Rick Warren called 'enabler and defender' of evil
Pastor Dale Morgan
Rick Warren called 'enabler and defender' of evil*
Megapastor's appearance in Syrian propaganda triggers criticism
Posted: November 28, 2006
Syria's Grand Mufti Sheik Badr al-Din Hassoun and Rick Warren
Megachurch pastor Rick Warren may have been unprepared for the Syrian
media's propaganda using his name during his recent visit and he may
have confused religious tolerance with religious freedom, but neither is
an excuse for becoming "an enabler and defender of evil," according to
experts on the Mideast and its persecution of non-Muslims.
"Rick Warren can do us all a favor and keep his remarks and opinions to
himself. When you don't stand up against and condemn evil, let alone say
misrepresented facts about an evil regime, you become an enabler and
defender of evil, plain and simple," Brigitte Gabriel said.
Gabriel, a Lebanese-American who wrote "Because They Hate," and the
founder of the The American Congress for Truth, was responding to
Warren's recorded statement about Syria that: "It's a moderate country,
and the official government rule and position is to not allow any
extremism of any kind."
Warren, the pastor of Saddleback Church and the author of the
best-selling "The Purpose-Driven Life," said that when the comment first
was reported that he had been misquoted, and further, he wasn't a
diplomat and probably wasn't fully prepared for a situation in which he
was used for propaganda.
But a video posted on YouTube showed Warren making the statement, and
then it suddenly disappeared.
Larry Ross, who acts as a spokesman for the church, said that the video
showing Warren making the statement was removed because Warren had heard
there were "reports" about his Syrian visit, but not necessarily the
reports.
The Warren YouTube postings had been ongoing as kind of a travelogue to
his congregation, Ross said. But when Warren arrived in Rwanda from
Damascus and found out there were concerns about his activities in
Syria, he suggested that no video from Syria be posted. "Let's not post
one for Syria until we see where we're at," Warren had said, according
to Ross.
But it already had been put up, so it was pulled down, only a few hours
after it was put up, Ross said. "It was in the context of reports that
they'd heard about, not specifically yours," he said. "It was obviously
with the understanding or the awareness that there were some reports
about the trip to Syria."
"What Rick Warren saw was 'religious toleration.' Not only is it a
common mistake, it is the media norm to confuse the two," said Ergun
Mehmet Caner, the president of the Liberty Theological Seminary at
Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.
"He was shown open churches, and worshiping people. He was not shown a
single Muslim who converted to Christianity, he was shown people who are
'grandfathered in," Caner continued. "If he would have seen a Muslim
convert, the scene would be different, and tragic. He would have seen
one of my kinsmen … buried up to his waist in his burial cloth … and
then stoned to death. Killed for the sole crime of finding faith in
Jesus Christ.
"That is not religious freedom, and that is not tolerance. That is
religious genocide," said Caner, who has authored 14 books on Christian
apologetics and world religions, including "Unveiling Islam."
And the country is anything but neutral on the international issues
involving differences between Muslim, Jew and Christian. The U.S.
Congressional Research Service forwarded to the U.S. State Department
earlier this year a massive report documenting that many believe it was
Syria's decision to resupply Hezbollah with missiles and other materials
that allowed Hezbollah to wage war with Israel over the summer.
That same report noted that Syria, which has not signed the Chemical
Weapons Convention, has acquired an arsenal of chemical weapons and
surface-to-surface missiles, as well as research centers for conducting
work on biological weapons "and may be interested in a nuclear weapons
capability."
Nerve agents such as sarin already are stockpiled and scientists may be
working on the more deadly VX, said the report.
Syria also has been listed – since 1979 – on the list of nations
considered by the U.S. to be sponsoring terrorism, and while its direct
credit for individual terrorism acts has been limited in recent years,
"Syria has continued to provide political and material support for
Palestinian groups that have committed terrorist acts, and allows them
to maintain offices in Damascus," the report said.
"Rick Warren's comments about Syria are an insult and a slap on the face
to every Christian who ever lived under that regime or suffered from
Syria's evil dictatorship not only in Syria but also the Christian
Lebanese," said Gabriel.
"Rick Warren needs to speak to some of the Christians who fled Syria
because of the oppression of the Syrian regime and are now here in
America. They can tell him about the Syrian troops storming their
Christian schools when they were children and burning (the schools)
because they were Christians. They can tell him about fearing for their
lives, controlling their tongues, living with humiliation and trying to
get out of the country in any way possible."
She said it's actually the fortunate and well-to-do who are able to
leave Syria; others must stay. "They do not have any weapons to protect
themselves with, they are outnumbered by the oppressing Islamic majority
and are under the mercy of radical tyrants who will not think twice
about killing people for any reason at any time," she said.
Further, it was under Syrian control and protection that Muslims in
Lebanon went on a killing spree against Christians, said Gabriel, who
was 10 and living in Lebanon in 1975 when militant Muslims poured into
her country and declared jihad against Lebanese Christians.
"To call Syria a moderate peaceful country where Christians and Jews
live peacefully protected by the regime is nothing more than a statement
of his ignorance, lack of intelligence and lack of grasp and
understanding of the Middle East conflict. There are Christians in
Syrian prisons now whose families do not know anything about them or if
they are still alive or dead. My neighbor's son was kidnapped over 25
years ago and until today they do not know if he is dead or alive," she
said.
Caner said it's a matter of definition.
"When a Muslim speaks of 'religious freedom,' what he actually means is
'religious toleration.' Not only are they NOT the same thing … the
difference is dangerous," he said.
"Religious toleration only allows Christian expats to worship in a
church, and even then it is greatly restricted. No churches are allowed
to be built, or modified. Christians in the country must allow their
children (daughters) to marry Muslims, but no Muslim woman may marry a
Christian man."
"The most extreme difference is simple – Christians must allow their
children to convert to Islam, but if a Muslim converts, the penalty is
imprisonment, prosecution and even death," said Caner, a Turkish
immigrant who was raised as a devout Sunni Muslim.
According to SANA, Warren, who met with various religious and political
leaders in Syria including President Bashar al-Assad, had "hailed the
religious coexistence, tolerance and stability that the Syrian society
is enjoying due to the wise leadership of President al-Assad, asserting
that he will convey the true image about Syria to the American people."
The reports also quoted Warren saying about four in five Americans
reject the U.S. policies and actions in Iraq.
In his defense, Warren said he'd only made the trip to Syria at the
request of his next-door neighbor. And he reported that Americans do not
realize that both Christianity and Judaism are legal in Syria, and the
Syrian government provides free electricity and water to all churches
and allows Christians to create their own civil law instead of having to
follow Muslim law.
Mark Tooley, of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, said Warren
should consider what he's doing.
"It's not very difficult for most dictatorships who are very adroit at
their own propaganda work to exploit someone who does not have
experience in that area," he said.
An annual report on religious freedoms from the U.S. State Department,
agreed with a few of Warren's statements. The report said Syria's
constitution allows Christians and Jews, and the government does provide
utilities to churches.
But the report also said the government encourages negative and even
violent expressions of Islamic religious sentiment, and monitors
Christians and Jews through surveillance and other tactics.
"Security services were constantly alert for any possible political
threat to the State, and all groups, religious and nonreligious, were
subject to surveillance and monitoring by government security services,"
the report said.
The government also imposes Muslim law in cases of child custody and
inheritance, and if the government believes missionaries pose a threat
to the "relations among religious groups," they are subject to terms of
up to life in prison.
The comments attributed to Warren also contradicted documentation by the
International Counter Terrorism organization.
That group reported "frequent use of the 'terror weapon' has been made
by Syria against Lebanon, Jordan and the Palestinians" in an attempt "to
impose Syrian hegemony over them and bring them into line with Syrian
policy."
In a report to his church wrapping up the trip, Warren said "in
hindsight" he should have been better prepared, and watched words more
closely as he visited the nation listed by Open Doors USA as the 47th in
the world among nations that violate religious rights.
Todd Nettleton, a spokesman for Voice of the Martyrs, said Syria is
considered a "restricted" nation because although there are some
freedoms, there is virtually no freedom for a Muslim to convert to
Christianity.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said in a report
that Christians in some parts of Syria report that the government has
"confiscated their property … without compensation and … Assyrian
Christians also alleged that the Kurdish Democratic Party-dominated
judiciary routinely discriminated against non-Muslims."
Saddleback Church, with 30,000 members, was begun by Warren and his wife
in 1979 and now has more than 200 ministries in the Orange County area.
His popular book, which has sold millions of copies, focuses on worship,
fellowship, discipleship, ministry and evangelism. It tells readers life
is "not about you" and shows how God can enable each one to live for His
purposes.
Warren is scheduled to preach in North Korea next year.