Kagame is praised by the West and his legitimacy has been
granted through the narrative created about him and his movement and the events
surrounding the 1994 Rwanda Genocide. Kagame's subsequent warmongering and
brutality are largely ignored.
Rick Warren has to know about the charges laid at Kagame's
feet but has chosen to ignore them. The celebrity pastor, once one of the most
famous and best known names in Evangelical circles no longer holds the sway he
did a decade ago. But he hasn't been idle. He continues to drift even further
into error and it's troubling to see his influence play out in Africa. Kagame
is not only a geo-political, strategic ally and proxy for the United States,
Rwanda is an economic powerhouse. Like Israel the country exercises a great
deal more power than its tiny size would indicate.
Kagame is a money-maker for Wall Street and for those who
have been 'plugged into' his country's tightly controlled bureaucracy. It's not
surprising that Warren would host him for his church's services. Warren is
corrupt and I believe would do almost anything to gain some attention. And
though some make much of his 'reverse tithing' lifestyle (giving away 90%) it
must be remembered that he's already fabulously wealthy and may very well have
investments that fall outside the scope of his attention getting and prideful
promise.
Additionally those in 'non profit ministry' are also able to
garner vast amounts of effectively undeclared income in that the ministry is
able to cover vast expenses. These folks don't need the same cash that you and
I do because so many of the bills and expenses we have (that crush us), they
are able to pass on to the 'ministry'.
Furthermore once you attain a certain degree of wealth, the
money offers no thrill. Money is a tool that enables the wealthy to reach
higher. Warren has already made it pretty clear that what he really wants is
influence, access, celebrity and thus ultimately power. From his appearances at
Davos to his CFR membership to his dabbling in US politics, Warren wants to
inhabit the circles of power.
Sitting on stage with one of the most powerful, influential
and feared political leaders on the African continent and calling him 'friend'
would give some (like Warren) a bit of a rush.
The fact that Kagame is a killer, a butcher and the
antithesis of what a Christian should be... that matters little to one such as
Warren. He clearly has lost his way and birds of a power-hungry feather flock
together.
Whether Warren is personally profiting from the Kagame regime
is something I don't know. However, there's a real power in the fact that
Warren can play the middle-man, the deal-maker and introduce people to Kagame and
make sure Kagame is able to reach some of the people he wants to get to know.
It's not hard to see why (in a worldly sense) the friendship is appealing to a
status seeker like Warren.
Kagame also is seeking higher status on the world stage. His
'secularisation' programme has offended many Christians and though to some he's
a Christian political leader and hero... to others he's a persecutor.
What he really is... is something more basic. He's deeply
corrupt. The new legislation is a money-maker as thousands of churches are
forced to pay for permits, engage in construction work and it allows the
government to collect data and exercise control over ecclesiastical institutions.
Kagame is clearly a megalomaniac and a very dangerous and evil man.
But Rick Warren doesn't care. And he certainly doesn't care
that his people know the truth.
Kagame like many dictators will use religion when it's
convenient but in the end he only serves one god.... Kagame.
Rick Warren is a blind leader of the blind. Those of us familiar
with the Scriptures were on to him back in the late 1990's when his name
started to become nationally known. He was a fraud then and remains one. In
fact those that condemned him over twenty years ago have only been vindicated
as his trajectory has been one of consistent departure from New Testament
Christianity.
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