Pastor Bill Hybels at Willow Creek is doing a three week series entitled “His Name Shall Be Called” (focusing on Isaiah 9:6: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”). During the course of the message he gave on Sunday, December 5 (See: http://www.willowcreek.org/home1.aspx, click on “Watch Messages” and then click on “He Shall be Called“), he discussed each name given in the Isaiah passage. When he got to “Prince of Peace”, he made the following comments:
“…Did you ever wonder what Defense spending costs our economy? I was playing around with numbers this week because I was under-challenged at work… I took the defense spending of the top 10 countries in the world, added it all up, and if we just took the Defense spending, top ten countries for one year, just twelve months, gang… it comes ups to something like 1.5 trillion dollars. What could be done with 1.5 trillion dollars to make our world a better place?…We could feed every starving person on the planet for just 20 billion…indefinitely. In addition to that…now we’re talking about 1.5 trillion dollars available if we would just stop the Defense spending of all the ten countries for one year, we could quite possibly clothe every naked person, house and educate every needy person on planet earth. A lot of diseases could be eliminated. AIDS probably could be eliminated. Cancer research could be accelerated. There’s just almost unlimited things that could happen if we could just get people to stop fighting and spending their money on military defense stuff for just one year, you see. War is insane…and it’s insanely expensive. It restricts us from having the resources to do the kinds of things that would make this world a better place. So when Isaiah says “someone is coming and one of His names is Prince of Peace”, every sane person should yearn for the day of his arrival. And when Jesus did come…he said “Blessed are the peacemakers…” Jesus knew all about the insanity of war…”Jesus said, “Love your enemies.” Could you just say those words with me?…I’ve got a better plan than spilling blood all over the place. Love your enemies; pray for those who do you wrong…when someone decides to follow Jesus and really surrender their life to Jesus… Jesus begins to turn us into peacemakers; our taste for blood sours a little bit…Can you imagine what could happen if on this Christmas day…every world leader would come to his or her senses and say, “Look no more war; we’re done. We’ll still have our differences, but we’re done with wars. We’ll settle our differences over negotiating tables instead of spilling the blood of our sons and daughters…Isaiah says, “The greatest hope of a day like that ever happening is in a person named Jesus Christ…Every day 20,000 people commit themselves to Jesus Christ… and they become peacemakers, that day gets a little bit closer.”
Wow. So much apostasy; so little time. Sounds like John Lennon’s song “Imagine”. Yes, imagine a world where there’s nothing worth dying for. My friends, that would be a world where there’s nothing worth living for.
Let’s dissect some of this:
“What could be done with 1.5 trillion dollars to make our world a better place?…We could feed every starving person on the planet for just 20 billion…indefinitely.”
Indefinitely, huh? That’s a long time…
I also recall one of Jesus’ disciples who spoke like this:
John 12:4-6: But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
“In addition to that…now we talking about 1.5 trillion dollars available if we would just stop the defense spending of all the ten countries for one year…”
Adolf Hitler led the systematic extermination of 6 million Jews. It was only war that stopped him.
Good government exists to carry out God’s justice. Romans 13:4: “For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil (emphasis mine).” When there is no sword for “him who practices evil (nations and individuals), there is no justice. Bill Hybels, there can be no love without justice.
“…we could quite possibly clothe every naked person, house and educate every needy person on planet earth…”
Matthew 26:11: “The poor you will have with you always…”
“A lot of diseases could be eliminated. AIDS probably could be eliminated.”
Romans 1:27: “…receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” But my guess is that Bill Hybels doesn’t talk about what The Bible says about homosexuality…
“There’s just almost unlimited things that could happen if we could just get people to stop fighting…”
Isaiah 45:7: "I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things."
“War is insane…Jesus knew all about the insanity of war…”
God must have been insane in The Old Testament then (e.g., Deuteronomy, Judges, Kings, etc.)? Oh, and perhaps in The New as well:
Revelation 19:11-15: “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God (emphases mine).
And here’s another one from The Old Testament - the same book from which Hybels quotes:
Isaiah 13:2-4: "I have commanded those I prepared for battle; I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath— those who rejoice in my triumph."
“…and it’s insanely expensive. It restricts us from having the resources to do the kinds of things that would make this world a better place.”
1 John 5:19: "We know... that the whole world is under the control of the evil one."
I’m not saying we shouldn’t oppose evil. May it never be! But thinking that we can rid the world of hunger or war is “insane”.
“So when Isaiah says ‘someone is coming and one of His names is Prince of Peace’”…“And when Jesus did come…he said ‘Blessed are the peacemakers…’”
And Jesus also said: Matthew 10:34: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."
And, Luke 22:36: Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.”
“Prince of Peace” refers to Jesus having made peace between God and us (those who repent and believe in Jesus for salvation). Are you Israel’s teacher, Bill Hybels, and you do not understand these things?
“…every sane person should yearn for the day of his arrival.”
Revelation 6:15-17: "Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”
“Jesus said, ‘Love your enemies.’ Could you just say those words with me?…I’ve got a better plan than spilling blood all over the place. Love your enemies; pray for those who do you wrong…when someone decides to follow Jesus and really surrender their life to Jesus… Jesus begins to turn us into peacemakers; our taste for blood sours a little bit.”
Revelation 6:9-10: When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth (emphasis mine)?”
I think you need a greater “taste” for justice, Bill Hybels.
“Can you imagine what could happen if on this Christmas day…every world leader would come to his or her senses and say, “Look no more war; we’re done. We’ll still have our differences, but we’re done with wars. We’ll settle our differences over negotiating tables instead of spilling the blood of our sons and daughters...”
1 Thessalonians 5:3: For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
“Isaiah says, ‘The greatest hope of a day like that ever happening is in a person named Jesus Christ‘…”
Revelation 19:17-21: Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse (emphasis mine. The “Him“ is Jesus; comment mine). And all the birds were filled with their flesh.
From another perspective:
Do you think I’ve been unkind or harsh? Perhaps Bill Ward’s (my husband) response is preferable:
“…Did you ever wonder what Defense spending costs our economy? I was playing around with numbers this week because I was under challenged at work…”
That's because you don't "work", you're a beggar who peddles hope and lives off the welfare of your hope-starved flock. How about feeding truth (good food) to your flock, instead of worrying about feeding the world and your own self-righteousness?
“I took the defense spending of the top 10 countries in the world, added it all up, and if we just took the Defense spending, top ten countries for one year, just twelve months, gang… it comes ups to something like 1.5 trillion dollars. What could be done with 1.5 trillion dollars to make our world a better place?…We could feed every starving person on the planet for just 20 billion…indefinitely.”
Wrong, a 1000 times wrong. This statement is such a grotesque oversimplification and so thick with ignorance it is painful to parse out. Again I must ask myself, "How does one answer a fool?" It will either be patently obvious to the listener, or the listener is like Bill Hybels and will never get it.
Are these starving people working? Are they good or bad? Who are they? What are their values? What country do they live in? We don't know, these are just the paper cutout typical "starving people"; non-violent souls, without sin, without jealousies, without greed, without sloth, without envy, without lust, or the pride of life, without cultures, without borders, without a history, and without all the evils that only exist in rich white guys like Bill Hybels.
Clearly, without defense, will they not be overrun by barbarians who will steal all the food that the "rich" nations just gave them? Twenty billion would not even be a drop in the bucket! We've had some 30 trillion dollars in transfer payments in this country alone since LBJ's "Great Society" of the sixties from the productive to the non-productive in this country alone and the level of poverty has not gone down. Endless charities have given gobs and gobs of money - far more than 20 billion - over decades and decades and yet poverty in the world has not ceased nor even decreased. The use of the term "indefinitely" should immediately indicate to the listener the emptiness and deceptiveness of this claim. Upon hearing this claim my initial reaction was "Feed them? For how long, a month? And then what do they do?" I'll tell you, they will start warring with each other over the few scraps of handout food there is left, then someone will suggest using stones, and then someone will build a stone-thrower machine, and then...
But of course this total Willow Creek dream scenario can only happen when we all come together as one in a John Lennon love fest and all agree to all lay down all our arms at the same time. Try to get 100 people in any room to agree that 2+2=4 100% of the time. It never happens. And you expect the whole world to come together on this - the grand Willow Creek social justice dream? Bill Hybels is not preaching truth, he's selling false hope. This is the height of evil because it twists the real truth and replaces it with a never-obtainable myth. The facts don't matter to the purveyors of the myth. Bill Hybels keeps preaching and selling the false hope because the fools keep buying it. He thinks the Bible talks about it because he only reads the 2% of scripture that can be understood in this manner. He tells 2% truths, much like the Father of Lies (that would be Satan for those of you attending Willow Creek).
“In addition to that…”
There's more?... Isn't ending world hunger enough?! Oh, I forgot, the drivel never ends. Hybels is really shoveling it this morning. As long as we're dreaming, dream big...
“…now we’re talking about 1.5 trillion dollars available if we would just stop the defense spending of all the ten countries for one year, we could quite possibly clothe every naked person, house and educate every needy person on planet earth. A lot of diseases could be eliminated. AIDS probably could be eliminated.”
Probably? come on Bill have some faith! definitely!
“There’s just almost unlimited things that could happen if we could just get people to stop fighting and spending their money on military defense stuff for just one year, you see. War is insane…and it’s insanely expensive.”
No Bill Hybels, you are insane, and stupidity is the most expensive thing by far. You look at your obscenely expensive "church" and are too insane to understand where the money came from. I beg you, give it all away and send the money to the "starving people" of your choice, and that would both feed some people for a day or two and rid us of the torture of ever having to hear you preach again. It's the best of both worlds! Think about it - martyring your church for your self-righteous beliefs. The more one thinks about it the more giddy one gets. Or even better, you could disband the church and rent the building out for a steady stream of money that could feed 1000 people "indefinitely"! Or you could eliminate AIDS and feed 700; or you could cure cancer, eliminate AIDS, but then you'd only be able to feed 350 people - hard choices indeed.
“It restricts us from having the resources to do the kinds of things that would make this world a better place. So when Isaiah says “someone is coming and one of His names is Prince of Peace”, every sane person should yearn for the day of his arrival. And when Jesus did come…he said “Blessed are the peacemakers…” Jesus knew all about the insanity of war…”Jesus said, “Love you enemies.” Could you just say those words with me?…I’ve got a better plan than spilling blood all over the place. Love your enemies; pray for those who do you wrong…when someone decides to follow Jesus and really surrender their life to Jesus… Jesus begins to turn us into peacemakers; our taste for blood sours a little bit…Can you imagine…”
I'm going to cry. It's just like what Bono "the apostle" Lennon said. Listen! Hybels is channeling Lennon from the grave! OH Glory!! Glory!! And right at the 30 year anniversary of his crucifixion, er, I mean death.
“…what could happen if on this Christmas day…every world leader would come to his or her senses and say, ‘Look no more war; we're done. We’ll still have our differences, but we're done with wars. We’ll settle our differences over negotiating tables instead of spilling the blood of our sons and daughters‘…Isaiah says, ‘The greatest hope of a day like that ever happening is in a person named Jesus Christ‘…Every day 20,000 people commit themselves to Jesus Christ…”
Why at this rate everyone will know Christ by the year 2525! The simpleton Bill Hybels said it, and he pastors a very big and very influential and very rich church (which he's sadly not willing to give away in order to feed the "starving people"), so it must be true. True, not true, who cares? It's almost Christmas - "2525 if we're still alive" - the gospel according to Willow Creek. I wonder if there was a single person at Willow Creek who was awake enough to notice, much less be offended by, this whopper?
“…and they become peacemakers, that day gets a little bit closer.”
So Christ in fact doesn't need to return and cut the enemies of the Lord to pieces? (I wonder what the heavenly defense budget for that is?). By 2525, we'll do it ourselves with eternal hope and relentless change and tweaking and seeker-sensitive churches. There you go, the Bible is outdated and wrong again. Bill Hybels proved it!
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