Who Said That?

Who said that? (or better, "what is this?")

"God is bigger and better and closer than we can imagine.

The Bible is God’s perfect guidebook for living.

Jesus is God showing himself to us.

Through His Holy Spirit, God lives in and through us now.

Nothing in creation `just happened.' God made it all.

Grace is the only way to have a relationship with God.

Faith is the only way to grow in our relationship with God.

God has allowed evil to provide us with a choice, God can bring good even out of evil events and God promises victory over evil to those who choose him.

Heaven and hell are real places. Death is a beginning, not the end.

The church is to serve people like Jesus served people..

Jesus is coming again."

Please, no google searches! Leave your guesses in the comments section below.

Update on Monday, January 22, 2007 at 05:35PM by Kim Riddlebarger

As many of you guessed (and some of you cheated to find out), such as it is, this is Saddleback's "Statement of Faith."  They do have a more in-depth statement for those who want it.

Comments

[Jim Vellenga]

My first thought was something from Rick Warren and Saddleback like a statement of faith.

[zrim]

brian,

*that* is simply awful. wow. i have said before that i have very little to no use for the witch hunts that attend figures like warren. but i have also said i would not be caught dead in his church, reading his books, attending his conferences or whatever else (and i mean "his" to mean a general category for all things Evangelical, big or small). this is a good example of why. i suppose i could make some remark about the ironic correlation between actually being dead and being in his church, but i will refrain. oops.

may God have mercy...seriously.

zrim

[Robin]

"I have two goals in my life. One is a reformation of the church in America and the other is a return of civility to society when people who disagree can still get along and like each other even if they disagree." Rick Warren on Larry King,12/2/05

[walt]

Ron,

Sorry about that. But hey, now we get another chance to 'discuss' Warren!

[timinator]

Sounds like a statement of faith from Rick Warren's Cchurch

[Robin]

Ivan said: "The irony is; I am sure this church will boast of its literal interpretation and how conservative they are. When in fact they don't even realize we sinners don't need better directions; we need a SAVIOR."

Profoundly spoken!

[timinator]

Walt,

I'm glad I knew the answer or your's with the link would of gave it away. Hay man let us have fun by trying to guess or course this one was way to easy, but any way no more links please as we are guessuing the answer not proving it. Is not putting a link cheating anyway as we are to guess not go to ant web suites?

[zrim]

robin,

i wonder how much of what warren says in your quote was said by american 'evangelical' figures generations ago. my guess is a lot.

one of the things that i cannot understand in our contemporary crtiques of these sorts is the idea that they just recently popped up, oh, about 20-30 years ago (or even sooner). i am no longer slack-jawed when i hear the interviews "on the floor at the evngelical pastor's convention or book sellers assciation." i wonder at the implication that we ought to be. but those are just evangy's acting like evangy's, aren't they? my jaw will appropriately drop when i hear solid guys like horton or riddlebarger say those things or give those answers!!!

it seems to me that the seeds for this crapola were planted as far back as when whitefield landed. and we have been reaping that harvest ever since.

zrim

[Robin]

A recent message at Saddleback was called "Do-Able Faith" which was solid Law.

The worst sin any pastor commits is confusing the Law for Gospel!

Thank you Pastor Kim for teaching us discernment.

[walt]

Tim,

Sorry. Major party foul!

Zrim,

I'm not sure you can completely rule out what Whitefield, Edwards, and the Tennants did. There are biblical examples of revival in the Old Testament, though it's not a normal working of the Holy Spirit. I will agree that it has left a lasting impression on the American church.

[zrim]

walt,

no, not completely rule out, of course. that would be absurd.

but whitefield (edwards?) certainly did us no favors when he lent credibility to the notion that the locus of God's activity can be extracted outside the churchly means. it is obvious why these two figures get the press they do. but how many are as aware of a figure like kentucky presby stuart robinson (1814-1881) who wrote "The Church of God is an Essential Element of the Gospel"?

anyway, my point is simply that what we see before us these days really isn't anything new and to be entirely expected the more one examines american evangelicalism.

zrim

[Keith Conley]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm kind of embarrassed to know that this is from Rick Warren. As it is I try to keep out of the evangelical world.

[Wayne Rohde]

Re: that nice, tight, comprehensive, organized, articulate doctrinal statement...


Ooooooooh, it just makes me feeeeeeel soooooooo good!

(Yeah, right.)

[Wayne Rohde]

And re: "the Bible is God's perfect guidebook for living"...

"The Message *Paraphrase" of course. Surely not anything resembling an actual translation.

(*I hate to use the word "paraphrase" in this context, out of respect for the word "paraphrase.")

[Robin]

“In fact, I don't think evil and sin are the same... We don't know the answers..none of us are going to come out at the end of the day and say 'got that one figured out.' I don't think it [evil] is the same thing as sin...I don't consider myself an evil person because I sin...I think you have to reserve You're a good man (referring to Alan Wolfe)...when we begin to compartmentalize our lives we're headed for evil ..I don't act one way with Alan and another way over here with Mrs. Resnick and another way over here with Alan Simpson...OK...I am the same no matter where I am. What you see is what you get. Rick Warren has integrity because he doesn't act one way with one crowd and another way with another crowd. He is integrated...and when what I see in our society today is a misunderstanding of character that thinks I can compartmentalize this area of my life and then go do this the next day and that's how they would justify it. And I think that total compartmentalization is a myth and moves us towards more and more evil..." Rick Warren, excerpts July '05 Aspen Institute panel on "Problem of Evil"

[Toltec]

This statement of faith on Saddleback's web page has a place to click to read a "more complete statement, with Bible verses." Do any of you think it "redeems" the other "one size fits all" statement?

[walt]

No, not really. It's more talking out of both sides of his mouth. On one hand, he'll make some doctrinally true statements, on the other, he'll make some completely false ones, as Robin has been so kind to point out. It's 'truthiness,' not truth.

[Ivan]

OK...I am the same no matter where I am. What you see is what you get. Rick Warren has integrity because he doesn't act one way with one crowd and another way with another crowd. He is integrated...and when what I see in our society today is a misunderstanding of character that thinks I can compartmentalize this area of my life and then go do this the next day and that's how they would justify it. And I think that total compartmentalization is a myth and moves us towards more and more evil..." Rick Warren, excerpts July '05 Aspen Institute panel on "Problem of Evil"


So glad to have read Rick doesn't commit sins of hypocrisy and has integrity.

Sorry to say the rest of us still live in Romans 7.

Reminds me of Joel Osteen recently on ABC's Nightline when I saw him with my own eyes say it is easy to live the Christian life.

In which universe are Joel and Rick residing?

[timinator]

Did anyone notice that Warren's church made a big deal about this and wen't to Angel Stadium, like this is special.

They would freak out if they were to hear the Creeds like Hedleberg of the Belgic Confession not to metion Canons of Dort. We know they would say that these creeds have no use for today. Sad as that may be it does not make them fell good or give then purpose.

Congrees men are asking that they be sworn in with the purpose driven life book rather then the Bible? Senater John T. McGruder from Colorado states:

"We were asked to use the most meaningful text in our life," said Rep. John T. McGruder of Colorado Springs, from his state's seventh district. And, as far as I can see, my Pastor preaches more from Rick Warren than the Bible."

That is not good. Pastors are going away from solid preaching from God's Word to fell good messages. Yikes!