In his book “Deceived on Purpose: The New Age Implications of the Purpose Driven Church” Warren B. Smith demonstrates how passages from the Bible have been hijacked to promote a near New Age message. Mr. Smith quotes the following from Rick Warren’s book “The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? “ Both Job and Isaiah are used as an examples of “The greatest tragedy is not death, but life without purpose.”
“Rick Warren wrote: Without God, life has no purpose, and without purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance or hope. In the Bible, many different people expressed this hopelessness. Isaiah complained, “I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing.” Job said, “My life drags by—day after hopeless day” and “I give up; I am tired of living. Leave me alone. My life makes no sense.” The greatest tragedy is not death, but life without purpose.”
Smith, Warren B. (2011-06-21). Deceived on Purpose: The New Age Implications of the Purpose Driven Church (p. 49). BookMasters. Kindle Edition.
To be certain that Mr. Smith quoted Mr. Warren correctly I read the same passage in this best-seller. Ref: Warren, Rick. The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Kindle Locations 430-435). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Years ago The Purpose Driven Life became a runaway bestseller. Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church is an evangelical Christian megachurch located in Lake Forest, CA. Mr. Warren has become a celebrity and facilitated one of the presidential debates in 2008. He is currently involved with Pope Francis in creating one huge body of Christianity. Pope Francis is courting the Eastern Orthodox Church trying to bring them under the umbrella of the Roman Catholic Church. Mr. Warren is promoting something called Chrislam, can you say the coming One World Religion?
Mr. Warren quoted numerous Bibles in his bestseller and often uses “The Message” by Eugene Peterson. This redacted version of biblical truth has been criticized. A quick Google Search provided this article. "What kind of message is THE MESSAGE?”
What both Mr. Peterson and Mr. Warren fail to point out is that Isaiah was rather frustrated as he was finding the prophetic role that God had assigned to him was being ignored by the very people he was trying to warn. This I can identify with!
As for Job, his despair was due to great loss of family, wealth and health which were temporary. Job never lost either his commitment or devotion to God. Job gives the believer one of the greatest testament in the Bible, Job 19:25, “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:” (KJV)
The same verse in The Message goes, “Still, I know that God lives—the One who gives me back my life—and eventually he’ll take his stand on earth.” So Mr. Pearson has exchanged the concept of my Redeemer for God and the latter-day for eventually.
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