Are fat people more holy (or unholy) that the skinny ones?
Are people fat because they are in some kind of "sin"?
"Guys, I need to repent."
Rick Warren to congregation, reported by USA Tokay, December 2, 2013
If you listen to Rick Warren, you might falsely think so. You might look at a fat person and think they are simply a glutton. People can be fat for a lot of reasons...skinny people might be binge eating.... how would you even know? And sin.... is everyone's problem. Repentance is essential, it is good for the soul.... and Rick says he "repented;" but did Rick Warren "repent" or does he just want to sell his next plan and book?
Rick Warren's new book, The Daniel Plan:40 Days to a Healthier Life is a new diet and exercise fad being promoted to Christians.. by Rick and friends. The book is co- authored by two of the the three doctors who have been working with him as he has been promoting the Daniel Plan as part of his Decade of Destiny in his churches. They are the book-publishing doctors, Daniel Amen and Mark Hyman. (Mehmet Oz, the third founding doctor, is not listed on this book.) Rick's book, (See at amazon,is "designed to be done in a supportive community relying on God's instruction for living."
This sure looks like it means it is meant to be done specifically in church. and it also asserts that if you are following God's instructions for living, this will be acceptable to you. Ironic though is that those instructions are not working. The Bible Belt of America is the responsible party for the obesity in America....this is according to Rick's expert partner and co-author of this book, Dr.Amen, who also suggested that the church is the "epicenter of the obesity epidemic."
The idea here is that the sick "church" needs a doctor. (Amen?) Okay... maybe more than one..... and so, Rick Warren has decided to give them the help they need by giving them the doctors he most admires. Unfortunately he does this while the Great Physician himself, Jesus Christ, is basically ignored. Rick Warren is not busy telling people to believe in Jesus for salvation from all their sins, nope. He is selling them books and programs and introducing them to the wisdom of Oz, Hyman and Amen.
No longer is Jesus "the Savior" or the "Bible" the focus in many religious minded, "Purpose Driven" labeled congregations. Bibles are exchanged for paraphrases or even the latest, greatest, New York Times Best Selling book. Pastors like to preach about the law-keeping ability of the individual person to obtain a sure salvation, people in church buildings are fervently working to both save themselves and /or their dying planet. And now we have the Daniel Plan.
Even without the emphasis on Jesus dying for our sins, it sure sounds biblical, after all, Daniel is from the bible, and not only that, we hear on the news programs all about Rick's own "repentance."
A December 2, USA Today article reported how Rick Warren "went in front of his congregation of 20,000 people..... (Ears are supposed to be impressed by huge number,) and said, "Guys, I need to repent." (He says," guys' but you can bet that there were "gals" there too.) He then told them that he " had gained 2 to 3 pounds a year, and I've been your pastor for 30 years, so I needed to lose about 90 pounds." Rick was repenting.... publicly, in front of thousands of people.
(Are you impressed by the astronomical number of congregants?)
Perhaps upon hearing the pastor "repent" you heart will soften. Perhaps you will see this "repentance" (over his gaining weight or maybe of being fat) as an act of humility. Perhaps you too will then humbly recognize your need to loose a few pounds and get more exercise..... identify with Rick, and then be excited to join him in his weight loss endeavor, and subsequently receptive to his selling you his latest book and study guide. Did he repent or was this just a marketing ploy.... and, if he did repent, what did he repent of?
As the same "copy"about the new Daniel Plan, 40 Day Program book, goes out like a script and repeats itself over and over and over into all forms of media. We hear about how the Daniel Plan started when Rick was baptizing hundreds of people and was convicted of being "fat." Sadly, the sin he repents of is merely "fatness" and his explanation makes it sound like this fatness, or being overweight was really not even Rick's fault. However the remedy for it all is the Daniel Plan.
Yes, Rick used the word, "repent" but let's note how it is that Rick, just couldn't help but gain those 2-3 pounds per year for thirty years, because, sad to say, he is so dedicated to being a pastor and became merely a victim of circumstance. His weight problem was a job hazard of working long days and having no time to eat right. However he is confessing his "sin" and is now willing to take control of his life and make a change in his weight... using his own plan, names and modeled after Daniel... in the bible.
In his NPR interview with Rachel Martin, (December 8, 2013) we are told that as a pastor, Rick was as busy as any doctor.... so busy, in fact, that he was stuck eating fast food. In was his incessant serving of all those church members, just like a doctor does his patients, his busy schedule that cause Rick to gain all that weight. It was not until that one day while baptizing over 800 people, (Are you impressed with that number and how long he must have spent, five hours) in the water baptizing them all?) that Rick had his defining moment where he realized how fat the people he was baptizing were. Then he realized he was fat too and that is when he enlisted the help of those three wise "experts," Hyman, Amen and Oz,, and subsequently offered their assistance to his congregation too.
What a guy, that Rick. He just wants to help everyone... all the time! Using an example from the Bible,.Daniel, Rick set out with his three new friends down the golden path of not just diet and exercise, but even more.... that of understanding the brain and heart and spirit too. His goal is to help the church get healthy by doing his programs and reading his books and to teach them how to be just like Daniel, too.
Some people believe as they have been falsely taught by their pastors or by pastor Rick himself, especially as he is appearing to promote his book on all sorts of secular media sources around, that this Purpose-Driven "Daniel Plan" is more than simply good for their body, but also for thier mind and soul. Some even (falsely) believe, (and others are being taught to falsely believe) that this mass marketed "Daniel Plan". is God's Prescription for you, his church. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Your belief in the person of Jesus Christ as lord and Savior, is the prescribed remedy sent to you by God.
Your diet will not save you. Being a better or even a skinnier person will not make you righteous before God. Your diet does not have to exclude or include meat. There is one thing that your pastor needs to teach you about.... and it is not how to diet. It is Jesus and his righteousness.
ROMANS 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
It's odd isn't it, that in the book of Daniel the "experts" were called in by the king, but they actually had no true idea about what they were talking about. Daniel, however, was given a special revelation from God to specifically interpret the kings' dream and he did so in righteousness because Daniel believed God. The the so-called "experts " a.k.a. 'wise men" actually had no clue, though they had done a good job of pulling the wool over they eyes of quite a few. Now, in the name of Daniel, (this very same "prophet,") we have "pastor," Rick, encouraging his flock to give ear to "experts," who are not even Christian in their beliefs.
Rick Warren would subsequently recommend you read their books and listen to the wisdom they offer you about health and about your heart and about your brain. Look closely at what they are teaching you and others and you will notice that the teachings of Rick's "experts" is very similar in teachings to the "wise men" (see: Daniel 2:27) of Daniels day.
If you want to know more about what these experts that Rick Warren has teamed up with teach, you might check out this article by Martha West.
Make no mistake, this Daniel Plan is a money maker and Rick takes those numbers seriously. He is all about finances and numbers. Keep in mind, Rick has a long time practice of "tithing" and in his recent days of affluence he,( being the great out-doer of everything and everyone that he is,) has boldly taken this requirement of the Old Testament law one step further than anyone has ever taken it before and become what he calls, a reverse tither. (Reverse tithing is something Rick invented.) Interested in numbers, Rick told USA Today, "There are more than 2 billion Christians around the world, so the church is the largest distribution center on the planet." If only a third bought his 14.99 book, that would be a lot of bucks for both Rick and Zondervan publishing. The Daniel Plan will reap in the millions and the information contained within will be distributes as it is heavily marketed in the media and at church, but the Daniel Plan will also serve to gather data from it's participants .
It is interesting that every font of modern media wants you to know that Rick Warren has a new book, USA Today and NPR, just to name a few. There is also FOX, CBS, NBC and even your local Zondervan sponsored book store for Christians are all on the bandwagon, letting you and your pastor know about Rick's latest and greatest 40 Day event. It is marketed just in time for Christmas giving and in time for New Year's resolutions to. But the Daniel Plan is more than a book.... It is a book.... first in hardcover, with a book study guide, a cook book, (to be released in April 2014 after you put your copy on order...no risk for the publisher this way,) and of course, there is also the ever-notorious "40 DAY "campaign kit" for your church. (a 6 week preaching series...).featuring, yours truly, Pastor Rick, but it is not free, like the gospel.... like all that Rick has to offer, you will have to purchase this one too.
They call it "groundbreaking," but does this diet work?
Rick assures us that the Plan works after all, Rick lost weight doing it. However, in all honesty he admits that he gained a lot of it back, but that was not his fault either. First, he explains, there was a back injury that kept him from exercise. Then there was the untimely death of his son. Being upset about this, of course, he couldn't sleep and was hungry all the time. Not only that, there were people who were bringing unhealthy meals to him and his family every day while they were grieving over this.... and therefore he had no control over what he was eating. He tells the media that during this time he had actually gained back half of what he originally loss.
No problem. Rick, the ever outdoing anyone and anything hero that he is, will prove to you, (not once,) but twice, hat the Daniel Plan really works. Rick is doing the plan himself.... again.
Rick Warren would subsequently recommend you read their books and listen to the wisdom they offer you about health and about your heart and about your brain. Look closely at what they are teaching you and others and you will notice that the teachings of Rick's "experts" is very similar in teachings to the "wise men" (see: Daniel 2:27) of Daniels day.
If you want to know more about what these experts that Rick Warren has teamed up with teach, you might check out this article by Martha West.
Make no mistake, this Daniel Plan is a money maker and Rick takes those numbers seriously. He is all about finances and numbers. Keep in mind, Rick has a long time practice of "tithing" and in his recent days of affluence he,( being the great out-doer of everything and everyone that he is,) has boldly taken this requirement of the Old Testament law one step further than anyone has ever taken it before and become what he calls, a reverse tither. (Reverse tithing is something Rick invented.) Interested in numbers, Rick told USA Today, "There are more than 2 billion Christians around the world, so the church is the largest distribution center on the planet." If only a third bought his 14.99 book, that would be a lot of bucks for both Rick and Zondervan publishing. The Daniel Plan will reap in the millions and the information contained within will be distributes as it is heavily marketed in the media and at church, but the Daniel Plan will also serve to gather data from it's participants .
It is interesting that every font of modern media wants you to know that Rick Warren has a new book, USA Today and NPR, just to name a few. There is also FOX, CBS, NBC and even your local Zondervan sponsored book store for Christians are all on the bandwagon, letting you and your pastor know about Rick's latest and greatest 40 Day event. It is marketed just in time for Christmas giving and in time for New Year's resolutions to. But the Daniel Plan is more than a book.... It is a book.... first in hardcover, with a book study guide, a cook book, (to be released in April 2014 after you put your copy on order...no risk for the publisher this way,) and of course, there is also the ever-notorious "40 DAY "campaign kit" for your church. (a 6 week preaching series...).featuring, yours truly, Pastor Rick, but it is not free, like the gospel.... like all that Rick has to offer, you will have to purchase this one too.
They call it "groundbreaking," but does this diet work?
Rick assures us that the Plan works after all, Rick lost weight doing it. However, in all honesty he admits that he gained a lot of it back, but that was not his fault either. First, he explains, there was a back injury that kept him from exercise. Then there was the untimely death of his son. Being upset about this, of course, he couldn't sleep and was hungry all the time. Not only that, there were people who were bringing unhealthy meals to him and his family every day while they were grieving over this.... and therefore he had no control over what he was eating. He tells the media that during this time he had actually gained back half of what he originally loss.
No problem. Rick, the ever outdoing anyone and anything hero that he is, will prove to you, (not once,) but twice, hat the Daniel Plan really works. Rick is doing the plan himself.... again.
He says, "I 'm actually trying to make my own example for other who felt discouraged and thought I just give up."
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