Looks like Pyongyang has invited Rick Warren to North Korea to show how faithful Kim Jong Il is to the Christians there. In Rob Moll’s interview with Ronald Boyd-MacMillan for Christianity Today who travelled to NK, he has this to say about Rick’s visit:
What do you think of Rick Warren’s visit to North Korea?
You can travel as religious VIP, but it’s a propaganda exercise. I went in as one, and they took me to the Korean Christian Federation, which is this so-called Christian church in Pyongyang, but it’s completely set up for the foreigner’s benefit. Later, I sent a friend along who wasn’t a Christian. I said leave the hotel on a Sunday morning, this was Easter Sunday morning, and see if that’s a real functioning church. And he went along on Easter Sunday morning, the place was locked. So there is the Korean Christian Federation, but it’s really just a kind of shell church to bring in religious VIPs so that they can be a kind of go-between, between the North Korean regime and the West, because diplomatic channels are very hard for them to use. Billy Graham did it for years. There may be a role for it. I’m sure Rick Warren’s well aware that it’s primarily a propaganda exercise for the North Koreans to show that they have a free church, which is utter nonsense.
Is there any chance that they might use that to kind of draw out some Christians?
No, the Christians would be too smart. He will never, if he goes to Pyongyang, meet a real Korean Christian. I’m sure he’s well aware of that.
Kim Jong-Il loves using Christians outside of NK to try to show his “softer side.” We’ll probably see some photo-op of Kim Jong-Il holding a copy of Purpose-Driven Life. Stay tuned, if that pic shows up any where, I will repost it here.
there was one interesting thing i read about that interivew where rick warren admitted that the north koreans would try to use him to their advantage. his reply was that he was going to use them right back. i was thinking, “way to go rick warren!”
Posted by teena | July 12, 2006, 11:46 amI hope you are well, Teena, and the Lord is preparing you as you go to Korea!!!
Posted by admin | July 12, 2006, 12:34 pmLet’s suppose that Rick Warren gets to preach to 15,000 non-Christian Communist party members posing as Christians. What an ideal situation. Christians have already come to Christ. If he can lead even a handful of that non-believing congregation truly to Christ, even just one person, it will be a blessing. I believe that God will work through Rick Warren. That is far more important than political considerations no matter how justified they seem to be.
Having served face to face with the North Koreans in Panmunjom in 1969 and possibly having a sister-in-law still alive in North Korea, my only regret is that I cant go with Rick.
Posted by Raymond P. Jones | November 26, 2006, 5:39 pm