In 2002, I was given a book by a devout Christian family member. The book was A Purpose Driven Life by Pastor Rick Warren which has since sold 18 million copies. Income from this book, plus his numerous other inspirational books, plus tithing received from his megachurch with 25,000 members, have made Warren a very rich man.
In 2007, Newsweek hosted a conversation between Pastor Warren and atheist, author and neuroscientist, Sam Harris, Ph.D. According to Newsweek, they chatted amiably for over four hours. From that historic conversation, Newsweek compiled an article using choice excerpts. Although the soft-spoken, mild-mannered Harris held his own with the famous pastor, I took exception to some of Warren's statements made in the article and could not resist taking Sam's place in the conversation.
For brevity, I have chosen to challenge just two of Warren's statements. Unlike Sam Harris, I am not so gracious.
RICK WARREN: I see the fingerprints of God everywhere. I see them in culture. I see them in law. I see them in literature. I see them in nature. I see them in my own life. Trying to understand where God came from is like an ant trying to understand the Internet. Even the most brilliant scientist would agree that we only know a fraction of a percent of the knowledge of the universe.
YOURS TRULY: Then you must see God's fingerprints on a child with bone cancer, on the malaria mosquito, or on that hideous parasite that infects and controls the brains of 30% of the world’s population wreaking all sorts of havoc and mental disorders, not to mention his prints on diseases like smallpox and Black Plague that wiped out half the population on earth. Then there are the tsunamis, earthquakes, floods and fires. Or how about fingerprints on your own affliction, spinal myoclonus? And, yes, even COVID 19 bears the fingerprints of God…which ironically too many other Christians insist on not protecting their neighbors by getting vaccinated because it bears the mark of the devil, or contains “Luciferase” or microchips or some other bizarre nonsense.
WARREN: One of the great evidences of God is answered prayer. I have a friend, a Canadian friend, who has an immigration issue. He's an intern at this church, and so I said, "God, I need you to help me with this," as I went out for my evening walk. As I was walking I met a woman. She said, "I'm an immigration attorney; I'd be happy to take this case." Now, if that happened once in my life I'd say, "That is a coincidence." If it happened tens of thousands of times, that is not a coincidence.
YOURS TRULY: Really? You consider no other possibility, like coincidence or luck, and so you immediately draw the conclusion that it was God’s hand that solved your friend's problem? Are you listening to yourself? Then what about the tragedy of your son’s suicide? Just 27. Your grief must be unimaginable. Not to be offensive, but one would expect that with you being a leader of a church with more than 25,000 members, your son was prayed for far more than the average person, right? So what you are saying is God can reach down and provide your friend with an immigration attorney but he would not save your precious son's life? And, according to many Christians, suicide is a mortal sin, which means your beloved son will not join you and his mother in Heaven while he suffers alone in eternal hellfire. Or have you refused to accept this uniquely Christian doctrine and so have conveniently harmonized the dissonance screaming in your head in order to give you and your wife false comfort?