The Staggering Hypocrisy of Tony Campolo and Jim Wallis

Yesterday I posted a letter by concerned Christians who wrote to Rick Warren pleading with him to retract his invitation to have staunch pro abortionist Barack Obama speak at his AIDS conference. If you read the letter it is plain to see that it is devoid of politcal agenda and instead voices a legitimate concern.

But into the picture stride Tony Campolo and Jim Wallis (and a host of other "Christian leaders") who are a part of a movement known as "red letter Christians" (which is their way of saying that they have a low view of Scripture). On the reason for creating Red-Letter Christians, Tony Campolo said, "The purpose of this gathering was not to create a religious left movement to challenge the religious right, but to jump-start a religious movement that will transcend partisan politics." So because Tony Campolo and Jim Wallis are doing such a great job at transcending partisan politics they decided to write a letter of their own turning the earlier letter to Rick Warren into a political issue all the while ignoring the infinitely more important moral issue that these Christians were concerned about.

Several right-wing religious organizations, including the National Clergy Council, recently blasted Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church for inviting Senator Barack Obama to speak on World AIDS Day this Friday, December 1. It's unfortunate that these groups would exploit the Christian faith to advance their divisive agenda – an agenda that gives almost exclusive attention to a few wedge issues while ignoring the diversity of problems plaguing American communities.

We reject the creation of an unbiblical litmus test to exclude believers from the body of Christ. We are called to the ministry of reconciliation and the liberation of all people, spiritually and socially.

We also wonder why any organization claiming to represent believers in Jesus Christ would choose to play what amounts to partisan politics (emphasis added) instead of encouraging our leaders to address the scourge of AIDS.

AIDS has claimed the lives of 25 million people since 1981. Forty million people across the globe, including 2 million children, live with this wretched disease. And nearly 7 million people are now in desperate need of life-saving drugs, without which they will die. In the face of this crisis, it boggles our minds and offends our God-given sense of justice that these groups would choose to attack Senator Obama and Reverend Warren – Christians both – for working together to stamp out AIDS.

It is time for believers to unite under the banner of truth and work to address our society's most pressing problems. The time for scare tactics and divisiveness is over. As leaders in the Christian community, we will not stand silent in the face of these attacks, but will instead serve as voices for equality, fairness, and justice for all people.

It is easy to see who is playing the partisan politics here. Tony Campolo and Jim Wallis should be severely disciplined by their local congregations for such disgraceful behavior and high level hypocrisy. In fact Tony Campolo is so "above" partisan politics that he was on the Democratic Party Platform Committee for their convention in July. Join the dots on that one!

Tomorrow - Washer Wendesday

The Lie of the "Social Gospel"

I have recently touched on the ridiculous fiasco of Rick Warren inviting rabid pro abortionist Barack Obama to his AIDS conference to talk about saving lives. Then, many from the "emergent", "red letter", and social justice camps (who have been pontificating for years about the religious right being too political) decided to turn it into a political issue. This stinks on so many levels and I just don't know where to begin unpacking this.

First of all, just because Barack Obama calls himself a Christian doesn't mean he is one. This is how Barack Obama describes his faith: "I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people." Hmmm how can I say this gently . . . "many paths" IS NOT CHRISTIANITY. The Christ of Barack Obama is not the Christ of Scripture. Barack Obama might speak christianese but he doesn't follow the TRUE Christ Who is the ONLY path to salvation. C'mon, this isn't that hard to figure out.

Secondly, Obama really brings nothing new or helpful to the fight against AIDS as his solution revolves around sex education programs rather than promoting abstinence before marriage. AIDS, as far as the big picture goes, is a moral issue because it is mainly spread through sexual promiscuity.

Third, all this focus on AIDS, global warming, opposing the war in Iraq is becoming disturbing - not because those issues don't matter but because of the silence on the abortion issue. All these "progressive Christian Leaders" rallying around Barak Obama and talking about taking the "holistic approach" is just one big fat disgraceful joke. If you were to add the total number of deaths from AIDS, the war in Iraq, and "the melting icecaps" it does not even come to one twentieth of the 46 MILLION estimated abortions each year (abortionno.org). Abortion is an outrage that dwarfs these other issues. If these people cared about abortion they would be making plenty of noise about it because they have no problem making a song and dance about our "carbon footprint" and they would never endorse Obama's pro death policies.

Genuinely concerned Christians wrote to Rick Warren pleading with him not to invite Barack Obama to his AIDS summit because of his pro abortion stance. Here is a copy of the letter:

As those who have worked to defend preborn children from the horrors of abortion in America and who have stood uncompromisingly against the legalized slaughter of an estimated 50 million Americans in the womb since 1973, we join with one voice in expressing our indignation and opposition to Rick Warren's welcoming of Senator Barack Obama to his church on December 1, 2006. Rick Warren is bringing Senator Obama to his church to speak for his Global Summit on AIDS and the church and to take an AIDS test in front of the cameras at a noon press conference.

Senator Obama comes to Rick Warren's church believing that abortion should be kept, "safe and legal". When Barack Obama campaigned for the U.S. Senate in 2004, his wife wrote a fundraising letter for him that revealed his support of partial-birth abortion. She said Obama's position is that the "partial-birth abortion ban . . . is clearly unconstitutional and must be overturned." Support of partial-birth abortion goes a lot farther than the politicians who want abortion to be "safe and legal." Senator Obama actually supports the barbaric practice of allowing abortionists to kill babies by allowing them to be partially, born, their skulls punctured and their brains sucked out. Further, he repeatedly opposed an anti-infanticide bill in the state of Illinois that only passed after he left. Killing a child at any stage of life is a violation of God's clear command, "Thou Shall Do No Murder". In addition,Obama's solution to the growing AIDS crisis has been and continues to be the widespread distribution of condoms, not chaste behavior as directed by the Bible.

In the strongest possible terms, we oppose Rick Warren's decision to ignore Senator Obama's clear pro-death stance and invite him to Saddleback Church anyway. If Senator Obama cannot defend the most helpless citizens in our country, he has nothing to say to the AIDS crisis. You cannot fight one evil while justifying another. The evangelical church can provide no genuine help for those who suffer from AIDS if those involved do not first have their ethic of life firmly rooted in the Word of God. Accordingly, we call on Pastor Rick Warren to rescind his invitation to Senator Obama immediately. The millions of silent victims who have died because of the policies of leaders like Senator Obama demand a response from those who believe that life is a gift from God. The name of the seminar at which Senator Obama will be appearing is entitled, " We Must Work Together." No, Mr. Warren, Mr. Obama, we will never work with those can support the murder of babies in the womb.


Did you count the number of times the word "democrat" got mentioned in the letter - big fat zero. That is because this letter was solely conerned with Obama's pro murder stance.

Well those so called "progressive Christians" like Tony Campolo and Jim Wallis got wind of this letter and wrote a response. As you will see tomorrow, the real problem of political opportunism is not from the "religious right" but from these disgraceful individuals. Read their response tomorrow

Sacred Cow Saturday - Episode 9 - Religion and Politics

Last saturday I wrapped up my posts on Rick Warren discussing his invitation of rabid pro abortionist Barack Obama to speak at his AIDS conference held annually at Saddleback church. This event serves as a great snapshot of the lies, deceit, and hypocrisy going on by the false teachers otherwise known as "emergents", "red letter Christians", and "progressive Christians".

I have stayed silent about this for a long time. I have listened patiently to the "voices of reason" lecturing me on how the "religious right" is too political, that there are more issues than abortion and same-sex marriage, and that we, as Christians, should lean neither to the right or left.

As an aside I am well aware of the shortcomings of the "religious right" but they were not those identified by these naysayers. The "religious right" were right about the issues they fought for and probably saw many unborn lives saved in the process as well as significantly delaying the homosexual agenda. Their problem was that they failed to understand that you cannot legislate morality and the political sphere is not how to grow God's Kingdom. His Kingdom is not of this world nor is it grown by Christian government. God's chosen method has always been preaching. The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart and unless a person is born again they will not change where it matters. No amount of political clout can regenerate a human being. I think it is fair to say, generally speaking, that the preaching and purity of the Gospel took a back seat during the heyday of the religious right. And now, it seems, we are paying a price for it.

Well I can no longer remain silent because the current farce by so called Christians who have been pontificating their political neutrality and slamming the religious right for years are now revealing their true colors and true agenda that they had all along. I'm really mad about this and a lot of people are practicing little or no discernment.

Outwardly the emergent movement disdains the seeker sensitive approach, but in reality they have a lot to thank them for. If it was the church growth/seeker sensitive proponents that played a large role in dumbing down biblical literacy of congregations around America, they also paved the way for church goers to be deceived by false teaching that never would have gained acceptance 30 years ago.

Some people will question why I am becoming politically involved. The truth is this has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with theology and exercising a biblical worldview because that should affect everything we do. Take Mitt Romney for example when he was in the running. I would not interfere with someone voting for Mitt because they believe he is the best candidate. Where I would have taken issue is if someone was to vote for Mitt because they thought he was a Christian. In that case I would be compelled to point out that Mitt Romney is a mormon and mormons are not even remotely Christian. I am not opposed to Barack Obama because he is a democrat. I vehemently oppose his support of murdering the unborn and the truth should be told about that. My concern is for the Christian voters ability to exercise a biblical worldview and use it when making decisions. That is why I will attempt to shed some light on the political deception going on among these "politically neutral" left leaning "Christian voices".

Go On To Part 10
Go Back To Part 8
Go Back To Part 1

Sacred Cow Saturday - Episode 8 - Rick Warren Wrap Up

There is much more that could be discussed about Rick Warren and may well be at a later date. There is the issue of Purpose Driven mission trips where copies of Purpose Driven Life are handed out instead of Bibles. There is the issue of Rick Warren training Jewish leaders how to grow their Synagogues. There is the issue of Rick Warren prasing the Syrian Islamic regime for their treatment of Christians, then denying that it ever happened, then having to delete a youtube video that confirmed it did happen. There is also Pastor Warren's proud claim of being Rupert Murdoch's pastor - Murdoch being the worlds largest peddler of pornography (paging church discipline . . paging church discipline).

And there is also the issue of Rick Warren inviting homosexuals and strong abortion advocates to speak at his global AIDS summit. This included Barack Obama who supports the hideous murderous practice of "late term abortion". Rick Warren was roundly criticised for inviting these people and rightly so. His mantra to these criticisms is generally "I don't have to agree with 100 percent of what another person does in order to work with them on the 20 percent that we do agree on." Well here's my question following this philosophy - what if the leader of the Ku Klux Klan has some really positive contibutions to the AIDS summit? Would you invite him? Could you find 20% of common ground and put aside that "side" issue of racism? I would love to hear Rick Warren's response to those questions. And I would strongly contend that murder of the unborn is even more hideous than the blight of racism.

This issue of Barack Obama has left a stench on the landscape of "modern Christanity". I've followed the smell and it leads to some very ugly goings on within the "emergent" and "red letter" camps. These people who include Jim Wallis, Tony Campolo, Brian McLaren, and Donald Miller are hypocrites of the highest order. I have "held back" on this blog for a long time but I can no longer remain silent. I have patiently listened to (and taken on board) their continual criticism of the "religious right" for many years now but now they are starting to show their true colours and I will be speaking openly about their seductive deceptions over the coming days - so stay tuned.

The bottom line, though, with Rick Warren is the "gospel" he preaches and it is not the biblical Gospel as has been clearly exposed in the previous posts. The main purpose behind these posts has been in response to the continual attempts by Purpose Driven Cybercensors to delete any criticism or renounce it as people having personal issues with Rick Warren. There may be people out there who do have personal issues with Rick Warren and I have no interest in their grievances. It is also true that much of what Rick Warren teaches in his Purpose Driven books is helpful and beneficial within the daily life - even a broken clock gets it right twice a day. But these truths can serve as a smokescreen for the greater eternal picture and many of Rick Warren's critics are people who hold these issues dear to their hearts and labor tirelessly in them. They should not be silenced, they should be heard - especially by Rick Warren. Because if you get the Gospel wrong then the rest, ultimately, is a waste of time.

Go On To Episode 9
Go Back To Episode 7
Go Back To Episode 1

God's Directions v Man's Inventions

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools (Romans 1:21-22).

This article from the Washington Post.

Let My People Go, AIDS Profiteers
By Sam L. Ruteikara
Monday, June 30, 2008;

KAMPALA, Uganda -- The President's Emergency Plan for HIV-AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has been mired in the Senate for months. Last week finally brought signs that a vote, and passage, could be near. The program would cost $50 billion -- that's $165 from each American to fight AIDS, or $1.3 billion from New York City alone. But will the money allocated for AIDS stop the spread of the virus in sub-Saharan Africa, where 76 percent of the world's HIV-AIDS deaths occurred last year?

Not if the dark dealings I've witnessed in Africa continue unchecked. In the fight against AIDS, profiteering has trumped prevention. AIDS is no longer simply a disease; it has become a multibillion-dollar industry.

In the late 1980s, before international experts arrived to tell us we had it all "wrong," we in Uganda devised a practical campaign to prevent the spread of HIV. We recognized that population-wide AIDS epidemics in Africa were driven by people having sex with more than one regular partner. Therefore, we urged people to be faithful. Our campaign was called ABC (Abstain, or Be Faithful, or use Condoms), but our main message was: Stick to one partner. We promoted condoms only as a last resort.

Because we knew what to do in our country, we succeeded. The proportion of Ugandans infected with HIV plunged from 21 percent in 1991 to 6 percent in 2002. But international AIDS experts who came to Uganda said we were wrong to try to limit people's sexual freedom. Worse, they had the financial power to force their casual-sex agendas upon us.

PEPFAR calls for Western experts to work as equal partners with African leaders on AIDS prevention. But as co-chair of Uganda's National AIDS-Prevention Committee, I have seen this process sabotaged. Repeatedly, our 25-member prevention committee put faithfulness and abstinence into the National Strategic Plan that guides how PEPFAR money for our country will be spent. Repeatedly, foreign advisers erased our recommendations. When the document draft was published, fidelity and abstinence were missing.

And somehow, a suspicious statistic attacking marriage appeared. The plan states that the HIV infection rate among married couples is 42 percent, twice as high as the rate among prostitutes. Our requests for the source of this statistic were repeatedly ignored. In fact, the 2004-05 Ugandan HIV/AIDS Sero-Behavioral Survey found that HIV prevalence among married couples is only 6.3 percent, far lower than infection rates among widowed (31.4 percent) or divorced (13.9 percent) Ugandans.

When Washington insiders were alerted to these scandals, the words "abstain" and "be faithful" were quietly reinserted into the plan -- on paper. But that doesn't guarantee these methods will be implemented or promoted. Meanwhile, the dubious marriage statistic remains.

As fidelity and abstinence have been subverted, Uganda's HIV rates have begun to tick back up.

Western media have been told this renewed surge of HIV infection is because there are "not enough condoms in Uganda," even though we have many more condoms now than we did in the early 1990s, when our HIV rates began to decline. Condom promotions have failed in Africa, mostly because fewer than 5 percent of people use condoms consistently with regular partners. Indeed, the loudest HIV-prevention message in Africa is "universal access" to condoms, testing, anti-retroviral treatment, and assorted other drugs and devices. All these commodities must be transported, stored, distributed, advertised and resupplied endlessly.

Meanwhile, effective HIV prevention methods, such as urging Africans to stick to one partner, don't qualify for lucrative universal-access status.

Do not misunderstand me: Treatment is good. But for every African who gains access to HIV treatment, six become newly infected. To treat one AIDS patient with life-prolonging anti-retroviral drugs costs more than $1,000 a year. Our successful ABC campaign cost just 29 cents per person each year.

International suppliers make broad, oversimplified statements such as "You can't change Africans' sexual behavior." While it's true that you can't change everybody, you don't have to. If the share of men having three or more sexual partners in a year drops from 15 percent to 3 percent, as happened in Uganda between 1989 and 1995, HIV infection rates will plunge. It is that simple.

We, the poor of Africa, remain silenced in the global dialogue. Our wisdom about our own culture is ignored.

Telling men and women to keep sex sacred -- to save sex for marriage and then remain faithful -- is telling them to love one another deeply with their whole hearts. Most HIV infections in Africa are spread by sex outside of marriage: casual sex and infidelity. The solution is faithful love.

So hear my plea, HIV-AIDS profiteers. Let my people go. We understand that casual sex is dear to you, but staying alive is dear to us. Listen to African wisdom, and we will show you how to prevent AIDS.

The Rev. Sam L. Ruteikara is co-chair of Uganda's National AIDS-Prevention Committee.