Longbeard Press, LLC

          Not only is this book a critique of the faulty theology of Rick Warren, as encountered in his book, The Purpose Driven Life, but a correction to the pseudo-Biblical perspectives of many in the modern church.  The topics dealt with in Purpose Driven Disaster are quite varied, but all very important to the well-being and spiritual health of Christians and the Church.

          Rick Warren teaches that God is entirely responsible for the way you were made when you were born.  However, Scripture teaches that this is not true.  Rather, a person’s conduct in life, whether for good or evil, has an impact on the way that person’s children turn out.  An obedient life and a sinful life will have significantly different impacts upon the health and character of one’s children.  Sadly, many have been fooled into believing otherwise, to their own harm, and the harm of their children.  This is covered in the first chapter of Purpose Driven Disaster, which is entitled: Is God Entirely Responsible for Your Makeup?.

          The second chapter explains how God’s love toward us is not ‘unconditional’ as Rick Warren and many modern Christians believe.  Since this chapter is presented as Sample Chapter #1 on this web site, further elaboration here is not necessary.

          The Bible teaches that there is such a thing as righteous resentment and anger.  Chapter 3 of Purpose Driven Disaster explains why godly anger has an important function, and how that relates to prayer and the imprecatory Psalms and the singing of Psalms.  Historically, the church from the earliest times, as well as churches later founded by John Calvin, Martin Luther and John Knox (e.g. Reformed, Lutheran, Presbyterian) had all 150 Psalms set to music, and sung them regularly in their churches.  A number of these Psalms are prayers for God to punish and pay back evildoers for their injustice toward others.  The New Testament teaches that we are to continue to sing Psalms.  Many modern Christians think they are supposed to only have love and good feelings toward all men, no matter how wicked they are.  They are wrong and this chapter, entitled Are Resentment and Anger Always Evil?, explains why, as well as the importance of prayer in stopping injustice.

           Chapter 4, entitled Is Fear Always a Bad Thing?, explains how important the emotion of fear is to Christians, and how God uses this as a major motivation factor.  Rick Warren and many modern Christians believe that Christians should be motivated only by love and not by fear.  They are wrong, and this chapter explains the importance of Biblical fear for a Christian.  This chapter is presented as Sample Chapter #2 on this web site.

          Rick Warren teaches that Christians should not seek to better themselves financially.  However, God wants Christians to strive to achieve material gain, and promises to bless their efforts.  Chapter 5, entitled Is it Wrong to Seek Material Gain?, lays out the Biblical passages in support of this, and explains how failing to work for this goal can bring well-deserved punishment.

          To modern evangelical Christians, ‘sharing one’s faith’, or ‘witnessing’, or ‘sharing the gospel’ with non-Christians is considered one of the most important tasks of a Christian.  Unfortunately, this is not what the Bible teaches.  Also, the manner in which Christians are encouraged to 'share the gospel' is not according to Scripture.  This is explained in Chapter 6 of Purpose Driven Disaster, which is presented as Sample Chapter #3 on this web site, entitled Does God Want Christians to Make Unwelcome Sales Pitches?

          Rick Warren teaches that the act of baptism has nothing to do with salvation, that only faith in Christ is necessary.  This is not what the early church believed and is not what the New Testament teaches.  The proof of this is laid out in Chapter 7 of Purpose Driven Disaster, entitled Is Eternal Life Guaranteed by Accepting Jesus as Lord & Savior?  In fact, God believes baptism to be of such importance that those who refuse or neglect to be baptized will not be accepted into heaven.

          In The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren also teaches that Christians should spend as much of each day as possible praying and thinking about God and Christ.  This sounds very pious – but it is not what the Bible teaches.  Instead, God wants us to busy ourselves in various profitable and helpful activities and spend only a minor portion of our day engaged in worship, prayer, meditation and Bible study.  Rick Warren and the mystics and monks are engaged in a sinful waste of time with their lengthy prayers and devotional exercises.  See why in Chapter 8, which is presented as Sample Chapter #4 on this web site, entitled Are Christians Supposed to Constantly Think about Christ and Pray?

           Chapter 9 of Purpose Driven Disaster explains why there seem to be apparent contradictions between Bible passages which teach that salvation is by faith, and other Scriptures which teach that doing good deeds is necessary for salvation.  This chapter is entitled:  Is There No Human Effort Required for Eternal Salvation?  Appendix 3 to Purpose Driven Disaster provides quotations from the early Church Fathers (in support of this chapter) to show that from the earliest times of the church, Apostolic Fathers such as Polycarp, Clement of Rome and Justin Martyr saw no contradiction between the concepts of faith and good deeds as both being necessary for salvation.  Chapter 9 is presented as Sample Chapter #5 on this web site.

          Chapter 10 is entitled, Is Church Attendance Always Beneficial and Prudent?  Rick Warren and others promote the faithful attendance at one's local church.  While every local 'church' might profess to teach the Bible, many are actually ignoring and violating those truths.  This chapter explains how sincere Christians have a duty to refuse to attend and refuse to support such false churches.  Those who attend a support such false churches are guilty of supporting the enemies of God.  Also discussed is how alternative houses of worship can be established, beginning with a family home church, as formulated in Scripture.

          Rick Warren teaches that if Christians were to meet together more often, they would become better Christians.  Therefore, in The Purpose Driven Life, he advocates attending many Christian meetings throughout the week.  Chapter 11 of Purpose Driven Disaster is entitled, How Often Should Christians Meet Together?  The Scriptures teach that Christians are to focus the majority of their time and energy on many other things, including their work and family relationships, and that Christians should normally meet together only once a week.  In fact, over-attendance at church meetings can be sinful and harmful to one’s family relationships, one’s career, and one’s overall emotional health.

          Some evangelical churches promote a practice wherein individuals are encouraged to stand up in the congregation and confess private sins they have committed in the past.  This practice is based on a loose interpretation of a few passages about confession of sin.  Such practice ignores many other passages teaching that one should confess his sin and seek forgiveness only from God and the individual or individuals he has wronged.  Rick Warren teaches that confession of one’s sins to other uninvolved individuals leads to emotional health.  It can actually be quite harmful.  See why in Chapter 12, entitled Are Christians to Confess All Their Sins to All Church Members?, which is also presently posted on this web site as Sample Chapter #6.

          Rick Warren teaches that God’s fundamental character changed after Jesus came into the world; that God, when the Old Testament was "in force", wanted people to fear him, but now in the time when the New Testament is "in force", God wants to motivate men by love, not fear.  This is false.  Both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible teach that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever; that his character never changes, and he always remains who he is.  Also, the New Testament reveals to us that only certain ceremonies and ordinances contained in the Old Testament are no longer valid, but most of the Old Testament is entirely valid, vital, and valuable for a successful Christian lifestyle.  This is covered in Chapter 13, entitled The Continuing Validity & Importance of the Old Testament.

          The second appendix to Purpose Driven Disaster is entitled The Misleading Paraphrases.  In this section of the book the author quotes the many paraphrase quotations that Rick Warren uses in his book as 'Scripture'.  These quotes are compared with literal translations of the actual passages, thus showing how Rick Warren uses perverted pseudo-translations of Scripture to promote many erroneous ideas to the public.

          In Appendix 4, the author reviews and recommends what he believes to be the best study Bibles and books on topics of importance to Christians.  For example, he covers books about what Christians can do to have a better government and economy, by authors such as David Barton and Gary DeMar.  He recommends and discusses books explaining the evidence for the truth of Scripture, by authors such as F.F. Bruce, Josh McDowell, and Paul Little; and books regarding principles for interpretation of Scripture, by Robert E. Stein; and books explaining the difference between pagan psychology and Christian counseling by authors such as Jay Adams, Richard Ganz, and Martin & Diedra Bobgan; as well as other topics and authors.

          The last appendix in the book recommends some of the better sources for obtaining helpful Christian literature and software.