Post by Paddy by Grace on Sept 7, 2008 19:38:48 GMT -7
Christian leaders from across a wide spectrum of theologies and
missions are rising up together to urge Saddleback Church pastor
Rick Warren to rescind an invitation to Sen. Barack Obama to speak
from Warren's pulpit.
The Illinois Democrat, an enthusiastic supporter of abortion, is
scheduled to speak at a seminar Dec. 1 called, "We Must Work
Together" at Warren's 30,000-member California church. The seminar
is about coordinating efforts to address the AIDS crisis worldwide.
"You cannot fight one evil while justifying another," a joint
statement from dozens of leaders of Christian groups said in
condemning Obama's support for abortion and Warren's support for
Obama.
"The evangelical church can provide no genuine help for those who
suffer from AIDS if those involved do not first have their ethic of
life firmly rooted in the Word of God," the group said.
"Accordingly, we call on Pastor Rick Warren to rescind his
invitation to Sen. Obama immediately.
"The millions of silent victims who have died because of the
policies of leaders like Sen. Obama demand a response from those who
believe that life is a gift from God."
It's the second round of criticism for Warren in just days. Earlier
criticisms arose because of Warren's recent trip to Syria, where he
described the government and its policies as "moderate" even though
the U.S. government describes Syria as "terrorism-sponsoring," and
Mideast experts confirm it has punitive policies discriminating
against Christians and Jews.
"It is clear Rick Warren would never have a racist or sexist speak
at his church concerning any topic," said Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, a
spokesman for the Christian Defense Coalition. "In light of that
fact, why would he feature a speaker who supports violence against
women and children?"
"Having Sen. Barack Obama speak on issues of social justice is like
having a segregationist speak on civil rights. Mr. Obama supports
partial-birth abortion and has voted against bills prohibiting
taxpayers paying for abortion. It is hypocritical at best for him to
speak out against the horror of AIDS on children and then support
abortion which has killed 50,000,000 children in America alone,"
Mahoney said.
"Pastor Rick Warren, who is one of the most influential evangelical
leaders in the world, should realize the terrible signal he is
sending by inviting a speaker who tramples on the historic teachings
of Christianity and the Bible," Mahoney said.
"Sen. Obama's policies represent the antithesis of biblical ethics
and morality, not to mention supreme American values," said Rev. Rob
Schenck, who heads the National Clergy Council and serves as
chairman of the Committee on Church and Society for the Evangelical
Church Alliance.
"As a supporter of abortion, Sen. Obama nullifies the first of all
human rights, the right to life. Only God gives life, and only God
can determine when life ends. Our founders assured this when they
enumerated in the Declaration of Independence the rights endowed to
us by our 'creator,' among them 'life,'" Schenck said.
The National Clergy Council executive committee includes
representatives from African Methodist Episcopal, Assemblies of God,
Baptist, Catholic, charismatic, evangelical, Lutheran, Methodist
Episcopal, Orthodox, Presbyterian and Reformed denominations.
"If pastor Warren cannot find the courage to rescind his invitation
to Sen. Obama, he must at least make clear through a public
statement that the senator's support of abortion stands in
contradiction to what the Bible teaches and what the Christian
church has historically taught on the sanctity of life," Schenck said.
Just a day earlier, Brigitte Gabriel, a Lebanese-American who wrote
"Because They Hate," and founded the The American Congress for
Truth, suggested Warren's comment about Syria's status as a
"moderate" nation would better have been left unsaid.
"Rick Warren's comments about Syria are an insult and a slap on the
face to every Christian who ever lived under that regime or suffered
from Syria's evil dictatorship not only in Syria but also the
Christian Lebanese," said Gabriel.
"Rick Warren needs to speak to some of the Christians who fled Syria
because of the oppression of the Syrian regime and are now here in
America. They can tell him about the Syrian troops storming their
Christian schools when they were children and burning the schools
because they were Christians."
Ergun Mehmet Caner, president of the Liberty Theological Seminary at
Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., agreed. He said what Warren
saw in Syria was "religion toleration."
"He was shown open churches, and worshiping people. He was not shown
a single Muslim who converted to Christianity, he was shown people
who are 'grandfathered in," Caner continued. "If he would have seen
a Muslim convert, the scene would be different, and tragic. He would
have seen one of my kinsmen … buried up to his waist in his burial
cloth … and then stoned to death. Killed for the sole crime of
finding faith in Jesus Christ.
"That is not religious freedom, and that is not tolerance. That is
religious genocide," said Caner, who has authored 14 books on
Christian apologetics and world religions, including "Unveiling
Islam."
"To call Syria a moderate peaceful country where Christians and Jews
live peacefully protected by the regime is to have a lack of
understanding of the Middle East conflict. There are Christians in
Syrian prisons now whose families do not know anything about them or
if they are still alive or dead. My neighbor's son was kidnapped
over 25 years ago and until today they do not know if he is dead or
alive," Gabriel said.
According to the Syrian Arab News Agency, Warren, who met with
various religious and political leaders in Syria including President
Bashar Assad, had "hailed the religious coexistence, tolerance and
stability that the Syrian society is enjoying due to the wise
leadership of President al-Assad, asserting that he will convey the
true image about Syria to the American people."
Full Article:
worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53134
missions are rising up together to urge Saddleback Church pastor
Rick Warren to rescind an invitation to Sen. Barack Obama to speak
from Warren's pulpit.
The Illinois Democrat, an enthusiastic supporter of abortion, is
scheduled to speak at a seminar Dec. 1 called, "We Must Work
Together" at Warren's 30,000-member California church. The seminar
is about coordinating efforts to address the AIDS crisis worldwide.
"You cannot fight one evil while justifying another," a joint
statement from dozens of leaders of Christian groups said in
condemning Obama's support for abortion and Warren's support for
Obama.
"The evangelical church can provide no genuine help for those who
suffer from AIDS if those involved do not first have their ethic of
life firmly rooted in the Word of God," the group said.
"Accordingly, we call on Pastor Rick Warren to rescind his
invitation to Sen. Obama immediately.
"The millions of silent victims who have died because of the
policies of leaders like Sen. Obama demand a response from those who
believe that life is a gift from God."
It's the second round of criticism for Warren in just days. Earlier
criticisms arose because of Warren's recent trip to Syria, where he
described the government and its policies as "moderate" even though
the U.S. government describes Syria as "terrorism-sponsoring," and
Mideast experts confirm it has punitive policies discriminating
against Christians and Jews.
"It is clear Rick Warren would never have a racist or sexist speak
at his church concerning any topic," said Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, a
spokesman for the Christian Defense Coalition. "In light of that
fact, why would he feature a speaker who supports violence against
women and children?"
"Having Sen. Barack Obama speak on issues of social justice is like
having a segregationist speak on civil rights. Mr. Obama supports
partial-birth abortion and has voted against bills prohibiting
taxpayers paying for abortion. It is hypocritical at best for him to
speak out against the horror of AIDS on children and then support
abortion which has killed 50,000,000 children in America alone,"
Mahoney said.
"Pastor Rick Warren, who is one of the most influential evangelical
leaders in the world, should realize the terrible signal he is
sending by inviting a speaker who tramples on the historic teachings
of Christianity and the Bible," Mahoney said.
"Sen. Obama's policies represent the antithesis of biblical ethics
and morality, not to mention supreme American values," said Rev. Rob
Schenck, who heads the National Clergy Council and serves as
chairman of the Committee on Church and Society for the Evangelical
Church Alliance.
"As a supporter of abortion, Sen. Obama nullifies the first of all
human rights, the right to life. Only God gives life, and only God
can determine when life ends. Our founders assured this when they
enumerated in the Declaration of Independence the rights endowed to
us by our 'creator,' among them 'life,'" Schenck said.
The National Clergy Council executive committee includes
representatives from African Methodist Episcopal, Assemblies of God,
Baptist, Catholic, charismatic, evangelical, Lutheran, Methodist
Episcopal, Orthodox, Presbyterian and Reformed denominations.
"If pastor Warren cannot find the courage to rescind his invitation
to Sen. Obama, he must at least make clear through a public
statement that the senator's support of abortion stands in
contradiction to what the Bible teaches and what the Christian
church has historically taught on the sanctity of life," Schenck said.
Just a day earlier, Brigitte Gabriel, a Lebanese-American who wrote
"Because They Hate," and founded the The American Congress for
Truth, suggested Warren's comment about Syria's status as a
"moderate" nation would better have been left unsaid.
"Rick Warren's comments about Syria are an insult and a slap on the
face to every Christian who ever lived under that regime or suffered
from Syria's evil dictatorship not only in Syria but also the
Christian Lebanese," said Gabriel.
"Rick Warren needs to speak to some of the Christians who fled Syria
because of the oppression of the Syrian regime and are now here in
America. They can tell him about the Syrian troops storming their
Christian schools when they were children and burning the schools
because they were Christians."
Ergun Mehmet Caner, president of the Liberty Theological Seminary at
Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., agreed. He said what Warren
saw in Syria was "religion toleration."
"He was shown open churches, and worshiping people. He was not shown
a single Muslim who converted to Christianity, he was shown people
who are 'grandfathered in," Caner continued. "If he would have seen
a Muslim convert, the scene would be different, and tragic. He would
have seen one of my kinsmen … buried up to his waist in his burial
cloth … and then stoned to death. Killed for the sole crime of
finding faith in Jesus Christ.
"That is not religious freedom, and that is not tolerance. That is
religious genocide," said Caner, who has authored 14 books on
Christian apologetics and world religions, including "Unveiling
Islam."
"To call Syria a moderate peaceful country where Christians and Jews
live peacefully protected by the regime is to have a lack of
understanding of the Middle East conflict. There are Christians in
Syrian prisons now whose families do not know anything about them or
if they are still alive or dead. My neighbor's son was kidnapped
over 25 years ago and until today they do not know if he is dead or
alive," Gabriel said.
According to the Syrian Arab News Agency, Warren, who met with
various religious and political leaders in Syria including President
Bashar Assad, had "hailed the religious coexistence, tolerance and
stability that the Syrian society is enjoying due to the wise
leadership of President al-Assad, asserting that he will convey the
true image about Syria to the American people."
Full Article:
worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53134