Rick Warren Daniel Plan News - Dr. Oz Hypnotizes America

By Justin Edwards

As was announced on Friday, February 4th, Dr. Oz hosted British hypnotist Paul McKenna on his Dr.  Oz Show Monday. From Friday's announcement:

Hypnosis for weight loss with Paul McKenna - Hypnosis has profound powers that can help you. On Monday, Feb. 7, Dr. Oz is unlocking its powers to show viewers how to use hypnosis to combat overeating. With hypnotist Paul McKenna, Dr. Oz will explain how hypnosis works, whether anyone can be hypnotized and why it can help in losing weight.

Yes, this is the same Dr. Oz who hosted pantheist New Ager Deepak Chopra on his show a few weeks ago, and it's the same Dr. Oz who has been embraced, along with New Age Drs. Amen and Hyman, by Rick Warren of Saddleback Church to promote and implement Warren's so-called "Daniel Plan".  What's more, and quite sadly and disturbing enough, this is the same Rick Warren who has been endorsed, promoted, praised, and welcomed as a biblical pastor who "at root...is theological and doctrinal and sound" by none other than Dr. John Piper (article here).

The question must be asked of Saddleback Church - is there any among you who has an ounce, no, a gram of discernment, to see that this Trojan Horse of New Age and mystical deception has entered your courts? Can you not see that your pastor, so-called "America's pastor", has opened this door of contemplative spirituality and Eastern meditative mysticism (CSM) into your church? Please, do yourself a favor - do your family a favor - and research what is happening here. Check out the three links above to see why your pastor is leading you down the path of ecumenical destruction. Unless he separates himself from the works of Belial, we have no choice but to believe he is of Belial. Years of Warren's pragmatic, moralistic, man-centered messages; flirtations with CSM; interfaith fellowship; and ecumenical compromise have led him and your church to this moment.

It is time for you to wake up and smell the incense.

Under no circumstances should Christians ever be hypnotized, yet, Rick Warren has partnered with "America's Doctor" who promotes and endorses this mind-altering pagan practice. Gotquestions provides an excellent list for why hypnotism is problematic for Christians. I've summed the article as follows:

1) Through hypnosis, we transfer the ability to control ourselves to someone else, which is contrary to the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:21 that gives us self-control by His power.

2) We are to yield ourselves to God and He alone. It is His power alone, once we yield ourselves to His will, that helps us overcome sin (Romans 6:12-13). Hypnosis causes us to yield ourselves to someone else (or something else).

3) Hypnosis leads people into an altered state of consciousness, thus making the mind susceptible to outside influence, which may not be restricted to the hypnotist. Scripture tells us to be self-controlled and alert because Satan prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). We are not able to be watchful if our minds have been swept away by hypnosis.

4) Hypnosis, just like CSM and Eastern religious meditative practices (Hinduism and Buddhism), causes one to look at self, or their inner self, to find the solution. Taken to the extreme, which is where CSM always leads, it causes us to find the inner light within us, or the god within us, or that perfect state that is immune to sin within us. Essentially, this leads to the idea that God is within us all, regardless of whether one is a Christian (pantheism). Scripture, on the other hand, teaches us to look to Christ alone (Hebrews 12:2), for the answers do not lie within us (Romans 7:18) and our only solution is found in Christ (Romans 8:2).

5) As mentioned, hypnosis is shared by mystical and religious systems, including the occult, New Age transcendental meditation, Hindu (yoga) and Buddhist meditation, and contemplative spirituality. All of these are linked to spiritual darkness and the Christian must flee from such idol worship of self.

Even so, Rick Warren has yoked himself with this New Age practitioner, Dr. Oz.

I hesitate to post the following video from the Dr. Oz Show, which is available on his website. I trust that you will only view this video with extreme caution, capable of distracting your mind from the intended hypnosis. This is posted for informational purposes only. Do not watch this without praying first, and if you do not believe you are capable of resisting the hypnosis, then please skip to the transcript below.

Paul Mckenna Hypnosis: Supercharge Your Metabolism

(Click to view - embed code not working)

Partial Transcipt beginning at about the 2:55 mark:

...as you relax my voice will go with you , and you might hear it in many different ways, and you don't even have to think about it, just let the focus sink deeper and deeper towards your own inner stillness, and you can notice words, and you can notice noticing words, and you can notice noticing your body can relax, and your mind can relax, and your mind has become very sensitive to my suggestions that help you most, your breathing carries on all by itself, your mind carries on all by itself, and you can watch it wonder away, your experience, your understanding, your awareness can just detach and slow down. Relax the muscles around your eyes again, relax your jaw, ease off the muscles in your neck, and let your shoulders drop, and with each out breath, let them drop a little more until all the tension is released, as you free your mind to concentrate on success, you build up the energy to take action. Every day you'll do something to move yourself toward your ideal weight, every day you'll take action, your unconscious mind will remind you you have the energy you need ready and waiting, you just stop to work and the energy will become available, you'll become more and more responsive to your situations and the people you work with, every day you'll understand more and more and respond more to the situations and the people around you, you'll become more flexible and adaptable so you can continue to work towards your ideal weight whatever happens around you. Everyday , your tenacity will increase, you can keep going, persevering, achieving, working, and pressing on so that every day you achieve something. And very soon, it will be time to awaken, and before you awaken, I'd like you to reinforce every positive thought you've ever had about yourself. And as you become awake, you can feel the wish to be active, you can find your self enjoying that. We all know we can day dream, we can all sleep, and we can all wake up, although we don't consciously know how we can wake up, yet we do, and you can awake now...

I am not an expert on the New Age or hypnotism, but I do know this is nothing short of self-worshiping idolatry. It is focused on man and his inner self, instead of Jesus Christ and what He has done and will do in the life of the born again believer. Instead of looking to the Lord Jesus Christ and His transforming power, hypnosis looks to what man can do for himself (just like all forms of meditation). This, of course, lines up perfectly with Rick Warren's Pelagian, moralistic tendencies for behavior modification. Warren believes that one can just change the way they think in order to change their behavior and their life. Scripture, on the other hand, tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2), which is achieved by the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit through the objective reading of the Word of God and through prayer. What's more, McKenna seeks to open your mind to his influence, which he clearly states will help you the most. Sounds a lot like a certain garden serpent, yes?

To those who follow, support, endorse, and/or are taught under the ministry of Rick Warren, how much more evidence do you need? How much longer will you travel down this road of destruction, and how much longer will you expose your family to this pagan idolatry? How much longer will you, purpose-driven pastor, continue to lead your flock into the darkness alongside Rick Warren? I call for you to repent and separate yourself from any and all associations with Rick Warren.

How much longer will you reject this warning?

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? - 2 Corinthians 6:14-15

To be sure you know where to go next in your research, please see these links:

Dr. Oz and Deepak Chopra

Rick Warren's Daniel Plan, New Age, Mysticism, and More

Rick Warren Introduces "The Devil Plan"

Rick Warren knowingly exposes Saddleback congregants to New Age mysticism through The Daniel Plan

Personal Report on Saddleback Church Health and Fitness Seminar

A Look at Rick Warren's New Age Health Plan

What Is Contemplative Prayer and Mysticism?

What is "Christian Mysticism"?

What Is Soaking Prayer?

New Page on airō: Cults and World Religions

By Justin Edwards

A new page full of excellent resources on major Cults and World Religions with an emphasis in reaching those trapped under these false teachings has been added to the blog.  Here's the intro:

Jesus made it clear that salvation comes through no other but Himself in John 14:6 when He said,

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Yet one must only survey the multitudes of world religions and cults to understand the majority of the world's population deny this truth. And while Christian cults may acknowledge and accept the words of Christ in the passage above, they twist and distort other Scriptures to deny the deity of Christ and the doctrine of justification by faith alone, thus stripping away the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice on the cross for the forgiveness of sin and adding works as necessary for salvation.

Similar to the Last Days Apostasy page, this page is dedicated to providing you the best resources to equip and prepare you to understand the basic teachings of religions and cults in order for you to defend the Christian faith and share the Gospel with the lost. In these last days of deception, Christian intolerance, paganism, and calls for religious unity at the cost of denying the fundamentals of Christianity, it is imperative you are well-informed not only to defend the truth against the lies, but to

...always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear... - 1 Peter 3:15

Each section is broken down by religion or cult and will include various trusted websites, books, videos, and other tools to prepare you for battle. This is a lot of information, so please take your time and visit often as you finish with each resource. The Cults and World Religions page will be updated as new resources are discovered. I pray God uses this page

...for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. - Ephesians 4:12

If you are a non-Christian and perhaps belong to one of the belief systems mentioned on this page, please know the purpose here is to lead you to the love, grace, and mercy of the One True God through His Son Jesus Christ. Please consider exploring the resources in the applicable section and seriously examine whether what you believe is actually true. Eternity is forever, so it is critical you have the right Answer as our beliefs do not create truth, rather our beliefs must conform to the truth. I pray you seek the Truth that offers you eternal life, for there is no other name, Jesus Christ, under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). And remember,

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. - Hebrews 11:6

Please click the following link to visit the new page: Cults and World Religions

The Embrace of Contemplative Spirituality in the (Post)Modern Church

By Justin Edwards

Lighthouse Trails Research has just posted a revealing article illustrating the extent to which contemplative spirituality and mysticism (CSM) has infiltrated the evangelical church. In a new book titled, The Big Book of Christian Mysticism, author Carl McColman explains there is no distinction between Christian mysticism and non-Christian mysticism. Proponents of contemplative prayer include Brian McLaren, Leonard Sweet, Tony Campola, Richard Rohr, Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Rob Bell, and Phyllis Tickle who embrace the teachings of mystics Thomas Merton, Brennan Manning, Henri Nowen, and Brother Lawrence. However, you might be surprised to learn popular teachers such as Rick Warren, Beth Moore, Mark Driscoll, Bill Hybels, Max Lucado, John Ortberg, and even a major Christian empire like Focus on the Family endorse these practices.

Please take the time to see how these share a common thread in contemplative spirituality by clicking on the following link to the LHTR blog: Brian McLaren and Richard Foster’s Editorial Team Agree with Lighthouse Trails – Contemplative Prayer and Eastern Mysticism Are Same Thing

The article closes with this bottom line and offers the concluding p.s.:

To those who know and embrace the glorious Gospel of Christ, there can be no fellowship with religions that reject the very foundation of the biblical Christian faith. Something is radically wrong when someone who claims to be a Christian has a sense of solidarity with someone who has a view that man is divine (i.e., man is God). Shear logic should point out the truth of what we are trying to say. Lighthouse Trails’ hope is that you look at this issue with an open mind and honest discernment. The truth is in plain view.

P.S. If you have had family members or friends who have rejected or ridiculed you for speaking up against contemplative spirituality (i.e., spiritual formation), show them this article.

This is that important. You might also want to check out the following post that lists common buzzwords and major proponents of CSM:  Emergence Christianity - Naming Names and Providing Terms. Please don't sweep this under the rug or brush it off and accuse these matters as legalism. The visible church is very sick, and it's a blaring indication that Jesus Christ is coming for His True Church soon. What we are witnessing is the falling away of the church (2 Thessalonians 2:3), and we must arm ourselves with the whole armor of God and defend the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Deception is running amok, and it's imperative we cling to sound doctrine, never compromising the truth.

Please heed the warnings.

Emergent Church Pastor Rob Bell Praises New Age Author Huston Smith

By Justin Edwards

Thanks to the Sola Sisters blog for reposting this critical red flag from Ingrid Schlueter of Crosstalk blog. Rob Bell is one of the most dangerous men in the visible church today. Here's the story:

Reprinted in part from Crosstalk blog, by Ingrid Schlueter

Rob Bell’s 40,000 something followers on Twitter were treated to this tweet where Bell calls New Age Interspiritualist author Huston Smith’s book “great.”  See tweet here. And here Huston Smith holds forth on one of the world’s religions. YouTube is filled with Mr. Smith’s praise for Hinduism, Buddhism and other world religions and their “truth.” Christianity is just one of many choices, according to Smith.

Why should this be especially alarming? Because Rob Bell is a rock star among today's youth and church youth leaders.  His books (Sex God, Velvet Elvis, Drops Like Stars, etc.) have been bestsellers, and his NOOMA videos are shown in church youth groups all across the country.  Discerning, mature Christian adults may "get" why Rob Bell is dangerous, but it is the children and the youth who are being targeted and indoctrinated into Rob Bell's interfaith religious syncretism, sometimes right under their parent's noses.

We can thank Rob Bell for openly admitting what many of us have been warning about for years. He represents a version of Christianity that is, in fact, anti-Christ. While Bell roots around in the books of rank interspiritualists for “truth”, true Christians look to our only and final authority, the unchanging Word of God.

(HT: Sola Sisters)

The Happiness Dilemma - Part 3

By Justin Edwards

We continue in Chapter 3 of Ray Comfort's God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life: The Myth of the Modern Message  where he explains the competition associated with the modern message that seeks to bring self-improvement and life-enhancement to its hearers. In Parts 1 and 2, Ray explained how "problem" people are the target of the modern gospel, which essentially leaves out those who are already content or happy with their "wonderful life" now. He also explained that the brokenhearted, the poor, the captives, the blind, and oppressed spoken of by Jesus are not specifically referring to temporal needs, but rather to the spiritual needs of sinners. Jesus came to save sinners, and as such, He came for the broken and contrite hearts of the humble.

Let's continue in the chapter:

The Competition

Another dilemma with the life-enhancement message is this: If you search the Internet using the keywords "true happiness," you will find many websites offering Jesus as a solution. However, the ideas that "Jesus gives true happiness" has some competition. There are more than 100,000,000 other results to the keywords "true happiness," many of which refer to self-help strategies, such as that proposed by author Martin E.P. Seligman in Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment.

The Jehovah's Witnesses believe they have the answer for happiness. Their Watchtower magazine states, "Through a study of the Bible, you can find true happiness despite your problems...Jehovah's Witnesses will be pleased to show you the Scriptural answers that you need to know if you are to be truly happy."

Buddhism likewise claims to be the path to true happiness, as the Basic Buddhism Guide assures us: "Buddhism explains a purpose to life, it explains apparent injustice and inequality around the world, and it provides a code of practice or way of life that leads to true happiness."

Hinduism offers the same thing: "Without remembering the name of God, even the sovereign King of the world, would be unhappy...By dwelling on the Name of God, he can obtain true happiness. Hence, realization of God is the key that unlocks the doors to unending happiness, eternal peace of mind and unimaginable bliss."

So does Islam. In a lecture delivered in Washington, Maulana Shah Muhammad Abdul Aleem Siddiqui al Qaderi expounded on "The Quest for True Happiness." He said, "Here I shall state some basic facts, and the principles pertaining thereto, so that if anyone practices them, he or she may attain peace of mind, comfort of the soul and true happiness."

In December 2007, a Gallup poll asked Americans how satisfied they were with their personal lives. Fifty-two percent responded that they were "very happ," and another 40 percent said that they were "fairly happy." So the modern gospel has some stiff competition - the vast majority of people in the United States are already enjoying a wonderful plan for their lives, and they are quite happy as they are. For any who do feel something is missing and look to religion for happiness, they will find a smorgasbord of choices all offering to improve their life on earth.

If only Jesus gives true happiness, as the modern message maintains, then it follows that the happiness the world gives must be false - or at the very least, shallow. Consequently, the Christian sees his job as one of unmasking the world's promise of happiness and contrasting it with the true and lasting happiness that Jesus gives. From there arises the "Jesus is better than beer" mentality. This is demeaning to the name of Jesus, and completely unnecessary. There is no contest between Jesus and beer, because happiness isn't the issue.

[to be continued]

Jesus and the Buddha on Happiness

By Jon Bloom

Greatly disturbed by the suffering he saw in the world, 29-year-old Prince Gautama Siddhartha (563-483 BC), who was later called the Buddha (enlightened one), left his wife and young child and set out on a search for the meaning of life.

What he observed was the impermanence of the world—nothing lasted. In spite of this, people desired these impermanent things. They desired to hold on to life, health, possessions, and each other. But life, health, possessions and people pass away. Human desires would always ultimately disappoint. This, he reasoned, was the cause of human suffering.

Therefore, he concluded that if he could kill desire, if he could be tranquilly unaffected by either good or evil, his suffering would cease and he would be happy. He would be free from pain and the endless cycle of reincarnation. This was Nirvana.

It is ironic, though, that driving the Buddha’s rigorous pursuit to kill his desires was one great human desire: lasting happiness.

There was also a huge, vacuous hole in the Buddha’s pursuit of lasting happiness: no God. The Buddha didn’t say much about God’s existence because, frankly, to him God was irrelevant to human happiness. Rather, happiness was being free from desire-induced suffering and reincarnation. Happiness was the blissful end of individual existence—a sort of sweet annihilation.

How different are Jesus’ answers from the Buddha’s. When a rich and troubled young man, not so different from the rich and troubled young Gautama, sought out Jesus’ direction for eternal happiness, Jesus replied,

You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. (Mark 10:21)

Notice that Jesus did instruct the man to become detached from his possessions. But he did not mean a Buddhist detachment. He said it another way here:

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. (Matthew 13:45)

The message is clear: desire the treasure! Desire it enough to count everything else as loss in order to gain it (Philippians 3:8).  The difference is that the Buddha wants to be desire-less and completely absorbed into the impersonal cosmos. Jesus wants us to deeply desire and be completely enthralled with the Person in whom we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).

That’s why, in the battle against sinful desires, Jesus is so much more helpful than the Buddha. He knows that our desire for happiness is designed by God, and so is our desire for permanence. They are not evil. Here is what is evil:

Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:12-13)

We are designed to be satisfied with the one eternal (permanent) God. Evil is when we believe that God will not satisfy us and therefore pursue happiness in something else. That’s the essence of sin. And the way we fight sin is not to kill desire, but to abandon our futile desires for broken cisterns. There is no water there. Go to the Fountain!

Jesus and the Buddha agreed that pursuing ultimate happiness in transient things is futile. But they direct us to opposite solutions. The Buddha says satisfaction is treasuring no thing. Jesus says it is treasuring God. In God we get all things. In no thing we get, well, nothing.

(HT: Desiring God Blog)

More on Christian Meditation - LHTR

Contemplative Prayer – Does Our Intent Justify the Method?

March 16th, 2010 | Author: Lighthouse Trails author

If our intent is to find Jesus, is the method of going about this acceptable, even if the method might happen to be a Buddhist meditation style. Brian Edgar, Director of Theology and Public Policy for the Australian Evangelical Alliance believes it is when he states:

Sometimes people suggest that certain methods (such as meditative, contemplative or imaginative prayer) are not Christian. But the key question is about the intention or the focus involved, rather than simply the technique. If the aim is to focus upon the Lord Jesus Christ through the presence of the Spirit then it is Christian. If a prayer is focused at something or someone else then it is not. It is really just the same as preaching. Speaking and listening can be a thoroughly spiritual exercise. But non-Christians also speak and listen, and what makes something a Christian exercise is the content rather than the method. (Edgar, Spirituality)

Panentheist and contemplative Tilden Edwards, of Shalem Institute would agree with Edgar when he states:

In the wider ecumenism of the Spirit being opened for us today, we need to humbly accept the learnings of particular Eastern religions … What makes a particular practice Christian is not its source, but its intent … this is important to remember in the face of those Christians who would try to impoverish our spiritual resources by too narrowly defining them. If we view the human family as one in God’s spirit, then this historical cross-fertilization is not surprising … selective attention to Eastern spiritual practices can be of great assistance to a fully embodied Christian life.(ATOD)

Ray Yungen elaborates:

The premise here is that in order to really know God, mysticism must be practiced-the mind has to be shut down or turned off so that the cloud of unknowing where the presence of God awaits can be experienced. Practitioners of this method believe that if the sacred words are Christian, you will get Christ-it is simply a matter of intent even though the method is identical to occult and Eastern practices. So the question we as Christians must ask ourselves is, “Why not? Why shouldn’t we incorporate this mystical prayer practice into our lives?” The answer to this is actually found in Scripture.

While certain instances in the Bible describe mystical experiences, I see no evidence anywhere of God sanctioning man-initiated mysticism. Legitimate mystical experiences were always initiated by God to certain individuals for certain revelations and was never based on a method for the altering of consciousness. In Acts 11:5, Peter fell into a trance while in prayer. But it was God, not Peter, who initiated the trance and facilitated it. By definition, a mystic, on the other hand, is someone who uses rote methods in an attempt to tap into their inner divinity. Those who use these methods put themselves into a trance state outside of God’s sanction or protection and thus engage in an extremely dangerous approach. Besides, nowhere in the Bible are such mystical practices prescribed. For instance, the Lord, for the purpose of teaching people a respect for His holiness and His plans, instated certain ceremonies for His people (especially in the Old Testament).

Nonetheless, Scripture contains no reference in which God promoted mystical practices. The gifts of the Spirit spoken of in the New Testament were supernatural in nature but did not fall within the confines of mysticism. God bestowed spiritual gifts without the Christian practicing a method beforehand to get God’s response….

[Y]ou can call a practice by any other name, but it is the same practice, hence the same results. For example, if you were to jump off a cliff with the intent to fly saying the word “fly, fly, fly” as you jump off and someone else jumped off the same cliff with the intent to hit the bottom saying “fall, fall, fall” as he jumps off, in either case both will hit the bottom. Unfortunately, this is exactly what is happening in contemplative prayer, although the intent may be to honor Christ. (A Time of Departing)

The Non-Believers Favorite Bible Verse

By Greg Laurie
Harvest Ministries

There was a time when the most well-known Bible passages among all people was either John 3:16 or Psalm 23.

Now, the non-believer's favorite verse is Matthew 7:1. Now, they may not know that reference is in the gospel of Matthew; they just happen to like what it says – or, at least, what they think it says. 

"Judge not, lest you be judged."

This is usually said about the time you say something they consider "judgmental." And what constitutes a "judgmental" statement? It's basically anything about which you have an absolute opinion, and they happen to disagree with it. It's a situation where you would dare to say something as controversial and unkind as, "No, that's wrong!"

The response is usually pretty heated. "Who are YOU to judge ME? Doesn't the Bible say 'Judge not lest you be judged'?"

By the way, that verse isn't saying we shouldn't judge; it is saying we shouldn't condemn. And no true believer in Jesus should do that. The fact is, I think Christians are the most loving, the most open and the most accepting of others. You can usually find the most narrow-minded people among the ranks of those who claim to be broad-minded. It's true, isn't it? Personally, I have found that those who often claim to be the most accepting are in reality the most unaccepting.

A true Christian bases his or her ideas and opinions on a biblical worldview. Non-believers will also have their opinions, based on a secular worldview. Ironically, they will say that they have no worldview, but they really do. They will say they are open to everything, but in reality they are quite closed.

It boils down to this: Everyone has a right to their opinion today EXCEPT the one holding a biblical worldview. Those with a secular viewpoint would rather we just went away quietly, and didn't express our opinion at all.

Here's an example: A typical statement of a person with a non-biblical worldview might be, "All religions essentially teach the same thing."

Actually, they don't. A person making such a statement simply reveals his or her own ignorance of the matter. This is illustrated in the recent mea culpa of Tiger Woods. He acknowledged his responsibly for his infidelities and said he had actively practiced his faith from childhood, "but obviously had lost track of what I was taught."

That faith is Buddhism.

The problem with Buddhism is they do not believe in a personal God who is capable of loving you or forgiving you for your sins.

I can hear someone respond: "That's insensitive and unkind to say that! Who are you to judge and say something mean about Buddhists?"

But that statement isn't mean at all. It's what Buddhists themselves say about their own faith. A Buddhist in New York City said, "Many Buddhists do not believe in a personal God, and there is no one to forgive you." A director of a Buddhist meditation center in that same city stated: "If redemption is defined as being forgiven by a god that is outside of ourselves, Buddhists don't believe in a god that's outside of ourselves."

That is a huge difference from Christianity. Christianity teaches there is a indeed a personal God who can and will forgive because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Stephen Prothero, a Boston University professor on Buddhism, told the press: "You have a law of Karma, so no matter what Woods says or does, he is going to have to pay for whatever wrongs he's done. There's no Accountant in the sky wiping sins off your balance sheet, like there is in Christianity."

Accountant in the sky? Hardly an accurate description of the God of the Bible. The fact is, our sins were paid for by the voluntary death of Jesus on the cross for us. If we will turn from our sins and ask God for forgiveness the fact is He will indeed forgive us.

When Fox News commentator Brit Hume dared to suggest Tiger turn to Christ, there was outrage across the board. In a panel discussion, Hume said of Tiger: "He is said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.'"

That's called a Christian worldview.

In response, one commentator huffed, "The fact that a journalist – and I use that term loosely as it pertains to Hume – would go on a national news show and put down another high-profile individual's faith should tell all of us that religious bigotry, and bigotry as a whole, is a growing problem in this country."

But why is it "bigotry" to express an opinion about your faith? That's what Christians are all about – we try to convince people to believe in Jesus. Why do we do that? Because Jesus Christ has forgiven and changed us, and we want to help others.

In the process, of course, we welcome people of other faiths to express theirs as well. We don't kill them or try to silence them. We listen to them, and try to bring them to Jesus.

It's all about your worldview: a biblical worldview simply means that you are learning how to think and live in accordance with the teachings of the Bible.

When it comes to discussing some of the more "hot button" issues of our time, then, it is important that we learn to respond in a biblical way, rather than responding in an emotional or coldly logical way.

Sometimes you will hear people get angry and say, "Well, my God would never say that or do that," and so on.


But there is only one God, and that is the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is the very same God who loved us so much He sent His Son Jesus to die for our sin.

"Well, my Bible says …"

Actually, your Bible says the same thing mine says. There is only one true Word of God, and that is the Bible. The debate must start and end there. Otherwise, we will go astray in our thinking, and we will not have a biblical worldview.

In his book "Think Biblically," Dr. John MacArthur writes that a biblical worldview is based on two major suppositions: "The first will be the eternal existence of the personal, transcendent, triune, Creator God. Second, the God of Scripture has revealed His character, purposes, and will in the infallible and inerrant pages of His special revelation, the Bible, which is superior to any other source of revelation or human reason alone."

To put that in a simpler way: There is a living God, and He has revealed Himself in Scripture. As Christians, therefore, we believe we have absolute truth from God, and we develop our worldview from what the Bible teaches. Period.

We do not seek to conform and accommodate the unchanging truths of Scripture to our changing culture, but rather seek to change our culture to conform to what the Bible teaches. That happens when people come into a life-changing encounter with God through Jesus Christ.

He will forgive you if you ask Him to.