What did he say? This is exactly the direction
we predicted he would go! It will be crucial that skeptics hear and see this interview.
These were my thoughts when I first watched the EWTN
interview with Rick Warren and Raymond Arroyo provided by YouTube. April 11, 2014. The comments by Rick Warren
in response to Arroyo’s questions from an interview that took place at Warren’s church in southern California were stunning. There is no room for doubt: Warren’s march towards ecumenical unity with Rome is becoming clearer and bolder as time passes.
The interview opened with the following question from Arroyo:
The Purpose Drive Life is the bestselling book in the world - 36 million plus copies. It’s been translated more than any book
except the Bible. What is the key to that success? Why were so many people touched by that book and continue to be? [1]
You know, Ray, There is not a single new
thought
in
Purpose
Driven
Life
that
hadn’t
been
said for
2,000
years.
I’ve
just
said it
in a
fresh
way. I
said it
in a
simple
way.
When I
was
writing
Purpose
Drive
Life it
took me
7
months,
12 hours
a day.
I’d get
up at
4:30 in
the
morning.
I’d go
to a
little
study.
Start at
5 a.m. I
was
fasting
til noon
and I
would
light
some
candles
and I
would
start
writing
and
rewrite,
rewrite,
rewrite.
One of
the
things I
did
before I
wrote
the book
was, um,
I’d ask
the
question—How
do you
write a
book
that
lasts
500
years?
For
instance,
um,
Imitation
of
Christ
by
Thomas
Kempis,
Practicing
the
Presence
of God
by
Brother
Lawrence.
Ok? The
Dessert
Fathers,
St. John
of the
Cross,
Teresa
of
Avila.
All of
these
great,
classic
devotional
works.
Any one
of
them—I
just
realized
that in
order to
be
timeless
you have
to be
eternal.[2]
The
authors
and
the
books
mentioned
by
Warren
are
more
than
revealing.
They
clearly
show
where
his
theology
is
founded.
To
suggest
these
books
are
eternal
and
to
place
them
in
the
same
category
as
the
Bible
is
blasphemous.
Thomas
Kempis,
Brother
Lawrence,
St.
John
of
the
Cross,
Theresa
of
Avilla
are
all
Roman
Catholic
mystics.
The
Bible
is
the
inspired
word
of
God.
As
Paul
stated:
“All
scripture
is
given
by
inspiration
of
God,
and
is
profitable
for
doctrine,
for
reproof,
for
correction,
for
instruction
in
righteousness.[3]
While
the
Bible
is
timeless
and
eternal,
the
books
written
by
Roman
Catholic
mystics
are
the
works
of
humans
who
are
fallible
and
easily
misled
by
the
fallen
spiritual
dimension.
They
can
promote
doctrines
of
demons
and
lead
Bible-believers
away
from
the
faith.
The
Purpose
Driven
Life
may
be
popular
but
there
are
many
reasons
to
be
skeptical
it
is
inspired.
Just
because
someone
fasts
daily
until
noon,
confines
oneself
into
a
cubicle
or
writes
under
the
light
of
candles
does
not
make
a
book
timeless
and
eternal.
Warren’s
answer
to
Arroyo’s
question
is
questionable
at
best.
Changing
the
topic,
Raymond
Arroyo
then
asks
the
following
question:
What is your secret to reaching people every
day,
every
week,
not
only
in
your
writing
but
when
they
speak
to
you?
What
is
it?
What
is
this
communication
gift,
if
you
will,
if
you
could
decode,
because
a
lot
of
preachers
would
like
to
know.
[4]
Warren’s response is immediate. While Warren mentions Pope Francis several times in the complete interview with the EWTN host, he does not waste any time at this point to take the opportunity to praise the pope. He answers the question by directing attention to the pope and stating:
Yeah, right. Well, the main thing is love always reaches people. Authenticity, humility. Pope Francis is the perfect example of this. He is a—He is doing everything right. You see, people will listen to what we say if they like what they see. And as our new pope he was very, very symbolic in, you know, his first mass with people with AIDS, uh, his kissing of the deformed man, his loving the children. This authenticity, this humility, the caring for the poor, this is what the whole world expects us Christians to do. And when we—when they go, oh, that’s what a Christian does—In fact there was a headline here in Orange County—and I love the headline. It said, if you love Pope Francis, you’ll love Jesus. That was the headline! I showed it to a group of priests I was speaking to a while back.
While loving others is a quality all Christians should embrace and promote, using Pope Francis as the perfect example, seems somewhat opportunistic. The fact that he calls Pope Francis “our new pope” indicates that he has accepted the pope as the head of the Catholic Church and the church that he himself leads. If that is not the case, why would have he used the word “our”.
Further
in the
previous
statement,
he made
mention
of a
headline
that
appeared
in an
Orange
County
newspaper
that
stated
“If You
Love
Pope
Francis,
You’ll
love
Jesus”.
Warren
states
that he
showed
it to a
group of
priests
he was
speaking
to “a
while
back.”
So
here’s
my
question:
What
part of
the
reformation
that
separated
the
“separated
brethren”
from
Rome
does
Rick
Warren
not
understand?
Has he
now
publically
declared
that the
Purpose
Driven
way is
an
ecumenical
way on
the road
to Rome?
Further
commentaries
to be
posted
on this
EWTN
interview
will
provide
the
evidence
this may
well be
the
case.
Maybe
it’s
time to
be on
the
alert.
As Jesus
said
with
regard
to End
Times
signs
that He
would be
soon
returning:
Take
Heed!
[5]