When my interest in something is piqued I tend to obsess about it. For instance, I found GT’s Kombucha with chia seeds, tried it, didn’t like it at first, but grew to love it over the course of three days, and now I feel a bit odd without my daily sweet and sour seedy mix.
Lately I’ve become obsessed with finding something, anything, interesting on the internet. When I find that which is interesting, I obsess over it for a bit and end up formulating a short story around it. So far, this habit has led to three short story ideas. My study of kundalini energy led to a scifi story set on a virtual diamond mining platform. (If you scare easily DON’T research kundalini energy. I’m serious. It gave me nightmares. And I threw away my yoga book because of it.)
My study of mind-controlling reptilian aliens (google “Reptilians”) inspired another speculative fiction story whose details I won’t divulge because I haven’t written it yet.
My study of the Toronto Blessing planted another story seed which I will be watering soon.
Rick Warren
What’s any of this have to do with Rick Warren? Shew. It’s almost too much to explain in one post and you will have to connect some of the dots yourself. Nevertheless, let me try to summarize.
Who in the room went through 40 Days of Purpose (inspired by Rick Warren’s “Purpose Driven Life”) at their church? Raise your hands. Me!
Although I wouldn’t call it life-changing, I enjoyed the book and I enjoyed my church’s sermon series based on it. Never in my reading or my listening did my discernment bells start ringing. I suppose I never had any real reason to question Rick Warren. He’s a good guy, right? Leading people to Christ. Surely I can trust him?
I do recall a couple books before my Christian days that were life changing. (Not so positively, I now realize.) Before becoming a Christian, my views of God were peppered with New Age-y conceptions. Luckily I never got too deep into it, but I did read enough books that my view of God became warped. Two of the books I blame the most are Barbara Brennen’s “Hands of Light” and Betty Eadie’s “Embraced by the Light”. (By the way, no thank you Oprah. I could go on a day long rant about your flimsy yet dangerous spirituality. I vomit it out of my mouth a thousand times over and then some.) The deception in those two books has lingered with me for years, I’m still unraveling it. Hence I am very much interested in stories of former New Agers who are now believers in the Christ of the Bible. (Emphasis on Bible.)
Warren B. Smith: Former New Ager
One of those fellows is Warren B. Smith. I’ve happened upon his story many times during my search for internet oddities. I haven’t read his books (yet), but I have read his testimony, and I very much admire what he’s doing. As a former New Ager, he’s now devoted to pointing out ways New Age thought is infiltrating the church. He and others like him have helped me weed out some of the subtle yet damaging pantheistic beliefs that still run amok in my head a decade (and then some) after my Christian baptism.
Interestingly, Warren Smith has a book titled “Deceived on Purpose” which goes a little something like this:
Christian author Warren Smith’s book Deceived on Purpose warns about the serious New Age implications of Pastor Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life. Smith takes the reader into the inner workings of today’s evangelical world as he explores the questionable interconnections of several of its top leaders. As Rick Warren goes worldwide with his purpose-driven Global Peace Plan, Smith presents an in-depth examination of this mega-church pastor’s spiritual agenda. He explains how Rick Warren’s Peace Plan could eventually merge with the New Age Peace Plan that is being similarly presented by key New Age leaders.
The Battle of the Warren’s
Like I said, you’ll have to connect some dots on your own. Let’s just say I now have the battle of the Warren’s playing out in my head. The main question being, “Can I trust Rick Warren?”
Rick Warren’s Daniel Plan
Adding fuel to the fight is Rick Warren’s Daniel Plan.
“The Bible says that God wants you to be as healthy physically as you are spiritually,” said Warren in a video announcing the event. “The plan will help you feel better, look better, have more energy, get in shape, and use your body the way God wants you to.”
Renowned physicians Dr. Daniel Amen, bestselling author and psychiatrist, Dr. Mark Hyman, a metabolism expert, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiac surgeon and host of The Dr. Oz Show, will join Warren at the church’s main campus in Lake Forest, Calif., to kick off the initiative.
Great! The church needs to get in shape. I love the idea and I’ve been thinking it myself for years. So what’s the problem? Well, let me ask you. Do you have a problem with this?
- Dr. Oz advises people to try Reiki.
- Dr. Amen recommends people try Kirtan Kriya which is a form of meditation taught in Kundalini Yoga.
- Dr. Hyman also endorses yoga.
Looks like Rick Warren expected some push back because he addresses it on his site.
Thanks so much for contacting us with your concerns about the Daniel Plan. We’re very aware of the fact that there are uncertainties about our association with Doctors who may not share our own strong theological convictions about the nature of salvation and about the truthfulness of Scripture. Let us reassure you of some very important details…
I’m not against a whole foods diet. I’m not against alternative approaches to medicine. I’m not against exercising and taking supplements. Further, I have no doubts that Drs. Oz, Amen, and Hyman are motivated out of love for other people. I also have no doubts that some or much of the things they recommend could be helpful to others.
I’m still bothered.
(This is coming from a hippie who sucks on chia seeds.)
Why does Rick Warren’s Daniel Plan bother me? Why does it bother me that he chose non-Christians to create his health plan when he could have chosen discerning Christians? Truth is, it doesn’t just bother me. It grieves me.
And so the battle goes on in my brain, and will for quite some time, I’m sure.
Can I trust Rick Warren?
I’d love to hear your opinions.
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I haven’t read the references you included, Jess, because just reading this makes me uneasy. Number one: God never expected our bodies to be as healthy as we are spiritually. It’s impossible. They’re corrupted by sin and will die, some sooner than later. Are we back to name it and claim it?
Number two: “you will always have the poor among you”; “wars and rumors of wars, nations will rise against nations, famines, earthquakes, etc.”; “In this world you will have trouble, but take courage I have overcome the world.” Who can seek perfection on this sin-filled earth?
Yes, take care of the body but more importantly our soul. Nurture the spirit. This *%@! sounds like New Age all over the place. Good for Warren Smith. He sounds far more reliable.
I’m so glad to hear you say that, Nicole. I was wondering if I was being too alarmist, but it’s truly been eating at me since I made those connections in regards to Rick Warren. I agree with your points one and two. As for one, I am all for taking care of the body, but question is why are you doing it? Who’s team are you playing for? And if you’re trying to play for God’s team, but you’re expecting excellent health and long life in return for your efforts, then you may wind up sadly disappointed, because sometimes sickness comes despite our best efforts.
Generally, when I hear about the purpose-driven life on the radio, I always ask myself what does it mean, anyway (just insert expletive)? I’m so overloaded with purpose I think I’m going to fall the floor. God, please protect me from the purpose-driven life. Please, please.
Honestly I don’t remember a lot of the book. I don’t remember disliking it, nor was I forever changed. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m becoming quite weary of Christian marketing gimmicks.
Very interesting. I tried to read the ‘Purpose Driven Life’ but never got into it. Maybe I’ll try reading it again, but this time with your thoughts in mind.
As far as the health part goes, taking care of ourselves is in part out of respect to the bodies God gave us and partly about being able to do his work. One, however, doesn’t have to resort to wishy-washy New Ageish stuff (see “Eat This and Live” by Don Corbert for common sense health, this seems to be the trend away from fad diets, etc. In fact Oz’s books “You: The Owner’s Manual” and “You: Staying Young” are also good. Surprised he dables in these other things).
Christianity is fraught with fads, 7-step plans, 10-step plans, “say this magical prayer over and over for success,” feel-good-Dr.-Philish sermons and dumbed down gospel. The evangelical world exploded so fast in recent decades, not a lot of people where stopping to take a breath and a lot of strangeness filtered in. I think some people are starting to fight back. I hope the trend I see is real (as promoted in books like “Radical” by David Platt, “Not a Fan” by Kyle Idleman, “Simple Life” by Thom Rainer…) and will continue to grow stronger. In spite of looking strong to many within, Christianity has some serious housecleaning to do.
Also, I don’t mind his use of non-christians so long as they are experts in their field. It depends on what they are actually teaching or contributing as part of this “plan.” Warren probably, at least in part, is using them because they are well-known. However, it wouldn’t have hurt to use a Christian in the field, like Don Corbert.
I appreciate your honesty in this post. As writers, we can get sucked into words, can’t we? I think you can definitely trust Rick Warren. I’m glad you examine and question books, and it’s good to weary of the marketing gimmicks. Not everything published under a “Christian” name is truth.
Thanks for making me think! Hope you are well.
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