DOES EVIL EXIST?
By
Coach Dave Daubenmire
August 21, 2008
NewsWithViews.com
That was the defining question asked by Pastor Rick Warren at his “Christian” forum the other night.
Even though both candidates disagreed on how evil should be dealt with, both McCain and Obama made it clear that they believe there is such a force.
Seeing how this was a debate involving self-proclaimed Christians, in a Christian church, hosted by a Christian pastor, this was a great opportunity for America’s leading evangelical to define for all America the root cause of our nation’s problems.
Instead, Pastor Warren moved on to climate change, adoption, and other peripheral issues. Perhaps I am wrong, but I would expect “America’s Pastor” to handle the debate in a manner that would reflect the attitude of the Berean Christians who “searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Sadly, Pastor Warren looked more like Tom Brokaw than John the Baptist.
How could a Christian pastor not more aggressively defend the Cross? Why are CNN, Time Magazine and the God-hating media fawning over this “evangelical” pastor? Could it be that they love his non-judgmental form of Christianity? Are you aware that Rick Warren is drifting towards an affiliation with “the religious left.” From a political perspective, "left" usually is a synonym for “liberal” or “socialist”, while “right” refers to “conservatives” or “capitalist.” The “left” believes that government is the answer to most of America’s problems, while the “right” believes that government IS the problem.
So, there sat the face of modern evangelicalism, representing the church of Jesus Christ, with the two men most likely to be leader of the free world, and he failed to zero in on the seminal issue of the whole debate. You see, the question was not “Does Evil Exist”, but “What is Evil?”
Pastor Warren was a total failure. He let down the church, and he let down the Lord. In his desire to be “fair and balanced” he denied the Truth. You cannot be a Christian and support the killing of un-born babies. He should have said so. Instead, it was more important that CNN and their minions be able to speak about how “balanced” Pastor Warren was. Maybe he is bucking for Larry King's job.
Folks, there is no balance when dealing with evil. Black is black and white is white. Sin is sin; it is not a “moral failure.” If America’s leading pastor won’t say it, who will? No wonder we are losing the battle for this nation. Today, millions of Americans think McCain and Obama are Christians. Rick Warren allowed their self-identification as Christians to go unchallenged. You shall know them by their fruits. Warren’s job was to inspect the fruit. Instead, he polished it.
So, since we all now agree that evil exists, perhaps we should point out some pertinent facts about it. Let me say what the “Purpose Driven Pastor” failed to do.
I know what you’re thinking, “Who do you think you are, Coach? Rick Warren is a big-league pastor and best-selling author. Who are you to cast aspersions his way? You can’t carry Rick Warren’s bag.”
That
may be true, but I’m not sure I want to. His bag is full of snake-oil.
It is not full of Truth. I am a contender
for Truth and I think I could teach Warren a thing or two. God placed
him in that chair for a purpose. Too bad he wasn't driven to be faithful
to it. Woe
to Pastor Warren and his ilk. They call evil good and good evil.
As Christians the Bible is the un-questioned source of right and wrong.
Right is good and wrong is evil. The Scriptures make that very clear.
In case there was some confusion, God gave us the 10
Commandments as our moral guide. Christians believe that our sin-nature
has caused us to violate God's laws. We call those violations sin. Non-Christians
believe violations of god's laws are "mistakes", usually caused
by "environmental" issues. Christians believe sinful behavior
must be changed. Non-believers think it should be tolerated. Wouldn't
you think that a pastor would point out the difference before such a
captive audience?
Sin is defined
as “the transgression of divine law.” Divine
means “proceeding from God or a god.” Failure to call sin
what it is a denial of God. No God, no sin. That is where the secular
left has taken us and where Warren and his acolytes have come on board
the wagon. Sin is now a “moral failure.” Morality is open
for interpretation. Individuals are no longer responsible for their
behavior. The religious left wants the government to pay for the consequences
of sinful behavior. It is like complaining about your carpet being wet
when there is a hole in your roof.
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Warren and his Purpose Driven followers should say so.
AIDS is the consequence of immoral behavior. God called it the wages of sin. Unfortunately, sin also affects the innocent. Timothy McVeigh called it collateral damage. AIDS is the collateral damage of adultery. Warren wants government to replace the carpet rather than patch the roof. Stop adultery and AIDS will stop.
Abortion is also the fruit of adultery. Obama thinks an unwanted pregnancy is a “difficult choice.” Pregnancy is the result of sexual behavior. Sexual behavior outside of marriage is fornication. Fornication is a sin. Sin leads to a multitude of “difficult decisions.” Stop fornication and abortions will go away.
Poverty is a consequence of sin, often associated with fornication. Single parent motherhood is the leading cause of poverty. Fornication leads to single motherhood. A government check will never replace a father.
Why won’t the Purpose Driven Pastor say so? Has Truth become too judgmental?
Universal healthcare is not a right….it is a violation of the 10th commandment. Forcing someone to pay for someone else, no matter how noble is a sin. Socialism is anti-Christian. Socialism is based on covetousness. It legalizes government thievery for the benefit of the “less fortunate.” Warren smells like a socialist.
Climate change is paganism. It is a classic example of “worshipping the creation rather than the Creator.” Environmentalism is Gaia worship. Christians are called to be stewards of the environment, not worship it. McCain and Obama will fight to protect ANWAR while they sacrifice unborn babies. Their priorities are wrong. Warren had a Christian obligation as a pastor to say so. Instead he joined the parade. Does he really think we can destroy the environment? We can’t even predict the course of a hurricane.
Government is replacing God and Pastor Warren is leading God’s ouster. The same group that loves to scream “separation of church and state” wants the government to determine morality. Abortion is moral, global warming is immoral. Homosexual sex is moral, lack of AIDS funding is immoral. Shacking up is moral, failure by taxpayers to pay for fatherless children is immoral. Failure to drill for oil is moral, driving a car is immoral.
The religious left wants to treat the symptoms. Our pastors should be fighting to eliminating the cause.
Monday night Rick Warren was on with Larry King. Once again he failed to clearly share the Gospel. Larry King is lost. If I were on his show I would tell him so. I would pin him down. I would make him uncomfortable. He is heading towards a future without God. He would never invite me on the show again. Maybe that’s why Warren swallowed his tongue. The fear of man is a snare…
Last night the God-mocking Bill Maher was Larry’s guest. He made fun of God. He poked fun at Christianity. He is a radical fundamental secularist. He wants God driven from America. He wasn’t worried about offending anyone. He is proud of his agnosticism.
Maher was prouder of his lies than Warren was of God’s Truth. For an hour Maher preached the foolishness of Jesus.
Warren spoke of global warming, AIDS, and adoption. He failed to mention sin. He never talked about the need for repentance and redemption He speaks only of treating symptoms.
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Maher thinks Christianity is evil. He doesn’t believe in sin. Warren believes in sin, he just doesn’t think it is evil.
Evil exists alright. The problem we face is how to recognize it. Sadly, before the whole world Warren came up empty. He hid the Light under the bushel of politics.
Sometimes I wonder who the real enemy is.
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