When I first read The Purpose Driven Life I was disappointed, because it did not “push any buttons” but after the second and third reading I realised it was very cleverly nuanced and the sub-text “rang bells”. It was predicated on a new age gospel of mysticism and pantheism informed by eisegesis[1], plagiarism[2], and the works of new age gurus and mystics leading to “spiritual transformation” using a communitarian[3] agenda.
We do not find the full gospel in Purpose Driven Life. Warren has hidden (a) the whole reason Christ had to come and die; (b) why we must repent and be saved; (c) the unseen world and spiritual warfare (d) the gifts of prophecy and discernment (e) the Biblical portrayal of God so we can know Him and obey him (instead of thinking of him as only a god of love who simply wants to be pleased with us or glorified by us).
Warren uses 15 different versions of the Bible (mostly paraphrases) in Purpose Driven Life to argue for a new age gospel predicated on mysticism[4], pantheism/ holism[5], interspirituality and communitarianism[6]. He draws heavily on the works of Robert Schuller (who he plagiarises) new age gurus[7], Catholic mystics[8] and Peter Drucker[9], who mentored Warren.
Warren quotes from the The New Century Bible on page 88 of Purpose Driven Life which states, “There is one God and Father of everything. He rules everything and is everywhere and is in everything “[10]. Warren’s choice of a Children’s Bible suggests that he believes that God is “in” everything (rather than “above all” and “in you all”[11] (i.e. by His Spirit in all believers)). The version Warren has selected may be in simple language but it communicates pantheism, and pantheism directly contradicts the biblical teaching that God is separate from His creation.
All the Roman Catholic mystics Warren refers to in Purpose Driven Life appear to have engaged in contemplative prayer with the aim of achieving “union with God” and for Theresa of Avila this led to an ecstatic state and at times to levitation[12]. Some of the side effects they experienced appear to be more consistent with seducing spirits than “union with God”. Brother Lawrence, who provided Warren with the inspiration for “breath prayers”[13], used to “dance violently like a madman“. John of the Cross experienced mysticism of a homoerotic nature, described in “dark night of the soul”[14] and Theresa of Avila and Madam Guyon’s mysticism has been described[15] as “erotic bride mysticism”. Guyon’s mystic experience was accompanied by demonic attack and poltergeist activity[16]. It is clear that Warren believes that we can only gain spiritual maturity (or spiritual formation) if we engage in contemplative prayer and enter the inner silence of alpha consciousness[17]. This is very dangerous and provides access for deceiving or seducing spirits.
Contemplative prayer and holism may only appear in the sub-text of Purpose Driven Life but they lead inexorably to a mystic connection between all contemplative traditions and to interspirituality and ecumenicalism. This is articulated by Warren in his global peace plan. He states “Who’s the man of peace in any village – or it might be a woman of peace – who has the most respect, they’re open and they’re influential? They don’t have to be a Christian. In fact, they could be a Muslim, but they’re open and they’re influential and you work with them to attack the five giants. And that’s going to bring the second Reformation.”[18]
Peter Drucker has had a major influence on Warren’s new age gospel especially the emphasis on systems-based communitarianism[19], holism[20] and interspirituality which have become part of the Purpose Driven paradigm.
Communitarianism is a worldview that man is only complete as part of a viable “organism” or organisation (a view that resonates with pantheism, holism and systems theory). It is a common thread running through both Drucker’s worldview and the New Age Movement and its purpose and objective is to transform all philosophical and religious thought to what they call the “Mass Mind”, and to give it power over individual thought. Consensus is the favored means by which this will be achieved, and when it is complete, the Mass Mind will rule the activities of every individual, forcing him into compliance with communitarian ideals.
I think Warren’s statement on page 131 of Purpose Driven Life that “each part gets its meaning from the body” illustrates communitarianism in a church context. Yes, God wants us to be one with Himself and with each other: one family in Christ, all led by the Holy Spirit according to God’s perfect plan. But when God’s guidelines for His Body of believers are placed into the context of a secular management system and when each member is told to find its “meaning” or purpose in the collective “body” rather than in Jesus Christ, the Head of His body, the Biblical ideal becomes little more than a tool to conform people to an unbiblical process. There is evidence that the latter approach is being applied.in his “group-think” approach to church.
Warren uses well nuanced language and metaphors yet he models an attitude that breeds intolerance and judgment toward individuals who violate his politically correct guidelines concerning unity and relational synergy. He equates sincere Christians who question the adoption of the world’s methodology with germs and disease within the body. And he calls on the church leadership to “remove growth-restricting diseases and barriers so that natural, normal growth can occur” (Purpose Driven Church page 16)
In 2006 Rick Warren was recruited by the Committee of Foreign Relations[21], a globally influential platform for the Illuminati. There are those[22] who believe that he has become an agent of the New World Order and he is paving the way for the apostate church. This would certainly explain the success of The Purpose Driven Life
[1] Eisegesis is the process of misinterpreting a text in such a way that it introduces one’s own ideas, reading into the text.
[2] is the use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work?
[3] Communitarianism is a worldview that man is only complete as part of a viable “organism” or organisation
[4] Purpose Driven Life p 89 and 299
[5] ibid p 89 and 299
[6] ibid p 131
[7] Huxley (p 248) and Siegel (p 31)
[8] Brother Lawrence (p 88), St John of the Cross (p 183), Theresa of Avila (p 125 & 231), and Madame Guyon (p 193)
[9] mentioned in Purpose Driven Church p 90
[10] Ephesians 4:6
[11] King James Version
[12] St. Teresa of Avila, 2007, Autobiography , Translated by E.Allison Peers, IntraText Edition CT, chapter 20
[13] Purpose Driven Life p 89
[14] John of the Cross, 1909, The Dark Night Of The Soul, Translated by David Lewis – Original Spanish with English translation p 33-34
[15] Sundararajan, K. R. 2008 Bridal mysticism: a study of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and Nammalvar., Journal of Ecumenical Studies June 22
[16] Madam Guyon, no date, An Autobiography of Madame Guyon . Chicago: Moody Press, p 99
[17] Purpose Driven Church p 126-127
[18] The Pew and Religion Forum May 23, 2005
[19] Purpose Driven Life p 131
[20] ibid p 88