On Wednesday, March 16, CNN interviewed John MacArthur about The Purpose-Driven Life for a special broadcast of NewsNight with Aaron Brown (Paula Zahn substituting). John agreed to the interview because we saw it as an opportunity to clarify some important gospel truths that have been obscured in all the publicity surrounding the book's popularity.

John's critical comments about the book were brief but substantive. He highlighted some significant points where the thrust of the book is at odds with the message of Scripture. He pointed out, for example, that the true gospel is a call to self-denial, not self-fulfillment. The gospel is a message about redemption, not about life's purpose. The gospel according to Scripture deals with God's law, His grace, human depravity, redemption from sin, justification, sanctification, holiness, the nature of saving faith, and the lordship of Christ. And the true gospel's most essential features are the cross of Christ and the truth of the resurrection. None of those subjects is dealt with adequately or biblically in The Purpose-Driven Life.

In their own post-production editing process, however, CNN removed virtually all the substantive comments from their interview with John MacArthur. A voice-over by the CNN reporter introduced John MacArthur as someone who "preaches the gospel of a stern God," while the subtext identified John as a "skeptic."

CNN also inserted some remarks from secular media experts who seemed to think petty jealousy is the only motive two pastors might possibly have for disagreeing with one another. They made numerical comparisons between Grace Community Church and Saddleback, accompanied by a comment from a local newspaper's religion writer who declared that the difference between Warren and MacArthur was merely a dispute over two different marketing methods.

All of this gave a spin to CNN's interview that utterly misrepresents our concerns about the Purpose-Driven phenomenon. John MacArthur's criticism of this approach is not new, and it is not motivated by anything personal. We have been pleading for a more biblical approach to church leadership and evangelistic ministry for many years. John MacArthur's 1993 book Ashamed of the Gospel sounded this very alarm two years before Rick Warren published his first book describing his philosophy of ministry.

So the concerns we have raised are biblical and substantive, and not merely personal criticisms of Rick Warren. We wish the CNN interview had made those facts clear. We have certainly tried our best to make them clear.

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Box 119
Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022
Websites: www.biblebb.com and www.gospelgems.com
Email: tony@biblebb.com
Online since 1986