Warren knows the North Koreans are going to use him:

“I know they’re going to use me,” Warren said, responding to a question about whether he was concerned that the invitation could be a set-up, a ruse to draw out Christians so that the government could punish them.

“So I’m going to use them.”

Get Religion notes the published comparisons between Warren and Billy Graham, the noted evangelist who spoke in Russia during the cold war (and at a time when Christians were imprisoned for their faith).

What ought to be clear is that the North Koreans have not invited Warren for the purpose of converting humanists into Christians or to usher into their country an age of religious tolerance. There is considerable positive PR that will be generated, pictures of Warren and North Korean officials and statements by the purpose driven guru that will reflect kindly on the country that is quite hostile to the Christian faith:

The North Korean government considers Christianity (especially Protestantism) to be closely connected with the United States and heavily suppresses it. The facts and figures concerning Christianity published by the DPRK's government, [2], like those concerning Buddhism, are disputed by almost all foreign observers. Although independent verification is impossible, it is assumed that there is a large underground Church. Many defectors from North Korea have attested that any form of adherence to the Christian faith, even the mere possessing of a Bible, can be considered a reason for arrest and deportation to one of the infamous DPRK prison camps, where convicts are subjected to exceptionally brutal, and often fatal, treatment.

Warren, on the otherhand, believes he can break through the staged event and bring the Gospel to the selected crowd of government agents, etc.. He's even asked Graham for advice. Unfortunately, it was the latter who, in 1982 said, "I saw no evidence of religious persecution in Russia." Warren would be well advised to ask someone else for advice and to bring his own interpreters.

AgentTim attempts to write with grace about the trip, stating that "this is an amazing opportunity for Warren, and it could possibly save some of our lives." Ironically, he also asserts, "I have yet to hear Warren preach on the gospel." Hmmm... perhaps this is the reason the communist government invited him?

Fundamentally, it is God who saves lives and not men. He can use a flawed man like Warren (or me) through the power of the Holy Spirit to bring about transformation. He can confound the snares set by the enemies of Christ and :

Ps. 2:1-4 ¶ Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3 "Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!" 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them.

If souls are saved as a result of Warren's visit God be glorified and Christ be praised.

Stacy Harp wonders, "How much do the members of Saddleback actually understand and know about Christian persecution in North Korea or other parts of the world?" Very little.

In other news, Warren invites a Jewish musician to lead in worship at his church. Craig Taubman "will share songs from the Jewish liturgy as part of the worship service, which Warren will lead."

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