's autobiography saying, (All Emphasis Added)
Madame Guyon states in her autobiography, that when she was composing her works she would experience a sudden and irresistible inclination to take up her pen; though feeling wholly incapable of literary composition, and not even knowing the subject on which she would be impelled to write. If she resisted this impulse it was at the cost of the most intense discomfort. She would then begin to write with extraordinary swiftness; words, elaborate arguments, and appropriate quotations coming to her without reflection, and so quickly that one of her longest books was written in one and a half days. "In writing I saw that I was writing of things which I had never seen: and during the time of this manifestation, I was given light to perceive that I had in me treasures of knowledge and understanding which I did not know that I possessed." [05]
This is a perfect description of automatic writing (a form of channeling) in which the material does not come from the conscious thoughts of the writer but from another entity who creates or guides the writing.
No doubt, Madame Guyon thought her hand was controlled by God when she wrote "with extraordinary swiftness" and "without reflection". Over the course of 1500 odd years God managed to inspire 40 plus men to write 66 books of the Bible, without the slightest evidence of physically controlling their pens. Which makes it unlikely that He would suddenly change tactics and employ a method well known to psychics and occultists the world over.
See How The Bible Was Written
And, if God is not the inspiration behind this type of communication, then one dreads to think who or what the "other entity" is that communicates through the writer and takes control of them to a greater or lesser extent
As an aside, the infamous A Course In Miracles and Neal Donald's Walsh's book Conversations with God, were both channeled.
Aldous Huxley
At the end of chapter 31, Understanding Your Shape, Rick Warren says
"If Paul had kept his experience of doubt and depression a secret, millions of people would never have benefited from it. Aldous Huxley said, "Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you." What will you do with what you've been through.
Aldous Huxley was an English writer who not only had an enduring fascination with eastern religions, but was well known for advocating psychedelics. He experimented with LSD in 1955, and mescaline two years earlier. Mescaline is a hallucinogen obtained from the a small, spineless cactus Peyote. It is used by natives in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States as a part of traditional religious rites).
His autobiographical book The Doors of Perception published in 1954 elaborates on his psychedelic experience under the influence of mescaline in May 1953. Huxley recalls the insights he experienced, ranging from the "purely aesthetic" to "sacramental vision"
Huxley published an influential study advocating the use of mescaline to expand perception and consciousness, maintaining that the person who has this experience would be transformed for the better. He published an account of his experiences in a 1954 book, The Doors of Perception, in which he wrote,
The mescaline experience is without question the most extraordinary and significant experience available to human beings this side of the Beatific Vision."
He once said
If we could sniff or swallow something that would, for five or six hours each day, abolish our solitude as individuals, atone us with our fellows in a glowing exaltation of affection and make life in all its aspects seem not only worth living, but divinely beautiful and significant, and if this heavenly, world-transfiguring drug were of such a kind that we could wake up next morning with a clear head and an undamaged constitution-then, it seems to me, all our problems (and not merely the one small problem of discovering a novel pleasure) would be wholly solved and earth would become paradise. [06]
Albert Schweitzer
In Chapter 34.. Thinking Like A Servant, Rick Warren wrote
Imagine what could happen if just 10 percent of all Christians in the world got serious about their role as real servants Imagine all the good that could be done.... God will use you if you will begin to act and think like a servant. Albert Schweitzer said "The only really happy people are those who have learned how to serve".
Albert Schweitzer was a leading theological liberal of the 20th century most famously known for founding and sustaining the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné, French Equatorial Africa (now Gabon)
Please note the opening words of the final chapter of Albert Schweitzer's book, The Quest of the Historical Jesus (Emphasis Added)
The Jesus of Nazareth who came forward publicly as the Messiah, who preached the ethic of the Kingdom of God, who founded the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth, and died to give His work its final consecration, never had any existence. He is a figure designed by rationalism, endowed with life by liberalism, and clothed by modern theology in an historical garb. (Pg 396)
See The Birth of Jesus: Fact or Fable?
Anais Nin
Chapter 5 is headed by a quote from Anais Nin who said
"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are"
So who was Anais Nin?
As Wikipedia says
Nin is hailed by many critics as one of the finest writers of female erotica. She was one of the first women to explore fully the realm of erotic writing, and certainly the first prominent woman in the modern West to write erotica. Nin was a friend and, in some cases, lover of many leading literary figures and wrote about her infatuation with the surrealist artist Bridget Bate Tichenor in her diaries.
In the third volume of her unexpurgated journal, Incest, she wrote about her father candidly and graphically (207–15), detailing her adult sexual relationship with him.
The second quote heading chapter 5 in The Purpose Driven Life is from the book of James, who was not only the Lord's half brother but the head of the Jerusalem church. That a quote from the book of James is put alongside something Nin said is extremely repulsive.
The "Christians"
Henri Nouwen
In the same Chapter Rick Warren also quoted Henri Nouwen as saying,
"In order to be of service to others we have to die to them; that is, we have to give up measuring our meaning and value with the yardstick of others... thus we become free to be compassionate..."
This quote is from Pgs. 34-35 of Nouwen's book The Way of the Heart: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. Nouwen was a Roman Catholic priest and a psychologist however, what is perhaps most concerning is that his ideas derived, at least in part, from other religions and the mysticism of the east.
"Today I personally believe that while Jesus came to open the door to God's house, all human beings can walk through that door whether they know about Jesus or not. Today I see it as my call to help every person claim his or her own way to God." [08]
See Henri Nouwen - One of The Pioneers of Contemplative Prayerl
C. S. Lewis
In Chapter 4 - Made to Last Forever Rick Warren referred to C.S. Lewis who he said,
"captured the concept of eternity on the last page of the Chronicles of Narnia, his seven-book children's fiction series: "For us this is the end of all the stories.... But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world ... had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever and in which every chapter is better than the one before."
The many Evangelicals who love and laud C.S. Lewis seem to be unaware that he questioned the inerrancy of Scripture although he believed that it was in some sense the word of God. He also believed saved people were purified of their sins in purgatory before entering heaven itself, and that a person could be saved without necessarily knowing Jesus specifically.
See Beyond Mere Christianity: An Assessment of C. S. Lewis
Also See The Chronicles of Narnia
If it is true (as some Christians have alleged)that The Chronicles of Narnia are an illustrious biblical metaphor... Wonderful adventures that filled with Biblical allegory and allusion one has to ask why they draw as much from pagan mythology as they do the Bible? And worse, why does one of the main characters Mr. Tumnus bears an astonishing similarity to the Greco/Roman fertility deity Pan, one of the most enduring symbols for the anti-Christ. And there is more - plenty more.
Mother Theresa
In chapter 16 - What Matters Most Rick Warren quotes Mother Theresa as saying
"It's not what you do, but how much love you put into it that matters."
Mother Theresa was a Roman Catholic nun who devoted her life to serving the poor and destitute especially in Calcutta, India where she founded the Missionaries of Charity. Becoming a symbol of charitable, selfless work she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and was canonized in 2016.
Although there exist many reports that show that her she was less concerned for the poor and destitute than she was with her own image as one of history's great humanitarians, this controversy is not relevant to this article. What counts and what Rick Warren should have known is that in her book Life in the Spirit: Reflections, Meditations and Prayers she wrote (Emphasis Added)
We never try to convert those who receive (aid from Missionaries of Charity) to Christianity but in our work we bear witness to the love of God's presence and if Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, or agnostics become for this better men — simply better — we will be satisfied. It matters to the individual what church he belongs to. If that individual thinks and believes that this is the only way to God for her or him, this is the way God comes into their life — his life. If he does not know any other way and if he has no doubt so that he does not need to search then this is his way to salvation.” (Pages 81-82) [09]
The Myth Of Mother Teresa
https://www.wayoflife.org/free_ebooks/downloads/Was_Mother_Teresa_a_True_Christian.pdf
(Copy and paste into browser)
Also See Was Mother Teresa a True Christian?
https://www.wayoflife.org/free_ebooks/downloads/Was_Mother_Teresa_a_True_Christian.pdf
(Copy and paste into browser)
Billy Graham
In Chapter 24 - Transformed By Truth, Rick Warren talks about the inestimable importance of knowing that the Bible is the word of God, and that we should consider it as essential to our lives as food [Pg. 186].
However, on the next page, he refers to the time when evangelist Billy Graham made a commitment to "completely trust the Bible as the sole authority for his life and ministry." Warren goes on to say that
"from that day forward, Billy's life was blessed with unusual power and effectiveness."
Sadly, this is far from the truth. Billy Graham was ecumenical to the core and acted as if practicing Catholics, Mormons, and theological liberals were all orthodox Christians. He certainly made no distinction between those who embrace and propagate false doctrine and orthodox Christians. See Billy Graham
Continue On To Part VIII - Summary and Conclusion
PDL and Pyromarketing HERE
End Notes
[01] Steven J. Cole. Lesson 20: Three Impossible Commands (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-20-three-impossible-commands-1-thessalonians-516-18
[02] Gary Thomas. Sacred Pathways. https://garythomas.com/books/sacred-pathways/
[03] Rick Warren https://newchristiancourse.com/rick-warren/
[04] Bernie Siegel. Love, Medicine and Miracles. HarperPerennial; 60th ed. edition (July 22, 1998) Pgs. 19-20
[05] Evelyn Underhill. Mysticism: A Study In Nature And Development Of Spiritual Consciousness. Ch. III. Mysticism and Psychology. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/underhill/mysticism.iii.iii.html
[06] Aldous Huxley. Wanted: A New Pleasure. http://www.huxley.net/ah/index.html
[07] Ralph Waldo Emerson. http://ralphwaldoemerson.wwwhubs.com/
[08] Henri Nouwen. Sabbatical Journey. Pg. 51, 1998 Hardcover Edition. Emphasis Mine
[09] The Myth Of Mother Teresa. https://www.challies.com/articles/the-myth-of-mother-teresa/
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