John Piper and Rick Warren
Rick Warren is one of the most famous preachers of our day. He is the author of the runaway NY Times best-seller, The Purpose-Driven Life.
Rick Warren has given a lot of interviews over the years, and a number of them have gotten him in some hot water, including his controversial appearances on Larry King Live and Colbert Nation with Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central (not to mention his prayer at President Barack Obama’s inauguration). In those interviews, Warren seems to like building bridges with people and enjoys being everyone’s buddy. He doesn’t seem to be able to handle either fastballs up and in, or sliders low and away.
However, John Piper, another of today’s most popular preachers, met with Rick Warren to “rehabilitate the witness” as they say in court. Piper gives Warren pitches to hit and asks him very direct questions to help Warren clarify what he really thinks and believes about doctrine (a topic that we don’t often associate with Rick Warren, by his own admission). I encourage you to check this out and allow Rick to address his views in context, and in a less hostile setting than a rapid-fire, sound-byte interview. I hope you benefit from this discussion:
Congressman Rand Paul discusses how we have exchanged our Liberty for Security:
Exchanging Liberty for Security always ends in Tyranny.
Francis Schaeffer
Dr. Francis Schaeffer, a brilliant Christian philosopher who died in 1984, gives great insight to the Postmodern crisis we are experiencing within the church today. He explains how Thomas Aquinas opened the door for an Epistemological compromise between the Bible as an authority on one hand and Aristotelian philosophy being an equal viewpoint on the other hand. This mixture, known as Syncretism,ย led to Christians questioning whether the Bible was needed at all.
This is something we are struggling with in our day. Is the Bible merely “a” source of truth, or is it “the” authoritative source for all moral truth? Is the Bible “a” truth (i.e. Relative Truth), or are there real absolutes that relate to all of life and reality?
If you have never read Dr. Shaeffer’s works, you need to rediscover this man’s amazing contribution to the Christian community. It may change your life, as it did mine nearly 20 years ago.
Bart Ehrman
A friend of mine wrote to me yesterday to recommend a book by Bart Erhman, a man who speaks and writes on the texts of the Bible, and the quality of the New Testament manuscripts. Her letter caused me to reflect on Ehrman’s popularity, especially in academic circles, and I thought I should share a bit about him here.
Mr. Erhman was a confessing Born-Again, Evangelical as a teenager, went to Moody Bible Institute and Wheaton College. It was while studying at Princeton University, as a student ofย Bruce Metzger,ย that he rejected orthodox Christianity and embraced Agnosticism and a Deconstructionist view of the Bible.
His books question the reliability of the writings of the Paul and the other Apostles, the life and teachings of Jesus, and claim that the Bible is full of contradictions
Here is a video clip where he shares his story about leaving the Christian faith and rejecting the authority of Scripture:
Dr. William Lane Craig, who has debated Mr. Ehrman has a series of videos that I wanted to share with you so that you can familiarize yourself with his work, and hear why his scholarship is not to be trusted.
Finally, just for fun, Stephen Colbert, grilling Bart Erhman on his liberal theological views:
The Colbert Report
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Government schools violate the principles for blessings that God lays down in Psalm 1.
For a contrast in blessings vs. curses, please read Deuteronomy 28. Our nation is being cursed in part due to our violation of God’s word as expressed in this passage related to education.