Satan's goateed, Hawaiian-shirt wearing foot soldier in sandals without socks, the Rev. Rick Warren, will now have his name emblazoned on Starbucks coffee cups, with a quote from him that includes the line, "You were made by God and for God, and until you understand that, life will never make sense."

He reasons in the Sunday New York Times article reporting this new development, "Jesus taught in the temple and the marketplace."

As Robert H. Knight, director of the contrastive group Culture and Family Institute, rightly assesses in the article, "Starbucks has long served up a New Age secular worldview."

This is exactly what Warren does under the guise of Southern Baptist Christianity so it makes sense that he and Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz, a Zen Man CEO if ever there was one, should do business together.

What makes all this so scary is Warren's influence. He has now trained more than 400,000 pastors worldwide! His best-seller book, "The Purpose-Driven Life," is being worshipped by churches all over the country. They have study groups to pore over every page.

"By 2004, about 2 million people will have joined in one of his "40 Days of Purpose" evangelism campaigns," reports an old article from USA Today that I saved. "They commit to read one of Life's 40 chapters a day and participate in an intense program of worship, study, fellowship and service."

Warren stands with the flakiest of TV preachers. He proudly tells you he got his own mission-purpose directly from the Rev. Robert Schuller. His mentor is Billy Graham. He appears on stage with guys like whacked-out T.D. Jakes, recently the butt of jokes in a Jimmy Kimmel monologue.

In his book, Warren loves to distort Scripture and the Bible paraphrase that gives him great back-up is the cliché-ridden, abominably written, "The Message."

"Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self," reads a contrived paraphrase of Matthew 16:25 in "The Message," that is quoted by Warren in his book.

By contrast, Jesus Christ says in the King James Bible, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."

"The Lord clearly taught that we are to consider our lives dead in order to follow Him—this passage does not teach anything about 'true self' or self esteem," points out one of hundreds of articles on the internet detailing Warren's deception, in this instance a piece published on the website, Myfortress.org. "Warren used the counterfeit paraphrase to fantasize that the Lord had spoken of 'finding yourself, your true self'. The craze of finding your 'true self', one of the hallmarks of the 1960's hippy crowd, has now made its mark in this popularized debasing of Christianity."

Warren states on Page 79 of his book, "If you want to know how much you matter to God, look at Christ with his arms outstretched on the cross, saying, 'I love you this much! I’d rather die than live without you.'

These words "I'd rather die than live without you" are part of a lyric from a song by the popular group Backstreet Boys!

"These words, put into the mouth of the Lord Christ Jesus by Warren, are a blasphemy," argues Myfortress.org. "Christ Jesus the God-man, does not have a love that is dependant on man. If he had such a dependency, He would not be God. To teach that the love of the Lord Jesus Christ is unholy, as Warren has, is both an insult and irreverence. It exalts sinful man to a position of control regarding the eternal Son of God. Can such an imagination be anything other than profanity?"

Warren quotes Catholic mystic Brother Lawrence in his endorsement of Catholic contemplative prayer techniques.

"Brother Lawrence was not only traditionally Roman Catholic but also disseminated teachings that have similarities with Hinduism in the Bhagavad-Gita , and with many New Age writers," reveals Myfortress.org. "Warren endorses him and goes on later to recommend breath prayers.

Warrant teaches in his book, "Many Christians use breath prayers throughout their day. You choose a brief sentence, or a simple phrase that can be repeated to Jesus in one breath: You are with me. I receive your grace. I'm depending on you. I want to know you. I belong to you."

"For centuries Catholic mystics have practiced breath prayers such as these," says Myfortress.org. "They are simply the Catholic form of old Greek mysticism and akin to the mantras of Hindus. In this same book, Warren cites approvingly the famous Catholic mystic Madame Guyon (p. 193). He approves also of St. John of the Cross (p. 108) and the Catholic priest mystic, psychologist and ecumenist Henri Nouwen (pp. 269- 270). He warmly agrees with Mother Teresa (pp. 125, 231). These misleading techniques are thus propagated and lead further into the whole mystic plague that presently is threatening believers. This plague is the imagination that there is a unity consciousness with God apart from the Person, unique life and sacrifice of Christ Jesus."

In giving "more secrets of cultivating a friendship with God," Warren advises in his book, "Prayer lets you speak to God; meditation lets God speak to you." Of course, meditation is a favorite Eastern religion/New Age concept. He even writes, "Like monks and mystics we should meditate (simply focused thinking) on Bible verses."

"Meditation in some form has been systematized in most great religions of the world," confirms Merriam-Webster's "Encyclopedia of World Religions." "The Hindu philosophical school of yoga prescribes an elaborate process for the purification of the body, mind and soul. . .Tantric Buddhists of Tibet, for example, regard the mandala diagram as a collective point of universal forces, accessible to humans by meditation. Tactile and mechanical devices, such as the rosary and prayer wheel, play a highly ritualistic role in many contemplative traditions."

Warren informs us in "The Purpose-Driven Life" that he subscribes wholeheartedly to Gary Thomas' New Age book, "Secret Pathways," which assures that Christians are "sensates" who can "love God with their senses and appreciate beautiful worship services that involve their sight, taste, smell and touch, not just their ears."

Worshipping God by worshipping nature is recommended, and for the more conservative crowd, Warren suggests, "Traditionalists draw closer to God through rituals, liturgies, symbols and unchanging structures."

As confirmation of this, he quotes "The Message," which gives this version of John 4:23:

"That's the kind of people the Father is looking out for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship."

John 4:23 in the King James Bible reads, "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him."

In the Book of Romans, the Apostle Paul makes a HUGE point of telling Believers we are not to walk after the flesh but to walk after the Spirit "for they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit." (Rom. 8:5)

"The issue there is the mind that is behind the walk," explains my pastor, Richard Jordan, in a study I have on tape. "The mind is the thinking process. To 'mind,' means to pay attention to, give heed to, think about, concentrate.

"They that 'walk after the flesh,' they mind the things of the flesh, they focus on that. They set their mind on the things of the flesh. Maybe it's the pleasures of the world. Maybe it's the satisfaction of material possessions. Maybe it's gain. Maybe it's intellectual or religious attainment. It doesn't have to be wicked things, it can be good things.

"It's worshipping God in such a way that the eye is pleased by beautiful buildings and stained glass windows and ornate cathedrals. The ears are pleased by beautiful music and tremendously harmonizing choirs and thunderous instruments.

"Their emotions are pleased by solemnity or fanaticism—you don't find the works of the flesh just down at the honky-tonk.

"The guy who walks in the Spirit is focused on his minding and paying attention to the things that the Spirit of God would have you pay attention to. His focus is on sound doctrine—the truths of God's Word."

Of course, this is the exact opposite of what Warren has in mind. Speaking at a 2003 conference held at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, Warren boldly stated, "I believe that one of the major church issues (of the future) will be how we're going to reach the next generation with our music." At Warren's Saddleback Church in southern California, music ranges from heavy metal to reggae to hula.

Completely revealing his stance in favor of the "shows of the flesh" God explicitly tells us through Paul that He doesn't want, Warren writes in his book in a reference to church-service music, "Worship isn't for you. It's for God. Our motive is to bring glory and pleasure to our creator. . . God's heart is not touched by tradition in worship, but by passion and commitment."

In another spot in his book, he pontificates, "(God's) presence is too profound to be measured by mere emotions. Yes, he wants you to sense his presence, but he's more concerned that you 'trust' him than that you 'feel' him."

Obviously Warren has placed his trust in the enemy and would have the rest of us do the same.

Here's a great passage on this from an old sermon I have on tape, given by my pastor:

"You see the adversary Satan, he's called the 'god of this world.' (II Cor. 4:4). In John 12, he's called the 'prince of this world.' He's the political leader of this world. When he's called the 'god of this world,' that means he's the religious leader of this world. That's why he can say to Christ in Matthew 4, referring to all the kingdoms of the world, 'All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me.'

"You see, folks, the devil wants worship. Folks, write it down, don't forget it, Satan's main sphere, his main arena, his main area of interest is religion. He desires worship. That's what he desired back in Isaiah 14 and that's what he's wanting. And so he says to the Lord, 'You bow down and worship me, you be subject to me and I'll give it all to you.'

"Now watch what Christ says to him: 'Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan.' That's like saying, 'Beat it, Buster! Get lost!' "

Hmm, a fitting rebuke for "America's Pastor" Rick Warren too, I'd say.