Monday, July 6, 2009

Pastor Rick Warren reaches out to Muslims in U.S.

One of my favorite authors, Pastor Rick Warren recently told several thousand American Muslims that "the two largest faiths on the planet" must work together to combat stereotypes and solve global problems. I was very happy to see him extend an olive branch towards a population of people who have been basically despised primarily because of their home countries' political agendas, and not because of the religion itself. Both Muslims and Christians are decendants of Abraham, a prophet found in the Old Testament.

"Some problems are so big you have to team tackle them," evangelical megachurch pastor Rick Warren addressed the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America.
Warren said Muslims and Christians should be partners in working to end what he calls "the five global giants" of war, poverty, corruption, disease and illiteracy.

Warren is the founder of Saddleback Community Church in Orange County, California and the author of "The Purpose Driven Life." His willingness to show support for U.S. Muslims is a huge gain for the community, which has endured intense scrutiny since 9/11.
"It's easier to be an extremist of any kind because then you only have one group of people mad at you," he said. "But if you actually try to build relationships — like invite an evangelical pastor to your gathering — you'll get criticized for it. So will I."

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