By Christian Research Network contributor Daniel Neades of Better Than Sacrifice
This is a repost of an original article on Christian Research Network

In an ‘interview’ published by Ed Stetzer of LifeWay Research, Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and one of America’s most prominent Christian leaders, has categorically denied an Orange County Register report that he had ‘embarked on an effort to heal divisions between evangelical Christians and Muslims by partnering with Southern California mosques and proposing a set of theological principles that includes acknowledging that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.’

The OC Register further reported Jihad Turk, director of religious affairs at a mosque in Los Angeles, as saying ‘We agreed we wouldn’t try to evangelize each other. We’d witness to each other but it would be out of “Love Thy Neighbor”, not focused on conversion.’

The OC Register endeavoured to speak to Rick Warren about the claims, but said that ‘Saddleback representatives declined to make Warren available for comment.’

Responding more than a week after the OC Register first published its story on 23 February, Rick Warren stated:

‘All three of those statements are flat out wrong. Those statements were made by a reporter, not by me. I did not say them … I do not believe them… I completely disagree with them … and no one even talked to me about that article! So let me address each one individually: First, as I’ve already said, Christians have a fundamentally different view of God than Muslims. We worship Jesus as God. Muslims don’t. Our God is Jesus, not Allah. Colossians 2:9 “For in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Second, while we urge our members to build friendships with everyone in our community, including Muslims and other faiths, (“Love your neighbor as yourself”), our church has never had any partnership with a mosque. Friendship and partnership are two very different levels of commitment. Some of our members have hosted a Bible study with Muslim friends, which I applaud, but I’ve never been to it, and a Bible study certainly isn’t any kind of partnership or merger! It’s just crazy that a simple Bible Study where people explore Scripture with non-Christians would be reported as a partnership and others would interpret that as a plan for a new compromised religion. Just crazy! Third, as both an Evangelical and as an evangelist, anyone who knows me and my 40 year track record of ministry that I would never agree to “not evangelizing” anyone! I am commanded by my Savior to share the Good News with all people everywhere, all the time, in every way possible! Anyone who’s heard me teach knows that my heart beats for bringing others to Jesus. SOURCE

The full statement by Rick Warren is available on the LifeWay Research Blog.

See also:

RICK WARREN, ISLAM, AND JIM HINCH

JOHN PIPER, RICK WARREN & FOSTER-WILLARDISM

JAMES ROBISON AND RICK WARREN WORKING TO REVERSE THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION