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Megapastor Rick Warren blasts Iraq war, praises Syria
Official state news report quotes 'Purpose-Driven' author criticizing U.S.

California mega-church pastor Rick Warren, author of the best-selling "Purpose-Driven Life," reportedly told a Syrian-controlled news agency the U.S. should have been holding dialogues with Damascus; Syrian Muslims and Christians co-exist peacefully; and the Syrian leadership is responsible for the nation's tolerance and stability.

That's according to the news agency SANA, which has issued a number of reports this week as Warren visits Syria and meets various leaders and officials, much to the dismay of many in the U.S.

"We at VCY America Radio network are appalled and angered that Rick Warren is praising a nation that has long supported international terrorism and that desires the utter destruction of Israel," said a statement from the broadcasting organization.

"The U.S. State Department reports that Syria – along with Iran – gives the Lebanese militia Hezbollah 'substantial amounts of financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organization aid.' The State Department also has documented that Iranian arms destined for Hezbollah pass through Syria on an ongoing basis," the group continued.

"Syria has also let Hezbollah operate in Lebanon and attack Israel, the results of which were seen in the July, 2006 violence between Hezbollah and Israel in which many lost their lives," the statement said.

The SANA reports included statements that:

    * "Pastor Warren 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."

    * "Syria wants peace, and Muslims and Christians live in this country jointly and peacefully since more than a thousand years, and this is not new for Syria."

    * Warren told Syria's Islamic grand mufti there could be no peace in the region without Syria and 80 percent of Americans reject the U.S. administration's policies and actions in Iraq.

The comments attributed to Warren contradict documentation by the International Counter Terrorism organization and U.S. State Department of Syria's extensive use of terrorism for its political goals.

The ICT said "frequent use of the 'terror weapon' has been made by Syria against Lebanon, Jordan and the Palestinians" in an attempt "to impose Syrian hegemony over them and bring them into line with Syrian policy."

"The main Lebanese leaders killed by Syrian proxies were: Bashir Gemayel (who was accused by Syrian propaganda of being a 'Zionist proxy'); and Kamal Jumblatt (accused of being a 'traitor' and an 'American agent.')," the ICT said.

Syria also has used terror tactics against Egypt and Iraq, although less successfully, the ICT said, but it has been used against Christians in 1978 and in the city of Zahle in 1980, and even against Muslim residents of Beirut.

The broadcast group says Warren "has no business involving himself in any role that appears to be representative of the United States and his promise to Syria to present a brighter view of that nation to America and Saddleback members demonstrates his willingness to serve as a mindless shill for a nation that embraces terror as a legitimate way of solving problems."

Messages left with Saddleback requesting a comment were not returned immediately.

But Mark D. Tooley, writing in FrontPageMagazine.com also noted "Warren has reportedly promised to carry that state sponsor of terrorism's propaganda message back to the U.S."

He accused Warren of being adrift in a religiously left direction.

"The supposed quote from Warren reads like a news release from Assad's propaganda ministry. Perhaps, the translation into Arabic and back into English does not do Warren justice. We can hope," he wrote.

"Needless to note, there was no mention by the Warren delegation, at least not as mentioned by SANA, about Syria's one-party police state, its political prisoners, its chambers of torture, its support for Hezbollah terrorism in Lebanon, and its continued devotion to the destruction of Israel," he wrote.

Freedom House notes Syrian people have no way to change their government and no influence into its policies.

This is a nation, Tooley wrote, "where only the ruling Baathist Party and its allies are permitted to win elections, where all news media are owned or controlled by the government, where independent labor unions are prohibited, where universities must proclaim Baathist Party policies, where clerics are appointed by the government, where the president by law must be Muslim, and where women's limited rights are governed by Islamic Sharia law, even though the government is ostensibly secular."

No new Christian school has been allowed to be built in 40 years, and all schools by law must have Muslim principals, Freedom House said.

"It is a sad story, repeated often. Big-name U.S. preachers, often otherwise sensible and orthodox in their faith, visit despotic regimes and naively curry favor with police state thugs," Tooley wrote, resulting in "a propaganda bonanza for the tyrants."

Saddleback, with 30,000 members, was begun by Rick and Kay Warren in 1979 and now has more than 200 ministries in the Orange County area.

His popular book, which has sold about 12 million copies, focuses on worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and evangelism. It tells readers the life is "not about you," and shows how God can enable each one to live for His purposes.

Warren already is scheduled to preach in North Korea next year.

Megapastor Warren
denies praising Syria
'I said nothing of the sort,' he says:
'I don't pretend to be a diplomat'

Megachurch Pastor Rich Warren is adamantly denying he praised Syria on his recent trip, which he describes as a favor to his Muslim next-door neighbor.

Warren, author of the best-selling "The Purpose-Driven Life," visited Syria this week and was quoted by official Syrian news agencies as saying the U.S. should have been holding dialogues with Damascus, that Syrian Muslims and Christians co-exist peacefully and the Syrian leadership is responsible for the nation's tolerance and stability.

In an e-mail to WND Editor Joseph Farah, who blasted Warren today in his daily column, Warren writes: "Joseph, why didn't you contact me first and discover the fact I said nothing of the sort? The trip was a favor to my next-door neighbor, had nothing to do with policy, and was done with the State Department's knowledge."

In fact, Saddleback Church declined repeated requests to respond to WND's questions yesterday.

Warren added that the State Department had warned him "to expect exactly what Syria did – a PT blast. I don't pretend to be a diplomat. I'm a pastor who just gets invited places."

However, in a video posted on YouTube but removed today, titled "Building Bridges," Warren is shown walking down a Damascus street commenting on political and social life in Syria, saying Christians and Muslims get along with each other.

"It's a moderate country, and the official government role and postion is to not allow any extremism of any kind," Warren says.

The reports from the official Syrian news agency included statements that:

    * "Pastor Warren 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."

    * "Syria wants peace, and Muslims and Christians live in this country jointly and peacefully since more than a thousand years, and this is not new for Syria."

    * Warren told Syria's Islamic grand mufti there could be no peace in the region without Syria and 80 percent of Americans reject the U.S. administration's policies and actions in Iraq.

The comments attributed to Warren contradict documentation by the International Counter Terrorism organization and U.S. State Department of Syria's extensive use of terrorism for its political goals.

The ICT said "frequent use of the 'terror weapon' has been made by Syria against Lebanon, Jordan and the Palestinians" in an attempt "to impose Syrian hegemony over them and bring them into line with Syrian policy."

"The main Lebanese leaders killed by Syrian proxies were: Bashir Gemayel (who was accused by Syrian propaganda of being a 'Zionist proxy'); and Kamal Jumblatt (accused of being a 'traitor' and an 'American agent.')," the ICT said.

Saddleback Church, with 30,000 members, was begun by Rick and Kay Warren in 1979 and now has more than 200 ministries in the Orange County area.

His popular book, which has sold about 12 million copies, focuses on worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and evangelism. It tells readers the life is "not about you," and shows how God can enable each one to live for His purposes.

Warren is scheduled to preach in North Korea next year.

In a letter to his congregation, Warren explained in more detail why he went to Syria, referring to his international "PEACE plan" ministry.

"Our team is on a three nation PEACE plan tour," he wrote. "After leading a PEACE plan briefing for 44 major Christian missions organizations that we'd gathered in Atlanta, our team traveled to Germany where we taught the PD Preaching seminar to pastors and shared the PEACE plan with about 5,000 church leaders. Right now we're in Rwanda teaching the PD Preaching seminar and the PEACE plan to the leaders of denominations. In between Germany and Rwanda, we visited Syria. Since our trip to Syria has already been misunderstood and attacked, I wanted you to know the real story, because you can't believe everything you read on the internet."

He continued: "Why Syria? The simple truth is that I was invited by my neighbor! We were talking over his backyard fence a couple months ago when my Muslim neighbor, Yassar, said, "Rick, you visit so many countries, I want to show you mine." I was touched by this invitation from my friend and promised, "The next time I'm traveling that direction, I'll visit your home with you." It was a favor for a friend, not a political statement.

"When we got to Syria, our first event was a home cooked meal with 20 of Yassar's family," he wrote. "Then he showed us many of the sacred Christian sites in Syria: the road to Damascus where St Paul was converted, Straight street where the Holy Spirit led Paul, the house where Ananias prayed for his healing, (2,000 years old!), the wall where Paul was let down in a basket to escape the Romans, the tomb of John the Baptist, and the oldest Christian church building in existence (AD 315)."

Warren went on to explain that every Christian he met expressed gratitude to the government for protecting their right to worship.

"Next, my neighbor arranged for me to meet many of the key Christian leaders of Syria, including the Presbyterian pastor who leads the coalition of Evangelical Churches of Syria, the patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Catholic Church, the patriarch of the Catholic Church, and the pastor of the oldest church in the world," he continued. "You may be surprised to know that Christianity is legal in Syria, that the government provides free electricity and water to all churches, allows pastors to buy a car tax-free (a tax break not given to Imams), appoints pastors as Christian judges to handle Christian cases, and allowed Christians to create their own civil law instead of having to follow the laws for Muslims. One city we visited, Malula, is two-thirds Christian. Every Christian I met with expressed gratitude to the government for protecting their right to worship. Honestly, that shocked me."

Warren explained how his meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad came about.

"Then my neighbor invited me to meet the president since I often meet presidents of countries we visit," he explained. "I had talked to Franklin Graham of Samaritan’s Purse who has had years of experience with Lebanon and Syria and asked him what to say. Franklin told me, 'Thank the Syrian president for protecting the freedom of Christians and Jews to worship there.' After what I had seen in the churches I’d visited, I did just that."

Warren said no press covered that meeting but, nonetheless, the Syrian news agency issued a report "that sounded like I was some politician negotiating the Iraq war and praising everything in Syria. Of course, that's ridiculous, but it created a stir among bloggers who typically editorialize before verifying the truth. It's ironic that people who distrust Syria trust their press releases!"

"By the way, even though this was just a private trip, we notified our friends at the U.S. State Department in advance of our meeting with President Bashar (sic) and sought advice," he wrote. "They told us that Syria would likely offer press releases after the meeting – which they did."

Warren concluded: "Regrettably, because I praised Syria's welcoming of Christian refugees from Iraq, Palestine, and Lebanon into their country, some bloggers concluded that I approved of everything Syria does. That's nonsense! Syria needs many reforms, but in terms of religious freedom, they are ahead of places like Burma, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, and many others."

Warren made no apologies for putting himself in a position to be used by the police state. But he did say: "I also know that anyone who speaks publicly all the time, is bound to say something dumb every now and then. So I ask for your patience and forgiveness in advance because I’m sure it will happen! Every day I'm amazed that God uses someone as flawed as I am. You should be too. Just don't believe everything you read by bloggers or hear in the media."

Why is Obama's evil in Rick Warren's pulpit?
Exclusive: Kevin McCullough takes pastor to task for inviting senator to speak


Rick Warren, the best selling author of "The Purpose Driven Life" and senior teaching pastor at Saddleback Church in California, has invited Sen. Barack Obama to speak to the congregation of the faithful on Dec. 1, 2006. In doing so, he has joined himself with one of the smoothest politicians of our times, and also one whose wickedness in worldview contradicts nearly every tenet of the Christian faith that Warren professes.

So the question is "why?"

Why would Warren marry the moral equivalency of his pulpit – a sacred place of honor in evangelical tradition – to the inhumane, sick and sinister evil that Obama has worked for as a legislator?

According to press reports, it is because of a mutual respect that each feels towards the other over the HIV/AIDS pandemic on the African continent. That rationale, however, is not only dishonest, but is not even logical given the two distinct positions that the men come to on the matter. Because of this supposed shared concern, Warren is ready to turn over the spiritual mantle to a man who represents the views of Satan at worst or progressive anti-God liberals at best in most of his public positions on the greatest moral tests of our time.

Warren's stand on the matter in this instance is what is in doubt – not Obama's!

Barack Obama has a long history of defying the intended morality of Scripture. As a state legislator, he actively worked to preserve availability of abortion in all nine months of pregnancy. He opposed parental notification. He opposed any and all bans on partial-birth abortion (an act that includes delivery of the baby up to the head, the crushing of the baby's brain, the suctioning of the brain matter, and then completed delivery of the child's deflated cranium). In his run for the U.S. Senate, Obama even asked his wife to pen a letter to Illinois voters that reassured them of his commitment to fighting for the right to butcher children in the womb.

Barack Obama has long supported the advance of the radical homosexual activist lobby in its pursuit to destroy traditional marriage. He supported the creation of "special rights" for people who engage in homosexuality for the sole purpose of putting them at the front of the line on issues of employment, housing and litigation. He has also solidly backed the advancement of all "hate crimes" legislation, which ultimately may be used to silence clergy who believe according to their own convictions that homosexual behavior is wrong and preach so from biblical texts. Obama has a perfect voting record against the defense of marriage.

Barack Obama advocates continued funding for Planned Parenthood clinics in our nation's inner cities, which are performing genocide against the populations of African Americans living there.

And most damnable of all, when a brave nurse named Jill Stanek brought about national awareness to a practice at a local hospital in suburban Chicago that allowed the starvation and neglect of newly born children who had survived abortion procedures – Obama opposed her. He opposed the right of those children to be given the chance to live and he advocated against a ban on such procedures – then known as "born alive abortions."

Even if they share a professed concern over the AIDS pandemic, what difference would Warren and Obama's union actually make?

Sen. Obama does not share with evangelicals a belief in moral absolutes. Right and wrong are terms of humor to Obama. All issues are shades of gray.

So how does Rick Warren believe their efforts can legitimately be joined? And what does he have to give up to do so?

By scriptural standards, Rick Warren is to be bound by the biblical text and its teaching on morality. Obama would pursue and has pursued mass distribution of condoms.

If you say to a society, as Uganda has, that the only way to be sure of not getting AIDS is through "abstinence until marriage," then they will be likely to believe you. (It's scientifically provable. And it explains Uganda's unique improvement on the African continent in the number of people contracting the virus.) On the other hand, if you say to a culture, as has happened in more than one African nation, "Try abstinence – but if you can't remain abstinent then use a condom," what do you think the likely outcome will be?

Warren's reasoning might be similar to other leaders of doctrinally weak seeker churches like Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois. Senior Pastor Bill Hybels first invited an unrepentant then-President Bill Clinton to attend his pastor's conference, and proceeded to pitch him one softball after the next in an interview before the gathered masses. Hybels' idea was to allow Clinton to "teach pastors" ideas about what "true leadership" was all about. (At what? Adultery? Lying under oath? Oral Sex?) Clinton was at least smart enough to be able to play the game a bit and profess certain vagaries about a "life of belief in God." Obama doesn't let such nonsense get in his way.

Barack Obama is likely to run for president in 2008, and speaking from the pulpit of one of America's most well-known evangelical churches is likely to be footage that could be used over and over in trying to dissuade Christians from thinking about moral issues that real Christians truly value.

It should also be noted that Rick Warren knows better. Both he and his wife, Kay, have appeared on my broadcast in days gone by. Through some of our combined efforts with World Vision, my radio listeners have raised literally millions of dollars towards the AIDS crisis in Africa. And the truth be told, evangelicals in North America contribute more monies toward the very issue Warren professes worry over than the whole of Barack Obama's liberal friends combined.

There is definitely something for Barack Obama to gain by appearing in Rick Warren's pulpit – the implied endorsement and blessing for the 2008 presidential race. There is definitely something for Rick Warren to gain in promoting Obama and giving him time behind the altar of God's word – power and access to a future heavyweight contender for the highest office in the land.

There is also something definitively risky for me in drawing attention to the matter, but because I am compelled to do what is right – and not what is expedient – I cannot refrain from asking the question.

My listeners feel the same way. They feel even more so that way when they are hung up on when dialing Warren's church at 949-609-8000 to express their concerns. (That was 949-609-8000.)

Whatever the forthcoming explanation is from Rick Warren, it will be impossible to counterbalance the rock solid truths about Obama and what he stands for.

And for the scripturally literate among us, Ephesians 5:11 says, "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them."

It may be too late to alter a stubborn heart or mind at Saddleback Church, but the effort should at least be made. So I am encouraging you to do what my listeners have done for the past several days – call Rick Warren and ask him why Barack Obama's evil worldview will be given the high honor of addressing the faithful. (949-609-8000 or info@saddleback.com)

Then gently remind him that it would be sin to let him do so!