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July 22nd, 2010
12:34 PM ET
Pastor Rick Warren hospitalized after eyes burnedMegachurch pastor Rick Warren is home recovering after his eyes were burned as he pruned a firestick plant in his yard, his spokesman told CNN Thursday. Warren was hospitalized Monday after the incident and released Tuesday, said his spokesman, A. Larry Ross. Warren is expected to make a full recovery, Ross said. "My eyes were severely burned by a toxic poison," Warren wrote in a Twitter message Thursday morning. "Hospitalized Mon. Excruciating pain. Now home. Pray my sight loss is restored." Though the pain was initially so intense that Warren could not open his eyes on Monday, he was seeing well enough Thursday to send the Tweet himself, Ross said. "The pain was excruciating - 12 on a scale of 1 through 10," Ross said. "It's now down to an 8." Warren was pruning shrubs in the yard of his Southern California home when he wiped his eyes after picking up leaves from a firestick plant, Ross said. The sap of the firestick is toxic and can cause skin irritation and temporary blindness if it comes in contact with the skin or eyes, according to the website gardenguides.com. The firestick is a succulent with spiky orange branches. Warren is currently on leave from his church, called Saddleback, to write a book, so the injury is not expected to affect his public schedule, Ross said. "A doctor put protective contacts on my corneas as bandages during the healing," Warren said in another Tweet on Thursday. "I am NOT blind." The firestick is found around the world, Ross said, and grows well in Southern California. "Pastor Rick, an avid gardener, purchased it locally himself," Ross said.
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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How was he able to Twitter without his eyesight?
Ghod works in malicious ways, his blunders to perform?
too bad he didn't sit on the plant.
Oh come now Chris, Amy, Goddles, Brad... this man is a good man who does good work that benefits hundreds of thousands of people. He gives millions away to charity. His work has made life better for many. Can you say the same?
He did a lot of harm to a lot of other people, but I guess you don't care about them
Ralp – I'm sorry you've been duped by this guy. He is a bigot through-and-through.
How did he hurt people? This not a facetious question, I just don't know much about the guy.
No, you mean he suckered other people's money and gave it to some charities...after he took his cut. Those people could've just skipped the middleman and donated directly.
He must have been looking at naughty things.
googled firestick plant and found a lot of instructions on how to grow. If they can do this type of damage, why grow them?
Who cares why he grew the pant. I'm just glad he did !!
An eye for an eye !! The devil really does "take care" of its own. he he he
My eyes are burned. God has said to send money quick!
LOL that was funny!
Wow...both his eyes burned, he must have sinned big time. Good thing he didn't lust in the heart, or that would have been plucked out or burned!!
Pastor Warren is resting comfortably at home,,,, with two hundred dollar bills covering his eyes.
Uh, hello? There's no such thing as a two hundred dollar bill.
Is tin can a comedian? Maybe you should have said "two one hundred dollar bills."
Very sad for any person, but God works in mysterious ways and Rick is a good candidate for "had it coming".
People fear what they don't understand.
No, people make up stories about magic beings that live in the sky to explain what they don't understand.
Mike-
You seem to not understand Christianity very well.
He has religion in general pegged spot on Ben.
Angry atheists...my favorite kind. Doesn't make much sense if you ask me.
LiviaDru,
Mike (and CedarRapids) are simply stating what anyone who has seriously studied multiple religions and cultures would know to be true. That you attribute such an idea to angry athiests seems absurd. Not to mention that there was no anger expressed in their posts – Mike might as well have been relaying the story of Jack and the Beanstock based on what he wrote. Look at the many native american (or the counltess other non-judeo-christian religions') stories of creation or those that explain phenomena such as the sun and moon and many other things people experienced but did not understand, and it is abundanlty clear that creating a story to explain the world is part of a natural progression of human thought.
I guess the question for you is, in an age where we can fly machines to the sun, do you still believe that the raven stole the sun and put it in the sky?
Dan
A Happy Athiest
I have those same syptoms every time I have to look at him.
Hmmm.... Does this mean a burning bush appeared to Pastor Warren? LOL
Pray Rick! Take your affliction to the lord!
I like the way Rick asked people to pray for him. This way, if his sight is not damaged he can say prayer works!
That's why I don't do chores around the house.
LOLLLLLLL!!!! Good one 🙂
Maybe it's a sign that you shouldn't rip people off with your religious mumbo jumbo and get rich off of people's faith. The lord works in mysterious ways...
Can't wait for the gold market to crash and they all go after Glen Beck with pitchforks and scythes!
Rick Warren doesn't do what he does to get rich. A little known fact him is that when his first book was successful he paid the church back for all the salary they ever paid him. After that he continued to give the church 90% of the earnings from his book while he only kept 10%. That doesn't sound like a guy who wants to take your money. Secondly Rick Warren probably sees this incident as a test of his faith. According to the bible bad things happen to Christians so they can reflect on them, rely on God more and grow as a Christian. an example might be being late for a meeting to later find out something bad happened at the meeting. I'm sure there is a reason why this happened to him and that is something Rick will figure out later.
It's not a "little known fact" that he gives the money away – he brags about it.
In my weakness I am strong through God. He uses things that we percieve as bad to strenghten us and ultimately for something good for those that trust in Him. He sent His only son Jesus to die for everyone, even those that hate Him. Do you think that by Mr. Warren receiving this eye injury God is punishing him? I doubt it. God has a plan for everything and our finite minds can't comprehend the infinite power of God and His wisdom.
Jessica – why wait? Get a torch and pitchfork and let's go!
Too bad about the eyes and bush thing. Mr Warren may not have known the bush was toxic. I wouldn't. In my yard I found hemlock and nightshade both growing. Still trying to get rid of them but they keep coming back. Good thing my kids are teenagers. I wonder how they survived being little with so much danger in the yard.
Wow. Glenn Beck just learned he is going blind. Odd trend that I am seeing, here.
Rick Warren blinded, Glenn Beck going blind, Rush Limbaugh going deaf – may the Good Lord is trying to tell us something 🙂
well, rick warren can remain bigoted because he uses 'selected' biblical quotes to justify it ... glenn beck-er head, on the other hand, can't go blind fast enough , in my opinion ...
Unfortunately, blindness doesn't affect a person's ability to run off at the mouth 🙁
Yes, It's GREAT isn't it??
Hear no evil, see no evil. If only they would stop speaking evil!
Yes, dealing with liberal democrats everyday is hazardous to your health.
Maybe Sarah Palin can be struck dumb... oh wait... nevermind...
I think there was a higher authority in work here.
Mark 9:47 "If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell,
Um, yeah, this verse you have chosen is silly. This is not at all what it means or is used for. One other silly matter, God does not look at what you own, have, or established in this world. Most people assume that God will take a poor person over a rich, that's why most will sit in their medicocre chairs and think they are okay beause they are not either. God takes you because he knows you, even the rich kings of the bible knew him as well as the poorest slaves. God could give a flip less if Rick Warren has 5 mansions, if he is not doing work to please God, there is the problem.
Hi Amy, when did God tell you all of this? Or did you just surmise all of this of your own volition?
Well. That's not exactly the case. In the Christian mythos it is made abundantly clear that the Christ-like Life is the only one that does not offend God. (In Matthew it talks about eschewing mortal delights – the things that spoil and rust, and that the only treasures of any real value are the everlasting treasures offered by the Christian God.) So I think his verse reference does apply
And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. – Matthew 19:24
Amy: Do you really believe that Jesus is happy with someone owning 5 mansions when there are people in their community who are homeless?
You only understand God when the Holy Ghost reveals the wisdom of God to you. That's why these atheists don't understand God because they don't have the Holy Ghost!!! When God gets in you, then you'll understand him. If you always fight against God's Word, you are walking in the flesh and not in the spirit. Walking in the flesh profits nothing! Walking in the spirit gives life!!! Hallelujah!
@Kevin E: how does one tell the holy ghost from Satan when one is entered?
@Kevin: I use to eat, sleep and breath God, then I woke up. I had gods spirit, then I found out that was just a hormone that makes you feel at peace and happy.
I don't wish harm for anyone...but this sounds like ironic biblical retribution. The burning bush got him!
whats really ironic is that just a couple weeks ago they released that stems cells have been used to cure blindness in people with eyes that have been burned!!!!
HAlarious
The timing with this and Glenn Beck is kind of perfect. There are none so blind as those who will not see? God works in mysterious and sometimes humorous ways.
And to the guy who thinks Rick Warren doesn't get paid? I have a bridge to sell you.
NICE! Maybe god will give Warren an exception epiphany regarding use of those stem cells.
My eyes are burned. God has said to send money quick!
Problem: Warren works for free.
Those of you mocking Christianity, grow up. If you don't like the guy, steer clear of articles about him, don't use it to make fun of him. Quit acting like 5 year olds.
I enjoy the CNN blogs because I tend to learn about how the "other side" thinks about political issues. I've also learned that a lot of people spout our scripture and shallow theology without any real clue of what they're talking about. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing...leads to all kinds of bias and dysfunction.
Amen, Tough Love... Amen.
No pastor or church (especially a "megachurch") works for free. You might have also been blinded by this firebush.
Warren absolutely does work for free. Look it up. He has no salary at the church, and he donates 90% of his income from his books, etc to charity and missions. Yes, he probably still makes a good living, but you can't argue where his heart is when you see those percentages.
Karma maybe??? I do hope he gets better though. I wonder if he believes it is God's will that this happened to him?
According to Christians, everything is God's will. So, yes, it was God's will.
Sam, that couldn't be further from the truth. Not everything is God's will, that is the concept of free will. By your logic, a 2 year old being killed by a drunk driver is God's will. Satan is alive.
Christian's do not believe that everything that happens here on earth is God's will.
Fact = God's will is perfect, Holy, and sinless – always!
However, this world is not perfect, Holy or sinless, therefore things happening here on earth are not all of God's will.
Living totally in God's will is called Heaven! (and that ain't here on earth).
'Fact = God's will is perfect, Holy, and sinless – always!'
LOL, 'fact' huh?
And who created Satan? Oh yeah, God, that omnipotent being that can see into the future if he wanted to who knew every action Satan would take from there forward but allowed him to anyway.
Epicurus had you theists beat thousands of years ago...
Apparently, it's simply God's will to allow bad things to happen. It doesn't really matter what happens or to whom.
@Sam: According to what I have seen displayed by most self-proclaimed Christians, it is only God's will if it happens to an unbeliever. If it happens to a self-proclaimed believer, then it is Satan attacking him because he is doing God's work.
God never promised Christians would be without pain and suffering. But for you athiest out there, what if Warren is right and you are wrong?
Regarding God's will: Some Christians (Calvinist) believe that everything that happens is God's will because He is Sovereign over all. Others believe in human free will and the activity of the devil in a fallen world interfering with God’s will. I realize that this condensation of theological differences is not 100% accurate, but it is a street level summation of different Christian views. I fall into the latter group and don’t see this as evidence of God’s approval or disapproval, just one of those things that happens in a fallen creation. One day there will be a new heavens and new earth with no possibility of such occurrences!
All this Christians replying to Amy's post really need to get all Christians together and hash out what you guys believe. In any form of disaster, a single person dying in a car or an earthquake killing 100,000's. I see people saying that it is God's will and we aren't in a position to try to understand him.
Then others saying the person deserved it.. maybe the Earthquake victims were heathens, or the person in the car crash was satan's pawn.
And others say satan is causing all the pain and God can't stop him because he can't interfere.. or something.
So yeah.. you need to all get together and come up with a unified reason
That depends on whether you mean God's will of command (God's commandments, as given to Moses and as taught by Jesus) or God's will of decree. Assuming you believe in the sovereignty of God, then all things happen because God ALLOWS it to happen. But "doing God's will" is different.
Ben: Epicurus had believers theists beat thousands of years ago? LOL. And yet their are still billions of theists and NO Epicureans! How, exactly, did he win?
@Chris, apparently sinless and gods will is not heaven either. I mean, if you think about it, the very first sin ever happened in heaven, so apparently heaven isn't all that perfect either.
Joe, regarding your comment that Christians need to get together and form a unified front; that is so naive.
Billions of people across many cultures and ethnic divisions identify themselves as Christian. Only God knows who truly is Christian. But as Paul said, at this time we “know in part,” meaning that none of us has perfect knowledge, even about our faith. So we will continue to have theological differences until Christ returns. And these theological differences translate into different approaches to how to live out one’s faith. So Christians will naturally disagree on many topics.
As a Christian I find it disheartening when nonbelievers talk as if all Christians feel the same way on all issues. Paul says that our unity is not in agreeing on everything, but that we have “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” These things unite us, even if we disagree on many things.
Wow, the mods didn't approve my post explaining how Epicureanism is alive and well today in Naturalistic Materialism, which itself is the basis for rational thought and the scientific method.
That offends me quite a bit actually...
I know so many smart Christians... but they seem to check their brains at the door when they start talking about this "God" fellow.
Actually, I guess you'd sorta have to...
Never mind.
@ Ben – Well said. I would only add that an appeal to majority illustrates how poorly some people think. Just because human nature is such that mankind sees "beings" in every shadow (a very handy survival trait when applied to predators) and patterns where there aren't any (another handy trait) doesn't mean that what the majority believes is true.
Take a critical thinking class, people.
Thou shall not be beating around the firestick bush.
HA – Best comment ever!
Lighten up buddy...you'll live longer or at least happier
wow, Fred that's very funny
I just want to know if the burning bush spoke to him before it burned him...
Paul...why do youy say Warren isn't a "good" man?
God must not like him.
Life just happens. How you react to it, is the fabric of your character. God, by giving you a brain and a conscience has given you free rein to weave that fabric. What do you choose to weave?
Might be God's vengeance, I don't think He takes too kindly to people becoming millionaires using His name.
not that I have anything for against this man, but selling millions of books does not make you a "good person"
I can think of a lot of really bad people who have sold millions of books.
While I am sorry this happend to him...as I am sure many religious people would say if this happend to someone they were opposed to... this is god sending them a message about how bad your life style is...but of course t his hapend to him...so this is just a test from god. to test his faith.
This is not god, or vengence, or karma. This is a guy who didn't know what he had in his garden and it got in his eyes! I'm not a believer in the almighty god or any "religion", but honestly, who cares? It's not really news...
Why would you have a plant that is extremely toxic in your backyard in the first place?
I do not know who Rick Warren is and I do not know what a firestick plant is, therefore there is no way I could possibly make any joke regarding this.
Oh my... the drama. He got sap in his eyes and he won't see until tomorrow. Boo hoo.
How is he tweeting if he is blind?
Its probably payback for all of the money he steals from people while lying to them about heaven and hell and demons and angels and santa claus and the easter bunny and the tooth fairy.
Love is blindness.
If I had just been blinded and were in excruciating pain, the last thing I would be doing is tweeting.
Unless I craved for the world's pity, of course.
A poster said,
"I wonder what will happen to Obama's eyes?" I guess the same thing that is hapenning to Glen Beck's eyes!
Why didn't he just stayed home and pray?
"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the comming of the lord",,, oh wait no they didn't..
Hmm, maybe God is trying to tell you something, h8ter.
Yeah, good one Tom. Hater. That's like so original and stuff. Like why didn't you just, y'know, call 'm a Nazi or something?
In other important news: I ran over a gopher on my way to work...
the comment is funny. Rick Warren is fine.
Get a sense of humor. God has one. Just look at the platypus and evangelical Christianity.
I have no clue as to who he is. Never heard of him. I do hope that he's ok as I can imagine that it's frightening and very painful. I also imagine that he's another person who scored some serious coin hyping "god" (the most popular unregistered trademark on the planet that's worth billions a year in merchandise and media sales)
There are 2 types of people who use twitter. People who think they are so important the whole world needs to know what they are doing at every moment of the day. And those people who have no life and are losers! In other words.. ALL LOSERS!
It was Gay juice....burning...oh it burns....it must be gays.....alhhhhh!!!! karma's a bi#$%. Let's see who else thinks this is funny......the "Eyes" have it! lmfao
the real question is why is this news?
This is not God sending a message. God has bigger things to worry about. The guy was pruning a bush, wiped his brow or eyes without even thinking.....yes we all do this as an automatic reaction to an itch or to sweating, and the toxin rubbed off and into his eyes. Simple. Guy gets treated and goes back to life.
Leave her Bush alone!
This is all funny because this is such a ridiculous non-story. So some guy got something in his eye. Boo hoo. The headline makes it sound like he was attacked with a vat of acid and is permanently blind. What a crock. If he is good enough to tweet the next day this isn't a big deal
Ummmmm....because he's a raging bigot who discriminates against people?
The comments mask the larger issue of understanding suffering. Don't forget Jesus died on a cross. Isaiah was sawn usunder (in two)... and the list of saints suffering goes on and on. Pain and suffering often lead to enlightenment. Ask great artists where their inspiration often comes from. The bottom line is that pain and suffering are not evil in themselves. They often reveal the person. Check out the book of Job. God is great and has understanding beyond all.
Glad to learn that it was bush not a Bush (there are several of them here and there). Bushes were not that great but to burn anyone's eyes? I should have known better.
This 'firestick' bush is probably one of the invasive species we have to suffer from here in Southern California. Like we did not have our own poison oak...
Good one Fred, what I don't get is why this is news. If my neighbor got his eyes burned while pruning a "toxic" plant it wouldn't be news. Lets get less of this type of personal crap out of the NEWS and put in more of the substantive material!!
All I can say is "God, please help these people...for they know not what they are saying."
Let me get this straight. It was a burning bush?
I knew it. That damn Bush IS messing with everyone; when will he ever stop!!??
President Obama
I blame Bush....
Is this the real BURNING BUSH
God hates mega churches and the preachers who run them and become multi millionaires selling lies, fantasies magic, and false hope.