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There I was, watching all the regalia of the presidential inauguration. The crowds, the dignataries...(snip) Of course, I was also waiting to see just what kind of prayer Rick Warren had co-opted to pray for the new incoming President and his administration.

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=8187893

There are many things Evangelical Christians are good at, such as bake sales and talking to me on planes. They're less adept at other things, such as comedy and fighting lions. Christians aren't funny because they tend to be literal-minded. Also because they're sad about having had sex with only one person. So when Kevin Roose, author of the excellent new book The Unlikely Disciple, told me that Rick Warren's giant Saddleback Church has its own improv group, for the first time in my life, I felt my calling. I may not be the Woody Allen or Jon Stewart of...

On July 5 the Washington Times online reported that Pastor Rick Warren told his Islamic audience, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA,) that he envisions "a coalition of faith." Whether Pastor Warren knows this or not, this is just another term for the coming one-world religion outlined in Revelation 13. It is further outlined in Revelation 17. I have not taken on the issue of Rick Warren all that often, but after reading what the Washington Times has to say about his message to a group of spiritually lost Muslims, I feel I must address this in an open...

I must give you my highest commendations for WORLD NET DAILY, Lighthouse Trails (and Jan Markell's, and Ken Silva's) rightful scathing sharp rebuke of Rick Warren! Shout it from the rooftops!!! Here is my response to this abomination committed by Rick Warren: I found it extremely ironic that Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Churches enforce removal of Bible studies, removal of good Bible teachers from churches, Christian purpose-driven pastors (like a top Rick Warren lieutenant) calling the police to remove a Christian from public property in front of his church because he picketed against the church conducting purpose driven teachings and...

Rick Warren on July 4th spoke at the Islamic society of North America’s annual conference (ISNA.) Warren talked about Christians and Muslims working together to fight what he calls the big five, spiritual emptiness, corrupt leadership, extreme poverty, pandemic disease, and illiteracy or lack of education. This sounds good until you think about it for a second. Even though everyone should want the best for themselves and their neighbors, there is something wrong with what Warren proposes. We should love our neighbors but Warren seems to have has his priorities all wrong. The Gospel is the first priority but your...

Rick Warren on July 4th spoke at the Islamic society of North America’s annual conference (ISNA.) Warren talked about Christians and Muslims working together to fight what he calls the big five, spiritual emptiness, corrupt leadership, extreme poverty, pandemic disease, and illiteracy or lack of education. This sounds good until you think about it for a second.   Even though everyone should want the best for themselves and their neighbors, there is something wrong with what Warren proposes. We should love our neighbors but Warren seems to have has his priorities all wrong. The Gospel is the first priority but...

WASHINGTON, DC – Defying some of his fellow conservative Christian critics, one of the most prominent religious leaders in the country told several thousand American Muslims on Saturday that "the two largest faiths on the planet" must work together to combat stereotypes and solve global problems. "Some problems are so big you have to team tackle them," evangelical megachurch pastor Rick Warren addressed the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). Warren said Muslims and Christians should be partners in working to end what he calls "the five global giants" of war, poverty, corruption, disease, and illiteracy....

WASHINGTON Speaking to a crowd of nearly 8,000 Muslims at the Islamic Society of North America's annual convention in Washington D.C., Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren called on Muslims and Christians to form an interfaith coalition to combat prejudice and stereotypes. While Fourth of July revelers staked out seats to watch fireworks at the nearby Capitol Building, Warren addressed convention-goers – some of them from Orange County Muslim student associations – about the need for mutual respect. "Tolerance is not enough," Warren said. "People don't want to be tolerated, they want to be respected, they want to be listened to....

Warren to buy Saints, build Purpose-Driven Field NEW ORLEANS — Pastor and author Rick Warren has signed a deal to purchase the New Orleans Saints football franchise for $320 million from current owner Tom Benson, and has pledged to pour his time and energy into helping the city and team rebuild. "This is the start of the Saints' turnaround," a Warren spokesman said. "America is going to see what a purpose-driven team can accomplish." The Saints have desperately needed a home and a vision since Hurricane Katrina devastated their season. They were keenly disappointed with the NFL's response to their...

Sayyid Syeed remembers an interfaith event several years ago when a Jewish leader went to embrace him, saw someone snapping a photo, then suddenly pulled back. "He said to the man, 'Stop,'" Syeed recalled, "'I'll lose my job.'" Times have changed for the Islamic Society of North America and for Syeed, who leads the group's interfaith outreach. In a sign of growing acceptance of U.S. Muslims, one of the most prominent religious leaders in the country, evangelical pastor Rick Warren, will speak at the Islamic Society's annual convention this weekend. Representatives from the two largest streams of American Judaism, the...

Top protestant evangelist to promote new religion; 'Chrislam' at radical Muslim conventionThe Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), an organization with ties to Hamas and other terrorist groups, will hold its annual convention—the largest yearly gathering of Muslims on the continent—in Washington, D.C. over the Fourth of July weekend. And the keynote speaker will be Reverend Rick Warren, founder and senior minister of the Saddleback Church, an evangelical mega-church located in Lake Forest, California. Rev. Warren has become one of America’s leading Christian leaders. Over 400,000 pastors attend his “purpose-driven” church seminars and his books, including “The Purpose Driven Life,”...

Jumping Jihad!!! [Rev. Warren goes Wahhabi] byPaul L. Williams, Ph.D.thelastcrusade.org The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), an organization with ties to Hamas and other terrorist groups, will hold its annual convention -- the largest yearly gathering of Muslims on the continent -- in Washington, D.C. over the Fourth of July weekend. And the keynote speaker will be Reverend Rick Warren, founder and senior minister of the Saddleback Church, an evangelical mega-church located in Lake Forest, California.

Archbishop-elect Robert Duncan Bedford, Texas, Jun 24, 2009 / 04:21 am (CNA).- Former Episcopalian leaders from across North America gathered in Bedford, Texas on Monday to launch the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), described as an “alternative” to the U.S. Episcopal Church within the Anglican Communion.The new denomination claims 100,000 members from several varieties of Anglican spirituality described as evangelical, charismatic or catholic. A union of eight groups, it is seeking recognition as part of the Anglican Communion.The new denomination's constitution emphasizes biblical authority, church discipline and evangelical missionary outreach.The Episcopal Church has been afflicted by controversies over...

Islamic Society convention lands appearance from Rick WarrenThe Indiana-based Islamic Society of North America will be holding its annual convention -- the largest yearly gathering of Muslims on the continent -- in Washington, D.C. over the Fourth of July weekend. And while convention leaders are holding out hope that President Barack Obama might make the convention his latest stop in his outreach to the Muslim world, the convention has landed another pretty big fish as a featured speaker.Purpose-Driven pastor Rick Warren has agreed to appear at the convention and be part of its main session discussing the convention's theme --...

I came home from my part-time job and set down to watch Pastor Warren's Easter message on Fox News Channel. Half way through they cut to a news alert announcing the release of Captain Philips and never returned to the message. I tried to watch it again at midnight but Geraldo was on. Anybody know where I might watch the remainder of the message?

The Talk Shows Easter Sunday, April 12th, 2009 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sens. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Journalists round tableFACE THE NATION (CBS): Arturo Sarukhan, Mexican ambassador to the U.S.THIS WEEK (ABC): The Rev. Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN) : Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq; Iraqi national security adviser Mouwaffak al-Rubaie; Dana Perino, former White House press secretary; Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

Short video ad on Fox home page: "Easter w/Rick Warren Sat 9pm & Sun 6am/1p ET A special service from Saddleback Church! as millions celebrate on holiest of days A Fox Special Presentation Easter w/Rick Warren A message of hope, peace, unity Easter w/Rick Warren Sat 9pm & Sun 6am/1p ET"

Warren waver on Prop 8 stuns leaders Stance about-face at issue By Julia Duin April 11, 2009 Evangelical leaders say they are bewildered and stunned by the Rev. Rick Warren's apparent turnaround on gay marriage after the famous California pastor said earlier this week that he was not a proponent of California's Proposition 8. Mr. Warren told CNN's Larry King on Monday that he "never once even gave an endorsement" of the proposition, which said marriage in the state could only involve one man and one woman. The measure won at the polls last November by a close margin, in...

Stance about-face at issue. BY JULIA DUIN Evangelical leaders say they are bewildered and stunned by the Rev. Rick Warren's apparent turnaround on gay marriage after the famous California pastor said earlier this week that he was not a proponent of California's Proposition 8. Mr. Warren told CNN's Larry King on Monday that he "never once even gave an endorsement" of the proposition, which said marriage in the state could only involve one man and one woman. The measure won at the polls last November by a close margin, in effect negating an earlier California Supreme Court ruling allowing gay...

A Washington, DC, pastor and outspoken opponent of same-sex "marriage" says California mega-church pastor Rick Warren has done "tremendous damage" by apologizing for his support last fall of California's marriage protection amendment. Rick Warren said Monday on CNN's Larry King Live that he has "never been and never will be" an "anti-gay marriage activist," and made a point to inform the program's host that he apologized to his homosexual friends for comments he made in October to his church in support of Proposition 8 in California. Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr., with the High Impact Leadership Coalition says he was very...

America achieved its independence and freedom in the 18th century in large part because colonial pastors stood up for biblical principles, preached them, lived them and refused to back down from them – even in the face of death. The American War of Independence has been accurately called a "pulpit revolution" for this reason. It was inspired by great men of God who recognized evil and called it by its right name. What a difference two centuries, combined with affluence and the corporatization of the 501(c)3 church culture has made.

California mega-church pastor and author of The Purpose Driven Life Rick Warren says he apologized to his homosexual friends for making comments in support of California's Proposition 8, and now claims he "never once even gave an endorsement" of the marriage amendment. Pastor Rick WarrenMonday night on CNN's Larry King Live, Pastor Rick Warren apologized for his support of Prop. 8, California's voter-approved marriage protection amendment, saying he has "never been and never will be" an "anti-gay or anti-gay marriage activist." "During the whole Proposition 8 thing, I never once went to a meeting, never once issued a statement, never...

As the gay marriage movement begins to gain momentum, Pastor Rick Warren, best known for his best-selling book The Purpose Driven Life, is apologizing to the gay community for making comments supporting California’s Proposition 8. During a Monday on Larry King Live, the mega-church pastor claims he “never once even gave an endorsement” of the marriage amendment only to later state that he regretted supporting it. Proposition 8 protects the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman, thereby eliminating same-sex couple’s right to marry. Although Warren publicly spoke out in support of Proposition 8 just weeks before...

In his first interview since Inauguration Day, Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren tells Larry King that is a misconception that he is an "Anti-Gay Marriage Activist". He adds that he never took a stance on California's Prop 8 Same-Sex Marriage debate and he doesn't concern himself with things like Iowa's recent Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage.

Saddleback Church's Warren calls on believers to make history Church expects to bring 3,000 new believers into its flock Saturday. LAKE FOREST – In what Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren calls historical, the church hopes to bring 3,000 new members into its flock on Saturday. "I'm not sleeping much. I'm too excited," the megachurch's pastor wrote in an e-mail to his congregation this week. "THIS SATURDAY, March 28, will be THE GREATEST DAY in Saddleback's history. OVER 2,000 people have already signed up to become members of our church family on a single day." Citing the Bible, Warren challenges prospective...

When Capistrano Valley Church saw its donations dwindling over the last year, the church's pastor Heather Clark took some drastic steps. First, she asked the landlord for a 20 percent rent reduction and got it. Secondly, the church's staff took a 10 percent pay cut. They switched from newsletters and paper bulletins to e-mail communication. The church, which recently changed its name to Center for Spiritual Living, is not alone in its battle for survival. Clark said the 425-strong church experienced a 20 percent decline in donations over the last year. That is more or less consistent with most Orange...

Evangelical minister Rick Warren brought a message of unity and civility to some 1,400 people who attended the city's annual Mayor's Prayer Breakfast on Saturday, avoiding mention of his opposition to gay marriage and abortion. Warren, pastor of Orange County's Saddleback Church and author of the best-selling "The Purpose Driven Life," acknowledged that "sometimes I'm a little controversial." But as in his recent invocation at President Barack Obama's inauguration, he preached on the universal themes of God's love and service to the poor. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was less circumspect, acknowledging his support of gay marriage and "a woman's right to...

Despite his role in President Obama’s inauguration and the attention he received in the weeks leading into it, megachurch pastor Rick Warren is known to only about half of Americans, according to a recent survey. World renowned evangelist Billy Graham, meanwhile, remains the most well known among the nation’s high profile televangelists and megachurch leaders, with 88 percent claiming that they were familiar with him, according to HCD Research. The results of the survey, conducted Jan. 27-28, were released a little more than a week after Warren, senior pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forrest, Calif., delivered the invocation at...

Pre-inaugural chatter speculated what each of the ministers would say. Would the Rev. Rick Warren use the opportunity to pray against the maladies of abortion or homosexuality? Would he end his prayer in the nonpolitically correct and exclusive "in Jesus' name"? Would the Rev. Joseph Lowery resurrect a civil right spirit in his ecumenical prayer? Would he slide in a pro-gay comment within the final entreaty of the inauguration? (SNIP) ... just when you think the "amen" is imminent, Warren gives a coup de grace to any political or earthly power – a possible subversive chess move to subtly call...

In an hilarious episode of NBC’s The Office, Dunder-Mifflin übertwerp Dwight Schrute unwittingly adapts the words of several speeches by Benito Mussolini and Karl Marx in order to appear impressive at a conference for salesmen. “Blood alone moves the wheels of history!” he cries, and by the time he gets to Il Duce’s “It is a privilege to fight!” the equally witless conference audience is chanting along with him. “Salesmen of the world, unite!” Explaining a joke tends to make it unfunny, but it might be helpful here. We, the viewers, laugh, because we know that Dwight’s adaptation is a...

Pastor Rick Warren’s invocation was probably the most Christian prayer delivered in recent inaugural history. Not only did he pray in Jesus name, but he then recited “The Lord’s Prayer”, the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. The one thing this certainly shows is that Pastor Warren does not shrink from conflict or controversy. He had been blasted by liberals over his rejection of gay marriage and support for California’s Proposition 8. And President Barack Obama was heavily criticized for asking Warren to give the invocation. Pastor Warren declined all interviews before the inauguration saying there were too many requests...

The inauguration invocation is the high profile event for a member of the clergy. It’s only been around since 1937, but it’s grounded in a rich, religious history that’s helped shaped this country. At President-elect Barak Obama’s inauguration, Pastor Rick Warren will have the honors. Pastor Warren is the senior minister of Saddleback Church in Southern California and the uber-bestselling author of “The Purpose Driven Life.” Liberals objected to Warren because of his conservative views, specifically his support of Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that banned gay marriage in California. What some see as a move to placate the gay...

Barack Obama's inauguration promises to be one of the most important civic events in American history. Millions will make their way to the National Mall. More than 10,000 buses will be chartered. At a website called Inauguration or Bust, people anywhere in the country can find locals to travel with. At the site, the contingent from Savannah, Georgia, refers to its trip as a "pilgrimage". That word, most often associated with religious fervor, is appropriate here. The inauguration buzz is reminiscent of the excitement I have encountered in Muslim countries in the days preceding the hajj. The theological comparison isn't...

Inauguration Day is almost here, and many people are anxiously awaiting the moment Rick Warren takes the stage to pray for our new leader and the country. I am crossing my fingers for a gracious response to Warren. He's that evangelical guy the president-elect asked to give the inaugural invocation. (Warren also happens to be a crusader against the AIDS epidemic, a thoughtful thinker on current issues and a man who has consistently shared his own platform with people who oppose him ideologically, including Barack Obama.) After Warren was invited, Obama took some heat. His first heat, really. (Ronald Reagan...

I don't often post vanities but since this is an eyewitness account I thought I'd go ahead. On my way to In-N-Out in Foothill Ranch a little while ago I noticed a HUGE police presence at Saddleback Church today. One or two squad cars at each entrance, more cars patrolling Portola Parkway and El Toro Road, a mobile command post, equestrian units, and a dozen or more motorcycle units. I'd say at least 20 to 30 police in all. Maybe more as I was not on the campus itself and there may have been others closer to the services. There...

<p>January 13, 2009 Warren Applauds Obama's Invitation to Gay Bishop Sarah Pulliam Rick Warren complimented Barack Obama's invitation to openly gay Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson to pray at the inaugural kick off event on Sunday.</p> <p>“President-elect Obama has again demonstrated his genuine commitment to bringing all Americans of goodwill together in search of common ground,"</p>

By David W. Virtue www.virtueonline.org 1/12/2009 In September 2008, Saddleback pastor and author Dr. Rick Warren wrote to VOL with a proposition. He would make his church available to any Anglican parish wanting to flee the Episcopal Church because of its non-biblical stand on faith and morals. VOL was delighted to accept the challenge and wrote to Bishop John Guernsey of the Anglican Province of Uganda who oversees some 51 parishes in the U.S. and told him about the offer. Bishop Guernsey wrote back saying he would notify a number of churches that might someday be in need of Saddleback's...

WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline)-All of the nation's state attorneys general have signed onto a brief to include references to God in President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration this month. Authored by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, the amicus brief was filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in the case of atheist Michael Newdow v. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Newdow, a Sacramento physician, seeks to eliminate prayer from the ceremony and prevent Obama from being able to say "so help me God" in the presidential oath of office.

can absolutely see what Warren hoped to get out of this sordid little trip, the evidence of which he vainly tried to conceal when it threatened to become embarrassing. He wanted to be on video for his open-mouthed followers as he posed "on the road to Damascus." And he didn't care what deals he had to make, with Baath and Toothbrush Central Command, in order to bring off such a fundraising coup. But now it's the sandals of Obama that are being exploited by the same tub-thumper, and one has not merely a right but a duty to object to...

Last August I wrote a column critical of Rick Warren's decision to host a presidential candidate forum at his Saddleback Church. My reasoning then was that America's crisis is moral ambiguity. I argued that Pastor Warren would only contribute to this ambiguity by hosting candidates with opposing views on issues such as abortion and homosexuality and presenting himself as a neutral moderator. Only Barack Obama would gain, I felt, being showcased as an acceptable candidate by one of the nation's best known evangelical pastors. If John McCain had wanted to clarify his social conservative credentials, he didn't need to go...

January 1, 2009 Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson will appear as a guest on "FOX & Friends" tomorrow, Friday, at 6 a.m. EST / 3 a.m. PST. Rev. Peterson will debate an atheist on whether Pastor Rick Warren should invoke the name of Jesus during his invocation at president-elect Obama's inauguration. "FOX & Friends" airs on The FOX News Channel, M-F, 6 a.m. EST / 3 a.m. PST.

President-elect Barack Obama's choice of Rick Warren to deliver the inaugural invocation drew one kind of protest. Whether the evangelical pastor offers the prayer in the name of Jesus may draw another. At George W. Bush's 2001 swearing-in, the Revs. Franklin Graham and Kirbyjon Caldwell were criticized for invoking Christ. The distinctly Christian reference at a national civic event offended some, and even prompted a lawsuit. Warren did not answer directly when asked whether he would dedicate his prayer to Jesus. In a statement Tuesday to The Associated Press, Warren would say only that, "I'm a Christian pastor so I...

A group advocating separation of church and state is suing to keep prayer out of the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration. The Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation and several of its members are among the 29 plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit filed Monday in Washington, D.C. The lawsuit seeks to block the Presidential Inaugural Committee from including prayers in the official inauguration. It says clergy have not led prayers at inaugurations for most of the nation's history.

What's the biggest issue facing America these days? The economy? The mortgage crisis? The Iran threat? Iraq? Afghanistan? The War On Terror? You might think it would be one of these, but . . . you would be wrong, at least according to the DUmmies. No, the biggest issue--the biggest CRISIS--facing our fair land is that President-Elect Obama has invited Rick Warren to deliver an invocation at his inauguration. THIS MEANS WAR--THE WAR ON WARREN!!! The homos and the heteros in DUmmieland are having a pissing contest (well, not literally--although some might enjoy that) to see who can be...

The recent furor over President-Elect Barack Obama’s selection of California mega-church pastor Rick Warren to pray at the January 20th inauguration yields a few clues about what evangelicals can expect during the next four years. On the surface, playing the Warren card appears to be a masterstroke by Obama – one that further demonstrates impressive political skills. A day or so after the election, I was asked by someone about what Mr. Obama would do to prepare for his administration. I replied that I thought he would demonstrate significant savvy by – at least for the time being – ignoring...

Piggybacking off of yesterday’s post about the hypocrisy from the Left on Barack Obama’s ministerial affiliations with Rick Warren and Jeremiah Wright, this AOL Hot Seat Poll asks the question directly. It also gives respondents an opportunity to say that both or neither bother them.

As we saw during primary season, our president-elect is not free of his own brand of hubris and arrogance, and sometimes it comes before a fall: “You’re likable enough, Hillary” was the prelude to his defeat in New Hampshire. He has hit this same note again by assigning the invocation at his inauguration to the Rev. Rick Warren, the Orange County, Calif., megachurch preacher who has likened committed gay relationships to incest, polygamy and “an older guy marrying a child.” Bestowing this honor on Warren was a conscious — and glib — decision by Obama to spend political capital. It...

Barack Obama's decision to have Pastor Rick Warren deliver the invocation at his inauguration next month has provoked anguish among some of his formerly ardent supporters. Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, upbraided the president-elect according to The Politico. "Your invitation to Reverend Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at your inauguration is a genuine blow to LGBT Americans. (W)e feel a deep level of disrespect when one of architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination." Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen accused Obama of condoning a man...

Etheridge's wife, Tammy Lynn, thinks Rick Warren 'LOVES gays' By JD Uyon December 26, 2008 9:08 AM rick is not a televangelist. rick is not falwell. rick spoke of some "stupid" things he's said (his word, not mine), some missquotes that were given, and lots of ammunition from the media. all excellent points. (we're all war-minded right now, you know. it's easy for the media to distract us by throwing us into our own verbal wars here at home.) ) what to do, what to do.... the rest of the public is given an animation of rick warren... and then...