Xtians.

I have had it with these people, these bloviators who presume to speak in the name of the Lord. From henceforth I shall call these people Xtians, as in Christ-less Christians. They don’t deserve the honorific prefex, as they bear no more resemblance to the Christ than Osama bin Laden. If you don’t know who I’m talking about, let’s start with the late Jerry “Fat Man” Falwell and James Kennedy. Still kicking are Pat Robertson and James Dobson, though they’re aging fast. There’s the gnome John Hagee and Franklin “The Prodigal” Graham. I suppose you have The Xtian Channel at TBN where you can see a veritable zoo of these types. Other lesser lights include Benny Hinn, Rod Parsley, Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye., Cal Thomas, and we might as well throw George W. Bush into the mix. I’m sure you can come up with your own list.

(h/t to Maha for the word Xtian).

Now before any start screaming how anti-Christian I am let me say unequivocally that I am a Christian and have been for at least thirty seven years. I’m even a member of a very traditional Christian denomination. However, all of my views are mine and mine alone and in no way represent the particular church I go to, or any church for that matter. It’s my experience of God within the Christian context that I speak from.

Now some may say, “Gee, Oldguy, isn’t that way harsh, calling them Christ-less Christians? Shouldn’t you have some Christian charity yourself?” Well, maybe so, but sometimes you have to call a spade a spade, and if something is particularly odious it needs to be called out. It’s what’s called the prophetic ministry.

The latest to move onto the celebrity Christian stage is “Ricky Boy” Warren. That would be he of the Purpose Driven Saddleback Church Candidate Forum where he purposely set Obama up and drove it for McCain. Recently Rick was on Sean Hannity’s show and had this exchange:

HANNITY: Can you talk to rogue dictators? Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust, wants to wipe Israel off the map, is seeking nuclear weapons.

WARREN: Yes.

HANNITY: I think we need to take him out.

WARREN: Yes.

HANNITY: Am I advocating something dark, evil or something righteous?

WARREN: Well, actually, the Bible says that evil cannot be negotiated with. It has to just be stopped. And I believe…

HANNITY: By force?

WARREN: Well, if necessary. In fact, that is the legitimate role of government. The Bible says that God puts government on earth to punish evildoers. Not good-doers. Evildoers.

HANNITY: I’m just gotten, thanks to my wife, who you know, you know, been reading the Old Testament. Because as a good Catholic growing up, I studied more the New Testament.

WARREN: Just ignored that part.

HANNITY: I ignored the Old Testament. But what about King David? What about the — all the battles, all the conflict, you know, going back - - you know, Abraham — Adam and Eve and their children, going forward?

WARREN: The point is, there are some things worth dying for. There’s no doubt about that. And I would die for my family. I would die for my freedom. I would die for this country.

HANNITY: If somebody broke into your house, you would be justified to kill them?

WARREN: I would be justified to protect my family. Absolutely.

HANNITY: And if it took killing them?

WARREN: Absolutely.

HANNITY: But it’s not murder at that point?

WARREN: No. Murder is not self-defense.

This is just so wrong I hardly know where to begin. First, if Rick Warren seems to be everywhere in the media lately, it’s because he is. He’s hawking a new book of his for Christmas. The Purpose Driven Life made him millions, and he wants more. He’s at the top of a mega-church pyramid with something like four thousand members, and you better believe he has them tithing. So they’re probably paying him at least a million a year (that’s what Hagee gets). There’s more to Rick than this, but we can get into that another time. Let’s get back to how wrong this whole thing is:

HANNITY: Can you talk to rogue dictators? Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust, wants to wipe Israel off the map, is seeking nuclear weapons.

First, Ahmadinejad is not a dictator. He is the elected president of Iran, with powers defined by a constitution, which powers are much less than our own president. For example, Ahmadinejad is not over the military as our Commander-in-Chief. In fact, Ahmadinejad is not even the head honcho in Iran. That would be the Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Ayatollah or some such mucky-muck, who is over the military. Now, I cannot believe, that after all this time, that someone has not brought this to Hannity’s attention. Yet he continues to cling to the bogus claim of “dictator” with all its emotional whallop. And he’s not just any old run-of-the-mill dictator, he’s a “rogue dictator” – something even worse. Can I not legitimately call Sean Hannity a false witness going into this exchange? Or given over to a lying spirit?

HANNITY: I think we need to take him out.

WARREN: Yes.

HANNITY: Am I advocating something dark, evil or something righteous?

WARREN: Well, actually, the Bible says that evil cannot be negotiated with. It has to just be stopped. And I believe…

HANNITY: By force?

WARREN: Well, if necessary. In fact, that is the legitimate role of government. The Bible says that God puts government on earth to punish evildoers. Not good-doers. Evildoers.

Holy Crap! Hannity is imagining killing Ahmadinejad and advocating for just that and he asks if it’s righteous. Have you no conscience, Sean? Of course it’s something dark and evil. But more importantly, does Warren reprove Hannity or spiritually direct him in the Word? No. He joins in with some nonsense about evil being stopped that simply encourages Hannity in his self-righteous delusions. Warren then goes on to say that “God puts government on earth to punish evil doers.”

In this context, Warren gives his sanction and blessing to at least assassination of someone some people here don’t like, or even bombing and war “if necessary.” Warren is positioned as a man of God, someone that is supposed to know God, so giving his blessing as it were, says to Sean and all the viewers that God’s all for this kind of thing. Not just no, but hell no! Not for one instant is Rick Warren speaking from God’s Spirit. He is only speaking from some self-delusional framework of his own mind. If you come right down to it, the man is spouting heresy and blasphemy!

Warren’s people confirmed that he was referring to Romans chapter 13 in the New Testament. He also referred back to the Old Testament. I’ll refer you to this guy’s take on the theology involved in this, along with some other insights I appreciated.

Note in the final exchanges how swiftly Warren’s passionate conviction that there are some things worth dying for morphs into what is really at issue: some things being worth killing for.

If Rick Warren wants to spout bible, maybe he should consider this:

James 4:1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

Romans 12:19-21 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

[ed: Ironically these verses immediately precede the section Warren was referring to.]

Mat 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. (i.e. this is what the whole OT means.)

Mat 5:44-45 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven:

As far as the Old Testament, or more accurately, the Old Covenant or the First Covenant, goes, as a disciple of Jesus, being born again of the Spirit, the old covenant just doesn’t apply. I’m under a new covenant. We have a new way of being. Jesus said, “It is finished,” referring to the old covenant.

/