The world is looking for answers to terrorism, and leaders, such as Tony Blair, believe they have the solution. Recently, at the Global Counterterrorism Forum in New York, Blair stated:
“Where there is ignorance there is often fear and where there is fear there is often conflict. But where there is greater knowledge there is greater understanding. And where there is greater understanding there is a greater chance of peaceful co-existence.
“The work that my organisation does, and the work of many others, is about not just the uprooting of terrorism, but the uprooting of the thinking and philosophy behind it. I believe there is no answer to this problem that doesn’t start and continue with the importance of educating our young people.”
What global leaders and “peacemakers” do not understand is that the reason there is terrorism, murder, and cruelty to others is because of sin in the heart of man. As the world seeks out answers and solutions to global issues, it moves further and further away from the only solution – Jesus Christ. Why do we say further away from Him? Because the answer they come up with is to eliminate any and all “extremism.” This is another way of saying remove those who say their religion is the only true religion. So what happens is Islamic extremists (fundamentalists) are lumped together with Christian fundamentalists. And now, it becomes wrong to stand for the Christian faith and say it is the only way to God. The problem with this is that the one – Islam – promotes violence, and the other – biblical Christianity – promotes love, peace, gentleness (the fruits of the Spirit as described in Galatians) and finding salvation and eternal life through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Quite a contrast!
Rick Warren has not helped the matter. In fact, he lines up with Blair’s views on “extremism.” According to a news story in the January 8th 2006 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Rick Warren said Christian fundamentalism will be an enemy of the 21st century.
Excerpt from that 2006 article:
“Warren predicts that fundamentalism, of all varieties, will be ‘one of the big enemies of the 21st century.’
‘Muslim fundamentalism, Christian fundamentalism, Jewish fundamentalism, secular fundamentalism – they’re all motivated by fear. Fear of each other.'” – Warren
But Christian fundamentalism and Jewish fundamentalism do not promote violence. Christian fundamentalism promotes the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Period. If something that calls itself Christianity (such as the Roman Catholic church during the inquisitions) is promoting violence, then it is not true Christianity.
Rick Warren and Tony Blair at Saddleback in 2011How sad to realize that one of the church’s most popular and influential pastors would say lump Islamic terrorists with Christian believers. In 2011, Lighthouse Trails wrote a report titled “Eye-Witness Account: Global Peace Forum at Saddleback with Rick Warren and Tony Blair Raises Serious Questions About Global Peace Plan.”
In that report, we stated:
At the forum, both Warren and Blair stated that the only way a global peace could happen on planet earth in the future would be for all faiths to work together and do good together. The audience at the forum appeared to be mesmerized and awe-struck as they were wooed with discussion on faith, good works, democracy, and coming together. Beneath the vernacular, however, was another story.
We encourage you to read that report to understand this global “peace” effort more clearly. Below is a news story that was posted on Friday on Tony Blair’s website about Blair’s recent announcement to “counter violent extremism.”
“Tony Blair welcomes global plan to counter violent extremism”
At the 4th Ministerial meeting of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) in New York on 27 September 2013, GCTF Co-Chairs announced that a core group of government and non-government partners from different regions are planning to establish the first-ever public-private global fund to support local, grass-roots efforts to counter violent extremism in all of its forms. It is anticipated that the fund will raise more than $200 million over the next ten years to support local community initiatives that counter radicalisation and extremism.
Addressing the meeting, US Secretary of State John Kerry highlighted the importance of those organisations working to counter extremism and how crucial it was to work in schools, singling out the Tony Blair Faith Foundation in his remarks. Click here to read more of this story.
