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Joe Farah keeps us up to date on megapastor Rick Warren's strange infatuation with all things Assad: "Rick Warren on Syria: 'A moderate country,'" from WorldNetDaily, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:
I am much obliged to Bruce Delay, a talk-show host at KFAQ 1170 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for downloading the audio version of Rick Warren's YouTube video, recorded while in Syria.Now, keep in mind, Warren has been telling the world he was misquoted by the Syrian press when he extolled the virtues of the totalitarian police state.
But before anyone questioned his statements, Warren's Saddleback Church had recorded him as he strolled down a Damascus street explaining what a peaceful and tolerant place Syria really is.
As soon as I hotlinked to the YouTube video last week and questioned Rick Warren about it, the church yanked it. I didn't have time to download a copy, but, thankfully, one johnny-on-the-spot talk-show host did.
You may not be able to see it, but you can at least hear it. Here is a word-for-word transcript of what Warren said in the 50-second video:
"Syria's a place that has Muslims and Christians living together for 1,400 years. So it's a lot more peaceful, honestly, than a lot of other places because Christians were here first.
"In fact, you know Saul of Tarsus – Saul was a Syrian. St. Paul, on the road to Damascus, had his conversion experience and so Christians have been here the longest, and they get along with the Muslims and the Muslims get along with them. There's a lot less tension than in other places.
"It's a moderate country, and the official government rule and position is not to allow any extremism of any kind."
This is what Rick Warren said about Syria. You can hear him with your own ears:
You can listen to an mp3 at the WND link above.
Posted by Robert at November 27, 2006 1:51 AM
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Syria is a moderate country? That's really a good one. Tell it to Israel and especially Lebanon. I'm sure they enjoy being neighbors of such a nice country.
Syria has been run by the blood Baath party for decades-the same fine party that produced that other well known moderate named Saddam Hussein. Syria has "dabbled" in Lebanon for even longer than the Baath party has existed, has been the most hostile to Israel since day one and had a cozy relationship with Nazi Germany (which probably explains why a couple of "moderate" Nazis ended up moving there to avoid war crimes trials). Yeah, Syria really is wonderful. As wonderful as its buddy Iran.
Posted by: ISLAMSFORLOSERS![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/nav-commenters.gif)
at November 27, 2006 2:21 AM
It takes a Potemkin village to fool a PC idiot.
Posted by: remote_control at November 27, 2006 2:28 AM
I wonder if he had to say that crap in order to make that film in Damascus?
If that's the case, he should have skipped making it. That's prostitution.
Posted by: atheling at November 27, 2006 2:38 AM
Every village has its idiot.
Posted by: THE ALLIES SHALL WIN at November 27, 2006 3:39 AM
we need to remember that that a lot of the mega-pastor's run longer with us because they let their power go to their head and that islam has always used useful idiots that could easily be fooled to show the face that they want the infidels to see before they attack us to see what they have in store for us all you do is read there war manualthe Koran and see how it tells the Muslims to use stratagems when they are weak and using useful idiots is one tactic that they can use along with making treaties that they intend to break. I am yet to see a televangelist other than Billy Grayham that would trust any further than I could throw them. They all start out to preach the gospel and end up becoming quite rich at it. Fortunately the ones who believe them are fringe group. Hezbollah and Hamas in their support from countries like Syria and Syria along with Iran have been supporting terrorist groups for years. Showing someone a Potemkin village and making it look like a real village to an outsider is an old, propaganda tactic right back prior to the Bolshevik Revolution in the USSR. The shame is that this pastor fell for it but in the USA we unfortunately have people like this there are even people that think the earth is flat, but unlike Syria or Iran or Saudi Arabia our society is everyone were you can think worship or believe as you wish. You may charge the same behavior in Syria Iran or Saudi Arabia or form your own church the chances are he would end up dead. It was not for oil under these Middle Eastern countries they would still be living in mud hot villages wondering where their next meal is coming from unfortunately they are only three or four generations of being illiterate savages, without the emotional maturity following a call founded 1400 years ago that never has joined the modern world as that cult basic tenet is submission it'd never questioned by its followers and the founder is worshiped as a profit and near deity that any criticism of by infidelsresults in large protests and violence against non-Muslims the cartoon violence and the protests against the Pope when he smote the truth about what happened when Muslims overran Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire. jihadist and imans always mention the Crusades but then the church declared a holy war agaist the Muslims for ra ra raiding and and taking as booty Christian programs heading for holy landand kept in this until the Crusades be them back.
Posted by: islamakapigeaters at November 27, 2006 5:19 AM
"In fact, you know Saul of Tarsus – Saul was a Syrian." (quoting Purpose-Dhimmi Warren)
This man doesn't know his scriptures. Saul (Paul) of Tarsus was a Hebrew, of the Tribe of Benjamin. Saul was a practicing Jew, a noted scholar on Judaism, a leading figure in the persecution of the "Followers of the Way", the early believers in the Moschiah Yeshua ben David ben Elohim (Jesus Christ).
Paul was never a Syrian (Assyrian). They are the descendants of Esau, not Jacob, who is the father of Benjamin.
Perhaps Mr. Warren should go back to his Sunday School notes, there may be hope for him yet.
Posted by: Ozi_bloke at November 27, 2006 6:41 AM
Ozi-Bloke:
The Assyrians descend from Asshur, not Esau.
Re Saul of Tarsus as a "Syrian", the Romans did have Syria and Cilicia (the part of Asia Minor where Tarsus is actually located) joined in one province for a while.
Also, while the Assad regime is reprehensible, Syria remains RELATIVELY more tolerant of Christians than many other ME countries. My gues is that Rick Warren was just being polite to his hosts, who had given him an opportunity to preach in their country.
Just because some Muslims are obnoxious doesn't mean that we have to repay them all in kind.
Posted by: Kepha at November 27, 2006 7:12 AM
Actually Syria is the world's most schizophrenic state.
It is ruled by the secular Ba'athist non-Muslim (Alawite) Assad dynasty which gives Christians and other non-Muslims much freedom internally while it actively helps the destruction of Christianity in Lebanon. It suppresses violently any expression of Islamism internally while exporting Islamic terror as a matter of foreign policy.
Posted by: Provoslavni at November 27, 2006 12:06 PM
Isn't terrorism Heresy?
Posted by: NicephorusPhocas at November 27, 2006 2:02 PM
Useful idiot.
Posted by: MP at November 27, 2006 5:13 PM
He's worse than a useful idiot. Just Google Rick Warren and CFR.
Posted by: Ozi_bloke at November 27, 2006 7:05 PM
Actually, Rabbi Saul was indeed Jewish, by birth into a Jewish family. But his citizenship was Roman and his Roman name was Paul. That's why his "appeal to Ceasar" was honored and why the Roman soldiers prevented the Jewish mob from Jerusalem from killing him.
Posted by: BAChristian at November 28, 2006 11:17 AM
What a yutz. Saul was not Syrian--he was born in Cilicia, in Tarsus, one of a handful of cities in the Roman Empire that boasted a university. Syria was southeast of Cilicia.
Posted by: malm at November 29, 2006 2:25 AM
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