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March 25, 2009
Exclusive: Paging Rick Warren: Forgiveness is Not a ‘Stage’
“Muslims and Christians have not always shaken hands in friendship; their relations have sometimes been tense, even characterized by outright hostility,” states the preamble to a so-called reconciliation statement, on the Yale Center for Faith and & Culture’swebsite.
There are no references to Islamic warlords.
The groaning statement – signed by Pastor Rick Warren and other liberal pastors – continues: “Since Jesus Christ says, ‘First take the log out your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye’ (Matthew 7:5), we want to begin by acknowledging that in the past (e.g. in the Crusades) and in the present (e.g. in excesses of the ‘war on terror’) many Christians have been guilty of sinning against our Muslim neighbors.”
The war on terror is left to suffocate in scare quotes.
In the Christian left’s political worldview, then, “many” pro-security Christians are like hypocritical Pharisees, with logs in their eyes, and Muslim invaders have only a few specks (at worst). “Before we ‘shake your hand’ in responding to your letter, we ask forgiveness of the All-Merciful One and of the Muslim community around the world.”
In context, though, Jesus never told us to use forgiveness as a stage. More to the point, he didn’t ask Christians to say sorry to Allah, and his enablers. Brainteaser: Are modern-day Episcopalians fans of female circumcision?
In all truth, Christ’s teachings on the speck and log are about making hypocritical judgements based on lies, and he was no pacifist. Think: Why did Christ praise the Centurion?
Most bizarrely, the Neville Chamberlain Christians state: “The future of the world depends on our ability as Christians and Muslims to live together in peace. If we fail to make every effort to make peace and come together in harmony you correctly remind us that ‘our eternal souls’ are at stake as well.” So, in other words, our future depends on living with Muslims, who reject Christ’s teaching, reject women’s rights, reject the Bible’s positions on Israel, and reject the United States.
Nevertheless, Pastor Rick Warren, the Neville Chamberlain of Christianity, agrees that it is the job of conspiratorial Muslim-majority nations, to “correctly remind us that ‘our eternal souls’ are at stake as well” without a vote. And, there is no explanation as to why “our eternal souls” deserve scare quotes.
In The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), Robert Spencer raises three extremely important truths: 1. “The Crusades were not acts of unprovoked aggression by Europe against the Islamic world, but were a delayed response to centuries of Muslim aggression, which grew fiercer than ever in the eleventh century.” 2. “These were wars for the recapture of Christian lands and the defense of Christianity, not religious imperialism.” 3. “The Crusades were not called to convert Muslims or anyone to Christianity by force.”
In any case, can you imagine Jesus asking Moses to repent for his rebellious acts against the Egyptians? And, assuming that Christians are “bad” and Muslims are “good,” is it the duty of Neville Chamberlain Christians to say sorry for the so-called sins of our fathers?
From a sociological point of view too, I find it interesting that media-hungry mega-pastors and their out-of-touch liberal pastor friends (from dying liberal denominations) feel that they “speak” for Christians. Why? Because, in a good many cases, Christians reject the feminization of Christianity, and the Christian left, in particular. No wonder the elite media love them so.
So – roughly – how many people attend weekly services in America? Here are some estimates::
Churches with 45 people or less 100,000 churches, 25% of all churches
Churches with 75 people or less 200,000, 50% of all churches
Churches with 150 people or less 300,000 churches, 75% of all churches
Churches with 350 people or less 380,000 churches, 95% of all churches
Churches with 800 people or less 392, 000 churches, 98% of all churches
Churches with 800 people or more 8,000 churches, 2% of all churches
Churches with 2,000 people or more 870 churches, 0.22% of all churches
Churches with 3,000 people or more 425 churches, 0.11% of all churches
Numbers vary, of course, but no sociologist truly believes that so-called mega-churches (like Warren’s) represent mainstream America, with only 0.11%. Add or subtract a few percentage points, and still the seeker-sensitive supermarket churches and liberal denominations are as popular as redheaded stepchildren.
So, why are these submissive pastors asking Christians to repent to Muslims for not allowing them to pillage Europe? And, if one accepts the Islamic view of history, is it right to apologize for the “sins” of our fathers? (Not according Jesus.) Honestly, what are the spiritual, financial and psychological consequences of “stage forgiveness” in a war against terror without scare quotes?
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Ben-Peter Terpstra, an Australian-European satirist, is a contributor to a number of websites, from On Line Opinion (Australia's e-journal of social and political debate) to American Thinker. His pieces are also posted on his blog, Pizza Trays and Beer Bottles.
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