By Terry James
Unless you just stepped off of your flying saucer from another solar system, you know about the Purpose-Driven Life. That book is said to be the second-highest-selling, non-fiction book in publishing history, right behind the Bible. The thrust of this monumentally selling book is to convince people that they were placed here for a purpose by the God who created them, and to point to the fact that God’s Word, the Bible, is the real road map to peace, peace to the soul.
Because there is so much humanistic psychology woven throughout the book, however, many who name the name of Christ consider The Purpose-Driven Life to be flawed to the point it is counter-productive to the cause of Christ.
While many proclaim that any book that has sold so many copies is obviously blessed of God, others point to Harry Potter and proclaim that that series has sold even more, and that the psychology found within both works come from the same source.
I will make no such conclusion here, but am extremely disturbed at author Rick Warren’s cavalier attitude toward biblical prophecy. His statement that says Jesus always changed the subject when talking to His disciples whenever the topic of prophecy yet future came up is –I don’t know how else to say it—a lie. To refute his claim in this regard, I point you first to his statement on pages 285-286 of The Purpose-Driven Life. Then I point you to the Olivet Discourse in Matthew, chapter 24, Mark, chapter 13, and Luke, chapter 21. Read those suggested texts, then tell me if Mr. Warren is being honest with his readers.
The other matter involves the aforementioned problem of psychology. I have no problem with leveling the charge that to inject psychology from Freud, Jung, Maslow, Rogers, or any of the other humanists, and to mix their mumbo-jumbo with the Holy Word of God in order to advise one to direct one’s life is erroneous teaching at best, and dangerous instruction at worst.
Let me explain.
Every society, culture, or civilization that has rejected God’s purpose for mankind has eventually come to, relatively speaking, the same end. Always, the degeneration that has resulted from God-rejection has ended in a certain manifestation.
I liken such teaching from worldly sources, not to instruction that leads to a godly, purpose-driven life, but to teaching that could be better termed “porpoise driven.”
Here is a relevant passage to consider:
“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, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things” (Rom. 1:21-23).
All who have populated the planet have, it seems, ultimately come to the point they viewed the creation as God, and worshipped that creation in one way or another. From the ancient days when people worshipped Dagan, the fish god, to the Greeks, who paid homage to their great gods which they viewed as controlling the various elements of earth’s geophysical activities, to the believers in reincarnation, and the native American nature worshippers, to those who today believe “Mother Earth” is the sustainer of us all, mankind’s history is a continuing downward-spiraling plunge that is more “porpoise” driven than “purpose” driven.
A command, followed by a question from the mind of God is one that should be considered here:
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14).
Another way of putting it in our context: We as children of God have no business intertwining our instructions from our Heavenly Father with the instructions of those whom think that porpoises are God, because those creatures are part of the creation by evolution –humanism’s god.
We can look to the type of worship the children of Israel engaged in, even during the time Moses was on the mountain receiving the Law that would govern that chosen people. Remember? They forged an image that was in the shape of what? That’s right, a calf. They molded a golden calf to worship. Even the people upon whom God chose to put His mighty Hand, as an example to all peoples that would follow, came to the desire to worship the creature, rather than the creator. In modern terms, they became “porpoise driven"!
"Porpoise-driven" people have reprobate mindset; i.e., their thinking becomes perverted, or upside- down. Rather than striving to follow the prescription for life set down by the Creator-God of all things, they deliberately pull away from His loving hand of guidance, preferring to do what is right in their own eyes.
The arguments I hear through e-mail, and by listening to their sophistry, always involve convoluted reasoning (I realize that is an oxymoron). Their thought always includes some degree of anger and fear that we who hold to the belief that God’s judgment is coming are responsible for bringing the planet to ruin. Christian evangelicals –and pre-trib believers in the rapture in particular—are the heart and soul of such ruination, they proclaim. And, if I’ve read it or heard it once, I’ve read it or heard it dozens of times –they will be glad for the rapture so we will be off the planet. Then those left behind can build a world free of such encumbrances as those engendered by we who are in favor of destroying wildlife and Earth’s ecosystem.
When we who hold to the Bible’s words condemn things like killing babies while they are in their mothers’ wombs, the "porpoise-driven" rant that it is nobody’s business what women do with their bodies. We should cease trying to impose our view of morality on those who want to kill babies, if and when they want to kill babies. Babies that are unwanted will have nothing but destitution and abuse to face, so goes the “reasoning.”
That mindset that says killing human children in the womb is preferable to the inconvenience that birth would foist upon the mothers and children involved –not to mention society at large—twists logic and morality to the breaking point. Yet the "porpoise driven" are always first to defend the offspring of wildlife such as –well, for example— porpoises.
How many times have we heard that when porpoises or whales have beached themselves for one reason or another, those who have this mindset have gone to wherever the unfortunate mammals were committing porpoicide –if that’s a word—and tried everything –including “reasoning” with these super-intelligent animals, to convince them to choose life, rather than death?
Humanist psychology, you see, like most all of humanity’s philosophies, are in diametric opposition to the mind of God. The humanistic religion, with its chief dogma, evolution, makes the evolved animal at least as important as the evolved human. People–e.g., evangelical Christians who believe in God’s coming judgment on incorrigibly wicked mankind—refuse to come into harmony with all of nature, thus are nature’s individual and collective enemy, under the evolutional, psychological, and philosophical model. We aren’t “porpoise driven;” thus it would be better if we were silenced –or better yet, off the planet. At least, that’s the message I’ve been getting, especially since the U.S. presidential election of 2004.
The "porpoise-driven" mindset says that human death–if that life makes things inconvenient—is better off removed. Terri Shiavo was an inconvenience, thus she was best left to starve to death. Try that with a baby seal, dolphin, porpoise, or sea turtle, and the outcry from the "porpoise-driven" crowd would be cacophonous.
We, as a caring, loving part of Mother Earth, must nurture and carefully count every eagle egg. We shouldn’t bother to keep count of the more than 44 million human babies that have been murdered through abortion since Roe v. Wade in 1973, however. It’s best to just move on from such accounting.
But, God hasn’t forgotten, and won’t forget. His accounting system is perfect, and each and every one of those babies will, I’m confident, stand and face the "porpoise-driven" crowd at precisely the right moment when the books of eternity are opened and God’s judgment rendered.
It is especially troubling that many who say they are Christians–thus surely have copies of The Purpose Driven Life nearby, write accusing us of being in favor of destroying the planet. Almost without exception they, at the same time, say something like “the Jesus I know would never send anyone to a place of eternal punishment. My Jesus taught love and respect for the environment, and love for the poor and downtrodden.” It is we who believe in judgment, and who are voting for George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and thus for Halliburton and drilling at ANWR, who are going to occupy the hot places of Hell –if such a place exists.
The "porpoise-driven" mindset is really a spirit-set, I’m convinced. It is a non-rational rationale that comes from confusion that produces totally upside-down thinking. And, the Bible speaks plainly as to who is the author of confusion. The "porpoise-driven way" is almost without exception bent toward pro-death, not life.
"Porpoise-driven" exponents almost always champion abortion and homosexual activity--both things that lead to the eradication of human birth. Increasingly, the "porpoise-driven" observably demonstrate that they are for euthanasia – the offing of those whose quality of life isn’t deemed worthy of continuance. It is preferable to hug a tree than to take to one’s breast a helpless woman who can’t feed herself in today’s economy of the religion of secular humanism.
As true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, it is our duty to do our part to take care of our environment, including the animal life. But, we aren’t to worship the Creation. We are to worship the Creator only. His name is Jesus Christ. To worship Him in spirit and in truth–that is our God-appointed purpose.
