Way
back in 1976 C. Peter Wagner had already expressed a
foundation of sand upon which his entire "apostolic" kingdom
is built. To back up his notions, he and his friends
such asJohn
Wimber,Paul
Cainand many others began to
get the cart before the horse. They tried to create
revival where there was none with unbiblical and even
heretical ideas. They imported occult ideas from false
religions into the churches, such as"slain
in the spirit"and called the results
"revival". The means they used were the
counterfeit revivals of theWord
Of Faith Movement, theVineyard
movement, theToronto
"Blessing", theBrownsville
"Outpouring"and on down the
line to latestTodd
Bentley "Lakeland Revival". The proof that
the means have all been unjustifiable is in the unjustifiable
ends. Lakeland has now come to an apparent abrupt end
due to false healing and dead raising claims, many false
teachings, a false "transferable" anointing, and sexual
misconduct. You can read about these things in ourTodd
Bentleysection. Yet the
leadership of theNew
Apostolic Reformationhas not
even been slowed by yet another bad end brought about by the
self-destruction of the means. In the latest ElijahList
the false prophets are prophesying even greater revivals to
come.
There
is a new phenomenon especially among some island churches
where handkerchiefs are being handed around a congregation
claiming that they have an anointing that can cause people to
be healed and other miraculous things happen to them. The
problem with this idea is especially evident in two things:
(1) that this can and is being considered by many to be
Christian magic and (2) that it is being taught as being
something that should be a normal part of the Christian
experience. It is taught that if you have faith you will
believe in touching the handkerchief that you will be healed,
freed from demons, or get a special anointing. But faith
is not proven by signs and wonders.
This
chart should be of grave interest to those in YWAM and those
supporting YWAM and its agenda with the IPM or "First
Nations" movement led by people like Daniel Kikawa (Perpetuated
In Righteousness),
Don Richardson (Eternity
in Their Hearts:Startling Evidence of Belief in the One True
God in Hundreds of Cultures Throughout the World),
John Dawson (Taking
Our Cities for God: How to Break Spiritual Strongholds),
Richard Twiss (One
Church, Many Tribes : Following Jesus the Way God Made You),
Terry LeBlanc (Creating
Christian Indians: Native Clergy in the Presbyterian Church)
and many others. You will notice a very close
comparison in this chart between false religion and
so-called "Christian" leaders. Please read whatYWAM,The
Emerging Chuch,
theWCGPand
others are teaching that are almost exactly what the Baha'i
teach.
Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
For more information on this DVD, go here.
Three
Fallacies Of Third Wave Spiritual Warfare Teachings by Sandy
Simpson
When so-called Christians employ Biblical pagan
methods to rid themselves of demons, they end up giving the
enemy an opportunity to deceive them and a foothold in their
lives. When Israel disobeyed the Lord's command to
come down to Jerusalem and worship Him in the temple under
the Law, and instead chose to set up altars in the high
places, the result was that they ended up worshiping
demons. They thought they were worshiping God, but
ended up worshiping Baal and Ashtoreth. You cannot
live a life glorifying to the Lord unless you obey Him.
Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
For more information on this DVD, go here.
The Duties of Christian
Leadership by Sandy Simpson
Christians, and especially Christian leadership, are
called to be salt and light in a dark world.
Matt. 5:13-16 "You are the salt of the
earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it
be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything,
except to be thrown out and trampled by men. "You are the
light of the world.A city on a hill
cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it
under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives
light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your
light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds
and praise your Father in heaven.
When the Lord tells us to be salt and light, He
states both the positive and the negative. That is the
way with all Scripture. We can’t just take the positive
and be done with the subject. We have to consider all
the ramifications of being salt and light. Salt is used
to season food and make it taste good. It was and still
is used as a preservative. In the same way Christians
are to be salt in the world. Without the witness of
Christ, without standing for the truth, life is ultimately
tasteless and rotten. Anyone here who was a sinner for
any length of time without the Savior knows what I am talking
about. But the flip side is that salt can lose its
saltiness. Christians can lose their saltiness by
diluting the Gospel message to the point where it is
useless. Let me give you an example of a washed out
Gospel often preached in churches today.
Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
For more information on this DVD, go here.
Smack Dab in the Middle of the Apostasy by Sandy Simpson
'Antichrist'
No More: Evangelicals Praise Pope Most are unreserved in their
praise on political, social, and even theological matters,
but critique of papacy remains. Compiled by Ted Olsen, 04/05/2005
04:30 p.m.
Among the names mentioned, who praise the Pope in
this article, were "Evangelical" leaders such as:Evangelical
Episcopalian Fred Barnes; Wheaton College's Mark Noll;
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod President Gerald B.
Kieschnick; National Association of Evangelicals President
Ted Haggard; Focus on the Family President James Dobson;
Charles Colson who organized the evangelical side of the
Evangelicals and Catholics Together; Paige Patterson,
President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary;
Presbyterian Church in America Pastor-brothers David and Tim
Bayly; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al
Mohler; Dallas Theological Seminary President Mark Bailey;
Credenda Agenda Editor Douglas Wilson; and Evangelical
Alliance, the United Kingdom's version of the stateside
National Association of Evangelicals.
Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
For more information on this DVD, go here.
Marriage A
Biblical Illustration Of Our Faith Commitment To Jesus Christ
For Salvation by Sandy Simpson
Marriage as a metaphor for our
relationship to Jesus Christ.
Marriage is used as a metaphor for our
relationship to God many times in the Bible. Let's
look at the picture God wants His people to see about their
relationship to Him, and His relationship to them.
TI have been challenged
lately to think again about what the Gospel message is all
about. This has come as a result of hearing what I
considerto be, at the very least, "gospel lite" and at the
most no gospel at all being presented by a number of
neo-evangelicals, Third Wavers and outrightheretics. The
interesting thing is that many seem to be preaching the
same message. What is most intriguing is that
false teachers like Benny Hinn, ecumenicals, and even some
preachers I would considerto be orthodox in their theology are
preaching a "gospel" that is very similar.The question is:
Is this new gospel message really the Gospel at all?
Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
For more information on this DVD, go here.
Leviathan by Sandy Simpson
This creature that existed, and may yet exist,
is used as a description of themightand
power of the enemy.
Isaiah 27:1In that day theLORDwill
punishLeviathanthe
fleeing serpent,WithHis
fierce and great and mighty sword, EvenLeviathanthe
twisted serpent; And He will kill thedragonwholivesin
the sea. (NASB)
Speaking of the “day of the
Lord”, when the Lord comes back again to rule and judge the
earth, Isaiah says that the Lord will punish Leviathan the
dragon.Satan is
likened to leviathan, a serpent, and he is said to live in
the sea.
Revelation 13:1Andthe dragon stood on the
sand of the seashore.Then I saw
a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and
seven heads, and on his hornswereten
diadems, and on his headswereblasphemous
names. (NASB)
Again the dragon comes out of the
sea, which is symbolic of the nations of the world, but
perhaps is also tied to a literal meaning.He
has multiple heads which are symbolic of the heads of the
nations of the end times, but he is also said to have
multiple heads before the symbolism of the nations of the
revived Babylon come into being, as recorded in Ps. 74:14
and Job.
Many Christians today (having allowed themselves to be
diapraxed by false teachers on TV, in books, in seminars and
on tape) have begun to accept a mixture of Pre Mil and Post
Mil doctrines. Many claim they still hold to a Pre
Trib Rapture (or another Pre Mil scenario) and at the same
time would claim that Christians are in a great end times
revival, that "Transformation" is taking place all over the
world, and that our mandate is to retake dominion over the
whole world including its businesses, social agendas and
political arenas (a Post Mil scenario). But what many
"Christians" today do not realize is: the mixture
they have accepted is oxymoronic.
There are two kingdoms being taught in many
churches today. Teaching about one of the kingdoms is on the
decline while the other is being promoted all over the
place. I am warning Christians that they need to check
out who is using the word "kingdom", the books they have
been reading and recommend on building "the kingdom", the
people they have been hanging out with at conferences, and
what they mean by "the kingdom".
There are so many people who claim to be
Christians today, claiming that they are God.Not just a “little god” but God Almighty.I hate to tell them but there is only one God/man who
could ever claim that and His name is Jesus Christ.
1 John 4:4-6
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them,
because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is
in the world.They are from the world and
therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the
world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever
knows God listens to us; butwhoever is
not from God does not listen to us.This
is how we recognize the Spirit {Or spirit} of truth and the
spirit of falsehood. The reason why false teachers, who deny one or more
of the core doctrines of the Faith, gain so many followers is
that they are saying what the world wants to hear. They
organize their churches so that they cater to unbelievers, and
once non Christians come in they are fed a diet devoid of the
essential nutrition of the Gospel and sound doctrine.
False teachers conduct surveys to see what non-believers are
looking for in a "church" and then provide those things.
False teachers claim they are bringing people into the Kingdom
when in fact they are bringing them out of the world and back
into the world, the only difference now being that they are
spending their money in support of some apostate leader and/or
group.
The NAR proponents claim to be foundational Apostles to
the modern church. This claim is exactly what Paul warned
the Church about regarding false apostles. The term "false
apostles" is used only once in the Bible in 2 Cor. 11:13.
False apostles are identified as those who claim they areequalwith
the the foundational Apostles. The NAR proponents go even
further! They claim to beGREATERthan
the original Apostles.
Jude 1:1-2 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ
and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who
are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ: Mercy,
peace and love be yours in abundance. Jude was the brother
of Jesus Christ. But it is significant that he calls himself
the brother of James. Jude wants everyone to know that,
though he is a half-brother of Jesus Christ through his
mother Mary, he considers himself to be a servant of Jesus.
I’m sure there were those who tried to idolize him for being
the brother of Jesus Christ. If he had the character of some
of the current large crop of false teachers, he would have
written “Jude, the brother of Jesus Christ.” I’m sure if
some of these modern heretics could trace their roots back
to Christ, they would use that information to get support
for themselves and power over people. But Jude does just the
opposite. He calls himself the servant of Jesus Christ. He
is addressing this letter to those who have been called, and
who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ. So
he is addressing this letter to Christians. God has called
every true believer.
You can get more information here. A Word of Encouragement from Paul
Run the Race, Win the Prize by Sandy
Simpson
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a
Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power
that enables him to bring everything under his control, will
transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his
glorious body. Jesus Christ is coming again. We
are citizens of heaven, not this earth, and Jesus will come
to take us to our homeland. So true believers eagerly
await His coming, unlike those who oppose the cross of
Christ who think they must take dominion over the earth or
laugh at the idea of the Rapture. There are many of
them today. We know that when Jesus comes, by His
power, He will bring everything under His control. We
are not called to do that as the Church. Jesus will do
that when He comes, and when He comes we will be changed and
receive our everlasting bodies that will never wear out.
1 Cor. 15:51-57 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not
all sleep, but we will all be changed in a flash, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet
will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we
will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with
the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the
perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the
mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written
will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your
sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is
the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Today,
in
a majority of churches, we see the result of the
seeker-friendly,"purpose-driven", church growth,
Third Wave, New Apostolic Reformation methods and
teachings and their product I am
calling"Entertainment-style Christianity" (ESC).
But ESC churches are not only missing out on the cutting
edge of true Christianity, but areheading down the road
to apostasy.
True
biblical
Christianity is "interactive". Those in ESC are
taughtto be spectators at mega-church entertainment
events. They are not taught the Bible but rather
to be enamored with the oratoricalskills of the
preacher, and to not dare question anything that is
shoved down the throats of the "laity" by the ruling
"anointed"elite. They are treated to a circus
atmosphere including wild CCM music with people flailing
around and acting like they are on drugs, topreachers
who tell endless stories about themselves and joke about
everything while actually making profundity mundane, to
hula dancing,to banners and marching in the church and
around it, to the blowing of shofars, to slain in the
spirit and wild manifestations. Theirsears are
tickled by guest speakers who make up sermons out of
their own imaginations instead of the written
Word. They are entertainedwith gold dust, gold
fillings, "angel" feathers, "angel" footprints, drunk in
the spirit antics, and during these displays they can go
outand get a latte and a snack at the church snack
bar. They come into these mega churches and leave
without being personally challengedother than with tired
worldly psychology, and without anyone being able to
find out what they are doing in their private
lives. A smallpercentage attend "cell groups"
where they are diapraxed into consensus instead of
challenged to be Bereans and think and act
forthemselves. They live like the world during the
week, then come to church where the world is not only
welcomed but accommodated.
Commentators
seem to think that this section of Habakkuk was addressing
theCeasarsand
their drunken desire for power.Seems
these two things often go together.
Those
who love drunk in the spirit are no exception.They
are trying to get others to share in their debauchery and
the false hope of an end-times worldwide revival,
currently through the Saturate 2020 events.Though
these were two of the hereticaldistinctivesof
the New Order of the Latter Rain, these ideas are nothing
new.The righteous
continue to live by faith, while the proud boast in their
drunken state.
Saturate 2020 is another in a long line of
Latter Rain revivals which do not meet the criteria of a
Biblical revival at all (Acts 3:19). The Toronto
“Blessing” and Brownsville “Revival” both came into towns
all over the world with the promise that people were getting
saved and nothing weird was going on at their
meetings. This was always a lie as the true
Gospel was not preached but instead people were invited
forward to have hands laid on them in order to transfer an
impartation. Meanwhile false doctrines were laid
down in order to get people involved in churches like Bethel
Church in Redding, CA. We are warned in Scripture
about this. Galatians
2:4 But it was because of the false
brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in
to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ
Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage.
2 Peter
2:1 But false prophets also arose among the
people, just as there will also be false teachers among
you, who will secretly introduce destructive
heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing
swift destruction upon themselves.
The fact that some formerly Biblical churches have joined
this circus is a testament to their lack of teaching
discernment. Some of these denominations were
warned repeatedly about the Latter Rain, Word of Faith and
the New Apostolic Reformation yet they apparently wanted to
remain “willfully ignorant”. The people
advertised as being involved with this latest “revival” are
almost all associated with Bethel in some way and promoters
of what they teach. This is not a true Biblical
revival but rather a revival of the occult and New Age among
Christians. This meeting is actually hurting the
cause of Christ and will not have any real beneficial effect
on the culture of California, which has turned decidedly
evil for decades. These Dominionists
will not be saving the planet, but are rather setting people
up for the coming antichrist. Nor will they rid
the world of coronavirus, but rather likely add to it.
Should biblical Christian churches be
Christ-centered (Christocentric)? Should the doctrines
of the Father (Patriology) and the Holy Spirit (Pnematology)
also be equally emphasized? Can a church be
Patriocentric or Pnemacentric and be biblical?
The answer to these questions are quite simple from
a biblical perspective. There have been charges leveled
at some movements such as the Pietist Movement in Germany and
other movements that they place too much emphasis on Christ to
the exclusion of the Father and the Holy Spirit. This
may be true to a certain degree. The doctrines of the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit must be taught with equal emphasis
so that Christians will know what they believe.
But should a church be Patriocentric or
Pnemacentric? No. For instance, there are far too
many churches today, having been influenced by
hyper-Pentecostalism and the Latter Rain, that are
Pnemacentric. They spend most of their time focusing on
the Holy Spirit to the exclusion of preaching the Gospel
while, in fact, they don't even have a biblical doctrine of
the Holy Spirit. I believe that because classic
Evangelicals, to a certain degree, dropped the ball in
defining the Person and role of the Holy Spirit it gave an
opening to Third Wavers to step in with their erroneous ideas
of Pnematology.
Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
The
Letter to Laodicea Is
a Warning to the TRUE Church Today by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
Rev. 3:14-22
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write;
These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true
witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy
works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou
wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and
neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods,
and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art
wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I
counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that
thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest
be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not
appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou
mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be
zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he
with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with
me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down
with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him
hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Much has been made of this passage, using it to point out
what is happening today in the apostate churches around
the world. It is true that they believe they are
rich in spiritual things when they are very poor. It
can be applied in one sense to theWord
of Faithmovement.
It is true that the "River" movement of Latter Rain
teachings do think they are hot when actually they are
cold.
But this letter to the end times church
of Laodicea is actually talking to biblical Christians who
are born again. The apostate movements of theLatter
Rain,Third
Wave,Toronto
"Blessing",Vineyard,Brownsville
"Outpouring",Word
of Faith,New
Apostolic Reformation,World
Gathering on Indigenous People,Manifest
Sons of God,Seeker
Friendly,Church
Growth,Emerging
Churchand many others have already
had their lampstands removed (Rev. 2:5) because of their
apostasy and have already been spit out of the Lord's mouth
(Rev. 3:16). We can know this because of what the
Bible says about those who teach false doctrines (1 Tim.
6:3-5, 2 Tim. 4:3) and make false prophecies (1 John 4:1).
These false churches, false movements and false brethren
(Gal. 2:4) are already under the judgment of the warnings of
theseven
letters, as all but two of the original first century
churches are today (only the two who Jesus did not warn
still survive today). Therefore theletters
to the churchesapply to those
churches who have not had their lampstands removed and been
spit out of the mouth of God because of heresy and false
prophesy. So the warning to the true biblical churches
today remains. Why is this warning significant to us?
It
is significant because, by in large, it isthe
true
Church today that has allowed the movements mentioned
above to infiltrate and take over the agenda for what is
called "Christianity" today.
In
Titus 1:6-11 Paul tells Titus to appoint
"overseers" in the churches. The word
"overseer" isepiskoposin
Greek
and means bishop, curator, superintendent,
guardian, watchman. Overseers are to be
shepherds to the sheep, watchmen, guardians.
Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
You can get more information here. Jesus
Cares for You by Sandy Simpson
The
story
of the feeding of the 5000 is found in all the gospels of
Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. When something is repeated in
the Bible it means that it is important and is something we
must try to understand. There is often a deeper meaning in
sentences or stories that are repeated.
In
this same story repeated in Mark 6:34 it says:
"When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on
them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he
began teaching them many things."
One of the main things that Jesus is... is compassionate. He
cares for His people. He was compassionate then and He is
still compassionate today. Jesus came and saw the needs of the
people. So He did two things. He met their physical need of
hunger for bread, and He also met their spiritual hunger for
the bread of life. As Jesus told us in John ... He is the
bread of life. The Bible, the Word of God, being the word of
the Father and the Son, is also the bread of life. Jesus
is the living example of the Word as it also says in John "The
Word was made flesh and lived among us".
This
paper
exposes what General Boykin has been doing in Calvary Chapels
and his associations.
He
isGrand Chancellor of the
Vatican's Jesuitical "Knights of Malta", an ecumenical
society under the leadership of Rome where Catholics,
Protestants and a plethora of others unite in what cannot be
a unity of the Faith.
We just finished as study in the book of Jonah in our
Bible study groups. As we studied through that true
story I became aware of an application for Church leaders
today.
Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
You can get more information here.
What Does The Bible Teach About "Synergy"?
by Sandy Simpson
Synergy is also a concept being adapted and taught today
as a major tenet of the Third Wave, New Apostolic Reformation
(NAR) movement. Dutch Sheets was one of the first to
introduce this concept to that movement back in the National
School of the Prophets - Mobilizing the Prophetic Office
Conference at Ted Haggard's New Life Church in Colorado
Springs, CO on May 12, 2002.
HUMOR: Time for a rewrite of the old
hymns. In this day and age of Third Wave revival
movements and Word-Faith dominion, the old hymns just aren't
cutting it anymore. Not only are they old fashioned
musically, but the lyrics are, for the most part,
particularly depressing. They talk of sin, death,
repentance, the cross, the blood of Jesus and a whole host
of other disgusting subjects. There are also too many
lyrics in them, frankly, which takes away from the "worship"
atmosphere. Repetitiveness is what we need, not dead
doctrinal concepts. The old hymns are just too biblical.
Give us a beat to move our feet, not concepts to move our
hearts and minds!
Here is a list of some hymns that could be
"upgraded" to meet the criteria of the Third Wave,
Word-Faith, Latter Rain, Manifest Sons Of God, New Apostolic
Reformation. This list is by no means complete.
If you don't recognize the hymns mentioned perhaps it would
be worth your time to go back and read them, then compare
what they say to the new doctrines.
Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
Go here
for further information. Almost
Saved by Sandy Simpson
“To be almost saved is to be totally lost.”
– Adrian Rogers
There are many so-called
“Christians” today who are clearly “almost saved” by their
testimonies and/or actions.But to be
“almost saved” is to be completely lost.A
person who is drowning and almost saved drowns.A
woman who is almost pregnant is not pregnant.King Agrippa
said, “You are almost persuading me to be a Christian (Acts
26:28)” but being almost persuaded is not enough to be
saved.
The word “almost” means “very nearly”, “not
quite.” In light of this we may conclude that to come close
to the target, or “almost” hit it, means to completely miss
the mark. (Shalem Evangelical
Church Bush Hall Yard Gap, St. Michael)
"Silence
the noise of your songs" by Sandy Simpson, 5/26/19
Amos 5:21-27 “I hate, I reject your festivals,
nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. “Even though
you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I
will not accept them; and I will not even look at the peace
offerings of your fatlings. “Take away from Me the noise of
your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.
“But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like
an ever-flowing stream. Did you present Me with sacrifices and
grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of
Israel? You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun,
your images, the star of your gods which you made for
yourselves. Therefore, I will make you go into exile beyond
Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts. When
I first reread this passage in Amos, a few things struck
me. First of all the Lord is bringing judgment on Israel
for carrying on religious ceremony without true dedication to
the Lord. They sing songs and present their offerings
while harboring idols. I was reminded of how the Lord
must view the heretical apostate mega church celebrations of
today. There is a lot of pomp and circumstance, yet
little or no obedience to the Word of God. The Lord does
not look favorably upon worship of that type, no matter the
hype, no matter the noise, no matter the show. He
actually “hates” it.
Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
Go here
for further information.
How To Find A Good Church by Sandy Simpson, 2003
Here’s how to find a good church. What
you need to find is a church that not only has orthodox
doctrinal statements but teaches, both explicitly and
implicitly, in line with the core doctrines of the
Faith. These are Bible-believing Christ-centered
churches that are balanced in their theology. Be sure to
test all churches before you become involved. It is
acceptable to get involved with a house church or Bible study
as long as there is someone who has the gift of teaching there
to lead the study of God’s Word.
Hebrews 10:25 not forsaking our own assembling
together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one
another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
The Christian life is not one to be lived
alone. Trust me; I have sympathy for those who have been
spiritually injured by false churches, false prophets, false
teachers and false apostles. It is often a long road
back from the diaprax of heresy. But to undo the
brainwashing you will need help, especially from those who are
already ahead of you on your journey back. The first
century church was known for the following:
Acts 2:42 They were continually devoting
themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and to prayer.
This is a good gauge to tell if you are
involved in an effective assembly of believers, no matter how
small. Remember that the first century churches were in
homes. In my experience smaller churches are much better
at doing the above and more. Avoid mega churches.
This book was written by my mother and is about
my family's experience as missionaries in Micronesia.
Juanita went to be with the Lord in August of 2018. This
book has been a blessing to many people around the world and I
want to share it with you. - Sandy Simpson
This is the story of a young woman
who goes to the ends of the Earth with her pastor
husband and two small children. While describing the
hardships of living in a remote village on a remote
Pacific Island in the 60's, it also gives us a vision of
the joy the family experienced as well. The heart of the
book is the story of how the author survives the death
of her husband and goes on to serve God and the
Micronesian people in her own right.This book reveals a
woman of great faith and courage. In addition, the book is
well written and a pleasure to read.Having
met the author, I will add that there are thousands of
people throughout Micronesia who love her and who have
benefited by her faithfulness and commitment over the
years. Read the book and get to know this wonderful
woman. Review by Richard
D.
Shewman on Amazon.
Deliverance! A Biblical Guide To
Freedom from "Another Spirit" The Possible
Consequence of the Unbiblical Practice of "Slain In the
Spirit" by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
The cases are legion. Let's look at John
(a pseudonym) as one case in thousands that I read through the
years in the emails sent to my site.
Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
Go here
for further information.
A Short History of
Dominionism by Sandy Simpson
In order to understand where the modern fusion
called “Dominioism” comes
from, I want to first give you definitions of Kingdom
Now, Dominionism
and Reconstructionism.
Dominionism
is sparsely defined as follows:
“Dominion Theology (also known as Dominionism)
is a group of Christian political ideologies that seek
to institute a nation governed by Christians based on
their personal understandings of biblical law. Extents
of rule and ways of achieving governing authority are
varied. For example, Dominion Theology can include theonomy, but does not
necessarily involve advocating Mosaic law as the basis
of government. The label is applied primarily toward
groups of Protestants in the United States.” [1]
It is more closely defined this way:
“Dominionism, or
Christian Dominionism
is a term coined by social scientists and popularized by
journalists to refer to a subset of American
Christianity that is conservative, politically active,
and believes that Christians should, and eventually
will, take control of the government. The term is
sometimes used as a “catch-all” by bloggers to describe
any politically active Christian, but not every
conservative, politically minded Christian is a Dominionist. Christian Dominionists believe that God
desires Christians to rise to power through civil
systems so that His Word might then govern the nation.
The belief that “America is a Christian nation” is
sometimes called “soft dominionism”;
the idea that God wants only Christians to hold
government office and run the country according to
biblical law is called “hard dominionism.” [2]
“Hard Dominioism”
as it is called in the above definition, is what C. Peter
Wagner (deceased) of the New Apostolic Reformation (a term
he coined) have been advocating, following the teachings
of the New Order of the Latter Rain and Reformed Theology
“Reconstructionism”.
Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
Go here
for further information.
Maturity Training by Sandy Simpson
Heb. 5:14 But
solid food is for the MATURE, who by constant use have
trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
At the core of
maturity in Christ is the issue of training to be able
to distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong.
But in today’s churches this issue has not only been
downplayed, but actually swept aside.
I run a website and
get hundreds of emails every week. Since the website
deals with apologetics against false teachers and false
prophets, about half the email I receive is blasting me
for even bringing up the issue. These emails are from
“Christians” who claim I am not “anointed”, don’t
understand the work of the Holy Spirit, etc. I am forced
to remind them of Hebrews 5 and Ephesians 4 and the
biblical definition of maturity in Christ. Maturity is
not defined as following dynamic speakers, running after
people who claim the ability to perform signs and
wonders, those with wealth, charismatic teachers with
large numbers of followers, those with name recognition,
and prophets who make wild prophecies. It is defined
simply as training ourselves to know the difference
between good and evil.
Where do Christians
get solid food? From voices in their heads, intuition,
imaginations, flights of fancy, signs, wonders? No.
Solid food is consumed by feeding on the meat of the
written Word of God.
Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
Go here
for further information.
Bill Johnson Quotes by Sandy Simpson
This article is about the use of invective
while attempting to do apologetics or teaching
discernment. Invective is defined as a noun: insulting,
abusive, or highly critical language ie. "he let out a stream
of invective". I admit to using invective at times in
the past. My goal is to stop that practice and focus on
the facts, not attack an individual’s ability to
comprehend.
In the case of Christians, the first thing to
consider when doing apologetics is our mandate to reconcile
people to Christ, no matter who they are.
2 Cor. 5:18-21 Now all these things are from
God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us
the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in
Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their
trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word
of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ,
as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you
on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who
knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become
the righteousness of God in Him.
Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
Go here for
further information. Ten Questions For those who Claim the "Supreme Beings" of the Nations are
the True God
by Sandy Simpson
I have some questions for those of the World
Christian Gathering of Indigenous People (WCGIP) adherents
such as Don Richardson, Daniel Kikawa,
Richard Twiss (deceased),
Terry LeBlanc, Danny Lehman, Aloha KeAkua, YWAM as well as many in the
Emergent Church (EC) ... the questions arise from their
claim that the "supreme beings" of the nations are all the
True God, YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
You can read more on this subject in our book "Idolatry In Their Hearts" or in the WCGIP
section of my site.
My main
question for them is this: When did ANY of the Patriarchs
and Prophets in the Old Testament and the Apostles or Jesus
Christ in the New Testament EVER claim that the "supreme
beings" of the nations were Elohim/YHWH,
the one True God? Let's look at some examples in the
form of questions and you can check out the source links as
well.
10 Questions
is available is now available in booklet format. You
can order here or at Lighthouse Trails here.
$1.95
per copy, bulk orders get a discount.
Go here
for further information. Real Revival by Sandy Simpson
Acts 3:19 Therefore repent and return,
so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times
of refreshing may come from the presence of the
Lord;
There has been so much hype of "revival" in
our modern day that it is easy to forget the true biblical
criteria and definition of revival. Revival cannot be
brought about by signs and wonders or "laying" on of hands
to transfer apostolic or prophetic "anointings". In fact
there is no such thing in the Bible.The Biblical criterion
for revival has, as a precondition, repentance. The word
"refreshing" is also defined as "revive".
I received a letter from Peter Popoff. This
infamous televangelist, in the past, was found to be
guilty of wearing an earpiece so that his accomplices in
his sound booth could feed him personal information on
people in his audience while he was claiming to get
personal messages directly from God. This letter
proves that, not only is he back as a regular on TV, he is
also back to his old tricks.
Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
Go here for further
information. Occult Practices in the
Churches How the occult has been fully
integrated into many Christian lives and fellowships by Sandy Simpson
The Bible is quite clear about occult
practices.Neither Israel nor the Church
is to have anything to do with the way the world tries to gain
secret knowledge.The Gnostics were and
are known for promoting new revelation that is either loosely
tied to Scripture taken out ofcontext or not at all.The
Israelites seeking information from the dead or in omens were
judged harshly by the Lord who had warned them numerous times
to stay away from that stuff.
Yet due to the influences of
heretical teachers in the New Apostolic Reformation, Word of
Faith, Emergent Church, and the New
Age many have been successful in getting lots of churches and
denominations into occult practices that have been thinly
disguised as “Christian�?.Many of those
who follow these people, I’m sure, have
no idea how far they have strayed into the occult.
First I want to give the dictionary
definitions and then Biblical warnings against these
practices.Then I will give examples in
the churches taken mainly from the ElijahList
e-newsletter.
List of Practices Detestable To God
Deuteronomy 18:9-12 “When you
enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall
not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations.
There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son
or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses
divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who
interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell,
or a medium, or a spiritist,
or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these
things is detestable to the Lord; and
because of these detestable things
the Lord your God will drive them out before you.
Isaiah
8:19When
they say to you, “Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and
mutter,�? should not a peopleconsult
their God?Should
theyconsultthe dead on behalf of the
living?
Using
the
above list from Deuteronomy and Isaiah, let’s take a look at
each individual practice.
New
Important Book! Dominionism! How Unbiblical Action Can Change The
Churches by Dr. Orrel Steinkamp & Sandy
Simpson
Preface
By Sandy Simpson
The title and cover art of this work are a play
off of the book by C. Peter Wagner entitled “"Dominion! How
Kingdom Action Can Change The World". In contrast to
this specious claim we have titled this book “Dominionism! How
Unbiblical Action Can Change The Churches�?. We think
that is far more in keeping with what we will present in this
series of articles and essays on the subject of Kingdom
Now/Dominionism.
Indeed, many churches have already been changed
by accepting the false teachings that constitute
Dominionism. This started decades ago under Reformed
Reconstrucionism and Latter Rain theology, but even before
that in the Roman Catholic Church (RCC). The attempt of
Constantine to protect Christians from being persecuted, since
he claimed he had become one of them, turned out to begin a
journey in syncretism and Dominion. It wasn’t long
before corrupt church officials began to try to seize power
all over Europe and beyond as the “Holy Roman Empire�?.
The Reformation itself was a reaction to the lengths to which
the RCC had gone to take control over the Scriptures, the
nations, the kingdoms, and the people for financial
gain. They sold indulgences, promising those who came up
with enough money a much shorter time in Purgatory.
Those same ploys are being used today on what has been loosely
called “Christian television�? by the sale of trinkets and
promises of healing, financial gain and even salvation.
These ideas all coalesce in Dominionism.
If it were true that the Church needs to take over the planet,
then we would be seeing the unstoppable plans of God’s
physical Kingdom unfolding. But we do not. All we
see are failed prophecies, empty edicts and declarations
coming from false apostles and false prophets. They love
to fool Christians with talk of the “kingdom�? when it is
clear they are talking about a different “kingdom�?; a Kingdom
Now not a Kingdom come. Jesus taught us to pray: “Thy
Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven�?. The implication is that we are to be about
building His spiritual Kingdom while praying for and expecting
His physical Kingdom to come. The only way we can do
that is to continue in the Great Commission till He comes, not
attempt to rule where God has not given the Church the
authority to rule. Jesus will do that when He returns.
If we go off on the tangent the Dominionists want us to go, we
will not only miss out on the blessings of His Kingdom to
come, but may well be deserving of judgment.
This book is online and available as a download
at this time for $15. The
printed books are now here! They are $20.
each plus s/h
Go here for
further information.
Seeds, Soil & Fruit by Sandy Simpson
Matt. 13:38-39 The field is the world,
and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The
weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows
them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age,
and the harvesters are angels. Matthew 7:17 Likewise every good tree
bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
Original sin is the bad seed in everyone.
We all start with a bad seed.
Jer. 17:9 The heart is deceitful
above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand
it? Rom. 3:23 for all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God, Rom. 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered
the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this
way death came to all men, because all sinned
We need to have the bad seed destroyed and
replaced with good seed.
Gal. 5:24 Those who belong to Christ
Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its
passions and desires. Rom. 6:6 For we know that our old
self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be
done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to
sin 1 Pet. 1:23 For you have been born again,
not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through
the living and enduring word of God.
The good seed is the Word, the Gospel.
Luke 8:11 "This is the meaning of the
parable: The seed is the word of God. 1 John 3:9 No one who is born of God will
continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he
cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.
Bad seeds are from the enemy and are full of
false doctrine and a false gospel.
Matt. 13:38-39 The field is the world,
and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The
weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows
them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age,
and the harvesters are angels.
Will the Real Blasphemers Please Stand
Up? by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
This subject is one so serious that I do it
with great fear and trepidation. Nonetheless, because I get so
many e-mails accusing me and other Bereans of blasphemy, among
other serious charges, I felt it was necessary to clear up
some issues on this topic. Because of my stand for the truth
of God's Word juxtaposed against all the false teaching that
is going on today, I think it is important to do a quick study
on what blasphemy is actually all about from a biblical
standpoint. There are many references to blasphemy in
the Bible and from them we can find out how and why that term
was used.
You will see that the word "blasphemy" in the
Scriptures is the very definition of what the false teachers
and false prophets are doing today!
Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
Go here
for further information. "Glitter Christians" by Sandy Simpson
This is a name I came up with for people
attending and teaching at Oral Roberts University in the
70s. Even back then I had come to realize that their way
of representing Christianity was not in line with the
Scriptures. At that time I didn’t know that Oral Roberts
was carrying on the Word of Faith traditions of New Thought
practitioners such as Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, Essex
Kenyan, Norman Vincent Peale, Robert Schuler, and many other
false teachers of the time. Though I didn’t know
anything about Word of Faith or New Thought then I knew that
the way they were representing Christianity was just not right
somehow. Their desire to portray Christians as rich,
beautiful, healthy, perfect, and virtually sinless (holiness)
went directly against the example of Jesus, the Apostles and
the early church.
Studies in Worldview MP3 CD click below to order for $25. plus s/h
Studies in Worldview MP3 DVD click below to order for $25. plus s/h Screwtape Legacy by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
The book by C.S. Lewis called "Screwtape
Letters" was a clever idea in exposing a number of tactics of
the enemy. Those principles are still at work today in
many churches. Following is a list of some of the things
the enemy wants to see in churches and Christians in order to
bring them down.
Bradford Pear Christianity by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
I was driving along and noticing that spring
has sprung here in North Carolina. One of the first trees to
bloom is the Bradford Pear. I began to notice how that tree
has proliferated almost everywhere and then my wife looked up
the information on this tree on the web. As she began to read
the facts about this tree and its proliferation I began to see
an allegorical parallel to what is going on in much of
Christendom. But before I get into what the Bradford Pear can
show us about the churches, I need to present the facts about
the tree.
The Lord's Prayer, Our Prayer by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
Matt.
6:9-13 This, then, is how you should pray: "Our
Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom
come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give
us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also
have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."
This model prayer
that Jesus taught the disciples to pray contains many
important precepts. It should probably be called "The
Disciple's Prayer". It starts with a very important
concept in the first verse.
The Fallacious Arguments of
Neo-Universalists by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
The new Universalists are not as vocal about
their Universalism ideas but are far more deadly to the
Church as they are not rejected like classic Universalists
were decades ago. The new Universalists would include
Emerging Church leaders like Brian McLaren, Leonard Sweet,
Spencer Burke, Alan Jones and others like Wycliffe, Society
of Biblical Literature, World Christian Gathering of
Indigenous Peoples, Richard Twiss, Daniel Kikawa, Terry
LeBlanc, Rick Warren, Henry Nowen, YWAM, Tony Campolo,
Robert Schuller, George Otis Jr., and even Billy Graham.
The future of apologetics and
discernment ministries by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
I admit that I am very
skeptical about the future of discernment and apologetics
ministries. I don't see the next generation coming up to
replace those who have stood for the truth for so long.
Fortunately many apologists have gone to be with the Lord but
who will replace them? I don't see replacements coming up who
will take the place of those who have been fighting the fight
the years. I run a web site where I collect articles and
materials from all over the world and present them in a sort
of Reader's Digest format so that people can come to one place
to get the latest information on heresies in the churches as
well as research past ones. What I've seen in the last couple
of years is that the production of regular materials is
declining to the point where it's becoming difficult to find
one article for my site to post every day. Of course I write
my own articles but don't have enough time to write an article
on a daily basis. I am very concerned because of the tsunami
of false ideas from the enemy in the churches. At the same
time, unfortunately, I see a lot of younger people who don't
even recognize anymore that something is wrong.
Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
You can also view this DVD online here.
Go here for
more information.
Church History & The Core Doctrines by Sandy Simpson
This 4-DVD set is a combination of a condensed
study on Church History and the Discernment Toolkit series which
deals with the core doctrines of the Church and how to use them
to discern error. The Church History DVD takes a different
approach to Church History in that it does not celebrate the
Catholic Church but rather exposes it as false
Christianity. It covers World religions, false
Christianity and finally a study of the true remnant Church
through history following the story of the many martyrs who
stood up for true Biblical faith.
The "Weight of Glory" by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction,
which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory; (KJV)
This is both an incredible source of hope
for Christians who are downtrodden, and a source of
escalating heresy in many churches.It is critical that we
understand what Paul was talking about when he wrote the
phrase “weight of glory�?.Jacob Prasch has repeated this
phrase in his teachings over the years … “A text, out of
context, in isolation from co-text is always a pre-text."A
huge problem today is that individuals and movements tend to
yank verses out of their context and build a cult of heresy
around them.This is called eisegesis or plugging your own
ideas into the Scriptures instead of exegesis, gaining
understanding and interpretation of the Bible by studying it
in context and in the scope of the whole written Word.
Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
Go here for further
information. Did God Put "Eternity In Their Hearts" or "The World In Their Hearts"? by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
In the introduction to Mike Oppenheimer's
and my book "Idolatry In Thier Hearts" I exposed the fact
that Don Richardson pulled the phrase "Eternity In Thier
Hearts" to use as his book title from it's context in Ecc.
3:11. He did this to support his thesis, which
actually contradicts the second part of that verse, where it
states that man cannot fathom what God has done. Richardson,
rather, sets forth what has become the foundation for the
false teachings of the WCGIP, YWAM, a number of Bible
translation societies and the Emerging Church ... the
propostion that men from Gentile cultures have always been
seeking God and that Gentile cultures were already
worshipping the true God before missionaries came with the
Gospel.
But as I further investigated this verse I
found that Richardson even ignored the true meaning of the
FIRST half of the verse in favor of a few translations that
use the phrase "eternity in their hearts".
Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
Go here for
further information.
Christians who “turn away�? by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
Jeremiah 3:10-11 And yet for all this
her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her
whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD. And the LORD said
unto me, “The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more
than treacherous Judah.�? (KJV) Israel had turned away from
the Lord and had gone after the gods of Canaan, namely
Baal and Asherah. Because Israel had
prostituted herself with false gods in worshipping the
polytheistic gods that started at Babel, God had declared He
was divorcing Israel and would send them into exile until they
again returned to the true God. But Judah prided itself in
doing what God had commended as they had Jerusalem and the
Temple. They disdained Israel for setting up altars to
Baal and Asherah poles on high hills. Yet God was not
fooled by Judah’s pretence. In the KJV it says they were
not worshipping God with their whole heart but
“feignedly�?.
Prophets for profit by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
2 Cor. 2:17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle
the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we
speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.
There are many false teachers on TV these days
who peddle the word of God for profit. They make
promises of healing that do not come true by claiming if they
are given a financial gift the person will receive healing and
riches. When what they promised does not happen the
person is blamed that they did not have enough faith. This
often destroys the faith of people who fall into the traps of
these snake oil salesmen. I have no problem with people
charging for their materials if they cost to be produced, even
though it is hoped that when a person cannot afford to pay for
books and DVDs they will receive them free of charge.
But the charges levied on people for conferences and speaking
engagements is often excessive. A minister of God can
ask for support and deserves it if they are being diligent in
their study and proclamation of the Word. But
experiences and feelings often come with a price today and
that is not right.
"Mistake" or "Sin"? by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
Today we often hear the word "mistake"
coming from pulpits, and especially in defense of false
teaching and false prophesy. "Cut him some
slack! He just made some mistakes". "We all make
mistakes, so don't judge lest you be judged." We even
hear the word "mistakes" being substituted for the word
"sin" in many presentations of what I have termed "Gospel
Lite" today. So is it proper to substitute the word
"mistake" for the word "sin"? We'll look at the
problem of one word "mistakenly" being used for the
other.
Holy Ghost IGNORED! by Sandy Simpson
This 3-DVD set is a message based on this
movie review.
"Holy Ghost Reborn" is the second film in
the "Holy Ghost" series released by Bethel Church in
Redding, CA. Tim Wirth and I reviewed the first "Holy
Ghost" film and that review is freely available on YouTube
here:
I am sorry to say this but Bethel is clearly
a cult of Christianity holding to most of the teachings of
the Latter Rain and Word of Faith. They have
demonstrated repeatedly a manipulative atmosphere targeting
young people in particular while preaching rank
heresy. This new film is a continuation of those false
teachings and practices. I pray for the young people
in that church that they will come to know Jesus Christ as
their Savior and thus come to know the true Holy
Spirit.
This 3-DVD set is only $30. plus s/h. for
US.
Holy
Ghost
IGNORED! Part 4 - Addendum with Tim Wirth & Sandy
Simpson
This "Holy Ghost IGNORED! Part 4 - Addendum is
part of a 3-DVD series by Sandy Simpson reviewing the film
"Holy Ghost Reborn". This addendum features a number of false
teachings of Bethel Church in Redding, CA that I was not able
to include in the 3-Part series. Get
the whole thing! It is very important to see what has
become the "new" Christianity.
Servant Authority by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
The world system has always been a "top down"
structure, starting at the apex of the pyramid and going down
to the bottom. In kingdoms we have the king at the top, then
the princes, common people, slaves. In a democracy we have the
President at the top, the VP, the Sec. of State on down to the
citizens. In business we have the CEO at the top, upper
management, lower management, office workers and the
janitors. Unfortunately, sometime in the third century,
the church started to have a top down structure. This is also
when the church began to be in error. The church of Rome began
to have a "top down" structure that started with the pope,
then cardinals, then bishops, then priests, then the people.
Well, what about that? Eph 4:11 It was he who gave
some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be
evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, This
all sounds like a "top down" structure. But the problem is
that people have not seen an important fact about these gifts
of the Spirit -- man looks at function and title, God looks at
aim and goal! Read on. Eph. 4:12 to prepare God's
people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be
built up. These are not gifts given for title or to give
people job descriptions. They are given because there are
people out there who need our help! The church needed the
Apostles. They were the ones who were the foundation of the
church. They were the ones who saw Jesus in the flesh and were
taught by Him personally. They wrote the New Testament
Scriptures. Though the gifts of apostle and prophet are
different today than in biblical times, the gift of
evangelism, pastoring, teaching and others are still the same.
A person who is an evangelist does not just have a title so he
can rule over people. The reason that he has the gift to be an
evangelist is so that he can tell others the good news. Why do
we have pastors? Are they supposed to rule the church and get
everyone to support them and bow to their demands? No. They
are to serve the church by helping people to come to a fuller
knowledge of Jesus Christ, to equip the saints to become more
like Jesus every day.
The true structure of Christianity is
symbolized as an inverted pyramid!
�Overtake you like a thief� by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
1 Thessalonians 5:4 But you, brethren, are
not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a
thief; How serious will it be for a person to be overtaken
in �that day� like a thief overtakes a household when he
slips in and steals? Will it just be a surprise for
those who claim to be Christians who will get a slap on the
wrist by the Lord but still proceed to heaven? Will
they simply lose rewards but still gain the ultimate
reward? What is this darkness that the brethren are
not in? 1 Thessalonians 5:3-5 While they are
saying, �Peace and safety!� then destruction will come
upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with
child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren,
are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a
thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day.
We are not of night or of darkness;
Generic and Specific by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
In my article �Blasphemizing
the
Bible� I give a number of examples of how a lot of
modern Bible translation societies are putting the names of
�supreme beings� in the Bible in the place of God or YHWH. In
this article I'm going to examine two of the excuses they make
for making those substitutions in the Bible in many hundreds
of different languages today.
(1) They claim that God has many different
names and therefore they think they are justified in putting
the names of various gods of various cultures in Bibles, as
long as they are considered �supreme beings�.
(2) The second excuse they give is that the
names of the �gods� they are placing in the Bible are generic
terms for God, like the words �God�, �Theos�, �Dios� and
�Elohim�. By generic I mean a word that can be used for any
deity whether of the one true God or other false gods who
claim to be God.
I will go through both of these excuses and
show that they are both unbiblical, therefore the Bibles they
have translated with names of other gods in them, or names
they claim are generic, prove that they have �blasphemized�
those Bibles.
The Ugly Side of
Diaprax by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
There has been a concerted effort by the false
teachers from many movements inside the church such as Word of
Faith, New Apostolic Reformation (NAR)/Latter Rain, World
Gathering on Indigenous People and Emerging Church among
others to diaprax people into thinking that the church has
been ineffective until they came along with their new and
improved ideas on how to take over the world. This is
always a feature of the Hegelian Dialectical process put into
action by praxis, thus diaprax. In order to form a new
paradigm or worldview the leadership of these movements must
vilify orthodox Biblical Christianity.
Deluded! by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
There are so many "Christian" leaders out there
that teach delusional teachings. These teaching are
dangerous and can lead a person to shipwreck their faith.
Healer? Heal Thyself! by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
A good subtitle for this article might be
"Practice What You Preach!" There is no doubt that God
can and does heal people today. But the false doctrines
of the Word-Faith Movement about "declaring" healing,
"name-it-and-claim-it", etc. have been proven to be lies by
the very people who sell this deceit. If you don't know
about where these famous "faith healers" go when they need
healing, you may be surprised. Why couldn't they heal
themselves when they purported to be able to heal others by
virtue of their superior faith? What happened to the
extraordinary faith they claimed to have, enough faith to heal
and be healed? Since they are the ones who taught that
all you have to do is claim the healing that is in the
Atonement (Is. 53:5) why did they not do so? Don't their
deaths prove that what they were preaching was a lie and
pragmatic witchcraft rather than biblical relality?
God�s Attitude toward the �Supreme
Beings� of the Nations by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
It is quite clear from Scripture that YHWH does
NOT consider the �supreme beings� of the nations to be
Himself, the One True God. This is in opposition to the
teachings of Don Richardson, Daniel Kikawa, Richard Twiss and
many others promoting the World Christian Gathering of
Indigenous People movement, Emergent Church and Liberal
theologies. I have proven this time and time again in my
articles on the subject but I am going to consolidate the
information from the Bible in this article by studying the
false gods named in the Bible. I am sure I will not be
able to cover every instance of supreme beings mentioned in
the Bible but I (1) want to deal with some of the major ones
(2) show you where they are found in the Word, and (3) prove
that they were the �supreme beings� of those nations named by
the patriarchs, prophets and Apostles and that they were not
monotheistic gods but polytheistic in the tradition of Babel
where the false religion of polytheism first took root through
the worship of Nimrod and Semiramis.
You need to "nip it in the bud"! by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
I am writing this article to address a
subject that I have often observed. It is the fact
that if you do not get the leaven out of your church the
leaven will become the leadership.The Bible teaches quite
clearly that if you let the leaven in you will leaven the
whole lump.
Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leavens
the whole lump of dough.
We see this often in the case of many
�Christian� movements that have allowed a small error to
exist in their churches and have not dealt with those
issues. It then ends up metastasizing into worse and
worse problems as time goes by.
The New Panentheistic "God" Of
Christendom by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
Now, I bet you read the title of this article
and thought I had misspelled the word "pantheism". Just
so that those of you who write to me advising me of words I
have misspelled in articles (and I do often) I want to tell
you that I am using the term "panentheism" as coined by Karl
C. F. Krause. You can read more about this word and
concept in an excellent book called "A
Time Of Departing" by Ray Yungen.
There is a new "God" being promoted in the
Third Wave, New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and Word of Faith
movements whose teachers are regularly seen on TBN, Daystar,
SkyAngel, CBN and other "Christian" TV networks. Some of
those teachers even have, what would be considered, a fairly
typical statement of faith or doctrinal statement they
endorse. But by what they teach they end up promoting a
false unbiblical view of God, especially through their actions
and experiences. The whole phenomenon of "slain in the
spirit" and all the antics that go with it are brainwashing an
entire generation of Christians to put their faith in another
Jesus, another Spirit, another Gospel. This new "Jesus"
and "Holy Spirit" is clearly pantheistic or panentheistic in
nature. Though some of these teachers would claim to be
believing in the God who is One God in Three Persons, by what
they teach they deny the very revealed character of God from
Scripture.
What Should I Say? by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
booklet.
How do you answer an invitation to attend a
meeting where you know nothing about the speaker or what will
be done there? What happens if they want to announce the
meeting at your church and invite everyone? What do you say to
a person who tells you that you don�t have the Holy Spirit
even though you are a Christian? What should you do if you
think something is wrong, or your conscience is bothering you
about something that was said or done? The answer?
Go to the Scriptures!
The Bible has all the answers to your
questions. This little booklet is an attempt to deal with a
few of the typical statements you will hear from people who
have become involved in the Third Wave revival movement. By
�Third Wave� I am referring to teachers, �prophets� and any
meeting associated with the Toronto �Blessing�, Brownsville
Assemblies of God, Rodney Howard-Browne, Benny Hinn, Kenneth
Copeland, Rod Parsley, Marilyn Hickey, Joyce Meyers, Bethel
Church, Lakeland and many others who appear on the Trinity
Broadcasting Network and the 700 Club on TV.
Hopefully the statements and answers in this
booklet will set you off on an investigation of your own in
the Word. If you need help, and you have access to the
Internet, you can visit my web site called �Deception In The
Church� that deals with these issues and has the articles
mentioned in this booklet.
Luring People To Destruction By The Unscrupulous Use Of The
"Gospel" Message by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
Phil. 1:14-18
Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have
been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and
fearlessly. It is true that some preach Christ out of
envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter
do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of
the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition,
not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me
while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important
thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or
true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes,
and I will continue to rejoice,
If you see what I see in this passage, this
argument cannot be used for people like Benny Hinn, Kenneth
Copeland and the hundreds, even thousands of Third Wave
ministers today who are not merely envious and self ambitious,
but are also teaching outright false doctrine. Paul was not
talking about heretics in this statement, but "brothers in the
Lord" who preach the Gospel with wrong motives. Third Wave
teachers not only have wrong motives, they also have the wrong
message. This argument cannot be used for people like
Hinn, even if they manage to preach enough of the "Gospel" for
people to come to a saving knowledge of the Lord, because they
are also teaching and practicing heresy.
One of Satan�s Final Masquerades by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
2 Corinthians 11:14 And no
wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
Satan often disguises himself with the
purpose of deceiving people. One way in which I believe
he is putting on a masquerade is by appearing as �Mary� to
millions of people worldwide.
Attack Of The Enemy On The Churches by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
So much heresy is entering the churches these
days. As you would suspect, sometimes it is due to a
pastor attending a conference or reading a book and becoming
diapraxed with unbiblical ideas. He then starts to weave
those ideas into his messages and begins to invite speakers to
the church who expound on those ideas. Then when
confronted by someone in the church who has reservations about
the new stuff being taught, they are told to not talk about it
and just go along with the program. If that person does
not they are ostracized, slander behind their back, and often
told to leave (which is what they should do in any
case).
But my observation is that it is not only the
pastor who causes unbiblical changes to influence a
church. Often the pastor is blissfully unaware of
influences coming into his church. They often come in
through (1) the worship team (2) women�s groups (3) bookstore
(4) children�s programs (5) interdenominational prayer efforts
and (6) relief and mission organizations. If unchecked
this type of infiltration is much more subtle and can become
deeply rooted.
Marks Of False Religion by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you
captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to
the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles
of the world, rather than according to Christ.
In context Paul is especially addressing,
though perhaps not to the exclusion of other false religion,
what had become the false religion of the Pharisees and Jewish
leadership. There were many Jewish so-called
�Christians� making the rounds among the fledgling early
churches who were trying to get the Gentiles to come under the
Law from which Christ had purchased their freedom. John
Gill states this case well in his commentary.
Universalism in the World has Permeated the Church by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
The current fad of interfaith solidarity and
unity is simply a thin guise of inclusivism, Universalism
and pluralism.
Universalism is defined by Dictionary.com
as: The doctrine that emphasizes the universal fatherhood of
God and the final salvation of all souls. (Source)
Universalism is a religion and theology that generally holds
all persons and creatures are related to God or the divine
and will be reconciled to God. (Source)
Pluralism is defined as: The doctrine that
reality is composed of many ultimate substances. � The
belief that no single explanatory system or view of reality
can account for all the phenomena of life. (American
Heritage Dictionary, (Source)
Inclusivism is: "Inclusivism posits that
even though the work of Christ is the only means of
salvation, it does not follow that explicit knowledge of
Christ is necessary in order for one to be saved. In
contrast to pluralism, inclusivism agrees with exclusivism
in affirming the particularity of salvation in Jesus Christ.
But unlike exclusivism, inclusivism holds that an implicit
faith response to general revelation can be salvific. God
expects from man a response proportional to the light given.
Saving faith is not characterized so much by its cognitive
content as it is by its reverent quality." (Ken Keathley,
None Dare Call It Treason: Is an Inclusivist a Paul
Revere or a Benedict Arnold? (Ken Keathley, Assistant
Professor of Theology and Philosophy New Orleans Baptist
Theological Seminary, (Source)
We deal with these old heresies brought
forward to modernity, these ideas that all men have have a
relationship with God that will cause them to be able to
avoid judgement in our book on the teachings of the World
Gathering on Indigenous People movement called �Idolatry
In Their Hearts�. The idea that all men who
worship a �god� are worshipping the true God, YHWH, has
bubbled up to the very top of our societies and religions,
and even Christendoom, and should sound a warning alarm to
true Biblical Christianity. Instead, as usual in our
day, most Christians are asleep at the wheel while
Universalists claim that you can pray to a �god� like Allah
and be praying to the true Trinue God, YHWH. I also dealt
with the fact that Allah is not YHWH, both in our book and
in the article �Is Allah The Same
As YHWH?�.
What We Need Is A Reverse Paradigm
Shift! by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
I'm going to warn you now. I am going to
let you in on some information tonight that is going to
radically change your world view. You are likely going
to experience the beginnings of a reverse paradigm shift and
after tonight there will be no way to go back the way you
came. You will be faced with choices that you may never
have known you had. You will be faced with a new way of
looking at things that is going to cause you to rethink
everything that is being taught in the Emerging Latter Rain
churches. It is going to be radical because the basis
for this message doesn't come from Jesus Christ visiting my
room last night bodily, but from His holy written Word.
So buckle down your seat belts, you're likely in for a bumpy
ride!
Matt. 7:15-23 "Watch out
for false prophets. They come to you in sheep�s clothing,
but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you
will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes,
or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good
fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot
bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every
tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown
into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
"Not everyone who says to me, �Lord, Lord,� will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my
Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day,
�Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your
name drive out demons and perform many miracles?� Then I
will tell them plainly, �I never knew you. Away from me, you
evildoers!�
False Teachers Revisited by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
I often receive requests to present updated
false teachings and false prophecies by the myriad of heretics
out there. We do try to keep up with all the
latest. But I have to remind people that those we have
exposed as false on our site have not repented of what they
have already done in the past, which is why they are still on
our site. So what they are doing now has no relevance as
to whether or not they are now to be considered a true
Biblical teacher. If and when they repent, that is
renounce their false teachings and false prophecies, make
restitution to those they have deceived, and begin to teach
sound Biblical doctrine we will give you that
information. As of now NONE of the people we have
exposed have repented of their Latter Rain, Word of Faith
teachings, heretical practices or their false
prophecies. But in the interest of helping you to
respond to a person who inquires by saying: "Those articles
are old and you need newer materials" well, here is some newer
stuff you can add to the pile. For you and me this
really makes no difference, but for those who are living in
deception perhaps it might demolish one of their arguments
against the truth.
Testing The Spirits by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
Sometimes I really wonder why someone who
claims to be a Bible believing pastor, for instance, refuses
to listen to the truth. It frankly boggles my
mind. I don't know if it is as a result of the
postmodern paradigm or just that they have no love of the
truth left. I don't know how that can happen in a truly
regenerate person. You would think that the Holy Spirit
would confirm the truth to them, first in their conscience,
and finally through the written Word. But these days it
is a miracle if it gets that far. I don't know if their
conscience has been so seared that they don't hear the Spirit
or if they just don't want to know the truth because then they
would be responsible for it. I know that I cannot know
their motives or the reasons why they reject truth and refuse
to talk about false teaching, but I do know one thing: we are
called as true believers to test the spirits. We must do
this even if the result is not to our liking or befuddles us
as to the reasons.
1 John 4:1 Dear friends,
do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see
whether they are from God, because many false prophets have
gone out into the world.
Questions for Those Who Claim the
"Supreme Beings" Of the Nations Are the True God by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
I have some questions for those of the World
Christian Gathering of Indigenous People (WCGIP) adherents
such as Don Richardson, Daniel Kikawa, Richard Twiss
(deceased), Terry LeBlanc, Danny Lehman, Aloha Ke Akua, YWAM
as well as many in the Emergent Church (EC) ... the questions
arise from their claim that the "supreme beings" of the
nations are all the True God, YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob. You can read more on this subject in our book
"Idolatry
In
Their Hearts" or in the WCGIP
section of my site. My main question for them is this: When
did ANY of the Patriarchs and Prophets in the Old Testament
and the Apostles or Jesus Christ in the New Testament EVER
claim that the "supreme beings" of the nations were
Elohim/YHWH, the one True God? Let's look at some
examples in the form of questions and you can check out the
source links as well.
How To Discern, Test & Judge
Rightly by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
In running a web
site with thousands of articles, 1-2 million hits per month
from all over the world, and hundreds of e-mails per week, I
have come to realize, with time, that there is a terrible
problem in Christendom today. The problem stems from an
existential subjective view of the world that has filtered
into the church from secular society, but also from the
teachings of heretical wolves who have taught an entire
generation of churchgoers completely unbiblical methods of
discernment or to get rid of any discernment altogether.
A house built on the rock will stand. The
Rock is God and in particular, Jesus Christ. Therefore
His written Word is the teachings of the His Holy Spirit and a
Rock we can depend on. Anyone who wants to prove
anything theologically, historically, scientifically or
anything else needs to start with correct information.
If you start with a faulty foundation, as you build your
arguments, they begin to fall apart because they are not
supported in God"s truth. If you want to build on a firm
foundation, you need to start the process by a careful study
of God"s Word in context of the verse and according to the
whole counsel of God"s Word. The Bible is the best
commentary on the Bible.
Karma (by any other name) by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
According to Wikipedia:
"Karma means action, work or deed; it also
refers to the principle of causality where intent and
actions of an individual influence the future of that
individual. Good intent and good deed contribute to
good karma and future happiness, while bad intent and bad
deed contribute to bad karma and future suffering.
Karma is closely associated with the idea of rebirth in some
schools of Asian religions. In these schools, karma in
the present affects one's future in the current life, as
well as the nature and quality of future lives - or, one's
samsara. With origins in ancient India, it is a key concept
in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Taoism, Shintoism,
Ching Hai and others."(emphasis mine)
Mirram-Webster defines it this way:
the force created by a person's actions that
is believed in Hinduism and Buddhism to determine what that
person's next life will be like: the force created by a
person's actions that some people believe causes good or bad
things to happen to that person
His Name, The Only Name by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
Zechariah 14:9 NIV The LORD will be king
over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD,
and his name the only name.
The reason I wrote this article
based on Zech 14:9 is that I was reminded of how many
so-called Christians, who are influential in the churches, are
promoting the worship of God in the names of other gods.
Replacement Theology On Steroids by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
So, as you can see, the root of this
teaching is that Israel no longer holds the distinction of
being the tree from which the Root of David (Jesus-Rev. 5:5,
22:16) came. They are no longer the "natural branches"
(Israel-Rom. 11:21) on to which Gentile Christianity (the
wild shoots-Rom. 11:17 or wild branches-Rom. 11:24) are
grafted in (Rom. 11:17-24). According to Replacement
Theology, Christianity has now become its own branch apart
from Israel (the natural branch) that produced the Root and
all the promises of the Bible to Israel have been taken away
from them and given to the Gentile Church. This is why
you hear so many false teachers taking verses out of context
from the Old Testament and willy-nilly applying them to the
Gentile Church. This methodology has been going on for
decades in liberal churches and has been popularized by many
false teachers on TV. But the fact is that Replacement
Theology is utter false doctrine. It denies promises
made to Israel, some of which have already been fulfilled
and some which are yet to come to fruition. But when you add
the fact that the Inclusivist WCGIP proponents are now
saying that God planted hundreds of different trees,
cultures all over the world, that are not connected to the
natural branch, tree and Root, you have what can only be
termed Replacement Theology on steroids!
Those Who Do Not Lead Christians to
Maturity by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
The Scriptural definition of maturity is to
learn to discern truth from error so that the Christian will
no longer be double minded, blown about by every wind of
teaching and by the schemes of crafty people. But the
problem today is that so few Christian teachers are feeding
their flock's solid food. They are serving up milk and,
because of that, people are starving. Yet they often don't
even know they have been on a starvation diet. Amos 8:11
"The days are coming," declares the Sovereign Lord, "when I
will send a famine through the land - not a famine of
food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the
words of the Lord."
"... and all liars" by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
Lying is a problem for all people (Ps.
116:11). We are all sinners (Rom. 3:23). Those of
us who are Christians are "sinners saved by grace" (Eph. 2:8)
indwelt by the Holy Spirit in our "new self" (Col. 3:10). But
we still live in our "old self" which we must "put off" (Eph.
4:20-25) by taking up our cross daily and following Christ
(Luke 9:23). The difference between unbelievers and
those who are truly born again is that believers no longer
"practice sin" (1 John 3:9, see my Bible study on 1
John!) They have the indwelling Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:11)
who convicts them when they lie (John 16:8). True believers
then repent (1 John 1:9) and go on to "practice righteousness"
(1 John 2:29) with the Lord's help. The unregenerate,
the false brothers, or those who have fallen away (Gal. 5:4,
Mark 4:17), practice lying. They practice a lifestyle of
lying because their consciences are seared (1 Tim. 4:2) and
the Holy Spirit, when convicting them, cannot break through
the hardness of their unrepentant hearts (Eph. 4:17-19, Heb.
3:13).
Four Books That the Enemy Has Used To
Corrupt Christianity by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
The four books that have changed the church by
giving an introduction to the false teachings of the New
Apostolic/Latter Rain (NAR), the Emerging
Church/Contemplative/Catholic Mysticism (EC), pragmatic Church
Growth (CG) methodologies of C. Peter Wagner, Robert Schuller
and Peter Drucker, and the teachings of the World Christian
Gathering on Indigenous People (WCGIP) are as follows:
Surprised by the Power of the Spirit by Jack
Deer, Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster, Purpose
Driven Church by Rick Warren & Etnerity In Their Hearts by
Don Richardson.
These four books were widely read by
Christians from virtually every denominational background
before their ramifications and the movements they would spawn
were known. They lay error alongside truth so were
considered not to be a threat to churches. Therefore
these books then became part of the consciousness of many
Christians and churches, thereby laying the basis for the
introduction of the modern day false teachings of the NAR, EC,
CG and WCGIP that have become part of the landscape of
Christendom today.
Night Marchers and UFOs on the Big
Island by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
With the resurgence of the old religion of
Hawaii and the continual invocation of Pelé and other
"deities" for years in the secular culture and even in
churches with regards to worshipping 'Io, is it any wonder
that those beings are beginning to manifest again? In
a story called "Night
Marchers" on the Kawaihae site and in a YouTube
video on the same subject, eyewitnesses claim all
kinds of sightings that they think are the warriors,
ancestors and demi-gods of Hawaii coming back.
Interestingly the
first
book the Hawaiian Heritage site recommends in its
"Suggested Reading" list is "Perpetuated
in
Righteousness" by Daniel Kikawa that we reviewed in
our book "Idolatry
In
Their Hearts" by Sandy Simpson and Mike Oppenheimer.
Since Kikawa claims that 'Io is the True God and one that
the Hawaiians worshipped in secret, we have to wonder if
Kikawa also thinks 'Io is showing up in these night marches?
Since YWAM, Aloha Ke Akua and Hilo New Hope participated in
worshipping 'Io at the "edge of Hale-ma'uma'u Crater" it
sounds like they have all been inviting the old "gods" to
return to Hawaii.
"They Will Believe The Lie" by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
I am doing a Bible study right now on what I
would call "renewing our minds". It is based on this
verse:
Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is
- his good, pleasing and perfect will.
The only way to renew our minds is to believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, confess our sins, and be saved, then
to study the written Word and allow the indwelling Holy Spirit
to teach us. Our minds are corrupted by virtue of the
sin nature and what we have learned in life because our
filters are off. I gave an illustration of straining coconut
to make coconut milk. If you use a 1 inch screen
everything will pass through. Even if you use a quarter
inch screen you will get mostly coconut meat in your
milk. You have to use a fine screen in order to separate
the milk from the leftover. Our filters are off and the
first thing God begins to do is correct our worldview, because
if your worldview is off you will not understand God's
reality. We need to learn to see things from His
perspective. This is why I started this study by going
back to an original problem.
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 The coming of the
lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He
will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and
wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that
wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish
because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For
this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they
will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned
who have not believed the truth but have delighted in
wickedness.
This has always been an interesting passage to
me for a few different reasons. What is "the lie" that
is talked about here in verse 9 and 11? What are the
ways that "wickedness deceives those who are perishing" and
how long has this been going on or does this only begin to
happen at the coming of the lawless one? In what way
does "the lie" cause those who do not believe the truth to
"delight in wickedness"?
Updated! The First Nations Movement Deceiving The Nations! 4-DVD Series Critical Missiological
Issue!
The "Indigenous People's" (IPM) or "First
Nations" movement is an unbiblical movement teaching heresies
and doctrines of demons. It is being spread worldwide by YWAM,
Don Richardson, John Dawson, Richard Twiss, Terry LeBlanc,
Daniel Kikawa and many other adherents. The IPM or World
Christian Gathering On Indigenous People is full of the false
teachings of the Third Wave, New Apostolic Reformation (NAR),
Word-Faith, Dominionism, Latter Rain and many other false
theological systems. But it does have it's own
distinctives that are driven by the works of Daniel Kikawa,
Richard Twiss, and Don Richardson in particular. They
are teaching Christians to "redeem" their cultures by
worshipping their former gods, pretending they are YHWH.
Go here for ordering
information. Only $10. per DVD or $35. for the 4-DVD set, plus
s/h. for US. The First Nations
Movement 4-DVD Set
The First Nations
Movement DVD 1 (1) Perpetuating Nations' Myths - Mike
Oppenheimer (2) 11 Reasons To Reject This Movement, Part 1
- Sandy Simpson The First Nations
Movement DVD 2 (1) The Fingerprints Of God? - Mike Oppenheimer (2) 11 Reasons To Reject This Movement, Part 2
- Sandy Simpson The First Nations
Movement DVD 3 (1) The New Indigenous "Christian" Religion -
Sandy Simpson (2) Did God Put Eternity In Their Hearts? -
Sandy Simpson (3) The Missionaries Brought A Foreign God -
Sandy Simpson (4) Catholic Syncretism - Sandy Simpson The First Nations
Movement DVD 4 (1) "Monotheism" In Ancient Cultures - Sandy
Simpson (2) The History Of The Knowledge Of God - Sandy
Simpson "Christians" Who Try To Poke Holes In
Sola Scriptura by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this article: "Christians"
Who Try To Poke Holes In Sola Scriptura
There are a number of the leadership of the
Emerging Church (EC) who do not believe that the Bible is
the highest authority for the Christian faith. Most do
not believe that the Bible is inerrant in the original
manuscripts and many do not acknowledge that the Bible is
our highest revelation. Yet this is a core doctrine
over which true believers and false brethren must separate.
Those who try to poke holes in Sola Scriptura make excuses
like (1) we need to reinterpret the Bible through the lens
of postmodern culture and religion (2) the Bible never uses
the words "Sola Scriptura" therefore it is not a Biblical
concept (3) there is new revelation for the church through
the Holy Spirit apart from what is written and the precepts
of the Bible and (4) the Bible just doesn't address our
postmodern situation therefore we cannot rely on it for the
truth and answers for our problems today. I will prove
that all the above arguments, and more, from EC leaders and
others is exactly what they are teaching. I will give
you quotes from their teachings, videos and books. The
postmodern church and its "movements" are abandoning Sola
Scriptura in their rush to be like the Roman Catholic
Church, which takes its authority from a mix of Scripture
and tradition.
"As a result the Church, to whom the
transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted,
"does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths
from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition
must be accepted and honored with EQUAL sentiments of
devotion and reverence." (Roman Catholic Catechism, Given
October 11, 1992, the thirtieth anniversary of the opening
of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, in the fourteenth
year of my Pontificate. Page 31).
Go here
for ordering information. Only $10. per DVD plus s/h. for
US.
Updated DVD! The Question Of Dominion by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this article: The Question Of Dominion.
I am writing this article as an apologetic
against the Third Wave, Latter Rain, Word of Faith and
Reformed Theology teachings that the Church is to rise up
and take over the systems of government, businesses and
every other aspect of life. "See, the problem is, is that
Satan has had too much of his way in our society because he
has a government! And the only way to overthrow a
government is with a government. It won't happen
otherwise. So therefore the government of the church
has to get into place in the extended church just like we do
have it very well in place, we haven't reached our goal yet
..." (Transcript of C. Peter Wagner, Arise Prophetic
Conference, Gateway Church, San Jose, CA, 10-10-2004) Wagner
has substituted the "government of the church" for the
coming government of Jesus Christ in the Millennial
Kingdom. Wagner is "Kingdom Now" while the Bible
teaches "Kingdom Come". What I wanted to do with this
article is put the issue of dominion to rest by studying the
definition the Bible gives to dominion and ruling
authority. When we look at the subject we can easily
ascertain what is going on today and what God requires of
the Church.
Go here
for ordering information. Only $10. per DVD plus s/h. for US.
Shepherd Or Hireling? by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on the article: "Shepherd
Or
Hireling?"
The Bible lays out the definitions of both
an overseer (under shepherd) and a hireling. John
10:11-13 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd
giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling,
and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the
wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf
catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling
fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the
sheep. (KJV) 1 Tim. 3:1-3 Here is a
trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an
overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be
above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate,
self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not
given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not
quarrelsome, not a lover of money. (NIV) Titus
1:7-13 Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work,
he must be blameless, not overbearing, not quick-tempered,
not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing
dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves
what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and
disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message
as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by
sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. For there are
many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers,
especially those of the circumcision group. They must be
silenced, because they are ruining whole households by
teaching things they ought not to teach - and that for the
sake of dishonest gain. Even one of their own prophets has
said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy
gluttons." This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them
sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith. (NIV) A
hireling does not really care about being a watchman, but is
more concerned with protecting his reputation, position and
income. A true watchman will guard the flock against
wolves from within (Acts 20:30) and without (Acts 20:29) no
matter the cost to his reputation, position or income.
Following is a little quiz you can take to see if you are a
true Biblical under shepherd as a leader in your church, are
becoming a hireling, or are one now.
Go here
for ordering information. Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
Too many churches today are allowing music
to be used in their services that is not glorifying to the
Lord and can actually be a hindrance to the teaching of
sound doctrine. Pastors and leaders should be using their
leadership role to test what is being played and sung in
their churches. Though some are quick to test preaching and
teaching from their pulpits, many ignore the music being
used in the same services. This is a tragic mistake. Music
is a powerful medium. It is something that effects deeply
the body, mind and emotions. It is a proven fact that music
often stays with a person far longer than what is taught or
preached. Songs roam around in our heads, especially if the
melody appeals to us. What is often overlooked is the
serious impression music makes on people, and the teaching
they are getting over and over again as they allow the song
to repeat in their minds and on their lips. Music teaches
things much more subtly yet sometimes far more effectively.
That's why the lyrical content of music in the church, as
well as its effect on the spiritual lives of those who
perform and listen, should be vigorously examined by the
leaders of the church. This is a 2-DVD set.
Go here for
ordering information. Only $20. per 2-DVD set plus s/h. for
US.
2 Cor. 13:5 Examine yourselves to
see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realise that Christ Jesus is in
you - unless, of course, you fail the test?
People who call themselves followers of Christ
or "Christians" and claim they are born again must believe
certain things. If they do not then they fail the test
of faith. They can claim they are born again all they
want and "once saved, always saved" but if they fail the test
of faith there is no eternal security. Only God knows
who will be saved, from beginning to end, because of His
foreknowledge and omniscience (Rom. 8:29, 1 Pet. 1:2).
God did not make an arbitrary judgment about who would be
saved and who would not. His Spirit is given to those He
foreknew, when convicted of sin by His Holy Spirit, would
choose to believe and commit themselves to Jesus Christ.
We are not God and we do not have His omniscience.
Therefore, according to Paul, we must be sure our belief
system is in the right place once our eyes have been opened to
the Truth. I am not saying we do not have assurance of
salvation, but our assurance comes not only because of His
Atonement and promises of salvation but from our continuing in
the Faith, which is always the Biblical criteria. Those who
would be Bible teachers must teach according to the whole
counsel of God's Word. Let me be clear. There is
only one way to salvation. That is by grace alone
through faith alone in Christ alone. I will deal with a
few of those issues following, but it is important to
recognize that being saved is not just a matter of believing
that Jesus lived, or that He was a man, or simply giving
mental ascent to His existence in whatever form.
Go here
for ordering information. Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
"Blasphemizing" The Bible by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
I am going to go over an article I wrote back
in 2006 in preparation for the book I wrote with Mike
Oppenheimer called 'Idolatry in Their Hearts'. This book
is an apologetic against the false teachings of the World
Christian Gathering on Indigenous People movement, the
Emerging Church and the New Apostolic Reformation which got
their ideas from the book "Eternity in Their Hearts" by Don
Richardson. At the time that book came out no one really
saw the dangerous ideas Richardson was promoting. All
they would have had to do was look at the two subtitles of
that book to understand the implications. The first
subtitle in the 1981 edition read: The Untold Story of
Christianity among Folk Religions of Ancient People.
Those who read this book found some interesting cross-cultural
ideas but apparently missed the false premise of the book
starting with the subtitle. How could Christianity be "among
folk religions" where the Gospel had not been preached (Rom.
10:14-15)? At that time Christians who read the book were
apparently satisfied that, though there was some questionable
material present, it made for an interesting discussion on how
to do cross-cultural ministry. The subtitle it has today,
which was first published in 1984, is as follows: Startling
Evidence of Belief in the One True God in Hundreds of Cultures
Throughout the World. This should have been a red flag
for many Christians but then, who reads subtitles? But
how could the "One True God" be known to Gentiles who did "not
know God".
Go here
for ordering information. Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
Resources For Pastors including "Good English Bible Translations" by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
I was talking with a pastor after a Wednesday
night service and he mentioned that I said I had done an
article comparing English Bible translations. He called
me up later and asked me to come back and present the contents
of that article I sent out in about 2002 to my mailing list
for the Pacific Waves Newsletter which, unfortunately, I can
no longer afford to publish and mail. However an archive
of past issues of that newsletter can be found here.
In that article I detailed a number of good and bad resources
for pastors including Bible translations, concordances,
commentaries, Bible dictionaries, etc. I present an
edited version of part of that article on this DVD,
particularly dealing with English Translations of the
Bible. Translation is a very detailed endeavor and
should only be undertaken by those with a proper education in
that subject and a sound doctrinal background. I read a
few books on that subject and it helped me understand the
complexities involved. Hebrew is a rich language so it
is hard to distill one Hebrew word down to one English
word. Greek is a very technical language and it is also
not easy to translate. This is why it is imperative to
use the good English translations out there for comparison
along with a good concordance and Bible dictionary.
Go here
for ordering information. Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
A TALE OF TWO KINGDOMS Kingdom Now or Kingdom Come? by Sandy Simpson
This DVD is a message based on this
article.
There are two kingdoms being taught in many
churches today. Teaching about one of the kingdoms is on the
decline while the other is being promoted all over the
place. I am warning Christians that they need to check
out who is using the word "kingdom", the books they have been
reading and recommend on building "the kingdom", the people
they have been hanging out with at conferences, and what they
mean by "the kingdom".
Go here
for more information or click on the "Add To Cart"
below. Only $10. plus s/h. for US.
BIBLES STUDIES IN DISCERNMENT by Sandy Simpson
Bible studies in Galatians, Philippians,
Ephesians, Colossians, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and Jude with a
focus on applying timeless discernment priciples to our modern
times.
Go here
for more information or click on the "Add To Cart"
below. The price is $18. per book plus s/h.
BIBLES STUDIES IN DISCERNMENT Companion CD! by Sandy Simpson
Contains the PDF text to the book BIBLE STUDIES
IN DISCERNMENT plus extra studies by Sandy & Juanita
Simpson covering many issues of apologetics and discernment.
Go here
for more information or click on the "Add To Cart"
below. The price is $10. per cd plus s/h.
A Whole Lot Of Wishful Thinking
These Days! by Sandy Simpson
This DVD series is a teaching based on this
article.
In this DVD series I want to detail a number
of beliefs people have these days that have no basis in
Scripture. I am going to roam all over the map, so to
speak, and try to give fairly short answers on a number of
topics and also give you useful links to articles that will
help you deal with any particular issue. It is truly
amazing how many false ideas people cling to without giving
a thought to what the Bible has to say on the subject.
Only $20. plus s/h. for US. Go here
for ordering details.
Signs Of Apostasy In The Churches
In The End Times by Sandy Simpson
This 2-DVD series is a teaching based on this
article.
There are many signs of the great Apostasy,
or falling away (2 Thes. 2:3) indicating we are living in
the end times (Mt. 24: 3-14) I am going to go through
some indications of the Apostasy in the churches as a follow
up to the signs of the times in the world.
Only $20. plus s/h. for US. Go here
for ordering details.
The Responsibilities of a Good Shepherd by Sandy Simpson
This CD is a message based on this
article.
Emerging Church CD & Free DVD All the links to
resources and articles we have on the Emerging Church on
one CD. by Sandy Simpson
(The Emerging Church only is downloadable!)
When you purchase the
"Resource Tools - Emerging Church" CD for $10. plus s/h you
will also receive a brand new free DVD called "The
Emerging Church" that features Gary Gilley, Ray
Yungen, Joanna Michaelson, Mike Oppenheimer and Sandy
Simpson.
From Church To Emerging Church DVD
Series by Sandy Simpson
The issue of the Emerging Church and it's
introduction into many churches and mission organizations has
reached a critical point. Many do not undersand what is
being leavened into churches by the EC leadership. Many
would be shocked to know their belief systems involve
Universalism, New Age, defense of postmodernism,
Interfaithism, and many other false doctrines. In order
to reach out to this generation the EC leadership is proposing
a whole new "map" to deal with what they perceive is a lack of
understanding on the part of the churches on how to
communicate. EC proponants believe the "scripture" for
today is evolving and must change in order to reach
postmoderns.
Go here for
ordering details on this 2-part DVD series!
Idolatry In Their Hearts Landmark Book! by Sandy Simpson &
Mike Oppenheimer
Does having eternity in your heart mean that you
know God and are His child? Could Gentile cultures understand
the Gospel from the stars? Did God create man's cultures? Has
God always been in the process of redeeming cultures from the
time of Babel by placing in them a true revelation of Himself?
Is there the worship of YHWH in all cultures and religions
through the names of supreme beings? Have all cultures
always had a way to make things right between them and God?
These questions and many more are answered in this book that
addresses the false teachings of The New Apostolic Reformation
regarding missiological methods as being carried out by many
agencies including the World Christian Gathering on Indigenous
People, YWAM, and many Bible societies.
The New Apostolic Reformation -
What is it and where is it going? Every Pastor Needs
This! by Bill
Randles, Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Jacob Prasch, Mike
Oppenheimer, Orrel Steinkamp, Gary Gilley, Dave Hunt, Sandy
Simpson and others.
This is a 6-DVD expose
of the NAR and it's leadership of C. Peter
Wagner, Cindy Jacobs, Chuck Peirce, Dutch Sheets, Bill Hamon,
Jack Deere and others.
Lessons In Forgiveness Great Study! by Sandy Simpson Through the years I
have been presented with many opportunities to forgive.
Sometimes the situation was so severe that it took me some
time to forgive and start the process of healing for
myself, and eventually for others. I learned that a
Christian needs to forgive other people even if they have
not repented of their sins. That can be really hard if we
let it be hard. But if we give our burdens over to the
Lord, He will carry them and that frees us up to treat
other people with love, compassion, and be in the right
frame of mind and heart to set them up for reconciliation
with Jesus Christ. That does not mean we tolerate their
sin. We simply forgive them for what they have done to us,
whether perceived or real, and move on to looking for ways
to redeem them. We can then present to them the "truth in
love" even when we have to rebuke them.
by Sandy Simpson was written to help
believers to realize the absolute necessity of growing to
maturity in Christ. Many churches are urging Christians to
push aside discernment in favor of experience. It is our
hope that this book will inspire many believers to fight
the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith (2
Tim. 4:7).
The New Apostolic Reformation -
What is it and where is it going? Companion Book! by Sandy Simpson is now available in book form. This is the
DVD script plus commentary by Sandy Simpson. The commentary
of the DVD series is not in the book, but there are many
more quotes available than in the video series. Good
reference material. Also available on CD-ROM.
Letters To The Church Timely! by Sandy Simpson is a fitting manual for the Revelation
Christian. All the precepts are in the seven letters in
Revelation 1:9 - 3:22 to help us keep the faith, stay in
sound doctrine, and reach out to those who are perishing. I
hope and pray that this book will
help the reader to be an "overcomer".
DISCERNMENT TOOLKIT Demolish Arguments! by Sandy Simpson Want to be able to see your way through to
clear biblical discernment? Want a set of tools that will
allow you to disciple your loved ones so they will stand
firm in the Faith? Want to sort out many of the false
arguments and teachings that have invaded the churches? Then DISCERNMENT
TOOLKIT book is for
you!
DISCERNMENT TOOLKIT DVD Study Series! by Sandy Simpson is taken from the book but includes a lot of
footage of false teachers and false prophets. It covers the
core doctrines, how we can use them to test, and examples on
the DVD that can be paused for discussion. Also
includes a teacher guide and links to resources on the
web. This 3-DVD series is available now!
SPIRIT OF TRUTH OR SPIRIT OF ERROR? Important Video Information On Benny Hinn! by Sandy Simpson, Mike
Oppenheimer & Jacob Prasch
features tons of video
showing the teachings and prophecies of Benny Hinn.
This is a proven tool to keep people away from heresy.
THE EMPTY PULPIT Highly Recommended! by Mike Oppenheimer What is Christianity? What significance does
the cross have? Are there teachings that can wreck our
faith? We live in an age unlike any other in the history of
man. To follow the Lord among the unique challenges we must
understand Scripture and live by it. Available for $20-
includes shipping. Apologetics Coordination Team
HIGHLY recommends this book. It deals with many crucial
issues for the Church today.
Go here
to order the book by Mike Oppenheimer, Let Us Reason
Ministries, P.O. Box 860683, Wahiawa, HI 96786.
(2)New Age/Eastern
Mysticism In The Churchesby Sandy Simpson,
9/18/05 Within my lifetime there has been a monumental change in the
churches. In the last few decades New Age Eastern Mysticism and
Gnosticism has entered a majority of Christian churches. It
entered very slowly, like a frog in a pot. When the pot is
slowly brought to a boil with a live frog in the pot it has been
observed that he will not jump out because he does not feel the
changes in temperature until he is boiled to death. The "slow
boil" of New Age brainwashing in the churches started a long
time ago, but even in the last 20 years or so the changes are
stark. None of the New Age practices I will mention could be
found in most churches at that time, and would have been soundly
dismissed as unbiblical and heretical. Many will ask, "Where has
the New Age entered the churches?" All you have to do is think
about it a little and you will see that many churches have
adopted New Age teachings and ideas and "Christianized" them,
when none of them are biblical.
(3)THE
EMERGING
CHURCH - Revival or Return To Darkness?by Roger
Oakland, Understand The Times, 10/05 History reveals that Christian fads and trends come and go. It
seems that it is common for many pastors and church leaders to
constantly look for some new methodology, "new wave" or "new
thing" God is doing, "right now." We live at a period in
church history that is characterized by enthusiasm for methods
and means that facilitate church growth. Large churches are
commonly equated with successful pastors and successful church
growth methods. Whatever it takes to reach that objective, is
acceptable, we are told. Church growth has become the measuring
stick for successful Christianity.
(4)The
Emergent
Churchby Ken Silva, Apprising Ministries,
11/05
A series of articles on the Emerging Church.
(5) The
Emergent Church: A Dangerous Fad or Solid New Movement?
by Jan Markell, Olive Tree Ministries, Inc., 5/05 While the movement is ecumenical and attracts numbers and
particularly youthful followers, it hardly seems biblical when
so much involves the extra-biblical.
(6) The
Emerging/Emergent Church - and their use of "diaprax"
by Sandy Simpson, 11/28/05 The concept of the Emerging Church, as advertised worldwide in
books, the web and on TV by the likes of Brian Mclaren, Leonard
Sweet, Richard Foster, Dan Kimball, Rick Warren, Ken Blanchard
and a whole host of others, seeks to cater to the postmodern
mindset while using diaprax to achieve its goals. The
Hegelian Dialectic is used in concert with praxis (known as
"diaprax") to brainwash an entire generation into creating a new
hybrid Christianity. This new religion is full of Eastern
mysticism and Gnosticism, while systematically redefining the
teachings of Jesus Christ, the Apostles and Prophets within a
subjectivist, existentialist worldview.
(7) Satan,
The First Postmodernist by Sandy Simpson,
12/1/05 This is an article written after giving further thought to the
definition of "postmodernism" given by the likes of
postmodernist Leonard Sweet and other Emerging Church promoters.
(9) Lowering
Standards
In Christ's Name by Ken Silva, Apprising Ministries,
12/05 Let's stop here for a moment and
apply this text to our times of lowering standards in Christ
Name in favor of our quite irreverent seeker sensitive purpose
driven emerging "worship" so common today. I offer that, in
what might have begun as good intentions, we are now making
the exact same mistake that Uzzah made. Evangelical leaders
and pastors have decided for themselves that our Lord
understands how our arrogant and capricious culture doesn't
like "formal" worship, so we took it upon ourselves to make a
few changes.
(13) Series
Of Articles On the Emerging Church by Ken Silva,
Apprising Ministries, 1/06
Go to this web site to read a whole
continuing series on the Emerging Church.
(15) The
Transformation
of the Emerging Church by Ken Silva, Apprising
Ministries, 1/06 In this next series I will present
conclusive evidence that there are those in and around Emergent-US
who have found the emphasis on "Christian" mystic traditions-a
core doctrine of the theology of the Emergent Church-fertile
ground in which to plant neo-pagan spiritual elements
absolutely hostile to the historic Christian faith. Read Part
1, Part
2, Part
3 & Part
4.
(16) Emerging:
from
Tradition to Transition to Transformation by
Herescope, 1/31/06 In order to understand the
Leadership Network's involvement with the formation of an
Emergent Church movement, it is necessary to take a few posts
to explain the bigger picture. There is a much broader
historical and philosophical context in which to view this
"paradigm shift" to an "emerging" church.
(17) Emergent
"New
Breed" Leaders by Herescope, 2/2/06 One of the key tenets of the
Latter Rain cult is the concept of a "NEW BREED" or a "NEW
SEED" of elite super-Christians, the formation of a superior
race of young generation believers who will manifest great
power to conduct end-time signs and wonders and rule over the
Earth.
(18) A
GREAT Compromise by Mike Oppenheimer, Let Us Reason Ministries, 2/10/06
(19) A
How Can These Things Be? - Purpose Driven, Emergent,
Transformational, & New Age in the Churchby Scott MacIntyre,
Wood & Steel, 2005 Today's churches are full of men who have lost
sight of the fact that it is Jesus who builds the church"not
their ideas, plans, or abilities. Christian men who have
recognized their own abilities as leaders in the corporate
sense have mistakenly believed they are imminently qualified
to be pastors. It becomes a career move largely based upon
their own inventory of abilities and strengths.
(21) The
Emergent
Elijah by Dave Green, The Kingdom Come, 3/06 What if the Emergent Church crowd could re-write some of the
"meanie" parts of the Bible? What would it look like? The
following is an account from the story of Elijah & the
prophets of Baal. Much of the narrative is from actual
things Brian McLaren has written in his books (McLaren is one of
the main advocates of the "emergents").
(22) Evangelical
Leaders
Promote New Age and Eastern Spiritual Practices by
Lighthouse Trails In what appears to be a sweeping phenomenon, Christian leaders
are embracing practices and a new spirituality that borrows from
Eastern mysticism and New Age philosophy. The changes are taking
place worldwide and involve many of the most popular evangelical
leaders including Rick Warren, Brian McLaren, Richard Foster,
Tony Campolo, and Eugene Peterson.
(23) Contemplative
Christian
Wizardry by Steve Muse, Eastern Regional Watch,
3/22/06 Every example of prayer in the Bible has the individual that is
praying actively involved in the process, and praying to God
with words or tongues and/or asking a petition of God.
Never is there a mention of emptying our minds of all thought so
that we can achieve "divine union" with God.
(25) The
Emerging
Church by Gary Gilley, Think On These Things, April
2006
A series of articles on the Emerging Church. Read Part
1, Part
2 & Part
3.
(26) Think,
It's
Not Illegal...Yet by Ken Silva, May 15, 2006 Again I rise to warn the Church that what is going on through
the Devil's pagan practice of Contemplative/Centering Prayer
(transcendental meditation in Christian terminology) is that his
forces are marshaling an attempt to get you to shut down your
critical reasoning skills through an influx of Eastern
non-thinking. The short of it is they are actually spreading the
logical fallacy of a false analogy regarding so-called
"Christian" mysticism. Basically this is like comparing apples
with oranges, both are fruit but with differing distinguishing
characteristics that make each unique or dissimilar.
(27) Calvary
Chapel's
New Official Position Paper On The Emerging
Church/Contemplative Prayer by Calvary Chapel Costa
Mesa, 5/06
Pastor Chuck Smith has come out with the official Calvary Chapel
Outreach Fellowship Statement on the Emerging Church. This
is apparently in response to some in Calvary Chapels who are
teaching the false doctrines of the Emerging Church such as Chuck
Smith, Jr. and Danny Lehmann.
(28) Soaking
Prayer
And It's Connection To Contemplative, Reiki And The Occult
by Lighthouse Trails Research Project, 5/26/06
"Soaking prayer is a modern form of contemplative prayer ...
People put themselves in an attitude of stillness, focusing on
Jesus and open to the Holy Spirit but with no requests or agenda.
The aim is to be still in God?s presence, "waste time with
Jesus.". The Toronto church sees soaking prayer as one of the main
ways in which they encourage people to be open to the Holy
Spirit." (SOAKING PRAYER by Roger Harper)
(29) Yoga
and
Christianity Compatible? posted by Jim Bublitz, Slice
Of Laodicea, May 27, 2006 Here's an interesting email posted on the Lighthouse Trails
website. It should be of interest to the Emerging Church
"communities" that are integrating yoga into their services, and
for other churches that offer it as a midweek elective. The
email is from the Classical Yoga Hindu Academy.
(30) THOMAS
KEATING
ON CONTEMPLATIVE/CENTERING PRAYER by Ken Silva,
Apprising Ministries, 5/27/06 What you are about to see is the definition of
Contemplative/Centering Prayer, or what is actually
transcendental meditation lightly sprayed with Christian
terminology from a man universally known as an authority of this
practice. In his own book on so-called spiritual "practices and
disciplines" called The Sacred Way Emergent theologian Tony
Jones recommends a book called Open Mind, Open Heart (OMOH) by
Thomas Keating.
(32) Beth
Moore
Gives Thumbs Up to "Be Still" DVD by Lighthouse Trails
Research Project, Newsletter, 6/06 Beth Moore's statement of "apology" should be disregarded - new
information takes precedence. The Be Still DVD by Fox Home
Entertainment was just released in April. Featured speakers
include Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Max Lucado, Beth Moore
and many others. Shortly after the DVD was released, Ingrid
Schlueter of Slice of Laodicea spoke with Beth Moore and told
Moore that the DVD was promoting the mystical practice of
contemplative prayer. Within one hour, Moore issued a statement
to Slice of Laodicea and asked that they post it on their
website, which they did. However, there has been a growing
concern about her statement and the fact that Moore's ministry,
Living Proof Ministries, never placed the statement on their
website. Lighthouse Trails has now received emails from a number
of people who have sent us a new statement from Living Proof
Ministries. Because Living Proof is issuing this statement to
the public, we are making this available for all to read.
According to this recent email, Moore's original statement of
apology should now be disregarded. The statement clarified:
"[W]e believe that once you view the Be Still video you will
agree that there is no problem with its expression of Truth."
Living Proof is offering to send a free copy of the DVD to
anyone who receives their email statement and wishes to view the
DVD, saying that, "[I]t would be our privilege to do this for
you to assure you that there is no problem with Beth's
participation in the Be Still video."
(33) The
Emerging
Church: Another Road to Rome by Roger Oakland,
Understanding The Times, 6/06 A prayer station created for use during the Emerging Church
service at Capo Beach Calvary illustrates what Chuck Smith Jr.
means by allowing his congregation to "feel" and "know with the
heart and not with the brain." This prayer station was on
display during the month of April, 2005. Further, the prayer
station complete with candles, incense and icons featured an
instruction sheet to assist church attendees in how to pray with
an icon.
(34) Beth
Moore's Illicit Tent of Meeting by Bob DeWaay,
6/06 Recently, on Ingrid Schlueter's Web site Beth Moore denies that
she promotes approaches to prayer that have Eastern overtones.
The issue arose from her participation on the Be Still DVD which
has been critiqued on this site by Ingrid and then Brian Flynn.
Brian and I viewed a segment of Beth Moore on that DVD. We found
disconcerting her poor understanding of Exodus 33:7-11, the
passage she uses as her proof text. In her discussion of Moses'
tent of meeting she proposes that each believer can have their
own tent of meeting where they can go to have two way
conversations with God.
(35) Emerging
Interfaith
Compromise by Ken Silva, Apprising Ministries,
6/06 Finally, as far as those in the other false religions such as
Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, you have already seen that the
Bible has told us in no uncertain terms these people are in
reality offering their worship and sacrifices to demons and not
to God. So what knowledge about the Lord could the true
Christian possibly acquire from them? The truth is that child of
God isn't to learn about our Creator from pagans, rather as an
ambassador of Christ, the job of the Christian is to proclaim
the Gospel of salvation to these lost people. And it most
cetrtainly is not to end up in Emergent Interfaith Compromise
with them.
(36) What's
Wrong
With Yoga, Especially Christian Yoga? by Cassandrah
Batya, June 21, 2006 Biblical Christians should start asking their own questions of
all churches and individuals that are promoting "Christian"
Yoga. Where is this practice in the Bible? Why is
this eastern pagan heresy being given a Christian title?
How does The Gospel of Christ fit into any of this? What
does light have to do with darkness?
(37) The
Emerging
Church by Roger Oakland, Understanding The Times,
6/22/06 For some years we have seen some dramatic changes in terms of
how the church has changed. While it is true Christianity must
be relevant in order to be effective, how far can we stray from
biblical standards and still be sound Christian witnesses of the
gospel?
(38) Emerging
Into
What? by Roger Oakland, Understanding The Times,
6/23/06 Rick Warren and others are saying we need to pay attention to
the emerging church. Things are changing, they say and the
"emerging church" has the answers for our generation. But what
will the emerging church emerge into? Could it be a form of
Christianity that embraces experience rather than God's Word?
(38) The
Kundalini Effect and Contemplative Prayer by Brian
Flynn, 6/06 On a pro-contemplative spirituality web site, I came across the
descriptions of those who had experienced the effect of
contemplative prayer. Some of this is very disturbing and should
be read with care.
(39) The
Kundalini
Connection: Evangelicals Embrace Energy Of The Serpent
excerpts from the new book "Yoga
And
The Body Of Christ" by Dave Hunt, The Berean Call,
Newsletter, July 2006 This entire discussion always brings us back to the most
fundamental fact about yoga. No matter what physical beneit
might be derived from the exercises themselves, yoga inevitably
involves Eastern meditation. And Eastern meditation, unlike
Western contemplation or reflection, accompanies an intentional
dissociation from our conscious minds. This shutting down of the
mind is, in fact, a total abdication of our God-given
responsibility that Jesus declared is the first and great
commandment: to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind
(Deuteronomy 6:5-6, Matthew 22:37). Thus, we are violating one
of the true God's most basic commandments every time we give our
minds over to the intentional "nothingness" of yoga and
associated "relaxation techniques."
(41) New Age
Pathways In The Church by Mike Oppenheimer, Let Us
Reason Ministries, 7/06 People will always chase the new thing[s] down wherever they
are not holding to and practicing the old thing accurately-
God's eternal word. Ancient it may be, but it is the truth that
stands the test of time, to all cultures and all generations and
that is what our focus should be on.
(42) Thomas
Merton:
The Contemplative Dark Thread by Jackie Alnor,
Apostasy Alert, 7/06 It is remarkable that elements within the church today would
point to dead heretics such as Merton as a source for any kind
of spiritual truth. The man was truly demonized and corrupted
many undiscerning souls who no doubt are with him in hell to
this day.
(43) Christian
Yoga
Renamed Is Still Hinduby Subhas R. Tiwari, Hinduism
Today, 07/19/06
CAUTION: This article us by a Hindu master in yoga
philosophy. But it does show that Yoga can never be severed
from its roots in Kundalini Hinduism.
(44) Tony
Jones
Says by Rev. Ken Silva, July 22, 2006 "Tony Jones is the National Coordinator of Emergent. He talked
with RELEVANT
about the movement, its leaders and dispelled rumors about what
Emergent is really all about. A full profile of the emerging
church and Emergent was featured in the July/August issue."
(45) Emerging
Church
and Postmodern Spirituality Debate by Bob Dewaay,
Pastor of Twin City Fellowship, radio host of Critical Issues
Commentary vs. Doug Pagitt, author of "Church Re-Imagined: The
Spiritual Formation of People in Communities of Faith"
This is a PodCast of the event also available on CD.
(46) Focus
On
The Family Says OK Once Again To Contemplative Prayer
by Lighthouse Trails Research, 8/5/06 We find it incredible that Focus on the Family likens
contemplative prayer (which has roots in Hinduism and other
eastern religions) to attending church services, reading the
Bible, singing hymns and listening to sermons? This is a
preposterous statement. Has Focus on the Family slipped so far
down the contemplative spirituality slope that they do not at
all see this? How can they in any measure endorse the writings
of Richard Foster who teaches that anyone at all can be a
sanctuary for God by practicing contemplative prayer and who
says we should all without shame enroll in the school of
contemplative prayer? What a grievous time this is!
(47) Enemies
Of
The Cross by Ken Silva, Apprising Ministries,
8/6/06 The above mentioned evangelical organizations are giving money
and support to, as well as publishing the books of, men
reversing the Reformation and openly denying the substitutionary
atonement of Jesus Christ before the world. Men and women, I ask
you: What else could we possibly call these but enemies of the
Cross? It truly is as my dear friend and brother in arms Cecil
Andrews of Take Heed Ministries has keenly observed: "I have
found over the years that what I would call the "shoots and
buds" of someone's "heresies" have a tendency to develop and
strengthen over time until they eventually "blossom fully.""No
one who denies the Son has the Father"
(48) Postmodernism
by Michael Penfold, Webtruth, 8/06 A new kind of language stalks the land, based on a widespread
contemporary ideology called postmodernism, the chief
characteristic of which is the rejection of absolute objective
truth. "What's true for you may not be true for me,"
encapsulates the postmodern idiom fairly well. Despite its
recent origin, postmodernism already dominates the media,
academia, politics and much of 'the church'. Statistics reveal
that a majority of young people in the West hold to the
following 'truth'; "There is no such thing as truth." A thing
may be cool, OK or workable, but to say it is 'true' implies
something else is 'false', a judgment call that assumes a
hierarchy of correctness - perish the thought.
(49) Laurie Beth
Jones' Four [Pagan] Elements of Success by Bob DeWaay,
Critical Issues Commentary, 8/11/06 Now, Laurie Beth Jones enters the market promoting yet another
version of temperament study: Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. Using
these ancient pagan categories, she has developed her Path
Elements Profile (PEP) and sells the program to businesses. She
claims, "Insights surrounding PEP have helped save marriages,
unite families, discern career directions, and select everything
from jobs to spouses." (from her book The Four Elements of
Success).
(50) Emergent
Church:
Spencer Burke's Panentheism Emerges by Ken Silva,
Apprising Ministries, 8/11/06 Here is another example of just how far off the rails the
Ecumenical Church of Deceit actually is and why the deception of
the neo-liberal cult of the Emergent Church is going to have
catastrophic results upon the youth of our nation. Some of you
might remember an article I did here at Apprising Ministries
called The Emergent Road To Universalism which dealt with a
forthcoming book by Spencer Burke of the Emergent Ooze. Frankly
I dropped the story because I thought it was just too ridiculous
even by substandard Emergent standards.
(51) What
is
the New Age Movement? - A brief synopsis by Sarah
Leslie, Discernment Ministries Newsletter, September-October
2006 In the following excerpt you will learn how New Age leaders are
"working" the media in order to best position themselves and
their message. You will gain backstage information about how
publicity decisions are made, how leaders have learned to pull
back when their message is too controversial, and how they
patiently wait for a ripe opportunity to launch the next phase
of their agenda. The similarities to leading evangelicals, who
also manipulate public relations, will be quite evident.
(52) Unwinding
the
Labyrinth: A Christian walk ... away from God by
Brian Flynn, excerpt from Running Against the Wind, September 4,
2006 If you are a church pastor that promotes this practice or has
one installed in your church then I would say you should do one
of two things: either throw a rug over it and apologize to your
congregation or resign. If you lack the fundamentals of
understanding, the means of grace by which your flock can truly
draw closer to Him, then you are not qualified to pastor anyone.
(53) Assemblies
of
God: Committed to Spiritual Formation, Contemplative and
Emerging by Lighthouse Trails Research, 9/06 With all of the influence that contemplative/emerging is having
on AOG denomination, it is not surprising to find out that
Purpose Driven has also found its way into the movement (it too
is a big proponent of both contemplative and emerging). A search
on the AOG USA website produces over 600 entries for "Purpose
Driven."
(54) Dallas
Willard
- An Emergent Conspirator by Ken Silva, Apprising
Ministries, 9/18/06 The current issue of Christianity Today tells us Dallas Willard
"is on a quiet quest to subvert nominal Christianity." But with
the Reformation denying Spiritual Formation (aka Contemplative
Spirituality) espoused by Willard and his co-conspirator Living
Spiritual Teacher Richard Foster the truth is they are actually
on a quest to subvert true historic orthodox Christianity.
(55) Neo-Orthodoxy:
An
Emergent Overview by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon,
10/06 The following comes from Contemporary Theology""an overview of
theology over the last 50 years. It deals mainly with
pinpointing certain theological trends and the most influential
and well known movements of the day" by Dr. C. Matthew
McMahon. As you read through this you should be able to
see where the new evangelicalism has been heading. The views of
neo-orthodoxy are quite obvious within the three major pillars
of the Ecumenical Church of Deceit - the the Purpose Driven
Church, the Word Faith Church and most particularly the
neo-liberal cult of the Emergent Church.
(56) Meaningless
Offerings
and Christ's Return by Ken Silva, Apprising
Ministries, 10/16/06 My guess is that there are some who have come to be a bit
exasperated with me and are awaiting a thorough biblical
analysis of the neo-liberal cult of the Emergent Church within
the new evangelicalism. Some Christians hoping for Bible verses
with which to confront the Emergent, and the Emergent looking
for verses with which they can dispute. And this is one of the
important points I am making in this short piece. The so-called
"conversation" of the Emergent Church movement is not really
interested in dialogue because they have already decided
beforehand what they believe. In my experience with leaders and
pastors within Emergent Church I've yet to meet one who was
actually willing to truly consider an opposing view.
(57) "Christian"
Yoga by Roger Oakland, Understand The Times Radio
Commentary, 10/25/06 There are a number of people in the world today who believe
mankind is entering into a whole new era. The pathway to higher
consciousness, they say, is within the grasp of all those who
are willing to pursue it. Is this thinking here to stay, or is
it just a passing fad?
(58) Red
Moon
Rising: An Army for God with a "Violent Reaction" by
Lighthouse Trails Research, 10/19/06 While Greig's book and ministry may, at first glance, appear to
be a movement of prayer, research shows that both the book and
the movement are heavily influenced by contemplative
spirituality and New Age thought. And while youth around the
world are taking shifts (to pray) in Greig's boiler rooms
(prayer rooms), they may be getting into something entirely
different than biblical prayer. If your youth group is
considering incorporating Red Moon Rising and 24-7 Prayer into
their agenda, a second look may be worthwhile.
(59) Rob
Bell
Denies The Gospel by Ken Silva, Apprising Ministries,
10/21/06 When I continue in Part Two I'll show you a bit more about the
social gospel which is being repainted by Emergent Hollow Men
like Rob Bell, who through their misunderstanding the true
nature of man are simply reimagining all over again the very
"Cult of Liberal Theology."
(60) The
Emerging
Church - Revival Or Return To Darkness? by Roger
Oakland, Understanding The Times, September 2006 History reveals that Christian fads and trends come and go. It
seems that it is common for many pastors and church leaders to
constantly look for some new methodology, "new wave" or "new
thing" God is doing, "right now." We live at a period in
church history that is characterized by enthusiasm for methods
and means that facilitate church growth. Large churches are
commonly equated with successful pastors and successful church
growth methods. Whatever it takes to reach that objective, is
acceptable, we are told. Church growth has become the measuring
stick for successful Christianity.
(61) What
Are
They Saying? by Lighthouse Trails Research,
11/03/06 Quotes from Emergent leaders.
(62) Ted
Haggard
Replacement (as President of the NAE) Promotes Contemplative
Spirituality and the Emerging Church by Lighthouse
Trails Research, 11/07/06 After the recent exposure of Ted Haggard, the National
Association of Evangelicals (NAE) has replaced Haggard with
interim president, Leith Anderson. Anderson is the pastor of
Wooddale Church in Minneapolis, which is the former church of
Lighthouse Trails author Brian Flynn, (author of Running Against
the Wind). Choosing Anderson for the NAE president may help to
speed up the infiltration of contemplative spirituality into the
evangelical church - Wooddale Church has been promoting it for
some time.
(63) A
Southern Baptist Pastor Investigates Emergent And
Contemplative Within The SBC (Southern Baptist Convention)
by Ken Silva, Apprising Ministries, 11/14/06 As this progresses you will see that I have great reason for
concern that the influence of the Emergent Church and its core
doctrine of Contemplative Spirituality is indeed spreading
within the once conservative Southern Baptist Convention which
at last check still claims to be a Protestant denomination.
(64) Emergents
Help
Humanity Awaken to a New Spirituality by Slice Of
Laodicea, 12/11/06 (Note: this article is no longer online or
archived) Take some time on this New Spirituality book site. Study the
titles of the books and see how the mystical Jesus, the
experiential Jesus, the redefined Jesus, is the man of the hour.
Study the titles and see where things are headed. Some of these
titles would rest easily on the shelves of your Christian
bookstore like, Putting on the Mind of Christ. (It's not the
Christ of the Bible..) The church without discernment is being
actively seduced into this satanic deception of counterfeit
spirituality.
(65) How
to
Create an Emergent Movement by Herescope, 11/16/06 "Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord
commandeth it not?" (Lamentations 3:37)
(66) WORDS
OF
ENCOURAGEMENT: THREE MEN OF GOD EXPOSE THE ROTTEN ROOT OF THE
"POSTMODERN" EMERGENT CHURCH by Ken Silva, Apprising
Ministries, 12/11/06 We simply must face facts here, evangelicalism has become a
thing “an idol“the way we "do church." And
because the Christian Church in America has been waffling on the
doctrines of grace for too long God has sent and allowed
deceptions into our midst. Not to mention extremely well placed
attacks by Satan e.g. the counterfeit Christianity of the new
cult of liberal theology the Emergent Church. And the Lord had
warned us“ For the time is come that judgment must
begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what
shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? (1
Peter 4:17, KJV).
(67) The
Church
Growth, Emerging Church - Daiprax Agenda - The Diabolical
Practices of 'Ministers' Across America Today by Dean
Gotcher, Authority Research, 12/12/06 We are not to be an offense to others, but in sharing God's
word with others, when it becomes an offense, it is not up to us
to water it down, candy coat it, or to change it?humanize it, to
make it acceptable. To behave in such a way is not only a praxis
of deceiving ourselves but also a praxis of taking pleasure in
deceiving others. The definition of the word offense is
"(skan-dal-id'-zo) to put a stumbling block or impediment in the
way, upon which another may trip and fall, to entice to sin, to
cause a person to begin to distrust and desert one whom he ought
to trust and obey, to cause to fall away, to be offended in
one." Source: The Bible Collection 10.1.629 (c) 2006
(69) BIBLE
BUTCHERY
- How To Make God's Word Say Whatever You Like And Ignore What
God Said It Actually Says - The Cut & Paste
Hermeneutics Of Rick Warren and The Gnostic Interpretation
Of The Parables By Brian Maclaren & Peter Tsukahira
by Jacob Prasch, Moriel Ministries, 12/14/06 "Let Not Many Of You Be Teachers, For We Teachers Shall Be
Judged More Strictly Than the Rest" (James 3:1) This
warning The Holy Spirit gives through The Apostle James is
daunting. While we shall stand before the judgment seat of
Christ, those of us posing to teach God's Word to others will be
held more accountable than others, because teachers can most
easily mislead others. Being misled is one thing, but misleading
others - either being cognizant of the error, or teaching error
out of out own ignorance doesn't matter. In the secular world if
a non lawyer gives false legal advice he can mislead another
with serious consequences, or if a non-medic mutilates a sick or
injured person , it is unimportant if he or she were sincerely
trying to do good or not. If they really cared about the ones
they tried to help they would not have attempted to illegally
practice medicine or law, misrepresenting themselves as
qualified in a field they are not. Their acts are ones of
criminal fraud, and the law does not care about their professed
'good intentions'.
(70) Understanding
The
Emerging Church by Roger Oakland, Understanding the
Times, 12/06 Attempting to come up with a definitive explanation to describe
all that is happening in the Emerging Church movement is an
impossible task. Probably the best way to do this would be to
examine the numerous books that have been written on this topic
and come up with some general trends that seem to be consistent.
This series of programs will attempt to do this.
(71) How
to
Know When the Emerging Church Shows Signs of Emerging in Your
Church by Roger Oakland, Understanding The Times,
12/06 The world is changing. So is the Christian evangelical church.
There was a time - not that long ago - when the Bible was
considered to be the Word of God by the majority of evangelical
Christians. Now that we are well into the third millennium and
the post-modern, post-Christian era, the term evangelical can
mean almost anything. What has happened? Why is this happening
and what is the future for mainstream Christianity?
(73) Christian
Or
Christ "Follower" by Lighthouse Trails Research,
12/22/06 Christian or Christ-follower. It's a distinction that is being
made more and more today, and often the latter term, Christ
follower, is replacing the former term, Christian. Even many
Christian leaders are making the switch. But just what does it
mean? Emerging church leader, Erwin McManus says his "goal is to
destroy Christianity as a world religion and be a recatalyst for
the movement of Jesus Christ."
(74) Christian
Yoga:
Rooted in Hindu Occultism by Chris Lawson,
1/5/2007 Dear reader, the following article has been written in order to
convey information about the unbiblical practice of Christian
Yoga. Sadly, many professing Christians in the church are too
undiscerning to know any better. Even Hindu's recognize that
"Christian Yoga is still Hindu".
(75) Christianity
Today
Article Promotes Lectio Divina and Breath Prayers by
Lighthouse Trails Research, 1/19/07 In the current online edition of Christianity Today, an article
by contemplative proponent Keri Wyatt Kent is instructing on the
practice of lectio divina and breath prayers. As with most
contemplatives, Wyatt Kent says that her prayer time was filled
with too many "words," saying her time studying the Bible became
"stale." She then explains how she found the solution to the
dreariness of her spiritual life.
(70) Roman
Emergent
Matrix by Watcher's Lamp, 3/20/07 Folks who experienced the 40 Days of Purpose in their churches
or who have read the book, may not have noticed the embedded
references to Catholicism.
(71) A
Line Has Been Crossed ... No Turning Back? by
Lighthouse Trails Research, 3/30/07 Right before our very eyes mainstream Christendom is converging
with the New Age movement. In 2007, two events are scheduled,
and if they actually occur without a public outcry by Christian
leaders then we will have entered into a full-fledged paradigm
shift, and a line will have been crossed that will very likely
mean no turning back.
(72) The
Emerging
Civil War by Paul Proctor, Biblically Speaking,
NewsWithViews And you know what? It's working - because this Emergent leaven
is everywhere in Southern Baptist life today and almost no one
in SBC leadership and authority that I know of is resisting it -
at least not publicly.
(74) The
Emerging
Spiritual Revolution by Herescope, 4/17/07 In his blueprint for "the emerging spiritual revolution" (The
Emerging Order, p. 95), Jeremy Rifkin wrote about how to
manipulate the Charismatics to create a new Dominionist
worldview for science, economics and spirituality. This
worldview is New Age, representing a new world order created out
of the humus of Hermeticism. Rifkin suggested that the
Charismatics could provide the nonrational component, while the
evangelicals could work on the theological logistics of a "new
covenant vision and a new world view."
(75) AM/CRN
Exclusive:
Erwin McManus At Origins - The Experience 2007 by Ken
Silva, Apprising Ministries, 4/07
The Origins Conference (April 30-May 3), put on by cultural
architect, distinguished futurist and lead pastor for Mosaic Erwin
McManus is now underway. Origins is "an interactive experience
which mobilizes people to serve through the discovery of one's
uniqueness. Includes Gallup's StrengthsFinder, Myers Briggs Type
Indicator, and Character Matrix (based on Uprising by Erwin
McManus)."
(76) On
Tap-Have
Suds With Your Buds! - A "Ministry" of The Journey Church
by Sherry Neese, ApostasyAlert, May 31, 2007 The real kicker was an event for the men of the church called
"On Tap". The "requirement" for attending this group is to be
over 21 and "a person who wants to think or at least think about
thinking and have a beer and some suicide wings with other guys"
at a local restaurant. Great! The church is promoting alcohol
consumption as the manly thing to do. What kind of message is
this sending to the boys in the church?
(77) Is
Your
Church Doing Spiritual Formation? by Lighthouse Trails
Research, 6/11/07 Is your church involved in a Spiritual Formation program? If
so, you might want to ask the question, what does Spiritual
Formation look like? It's a fair question, and one, that if not
asked, could end up surprising you when your church changes in
ways you never imagined.
(78) Dan
Kimball
and the Emerging Church and Eastern Meditation by
Steve Muse, Eastern Regional Watch, 6/13/07 As I read Dan Kimball's book, The Emerging Church, I realized
the book opened up a Pandora's Box of concerns for what Kimball
was communicating to this new generation of churches about
vintage Christianity. Reading the book, I became impressed with
a very disturbing sense that Kimball is attempting to take
today's youth back into an experience-based relationship with
God much like the Catholic mystics have revealed to us through
their writings. And now through contemplative prayer and
contemplative spirituality we are to come into a deeper
relationship with God. On the Internet, countless sites promote
the Emerging Church experience with its myriad forms of worship
and prayer-and on most of these sites Kimball's book is heartily
promoted.
(79) Rob
Bell:
Hitting the road on a mission of "misplaced" faith by
Lighthouse Trails, 6/14/07 "A lot of people see Jesus as just for Christians but I keep
discovering that his teachings are really about what it means to
be human." - Rob Bell, Manchester Evening News (June 15, 2007).
According to a news report from Manchester Evening News
(Britain), emergent leader Rob Bell is "setting out on an
ambitious theatre tour of Britain with his message, Calling All
Peacemakers." As do most emergents, Bell believes in a
universal/interfaith religion where all one has to do is add
Jesus to their own religion - it isn't necessary to become a
Christian and identify with the body of Christ. One can remain a
Hindu, continue practicing Hindu rituals but just say they like
Jesus the best. This is what we call the new missiology, and its
evangelists include Rick Warren, Brian McLaren, and many other
emerging church proponents.
(80) Episcopal
Priest
says, "I am Both Muslim and Christian" -- That's OK with the
Emerging Church by Lighthouse Trails Research,
6/18/07 The June 17th headline in the Seattle Times newspaper reads, "I
Am Both Muslim and Christian." Janet Tu, religion reporter for
the Times has written the piece on an Episcopal priest named Ann
Holmes Redding. Redding has been a priest for more than 20
years, and she became Muslim 15 months ago. The article is her
coming-out-of-the-closet debut. Redding explains: "I am both
Muslim and Christian, just like I'm both an American of African
descent and a woman. I'm 100 percent both." Interestingly, the
article quotes Kurt Fredrickson, director of the doctor of
ministry program at the pro-contemplative/emerging Fuller
Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. Of Redding's choosing
to be both Muslim and Christian, Fredrickson seems to be opposed
to Redding's decision and states, "The most basic [question]
would be: What do you do with Jesus?" But there is a twist to
this story, and obviously, it's one the Seattle Times didn't
include in their own report. While Fuller Theological Seminary
and probably most evangelical institutions would say you can't
be both Muslim and Christian, in truth they are saying the
opposite every day. How you ask? Simply by promoting
contemplative and/or the emerging church, which countless
Christian organizations, ministries, schools and churches do
now.
(81) LifeWay's
Fitness
Expert Promotes Yoga - New Age Movement continues to Haunt
Southern Baptist Convention by Bud Press, Director,
Christian Research Service, June 29, 2007 For years, the Southern Baptist Convention (hereinafter SBC)
has warned Christians about the dangers of Yoga and the New Age
Movement. The SBC has developed articles, resolutions, and
Interfaith Evangelism Belief Bulletins warning against the New
Age Movement and Yoga. LifeWay Christian Stores, a division of
the SBC, removed Susan Bordenkircher's Yoga for Christians and
Brooke Boon's Holy Yoga from its main online bookstore. SBC
officials have spoken out against Yoga and other forms of the
New Age Movement. For decades, solid, Bible-based Christian
apologists and cult-evangelists have warned the body of Christ
about Yoga and the New Age Movement. God's word, the Bible,
warns about false teachers, worldly philosophies, strange
doctrines, and traditions of men, and commands Christians to
avoid them. But despite the warnings, LifeWay and its own
fitness expert, Branda Polk, promotes Yoga and encourages
Christians to participate in Yoga classes.
(82) Contextual
Theology
- Falling From Truth Through the Emerging Church by
Roger Oakland, Understand the Times, 7/24/07 In order for the emerging church to succeed, the Bible has to
be looked at through entirely different glasses, and
Christianity needs to be open to a new type of faith. Brian
McLaren calls this new faith a "generous orthodoxy."1 While such
an orthodoxy allows a smorgasbord of ideas to be proclaimed in
the name of Christ, many of these ideas are actually forbidden
and rejected by Scripture.
(83) Southern
Baptist
'Kids' Bowing To Yoga - The Facts, the Dangers, the Photos,
the Warnings by Bud Press, Director, Christian
Research Service, August 16, 2007 Introduction: Across the Western world, professing Christians
are participating in New Age practices such as contemplative
spirituality, labyrinth, and Yoga--all of which is preparing the
way for something darker and more sinister.
(84) Faith
Undone by Roger Oakland, Understanding The
Times, 8/07 Is the emerging church movement just another passing
fad, a more contemporary approach to church, or a bunch
of disillusioned young people looking for answers? In
fact, it is actually much broader and is influencing
Christianity to a significant degree. Grounded in a
centuries-old mystical approach, this movement is
powerful, yet highly deceptive, and it draws its energy
from practices and experiences that are foreign to
traditional evangelical Christianity. The path that the
emerging church is taking is leading right into the arms
of Roman Catholicism and ultimately to an interfaith
perspective that has prophetically profound
ramifications.
(85) Emerging
Arrogance by Herescope, 8/27/07 Daily we are inundated with a flood of evangelical literature
and e-mails and website postings that all indicate a crazy new
form of arrogance flaunted by Christian leaders. Much of this is
new doctrine -- under various guises, with inventive
interpretations that suit the need of the moment. Perhaps
nowhere is this most evident than in the new teachings on
so-called "servant leadership."
(89) Artificial
Milk
- Weaning Evangelicals Off The Word by T.A. McMahon,
The Berean Call, 2/07 Apostasy is rampant within the evangelical church today. At
least that's my perspective as one who has observed religious
trends and developments for three decades. Read Part
1,Part 2
& Part 3.
(90) End-time
Deception
in the Emerging Church by Prof. Johan Malan,
Middelburg, South Africa, 9/07 We are living in a time when increased pressure is exerted upon
all churches to fundamentally change their doctrines. The Bible
is considered less dogmatic since modern humanity is not
prepared to restrict its freedom by a narrow and literal
interpretation of Scripture. A biblical concept of God, an
evangelical doctrine of salvation and premillennial teachings on
end-time events are among the major casualties in the new
reformation which is currently under way. These tenets all stand
in the way of kingdom reforms aimed at ensuring a happy future
to a united humanity of all faiths. In the emerging postmodern
world, people regard themselves free to determine their own
values and beliefs. When their religious views differ
substantially from the Bible they merely discount biblical
teachings as having been written from the perspective of an
ancient world-view when people still believed in a devil and
hell, and also in a vindictive God who is intent on punishing
sin. In the postmodern world, people think in terms of new
paradigms which clash with a literal interpretation of
Scripture. Since religion is no longer determined by faith but
by subjective human reasoning, they simply deconstruct modern
and pre-modern beliefs, and substitute them with postmodern
views which emanate from their humanistic world-view.
(91) Christians
Are
Mixed Up - In Mysticism by Marsha West,
NewsWithViews.com, September 15, 2007 More and more of those who profess Christ are "experiencing
God" in ways that lands them smack dab in the middle of the New
Age movement. Read Part
1 and Part
2.
(92) Novelty and Change Will Lead Them
by Orrel Steinkamp,The Plumbline, Volume 12, No. 5, Sept/Oct
2007 There exist today hundreds of people in Christian think tanks
and agencies whose whole view of ministry is to promote and
induce cultural change into the church. It is called
contextualization or transformation. But transformation is
basically inducing change into the Christian church. Pastors who
are properly trained in transformation and contextualization
principles are known as transformational pastors. Pastors are
also called to be "change agents." For further reading on this
topic, please refer to my earlier newsletter, entitled
"Transformation Thinking for Dummies." The overriding feature of
seeker-sensitive and transformational activities is to change
the church to resemble the culture as closely as possible and
thereby insure survival and success in today's changing society.
There is more to it than outward appearances. Seeker-sensitive
churches low key their doctrinal statements, lest they scare
away the seekers. Although doctrinal stances do not officially
change, the week-by-week teaching exhibits the church as fellow
travelers in the culture. The process of transformation calls
not only for change but perpetual, ongoing change; in order to
entice an ever-~hanging seeker population. Forgotten entirely
these days, is the fact that God's people are meant to be a
leaven within the culture, a pocket of resistance to the foibles
and ethos of the flesh. However, I suspect there are still some
seekers left who expect to find something unique and noticeably
different at church than in the world at large.
(93) Emergent
Confusion by The Berean Call, 9/26/07 The emergent church is fond of quoting St. Francis regarding
his "take" on how one communicates the Gospel.
(94) Surrender
is
not an Option: An Evaluation of Emergent Epistemology
by David Kowalski, 9/29/07 While most leading Evangelical scholars have strongly opposed
the many unscriptural teachings found in the emerging church
movement, some popular Evangelical leaders have openly
befriended the movement and some Christian magazines have spoken
favorably of certain emergent books. This phenomenon may pass
with time. David Smith observes that when the theology of hope
first appeared in the 1960's "Many conservatives early in the
movement's life saw the theologians of hope as fellow
travelers"[38] due to certain outward similarities to
Evangelicalism. As conservatives became more familiar with the
substance of this movement's teachings they realized their first
impression had been wrong. Perhaps as more Evangelicals become
familiar with all of the teachings of the emerging church
movement and consider the serious implications of their theology
of surrender they will choose to disagree with the
sociologically based theology, morality, and spirituality which
the epistemology of this movement has birthed.
(95) The
Kingdom
of Emergent Theology - Part 1 by Gary Gilley, Think On
These Things, 9/07 Emergent kingdom theology, like its liberal postmillennial
predecessor, is based not so much on the observation of an
improving world but on feelings of desperation. McLaren admits
that many might see his kingdom views as a mere pipe dream, but
if that is so, "what do [we] have to look forward to if they are
right? Simply more of the same in human history"" But
truth does not emerge from groundless optimism or "what if"
desperation; it emerges from the Scriptures. What God says
about life now, the future and the kingdom is what
matters. In answer to McLaren's question, we have much to
look forward to, for Christ will one day bring His kingdom to
earth, at which time the very social and earthly issues that
concern emergent people will be corrected and made right.
But this kingdom will come through the power of Christ, not the
good deeds of men. It will come when He returns, not as a
prelude to it. It will not only remedy societal wrongs it
will usher in the world-wide righteousness and justice of
Christ. We have much to look forward to when the kingdom
comes, but it will come about because of God's actions, not
ours. It is right that we seek to correct social ills, but
our actions do not usher in Christ's kingdom. Read Part
1,Part
2 & Part
3.
(96) Mysticism
&
Global Mind Change - Shaping a New Civilization - Part 1
by Berit Kjos, Kjos Ministries, 10/04/07 Do you wonder why yoga, labyrinths and other meditational
practices have suddenly emerged in churches across
America? Or why "Christians" now use the old occult
formulas practiced by sorcerers, alchemists and "enlightened"
yogis (a combination of concentration, meditation, visualization
and mental projection) to invoke the presence of "God"?
This East-West synthesis didn't happen by chance. For several
decades, influential church leaders have been promoting a "new
way of thinking," a more experiential religion, an end to
"separatism," and an inclusive oneness that would fulfill their
vision of an earthly "Kingdom of God."
(97) The
Avalanche
of Spiritual Formation by Lighthouse Trails,
10/03/07 A move away from the truth of God's Word to a mystical form of
Christianity has infiltrated, to some degree, nearly all
evangelical denominations. Few Bible teachers saw this avalanche
coming. Now that it is underway, most do not realize it has even
happened.
(98) Todd
Friel
Interviews Doug Pagitt of the Emergent Church,
Reformed Voices blog, Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Listen to this interview with Emerging Church leader Doug Pagitt
to understand Pagitts view on hell, other religions, etc. It
it clear from this interview that Pagitt has little understanding
of the Bible and is trying to diaprax people with the heretical
views of the Emerging Church.
(99) Transcript
Of
Todd Friel And Doug Pagitt On WOTM Radio on Apprising
Ministries, 11/8/07
If you haven't seen the below Apprising Ministries would like to
point you to a post by Rob Willmann where he made the time to
transcribe the recent appearance on Way of the Master Radio by
Doug Pagitt, a leader in the neo-liberal cult of the Emergent
Church.
(100) Contemplative
Proponent
J. P. Moreland Says Christians Too Committed to Bibleby
Lighthouse Trails Research, 11/21/07 According to a Christianity Today article, Biola University
professor J.P. Moreland says evangelical Christians are too
committed to the Bible. His talk at a recent Evangelical
Theology Society meeting was titled "How Evangelicals Became
Over-Committed to the Bible and What Can Be Done About
It."
(103) Dumping
Sola
Scriptura by Herescope, 11/29/07 When evangelical leaders talk about a Second Reformation, they
mean reversing the tenets of the First Reformation. A stunning
example of this occurred recently when evangelical professor
J.P. Moreland blasted "over-commitment to the Bible" and neglect
of "work on broad cultural themes." If this is the current state
of apologetics in the evangelical world, then grievous times
have arrived.
(104) Contextualization
by Steve Camp, Camponthis, 12/15/07 Contextualization. It is the latest buzz word adopted by
emerging/emergent/missional adherents who want to be
contemporary and cool, yet biblical both at the same time
thinking they have found something new that will revolutionize
evangelism and redefine the church of the 21st century. This
missional arrogance has its roots in what is known as
Sociolinguistics. "It is the study of the effect of any and all
aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and
context on the way language is used. Sociolinguistics overlaps
to a considerable degree with pragmatics."
(105) Warren
Smith
at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa on The New Age and Emerging
Church, 1/29/08 Listen to Warren Smith's talk on The New Age and The Emerging
Church at the the Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa last week online
here. Simply click on the link to his speech. We've been
astonished to find that Warren's previous Herescope posts about
Oprah Winfrey, Marianne Williamson and the Course in Miracles
have taken on a life of their own in cyberspace. Many people
around the country have been sending these posts to family and
friends and their loops. Praise the Lord for this important
warning getting out. For people desiring more information about
the false gospel in A Course in Miracles, Warren Smith's first
book The Light That Was Dark contains his fascinating testimony
about his personal experiences with this Course.
(106) Can a
pagan practice be Christianized? by Marsha West,
1/25/08 Is yoga just a way of reducing stress or is there more to it
than that? I mean, everyone's doing it so it has to be a good
thing"right? The short answer is that there's more to yoga than
meets the eye. So bear with me as I explain the reasons
practicing yoga "stretches traditional Christian boundaries" and
why Christians should avoid yoga and seek other alternatives.
(107) Evangelical
Mysticism? by T.A. McMahon, The Berean Call, February
1, 2008 I find myself increasingly grieved these days by what I see
taking place among those who profess to be evangelicals. I know
the term "evangelical" has undergone radical changes regarding
its meaning and practice. Yet when I use the term, I'm going by
a very simple definition: I'm referring to those who claim to
accept the Bible alone as their authority for knowing and
receiving God's way of salvation and for living their lives in a
way that is pleasing to Him.
(108) 5
Reasons Why the Emerging Church is Now Receding (Don't Bury
The Emerging Church, Yet!) by Roger Oakland,
Understanding The Times, 2/5/08 Trevin Wax's article titled "5 Reasons Why the Emerging Church
is Now Receding" posted February 5, 2008, asks some interesting
questions and raises some valid concerns with regard to the
Emerging Church. However, unfortunately Wax has drawn
conclusions that steer readers far from an accurate picture of
understanding the times from a biblical perspective and it is
necessary to sound the alarm.
(109) In
Defense
of Chuck Smith & Calvary Chapel, Dave Hunt and Roger
Oakland by Jacob J. Prasch, Moriel Ministries,
2/6/08 Moriel Ministries & Jacob Prasch take extreme exception to
the statement critical of Chuck Smith, various Calvary
Chapels, Roger Oakland and Dave Hunt by Richard Abanes of
Saddleback Church in reaction to their expressed position
regarding The Purpose Driven Agenda of Rick Warren.
(110) "Pragmatic Evangelicalism" Has
Peaked by Orrel Steinkamp, The Plumbline, Volume 13,
No. 1, January/February, 2008 "Something ... just happened in the evangelical community. For
most of a generation evangelicals have been romanced by the
'seeker-sensitive' movement spawned by Willow Creek Community
Church in Chicago. The guru of this movement is Bill Hybels. He
and others have been telling us for decades to throw out
everything we have previously thought and been taught about
church growth and replace it with a new paradigm, a new way to
do ministry... The size of the crowd rather than the depth of
heart determined success. If the crowd was large then surely God
was blessing the ministry. Churches were built by demographic
studies, professional strategists, marketing research, meeting
'felt needs' and sermons with these techniques. We were told
that preaching was out, relevance was in. Doctrine didn't matter
nearly as much as innovation. If it wasn't 'cutting edge' and
consumer friendly it was doomed. The mention of sin, salvation
and sanctification were taboo and replaced by Starbucks,
strategy and sensitivity.
(111) Rob
Bell
"Undefines" Holiness by Bob DeWaay, 2/14/08 In Velvet Elvis, Bell lists a number of transcendent
experiences that he claims overwhelmed him to be in awe of God.
The first one for Bell happened as a teenager at a concert
performed by Irish rock group U2, where he was "overwhelmed with
the word true."[i] These extraordinary experiences he also
describes as "holy" and "sacred." The problem is that his usage
has nothing to do with the Biblical meaning of the terms "holy"
or "or sacred."
(112) Emerging
Church
Leading Protestants Back To Rome by Mike Gendron,
Proclaiming The Gospel Ministries, 2/08 We have been receiving an increasing number of reports about
Protestants who are converting to Roman Catholicism. There is
now a series of three books which herald the testimonies of
former Protestant pastors who have found the broad way to Rome
more enticing and fulfilling. What is causing this growing
apostasy? Who is behind this reversal of the Reformation? Why
are so many Protestants being seduced by the piety of this false
religion? Many evangelicals are puzzled and are searching for
answers. Although it is disheartening and discouraging, we
should not be surprised because: "the Spirit explicitly says
that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying
attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons" (1 Tim.
4:1).
(113) The
Death
Of Discernment In The Church by Mike Gendron,
Proclaiming The Gospel Ministries, 2/08 The critical issue in the Church today is the purity of the
Gospel. That alone is the rudder that must guide the Church
through stormy waters that have been stirred up by every wind of
doctrine. Take away the ability to discern objective truth and
churches turn into cafeterias serving whatever junk food people
want instead of the disciplined diet they need for spiritual
life and health. Without a steady diet of the whole counsel of
God, churches become entertainment centers for goats instead of
sanctuaries for the Shepherd's sheep (Mat. 25:32). Unregenerate
people, who are never exhorted to examine their faith, will
continue attending church to enjoy the music, entertainment and
"feel good" messages. Unless these people are confronted with
their sin, their need for a Savior and the eternal consequences
of a spurious faith, they are destined to hear these terrifying
words from Jesus: "'I never knew you; depart from Me" (Mat.
7:23).
(114) Christian
Yoga by Roger Oakland, Understanding The Times,
2/20/08 There are a number of people in the world today who believe
mankind is entering into a whole new era. The pathway to higher
consciousness, they say, is within the grasp of all those who
are willing to pursue it. Is this thinking here to stay, or is
it just a passing fad?
(115) Evangelical
Mysticism? by T.A.McMahon, The Berean Call, February
1, 2008 I find myself increasingly grieved these days by what I see
taking place among those who profess to be evangelicals. I know
the term "evangelical" has undergone radical changes regarding
its meaning and practice. Yet when I use the term, I'm going by
a very simple definition: I'm referring to those who claim to
accept the Bible alone as their authority for knowing and
receiving God's way of salvation and for living their lives in a
way that is pleasing to Him.
(116) Ancient-Future
Heresies by McMahon, T.A., The Berean Call, February
28, 2008 We desperately need to heed the words of Jesus in Revelation
chapters 2-3 that give critical warnings to churches that
profess to be His.
(118) Potentialy
Harmful,
and Dangerous Spiritual PracticesResearched and
Compiled by Chris Lawson, Spiritual Research Network,
3/27/08 Please note that the SRN staff issues a warning about the
following topics because they are either or all of the
following:: (1) Founded on occult principles; (2) Dangerous
forms of occult and mystical practices; (3) Based on the
writings and beliefs associated with either paganism, spiritism,
occultism or mysticism; (4) Mystical and supernaturalistic
health related methods.
(119)Does
Rick
Warren Have Reservations about the Emerging Church? by
Lighthouse Trails, 3/29/08 If Rick Warren has reservations about some things in the
emerging church, those reservations are not about the mystical
components of this movement.
(120) Confession
is
Good for the Soul by Jackie Alnor, Apostasy Alert,
March 31, 2008 When I see Bible-believing churches adopt Roman Catholic
traditions, such as the liturgical use of incense, candles, and
icons, I recoil in disgust. When Roman Catholic church fathers
are quoted by Protestants to prove some theological point, I
roll my eyes.
(121) One step
forward and three steps back by Mike Oppenheimer, Let
Us Reason Ministries, 4/08 Willow Creeks affiliation with the emergent church movement.
(122) Warfield
and
Contemplative Spirituality by Herescope, 4/10/08
Benjamin B. Warfield's writings on mysticism help to orient
Christian believers to understand the implications of
contemplative and mystical spirituality's challenge to orthodox
and biblical Christianity.
(123) Emerging
Church
Spreading Spiritual Cancer by Marsha West,
4/18/08 What this is really all about is truth. False teachers stare at
Truth but fail to recognize the identity of truth. Jesus himself
said, "I am truth." Thus we know that Truth is an aspect of God
Himself. Christianity is the only truth because it is anchored
in the Person of Jesus Christ. Moreover, truth is crucial to a
realistic worldview. Which is why committed Christians mustn't
buy into the lie that truth is a matter of preference or
opinion. In case you haven't notices, in our postmodern culture
we are experiencing the death of truth - and the death of truth
could mean the death of civilizzation! I wrote this down, but I
don't remember who said it. "Truth is true if no one believes
it. A lie is a lie if everyone believes it." And that's the
truth!
(124) Emergent
MIND
Change by Herscope, 4/25/08 Dr. Dennis Cuddy, in his bi-weekly NewsWithViews column on
April 7 made a startling observation. Cuddy, an historian and
author with expertise in the mental health arena,* noticed that
there were similarities in Brian McLaren's new book everything
must change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope and
Eckhart Tolle's new book touted by Oprah's Book Club, A New
Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose. Both authors define
mental illness in terms of wrong belief systems which are
harming the planet:
(125) POINTS
to
PONDER - Rick Warren, Richard Abanes, Ken Blanchard, Psychics,
Yoga by Bud Press, Christian Research Service,
April 26, 2008
Richard Abanes' book, Rick Warren and the Purpose that Drives Him,
was published July 2005. On page 15, Abanes tells of an interview
between he and Warren, which took place on May 4, 2005. During the
interview on pages 28-29, Abanes records Rick Warren stating that,
"Well, I do know Ken Blanchard. But we're not close friends--no
closer friends than half-a-dozen other celebrities" (emp. added,
book on file).However, in his February 19-20, 2005 article, "The
Skills of Leadership: Leading Like Jesus Part 3," Rick Warren
stated that, "My good friend Ken Blanchard who wrote The
One Minute Manager and a bunch of other books he always
says, Catch people doing something right. We always do the
opposite. We catch them doing something wrong. But catch people
doing something right and affirm it" (Pastors.com, click HERE for
PDF file, page 12, bold emp. added).
(126) Do
The
Dobsons and Focus on the Family Agree with the Emergent
Church? by Brannon S. Howse, 4/28/08 While I respect much of the great work of Dr. Dobson, Shirley
Dobson and Focus on the Family, there has been a recent trend
that is disturbing. This past weekend, Shirley Dobson appeared
with Dr. Robert Schuller on his Hour of Power. Click here to
view her appearance:
http://www.crystalcathedral.org/hour_of_power/index.php I don't take issue with Mrs. Dobson's message on behalf of the
National Day of Prayer but rather her appearance on his show and
her closing remark that affirmed the "work" of Dr.
Schuller.
(127)What
Is
Contemplative Prayer? by Roger Oakland, Understanding
The Times, 4/29/08 Contemplative prayer can be traced back to 3rd century monks
who were looking for ways to contact God by mystical techniques.
Such prayer methods are making a comeback. Will Christians be
enlightened or will they be introduced to eastern mysticism?
(128) The
New
Wave of Apologetics by Tim Wirth, Nogoofyzone Weblog,
4/26/08 There is a New Wave of Apologetics sweeping through the Body Of
Christ for some years now. But before we see what apologetics is
not, let's study and see what it is.
(129) The
New
Age Morphing . . . Into the Church by Herescope,
5/13/08 How has the New Age morphed itself over the past 35 years since
the public launching of "The Aquarian Conspiracy"?
(130) Emergent
Road
Show Receives Sponsorship From Major Organizations by
Lighthouse Trails, 5/22/08 Three "of the most outspoken" leaders of the emerging church
(Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, and Mark Scandrette) will be going on
a national road tour this summer and are receiving sponsorship
from several large organizations. Some of those sponsors are
Christianbook.com, Jossey-Bass, Compassion International,
International Bible Society, and Zondervan.
(131) The
Emerging
Church - The Rising Generation - A Maturing Church? by
Jewel Grewe, Discernment Ministries, Discernment Newsletter,
Volume 19, Number 3, May/June 2008 How far from Biblical Authenticity this has come! We now have
Ancient-Future Heresies that Journey to the Past to find Future
Spirituality.
(132) Earth:
The
Old Story, The New Storyby Herescope, 5/29/08
Emergent church leaders are re-packaging and marketing the
Creation Spirituality myth to the evangelical church. According
to Emergent church leader Brian McLaren, human beings on planet
Earth need to change our "framing story."
(133) Ancient-Future
Faith
Or Do All Roads Lead to Rome by Gary Gilley, Think On
These Things Newsletter, June 2008 - Volume 14, Issue 6 Rumors are starting to circulate that the emergent church
movement is running out of steam. After making the biggest
splash and the most noise of anything in the Christian community
for many years it appears to be approaching exhaustion.
Some like Rob Bell and Erwin McManus who are clearly in the
"emergent conversation" have denied their involvement. And
people seem a bit tired of hearing about postmodernism, its
rejection of universal truth and its promotion of
relativism. After all, how long can people live
questioning the obvious and denying reality? These things
play out nicely in philosophy class and in college coffee shops,
but have serious limitations in the real world. Maybe it is time
for the emergent ship to leave the dock and make way for the
next fad.
(134) What
is Centering? - Can we find God or enhance our experience of
Jesus by entering into an altered state of consciousness?
by Pastor Don Matzat, 7/08 The reality of Christ is never discovered within but is always
extra nos, outside of us. Christ is to be sought, not in the
inner self nor in some questionable technique borrowed from
occultism or the fringes of psychological theory, but in the
external and objective means of Word and Sacrament. The intrusion of these methods into the church should not only
cause us concern, but anger!
(135) Ancient-Future
Faith,
Its Practices by Gary Gilley, Think On These Things,
July 2008 - Volume 14, Issue 7 In a recent sermon dealing with the emergent/emerging church,
Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill in Seattle and self-described
emerging church leader, identified four lanes in which the
emergent/emerging movement is traveling. In the first lane are
emerging evangelicals who believe in basic Christian doctrine,
such as the Bible being God's Word and Jesus dying for our sins.
They also tend to form the "hip, cool church," according to
Driscoll. Pastors who may fall in this category include Dan
Kimball and Donald Miller. Without taking much time to
debate with Driscoll at this point, I would certainly challenge
the notion that Donald Miller is a supporter of basic Christian
doctrine. Kimball, on the other hand, does hold to certain
doctrinal positions such as the three ancient ecumenical creeds,
but would not want to drift much beyond them.
(136) Beware of
This Doctrine of Demons by Heidi Swander, Herescope,
8/12/08 It's called
"contemplative" or "centering" prayer and if you haven't
heard about it yet, chances are unfortunately good that you
will soon. It's invading churches like a virus in
which submicroscopic pathogens contaminate the body many
hours or days before the victim is aware of its presence.
Contemplative prayer is one of a number of ancient mystical
practices or spiritual disciplines, as their proponents
refer to them, which are being encouraged at an alarming
rate by evangelical churches. It is all part of
something called Spiritual Formation and the Emergent
Church, a movement that as John MacArthur states in his
book, The Truth War, is subtly changing the beliefs and
doctrines of the evangelical church as we know it.
(137) The
Emerging
Church by Jason Carlson, 8/30/08 Carlson relates his experience in and out of the Emergent
Church . He sounds an alarm at our Olive Tree Ministries
"Understanding the Times 2007" conference. This is an
MP3 of his radio interview with Jan Markel.
(138) Who's
Laughing
Now? by Bud Press, Christian Research Service,
September 9, 2008 Years ago, many parents laughed when their children were
introduced to Yoga, Transcendental Meditation, relaxation, and
visualization techniques in the secular schools and YMCA. Many
school teachers and principles shrugged their shoulders and
thought the techniques would help develop calmer, better behaved
students. On the job-site, professing Christians participated in
company-sponsored "Stress Reduction" seminars. They laughed
under their breath and refused to speak out against it--for fear
of losing their jobs. Now, many companies across the nation
offer Yoga, Tai Chi, Reiki, and other New Age practices as
regular motivational courses for employees. Despite the
complaints and concerns, many bookstore managers and officials
within the "Christian bookstore" industry laughed and continued
to advertise and promote books written by New Age authors. The
"bottom line" (money) was more important than the spiritual
welfare of the innocent and unwary.
(139) Ancient-Future
Faith
- It's Beliefs by Gary Gilley, Think On These Things
Newsletter, August 2008 In his most recent book Finding Our Way Again, The Return of
the Ancient Practices, Brian McLaren, the most recognizable name
in the emergent church movement, signals a shift, or at least a
new emphasis within emergent, toward ancient practices of
earlier periods of church history.
(141) The
American
Church - Descent Into Darkness Part 1 by No Other
Gospel, 10/7/08 ICABOD is written upon our doorposts. We have embraced other
gods, we have turned our backs upon the Lord God, the only God,
maker of heaven and earth. We have embraced a social gospel,
which lauds mans good works and excludes the Savior that bought
them. ICABOD is written upon our house.
(142) Who
Goes
There? - Encountering Voices in the Silence of Contemplative
Prayer by Pastor Larry DeBruyn, 10/8/08 Through practicing the discipline of solitude and silence,
contemplative spiritualists hope to hear God personally speak to
them. As one nationally known personality stated on the Be Still
DVD, "intimacy automatically breeds revelation."[1] But if a
voice speaks, there is some question regarding its identity.
Therefore, in the video's same segment, "Fear of Silence,"
Richard Foster offers advice about how to discern who might
communicate in the stillness.
(143) MacArthur:
The Emergent Church is a Form of Paganism interview
with John MacArthur by Paul Edwards
"The Paul Edwards Program," WLQV Detroit, 10/08 Paul Edwards, host of "The Paul Edwards Program" on WLQV in
Detroit, interviewed pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church
John MacArthur about the emerging church movement in America.
Paul begins the interview by asking Pastor John to respond to a
radio interview with prominent emerging church leader Doug
Pagitt. In the clip from October 22, 2007, Pagitt denied that
there is a place of eternal conscious torment for persons who
die apart from faith in Jesus Christ.
(144) The
Nanotechnological
Transhuman Cyborg by John Loeffler of the Steel On
Steel, radio program interviewed Dr. Martin Erdmann, Saturday,
October 18, 2008 John Loeffler of the Steel On Steel radio program interviewed
Dr. Martin Erdmann this week on the topic of the new emergent
scientific religion of transhumanism and how it seeks to use
nanotechnology to design super humans and super soldiers of the
future: part human, part machine. Herescope readers have special
permission to access this fascinating interview online.
(145) Coming
From
a Nazarene University President by Psalm 11:3 -
Warning The Nazarene Denomination About The Emergent Menance,
10/25/08 I am printing with permission a exchange a friend and
sister in the Lord of mine had with a president of a Nazarene
University. You should be shocked at his comments. I have left
the names out at the request of my friend.
(146) Going
Downhill
Always Goes Faster Than Going Uphill by Mike
Oppenheimer, October 20, 2008 We welcome new leaders and recognize them for their service to
Christ. Today there are many new leaders, but there is a
shortage of biblically well trained leaders who are aware of the
issues and have answers to them.
(147) My
Reflections on the Emerging Church by Scott Tibbetts,
11/08 ... the EC is left with no gospel, no good news for the
nations. This is why I have felt when I read EC literature
I sense no conviction of true guilt before a holy God, no great
appreciation for the atoning work of Christ on the cross, no
longing for heaven. EC is very big on bringing in the
Kingdom of God to earth now, they are big on "Christian
spirituality," big on an "encounter with God," but the pining
for heaven as expressed by the Apostle Paul in Phil. 1:21, "For
to me to live is Christ, to die is gain," I sense very
little. If there is no real gospel, no real people will go
to a real heaven. And this is the burden of my heart.
(148) Understanding
The
Emerging Church by Roger Oakland, Understanding The
Times, 11/17/08 My greatest concern about the Emerging Church is the overall
direction that I discern it is headed. This direction, in my
opinion is away from a faith in Jesus that is based on His Word,
to a faith driven by experience and headed towards Roman
Catholicism.
(149) Why
Christian
Leaders Should Not Promote Henri Nouwen by Lighthouse
Trails, 11/22/08 At the end of his life, in the last book he ever wrote
(Sabbatical Journey), Henri Nouwen said the following: Today I
personally believe that while Jesus came to open the door to
God's house, all human beings can walk through that door,
whether they know about Jesus or not. Today I see it as my call
to help every person claim his or her own way to God.1 Even
though such a statement does not at all fit within biblical
Christianity, and in essence denies the very foundation of
Christ's work on the Cross, Henri Nouwen is touted as a great
spiritual figure by countless Christian leaders, pastors,
seminary professors, etc.
(150) Irony:
Muslim
Leaders Warn Against Yoga - Christian Leaders Remain Silent
by Lighthouse Trails, 11/23/08 According to a Fox News article, Muslim leaders in Malaysia are
telling Muslims that Yoga is dangerous for them because of its
Hindu roots. And yet, Christian leaders in America say virtually
nothing against contemplative spirituality, which is also based
on eastern-style meditation principles and practices.
(151) A
Still Small Voice - "Contemplative Prayer and the 'Elijah
Experience'of 1 Kings 19:12" by Pastor Larry DeBruyn,
11/24/08 Elijah's Mt. Horeb experience, when he heard "a sound of sheer
silence" (1 Kings 19:12, NRSV), has stimulated a tradition of
desert spirituality which pursues solitude in order to hear the
voice of God. Practitioners of lectio divina (i.e., reading
sacred things) also desire such encounters.
(152) Memoirs
of
an Emergent Church Victim by Heidi Swander,
12/8/08 I realize as I write this that there are many of you who only
dream of finding a solidly biblical church home. Some
continue to attend an unhealthy church because you don't know
what else to do. Some choose to stay and fight - which I
did for a while -- but you have to know when the gig is up and
it's time to move on. And then, where to move on to?
Pray about it. Set standards that you will not waver
from. For me a church must be Bible-based, doctrinally
sound, pro-Israel, premillennial. Sit down with the pastor
and grill him on your important standards that are essential to
a healthy church.
(154) Emerging Church Quotes
compled by Sandy Simpson, 12/08
Quotes by Emerging Church leaders.
(155) Allelon: Unity in the Church or
Unity with the World? by Sandy Simpson, 12/08 The EC promoted and taught by groups like Allelon is full of
the teachings of false teachers who have introduced ideas and
practices that are not Biblical.
(156) The Fallacious
Arguments of Neo-Universalists
by Sandy Simpson, 1/4/09 The new Universalists are not as vocal about their Universalism
ideas but are far more deadly to the Church as they are not
rejected like classic Universalists were decades ago. The
new Universalists would include Emerging Church leaders like
Brian McLaren, Leonard Sweet, Spencer Burke, Alan Jones and
others like Wycliffe, Society of Biblical Literature,
World Christian Gathering of Indigenous Peoples, Richard Twiss,
Daniel Kikawa, Terry LeBlanc, Rick Warren, Henry Nowen, YWAM,
Tony Campolo, Robert Schuller, George Otis Jr., and even Billy
Graham.
(158) Desperate
Sheep
Without a Shepherd by Jan Markell, Olive Tree
Ministries, 3/2/2009 The impact of the "New Age Movement", also called "the new
spirituality," in all Western societies is overwhelming. Learn
more here.
(160) The
Challenge
of Pragmatism - Part 1 by Gary Gilley, Think On These
Things Newsletter, 3/09 If there is a common religion to be found within the Western
world it surely is pragmatism - the religion of "what
works?" Pragmatism has no cathedrals; it follows no
liturgy, hires no pastors and cannot be found in any listing of
denominations, yet it is woven into the very fabric of the
Western church.
(161) The Ugly Side Of
Diaprax by Sandy Simpson, 4/10/09 There has been a concerted effort by the false teachers from
many movements inside the church such as Word of Faith, New
Apostolic Reformation (NAR)/Latter Rain, World Gathering on
Indigenous People and Emerging Church among others to diaprax
people into thinking that the church has been ineffective until
they came along with their new and improved ideas on how to take
over the world. This is always a feature of the Hegelian
Dialectical process put into action by praxis, thus
diaprax. In order to form a new paradigm or worldview the
leadership of these movements must villify orthodox Biblical
Christianity. Let's look at some of those statements.
(162) Jesse
Middendorf
promotes the new age/Catholic practice of Spiritual Formation
by Nazarenepsalm113, April 16, 2009 Dr. Jesse Middendorf, general superintendent of the Church of
the Nazarene, recently expressed his support of this event,
noting that "Spiritual formation is at the heart of our
understanding of a Wesleyan-Holiness lifestyle. Our theology
requires that we apply ourselves to growth both in understanding
and in practice. I applaud the effort to provide this event for
members of our global family in the Church of the Nazarene."
(164) Corrupt
Counsel
by the Double-Minded:The American Association of Counselors
by Sherry Neese, 1/14/08 Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Journey, Soul Care, Spiritual
Disciplines; What do they mean? Much of so-called Christian
counseling is replete with buzzwords such as spiritual
formation, spiritual journey, soul care, spiritual disciplines,
etc., as several discernment ministries have documented.
Spiritual Formation: "A movement that has provided a platform
and a channel through which contemplative prayer is entering the
church. Find spiritual formation being used, and in nearly every
case you will find contemplative spirituality. In fact,
contemplative spirituality is the heartbeat of the spiritual
formation movement."
(165) WASHINGTON:
Walking
the Labyrinth at Washington's Church by Mark Tooley,
VirtueOnline, 4/18/09 Would George Washington or Robert E. Lee have walked the
labyrinth? This potentially New Age tool is now available at
Christ Episcopal Church in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, which
both generals once soberly attended.
(166) Coming
to
Christ Through Mysticism? by Roger Oakland, Understand
the Times, 4/19/09 The spiritual formation movement teaches that if people
practice certain spiritual disciplines, they can become like
Jesus and model their lives after Him. But being born again and
having the indwelling of Christ is not a prerequisite. Neither
is receiving Him as Lord and absolute Savior. What spiritual
formation offers is an alternative to God's plan of salvation
revealed in Scripture.
Updated! (167) The Emerging Church - Introducing
Heresies by Sandy Simpson, 4/20/09 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as
there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce
destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who
bought them-bringing swift destruction on themselves. (2 Pet.
2:1)
(168) Some
Contemplative
Terms and What they Mean by Ray Yungen, Lighthouse
Trails, 4/30/09 In order to help others who might be involved with some form of
mysticism, it is important to be aware of these terms and
understand their basic meanings.
Updated! (169) The
Emerging
Church - Circa 1970 by Herescope, 5/1/09 - Read Part
1, Part
2, Part
3, Part
4, Part
5, Part
6, Part
7, Part
8 & Part
9. The Emergent/emerging church movement was first tried with that
name back in 1970 at a series of conferences sponsored by Faith
at Work. This fact is disclosed in Hiley Ward's book Religion
2101 A.D.: Who or What Will Be God? (Doubleday, 1975). The book
is a compendium of futurist thought, including the science
fiction and paranormal and metaphysics activities extant in the
early 1970s. But first the background information to put this
all in context.
(170) Mark
Driscoll
to Speak at Crystal Cathedral by Lighthouse Trails,
5/7/09 According to Mark Driscoll's church calendar and other reports
as well, Mark Driscoll will be speaking at Robert Schuller's
Crystal Cathedral on June 14th. While many evangelical leaders
have promoted Driscoll, he has been the topic of a number of
Lighthouse Trails articles. Driscoll was one of the early
"emergent" leaders mentored by Leadership Network (Bob Buford)
to form the first emergent team (McLaren, Pagitt, Seay, etc.)
Since then, Driscoll has publicly denounced some of the
teachings and "theology" of that group. However, he has promoted
contemplative spirituality and the new sexual spirituality, both
of which are part of the emerging philosophy.
(171) Early
Experiential
Emergents by Herescope, 5/9/09 The fact that Faith at Work was attempting to start an Emerging
Church Movement as early as 1970 is quite relevant to the
Emergent/Emerging Church today. The ramifications of this are
quite stunning. For example, Faith at Work was a leading sponsor
of Brian McLaren's "Everything Must Change" tour a year
ago.
(172) "Emerging Theology" Is
An Oxymoron by Sandy Simpson, 5/8/09 There was no theology presented in this lecture, per se.
The overriding theme was that the EC wants to help Christians
"find God in the world" and for them to "look like Jesus".
Sounds good but what does that mean? Does that mean going
back to Roman Catholic liturgy and the Eucharist which
Middendorf promotes? Does it mean incorporating mystical
and New Age practices into the churches? Does that look
like Jesus? I think not.
(173) Donald
Whitney
and Spiritual Disciplines - Spirituality Without Boundaries by
Bob DeWaay, Critical Issues Commentary, Issue 111, March/April
2009 The problems with Whitney's book are these: serious category
errors, a lack of boundaries, failure to understand the means of
grace, pragmatism, the endorsement of false teachers such as
Richard Foster and Dallas Willard without caveat, and his own
toned-down version of mysticism. I shall proceed to show what I
mean by interacting with his ideas.
(174) "The
Spiritualization
of Science, Technology, and Education in a One-World Society"
by Herescope, 5/21/09 This emerging trans-modern worldview, involves a shift in the
locus of authority from external to 'inner knowing.' It has
basically turned away from the older scientific view that
ultimate reality is "fundamental particles," and trusts
perceptions of the wholeness and spiritual aspect of organisms,
ecosystems, Gaia and Cosmos. This implies a spiritual reality,
and ultimate trust in the authority of the whole. It amounts to
a reconciliation of scientific inquiry with the "perennial
wisdom" at the core of the world's spiritual traditions. It
continues to involve a confidence in scientific inquiry, but an
inquiry whose metaphysical base has shifted from the
reductionist, objectivist, positivist base of 19th- and
20th-century science to a more holistic and transcendental
metaphysical foundation. - Willis Harman's essay, "Bringing
About the Transition to Sustainable Peace" (Part One: "A
Changing Worldview"), cited in footnote bb, Erdmann, M Eur J
Nanomed 2009; 2:31-38.
(175) Emergent
New
Paradigm Pastor (Mike Erre) to Speak at Calvary Chapel Costa
Mesaby Lighthouse Trails, 5/25/09 Emerging/emergent spirituality is making serious inroads into
Christianity. Churches and Christian colleges, unaware of the
subtle undermining of such spirituality, are embracing teachers
and leaders of this movement and pointing others to them. Often
they are unaware of what these teachers really believe and
teach. In light of an event (Movement 2009) scheduled to take
place on May 29th at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, the Calvary
Chapel mother church, with RockHarbor pastor, Mike Erre (and a
similar event (Pure Worship) that took place earlier this
month), Lighthouse Trails is posting this special report.
(176) "Emergent"
or
"Emerging"? Makes No Difference - Going in the Same Direction
- Away from Truth toward Deception by Lighthouse
Trails, 5/30/09 It was Shakespeare who said a rose by any other name would
smell as sweet. In the case of the "new spirituality" that has
pervaded so much of Christianity, emergent church by any other
name is just as harmful. While some are saying they are not
"emergent" but are emerging, the overall beliefs (and mission)
of each--emergent and emerging--are the same.
(177) Is the
gospel being preached in the emergent church movement?
by Mike Oppenheimer, Let Us Reason Ministries, 6/1/09 We are to be keepers, protectors and proclaimers of the gospel,
it is to be the same message that was given to the apostles
nearly 2,000 years ago. The gospel can be changed from applying
new innovations.
(178) The
Depths
of Our Concerns for Calvary Chapel and Other Christian
Organizations by the Editors at Lighthouse Trails,
6/10/09 Calvary Chapel is not the only Christian organization that is
being influenced and changed because of contemplative/emerging
spirituality. The Nazarene Church has deeply absorbed this new
spirituality, as we have reported in many articles. Also, the
Christian Missionary Alliance and Mennonite denominations have
been hugely affected. Southern Baptist is another that has been
pulled into the contemplative/emerging whirl of deception. Many
Reformed/Calvinist churches have started going in this
direction, as have Foursquare and Assemblies of God. It has even
been reported to us that some Amish communities and Independent
Baptist churches are feeling the effects. And the list could go
on and on.
(179) Evangelicals:
Emergent
and Erotic by Herescope, 6/12/09 This fall (October, 2009), one major seminary is hosting a
one-day seminar on, "Sacred Sexuality." One purpose of the
conference includes, "Casting a Vision for the Sexually Healthy
Church," and one workshop is titled, "Holy Eroticism: Marital
Intimacy."
(180) 2009
Summer/Fall
Christian Conferences Provide Platform for
Contemplative/Emerging Speakers by Editors at
Lighthouse Trails, 6/16/09 Many Christian-led conferences taking place throughout North
America during the summer and fall of 2009 are providing
platforms for speakers who are helping to further the new
spirituality. In many conferences, the speaker line-ups are a
blending of non-emerging/non-contemplative speakers with those
who are of that camp. Doing this gives an unmerited credibility
to the teachings of the contemplative/emerging speakers. While
some say there is nothing wrong with Christian teachers sharing
the platform with those who promote a false approach to God
(i.e., mysticism), the Bible is clear that "A little leaven
leaveneth the whole lump" (Galatians 5:9). And by silently
standing with the wayward teacher, one must now share the
responsibility of his or her error.
(181) Should
Pastors
Warn Their Congregations About Contemplative Spirituality?
by Lighthouse Trails, 6/29/09 Lighthouse Trails believes that contemplative spirituality must
be addressed head on. Recently, we were contacted by a pastor
who told us he did not see the reason to focus on these
"negative" aspects (such as contemplative and emerging). He
wanted to know why we did what we did.
(182) Christian
Leaders
Giving Mysticism to Our Youth by Ray Yungen,
Lighthouse Trails, 7/1/09 The cover of the July/August 1999 issue of Group Magazine, a
leading resource magazine for Christian youth leaders, featured
a teenage girl, eyes shut, doing contemplative prayer. The
article, "Ancient-Future Youth Ministry" begins by declaring:
"It's Sunday just after 5 p.m.... Seven adults are sitting
around a "Christ-candle" in the youth room. There is no talking,
no laughter. For 10 minutes, the only noise is the sound of
their breathing ... now it's 7 p.m.--one hour into the night's
youth group gathering. There are 18 senior highers and five
adults sitting in a candlelit sanctuary. A gold cross stands on
a table.... They're chanting the "Jesus Prayer," an ancient
meditative practice."
(183) Spiritual
Formation
is Dangerous.... And Here's Why from a book review on
Castles in the Sand by C. Pack, 7/8/09 As a former New Ager, I have become increasingly alarmed at the
New Age/New Spirituality practices and beliefs that I have seen
flowing into the church. I was saved in a conservative,
evangelical church that boldly proclaimed the gospel: Jesus is
THE Way, THE Truth and THE Life, and no-one comes to the Father
but by Him. Yet, within 2 years time, this same precious church
began to preach sermons on past mystics (St. John of the Cross),
began offering yoga classes, and began to adopt practices that
eerily reminded me of my New Age days... all of which are an
assault on the true gospel.
(185) Disciplines
to
Deception in the Southern Baptist Convention by Ken
Silva, 7/15/09 Within a source paper called Spiritual Disciplines: Pathway to
Christian Maturity (SDPCM), from the Georgia Baptist Convention
(SBC), we learn what is now considered consistent with a proper
Protestant approach to spirituality for Christians in the
Southern Baptist Convention. Continuing along the lines of
Richard Foster Forming Protestant Southern Baptist Convention
Spirituality here Apprising Ministries begins with the following
from Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster
in SDPCM.
(186) Spree
Wales by Miguel Hayworth, 7/17/09 Spree Wales is organised by Ecumenical/Emergent groups such as
Ignite, The Salvation Army, Big Ideas, Scripture Union, The Boys
Brigade, Evangelical Alliance, Show Jesus and World Horizon.
(187) Divination
Is
Forbidden By God - Divination: any attempt to foretell the
unknown by occult means by Chris Lawson, Spiritual
Research Network, 7/18/09 Divination also includes forms of Contemplative Centering
Prayer whereby contact with the spirit world [demonic] can
easily be made. This occult prayer method [which many
Christianize] can and does oftentimes lead to the full
conversion of ones spirituality to a pantheistic, panentheistic,
Eastern occult view of reality. This form of prayer
divination places into the minds of humans ideas that are not
only unbiblical, but thoroughly occult and antichrist. The
Self-induction and alteration of ones consciousness [into the
Alpha-state], which so often is engaged in by undiscerning
people, can quickly lead to full blown spirit contact,
"snapping", and even demonic possession. Thorough documentation
is abounding in Indian Yogic Spirituality; Self-Realization
cults, etc.
(188) Spectacles
for
Spectators by Pastor Larry DeBruyn, 7/21/09 Were the accommodating Aaron a leader in a contemporary church,
he would have called for the worship team-a drummer, lead
singers, and guitarists-to be assembled, the electrical crew to
ready the "sanctuary" with the newest audio-visual equipment
including multiple giant screens on which to project a fast
paced collage of images, and the sound techs to coordinate the
flashing strobe lights with the pulse of the drum beat, and to
time the release of a fireworks display that would flash, bang,
and belch forth smoke as the worship reached a frenzied climax.
All of this, and perhaps more, could be employed to recreate the
narrative of Israel's Sinai experience (See Exodus 19:18-19;
Exodus 32:17-18.).
(189) A
Chat with Ray Yungen and Mike Oppenheimer posted by
nazarenepsalm113 on July 22, 2009 A chat we filmed back when we originally filmed our Concerned
Nazarenes DVD. This is the first time this has been seen
publically. Mike and Ray chat about contemplative prayer, its
roots as well as the new age and the new spirituality as well as
some bits about Rick Warren and Saddleback..
(191) "Rick
Warren,
Leonard Sweet, and Sweet's 'New Light' Leaders" by
Warren Smith, 7/28/09 Shortly after Deceived on Purpose was published, I came across
a book titled Quantum Spirituality: A Postmodern Dialectic
written by Rick Warren's "Evangelical" colleague Leonard Sweet.
Also, around the same time, I was given a cassette tape set of a
presentation Sweet had done with Warren in 1995. Their recorded
discussion is titled The Tides of Change and was packaged as
part of an ongoing series called "Choice Voices for Church
Leadership." At the time this audio project took place, Sweet
was a Christian author, Methodist minister, and the Dean of the
Theological School at Drew University. According to information
on the tape set, this presentation was about ministry on the
emerging "new frontier."
(192) Chief
Saddleback
Apologist Defends New Age Sympathizer Leonard Sweet by
Warren Smith, 7/28/09 This is part two of an introduction to Warren Smith's new book,
A "Wonderful" Deception. In last week's installment, it was
revealed that Rick Warren's and Leonard Sweet's evangelical "new
reformation" appears to be moving toward the New Age/New
Spirituality. In this week's section, Saddleback's chief
apologist defends Leonard Sweet's working relationship with Rick
Warren, even though Sweet's affinity with New Age leaders is
clearly evident.
(193) A
"Wonderful" Deception - The Further New Age Implications of
the Emerging Purpose Driven Movement by Warren Smith,
7/09 "A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; The
prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their
means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in
the end thereof?" Jeremiah 5:30-31 Five years after writing
Deceived on Purpose: the New Age Implications of the Purpose
Driven Church, former New Age follower Warren Smith continues to
reveal how Christian leaders-wittingly or unwittingly-are
leading the church into a spiritual trap. A "Wonderful"
Deception examines church metaphors, concepts, and beliefs that
are essentially the same as those being used in today's New Age
teachings. And while biblical prophecy is being minimized and
explained away, the "new science" is being used to prepare the
world-and the church-to accept a New Spirituality and a false
New Age Christ. This book explains how all the puzzle pieces are
in place for the "strong delusion" described in 2 Thessalonians.
A "Wonderful" Deception pierces right into the heart of this
deception while preparing believers in Jesus Christ to
effectively stand against it.
(194) Our
Father
in Heaven or Our Mother on Earth? by Berit Kjos,
8/5/09 The following from Berit Kjos is from her book A Twist of
Faith, which identifies and warns against "goddess
spirituality." Keep in mind that The Shack and Sue Monk Kidd's
book, The Secret Life of Bees (recently made into a movie) carry
the "goddess spirituality" theme within their pages through the
Black Madonna figure. We should not underestimate the impact
these books (and their spiritual overtones) are having on
millions of people. It can be subtle at first, but remember what
happened to Sue Monk Kidd: she started out as a conservative
Southern Baptist Sunday school teacher. After she was introduced
to the writings of Thomas Merton, her spiritual outlook began to
change. Eventually, she came to believe that the God of the
Bible was not the true God and that a feminine goddess (one
which dwelt in all things - even graffetti on a wall) was. Is it
any wonder that Lighthouse Trails became alarmed to see David
Jeremiah favorably talking about Sue Monk Kidd in his book Life
Open Wide and saying that she was one of a handful of people who
had learned the secret to a "passionate" life. If you have not
read some of our material regarding Sue Monk Kidd, The Shack,
and David Jeremiah's book, we urge you to do so. The spiritual
welfare of your loved ones may be at stake. (see links at bottom
of this post)
(195) "Fractals,
Chaos
Theory, Quantum Spirituality, and The Shack" by Warren
Smith, 8/9/09 The following is the third installment (see: part one, part
two) that we are posting of Warren Smith's new book, A
"Wonderful" Deception. We hope you have find the chance to read
all three chapters that we have made available. They are very
important in helping to explain the new spirituality that has
come into Christianity through today's major Christian figures.
(196) Emergent
Ideology
is Here, What Will You Do? by Manny Silva, August 19,
2009 It is clear to me, that the movement called the emergent church
movement has slowly but surely infiltrated into the very heart
of the Nazarene denomination. There is no doubt about it
now. The only question now is, what do we do? At
first I thought it was just a few renegade churches and
colleges, but that is not the case. It is more than that,
and it is very disturbing. It has particularly been
welcomed by almost all Nazarene universities, and even our
seminaries and Bible colleges.
(197) Understanding
the
Error of Spiritual Formation by Roger Oakland,
8/23/09 A move away from the truth of God's Word to a mystical form of
Christianity has infiltrated, to some degree, nearly all
evangelical denominations. Few Bible teachers saw this avalanche
coming. Now that it is underway, most do not realize it has even
happened.
(198) A
Renewed Confidence in the Word of God by Gary Gilley,
Think On These Things, August/September 2009 - Volume 15, Issue
5 Emergent spokesman Brian McLaren calls for the evangelical
community to get over its love affair with certainty. He
writes, "Drop any affair you may have with certainty, proof,
argument - and replace it with dialogue, conversation, intrigue,
and search."[1] Are we to take McLaren seriously? If
so, then the best way to get over our love affair with
certainty, according to McLaren, would be to replace it with
uncertainty, or more commonly, mystery. It is definitely
in vogue at this point in church history to make the rather
"certain" claim that we cannot be certain about anything.
Of course, the irony of such certainty about uncertainty is
obvious. But much like impossible political promises, when
statements are left unanalyzed and unchallenged they tend to be
uncritically absorbed by the minds of some people, often
resulting in great harm.
(200) Why
Must
Everything Change? by Jan Markell, August 31,
2009 That "old-time religion" we once loved is evaporating because
guys like Brian McLaren and his Emergent buddies have convinced
people that "everything must change." The one-world religion is
literally on the horizon. Look over a fence and you will see it
approaching.
(201) Carl
Rogers
- Father of the Emergent Culture by Sarah H. Leslie,
1993 NOTE: This article was originally published in 1993. It was
rediscovered recently while sorting old papers. It is timely and
applicable to the current series Herescope has been running on
the early history of the Emergent/Emerging church movement. The
context of the early Emerging Church culture was Humanistic
psychology with all of its tenets and practices, which were
being imported into the evangelical and Protestant churches
indiscriminately and wholeheartedly at the time.
(202) Meditation
and
Contemplative Prayer: Test the Spirits by Warren B.
Smith, 9/19/09 Not long after our conversion, my wife and I sat down one day
and talked about the ultimate spiritual deception described in
the Bible--the great "falling away" of the church and the coming
of Antichrist. We agreed that for someone like Antichrist to be
credible in the world, he would need a majority of the people
who call themselves Christians to believe that he was Christ. If
he could get enough Christians--especially Christian leaders--to
follow him, he could then discredit and marginalize those who
oppose him. But to get people who call themselves Christians to
believe that he was Christ he would first have to successfully
redefine Christianity. To do that he would have to introduce
non-Christian teachings and practices into the church, while at
the same time make them appear Christian. His obvious goal would
be to convert undiscerning and unsuspecting believers into a
more eastern and mystical, New Age "Christianity." While
invoking the name of "God" and "Christ" he would actually turn
the Bible upside down--just as we had seen in A Course in
Miracles and in our New Age teachings.
(203) G12
Master
Plan Could Expose Thousands of Nazarenes to
Contemplative/Emerging Spirituality by Philip Gray,
10/3/09 "Training Today's Leaders for Tomorrow's Churches" is the motto
for New Church Specialties, a Christian consulting organization
that largely reaches Nazarenes. But New Church Specialties and
the affiliated New Church University (where pastors and leaders
are mentored and trained) are a conduit for the new
spirituality, and their G12 Master's Plan could potentially
expose thousands of Nazarenes to contemplative spirituality and
the emerging church.
(204) Emergent
Inebriates
- Some thoughts on "Pub Theology." by Pastor Larry
DeBruyn, 10/10/09 As he begins to rip into "a screaming guitar solo," a band
member sarcastically yells out at the audience, "Let's go to
church boys!"[1] Welcome to Pub Theology. As the reporter
describes it, Pub Theology is "a Sunday night show that's one
part church and one part party." Among other posters on the
barroom walls, one alludes and adds to the final verse of the
biblical chapter on love. It reads, "Faith, Hope, Love and
Beer." WARNING: The biblical text reads, "But now abide faith,
hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1
Corinthians 13:13, NASB).[2]
(205) Discussion
of
the Emergent Conference by Pastor Bob DeWaay with
Chris Rosebrough, 10/09
This is an MP3 file. In this must-hear discussion at TFC
you'll hear DeWaay and Rosebrough explain how this EC
apostasia-paloosa is very rapidly emerging into another religion
entirely.
(206) "Pub
Theology"
Emergent Inebriates - There They Go Again!by Pastor
Larry DeBruyn, 10/14/09 "A growing number of Christian groups from a variety of
denominations are taking God to the bars, launching
religious-themed pub nights dubbed 'martini masses' or 'theology
on tap' in an effort to broaden their reach."
(207) Merton
&
Nouwen: Sacrificing Truth for Mystical Experiences by
Ray Yungen, 11/01/09 Contemplative advocates propose that there has been something
vital and important missing from the church for centuries. The
insinuation is that Christians have been lacking something
necessary for their spiritual vitality; but that would mean the
Holy Spirit has not been fully effective for hundreds of years
and only now the secret key has been found that unlocks God's
full power to know Him. These proponents believe that
Christianity has been seriously crippled without this extra
ingredient.
(208) Emergent
SAMIR
SELMANOVIC on Finding God in all Religions posted by
Lighthouse Trails under The Emerging Church, 11/5/09 This misguided effort to unite all things, to give people the
option of maintaining their own religious practices, suggesting
they do not have to call themselves Christians is a spiritually
slippery slope and an undoing of the Christian faith.
(209) A
List Of Christian Colleges Promoting Contemplative/Emerging
Church Teachings by Lighthouse Trails, 11/09 In November 2004, Lighthouse Trails Research issued its first
alert to Christian colleges that are promoting contemplative
spirituality. The four colleges listed in that alert were San
Fransisco Theological Seminary, Biola University, Bethel
University, and Lincoln Christian College and Seminary. Since
then, several other alerts have been issued. What has become all
too painfully clear is that the majority of Christian colleges
in North America have in varying degrees begun to incorporate
contemplative spirituality into their colleges. It is not just a
few schools - it is most, and for those who understand the
dangers of contemplative (and emerging), it is obvious that
Christian colleges are in a crisis of faith.
(210) The
Two
Trees by Herescope, 11/20/09 Looking at this tree, it is obvious that what passes for
"Christian" meditation in our modern era springs from the
Gnostic roots of this occult tree. Is it any wonder that this
tree then bears corresponding occult fruit? Note that this
contemplative tree does not promise life, only "wisdom," which
just happens to be what the serpent promised Eve if she ate of
the fruit of the tree in the Garden of Eden.
(211) The
New
[Age] Spirituality: The Folly of the Ages by Ray
Yungen, 11/09 The reason the New Age is wrong is that it takes devotion,
trust, and glory away from the One who created us and gives it
to man and the rebellious familiar spirits who deceive man into
self-glorification. An analogy of this would be that of an
artist's canvas or paint-rather than the artist taking credit
for the painting, the canvas or paint takes the credit.
(212) Christian
Soldiers
Standing Up For Jesus? by Ken Silva, 11/23/09 You know I can't help but wonder, among our professing
Christian brothers and sisters today, just where are those who
hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6)? Among our
so-called Christian "leaders" we see striving for phony unity
with their compromised man-centered message-while courting their
favor-speaking from the viewpoint of the world, which is why the
world listens to them (1 John 4:5); just where are those
who are persecuted because of righteousness (Matthew 5:10)? Do
they seriously not know that Christ Jesus said of those who do
hunger, and of those that are persecuted, theirs is the Kingdom
of Heaven
(213) More
Questions
About Break Forth Canada by Pastor Adam Gislason,
11/27/09 First, is this a "Christian Conference?" I am not convinced
that it is from the research that I have done on both Break
Forth Canada and their line up of false teachers.
(214) Taize
services
are gaining in popularity by Lighthouse Trails,
12/7/09 Taize is part of the contemplative prayer movement. This
article is posted, not as an endorsement but rather to report on
the growing popularity of contemplative practices.
(215) "Bus
Ride
to the Future" - A True Story About Yoga by Caryl
Matrisciana, 12/17/09 When I was twenty years old, my family returned from India,
where I was born and lived for most of my life, to England, our
homeland. It was during the turbulent sixties, and I was about
to be introduced to a movement that didn't even have a name yet.
How could I have possibly known then that the strange and
mystical religion I had been surrounded by in India would
someday be at the heart of a spirituality that would influence
millions around the world?
(217) Mark
Driscoll
IS a Contemplative Proponent by Lighthouse Trails,
December 21st, 2009 Although Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Fellowship in Seattle
Washington, is said to have denounced certain aspects of the
emergent church, Driscoll is a proponent of the main element
behind the emerging church - contemplative prayer.
(218) Article
on
Mark Driscoll's Site Takes Scripture Out of Context to Defend
Contemplative by Lighthouse Trails, 12/24/09 LTRP Note: The following comment was sent to Lighthouse Trails
from a man in Holland regarding our recent article, Mark
Driscoll IS a Contemplative Proponent. We have posted it to help
people see how contemplative proponents have taken Scripture out
of context to erroneously defend mystical-type spirituality. To
see another example of this misuse of Scripture regarding
contemplative, see Ray Yungen's comments at bottom of this post.
(220) What's
Wrong
With A More Social Gospel? by Paul Proctor, January 6,
2010 With a self-sustaining focus on acquiring evermore results and
relationships (i.e., "church growth") by way of pragmatism and
consensus, none of which is biblical, today's Christians are, by
and large, being persuaded and trained week after week to
embrace surveys, marketing principles, public relations programs
and people skills as their new commandments with
dialectically-trained consultants and facilitators posing as
prophets and preachers - people pleasers who know how to work
the crowd and steer the herd while selectively applying the
scriptures as needed to maintain a biblical appearance of
righteousness and religiosity.
(221) Enter
The Labyrinth by Mike Oppenheimer, Let Us Reason
Ministries, 1/11/10 Walking the labyrinth has become a popular spiritual exercise
across the country and around the world. I first read of it in
Leadership Magazine, a Christian publication and became a bit
concerned, since looking into it further I'm definitely
concerned.
(223) Contemplating
the
12 Steps by John Lanagan, My Word Like Fire,
1/17/10 As time has gone on, I have become increasingly aware
that contemplative spirituality is latently, sometimes
blatantly, interwoven throughout 12 Step Spirituality.
When we think of meditation in AA (and other 12 Step groups), we
naturally think of Step 11: Sought through prayer and meditation
to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him,
praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to
carry that out.
(224) Emergent
Worship-Wonder
Or Wasteland? by Pastor Larry DeBruyn, Discernment
Newsletter, Vol. 21, No. 1, January/February 2010 If evangelicals seek to derive worship experiences from ancient
traditions or contemporary culture, they will become bound to
those bases and turn worship from the wonder of the Word into a
wasteland of the world. Worship will be so carnal minded that it
is of no spiritual and heavenly good.
(225) Fictionally
Fighting
Contemplative Spirituality by John Lanagan, My Word
Like Fire, January 25th, 2010 As Lighthouse Trails Ministries has grimly noted, 2009 was a
year in which contemplative spirituality-essentially New Age
meditation-made great inroads into the culture, and especially
into the church. A Canadian writer is fighting back. Castles in
the Sand is Carolyn Greene's intriguing novel about the invasion
of contemplative spirituality into a traditional Christian
college. Greene is using fiction as a weapon, and while the book
may not seem like one of the "great stones" hurled by King
Uzziah's soldiers, even a small stone, if guided by the Lord,
can cause a giant to fall.
(226) Buddhist/Universalist
Sympathizer
Woos Nazarene Students at NNU by Lighthouse Trails
Editors, 1/25/10 Below is a link to a video* of a lecture that took place at
Northwest Nazarene University in Idaho, one of the Nazarene
Universities that is strongly promoting the
contemplative/emerging spirituality. The lecture, presented by
NNU Thomas Oord and College of Idaho, Denny Clark, was taught by
Dr. Jay McDaniel, a self-proclaimed "Christian" Buddhist
universalist sympathizer who is said to be highly influenced by
the late Catholic panentheistic monk, Thomas Merton. This is an
83 minute video, but for those who want to understand the
paradigm shift that has occurred in the church and continues
wooing millions with the mystical, universalist spirituality,
this video is well worth the watch.
(227) God
in
all things? The basis for contemplative spirituality
by Ray Yungen, Lighthouse Trails, 1/26/10 It is, of course, easy to find many passages which link the way
of the Christian Knower with that of his brother in the East.
They bear witness to the same efficacy of method. What did
she mean by the term "Christian Knower"? The answer is
unmistakable! In the first chapter, we saw how occultism is
awakening the mystical faculties to see God in everything.
(228) Northwest
Nazarene
University President Responds Regarding New Spirituality
Speaker by Lighthouse Trails Editors, 1/29/10 We believe this is a case of a university president who does
not appear to understand the nature of the current spiritual
deception sweeping through the church, and very much so the
Nazarene denomination.
(229) "Into"
the
Mystery - On Musical Mediatrixes by Pastor Larry
DeBruyn, 2/1/10 The New Testament knows nothing of musicians who possess either
the position and authority to escort Christians into God's
"soaking" presence. No matter how talented, singers and worship
leaders who make claim to being mediators between God in heaven
and Christians on earth can do so only by usurping the role of
Christ for us and the ministry of the Holy Spirit in us.
(230) The
"Kingdom
of God" in the Emerging Church: A Theology of Despair and
Hopelessness by Bob DeWaay, February 11th, 2010
Imagine a world where the polarity of time is reversed so that
history moves backward toward Paradise rather than forward
toward judgment. Consider a world in which God is so immanently
involved in the creation that He is undoing entropy1 and
recreating the world now through processes already at work.
Think of a world where the future is leading to God Himself in a
saving way for all people and all of creation. This imaginary
world is our world viewed through the lens of Emergent
eschatology.
(231) Assemblies
of
God Leader Promotes Universalist "Christian" in AOG Magazine
by John Lanagan, Word Like Fire, February 15th, 2010 What would you do if a Superintendent of a large denominational
district wrote an article promoting a universalist author? And
what if this article was published and distributed in a
popular denominational magazine? What if, in several
months of back and forth emails, the Superintendent never took
steps to correct this, and in fact, continued to express his
admiration for the universalist?
(232) Dr.
Jay
McDaniel And Mysticism At Northwest Nazarene University
by Ken Silva, 2/15/10 Along with other online apologetics and discernment ministries
such as Lighthouse Trails Research (LTR) at Apprising Ministries
I'm doing what I can to alert you as to how far corrupt
Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM) ala Living Spiritual
Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster, with an assist from
his spiritual twin Dallas Willard, has now penetrated mainstream
evangelicalism.
(233) Universalism:
The
Gospel Message of Emergent and New Age Spirituality by
Sola Sisters, 2/18/10 One of the greatest misconceptions in this country today is
that the New Age Movement of the 80s and 90s is (1) a thing of
the past and (2) has nothing whatsoever in common with
Christianity. Nothing could be further from the truth on
either count. Let me explain.
(234) The
Quantum
Christ: Entering the World AND the Church Through Popular New
Age & Christian Leaders by Warren B. Smith,
2/17/10 The New Age/New Spirituality is already heralding quantum
physics as a "scientific" basis for their contention that God is
not only transcendent but also immanent-"in" everyone and
everything. Physicist Fritjof Capra's 1975 best-selling book on
quantum physics-The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the
Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism-was the
first to present this proposed scientific/spiritual model to a
mass audience.
(235) Contextual
Theology
- Falling From Truth Through the Emerging Church by
Roger Oakland, 1/10/10 In order for the emerging church to succeed, the Bible has to
be looked at through entirely different glasses, and
Christianity needs to be open to a new type of faith. Brian
McLaren calls this new faith a "generous orthodoxy." While such
an orthodoxy allows a smorgasbord of ideas to be proclaimed in
the name of Christ, many of these ideas are actually forbidden
and rejected by Scripture.
(236) Nazarene
Pastor
Fired For Fighting Emergent Ideology by
ReformedNazarene, 2/19/10 Disturbing trends continue to develop in our
denomination. Recently, I sent out a prayer request for a
pastor and his church that decided to leave the Nazarene
denomination, rather than stay and bow to emergent ideology and
priorities. Soon, I will be posting some information
regarding those who have been forced to leave their churches
("Divorced From The Church"). More and more Bible
believing Nazarenes are finding themselves ostracized and are
even being labeled as cult members, hateful, dividers, "used by
the devil""etc. On and on it goes, with no biblical
justification! Students are subject to ridicule or
harassment for standing up against unbiblical teachings at their
universities.
(238) Keating,
Kundalini
and Contemplative Prayer by Brian Flynn, 2/10 How much more evidence do the leaders in our churches require
before they repent of promoting this practice When Rick Warren
stated in his first book, Purpose Driven Church that Foster's
spiritual formation was a wakeup call to the church, he gave the
green light to millions to practice something that could
potentially have long or permanent lasting damage on
practitioners.
(239) Could
This
Really Be the End of the Age? by Ray Yungen, February
28th, 2010 However, in 1984 I had an unexpected encounter that changed my
entire outlook. A newfound friend educated me about the New Age
movement and its end-times implications. After a period of
investigation, I came to believe this could very well be the
time period the book of Revelation showcases. Instead of a vague
and obscure manifestation of prophecy, I saw something distinct
and pervasive happening in our churches and society. And
incredibly enough, this shift has been predicted from both sides
of the struggle.
(240) Missionary
or
Missional - The Emerging Church "On a Mission from God"
by Bob DeWaay, 3/3/10 For hundreds, if not thousands, of years Christians have used
the term "missionary" to describe one who goes out to preach the
gospel to an unsaved world headed toward judgment-repentance for
the forgiveness of sin found in the death and resurrection of
Christ. The mission of the missionary was to proclaim the
absolute truth of the gospel-a fact proven by Jesus'
resurrection from the dead. The gospel is "good news" because it
provides condemned sinners with a certain escape from God's
wrath. Emergent's word "missional" does not convey this meaning.
(241) Updated! The
Emerging Church - Introducing Heresies by
Sandy Simpson, 4/20/09 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as
there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce
destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who
bought them-bringing swift destruction on themselves. (2 Pet.
2:1)
(242) Castles
in
the Sand visits Shane Claiborne by John Lanagan, My
Word Like Fire Ministries, 3/11/10 Before a packed auditorium at Warner Pacific College in
Portland, Oregon, activist Shane Claiborne gave his
message of peace, love, and brotherhood. An engaging speaker,
and a man dedicated to his beliefs, Claiborne had the crowd
laughing and reminiscing with him as he recounted past
adventures and experiences. During the time he spoke he
emphasized again and again our Christian duty to help the poor
and the oppressed.
(243) The
Cross
versus the "Higher Self" by Ray Yungen, 2/12/10
The New Age and Christianity definitely clash on the answer to
the question of human imperfection. The former [the New Age]
espouses the doctrine of becoming self-realized and united with
the universe, which they see as God but in reality is the realm
of familiar spirits. On the other hand, the Gospel that
Christians embrace offers salvation to humanity through grace
(unmerited favor).
(244) A
Beth Moore Expose' by Apprising Ministries,
3/13/10 Apprising Ministries pieces like How Would You Know Beth Moore?
I've shared my concerns about people like Moore who appear to
claiming to receive special revelation directly from God.
(245) Into
the
Arms of Rome Through Ancient Church Fathers and the Eurcharist
by Roger Oakland, March 18th, 2010 Many emerging church leaders are suggesting the need to study
the ideas and beliefs of church leaders of the post-disciple
era. They say if pastors and church leaders reintroduce these
teachings from the past, we will have spiritual transformation
and successful churches in the 21st century. But wait a
minute! If the church that emerged from the New Testament church
was based on ideas and beliefs foreign to Scripture, why would
we want to emulate a previous error? When doctrines of men
replace the doctrine of Scripture, many are led astray. It has
happened in the past, and it is happening now. Following
doctrine not based on the Word of God always results in the
undoing of faith. (from Faith Undone, ch. 5, pp. 77-80).
(246) BEWITCHED!
"Evil
Eye over Evangelicalism" by Pastor Larry DeBruyn,
3/28/10 Of their attitude toward this New Age system of spirituality,
Horowitz notes the double minded attitude of evangelicals
towards it (See James 1:8.). He notes that even while
evangelicals "heaped scorn upon the New Age," they adopted "some of its most popular therapeutic premises."
(248) Emerging
Church
Leaders, Evangelicals Sign'Covenant For Civility' by
Ken Silva, Apprising Ministries, 3/30/10 Emergent Church leader Brian McClaren, social justice guru Jim
Wallis and some evangelical notables such as Chuck Colson, have
signed a document called the "Covenant for Civility".
(249) A
Covenant for Civility - A New Order of the Third Way
by Herescope, 3/31/10 This is getting to be a regular event! Yet another broad
ecumenical coalition has gathered together to sign yet another
"covenant" for "common ground" and "civility." The Discernment
Research Group warned over a year ago that this tactic would be
increasing.
(250) Man's
Dangerous
Hunger for the Occult and the Supernatural by Carl
Tiechrib, 3/31/10 Yes, the physical world is a marvelous wonder, filled with many
transfixing and puzzling surprises. It still baffles man by its
beauty and complexity. So too the non-physical universe,
including mental and spiritual components, is a place of
fascination. However, when dabbling and dealing with the
supernatural - and the mind sciences that sometimes attempt to
explain or exploit it-a mental, emotional, and spiritual
minefield is encountered. And just as wandering into a physical
minefield will destroy the body, so too will a spiritual
minefield destroy the soul.
(251) Christian
Leaders
Celebrate Easter But Promote Atonement Deniers - Makes No
Sense by Lighthouse Trails, 4/1/10 The contemplative prayer movement and the new emerging
spirituality continue to wreak havoc on the body of Christ and
on the preaching of the Gospel to the lost. For eight years,
Lighthouse Trails has shown through one report after the next
the teachings by many that outright or indirectly deny the
substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ (the basic essence of
the salvation for the believer). And yet today many Christian
leaders, professors, and pastors continue to promote atonement
deniers or those who resonate with them. And we say again, it
makes no sense to celebrate Easter while promoting those who
deny the atonement. A case in point. Calvary Chapel teacher,
Gayle Erwin, has his endorsement of The Shack on the back cover
of the book and on The Shack website. Yet, Erwin continues
addressing Calvary Chapel pastors (e.g. recently at the SW
Calvary Chapel Pastors Conference with Greg Laurie and other
Calvary Chapel pastors). But William Paul Young, author of The
Shack has denied the biblical substitutionary atonement as we
showed in John Lanagan's 2009 article, The Shack Author Rejects
Biblical Substitutionary Atonement.
(252) Why
Evangelicalism
is failing a new generation as is the Emerging Church
by Apprising Ministries, 4/4/10 And there you go; as a former Southern Baptist, Carol Howard
Merritt would walk away and then find a home in an innovative,
intergenerational congregation within the liberal/progressive
PCUSA. Merritt said above that "this is an important moment for
progressive Christians"; that's where the Emerging Church is
headed, toward a new form of progressive Christianity with its
lie of universalism. So I counter that this is instead a very
critical moment in time for actual evangelicals; do you now have
the spiritual intestinal fortitude to expel such as these-who
are spiritually immoral-from among your midst? Because if you do
not, you'd best know this; their spiritual cancer will also kill
the mainstream of the visible church in just the same way as
that of their evil forebears once mortally wounded the mainline
denominations.
(253) The
Seductive
Poison of Apostasy: A look at "180", a new book from the
Nazarene Publishing House by Eric Barger, April 15,
2010 180 is a compilation of several authors, including Emergent
leader and author, Leonard Sweet, Frederica Mathewes-Green (who,
along with Sweet and Emergent godfather, Brian McLaren,
contributed to the book The Church in the Emerging Culture: Five
Perspectives), G.P (Graham) Taylor (author of Shadowmancer), and
Baptist-bred biographer-turned-fiction-writer, Ace Collins. A
few of the other contributing authors include Emergent youth
speaker, Mark Oestreicher, Karen Spears Zacharias, Patricia
Raybon (who has endorsed contemplative spirituality and favors
Catholic mystics), Cameron Conant and Bob Buford, the founder of
Leadership Network, (the suspected genesis point which spawned
today's Emergent movement and its original leaders). Buford also
served as the initial chairman of the Peter F. Drucker
Foundation for Nonprofit Management, now known as "Leader to
Leader Institute."
(254) Emergent:
"Why
Can't Everybody be Right?" by Bob DeWaay,
4/19/10 Emergent writers decry any approach that declares some ideas to
be true and others false. Propositions force people to decide
what to believe. One Emergent writer, Dwight J. Friesen,
explains his view: "The theological method of orthoparadoxy
surrenders the right to be right for the sake of movement toward
being reconciled one with the other, while simultaneously
seeking to bring the fullness of convictions and beliefs to the
other. Current theological methods that often stress
agreement/disagreement, win/loss, good/bad, orthodoxy/heresy,
and the like set people up for constant battles to convince and
convert the other to their way of believing and being in the
world." Propositional truth claims do not fit into the Emergent
"conversation" because they divide people. But the price of
giving up such claims is to give up the very claims that the
Biblical writers made.
(255) What
Are
We Left With? by Jacob Prasch, Moriel Ministries,
4/2/10 As emergent apostate McLaren continues his satanic agenda to
dismantle the Gospel, and as John Piper promotes Rick Warren,
the real question emerges: "What Are We Really Left With?"
(256) Emerging
Church
Theologian Leonard Sweet Not To Speak At Pastor Skip Heitzig's
Calvary Chapel by Ken Silva, 4/28/10 Sandy Simpson comments: "This is a victory for the
cause of Christ. Let's just hope their claim to not
support the agenda and teachings of the EC is true. Jackie
Alnor comments: "And Phoenix Preacher bloggers have a
collective conniption fit! PP's leader, Michael Newnham says:
"Heitzig just breathed new life into the ODM movement"they are
now empowered as never before." Translation ODM means "online
discernment ministries" which is a derisive term." ... Ken
Silva comments: "Today however, I was contacted by Nelson
Walker, who is a pastor at Calvary of Albuquerque (CoA) where
Skip Heitzig is Senior Pastor. What pastor Walker told me was
that CoA happens to have "beautiful facilities" that are also
sometimes used by others, which would be the case of this
National Worship Leader Conference. He told me that this was not
a CoA event, but even so, Leonard Sweet has been asked "not to
speak though he will be in attendance. Pastor Walker said that
CoA was in not supportive of the Emerging Church."
(257) Questions
Arise:
Is New Age Sympathizer Leonard Sweet Speaking at Calvary
Chapel Albuquerque or Not? by Lighthouse Trails,
5/1/10 Stablein told my associate that a decision whether or not have
Sweet speak at CoA has not yet been made and she felt it was
"premature" for pastor Walker to have said Sweet will definitely
not be speaking at CoA. In addition, I've just spoken myself
with Lighthouse Trails Research (LTR); I was informed that also
on Thursday, April 29 they were contacted by David Bow, another
pastor at CoA. Bow told LTR, at that time, he was under the
impression that Sweet was going to be speaking at CoA. So you
may wish to stay tuned as we attempt to bring this rather fuzzy
picture into focus.
(258) WARNING:
Monvee
- Leadership Network's Spiritual Formation & Mystical
Spirituality by A Ministry In His Service, Sola
Sisters, 5/5/10 In a recent post about Monvee, we talked about Catholic mystic
Thomas Merton who once compared mystical meditation to the same
powerful experience generated by mind-altering drugs. And
as we noted, the problem with mystical meditation is that it is
far more dangerous than drugs. Monvee, the new product put
out by Leadership Network, markets itself as a way for
Christians to draw closer to God through something called
"Spiritual Formation." But, the Spiritual Formation
techniques taught by Monvee, which are the same thing as the
"mystical meditation" referenced by Thomas Merton, are identical
to classic occultic meditation practices taught in Hinduism,
Buddhism, wicca, paganism,etc.
(259) The
National
Worship Leader Conference is still advertising that both Skip
Heitzig and Leonard Sweet will be speaking at their conference
at the Calvary Chapel Albequerque church by Ken Silva,
5/8/10 A number of Lighthouse Trails' readers contacted us over the
last couple days sending us copies of an email they each
received from an undisclosed personnel at Calvary Chapel
Albuquerque. The form letter states: Thank you for contacting us
here at The Connection and thanks for writing to Pastor Skip. We
always love to hear from you. The conference is not a Calvary
conference. The conference is being put on by Worship
Leader Magazine using our facility - just like CAPE, Home school
graduation, funerals, etc. Therefore, Leonard Sweet is not
speaking at "Skip's Church". [LT: Heitzig is one of the
speakers at this event.] He is part of a conference using
Calvary's facilities. Leonard Sweet will attend the conference
but WILL NOT BE SPEAKING. It is our prayer that God will
continue to reveal Himself to you through His Word as you seek
to know Him.Love in Christ, Connection Communications. Despite
these emails sent out by CCA, Leonard Sweet AND Skip Heitzig
are listed as speakers. What is Skip's picture and name
doing there if he is not a part of it? So what is this garbage
about Skip just letting them use his church? Someone is not
telling the truth!
(260) Letter
to
the Editor: National Worship Conference & Calvary Chapel
Not a Good Mix at Lighthouse Trails, 5/13/10 I have been reading your posts regarding C.C. Albuquerque and
Leonard Sweet. I thought you might like the following
information so that we might all be able to determine the truth
regarding this matter. According to Calvary Chapel Albuquerque's
website on their upcoming events page, Dr. Leonard Sweet will in
fact be speaking. If you scroll down to about the 17th event "
National Worship Conference " there is an audio promo posted
which states that Mr. Sweet will in fact be speaking:
http://www.calvaryabq.org/events.asp I would also like to point
out that Leonard Sweet while blatantly New Age, is not the only
speaker in question. There are many other people in this
upcoming conference who are a part of Saddleback and Willow
Creek. Both pastors of both churches, Rick Warren* and Bill
Hybels respectively, are graduates of the Robert Schuller School
of Church Leadership, and both pastors also endorse
contemplative prayer, a 'Christianized' brand of Hindu
meditation practices.
(261) Beyond
a
Doubt: Contemplative Spirituality = New Age Movement
by Ray Yungen, 5/18/10 Before writing my book, A Time of Departing, I made sure I
could prove, beyond a doubt, that contemplative prayer had not
only slipped into the Christian faith, but also prove it is an
integral part of the New Age movement.
(262) Emerging or
Submerging? by Brian Brodersen, Calvary Chapel
Magazine, Issue 44, Summer 2010
Finally a good response from a Calvary Chapel pastor to the influx
of Emergent teachings into Calvary Chapels. The only
statement I disagree with in this article is that Brodersen says:
"I believe time will tell that this new movement will turn out to
be nothing more than a passing fancy of a few disenchanted
men." We know from long experience that heresy begets heresy
and does not really ever go away till Christ comes back which is
why we must reject it. However this article does call EC teachings
what they are ... heresy. Thanks for this article
Brian.
(264) The
Other
Side of Emergent: The New Apostolic Reformation by
Herescope, 6/1/10 Today is the launching of a new book, co-authored by Leonard
Sweet and Frank Viola. This marks the open marriage of the
Emergent movement with the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR).
Sweet and Viola's book, Jesus Manifesto, is subtitled "Restoring
the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ," and it pushes
the envelope on redefining Jesus, including "You can be a Jesus
Manifest."[2] A quick glance at the lineup of key endorsers for
this book includes a list of who's who in Emergent, the Latter
Rain cult, neoevangelicalism and the New Apostolic Reformation.
(265) Using
Contemplative/Centering
Prayer as "Christian" Meditation by Ken Silva,
Apprising Ministries, 6/4/10 The most dangerous aspect of the new spirituality is this idea
of some supposed "spiritual disciplines," which must be
performed in order to more fully "experience" God.
(266) A
Revolutionary World Peace - Whose Revolution? by
Warren Smith, 6/6/10 As more and more talk arises about a "spiritual revolution" or
awakening, believers should be asking, is this a revolution from
God? Or is this coming global "revolution" part of the great
falling away of which the Bible speaks? Consider the following
article by Warren B. Smith, and next time you hear a Christian
leader talking about revolution, ask yourself, "Whose revolution
is this?"
(267) Deceitful
Mysticism by Ken Silva, 6/10/10 In recent posts such as Leonard Sweet, Frank Viola, And The
Third Way and Root Of This New Downgrade here at Apprising
Ministries I've been showing you how deeply the practice, and
results, of Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM) within
the pretending to be Protestant squishy evanjellyfish community.
And in Mark Driscoll And Neo-Reformed New Calvinist
Contemplative Spirituality I've also shown you that CSM has now
pretty much metastasized throughout the church visible as it's
now even festering within the neo-Reformed camp.
(268) A
Subtle And Dangerous Shift In Christianity By Marsha
West, News With Views, June 13, 2010
It seems everyone's practicing yoga meditation these days.
Physicians recommend it to their patients which means it's
beneficial"right? Meditation is said to relieve stress, anxiety,
hypertension, acne and post-nasal drip, so go for it! Just tighten
those abdominal muscles, inhale deeply and chant Maaaaaaaaa all in
one breath and your concerns will drift away like a feather
floating on the win........
(269) Saddleback
Promotes
Chrstianized Mantra Meditation by by Christine Pack,
Sola Sisters, 6/15/10 Rick Warren's Saddleback Church website features two books by
Quaker and mystic Richard Foster, today's leading proponent of
something known as "Spiritual Disciplines" or "Spiritual
Formation." Also promoted are several other books focusing
on the Spiritual Disciplines, which teach a practice that is
nothing more than a "Christianized" version of mantra
meditation, a pagan practice borrowed from Hinduism and
Buddhism. In this pagan practice, a person will "empty"
the mind employing some kind of device: rhythmic music,
repeating a word or phrase, focusing on breathing, etc., in an
attempt to connect to God.
(271) Dangerous
Prayers by Paul Proctor, News With Views, June 25,
2010 You see, there are those in the Church today who practice what
is called "Contemplative Prayer" - a New Age style mantra that
is all about emptying one's mind to allegedly "find God within"
by repeating certain words or phrases over and over until the
mind is disengaged and no longer thinking - achieving an altered
state of consciousness or (alpha state) known as "The Silence"
which is indeed "dangerous" considering it opens one up to what
the Bible calls "familiar spirits" (demonic influences). It's
rooted in Eastern Mysticism where it is more commonly referred
to as "Transcendental Meditation."
(272) Rising
Christian
Imperialism Fueled By Dominionism Theology by Don
Koenig, Apprising Ministries, 7/2/10 Most Christians might think I would have to be nuts to warn
others about the possibility of rising Christian imperialism at
a time when Christianity is under oppression by the secular Far
Left and Islam but apart from my mental condition I try to stay
one step ahead of the curve.
(273) Dialectic
Deception:
Do you know where they are taking you? by Sandy
Simpson, exceprt from the DVD "The Emerging Church", 7/2/10
Sandy Simpson on Dialectic Deception. The following video link
is to a segment from Concerned Nazarenes DVD project on the new
spirituality. This particular segment is an interview between
missionary Sandy Simpson (founder of Deception in the Church)
and interviewer John Loeffler.
(274) Experiencing
God
through Deceitful Mysticism by James Sundquist,
Richard Bennett, Berean Beacon Ministries and a former Roman
Catholic Priest, 7/9/10 - YouTube video Professional deception and clever fraudulence are running
rampant in mystical claims to experience God. Thus, the
signature of Satan is seen in St. John of the Cross, Ignatius
Loyola, Madame Guyon, Carl Jung, Richard Foster, and in such as
Mother Teresa, Rick Warren, Brian McLaren, Leonard Sweet,
Phyllis Tickle, and other deceivers of the Emerging Church
movement who transmit this plague. In this illustrated
DVD, Richard Bennett and James Sundquist expose the deceitful
shams that prevail at the present time. They also explain
the scriptural method of biblical meditation and genuinely
experiencing God.
(275) Is
BSF
(Bible Study Fellowship) Heading in the Contemplative
Direction? by Lighthouse Trails, 7/13/10 Bible Study Fellowship, a ministry of Bible studies that has
been around for over 50 years, is utilized by many Bible
believing Christians. On the BSF website, it states: "In all,
there are over 1,000 BSF classes with 200,000 class members in
38 nations across six continents! Over 800 of the classes are
held in the U.S." Recently, a number of BSF
supporters/participants contacted Lighthouse Trails with
concerns that the organization may be becoming influenced by
contemplative sources, most likely unbeknownst to many or most
of BSF board of directors and Bible Study teachers. In the May
2010 issue of the BSF magazine, a book list includes three
contemplative proponents: contemplative pioneer Dallas Willard,
emerging proponent Dan Allender, and Pastor Timothy Keller of
Redeemed Presbyterian in New York.
(276) The
CORNERSTONE
Festival - My Cornerstone Experience by Herescope,
7/16/10 Among the bands and speakers, there were a many Dominionists,
Vineyard, and Protestant/Catholic combined peoples putting out
their theology. The Gospel may have been presented, but not once
did I hear mention of Jesus Christ's sanctifying work or His
precious gift of salvation. Instead I heard about the greatness
of the monks and the need to make productive communities.
(277) Update
on
the Church of the Nazarene and the Emerging/Contemplative
Movement: Where are the Battlegrounds? by Reformed
Nazarene, 7/16/10 The Emergent Church Movement is a serious problem for the
Christian church. It threatens practically all Christians
regardless of denomination. I've been a Nazarene all my
life, but if you are reading this and are anything but Nazarene,
it probably makes no difference. Whether you are Southern
Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Calvary Chapel, or one of many
other evangelical denominations, chances are you are either
facing this danger, or you will be soon.
(278) Did
Jesus
Teach the Divinity of Humanity? - Investigating the
intent of Jesus' statement, "You are gods" by Pastor
Larry DeBruyn, 8/3/10 Mystic, New Age, cultic and Word of Faith spiritualists
commonly assume that in the essence of their being they are
divine, that either they are or can become gods.[1] For example,
by employing The Third Eye mystics attempt to contemplate into a
consciousness of their divine nature.
(279) Evangelical
Christianity
Catapulted into Seeing "God" with New Interspiritual Eyes
by Ray Yungen, 8/13/10 Contemplative advocates propose that there has been something
vital and important missing from the church for centuries. The
insinuation is that Christians have been lacking something
necessary for their spiritual vitality; but that would mean the
Holy Spirit has not been fully effective for hundreds of years
and only now the secret key has been found that unlocks God's
full power to know Him. These proponents believe that
Christianity has been seriously crippled without this extra
ingredient. This kind of thinking leads one to believe that
traditional, biblical Christianity is merely a philosophy
without the contemplative prayer element. Contemplatives are
making a distinction between studying and meditating on the Word
of God versus experiencing Him, suggesting that we cannot hear
Him or really know Him simply by studying His Word or even
through normal prayer-we must be contemplative to accomplish
this. But the Bible makes it clear that the Word of God is
living and active, and has always been that way, and it is in
filling our minds with it that we come to love Him, not through
a mystical practice of stopping the flow of thought (the
stillness) that is never once mentioned in the Bible, except in
warnings against vain repetitions.
(280) A
Special Report: Christianity Today Treats Contemplative
Controversy as Legitimate Issue in Cover Story About Beth
Moore by Lighthouse Trails Editors, 8/16/10 In the August 2010 cover story of Christianity Today, the
magazine has brought out two things that the major Christian
media has thus far ignored - one, that Beth Moore, described as
"the most popular Bible teacher in America" by CT is a
proponent of contemplative prayer, and two, that there is a
debate over whether contemplative meditation is of Eastern
religious origin or not. This Lighthouse Trails special report
will look at both of these facets, Beth Moore's contemplative
propensities (incidentally, she is noted in CT for
influencing "millions" of women) and the vital question as to
whether contemplative prayer is indeed rooted in Eastern
mysticism.
(281) From
Truth
to a New Spirituality by Berit Kjos, March 10,
2008
To view a chart showing the transition from truth to a New
Spirituality, click the link above. This is a helpful tool when
trying to explain to others how this transition is taking place in
the world, and in the church today.
(282) Sexuality
in
the New Reformation by Roger Oakland, 8/24/10 It may seem out of place to include a section on sexuality in
[Faith Undone] on the postmodern reformation. However, one
aspect of the topic cannot be ignored, and it has become an
earmark in the emerging church-that aspect is related to
homosexuality.
(283) Letter
from
a Victim of "Spiritual Formation" in his Church from
Nick, a Lighthouse Trails reader, 8/25/10 I'm praying on once again opening dialogue with my Pastor (by
e-mail) and asking bluntly if the church is Emergent and/or
Universalist. I don't know if he's rationalized the
changes or truly doesn't see the danger involved, but his
ministry staff is all for it, and sadly even his wife (Creative
Arts Ministry Director). My heart goes out to him and yet I have
this need to have him say yes, so I can move on. I know
this is not right, yet I can't seem to help myself. God
continues to show me that this is not going away.
(284) A
Warning And A Plea by Ray Yungen, 9/3/10 Many people today believe that it is wrong to talk about and
warn of an endtime, apocolyptic time period. Rather, they say,
we should spend time meditating and employing our higher powers
to reach happiness and enlightenment in life. We each have a
choice to make. Do we seek after this consciousness, or do we
humbly call upon the living God and accept His free gift of
salvation and eternal life?
(285) Confronting
The Superstitious Church Of The 21st Century by G.
Richard Fisher, PFO, 1998 How do we go about resisting the superstition, the fads, the
nonsense and mysticism that has overtaken the Church at large?
1) A Total Commitment To The Doctrines Of Scripture.2) A Total
Commitment To The Local Church. 3) Total Commitment To and
Reliance On The Christ Of The Scriptures.
(286) Christian
Broadcast
Network (CBN) Peddling Contemplative Spirituality by
Ken Silva, Apprising Ministries, 9/6/10 You are probably aware that CBN stands for the Christian
Broadcasting Network, which was started by Pat Robertson[2], and
is very popular with-as well as highly influential within-the
more middle-of-the-road crowd of the charismatic and Pentecostal
movement; whereas the Trinity Broadcasting Network comprises
sort of the lunatic fringe, and the more heretical, of the Word
Faith movement. So you see, with CBN and its programming, we're
undoubtedly dealing here with a very large segment of Christians
within the church visible. Not long ago in Beth Moore Attacks
The Protestant Reformation, if you don't know Moore is a wildly
popular SBC Bible teacher who works closely with the
aforementioned Shirer, I reminded you that the crown jewel of
CSM is a form of meditation in an altered state of consciousness
known as Contemplative/Centering Prayer (CCP); i.e.
transcendental meditation lightly sprayed with Christian
terminology. It has become a real source of concern for those of
us in the ministry field of online apologetics and discernment
because this spurious CCP, which attacks the Reformation
principle of Sola Scriptura, is now even associated with people
around the neo-Reformed camp like "New Calvinists" such as Dr.
Tim Keller, and the controversial Mark Driscoll with his church
planting Acts 29 Network, which is already on the outskirts of
the Emerging Church.
(288)Eucharistic
Adoration
and the Emerging Church by Roger Oakland,
9/12/10 When Christians begin to chase after powerful mystical
experiences that supposedly bring them closer to Christ, this
becomes like a slippery slope that will have disastrous results.
The emerging church is on this slope.
(289) Jim
Wallis
and Soujourners making Muslim-Christians by Ken Silva,
9/25/10 That's precisely what's wrong with a lot of "mission" work in
the big tent way; there's no such thing as "a biblical faith"
that functions as part of "a Reformation movement within" a
pagan religion. You need to understand that apart from faith in
God through Jesus Christ all other religions, no matter how
noble they may appear on a purely human level, are idolatry i.e.
worship a false god that is, in reality, at least a demon.
(290) Dallas
Willard
Says: Follow the Example of Mystic Teresa of Avila by
Carolyn A. Greene, 10/3/10 Many Christian organizations, schools, and ministries are using
the writings of Spiritual Formation pioneer (and a colleague of
Richard Foster) Dallas Willard. Yet on his website, he tells his
readers to follow the example of Teresa of Avila. (source) If
you have not read the based on a true story novel Castles in the
Sand, we highly recommend it as it shows the truth behind
spiritual formation and focuses in particularly on Teresa of
Avila, a Catholic nun from several centuries ago who used
mystical experiences to "enter God's presence," even to the
point of levitating. Below is a chapter from Castles in the
Sand by Carolyn A. Greene. Then you decide if Dallas
Willard is giving sound advice when he says that Teresa of Avila
is an example to follow.
(291) The
Emerging
Church And Spiritual Evolution by Ken Silva,
10/5/10 I've told you here at Apprising Ministries that evangelicalism
made a horrible mistake when it embraced the sinfully ecumenical
neo-liberal cult of the Emerging Church-a veritable Trojan Horse
full of heresy-now blossomed into an Emerging Church 2.0 pushing
its new form of postmodern Progressive Christianity as "big
tent" Emergence Christianity.
(292) The
New
Age Movement: Who's Laughing Now? by Bud Press,
Christian Research Service, September 9, 2008 Years ago, many laughed and brushed-off the New Age Movement as
a mere fad that would eventually fade away. But behind the
scenes, it slithered into every strata of our society--homes,
elementary and high schools, bookstores, jobs, colleges,
universities, churches, and pulpits.
(293) Southern
Baptist
leader on yoga: Not Christianity by Dylan Lovan,
Associated Press, Oct 7, 2010 LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A Southern Baptist leader who is calling for
Christians to avoid yoga and its spiritual attachments is
getting plenty of pushback from enthusiasts who defend the
ancient practice. Southern Baptist Seminary President Albert
Mohler says the stretching and meditative discipline derived
from Eastern religions is not a Christian pathway to God.
(294) Ancient-Future
Spirituality
Not Biblical by Roger Oakland, 10/9/10 (Robert) Webber, like many emergent leaders, was trying to
differentiate between Roman Catholic and catholic (as a
universal body). However, the Roman Catholic Church does not
make this distinction because they claim an apostolic succession
of papacy (popes) beginning with the apostle Peter. Therefore,
all of Catholicism is Roman Catholicism. Some in the emerging
church do not show an attachment to the authority of the papacy
but embrace the practices and early history of the Catholic
Church as described above by Webber. But many Protestants who
began by attaching themselves to the history, teachings, and
practices of the early Catholic Church have now taken the
natural next step of becoming Roman Catholic. (For more on this,
see chapter 5, Faith Undone.)
(295) Biblical
Atonement
or New Age At-One-Ment? by Warren B. Smith,
10/14/10 This "Atonement," or "atoning," is when each person remembers
and affirms and experiences their "oneness" (at-one-ment) with
God and creation. The "Atonement" is the Course's key to undoing
"fear" and dispelling the illusion that man is "separate" from
God. The Course stresses that the healing of the world is
dependent upon each person's fulfilling their Atonement
"function" to teach this "oneness" to the world. When everyone
comes to understand that "all is love and all is God," then
"inner peace" and "world peace" will finally happen. Only "fear"
and the illusion of "separation" stand in the way of man's
attaining this peace for himself and his world. (For more on
this and the "false christ," read Warren B. Smith's new
Lighthouse Trails release, False Christ Coming: Does Anybody
Care?
(296) Emerging
Church
Leader Samir Selmanovic Worships With Witches by Ken
Silva, 10/15/10 Well, accolades from apostates aside, you should be able to see
that with FHM Samir Selmanovic is in violation of God's Word
with this interspiritual worship; it's well beyond simply
befriending people of other faith, which is desirable for the
Christian. No, with Selmanovic and others in the Emergent Church
we cross the line into participating in pagan religions, which
has always been something God forbids. O, but just because Jesus
wants us to know - what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons
and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons
(1 Corinthians 10:20), heretics like Selmanovic aren't going to
let a little thing like what the Lords says stop them because
they are - lovers of self (2 Timothy 3:2).
(297) Christians
Troubled
When They Learn The Truth About Yoga by Marsha West,
News With Views, 10/16/10 Believers are called to meditate upon the Word of God - an
external Word that comes to us by divine revelation - not to
meditate by means of incomprehensible syllables." -Albert Mohler
"All forms of yoga involve occult assumptions, even hatha yoga,
which is often presented as a merely physical discipline."
-Douglas Groothuis
(298) Fighting
Spiritual
Evolution In The Emerging Church by Ken Silva,
10/18/10 I want you to realize that the prevailing view in contemporary
educational institutions is postmodern. Emergent is postmodern
theology. I talked to a college professor from Japan who spoke
at a conference here in America that was attended only by other
college professors-Christian ones. He said almost to a person
those professors were postmodern. They were praising people like
Stanley Grenz for saving evangelicalism from irrelevance.
(299) COLLEGE
ALERT:
CMA Simpson University Students Seek Contemplative Chapel
Experience reported by Lighthouse Trails Research,
October 19th, 2010 Simpson University in Redding California (part of Christian
Missionary Alliance) is just one of countless Christian schools
that has gone into the contemplative/emerging camp. Please see
our links below this article for more information.
(300) In
Need
of a Pastor for Your Church? Try Looking at NON-Contemplative
Collegesby Lighthouse Trails Editors, 10/20/10 We received the following email today from a pastor in Belgium.
We are posting it because we believe there are many Christian
churches who start off with biblically-based pastors but end up
with pro-contemplative, pro-emerging replacement pastors because
they are often choosing new pastors from Christian colleges,
universities, and seminaries, of which the majority are training
future pastors right into the "new" spirituality. If your church
is in search of a new pastor, please use wisdom,
knowledge, and discernment, praying always that the Lord will
guide you. And if your particular denomination is one that
is especially bent toward the contemplative/emerging
spirituality (sadly, most of the denominations are this way -
some more than others), then you have a bigger challenge than
you may have realized.
(301) A
Glorious Destiny? by Roger Oakland, 10/22/10 Neale Donald Walsch, a prominent leader in the New Age, is one
of those with new reformation on his mind. He states: "We are
suggesting that people become modern day Martin Luther's and
take the five steps to peace and tack them up on church house
doors, as Martin Luther did with his 95 theses in 1517 in
Wittenburg, Germany, which started of course, the first
Reformation. Our intention is to stimulate the second great
Reformation of world religion. That is our intention, our goal
and our purpose. We intend to, in fact, inspire the second great
Reformation of world religion." Comments like the one above are
quite interesting because Walsch is not a Christian, but he
speaks of a religious reformation he is hoping to witness. But
Walsch's reformation does not include Jesus Christ.
(303) Atonement
Wars by Gary Gilley, 11/4/10 When Steve Chalk and Brian McLaren accused evangelicals who
believed in the substitutionary death of Christ of embracing a
form of Divine child abuse,[1] Christians everywhere did a
double-take. Having sung with gusto for years that great
line penned by Charles Wesley, "Amazing love, how can it be that
Thou my God shouldst die for me" Christians could not believe
that they were being accused of promoting child abuse by men who
claimed to be at least on the fringes of the evangelical
community. What McLaren and Chalk had done was bring
to the surface for all to see the long-standing debate by
theologians about the meaning of the cross. Almost
no one in Christian circles doubts the historicity of the
crucifixion, but why Christ died has long been contested.
Of late, due to the rising popularity of everything from the
Emergent Church to the Ancient-Future Faith movement to the New
Perspective on Paul, the significance of Christ's cross-work,
often called the atonement, has regained traction. In
particular what has often been called "penal substitution," that
the Son, "suffer[ed] instead of us the death, punishment and
curse due to fallen humanity as the penalty for sin" has come
under intense attack.[2] It is the purpose of this study
to identify the various views held by Christians on the
atonement, analyze briefly the three major theories, and then
develop a biblical defense for penal substitution as the central
meaning and purpose behind the cross. Read Part
1 & Part
2.
(304) On
Spiritual
Formation by Pastor Larry DeBruyn, Contemplative
Spirituality, 11/11/10 Within evangelical movement, especially on the part of the
emerging church, we hear a lot of talk about "spiritual
formation."[1] The difference I have with the spiritual
formation movement is not regarding the destination-Paul wrote
that Christians need to grow-up "to the measure of the stature
which belongs to the fulness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13)-but
over the journey, how emerging evangelicals are proposing we get
there. As the Holy Spirit incorporates Christ within and among
believers, He sets Christ-likeness as the objective for every
believer because that is the very meaning of the name,
"Christian."
(305) VCY
America/Lighthouse
Trails Radio Show on Those Who Claim Orthodox Christianity But
Promote Emerging/Contemplative by Lighthouse Trails
Editors, 11/17/10 On Tuesday, November 16th, Ingrid Schlueter invited Lighthouse
Trails editor Deborah Dombrowski on the CrossTalk radio
program to discuss Christian figures who claim to hold to
orthodox Christian doctrinal statements yet continually promote
the emerging/contemplative spirituality. You can listen to this
broadcast by clicking here.
(306) Author/Lecturer
Roger
Oakland Says Good-bye to Calvary Chapel by Lighthouse
Trails Editors, 11/23/10 The initial reaction by Chuck Smith over Faith Undone, released
in 2007, was very favorable. But that was not the consensus by
many in the movement. Roger had named names, including Rick
Warren as well as Chuck Smith's nephew Chuck Fromm (editor of
Worship Leadermagazine). Soon, Roger began feeling the heat for
speaking up. A number of events took place, many of which
Lighthouse Trails reported on as they occurred.
(307) Bible
Gateway
Now Gateway to Heretical Authors - Could Point Millions to
Emerging Teachings by John Lanagan, 11/28/10 For years Bible Gateway has been relied upon for accurate Bible
translation. In 2008, Bible Gateway was purchased by
Zondervan Publishing, and for some months now, Bible Gateway's
online General Store has served as gateway to a number of
heretical authors.
(308) The
Dangers
of Yoga - Introduction (MP3 Audio Message) by Chris
Lawson, Spiritual Research Network, 12/5/10 This introductory message entitled the Dangers of Yoga -
Introduction is for Christians and non-Christians alike. The
message includes an overview of why yoga is dangerous and why
Christians are deceived in their thinking that they can combine
yoga with the Christian faith. The message includes
definitions of Yoga, the biblical prohibition in Deuteronomy 18
condemning any and all involvement with the world of the occult,
"occultism" defined, the philosophy and practice of yoga cannot
be separated, the aim and purpose of all yoga - Kundalini
arousal and possession states [called Enlightenment in India],
overview of Dangers of Yoga series, and more.
(309) The
"Creeping"
Effect - The New Age and Evangelical Christianity by
Ray Yungen, 12/6/10 If you have ever wondered why New Age authors and their
teachings are creeping past many Christians, then maybe the
definition of creeping might help. The term means: slowly
advancing at a speed that is not really apparent until you look
back over a long time period. For instance, creeping inflation
is not noticed in the short term, but when one looks back over
twenty to thirty years, it is shocking. A meal that cost two
dollars in 1970 now may cost eight dollars-however, the increase
moved so slowly that the impact was diminished.
(310) Philip
Yancey
and the Gay Christian Network by Ken Silva,
12/8/10 ... here we have Philip Yancey, an alleged evangelical
Protestant and editor at large for Christianity Today magazine,
going to apostate Roman Catholic mystics to learn about prayer.
He even says that if we want to "go deeper" into
Contemplative/Centering Prayer (CCP), meditation in an altered
state of consciousness which is the crowning jewel of CSM,
"there's Thomas Merton."
(311) Spread
Of
Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism: Lectio Divina by
Ken Silva, 12/9/10 A main focus of the online apologetics and discernment ministry
Apprising Ministries has been covering the rise in popularity
within Protestant evangelicalism of practicing corrupt
Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM) ala Living Spiritual
Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster and his spiritual twin
Dallas Willard. It's a rapidly spreading-and very dangerous-fad;
and if left unchecked by spiritually timid evangelical leaders,
at the very least CSM is going to be the cause of much division
within the church visible, and at its worst it will blur
doctrinal distinctives to the point of laying foundation for a
Global Religion.
(312) Mysticism
by Gary Gilley, 12/9/10
Article that catalogs the entrance of mysticism into evengelical
Christianity. Read Part
1, Part
2, Part
3, Part
4, & Part
5.
(313) The Emergent Church
Teaching On The Trinity "Loving Community" by Sandy
Simpson, 12/10/10 There is a fairly new teaching in the Emergent Church (EC) on
the Trinity as an example of a "loving community" thereby giving
evidence that anyone who names the name of Christ is to be a
loving community, in unity with "humanity".
(314) Max
Lucado's
Quoting Of Contemplative Mystics by Lighthouse Trails,
12/17/10 Cure for the Common Life, by author Max Lucado, is a book about
"living in your sweet spot." Lucado tells readers in chapter one
to "[h]eed that inner music," and quoting mystic Martin Buber
from his book, The Way of Man (a book on Jewish mysticism),
Lucado tells readers they each have a "divine spark." Buber had
panentheistic affinities as he embraced the teachings of
Hasidism (Jewish mysticism) and believed that this divine spark
that Lucado refers to is in every human being and every part of
creation. Through Lucado's book he quotes other mystics and
contemplatives: Saint Thomas Aquinas,Thomas Merton, Eugene
Peterson and Richard Foster.
(315) Letter
to
the Editor: Contemplative Prayer Alive and "Well" in American
Churches at Lighthouse Trails, 12/19/10 This fall I ordered Ray Yungen's book, A Time of Departing, and
was also sent Roger Oakland's book, Faith Undone. Thank
you! I first devoured Ray's book and finished Roger's this
morning. "Speechless" is how I feel! I hardly know what to
say, except that I am very grateful for their research and
writing. Ten years ago I may have wondered what it was
they were upset about; however, in recent years I can attest
personally to some of these atrocities within the church.
A few years ago, we were members of a PCUSA church in which the
associate pastor and his wife (dear friends) delved full-speed
into studies, sessions, and retreats on Prayer (contemplative,
meditative, breath, Taize, etc.). I participated but all
the while sensed there was something not right about all of
it. All of what Ray and Roger mention regarding
contemplative prayer and related mysticism is definitely alive
and well. And, we are in a mid-size midwest town.
(317) Considering
Reiki?
Watch This Video First posted by Lighthouse Trails,
12/29/10
Video on the practice of Reiki invading the churches as promoted
by the Emerging Church.
(318) The
Emerging
Church Is Unaware It's Dead by Ken Silva,
12/31/10 Its primary legacy is that through its core doctrine of corrupt
Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM), masquerading as
spurious Spiritual Formation ala Living Spiritual Teacher and
Quaker mystic Richard Foster and his spiritual twin Dallas
Willard, the Emergent Church leaders have been quite successful
in taking the focus off proper Christian spirituality; and
instead putting it upon mere subjective feelings.
(319) Spread
Of
Contemplative Spiritualiy/Mysticism: Lectio Divina by
Ken Silva, 1/1/11 It's a rapidly spreading-and very dangerous-fad; and if left
unchecked by spiritually timid evangelical leaders, at the very
least CSM is going to be the cause of much division within the
church visible, and at its worst it will blur doctrinal
distinctives to the point of laying foundation for a Global
Religion.
(320) Be
Prepared
- A Vast Number Are Coming in Christ's Name by Ray
Yungen, 1/7/11 I have heard two interpretations of Jesus' reply. The first
interpretation asserts various individuals will claim to be the
returning, incumbent Jesus Christ. The other view says a number
of messiah figures will appear and gather followers to
themselves in a similar fashion to cult leader Jim Jones or
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, the guru leader who set up his idea of
utopia in Oregon. I now believe neither of these interpretations
encompass the bigger picture. It is in light of numerous New Age
statements that Matthew 24 takes on new significance.
(321) Baptism,
Bible
... and beer? by Patrick Condon, Associated Press,
1/7/2011 A Minnesota bar is one of the unconventional places of worship
around the country fostered by an evangelical movement known as
"the emerging church."
(322) The Truth Behind The
Postmodern Emergent Church by Sandy Simpson,
1/7/11 I am quite familiar with what drives the younger generation
today because it was what I had to repent of when I was a
youth. So I know the desire to try to justify yourself and
what you are doing because you want to be able to continue to do
those things while assuaging your conscience because so many
others are doing them along with you. I attempted some of
the same tactics when I had drifted away from the Lord early in
my life. But no amount of jury-rigging the truth can
change God's absolute truth. The bottom line is that, as
believers, we either have to choose to follow the foolishness of
men or the wisdom of God. 1Co 3:19 For the wisdom of
this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written:
"He catches the wise in their craftiness"; {Job 5:13}
(323) Does the
emergent church movement preach the gospel that saves?
by Mike Oppenheimer, 1/10/11 An appeal to pursuers of the new church movements. We have a
duty to be keepers, protectors and proclaimers of the gospel, it
is to be the same message that was given to the apostles nearly
2,000 years ago. What has saved us is to save others. This
gospel can be changed from applying new innovations. Even Brian
McLaren admits the way that emerging church presents the message
can be changing the gospel.
(324) Samir
Selmanovic,
The Emerging Church and Pagan New Humanism by Ken
Silva, 2/17/11 When we look at the bio on his personal website, we find that
Samir Selmanovic has "been integral to the birth of the emerging
church movement, serving as a member of the Coordinating Group
of Emergent Village, as well as representing emergents at the
Interfaith Relations Commission of the National Council of
Churches."[1] So, as one of the leaders within this EC-seeker
driven for the "counter-culture"-movement he's a primary source
as to what its warped and toxic theology is all about: The love
of the self (cf. 2 Timothy 3:2), i.e. mankind in love with its
own kind. We may indeed be living in the time when we'll at
least see the beginning of the end of the Age of Grace.
(325) The
New
Age Christian-An Accepted Oxymoron by Ray Yungen,
2/18/11 The current popularity with meditative mysticism presents a
very new and perplexing challenge for evangelical Christianity.
We are beginning to encounter the New Age or Aquarian Christian.
This new term describes someone who remains in his or her home
church and professes the Christian faith but has also
incorporated various aspects of the New Age or Aquarian mindset
into his or her life. New Age author David Spangler was very
optimistic about the possibility of this integration when he
wrote, "The point is that the New Age is here " it builds itself
and forms itself in the midst of the old."1
(326) PARENTS
BEWARE:
American Girl Doll Company Recommends Yoga, Mantras,
Meditation, and Breath Prayers by Lighthouse Trails,
2/27/11 American Girl is a doll company that has had a reputation for
selling wholesome dolls; for many Christian parents, American
Girl has been an alternative to Barbie Dolls. Once
included in American Doll's mission statement was the goal to
"reinforce positive social and moral values."1 That statement
was found on their website in 2000. But American Girl today is
reinforcing and promoting New Age practices.
(329) Postmodern
Liberalism
Pits Jesus Against The Bible by Ken Silva,
3/6/11 Unfortunately, we're living in a time of growing spiritual
blindness as Jesus sends 1 Peter 4:17 judgments against the
visible Christian church; this darkness is why mainstream
evangelicalism would make such a foolish decision to embrace the
sinfully ecumenical neo-liberal cult of the Emergent Church aka
the Emerging Church with its quasi-universalism in a new version
of postmodern Progressive Christian theology under their
spiritual circus "big tent" of empty Emergence Christianity.
Apprising Ministries brings you the following words of warning
circa 1985 by Dr. Walter Martin (1928-1989), a renowned defender
of what he so often referred to as "the historic orthodox
Christian faith."
(330) Nazarene
Pastor
Fired For Fighting Emergent Ideology by Manny Silva,
Concerned Nazarenes, 2/20/10 Disturbing trends continue to develop in our
denomination. Recently, I sent out a prayer request for a
pastor and his church that decided to leave the Nazarene
denomination, rather than stay and bow to emergent ideology and
priorities. Soon, I will be posting some information
regarding those who have been forced to leave their churches
("Divorced From The Church"). More and more Bible
believing Nazarenes are finding themselves ostracized and are
even being labeled as cult members, hateful, dividers, "used by
the devil""etc. On and on it goes, with no biblical
justification! Students are subject to ridicule or
harassment for standing up against unbiblical teachings at their
universities.
(332) The
New
Age Christian-An Accepted Oxymoron by Ray Yungen,
Lighthouse Trails Research, March 18, 2011 The current popularity with meditative mysticism presents a
very new and perplexing challenge for evangelical Christianity.
We are beginning to encounter the New Age or Aquarian Christian.
This new term describes someone who remains in his or her home
church and professes the Christian faith but has also
incorporated various aspects of the New Age or Aquarian mindset
into his or her life. New Age author David Spangler was very
optimistic about the possibility of this integration when he
wrote, "The point is that the New Age is here " it builds itself
and forms itself in the midst of the old."
(333) WIDE
IS THE GATE- The Emerging New Christianity by Caryl Matrisciana, 3/21/11 When Christianity starts to leave the
Bible out of the equation, apostasy isn't far off! YouTube
video featuring Caryl Matrisciana, Roger Oakland, Mike Gendron
and others.
(334) Body-Mind-Spirit
-
Changing Science, Changing Mindby Herescope,
3/29/11 The New Age Movement has always seen itself as being in charge
of the healthcare reform agenda. This may surprise people who
think that this is just a secular political agenda. From its
very beginning healthcare reform was intended to be the chief
conduit for global mind change. To the New Age "Aquarians,"
healthcare reform itself was viewed as a channel in an occult
sense, a pathway to communicate a New Age worldview. To pull off
this massive shift would necessitate a transformation from a
scientific paradigm to the mystical. Medicine needed to become
holistic with an active spirituality component - the New Age/New
Spirituality.
(335) David
Jeremiah's
Book Life Wide Open - Still Sold on His Website - Still
Includes New Agers by Lighthouse Trails, 3/29/11
Lighthouse Trails receives emails from time to time from
readers asking if there is still "a problem" with David Jeremiah
and his 2003 (redone in 2005) book, Life Wide Open. In the
second edition of A Time of Departingby Ray Yungen is an expose
about the book, and today some question as to whether our report
is still relevant has arisen. Because David Jeremiah continues
selling the book on his website and through the general book
marketing avenues (Amazon, etc), we believe our report remains
valid.
(336) How
the
"Quantum Christ" (God is in everything) is Tranforming the
World . . . and Entering the Church! by Warren B.
Smith, 3/30/11 In his 2009 book So Beautiful, Leonard Sweet underscores his
quantum "relational worldview"14 by favorably quoting from
William Young's The Shack regarding relationship.15 He also
tells readers to look to Margaret Wheatley's Leadership and the
New Science to further understand his quantum view on the
"spiritual and social significance of relationship."16 And he
still continues to refer readers back to his 1991 book, Quantum
Spirituality. While appearing to be somewhat of a 21st century
renaissance man who leaves everyone in the wake of his
postmodern intellect, Leonard Sweet's "scientific"
postmodern/quantum/New Age view on things raises some critical
questions-particularly in regard to his association with Rick
Warren. If Warren, Sweet, and other Christian leaders continue
to move the church towards the New Spirituality, how will it
ultimately play out? Will we see Warren, Schuller, Sweet,
McLaren, and other "New Light" leaders signing a mutual accord
someday affirming that God is "in" everything? Will that
proclamation be based on new "scientific findings" from quantum
physics? Will they explain that [Jesuit] Pierre Teilhard de
Chardin and the "God" of Neale Donald Walsch and William Young
had it right-that "the sub-atomic reality" is that God is in
every atom? That God really is-scientifically speaking-"in"
everyone and everything? But what about the inevitable reaction
that will come from those referred to by Rick Warren as
"fundamentalists"18 when they accuse Warren of flip-flopping?
Will Warren defend his new worldview by repeating what he said
at the Saddleback Civil Forum-that "sometimes flip-flopping is
smart because you actually have decided a better position based
on knowledge that you didn't have"? Armed with seemingly
scientific "facts" from quantum physics, will Warren defend his
new worldview by stating, "That's not flip-flopping. Sometimes
that's growing in wisdom"? Is this where Warren, Sweet, and
other Christian leaders will try to take the church? Are they
about to take a big "quantum leap" into the New Spirituality of
a New Age that is based on the findings of the "new science"?
Given the continued New Age implications of the emerging Purpose
Driven movement, it would seem that this is a real possibility.
(337) The
Visible
Church In An Accelerating Apostasy by Ken Silva,
Apprising Ministries, 4/2/11 Let me tell you something that I have learned; I know the
liberals. I know them well; I was one of them. And they are the
most dangerous, insidious, and all-pervading cult that's loose
in the United States right at this moment. They make the
Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Mormons, and all of the Mind
Sciences, and the Occult, look like Sunday School teachers. Do
you know why? Because these other people are outside the Church;
and these devils are in it! And they're doing it in Jesus' Name.
(338) Hazards
unfolded
by Emerging Church leaders by Richard Bennett,
4/4/11 It is quite difficult to define properly the Emerging Church
movement. The basic conviction behind the movement is that
Christianity needs to be reinvented to become relevant to our
postmodern generation.
(339) Bryan
and
Hope Colleges Added to Contemplative Christian School List
by Lighthouse Trails, 4/15/11 Bryan College has been added to our list of Christian colleges
and seminaries that promote contemplative/spiritual
formation. We also added Hope College of Holland, Michigan
to our contemplative list today. A look at their 2010 textbook
list shows evidence that the teachers at Hope College are
turning to contemplative advocates to teach Hope College
students.
(340) Knowing
the
True Christ in an Age of Counterfeits on Crosstalk
Radio, Date: April 21, 2011 • Host: Ingrid Schlueter
• Guest: Warren Smith
Warren Smith (B.A. University of Pennsylvania; M.S.W. Tulane
University) is a free lance writer and community social worker who
was formerly involved in the New Age movement. He has served as a
program coordinator for people with special needs, directed
several homeless programs, and has worked most recently as a
Hospice social worker in New Orleans and on the California coast.
He has written extensively on the subject of spiritual deception
and has been widely interviewed on radio and television. He is
author of The Light that was Dark, Deceived on Purpose, A
Wonderful Deception and False Christ Coming: Does Anybody Care?
Having been saved out of the New Age movement, Warren Smith knows
that there are many "christs" in the world today. As we are about
to observe Good Friday and the resurrection of Christ, Warren
underscores the importance of knowing the true and risen Christ,
not a counterfeit. The discussion begins with mention of Shirley
McClain. She may not have been taken seriously years ago because
of her New Age beliefs yet she was recently on the Oprah Winfrey
Show. Why? It's because some New Age teachings are no longer
considered "fringe" but are now mainstream. Smith proves the point
when he references Purpose-Driven author Rick Warren who has
brought in three New Age doctors into his church through his
"Daniel Plan". From there the discussion moves on to Marianne
Williamson and her deceptive book, A Return to Love: Reflections
on the Principles of A Course in Miracles, the deceptive use of
Bible terminology by New Age proponents, the experience that
pointed him to Christ, the ties that the Emergentmovement has with
the New Age, and more. Also mentioned was Chuck Klein's
Understanding the Times conference on April 30th in Cedarburg,
Wisconsin. Pastor Larry Debruyn, Sarah Leslie and Warren Smith
will be speaking on counterfeit spirituality. Listen: RealAudio
| Windows
Media | MP3
(341) Celebrating
the
Resurrection, But Denying the Atonement by Lighthouse
Trails, 4/24/11 As we here at Lighthouse Trails have joined with other
believers in exposing the truth about the emerging
/contemplative spirituality, we have come to learn that the core
of the New Age believes that the teachings of the East and of
the West must be fused and blended before the true and universal
religion-for which the world waits-could appear on earth. In
other words, all religions must come together under the umbrella
of metaphysics (mysticism). While the average Christian would
agree that this doesn't line up with Scripture, the Christian
church has been overtaken by this very concept, but in a
deceitful and often subtle manner. The underlying layers of this
dark and anti-Christ theology rejects the very thing that can
save a soul-the atonement for sin on the Cross by Jesus Christ.
He was a substitute, and He took our place. Without that
atonement, we are lost forever.
(342) Altered
States:
A Different Gate - The sober Christian in a spiritually
inebriated age by Sarah Leslie and Pastor Larry
DeBruyn, 4/28/11 New Age Movement (NAM) rose in prominence during the late
1970s, and remains popular today. One component of NAM
spirituality was meditation associated with "Transcendental
Medication" (TM), a Hindu religious practice that was
popularized and introduced to the Western culture by the Beatles
and their personal guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1914-2008).[1]
The Maharishi is credited with introducing Hindu mysticism to
western culture along with that religion's spiritual disciplines
such as Yoga. A savvy marketer, he seized every opportunity to
repackage Hindu spirituality to sell to American culture, one
part of which consisted of meditative techniques that promised
practitioners "increased creativity and flexibility, increased
productivity, improved job satisfaction, improved relations with
supervisors and co-workers," and so on.[2] At that time TM was
marketed so as not to appear as a religion, but propagandized to
be a way to realize "better health, stress relief and spiritual
enlightenment."
(343) Defend
The
Deity Of Christ by Ken Silva, Apprising Ministries,
5/5/11 Do you see now; the Bible teaches that Jesus always has been
God, and when He was born of the Virgin Mary, He then became
Man. Whether someone wants to believe this or not is between
that person and God. However, if they choose not to believe what
God's Word says they should stop telling people that the
Christian Church "made this doctrine up." Yet this is precisely
what skeptics, the Mind Sciences-like Christian Science and the
Unity School of Christianity-are telling people around you.
(344) The
New
Look of Christian Missions by Roger Oakland,
5/18/11 Emerging spirituality is changing the way missions is being
conducted. The idea is that you can go for Jesus, but you don't
have to identify yourself as a Christian or part of the
Christian church. This concept spills over into some missionary
societies too, where they teach people from other religions they
can keep their religion, just add Jesus to the equation. They
don't have to embrace the term Christian.
(345) Yoga
in
the Church by Lighthous Trails, 5/21/11 More than ever, Yoga has entered the Christian church.
Lighthouse Trails receives reports nearly daily of Christians
who are practicing Yoga and churches that are allowing Yoga to
be practiced at their churches. Yoga is the heartbeat of
Hinduism, a belief system that completely contradicts biblical
Christianity and puts practitioners in harm's way. Yoga is a
gateway into eastern mysticism. If you have loved ones who are
getting into Yoga, please warn them of its dangers.
(346) Manchester
Cathedral Transforms into a Serpent's Casino - A study in the
paradigm shift of the Emergent church by Mike
Oppenheimer, 5/22/11 Sacred space, inclusive gospel, pilgrimage, spiritual formation
are all recognized words found in emergent/new age teaching.
This is a church that has been refashioned to be something to
everyone and stands with next to nothing that Christianity holds
to. While one can read of a very short statement of faith that
is orthodox, it is missing important details. What they practice
is in contradistinction to what they claim to believe.
(347) The
Cost
for Being Careless About the Gospelby Lighthouse
Trails, 6/14/11 You may recall that in the Old Testament the Israelites took
great pains in transporting the Ark of the Covenant. According
to the instructions given by God to Moses (Exodus 25:13-15), the
Ark was to be carried by staves (poles) on the shoulders of the
Levites (1 Chronicles 15:15). However, in 1 Chronicles 13:7-10,
contrary to Moses' specific instructions, they put the Ark on a
cart to be pulled by oxen. But the unexpected happened. When
"Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen stumbled
. . . the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzza, and he
smote him" (1 Chronicles 13:9-10). The Levites, who were the
"pastors" of that day, were careless about following Moses'
instructions; and it ended up costing a life. The Ark of the
Covenant was a type and foreshadowing of the Gospel. It was
sprinkled with blood to symbolize Christ's death on the Cross.
Today, similar to back then, so many pastors and Christian
leaders have become careless about the Gospel. If you are one
who has grown careless with the Gospel, isn't it time to make
some changes and return to following the instructions of the
Lord?
(348) Letter
to
the Editor: Pastor Stopped Purpose Driven/Emergent Teachings
After Learning of the Errors by Lighthouse Trails,
6/15/11 Concerning the last article here, by Steve Muse, I want to
share a word of encouragement to him and to you! After
learning in the past year of the attacks on the people of God,
the church, from reading at Lighthouse Trails website, God led
me to share with my three pastors . . . Senior, and two young
assistants . . . the information I learned from you. In
the past few months, they have stopped the "Emergent, Rick
Warren, and all of the other false teachings, and are once again
preaching and teaching the Word of God!! And guess
what?! Souls are being saved so wonderfully that it is
almost too much to take in . . . the change is so dramatic that
all I can do is praise our Wonderful Lord as I stand in awe at
His marvelous Grace!!
(349) TRAVESTY
at
LIFEST - PARENTS: Don't Send Your Kids -
Radical-Emergent/Liberal Jim Wallis to Speak at Lifest (What
is Luis Palau Doing There?) by Lighthouse Trails and
VCY America, 6/17/11 From Ingrid Schlueter at VCY America: Each summer, Oshkosh,
Wisconsin, hosts the "Lifest"Christian music festival. This
festival, which is expecting as many as 70,000 in attendance,
has put Jim Wallis on the docket of speakers for July 9th.
Wallis' upcoming appearance at Lifest proves that he is an
individual who continues to secure his position as the leading
voice of the political arm of the emergent New Spirituality
movement. Those who recognize his name probably know him through
his 40 year relationship with the "Sojourners" organization. As
an establishment liberal, he weaves his brand of social justice
into the Bible, all the while blaming Wall Street for the ills
of American society and calling for state-sponsored
redistribution of wealth. Click here to listen to an interview
between Ingrid Schlueter and Mare Danielsen regarding the
beliefs of Lifest speaker Jim Wallis.
(350) LABYRINTHS
in
the Spirit of Life event, are prayer Paths that Promote the
Occult by First Plumbline Apologetics, 6/18/11 What is a Labyrinth? A maze, a prison, a sacred precinct, a
place of peace... the labyrinth is an enigma and a riddle, one
that has puzzled historians for centuries. Where did it come
from, how was it used? Why is it making a comeback?
(351) How
Much
Does the Gospel Weigh? by Lighthouse Trails,
6/20/11 In last week's article, "The Cost for Being Careless About
Gospel," we established how the Gospel is a standard and
the central theme of the entire Bible. We can think of it like a
balancing scale, weighing truth against error. But how much does
the Gospel weigh? That might sound like a foolish question, but
let's take a moment to see how a balancing scale works.
Basically, it is an arm extending from both sides with a fulcrum
in the middle. A standardized weight is then placed on one side,
and subsequently everything placed on the other arm of the scale
with be measured and valued by that standardized weight. A false
scale, as Proverbs states, uses a deceptive weight purported to
be a standardized weight when it really is not. Consequently,
everything weighed on that scale for the next five, ten, or a
thousand years will have an erroneous result. A false scale just
keeps on lying because the standard is wrong.
(352) New
Book
and Upcoming Conference Bring More Confusion Out of Calvary
Chapel Movement by Lighthouse Trails, 6/24/11
In 2006, Calvary Chapel made a public stand against
contemplative spirituality and the emerging church; they also
stated: "The teaching and positions of Rick Warren have come
into conflict with us at Calvary Chapel. Pastor Chuck has directed
us to discontinue this product effective immediately. Chuck Smith
read Deceived on Purpose, A Time of Departing, and Faith Undone
and found them right on. In a number of radio programs, Smith
favorably acknowledged the work of Lighthouse Trails, and in
private e-mails to editors at Lighthouse Trails, he made his
support of our work and warnings to the body of Christ evident.
But over the past few years, several confusing things have taken
place that leave many wondering just what direction the Calvary
Chapel movement is really heading. An upcoming conference called
Twelve: 2011 Global Online Gathering held by Saddleback Church and
Rick Warren is another example of why many people are becoming
increasingly confused about Calvary Chapel.
(353) WIDE
IS
THE GATE - The Emerging New Christianity Vol.1 by
Caryl Productions, 6/27/11 Once there were two Church choices, Roman Catholicism and
Protestantism, but in recent decades Christianity has been
redefined giving rise to unprecedented quasi-Christian spiritual
philosophies and practices. Claiming to be "revivals" are these
the counterfeits Jesus warned would occur before His return?
(Luke 18:8) Many so-called Christian leaders are introducing
innovative teachings based on new Bible translations and
paraphrases that alter the timeless truths of Holy Scripture. A
more progressive spirituality, with roots in eastern mysticism,
is replacing faith in God's Word. This "New Christian
Spirituality" poses as a more relevant "New Gospel" for today's
Postmodern culture that prefers subjective and emotional
feelings, rather than absolute truths. Biblical Truth is the
foundation for knowing God. His promises and prophecies. At
Pentecost, the Church was given the Holy Spirit of Truth to be
guided into all Truth. Jesus Christ, Who is Truth Incarnate,
taught that after His death, resurrection and ascension to
Heaven, He would bring His Church to His Father's house before
returning with them to govern the world for a 1000 year Kingdom
period. Biblical faith trusts God's promise to fulfil these
prophecies. However many within the Emerging, Seeker-friendly,
Purpose Driven, New Apostolic, Roman Catholic, Protestant,
Reformed, neo-Evangelical, Charismatic and Pentecostal Churches
deny many teachings and Prophesies in God's Word as literal
Truth. Many promote the false gospel of transforming the world
for the common good, encouraging a "working together", and
bringing about social justice on planet earth. Through modern
marketing techniques and business management skills a global
agenda of faith, commerce and government is being orchestrated
for churches to partner with other faiths for world peace and
unity. This man made utopia will usher in the reign of
Antichrist and his kingdom, preceding the coming of the True
Jesus Christ and the True Kingdom of God on earth.
(354) Maintream
Evangelicalism
Embracing Contemplative Mysticism by Ken Silva,
6/29/11 The EC would prove to be a Trojan Horse where Satan has been
able to off-load his ne0-Gnostic mystic corruption Contemplative
Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM), an infestation of which is now
becoming pandemic within the very heart of the church visible.
I've told you before that this spurious CSM-the refried Roman
Catholic mysticism "discovered" by Living Spiritual Teacher and
Quaker mystic Richard Foster, and now perpetrated as supposed
Spiritual Formation with an able assist from his spiritual twin
SBC minister Dallas Willard, was a core doctrine in the EC right
from its hatching in hell.
(355) Contemplative
Spirituality
Lands on Charles Stanley's In Touch Magazine . . . Again
by Mike Stanwood, 6/30/11 Is this the kind of example of biblical Christian living that
Charles Stanley's readers have come to expect to see in his
magazine? Unfortunately, this is not the first time an article
promoting contemplative/emerging figures has emerged from the In
Touch magazine.
(356) Seven-Eleven
Songs by Pastor Larry DeBruyn, 7/2/11 Some songs, that repeat . . . repeat . . . and repeat . . . the
same seven-word lyrics eleven times or more, are called
"seven-eleven" songs. As with repetitive praying (Jesus warned
about this when He said, "And when you are praying, do not use
meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose
that they will be heard for their many words," Matthew 6:7.),
questions surround the musical mechanism of repetitive praising,
singing, or chanting, as a means of inducing consciousness of
God.
(357) TBN
Hosts
"Ancient Wisdom" Author Laurie Beth Jones by
Lighthouse Trails, 7/3/11 On June 30th, TBN (Trinity Broadcasting) hosted an event that
focused on Christian counseling. One of the speakers was
"Ancient Wisdom" author Laurie Beth Jones. A little
research on and quotes by Laurie Beth Jones describing her
spirituality. Her Mission: "To inspire the divine connection in
all of us" (from back cover, Jesus, Entrepreneur: Using Ancient
Wisdom to Launch and Live Your Dreams)
(358) Does
the
ministry of "the four living beings" justify lyrical
repeating? by Pastor Larry DeBruyn, 7/12/11 Some songs, that repeat . . . repeat . . . and repeat . . . the
same seven-word lyrics eleven times or more, are called
"seven-eleven" songs. As with repetitive praying (Jesus warned
about this when He said, "And when you are praying, do not use
meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose
that they will be heard for their many words," Matthew 6:7.),
questions surround the musical mechanism of repetitive praising,
singing, or chanting, as a means of inducing consciousness of
God.
(359) Is
the
"Emerging Church" the Latest Postmodern Fad? by Dr.
Ron J. Bigalke, CARM, 7/12/11 What is the "Emerging Church"? Is the movement another fad that
is popular currently but will be soon forgotten? Certainly, we
can recall many recent crazes of our own lifetime. It seems, in
their search to be relevant, many pastors and church leaders are
always seeking new methods to grow the church. The contemporary
church is inundated with those seeking new methods and means of
church growth. Whatever pragmatic approaches allow one to
accomplish church growth, it is accepted. However, time and
again in the Bible, it is primarily the preaching of the
Word-the enunciation of words-that God uses to draw the lost to
Himself.
(360) The
"New"
Emerging Theology Breeds Atheism in a Generation of Young
People by Lighthouse Trails, 7/25/11 One day we received a call from one of our readers who wanted
to share some news concerning his pastor's son. He told us the
son, after sitting under Dallas Willard for four years in
university, declared himself to now be an atheist. How could
this have happened? The boy was raised in a Christian home.
Dallas Willard claims to be a Christian. While we do not know
the details of this boy's story, the following fictionalized
account could very well be his story and that of many other
young Christians today.
(361) The
Shack
Bible by Ken Silva, 8/3/11 Yes, you read that right. Get on your heavy mud gear as
Apprising Ministries takes you off-road mentally mudding deeply
into the postmodern Wonderland of Humpty Dumpty language where
the meanings of words descend into its muck and mire.
(362) YOGA:
Posture
to Apostasy - Can yogic practices be integrated with the
Christian faith? by Pastor Larry DeBruyn,
8/15/11 East is east, and west is west, and if Christianity is to
remain Christian, "the twain," meaning yoga and Christianity,
should never be integrated. The soul that is engaged to Jesus
Christ cannot commit spiritual harlotry by flirting with the
yogic practices intended to introduce them to Hindu gods. As
John the Apostle wrote: "Little chidren, guard yourselves from
idols" (1 John 5:21).
(363) Southern
Baptist
Convention Rejects Gender-Neutral NIV Bible But Embraces The
Message, Renovare Bible, and Contemplative Books by
Lighthouse Trails, 9/4/11 While the SBC's willingness to stand up against this new
translation Bible translation is worth noting, we are puzzled
that they find nothing wrong with Eugene Peterson's translation
The Message paraphrase and Richard Foster's Renovare Spiritual
Formation Study Bible. On their LifeWay Resources website, they
sell The Message and the Renovare "Bible." They also carry the
New Men's Devotional Bible (NIV), which includes "contributions"
by New Age sympathizer Rob Bell. They also carry books by
contemplative authors such as Gary Thomas, including his book
Sacred Pathways where he tells readers to repeat a word for
twenty minutes and Sacred Marriage where he references several
times a tantric sex advocate.1 They carry books by
contemplative proponent Pete Scazzero including Emotionally
Healthy Spirituality, a resource for those wanting to practice
contemplative prayer. To get a good glimpse at Scazzero's
propensities, check out his favorite books section on his
website - it's a plethora of mystics, emergents, and New Agers
sympathizers. And there are countless other examples of
contemplative authors that LifeWay is selling. A search on the
store website will bring these up.
(364) Ron
Luce
Of Teen Mania Leading Your Youth Into Spiritual Bondage
by Ken Silva, 6/22/11 Here's yet another example of how evangelicalism is spiritually
passing your youth through the fire of Molech. "Youth ministers"
like Ron Luce-a regular on Trinity (Blasphemy) Broadcasting
Network steeped in the Word Faith heresy-are leading your youth
right back into the spiritual bondage of CSM and its crown
jewel, a form of meditation in an altered state of consciousness
commonly known as Contemplative/Centering Prayer (CCP), which
flowered through the antibiblical monastic traditions of
apostate Roman Catholicism.
(365) Turning
to
Contemplative Mysticism or a Relationship with Jesus Christ?
Which Will it Be? by Ray Yungen, 9/25/11 If you have read A Time of Departing, the book I wrote about
contemplative spirituality, and are left wondering about your
relationship with God, remember that knowing Jesus Christ is not
merely religion or spirituality but is rather a personal
relationship with Him.
(362) Just
Say
No To Contemplative/Centering Prayer by Ken Silva,
10/24/11 The crown jewel of CSM is a supposed spiritual discipline known
as Contemplative/Centering Prayer (CCP); however, this is
actually a form of meditation while in an altered state of
consciousness-i.e. transcendental meditation-lightly sprayed
with Christian terminology. No way around it; warped "wordless"
prayer.
Updated! (363) The
Social
Gospel, Yesterday and Today by Gary Gilley, Think On
These Things, October/November 2011 - Volume 17, Issue 5 - Read Part
1 & Part
2. What is unfolding before us is what the Emergent leader Brian
McLaren terms "missional." Missional, McLaren tells us, is "a
generous third way," between the conservative "personal Savior"
gospel and liberal version of it.[35] McLaren further explains,
"My missional calling: blessed in this life to be a blessing to
everyone on earth" My mission isn't to figure out who is already
blessed, or not blessed, or unblessable. My calling is to be
blessed so I can bless everyone."[36] He continues, "From this
understanding we place less emphasis on whose lineage, rites,
doctrines, structures, and terminology are right and more
emphasis on whose actions, service, outreach, kindness, and
effectiveness are good". (In order) to help our world get back
on the road to being truly and wholly good again, the way God
created it to be""[37] Rob Bell adds, "For Jesus, the question
wasn't how do I get into Heaven? But how do I bring heaven
here?...The goal isn't escaping this world but making this world
the kind of place God can come to. And God is remaking us into
the kind of people who can do this kind of work."[38] The
rationale of McLaren and Bell is a mere echo of the original
founders of liberalism.
(364) "Contextualization"
of
the Gospel - A Free-Falling Catastrophe by Roger
Oakland, 11/5/11 While reaching today's generation for the cause of Christ is
something we as Christians should all desire, we must remember
Jesus Christ challenged us to follow Him and be obedient to His
Word. Scripture commands us to "be not conformed to this world:
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans
12:2). But the emergents are leading followers in the opposite
direction, teaching that the Word of God needs to be conformed
to people and cultures instead of allowing it to conform lives
through Jesus Christ. Reimagining Christianity allows a
dangerous kind of freedom; like cutting the suspension ropes on
a hot air balloon, the free fall may be exhilarating but the
results catastrophic.
(365) An
Epidemic
of Apostasy - Christian Seminaries Must Incorporate "Spiritual
Formation" to Become Accredited by Lighthouse Trails,
11/16/11 What do the two accreditation organizations - Association of
Theological Seminaries and Association for Biblical Higher
Education - have in common? Both associations require schools
that wish to be accredited to include Spiritual Formation within
the school's infrastructure. Just what exactly does that mean
for these 350 some seminaries and Bible colleges? Well, it means
that if they want to receive and maintain their accreditation,
they are going to have to incorporate Spiritual Formation (i.e.,
contemplative spirituality) into the lives of their students.
(366) The
"Selection
Process" - New Age Eschatology by Warren B. Smith,
11/26/11 SELF-described "futurist" and "conscious evolutionist" Barbara
Marx Hubbard writes that in 1966 she heard an "inner voice" that
came in response to a question she had asked aloud and directed
to God-"What is our story? What in our age is comparable to the
birth of Christ?" After asking the question she said she fell
into a dreamlike state and was given an intense vision of the
future.
(397) Letter
to
the Editor: Heartbroken in Southern California at
Lighthouse Trails, 11/27/11 I am tired"and very heartbroken"I never thought it was going to
be like this. I thought the "them" would not be inside the
Church. The Lord has given me a crash course on Jude, 2 Peter,
and 1 Tim.
(398) "A
Whole
New Species of Church Is Emerging" by Tamara Hartzell,
Lighthouse Trails, 12/9/11 There is a "Christian" book that epitomizes the current path of
the counterfeit Christianity, which is emerging as the old faith
crumbles away. Although there are many such books published now,
Growing Spiritual Redwoods by William Easum and Thomas Bandy
provides a clear illustration of the "new way of thinking," and
has been acclaimed as "perhaps the best book about church
transformation."Bill Easum is "one of the pioneering pastors of
the church growth movement," and is "one of the most highly
respected church consultants and Christian futurists in North
America." Tom Bandy "consults with congregations for church
growth and transformation," and "congregational and
denominational leaders regard Tom as one of the leading thinkers
and writers today."4 The two joined forces to form Easum, Bandy
and Associates, which consults "with churches of every size and
culture" and links "countless" leaders through "one of the
largest religious interactive websites in North America."In
spite of the blatant (New Age) New Spirituality in their book,
Growing Spiritual Redwoods has received high praises by men who
are popular leaders themselves in today's Christianity. Rick
Warren, Lyle Schaller, and Leonard Sweet-whose own books are
self-evident that he has fallen for the (New Age) New
Spirituality-have given this book the following endorsements:
(399) Moody
Publishers
Releases Prayers for Today: A Yearlong Journey of
Contemplative Prayer by Lighthouse Trails,
12/13/11 What we are going to address in this article is the new book
that Moody Publishers just released in September, Prayers for
Today: A yearlong journey of Contemplative Prayer. This is not
going to be a full fledged book review. It doesn't need to be to
prove our point. The book is a collection of various prayers by
a wide assortment of writers (e.g. the prayer of confession, the
prayer of thanksgiving, the prayer of renewal, etc). Near the
end of the book, Kurt Bjorklund, the author, has a section
titled "Works Cited." He lists "the sources for prayer utilized
in this book." There are around 70 sources. It is from these
sources that the prayer collections are gathered. At least a
dozen of these are books by contemplative authors who Lighthouse
Trails has written about in the past: Richard Foster, Brennan
Manning, Ken Boa, Leighton Ford, Max Lucado, Meister
Eckhart, Thomas Aquinas, Teresa of Avila, and Mother Teresa, all
strong advocates of contemplative prayer.
(400) Labyrinths
-
Popping Up at Lots of Seminaries and Christian Colleges
by Lighthouse Trails, 12/14/11
Speaking of Christian seminaries and spiritual formations, check
out some of the seminaries that now have labyrinths, a tool used
for contemplative prayer, but we hope you won't consider going to
these schools. We believe that labyrinths will be showing up in
more and more Protestant/evangelical schools and churches as
contemplative spirituality sinks its teeth into modern day
Christianity, holding on for the long haul.
Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary - Columbia, SC
Lutheran Theological Seminary - Philadelphia, PA
Eastern Mennonite Seminary - Harrisonburg, VA
San Francisco Theological Seminary - San Francisco, CA
Phillips Theological Seminary - Tulsa, OK
Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary - Louisville, KY
(Accredited with ATS)
Eden Seminary
Columbia Theological Seminary - Decatur, GA (Accredited with ATS)
- Presbyterian
Luther Seminary - St. Paul, MN - Lutheran
Lancaster Theological Seminary - Lancaster, PA
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary - Elkhart, IN
Manchester College - North Manchester, IN (Church of the
Brethren)
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary
Northwestern University - Evanston, IL
Abilene Christian University - Abilene, TX (Church of Christ)
(401) On
Theosis,
or Divinization by Pastor Larry DeBruyn for
Contemplative Spirituality, Mysticism, 1/11/12 As defined by the Orthodox Church, deification (theosis)
postulates that a Christian can become subjected to "God's full
and perfect penetration . . . in which [state of being] the
operations and energies of human nature cease, having been
replaced by the Divine Operations and Energies." Though it has
been part of "the spirituality" of the Orthodox Church for
centuries, belief in divinization or theosis is emerging amongst
today's evangelicals.
(402) Six
Years
Later - Focus on the Family Still Defending Contemplative
Prayer by Lighthouse Trails, 1/14/12 LTRP Note: The following letter to the LT editor and the
response this person received from Focus on the Family is used
with permission from our reader. Important to note that FOF's
response is similar to the response FOF was giving back in 2006
(when we received a letter from them) when asked why they were
promoting Richard Foster and Gary Thomas and where they stood
regarding contemplative spirituality in general. In comparison,
the 2011 response from FOF is more detailed than the 2006 letter
from the same FOF staff member (Tim Masters from the Executive
Office) but is essentially saying the same thing. Worth noting,
the arguments that Masters gives in defense of contemplative
prayer have been scripturally refuted by Lighthouse Trails
authors, showing how contemplative advocates have taken Bible
verses and used them out of context. We have given references to
a number of those refutations below.
(403) 100
Top
Contemplative Proponents Evangelical Christians Turn To Today
by Lighthouse Trails, 1/15/12 Over the years, many of our readers have asked for a list of
authors who are promoting contemplative prayer. Well here is a
list we have compiled. This is from 10 years of research
at Lighthouse Trails. The list includes those authors who
directly teach contemplative prayer as well as those who have
consistently promoted contemplative prayer teachers. All of the
names below are in one of these two categories. If you are a
skeptic, this is not guilt by association, but is rather guilt
by promotion or proxy. It is not possible to list every single
contemplative prayer advocate, as the number of those in this
category increases weekly with new book releases. Some of these
names are not "evangelical" Christians but are to be found in
either the Catholic camp or the New Age camp. We include those
in this list because they are names that are being recommended
or referenced by evangelical/Protestant leaders. We have found
these names below to be the most influential in this area. At
times, we will replace names with others as they come to our
attention. If you need information on any of these names below,
you can find most of them using our blog search engine or our
research site Topical Index.
(404) 50
Top
Organizations With a Significant Role in Bringing
Contemplative Spirituality to the Church by Lighthouse
Trails, 1/21/12 From 10 years of research at Lighthouse Trails Research
Project, we have found the following fifty organizations to have
had a significant role in bringing contemplative spirituality
into the evangelical/Protestant church. If you do not know or
understand the implications of this, we urge you to educate
yourself as soon as possible.
(405) Lectio
Divina:
A Doorway to Contemplative and Centering prayer by
Lighthouse Trails, 2/2/12 Lectio divina! There's a lot of talk about it these days.
Numerous books have been published and more are on the way. An
increasing number of evangelical/Protestant figures are writing,
endorsing, and teaching it. Some people think lectio divina
simply means to read a passage of Scripture slowly (or "praying
the Scriptures") then ponder or think on that Scripture. That
can be a part of it. But if you ask mystics or contemplatives
what it entails (- and who would know better than they?), they
will tell you that lectio divina (pronounced lex-ee-o di-veen-a)
always includes taking a passage of Scripture (or other
writings), reading it slowly, then working your way down until
you have just a word or small phrase from the passage that you
are meditating on (repeating over and over).
(406) The
New
Look of Christian Missions by Roger Oakland,
2/9/12 Emerging spirituality is changing the way missions is being
conducted. The idea is that you can go for Jesus, but you don't
have to identify yourself as a Christian or part of the
Christian church. This concept spills over into some missionary
societies too, where they teach people from other religions they
can keep their religion, just add Jesus to the equation. They
don't have to embrace the term Christian.
(407) Olivet
Nazarene
University 105th School Added to Lighthouse Trails
Contemplative School List by Lighthouse Trails,
2/11/12 On Saturday morning, Lighthouse Trails received an e-mail from
a concerned parent whose child is attending Olivet Nazarene
University. The parent told us that Richard Foster's book
Celebration of Discipline is part of a required Freshman course.
We have also discovered that Spiritual Formation (i.e.,
contemplative spirituality) is integrated in various aspects of
the school including their Christian Education program,
Practical Ministries, Youth Ministry, and the School of
Theology. Thus we have added Olivet Nazarene University to our
list of Christian schools that promote Spiritual Formation.
(409) The
Submerging Church by Josaph M. Shimmel, 2/29/12
What are Emergent Church leaders teaching that has so many of
our current generation tuned in to their "doctrine," but tuned
out to holy scripture? How have Emergent leaders captured the
hearts and minds of unsuspecting people all over the world,
departing from many of the clear teachings, commandments and
warnings found in the pages of the bible? Often preferred to be
understood as a "conversation" or a... Go to the link above
to order this DVD.
(410) "Deliteralizing"
the
Bible: from Plato to Peterson - Scripture amidst the Shadows
by Pastor Larry DeBruyn, 3/2/12 Increasingly, evangelical-emergent leaders are viewing the
Bible as "metaphor"-to be constituted of less than literal
language from which the reader subjectively derives spiritual
meanings. To fully grasp the sense of God's Word, the reader
must do so through the lens of the metaphor.[2] This "new
hermeneutic" asserts that ignoring the nuances of metaphor makes
the Bible unintelligible. For example, Eugene H. Peterson
(well-known composer of The Message) states in Eat This Book
that "if we do not appreciate the way a metaphor works we will
never comprehend the meaning of the text."
(411) "The
Lord's
Prayer" in The Message by Gary F. Zeolla, 3/2/12
"The Lord's Prayer" is the simple prayer that Jesus gave to us as
an example of how to pray. Most Christians have it memorized. But
maybe the prayer as Jesus gave it to us is too "outdated" or hard
to understand for today. At least, that is the attitude of some
Bible versions. They feel a need to alter it to make it updated
and easier to understand. The Message (MSG) by Eugene Peterson is
one such version. This article will compare The Lord's Prayer as
it appears in the MSG to an actual literal translation of the
Greek text. For the latter, I will use The Lord's Prayer as it
appears in my forthcoming Analytical-Literal Translation of the
New Testament: Devotional Version (ALTD).
(412) Young
Life's
History of Embracing Contemplative Authors Continues
by Lighthouse Trails, 3/8/12 No one can doubt that Young Life, a 72 year old Christian
organization that reaches out to young people, has a heart
for kids. Volunteers and paid staff work diligently week after
week in communities throughout America, Canada, and over 60
other countries to help get teens on the right path in life. In
the course of a year, hundreds of thousands of kids come into
contact with Young Life. Unfortunately, while their zeal to help
kids is commendable, Young Life has been turning to
contemplative mystics for guidance and spiritual instruction for
at least two decades.
(413) Saddleback's
Interfaith
Initiatives Pastor Teaches Kingdom Circles (the New Emerging
Missiology) by Amy Spreeman, Stand Up For Truth,
3/13/12 With all the buzz about the interfaith aspect of Saddleback
Church's P.E.A.C.E. Plan and the controversy over the King's Way
initiative that partners Rick Warren's church together with the
Islamic community, many question just how Saddleback is reaching
Muslims after promising not to convert anyone to Christianity.
Could it be that not converting anyone is one reason Pastor
Warren is getting so many questions about Chrislam?
(414) Evil
Men
and Imposters Grow Worse and Deceive by Heidi Swander,
March 21, 2012 I've been memorizing the tiny book of Jude in the last few
weeks. It is amazing to me to think of Jesus' brother writing to
first century Christians and saying, "For certain men have crept
in unnoticed . . . ungodly men who turn the grace of our God
into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus
Christ," (v. 4). It's amazing because it sounds like the DVD
I've just previewed; a new and timely video entitled, The
Submerging Church: How the Emerging Church is Drawing Multitudes
Away from Biblical Christianity. What we're
observing in the 21st century was already prevalent at the
inception of the church.
(415) Romantic
Panentheism:
A Review of One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp by Bob
DeWaay, 3/22/12 Let me state this clearly: Ann Voskamp has written a book
sharing her pain and offering help through her discovery of
eucharisteo_ (to give thanks). She chose a literary style that I
and other reviewers found difficult to work with, but the style
she chooses is her prerogative. Where her work warrants
challenge is in her reliance on panentheism, romanticism,
sensual language and those whose viewpoints she approvingly
cites. What follows is my evaluation of Voskamp's contribution,
and, through my analysis I intend to protect her readers from
the errors she has introduced.
(416) Today's
Evangullible
Church by Warren B. Smith, 3/27/12 In today's evangullible church, countless believers are
yielding to the temptations of our Adversary and falling away
(Luke 8:13). Giving in to the compromised teachings of the
emerging apostate church, once faithful believers are succumbing
to the deception that Jesus warned would come in His name
(Matthew 24:3-5). Those who could have been overcomers become
succumbers-unless, of course, they remember what they received
and heard, and hold fast, and repent (Revelation 3:3).
(417) Kundalini
Energy
(the effects of Soaking Prayer) by Ray Yungen,
3/27/12 Because "soaking prayer" is becoming increasingly popular, and
because we believe the effects of it are potentially dangerous
(kundalini), we are posting this warning by Ray Yungen. As well
as the links below this article, we have information on our
research site about "soaking prayer."
(418) Theater
Church
- Spectacles, Stories and Diminishing Scripture by
Pastor Larry DeBruyn, 4/9/12 It is impossible to see how the emotiveness and imaginings of
theater church will serve in any way to promote the mind of
Christ in believers by reining their thoughts into obedience to
Him. So, "Believers, Beware!" EXODUS THIRTY-TWO may soon be
coming to a theater-church near you!
(419) Mark
Driscoll
and Liberty University Are Good Match - Both Promote
Contemplative Spirituality by Lighthouse Trails,
4/10/12 While there has been some efforts, including a ballot, to stop
Driscoll from speaking at Liberty University (Liberty is
co-sponsoring the event), Lighthouse Trails can see how Mark
Driscoll and the Liberty University of today are a good match
with respect to contemplative spirituality - they both promote
it. When all is said and done, contemplative is such a
significant issue (given that its roots are anti-Gospel) that to
share this propensity with each other, as Driscoll and Liberty
do, from our point of view, makes the two entities on the same
page. In other words, Driscoll is there because the school
resonates with him.
(420) Henry
Blackaby's
Mysticism-Lite Negates Sola Scriptura by Ken Silva,
4/12/12 The central issue with the Blackabys, as well as with gurus
teaching the Contemporary Spirituality/Mysticism of
Foster-Willardism, is that their "experience" always ends up
interpreting the Bible for them. However, this is absolutely
backward-and sure to lead to spiritual disaster. In fact, this
is really the exact same dead-end road that would end up
producing the centered on the self (i.e. mankind) theology of
apostate Roman Catholicism in the first place.
(422) Revisting
Awana's
Move Toward Contemplative - And Another Look at "Perspectives
on Children's Spiritual Formation by Lighthouse
Trails, 4/14/12 Update April 2012: Because Awana's book, Perspectives on
Children's Spiritual Formation is circulating the market, and
because we hear from Lighthouse Trails readers who ask about
Awana and their promotion of Spiritual Formation (i.e.,
contemplative), we are reposting this information about this
book. Prior to posting this revisit article, we contacted
Broadman and Holman, the publishers of the book, and learned
that the book is still in active print.
(423) Contemplative
Prayer by Gary Gilley, 4/17/12 Of all the spiritual disciplines the Spiritual Formation
Movement promotes, none is more important than prayer and the
intake of God's Word. On the surface we would expect little
resistance to these two disciplines since they have been
recognized as essential to spiritual growth by virtually all
Christians from all traditions. Sadly, upon closer examination
we discover that what is meant by most evangelical Christians
when they reference prayer and Bible intake is not always what
the leaders within spiritual formation mean.
(424) God
in
Everything? The Premise of Contemplative Prayer by Ray
Yungen, 4/18/12 The physical world, human beings, and everything that is are
all forms of the Ultimate Reality, all expressions of God, all
"one with the Father." He means not all Christians but all
people. This is nothing less than Hindu samadhi with Christian
spray paint. Those in this movement who are honest have no
qualms about acknowledging this-as one adherent did so aptly
when he confessed, "The meditation of advanced occultists is
identical with the prayer of advanced mystics." (Ray Yungen, A
Time of Departing, 2nd ed. 2006, pp. 28-32)
(425) Jesus:
The
illumined Illuminator by Marsha West, at Forgotten
Word Ministries, 4/30/12 Contemporary Christianity is following "every wind of doctrine"
in spite of the fact that Scripture warns about taking this
route. Self-professed Christ followers no longer "endure sound
teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for
themselves teachers to suit their own passions" (2 Tim. 4:3).
Regrettably, many believers have embraced neo-Gnosticism. One of
the many obstacles the first century Church faced was
Gnosticism, a heresy that held that salvation was only available
to those who possessed the hidden truths of Christ.
(426) The
Great
Evangelical Disaster by Jan Markell, May 1, 2012
Dr. Frances Schaeffer correctly summed things up years ago when he
said, "Here is the great evangelical disaster -- the failure of
the evangelical church to stand for truth. The evangelical church
has accommodated the spirit of this age. First there has been the
accommodation of Scripture, so that many who call themselves
evangelicals hold a weakened view of the Bible and no longer
affirm the truth of all that it teaches." How did we get here?
Paul Smith -- brother of Calvary Chapel founder Chuck Smith --
brilliantly documents the decline and fall of evangelicalism in
his new book, New
Evangelicalism:
The New World Order.
(427) Clowning
Around
in the Pulpit: Fresh Expression of Emerging Church Ecumensim
by Christ Lawson, Spiritual Research Network, 5/2/12 This issue contains an example of rife apostasy that will shock
the uninformed and serve as a sober reminder of the battle for
truth that we are all in. The title of my article is Clowning
Around in the Pulpit: Fresh Expressions of Emerging Church
Ecumenism. What you read is what I saw personally in Scotland.
This is just a sampling of what is really occurring in the
United Kingdom as far as apostasy.
(428) The
Origins
Of Contemplative/Centering Prayer by Ken Silva,
5/4/12 You also need to realize that this spurious CSM, with its
spurious spiritual practices aka "disciplines," is actually
absolutely hostile to the historic Christian faith and still
very much an integral part of the theology of the neo-liberal
cult operating openly now within the Emerging Church. In laying
out this case as would a prosecutor in a court of law I'll call
upon a couple of these leading EC authorities as expert
witnesses concerning the origin of CCP, being its one of their
core practices.
(429) A
Global Religion - Is God in Grafitti? by Ray Yungen,
5/9/12 What is happening to mainstream Christianity is the same thing
that is happening to business, health, education, counseling,
and other areas of society. Christendom is being cultivated for
a role in the New Age.
(430) Beware
Of
Emerging Spirituality and Emergence Theory by Ken
Silva, 5/11/12 Along the lines of the Apprising Ministries post The Emergence
Of A New God, here we'll hear a bit more about the mystic mush
god with a man-shaped hole in its heart, now being preached by
the sinfully ecumenical Emergent Church aka the Emerging Church
(EC). The EC is far from dead.
(431) Updated!Quantum
Mysticism
In The Church: Cosmos, Codes, And Cryptologies by
Gaylene Goodroad, 5/12/12 - Read Part
1, Part
2, Part
3, Part
4, Part
5, Part
6, Part
7, Part
8 & Conclusion.
Initially, terms such as Chaos Theory, Metacosm, and
Hyperdimensional or Holographic Universe seemed starkly
out of place. Familiar with the bizarre teachings and science
fictionesque concepts of Tom Horn (the subject of two previous
Herescope articles),[ii] the more I read, the more I began to
see other ominous connections between Horn, his collaborators,
and New Age physics.[iii] These men are not only taking their
readers beyond physical realities, but beyond what is written in
Scripture.[iv] Read Part
1 & Part
2.
(434) Seminary
President
in Iowa Warns Against the New Spirituality and Spiritual
Formation by Dr. James Maxwell III, President Faith
Baptist Bible College and Seminary, Ankeny, Iowa, 5/26/12 Like many false teachings, The New Spirituality uses Christian
terms and practices but infuses into them meanings far different
from what we find in Scripture. Even some evangelicals have
embraced various forms and teachings of this movement. In this
article Dr. James D. Maxwell III, the president of Faith Baptist
Bible College and Seminary, exposes the dangers of The New
Spirituality and offers suggestions for how believers should
respond to it.
(435) Catholic
Mysticism
and the Emerging Church by Richard Bennett,
5/29/12 Mysticism attempts to gain ultimate knowledge of God by a
direct experience that bypasses the mind. Catholic mysticism
working together with the Emerging Church, needs to be
reexamined. Old-time mystics such as Loyola, Teresa of Avila,
and John of the Cross need to be examined again along with
modern so-called evangelical mystics such as Richard Foster. All
of this, and more, is accomplished in this professional
presentation along with graphic inserts of persons and events.
An analysis is also made of Phyllis Tickle who has surfaced as a
formidable leader of this toxic movement. The fall from power of
Tony Jones, a former leading light of the movement, is also
documented. As we reexamine this topic we notice that show has
been viewed more than 13,800 times on You-Tube alone. As you
watch and listen to this distinctive DVD, we encourage you to
make it known by forwarding its URL to others. YouTube
video.
(436) Sacred
Reading
(Lectio Divina) by Gary Gilley, Think On These Things,
6/15/12 As we have seen in the last two Think on These Things articles,
"Spiritual formation is viewed by a growing number of
evangelicals as an ancient ministry of the church, concerned
with the 'forming' or 'shaping' of a believer's character and
actions into the likeness of Christ." [1] Spiritual
formation is distinguished from biblical discipleship primarily
by its source of authority and its methodology. On the one
hand, discipleship as defined by the Bible turns to the Word of
God as the final and ultimate authority over all matters of life
and godliness. This means that if one truly desires to be
a follower of Jesus Christ, he will turn to the inspired
Scriptures to determine both truth and how to "observe all that
I [Christ] commanded you" (Matt 28:20). Spiritual
formation pays lip-service to Scripture but the true source
behind the movement is the extrabiblical teachings and
experiences of those in the past who supposedly have discovered
the "secret" of deeper intimacy with God. Bruce Demarest says it
this way: "For our help, [in the context of growth in the
Spirit] we can turn to our Christian past - to men and women who
understood how the soul finds satisfaction as we grow in God,
and how His Spirit finds a more ready home in us."
[2] Richard Foster and Gayle Beebe concur: "Through
their reflections, the great saints witness to the work of the
Holy Spirit and, when we study them, guide our spiritual life as
well." [3] While Scripture is referenced by
spiritual formation leaders, it is Scripture filtered through
the experiences and insights of the "spiritual masters," as they
are often called, that set the pace in spiritual
formation.
(437) Wide
is
the Gate: The Emerging New Christianity, Vol. 2 by
Caryl Matrisciana, 6/25/12
This DVD (in five parts, 216 minutes total) lays bare today's
deceptive movements and the popular trends that are leading an
undiscerning church away from biblical Christianity and into the
ecumenical unity of the one-world religion of the coming
Antichrist. It gives an urgent warning to believers and calls for
a return to the faith once-for-all delivered to the saints. Watch
the preview here.
(438) Yoga
in
the Church: A Conspiracy Leading to Strong Delusion?
by Dave Hunt, 6/27/12 We are the most highly informed and sophisticated society in
history and are currently in the midst of a hi-tech explosion
beyond anyone's wildest imagination only a few years ago. Yet at
the same time, increasing millions in the West are buying into
yoga, an occult practice that has been part of primitive
Oriental superstitions and religions for thousands of years. Why
is this happening? Finding an answer to that question will give
us a good start toward understanding what yoga really is, why it
is so appealing, and the havoc it is wreaking upon our culture.
(439) Where
Are
We Going? by David Dombrowski, 7/3/12 At Lighthouse Trails, we have dedicated ourselves over the
years to expose the delusions that have crept into the church
and to exhort believers to cling to the Gospel message as our
only true assurance of safety. May I say, too, that most of the
opposition (and often the most vehement) we have encountered
comes from those who call themselves Christians.
(440) Emerging
Spirituality
- Bridging the Gap between Good and Evil by Roger
Oakland, 7/6/12 The serpent's temptation of Eve in the Garden of Eden, that we
can be like God, remains with mankind to this very day. Satan's
plan is to lessen or eliminate (he hopes) the gap between
himself and God.
(441) Are
all
angels safe? by Marsha West, 7/13/12 Sadly, many Christians who have embraced The Silence aka
contemplative, or centering, or breath prayer are woefully
unaware that what they're practicing is unbiblical meditation.
And then we have "Christian yoga" spreading like a wild fire
through the Christian community. I realize that this may not go
over well with some readers, however, even if your yoga class is
led by a Christian and held in a church, it is taboo! The bottom
line is this: Angels would not, could not, promote anything God
expressly forbids - and He forbids His children to have any part
in pagan religious practices, nor are we to embrace the world's
philosophies.
(443) Biola's
New
Gay and Lesbian Student Group - A "Fruit" of Their
Contemplative Propensities? by Lighthouse Trails,
7/25/12 LTRP Note: Regarding the article below about Biola University,
we find it little wonder that Biola University now has a
homosexual student group that has formed on campus. Biola has
been promoting contemplative spirituality for several years, and
as we have often indicated, when people being embracing
contemplative/emerging spirituality (as Biola has done),
spiritual (and morality) outlooks change. One of the "fruits" of
contemplative spirituality, aside from interspirituality, is a
change and leniency in attitudes toward homosexuality. Roger
Oakland talks about this in Faith Undone in the section on the
new sexuality (see excerpt below). Thus, Biola, perhaps
unwittingly, has provided a breeding ground for homosexuality
for students. Whether homosexuals have come to Biola to
infiltrate it or whether already existing Biola students have
decided to begin living a homosexual lifestyle (likely both
senarios have occurred), the fact is when Biola entered the
contemplative arena, they entered into a realm that produces
dramatic and devastating results. When you've got Christian
figures such as Dan Kimball, Philip Yancey, Tony Campolo, Mark
Driscoll, and other popular authors who have become advocates
for the "new" sexuality (some of them outrightly promoting a
laxed view on the homosexual lifestyle), you are going to see
countless Christian youth turning toward homosexuality. Why
can't parents see this before putting their kids into
contemplative colleges. Your child may come home at Christmas
break, not just practicing mantra meditation and yoga but also
telling you he or she is now gay or lesbian.
(444) Exposing
the
Quantum Lie: God is NOT in Everything by Bob DeWaay
and Warren B. Smith, 7/28/12 - These are 4 video preview clips
(each about 10 minutes long) taken from Bob DeWaay and Warren B.
Smith's lecture series, Exposing the Quantum Lie: God is NOT in
Everything. You can get the entire 4 lectures at the Lighthouse
Trails
store.
(445) New
Zealand
Pastors Create Sports Bar Church Service Complete With Beer
Drinking by Christine Thomasos , Christian Post
Reporter, 8/1/12 Pastors Calvin Culverwell and Vic Francis will officially turn
Albany Sports Bar in Auckland, New Zealand into a house of
worship on Sunday. After the initiative was in the works for a
year, the Albany Sports Bar will officially serve as a church on
the first Sunday of each month beginning on Aug. 5.
(446) The
Cross
is Barbarity & a Slaughterhouse Religion - So Says
Emerging Church Leaders by Roger Oakland from "Faith
Undone", 8/7/12 The heart and core of the Christian faith is based upon Jesus
Christ's shed blood at Calvary as the only acceptable
substitutionary atonement for mankind's sins. The Gospel message
requires this foundation. The Bible says the wages of sin is
death-thus every person alive should receive the penalty of
spiritual death because none of us is without sin, since we are
born with our sin nature intact. Satan hates the Gospel message.
He understands what the Gospel means, and his agenda is to
deceive mankind from understanding and believing so they can
suffer eternally with him. While Scripture is very clear about
the necessity of Christ's death in order for us to be saved,
some believe this would make God a blood-thirsty barbarian.
Embedded within the structure of the emerging church is just
such a belief.
(447) Former
New
Age Follower Shares Testimony and Warning by Warren B.
Smith (From
False
Christ Coming: Does Anybody Care?), 8/8/12 As New Age believers years ago, my wife and I had no reason to
doubt any of the "new revelation" that was coming our way. When
we were students of A Course in Miracles in the early 1980s, it
never occurred to us that Helen Schucman had received her
spiritual dictation from anyone other than the real Jesus
Christ. As members of A Course in Miracles study group, we
studied what the "Jesus" of the Course said and applied his
teachings to our lives. Having never read the whole Bible for
ourselves, we thought the Course was helping us to understand
what the Bible was "really" saying. We accepted the Course's
interpretation of the Bible completely. It had a certain logic
and seemed to make sense. We believed we were on the right path.
Meaningful "coincidence" that had led us to the Course, and the
supernatural signs that often accompanied our study appeared to
confirm that we were spiritually where we were supposed to be.
(448) Letter
to
the Editor: Eastern University to Add Labyrinth With Grant
From Calvin Institute at Lighthouse Trails,
8/13/12 Hi Lighthouse Trails: I've read your blog and appreciate very
much all of the information and insights you share with your
readers. I wanted to update you on a recent development on the
university where my _______ attends. I recently read a
press release that they are building a labyrinth, and this
caused me great concern. Of course, that is the school
that Tony Campolo helped to form. Even more unsettling is
the organization that they received the grant from [Calvin
Institute]. . . . My hope is that it will not be a
requirement for the students, but I still find it quite sad, and
almost a rebellion from their Protestant background. My thought
is that you might use this to sound a warning when and if
appropriate. I am thankful for organizations such as yours
that work to get the word out to others.
(449) "A Utopian Kingdom and
Global Healing?" by Roger Oakland, Understand The
Times, 8/18/12 The emerging church talks a lot about the kingdom of God on
earth, but in language and philosophy much different from the
Bible. One emergent writer hopes the emerging church will handle
the problems of this world in a manner that is "smarter" and
"more effective" than those who have gone before.
(450) New
Theology,
Gnosticism and the New Age by Gene K. Smith,
2006 Most Christians don't really want to talk about "negative"
issues such as sin and Satan. Most would rather believe the
modernist Post Millennial view that the all church members are
truly Christian. Many still believe that mankind can, by his own
efforts, eliminate evil, poverty, war, etc. and then usher in
God's eternal Kingdom for all. But God's unchanging Word
presents a different scenario ...
(451) Quantum
Mysticism
Conference DVDs by Herescope, 8/21/12 Discernment Ministries held a very special research conference
in Niles, Michigan June 21-23. Niles is the new home of our
ministry's library, the Opal Reddin Library, which archives over
40 years of research material in the Latter Rain, Dominionism,
Third Wave and New Apostolic Reformation. We heard
incredible sessions from Warren Smith, Dr. Martin Erdmann,
Pastor Larry DeBruyn, Gaylene Goodroad, Jewel Grewe, Pastor Jeff
Whittaker, and Sarah Leslie, which covered:
· The emerging eschatology involving the return of
space alien creatures, Nephilim and Mayan legends in December
2012. · The rise of Quantum Spirituality, merging quantum physics
with eastern mysticism and postmodern evangelicalism. · Technocracy and Transhumanism and how the this is changing
the church and the world. · The latest research on the New Apostolic Reformation and the
Latter Rain false apostles and prophets. · How Hollywood is being used by the Quantum Spirituality
advocates to create stimulating new imagery to promote pagan
mythologies and idolatries. · How evangelical leaders are using ancient occult writings,
apocryphal writings, astrology and modern UFO lore to build upon
Scripture.
(452) Letter
to
the Editor: Tens of Thousands Introduced to Contemplative
Advocates Gungor and David Crowder at Greg Laurie's Harvest
Crusade at Lighthouse Trails, 8/28/12 Our Comments: This is another strong indicator that mainstream
evangelical Christianity is going contemplative. In this
particular case, tens of thousands of people were introduced to
contemplative advocates Michael Gungor and David Crowder.
Regarding the connection between the band Gungor and Calvary
Chapel, in June 2011 Lighthouse Trails wrote an article titled
"Another Calvary Chapel Hosts a Gungor Concert". The article
pointed out that Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale and Calvary Chapel
St. Petersburg (both in Florida) had hosted events with Michael
Gungor's band.
(453) To
Open
Worship Perry Noble's Newspring Church Rocks Kiss by
Ken Silva, 8/29/12 This is Perry Nobles' NewSpring Church worship band playing
Rock And Roll All Night by the secular rock band Kiss. And if
you're not familiar with this ode to hedonism, no need to worry,
NewSpring Church even supplies the lyrics for your"*cough*
entertainment"
(454) Solitude
and
Silence by Gary Gilley, 8/30/12 But when the leaders of the Spiritual Formation Movement speak
of quiet and solitude they are referencing something very
different from a "quiet time" comprised of Bible reading and
prayer.
(455) Lectio
Divina:
What it is, What it is Not, and Why It is a Dangerous Practice
by Lighthouse Trails, 8/30/12 Lectio Divina - There's a lot of talk about it today; umpteen
books are published and more are on the way about lectio divina;
and an increasing number of evangelical/Protestant figures are
writing about it, endorsing it, and teaching it. Some people
think lectio divina simply means to read a passage of Scripture
slowly (or "praying the Scriptures") then ponder or think on
that Scripture. That can be a part of it. But if you ask mystics
or contemplatives what it entails (And who would know better
than they?), they will tell you that lectio divina (pronounced
lex-ee-o di-veen-a) always includes taking a passage of
Scripture (or other writings), reading it slowly, then working
your way down until you have just a word or small phrase from
the passage that you are meditating on (repeating over and
over). Basically, you are coming up with a mantra-like word or
phrase that has been extracted from a passage of Scripture,
which, according to contemplatives, if repeated for several
minutes will help you get rid of thoughts and distractions, so
then, they say, you can hear the voice of God and feel His
presence.
(456) Southern
Baptist
Convention Rejects Gender-Neutral NIV Bible But Embraces The
Message, Renovare Bible, and Contemplative Books by
Lighthouse Trails, 9/23/12 While the SBC's willingness to stand up against this new
translation Bible translation is worth noting, we are puzzled
that they find nothing wrong with Eugene Peterson's translation
The Message paraphrase and Richard Foster's Renovare Spiritual
Formation Study Bible. On their LifeWay Resources website, they
sell The Message and the Renovare "Bible." They also carry the
New Men's Devotional Bible (NIV), which includes "contributions"
by New Age sympathizer Rob Bell. They also carry books by
contemplative authors such as Gary Thomas, including his book
Sacred Pathways where he tells readers to repeat a word for
twenty minutes and Sacred Marriage where he references several
times a tantric sex advocate.1 They carry books by
contemplative proponent Pete Scazzero including Emotionally
Healthy Spirituality, a resource for those wanting to practice
contemplative prayer. To get a good glimpse at Scazzero's
propensities, check out his favorite books section on his
website - it's a plethora of mystics, emergents, and New Agers
sympathizers. And there are countless other examples of
contemplative authors that LifeWay is selling. A search on the
store website will bring these up.
(457) Be
Still
- Contemplative, or Listening Prayer and Psalm 46:10
by Pastor Larry DeBruyn for Contemplative Spirituality, 9/23/12 "Be still, and know that I am God . . ." (Psalm 46:10). Those
promoting contemplative or "listening" prayer refer to this
Scripture as a biblical endorsement for pursuing this spiritual
discipline. As a precondition for experiencing Soul-to-soul
communication from God, contemplative Christians advocate
cultivating quietude for the purpose of creating a spiritual
tabula rasa (i.e., Latin for blank slate) in which personal
communication from God can be received. Influential Christian
leaders and spiritual directors encourage listening prayer
(praying without words) as a means to experience "God's guidance
in everyday life." At face value, Psalm 46 verse 10 appears to
endorse this increasingly popular but ancient and mystical way
to pray.
(459) Profane
Preachers
Contribute to Killing the Conscience by Marsha West,
The Christian Post, 9/29/12 There seems to be a growing trend in the Church for the clergy
to feed the sensual appetite through their sermons. What we are
dealing with are pastors who have dirty minds and potty mouths.
The word that best describes them is profane.
(460) "Prepare
to
chill out, D.C.: Eckhart Tolle, spiritual mega-teacher, making
his first D.C. appearance" with comment by Lighthouse
Trails, 10/1/12 "Christ is your God-essence or the Self, as it is sometimes
called in the East. The only difference between Christ and
presence is that Christ refers to your indwelling divinity
regardless of whether you are conscious of it or not, whereas
presence means your awakened divinity or God-essence." (Eckhart
Tolle, The Power of Now, p. 104) LTRP Note: The following
article is posted not as an endorsement but rather for research
and informational purposes. Lighthouse Trails has posted
articles about New Age guru Eckhart Tolle before (especially
after the big promotion Oprah gave him a few years ago), and we
find it worth noting that the visit by Tolle to Washington
DC takes place the day after the first presidential debate for
this election. As we have often reported, the new age/"new"
spirituality permeates our Western society including those who
govern our countries. See the "Related Articles" below for
important information and documentation.
(461) The
Labyrinth
Journey: Walking the Path to Fulfillment? by Carl
Teichrib, Forcing Change, 10/9/12 Understand, Christians looking for ways to bring in new
relevancy within church worship did not "rediscover" the
labyrinth as a spiritual tool. As we shall see, it's been part
of the esoteric world for a very long time. Which is why, today,
labyrinth walks and "prayer journeys" are being promoted by
Rosicrucian groups [4], at New Age festivals and celebrations
[5], and throughout the neo-pagan world. Not surprisingly, one
of America's largest witch, shaman, and neo-pagan assemblies,
the 2005 Pagan Spirit Gathering at Wisteria, OH, held a
night-time Summer Solstice Labyrinth ritual, which was described
as a "transformative, walking meditation through an all night
labyrinth formed by 1000 lighted candles".
(462) The
Social
Gospel, Yesterday and Today by Gary Gilley,
11/2/12
What is unfolding before us is what the Emergent leader Brian
McLaren terms "missional." Missional, McLaren tells us, is "a
generous third way," between the conservative "personal Savior"
gospel and liberal version of it.[35] McLaren further explains,
"My missional calling: blessed in this life to be a blessing to
everyone on earth" My mission isn't to figure out who is already
blessed, or not blessed, or unblessable. My calling is to be
blessed so I can bless everyone."[36] He continues, "From this
understanding we place less emphasis on whose lineage, rites,
doctrines, structures, and terminology are right and more emphasis
on whose actions, service, outreach, kindness, and effectiveness
are good". (In order) to help our world get back on the road to
being truly and wholly good again, the way God created it to
be""[37] Rob Bell adds, "For Jesus, the question wasn't how do I
get into heaven? But how do I bring heaven here?...The goal isn't
escaping this world but making this world the kind of place God
can come to. And God is remaking us into the kind of people who
can do this kind of work."[38] The rationale of McLaren and Bell
is a mere echo of the original founders of liberalism. Read
Part
1 & Part
2.
(463) The
Idolatry
of "I am!" by Larry DeBruyn, Guarding His Flock
Ministries, 11/15/12 One of my seminary professors stated in a theology class, "God
created man in His own likeness and image, and man has been
returning the compliment ever since." Again, like one pundit put
it, "Man is the ape that wants to be God." In many ways, shapes,
and sizes, the "man-is-God" teaching still comes to us.
(465) Spiritual
Formation
at Worship by Gary Gilley, Think On These Things,
October/November 2012 - Volume 18, Issue 5 The “face” of the Spiritual Formation
Movement, as well as contemplative spirituality and emergent
Christianity, is often first noticed within evangelical churches
by the incorporation of traditional Roman Catholic and Eastern
Orthodox practices and liturgies. Many of these practices are
being introduced at special events and eventually find their way
into the regular services of the church. Worshippers are often
confused by what they are experiencing and do not understand
what is taking place. It should be understood that when
traditions borrowed from errant groups such as Catholics and
Orthodoxy are taken into evangelical worship and life, and are
done so without a careful examination of Scripture, what is
being adopted is more than just methods. There is a
comprehensive, and in many ways wrong, theology upon which these
practices rest. Methods do matter, and we are naïve to think
that we can take techniques from false religions and not
eventually embrace their theology.
(466) Should
Christians
Do Contemplative Prayer? That's a Good Question! by
Lynn Lusby Pratt, 11/21/12 The process itself is the same for mystics of all religions-in
Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, in Hinduism with transcendental
meditation and yoga, in Sufism (Islamic mysticism), in the
meditation of New Age spirituality, and in contemplative prayer.
Participants are advised to choose a “sacred
word.” But the repetition renders any words
meaningless (ask a psych prof), so it doesn't really matter
whether a Christian says "Jesus loves me" or a Buddhist says
"Hail to the Lotus." The repetition induces an altered state of
consciousness in which the practitioner senses a "union with the
divine," having presumably contacted the god of choice.
(467) Christian
Mysticism by Pastor Daryl Hilbert, 11/26/12 ... in one degree or another, Christian Mysticism does not rely
upon the Scriptures for its truth and spirituality, but rather
upon one’s own feelings, impressions, and intuitions.
(468) How
the
"Quantum Christ" (God is in everything) is Tranforming the
World . . . and Entering the Church! by Warren B.
Smith, 3/12 The New Age/New Spirituality is already heralding quantum
physics as a "scientific" basis for their contention that God is
not only transcendent but also immanent "in" everyone and
everything. Physicist Fritjof Capra"s 1975 best-selling book on
quantum physics "The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the
Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism "was the
first to present this proposed scientific/spiritual model to a
mass audience. In it, Capra explains that he gained new
spiritual insights through a mystical experience he had sitting
on a beach in Santa Cruz, California in 1969...
(469) The
Top
50 "Christian" Contemplative Books – A "NOT
RECOMMENDED Reading List" and 25 Christian "Bridgers" to Them
at Lighthouse Trails, 12/10/12 LTRP Note: Ray Yungen and the editors at Lighthouse Trails have
put together our Top 50 "Christian" Contemplative Books - A "Not
Recommended Reading List." If your pastor, your professor, your
children, or your friends are reading any of these books, then
they are being led down a path that will take them toward a
mystical, panentheistic spirituality where only deception
lies in wait. And keep in mind, if they are reading other books
that are pointing to the books and authors below, this may
ultimately have the same results.
(470) Fantasy
or
Reality? - Where is your faith? by Sarah Leslie,
12/10/12 The Emerging Fantasy-Driven Worldview - With the rise of
interest in the Mayan calendar date of Dec. 21, 2012 among
Evangelicals, there is a concurrent noticeable shift in
perceptions of reality. What is reality? What is fantasy? Are
church people mixing the two together in strange new ways?
(471) Emerging
Christianity by Berit Kjos, 2006 Those who read A New Kind of Christian and its popular sequel
will be caught up in an unusual dialogue. Identifying with the
"Christian" teacher Neo and others who model the "new" Christian
beliefs, readers are encouraged to challenge God, question His
commands, twist disturbing truths, and pursue visions that fit
contemporary culture. Read Part
1, Part
2 & Part
3.
(472) COMPARISON:
“New
Spirituality” Leaders Reject and Ridicule the Second
Coming of the Lord VERSUS Bible Prophecies Standing in Stark
Contrast by Lighthouse Trails, 12/23/12 Many people feared that the world would come to an end on
December 21, 2012 because of Mayan calendar "prophecies." Many
New Agers believed that the 21st would be significant in seeing
a global wide spiritual epiphany. In the midst of all this,
there is the issue of the return of Jesus Christ. What do New
Spirituality “ leaders have to say about the end-times
and the return of Jesus Christ versus what does the Bible have
to say? There is a vast difference in the two. The Bible
tells us that in the last days men will be scoff and scorn the
idea of Jesus Christ returning.
(473) The
Post-Truth
Transformation of a Wordless "Faith" by Tamara
Hartzell, 12/24/12 In today's shifting Christianity, people think it is simply a
matter of "moving the fence" in order to be more inclusive. They
don't understand that we can't broaden the truth of Who the Lord
Jesus Christ is any more than we can broaden the truth of Who
God is. The Word of God tells us the truth of Who the Lord Jesus
Christ is, and, again, the truth and faith that are in the Word
of God give us the Christian faith, not the faith of another
religion. In other words, the truth of Who the Lord Jesus Christ
is gives us the Christian faith. This is the faith that is given
to us by God in His Word. The Lord Jesus Christ does not 'move
the fence;' that is, He does not change the truth of Who He is
to be more inclusive. The truth is what it is whether people
believe it or not.
(474) "The
Lord
is my Shepherd! I shall not want." (Psalm 23:1) by
David Dombrowski, Lighthouse Trails Research, 12/30/12 Many people feared that the world would come to an end on
December 21, 2012 because of Mayan calendar "prophecies." Many
New Agers believed that the 21st would be significant in seeing
a global wide spiritual epiphany. In the midst of all this,
there is the issue of the return of Jesus Christ. What do New
Spirituality “ leaders have to say about the end-times
and the return of Jesus Christ versus what does the Bible have
to say? There is a vast difference in the two. The Bible tells
us that in the last days men will be scoff and scorn the idea of
Jesus Christ returning.
(475) Ignatius
by Gary Gilley, Think On These Things, December/January 2012/2013
- Volume 18, Issue 6 One of the most popular and strongly promoted activities within
spiritual formation is known as “The Spiritual
Exercises of Ignatius Loyola.” As the name implies,
these are exercises or activities invented by the Roman Catholic
monk Ignatius of Loyola in the 16th century to enhance spiritual
life, first his own and then that of the monks within his
monasteries. The exercises are complicated and difficult, and
were practiced almost exclusively by Catholic monks for over 400
years until the birth of the modern Spiritual Formation Movement
in the latter part of the 20th century. Today there is no doubt
more interest in the exercises than at any other point in
history. To grasp Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises, we
will begin with a short history of Ignatius, including the
society of monks he founded, move to the original 16th century
exercises as found in Ignatius’s book, examine their
modern application especially among Protestants, and then
discuss why the Exercises are of deep concern to lovers of
biblical Christianity.
(476) A
Brief Snyopsis of The Emerging Church by Pastor Daryl
Hilbert, 1/1/13 How do we respond to the Emerging Church Movement? Answer: the
same way the Scriptures have always exhorted believers to
respond, by putting forth an emphatic effort and strenuous
struggle on behalf of the truth, by contending earnestly for the
faith once for all handed down to the saints, and
metaphorically, by waging war for the truth.
(477) “Reimagining”
God by Tamara Hartzell, 1/6/13 In today’s shifting Christianity, people think it is
simply a matter of “moving the fence” in
order to be more inclusive. They don’t understand that
we can’t broaden the truth of Who the Lord Jesus
Christ is any more than we can broaden the truth of Who God is.
The Word of God tells us the truth of Who the Lord Jesus Christ
is, and, again, the truth and faith that are in the Word of God
give us the Christian faith, not the faith of another religion.
In other words, the truth of Who the Lord Jesus Christ is gives
us the Christian faith. This is the faith that is given to us by
God in His Word. The Lord Jesus Christ does not “move
the fence!” That is, He does not change the truth of
Who He is to be more inclusive. The truth is what it is whether
people believe it or not.
(478) The
Cross
versus the “Higher Self” by Ray
Yungen, 1/17/13 The New Age and Christianity definitely clash on the answer to
the question of human imperfection. The former [the New Age]
espouses the doctrine of becoming self-realized and united with
the universe, which they see as God but in reality is the realm
of familiar spirits. On the other hand, the Gospel that
Christians embrace offers salvation to humanity through grace
(unmerited favor). Romans 3:24 boldly states:
“… being justified freely by His grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” In
Romans 6:23 we read: “For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.” This gift is not earned or given as a reward
for earnest or good intentions as Scripture clearly states.
(479) The
Postmodern
Deconstruction of Biblical Truths by Prof. Johan
Malan, Mossel Bay, South Africa (December 2012) We are living in a time of the most immense and relentless
attacks on the Christian faith since the beginning of the church
dispensation. The present onslaught does not primarily occur on
the physical level in order to persecute and torture Christians,
but rather on the spiritual and doctrinal level with a view to
utterly deceiving them. These assaults constitute a determined
and final effort by the kingdom of darkness to completely
obliterate the Christian faith and replace it with the
Antichrist’s alliance of false world religions.
(480) The
Emerging
Church And The Wild Goose Chase Into Postmodern Progressive
Christianity by Ken Silva, 6/5/11 The sinfully ecumenical neo-liberal cult of the Emergent Church
aka the Emerging Church continues on their foolish Wild Goose
Chase; so here at Apprising Ministries I continue tracking the
destruction in the wake of The New Downgrade And Its Apostles Of
Unbelief. As I do you’ll come to see that the
EC’s new postmodern version of Progressive Christian
theology under their spiritual circus “big
tent” Emergence Christianity depends upon philosophy
and not Biblical theology.
(481) Soaking
– the Trendy Approach to a Holy God by Kevin
Kleint, 1/29/13 During my stint at the Elijah List (2001-2008), the practice of
“soaking” grew immensely in popularity among
the “prophetic” church, and continues to
grow now. Usually, the “soaker” has a
“soaking” CD playing in the background that
is conducive to the “soaking” experience.
Most of the time, these CD’s have music playing, with
a “prophet” or “prophetic
person” either speaking,
“prophesying” or singing with the music.
Elijah List contributors such as Todd Bentley, Stacey Campbell
and the Kansas City prophets (Mike Bickle, Bob Jones, Paul Cain,
etc.) have released entire “worship” CD
series created for this very purpose. To the spiritually young
and immature, the practice of
“soaking” seems SO RIGHT. They think:
“Who wouldn’t want to get in contact with
God’s Holy Spirit? What better way to experience the
Presence of God? The people who practice it prophesy a LOT and
they seem so ‘spiritual’, this MUST be the
right way to do things ……
Right?” Unfortunately, Wrong.
(482) The
Post-truth
Transformation of a Wordless Faith at The Berean Call,
2/5/13 In today’s shifting Christianity, people think it is
simply a matter of “moving the fence” in
order to be more inclusive. They don’t understand that
we can’t "broaden" the truth of Who the Lord Jesus
Christ is any more than we can broaden the truth of Who God is.
The Word of God tells us the truth of Who the Lord Jesus Christ
is, and, again, the truth and faith that are in the Word of God
give us the Christian faith, not the faith of another religion.
(483) LifeWay
Stores
Drops “Warning” Labels on Emergent Books
– Says Not Relevant Anymore by Lighthouse
Trails, 2/11/11 According to a Christianity Today article, LifeWay Christian
Stores (resource department for Southern Baptist Convention) has
decided to end their “Read with Discernment”
labels program that began in 2007.1 Books that LifeWay was
carrying at that time by emerging church authors such as Rob
Bell and Brian McLaren were suppose to receive labels telling
potential readers that they should used discernment when reading
the books as the books “may have espoused thoughts,
ideas, or concepts that could be considered inconsistent with
historical evangelical theology.” But, says
Christianity Today, LifeWay has decided to end the warning
program. Chris Rodgers, LifeWay’s director of product
standards and customer relations, said: “We have been
thinking about doing away with them for some time . . . They
have kind of become irrelevant.”
(485) The
Eerie
Silence of a Silent Church by Warren B. Smith, author
of False
Christ
Coming: Does Anybody Care?, 3/1/13 Why is there almost no call for spiritual discernment within
the Church? . . . Why are there so few warnings about a
counterfeit “new gospel” movement that
maligns the person of Jesus Christ and threatens the lives of
His followers?
(486)The
Real
Roots of the Emergent Church (Film) by Elliott Nesch,
Holy Bible Prophecy, 3/4/13 Film: This Christian documentary film The Real Roots of the
Emergent Church will take an honest look at the leaders of the
Emerging Church movement such as Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt,
Tony Jones, Rob Bell, Tony Campolo, Steve Chalke, Peter Rollins,
Dan Kimball, Richard Rohr, Phyllis Tickle, Spencer Burke and
others. Who are they and what are they teaching? Become familiar
with the postmodern Emergent Church and its popular tactic of
literary deconstruction applied to the Bible. This film takes an
in-depth look at what the Emerging Church believes concerning
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Scriptures, absolute truth,
hell, homosexuality, mysticism, contemplative prayer, other
religions, and eschatology in comparison to the Bible. Much more
than candles and couches! Participants: Eric Ludy, Joe Schimmel,
Chris Rosebrough, Bob DeWaay, Gary Gilley, Ray Yungen, Robert
LeBus, Jay Peters, James Sundquist, and Elliott Nesch.
(487) The
Rise
of Apocalyptic Paganism in the Church: Bible Prophecy
in Crisis by Herescope, 3/7/13 The eschatological teachings of the postmodern evangelical
church are in a state of revision and flux. It is no longer
possible to categorize endtime teachings according to the old
standard recognizable Postmillennialism, Amillennialism and
Premillennialism. There are emerging permutations in these
teachings, hybrid eschatologies that blend in New Age
evolutionary progression, quantum physics (including quantum
spirituality), “incarnating” Christ,
“Forerunner Eschatology,” science fiction,
UFO lore, secret codes, and ancient pagan mythology, astrology
and apocryphal writings. The result is a prophecy mish-mash.
These strange new configurations of eschatology are apocalyptic
in nature and go far beyond the descriptions of an apocalypse
that are found in Scripture alone. Postmodern endtime prophecy
no longer reflects the humble Gospel message of salvation, nor
does it find hope in the soon return of Jesus Christ.
(488) Questions For Those
Considering Yoga (4:18) - Video by Chris Lawson,
3/8/13 It is for good reason that Christian pastors in India have been
found to weep over the ignorance of Christians in the West that
do yoga for "exercise." Christian or non-Christian, it seems
that most people in Western civilization have never been
properly warned about the dangers of yoga. Asking simple
questions, Chris Lawson presents various straightforward
considerations that people should seriously think about before
launching themselves - and those around them - into influences
that the the world of yoga can produce within them, upon them
and through them.
(489) John
Piper
Says No to Catholic Contemplatives But Yes to Protestant
Contemplatives by Lighthouse Trails, 3/11/13 This past week we received an e-mail from a reader who brought
to our attention a video online showing where popular Calvinist
teacher John Piper is asked the question: “Is there
such a thing as contemplative prayer or Christian meditation in
the Reformed and Puritan tradition?”
(490) Emerging
“Progressive”
Spirituality: Joining the New Age with Christianity, and
Christian Leaders Say OK by Lighthouse Trails,
3/21/13 No one group understands emerging
“progressive” spirituality as much as those
in the New Age. That’s because it is their religion.
So when the evangelical emerging church movement rose to the
forefront, New Agers must have found it quite intriguing and
most likely rewarding to see their belief system finally take
root in Christianity.
(491) Reputedly
Conservative
Churches Embrace 'Holy Yoga' by Dr. Paul M. Elliott,
4/3/13 "Holy Yoga" is a syncretistic mingling of Hinduism and
Christianity. It is a latter-day manifestation of the same evil
spirit that drove King Ahaz of ancient Judah. We find the sad
record of his syncretism in 2 Kings chapter 16 and 2 Chronicles
chapter 28. Ahaz saw and admired a great pagan altar in
Damascus. So, he decided to have a copy of it made in Jerusalem
and set up in the temple alongside the brazen altar of the one
true and living God. Ahaz caused the Levitical priests to offer
sacrifices upon it.
(492) Contemporary
Christian
Divination: The False Claims and Practices of Christian
Mystics by Bob DeWaay, 2007 Those today who are evangelical Christians, who know God
through the gospel, yet dabble in the practices of the pagans,
are spiritual “sons of Jeroboam.” They are,
like Jeroboam, very creative in making Christianity relevant to
the current culture. The problem is not Western rationalism as
the contemporary mystics all claim. They are fighting an
obsolete battle. The prevailing culture in America is very much
“spiritual.” They claim the need for
mystical experience to fight against modernity when they are in
a post-modern culture that has embraced the East. The danger
today is not that people think that the material realm is all
there is, it is that they think they can contact the spiritual
realm their own way. They are practicing divination.
(493) How
to
Know When the Emerging Church Shows Signs of Emerging Into
Your Church (Booklet) by Lighthouse Trails,
4/7/13 I am convinced we are seeing apostasy underway, exactly as the
Scriptures have forewarned. This means that this current trend
is not likely to disappear. We must continue to proclaim the
truth in the midst of deception with love.
(494) Christians
mystically
encountering God by Marsha West, RenewAmerica,
4/16/13 For a couple of decades there has been a big push by numerous
evangelical leaders to incorporate pagan practices into the
visible Church. These unbiblical practices have their origins in
Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, likewise the
New Age movement. Roman Catholic Trappist Monks fully embraced
Eastern religion's pagan practices. Through the writings of
Thomas Merton, Basil Pennington, William Menninger and Thomas
Keating these practices have been introduced into mainline
Protestant churches as well as independent, nondenominational,
charismatic and Pentecostal churches.
(495) NEW
PRINT
BOOKLET TRACT: The New Missiology – Doing Missions
Without the Gospel by Roger Oakland, 4/27/13 Emerging “progressive Christianity” is
changing the way evangelical/Protestant missions is being
conducted. The idea is that you can go for Jesus, but you
don’t have to identify yourself as a Christian or part
of the Christian church. This concept spills over into some
missionary societies too, where they teach people from other
religions they can keep their religion, just add Jesus to the
equation. They don’t have to embrace the term
Christian.
(496) Christian
Colleges
that Promote Contemplative by Lighthouse Trails,
4/29/13
A list of "Christian" colleges that promote Emerging Church,
Contemplative Prayer and Spiritual Formation.
(498) Fasting
and
Spiritual Direction by Gary Gilley, Think On These
Things, April/May 2013,Volume 19, Issue 2 The list of spiritual disciplines that has been adopted within
the Spiritual Formation Movement is almost endless. We could
analyze the divine office, Benedict’s Rule, use of the
Rosary and prayer ropes, monasticism, journaling, the Eucharist,
and pilgrimage, among many others. But we will conclude our
study of the disciplines with fasting and spiritual direction.
(499) Avoiding
the
Dangers of Yoga, Mysticism, New Age and the Occult by
Chris Lawson, 5/10/13 Some portions of these articles were originally published in
2010, under the title "Defining Deception: What Is Yoga,
Mysticism, New Age and The Occult?" The following, which is part
one of this two-part series, covers the terms
“Mysticism” and “Yoga.”
Part two of this series (see below) covers the term
“New Age (New Spirituality/New Gospel/Contemplative
spirituality) and the term “Occult.”
Biblical warnings against these philosophies and the spiritual
practices they entail are given throughout both articles.
Read Part
1
& Part 2.
(501) Letter
to
the Editor: Christian & Missionary Alliance OK With Ruth
Haley Barton and Other Contemplatives by Lighthouse
Trails, 5/16/13 Two and a half years ago the leadership of the Western PA
District of the Christian and Missionary Alliance invited Ruth
Haley Barton to speak to its pastors and lay delegates at its
annual District Conference. I sat in amazement as I watched my
fellow pastors nod their heads in affirmation as Mrs. Barton
said Moses went in to the desert to meditate. I
didn’t see my fellow pastors turn to the book of
Exodus to read the account of Moses. My Bible says Moses
went to the desert to escape being killed by Pharaoh.
(502) Harding
University
& School of Theology – Another Christian
University Added to Contemplative Colleges List by
Lighthouse Trails, 5/20/13 After a concerned parent contacted us, we researched Harding
University in Arkansas and Harding School of Theology in
Tennessee (both under the same umbrella) and discovered that
Harding needed to be added to our list of Christian schools that
are promoting contemplative spirituality. Both the University
and the School of Theology have integrated Spiritual Formation
(i.e., contemplative) into their schools.
(503) Moody
Pastors
Conference Teaching Lectio Divina This Week ;
And Seven Years of Warning by Lighthouse Trails Go Unheeded
by Lighthouse Trails, 5/22/13 On May 20-23, Moody Bible Institute held its annual Pastors
Conference (this year called re|Focus). Keynote speakers
included Alistair Begg, Voddie Bauchman, Michael Easley (former
Moody Bible Institute president) and a number of other
evangelical pastors and speakers. On Tuesday, during one of the
breakout sessions, Peter Spychalla, Director of Prayer
Ministries, East White Oak Bible Church in Illinois gave a
teaching on the contemplative practice called lectio divina (see
page 35 of brochure)
(504) Will
Assemblies
of God Leaders Ignore Contemplative Evidence? by
Lighthouse Trails, 5/26/13 LTRP Note: This an update to our previous articles regarding
Assemblies of God’s invitation of contemplative leader
Ruth Haley Barton to their 2013 General Council conference.
Please see the links at the bottom of this page for a
chronological listing of articles relating to this matter.
(505) Contemplative
Spirituality
Concerns Part 1 (Video) by Chris Lawson, Spiritual
Research Network, 5/31/13 Many people today - Christians and non-Christians - are
engaging in Contemplative Spirituality practices. What many do
not realize is that the Spiritual Formation "centering prayer"
movement, with its mystical and occult methods and techniques,
is part of a global Interfaith system of spirituality, a
spirituality that is rooted in Eastern mysticism and
philosophies such as pantheism (All is God, God is all), monism
(All is one) and panentheistic (All in God, God in all)
evolutionary occultism (the "hidden" things, "universal cosmic
energies," quantum spirituality, etc). This short introductory
video speaks to fact that the "centering prayer" and
"meditation" movements within the the New Spirituality/New
Gospel/New Age movement are hostile to the Person, nature and
work of Jesus Christ and the biblical Gospel.
(506) The
New
Missiology: Doing Missions Without the Gospel (Tract)
by Roger Oakland, 6/4/13 Emerging "progressive Christianity" is changing the way
evangelical/Protestant missions is being conducted. The idea is
that you can go for Jesus, but you don't have to identify
yourself as a Christian or part of the Christian church. This
concept spills over into some missionary societies too, where
they teach people from other religions they can keep their
religion, just add Jesus to the equation. They don?t have to
embrace the term Christian.
(507) Coming
to
Christ Through Mysticism? by Roger Oakland,
6/9/13 The spiritual formation movement teaches that if people
practice certain spiritual disciplines, they can become like
Jesus and model their lives after Him. But being born again and
having the indwelling of Christ is not a prerequisite. Neither
is receiving Him as Lord and absolute Savior. What spiritual
formation offers is an alternative to God’s plan of
salvation revealed in Scripture.
(508) Concerns
Grow
as Moody Presses Forth Down Contemplative Path by
Lighthouse Trails, 6/10/13 As we explained in our May 22nd article,
“Moody’s Pastors’ Conference
Teaching Lectio Divina This Week” we have been warning
Moody Bible Institute and Moody Radio (owned by MBI) for seven
years. Moody has rejected our warnings, has refused to accept
our free, non-obligatory copies of A Time of Departing and Faith
Undone, and has continued to promote contemplative spirituality.
(509) New
Age
“Christianity”? by Roger Oakland,
6/13/13 The amazing thing to me is how quickly Christianity has been
changed in such a short period of time. Why has this happened?
Does it have something to do with the Word of God being
undermined? It seems to me that Christians have joined hands
with the New Age, and we now have a New Age Christianity that
the Bible warns us about.
(510) NEW
BOOKLET
TRACT: An Epidemic of Apostasy – How Christian
Seminaries Must Incorporate “Spiritual
Formation” to Become Accredited by
Lighthouse Trails, 6/16/13 What do the two accreditation
organizations—Association of Theological Seminaries
and Association for Biblical Higher Education—have in
common? Both associations require schools that wish to be
accredited to include Spiritual Formation within the
school’s infrastructure. Just what exactly does that
mean for these 350 some seminaries and Bible colleges? Well, it
means that if they want to receive and maintain their
accreditation, they are going to have to incorporate Spiritual
Formation (i.e., contemplative spirituality) into the lives of
their students.
(511) "Contextualization"
of
the Gospel: A Free-Falling Catastrophe by Roger
Oakland, 6/19/13 If Paul had been adjusting (contextualizing) the Word of God to
fit the culture and context of the lives of those he spoke to,
he would not have said “the aroma of death leading to
death.” He took the spiritual state of these people
very seriously, and he had full confidence that God’s
Word, unaltered and unchanged, could reach into the heart and
soul of any person who would receive Christ by faith. Whether a
person is young, mentally challenged, or of a different culture
or ethnic group, the Gospel is God’s Gospel, and He
made it so that all who receive it by faith will understand His
love and forgiveness and have eternal life. . . .
(512) The
Truth
About Energy Healing (Booklet) by Ray Yungen,
Lighthouse Trails, 6/25/13 New Agers and occultists believe that man has more than one
body, that there are other invisible bodies superimposed on the
physical body. They refer to one of these as the etheric body
and believe there lies within it energy centers called chakras
(pronounced shock-ras). The term chakra means whirling wheel in
Sanskrit, the ancient Hindu language. They were seen by those
with clairvoyant powers as spinning balls of psychic energy. It
is taught that there are seven chakras, which start at the base
of the spine and end at the crown chakra at the top of the head.
(513) The
Duty
And Danger Of Opposing The�Emergent� Movement by Bill
McCumber, 6/28/13 The duty is simple. The gurus and leaders of this emergent
movement, conversation, dialogue�call it what they will�do not
base their teachings and writings upon Scripture but upon their
own opinions. They do not submit to the authority of the Bible
but seek to impose their authority upon the Bible. They dismiss
the clear witness of the Bible to itself as the inspired Word of
God. When this has been done the witness of the Bible to God, to
Jesus Christ and to salvation from sin is rejected outright or
dangerously distorted.
(514) The
Labyrinth
Journey: Walking the Path to Fulfillment? (Booklet) by
Carl Teichrib, Lighthouse Trails, 7/2/13 Beyond all of this, just as walking the labyrinth is used for
initiation in cults, it serves as a catalyst to draw people into
more serious forms of New Age or eastern-style meditation
cloaked under terms like �the silence,� �centering prayer,� or
�contemplative prayer.� Yes, the majority of Christians would
affirm that their labyrinth prayer walk is completely focused on
Jesus Christ. That may be true, but it doesn�t excuse the fact
that the labyrinth is, by its theological nature, an
inter-religious and deeply mystical device. If God is going to
bless the labyrinth experience, how is He going to deal with 2
Corinthians 6:14-16?
(515) Author
Phyllis
Tickle brings emergent church discussion to Menucha lectures
at Understand The Times, 7/5/13 Phyllis Tickle, a lively authority on the future of the
Christian church, will present the 2013 Wright Lectures on Oct.
13-15 at Menucha Retreat and Conference Center in Corbett.
Attendance is limited to 60 people, and registration is open.
Tickle will speak on two of her books, "The Great Emergence" and
"Emergence Christianity: What It Is, Where It Is Going and Why
It Matters." She will offer extended question and answer periods
and encourage small group conversations on the implications of
what participants are hearing. Tickle is an Episcopal lay
minister and founding editor of the religion department at
Publishers Weekly. She says the Christian church is entering a
post-denominational period against a backdrop of sociological
and cultural shifts that have created a distrust of all
institutions. Mainline churches are becoming less hierarchical
and more communal, she says, allowing Protestantism to renew and
redefine itself. "Wherever it's going, there's every reason
right now to rejoice," she says. "God is doing a new thing
amongst us and it's call emerging or emergent
Christianity."
(516) YOGA
and
Christianity � Are They Compatible? (Booklet) by Chris
Lawson, Lighthouse Trails, 7/7/13 Western Culture Embraces Yoga: It is no secret that Yoga is
taking Western civilization by storm. In just a little over a
hundred years, a mystical revolution has occurred that millions
of Westerners have wholeheartedly embraced. Amazingly, the
Western Judeo-Christian view is in the process of a paradigm
shift toward the same perspective as yogic India.
(518) From
the
Frying Pan into the Fire: Women of Faith Partners with New Age
Advocate Roma Downey by Lighthouse Trails,
7/25/13 We fear we must say yes to John Lanagan�s question. Women of
Faith is going from the frying pan into the fire. In a June 21st
Christian Post article, �Mark Burnett, Roma Downey Partner With
Women of Faith, �Believe God Can Do Anything� Tour,� it
explains how Women of Faith �has partnered with �The Bible�
producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey to incorporate parts of
the highly successful History Channel program into its
�life-changing� tour. That probably sounds UN-alarming to most
people. After all, what could be wrong with a program
called The Bible? And the series (now seen by over 100
million people), The Bible, is being promoted widely by
many Christian organizations and ministries with a broad
marketing target.
(519) The
Spirituality
of Teresa of Avila � A Mystic to Whom Contemplatives Turn
by Lighthouse Trails, 7/27/13 Castles in the Sand by Carolyn A. Greene is a story based on
true facts and addresses the fast growing contemplative prayer
movement within the evangelical/Protestant church. The story is
about a 21st century Christian college girl who is introduced to
the writings of a 15th century mystic girl, Teresa of Avila in
her Spiritual Formation class. Teresa of Avila is one of
the ancient mystics to whom modern day contemplatives turn. For
example, Richard Foster includes her in Devotional Classics,
Sanctuary of the Soul, and Longing for God. We think when
you read this chapter of Castles in the Sand, you will see how
the spiritual practices of Teresa of Avila line up with the
occult but not with biblical Christianity. If you didn�t get a
chance to read chapter one when we posted it, here it is
again: (chapter one). Below is an excerpt to chapter two with a
link to the entire chapter.
(520) An
Epidemic
of Apostasy � How Christian Seminaries Must Incorporate
�Spiritual Formation� to Become Accredited (Booklet)
by Lighthouse Trails, 8/1/13 Spiritual Formation: A movement that has provided a platform
and a channel through which contemplative prayer is entering the
church. Find spiritual formation being used, and in nearly every
case, you will find contemplative spirituality and its
�pioneers� such as Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, and Henri
Nouwen. Spiritual Formation is based on �spiritual disciplines�
that can be practiced by people of any faith to make them more
�Christ-like.� Rebirth through Jesus Christ and regeneration
through the Holy Spirit are not essential. Rather it is a
works-based �theology� that has strong roots in Roman
Catholicism and ancient paganism.
(521) WHO
GOES
THERE? Encountering voices in the silence of contemplative
prayer by Larry DeBruyn, 8/22/13 If whispers repeat the Word of God, then they are unnecessary.
If whispers contradict the Word of God, then they are heresy. If
they add to the Word of God, then they point to Scripture�s
inadequacy and insufficiency. To this point Proverbs warns: �Add
thou not unto his [God�s] words, lest he [God] reprove thee, and
thou be found a liar� (Proverbs 30:6, KJV). � DeBruyn
(522) The
Stillness
and Lectio Divina at a Mennonite �Biblical� Seminary?
by Menno-lite, 8/29/13
The seminary for the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren
Churches is there to equip and educate future pastors, leaders,
missionaries, counsellors and teachers for ministry within the
Mennonite Brethren constituency. This fall, one of the courses
offered by the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary to equip
future pastors and teachers and missionaries is listed on the CMU
2013-14 COURSE TIMETABLE: BTS-5960M Being with God in Stillness
and Scripture (1.0 credit hour) This course will draw on biblical,
historical and experiential resources for developing a
conversational relationship with Jesus Christ through the
practices of stillness, and `sacred reading� of Scripture (lectio
divina). Students will complete several assignments after
participating in a one-day workshop. (In 2013 this workshop will
be offered in two Ontario locations.) Instructor: Andrew
Dyck
http://www.mbseminary.ca/cmu-courses Is this really a biblical
practice?
(523) The
Quantum
Christ: Entering the World AND the Church Through Popular New
Age & Christian Leaders by Warren Smith,
8/30/13 The New Age/New Spirituality is already heralding quantum
physics as a �scientific� basis for their contention that God is
not only transcendent but also immanent��in� everyone and
everything. Physicist Fritjof Capra�s 1975 best-selling book on
quantum physics�The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the
Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism�was the
first to present this proposed scientific/spiritual model to a
mass audience. In it, Capra explains that he gained new
spiritual insights through a mystical experience he had sitting
on a beach in Santa Cruz, California in 1969
(525) The
Metaphysical
Explosion & the Higher Self � A Path to Spiritual
Enlightenment or a Road to Dangerous Deception? by Ray
Yungen, 9/7/13 After 25 years of research, I fully understand why so many
people have embraced metaphysics (mysticism) and why they seek
transformation for humanity as a whole. By and large, they have
rejected orthodox (old paradigm) Christianity as being
unacceptable, but still want to retain spiritual meaning and a
utopian vision in their lives. In addition, they see metaphysics
as helpful towards improving the quality of their daily lives,
whether it be better health, more loving relationships, inner
peace, or guidance for success and prosperity. They would think
it the height of ignorance and folly to condemn such seemingly
wonderful ways to better the human condition.
(526) Drinking
to
the Gospel: Presbyterian Church in New Zealand Embraces
Alcohol to Evangelize, Attract Members, Make Money at
Understand The Times, 9/13/13 With promotional events like "Wine and theology evenings" and
"Beer and barbeque" church services, congregants of New
Zealand's dying Presbyterian Church are now embracing alcohol as
an evangelism tool to attract more members and increase their
bottom line according to a new study coming out of that country.
Highlighting new research by religion expert, Dr. Geoff
Troughton of Victoria University of Wellington, in a Medical
Xpress report on Tuesday, revealed that the Presbyterian
Church's anti-alcohol campaign had slacked off radically since
the 1990s to shore up their bottom line and attract more people
to the dying church. "Some churches are now experimenting with
using alcohol as an evangelization tool. Rather than seeing
alcohol consumption as a marker of secular culture in need of
change, it has become part of efforts to promote Christianity.
'Wine and theology' evenings and 'beer and barbeque' church
services are among the methods being explored," said Troughton
in the report.
(527) Emergent
Church:
Is The Bible Inerrant by Ken Silva, 9/21/13 As a pastor-teacher sent by Christ someone is welcome ask me
the exact same question: �Do you believe that the Bible is the
inerrant Word of God?� Answer: Absolutely; it is the only Book
inspired the one true and living God�the Creator of mankind�and
as such it is the sole source of authority for how God wishes
all of His creation to live their lives, no matter what culture
they may be part of. My reason for stating it like that is
because this is exactly how Jesus Christ of Nazareth approached
Holy Scripture, and no one has the right to call themselves
Christian without having the same view of the Scriptures that
His Master had.
(529) Letter
to
the Editor: The Affects of �Spiritual Formation� in a
Christian Church at Lighthouse Trails, 10/10/13
From Lighthouse Trails I ordered the book by Ray Yungen For
Many Shall Come In My Name. This is where I first was
introduced to the concept or should I say the term Centering
Prayer. The subject matter so moved me that I ordered 10
copies and provided it to my pastor to distribute it to the
ministry team at church. Thinking maybe they were unaware of the
direction the church was moving in. Looking back I never
realized how naïve I was! How unprepared! I believed that the
books would be read and I would receive some type of response.
Negative! Upon giving the Pastor the book and its copies, the
reaction was not what I hoped for. He looked at the back and
said that it had no supporting commentaries[endorsements] on the
back. Looking inside, he said it looks like he�s probably a
Baptist. Getting over the shock of that statement, or should I
say trying not to show how much that statement shocked me, I
told him that the supporting commentaries might get me to read
the book, but it would be the contents that would make or break
the book for me. He thanked me and took the books with a
promise of getting back to me.
(530) The
Advent
of the �Ancient Wisdom� by Ray Yungen, 10/11/13
A Time magazine article on what America believes reveals that
fourteen percent of the U.S. population sees God as �a Higher
Power or Cosmic Force.�9 This would confirm the number that
Eckhart Tolle spoke of (thirty million New Agers). How would any
movement achieve such an enormous following so quickly? What is
it that drives such rapid growth? The answer to this question
cannot be ignored or dismissed as irrelevant. (For more
information, read Ray Yungen�s book, For
Many
Shall Come in My Name)
(531) Is
Your
Church Doing Spiritual Formation? by Lighthouse
Trails, 10/14/13 Is your church involved in a Spiritual Formation program? If
so, you might want to ask the question, what does Spiritual
Formation look like? It�s a fair question, and one, that if not
asked, could end up surprising you when your church changes in
ways you never imagined. In a 2002 Christianity Today article,
it stated: �Spiritual Formation is in.� The article reveals who
is largely responsible for starting the movement: "Now many
evangelical seminaries offer programs in spiritual formation.
Renovare, which Richard Foster and others founded in 1989 to
cultivate spiritual formation (especially among evangelicals),
today offers retreats and resources worldwide."
(533) Letter
From
Focus on the Family Confirms Past Reports � They DO Promote
Contemplative Spirituality by Lighthouse Trails,
10/18/13 Recently, Lighthouse Trails received a letter from one of our
readers who sent us a letter she had received in 2012 from Focus
on the Family after she inquired about their views on
contemplative spirituality. On a number of occasions in the
past, Lighthouse Trails has issued reports showing Focus on the
Family�s promotion of contemplative spirituality. In more than
one instance, Tim Masters (in the Office of the President), on
behalf of Focus on the Family, has written to Lighthouse
Trails and/or LT readers expressing the organization�s
acceptance of contemplative.
(534) Mega-Pastor
Steven
Furtick Faces Examination by Trinity Foundation,
10/30/13 Elevation Church Pastor Steven Furtick has attracted some
unwanted attention. WCNC reporter Stuart Watson recently
uncovered Furtick�s large $1.7M house tucked in the woods away
from public scrutiny and doubly hidden in a specially created
trust. The expose asks a lot of questions about how mega-pastors
with a ready-made audience can profit from book royalties.
It also raises questions about the suitability of compensation
committees comprised of fellow pastors with a vested interest as
contrasted with a long-held church tradition of elders and
deacons having decision-making authority.
(535) Does
God
Sanction Mystical Experiences? by Ray Yungen,
11/9/13 Nowhere in the Bible is the silence equated with the �power of
God,� but the message of the cross (1 Corinthians 1:18) most
certainly is!
(536) Sojourners
Founder
Jim Wallis� Revolutionary Anti-Christian �Gospel� (and Will
Christian Leaders Stand with Wallis?) by M. Danielsen,
Lighthouse Trails, 11/23/13 LTRP Note: We first posted the following commentary in June
2010. We felt it was timely to post it again for those who have
forgotten about it or for those who have not yet read it,
especially in view of Jim Wallis� SoJourner magazine�s
endorsement of Brian McLaren�s new CANA Initiative, which we
wrote about yesterday. If you want to know where things are
going, this article will be most �enlightening.�
(537) Letter
to
the Editor: A New Believer Shocked to Learn New Age Practices
in Christian College by Lighthouse Trails,
11/24/13 No question about it in my mind � this is the great falling
away happening before our eyes. I was also once a member of the
Anthroposophical Society � an offshoot of the Theosophical
society. The mystical Christ being preached more and more is the
same as the anthroposophical Christ taught by Rudolf
Steiner, a gnostic version of Christ.
(538) Another
Jesus
Calling (Book) by Warren B. Smith, 11/25/13 For those who have read Jesus Calling and
been troubled by it but didn�t know why, �Another Jesus�
Calling will give substance to your concerns and will equip
you to help your friends who may be reading Young�s book also.
And if you have read Jesus Calling and see nothing wrong with
it, consider the claims of �Another Jesus� Calling. Beyond all
this, �Another Jesus� Calling serves as a discernment tool in
rightly handling the Word of God. You will lay down this book
with renewed understanding of the essential role of the Bible
and the Gospel message in keeping on (or returning to) the
right path.
(540) Letter
to
the Editor: Campus Crusade for Christ �Gospel Message�
Includes Spiritual Formation/Contemplative Spirituality
by Lighthouse Trails, 11/28/13 A couple years ago Campus Crusade for Christ changed their
60-year-long name to CRU in order, they said, to reach more
people for Christ. What they don�t realize is that the �Christ�
of contemplative prayer is not the Jesus Christ of the Bible.
The �Christ� of contemplative prayer will introduce adherents to
Henri Nouwen, who stated near the end of his life after years of
practicing contemplative mysticism.
(541) Letter
to
the Editor: Church of 43 Years Builds Labyrinth, Promotes
Mystical Rituals and Social Gospel by Lighthouse
Trails, 12/5/13 I left my church of 43 years, because they were promoting books
like Ruth Haley Barton�s �Solitude and Silence�; they had built
a Labyrinth next to the Memorial garden where my parents ashes
lay and were performing mystic rituals along with contemplative
prayer and Spiritual Formation.
(542) Embracing
Contemplative
Shows Ill Effects at Moody Bible Institute in Ecumenical �Road
to Rome� Event by Lighthouse Trails, 12/14/13 For over seven years now, Lighthouse Trails has followed Moody
Bible Institute�s continued promotion of contemplative
spirituality. Although the organization has denied that they are
promoting contemplative, the evidence has consistently existed.
Those who have a good understanding of contemplative
spirituality are aware of the inevitable outcome for followers
of contemplative. This outcome is a change in spiritual attitude
that leads to the following � ecumenism (a joining together of
all religious traditions, in particularly Catholicism first,
then Islam), interspirituality (all paths lead to God),
panentheism (God is in all), and eventually universalism (all
are saved, regardless of belief � thus no need for the Cross).
(543) Biblical
Discipleship
� Prayer by Gary Gilley, Think On These Things,
November/December 2013 - Volume 19, Issue 5 The Spiritual Formation Movement has rocked the church. Ancient
disciplines, most often practiced within the monastic movement
in the early centuries of Christianity, have been dusted off,
repacked, and resubmitted to believers as the means for
obtaining spiritual growth. There is increasing discussion about
fasting, journaling, pilgrimage, simplicity, solitude, silence,
contemplative prayer, and spiritual direction in Christian
literature. What can be learned from this renewed interest in
spiritual formation and what are the dangers? The last eight
editions of �Think on These Things� have been written to
interact with the history, teachings and dangers of the
Spiritual Formation Movement. I want to now turn from the
disciplines practiced in modern spiritual formation to the
biblical alternative to spiritual formation, as described in the
earlier articles. We will examine the means, or disciplines if
you choose, which the Word of God clearly identifies as ways God
has designed for His people to be transformed into
Christ-likeness and to experience intimacy with Him.
(544) Letter
to
the Editor: Where Can My College-Age Child Receive a Four-Year
Degree? by Lighthouse Trails, 12/20/13 We appreciate your attention to the wayward teaching at many
Christian schools, but have a serious question. The
list of non-contemplative schools is mostly Bible
colleges. What would you suggest to a student who is not going
into full-time ministry, is looking for a liberal arts or
sciences degree, and quite frankly, needs the fellowship of
other believers at his age? Our son will latch onto campus
lifestyle, is involved at church, but is not inclined to seek
philosophy or meditative styles. He�s a straight shooter who has
been in Christian schools all his life. Our initial
thoughts are to consider a Bible school for a semester or two
prior to going to a Christian university, or to be extra
critical of which professors and classes are taken for Bible
requirements. What would you do?
(545) Holiday
Cheer
& Christianizing "Shiva" - Lord of Yoga? by Chris
Lawson, 12/23/13 "Yoga may for a time provide seemingly beneficial health and an
abundance of physical energy. However, in the end there is a
trade off, the human soul and spirit become spiritually defiled.
Moreover, a built in hostile resistance against the Gospel of
Jesus Christ and His Word becomes a subtle, and even blatant,
reality in the life of the practitioner. When one engages in
Yoga, biblical discernment goes out, and human will softness and
the free acceptance of New Age spirituality comes in. In the
end, the forces of darkness have their way - the practitioner of
Yoga is enslaved to the will of hostile baleful entities.
Although all might seem well and happy on the outside, the
internal life of the striving yogi becomes dismantled, piece by
piece, year after year, until at last, the soul is damned in its
rejection of Christ the Savior of the world." - Chris
Lawson
(546) The
Present
of �His Presence� - �Emmanuel� � God is with us! by
Larry DeBruyn, Herescope, 1/1/14 As biblical as Pratico�s statement is, it is deficient in one
major aspect. Not only is God �with� us, but under terms of the
New Covenant, He�s �in� us! He�s present in/with us at all times
and through all the experiences of life, death and eternity.
That is why the Lord Jesus described that which He would give to
believers eternal life (John 3:15, 16, 36; 6:40; 10:28; 17:2-3).
In continuum, the Lord�s presence resides with/in believers from
now into eternity, and this divine presence we cultivate by
faith in God�s Word, not by invoking it.
(547) T.A.
McMahon
on "Social Gospel" In "Wide Is The Gate" by T.A.
McMahon, 1/2/14
Question: I�ve been watching the Wide Is the Gate
video series with some friends. We watched �Youth Movements and
the Social Gospel� from volume 2 in which T. A. McMahon states:
�in trying to solve the problems, fix the world, many Christians
don�t realize that they�re actually going to be helping the
Antichrist develop his kingdom.� My friends were disturbed by this
statement and understood it to mean that Christians should not
help with anything that makes the world a better place. The world
is destined to be destroyed and only those who are going to follow
the Antichrist want to make it better. Is this what you
meant?
(548) An
�Enlightened�
Race? by Caryl Matrisciana, 1/5/14 I see many similarities in the United States, and in the
Western world at large, to German society in the 1930s.
Christians by the carloads rush from one conference to another
to learn about community, leadership, small groups, and the
like. But I propose that what they are getting isn�t training to
be good leaders but rather subtle induction to being good
followers, lulled to lay aside independent thinking. �Follow,
follow, follow!� chants the chorus of today�s leaders, all the
while singing the praises of Eastern concepts and mystical
practices. Our way of thinking�and not thinking�is being
radically altered, and the majority of people, including
Christians, don�t even see what is happening. (Extracted from
Out of India by Caryl Matrisciana, pp. 213-216)
(549) John
Piper
And Linger Conference With Ihop�s Stephen Venable And His
Contemplative Teaching by Ken Silva, 1/18/14 Yesterday Apprising Ministries told you about John Piper And
Stephen Venable Of IHOP Together At Linger Conference. The
upcoming Linger Conference (LC), scheduled for February 14-15,
2014. features NC mentor John Piper, a well-known charismatic,
and current Acts 29 president and �reformed charismatic� Matt
Chandler. Also at LC will be Stephen Venable, who is �a
missionary at� IHOP currently serving �as an instructor� at IHOP
University. In addition, he�s �part of the senior leadership
team of the Antioch Center for Training,� which is an extension
of IHOP. The truth is, Stephen Venable is as dedicated to IHOP
as it gets.
(550) Understanding
Mantra
Meditation and Altered States by Ray Yungen,
1/21/14 The meditation most of us are familiar with involves a deep,
continuous thinking about something. But New Age meditation does
just the opposite. It involves ridding oneself of all thoughts
in order to still the mind by putting it in the equivalent of
pause or neutral. A comparison would be that of turning a
fast-moving stream into a still pond. When meditation is
employed by damming the free flow of thinking, it holds back
active thought and causes a shift in consciousness. This
condition is not to be confused with daydreaming, where the mind
dwells on a subject. New Age meditation works as a holding
mechanism until the mind becomes thoughtless, empty and silent.
(551) Letter
to
the Editor: Evangelical Free Church Snowballing into Spiritual
Deception Through Contemplative/Emerging by Lighthouse
Trails, 1/22/14 I never thought I would be writing you, but I would like to
tell you how much I appreciate your efforts, for few are those
doing your type of ministry, certainly not in my experience,
especially at the local level by church leadership! Let me get
straight to the point of my writing�my wife and I have been
attending an Evangelical Free Church for approximately five
years now, but recently things are beginning to snowball in
several areas.
(553) Biblical
Discipleship
� Prayer by Gary Gilley, Think On These Things,
November/December 2013 - Volume 19, Issue 5 The Spiritual Formation Movement has rocked the church. Ancient
disciplines, most often practiced within the monastic movement
in the early centuries of Christianity, have been dusted off,
repacked, and resubmitted to believers as the means for
obtaining spiritual growth. There is increasing discussion about
fasting, journaling, pilgrimage, simplicity, solitude, silence,
contemplative prayer, and spiritual direction in Christian
literature. What can be learned from this renewed interest in
spiritual formation and what are the dangers? The last eight
editions of �Think on These Things� have been written to
interact with the history, teachings and dangers of the
Spiritual Formation Movement. I want to now turn from the
disciplines practiced in modern spiritual formation to the
biblical alternative to spiritual formation, as described in the
earlier articles. We will examine the means, or disciplines if
you choose, which the Word of God clearly identifies as ways God
has designed for His people to be transformed into
Christ-likeness and to experience intimacy with Him.
(554) �Christian
Palestinianism�
& Emergents Lynn Hybels and Jim Wallis Come to Multnomah
University For �Justice� Conference by Lighthouse
Trails, 2/15/14 On February 21st and 22nd, Multnomah University (formerly
called Multnomah School of the Bible) in Portland, Oregon, once
considered a biblically-based evangelical school, will be
hosting the simulcast Justice Conference with speakers Lynn
Hybels and Jim Wallis (both emergent leaders who are part of the
�Christian Palestinian� movement). Other emergents such as N.T.
Wright will also be at the Justice Conference.
(555) Pastor
Steven
Furtick�s �House from Heaven� by Herescope,
2/19/14 My intention in drawing attention to the controversy over
Furtick�s house-scandal is because what�s happening with him and
Elevation Church are symptomatic of what is going wrong in
evangelicalism. As a whole and for the most part, excepting, of
course, Samaritan�s Purse and many other good and godly missions
and ministries, the evangelical movement does not have a good
reputation among outsiders. As far as the movement�s PR is
concerned, rotten apples are spoiling the whole, and millions of
followers are allowing it to happen. So it becomes incumbent
that these wealth-gospel ministers and ministries be held up to
the scrutiny of Holy Scripture to see how God�s word indicts
their obvious and blatant spiritual shenanigans.
(556) How
Elevation
Church, Pastor Furtick produces 'spontaneous' baptisms
by Stuart Watson / NBC Charlotte, 2/23/14 To get those thousands of baptisms takes a lot of planning. And
Elevation produced a document to show other churches how they
could do likewise. It�s titled �Spontaneous Baptisms � A How-To
Guide� and the church shared it freely on the Sun Stand Still
website. But parts of the mass baptism guide have drawn sharp
criticism � from other Christians. Page one shows that the first
people instructed to respond to Pastor Steven�s call to baptism
were not converts suddenly inspired but Elevation volunteers
carefully planted in the crowd.
(558) Multi-Sensory
Worship:
Prayer Stations, Icons, Incense, and Candles by Roger
Oakland, 3/7/13 Stimulating images that provide spiritual experiences are an
essential element of the emerging church. While many are
bewildered as to why their churches are darkening their
sanctuaries and setting up prayer stations with candles,
incense, and icons, promoters of the emerging church movement
say they know exactly what they are doing.
(559) Hegel�s
Marxist
Dialectic � a Tool Used By the Emerging Church to Bring About
a �New World Order� by Mike Oppenheimer, 3/17/14
One of the earliest forms of employing the dialectical method
was the Dialogues of Greek philosopher Plato. in which the
author sought to study truth through discussion in the form of
questions and answers. The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, thought
of dialectic as the search for the philosophic basis of science,
and he frequently used the term as a synonym for the science of
logic.
(560) Biblical
Discipleship
� Fellowship by Gary Gilley, Think On These Things,
March/April 2014 - Volume 20, Issue 2 As we continue to pursue the specific means found in Scripture
that the Lord has given us to aid in spiritual growth, we now
turn to the subject of fellowship. We are reminded at this point
that some within the Spiritual Formation Movement claim that
virtually anything can become a means of spiritual formation.
But without specific biblical support it is presumptuous on our
part to infuse some activity, no matter how spiritual or pious
it may seem, with qualities which aid our progressive
sanctification. If we are to be true to the inspired text of
Scripture we must search for instruments which the Holy Spirit
has explicitly proclaimed to be means of promoting discipleship.
So far we have found that both biblical prayer and the
Scriptures are two such activities. Now we will examine another,
that of fellowship with other believers, and the body of Christ.
(561) Mark
Driscoll's
Distorted View on Noah and Salvation . . . (And How Some
People Have a Very Strange Idea as to the Meaning of God�s
Salvation) by Lighthouse Trails, 3/30/14 LTRP Note: With the release of the Hollywood movie Noah and its
blasphemous representation of God�s truth as told in the Bible
and an outright attack on Bible-believing Christians, coupled
with emerging Christian figures (such as Mark Driscoll who
misses the point while trying to make a point in his claims that
Noah was not a righteous man1), the article below by Dr. Harry
Ironside is timely.
(562) Visualizing
Jesus? by Caryl Matrisciana, 4/7/14 To a person such as myself, who has been exposed to the Hindu
concept of maya (that life is an illusion), this method becomes
particularly suspect. Can we mentally create an �envisioned
Jesus� to speak to us at our whim? What makes us think we can
manipulate the God of the universe to appear at our every
request? How can we be sure we�ve contacted the real Jesus?
(563) Why
Yoga
Cannot Be Christianized! (Audio) by Chris Lawson,
4/8/14 Yoga poses (asanas) and breathing techniques (pranayama) are
based upon Yoga's pantheistic occult evolutionary philosophy.
They are designed to work together, as a New Age occult
Worldview. And Christians are trying to mix the poses and
breathwork with their Christian beliefs?
(564) They
Say
God Would Never Send His Son to a Violent Death For the Sins
of Mankind at Lighthouse Trails, 4/18/14 LTRP Note: As you read this article by Roger Oakland, remember
that as millions of proclaiming Christians give remembrance this
weekend to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, countless
pastors, teachers, and leaders will be promoting contemplative
spirituality, which is a driving force behind the view that is
addressed in this article. Thus, we ask the question this time
every year, do they not realize that by promoting contemplative
spirituality, they are in essence, by proxy, denying the
atonement? Next time your pastor or Sunday school teacher
favorably quotes Henri Nouwen, Brennan Manning, or any number of
contemplative mystics or encourages the practice of lectio
divina or walking the labyrinth, consider sharing this article
with that pastor or teacher.
(565) Understanding
the
Difference: Biblical Atonement or New Age At-One-Ment?
by Warren B. Smith, 4/19/14 The Course also teaches that while �Christ� is in Jesus, so
�Christ� is in everyone�and that the �Christ� in everyone is
their divine connection with God and with each other. The Course
further teaches that a �slain Christ has no meaning.�4 It states
that wrong thinking has produced the misperception that man is a
�sinner� and that he needs an external Christ to save him from
his �sins.� The Course teaches that salvation has nothing to do
with Jesus� death on the cross. Salvation comes from what the
Course calls the �Atonement� (�at-one-ment�) process.
(566) From
Truth
to a New Spirituality by Berit Kjos, March 10,
2008 The occult quotes listed under Transition and New Spirituality
were dictated by seducing spirits channeled by influential
occultists such as Alice Bailey (spirit guide Djwhal Khul) and
Neale Donald Walsch (a counterfeit "God"). These revealing
messages were compiled by our friend and fellow-researcher
Tamara Hartzell and explained in her insightful report: "Are you
'Being led away with Error of the Wicked' to the New Age Ark of
Oneness?" The endnotes are numbered as they appear in her
report.
(568) The
Mission
Of The Church Is To Preach The Gospel by Ken Silva,
5/4/14 But historically, conservative Christianity has always seen
social improvement as taking a backseat to the church�s true
calling of proclaiming the gospel and making
disciples. It has never seen the social agenda as an
end in itself � until now. The social gospel became the
hallmark of the liberal church,�because the liberals had emptied
their message and ministry of biblical truth and were left
with no other �good news� than solving physical problems.
Sadly, evangelicals today are increasingly adopting the
missional, social gospel of liberalism.
(570) That
Time
of Year Again~Looking for a Christian College This Fall For
Your Child? Better Think Carefully About Which One to Attend
by Lighthouse Trails, 5/6/14 As Lighthouse Trails has reported over the last several years,
a growing number of evangelical/Protestant colleges, seminaries,
and universities are integrating contemplative spirituality and
emerging ideologies into their schools. If you, or someone you
know, are currently looking for a Christian school, we beseech
you to check potential schools very carefully. Ask to see
textbook lists, search their websites to see if they have
spiritual formation programs, and find out who speaks at their
student chapels. It would also be a good idea to contact the
school chaplain and ask some good questions.
(572) Campus
Crusade
for Christ �Gospel Message� Includes Spiritual
Formation/Contemplative Spirituality by Lighthouse
Trails, 5/17/14 I am a semi-retired pastor who has been growing more and more
troubled by the trend in evangelical churches toward new age,
emergent, and eastern mysticism. We were looking for some sound
material to give to a Korean lady who is showing interest in
Christianity. We went to Power to Change, __________
(formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) to secure something useful
for this purpose. We were sold a booklet titled �Knowing Jesus
Personally.� It was looking good as we studied the content,
until we came to the chapter on being empowered by the Holy
Spirit.
(573) One
Woman�s
Story About Jesus Calling: A Surprise I Never Expected That
Changed My Life! at Lighthouse Trails, 5/21/14 Over the past month, God has opened my eyes to see just how
deceived I have been when it comes to what I read, what I listen
to, and who I go to for Godly wisdom. As a Christian, my
greatest desire is to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ, the
REAL Jesus Christ. In order to pursue that, I must know the
Truth, I must know Jesus Christ, I must know the Word of God. I
would like to share my testimony with you in regards to this
past month and talk about how God has rekindled a deep desire in
me for the Truth. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed
Him, �If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And
you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.�
John 8:31 & 32.
(574) The
New
Age/New Spirituality�s Alternative to Armageddon � The
Selection Process by Warren B. Smith, 5/31/14 In this future described by Hubbard�s �Christ,� anyone who
refuses to see themselves and others as �God� and �Christ� will
be removed by the �selection process.� Those professing Jesus
Christ as their Lord and Savior would be subject to this
process.
(575) Oprah
Winfrey
to portray God in film adaptation of The Shack by
BreathCast News, 6/12/14 It appears Hollywood is not slowing the trend of christian
faith inspired films as the global hit "The Shack" will soon be
heading to the big screen. Originally a book written by William
P. Young, it will be adapted into a film directed by Oscar
Winner Forest Whitaker and will star Oprah Winfrey and British
actor Idris Elba, best known for his role of Russel 'Stringer'
Bell in HBO's "The Wire."
(576) Letter
to
the Editor: What To Do When Christian Charities, Such as
Compassion, Turn Contemplative/Emergent by Lighthouse
Trails, 6/21/14 While Lighthouse Trails does not make recommendations for
churches and organizations (largely because we do not have the
manpower to follow up on such recommendations to confirm whether
a particular church or organization is still biblically based),
we do bring warnings to the body of Christ about groups that
have strayed from a biblical viewpoint and become ecumenical,
contemplative, emerging, and a part of the liberal social
justice movement.
(577) The
Dangers
of Spiritual Formation?�And Some Ways it is Influencing Your
Children by Berit Kjos, 8/9/14 Spiritual Formation has become a widely used term that was
introduced to the evangelical church in the 1970s, primarily
through a Thomas Merton disciple named Richard Foster and his
longstanding, best-selling book, Celebration of Discipline.
Today, there are few venues in the church that have not been
influenced by the Merton/Foster model of Spiritual Formation.
Updated! (579) The
low-information evangelical by Marsha West,
8/12/14 Being that the Lord condemns paganism, His people are to have
nothing to do with it. No dabbling! Steer clear of anything to
do with mantra meditation. Methods such as contemplative
prayer...centering prayer...breath prayer...are forbidden! Even
though this will ruffle some feathers, my advice is to steer
clear of "Christian" yoga. "Take no part in the unfruitful works
of darkness, but instead expose them." (Eph 5:11) Read
Part 1
& Part
2.
The attractive Tree of Contemplative Practices is laden with
enticing fruits for contemplative meditators to partake of. But,
beware! For this is not a tree with fruits one should be snared
into sampling, but rather this is a tree that is full of toxic
fruits. To find out why please read on!
(581) Discernment
Detractors:
Calling Good Evil by Warren B. Smith, 8/17/14 While our Adversary furiously attempts to undermine the
importance of discernment by ridiculing it, we are not ignorant
of his devices (2 Corinthians 2:11).
(582) How
the
New Age Has �Creeped� Into the Church by Ray Yungen,
8/21/14 If you have ever wondered why New Age authors and their
teachings are creeping past many Christians, then maybe the
definition of creeping might help. The term means: slowly
advancing at a speed that is not really apparent until you look
back over a long time period. For instance, creeping inflation
is not noticed in the short term, but when one looks back over
twenty to thirty years, it is shocking. A meal that cost two
dollars in 1970 now may cost eight dollars�however, the increase
moved so slowly that the impact was diminished. This same kind
of movement has happened within our society and has gradually
become mainstream. What was once seen as flaky is normal
today�even useful. This trend is impacting evangelical
Christianity at only a slightly lesser degree than secular
society. The reason for the slight variance is that many,
perhaps most, Christians have not yet grasped, or come to terms
with, the practical mystic approach that New Age proponents have
already incorporated into the secular world, as well as
Christendom.
(583) Contemplative
Spiritual
Formation in Mennonite Sunday School Curriculum by
Menno-Lite Blog, 9/9/14 The September issue of the Mennonite Brethren Herald[1] is
promoting a long awaited new curriculum for children from age 3
to grade 8. Shine has been in the works for three years, and is
now available and coming to Sunday School classrooms in a
Mennonite church near you. ... The article explains the
importance of one of the aspects of this curriculum � the
spiritual formation of children: Why is spiritual formation for
children important, and why do you call it that now instead of
�Sunday school�?
(584) Roots
of
the Spiritual Formation Movement by Gary Gilley,
9/12/14 For these reasons, and perhaps several more, I do not see any
diminishing of the influence of spiritual formation on the
church in the decades to come. This is certainly one of the
greatest threats facing biblical Christianity today. May the
Lord raise up a generation that will return to the Sacred Text
and stand once again on Sola Scriptura.
(586) Church
of
Tares: Purpose Driven, Seeker Sensitive, Church Growth &
New World Order (Video) by Elliott Nesch,
9/20/14 Can the Church borrow the marketing tools of the world and
apply them to the Church? What is the history of the Church
Growth movement and its false premises? Who is involved in the
new evangelicalism and second reformation? Why are these
movements embracing contemplative mysticism? How does this
movement play into the New World Order? These questions and more
are answered in Church of Tares: Purpose Driven,
Seeker-Sensitive, Church Growth & New World Order. Church of
Tares chronicles the man-centered pragmatism of these
evangelical Christian movements in comparison to the Bible's
instruction for building the Church of Jesus Christ. As a sequel
to The Real Roots of the Emergent Church, Church of Tares
documents the connections between the liberal Emergent Church
movement and the Church Growth movement. Both movements'
leadership were discipled by business management guru Peter
Drucker, who was attracted to the megachurch movement as a
social phenomenon that could bring about his "new society" and
New World Order. Megacurch pastors Rick Warren and Bill Hybels
as well as Leadership Network founder Bob Buford all acknowledge
Drucker (who professed not to be a Christian) as their mentor
and have built their organizations upon his secular business
management philosophies rather than the foundation of Jesus
Christ. The fruit of these movements is great compromise of the
Gospel and the Great Commission. Rick Warren claims to be
ushering in a new spiritual awakening and second reformation
with his P.E.A.C.E. Plan. But this reform appears to be a social
reformation rather than a spiritual one by joining together in
ministry with unbelievers to fight global giants. Such
compromise has led to the affirming response letter to the
Common Word document which declares Muhammad to be a prophet and
the Bible and Qur'an to be of the "same Divine origin." Written,
edited, narrated and directed by Elliott Nesch. Original
interviews with: Paul Smith, leader in the Calvary Chapel
movement founded by his brother Chuck Smith, who also wrote the
foreword to Paul Smith's book New Evangelicalism: The New World
Order. Phil Johnson, executive Director of Grace to You, a
Christian tape and radio ministry featuring the preaching
ministry of John MacArthur. http://teampyro.blogspot.com Chris
Rosebrough, Captain of Pirate Christian Radio and Host of the
Fighting for the Faith radio program, holds a degree in
Religious Studies and Biblical Languages from Concordia
University. http://www.fightingforthefaith.com Joe Schimmel,
Senior Pastor of Blessed Hope Chapel in Simi Valley, California,
head of Good Fight Ministries and producer of such films as The
Submerging Church and They Sold Their Souls for Rock and Roll.
http://www.submergingchurch.com & http://www.goodfight.org
Gary Gilley, Senior Pastor of Southern View Chapel in
Springfield, Illinois, and author of several books including
This Little Church Went to the Market: The Church in the Age of
Entertainment. Bob DeWaay, former Senior Pastor of Twin City
Fellowship in Minneapolis, Minnesota, author of Redefining
Christianity: Understanding the Purpose Driven Life Movement,
The Emergent Church -- Undefining Christianity as well as over
90 articles on important theological issues through Critical
Issues Commentary (http://cicministry.org/). Ray Yungen,
speaker, research analyst and author of A Time of Departing and
For Many Shall Come in My Name. James Sundquist, founder of Rock
Salt Publishing and author of Who's Driving the Purpose Driven
Church? http://www.perfectpeaceplan.com Eric Ludy, bestselling
author of dozens of books on Christian thought and living, the
President of Ellerslie Mission Society, teaching pastor at the
Church at Ellerslie, the lead instructor in the Ellerslie
Leadership Training. Robert LeBus, Bible researcher, apologist
and evangelist.
(587) Christian
meditation:
what's biblical and what's not by Marsha West,
9/23/14 In Joshua 1:8 God said: "This Book of the Law shall not depart
from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so
that you may be careful to do according to all that is written
in it." So, what exactly did God have in mind when He told
Joshua to meditate on His word? Well we can be certain of one
thing. The Lord was not suggesting that Joshua sit in the lotus
position and repeat a mantra until he attained altered states of
consciousness. "These help bring one into states other than
normal waking consciousness, in which a person becomes open to
mystical experience, the spirit realm, or cosmic consciousness,"
warns Bill Muehlenberg. The sort of meditation God had in
mind was not Eastern meditation. He has made it clear that His
people are not to adopt pagan practices and those who do are out
of His will. The purpose of eastern-style meditation is to "seek
the God within." That's pantheism, brethren. People who hold
this view believe that God is all and all is God. "A tree is
God, a rock is God, an animal is God, the sky is God, the sun is
God, you are God, etc." The biblical view is that God is
separate from His creation. Genesis 1:1-30
(588) Contemplative
Music
for Children? by Berit Kjos, 9/25/14 While Christian contemplative music specifically for children
has not become popular yet within the evangelical church, there
is plenty of music designed to help children meditate in New
Age, Catholic, and mainstream (Episcopal, Orthodox, etc.)
circles. One CD, Children�s Yoga Songs and Meditations plays
songs repeating various mantras such as �Om,� �Sa Ta Na Ma� (a
form of Kirtin Kriya yoga), and other Hindu and Buddhist chants.
(589) Is
Your
Church Doing Spiritual Formation? - Important Reasons Why
They Shouldn�t (Booklet) by Lighthouse Trails,
10/2/14 Is your church involved in a Spiritual
Formation program? If so, you might want to ask the question,
what exactly is Spiritual Formation? It�s a fair question, and
one that, if not asked, could end up surprising you when your
church changes in ways you never imagined.
(590) Evangelical
Christianity
Being Catapulted into Seeing God with the New Eyes of
Contemplative Prayer by Ray Yungen, 10/8/14 Contemplative advocates propose that there has been something
vital and important missing from the church for centuries. The
insinuation is that Christians have been lacking something
necessary for their spiritual vitality; but that would mean the
Holy Spirit has not been fully effective for hundreds of years
and only now the secret key has been found that unlocks God�s
full power to know Him.
(592) Should
Christians
Practice Martial Arts? (MP3) with Gaylene Goodroad,
11/28/14 Program Description: Tom continues his discussion with Gaylene
Goodroad, author of My Life in "The Way" and former
second-degree black belt sensei nidan. Is it true, as the saying
goes, that "nobody fools Chuck Norris"? Or has he been deceived
by the Eastern philosophies of his profession? Listen to Part
1 & Part
2.
(594) Mennonite
Magazine
Offers: �Find Yourself a Thin Place this Christmas� by
Menno-Lite, Lighthouse Trails, 12/13/14 In an article called Have a �thin� Christmas in the December
2014 issue of the MB Herald, readers are encouraged to find God
in the �thin places� this Christmas.
(595) Letter
to
the Editor: There is No Doubt That Moody Has Gone
Contemplative � This Year�s Radio Programs Proves It
by Lighthouse Trails, 12/20/14
LTRP Note: Lighthouse Trails first brought up the issue of Moody
Bible Institute (and Moody Radio) heading in the contemplative
direction over eight years ago (see links below). At one point,
Moody issued a statement titled �Moody Responds to Lighthouse
Trails,� denying our claims. That statement remained on their
website for over 5 years. We noticed recently that the statement
has now been removed. But even though Moody has denied that they
are going contemplative, we have watched in dismay as they
have continued to do so. This past week, we were notified by
two different Lighthouse Trails readers that Moody�s radio program
Midday Connection has brought on as a radio guest James
Bryan
Smith 9 times this year to do a series on contemplative
spirituality. Smith is a founding member of Richard Foster�s
contemplative-pioneering organization Renovare and a minister of
the United Methodist Church. He is also the author of a number of
works promoting and/or teaching Spiritual Formation and
contemplative spirituality. You can read one article we wrote
about him here.
The book by Smith that is discussed below that is being used by
Moody in a series is titled The
Good
and Beautiful God. This is the first in a series by Smith
called The Apprentice Series. There is also The Good and Beautiful
Life and The Good and Beautiful Community. The Good and Beautiful
God teaches the contemplative practice called lectio divina and
espouses the teachings of Richard Foster and Dallas Willard. It
appears that Moody is pulling out all the stops when it comes to
contemplative spirituality. And we know what that means�an
eventual distancing from the biblical Gospel. Drs. Harry A.
Ironside (early 1900s) and Dwight L. Moody (1800s � founder of
Moody Bible Insititute and Moody Publishers (also going
contemplative), were both preachers at Moody Church. Can you
imagine their shock and horror if they were here today to witness
this apostasy at one of the most historically trusted Christian
organizations?
(596) �Hip�
Church
Gives Biblical Christians New Label: �Hater� by Jim
Fletcher, 12/23/14
Oddly, within American evangelicalism and media circles, a concept
and term have emerged that place conservative Christians on the
outside, in effect, becoming �other.� And we all know what happens
when a group is labeled �other� (see Jews, World War II). Sometime
back, the progressive mega church pastor, Steven Furtick
(Elevation Church, Charlotte, North Carolina), mentored as he is
by evangelical bigwigs like Rick Warren and Bill Hybels, felt bold
enough to post a YouTube video in which he sneeringly challenged
what I�d call traditional Christians to basically get out of the
way, because their time is past.
(597) Letter
to
the Editor: The �Mentoring-Leadership� From the Past Four
Decades That Has Caused Downward Paradigm Shift at
Lighthouse Trails, 2/21/15 What captured my attention was not the movement! It was
the �mentoring-leadership� shown at high seminary levels of the
eventual blending of Catholicism (the late Dr. Chuck Colson
spoke at one of D.T.S.�s graduations), contemporary �Christian�
music, and charismatic leaders into the mix of evangelism,
counseling, and music fields including dozens of nationally
known evangelicals. It was not surprising, therefore, to
see the very rapid acceptance of marginal Christianity in the
leadership of Hybels, Warren, Bright, and now emergent leaders
such as Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, and the more extreme
theological departures of such leadership. My heart is very
saddened with the compromise of the late Howard Hendricks (at
one time one of my four favorite teachers at seminary). I
had written to him but was given mild rebuke for being critical
of the PK movement. I filed it away but now see the
�rubbed shoulder� philosophy affecting virtually every former
evangelical leader including Dr. Erwin Lutzer and others. The
purpose of this e-mail is to encourage someone there to put
together a booklet that synthesizes these trends into one
gradual, but obvious, move into apostate Christianity.
(598) IF:
Gathering
Leader/Pastor Melissa Greene�A Female Version of McLaren,
Bell, Rohr, and Merton at Lighthouse Trails,
2/24/15 Today, we received this letter to the editor: Recently my
church hosted an IF Gathering conference. I had already
done research and found some disturbing facts about some of the
various speakers. I wrote a letter to the leadership
detailing all the information I had gathered. I thought I
would pass it along for your info. NOTE: Melissa Greene,
one of the IF Team � she has a very revealing message that is
posted on her profile page which is linked to the IF Gathering
page. In her message she references several New Age and
Emergent authors including , Richard Rohr, Phyllis Tickle, Brian
McLaren, Frederick Buechner and Rob Bell� Her ending comments on
her message are pretty shocking. If you have someone on
your staff who has the time to listen to it, I think it would be
worth the time.
(601) Christian
Pastors
and Leaders � Exchanging the Word of God for a �New� Way of
Doing Things by David Dombrowski, 4/13/15 The church of today is very much astir. Everywhere we
turn, embellishments are being added to Christianity as if
to improve it. The old ways do not seem to satisfy anymore. A
great influx of new teachings and practices have exchanged the
God of old as depicted in the pages of the Bible with a deity
much more palatable to the post-modern mind. Brennan Manning
illustrates this when he stated in one of his books, � . . . the
god who exacts the last drop of blood from His Son, so that His
just anger, evoked by sin, may be appeased is not the God
revealed by and in Jesus Christ. And if he is not the God of
Jesus, he does not exist.� This �progressive�
contemplative/emerging church has gone so far as to place in
pulpits men who blaspheme God and who deny the atonement. But
let us step back for a moment to see how emerging thought has
developed. Such a statement did not come out of the blue, but as
Ray Yungen suggests, a �creeping� effect made it all possible.
(602) Mennonites
Walk
Ruth Haley Barton�s Mystical Bridge by Lighthouse
Trails, 4/15/15 Ruth Haley Barton, founder of The Transforming Centre[1], was
trained at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation which
teaches: �This mystical stream [contemplative prayer] is the
Western bridge to Far Eastern spirituality � It is no accident
that the most active frontier between Christian and Eastern
religions today is between contemplative Christian monks and
their Eastern equivalents.� �Tilden Edwards, Shalem Founder[2]
Barton, who could not find peace or direction in her Baptist
roots or through reading the Bible and praying, found
fulfillment through spiritual direction. Now she incorporates a
blend of Eastern and Roman Catholic contemplative spirituality
and monastic practices in her retreats and books on practicing
the presence of God in the silence and sacred rhythms of prayer.
Lately she has been very instrumental in leading entire
Protestant and Anabaptist church congregations and their leaders
into these same practices through spiritual direction and
discernment seminars.This year, the Mennonites have once
again[3] brought in Ruth Haley Barton to help them make
decisions in the silence regarding some very important upcoming
issues that include LGBTQ and anti-Israel BDS resolutions. How
tragic to see an entire church delegation over looking all that
is necessary in their discernment process (the Bible), thereby
shunning to declare the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27) in
seeking guidance from an apprentice of Thomas Merton and Tilden
Edwards.
(603) The
Labyrinth
Journey: Walking the Path to Fulfillment? at
Lighthouse Trails, 4/27/15 The following article is also in booklet form. Click here to
see if there are labyrinths in your region. The number of them
is growing significantly as contemplative spirituality continues
overtaking many denominations and ministries.
(604) Letter
to
the Editor: �Awakening America Alliance� Brings SBC President
Ronnie Floyd Together with New Age Roma Downey by
Lighthouse Trails, 4/28/15 I�m sending you this e-mail (see below) that I got from the
�Awakening America Alliance� about their recent biennial �RESET
SUMMIT� held in Atlanta, Georgia. �Awakening America Alliance�
states this as their ultimate goal: �The Alliance�s ultimate
goal is serving kingdom initiatives for spiritual awakening and
missional living. The Reset Summit is a part of their pursuit of
a fresh Christ-Awakening across the nation�in every state, every
county, every church, and every heart. Gathering leaders from
these various spheres of influence not only builds
relationships, but reflects one of their foundational
principles��history is transformed among friends.� I am sending
you this because I noticed that participants included Roma
Downey (and husband Mark Burnett)! This is a conference for
national Christian leaders, and Ronnie Floyd (President of the
Southern Baptist Convention) along with other denominational
prayer and church leaders participated. What is Roma Downey
doing at a National Christian Leader�s conference for an
American �spiritual awakening�?
(605) A
Fortress of Solitude � Entering the SILENCE by Mike
Oppenheimer, 5/4/15 Jim Burns is President of HomeWord and Executive Director of
the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific
University. His radio broadcast is heard on over 800 stations a
day (including Calvary chapels KLHT in Hawaii) and heard around
the world via podcast at HomeWord.com So when I heard Burns
interview with Ruth Haley Barton giving her such a great review
I was very concerned.
(606) God�s
Desire
and A Warning and a Plea by Ray Yungen, 5/5/15 Just what exactly is God�s desire for mankind? Does He want to
send people to Hell? Does He want anyone to live eternally
without Him? Scripture is very clear about this when it says:
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (II Peter
3:9) God makes a strong plea to all people, giving them every
opportunity to receive Him. It is God�s desire that none should
perish eternally. That�s why he offered His Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ�the only perfect sacrifice for mankind�s sin: Therefore
as by the offence of one [Adam] judgment came upon all men to
condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one [Jesus] the
free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. (Romans
5:18) What it comes down to is the preaching of the higher self
versus the preaching of the Cross. The New Age is saying that
God is the higher self in man�that God is just a meditation
away.
(607) IF
it
is of God�Answering the questions of IF:Gathering (Booklet)
by Cedric H. Fisher, 5/9/15 IF:Gathering came in like a storm, one of those winter events
that seem to appear out of nowhere. No one saw it coming. A team
of highly popular women�authors, bloggers, and speakers coming
together�what a great idea. But it wasn�t novel. Professing
Christians have been making pilgrimages for decades to
high-energy conferences with a star list of speakers and
singers. As with so many of these other conferences, IF
purported to do the work of God. However, IF was unique in that
it was mostly a digital event. It was greatly effective. The
IF:Gathering held its second event in February of 2015 and
involved 1200 women at the physical location, with a possible
100,000 or more watching by 40,000 live links in more than 120
countries. The ongoing influence of IF after the conference has
the potential to reach hundreds of thousands of women all while
flying under the radar of pastors and church leaders who may be
accepting IF:Gathering at face value, not knowing anything about
this group of high energy talented women leaders.
(608) C3
Presence
Conference 2015 HeresyReel: Day 1 Session 4 � Phil Pringle
by Churchwatcher, 5/12/15 This is one of a series of articles covering the absurdity
preached at Presence Conference 2015. We are broadcasting these
HeresyReels to discourage you from accepting the messages from
the clearly false teachers invited to speak at these C3 Presence
Conferences � remember, just because they are
�popular� does not mean they are legitimate.
(609) Quantum
Christianity:
Has the gateway to heaven been discovered? by Albert
James Dagar, Media Spotlight 5/13/15 It is my hope that those who read this will at the very
least question what they hear
from well-known teachers within the
Body of Christ, and will
study God�s Word diligently to
show themselves approved�workmen who need not
be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. God�s mysteries
in relation to His creation are to remain mysteries
until He reveals all He
wishes to reveal to His
resurrected saints. What happens
in the quantum realm stays in the quantum
realm. Let�s live in the real world in which He desires us to
move in obedience to Him.
(610) What's
New
with the New Age? with Warren Smith (Part 1),
5/16/15 (Tom McMahon) Today and next week I�ll be discussing an
important topic with a friend of mine who is an author of
numerous books, including The Light That Was Dark: From the New
Age to Amazing Grace , and Deceived On Purpose , as well as
another very valuable book that we discussed in detail when he
was on with me last, and the book is Another Jesus Calling . But
the topic for today and for next week, the Lord willing, is
sorcery, and my guest is Warren Smith. Warren, thanks for
joining me on Search the Scriptures 24/7.
(612) The
Ultimate
New Age Deception: Many Shall Come, Saying �I Am Christ�
by Ray Yungen, 5/27/15 I believe the Bible contains an important signal that the
changes of times and seasons may indeed be at hand. In Matthew
24:3-5, which is a chapter dealing with the tribulation period,
Jesus spoke these revealing words to His disciples concerning
the signs of His coming and the end of the world (age): "And as
He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him
privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what
shall be the sign [indication] of thy coming, and of the end of
the world [age]? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take
heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name,
saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.�
(613) A
Fortress of Solitude � Entering the SILENCE by Mike
Oppenheimer, 6/1/15 Jim Burns is President of HomeWord and Executive Director of
the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific
University. His radio broadcast is heard on over 800 stations a
day (including Calvary chapels KLHT in Hawaii) and heard around
the world via podcast at HomeWord.com So when I heard Burns
interview with Ruth Haley Barton giving her such a great review
I was very concerned. Read Part
1 - A Fortress of Solitude � Entering the SILENCE & Part 2 - Man's
Wisdom or God's.
(614) Be
Still
and Know That You are Not God!�God is Not �in� Everyone and
Everything (Booklet) by Warren B. Smith, 6/22/15
Our Spiritual Adversary would have everyone believe that we are
all �one� because God is �in� everyone and everything. Using
every promotional means possible�including a creative and
ingenious perversion of quantum physics�he is attempting to
convince the world and the church that while Jesus was Christ,
so is everyone. And while Jesus was God, so is everyone else. To
underscore this heretical New Age doctrine of God and Christ
�in� everyone, he would have us further believe that nothing of
any significance happened on the Cross of Calvary. However, the
Bible makes it very clear that something extremely wonderful and
overwhelmingly significant did happen on the Cross of Calvary.
For it was on that Cross that Jesus Christ died to save the
world as He defeated sin (1 John 2:2), death (2 Timothy 1:10),
and the Devil himself (Hebrews 2:14). As the one and only
Christ, He is our Rock (1 Corinthians 10:1-4), He is our
Foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11), and in every sense of the word
He is the Saviour of the world (1 John 4:14).
(615) Perilous
Times
and the True Purpose and Dangers of Yoga (MP3) by
Chris Lawson, 6/26/15 This past Friday I visited one of the wealthiest churches in
Newport Beach, California. With full permission from the
"Holy Yoga" instructor, I sat quietly in the back of the church
Yoga Class. I simply attended the class as an observer and I
quietly wrote down some notes. I was as transparent and
kind and respectful as possible when I arrived early and I
personally asked the instructor for permission to observe the
class. Permission was granted. I then sat as silently as is
humanly possible as an observer, sitting near the back of the
yoga class. After about 15 minutes I was told to leave. Why was
I told to leave? I was told to leave because I was "making
people feel uncomfortable." Uncomfortable? Yes, "uncomfortable."
For taking notes on "Holy Yoga", and as a Christian and former
attendee of this church? Again, I simply went to observe the
"Holy Yoga" class. Even the church website invites us to this
class - "All generations and levels of experience are welcome!"
As I sat and observed the blending of Yoga with Christianity,
and was then asked to leave the Holy Yoga class, my concerns for
the spiritual safety of the attendees was thoroughly validated -
again! (Perhaps more details on this later!)
(616) Christian
Colleges
Falling Deeper into Apostasy As They Cave in to Supreme Court
Ruling by Lighthouse Trails, 7/9/15 Quick to jump on the band wagon for accepting the homosexual
lifestyle is Baylor University, (the largest Baptist university
in the world). According to a July 8th 2015 Time magazine
article titled �This University Has Dropped Its Ban on
�Homosexual Acts,�� Baylor �dropped a prohibition on
�homosexual acts� from its sexual conduct policy�this past May.
But Baylor is not the only one. A Christianity Today article,
dated July 8th 2015, titled �Hope College and Belmont to Offer
Benefits to Same-Sex Spouses� explains how Belmont University
(in TN) and Hope College (MI) are �extending benefits to
same-sex spouses of employees after last month�s Supreme Court
ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.� By the way,
you can be sure Christianity Today isn�t too upset about these
changes�they�ve been promoting the emerging church and
contemplative spirituality for a long time. Wheaton College has
already headed down this path showing acceptance of the
homosexual lifestyle, and many others will follow suit. And
remember, those colleges are training the next generation of
pastors and church leaders so the affects will undoubtedly be
remarkable. It appears it is too late to stop the tide of what
is happening to Christian colleges. But at Lighthouse Trails, we
will continue to send out a warning to parents and grandparents
to keep their kids out of these schools and try to find ones
that are in a fast-diminishing group of biblically based
colleges. At the very least, we hope parents and grandparents
will make sure their college-age kids and grandkids are well
equipped to live in a world that rejects Christ and in a church
that ignores spiritual deception.
(617) Letter
to
the Editor: Looking for Good Bible Based Children�s Curriculum
by Lighthouse Trails, 7/12/15 To Lighthouse Trails: I am coordinator of my church�s children
& youth ministries, and I am looking for solid, Bible-based
children�s and youth curriculum. I would appreciate any
suggestions you may have. I am so skeptical of much of the
curriculum out there now especially with so much of the emergent
ideas creeping in. Thank you for any input you can offer. Our
Comment: The publishers on the following list are Christian
publishers that have been publishing contemplative and emergent
materials for several years:
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/publishers.htm.This list
includes Zondervan, NavPress, Thomas Nelson (and Tommie Nelson),
and InterVarsity. Baker Books and Multnomah publishers are also
on the list as they too now publish that type of material. If
curriculum is used from any of the publishers in this list,
there will most likely be threads of contemplative/emergent
ideas woven throughout much of their material. The list of
publishers on this page �
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/publishersgood.htm � do
not publish contemplative, emergent material to our knowledge.
However, many of them are smaller publishers and may not have
study curriculum. We do mention Harvest House and Barbour
publishing on this list; however we include them with a
cautionary note. Sadly, we removed Moody Publishers from this
list some time ago. As with all things, use discernment and
weigh all things against Scripture. As Christians, we must �Test
all things� and �Try the spirits� through the screen of
Scripture (1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 John 4:1).
(618) In
Case
You Still Aren�t Sure About The Shack and Its Author . . .
by Lighthouse Trails, 7/17/15 In case you still aren�t sure about William Paul Young and his
book The Shack�in case you still have some doubts as to whether
Young is really of a New Age/New Spirituality persuasion�in case
after reading articles at Lighthouse Trails revealing Young�s
anti-biblical views on atonement and the Cross�and in case after
reading Warren B. Smith�s booklet The Shack and Its New Age
Leaven that documents Young�s affinity with New Age thinking,
then perhaps his recently posted �Twenty Books Everyone Should
Read� list on Young�s blog will convince you that The Shack or
any of Young�s writings should not be sitting on the shelves of
Christian bookstores and North American pastors� offices and
should never have become a New York Times best-seller having
found itself there through primarily Christian readers (not to
mention the big plug it received from endorsements by Eugene
Peterson [The Message] and Calvary Chapel speaker Gayle Erwin.
You can see the entire list of Young�s recommended books by clicking
here. Below we are giving you a partial list of the
authors whom William P. Young recommends. After looking at this
list, you decide for yourself.
(619) Would
Jesus
Magnify His Presence Above the Word of God? by Warren
B. Smith, 7/22/15 In Jesus Calling, �Jesus� promotes the experience of his
presence above God�s Word. Psalm 138:2 tells us: "I will worship
toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy
lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy
word above all thy name." Because God has magnified His
Word above His name, this lets us know we will never experience
His presence in any way that is not totally consistent with the
truth of His Word. Thus, we can know that any presence that
comes calling and claims the name of �Jesus� as its own but does
not line up in every way with God�s Word is not the presence of
God. God will never put His name or experiencing His presence
above His Word.
(620) The
New
Age Then and Now - Acts 19 (Audio) by Chris Lawson,
7/23/15 We live in a world that is hostile to the biblical Jesus Christ
of Nazareth. So too, many of us have experienced growing
hostility from non-Christians and from apostate Christian
churches that have become theologically offensive to Jesus
Christ. This audio message considers various topics in the
Christian missions life, cross-cultural work, spiritual warfare,
and the biblical injunction to confront teachings that are
hostile to biblical revelation. Topics mentioned: - Boldly
reasoning, speaking and persuading individuals to repent of sin
and believe in the biblical Gospel, instead of ecumenical
Interfaith �dialogue.� - The danger of Occult healing arts,
lying signs and wonders, and demonic manifestation and
possession states that deceptively mislead people under the
guise of being "gifts of the Holy Spirit." - The problem of New
Age and ecumenical Christian churches engaging in dialogue and
alleged �Gay Christian� workshops. Teachings and people
mentioned: New Thought Metaphysics (Warren Felt Evans, Phineas
Quimby), Christianized Metaphysics for Evangelical Ecumenism
(Norman Vincent Peale, Robert Schuller), Mormonism (Brigham
Young, Joseph Smith), Evolutionism, Hinduism, Yogi�s, Theosophy
and Occultism (Helena P. Blavatsky, Annie Besant), Mind Science
Cults (Christian Science - May Baker Eddy), Guru�s (The Beatles
and the Hare Krishna cult), Modern Occultism (George Gurdjeiff),
Theosophical Society (Helena P. Blavatsky, Annie Besant,
Nicholas Roerich), Spiritism, Spiritualism and Christian
Spiritualism (Moses Hull), Rudolph Steiner (Anthroposophy and
the Anthroposophical Society), Rosicrucian Movement (Max Heindel
and the Order of the Rose Cross), Unity School of Christianity
(Charles and Myrtle Fillmore), Church Universal and Triumphant
(Elizabeth Claire Prophet), Science of Mind and Religious
Science (Ernest Holmes), Religious Science (Terry Cole
Whitaker), The Sleeping Prophet (Edgar Cayce), George Baker (aka
�Father Divine�), Scientology (L. Ron Hubbard), Erhard Seminars
Training (Werner Hans Erhard), Foundation of Human Understanding
(Roy Masters), The Silva Method (Jose Silva), The Aquarian
Conspiracy (Marilyn Ferguson), The Master Plan (Alice Bailey),
Unitarianism (Richard Buckminster "Bucky" Fuller), Templeton
Prize (John Marks Templeton, Bill Bright and Charles Colson),
Word of Faith Movement (Prosperity Gospel - Kenneth Hagin,
Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Marilyn Hickey, Oral Roberts), and
more.
(622) A
Trip to India�to Learn the Truth About Hinduism and Yoga
(Booklet) by Caryl Matrisciana, 8/25/15 Thirteen years had passed since my family had left India. Now I
found myself on an airplane returning there. I was filled with
excitement and nostalgic memories. Would I bump into old friends
with whom I had lost contact over the years? Would anything have
changed? I was travelling with a small group of international
cult experts. We had received a grant enabling our research
group to travel around India, visiting gurus and their ashrams.
(623) Letter
to
the Editor: Please Send Your Evidence and Examples for Calvin
College ASAP by Lighthouse Trails, 8/30/15 Dear Lighthouse Trails: You list Calvin College, Grand Rapids,
MI, as being contemplative, formation. Please give me
evidence, examples of this, also any emergent info, too on
them. ASAP, please. Our Response: Finding evidence and
examples to show Calvin College�s contemplative/emergent
persuasions is NOT like finding a needle in a haystack. This
college is saturated with evidence and examples. Here are a few
...
(624) The
New
Age Desire versus God�s Desire by Ray Yungen,
9/14/15 What it comes down to is the preaching of the higher self
versus the preaching of the Cross. The New Age is saying that
God is the higher self in man�that God is just a meditation
away.
(625) �Contemplative
Spirituality
� the Source of the Catholic Church�s Expansion�by
Ray Yungen, 9/24/15 I had always been confused as to the real nature of this
advance in the Catholic church. Was this just the work of a few
mavericks and renegades, or did the church hierarchy sanction
this practice? My concerns were affirmed when I read in an
interview that the mystical prayer movement not only had the
approval of the highest echelons of Catholicism but also was, in
fact, the source of its expansion.
(626) Be
Still
and Know That YOU Are God? Is That Really What Scripture Says?
by Warren B. Smith, 10/1/15 Eileen Caddy�s New Age understanding of the �God within� and
�oneness� started with an inner voice that told her �Be still
and know that I am God.� Like Caddy, so many people who have
been raised in today�s church have been similarly deceived into
believing that the �be still� verse from Psalm 46:10 is God�s
heavenly instruction to enter into solitude and silence so they
can hear His voice. Ironically, the real meaning of this verse
has nothing to do with sitting in silence, practicing the
presence, or any meditative practice. Undiscerning church
leaders have misappropriated Psalm 46:10 to justify
contemplative prayer. They now use this verse to incubate a
�conversation with God.�
(627) Letter
to
the Editor: Left Standing Alone After Challenging Pastor Over
C&MA Emergent Teachings at Lighthouse Trails,
10/3/15 At some point, I began to see, through Lighthouse Trails, a few
things on the Alliance and its ties with the emergent church and
spiritual formation. As I really began to dig, I was horrified.
I called four C&MA seminaries to ask them if they offered
classes on Spiritual Formation. I was told very
enthusiastically, yes they offered many classes in Spiritual
Formation. When I called Simpson University, I was even told
that if I wanted to dig deeper into that sort of thing, they
recommended Bill Johnson�s [Bethel Church] School of the
Supernatural.
(628) YOGA:
Exercise
or Religion�Does it Matter? (Booklet) by Ray Yungen,
10/9/15 The Yoga boom, which began in the 1990s, is changing the very
social fabric of our society in a way that will last well into
the future. People need to be aware that Yoga serves spiritual
ends and also need to realize just what the nature of that
spirituality entails. Yoga is the religion of namasté (i.e., man
is God). The fact is, there is no need for the Cross of Jesus
Christ in Yoga. To the contrary, Scripture tells us: . . . that
in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his
grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.(Ephesians
2:7)
(629) Letter
to
the Editor: Heartbroken in Leaving Her Southern Baptist Church
Over Deception Issues at Lighthouse Trails,
10/19/15 At that time, I had to leave on a trip for a family
matter. Before we returned from that trip, I checked the
local newsletter online and saw the announcement that the pastor
had cancelled Prayer Meetings and instituted Cottage meetings to
teach Richard Foster�s book on Contemplative Prayer. I was
heartsick.
(630) Spiritual
Formation
Versus The Life of Christ�Which One Will You Choose?
by Lighthouse Trails, 11/9/15 Spiritual formation is sweeping quickly throughout Christianity
today. It�s no wonder, when the majority of Christian leaders
have either endorsed the movement or given it a silent pass. For
instance, in Chuck Swindoll�s book So You Want to Be Like
Christ: 8 Essential Disciplines to Get Your There, Swindoll
favorably quotes Richard Foster and Dallas Willard. Swindoll
calls Celebration of Discipline a �meaningful work�1 and
Willard�s book The Spirit of the Disciplines �excellent work.�2
In chapter three,�Silence and Solitude,� Swindoll talks about
�digging for secrets . . . that will deepen our intimacy with
God.�3 Quoting the contemplative poster-verse Psalm 46:10, �Be
still, and know that I am God,� Swindoll says the verse is a
call to the �discipline of silence.�4 As other contemplative
proponents have done, he has taken this verse very much out of
context.
(631) �Too
Much
God Talk�: Rob Bell�s �Progressive� Successor Steps Down from
Leading Mars Hill by Heather Clark, 1/26/15 GRANDVILLE, Mich. � Kent Dobson, who took over the leadership
role at Mars Hill in 2012 after controversial author and speaker
Rob Bell left the congregation he founded, has now also decided
to step down, stating that �being a pastor is not who I am.� �My
place here has not felt right, like I was wearing someone else�s
suit that didn�t quite fit and I tried to get it tailored and
maybe I had shoulder pads from the 90�s or something. I don�t
know,� he told the congregation on Sunday. �It just felt like it
didn�t quite fit me so well.� Dobson said that he feels restless
and uncomfortable around �too much God talk.� �I�ve felt
restless, but I�ve always felt restless and a bit homeless when
it comes to church and when it comes to God talk,� he explained.
�When I hear too much God talk, I start to feel like (shudders)
[it�s] too much religion. I don�t know; it gives me a restless
feeling. A lot of times I feel like an outsider at my own
party.�
(632) What
Christian
Leaders Need to Know � The Final Outcome of Practicing
Contemplative Prayer: Interspirituality by Ray Yungen,
12/5/15 LTRP Note: With more than 90% of the Christian colleges and
seminaries now bringing in contemplative spirituality via
Spiritual Formation programs, and with Christian leaders such as
Rick Warren and Beth Moore endorsing the movement, and with
countless pastors giving it a thumbs up to their congregations,
isn�t it time professors, pastors, and leaders understand what
the final outcome of contemplative prayer is? Isn�t it time they
understand that leading Christians and church goers down this
path is leading them away from the Cross, not toward it. At
Lighthouse Trails, we believe it is beyond time for this
understanding to occur.
(633) Are
Christian
Leaders Leading the Church Down the Broad Road of Delusion?
by Warren B. Smith, 12/9/15 Traditional Christian believers frequently mention the analogy
of the frog that is so slowly and gradually boiled in a kettle
of water that it dies before ever realizing what is going on.
Yet many believers fail to realize that the very same thing is
happening to them as they tell that story. How else do you
explain the rapid rise of the �new gospel� movement with hardly
a word of concern within the Church about what�s been happening?
As �new gospel� advocates continue to publish bestselling books
and flock to the airwaves in ever-increasing numbers to advance
their cause, there is a strange silence within Christianity.
Does the Church have any idea what is going on?
(634) Children
at
Risk: Mudras, Chakras, Mantras: Deceptive Meditative
Techniques by L. Putnam, 12/19/15 A recent Facebook Post captioned: �Help Your Child Achieve
Calmness!� showed a picture of a little girl sitting
cross-legged, eyes closed, hands out, and with her fingers fixed
in a mudra position. What finger position is that?
To be precise, it is the �Gyan Mudra� or �Chin Mudra� finger
position in which the index finger touches the thumb tip to form
as perfect a circle as possible with the other fingers extending
upward. Why do people do this? Yoga aficionado Gertud
Hirschi, in her book Mudras: Yoga in Your Hands, tells us
why: �We can effectively engage and influence our body and our
mind by bending, crossing, extending, or touching the fingers
with other fingers.� Hirschi goes on to pinpoint just what
this finger position really means: �The thumb is symbolic of
cosmic (divine) and the index finger is symbolic of individual
(human) consciousness. The ultimate goal � is oneness of
humanity with cosmic consciousness.�
(636) Catholic Contemplative Meditation
Techniques Explode Top Down Among Alliance Denominational
Leaders by Orrel Stienkamp, 1/9/16 Maybe you haven't heard much about Catholic Contemplative
PrayerfSpirituality. Generally it hasn't reached congregational
level that much. But Catholic Contemplative prayer techniques
and spirituality is often hidden by the code word �Spiritual
Formation.� This incursion into Evangelical training and
leadership training, nevertheless is deep and broad. This
includes many traditional evangelical denominations and non
denominational mega churches. Rick Warren promotes it. lI�IOP
and Bill Johnson�s Redding movement. It can be discovered by
perusing course offerings and especially required reading in
Spiritual Formation offerings and leadership courses in the
majority of Evangelical Schools and seminaries. In my case in
the large church I attend it appeared out of nowhere in a study
book �Emotionally Healthy Spirituality� calling us to get off
the fast paced life style. But Peter Scazzaro, the author, told
our class directly on a DVD that he was introducing us to
Contemplative Prayer. The Pulpit ministry followed the book
thematically but avoided terms like contemplative and centering
prayer and nobody knew what was actually going on, thankfully.
But once again in the small groups the Scazzaro's bibliographies
were loaded with quotes of the most famous Catholic
Contemplative authors, Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Richard Rohr
Thomas Keating and others. But until recently I never thought
that it had burrowed deeply across the board among virtually all
evangelical leadership groups from say Focus on the Family to
Fuller Seminary.
(637) Letter
to
the Editor: �Christian� Psychology Going Contemplative?
at Lighthouse Trails, 1/14/16 Many Christians seek the help of psychologists or counselors.
While psychology generally does not lead one to Christ or point
to His Word and typically has a humanistic foundation, and while
many Christian counselors do not offer biblically based counsel
as well, things have gotten even worse as Lighthouse Trails has
witnessed over the last 15 years as both camps are moving more
and more into the New Age/contemplative meditation camp.
(639) Authors
To
Avoid: Who is Bringing the �New� Spirituality Into the Church?
by Chris Lawson, 1/16/16 Each of the following authors professes to be Christian and/or
uses biblical terminology in his or her writing, yet promotes at
least one of the following serious false teachings:
contemplative spirituality (i.e., Spiritual Formation), the
emergent, progressive �new� spirituality, the seeker-friendly,
church-growth movement (e.g., Willow Creek, Purpose Driven)
and/or Yoga. (This list is from the booklet A
Directory of Authors: Three NOT Recommended Lists.)
(640) Meditation
and
Experience by Herescope, 1/24/16 Spiritual meditation, as it is commonly practiced around the
world, is done for the purpose of achieving an experience of the
presence of God. This "presence" feeling, often described as a
sense of oneness with the Divine, can create a powerful
psychological and physical sense of peace. This much-desired
spiritual experience thus serves to validate one's faith -- if
one "feels" God's presence then that means one is on the right
path to a higher form of spirituality. Thus meditation becomes a
discipline, a device, even an art, whereby man believes he can
do things to achieve inner peace and a unity with God.
(641) Is
The
Emerging Church History, or Has it Entered Your Church?
by Roger Oakland, 2/29/16 Recently, I read a Facebook post by a southern California
pastor stating that the �emerging church� was no longer a
problem for him or his church. He also stated that the �emerging
church� was just another passing fad that had come and then
disappeared never to be heard of again. His church was going to
focus on what was positive and insinuated that �hyper
discernment ministries� were scaring his sheep into believing
they were living in the last days and that apostasy was rampant.
The comments by this pastor are not uncommon. In fact, there are
few shepherds today who are warning the sheep in their flocks of
the dangers that lurk not only outside the fold but also within
their own fold that they are called to protect. A good shepherd
must keep watch over his flock as there are many wolves lurking
around seeking whom they may devour. Ignoring these dangers does
not make the problems go away. Sheep can easily be misled by
false unbiblical teachings that act as a grain of arsenic in a
milk shake. The milk shake may look and taste good, but the
grain of arsenic will be enough to kill someone.
(642) Looking
for
a Christian College for Your Child in 2016 � Better Be
Careful! by Lighthouse Trails, 3/6/16 Spring 2016 is almost here, which means parents will be
diligently helping their college-age children search for
Christian colleges, seminaries, and universities for enrollment
for this coming fall. As many of you know, Lighthouse Trails has
been researching Christian colleges for 14 years. Three years
ago, we published a report called An Epidemic of Apostasy, which
revealed that the majority of Christian colleges, seminaries,
and universities had begun to incorporate contemplative
spirituality (through Spiritual Formation programs) into their
schools. The report showed how much of this was happening
because accreditation associations were requiring schools to
include Spiritual Formation in the lives of their students if
they wanted to be accredited.
(643) Roots
of
the Spiritual Formation Movement by Gary Gilley, Think
On These Things, August 2014 - Volume 20, Issue 4 During the past two years most of the articles sent out by
Think on These Things have dealt with the issue of the Spiritual
Formation Movement. And while we have examined the birth of the
modern movement as well as its key beliefs, leaders and
teachers, both past and present, we now want to turn our
attention in this final article to their ancient roots. Coupled
with this it would be of value to discuss the attraction of the
movement, especially for evangelicals. Having already documented
in previous articles serious errors in doctrine and practice,
why do so many evangelicals embrace the disciplines and look to
the so-called �spiritual masters� for guidance? These issues of
origin and attraction overlap but we will look at them
separately for clarity�s sake.
(644) Kyle
Odom,
the Man Who Shot Idaho Pastor, Says Meditation Started it All
by Lighthouse Trails, 3/11/16 LTRP: A �manifesto,� written by former Marine Kyle Odom, the
30-year-old man who shot Idaho pastor Kyle Remmington, reveals
that his life started to change drastically when he began doing
meditation while in university to relieve stress. The meditation
experiences led him to come into contact with familiar spirits
(which he thought were aliens) and eventually led to two suicide
attempts and then the shooting of Pastor Remmington. While
Lighthouse Trails is not saying that every person who practices
meditation is going to go crazy and start shooting people, we
stand by our warning of 14 years that meditation does introduce
meditators to demonic realms. For most, this realm seduces
people into a complacent deception, and they may even appear
more peaceful. For other meditators, like the student at Le
Tourneau Christian University who graduated and told his parents
he was now an atheist, they turn away from their Christian
faith. Satan has many different methods of stealing a soul. And
for some, these demons torture and torment a person, until they
can eventually become like Kyle Odom. The occult (Satan�s
domain) is not to be tampered with. When you consider that over
90% of the Christian colleges and seminaries are introducing
contemplative spirituality (a belief system that incorporates
meditation) to the lives of their students, it should make every
Christian shudder and every Christian leader repent for allowing
this into the church (not to mention how it has entered
secularism even more so). Remember when Richard Foster told his
contemplative followers that they needed to say a prayer of
protection before practicing contemplative prayer. Why would one
need to do that . . . unless he is entering demonic realms?
Meditation leads one to believe that God is in everything and
all is connected together (this belief is an anti-christ
religion, and that is why when people practice meditation, they
are going to be influenced by familiar spirits).
(645) Fortune
Magazine:
�Meditation Has Become A Billion-Dollar Business� by
Jen Wieczner, Fortune, 3/16/16 In 2015 the meditation and mindfulness industry raked in nearly
$1 billion, according to research by IBISWorld, which breaks out
the category from the alternative health care sector.
(646) The
Defiling
Influence of Spirit Contact by Chris Lawson,
3/18/16 We are living at a time where contact with the spirit world is
commonplace. Even in many Christian settings, where spiritistic
activity and occult literature are condemned, �messages� and
so-called �words from God� that have been communicated to humans
by fallen angels (and peoples� vain imaginations) are misleading
people on a grand scale. Furthermore, the amount of heretical
practices and material that countless ministries and leading
names in the Christian bookstore industry, create and promote,
both locally and globally, is staggering.
(647) A
History of AWANA�s Contemplative Tract Record and the
Implications of Their New CEO by Lighthouse Trails,
3/19/16 For over a decade now, Lighthouse Trails editors have
been concerned about the direction that the AWANA children�s
club is heading. Today, in this report, we want to first give an
overview of our past decade of reporting on AWANA, and then we
want to share some new information that should concern every
parent and grandparent who has a child or grandchild in AWANA.
(648) Watkins�
100
Most Spiritually Influential People of 2016 � How Many Names
Do You Know? by Miscellaneous, 5/11/16 Watkin�s Mind Body Spirit Magazine released its 2016 top 100
most spiritually influential people alive today. If you have
been reading Lighthouse Trails for some time, you will recognize
several names. One thing all of these names have in common is an
affinity toward mysticism. Sadly, a number of these New Ager/New
Spirituality names have had significant influence, either
directly or indirectly, on the Christian church in the last
several years: e.g. Thomas Keating, Richard Rohr, Julia
Cameron (The Artist�s Way), Pope Francis, Rhonda Byrne (The
Secret), and Rob Bell. Click here
to read how Watkin�s determined who should be on the list.
(649) Spiritual
Formation
Leader, Larry Crabb, Says �The greatest need in modern
civilization is the development of communities.� by
Lighthouse Trails, 5/14/16 Larry Crabb�s recent remarks perfectly illustrate the �fruit�
of contemplative spirituality � a move away from the Gospel and
personal salvation through Jesus Christ and a move toward an
emerging, ecumenical all-paths-lead-to-God kind of mentality.
Where did Christ or the disciples ever say man�s greatest need
in in the development of communities?
(650) Evolution�s
Role
in a Quantum Spirituality by Caryl Matrisciana and
Roger Oakland, 5/31/16 There is a clear but complex marriage between physical
evolution and transcendental evolution. Ironically, while
forcing out creationism, many scientists and educators push for
an equally religious alternative. They cling to the Eastern
concept that the next stage of man�s evolution will arrive in
spiritual terms. Many �prophesy� a development�a quantum leap
from biological evolution into a sort of �mystical emergence.�
(651) Southern
Baptist
Leaders Call for a �Great Awakening� in US�But SBC Continues
Promoting the Anti-Gospel New Spirituality at
Lighthouse Trails, 6/16/16 The article quoted several Southern Baptist pastors attending
the summer event who named numerous sins from which Southern
Baptists and Christians in general needed to repent: pride,
racism, apathy, and so forth. While these are all sins that
Christians do need to repent of if they are guilty of
them, there was no mention of one sin that is having
detrimental effects within SBC and the Christian church at
large. We are referring to the Southern Baptist�s sinful
embracing of the �new� anti-Gospel spirituality, which includes
occultic prayer practices (contemplative) and emergent/social
justice/anti-Christianity ideologies. We present two pieces of
evidence to show both of these are true statements.
(652) Is
God
in Graffiti? at Lighthouse Trails, 8/22/16 What is happening to mainstream Christianity is the same thing
that is happening to business, health, education, counseling,
and other areas of society. Christendom is being cultivated for
a role in the New Age.
(653) Letter
to
the Editor: Received Flyer on Sarah Young�s Newest Booklet
at Lighthouse Trails, 9/14/16 To Lighthouse Trails: The Prophecy Conference in Appleton
Wisconsin was excellent. Thank you for recommending that we
attend. We could only attend Friday�s sessions but it was well
worth going. Coming home with our new copy of the expanded
second edition of Another Jesus Calling, we were met with a
brochure from Family Christian in our mailbox. On page six, we
found a prebuy offer for Sarah Young�s new book called Jesus
Always. It�s another 365 day devotional with new revelations
from Sarah�s �Jesus.� We were shocked. Why we were shocked, I
don�t know at this point. It�s obvious that these attacks on the
Body of Christ are now unrelenting. It seems that facts, reason,
and truth simply don�t matter any more. And so the delusion
grows ever stronger for those who refuse to receive a love of
the truth. Thank you again and again for fighting the good
fight. It was a blessing to be able to thank Warren Smith in
person. He is such a dear brother in Christ. We continue to pray
for you all. P.M.
(654) Something
to
Think About � Richard Rohr, the New Age, and Young Evangelical
Christians by Lighthouse Trails, 9/25/16 When you consider that Catholic contemplative mystic Richard
Rohr once said in an interview that his publisher told him his
largest audience was young evangelical Christians, and when you
know what Rohr truly believes in and stands for, how can mature
Christians stand by and say nothing? Our Christian leaders not
only remain quiet on these issues, they help promote people like
Rohr by quoting them in their books and sermons and then blame
traditional biblical Christianity for being the cause of so many
young people leaving the faith. But young evangelicals (like
your children and grandchildren) are walking away from true
Christianity and into the arms of anti-biblical emergents
because Christian leaders, pastors, colleges, seminaries, and
para-church organizations are pointing them in that direction.
(655) The
Goal
of Contemplatives: Changing the Consciousness of Humanity �
One Contemplative Prayer After the Next by Ray Yungen,
9/29/16 Sue Monk Kidd became enamored with contemplative spirituality
while attending a Southern Baptist church. We could possibly
dismiss that and say she was just an untaught member of the
laity who was spiritually lacking in discernment. Maybe her
spiritual dryness was a result of her not being grounded firmly
enough in the faith. But what about the leaders and pastors whom
so many look up to and who are considered trusted individuals in
the church? Surely they are able to discern what is spiritually
unsound. It seems safe to make this assumption. Right?
Unfortunately, this is no longer the case.
(656) Letter
to
the Editor: �It truly was a time of departing for me!�
at Lighthouse Trails, 10/3/16 I will be forever grateful to Ray Yungen and this book for
being the instrument God used to open my eyes to this new/old
teaching that is consuming churches everywhere. Every Christian
in America needs to know about this � even if you�re in a good
church. Even good pastors can be fooled by it because it�s so
subtly deceptive. And it�s absolutely pervasive. It is
everywhere. So arm yourself with knowledge, and A Time of
Departing is a great place to start!
(657) Christian
Leaders
Finally Beginning to Speak Out About Jesus Calling, Saying:
�WE LOVE IT!!� at Lighthouse Trails, 10/15/16 On a fairly new Thomas Nelson web page, the mega publisher of
Jesus Calling has posted a number of �Endorsements� for Jesus
Calling by Christian and other religious and secular leaders.
The list of endorsers includes: Max Lucado, Roma Downey, Josh
Warren (CEO, Purpose Driven Communications), Mark Batterson (The
Circle Maker author), Melinda Gates (Bill Gates� wife), Rev.
James Martin, SJ (a Jesuit priest), best-selling author Shauna
Niequist, O.S. Hawkins (author of The Joshua Code and The Jesus
Code), Dr. Jack Graham, singer Sheila Walsch, Dr. and Mrs.
Richard Lee (speaker for �There�s Hope in America television
series), Kathy Lee Gifford, country singer Charlie Daniels,
singer Reba McEntire, James Robison (who works closely with Beth
Moore), Mike Gallagher (from Salem Radio Network), veteran
Christian singer Phil Keaggy, and numerous other evangelical,
Catholic, and secular personalities.
(658) Spiritual
Formation
- A Dangerous Substitute For the Life of Christ by
Lighthouse Trails, 10/31/16 "Sometimes we think of spiritual formation as formation by the
Holy Spirit. Once again. That�s essential. . . . But now I have
to say something that may be challenging for you to think about:
Spiritual formation is not all by the Holy Spirit. . . . We have
to recognize that spiritual formation in us is something that is
also done to us by those around us, by ourselves, and by
activities which we voluntarily undertake . . .There has to be
method."�Dallas Willard, �Spiritual Formation: What it is, and
How it is". Aside from the fact that Spiritual Formation
incorporates mystical practices into its infrastructure (remove
the contemplative aspect and you don�t have �Spiritual
Formation� anymore), Spiritual Formation is a works-based
substitute for biblical Christianity.
(659) Christianity
is
Missing Out on Something Vital - Is This True? by Ray
Yungen, 11/17/16 Contemplative advocates propose that there has been something
vital and important missing from the church for centuries. The
insinuation is that Christians have been lacking something
necessary for their spiritual vitality; but that would mean the
Holy Spirit has not been fully effective for hundreds of years
and only now the secret key has been found that unlocks God's
full power to know Him. These proponents believe that
Christianity has been seriously crippled without this extra
ingredient. This kind of thinking leads one to believe that
traditional, biblical Christianity is merely a philosophy
without the contemplative prayer element. Contemplatives are
making a distinction between studying and meditating on the Word
of God versus experiencing Him, suggesting that we cannot hear
Him or really know Him simply by studying His Word or even
through normal prayer-we must be contemplative to accomplish
this. But the Bible makes it clear that the Word of God is
living and active and has always been that way, and it is in
filling our minds with it that we come to love Him, not through
a mystical practice of stopping the flow of thought (the
stillness) that is never once mentioned in the Bible, except in
warnings against vain repetitions in the New Testament and
divination in the Old Testament.
(660) Remembering
the
Enticing Appeal of Richard Foster and Beth Moore’s Be Still
Film by Lighthouse Trails, 11/19/16 In 2006, a DVD film was released by Fox Entertainment called Be
Still. Lighthouse Trails wrote extensively about it at the time,
warning our readers that the DVD was an infomercial for
contemplative prayer. Recently, a caller who very much
understood the deceptive dynamics of the contemplative prayer
(i.e., Spiritual Formation) movement, reminded us about the
film, and we e-mailed her a copy of all the transcripts (we had
transcribed the entire film in 2006). The film includes Richard
Foster, Buddhist-sympathizer Catholic convert Peter Kreeft,
Dallas Willard, Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, Michelle McKinney
Hammon, Max Lucado, and Calvin Miller.
(661) Jesus
Calling
Messages Compared to Channeled Spirit Messages (Audio)
by Chris Lawson, 1/2/17 Examining Sarah Young’s “listening prayer�? method and her own
words: - Crafty teachings embraced in Christian churches. - The danger of “channeled�? literature such as God Calling
(Edited by A.J. Russell) - Sarah’s Young claims she was inspired by God Calling to write
her “Christian�? devotional, Jesus Calling. - Destructive heresies, “deceptive words,�? and the
exploitation of Christians in the Christian Marketplace. - Extensive listing of “channeled�? entities, including various
demon spirits named and masquerading as numerous biblical
personalties, including “Jesus.�? - Direct quotes from Sarah Young’s Q&A Interview’ from CBN,
and other mentions from Christianity Today. - Damage control for Sarah Young’s “False Christ�? implemented
by the publisher of Jesus Calling. - Direct quotes from The Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs and
The Donning International [New Age/Occult] Encyclopedic Psychic
Dictionary - explaining “literary mediumship,�? “listening�?
prayer, and “clairaudience�? - that are virtually identical to
Sarah Young’s alleged contemplative “listening prayer.�? - There are only three options as to what Jesus Calling really
is: (1) personal human delusion, (2) total deception writing, or
(3) spiritistic communication under the guise of “Jesus
Calling.�? - Massive documentation refuting Jesus Calling on the SRN
webpage titled ‘Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling: Another New Age
Jesus’. - Article by Lighthouse Trails Editors titled, ‘About That
Jesus Calling - Ten Things You Might Not Know’. - Mention of numerous New Age metaphysical terms (buzz-words)
found in Jesus Calling, given by Sarah Young’s “Jesus,�? to
Sarah Young. - Will Sarah Young and her publisher who is doing damage
control confess and repent from what they have done - in plain
site! Scriptures in order of mention: 2 Peter 1:12 - 2:3; Jude 1-4,
24-25; 2 Corinthians 11:1-4, 12-15; Matthew 7:15-23; Psalm 46;
Genesis 3:1-5; 1 Timothy 4:1-2; 1 John 3:24 - 4:6; Matthew
24:1-3, 11, 23; Matthew 7:1-5, 15-23
(662) The
Real
Roots of the Emergent Church (Video) by Elliot Nesch,
1/7/17 Because diversity characterizes the Emergent Church movement,
it is difficult to paint everyone in the movement with a broad
brush. Some have observed that defining the Emergent Church is
like nailing jello to a wall. All participants agree on their
disillusionment with the institutional church, but do not all
agree on where the church is destined to go from here. They
share a common concern with many evangelicals over the state of
the modern church, especially the mega-church phenomenon and
“seeker-friendly�? churches. For this reason, many evangelicals
who observe the Emerging Church are fascinated by it, drawn to
its creative approaches to worship, genuineness of many of the
leaders and desire to reach Gen Xers. However, these
evangelicals fail to look beyond it to understand its underlying
theology, or lack thereof. This Christian documentary film The
Real Roots of the Emergent Church will take an honest look at
the leaders of the Emerging Church movement such as Brian
McLaren, Doug Pagitt, Tony Jones, Rob Bell, Tony Campolo, Steve
Chalke, Peter Rollins, Dan Kimball, Richard Rohr, Phyllis
Tickle, Spencer Burke and others. Who are they and what are they
teaching? Become familiar with the postmodern Emergent Church
and its popular tactic of literary deconstruction applied to the
Bible. This film takes an in-depth look at what the Emerging
Church believes concerning the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the
Scriptures, absolute truth, hell, homosexuality, mysticism,
contemplative prayer, other religions, and eschatology in
comparison to the Bible. Much more than candles and couches!
Subjects of this film were contacted for direct interviews. Doug
Pagitt, Tony Jones and others were contacted in April 2011. No
response. At a Love Wins book signing, Rob told us he would be
willing to do an interview and to contact his church which was
done several times with no response. We do not fault them for
that knowing they are all probably very busy people. But for
this reason we have resorted to their own public statements.
This film is our way of joining the conversation. Participants:
Eric Ludy, Joe Schimmel, Chris Rosebrough, Bob DeWaay, Gary
Gilley, Ray Yungen, Robert LeBus, Jay Peters, James Sundquist.
(663) The
Desert
Fathers and the Methods They Used by Ray Yungen,
1/9/17 In many ways, the Desert Fathers were like Cain—eager to please
but not willing to listen to the instruction of the Lord and do
what was right. One cannot fault them for their devotion, but
one certainly can fault them for their lack of discernment.
(664) Mysticism:
Its
Origin and Impact on Contemporary Christian Thought by
Zachary Doppelt, 1/22/17 Within Evangelical Christianity there has been a resurging
interest in the writings of the mystics and their intuitive
approach to God. This has been noticeable with the growing
interest in authors such as Richard Foster, Henri Nouwen and
Thomas Merton, as well as the leadership of such scholars such
as Bruce Demarest. While many evangelicals may not be familiar
with each of these names, many books being written today cite
these authors as influential, often because these authors
purport a form of deeper spirituality. Sometimes this
spirituality is seated in the emotions and is predominantly
experiential; however for some it is far more intricate and
complex.
(665) Chuck
Swindoll’s
Ministry Says Stop Sending Lighthouse Trails Booklets
by Lighthouse Trails, 1/26/17 Since early 2016, Lighthouse Trails has been sending out short
letters and topical booklets that we publish to dozens of
Christian leaders in America. Thus far, we have received a few
responses, usually short notes from the ministry office thanking
us for sending the materials. This week, we received an e-mail
from Chuck Swindoll’s ministry telling us to remove him from our
list and to no longer send him materials. The e-mail
stated: Please remove Chuck Swindoll and Insight for Living
Ministries at PO Box 5000, Frisco, Texas 75034, from Lighthouse
Trails Publishing’s mailing list. As a not-for-profit ministry,
we strive to use every penny wisely and imagine that you do
too. Because of the time and effort required to process
the huge amount of correspondence we receive, we respectfully
request that you remove our organization from your mailing
list. This may also help you save some printing and
postage costs. Thank you for taking the time to update
your records. We sincerely appreciate your prompt
assistance with this matter. While we do not want to be
presumptuous in thinking that busy successful Christian leaders
would even want to give Lighthouse Trails a moment of their
time, we do find it disconcerting (though not really surprising)
that Chuck Swindoll has refused our booklets. Swindoll is
discussed in Lighthouse Trails articles partly because of a book
he wrote titled So You Want to Be Like Christ: Eight Essential
Disciplines to Get You There (see Ray Yungen’s article
below). It’s a sad state of affairs when leaders
have the time to read Henri Nouwen, Mother Teresa, Richard
Foster, and Dallas Willard, and other contemplative authors but
not enough time to read material that questions the
contemplative prayer movement. Nevertheless, at their request,
we will remove Chuck Swindoll’s name from our leader’s list. But
this does not remove him or other Christian leaders from being
responsible for what they are doing and teaching or from having
to answer one day to the one Who judges all things. We told
Chuck Swindoll’s office that we would let our readers know of
its request.
(666) A
Time of Departing and New Spirituality Terms - The Emergent
Trojan Horse Has Unloaded Its Cargo! (Audio) by Chris
Lawson, 2/3/17 Terms, concepts and practices you should be aware of and warned
about! For more information please see Ray Yungen's excellent
book entitled A Time of Departing. Book description at
Lighthouse Trails: "A revealing account of a New Age
spirituality that has infiltrated much of the church today.
Exposes the subtle strategies to compromise the gospel message
with Eastern mystical practices cloaked under evangelical
terminology and wrappings. Topics include: Contemplative Prayer,
Yoga, Labyrinths, Spiritual Directors, Reiki, Desert Fathers,
Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Disciplines, Purpose Driven and
the Emerging Church Book description at Amazon: "A revealing
account of a New Age spirituality that has infiltrated much of
the church today. Exposes the subtle strategies to compromise
the gospel message with Eastern mystical practices cloaked under
evangelical terminology and wrappings. Topics include:
Contemplative Prayer, Yoga, Labyrinths, Spiritual Directors,
Reiki, Desert Fathers, Spiritual Formation, Spiritual
Disciplines, Purpose Driven, and the Emerging Church. Some
questions this book answers ... What exactly is contemplative
spirituality and how is it New Age? Who are some of the major
proponents of contemplative prayer and how are their teachings
entering the church? Is Rick Warren s Purpose Driven paradigm
promoting the contemplative prayer movement? What is wrong with
Christian yoga? What is the emerging church really all about and
why is it spiritually dangerous?"
(667) Evangelical
Universities
& Seminaries Offering Master of Arts in Spiritual
Formation – Going into the Deeper Waters of Contemplative
Spirituality by Lighthouse Trails, 2/9/17 Over the past decade, while most evangelical colleges,
seminaries, and universities have allowed the influence of the
Spiritual Formation movement into their schools to one degree or
another, not all of them had gone so far as to create a Master’s
Degree program in Spiritual Formation. In fact, ten years ago,
there weren’t that many schools that had Spiritual Formation
degree programs. But things are changing rapidly. Today, a large
number of the evangelical seminaries and universities have such
degree programs.
(668) Biola
University
Brings in Emergent Speaker for Students, as Pathway to
Apostasy Continues by Lighthouse Trails, 2/28/17 On February 22nd, 2017, Biola University hosted a one-evening
live recording of the renowned public radio podcast “ON BEING
with Krista Tippett.�? During the event, which was free to
attend to all Biola students and others, Tippett interviewed
artist Enrique Martinez Celaya. Biola, a Christian university,
began wandering into the contemplative/emergent camp many years
ago, particularly via their Spiritual Formation program at the
Talbot School of Theology, but it has now spread into other
areas as well.
(669) Potentially
Harmful
and Dangerous Spiritual Practices (Audio) by Christ
Lawson, 3/3/17 Potentially Harmful and Dangerous Spiritual Practices Warning
About New Age, Holistic, Mystical/Occult Practices.
Spiritual-Research-Network.com See detailed list of Potentially
Harmful and Dangerous Spiritual Practices. Watch
video on Vimeo! I consider all of the ‘Potentially Harmful and
Dangerous Spiritual Practices’ that I mention (and many more) to
have the potential to be spiritually harmful, if not downright
exceedingly dangerous. I am issuing these warnings because many
New Age, holistic and mystical/occult spiritual practices we
warn about include either one, two, three—or all four of the
following components of the occult/psychic worldview: Mystical
and supernaturalistic health related methods. Founded on occult
principles. Dangerous forms of occult and mystical practices.
Based on the writings and beliefs associated with either
paganism, spiritism, occultism or mysticism. Furthermore, many
undiscerning Christians and churchgoers are involving themselves
these days with potentially dangerous and dangerous
mystical/occult practices. Just because something "feels good"
or can bring "healing" does not necessarily mean it is of God -
even if it is found in a church or prayer setting.
(670) William
Paul
Young (THE SHACK AUTHOR) & His Connection with Panentheist
Richard Rohr by Lois Putnam, 3/4/17 LTRP Note: The Shack movie is about to be released. Millions of
Americans will go to theaters to watch the movie. Most likely,
the majority of them will be church goers and proclaiming
Christians since The Shack book is vetted as a Christian story.
Recently, a church contacted Lighthouse Trails and ordered 300
copies of Warren B. Smith’s booklet The
Shack
and Its New Age Leaven. If you have family, church
members, pastors, and friends who might be considering attending
this movie, please pick up some copies of the booklet and pass
them out. As you can see from the piece below by Lighthouse
Trails author Lois Putnam, William Paul Young resonates with
panentheists (God is IN all), and we know from our research that
The Shack resonates with this concept too. Please do what you
can to warn everyone you know. The false “Christ�? of The Shack
has big plans to deceive many. If you can’t afford to buy the
booklet, you can print the content from our blog; but we believe
this very inexpensive booklet is a better way to go (in a
published bound format, it helps give credibility to the
material and the source).
(671) “Shack�?
Author
Paul Young States in Just-Released Book—Christ Is “In�? Every
Single Human Being by Warren B. Smith, 3/10/17 YOUNG PUBLICLY ENDORSES UNIVERSAL SALVATION In his
just-released book, Lies We Believe About God, best-selling
author Paul Young openly describes himself as a universalist. In
chapter 13, Young would have us believe it is a “lie�? to tell
someone, “You need to get saved.�?1 Young asks himself the
rhetorical questions, “Are you suggesting that everyone is
saved? That you believe in universal salvation?�?2 He answers,
“That is exactly what I am saying!�?3 Young then goes on to
teach that “every single human being is in Christ�? and that
“Christ is in them.�?
(672) An
Appendix
on the Al Mohler Situation: “The Contemplative Christian (The
Christian of the Future?)�? by Ray Yungen, 3/18/17 LTRP Note: In view of our recent post on Albert Mohler who
promoted the book The Benedictine Option (a book that encourages
contemplative prayer practices), we are posting this article by
Ray Yungen from his book A Time of Departing so readers who are
unfamiliar with the contemplative prayer movement can gain
better understanding. Within the evangelical world,
contemplative prayer is increasingly being promoted and
accepted. As a result, it is losing its esoteric aspect and is
now seen by many as the wave of the future. One can’t help but
notice the positive exposure it is getting in the Christian
media these days. In Today’s Christian Woman, a popular and
trusted Christian magazine, feature titles make the appeal to
draw closer to God. The author of one such article says, “Like a
growing number of evangelicals, I’ve turned to spiritual
direction because I want to know God better.�?1 But without
exception, every person she cites is a dedicated contemplative,
one being Ruth Haley Barton, author of Invitation to Solitude
and Silence. Barton was trained at the Shalem Institute (founded
by panentheist Tilden Edwards); and in fact, that organization
was featured in the article as a resource for the reader.
However, considering the content of many statements on the
Shalem Institute website, how could Shalem even be listed as a
resource for Christians?
(673) Hillsong
United
promotes New Age Jesus of ‘The Shack’ at Understand
the Times, 3/29/17 This is an excellent article that reveals the true theology of
the popular musical group Hillsong. The fact that support is
shown for "The Shack" shows no biblical discernment. Sad to say
many megachurches embrace both Hillsong and The Shack as a means
of drawing crowds.
(674) Have
You
Heard the Term, “Thin Places�?? by Roger Oakland,
3/31/17 Mantra-style meditation is actually divination, where
practitioners perform rituals or meditation exercises in order
to go into trances and then receive information from spiritual
entities. Campolo elaborates on the fruit of mysticism, an
atmosphere he calls “the thin place�?: The constant repetition
of his name clears my head of everything but the awareness of
his presence. By driving back all other concerns, I am able to
create what the ancient Celtic Christians called “the thin
place.�? The thin place is that spiritual condition wherein the
separation between the self and God becomes so thin that God is
able to break through and envelop the soul.1 This term “thin
place�? originated with Celtic spirituality (i.e.,
contemplative) and is in line with panentheism.
(675) Our
Daily
Bread (i.e., Radio Bible Class) Still on the
Contemplative/Emergent Path by Lighthouse Trails,
4/1/17 It was ten years ago that Lighthouse Trails wrote its first
article about Radio Bible Class ministries (now called Our Daily
Bread Ministries). That article shocked many readers because
Radio Bible Class is a ministry that has been around since 1938
when Dr. Martin DeHaan founded it in 1938. It has been
considered a staple of Christianity with the highly popular Our
Daily Bread booklets. According to one source, 10 millions
copies of the booklets are published per issue in 37 languages.
1 Our Daily Bread Ministries also has two universities: Our
Daily Bread Christian University and Christian University
GlobalNet. There is also a publishing arm of Our Daily Bread
Ministries, Discovery House, plus radio and television programs.
If you add up the years, the printings, and the programs, it is
safe to say that Radio Bible Class/Our Daily Bread has
influenced hundreds of millions of people. We’ll get to the
point. When Dr. Martin DeHaan ran the ministry until 1965, there
were no signs that things were amiss. When his son Richard
DeHaan took over running it until 1985, things did begin to
change. But the biggest change (from a negative point of view)
began to take place when grandson Mart DeHaan began running the
ministry. He was replaced by his brother Rick in 2011, but sadly
the emergent/contemplative focus that came in during Mart’s
watch has remained today as one of our readers reminded us this
month. You can read our previous articles here to get a recap on
what has been taking place.
(676) Letter
to
the Editor: Please Add BiblicalTraining.Org to
Colleges/Schools Promoting Spiritual Formation (Contemplative
Prayer) at Lighthouse Trails, 4/5/17 I have been studying Bill Mounce’s “Basics of Biblical Greek�?
textbook. It is an excellent course of study, but Mr. Mounce
puts a plug for his website biblicaltraining.org. Though they
are a Calvinist-based ministry, there are some good apologetic
things and history things that I’ve looked at. I was shocked
though when in their Foundations area (designed for new or young
Christians) they have an entire course on Spiritual Formation. I
thought it might just be a bad choice of words so I checked the
syllabus. It turns out the instructor quotes Richard Foster,
Dallas Willard, and references the “Nine Sacred
Pathways.�?
(678) ‘I
Have
Deep Regrets’: Graphic Artist Who Designed ‘Shack’ Novel
Renounces Book by Heather Clark, Christian News,
4/11/19 The graphic artist who helped design the controversial
best-selling novel “The Shack�? has come forward to express his
regret for being a part of the project out of his concern that
it contains false doctrine. “[O]ver 10 years ago, I was
captivated by the story and felt honored to be part of the
graphic creation of the book. I was so drawn into it, wanting to
know the God it portrayed,�? Dave Aldrich of Aldrich Design
posted to social media on Tuesday. “The Shack’s story
wonderfully painted this picture to me of an incredibly knowable
and loving God, one full of forgiveness, but without being
judgmental.�? He said that the novel led him into reading other
authors such as Rob Bell and Brian McLaren, and he found himself
at the edge of accepting universalist beliefs before he came to
realize the danger. “I thank the Lord that He pulled me back
from that edge,�? Aldrich wrote.
(679) The
Cross
is Barbarity & a Slaughterhouse Religion – So Says
Emerging Church Leaders by Roger Oakland, 4/17/17 Some emerging church leaders do say they love the Cross, but an
underlying theme is gaining momentum among them. It says Jesus’
going to the Cross was an example of sacrifice and servanthood
that we should follow; but the idea that God would send His Son
to a violent death for the sins of mankind—well, that is not who
God is. A loving God would never do that! Such a violent act
would make Christianity a “slaughterhouse religion.�?1 Liberal
theologian and pastor of the Riverside Church in New York City,
the late Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878-1969), believed that the
doctrine of the atonement, where “Jesus suffered as a substitute
for us�? because of our sins, is a “precivilized barbarity.�?2
(680) Why
One
Should Not Glean From Jennifer Kennedy Dean’s Prayer Studies
by Lois Putnam, 4/22/17 On a recent Sunday morning a vivacious older lady stood in
front of a congregation, of what can only be termed a solid
gospel preaching, mission minded church, and announced to the
women that all should sign up for its newest Bible study program
that would begin shortly. Touting both Set Apart, and
Living a Praying Life she stated that the author –Jennifer
Kennedy Dean–was also part of the National Day of Prayer. At my
seat –I was writing down the information–for I knew my immediate
assignment as a discerning Christian was, as Acts 17:11
instructs, to look into Dean to see if all she’s taught and
written stands up to scripture. In short, “Should one
glean or be learning from this writer Jennifer Kennedy Dean?�?
So that very afternoon I began my investigation. And it
wasn’t long into my research that I found “red flags
flying!�? So what was it that made me know that
Dean, and her numerous books were something that I should
not be buying into, nor following?
(681) The
New
Age World Today’s Children Have Been Born Into by
Berit Kjos, 4/25/17 During a flight delay in Chicago in the late nineties, I spent
my time browsing the airport bookstore near my terminal. When a
young woman next to me picked up a copy of Conversations With
God, the first book in the popular series by Neale Donald
Walsch, I had to ask, “Are you familiar with that book?�? “A
friend told me I should read it,�? she answered. She then told
me she was a Christian. “But it’s not about Christianity,�? I
warned her. “It may sound good and use a lot of Christian words,
but its message turns God’s truth upside down.�? She thanked me
and put the book back. My thoughts drifted back to a Christian
conference some years earlier where several publishing house
editors had concluded that the “New Age movement had peaked.�?
No need for more books on that topic, they said, for the faddish
seductions of the “beautiful�? side of evil would soon fade
away.2 They couldn’t have been further from the truth. While
those early blooms of occult enticements might have peaked in
interest among Christians, the seeds of deception sown during
the 1960s and 1970s had already taken root in well-cultivated
soil across America. Since then, the poisonous fruit
disseminated through The Beatles, Napoleon Hill, Shirley
MacLaine, Marianne Williamson, Hindu gurus, goddess worshippers,
and countless other spiritual advocates of New Age spirituality
has sprouted everywhere—in schools, churches, movie theaters,
television, books, the news media, and the Internet. Syncretism,
mysticism, and a subjective self-focused spirituality have
become the norm.
(682) The
Shack’s
Universal Papa by Warren B. Smith, 4/30/17 In his book Unshackled, Pastor Larry DeBruyn describes how
William P. Young’s “Papa�? bears a striking resemblance to “the
name, nature, and nurturing potential�? of this Polynesian Earth
goddess Papa.7 Quoting from a source on Hawaiian gods and
goddesses, DeBruyn cites the references they make to the
“comfort,�? “care,�? “guidance,�? and “unconditional love,�?
that are given to people “in times of crisis and grief�? by this
Hawaiian Papa and how her “intervention instills calming
reassurance and healing.�?8 Young seems to parallel the same
script as The Shack story wholly revolves around the comfort,
care, guidance, and unconditional love that is given by Papa to
his main character, Mack, during his time of crisis and
grief—how Papa’s intervention instills calming reassurance and
the ultimate healing of Mack’s “Great Sadness.�?9
(683) Letter
to
the Editor: AWANA Now Teaching Children to Hear the Voice of
God at Lighthouse Trails, 5/2/17 LTRP Note: Today, the church is “reaping the fruit�? of nearly
40 years of Spiritual Formation influence (since Richard
Foster’s Celebration of Discipline was released in 1978).
Lighthouse Trails has warned its readers on a number of
occasions about the direction AWANA children’s club is going
with regard to contemplative spirituality (i.e., Spiritual
Formation) (see links below). In the following letter to the
editor, you can see that AWANA is now teaching children to
“listen to God�? (the goal in contemplative prayer). We thought
AWANA clubs was to teach children the Word of God through
memorization. Since when did they take it upon themselves to
teach children to listen to God voice? If you have
children or grandchildren who participate in AWANA, we strongly
urge you to examine all AWANA literature and teaching tools
carefully as well as discuss your concerns with your children’s
AWANA leaders and make sure they understand the dangers of
contemplative spirituality. The big emphasis in today’s church
is, “Hear God’s Voice!�? It’s all about feel-good and mystical
experiences. What a tragedy the focus isn’t on “Know God’s
Word.�? Jesus said, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word
is truth�? (John 17:17).
(684) Quantum
Christianity:
Has the gateway to Heaven been discovered? by Albert
James Dager, 5/5/17 New Agers have taken the research into quantum theory, and in
particular string theory, to mean that we are all part of one
big whole—a universal consciousness that is reflected in the
macro world which we perceive as reality. To them, what we see
and experience with our senses is not true reality; true reality
is a tenuous, vibrating expression of magnetism, light and
energy—a “Force�? that permeates the universe. Some Christians
have taken a cue from New Age quantum spirituality to suggest
that the New Agers are\ correct in many of their assessments,
but that they have merely missed the mark on the spiritual
reality of that “Force�? having personality—that the Force is
“God.�? To New Agers, and mind-science practitioners, among
others, the concept of “god�? is that of a universal “all
mind,�? which encompasses everything and everyone as “god�?—a
form of pantheism. The study on which we are about to embark
will be found fascinating and even strange—surreal in many
respects. But before we address the mystical—and
articularly the Christian mystical—beliefs associated with the
quantum realm, we must take a short course in quantum theory.
(685) When
a
Young Girl Meets a Mystic and Is Introduced to Lectio Divina
by Carolyn A. Greene, 5/8/17 LTRP Note: The following is an excerpt from Carolyn A. Greene’s
novel, Castles in the Sand, the first novel published that
addresses the contemplative prayer (spiritual formation)
movement. In this excerpt, the young Christian Teresa [Tessa],
now attending a Christian college, is in her dorm room, thinking
about her new spiritual director, Ms. Jasmine, who has promised
to teach her students how to enter the “inner life�? just like
the mystics of the past. For Tessa, a lonely foster girl who
lost her parents years earlier in a tragic accident, this talk
of a better, more fulfilling life was just what she was looking
for.
(686) The
Blood
of the Saints by Ray Yungen, 5/12/17 One of the main tenets of New Age thought is peace, goodwill,
and the unity of all humanity. Remember, the Age of Aquarius is
to be the Age of Oneness. In context with this idea, the New Age
term cleansing is quite disturbing. A number of books make
reference to those who are laggards when the New Age reaches its
maturity. New Age leaders consider these resisters as eventually
the only hindrance in allowing this global oneness to occur.
(687) “Shack�?
Theology:
Where Is the Devil? by Warren B. Smith, 5/13/17 The Shack’s author, William P. Young, quotes C.S. Lewis
favorably and frequently in his books, but The Screwtape Letters
by Lewis is not one of the books from which he has quoted. I
bring up Lewis, not as an endorsement, but to point out a
discrepancy. The Screwtape Letters is a novel that presents some
of the many ways Christians can be effectively seduced and
deceived by Satan and his demons—a subject that is completely
ignored in The Shack and in Young’s other books. The discrepancy
is that Young chooses quotes from authors like Lewis to
serve his own personal and theological agenda while conveniently
ignoring writings by the same author that actually contradict
his agenda. The Screwtape Letters is a perfect example.
(688) Emergent
IF:
Gathering Conference Coming to a Town Near You (Coming For
Your Daughters and Granddaughters)! by Lighthouse
Trails Editors, 5/23/17 Have you heard of the IF: Gathering? If you haven’t, you most
likely will soon enough. The women’s movement started just a few
years ago but is already making some big inroads into the
evangelical scene. On the outer appearance, this looks like a
legitimate Christian movement – the women who lead and speak at
IF: Gathering are young and vibrant; they talk about Jesus, they
go to church; some of them homeschool their kids—it all looks so
Christian. But underneath this outer thin Christian layer lies
an emergent atmosphere . . . and the target is your young
evangelical daughters and granddaughters.
(689) What
Your
Church Needs to Know Before Doing a Priscilla Shirer Study
by Lighthouse Trails, 6/3/17 This week, our office received a call from a woman who was
concerned that her church is going to be doing a study using
material by Priscilla Shirer. Our caller wanted to get some
information she can show her pastor as to why her church should
not be doing a Priscilla Shirer study. Because Priscilla Shirer
is a contemplative proponent, we concur with our caller’s
concerns. In John Lanagan’s booklet, Beth Moore &
Priscilla Shirer – Their History of Contemplative Prayer,
Lanagan shows how both Moore and Shirer have been advocates of
contemplative spirituality for quite some time. In that booklet,
and this is what we want to focus on in this article, Lanagan
discusses a woman named Jan Johnson. Because Priscilla Shirer
embraces and has gleaned spiritually from Johnson, we need to
take a closer look at what Johnson believes.
(690) William
Paul
Young’s Christless “Shack�? by Warren B. Smith,
6/13/17 According to William P. Young, The Shack was written to help
his “mostly grown children�? understand his theology—what he
believes.5 He describes what he wrote for them in The Shack as
“theology wrapped in story.�?6 But what kind of “theology
wrapped in story�? never names the name of Jesus Christ? What
kind of Jesus is he presenting to his kids and to his millions
of readers? The answer is that he is presenting “another Jesus�?
who is a pantheistic, universal, Christless “Jesus.�? While the
apostle Peter was commended by the Lord Jesus Christ for
recognizing and openly acknowledging Him as “the�? Christ,
William P. Young would not receive that same commendation.
People may love The Shack, but The Shack’s “Jesus,�? is not
Jesus Christ. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the
doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the
doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If
there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive
him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that
biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. (2 John
1:9-11)
(691) Does
Your
Pastor Know That Yoga And Christianity Are Not Compatible?
by Chris Lawson, 6/18/17 LTRP Note: We are hearing more and more reports about
evangelical churches embracing Yoga. If your church is
entertaining the idea of introducing Yoga classes to the church
or if you know of a local church that is doing this, please give
that pastor a copy of this booklet and ask him to reconsider. To
order copies of YOGA and Christianity – Are They Compatible? in
booklet form, click
here. Those churches that welcome Yoga will in time be
drawn in to the “new�? spirituality and away from God’s Word.
This is serious, and there is no time to waste. If you cannot
afford to buy a booklet for a pastor, e-mail us his name and
address, and we will send it for you at no cost to you. Let’s do
what we can to stop Yoga from entering so many churches. We were
told a story this week about a place of business where the
owners said that all employees had to begin Yoga classes in
order to reduce stress. While one employee who was a Christian
refused to participate, he observed that eventually two of the
non-Christian employees became Hindu. Shockingly, the owners of
the business were Christians.
(692) Letter
to
the Editor: Former New Age Follower Shares Vital Information
With Her Pastors and Church Leaders at Lighthouse
Trails, 6/21/17 Several years ago, I learned that our church was planning to do
a labyrinth walk. A pattern had been set up in one of the
rooms, and stations were placed along the path at which to
perform rituals and meditate. From my experience in the New Age
prior to becoming a Christian, I knew this was something
Christians should not be doing. I found information on the
Internet about the background and purpose of the labyrinth,
which I presented to our pastor. Some years later, I came across
Warren Smith’s book, Deceived on Purpose: The New Age
Implications of the Purpose-Driven Life. It caught my
attention, as our church was studying, The Purpose-Driven Life.
As I read the book, I could see that quotations used were by New
Age or non-Christian people. Also, the statement that “God
is in everything and everyone�? is not true.
(693) Sad
News
About Charles Stanley’s In Touch Magazine by
Lighthouse Trails, 6/29/17 Lighthouse Trails has watched in dismay over the past few years
as Charles Stanley’s In Touch magazine has made the decision to
promote contemplative/emergent names. When our editors picked up
a copy of the August 2013 issue and saw a feature article
written by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, we decided to call In
Touch Ministries to find out who was responsible for the content
in the magazine. Sadly, the response we received from the
editorial department at In Touch left us with a sinking feeling
that the evangelical church has been seduced and there was no
turning back.
(694) Dear
Ladies—Are
You a Discerning One or a Deceived One? by Lois
Putnam, 7/8/17 “Yet Another One—An Undiscerning Believer—Is Being Deceived!�?
Not long ago a dear friend wrote me an e-mail that she titled:
“Yet Another One.�? In her note she wrote that a former
pastor’s wife had just messaged many on Facebook touting “Jesus
Calling.�? Now this seasoned pastor’s wife seemed to
have absolutely no clue or discernment that there were any
problems with Sarah Young’s devotional Jesus Calling.
Sadly, she had never read Warren Smith’s classic critique:
Another Jesus Calling.
(695) Sorceries
or
Salvation—Which Will It Be? by Ray Yungen, 7/10/17 Salvation is having personal faith and trust in the person and
finished work (sacrifice) of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have
“peace with God�? (Romans 5:1), are “forgiven�? (Ephesians 5:4),
and are “reconciled�? to God (2 Corinthians 5:18) only by Him.
That’s where our faith or trust is to be directed. The notion of
achieving Christ consciousness (as offered in the New Age) is
just not compatible with being redeemed by Christ’s precious
blood. The two just don’t mix.
(696) Shack
Author
Says “ I Want to Be More Like Oprah�? by Warren B.
Smith, 7/15/17 Oprah Winfrey interviewed Shack author William Paul Young on
July 9, 2017 on her Super Soul Sunday television program that
was broadcast on her OWN network. Young and Oprah appeared to be
like two peas in a New Age pod as they talked of child abuse,
traded spiritual quips, and seemed to continually marvel at the
other’s brilliant insights. At one point midway in their
conversation, Young answered his own rhetorical question
regarding where Jesus dwells—he stated that “Jesus dwells in our
hearts.�? His quick, authoritative response was consistent not
only with Oprah’s longstanding New Age beliefs but also with The
Shack’s “Jesus�? who presented this same New Age heresy when he
stated that God “dwells in, around, and through all things.�?
This false teaching is the foundational teaching of the New
Age/New Spirituality/New World Religion. The Bible is very clear
that God is not “in�? everyone and everything.
(697) David
Jeremiah:
“Appreciates Sarah Young and Jesus Calling�? by Amy
Spreeman, Berean Examiner, 7/16/17 Pastor David Jeremiah recently worked with JesusCalling.com to
produce a podcast titled, Keeping Hope In A Darkened World. In
addition to promoting his new book, the pastor also promoted
Sarah Young, the author of the Jesus Calling books, studies,
devotionals, calendars, and coloring book. The transcript of the
interview regarding his admiration for the multi-million dollar
Jesus Calling empire is as follows: Narrator: “As a pastor and a
teacher, Dr. Jeremiah advocates daily prayer and scripture
reading. He appreciates how Sarah Young has helped many with
their prayer lives through the words of Jesus Calling.�? Dr.
Jeremiah: “When I read Sarah’s work, it’s pretty obvious to me
why it’s been so highly regarded and received. She makes prayer
very personal. Sometimes prayer isn’t personal, sometimes prayer
can be very cold and empty. Maybe that’s why a lot of people
have a hard time sustaining any kind of a prayer ministry. What
Sarah has done has made it possible for people to say, “I talked
to God today…I communicated with my Father.�? That’s what prayer
is supposed to be and she has moved the ball down the field
quite aggressively in that direction.�?
(698) Letter
to
the Editor: Even Good Churches Being Affected by Contemplative
Authors at Lighthouse Trails, 7/25/17 Dear Lighthouse Trails, I visited a church in my area for the
first time today. When I looked online at the church’s doctrines
before my visit, the doctrines looked very biblically sound. The
church’s site clearly states that the pastor preaches from the
Bible verse by verse, and he did. With all of the faithfulness
to the Word of God that I observed, I was very surprised to
glance at some bookshelves, which was the church library for
this small church, and see one of Dallas Willard’s books on the
shelf! I didn’t get a chance to look through the other books,
but I wish I had now for the purposes of this letter. The pastor
even attended Bob Jones University, which I know you have listed
as not being contemplative. These contemplative books clearly
seem to be getting into the hands of pastors and Christians
everywhere. A pastor’s seminary and even an individual’s
denomination doesn’t seem to dictate who is reading them. As I
was thinking about my experience today and doing some research
on your site, I found this list of The Top 50 “Christian�?
Contemplative Books – A “NOT RECOMMENDED Reading List�? and 25
Christian “Bridgers�? to Them and am planning to share this list
with the pastor from the church I visited today and others. I
pray that more Christians will realize that many popular authors
and teachers are leading the church toward a new, mystical
spirituality and away from traditional, biblical Christianity. I
pray that Christians will take heed, compare every teaching and
practice of men to the Word of God, and warn others so that more
know will know what is happening today within the Church.
(699) Guest
Commentary
on Andy Stanley’s Sermon: “Speaking the Way the First Century
Christians Did�? - Guest Commentary by Don Jasmin,
Fundamental Baptist Ministries, 8/4/17 Let’s truly speak like the first century Christians spoke, not
like Andy Stanley and the worldly emergent Christians and the
New-Evangelical imitators do today. In Acts chapter two, the
Apostle Peter preached a classic sermon dealing with the death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ based on Ps. 16:8-11, where he
spoke “freely�? about David’s decease—Acts 2:29—and Christ’s
resurrection—Acts 2:30-36.
(700) Yoga
-
The Bare Facts by Bayith Ministries, 8/12/17 An email discussion in seven parts: (1) Introduction; (2) Basic
Yoga Theory; (3) Yoga and the Brain; (4) Warnings from Yogis;
(5) Western Yoga and Kundalini; (6) A Kundalini Testimony; (7)
Some Conclusions.
(701) SHACK
THEOLOGY:
Universalism, TBN, Oprah, and the New Age (Booklet) by
William B. Smith, 8/17/17 I have written a number of short articles pertaining to The
Shack and its author William P. Young. My intention has been to
shed some light on the leaven of universalism that is at the
heart of the book’s often errant theology. This booklet presents
seven of these articles.
(702) Is
Your
Child or Grandchild Heading to Christian College This Fall? –
9 Things You Should Do Before He Goes by Lighthouse
Trails, 8/18/17 Fall is quickly approaching, and by now, if you have a child or
grandchild who is going to attend Christian college this year,
he or she is most likely enrolled and ready to go. As Lighthouse
Trails has reported over the last several years, the majority of
evangelical/Protestant colleges, seminaries, and universities
are now, to varying degrees, integrating contemplative
spirituality and emerging ideologies into the lives of their
students. With this in mind, you might consider doing the
following nine things so that you and your child can know what
to expect in that school and how to deal with it:
(703) Pressing
On
Through It All (Book) by Warren B. Smith, 8/19/17 Dangers of Inner Healing, Visualization, Guided Imagery and
Occultism - From a teaching given the 2016 Sanctuary Conference
titled, The Christianising of Occult Techniques
(704) Taizé
Worship
– Growing in Popularity, But Roots Are in Mystical Monasticism
by Chris Lawson, 8/28/17 The worship practiced at Taizé has attracted many people from
around the globe and from many different denominations. While
many of the words found in Taizé worship music are words found
in Scripture or words that do not necessarily contradict
Scripture, the Taizé songs and worship services themselves are
centered around contemplative, ecumenical, and oftentimes
emergent spirituality themes. The emphasis is not on the
teaching or exhortation of the Word of God but rather is to help
participants “experience�? God through sensory-focused music and
singing.
(705) Prairie
Bible
Institute: A Rose By Any Other Name OR A Deception By Any
Other Name – It’s All the Same at Lighthouse Trails,
9/4/17 Lighthouse Trails has researched and reported on Prairie Bible
Institute a number of times over the past several years (e.g.
our article: “COLLEGE ALERT: Letters to Lighthouse Trails Prove
Prairie Bible Institute (Alberta) Has Gone Emergent�?) And even
though school leadership has, at times, insisted they were not
contemplative or emergent, every time we have observed them, we
have come to the same conclusion – that’s exactly what they are.
“Christian Formation�? is just another term for Spiritual
Formation or Spirituality. It is rooted in contemplative
spirituality. In Prairie’s description for the Christian
Formation program, it says students will: “Engage with
Christians of the past that have thought deeply about Christian
growth and formation�? (emphasis added). Which Christians of the
past? (Or the present?) We can gain some insight into who PBI is
turning to for spiritual guidance by looking at PBI’s current
textbook list for 2017. These may or may not be books being used
in PBI’s Christian Formation program, but they are books being
used in the school. One thing we’ve learned over the years,
when a school is immersed in contemplative spirituality,
it isn’t just in the Spiritual Formation program; rather, it is
integrated throughout the school.
(706) The
First
and Final Deception by Berit Kjos, 9/9/17 We need to show our children how to be in the world but not of
the world. We can be God’s ambassadors in an increasingly
corrupt land, but we cannot allow its darkness to quench His
light in us. We can demonstrate God’s concern for the poor, but
we can’t compromise with a counterfeit social gospel and New Age
solutions.
(707) Popular
Books
That Introduce Children to the Occult and 5 Steps You Can Take
to Protect Your Kids (Booklet) by Berit Kjos, 9/10/17
God’s enemy fights as hard as ever to win the hearts and
loyalties of our children—and he has added all kinds of
high-tech tools to his arsenal. To resist his strategies, they
first need to understand them and have in their hearts the Word
of God. That’s why God told His people long ago to base all
conversation on His unchanging truth and to teach His truth
diligently to our children (see Deuteronomy 6:6-7). Everything
we say must reflect the reality of God—His love, His
omnipotence, His promises, and His warnings. To prove that our
God is far greater than the plethora of alternatives that are
out there, our lives must demonstrate faith in the midst of
difficulties and His triumph in the midst of turmoil. This is
possible, not by our own strength, but by His power and grace.
Then, seeing His greatness, children learn to trust His
promises.
(708) Wm.
Paul
Young Teaches New Age Lie About Separation on TBN by
Warren B. Smith, 9/23/17 Invoking a vision that was reputedly given by God to friend and
fellow author C. Baxter Kruger, Young described this alleged lie
as the “lie of separation.�? But as a former New Ager, I
recognized what Young was calling the “lie of separation�? was
in and by itself a lie. What he was teaching had nothing to do
with biblical Christianity and everything to do with the false
teachings of the New Age/New Spirituality/New World view. In
fact, what Young was attempting to convey to countless TBN
viewers was the same thing I had been taught and was teaching
when I was in the New Age—that there is “no separation�? between
God and creation because God is “in�? everyone and everything.
(709) On
Christian
Mysticism: A Conservative Evangelical Perspective (Book)
by Bruce Norman MacPherson, 10/5/17 Many Christians are "climbing over the fence" to reach intimacy
with God but are in severe danger because they are entering the
dark realm of mysticism. It is the wrong path and will not lead
to God. It looks enticing, but stop! Don't go there! Christian
mysticism is a cancer subtly invading Christianity, and it needs
to be unmasked. This book is a call to a return to basic
Christianity! To Christian Formation that is truly rooted in the
Bible.
(710) Don’t
Be
Afraid to Speak Up – A Woman Whose Friend Pulled Her From the
Fire by Mary, 10/6/17 LTRP Note: The following story was submitted by a Lighthouse
Trails reader and was written by her friend who just passed
away. We are posting it as an exhortation to those who feel
discouraged in trying to talk to friends, family, and church
members about spiritual deception. We must pray to the Lord for
courage and never think it’s better to remain silent when
someone we know is heading in the wrong direction spiritually.
Had it not been for an “outspoken�? friend, Mary might not be
with the Lord today.
(711) Meditation’s
Role
in the End of the Age by Ray Yungen, 10/10/17 Throughout my Christian life I have periodically heard fellow
Christians suggest we are in the last days. Often these comments
were initiated from current cases of violent crimes, sexual
perversions, war, or natural disasters. Since I knew history had
repeatedly encountered these calamities, such predictions of
Christ’s imminent return rang hollow. However, in 1984 I had an
unexpected encounter that changed my entire outlook. A newfound
friend educated me about the New Age movement and its end-times
implications. After a period of investigation, I came to believe
this could very well be the time period the book of Revelation
showcases. Instead of a vague and obscure manifestation of
prophecy, I saw something distinct and pervasive happening in
our churches and society. And incredibly enough, this shift has
been predicted from both sides of the struggle.
(712) The
Impact
of Practical Mystics versus Cults by Ray Yungen,
10/14/17 Evangelical scholar David L. Smith correctly assessed the
powerful, yet subtle, impact New Age spirituality is having on
society when he made the following observations: Not since
Gnosticism at the dawn of the Christian era has there arisen a
philosophy as pervasive and threatening to orthodox Christianity
as the New Age movement . . . It would be difficult to find any
area of life, which has not been touched or redirected to some
degree by the concepts of this movement.1 Smith recognizes that,
rather than just a small segment, the overall social fabric of
society is being impacted. This movement has clearly evolved
well past the subculture stage into something much more dynamic
and sophisticated. This stunning change has been brought about
by the rise of a new breed of mystic—one that presents mysticism
as a complement to secular goals and one that is adept at easing
the public’s natural impulse to reject the strange and
unfamiliar.
(713) Revealing
Quotes
by Influential Contemplatives at Lighthouse Trails,
10/15/17 These revealing quotes are from well-known figures who have
significantly influenced the religious landscape in today’s
culture. Sadly, they have helped to mislead millions with their
promotion of contemplative prayer (a mystical,
panentheistic-rooted practice).
(714) Lighthouse
Trails
Sends Out 6th Letter to 160 Christian Leaders by
Lighthouse Trails, 10/24/17 On October 23rd, Lighthouse Trails sent out the 6th letter plus
two booklets to 160 influential Christian leaders in the
evangelical camp. We began mailing out short letters and
Lighthouse Trails booklets in February 2016 to a list that
started with 100 names. To learn more about this project, click
here to read the first letter we sent out. To see our current
list in PDF, click here. Not all the names in the list are those
in deception. This list has a variety of persuasions within the
evangelical camp. We are compelled to send each of these people
specific information on various important issues that are
basically not being addressed in the church today. If you have a
name and mailing address of an influential pastor, author, or
leader whom you would like us to add to our list, you can e-mail
that to editors@lighthousetrails.com and we will include him or
her on the next mailing. We must have a good mailing address
(only U.S. addresses at this time) to add a name to the list. If
you print the leaders list, please consider praying that some of
these individuals may understand the urgency of our warning.
(715) On
Meditation:
What it is. . .by W.H. Griffith-Thomas, 10/31/17 In light of the contemplative spiritual movement’s influence
over evangelicalism among its publishers, educational
institutions, churches and pastors, this writing by Dr.
Griffith-Thomas is reproduced. From Scripture he informs seekers
about what meditation is. In discussion about contemplative
spiritually many of us have warned, and justifiably so, about
the dangers of meditation and what contemplation is not. Yet in
this chapter titled “Meditation�? written a century ago, Thomas
in his book Grace and Power reminds seeking readers about what
Godly meditation is. Read this and be blessed!
(716) “God’s
Dream�?
– From the “Jesus�? of Jesus Calling – A Deceptive Scheme
by Warren B. Smith, 11/2/17 Consistent with many other New Age implications contained in
her channeled messages, Sarah Young’s “Jesus�? introduces the
New Age idea of “God’s Dream�? in Jesus Calling when he states:
I may infuse within you a dream that seems far beyond your
reach.1 In Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions for Kids, the January
6th message/devotion is titled—and has “Jesus�? telling the
children—“Dare to Dream My Dream.�?2
(717) Labyrinths
Have
Found Their Place in the Christian Church by
Lighthouse Trails, 11/5/17 We received the top two photos this week from a reader. Below
that are photos of various labyrinths in churches across North
America. We have posted these, not to single out these
particular churches, but rather to show examples of how many
denominations have now incorporated the contemplative mystical
practice of walking the labyrinth. And this is only showing some
of the churches that have labyrinths on site. There are
countless churches, ministries, and denominations that may not
necessarily have labyrinths on site, but pastors and leaders
encourage their congregations or followers to use them (e.g.,
the Reformed Church of America), or they encourage their
congregations to visit retreat centers that have them.
Carl Teichrib has written an excellent article/booklet on
labyrinths that is worth the read.
(718) What
You
Need to Tell Your Local Public School Officials About Children
and Mindfulness Meditation by Lighthouse Trails,
11/15/17 Today we received a call from a concerned woman who found out
that a local public school was about to introduce mindfulness
meditation to children at the school. She called the school and
has been granted a 5-minute time slot at an upcoming school
meeting to explain why the school should not teach mindfulness
meditation to children. During our phone conversation with the
concerned woman, we developed a short outline of how to address
this issue with school officials. Meditation (and Yoga) will
soon be practiced in most public schools in America. Whether you
have children at a public school or not, do what you can to help
prevent your own local public school from incorporating
meditation into the lives of the children. And keep in mind,
it’s just a matter of time before Christian schools will be
introducing mindfulness meditation and Yoga as well. We know
this because the condition of today’s North American
Christianity is of such a nature that Christians are being
persuaded to go along with the culture; and, of course, with
contemplative meditation so prevalent in the church, Christians
are being conditioned to accept all forms of New Age meditation.
(719) Reiki
in
the Church! – Is Disciples of Christ An Indicator of Things to
Come for the Evangelical Church? by Lighthouse Trails,
11/17/17 The denomination, Disciples of Christ (aka The Christian Church
or The Disciples) is a mainstream evangelical group that has
ties with the World Council of Churches and is known for its
ecumenical efforts. But even though one would expect to find a
liberal, emerging viewpoint within the denomination, it came as
a surprise to us to learn that the group has some strong ties to
the occultic practice called Reiki, which is a form of New
Age “energy healing.�? Is this connection to Reiki an indicator
of what is to come for the evangelical church?
(720) Mysticism
Takes
the Place of Christianity – Hostility Against Believers Will
Grow by Lighthouse Trails, 12/2/17 This week, two items on the Internet were brought to our
attention, both of which may seem to be unrelated to each other
but in actuality have a connection that we find to be an eerie
reminder of the days in which we live. The first item is a Tweet
written earlier this week by Lynne Hybels (wife of the mega
church founder of Willow Creek, Bill Hybels). The Tweet stated:
25 yrs ago I lost the Christianity of my youth. Found a deeper
faith embracing silence, centering prayer, doubt, mystery,
Jesus. Recognized my own deep brokenness & moved toward the
brokenness of the world. 25 yrs later, the world’s overwhelming
pain pushes me again into silence. As many of you may know,
Lynne Hybels is part of the emergent church and someone who has
proven herself to be against the nation of Israel. If someone
were to ask us what are two of the main characteristics of the
emerging church, we would say mysticism and an anti-Israel
sentiment.
(721) Theology
to
Justify Abortion by Pastor Jim Jenkins, 12/3/17 The occasion for my controversial remarks to a group of pastors
happened shortly after the grand opening of the new Planned
Parenthood facility in Eugene, Oregon. The mayor (the former
head of the local Planned Parenthood organization) had been
effusive in her praise of the work of Planned Parenthood. The
ceremony was replete with all the trappings one might expect at
the opening of a hospital or new school. So a few days later,
when I was attending the monthly meeting of the district pastors
in the denomination I served for over thirty years, I brought up
the very troubling article that was featured in the Register
Guard newspaper titled “Local Clergy Persons Christen New
Planned Parenthood facility.�?[3] There was a picture of joined
hands obviously belonging to clergy bedecked in clerical robes
and, yes, they did in fact have some form of liturgical rite to
“bless the ground�? of a building that would be used to
facilitate termination of babies. When I voiced my concern to my
fellow pastors about “christening�?an abortion facility, nearly
every one of them began to squirm and divert their eyes from me.
The message was clear. “Don’t go there… Let’s talk about
something else.�? I then described what actually takes place in
late term abortions, and not a few of my colleagues gave a look
that said, “It’s inappropriate and I am offended that you would
bring this up.�?
(722) New
Age
Jesus Calling "Messages" Received via Sarah Young's
Contemplative Prayer Method - This is Identical to Passive,
Telepathic-Psychic Literary Mediumship! by Chris
Lawson, 12/16/17 This eleven part audio series by Chris Lawson is being
broadcast from Atascadero, California on Radio Refuge throughout
the months of November and December. Each episode is ten
minutes in length and includes a short content overlap to assist
new listeners. This message is also available under the title
Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling Messages Compared to Spirit
Channeled Messages Note for Jesus Calling devotional
readers: This series includes direct quotes from Jesus Calling
author Sarah Young, from her personal interviews with news
correspondents, which are then compared to definitions from The
Donning International Encyclopedic Psychic Dictionary (June G.
Bletzer, Ph.D.).
(723) It's
Christmas!
“Harry Potter�? Visits “The Shack�? at Herescope,
12/20/17 Looks like the concept of “god�? in the book and movie The
Shack is spreading.[1] Fiction and fantasy have merged. J.K.
Rowling, author of the occult Harry Potter series of books,
popular reading among even many Christians, has announced that
like The Shack, she believes “God is a Black Woman.�?[2]
(Rowling’s declaration, as well as The Shack‘s fiction, reminds
me of The Black Madonna.)[3] Both Rowling and Wm. Paul Young
write from a worldview where almost anything or anyone, even
God, can be imagined to be whatever mythmakers want or need
her/him/them to be; kind of like Christmas, upon a whim, when we
wish upon a star, Christ can become Claus. From Disneyworld to
Star Wars, magic creates myths.
(724) Letter
to
the Editor: Removed Children From 4-H After Flyer Arrives
Announcing Mindfulness for 4-H by Lighthouse Trails,
1/18/18 “The more you practice mindfulness, the easier it will be to be
mindful when you are in a stressful situation.�? – 4-H club
flyer, 2018 (Kentucky) Dear Lighthouse Trails: Recently, we took
our young children out of 4 -H and not too soon!! I have
attached the flyer that came out this weekend to every family
here [Kentucky] involved in 4-H. Keep in mind that this is
elementary age children! In case it didn’t come through, it’s an
entire flyer telling/teaching the children how to practice
“mindfulness “ . . .
(725) Contemplative
Prayer
or the Holy Spirit – It Can’t Be Both by Ray Yungen,
1/19/18 Sue Monk Kidd (author of The Secret Life of Bees) became
enamored with contemplative spirituality while attending a
Southern Baptist church. We could possibly dismiss that and say
she was just an untaught member of the laity who was spiritually
lacking in discernment. Maybe her spiritual dryness was a result
of her not being grounded firmly enough in the faith. But what
about the leaders and pastors whom so many look up to and who
are considered trusted individuals in the church? Surely they
are able to discern what is spiritually unsound. It seems safe
to make this assumption. Right? Unfortunately, this is no longer
the case.
(726) Letter
to
Editor: Pastor Studying at Christian College in Maine
Discouraged by Lack of Discernment at Lighthouse
Trails, 1/23/18 Note to Lighthouse Trails: As a pastor, I decided to go back to
seminary for some extra courses that were offered at a Christian
college in Maine as the price was right. I shortly noticed very
real problems when one course was using a book authored by a
Catholic apologist (unsaved), and this was the only book that
was to be used. There was no response when I brought up the
issue. The second course was on theology, who’s teacher
apparently had Masters degrees in many areas of religion but had
no knowledge of contemplative spirituality or anything else
going on in the churches today. When I approached him to warn
him of his using material by several of these authors (e.g.,
Brian McLaren, Andy Stanley) etc., he brushed me off as a simple
laymen pastor who knows nothing. Sad to think of how far back
this country has fallen, but even more sad at the lack of
discernment in our seminaries and our churches.
(727) Moody
Publishers
in 1995 Drops “The Light That Was Dark�? by Warren B. Smith –
Says New Age Not An Issue Anymore by Lighthouse Rails,
2/11/18 In 1992, Moody Publishers published Warren B. Smith’s
autobiography, The Light That Was Dark. The book chronicled
Warren’s years in the New Age movement and then he and his wife
(Joy) becoming believers in Jesus Christ. While The Light That
Was Dark was selling well amidst Warren being interviewed on
over 250 radio and television shows (interestingly only one by
Moody), three years after the book was released, Moody pulled
the book off the market telling Warren that the New Age was not
an issue any longer.* That was 27 years ago. Fast forward to
today – and where is Moody Publishers and the church at large in
relation to the New Age movement that Moody said was no longer
an issue that needed to be addressed in the church?
(728) Bad
News
for Gaither Followers – Gloria Gaither Praises New Age
Teachers Sue Monk Kidd and Richard Rohr by Lighthouse
Trails, 2/17/18 Gloria Gaither is the author of many influential songs
including “There’s Something About That Name.�? She writes
glowing reviews of the two books listed below. One by Richard
Rohr, a Roman Catholic priest and the other by Sue Monk Kidd who
believes herself to be a goddess. These book reviews are from
Bill & Gloria Gaither’s Homecoming Magazine website.
(729) Would
Jesus
Magnify His Presence Above His Word? by Warren B.
Smith, 2/20/18 In Jesus Calling, “Jesus�? promotes the experience of his
presence above God’s Word. Psalm 138:2 tells us: I will worship
toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy
lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy
word above all thy name. (emphasis added) Because God has
magnified His Word above His name, this lets us know we will
never experience His presence in any way that is not totally
consistent with the truth of His Word.
(730) Exposing
the
Quantum Lie – God is NOT in Everyone! at Lighthouse
Trails, 2/22/18 Four video preview clips (each about 10 minutes long) taken
from Bob DeWaay and Warren B. Smith’s lecture series, Exposing
the Quantum Lie: God is NOT in Everything. This profound,
insightful, and biblical material is absolutely vital to
understanding what is happening in the church today. You can get
the entire 4 lectures at the Lighthouse Trails store. It’s on
sale now too and contains about 4 hours of lecture material by
Smith and DeWaay.
(731) Many
Just
Now Learning About the Dangers of Spiritual Formation
by Lighthouse Trails Editors, 3/16/18 Today, our office received a phone call from a woman who had
signed up through her church (with her husband) to take a
college course from a local Christian seminary. The course is
being held at her church and is on Spiritual Formation. The
woman said she was unfamiliar with what Spiritual Formation was
when she started the course, but from the pastor’s description
of what the course would be about, it sounded like a good thing.
However, as she began reading the required textbooks (by Dallas
Willard, Richard Foster, and Eugene Peterson), she grew
increasingly uncomfortable and concerned. A search on the
Internet for some of the terms and ideas being used led her to
Lighthouse Trails.
(732) “Father
of
the New Age Movement�? – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin – on List
of “40 Influential Christian Books�? by Lighthouse
Trails, 3/19/18 Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, often called the “Father of the New
Age movement,�? is on a list of “40 influential Christian
books�? on two popular Christian news sites, The Christian Post
and The Christian Examiner. The article, which provides the
list, states: Every thoughtful Christian can probably appreciate
these 40 volumes in the journey to grow into a deeper
understanding of life and existence through the Bible. . . .
These books have influenced countless Christians across vast
periods of time. Along with Chardin’s name are other New
Age/panentheist-promoting names such as Brennan Manning, Matthew
Fox, Henri Nouwen, and Pope Francis.* Any discerning “thoughtful
Christian�? will understand the implications of Chardin’s and
these other names being on a list that purports to represent
Christianity and influence “countless Christians.�?
(733) Emergent
Eschatology:
The Road to Paradise Imagined by Bob DeWaay, 4/6/18 After publishing my book1 about the Emergent Church, I attended
an Emergent conference in Chicago, where Dr. Moltmann spoke to
his dedicated following—250 Emergent leaders. One such follower,
Danielle Shroyer, had published a book about his theology,
describing it as "neo-Hegelian, panentheistic, universalism."2
The front cover of the book contains an endorsement by Moltmann.
Interacting with various Emergent leaders confirmed how
foundational Moltmann's theology and its unique eschatology is
to their movement. By attending that conference and
hearing Moltmann in person I verified what is contained in this
chapter. He did teach universalism. He does teach a cosmic
reconciliation of all things to God without a future,
cataclysmic judgment. As I show in the following research, G. W.
F. Hegel's philosophy includes the idea that all contradictions
must synthesize into a progressively better world. Those who
follow this idealistic philosophy claim that it is not necessary
to choose between theism and atheism because the synthetic
reconciliation will happen no matter what. They believe it is
built into the very being of the cosmos. We can either help it
along or hinder it, but it will happen.
(734) Understanding
Paul’s
Appeal at Mars Hill – And How the Emerging Interpretation
Really Got it Wrong by Mike Oppenheimer, 4/14/18 Editors Note: Today, it is common to hear the argument that
since Paul quoted pagan poets in Acts 17, it’s OK for Christians
to quote those who teach false doctrine. Adherents of the
emerging church and contemplative spirituality have basically
turned Acts 17 into a license for a free-for-all kind of “I can
quote anybody I like, because Paul did�? attitude. In this
article/booklet, Mike Oppenheimer takes a close look at this
section of Scripture to see if this is really the example Paul
was setting and also shows, on the grander scale, the outcome of
practices where the Gospel is being diffused and Christianity is
being absorbed into the beliefs of a particular culture.
(735) The
Conscious
Discipline Program’s Link to A Course in Miracles and Mindful
Meditation by Lois Putnam, 4/15/18 Conscious Discipline, the creation of Dr. Becky A. Bailey, is a
program used in hundreds of educational settings the world
over–Head Start, private schools, day cares, Montessori schools,
Christian schools, public schools and more. This discipline
program loudly touts its shift from a reliance on “fear to
love,�? and from “punishing to teaching.�? Shockingly, this
seemingly wonderful program is filled with principles and
teachings directly out of the New Age “Bible�? — A Course in
Miracles!
(736) Oneness
vs.
Separation Heresy “Now�? in the Church (Bookelt) by
Warren B. Smith, 4/23/18 On the March 12, 2017 episode 5 of Trinity Broadcast Network’s
long running Restoring The Shack television series, Shack author
Wm. Paul Young stated that it is a “lie�? to believe that God is
“separate�? from His creation.2 Invoking a vision that was
reputedly given by “God�? to friend and fellow author C. Baxter
Kruger, Young described this alleged lie as the “lie of
separation.�? But as a former New Ager, I recognized what Young
was calling the “lie of separation�? was in and of itself a lie.
What he was teaching had nothing to do with biblical
Christianity and everything to do with the deceptive anti-christ
teachings of the New Age/New Spirituality/New Worldview. What
Young was attempting to convey to countless TBN viewers was the
same thing I had been taught when I was a part of the New Age
movement—that there is “no separation�? between God and creation
because God is “in�? everyone and everything. But God is not
“in�? everyone and everything.3
(737) About
the Occult concepts and practices in the church by
Mike Oppenheimer, 4/28/18 Both Helena Blavatsky and Alice Baily spoke of a universal
church, a church that would come under the masters teachings and
practices at the end of the 20th century, This would be done
through the disciples who are following these (ascended)
masters. “towards the close of this century … This Church will
be nurtured into activity by the Christ and His disciples when
the outpouring of the Christ principle, the TRUE second Coming
has been accomplished�? (Alice Bailey, The Externalization of
the Hierarchy, Lucis Publishing. p. 69.) The Jesus of this
counterfeit spirituality, a universal church is one of the
masters, he as an enlightenened soul became god like all the
masters. He teaches others to become masters. Anyone who
supports this concept shows they have a flawed view of God, they
have a complete misunderstanding of the eternal one, the
creator. How do you worship God in truth if you believe that you
are gods too? Scripture tells us man is NOT God.
(738) Letter
to
the Editor: Yoga/Qi Gong Meditation Practices Took Her Away
From Christ by Vanessa, 4/30/18 After 1-2 years of practicing “chair yoga,�? attempts at
meditation (it didn’t work for me), and a Chinese practice
called qi gong . . . I completely turned my back on ANY
Christian ways I might have had! I quit Bible reading, study,
most praying; my Christian life just disappeared. These two life
views CANNOT be done together—either you’re a New Ager involved
in stuff like this or a Christian; you cannot be both . . . I
should know (having gone through this before). Recently, I
disavowed my Yoga/qi gong practices and “went home�? to be a
sheep in HIS Pasture . . . My spirit is at peace again. Yoga/qi
gong takes OVER your mind, body and spirit.
(739) Jesus
Calling,
Contemplative Prayer, the New Age, and Psalm 46:10 by
Warren B. Smith, 5/17/18 Countless references to meditating, being quiet, being still,
relaxing, resting, letting go, and reciting Psalm 46:10 are
found throughout God Calling and Jesus Calling. They are all
suggested ways of entering into “the silence�? to experience
God’s presence. The New Age/New Spirituality likewise places
great emphasis on these same ways of entering the silence in
order to experience God’s presence. The reason so much emphasis
has been put on stillness and invoking Psalm 46:10 in the New
Age/New Spirituality is because stillness has provided a
“channel�? for supernatural communication. What I came to
realize years ago was that the silence allowed deceptive spirits
to establish contact with those of us who were naïve and
undiscerning “listeners.�? The conditions of stillness,
openness, and receptivity were ideal for deceptive spirits to
inject ungodly thoughts and understandings into our minds. And
now the same thing is going on in the church which sees no need
to test the spirits.
(740) Why
Jesus
Is No Longer the Only Way for Many American Christians
at Understand the Times, 5/23/18 Comment from UTT: This article indicates that the trend being
promoted by the emerging church that Jesus Christ is not the
only way for salvation is being widely accepted by those who
call themselves Christian. Without question, this is the
apostasy the Bible foretold would happen in the last days.
(742) The
pantheistic revelation of the new age movement by Mike
Oppenheimer, 6/20/18
Throughout history people using all kinds of means have had
perception change, call it a paradigm shift or a revelation.
They see everything as one, the oneness of life invades their
thinking it is a very powerful paradigm.“This universal "I"
includes not only every person, but also every thing (e.g.,
soil, wooden boards, raindrops). As one NDEr puts it, "we are
all part of one big, living universe.... I look at a forest or a
flower or a bird now, and say, 'That is me, part of me.
("Raymond moody a nd Paul Perry The light beyond p.42) “I walked
out into the field out into the meadow and the hayland, where
the hay had been freshly cut climbed up upon a sack of hay
lying there flat on my back dreaming. Watching the wildlife, the
swan, the Cranes, the Geese, the Ducks all winding their way to
the northland, to their home breeding ground. And I
remember the thought came to me what guides those birds back to
the same place that their parents had deposited the eggs from
they came. What is it that will cause them in the fall to come
back to the Wintry quarters? “There was a question in my mind.
Has man lost something that the birds have? From that moment on
I began to think and feel and endeavor to interpret the meaning
of nature. It became a part of me I began to realize that I was
a product of nature. Not something … setting aside on the
mountain the high spot to judge the rest of the animals on the
earth. “For I too was product of nature perhaps no better than
the old cow on the hillside. Being a product of nature it
behooved me to cooperate with nature.�? (audio of Shaklee's
leader banquet Minneapolis in 1971).
(744) From
the New Age to Amazing Grace by Warren B. Smith,
6/24/18
As New Age believers years ago, my wife and I had no reason to
doubt any of the “new revelation�? that was coming our way. When
we were students of A Course in Miracles in the early 1980s, it
never occurred to us that Helen Schucman had received her
spiritual dictation from anyone other than the real Jesus
Christ. As members of A Course in Miracles study group, we
studied what the “Jesus�? of the Course said and applied his
teachings to our lives. Having never read the whole Bible for
ourselves, we thought the Course was helping us to understand
what the Bible was “really�? saying. We accepted the Course’s
interpretation of the Bible completely. It had a certain logic
and seemed to make sense. We believed we were on the right path.
Meaningful “coincidence�? that had led us to the Course, and the
supernatural signs that often accompanied our study appeared to
confirm that we were spiritually where we were supposed to be.
But at the height of our involvement with the Course, the Lord
intervened.
(745) MINDFULNESS—What
You May Not Know and Should Have Been Told (Booklet)
by Lighthouse Trails, 7/12/18
Currently, “mindfulness�? is being introduced to tens of
thousands of public schools across America. One group alone,
Healthy Schools Program, which includes mindfulness as part of
its program, is in over 30,000 public schools (that’s about one
third of all public schools in America).1 Programs such as
Healthy Schools* claim that children behave better and think
more clearly when they incorporate mindfulness exercises into
their school regime. Researcher and author Ray Yungen states: In
recent years, a type of meditation known as mindfulness has made
a surprising showing. Based on current trends, it has the
potential to eclipse even Yoga in popularity. You will now find
it everywhere that people are seeking therapeutic approaches to
ailments or disorders. . . it is presented as something to cure
society’s ills.2 School administrators, principals, teachers,
and other school officials are being told that mindfulness is
safe, is not religious, and is not the same as eastern or
Buddhist meditation. This booklet will examine several aspects
of mindfulness and will help to show why mindfulness meditation
should not be brought into the schools and taught to children.
(746) Jesus
Calling Devotional Bible by Sarah Young - Reviewed by
Warren B. Smith, 7/14/18 Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6),
and the true Jesus does not contradict Himself regarding His
last words before ascending into heaven or any other matter. Nor
does He put forth untrue, disparaging remarks about Abraham and
Isaac. While it is not the purpose of this article to catalog
all the concerns that arise when reading Sarah Young’s Jesus
Calling Devotional Bible, these two examples alone should be
enough to keep any sincere believer far away from the Jesus
Calling Devotional Bible.
(747) “GOD’S
DREAM�?—Satan’s Ultimate Scheme (Booklet) by Warren B.
Smith, 7/17/18 Google the term “God’s Dream,�? and you will immediately
find countless references on Christian websites to this popular
spiritual term. An ever-increasing number of Christian authors,
pastors, youth leaders, evangelists, bloggers, musicians, and
everyday believers are using the term “God’s Dream�? as if it
has some sound scriptural basis. It doesn’t. Keep looking, and
you will find that the concept of “God’s Dream�? is also
presented by a wide variety of New Age leaders, authors, gurus,
bloggers, and false Christs. Most Christians using the concept
of “God’s Dream�? are unaware it is an overlapping New Age term
that can be traced at least as far back as the early 1900s where
it was referenced in two New Age magazines published for those
interested in the occult teachings of Theosophy and the coming
of a false Christ named Maitreya. “God’s Dream�? was the title
of a poem that prefaced an article about practical theosophy in
a 1904 issue of New Century Path magazine.�?1 “God’s Dream�?
also appeared in an article about reincarnation in a 1916 issue
of The Theosophical Path magazine.
(748) Taizé—A
Community and Worship: Ecumenical Reconciliation or an
Interfaith Delusion? (Book) by Chris Lawson, 7/23/18 Over 100,000 young people visit Taizé Community in France every
year. Many of them are from Christian homes. What's more,
an increasing number of churches are introducing Taizé worship
practices in their church services. Just what exactly is Taizé?
Chris Lawson uncovers the truth about this interfaith community.
(749) Is
the “Emerging Church�? a Thing of the Past? by Roger
Oakland, 8/3/18 Recently, I read a Facebook post by a southern California
pastor that the “emerging church�? was no longer a problem for
him or his church. He stated that the emerging church was just
another passing fad that had come and then disappeared never to
be heard of again. His church was going to focus on what was
positive and insinuated that “hyper-discernment ministries�?
were scaring his sheep into believing they were living in the
last days and that apostasy was rampant. The comments by this
pastor are not uncommon. In fact, fewer and fewer shepherds
today are warning the sheep in their flocks of the dangers
lurking not only outside the fold but also within the fold. A
good shepherd must keep watch over his flock as many wolves are
lurking around seeking whom they may devour. Ignoring these
dangers does not make the problems go away. Sheep can easily be
misled by false unbiblical teachings that are like a grain of
arsenic in a milk shake. The milk shake may look and taste good
but the grain of arsenic will be enough to kill someone.
(750) Dispelling
the Rumor That God Can Be Found “Only in the Silence�?
by Lynn Lusby Pratt, 8/9/18 LTRP Note: From Beth Moore to Chuck Swindoll to Dallas Willard,
Christian leaders are telling us we can’t really know God
without the silence (stilling the mind). But is this really a
biblical mandate?
(751) Jesus
Movement of 70s Not Same as Emerging Church Today by
Rita, 8/27/18 Do you remember “the Jesus Movement�? of the late 60s and early
70s? The Lord brought to my mind something, and I thought I
would share. I don’t know what was taking place where you lived
in that era, however, where I lived, kids were bringing God’s
Word with them to school. God’s Word was vitally important to
them during that time. I am quite sure you realize that this new
movement [the emerging church] does not emphasize God’s Word
and, in fact, encourages reading nearly everything BUT God’s
Word. I was just amazed at the difference between the two
movements!
(752) Catholic
Mysticism and the Emerging Church (Audio) by Richard
Bennett, 8/28/18 Catholic mysticism has helped mightily to transform the New Age
Movement from being counter-culture to being embraced by
Evangelicals, and Western civilization as such. Catholic
mysticism has affected almost every facet of life without being
noticed or perceived.
(753) Welcome
to the New (Contemplative) Christianity – Just Breath In . . .
Breath Out by Lighthouse Trails, 9/13/18 The acceptance of contemplative prayer has hit an all-time high
in the church. And is it any wonder? Christian media, Christian
publishers, pastors, mission societies, Bible societies,
authors, radio hosts, youth leaders, women’s group leaders, and
Christian ministry leaders are all promoting it more than
ever. The video below that was posted on Charisma
Magazine’s website on September 10th is yet another example of
how Christian media (Charisma being one of the most popular
Christian magazines today) is doing their part to get masses of
Christians involved with contemplative prayer (remember
our recent article on YWAM’s goal to get all YWAMer’s doing
contemplative prayer).
(754) Popular
Christian Magazine – RELEVANT – Tells Millennials to Practice
Breath Prayers and Mindfulness Meditation at
Lighthouse Trails, 9/17/18 A summer 2018 Relevant Magazine article titled “Why Learning to
Breathe May Be the Best Way to Pray,�? tells readers that,
"Breath prayer [are] an ancient Christian prayer practice with
origins in the lives of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, is a
vehicle we can use to live out Scripture’s call to “pray without
ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17) . . . Breath prayer offers
stressed-out Christians a simple way to respond to stress by
turning our attention to the presence of God and reaching out to
Him for grace." Relevant Magazine* is listed on the Lighthouse
Trails “50 Top Contemplative-Promoting Organizations�? and has a
long history of promoting contemplative prayer.
(755) Some
Thoughts Worth Considering on "Pub Theology" by
Larry DeBruyn, 9/25/18 First, Pub Theology is not church. If it is, then where’s the
reading of Scripture, the apostles’ teaching, prayer and
observance of the Lord’s Table? (Acts 2:42) But on this point,
we can be certain that the band will avoid any impression of
being too “churchly or preachy.�? But beer steins are no
substitute for communion cups. In fact, to the true church, the
apostle Peter announced that, “the time past of our life may
suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we
walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings,
banquetings, and abominable idolatries�? (1 Peter 4:3). Second,
Pub Theology is not theology. Reportedly, the band’s opening
song was Joan Osborne’s one-hit wonder, “What if God was one of
us?�? The lyrics add, “Just a slob like one of us.�?[2] Imagine
. . . God being a slob like the rest of the inebriated crowd at
the bar. Given such a humanizing of God, what we’re dealing with
is not Pub Theology, but pub idolatry. “And changed the glory of
the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible
man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things�?
(Romans 1:23). Do you think Joan Osborne’s lyrical questions in
any way resemble or affirm the great Christological passages of
the New Testament? (John 1:1 ff.; Colossians 1:15-17;
Philippians 2:5-11). By the way, these cited passages are
comprised of theological statements extracted from early
Christian hymns. Would the pub theology band sing them? I’d
think they’d estimate that the lyrics of these biblical hymns
are far too dogmatic, stodgy, and preachy for the “boys�? at the
bar! Third, Pub Theology is not Christian outreach. To attain a
“spiritual�? end, it employs carnal, fleshly, and worldly means.
But the apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “And be not drunk
with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord�? (Ephesians
5:18-19). If the song “What if God was one of us?�? gives any
indication, probably none of the other music the band plays
includes “psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs.�?
(756) Warning:
Hymary.org (Via Calvin College) Tainting Old Hymn With
Contemplative Advice by Lighthouse Trails, 9/30/18 Lighthouse Trails has known for several years that Calvin
College is a contemplative-promoting institution, but it looks
like that influence has seeped into a ministry of Calvin
College, Hymnary.org, an online resource that provides the
lyrics and information for thousands of hymns. A Lighthouse
Trails reader brought to our attention this week that on the
hymn page for a hymn written in 1862 by Joseph H. Gilmore,
Hymnary.org wrote an introduction paragraph on Lectio Divina.
While there is nothing in Gilmore’s hymn, He Leadeth Me, or in
his biographical information, to suggest that this hymn has
anything to do with contemplative prayer or that Gilmore wanted
the words of the hymn repeated over and over for the intent of
getting singers of the hymn to enter some sort meditative state,
Calvin College and Hymnary.org have taken the liberty of tying
the hymn to the contemplative practice of Lectio Divina. On the
“Leaders Notes�? on the He Leadeth Me page at Hymnary.org, it
states: Lectio Devina (sic) is a common devotional practice in
which one spends a significant amount of time reflecting and
meditating on one verse of Scripture, or a short passage. It is
amazing what the Holy Spirit can say to us when we take time to
listen and ponder, but also, like Gilmore, what we hear when we
least expect it, such as when we read through as familiar a
passage as Psalm 23.
(757) The
Emergent Church’s War on the Word by Gregory Reid,
10/1/18 It was, of course, inevitable that the Emergent Church would
begin to have babies that were even more unbiblical than itself.
Andy Stanley is one of those spiritual offspring of a departure
from biblical faith and adoption by experiential religious
deception. In 2016, he told a group of pastors at the Southern
Baptist Convention that they needed to get the spotlight off the
Bible (August 2016 “Onward�? conference). Now his spiritual
“children�? are following suit.
(758) “Together
2018�? – “A New Jesus Movement�? for a Mystical All-Inclusive
“Christianity�? by Lighthouse Trails, 10/18/18 Nick Hall’s Together event is back again (October 20-21), this
year as Together 2018 at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth,
Texas (which can hold around 1/2 million people). On the event’s
Facebook page, it reads: Love Matt Chandler? See him and many
more for free on October 20-21 as we bring the nation together
for an event that we believe will spark another Jesus movement!!
Join us for this FREE EVENT at Texas Motor Speedway in
Dallas-Fort Worth as we #MoveCloser to Jesus and the world
around us! Visit togethergeneration.com to learn more! On the
promotional video (near the 26-second mark) on the Facebook
page, it calls this effort “a new Jesus movement�? (obviously
referring to the Jesus movement of the 1970s). On the
promotional video below, it lists the line up of speakers and
musicians which includes a conglomeration of popular evangelical
and charismatic celebrities including Bethel Music from Bill
Johnson’s extreme charismatic, contemplative Bethel Church,
Jesus Culture (an offshoot of Bethel Church), Hillsong, Francis
Chan (who recently said God was going to kill those who
criticize Christian leaders), Priscilla Shirer (a long-time
strong advocate for contemplative prayer), her father Tony
Evans, Ravi Zacharias (who will share a platform with “anyone�?
in order to share “his�? message), and Loren Cunningham (founder
of YWAM, which recently announced it wanted “all�? YWAMers to
practice contemplative prayer).
(759) Letter
to the Editor: My Former Baptist Pastor Went From Spiritual
Formation Into the Orthodox Church by Lighthouse
Trails, 10/20/18 Yesterday, I was reading 1 Corinthians 1 and 2, where Paul is
writing about the wisdom of God versus the wisdom of the world.
I was reminded of our former Baptist pastor in the early ’80s
who was highly intellectual, which attracted a lot of people
from academia in our college town. (Although that wasn’t the
attraction for my husband and I; we are those who Paul would
call “not wise after the flesh.�?) He eventually took a
pastorate in another state in the mid-’80s and moved away. Since
he came to mind while reading 1 Corinthians, I wondered how he
was doing these days and looked him up. I was shocked, dismayed,
and heartbroken to learn that he is now an Orthodox priest! How
could one be a Baptist pastor for 38 years and then turn to
Orthodoxy? . . . I remember he highly respected Bible scholars
of “higher criticism.�? It seems that he eventually got
discouraged and disillusioned and (by 2000) left his Baptist
church to do some soul searching. And this is where he
absolutely took a wrong turn. Instead of turning to Scripture
and studying God’s Word for answers, he began delving deep into
“church�? history. This took him further down the road to the
Ancient Fathers and the more he read, the more he was convinced
that the true church was in Orthodoxy. By February 2007, he was
ordained a priest in the Orthodox church.
(760) Roma
Downey Promotes New Age Doctrine (God “In�? Everyone &
Everything)—Christian Leaders Say Nothing by
Lighthouse Trails, 11/2/18 Proclaim 19: First she’s there; now she’s gone, or is she? New
Age sympathizer Roma Downey was scheduled to speak at the
National Religious Broadcaster’s 2019 convention, Proclaim 19.
Sharing the docket with her are highly popular evangelical names
like John MacArthur, Rick Warren, Greg Laurie, and Kirk Cameron.
Lighthouse Trails reported on the story with the release of Greg
Reid’s booklet, Butterfly Illusions (which unveils the strong
New Age messages in Roma Downey’s new book, Box of Butterflies).
Shortly after the release of the booklet, Lighthouse Trails
learned that Roma Downey’s name (along with her husband Mark
Burnett) had been removed from the speakers list for Proclaim
19. Calls to the NRB office in Washington, DC by Lighthouse
Trails editors provided no answers as to why Downey’s name was
gone other than being told “it has not yet been decided�? if she
will be speaking there.
(762) Assemblies
of God megachurch pastor warns yoga has “demonic roots�?
at The Word Like Fire, 11/15/18 According to the Springfield News Leader: A pastor of an
Assemblies of God megachurch recently took aim at yoga, saying
it has “demonic roots�? and warning Christians to avoid the
popular activity. Pastor John Lindell told the attendees of
James River Church in Ozark — which has a congregation of about
10,500, according to a 2016 report — that the positions in yoga
were “created with demonic intent to open you up to demonic
power because Hinduism is demonic.�?
(763) “Temple
Prostitutes�? – Another “Fruit�? of Contemplative Spirituality
by Lynn Lusby Pratt, 11/18/18 That title was a crack I made around 2006 when I became aware
of the new wave of false teaching entering the church. One
aspect of that teaching hinted that our experience with Jesus
was (should be?) sexual. (Christians who use a mantra, as in
contemplative prayer, and go into an altered state of
consciousness sometimes have erotic experiences, which they
mistakenly believe to be “union�? with God/Jesus.) There was new
interest in/promotion of the “bridal mysticism�? of medieval
nuns like Teresa of Avila: “Body and spirit are in the throes of
a sweet, happy pain…and a spell of strangulation…swoon-like
weakness…�? There were quotes in Christian books, like Tony
Campolo saying, “There is nothing wrong . . . with eroticism in
worship.�? And Ann Voskamp: “Mystical union…. God as Husband in
sacred wedlock, bound together, body and soul… To know him the
way Adam knew Eve. Spirit skin to spirit skin…�? Ken Wilson: “I
was having feelings of connection with the divine… [that]
reminded me very much of the amorous feelings I have for my
wife.�? You may not have connected the dots, but go back to the
Old Testament (and general history) as a reminder that pagan
religions typically include sexual ritual. And when believers in
God step away from God’s path, it inevitably trends toward an
“anything goes�? sexual culture. There are loads of Scripture
warnings against following pagan practices (ex: Deuteronomy
12:30-32)—not to mention any number of explanations of failures
to obey those warnings (ex: 1 Kings 14:22-24). And at some
point, says 2 Kings 23:7, the quarters of shrine prostitutes
were actually “in the temple of the Lord�?! Click
here to continue reading.
(764) Would
Jesus Magnify His Presence Above His Word? by Warren
B. Smith, 12/31/18 In Jesus Calling, “Jesus�? promotes the experience of his
presence above God’s Word. Psalm 138:2 tells us: I will worship
toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy
lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy
word above all thy name. (emphasis added) Because God has
magnified His Word above His name, this lets us know we will
never experience His presence in any way that is not totally
consistent with the truth of His Word. Thus, we can know that
any presence that comes calling and claims the name of “Jesus�?
as its own but does not line up in every way with God’s Word is
not the presence of God. God will never put His name or
experiencing His presence above His Word.
(765) Happy
New Year from the New Age "Christ" - AGAIN! by
Herescope, 1/9/19 Eleven years ago on January 3, 2008 this blog reported that
Oprah Winfrey was providing a highly visible platform for her
longtime friend Marianne Williamson to teach New Age
spirituality to the masses. Here is how Warren B. Smith
described this pivotal event: "On New Year’s Day, New Age leader
Marianne Williamson got the new year off to a rousing start on
Oprah & Friends XM Radio as she began to systematically
teach the New Age principles of A Course in Miracles.... Both
Oprah Winfrey and Marianne Williamson have openly stated that
they believe the principles of A Course in Miracles can change
the world."
(766) Divination
Is Forbidden By God by Chris Lawson, 10/30/16 Divination: any attempt to foretell the unknown by occult
means. It is very clear that the God of the Bible strictly
forbids all forms of divination. This includes all forms
of mediumship, channeling, witchcraft [Wicca], occultism,
psychic, fortune telling, tarot cards, reading tea leaves,
etc. Divination is forbidden by God because it unlocks the
door to the world of the demonic and spiritual deception.
Leviticus 19:31 - Regard not them that have familiar
spirits, neither seek after wizards to be defiled by them: I am
the LORD your God. Leviticus 20:6 - And the soul that
turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards,
to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that
soul, and will cut him off from among his people. 1 Samuel 15:23
- For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is
as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of
the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. Divination
also includes forms of Contemplative Centering Prayer whereby
contact with the spirit world [demonic] can easily be
made. This occult prayer method [which many
Christianize] can and does oftentimes lead to the full
conversion of ones spirituality to a pantheistic, panentheistic,
Eastern occult view of reality. This form of prayer
divination places into the minds of humans ideas that are not
only unbiblical, but thoroughly occult and antichrist. The
Self-induction and alteration of ones consciousness [into the
Alpha-state], which so often is engaged in by undiscerning
people, can quickly lead to full blown spirit contact,
"snapping", and even demonic possession. Thorough documentation
is abounding in Indian Yogic Spirituality; Self-Realization
cults, etc. The following list clearly shows the may ways
that divination has been practiced throughout the ages.
(767) Letter
to the Editor: My Christian University Professor Graded
Harshly for Mentioning Lighthouse Trails by Lighthouse
Trails, 1/25/19 LTRP Note: The following letter to the editor is posted with
permission. It is written by a graduate student of a Christian
university. We find the professor’s remarks to this student
provocative, especially considering what we discovered after
reading the professor’s post. Please see our comments after the
two posts below.
(768) Out
of My Mindfulness – Part 1 by Lynn Lusby Pratt, 2/1/19 ACLJ attorney Jay Sekulow’s bulletin of December 11, 2018
focused on complaints about Buddhist/Eastern meditation being
forced on school kids. More from that in a minute. Various
“relaxation” programs have been appearing in the public schools
for years. Most parents and teachers didn’t pick up on the
religious implications because (1) parents often didn’t even
know this was going on; (2) most of us are naïve/uneducated
about Eastern religions/the occult/New Age; and (3) the language
describing these programs has been deliberately disguised. Clear
back in 1981, Jack Canfield (the Chicken Soup for the Soul guy)
was interviewed by Science of Mind magazine. He described how to
blur the terminology to get these practices accepted in the
schools: “If we…point out to educators that they have an
‘essence’ that can be invoked through ‘meditation’. . . they’ll
be put off by the buzzwords. But if we give them an experience
that leaves them feeling better about themselves . . .” (Dec
1981, p 108. Quoted in Ray Yungen’s For Many Shall Come in My
Name).
(769) Understanding
the Spirituality of Sue Monk Kidd (author of The Secret Life
of Bees) by Ray Yungen, 2/4/18 Sue Monk Kidd’s spirituality is spelled out clearly in her book
When the Heart Waits. She explains: "There’s a bulb of truth
buried in the human soul [not just Christian] that’s “only God”
… the soul is more than something to win or save. It’s the seat
and repository of the inner Divine, the God-image, the truest
part of us". (emphasis mine)1 Sue Monk Kidd, an introspective
woman, gives a revealing description of her spiritual
transformation in her book God’s Joyful Surprise: Finding
Yourself Loved. She shares how she suffered a deep hollowness
and spiritual hunger for many years even though she was very
active in her Baptist church.2
(770) Emergent
Eschatology: The Road to Paradise Imagined by Bob
DeWaay, 2/12/19 "because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in
righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having
furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." (Acts
17:31) After publishing MY BOOK1 about the Emergent Church, I
attended an Emergent conference in Chicago, where Dr. Moltmann
spoke to his dedicated following—250 Emergent leaders. One such
follower, Danielle Shroyer, had published a book about his
theology, describing it as "neo-Hegelian, panentheistic,
universalism."2 The front cover of the book contains an
endorsement by Moltmann. Interacting with various Emergent
leaders confirmed how foundational Moltmann's theology and its
unique eschatology is to their movement. By attending that
conference and hearing Moltmann in person I verified what is
contained in this chapter. He did teach universalism. He does
teach a cosmic reconciliation of all things to God without a
future, cataclysmic judgment. As I show in the following
research, G. W. F. Hegel's philosophy includes the idea that all
contradictions must synthesize into a progressively better
world. Those who follow this idealistic philosophy claim that it
is not necessary to choose between theism and atheism because
the synthetic reconciliation will happen no matter what. They
believe it is built into the very being of the cosmos. We can
either help it along or hinder it, but it will happen. Since I
wrote this book, the movement has continued and in many ways is
now a version of theological liberalism. LeRon Shults has moved
to Europe and is now an atheist. Theological liberalism and
political liberalism are hardly different. When we hear the term
"progressive," we should realize that the definition of
"progress" is that of Hegel and his various followers (theistic
or atheistic). The reason for the heated passion we see in
political debate is that those who are not joining the
progressive agenda are seen to be hindering the process of
social and spiritual evolution that will supposedly make the new
cosmos a paradise for all.
(771) The
"Goddess" Running for President - Marianne Williamson:
"Spiritual Guru" & "High Priestess" by Herescope,
2/21/19 "Women must remember the sacred nature of our Goddess
self...."~Marianne Williamson[2] "There is an underground of
people in America who are seeking higher wisdom.... My campaign
for the presidency is dedicated to this search for higher
wisdom. Its purpose is to create a new political possibility in
America -- where citizens awaken, our hearts and minds are
uplifted...." ~Marianne Williamson, Marianne2020.com Marianne
Williamson, self-proclaimed "goddess," "priestess," prolific New
Age author and speaker, and "F.O.O." (friend of Oprah
Winfrey)[3] has launched her bid to become the U.S. President.
She is being called "a bit of a wildcard."[4] So far the press
is not giving her candidacy a lot of attention. And she seems to
acknowledge she isn't really a serious candidate. She might just
be a front for Oprah running, or a sidekick for another
candidate. Or maybe she hopes to garner enough political
credibility for herself that she could eventually head up a
newly created Peace Department. Whatever the case, she is
serious about inserting her own brand of spirituality into the
Progressive mix brewing up on the Democrat side. And this could
be the most important takeaway from her candidacy.
(772) How
To Know When the Emerging Church Shows Signs of Emerging Into
Your Church (Booklet) by Roger Oakland, 2/25/19 It was six years ago in January 2013 that Lighthouse Trails
began publishing topical booklets. In February of that year, we
released one by Roger Oakland called How To Know When the
Emerging Church Shows Signs of Emerging Into Your Church. This
booklet has been invaluable to many because it lists several of
the signs that show if your church is going down the emergent
path. Some people have tried to say that the “emerging church”
is dead, gone, a thing of the past. But that is anything but the
truth. While names and terms have been at times altered by
emergent change agents, this ecumenical, mystical,
interspiritual emergent “church” is still alive, and these signs
are still happening (even more so) in churches across North
America.
(773) Marianne
Williamson: If I Am President, I Will Take Control of Your
Children and Make Them New Agers by Lighthouse Trails,
3/11/19 Course in Miracles promoter, Marianne Williamson, who is
running in the 2020 presidential election, has big plans for the
children of this country if she is elected. Among other things,
part of those plans is to make sure children in American public
schools are trained in mindfulness meditation. While tens of
thousands of public schools in the U.S. are already teaching
children mindfulness meditation, no doubt, with a New Age
president, every school would be including it. As president, I
would advocate for the following: Mindfulness training in the
schools.—Marianne Williamson, 2019 (source) Williamson also
promises to advocate for “universal pre-K.” This would help make
sure that children as young as 3 and 4 would be placed into the
public school system. Advocates of universal pre-K believe they
need more time with America’s children and want to get their
hands on them much earlier than 5 or 6 (Kindergarten). Parents
beware. If Marianne Williamson (or another candidate with her
“values,”) becomes president, this country’s children will be at
even greater risk than they are now. And you can be sure, she
will not be advocating for homeschooling families.
(774) Eastern
Meditation Sneaks into the Church by Prof. Johan
Malan, 3/18/19 There is a widespread resurgence of Eastern meditation among
nominal Christians in the West. In many churches and other
Christian circles, prayer is increasingly replaced by
meditation, which is also described as contemplation, centring
prayers, or quiet prayers. Meditation is often accompanied by
Yoga relaxation exercises and relaxed breathing in order to
promote a mental shift from the rational left brain to the
intuitive right brain. The basic objective with meditation –
whether it be Hindu-based Transcendental Meditation (TM),
Buddhist, Islamic or ‘Christian’ meditation – is to acquire a
situation of complete rest in your body, soul and spirit,
thereby eliminating stress and facilitating contact with deeper,
more creative levels of your consciousness. Rational thinking is
intentionally suppressed and switched off while you transcend to
mystical spheres to make contact with your deeper self.
According to Naomi Humphrey (Meditation – the inner way)
meditation helps to deliver you from spiritual and mental
bondage, and also from fear, by enabling you to transcend to a
new perception of reality. The result is a holistic way of life
in which spirit and matter become integrated. The inner journey:
Meditation has an inner focus. You are not searching for a God
who is outside of you, but learn to overcome the barrier of
domination by human thoughts to discover God deep within
yourself. This is an Eastern practice aimed at self-deification.
A Roman Catholic priest and practitioner of meditation, Adrian
B. Smith, says in his book, TM – an aid to Christian growth,
that he accepts this Eastern concept of God: "The great
religions of the East are more accustomed to seeking the God who
is within, both within the cosmos and within one's own depth.
This leads more easily to an interior form of prayer – or
centring prayer… The Judeo-Christian tradition looks more often
to the God without… TM can, by developing a consciousness of the
depth within us, lead us to greater interiority – to an
experience of God's presence deep within us." According to him,
meditation also leads to greater unity and harmony in the world:
"People who are enlightened experience a new harmony with other
people and with the cosmic world. They have entered a new era of
harmonious relationships which is one of the fruits of the
Kingdom." During daily meditation, usually two sessions of 15 to
20 minutes in a seated position with your eyes closed, a mantra
is used to obtain an altered state of consciousness. A mantra is
a short phrase or a single word which is repeated over and over
until your rational thoughts have been put to rest to allow for
a deep spiritual consciousness. The manta is repeated until your
own thoughts fade away and are replaced by a mystical experience
in which you receive inspirational suggestions (brainwaves) and
thoughts of an unknown origin.
(775) Letter
to the Editor: Yoga at Our CMA Church in Canada Broke Our
Hearts at Lighthouse Trails, 3/24/19 LTRP Note: We are posting this letter to the editor not to
single out this one particular Christian & Missionary
Alliance church because the CMA denomination from top leadership
down has embraced contemplative spirituality (see links below),
and thus, it is no surprise that Yoga would enter in as well.
This is happening in numerous other evangelical and Protestant
denominations also. As you can see from this letter to the
editor and the ones listed below, these letters to Lighthouse
Trails are written by CMA members who have witnessed first-hand
what is happening in CMA. We are compelled to also point out
that every CMA college has now embraced contemplative
spirituality (via Spiritual Formation programs) (as you can see
on our Contemplative
Colleges list).
(776) Was
Jesus was a socialist? by Mike Oppenheimer, 4/2/19 Socialism becomes the majority trend to the naïve youth being
educated in the new America. Even some inside the church have
accepted this premise of Jesus being a socialist, who taught the
principles of socialism. The church needs to have some solid
answers for this position that the early church practiced
socialism. First, socialism is a government run policy (it is
soft communism which is anti-God) it is not something run by the
church. On that alone we have a major divide that should prevent
Christians from accepting it. The claimed goal of “Socialism’ is
to cure the unfairness that has taken place, to bring about
economic equality. The belief is that wealth should be collected
by the government and evenly distributed to members of society
that are poor. What they do not tell you is that it keeps a
major portion of the population on the lower end never to rise
any further. It squashes anyone who wants more The true facts
are always ignored, Socialism depends on the rich and once the
rich are gone, no more socialism, turmoil results.
Read Part 1
& Part 2.
(777) Roma
Downey’s Financial Contribution to New Ager Marianne
Williamson Raises Many Questions by Lighthouse Trails,
4/4/19 Evangelical leaders such as Rick Warren, Greg Laurie, and David
Jeremiah have shown public support for Roma Downey and her
books, movies, and other media work for a number of years now.
Lighthouse Trails has attempted to alert these leaders and the
church at large that while Downey may be a sincere person, she
is a New Age sympathizer and has consistently supported those
sympathies. This week, a Lighthouse Trails reader sent us a link
to a March 27, 2019 article from the Center for Public Integrity
that disclosed that Roma Downey contributed $2600 to Marianne
Williamson’s 2014 run in California for Congress. Proof of this
contribution can be seen on a government website (Federal
Election Commission) that shows a tax record for Marianne
Williamson for the year 2013 (when the contribution by Downey
was made – see page 135 of the report). Marianne Williamson is
one of today’s foremost New Age leaders and is running for
president in 2020. It was because of Williamson that the New Age
“Bible,” A Course in Miracles (see video), became popular in
mainstream America after Williamson’s book Return to Love
(promoting A Course in Miracles) was featured on the Oprah
Winfrey Show. A Course in Miracles has the quintessential New
Age message that God dwells in every human being and that each
person has a Christ consciousness. It is this same New Age “God”
who believes that “the era of the single savior is over”(1) and
that Hitler actually did the Jews a favor by killing them.
(778) Esoteric
Evolution by Sarah Leslie, Herescope, 4/12/19 This is an abstract of a thesis.[1] This abstract
represents a summary of four decades of prior published writings
by this author and her associates known as the Iowa Research
Group and Discernment Research Group. The thesis itself has
already been written. The substance of this abstract can be
found in published material referenced in these footnotes, and
its documentation includes the embedded hyperlinks and footnotes
which lead to other prior published writings and vast amounts of
original source material. In other words, this abstract
represents a rather unorthodox presentation of a thesis which
has not necessarily been published in printed form in scholarly
journals, nor in a book. But, rather, a substantive portion of
this thesis and its accompanying documentation has been
published previously online on the Internet, particularly on the
scholarly research blog Herescope. This abstract provides an
overview of evolution as a cosmological and metaphysical
paradigm that seamlessly unites science with spirituality in a
manner that corrupts the truth. Evolution is more than an
alternative to the creation story. Evolution is not just a
scientific concept; it is a spiritual worldview.[2] This
abstract is not by any means complete, nor exhaustive. This is
simply a broad overview of the topic of spiritual evolution,
particularly its mysticism and esoteric applications to
postmodern life in both the culture at large and also the
church.
(775) Celebrating
the Atonement and the Resurrection While Promoting
Contemplative – A Profound Contradiction by Lighthouse
Trails, 4/25/19 In 1922, liberal pastor and theologian Harry Emerson Fosdick
stated the following words in his sermon titled “Will the
Fundamentalists Win?”: “It is interesting to note where the
Fundamentalists are driving in their stakes to mark out the
deadline of doctrine around the church, across which no one is
to pass except on terms of agreement. They insist that we must
all believe in the historicity of certain special miracles,
preeminently the virgin birth of our Lord; that we must believe
in a special theory of inspiration-that the original documents
of the Scripture, which of course we no longer possess, were
inerrantly dictated to men a good deal as a man might dictate to
a stenographer; that we must believe in a special theory of the
Atonement-that the blood of our Lord, shed in a substitutionary
death, placates an alienated Deity and makes possible welcome
for the returning sinner.” Fosdick considered the doctrine of a
blood atonement a “slaughterhouse religion”.
(776) Hear About the
New Age Movement! (Video) by Warrren B Smith, 4/27/19 For those who want to read the back story, Warren has published
his testimony of coming out of the New Age Movement in his
groundbreaking book The Light That Was Dark: From the New Age to
Amazing Grace. His many other books and booklets can be accessed
HERE.
Over the past fourteen years Warren B. Smith has been a frequent
contributor to the Herescope blog, both in writing and research.
He has authored many articles about the New Age Movement, and
has also written about how it has been entering the evangelical
church world. Warren Smith YouTube channel HERE.
(777) The
“Jesus” of “Jesus Calling” Tells Us to “Laugh at the Future”
by Warren B. Smith, 5/8/19 The “Jesus” of Jesus Calling completely contradicts the sober
warnings of the true Jesus Christ in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and
Luke 21 when he states: “The future is a phantom, seeking to
spook you. Laugh at the future!”1 In the Bible, Jesus Christ
makes it clear that the future is no laughing matter. In Matthew
24 and in other verses, He describes the serious events that
will transpire at the end of time as very real and not a
phantom. He tells His disciples to “not be troubled” by these
future happenings, but He does not tell them to take the future
lightly or to laugh at the future. Rather, He tells them to
watch and be ready and to not be deceived by the false Christs
and false prophets that will come in His name (Matthew 24:3-5,
24, 42, 44).
(778) Ravi
Zacharias, What Part of Contemplative Prayer Don’t You
Understand? by Lighthouse Trails, 5/23/19 The headline of this article may seem disrespectful at first
glance, but we say it with all sincerity and not meaning to
sound derogatory. At Lighthouse Trails, we won’t pretend it
isn’t discouraging when after 17 years of ministry, evangelical
leaders (those men and women with all the influence and platform
– the ones who are followed by millions) will not speak up and
warn about contemplative spirituality. Many of them can’t
because they are promoting it. But then there are those who
don’t outright promote and might even say if asked, “Oh no, I
don’t adhere to any kind of New Age mystical prayer practices.”
But those very ones who say such things turn around and allow
contemplative spirituality to be promoted in their very own
organizations. A case in point is Ravi Zacharias.
(779) The
Desert Fathers—Borrowing From the East by Ray Yungen,
6/14/19 Catholic priest William Shannon in his book, Seeds of Peace,
explained the human dilemma as being the following: "This
forgetfulness, of our oneness with God, is not just a personal
experience, it is the corporate experience of humanity. Indeed,
this is one way to understanding original sin. We are in God,
but we don’t seem to know it. We are in paradise, but we don’t
realize it."1 Shannon’s viewpoint defines the basic underlying
worldview of the contemplative prayer movement as a whole. One
can find similar quotations in practically every book written by
contemplative authors. A Hindu guru or a Zen Buddhist master
would offer the same explanation. This conclusion becomes
completely logical when tracing the roots of contemplative
prayer. Let us look at the beginnings of this practice.
(780) Be
Still and Know That You are Not God!—God is Not “in” Everyone
and Everything by Warren B. Smith, 6/19/19 Our Spiritual Adversary would have everyone believe that we are
all “one” because God is “in” everyone and everything. Using
every promotional means possible—including a creative and
ingenious perversion of quantum physics—he is attempting to
convince the world and the church that while Jesus was Christ,
so is everyone. And while Jesus was God, so is everyone else. To
underscore this heretical New Age doctrine of God and Christ
“in” everyone, he would have us further believe that nothing of
any significance happened on the Cross of Calvary. However, the
Bible makes it very clear that something extremely wonderful and
overwhelmingly significant did happen on the Cross of Calvary.
For it was on that Cross that Jesus Christ died to save the
world as He defeated sin (1 John 2:2), death (2 Timothy 1:10),
and the Devil himself (Hebrews 2:14). As the one and only
Christ, He is our Rock (1 Corinthians 10:1-4), He is our
Foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11), and in every sense of the word
He is the Saviour of the world (1 John 4:14).
(781) Purpose-Driven
Mandate: Those Who Focus on Bible Prophecy “Not fit for the
kingdom of God” by Roger Oakland, 6/24/19 Many who were once looking for the return of Jesus have fallen
asleep. We now live in a period of time where numerous prominent
Christian leaders are telling the Christian masses that paying
attention to the signs of our times in light of the Bible is a
waste of time. And many of them take it a step further and
accuse those who believe what Bible prophecy says about the end
of the age of being negative and self-centered. In the
still-popular Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren was actually
laying ground-work for the emerging church’s new reformation, a
reformation that rejects thinking about the return of Christ and
works more at convincing the multitudes that Christ is already
in them as a global christ-consciousness. As you will see in the
following documentation, Warren has a low regard for Bible
prophecy. Perhaps this helps explain why so many who once were
anticipating the return of the Lord have become occupied with
worldly ambitions.
(782) Letter
to the Editor: Churchless in North America at
Lighthouse Trails, 7/14/19 We are writing this letter to encourage others in their journey
to find a Bible-believing church that values sound biblical
doctrine and the authority of Scripture. We became aware
of a significant shift in our C&MA [Christian &
Missionary Alliance] church after they picked-up a new hip
pastor from a California mega church. Some of the first
things we noticed included the new lingo and dress-down look,
the extensive use of The Message, the feel good TED Talks salted
with a few out-of-context Scriptures, the kicking out of the old
worship team and the bringing in of the very loud
rock-band-style worship along with smoke and lights, the removal
of mailboxes in order to bring in the Emerging pastor’s book
table, removal of crosses and Bibles (one day, we led a couple
to Christ and could not find one Bible in the church to give
them), the embracement of native-related issues with an actual
smudging ceremony performed in the sanctuary, the supporting of
community organizations that embrace abortion and homosexuality,
the social-gospel message, SHE conferencing, and the promotion
of Yoga, etc. The list is endless and goes on and on,
typical for a lot of mega churches (emerging/seeker
sensitive/purpose driven).
(783) Enneagram:
Pagan Mysticism Promoted as Christian Growth by Bob
DeWaay. 7/28/19 Enneagram is relatively new to evangelicalism but is now
becoming popular and can be found in some evangelical colleges
and universities. Before describing the Enneagram and its
accompanying teaching, I need to document my sources and define
some key theological categories. The three books that are part
of this review include: Richard Rohr and Andreas Ebert, The
Enneagram A Christian Perspective, (Crossroad 2019 translated
from the 1989 German edition); Christopher L. Heurtz, The Sacred
Enneagram, (Zondervann, Grand Rapids, 2017); and Ian Morgan Cron
and Suzanne Stabile, The Road Back to You - An Enneagram Journey
to Self-Discovery, (InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, 2016). In
this article, references to these books will be bracketed with
page numbers. To understand my critique of Enneagram we need to
understand two important religious worldviews. The first is the
worldview I endorse and is the view of Christian theism through
the ages. Christian theism says that the Triune God of the Bible
existed as God from all eternity. God as Father, Son and Holy
Spirit existed before anything was created. This means that God
is non-contingent. God was perfect in all His divine attributes
before anything was created. Once God created, He was and always
is transcendent to the creation. The transcendent Creator cannot
be dependent on His own creation. This quality is called
"aseity" in Christian theology. A view that is very popular
today denies the transcendence of God in important ways. This
view is called panentheism. A simple way of explaining
panentheism is that "God is in everything." Though the Enneagram
authors I review here do not claim a certain view, their
teachings and desire to incorporate Buddhism and other
philosophies of the East indicates panentheism. Today's popular
panentheism rejects the idea that history is linear—having a
beginning in creation out of nothing and ending in eternal
judgment. I wrote about this in my book on the Emergent Church.
Also, God being in everything helps give credence to the idea of
social and spiritual evolution which is popular with religious
ecumenists such as these authors.
(784) Beware:
Mindfulness Meditation, Especially for Children, is Dangerous
by Lighthouse Trails, 8/2/19 As a fast-growing number of public schools are incorporating
mindfulness meditation into the lives of the school children,
few seem aware of just how dangerous meditation can be,
especially for children. The following is an extract from our
2018 booklet on mindfulness as a reminder to parents and
grandparents. Numerous research reports show that meditation can
be dangerous, especially for the vulnerable and weak (a category
in which children fit). A preface to an article titled
“Meditation is Touted as a Cure for Mental Instability but Can
It Actually Be Bad for You” written by Dr. Miguel Farias*
states: If it’s so powerful, might meditation also do harm to
sensitive souls? [While] researching a mass murder, Dr. Miguel
Farias discovered that, far from bringing inner peace,
[meditation] can leave devotees in pieces.
(785) Letter
to the Editor: Continuing Concern About Moody Bible Institute
at Lighthouse Trails, 8/12/19 LTRP Note: When we received the following note this past week
from a reader, we were reminded again about Moody Bible
Institute and some of its professors. Moody, which claims to be
a Bible-based learning institution, has an obligation to its
donors and students to not veer from biblical truth and to make
sure the school only uses professors who adhere to this
framework.
(786) “Liberal
Christians Gather at Wild Goose Festival to Pray — and Plan”
at Lighthouse Trails, 8/26/19 “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Luke 8:8 LTRP
Note: The following news story is posted for informational and
research purposes and not as an endorsement of either content or
the source. It is worth reading this article (written earlier
this summer) because it is a glimpse of the face of today’s
emergent church and just how influential it really is. Roger
Oakland laid it out in Faith Undone (2007) and Warren Smith
defined it in A “Wonderful” Deception (2009). Both men were
trying to warn the church of what was coming and how it would
come, but few pastors and leaders listened. Now, as the church
slept, the enemy has crept in – big time.
(787) The
Tragic Influence of Catholic Priest Richard Rohr’s Mysticism
on Millennial Evangelicals by Lightouse Trails,
9/27/19 An April 2019 Religion News Service article titled, “For
Millennials, Mysticism Shows a Path to Their Home Faiths”
reveals how young (millennial) evangelicals are “[d]iscovering
the Christian mystical tradition through the work of Franciscan
friar Richard Rohr.” The article states: [Anthony] Graffagnino
[28] was one of a number of millennials drawn to The Universal
Christ—a four-day conference in New Mexico’s capital last month
led by Rohr, one of the preeminent Christian contemplatives of
the last century. . . . millennials are increasingly finding
contemplative spirituality appealing. Whether it’s in the
stillness of silent meditation, walking a labyrinth, or
centering prayer; the practice of engaging with scripture
through Lectio Divina, the Ignatian tradition’s Daily Examen; or
a combination of Buddhist mindfulness, Kundalini breath work and
Taizé prayer, many young adults are happy (to borrow a line from
Van Morrison) to sail into the mystic. . . . The contemplative
tradition is “expansive enough… that it leaves room as you
grow,” he said. “To be Christian is to see Christ in
everything.” (source) Lighthouse Trails has been warning about
Catholic priest and mystic Richard Rohr’s influence over young
evangelical men for awhile now. Ray Yungen reported in his book
Simple Answers that one of Richard Rohr’s publishers told Rohr
that his biggest group of followers is comprised of young
evangelical men. (source) That means that many of the sons and
grandsons of evangelicals are under the influence of a man who
is panentheistic, New Age-sympathizing, and a mystic.
(788) Spiritual
Experiences: What Spirit? (Video) by Warren Smith,
10/5/19 The following lecture is by former New Age follower Warren B.
Smith. For many other lectures by Warren, visit his new YouTube
channel. Once on that channel, you can subscribe so that you can
get notifications whenever a new video by Warren is posted.
(789) Diaprax
Goes To Seminary by Paul Proctor, 10/6/19 I mentioned in a previous article that many churches and
organizations not officially belonging to the Willow Creek
Association were now adopting Willow Creek’s ways. It shrewdly
allows them the social and financial benefits of compromise
without the carnal stigma of being affiliated. An example of
this can be found in a recent Baptist Press article by Richard
D. McCormack entitled: 'Interactive Team-Building Seminar'
Called Cutting-Edge Way of Learning'
http://www.baptistpress.com/bpnews.asp?ID=14603 Mr. McCormack
reports that a workshop was held at Southwestern Baptist
Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas for the purpose of
introducing a 'new style of learning' based on a program called
'EPIC'. (Experience, Participate, Image-Rich and Connection)
John Herring, pastor of discipleship at The Church at Brook
Hills in Birmingham, Ala. was quoted as saying "it is the model
of things to come for teaching in our churches". Little does he
know that what seminar leaders Leonard Sweet and Keith Kline
were teaching is Diaprax.
(791) Unlocking
“the Secrets”—How Silly! by Lynn Lusby Pratt, 10/12/19 I talk a lot about the trendy but biblically erroneous
teachings on new spiritual technologies. The suggestion that we
can finally unlock the “secrets” to a full life of faith
capitalizes on our culture’s desperate search for purpose and
prevalent “fear of missing out.” But not only is it dangerous
for Christians to go looking for these things; if we just back
up and look at the lives of a few Bible heroes, the logic even
becomes downright silly! Let’s see… Joseph—Should we label him
ineffective, spiritually lacking? After all, he didn’t have the
Catholic mystics to lead him into self-torture, levitation, and
erotic encounters with entities. Joshua—Look what all Joshua
accomplished. His only “secret” was to obey God’s commands and
be bold. Could he have accomplished more if he’d done lectio
divina?
(702) The
Shameful Social Gospel by T.A. McMahon,The Berean
Call, 10/19 For various reasons, Christians of different sorts have
tinkered with “the gospel of Christ” as though it needed
adjustments. Not major alterations, most will tell you, but just
some minor tweaking here and there. The changes often begin by
one’s declaring that there is no real change involved, simply a
shift in emphasis. Yet no matter what the rationale may be, the
end result is being “ashamed of the gospel of Christ.”
(703) The
Enneagram—An Enlightening Tool or an Enticing Deception?
(Booklet) by Lighthouse Trails, 10/31/19 Today, there is an increasing amount of interest by Christians
in the Enneagram, a nine-pointed diagram used to determine
personality traits and character tendencies. While it may seem
harmless and nothing more than a useful tool, the Enneagram is a
seducing lure to deception and an example of what the Bible
refers to as “the wiles of the Devil.” In this booklet, we hope
to show how this tool is drawing participants away from biblical
truth and in an enticing but dangerous direction.
(704) Beyond
a Doubt: Contemplative Prayer EQUALS New Age Meditation
by Ray Yungen, 11/7/19 Before writing my book, A Time of Departing, I made sure I
could prove, beyond a doubt, that contemplative prayer had not
only slipped into the Christian faith, but also prove it is an
integral part of the New Age movement. In fact, New Agers see
contemplative prayer as one of their own practices. Why would
both New Agers and Christians claim contemplative prayer as
their own? Certainly you will not find the New Age movement
promoting someone like Dwight Moody or Harry Ironside, but you
will find many instances such as this in which New Age therapist
Jacquelyn Small cites contemplative prayer as a gateway to the
spirituality to which she belongs.
(705) Letter
to the Editor From Dallas Theological Seminary Student—DTS
Does Advocate for Contemplative Spirituality at
Lighthouse Trails, 11/12/19 The relationship Dallas Theological Seminary has with
contemplative spirituality has been debated on Lighthouse
Trails, and defended by DTS. As a current student, I can confirm
some departments and professors do advocate explicitly for the
contemplative brand of spirituality. The school requires
four semesters of spiritual formation. Students must engage with
the curriculum as prescribed, but additional work is optional
for those wishing to receive academic credit. The first
semester spiritual formation material encourages students to
study Adele Calhoun, Marcia Ford, Richard Foster, Donald
Whitney, Dallas Willard, PT Forsyth, Paul Pettit, James K.A.
Smith, Gary Thomas, and others. “Silence” is listed as a
discipline in the curriculum itself, and the workbook asks
students to rate their own engagement with this and other
practices.
(706) The
New Age Road to a U.S. “Department of Peace” at
Lighthouse Trails, 11/17/19 Marianne Williamson, “unveiled” her plans for a Department of
Peace in the United States. But as you will read in the
following article by former New Age follower Warren B. Smith,
Williamson’s Department of Peace has been in the making for many
years. Regardless of who becomes the next president, efforts by
Williamson and numerous members of Congress and others are not
going away until the Department of Peace is established. And as
Smith lays out, this department will be anything but peaceable
for Bible-believing Christians.
(707) Letter
to the Editor From Man From India: Yoga is a Doctrine of
Demons! at Lighthouse Trails, 11/24/19 I am from a Hindu background. The word Yoga has developed from
the word Yog. Yog means union. So when you do Yoga, you can
expect your spirit to be in union with “divine spirit”
completely. According to Bishnu Puran, one of the Hindu
scripture yoga is “complete union between spirit of god and
man.” So when you do Yoga, you are focusing on uniting with some
spirit. We know it is not the Spirit of the Lord God.
(708) Biblical
Christianity – The Biggest Obstacle to the New Age by
Ray Yungen, 12/10/19 The New Age and Christianity definitely clash on the answer to
the question of human imperfection. The former [the New Age]
espouses the doctrine of becoming self-realized and united with
the universe, which they see as God but in reality is the realm
of familiar spirits. On the other hand, the Gospel that
Christians embrace offers salvation to humanity through grace
(unmerited favor). Romans 3:24 boldly states: “… being justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus.” In Romans 6:23 we read: “For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(709) GC2
Conference on Mental Health Includes “Spiritual Formation”
Teachers Rick Warren and Ruth Haley Barton by
Lighthouse Trails, 12/21/19 On December 12, 2019, Christianity Today posted an article by
“new” Christianity pastor Ed Stetzer, giving a recap of the GC2
Summit that took place on December 6th. The article, titled
“Lies Pastors Believe, Part One,” states: Two months of planning
for our GC2 Summit on Facing Hard Truths & Challenges in
Pastoral Ministry couldn’t have prepared us for what we saw God
do this past Friday. Over 400 leaders joined us in person and
nearly 80 livestreamed in from all over the world to hear
pastors and counselors talk about leadership, burnout, and
mental health. If you were unable to join us, you can purchase
the full day’s recordings through the GC2 website. They will be
available until January 10, 2020. The messages from leaders such
as Rick Warren, Derwin Gray, Ruth Hayley Barton, Drew Hyun,
David Wang, Philip Ryken, Margaret Diddams, and others reflected
the most important messages pastors need to hear today. With at
least three of the nine speakers being strong advocates for
Spiritual Formation (a synonym for “contemplative
spirituality”)—Rick Warren, Ruth Haley Barton, and David Wang (a
pastor of Spiritual Formation)—it is clear that organizers of
GC2 believe Spiritual Formation is a crucial element of “the
most important messages pastors need to hear today.”
(710) “Roma
Downey and Lightworkers Media Options Bestselling Author
Debbie Macomber’s ‘Angels Everywhere’ Book Series” at
Lighthouse Trails, 12/27/19 LTRP Note: The following news clip is posted for informational
and research purposes and not as an endorsement for either the
content or the source. Lighthouse Trails has been issuing
warnings about the New Age propensities of Roma Downey for the
last few years because of the promotion of Ms. Downey by popular
Christian leaders such as Greg Laurie and David Jeremiah.
(711) Catholic Priest Believes Francis
Chan Heading Into Catholic Church Based on Eucharistic Sermon
by Lighthouse Trails, 1/15/20 Francis Chan, author of Crazy
Love, is one of the most popular authors and speakers within the
evangelical church today. He has been the subject of a number of
Lighthouse Trails articles based on his ecumenical activities as
well as statements he made threatening that God will destroy
those who challenge Christian leaders. Last week, Chan gave a
sermon promoting the Catholic view of communion (i.e., the
Eucharist), which led to several online responses, one of which
was a Catholic priest who weighed in with a YouTube video*
expressing his zeal and belief that Chan is about to convert to
the Catholic faith.
(712) Mysticism in the Church: 10 Things
to Watch For by Lynn Lusby Pratt, 1/20/20
As unsettling changes take place in your Christian environment,
you might find yourself in this scenario: (1) In my Christian
reading, I get a gritty feeling about a phrase here or a teaching
there. Then . . .(2) I sense that new meanings are being applied
to established Christian terms. Then . . .(3) I find outright
heresy in books and/or sermons. (4) I notice certain names
repeated in those sermons or in the endnotes of books. (5) I voice
concern to my minister, but he’s dismissive: “Now, now, we can’t
all agree on everything.” (6) I see acceptance of practices that
I’ve discovered are misleading: Eastern wellness techniques . .
.(7) and contemplative prayer . . .(8) and interspirituality. (9)
But I also wonder if I’m missing out, if I’m not as spiritual as
others who are having “experiences.” (10) I come to realize that I
can’t blindly follow authorities; they may be losing their grasp
of the Scriptures. I’ll get into the Word for myself, stay
connected to the church [the body of Christ] and to the real
Jesus.
(713) The New Age Christian—An Accepted
Oxymoron by Ray Yungen, 1/24/20 The current popularity with
meditative contemplative mysticism presents a very perplexing
challenge for evangelical Christianity. We are now encountering
the New Age or Aquarian Christian. This term describes someone
who remains in his or her home church and professes the
Christian faith but has also incorporated various aspects of the
New Age or Aquarian mindset into his or her life. New Age author
David Spangler was very optimistic about the possibility of this
integration when he wrote, “The point is that the New Age is
here . . . it builds itself and forms itself in the midst of the
old.”1 What has fueled the momentum of this trend is the
buffet-style dining approach that has become a hallmark of
American religious sensibilities in the last thirty years—you
take what you want and leave the rest. Americans are picking and
blending religions as if they were ordering espressos: pick your
espresso blend, but you still get coffee—pick your spiritual
path, but you still get God. Whatever suits your spiritual
tastes, you bring together. The result is hybrid New Age
spirituality.
(714) Christian Colleges and Seminaries
in More Trouble Than Ever As Many Plunge Into Emergent
Spirituality by Lighthouse Trails, 1/30/20 For nearly 18 years, Lighthouse
Trails has been reporting on the slide that evangelical
colleges, universities, and seminaries have been taking into the
contemplative/emergent/ecumenical river. It would be great if we
could say there’s been a real turn around and things at these
colleges are getting better. It would be great if we could say
that your college-age child is safe in most Christian colleges
today. And it would be great if we could say that these schools
have realized the error of their ways and have made dramatic
efforts to get back on the biblical course. Unfortunately, we
cannot say any of these things because they simply are not true.
We were once again reminded of how far off the track evangelical
schools have gone when earlier this month we received an e-blast
from Christianity Today announcing a 50%-off tuition special for
qualifying students to Seattle Pacific University. That will
sound very enticing to parents who are looking for Christian
education for their college-age children at affordable rates.
But let’s take a glance at what these children will be
introduced to if they attend Seattle Pacific University: At
SPU’s Center for Biblical and Theological Education, students
will be introduced to various forms of contemplative
spirituality, and faculty members are being trained to pass them
on. For instance, in a 2019 faculty retreat syllabus, the list
of activities at the retreat include lectio divina, praying with
icons, sabbath keeping, Ignatian Spirituality, and Prayer of
Examen. At the upcoming 2020 Winter Discernment Weekend,
prospective students will be introduced to “Guided Prayer” and
Lectio Divina. “Spiritual Formation” and contemplative
spirituality are integrated throughout the spiritual
infrastructure of SPU. Faculty Staff Bulletins are peppered with
recommendation and accolades for Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen,
and numerous other hard-core mystics and panentheists.
(715) D is for Deception – The Language
of the “New” Christianity by Kevin Reeves, 2/12/20 A number of years ago, a book
written by emerging-church leaders Brian McLaren and Leonard
Sweet was released. The book was called A is for Abductive: the
language of the emerging church. Going through the alphabet, the
authors identified many terms they hoped would be picked up by
the younger generation, thus creating a unique emerging
spiritual atmosphere. They called it a “primer with a mission.”1
That mission that McLaren, Sweet, and other like-minded change
agents embrace has been successful in bringing in a new kind of
“Christianity,” which is not biblical Christianity but rather a
“New” Christianity now permeating the halls of Christian
colleges, seminaries, evangelical churches, small groups,
ministries, and organizations. We have compiled in this booklet
common terms and their basic meanings to help uncover the true
meaning behind some of the deceptive language of the “New”
Christianity (i.e., the New Spirituality).
(716) Letter to the Editor: Is the EFCA
Lining Up With the Emergent Church? at Lighthouse
Trails, 2/18/20 LTRP Comments: We agree that
there are some EFCA leaders and pastors who are not promoting or
embracing emergent church teachings or heading in that
direction. However, we also share your concerns about EFCA as a
whole and about their present leadership and direction. What we
were observing in 2013 and 2014 regarding the EFCA has now borne
its emergent “fruit.” As you can see in this 2011 recommend
resources list, EFCA had made the decision to go down the
contemplative mystical path. And now today, as you have pointed
out, partly through EFCA groups like Creo Collective, they have
followed the “natural” course that contemplative leads
to—emergent, “progressive,” social justice; and based on what
has happened to so many other denominations, we predict it will
only get worse for the EFCA. Once a group starts down the
contemplative path, only a determined and committed effort and
desire to stop will keep that group from going full-blown
emergent, socialist, and ultimately anti-Gospel.
(717) Lilly Endowment’s
Contemplative-Focused Clergy Renewal Program Updated Lists
by Lighthouse Trails, 2/22/20 In 2013, we posted an article
titled “What’s Up with Lilly Endowment – Funding Pastoral
Sabbaticals with a Contemplative Agenda.” Below is a copy of
that article (with excerpts from a related 2007 article). In it,
it provides a link to the list of churches whose pastors were
“winners” of the 2012 Lilly Endowment grants. Last week, we
received a call from one of our readers asking for current
lists. We have placed the links for 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019
at the end of the article. If you are in a church where your
pastor is planning to go on a sabbatical, whether it is
sponsored by Lilly or not, find out if he is going to be
spending part of his sabbatical time at a monastery or a
contemplative retreat center and reading
contemplative-influenced books. If he is, then very likely he
will come back with an entirely different spiritual outlook—one
that looks more like Catholic mystics Thomas Merton and Richard
Rohr than the biblical apostles Peter, John, and Paul.
(718) LECTIO DIVINA – What it is, What it
is not, and Should Christians Practice it? by
Lighthouse Trails, 2/26/20 There’s a lot of talk about it
today; umpteen books are published and more are on the way about
lectio divina; and an increasing number of
evangelical/Protestant figures are writing about it, endorsing
it, and teaching it. Some people think lectio divina simply
means to read a passage of Scripture slowly (or “praying the
Scriptures”) then ponder or think on that Scripture. That can be
a part of it. But if you ask mystics or contemplatives what it
really entails (And who would know better than they?), they will
tell you that lectio divina (pronounced lex-ee-o di-veen-a)
always includes taking a passage of Scripture (or other
writings), reading it slowly, and repeating it as you work your
way down to where you have just a word or small phrase from the
passage that you are “meditating” on (repeating over and over).
Basically, you are coming up with a mantra-like word or phrase
that has been extracted from a passage of Scripture, which,
according to contemplatives, if repeated for several minutes,
will help you get rid of thoughts and distractions, so then,
they say, you can hear the voice of God and feel His presence
(going into the silence).
(719) Lent and Contemplative – A Likely
Match by Lighthouse Trails, 3/3/20 According to Wikipedia, Lent is:
. . . a solemn religious observance in the Christian liturgical
calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends approximately six
weeks (40 days) later on Holy Thursday, the memorial of the
Lord’s supper the Thursday of Holy Week before Easter Sunday.
The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer for
Easter through prayer, doing penance, mortifying the flesh,
repentance of sins, almsgiving, and denial of ego. This event is
observed in the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist,
Moravian, Presbyterian, Oriental Orthodox, Reformed, and Roman
Catholic Churches. Some Anabaptist and evangelical churches also
observe the Lenten season.1 While the Bible does not give any
instruction to practice or participate in Lent, many churches
do. In fact, since the contemplative prayer movement has come
into full swing, more and more churches are observing Lent. And,
in fact, Lent is often being used as the open door to bring
contemplative prayer into a church. This is largely done through
the multitudes of books from religious publishers who have now
become conduits for contemplative spirituality.* Here are the
titles of some books currently on the market that incorporate
contemplative into Lent ...
(720) The Goal of Contemplatives:
Changing the Consciousness of Humanity – One Contemplative
Prayer After the Next by Ray Yungen, 3/15/20
Two authors from Great Britain portrayed a stunningly clear
picture of New Age spirituality. They explained: [T]he keynote
of it appears to be a movement for synthesis derived from an
understanding of the underlying unity behind all things and the
sense of oneness that this brings. This oneness of all life is
the crux of the New Age movement.1 Catholic priest, the late
Basil Pennington defined the contemplative spiritual worldview
in his book Thomas Merton My Brother. He related: The Spirit
enlightened him [Merton] in the true synthesis [unity] of all
and in the harmony of that huge chorus of living beings. In the
midst of it he lived out a vision of a new world, where all
divisions have fallen away and the divine goodness is perceived
and enjoyed as present in all and through all.2 The first
viewpoint describes God as the oneness of all existence. In
Merton’s new world, God is perceived as being present “in all
and through all.” It certainly appears that the same spirit
enlightened both parties. The only difference was Merton’s
revelation worked in a Christian context just as Alice Bailey
predicted. Unfortunately, this context is now commonplace in
Catholic circles, becoming so in mainline Protestant churches,
and being eagerly explored and embraced by an ever-increasing
number of evangelical Christians.
(721) Passion Conference Louie Giglio
Gives Thumbs Up to Enneagram—Could Influence Scores of Young
Evangelicals by Lighthouse Trails, 4/21/20 Louie Giglio is an extremely
popular megachurch pastor and author as well as the founder and
leader of the Passion conferences, which have drawn in hundreds
of thousands of mostly young people since 1997.(1) On the week
of March 16th, Giglio (a Calvinist) was a guest on emergent
social-justice “Gospel” advocate Ian Morgan Cron’s Enneagram
podcast. A week later, part 2 of the interview took place. While
it of no great surprise that Giglio (who has shown himself to be
part of the ecumenical, “new” spirituality in more ways than
one(2)) would form an attachment to Morgan Cron’s Enneagram, it
is most unfortunate: because of Giglio’s vast following, the
Enneagram has now received a substantial thumbs up in the
evangelical world, especially among young evangelicals. So not
only are Giglio’s followers being influenced by Calvinism and
the New Spirituality, they are also being led into New
Age-rooted practices. For those who are unfamiliar with the
Enneagram, Lighthouse Trails released a booklet in October of
2019 titled The Enneagram—An Enlightening Tool or an Enticing
Deception?.
(722) Is Christianity Missing Out on
Something Vital? Contemplatives Say “Yes” by Ray
Yungen, 5/6/20 Contemplative advocates propose
that something vital and important is missing from the church
for centuries. The insinuation is that Christians have been
lacking something necessary for their spiritual vitality; but
that would mean the Holy Spirit has not been fully effective for
hundreds of years and only now the secret key has been found
that unlocks God’s full power to know Him. These proponents
believe that Christianity has been seriously crippled without
this extra ingredient. This kind of thinking leads one to
believe that traditional, biblical Christianity is merely a
philosophy without the contemplative prayer element.
Contemplatives are making a distinction between studying and
meditating on the Word of God versus experiencing Him,
suggesting that we cannot hear Him or really know Him simply by
studying His Word or even through normal prayer—we must be
contemplative to accomplish this. But the Bible makes it clear
that the Word of God is living and active and has always been
that way, and it is in filling our minds with it that we come to
love Him, not through a mystical practice of stopping the flow
of thought (the stillness) that is never once mentioned in the
Bible, except in warnings against vain repetitions in the New
Testament and divination in the Old Testament.
(723) “Over 100 Pastors Sign Letter to
Ohio Board of Education Opposing Yoga, Meditation Being Taught
in Schools” by Heather Clark, 5/8/20 More than 100 pastors recently
signed a letter to the Ohio Board of Education, which was also
sent to 39 school districts, to express opposition to yoga and
transcendental meditation being taught in schools as they are
rooted in Eastern religion and are a spiritual practice at their
core. The letter, signed by 105 pastors from various
denominations, notes that yoga has been taught during school
hours in Clear Fork, Galion, Lexington, Lucas, Mansfield and
Shelby counties and asks for an assurance that such practices
will be discontinued. “Yoga is not merely an external physical
practice with a purely physiological effect, but rather an
internal spiritual practice advertised as being able to provide
the power to change an individual and transform the world,” it
reads. “Specifically, yoga’s ‘stretching’ and ‘breathing’
components, called ‘asanas’ and ‘pranayama’ in Sanskrit, are
intended to be spiritually transformative.”
(724) Warning: Zondervan Introduces Its
First-Ever Film, Nine: The Enneagram Documentary— to Release
in Theaters Fall 2020 at Lighthouse Trails, 5/21/20 LTRP Note: The news release
below regarding the Christian publisher, Zondervan, is posted
for informational and research purposes. Lighthouse Trails
warned about the Enneagram in our booklet, The Enneagram—An
Enlightening Tool or an Enticing Deception? (written by Lois
Putnam), which we released last Fall. Obviously, when one of the
largest evangelical publishers releases a film (their first film
ever) on the Enneagram, it’s clear this is a fast-growing trend
within evangelicalism. We believe the Enneagram (as is Lectio
Divina) is a gateway “tool” to further integrate the occultic
contemplative prayer movement into the church, a movement that
has so significantly influenced millions of Christians.
(725) Letter to the Editor: Kaiser
Permanente Among Those Pushing Mindfulness and Meditation Due
to Coronavirus at Lighthouse Trails, 5/23/20 LTRP Note: While New Age
meditative practices (including “mindfulness” meditation) have
integrated into all facets of our Western society, including the
church, for some time, there has been an even stronger push for
them since coronavirus began. Purveyors of eastern-style
meditation are using the elevated levels of stress that the
“pandemic” has caused to sell the idea that we need meditation
practices to help alleviate that stress. The following letter to
the editor gives one example (see links below for other
examples).
(726) A
Fortress of Solitude … Entering the SILENCE by Mike
Oppenheimer, 6/2/20 God can speak to us at anytime,
we are not required to be silent. It usually occurs when we are
learning, reading or active and ministering. Job 38:1-3 Then the
LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: "Who is this
who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare
yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer
Me.” Job did not enter silence, yet we have the longest
conversation recorded in the Bible. The only silence should be
from those who are promoting this Catholic monk practice in the
church. Read Part
1 & Part
2.
(727) The Enneagram by Gary
Gilley, 6/13/20 The Enneagram is a complicated
and esoteric system that would require years of training to
understand and implement properly; and even then, there exist
vast differences among Enneagram experts. This is in
direct contrast to the relative simplicity, clarity, and
perspicuity of Scripture. Additionally, when all the smoke
has cleared and the theories exposed, the Enneagram is nothing
more than human ideas, conjectures and general observations,
cobbled into such a muddled system that even the experts can’t
agree. Most importantly, the Enneagram is claiming territory
over which God’s Word has staked its claim: salvation,
sanctification, knowledge of self, and knowledge of God.
Read Part
1 & Part
2.
(728) Contemplative Prayer – Does Our
Intent to Find Jesus Justify the Method? by
Lighthouse Trails, 6/19/20 [I]f you were to jump off a cliff
with the intent to fly saying the word “fly, fly, fly” as you jump
off and someone else jumped off the same cliff with the intent to
hit the bottom saying “fall, fall, fall” as he jumps off, in
either case both will hit the bottom. – Ray Yungen If our intent
is to find Jesus, is the method of going about this acceptable,
even if the method might happen to be a Buddhist meditation style.
Brian Edgar, former Director of Theology and Public Policy for the
Australian Evangelical Alliance believes it is ...
(729) The Shack and a New Age View of the
Trinity by Mike Oppenheimer, 8/25/20 Today, the word Trinity, or
Trinitarian theology, is taking on a whole new meaning, one of
which most Christians are unaware but one that is working its way
into the church through the highly popular book, The Shack. Let me
explain. Many people have defended their admiration for The Shack,
saying it is “just a novel.” But Shack author William Paul Young
admits that The Shack is more than a novel; he considers it a
theological book ...
(730) Overcomer or Succumber? by
Warren B. Smith, 8/30/20 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be
ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the
Lord.—1 Corinthians 15:58 overcome—to get the better of in a
struggle; to conquer. succumb—to give way (to), to yield, to
submit (to succumb to persuasion). Today’s Evangullible Church In
today’s evangullible church, countless believers are yielding to
the temptations of our Adversary and falling away (Luke 8:13).
Giving in to the compromised teachings of the emerging apostate
church, once faithful believers are succumbing to the deception
that Jesus warned would come in His name (Matthew 24:3-5). Those
who could have been overcomers become succumbers—unless, of
course, they remember what they received and heard, and hold fast,
and repent (Revelation 3:3).
(731) Letter to the Editor: Liberty
University Taking Students on “Spiritual Journey” With
Contemplative/Emergent Leader Richard Foster at
Lighthouse Trails, 9/10/20 For 18 years, Lighthouse Trails
has been warning about the contemplative prayer movement and its
role in creating an “emergent” “progressive” church. Part of our
investigative research scope has included Christian universities
and seminaries, a majority of which now promote contemplative
spirituality. Liberty University, one of the largest Christian
universities in the U.S., has been on the contemplative/emergent
path for many years. We take this matter extremely serious because
the “fruit” of contemplative prayer in a person’s life is the
formation of a “new” spiritual outlook that resembles more of a
New Age thought (interspirituality and panentheism) than a
biblical one. As for contemplative pioneer, Richard Foster, please
read our article/booklet “A Serious Look at Richard Foster’s
“School” of Contemplative Praye.” and make sure your children and
grandchildren are not being influenced by a deceived school.
(732) Where
Are We Going? by David Dombrowski, 10/18/20
What will be the end of this resurrected city of Babylon?
Revelation says, “Therefore shall her plagues come in one day,
death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned
with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her” (Revelation
18:8), and again it says, “for in one hour is thy judgment come”
(Revelation 18:10). Apparently, the judgment to come will be
speedy and severe. So, while we can only speculate on the details
of what will happen, we can be sure that a massive delusion will
encompass the world and that severe judgment will also take place.
Just knowing this, let us, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ,
cling all the more dearly to the Word of God and the Gospel
message. Jesus died on the Cross to save sinners and rose from the
dead to conquer death; our hope is in Him and nowhere or no one
else. And while it is scary to think of persecution of the
believers, it is more frightening to think of God’s judgment on
those who abandon God’s Word for a lie. May we remember that no
matter what we might suffer as Christians, the safest place to be
is in God’s will. Knowing this, let us encourage one another with
the comfort and hope that is in the Lord. And let us be assured
that we know where are we are going. Looking for that blessed
hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour
Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us
from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works. Titus 2:13-14
(733) Letter
to the Editor: Our Sad Departure From the Church of the Nazarene
Over Unbiblical Teachings at Lighthouse Trails, 11/30/20
LTRP Note: For over a decade, Lighthouse Trails has been issuing
warnings regarding the Church of the Nazarene’s embracing of
contemplative and emergent teachings (i.e., Spiritual Formation).
We have focused largely on the numerous Nazarene universities that
have been training future Nazarene pastors with these unbiblical
teachings. In 2004, our editors spoke with Dr. Jim Diehl (then a
General Superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene) who called
us because he read A Time of Departing (the book that exposes
contemplative spirituality) and found it right on. We told him at
that time what was happening in the Nazarene schools. Sadly, the
many warnings by LT and others for so many years have gone
unheeded. The following letter by a Nazarene couple is further
proof of that. Dear Lighthouse Trails: I have been a fan of your
ANA (Anti New Age) materials for a while. You have been the
center of a lot of books, booklets, and research as our family has
been reconsidering our membership in the Church of the
Nazarene. We recently left the denomination and ordered some
booklets to give out to the board to help us explain why.
The new pastor did not even allow us one last meeting with them!
(734) Enneagram
Divination by Herescope, 12/10/20
It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. The
graphic exhibit above is from the Winter 1998 issue of Gnosis
magazine, which billed itself “A Journal of the Western Inner
Traditions.” This is an occult periodical titled with the ancient
word gnosis, the Greek word for knowledge.[1] Gnosticism was a
potent heresy in the early church, and it has shown up in many
guises throughout church history. This Gnosis cover image
depicts an utterly unclothed woman in a trance (I covered her up).
This image is credited to have come from a Tarot card deck, which
is witchcraft.[2] The magazine contains an article about G.I.
Gurdjieff titled “Oracles Within: The Inner Animal Teachings of
G.I. Gurdjieff” which has to do with shapeshifting, from the very
deepest dregs of Satanism. In case our readers have never
considered the utter depth of depravity of man described in the
verses in Romans 1, particularly verse 23 (“And changed the glory
of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible
man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things”)
the exhibit below from page 36 of the article about Gurdjjieff in
Gnosis magazine illustrates it (again I covered up the nakedness):
“
(735) Clamoring
Like Seals by CrossWise, 1/10/21
Hubbard understands those of her elite group as the ones that must
wield the sword, and etc., as per above: We, the elders, have been
patiently waiting until the very last moment before the quantum
transformation, to take action to cut out this corrupted and
corrupting element in the body of humanity. It is like watching a
cancer grow; something must be done before the whole body is
destroyed.9 These “defective seeds” must go, for “it is a case of
the destruction of the whole planet, or the elimination” of this
one-fourth of the population.10 But there is a silver lining! Her
readers are not charged with this act.11 They can just sit
passively by—sort of like what some did during World War II, I
suppose. …We are in charge of God’s selection process for planet
Earth. He selects, we destroy. We are the riders of the pale
horse, Death. We come to bring death to those who are unable to
know God. We do this for the sake of the world… Now that [the
planetary system] is being born into its universal,
whole-conscious phase, the disconnected must be destroyed.12 While
it’s the elders that do the cleansing, it is the others still
alive that will be tasked with the reconstruction: You do not have
to participate in the destruction. You are to be responsible for
the construction which shall begin as the tribulations come to an
end.13 You didn’t expect the elders—the elites—to clean up, did
you?
(736) The
Social Gospel: Imposing a Cultural Mandate into the Great
Commission by Gary Gilley, 1/13/21
It has proven almost impossible for the Church to keep the
biblical command of the Great Commission in balance with the
Cultural Mandate, once such a mandate is accepted as part of the
mission of the Church. Those following this
philosophy would abandon the Christ-given mission of making
disciples for the task of improving society. Those churches and
Christians who saw the error of the social gospel continued to
center their lives and ministries on the Great
Commission. It is the descendants of these very churches and
believers who are now being influenced to widen their
understanding of the calling of Christ to include a social
improving agenda. Unless there is a return to the biblical mandate
given in the New Testament, the evangelical Church is in danger of
repeating the same error of the 19th and 20th century Church
with predictable results.
(737) Agnes
Sanford and her Unbiblical Inner Healing method's by
Mike Oppenheimer, 1/16/21
Certain people have a great influence in the era of modern
Christianity, some are not a good influence. One of them is Agnes
Sanford. She was born in 1897, the daughter of a Presbyterian
missionary in China, and the wife of an Episcopal rector. She is
considered to be one of the principal founders of the inner
healing movement and one of the more influential shapers of the
modern charismatic movement. She introduced to the body of Christ
numerous non-Christian teachings, philosophies into the Church
through the 1960’s to about 1980, and though she is gone she is
still is an influence today. She was also a promoter of the
Manifest sons of God heresy found in the Latter Rain movement by
William Branham. She wrote many books in her religious career, you
can literally find the same ideas she wrote of in mystical and new
age literature that has been written prior. Sanford is most known
by her first book, “The Healing Light”, ( old over half a million
copies since 1947 when it was originally published), and ending
with her last book, “The Healing Gifts of the Spirit” which
contained a mixture of metaphysical concepts and Mind Science. She
included an endorsement in the front of her last book “The Healing
Gifts of the Spirit” by “The American Theosophist.” They wrote:
“... an inspiring handbook for developing one’s own capabilities
for richer living and giving .” Theosophists are Spiritist’s who
are part of the New Age Movement, they are not a good endorsement.
She believed what we hear from so many others today,that
Christians today should do the same miracles that Jesus did (
Sealed Orders, pp. 13, 26).No doubt many who say this have read
her books.
(738) InterVarsity’s
“2030 Calling” – Raising Up Young Evangelicals to Be the Mystics
of Tomorrow by Lighthouse Trails, 1/17/21
For many years, Lighthouse Trails has tried to warn the church
about evangelical publishing houses that are releasing countless
materials which promote and teach contemplative spirituality. One
of the publishing companies that is at the forefront of this
effort to bring the New Age/new spirituality practice of
contemplative prayer into the church is InterVarsity Press which
has a particular focus on young evangelicals. In light of this,
our concerns have only heightened upon learning of InterVarsity’s
“2030 Calling,” especially when we consider how contemplative
spirituality is one of the most robust vehicles that lead young
evangelicals into an anti-biblical, anti-moral, “progressive,”
pro-emergent outlook. What is Contemplative Prayer? For those
unfamiliar with the term “contemplative prayer,” it is a mystical
prayer practice which uses repetition of a word or phrase to enter
the “silence,” “stillness,” or so-called “sacred space” in order
to, supposedly, hear the voice of God. In fact, contemplative
proponents like Beth Moore say you cannot even be close to God
without this inner stillness. However, as author and researcher
Ray Yungen points out, it is a great deception for Christians to
believe this is a safe and legitimate method of communing with
God, and no where in Scripture are we admonished to do this. In
actuality, though one’s intent may be to seek the Lord, practicing
something that is virtually identical in method to eastern
meditation practices such as Transcendental Meditation is
dangerous and will get the same result as TM practitioners—and
that is to reach a spiritually demonic realm. And as Yungen
explains, the “fruit” of practicing contemplative prayer is
interspirituality (all paths lead to God), panentheism (God is in
all), and universalism (all are saved).
(739) Letter
to the Editor: K.P. Yohannon (Gospel for Asia) Going
Contemplative? at Lighthouse Trails, 2/10/21
LTRP Note: The following letter to the editor is written by one of
our readers out of a deep sadness and concern that K.P. Yohannon,
in his 2020 book, Never Give Up, is showing a strong affinity to
contemplative mystics. In that book, Yohannon says he is learning
things from the Desert Fathers and the early mystics (calling them
“incredible Christians” and “giants of the faith” pp. 92-93) that
no one had told him about in his earlier Christian years. How
tragic that a Christian man who grew up in a country that is
mostly Hindu is pointing his followers to mystics who embraced
practices similar to those in Hinduism as Lighthouse Trails has
documented for nearly two decades. And with popular evangelical
leaders like Calvary Chapel pastors Skip Heitzig and Chip Lusko
and Bible Answer man Hank Hanegraaff endorsing the book, many
unsuspecting Christians will now be introduced to the
contemplative mystics and their practices. Lighthouse Trails has
obtained its own copy of Never Give Up and confirms what is being
said in this letter and even more so.
Updated! (740) Agnes
Sanford and her Unbiblical Inner Healing method's by
Mike Oppenheimer, 2/14/21
Certain people have a great influence in the era of modern
Christianity, some are not a good influence. One of them is Agnes
Sanford. She was born in 1897, the daughter of a Presbyterian
missionary in China, and the wife of an Episcopal rector. She is
considered to be one of the principal founders of the inner
healing movement and one of the more influential shapers of the
modern charismatic movement. She introduced to the body of Christ
numerous non-Christian teachings, philosophies into the Church
through the 1960’s to about 1980, and though she is gone she is
still is an influence today. She was also a promoter of the
Manifest sons of God heresy found in the Latter Rain movement by
William Branham. She wrote many books in her religious career, you
can literally find the same ideas she wrote of in mystical and new
age literature that has been written prior. Sanford is most known
by her first book, “The Healing Light”, ( old over half a million
copies since 1947 when it was originally published), and ending
with her last book, “The Healing Gifts of the Spirit” which
contained a mixture of metaphysical concepts and Mind Science. She
included an endorsement in the front of her last book “The Healing
Gifts of the Spirit” by “The American Theosophist.” They wrote:
“... an inspiring handbook for developing one’s own capabilities
for richer living and giving .” Theosophists are Spiritist’s who
are part of the New Age Movement, they are not a good endorsement.
She believed what we hear from so many others today,that
Christians today should do the same miracles that Jesus did (
Sealed Orders, pp. 13, 26).No doubt many who say this have read
her books. Read Part
1, Part
2 & Part
3.
(741) Does
‘Vision Casting’ Have Anything To Do With Abiding In Christ And
Bearing Much Fruit? by Mike Ratliff, 2/24/21 I have always listened closely to the direction the Lord has lead
me as I become troubled by something I have heard someone preach
or someone asks me a question that causes me to become troubled in
my spirit or circumstances become skewed in such a way that the
Holy Spirit uses that to get my attention and through these
various “things” and many others, I start praying, asking for
direction, looking deeply into the Word, asking godly counsel from
men I know who do the same thing. This post below was written and
put online back in August of 2015…. We had just moved from Deer
Creek to Yukon and were not yet settled where we would attend
church. I was researching this when I heard a sermon from one of
the pastors of a church we were looking at. What I heard troubled
my spirit and this post was the result. If you are serious about
your walk, and you should be, then you probably already know that
the visible church is full of man-centered preaching and teaching.
Vision Casting is just one of the man-centered teachings that come
from this. On the other hand, a genuine God centered handling of
worship and preaching and teaching will always be about God, the
Son, the Holy Spirit, all bound to the Word of God and the message
will be bound to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, not in any
way some sort of motivational pep-talk to get people busy being
religious.
(742) InterVarsity
Press Calls on Christians to Engage in Lectio Divina—Leading
Them Down a Road of Peril at Lighthouse Trails, 4/29/21 Long-time Lighthouse Trails readers are well aware that
InterVarsity Press (one of evangelical Christianity’s biggest
publishers) began down the contemplative spirituality path many
years ago. But most Christians are not aware of this and many turn
to publishers like IVP for their spiritual nourishment. But doing
so leads to spiritual disaster rather than spiritual benefit.
(743) The
Nature Behind Contemplative Prayer: The Heart of Occultism
by Ray Yungen, 6/12/21 Many Christians might have great difficulty accepting the
assessment that what is termed Christian mysticism is, in truth,
not Christian at all. They might feel this rejection is spawned by
a heresy-hunting mentality that completely ignores the love and
devotion to God that also accompanies the mystical life. To those
who are skeptical, I suggest examining the writings of Philip St.
Romain, who wrote a book about his journey into contemplative
prayer called Kundalini Energy and Christian Spirituality. This
title is revealing because kundalini is a Hindu term for the
mystical power or force that underlies Hindu spirituality. In
Hinduism, it is commonly referred to as the serpent power.
(744) Mindfulness:
What You May Not Know And Should Have Been Told by
Lighthouse Trails, 6/28/21 Currently, “mindfulness” is being introduced to tens of thousands
of public schools across America. One group alone, Healthy Schools
Program, which includes mindfulness as part of its program, is in
over 30,000 public schools (that’s about one third of all public
schools in America).1 Programs such as Healthy Schools* claim that
children behave better and think more clearly when they
incorporate mindfulness exercises into their school regime.
Researcher and author Ray Yungen states: In recent years, a type
of meditation known as mindfulness has made a surprising showing.
Based on current trends, it has the potential to eclipse even Yoga
in popularity. You will now find it everywhere that people are
seeking therapeutic approaches to ailments or disorders. . . it is
presented as something to cure society’s ills.2 School
administrators, principals, teachers, and other school officials
are being told that mindfulness is safe, is not religious, and is
not the same as eastern or Buddhist meditation. This booklet will
examine several aspects of mindfulness and will help to show why
mindfulness meditation should not be brought into the schools and
taught to children.
(745) After
Ignored Warnings by LT, Gungor Worship Leader Tweet Says Buddha,
Muhammad and You Are Christ at Lighthouse Trails, 8/4/21 LTRJ Note: In 2012, Lighthouse Trails tried to warn the church
about the contemplative-promoting band, Gungor, in our article
titled Tens of Thousands Introduced to Contemplative Advocates
Gungor and David Crowder at Greg Laurie’s Harvest Crusade. Our
warning was ignored by Christian leaders such as Greg Laurie and
certain other large Calvary Chapel churches. As for Michael
Gungor, we do not find it surprising that after practicing
contemplative prayer all these years, he moved into the
interspiritual (i.e., all paths lead to God) camp. As Ray Yungen
pointed out so succinctly, this is the “natural” course
contemplative practitioners tragically take. And this is why,
after nearly 20 years, Lighthouse Trails continues warning the
church about occultic mystical practices such as centering prayer
and contemplative spirituality. The following news story is posted
for informational and research purposes.
(746) Sarah
Young’s New Agey Mystical Moonlight Conversion by Warren
B. Smith, 9/8/21 In the original introduction to Jesus Calling, Sarah Young
described how it was a walk in “God’s glorious creation” that led
to her mystical moonlight conversion—that her “heart” was
“converted” to “Jesus” when she “felt” “enveloped” by the “warm
mist” of His “Presence.” Her account is reminiscent of how many of
us fell prey to deceptive spiritual experiences rather than
heeding warnings from the Word of God about “another Jesus,”
“another gospel,” and “another spirit.” (2 Corinthians 11:4;
Galatians 1:6-7; 1 Timothy 4:1). Note how Young clearly
transitions right from “it was God’s glorious creation that helped
me open my heart to Him” into her walk in the “snowy mountains”
with its “cold moonlit beauty.” It is a continuous flow from one
paragraph to the next.
(747) Contemplative
Prayer or the Holy Spirit – It Can’t Be Both! by Ray
Yungen, 9/17/21 Two authors from Great Britain portray a stunningly clear picture
of New Age spirituality. They explain: [T]he keynote of it appears
to be a movement for synthesis derived from an understanding of
the underlying unity behind all things and the sense of oneness
that this brings. This oneness of all life is the crux of the New
Age movement.1 Catholic monk M. Basil Pennington defined the
contemplative spiritual worldview in his book Thomas Merton My
Brother. He related: The Spirit enlightened him [Merton] in the
true synthesis [unity] of all and in the harmony of that huge
chorus of living beings. In the midst of it he lived out a vision
of a new world, where all divisions have fallen away and the
divine goodness is perceived and enjoyed as present in all and
through all.2 The first viewpoint describes God as the oneness of
all existence. In Merton’s new world, God is perceived as being
present “in all and through all.” It certainly appears that the
same spirit enlightened both parties. The only difference was
Merton’s revelation worked in a Christian context just as
occultist Alice Bailey predicted. Unfortunately, this context is
now commonplace in Catholic circles, becoming so in mainline
Protestant churches, and being eagerly explored and embraced by an
ever-increasing number of evangelical Christians.
(748) Shamanism
Revived - The Seduction Of Christianity Audio Book - Chapter
Nine by Dave Hunt, 9/18/21 The Bible clearly states that a great Apostasy must occur before
Christ's second coming. Today, Christians are being deceived by a
worldview more subtle and seductive than any before. What are the
dangers in the growing acceptance and practice of:
* Positive and possibility thinking
* Healing of memories
* Self-help philosophies
* Holistic medicine
The seduction of Christianity will not appear as a frontal assault
or oppression of our religious beliefs. Instead, it will come as
the latest fashionable philosophies offering to make us happier,
healthier, better educated, and even more spiritual. A compelling
look at the times in which we live and a clear call to every
believer to choose between the original and the counterfeit.
(749) Another
Shack Betrayal: A Cat Named Judas by Warren B. Smith,
11/4/21 The name Judas has been described as the most hated name in all
the world. Except for Shack author William Paul Young and maybe a
few exceptional others, hardly anybody ever names anyone or
anything Judas. It is one of those forbidden names like Jezebel or
Lucifer that people would never dream of naming their child, their
dog—or their cat. The very name denotes a sense of treachery and
betrayal. After all, Judas was the one who openly betrayed Jesus
and paved the way for His crucifixion. So what was William Paul
Young thinking? Why does The Shack’s most endearing
character—Missy—have a cat named Judas?1 And it seems especially
odd to have a cat with that name in a family where the mother’s
faith is described as “deep”2 and Missy is asking sincere
questions about Jesus’ death.3
(750) Concerns
About the Lectio 365 App (aka: Pete Greig and Lectio Divina)
by Lighthouse Trails, 11/11/21 This group is connected with Pete Greig (Red Moon Rising) whom we
warned about several years ago. Greig is a founding “team” member
of Lectio 365 and has proven himself to be a long-time strong
emergent contemplative proponent.
https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=4009. A perusal
of the Lectio 365 website reveals just as many concerns as back
when we first warned about Greig. Plus, the site is
promoting Greig’s book, https://www.24-7prayer.com/redmoonrising
showing that the propensity has not changed (for the good) over
the years. In fact, it has only gotten worse, which is what
happens with contemplative prayer. Here you can see that they are
promoting Black Lives Matter: https://www.24-7prayer.com/justice.
Thus it would stand to reason that they are promoting Critical
Race Theory as well. And, of course, the Lectio 365 app is
inspired by the practice of Lectio Divina.
https://www.24-7prayer.com/lectio365-resource. Sadly, many young
people are attracted to groups like this. Below is the content of
our article on Lectio Divina. See also the links below that for
documentation.
(751) The
Global Church Network: Is It a New Age Path to “Back-door”
Ecumenism? by Cedric Fisher, 2/15/22 This article is about the largest pastor’s network, also called a
church, that appears to have the goal of becoming the global
church. Professing Christians should know that there must be a
one-world government to fulfill the prophesies of Revelation 13.
They should also know that there must also be a one-world church
or religion to compose the False Prophet’s kingdom. Thus, when a
rapidly growing entity fraught with heresy and New
Age/Christianity, joined by over 2500 denominations and
ministries, including many heads of denominations, notorious
politicians, journalists, and other secular icons, rises up to
loom over all the other church networks, it is significant. I took
a closer look at this network. This article presents some of my
discoveries. I concluded that it is a dangerous organization based
on Leonard Sweet’s influence alone. Why are the heads of
denominations, including the Assemblies of God, Church of God,
Nazarene, et al, joined with this network?
(752) Video
Critique: The Chosen—Calling John the Baptist “Creepy John” and
Jesus and John the Baptist Arguing About Herod at
Lighthouse Trails, 2/24/22 Did you know that in the hugely popular series, The Chosen, the
apostle Peter continually calls John the Baptist “creepy John”?
Yet the Bible highly esteems John the Baptist saying he would “be
great in the sight of the Lord” and come in the spirit and power
of Elijah—Luke 1:15-17. Did you know that in The Chosen, Jesus and
John the Baptist get into an argument about whether John should
confront Herod or not. But would the Bible’s John of the Baptist,
who said he was not even worthy to untie the laces of Jesus’
sandles, argue with Jesus Christ, and is there any hint in God’s
Word that Jesus disapproved of John the Baptist’s confronting a
leader who was committing adultery? The following video, done by a
man who gave us permission to use his video, shows and discusses
these scenes and others from The Chosen. As did our booklet, The
Chosen Series: 10 Critical Concerns,1 the video below provides
ample evidence that The Chosen discredits God’s Word.
(753) NAMB
& David Platt Church Plant Promotes Enneagram For Church
Training by Capstone Report, 3/22/22
A church in Virginia planted by the New City Network–a partnership
funded by NAMB and McLean Bible Church promotes the use of the
Enneagram in its new member training class. Conservative Christian
experts warn of the dangers of the Enneagram. SBC Presidential
candidate Willy Rice is vice chairman of the NAMB trustees charged
with oversight of NAMB.
(754) Christianity’s
‘Trip’ To The East by Don and Joy Veinot – Midwestern
Christian Outreach, 3/28/22
“[M]any of the leading voices in the spiritual formation movement
stress the need for more intuitive interpretations of
spirituality. They encourage believers to incorporate a wide
variety of extrabiblical spiritual practices, such as
contemplative prayer, silence, meditation, creative expression,
and Yoga. In fact, some of the most popular methods of spiritual
formation have been lifted from Catholicism, new age mysticism, or
other religions and rebranded with biblical-sounding terminology.”
The 1960s and ’70s was a time of great transition for Western
culture – and in our opinion, not in a good way. Sadly in our
view, America led the way down that slippery slope. Social mores
and long-held religious tenets were challenged and often discarded
by young people, which raised the eyebrows of former generations
and truly frightened many parents.
(755) Lesbians
And Homosexuals To Train Leaders At AWANA ‘Child Discipleship’
Conference at CRN, 3/29/22
“It is clear the direction the ministry is moving—the same
direction that the rest of mainstream Evangelicalism is going.
Ultimately, this is going to have an effect from the top down and
it will make its way into your church if it is not stopped.” AWANA
is a program used by many Evangelical churches as a tool to train
children in various areas of discipleship, primarily, Scripture
memorization. While churches use the program in varying
degrees—ranging from nothing more than practicing and reciting
Scripture to using the full curriculum—it should be noted that the
direction the ministry is going is troubling, to say the least.
(756) New
YouTube Channel for Ray Yungen Lectures by Chris Lawson,
4/7/22
Lighthouse Trails friend, author, and ministry colleague Chris
Lawson (director of Spiritual Research Network) has created a new
YouTube channel for Ray Yungen’s lecture and conference videos. We
want to thank Chris for providing this resource; and we hope you
will get a chance to check it out. For those who are not familiar
with Ray’s work, he has played a major role for the last 20 years
in the ministry of Lighthouse Trails helping to equip the church
in understanding and avoiding spiritual deception. The lectures on
the YouTube channel contain vital information and documentation
that continues to be relevant today. Ray passed away in 2016, but
his legacy of discernment lives on. Ray
Yungen’s YouTube channel.
(757) Sorceries
or Salvation—Which Shall It Be? by Ray Yungen, 4/10/22
Just what exactly is God’s desire for mankind? Does He want to
send people to Hell? Does He want anyone to live eternally without
Him? Scripture is very clear about this when it says: The Lord is
not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but
is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) God makes a
strong plea to all people, giving them every opportunity to
receive Him. It is God’s desire that none should perish eternally.
That’s why He offered His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ—the only
perfect sacrifice for mankind’s sin: Therefore as by the offence
of one [Adam] judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so
by the righteousness of one [Jesus] the free gift came upon all
men unto justification of life. (Romans 5:18) What it comes down
to is the preaching of the higher self (as taught in contemplative
spirituality) versus the preaching of the Cross. The New Age says
that God is the higher self in man—that God is just a meditation
away.
(758) The
Enneagram Is The Face Of God And The Body Of Christ? by
Marcia Montenegro – Midwest Christian Outreach, 4/26/22
The distortions of God continue unchecked in the culture of the
Enneagram celebrities. A recent example is Rev. Michael John
Cusick, M.A., L.P.C., founder and CEO of Restoring the Soul, an
organization in Colorado. IAN CRON recently promoted Michael John
Cusick on his Typology podcast. In doing a bit of research on
Cusick and his organization, I came across his podcast, “Episode
100 – Kelley Gray, ‘5 Ways the Enneagram Can Strengthen Your
Marriage, Part II: Understanding How Your Partner Handles
Conflict’” on Luminary.
(759) “Progressive”
Christianity—After Our Children and Grandchildren by
Berit Kjos, 5/4/22 Today’s “progressive” emerging churches have little love for the
old certainties that have grounded genuine Christians in God’s
revealed truth for 2000 years. They say those precious guidelines
don’t fit the new dialectic and collective ways of thinking.
Today’s entertainment-driven Christians prefer “feel good”
assurances stripped of unwanted references to sin, guilt, or moral
boundaries.
(760) Letter
to the Editor: I Discovered the Christian College I Was
Attending Was “Woke”! by S.M., 5/11/22
I am grateful to God for using you and your website to open my
eyes on so many spiritual war fronts. The reason I am writing this
e-mail is because I am looking for a list of Christian higher
education establishments that have signed on with the woke
movement. I recently applied to a “Christian” college (College of
Bbiblical Studies [CBS], Houston) after first pre-checking the
name of the institution against your list of Christian colleges
that promote spiritual formation. I thought I was safe since it
was not on the list, but boy was I wrong! I recently watched a DVD
titled Enemies Within the Church, and I was struck when they noted
that woke “Christian” colleges and seminaries focused heavily on
philosophy and worldviews rather than Scripture. I was dumbfounded
when I heard this because one of the required classes I had signed
up for at CBS seemed to be heavily focused on philosophy and
worldviews. This greatly concerned me, so I dug a little deeper
and found that one of the professors teaching at CBS actually
wrote the book Woke Church.
(761) The
Big Picture: How the World and the Church Are Being Deceived:
Ten Spiritual Devices by Warren B. Smith, 5/22/22
Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant
of his devices. (2 Corinthians 2:11) Many years ago, I was
recruited into the New Age movement to help implement its
deceptive peace plan. The same devices used to deceive me into
accepting its teachings are the same devices being used today to
deceive the world—and the church. These devices are preparing
everyone for a seemingly “wonderful” peace plan that is being
euphemistically described as God’s Dream for the world. The
following are ten of these deceptive spiritual devices.
(762) Sarah
Young’s Heretical Book ‘Jesus Calling’ Has Sold 40,000,000
Copies by Protestia, 6/4/22
It can’t be denied: The Jesus of Sarah Young sounds suspiciously
like a twenty-first century, Western, middle-aged woman. ~ Tim
Challies In an announcement betraying the sad state of affairs in
the Christian World, Publishers Weekly has announced that Sarah
Young’s Jesus Calling devotional has sold over 40,000,000 copies
across all formats and editions. Three years ago it had sold
30,000,000 copies, meaning that it shows no sign of slowing down
and is one of the best-selling ‘christian’ books of all time.
(763) Dallas
Jenkins’ “definitive (final) comments” on the Mormon issue
exposed presented by The Word Like Fire Ministries,
6/5/22 Video is done by a former Mormon whom we have featured before.
Recently Dallas Jenkins, creator of The Chosen, has tried to
wiggle out of some of his comments such as Christians and Mormons
“love the same Jesus.” This excellent and short video demonstrates
that, in spite his masterful effort at muddying the waters,
Jenkins did make these claims. Click here
to watch the video.
(764) Letter
to the Editor: Diana Butler Bass and Westmont College Steered
Daughter Away From the Faith at Lighthouse Trails,
6/6/22
Dear Lighthouse Trails: I thank you for the work you are doing for
God’s kingdom. I enjoy your newsletters and have been taught many
things to steer clear of because of your faithful and great
teaching. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Our
daughter, unfortunately, attended a Christian college in the mid
90s (Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California), and they
steered her away from the faith. I still don’t understand exactly
what they taught. But I do know that her mentor and one of her
professors (a Ms. Diana Butler—you’ve probably heard if her)
really did a number on her. Anyway, I digress and just wanted to
not only ask for the information in the book, A Time of Departing,
but also to say thank you. May I ask that you and your team please
pray for our daughter’s salvation. We want so desperately
for her to seek the Lord. She isn’t receptive to our views at all.
We’re praying for a miracle. C.H.
(765) Evangelical
Race Consultant Says Only ‘Redeemed’ (Woke) White People Should
Be Hired And Promoted At Seminaries by The Dissenter,
6/26/22
The IF Gathering conference has been a blemish on the Evangelical
Church since it started in 2014 hosting people from nearly every
aberrant theological sect of Christendom while avoiding any actual
gospel content. The annual conference exists to advance the “woke
church” movement, the Prosperity Gospel, and charismatic
charlatanry into mainstream Evangelicalism and includes speakers
ranging on the spectrum from extremely troubling views to rank
heretics.
(766) Christianity
Is Missing Out on Something Vital – Is This True? by Ray
Yungen, 8/13/22 Contemplative advocates propose that something vital and
important has been missing from the church for centuries. The
insinuation is that Christians have been lacking something
necessary for their spiritual vitality; but that would mean the
Holy Spirit has not been fully effective for hundreds of years and
only now the secret key has been found that unlocks God’s full
power to know Him. These proponents believe that Christianity has
been seriously crippled without this extra ingredient. This kind
of thinking leads one to believe that traditional, biblical
Christianity is merely a philosophy without the contemplative
prayer element. Contemplatives are making a distinction between
studying and meditating on the Word of God versus experiencing
Him, suggesting that we cannot hear Him or really know Him simply
by studying His Word or even through normal prayer—we must be
contemplative to accomplish this. But the Bible makes it clear
that the Word of God is living and active and has always been that
way, and it is in filling our minds with it that we come to love
Him, not through a mystical practice of stopping the flow of
thought (the stillness) that is never once mentioned in the Bible,
except in warnings against vain repetitions in the New Testament
and divination in the Old Testament.
(767) Letter
to the Editor: The Salvation Army Continues on the Ecumenical
Road at Llighthouse Trails, 10/25/22
LTRP Note: Lighthouse Trails first wrote about the Salvation
Army’s move into the contemplative/emerging camp in July of 2006
in an article titled, “Salvation Army Joins the
Contemplative/Emerging Ranks.” Later that year, we reported on
Salvation Army’s partnering with Pete Greig’s emergent 24/7 Prayer
and Boiler Rooms movement. In 2008, we reported that Salvation
Army had linked arms with Rick Warren’s ecumenical PEACE
coalition. In 2009, we showed Salvation Army’s connection with the
ecumenical G12 Master Plan and in 2010, SA’s involvement with the
G8 World Religions Summit. Then in 2019, showing TSA’s prolonged
ecumenical propensity, we posted an article titled “World Leader
of Salvation Army Meets With Pope Francis/Vatican to Discuss
Ecumenical Plans.”
(768) Letter
to the Editor Reveals Salvation Army Pushing Yoga, Meditation,
and Mystic Henri Nouwen at Lighthouse Trails, 11/21/22
I am enclosing some magazine articles put out by the Salvation
Army during the summer of 2022. One of them is from Peer magazine
that is for teenagers and college-age kids. The article from that
magazine is about [the Catholic contemplative mystic] Henri
Nouwen. The other article, “Meditation in Movement,” is from
SAconnects and is an article about so-called “Christian Yoga.”
(769) Jackie
Hill Perry Repents Of Using And Promoting The Enneagram, Calls
It Demonic by The Dissenter, 1/12/23
“If we could just get her to repent of all of her other false
teachings, such as Same-sex-attracted Christianity, feminism, the
social gospel, and charismaticism, and get her to step down and
sit under solid Bible teaching, she might become credible.” The
Enneagram, which is touted as a way–apart from the Scriptures–to
gain insight into one’s “true self,” restoring balance and
developing more desirable qualities to one’s personality and
reaching a state of spiritual “freedom,” is a system of
personality typing and self-awareness that was developed in the
20th century by George Gurdjieff and Oscar Ichazo. Its origins
have been linked to Gnostic principles and teachings, but its
compatibility with Christianity is highly contested by
Bible-believing Christianity.
(770) What
Christian Leaders and Pastors Need to Know – The Final Outcome
of Practicing Contemplative Prayer by Ray Yungen,
1/18/23
The final outcome of contemplative prayer is interspirituality. If
you have truly grasped the portrait I have tried to paint in my
books and articles, you have begun to see what this term
signifies. The focus of my criticism of mystical prayer must be
understood in the light of interspirituality.
(771)Evolution
& the New Age Movement by Sarah Leslie, Herescope,
1/20/23
Over the past several decades America has undergone a profound
transformation from a culture that was primarily Christian to one
that is now largely pagan. One of the primary reasons for this
change has been the widening influence of Eastern mysticism. A
central tenet of all Eastern religions is the belief that man is
evolving.
(772) Christianizing
the Force by Sarah Leslie, Herescope, 1/20/23
During the past few years, many strong voices within the Church
have sprung up, sounding the alarm concerning the spiritual
dangers of Yoga. They expressed concern as so-called “Christian”
Yoga groups cropped up all over the country seducing unsuspecting
believers away from the simplicity in Christ. Many of these
discerning speakers and authors have not made the connection with
the Martial Arts to its Eastern mother, Yoga.
(773) What is the “He Gets Us”
campaign? by Sandy Simpson, ACT, 2/4/23 There is a new campaign called “He Gets Us” presenting a false
Jesus. It is funded to the tune of $1 billion and promotes a
“Woke” Jesus. A $20 million ad buy will be spent on ads
during the Superbowl. Following the money and backers leads to
organizations such as Servant Christian Foundation #1, whose
donors remain anonymous. However, this organization’s
website is linked to The Church of the Servant #2 and The Seattle
School of Theology & Psychology #3.
(774) He
Gets Us Exposed: The Money And Marketing Behind The $20 Million
Superbowl Ads by Ray Fava – Evangelical Dark Web,
2/10/23
“In attempting to brand Jesus as rebellious, radical, and
anti-establishment, the He Gets Us campaign, initiated by the
Servant Foundation, is going to squander what they forecast to be
a billion dollars by 2025 on a puerile advertising campaign that
misapplies Scripture and slanders Christ. Moreover, it is reliant
upon pro-abortion creatives, Mormons, and apostates to create a
presentation that will fail to lead people to Christ. God’s word
does not come back void, but one must utilize Scripture for this
to be true.” While watching or attending sporting events in
America, the people have become exposed to the He Gets Us
campaign. Whether via commercials or through stadium advertising,
messages about Jesus are presented in the most trifling manner
with banal statements like “Jesus left it all on the field” to
more unscriptural statements like “Jesus was a refuge” and “Jesus
was fed up with politics, too” in vain attempts to make Jesus more
relatable to a modern audience.
(775) Bible
Project’s Tim Mackie And Contemplative Prayer by John
Lanagan – The Word Like Fire, 3/6/23
“Why do Mackie and Tyler Staton not know this about Keating? Sure,
Keating can speak “Christianese” if that is what his audience
requires. He can speak of Trinitarian love, or about Christ with
seeming sincerity. But it doesn’t take much effort at all to learn
about Keating’s actual theology.” “And that’s because the Divine
Presence is always with us. This can be understood as the
glorified Christ, or as the Holy Spirit, or as the Trinity, or as
the Higher Consciousness, or as the One Self, or as the Higher
Self.” – Contemplative prayer advocate Thomas Keating. Yikes!
Unholy.
(776) Will
“Revival” in Christian Colleges Bring About a Generation of
Mystics — With “Woke,” Not Biblical, Values? by
Lighthouse Trails, 3/8/23
One of the things we find interesting about the current “wokeism”
movement that is infecting numerous Christian colleges and
universities today is that we often hear some news source or
pastor or other Christian figure ask, “How did all these schools
become woke so fast.” What much of the church leadership is not
doing is “connecting the dots.” One of the “fruits” of a school
going contemplative is “wokeism.” Some of the other “fruits,”
(which actually help define “Christian wokeism”) of the
contemplative movement are: A move from a biblical creation view
to a more humanistic evolutionary opinion. This explains why so
many young people attending contemplative schools come away four
years later as atheists, leaving behind the faith of their youth
and their parents. Moving away from an exclusive view that Jesus
is the only door to salvation and embracing a more inclusive idea
that all paths lead to God. A spiritual outlook that takes on
Buddhist and/or New Age-type characteristics. Changing morality
views from a conservative stance to a more liberal stance (which
spills over into the political arena as well – e.g., abortion). A
relaxed, even embracing, view on homosexuality and other sexual
deviances. Social justice taking the place of biblical true
justice. Dismissing the idea that Israel and the Jews have a
significant role in Bible prophecy for the endtimes which often
leads to antisemitic sympathies. A diminishing view on the
inerrancy of the Bible.
(777) The
Bible Project’s Tim Mackie Believes Penal Substitutionary
Atonement Stems From Pagan Sacrifice Rituals by John
Lanagan – The Word Like Fire, 3/17/23
“In his denial of the Penal Substitutionary Atonement, Tim Mackie
is following in the footsteps of The Shack author William Paul
Young, and many others.” Pay close attention to yourself and to
your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you
will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear
you. (1 Timothy 4:16) Concerns about Bible Project and its
co-founder Tim Mackie continue to grow. The recent discovery of
Mackie’s advocacy of anti-biblical meditative practices has been
stunning.
(778) Makes
No Sense for Contemplatives to Celebrate Easter by
Lighthouse Trails, 4/7/23
The Church’s fixation on the death of Jesus as the universal
saving act must end, and the place of the cross must be reimagined
in Christian faith. Why? Because of the cult of suffering and the
vindictive God behind it.1—Alan Jones, Episcopal contemplative
priest. The New Age believes that the teachings of the East and of
the West must be fused and blended before the true and universal
religion—for which the world waits—could appear on Earth. In other
words, all religions must come together under the umbrella of
metaphysics (mysticism). While the average Christian would agree
that this doesn’t line up with Scripture, the Christian church has
been overtaken by this very concept, but in a deceitful, cunning
manner. And it rejects the very thing that can save a soul—the
atonement for sin on the Cross by Jesus Christ. He was a
substitute, and He took our place. Without that atonement, we are
lost forever.
(779) Visio
Divina: A Mystical Practice by Any Other Name Is Still a
Mystical Practice at Lighthouse Trails, 4/15/23
The term was not typically used in the English form until the 21st
century and most of that use has occurred in just the last few
years. Today, dozens and dozens of books have been published which
include the term. In the Preface (written by editors) of Spiritual
Formation: Following the Movements of the Spirit (a book written
by the late Catholic mystic Henri Nouwen), it states: Although the
editors have used the term visual divina for many years in
workshops and retreats, visio divina—the Latin version of sacred
seeing—has started to appear on Web sites devoted to contemporary
prayer and meditation. The postmodern practice of visio divina,
combined with the ancient practice of lectio divina, provides an
integrative, sensory, spiritual approach to connecting with divine
creativity and presence in sacred word and image. (p. 137) The
book also states: The ancient practice of meditating on visual
images has recently been identified as visio divina (divine or
sacred seeing). In our world of many words, sitting in silent
reflection with an image may aid in the descent of your mind into
the heart. (emphasis added) We know from studying contemplative
spirituality for over twenty years that the “descent of your mind
into the heart” is contemplative language referring to the altered
state of consciousness that is reached during mystical meditation.
(780) “Asbury
Students, Professor Join Tony Campolo’s Pro-gay, Progressive
Protégé, Shane Claiborne, to Discuss ‘Revival’ in Viral Video”
at Lighthouse Trails, 5/2/23
LTRP Note: The following out of house article by Christian News
Network is from February 16th, 2023, but even though it is over
two months old, we believe it is another piece of the puzzle
regarding the “Asbury revival.” For those who are not familiar
with the names Shane Claiborne and Tony Campolo, you may visit our
research site and use the search engine to find ample information
about both of them. They are part of the emergent/progressive/woke
church. You may also wish to read our March 6th article “Will
‘Revival’ in Christian Colleges Bring About a Generation of
Mystics — With ‘Woke,’ Not Biblical, Values?”
(781) Why
Do Evangelical Churches Look So Much Like The Secular Culture
Around Them? at CRN, 5/4/23
“It’s high time for us to rise up, dust off our Bibles, and stand
firm on the solid rock of God’s Word. We must reject the
temptation to bow down to the idols of modern culture and instead
be unwavering ambassadors for Christ. Our mission is to spread the
Gospel, call sinners to repentance, and uphold the truth that
there is no salvation apart from Jesus.” As the eschatological
clock continues to tick, and as we ever approach Christ’s return,
it seems like every self-promoting, virtue-signaling Evangelical
has jumped on the bandwagon of ever-shifting cultural movements.
These trends, ranging from the use of preferred pronouns to a
misguided “compassion” for mothers willing to take their unborn
children to be killed on the altar of convenience, have been
creeping into our churches and our homes watering down the truth
of God in His word and robbing Him of His glory in creation.
(782) Is
Your Church Doing “Spiritual Formation”? (Important Reasons Why
They Shouldn’t) by Lighthouse Trails, 5/22/23 Lighthouse Trails wrote this report in 2014. Since then, we have
watched “Spiritual Formation” explode within the church. After
over twenty years of warnings, to our dismay, the issue has not
been challenged or even questioned by most of today’s Christian
leaders and pastors. Is your church involved in a Spiritual
Formation program? If so, you might want to ask the question, what
exactly is Spiritual Formation? It’s a fair question, and one
that, if not asked, could end up surprising you when your church
changes in ways you never imagined.
(783) The
Story Of Us: We Preach Not Jesus, But the Story Of Us: We Preach
Not Jesus, But Ourselves by Shane Rosenthal, 7/13/23 “Rather than focusing on Christ’s death, burial and resurrection
as testified by a multitude of reliable witnesses and written in
advance throughout the Scriptures, many Christians today have
chosen to proclaim a different gospel entirely. This new and
improved gospel is The Story of Us. This story is one that is
perceived to be much more credible and effective than the story of
Jesus, because, unlike the story of Jesus, it can’t be refuted.
The end result is that we’ve inverted Paul’s statement in 2Cor
4:5—we preach not Jesus, but ourselves.” In her book, Spirituality
for Dummies, Sharon Janis writes, “In a nutshell, spirituality
relates to your own personal experience and relationship with the
divine…Dogma can muddy the waters of a spiritual path.” Similarly,
in his book Conversations with God, Neale Donald Walsch writes
that “leaders, ministers, books, and even the Bible itself are not
authoritative sources.”…
(784) A
Dangerous Walk With Eugene Peterson by Warren B. Smith,
7/24/23
The danger of entrusting one’s Christian walk to Eugene Peterson
and his Message translation was dramatically underscored in a 2007
book Peterson wrote titled The Jesus Way.
(785) Russell
Moore’s Church-Teaching Partner Says New Age Breathing
Techniques Originate In Jesus by The Dissenter, 8/25/23
A few months ago, I published a video on Twitter of a man named
Curtis Chang who made the asinine argument that getting the COVID
vaXX was just like Jesus saving people—the vaccine “redeemed an
abortion” the same way Jesus redeems sinners. That was literally
his argument. Chang, a contributor at the pro-evolution BioLogos
organization and the author of several books, including The
Anxiety Opportunity: How Worry Is the Doorway to Your Best Self,
has joined forces with former SBC ERLC head, Russell Moore, and
progressive grifter, David French, to create a curriculum for
churches to teach congregants about politics.
(786) Christian
Journaling, Mystical Spirituality, And New Revelations From God?
by Chris Lawson, 9/6/23
Spiritual Journaling, spirit journaling, Christian Journaling, and
newfound daily devotional “revelations” have become excessively
popular. Many people claim receiving direct spirit revelations
from God, and others, messages from Jesus Himself. Others claim to
receive prompts from the Holy Spirit through Christian Journaling,
which many are not from God. Some famous Christian authors even
give no scriptural warnings as they teach people how to listen for
“messages from God.” These practices can be spiritually hazardous!
(787) Christian-Cloaked
Occultism by The Dissenter, 9/13/23
“These practices, seductive as they may be, drift away from the
core biblical teachings and often have more in common with New Age
or occult beliefs than they do with orthodox Christianity. It’s a
growing concern that necessitates unwavering discernment.” In Part
XIII of our hard-hitting series on the Snares of the Modern
Church, we unmask one of the most pernicious yet insidious traps
that have ensnared unwitting believers—occultism. Yes, you read
that right. We’re talking about occult practices that have
slithered their way into modern Christianity, camouflaging
themselves as “spiritual disciplines” or “deep prayer methods.”
From Lectio Divina promoted by well-known figures like John Piper,
to Contemplative Prayer endorsed by many leaders including the
late Tim Keller, these practices have wormed their way into
mainstream Christian thought.
(788) Meditation’s
Role in the End of the Age by Ray Yungen, 9/18/23
Throughout my Christian life I have periodically heard fellow
Christians suggest we are in the last days. Often these comments
were initiated from current cases of violent crimes, sexual
perversions, war, or natural disasters. Since I knew history had
repeatedly encountered these calamities, such predictions of
Christ’s imminent return rang hollow. However, in 1984 I had an
unexpected encounter that changed my entire outlook. A newfound
friend educated me about the New Age movement and its end-times
implications. After a period of investigation, I came to believe
this could very well be the time period the book of Revelation
showcases. Instead of a vague and obscure manifestation of
prophecy, I saw something distinct and pervasive happening in our
churches and society. And incredibly enough, this shift has been
predicted from both sides of the struggle.
(789) InterVarsity
Press Claims Success of Their New-Age Promoting Enneagram Book,
The Road Back to You by Lighthouse Trails, 10/12/23
Last week, a news release from InterVarsity Press, arrived in our
inbox (Lighthouse Trails is on their e-mail list in order to track
their continual flow of contemplative/emergent/New-Age
sympathizing books). The news release was announcing the
seven-year anniversary of the release of their book, The Road Back
to You by Ian Morgan Cron and is a book about the Enneagram. The
release states: "Self-awareness seems like the thing that everyone
wants but yet it may be the very thing that is still elusive to so
many of us. Seven years ago, The Road Back to You was
published and it became an instant hit. The book introduced the
enneagram to thousands of people within months and then just kept
going and going. I don’t think that’s because the Enneagram was
already popular. Most people didn’t know what the Enneagram was
until they read the book. What I believe happened is that people
learned about the Enneagram and then discovered that the Enneagram
led them toward greater self-awareness. The kind of self-awareness
they had been looking for."
(790) The
Dangers Of Spiritual Formation And Spiritual Disciplines
by Mike Ratliff, 11/8/23
20 If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of
the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit
yourself to decrees: 21 “Do not handle, nor taste, nor touch”? 22
Which deal with everything destined to perish with use, which are
in accordance with the commands and teachings of men; 23 which are
matters having, to be sure, a word of wisdom in self-made religion
and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no
value against fleshly indulgence. Colossians 2:20-23 (LSB) As we
have been seeing, in the attacks on the Church by what is now
called “Progressive Christianity,” what the enemies of God’s Truth
are actually constructing is a Spiritual Labyrinth whose
complexity is designed to confuse and deceive.
(791) Bill
Gothard on Visualization as “One of the Most Basic Aspects of
Faith” by Don and Joy Veinot, 12/2/23
Bill Gothard’s unique and at times, unbiblical teachings have
impacted churches, homeschool groups, and Christians far beyond
the over two and a half million that have attended his Basic
Seminar. If his teaching on authority is applied consistently,
Jesus was a sinner, visualization is “one of the most basic
aspects of faith,” and First Century authoritarianism is the
biblical model for Christians and the church. We decided to post
an excerpt of our updated and newly released book, A Matter of
Basic Principles: Bill Gothard and His Cultish Teaching. This
comes from chapter three, “The Emerald City.”
(792) The
Mystical Revolution: How Millions of People Have Been Introduced
to the Aquarian Age by Ray Yungen, 1/13/24
Most people understand there’s been a number of revolutions over
the past forty years or so, beginning in the ’60s. For instance,
there’s been the sexual revolution, the feminist revolution, and
what you might call the drug revolution. These were social
movements that changed and altered society to a significant
degree. Before this time period, people more or less stayed with
convention. They more or less conformed to society’s expectations
and codes of behavior. There were technical revolutions and
philosophical revolutions in the past, but the revolutions we have
had since the 1960s have turned society in a totally new
direction.
(793) Overlapping
Narrative for a False Christ by Warren B. Smith, 3/17/24
The following is an extract from the 2023 Lighthouse Trails book
written by seven LT authors, A
New Narrative for a “New” World. This portion below is by
former New Age follower, Warren B. Smith. While reading this, test
yourself to see how many of these terms you recognize and how many
you may have heard in a church or Christian setting.
(794) Warning:
Jenny Allen’s “Gather 25″—Another Effort for “UNITY” Outside the
Confines of Truth at Lighthouse Trails, 4/9/24
ecently, a Lighthouse Trails reader contacted us, concerned that
his church is going to be using a book by IF:Gathering founder
Jenny Allen. Lighthouse Trails posted a number of articles about
IF: Gathering in the past because of its strong emergent
influences. Today, Jenny Allen is still involved in bringing
dangerous teachings to the church.
(795) Craig
Groeschel’s Life Church Introducing New Age/Contemplative
Practices to Tens of Millions Through Its YouVersion Bible App
at Lighthouse Trails, 5/4/24 I attend Life Church with Pastor Craig Groeshcel. I have loved my
church and the YouVersion Bible app for years. Life Church is the
creator of the YouVersion Bible app, which was created in 2008.
But in the last couple of years, I have seen error creep into both
my church and the app. My intention in writing you is to
expose the contemplative prayer devotionals that are being
promoted by the app which has 750 million downloads as of 11/2023
and is being promoted heavily by Life.church.
(796) Teresa
of Avila – An Ancient Mystic Who Helped Shape Today’s Spiritual
Formation Movement by Carolyn A. Greene, 5/29/24
"And still they told me my visions were the work of evil spirits!
For six years, I was on trial . . . six years! So many prayers and
masses said, I grew weary of them all! Yet still the trances and
favors have become more violent and frequent . . . oh, I am in
distress, such great distress. I am weary, and so tired . . . so
very, very tired.—Teresa of Avila" Teresa of Avila was a Carmelite
nun who was born in Spain in 1515. As a young girl with an active
imagination and great love for books, she was profoundly affected
by her mother’s death, which left her emotionally empty. In
despair, she threw herself before an image of the Virgin Mary and
begged her to be her new mother. This extreme devotion to the
Mother Mary soon gave way to an interest in fashion as her beauty
blossomed. With it, the passion for reading, writing, and romance
was rekindled. Teresa’s concerned father sent her away to boarding
school at an Augustinian convent. However, when Teresa fell
dreadfully ill with malaria, the nuns sent for her father who came
to take her home. Recuperating from the serious illness and
suffering from headaches, Teresa read a book given to her from her
uncle called The Third Spiritual Alphabet by Francisco de Osuna,
from which she learned the practice of the prayer of
recollection.* Though previously not interested in reading about
such things, her illness had transformed her into a more serious
kind of girl. She soon learned to practice “the prayer of
quiet,”** a state where the soul is completely absorbed.
(797) What
Is Spiritual A.I.D.S.? by Don & Joy Veinot –
Midwestern Christian Outreach, 8/5/24 “The influence of Buddhism and Hinduism on Contemplative Prayer
is apparent. Words such as “detachment,” “transformation,”
“emptiness,” “enlightenment,” and “awakening” swim in and out of
the waters of these books. The use of such terms certainly
mandates a closer inspection of what is being taught, even though
Contemplative Prayer is presented as a Christian practice.”
Nehemiah is one of my favorite Old Testament books, and while
reading it this week, I came across a familiar favorite passage of
mine. Though I am familiar with the passage, I was struck anew
with its importance. Nehemiah had overseen the rebuilding of the
Jerusalem wall after Israel’s return to her land after exile. In
this passage they were installing the new gates to the city.
Nehemiah states in Nehemiah 7:1 “The gatekeepers, the singers, and
the Levites had been appointed.”
(798) Marie’s
Story: My Journey Out of One of the Largest Churches in America
at Lighthouse Trails, 8/11/24
I had to figure out what I was supposed to do. I couldn’t unknow
what I now knew. As a prayer leader at Life Church online, I had
promoted the YouVersion Bible app and sent that link to all new
believers as well as to anyone who currently didn’t have the app.
But now, how could I endorse the app that promotes and teaches
contemplative prayer, Spiritual Formation, breath prayers, and
much more? I continued to research and found nothing to convince
me that I should stay. The more I prayed about what to do, and the
more I sought counsel from friends outside of Life Church, the
more I realized I had to leave. How could I support a church that
was truly an emergent, mega church that was veering from God’s
truth in so many ways.
(799) The
New Spirituality at Lighthouse Trails, 8/13/24
Through Which Avenues is this New Mystical Spirituality
Entering the Church?
(800) Calvary
Chapel Costa Mesa Leader Dismisses Israel’s Present Right to
Their Homeland! by Emergent Watch, 8/17/24
In the latest example of the errors of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa
leadership – Brian Broderson – currently co-pastoring with his son
Char Brodersen – let’s Char take callers on live on KWVE radio
(the program CC founder Pastor Chuck Smith founded) On Calvary
Global Network’s KWVE radio program “Pastor’s Perspective – on
August 12th, 2024 – Calvary Chapel’s soon-to-be “Senior Pastor”
Char Brodersen answered a phone-in question regarding the Jewish
people and their right to the Biblical homeland. The original
broadcast was over an hour in length. So we can’t be accused of
taking him “out of context’ – the entire section with this caller,
and Char’s response has been screen captured. (also lest the
original be deleted or edited). Click
here to continue reading.
(801) Lighthouse
Trails to Send Out 24th Mailing to Christian Pastors and Leaders
by Lighthouse Trails, 1/13/25
Since 2016, Lighthouse Trails has been sending out topical
booklets (usually two-three times a year) to a growing list of
pastors and Christian leaders. On Friday, January 17th, Lighthouse
Trails will be sending out our first mailing of 2025 to Christian
leaders and pastors. Our current list has around 1100 names. If
you would like your pastor or a church leader to begin receiving
these free mailings, please send the name and a valid mailing
address to us at editors@lighthousetrails.com. The names and
addresses on this list will remain confidential and not be given
or sold to anyone. Please note, if you are sending a church
address, we need a mailing address (which is not necessarily a
street address). Many churches do not have a mail receptacle on
location (and thus those envelopes are returned to us, and we are
charged a fee).
(802) The
Final Outcome of Practicing Contemplative Prayer by Ray
Yungen, 1/20/25
The final outcome of contemplative prayer is interspirituality
(i.e., all paths lead to God). If you have truly grasped the
portrait I have tried to paint in my book, A Time of Departing,
and articles I have written, you have begun to see what this term
signifies. The focus of my criticism of mystical prayer must be
understood in the light of interspirituality. Just what exactly is
interspirituality? The premise behind interspirituality is that
divinity (God) is in all things (panentheism), and the presence of
God is in all religions; there is a connecting together of all
things, and through mysticism (i.e., meditation) this state of
divinity can be recognized. Consequently, this is a premise that
is based on and upheld by an experience that occurs during a
self-hypnotic trance linking one to an unseen world rather than to
the sound doctrine of the Bible. It is important to understand
that interspirituality is a uniting of the world’s religions
through the common thread of mysticism. New Age teacher Wayne
Teasdale, a lay monk who coined the term interspirituality, says
that interspirituality is “the spiritual common ground which
exists among the world’s religions.”
(803) Should
Christians Dialogue With Obvious Apostates And Heretics?
by Mike Ratliff, 3/2/25
8 Now to sum up, all of you be like-minded, sympathetic,
brotherly, tender-hearted, and humble in spirit; 9 not returning
evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but giving a blessing
instead, for you were called for the very purpose that you might
inherit a blessing. 10 For, “THE ONE WHO DESIRES LIFE, TO LOVE AND
SEE GOOD DAYS, MUST KEEP HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM
SPEAKING DECEIT. 11 HE MUST TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD; HE
MUST SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT. 12 FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE
TOWARD THE RIGHTEOUS, AND HIS EARS ATTEND TO THEIR PRAYER, BUT THE
FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST THOSE WHO DO EVIL.” 1 Peter 3:8-12
(LSB) This era of the Church is one of extreme deception due to
compromise with the standards and focus of the world. Separation
between the Church and the world is not being kept. Instead, the
holy barrier between the two has been breached as false prophets
have welcomed in not only the world and its ways into their
churches, but have also embraced the mysticism of the Eastern
religions.
(804) Is
Progressive Christianity Christian? by Don and Joy
Veinot – Midwest Christian Outreach, 3/4/25
Will the “old guard” liberals stand up for ideals they devoutly
championed just “yesterday?” Or will they just keep their mouths
shut and embrace the new – and very dogmatic “religion” of the
far-left “Progressives”? In his 1923 book Christianity &
Liberalism, J. Gresham Machen asserts that liberalism is another
religion unto itself, far removed from the biblical Christianity
from which it came. We think he makes some good points. In Chapter
Two of his book, he takes the liberalism (of his day) to task
concerning their public hostility toward doctrine – when, in fact,
they had simply created new doctrines that comport with what
Machen points out is essentially a new religion.
(805) Lent
and Contemplative . . . A Likely Match by Lighthouse
Trails, 3/8/25
While the Bible does not give any instruction to practice or
participate in Lent, many churches do. In fact, since the
contemplative prayer movement has come into full swing, more and
more churches are observing Lent. And, in fact, Lent is often
being used as the open door to bring contemplative prayer into a
church. This is largely done through the multitudes of books from
religious publishers who have now become conduits for
contemplative spirituality.*
Rob
Bell
(1) Deconstructing
Rob
Bell's False Gospel by Chris Rosebrough, Fighting For
Faith, July 21st, 2009 In this version of his Fighting for the Faith podcast from his
Pirate Christian Radio apologist Chris Rosebrough does a serious
and thorough deconstruction of the gospel-less gospel of Rob
Bell, a popular icon in the egregiously ecumenical Emerging
Church aka Emergent Church-morphing into Emergence Christianity
(EC). How refreshing to hear Rosebrough bring our attention to
the critical importance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as he
reminds the Body of Christ that "the Gospel is not a side issue.
The Gospel is at the very heart and center of Christianity; you
get the Gospel wrong, you are sending yoursefl-and other people
to Hell."
(2) What
Does
Rob Bell Think about the TNIV? comment by Roger
Oakland, Understanding The Times, 9/19/10 The clip that you are about to watch is of paramount
importance. If ever there was someone speaking Jesuit "speak"
the speaker on the clip is speaking Jesuit "speak". Question:
Why is the Word of God under so much attack? Why are those who
stand up for the Word of God under attack? Answer: Satan hates
the Word of God. He hates God. There is an organization that
wants to set up the kingdom of god with out God. Hello! You can
read about this organization in the book of Revelation. Why
would anyone want to take the word man (http://www.av1611.org/)
out of the Bible? Could it be to hide the fact that there is a
man who will someday say that he is god. This man will be
embodied by Satan. Hello! If our web site is down following this
alert, you will know what happened. God says He will protect men
(women) (children) from wolves who are wolves although they look
like shepherds or even the sheep. Come on Bible believing
Christians. Wake up! Pride goeth before destruction, and a
haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18) Taken from the
Holy Bible and not the TNIV ... Check It Out!
(3) Everything
is
not Spiritual - A Critique of Rob Bell's Pan-Spiritual
Worldview by Pastor Larry DeBruyn for The New
Spirituality, 2/12/11 Among emergent church leaders there exists a growing trend to
merge the secular with the sacred, to mix unspiritual and
spiritual together. Emergent reality is viewed to be One, to be
a monistic whole.
(4) Rob
Bell
Teaching Universalism by Ken Silva, 2/26/11 Two years ago in Rob Bell And Christian Universalism I began to
show you that Rob Bell is as much a universalist as his friends
comprising the unholy EC trinity of apostates, Living Spiritual
Teacher and EC guru Brian McLaren, universalist Emerging Church
pastor Doug Pagitt, and his friend Tony Jones, the progressive
"theologian in residence" at Solomon's Porch.
(5) Love
Wins,
A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who
Ever Lived by Rob Bell - Reviewed by Steve Blackwell
In the sixties we were bombarded with
"love," and we have seen what that experiment has produced; a
whole generation of babies murdered in the womb. Today, love
is in the air once again, and Rob Bell has captured the
essence of this love fest by making scandalous claims against
God. He has put words into the mouth of God that are pure and
simple lies; Rob has made God a liar. Rob's definition of love
has been plucked out of thin air, and can nowhere be found in
the document given to us by God Himself. Rob's definition of
love comes not from the Living God, so it must come from
another source. Where, or who, might that source be. There is
only one other source; if it is not from Heaven then, it is
from Hell; if it is not God, then it is Satan. This is a
trustworthy saying, because it comes from the Book of Truth,
the Bible, God's own words.
(6) Rob
Bell
the wolf exposed by Nazarenepsalm113, March 16,
2011 MSNBC Host Makes Rob Bell Squirm: "You're Amending The Gospel
So That It's Palatable!"
(7) If
Rob
Bell and Neale Donald Walsch are Right, Then Hitler Will Be in
Heaven! by Lighthouse Trails Research, 3/20/11 If Rob Bell is right, in his new book Love Wins, then Adolph
Hitler (murderer of over 6 million Jews) will be in Heaven.
According to the prolific New Age author Neale Donald Walsch
(author of the best-selling Conversations with God), Hitler will
indeed be in Heaven. He says God told him so. The following
excerpt from Warren Smith's book False Christ Coming: Does
Anybody Care? has some interesting insights and quotes about
Walsch's views on Hitler.
(8) Brian
McLaren
Takes On Al Mohler Over Rob Bell by Ken Silva,
Apprising Ministries, 3/23/11 With this in mind, I'll bring to your attention that guru
McLaren has decided to wade into the minor flap raised by one of
his disciples, the Emerging Church rock star pastor Rob Bell,
with his new book of mythology called Love Wins. The saga of
Mohler and McLaren begins with Mohler's article We Have Seen All
This Before: Rob Bell and the (Re)Emergence of Liberal Theology
where he correctly showed that Bell's musings are indeed quite
similar to what the late cult expert Dr. Walter Martin labeled,
"The Cult of Liberalism."
(9) Open
Rebuke by Paul Proctor, News With Views, 3/23/11
The Emerging Church controversy has caught the attention of the
mainstream media again and in a big way with the latest book
from Rob Bell, entitled, "Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell,
and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived" - a "universalist"
view from a popular "Christian" author and pastor that has
already drawn numerous objections from many evangelical leaders
including several sharp commentaries from the president of
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, R. Albert Mohler Jr. -
the latest of which appeared in the Baptist Press, titled, "Rob
Bell and the (re)emergence of liberal theology."
(11) "Is
Rob
Bell teaching Universalism? Are people saved after
death?"by Alex Carmichael, CARM, 4/6/11 From a Biblical perspective, all one
really needs to counter Bell's claim that there is the
possibility of a sinner coming to saving faith in Christ after
death is to look at one verse, to see if that hypothesis holds
any water. And that verse is (Hebrews 9:27). (Hebrews
9:27, NKJV) says: "And as it is appointed for men to die
once, but after this the judgment," This is a key verse in
refuting Bell's claim.
(12) First
Sermon
By Rob Bell At Mars Hill Bible Church by Ken Silva,
Apprising Ministries, 4/11/11 If one doesn't recognize here that Bell is praising "the
mystics" for their supposedly superior spiritual understanding,
which is but a reimagined Gnosticism, I personally believe it's
simply because they just do not wish to see. And a classic
symptom of the deception one receives as they continue on in
this unbiblical practice of meditation in altered states of
consciousness is a distorted view of the actual nature of
unregenerate mankind.
(14) New
Zondervan
CEO Fan Of Rob Bell by Ken Silva, 5/7/11 It's critical that you recognize that for years now postmodern
progressive liberal leaders in the Emerging Church have been
using the exact same strategies to take over the younger sectors
of mainstream evangelicalism. This is the proper backdrop to
consider New Zondervan CEO Scott Macdonald says he's a fan of
Rob Bell.
(15) The
Unbelief
Of Rob Bell by Ken Silva, 5/9/11 Rob Bell's denial of eternal punishment goes hand in hand with
a warped view of the gospel" Having rejected biblical authority,
Bell has set himself up as his own authority.
(16) Hell-Questioning
Pastor
Resigns From Michigan Megachurch by Billy Hallowell,
The Blaze, 9/23/11 GRANDVILLE, Mich. (The Blaze/AP) - An evangelical pastor (Rob
Bell) who started a firestorm earlier this year with his book
that questions traditional Christian beliefs about hell is
leaving his Michigan megachurch to share his message with a
broader audience.
(17) 'Love
Wins'
raised hell for Rob Bell at Mars Hill, The New Yorker says
by Matt Vande Bunte, MLive, 11/29/12 GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Fallout from Rob Bell’s
bestselling “Love Wins” book pushed him to
leave the West Michigan megachurch he founded, according to The
New Yorker. And the television show Bell went to work on in
California has stalled, Kelefa Sanneh writes in the
magazine’s Nov. 26 issue. In a profile of Bell called
“The Hell-Raiser,” Sanneh chronicles the
former Mars Hill Bible Church pastor’s personal
“search for a more forgiving faith," and concludes
that he might fit better on the beaches of southern California
than in a West Michigan pulpit.
(18) Rob
Bell
to Teach Teens That Christian Beliefs About Hell are
‘Misguided and Toxic’ at
Lighthouse Trails, 3/9/13 Author and speaker Rob Bell is set to release a teen version of
his book Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of
Every Person Who Ever Lived nationwide next month. In a
promotional video created for Love Wins: For Teens, Bell
explains that the book is designed to teach youth that God is
the life of the party, rather than the one that spoils
everyone’s fun.
(19) Rob
Bell
Emerges Out of the Closet . . . and the Wool (Again)
by Elliott Nesch, 3/19/13 The Emergence Christianity leaders continue to come out of the
closet, and out of their sheep costumes, as one after another
they end up mirroring Western postmodern culture in support of
gay marriage.
(20) Accommodating
the
Culture: The author of Sex God endorses same-sex marriages
by Pastor Larry DeBruyn, 3/21/13 As one who has followed Rob Bell’s career for almost
a decade, from the time he was the youth pastor at the church I
grew up in, Calvary Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and then
as the founding pastor of the Mars Hill Bible Church in suburban
Grandville of the same city, I wondered when he, as he seemed so
bent to be culturally relevant, would finally out what he really
thought about same sex marriages.[2] Well, now he has, and not
surprisingly, at least to me (I spotted him as a false teacher a
decade ago, for false teachers always seem engaged to the
culture more than to Christ), he recently endorsed same sex
marriages in the friendly confines in of all places, the liberal
Grace Cathedral in San Francisco during a forum held Sunday,
March 17, 2013.[3] In this endorsement he has taken cue from
political leaders (the President comes to mind, as also
recently, Hillary Clinton), for they too are ever testing the
political winds of fortune to see which direction
they’re a’ blowing.
(21) No
Hell
Bell Comes Out in Support of Homosexuality by The
Berean Call, 4/1/13 Rob Bell, author of the best-selling and controversial book
Love Wins , which challenges the Christian teaching of Hell,
came out in support of homosexual marriage on Sunday and called
“narrow” Christians to repentance.
(22) Rob
Bell
Debates Homosexuality vs. The Bible (VIDEO) at
Lighthouse Trails, 6/5/13 LTRP Note: The following is from Stand Up For the Truth radio
program. We apologize for the occasion in the interview where
Rob Bell swears. It is shortly after the 16 minute mark so you
could mute the video at that point. We do believe this is an
interview worth watching, however. We would like to point out
also, for those who may think that Rob Bell is in a minority
extreme group for thinking the way he does, that popular
evangelical leaders such as Tony Campolo, Philip Yancey, Dan
Kimball, and others have all played a part in bringing about
this paradigm shift within evangelical Christianity.
It’s not just Rob Bell and Brian McLaren
(23) Rob
Bell's
'Love Wins' Nudged 1,000 People to Leave Mars Hill Bible
Church, Says Michigan Megachurch Successor at
Understand The Times, 11/21/13 Mars Hill Bible Church, the congregation founded by author Rob
Bell, lost about 1,000 people over their former pastor's
controversial 2011 book, Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell,
and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, according to the
Grandville, Mich., megachurch's new pastor Kent Dobson. Dobson
was chosen by Mars Hill Bible Church in 2012 to replace Bell,
who founded the congregation in 1999. "I would say about 1,000
people left (over 'Love Wins'), and that's okay. I don't think
even a lot of them left in anger," he added. "They just thought
'Well, Mars Hill's not the place I thought it was.' Surely some
people were upset, but on the other hand it wasn't exactly a
mass exodus. Rob had been saying everything in that book for
five years."
(24) Rob
Bell
Is Now Walking With Oprah Winfrey Through The New Spirituality
by Ken Silva, 4/16/14
Neo-gnostics like Oprah Winfrey, and possibly Bell himself now,
are trying to get others to understand that it doesn�t so much
matter what you believe about God as long as you believe the world
is spiritual. I showed you before, also using her own words, that
Oprah Winfrey is not a Christian�though �she was raised
Baptist.�
(25) Rob
Bell
and Oprah Wrap Up New Age Tour�EQUALLY YOKED by
Lighthouse Trails, 11/22/14 This past weekend, former evangelical pastor Rob Bell and
former television icon Oprah wrapped up their national 8-city
�Oprah�s The Life You Want Weekend� New Age tour. Joining Bell
and Oprah on the tour were other two New Age sympathizers
� Deepak Chopra and Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love).
There was a time, not too many years ago, when Bell�s
best-selling book Velvet Elvis was being read by millions of
young evangelicals, and the book was touted by Christian leaders
and college professors. It was a disaster in discernment in the
church as even back then Bell was promoting the New Age. In a
2007 article, a Lighthouse Trails stated, �Velvet Elvis and
Bell�s Noomas are a trojan horse that will deliver to young
unsuspecting kids from Christian homes a hearty helping of the
New Age (i.e., mysticism and panentheism). And if they are
introduced to the New Age under the guise of Christian
literature, many of them will be seduced by �doctrines of
devils.'� Bell, who stepped down from the evangelical pastorate
in 2011, has finally openly shown his true New Age colors by
yoking himself with Oprah Winfrey, the most influential New Ager
in the world today.
(26) Rob
Bell
promotes �Mother God� and �apophatic meditation� in new
�Liturgists� show at Understand The Times,
7/25/15 In addition to (or perhaps because of) his new The Rob Bell
Show on Oprah Winfrey�s OWN channel, Rob Bell has been busy with
his ZIMZUM of Love book promotions and now his new The
Liturgists program, a podcast he has quietly launched with a
dozen or so other theological partners who �do not actively
promote our names and personal images� for ego reasons. What do
The Liturgists talk about when they talk about God the Father?
Well actually, they talk about God the Mother. That�s not
a typo.
(27) Universalist
Rob
Bell Jumps on Mysticism Bandwagon at Understand The
Times, 8/4/15 Hipster preacher Rob Bell is mashing up quantum physics, Jewish
Kabbalah and Catholic mysticism to explain humanity's future
evolution. In his 30-city "Everything is Spiritual" tour,
the former megachurch pastor and short-lived Oprah Winfrey
Network talk-show host delivers a two-hour monologue aimed at a
millennial generation less interested in sin and judgment and
more attuned to science and cosmic connections. "A bunch of the
old stories that we used to rely on just aren't working
anymore," Bell told a crowd of almost 500 during a tour stop in
Durham. "I want to take a stab at a new story." Wearing a gray
denim jacket, a white collared shirt, chinos and ankle boots,
Bell used only one visual aid: a large dry-erase board in the
shape of a long, skinny triangle. In the far left corner he drew
a small black dot representing the Big Bang. Moving to the
right, as the universe expanded over the course of his talk, he
sketched milestones of evolution over 13.8 billion years.
(28) Insider�s
View
of Rob Bell�s Stop in SF for �Everything is Spiritual Tour�
at Lighthouse Trails, 8/19/15 LTRP Note: We post this because it is important for people to
understand what the deception looks like that young Christians
are being saturated with through individuals such as Rob Bell.
Bell�s tour, Everything is Spiritual, is panentheistic in
nature but disguised in some Christian vernacular.
(30) Rob
Bell's 'Love Wins' Revealed 'Startling' Multitudes of People
Backing Universalism at Understand the Times, 9/21/18 A modern Christianity professor and author who opposes
universalism admitted that he was "startled" by how many people
came out supporting the belief following Rob Bell's 2011 book,
Love Wins. Michael McClymond, the author of The Devil's
Redemption: A New History and Interpretation of Christian
Universalism, said in an interview with The Gospel Coalition
posted last week that ever since he was a student he has been
engaged with biblical studies on the topic of salvation.
"Several years ago what really surprised me was not Rob Bell's
book, Love Wins (2011), with its well-worn and hackneyed
arguments. Instead, I was startled by the multitude of people I
thereafter encountered holding that universalism was biblical
and evangelical teaching," said McClymond, who teaches at Saint
Louis University in Missouri.
Richard
Foster
(2) Response
To
A Defender Of Richard Fosterby James Sundquist,
12/04 The departure from these teachings by Richard Foster and the
host of teachers he promotes is the reason we must withdraw from
them. "If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine,
receive him not into [your] house, neither bid him God speed:
For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil
deeds." II John 2:10-11 Thomas Merton, Morton Kelsey,
Basil Pennington, Benedictine Monks, Ignatius Loyola, Brennan
Manning, Isaac Pennington, Basil Pennington, Madeleine L'Engle,
Thomas Keating, Harvey Cox, Agnes Sanford, Madame Guyon, John of
the Cross, Evelyn Underhill, Thomas Kelly, Tilden Edwards,
William Vaswig (also of Renovare who, like Foster learned his
meditation from Agnes Sanford and a great admirer of occultist
Carl Jung and his "sitting in silence" therapy), Karen Mains,
Lynda Graybeal, Jean-Pierre de Caussade, Meister Eckhart, George
Fox, Henri Nouwen, Teresa of Avila, Brother Lawrence (who
also taught the emptying of the mind), Julian of Norwich, Siang
Yan Tan (psychologist), Lao-Tse (Taoism), Zarathrustra
(Zorastrianism) and a host of other "masters" or "spiritual
directors" (past or present) of the Traditions of Discipline
that Richard Foster promotes and endorses do not bring this
doctrine, so none of them, or their teachings should be brought
into our houses or houses of worship. And by doing so, we
do become partakers of their evil deeds....yes false doctrine is
evil deeds. We must command them as Paul did
Timothy to the Ephesians to "Not teach false doctrines any
longer!"" Richard Foster's teachings whether or not he says
otherwise, are a blend of Eastern mysticism and
gnosticism...another Jesus and another gospel. Oh foolish
Americans, who hath bewitched you?
(3) Renovare'
Renovates
The Bibleby Dave Hunt, The Berean Call, August
2005 God never adjusts Himself or His Word to the tastes of men. He
never changes anything to appeal to the corrupt appetites of the
ungodly in any age-all must come to Him on His terms. He
commands all men everywhere to repent because of coming judgment
(Acts 17:30, 31). "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD""
(Is 55:7). There is no softening of the gospel to make it
"seeker friendly."
(4) Richard
Foster
and Gnostic Mysticism by Ken Silva, Apprising
Ministries, 05/19/06 There are those who have been offended that I dared enter the
Contemplative Temple and touch their "anointed" Buddha Thomas
Merton. But here is another example of the reimagined Gnostic
mysticism currently being taught to your pastor through Living
Spiritual Teacher Richard Foster. Through his books the Guru of
Contemplation has introduced Evelyn Underhill as an expert
witness on the subject of alleged "Christian" mysticism.
Therefore we have just as much right to read and interpret her
materials as Foster himself does.
(5) A
Call To Repentance by Dave Hunt, The Berean Call,
11/06
Some of the worst heretics and practitioners of the occult, while
claiming to be Christians, have gotten together in what they call
the Chrysostom Society. It began with Richard Foster, Calvin
Miller, and Karen Mains, joined later by Eugene Peterson. "They
felt it was really important to just get together, write together,
and believe in each other as practitioners of a craft to the glory
of God."(Mars Hill Review, 1995, "A Conversation with Eugene
Peterson.") It is a "craft," all right.
Truth has been assassinated by political correctness, the gospel
has fallen victim to "we must not offend other religions," God is
being mocked, and eternal souls are being robbed of the salvation
that is only in Jesus Christ. That tragedy prevails in nearly all
churches. Let us weep and repent for the church, for our country,
for ourselves, and speak the truth in love.
(6) Reiki,
Thomas
Merton and Richard Foster by Ray Yungen, From the
Lighthouse, 11/07 This is why it is so important to understand the connection
between the writings of Richard Foster and Brennan Manning with
Merton. Promotion indicates attachment, and attachment indicates
common ground. Something is terribly wrong when a Reiki master
and two of the most influential figures in the evangelical
church today both point to the same man as an example of their
spiritual path. (from chapter 5, A Time of Departing) To
understand more about the connection between Foster, Manning,
and Merton, read A Time of Departing in its entirety.
(7) Richard
Foster by Roger Oakland, Understanding The Times,
4/1/08 Richard Foster, a promoter of contemplative prayer is a student
of Thomas Merton. In a previous program we documented that
Merton learned his procedures for contemplative prayer from
Buddhists and Hindus. So what about Foster? Does he also believe
you can Christianize messages from demons?
(8) Richard
Foster:
The Bible a reliable guide despite inconsistencies by
Ken Silva, Apprising Ministries, 3/18/10 It's not evangelical Protestant Christianity; and worse, this
highly subjective CSM is truly hostile to the proper Christian
spirituality of Sola Scriptura. Here's a couple of examples from
Foster. The first is from a 2005 piece in Quaker Life called The
With God Life: An Interview with Richard Foster. While
hawking The Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible, which had just
come out, the Quaker mystic tells us how the experience-oriented
Quakers subjectively approach God "in the gathered silence."
(10) Richard
Foster's
Renovare Turns to Panentheist Mystic Richard Rohr and Emerging
Darling Phyllis Tickle For New Book Project by
Lighthouse Trails Editors, 9/15/10 ... take a look on the 25 Books form page and see the list of
members on the 25 Books Editorial Team. Of course, there is
Richard Foster and Dallas Willard. But look at two other names:
Phyllis Tickle, the emerging church's darling "mentor" (who once
said that Brian McLaren was the next Luther), and Richard Rohr,
founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation. For those
who still have yet to be convinced that Richard Foster is indeed
a New Age sympathizer, this should seal the verdict by the fact
that Tickle and Rohr are included in an editorial board to
decide which 25 books Christians should read.
(11) Richard
Foster
on Meditation AKA Contemplative Prayer by Ken Silva,
12/7/10
Richard Foster: Contemplative Prayer immerses us into the
silence of God. How desperately we in the modern world need this
wordless baptism" Contemplative Prayer is the one discipline
that can free us from our addiction to words. Progress in
intimacy with God means progress toward silence" It is
recreating silence to which we are called in Contemplative
Prayer"
(13) Richard
Foster's
Contemplative Prayer or Terror? by Roger Oakland,
11/14/11 Proponents of contemplative prayer say the purpose of
contemplative prayer is to tune in with God and hear His voice.
However, Richard Foster claims that practitioners must use
caution. He admits that in contemplative prayer "we are entering
deeply into the spiritual realm" and that sometimes it is not
the realm of God even though it is "supernatural." He admits
there are spiritual beings and that a prayer of protection
should be said beforehand something to the effect of "All dark
and evil spirits must now leave."1 Where in Scripture do we find
such a prayer? Where in witchcraft?
(14) Richard
Foster's
Renovare President Admits They Have Taught Spiritual Formation
to "Hundreds of Thousands of People" by Lighthouse
Trails, 12/10/11 Renovare, as many of you know, is Richard Foster's organization
and his mainstay platform for promoting contemplative
spirituality. In a November 2011 letter to supporters, Renovare
president Christopher Webb states the following: "At this
writing I am attending a gathering of national ministries that
promote Bible reading and engagement; spiritual formation is at
the very top of the agenda. Last week I spoke at a conference
for three hundred pastors; spiritual formation was the number
one concern. In the few weeks before that I led a retreat for
spiritual directors, spoke at a congregational conference, and
addressed a denominational gathering; in each case, spiritual
formation was at the heart of the conversation." Webb admits
that "Renovare has played a crucial role in focusing the
attention of pastors, churches, seminaries, and denominations on
spiritual formation," saying that they have taught the "basic
principles of [spiritual formation] to hundreds of thousands of
people." Webb adds "But more than this, we've advocated for the
central importance of formation in Christlikeness to the wider
Church."
(15) Richard
Foster's
Renovare Promoting Emerging Heretic Tony Jones by Ken
Silva, 12/30/11 Now to be sure, we're not the least bit surprised that Living
Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster would
recommend the warped work of apostate Dr. Tony Jones, heretical
"theologian in residence" at the social gathering (not a church
in the Biblical sense) of his equally heretical friend and
"pastor," universalist Doug Pagitt. I mean, not when at least
two state conventions in the Southern Baptist Convention quite
specifically recommend both guru Foster and wannabe guru Jones
as you'll see clearly documented in Alabama Baptist Convention
(SBC) Encourages You To Learn Lectio Divina From Apostate Tony
Jones. Nah, really comes as no surprise at all.
(16) The
Roots
of Spiritual Formation by Lighthouse Trails,
4/15/12 To understand spiritual formation, all one needs to do is
understand the spirituality of Richard Foster. Lighthouse Trails
has documented his beliefs through A Time of Departing and Faith
Undone, as well as through numerous articles on the Lighthouse
Trails Research site. In this particular article, let us turn to
a small book Richard Foster wrote called Meditative Prayer.
Foster says that the purpose of meditative prayer is to create a
"spiritual space" or "inner sanctuary" through "specific
meditation exercises" (p. 9). Foster references several mystics
in the book who can point the way to these exercises: Madame
Guyon, Teresa of Avila, Francis de Sales, Henri Nouwen, and
Thomas Merton. Foster breaks the contemplative process down into
three steps.
(17) Renovare
To
Hold Contemplative Retreat at the Billy Graham Training Center
– A Big Green Light For Contemplative Prayer
by Lighthouse Trails, 6/24/13 This coming October contemplative pioneer, Richard
Foster’s Renovare team will hold their Life With God
Retreat at the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove. Those
who are familiar with the infrastructure of Richard
Foster’s spirituality will understand that the
teachings that are represented at Renovare do not line up with
traditional evangelical teachings. While the doctrinal
statements on paper between Renovare and many
evangelical/Protestant churches may look similar, what is
believed, taught, and emphasized in reality is much different as
Lighthouse Trails has documented for 11 years now. The model of
spirituality that Richard Foster and Renovare have drawn from is
developed by Catholic monks who because of their mystical
practices embrace panentheism (God is in all people and
all things) and interspirituality (all religions lead to
God at the mystical level).
(18) Larry
Crabb
to Join Richard Foster�s Renovare Contemplative Conference -
Christian Leaders Continue to Promote Crabb by
Lighthouse Trails, 3/10/13 On April 3rd, Richard Foster�s Renovare organization will be
presenting the Formation for Whole Life conference in Houston,
Texas. According to several sources, including Rick Warren,
Christianity Today, and Lighthouse Trails, Richard Foster is a
key player in the contemplative prayer movement (aka: Spiritual
Formation movement). Speakers at this year�s Renovare conference
include contemplative figures Ruth Haley Barton, Mark
Scandrette, Richard Foster, and Kyle Strobel. Joining the team
of speakers will be Larry Crabb, a popular evangelical author
and speaker, who years ago switched from a psychology focus to a
focus on Spiritual Formation (i.e., contemplative prayer).
(19) "What
is
Renovaré / the Renovaré Bible?" by GotQuestions,
3/3/15 For these and other reasons, Renovaré is considered by some to
be a theologically dangerous movement. Like many parts of the
contemplative spirituality movement, Renovaré preys upon the
spiritually hungry and points them not to the cross of Christ or
God's inerrant Word but to man�s traditions and emotional human
experience. The wise and discerning Christian will examine
carefully all claims of the Renovaré movement and compare each
with Scripture. That which contradicts the Word of God must be
rejected.
(20) A
Serious Look at Richard Foster�s �School� of Contemplative
Prayer (Booklet) by Ray Yungen, 9/1/15 "[W]e should all without shame enroll as apprentices in the
school of contemplative prayer."1�Richard Foster, Celebration of
Discipline: :the Path to Spiritual Growth Christianity is not
complete without the contemplative dimension."2�Richard Foster
In Portland, Oregon there is a large bookstore devoted entirely
to New Age spirituality. Every Eastern mystical and metaphysical
topic under the sun is found there. Interestingly, there is a
sizable section on contemplative prayer with Catholic monk
Thomas Merton having a whole shelf devoted just to his writings.
Why would a New Age bookstore give valuable space to a topic
that purports to be Christian? That is a legitimate question.
May I suggest the reason is that the �Christian� mystical
tradition (i.e., contemplative prayer) shares a sense of
profound kinship with the Eastern mystical tradition. There is
ample evidence to support this claim.
Updated! (21)
Fostering
a new Spiritual Discipline: Follow me into ... the quiet zone
by Mike Oppenheimer, 2/3/16 - Read Part
1, Part 2,
Part 3, Part
4 & Part
5. Richard Foster is known for his book �Celebration of
Discipline.� Few are aware that it contains numerous New Age
teachings in it. Foster�s book Celebration of Discipline, has
sold several million copies, was selected by Christianity Today
as one of the top ten books of the 20th century. Christianity
Today named it number eleven in the "Top 50 Books That Have
Shaped Evangelicals." Despite their endorsement, it is a book
that should be avoided at all costs. This may sound harsh to
some but if you hear what Foster teaches it become apparent, it
is not what the Bible teaches.
(22) Thomas
Merton,
Richard Foster, and a Sufi Master by Ray Yungen,
2/5/17 LTRP Note: Keep in mind three things as
you read this article: 1) a strong link exists between Thomas
Merton and the evangelical church, and that link is Richard
Foster (author of Celebration of Discipline); 2) Richard
Foster once said Thomas Merton “stands as one of the greatest
twentieth-century embodiments of spiritual life as a
journey�?(1); 3) the current “Spiritual Formation�? movement
within Christianity was spawned by Richard Foster and Dallas
Willard, and both men were ignited by Thomas Merton. As you
read this account of Thomas Merton, know that this same
spiritual outlook that is described below has entered the
church in no small way. Maybe it’s time you ask your pastor,
“What do you think about Richard Foster and Celebration of
Discipline?�?
(23) Dallas
Willard,
John Ortberg, Richard Foster – Are We Wrong in Calling Them
Emergent/Contemplative? by Lighthouse Trails, 8/20/17
The real crux of this matter comes down to the contemplative
prayer movement, which because it has its roots in panentheism
(God in all) and interspirituality (all paths lead to God)
as we have been able to document in our writings these past many
years, it is basically a synonym for the emerging church. In
fact, without contemplative prayer, the emerging church would
not have had the success (if you will) that it has had because
contemplative prayer is the force that drives it. And given the
fact that there are so many variables equal between the two, if
someone is a proponent of contemplative prayer, we classify him
as part of the emerging church. Many people mistakenly think
that the emerging church would just be those of the caliber of
Brian McLaren or Rob Bell. But we cannot agree with this at all.
We believe the documentation we have gathered these past 15
years clearly shows that the two movements are one in the same.
(24) Luis
Palau’s
Son (President of the Luis Palau Association) Teams Up With
Richard Foster’s Renovare by Lighthouse Trails,
11/26/17 Richard Foster’s founding contemplative organization, Renovare,
has announced their upcoming (June 2018) celebration of the 40th
anniversary of Foster’s book Celebration of Discipline. Kevin
Palau, son of the world-wide known evangelist Luis Palau and
president of the Luis Palau Association, is listed on the
Renovare website as one of the speakers for the June 2018 event.
(25) Friends
of the Inner Healing Teaching of Agnes Sanford by Mike
Oppenheimer, 1/28/21
Agnes Sanford was also a mentor to Richard Foster. Foster, a
former Quaker who relied on the “inner light.” Dave Hunt and Tom
McMahon in Occult Invasion quotes Richard Foster who wrote, " I
have been greatly helped in my understanding of the value of the
imagination in praying for others by Agnes Sanford .... This
advice. [of] prayer through the imagination . . . pictur[ing]
the healing ... and much more, was given to me by Agnes Sanford
. (Foster, Celebration, pp. 36.136.) Foster endorsed Sanford and
her books and wrote I have discovered her to be an extremely
wise and skillful counselor in these matters” and calls her book
The Healing Gifts of the Spirit “an excellent resource ”
(Celebration of Discipline, 1978, p. 136, footnote 1). An entire
chapter by Sanford is found in his book Prayer: Finding the
Heart’s True Home and another chapter by her in Spiritual
Disciplines. Sanford delved deeply into New Thought, Jungian
psychology, and other dangerous fields. She said that she got
her doctrine of a “spiritual body” within the physical body from
New Thought teacher Emmet Fox (Sealed Orders, p. 115; quoted by
Berean Call).
(24) “My
Difficult Lonely Journey of Trying to Warn the Church of
Apostasy and Apathy” at Lighthouse Trails, 12/14/21
Around 2006, having moved north of Toronto, we started going to
_____________, and we liked it there; even though Brethren do
not traditionally have pastors, this one did. Anyways, as a bit
of a speaker sometimes, I was asked to lead a home Bible study.
The book I was to use was on prayer by a fellow I had never
heard of named Richard Foster. The Chapel had also recently
(prior to us joining the church) used Rick Warren’s book, A
Purpose Driven Life. While reading Foster’s book, I was shocked
by its content. It was speaking about Catholic mystics and popes
in glowing terms and then about Ignatius of Loyola and his
spiritual disciplines. Fortunately, the Internet was available,
and I researched the author and the persons referred to like
Merton and Henri Nouwen. Most of the elders of the church were
in the Bible study I led, and they got an expose of the author
and the book. Sadly, I don’t think most of them agreed with me
or cared. Later, I got an earful for daring to research the
author. There were and are still some in that church who care
for the truth but many just want to be told pleasant words by
which to live by preachers who take anecdotes from life and
apply it to believers. Nice people, but prophecy is considered a
dubious topic.
(25) Judgment
Day! Chapter Three: Who Inherits the Promised Land? (Video)
by The Berean Call, 11/6/23
This is the most comprehensive examination to date of ancient
biblical prophecy and modern-day Middle East politics regarding
Islam, Israel and the nations—which includes the United States
of America! Painstakingly researched using up-to-the-minute
data, Judgment Day! is sure to become a respected resource for
scholars, analysts, pastors, professors, politicians, and lay
people alike. Amazing historical facts and firsthand, eyewitness
insight make this book a thrilling, sometimes troubling read—but
one necessary for a heavenward understanding of the prophetic
times in which we live. ... "those who still claim to be
Evangelical Christians are denying the veracity of scripture
especially when it comes to Israel. A case in point is the
Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible edited by Richard J Foster
(and) Eugene Peterson author of The Message (Bible) a
blasphemously perverted version of the New Testament."
Steven Furtick
Furtick is a mixture of Emergent Church, Word of Faith and New
Apostolic false doctrines.
(1) Why
is
Steven Furtick Acting Like a Cult Leader? by
Crosswalk, 3/20/15 Charlotte pastor Steven Furtick and his Elevation Church are
making waves this week as more is revealed about Elevation�s odd
fixation on their �Lead Pastor� as well as some of the
questionable practices of the church, including �spontaneous
baptism.� Indeed, many people are sounding the alarm and calling
Pastor Furtick a �cult-leader in the making,� though Elevation
Church describes him as a visionary they need to unequivocally
support. Reformation 21�s Todd Pruitt and Matthew Paul Turner
both share a page from Elevation�s Sunday school coloring book
that�s been circulating around. The image depicts the Elevation
congregation looking up at Furtick in the pulpit. The text
reads, �We are united under the visionary,� and �Elevation
Church is built on the vision God gave Pastor Steven. We will
protect our Unity in Supporting His Vision.� Of this, Matthew
Paul Turner writes, �While the grownups are listening to Pastor
Steven preach, the little ones are in Sunday school learning
about �unity.� I actually cringed when I saw this. Not even the
fundamentalist church I was raised in featured coloring pictures
of our pastor. There�s nothing good or holy or trustworthy about
this kind of b.s. It�s dangerous religion. It�s the kind of
evangelical brainwashing that all of us should be calling out.
This should make us angry. Because its wrong. And because it�s
not Christianity.�
(2) Steven Furtick
by Matt Slick, CARM, 3/20/15 First of all, Furtick is not very doctrinally minded;
otherwise, he wouldn't allow a heretic such as T. D. Jakes (who
denies the Trinity) to preach in his church. Furtick
affirms the Trinity and the deity of Christ11, but as a pastor
he is required to uphold orthodoxy and not promote preachers who
deny even one essential christian doctrine. This is a very
serious issue. Second, he violates scripture in his promotion of
women pastors. This is also a serious issue, and I
politely offer to publicly debate Pastor Furtick on this
topic.12 My goal is promote God's truth, not man's
opinions. Third, his mockery of the doctrines of grace is
shameful. We are not saying he must affirm the doctrines
of grace as found in Calvinism, but his disdainful attack upon
them and those who hold to those doctrines is a serious
concern. It shows a lack of pastoral care for Christians
who don't agree with him on these issues, and it risks violating
Scripture. So, Pastor Steven Furtick, if you are interested I
would be glad to talk to you about these issues. I invite
you to do so in Christian love and concern, letting the Bible be
our guide.
(3) �Hip�
Church
Gives Biblical Christians New Label: �Hater� by Jim
Fletcher, 3/20/15 Sometime back, the progressive mega church pastor, Steven
Furtick (Elevation Church, Charlotte, North Carolina), mentored
as he is by evangelical bigwigs like Rick Warren and Bill
Hybels, felt bold enough to post a YouTube video in which he
sneeringly challenged what I�d call traditional Christians to
basically get out of the way, because their time is past.
(4) Sun
Stand
Still by Steven Furtick - Reviewed by Ken Silva
(5) T.
D.
Jakes, Rob Bell, and Steve Furtick Make it Onto Oprah�s New
Age Super Soul 100 List of �Awakened Leaders� by
Lighthouse Trails, 11/10/16 Along with T.D. Jakes, Steve Furtick, and Rob Bell are
some other names you might recognize. Remember, week after week,
millions of North Americans still follow Oprah. Even many
Christians read the materials of these listed below and find
themselves enamored with the people and the teachings of the New
Age. Deepak Chopra, Caroline Myss, Dr. Christiane Northrup, Dr.
Michael Beckwith (from The Secret), Eckhart Tolle, Elizabeth
Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love), Esther Hicks (The Secret), Gary
Zukav, Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul), Pastor John
Gray (from Joel Osteen�s Lakewood Church), Marianne Williamson
(A Course in Miracles teacher), Tony Robbins.
Updated! (6) The
Elevation (church) of Steven Furtick by Mike
Oppenheimer, 12/30/20
Steven Furtick has been a rising star in Christian circles for
some and now he has arrived on TBN, replacing of all people
Kenneth Copeland who has been there since their inception. Don’t
think this will bring any improvement to TBN, it will not. What
he brings is a more subtle and acceptable non-biblical teaching
to the younger generation. Earning a master’s degree from
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, which after watching his
sermons did not help as this man’s understanding of Scripture is
shallow. He tends to have a narcissistic view that finds a way
into his stories, as applications, as he transfers his own
theology to Scripture. Furtick uses a Seeker Driven model,
motivational speech, mixing human wisdom and copying word faith
philosophy to express his interpretations of the Bible to his
audience. Regardless, Furtick is a popular pastor in America.
His church comes in third behind Hillsong and Bethel in
popularity. The fact that Oprah Winfrey who does not endorse
real Christianity approves of Furtick (as she did Joel Osteen)
should be a red light to anyone that loves God’s Word. Her
network named Steven Furtick to their Super Soul 100 Influencers
list in the Soul Teachers category in 2016. He joins New Agers
like Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, Tony Robbins, Rob Bell; a
host of non believers, not a group one would normally want to be
associated with unless they are willing to compromise. Read
Part 1
& Part 2.
(7) 81,000
Words!? An Analysis Of Steven Furtick’s Last 10 Sermons Should
End His Career by Protestia, 7/2/21 “Stay far away from this deceitful man who rejects God’s word
for his own popularity.” An analysis of the 10 hours of ‘Pastor’
Steven Furtick’s sermons has revealed woeful unfaithfulness to
the scriptures and a watered-down message of sin and repentance,
according to YouTuber Colin Miller. Using a software program,
Miller uploaded nearly 10 hours of audio into an application
that could detect and extract all the usages of certain words
and phrases from his teaching, enabling him to track his usage
and do a word analysis in order to see what sort of things are
important, or in this case unimportant to Elevation Church.
(8) Major
Heresy with minor Bible teaching by Mike Oppenheimer,
7/11/21 Steven Furtick has 13,000 in attendance each week in his
services and far more on the internet. When he says “See, I
think Jacob – his name means supplanter, but his new name Israel
is almost just as bad . It means struggles with God.” Actually
‘Israel’ means 'Prince of God' a name God gave him as a
blessing, and to a nation. His teaching is at best guesswork,
and he more often personalizes the text and reads himself into
the Scripture passage. At worst it is like this… “It’s always
been in you. There’s nobody who can leave my life who can keep
God from keeping his covenant with me. I’m not in covenant with
a person. I’m not in covenant with a political party. I’m in
covenant with God Almighty! I am God Almighty!” “Get that off
you! That’s not your name. That’s not your station. That’s not
your end. It’s in me! It’s in me! It’s in me! It is God who
worketh in you! It’s always been in you.” Declaring himself to
be “God Almighty” (not you but himself) is blasphemy. Make no
mistake this is what he meant as you listen to how he said it,
he is arrogant, showing the spirit it was said in; and God is
not an ‘it, nor was he always in 'you.'’
(9) Steven
Furtick And Other Heretics Win ‘Christian Music’ Dove Awards
For 2021 at CRN, 10/27/21 “The commercialized Christian music industry not only enables
this idolatry but promotes it to the degree that God’s glory is
robbed from Him at many levels, including in churches. The vast
majority of Christian contemporary music is produced by
celebrity artists who’ve compromised on biblical truths in order
to serve their own selfish desires.” As if the celebrity
Christian lifestyle alone wasn’t enough to cause most
Bible-believing Christians to [become sick at their stomachs],
the fact that almost all of them are rank heretics should leave
us with no other choice.
(10) Could
Elevation Church Replace The Scandal-Plagued Hillsong On The
World Stage? at CRN, 4/9/22 Steven Furtick is a charismatic Word of Faith pastor who has
aligned himself with many of the giants in the prosperity
gospel, including Word of Faith Oneness pastor, T.D. Jakes, and
has been praised by former Hillsong NYC [disgraced] pastor, Carl
Lentz who stated, “your church and your life are such good
examples of what happens when you mix unadulterated focus on
JESUS, ferocious faith and availability with the grace of
God…absolutely anything is possible.” As Hillsong Church has
been plagued by multiple scandals over the last several years
including its latest scandal involving its top leader, Brian
Houston, the international organization now appears to be
crumbling before our eyes opening the doors for another
corporate conglomerate to fill its shoes.
(11) Would
You Pay $2480.30 For Tickets To A Steven Furtick/ Elevation
Worship Concert? by Protestia, 10/18/22 Steven Furtick is the Lead Pastor of Elevation Church. As head
of a Southern Baptist-associated, 25,000-member multisite campus
with 17 locations, he is known for having the term “narcigesis”
(narcissistic exegesis) named after him based on his inability
to exegete scripture in a way that doesn’t make every story
revolve around him…” Last year we criticized the expensive
prices that tickets to see Steven Furtick and The Elevation
Worship band cost, questioning whether or not it made sense from
a financial or spiritual perspective. Individual tickets ranged
from about $38 for the nosebleeds, up to $195 for front-row
access, with most tickets in the 50-110$ range.
(12) Pastors,
Ditch The Metrosexual Persona: God Calls You To Be A Faithful
Shepherd And Steward Of His Word by The Dissenter,
1/9/23 “The infamous Steven Furtick, Judah Smith, the disgraced former
Hillsong pastor, Carl Lentz, and many, many more, share the same
dangerous and insidious personality – one of ego, entitlement,
and a thirst for power at any cost. But their egos and
proclivity for self-promotion are not their only danger—these
pastors also share a matching doctrine of deception and error,
one that is designed to lure the unwary into their web of lies
and manipulation.” As the shadows lengthen and the veil between
worlds grows thin, a new and terrifying force has emerged from
the depths of the church. It is the rise of the metrosexual
pastor, a creature of preening vanity and superficiality, whose
hunger for attention and adoration knows no bounds.
(13) Steven
Furtick Sells Tickets For Worship Service Tour For Hundreds Of
Dollars Eachby The Dissenter, 3/8/23 Steven Furtick is a perfect example of what Jude tells us in
verse 12, “These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they
feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are
without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit
withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots.”
If there has been a more blatant example of Matthew 19:24 being
played out in modern times than the Furtick family, I’ve not
seen it. Jesus’s words were clear, “it is easier for a camel to
go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter
the kingdom of God.”
(14) Heresy
Alert! Steven Furtick Says Whatever God Is, ‘You Are Too’
by Protestia, 2/15/24 God is perfect. God is sinless. God is omnipresent. God is
omnipotent. God is omniscient. God is omnibenevolent. God is a
million other things that we are not, and any suggestion to the
contrary is rank heresy.’ Steven Furtick is the Lead Pastor of
Elevation Church, a former Southern Baptist-associated,
25,000-member multisite campus with 17 locations. He is known
for having the term “narcegesis” (narcissistic exegesis) named
after him based on his inability to exegete scripture in a way
that doesn’t make every story revolve around him and you.
Tony Jones
(1) Tony
Jones'
continuous leftward slide into apostasy by Marsha
West, 12/1/08 Emergent Church guru Tony Jones, the
former national coordinator of Emergent Village, has been
holding the issue of homosexuality "in abeyance" because
"homosexuality is one issue that I don't want to get wrong."
On November 23 he came out with his personal view on this
hotly debated topic. Drum roll please"" He's for it. After
years of pondering and praying, praying and pondering, he
managed to come up with the wrong answer. How do I know this?
Because his "revelation" doesn't line up with Scripture.
(2) Heretic
Alert:
Tony Jones by Chrystal, Slaughter of the Sheep,
2/6/09 Psalm 51:5 "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my
mother conceive me." I don't really believe I need to post any
commentary on Emergent church author and speaker, Tony
Jones. His nonsense speaks for itself. However, I
will say a few words on one of his latest posts from his
blog. He maintains that original sin is not Biblical. What
he has effectively done to those who put credence in his words
is amputate the whole of salvation and Christ Jesus' atoning
work from the Bible, and has set them on a works-based path that
will lead to nothing but destruction.
(3) The
Emergence
of a new god by Apprising Ministries, 9/10/09 In articles such as Christianity 21: Emerging Voices Of A
Pseudo-Christian Faith and Tony Jones And Christianity 21: The
Future Of Apostate Christianity, a while back, Apprising
Ministries first brought this upcoming Emerging Church C21
conference to your attention.
(4) Tony
Jones
Argues For Open Marriage And Polyamory by Ken SIlva,
8/11/11 Behold where the Emerging Church will now begin trying to move
the younger sectors of evangelicalism, who like the leaders in
the neo-liberal cult within the EC, largely do not hold to sola
Scriptura themselves: open marriages and practicing polyamory
(many partners). Here you have a professor of Christian
spirituality with a well known ostensibly evangelical seminary
arguing against monogamy.
Dan Kimball
(1) Dan
Kimball
and the Emerging Church and Eastern Meditation by
Steve Muse, Eastern Regional Watch, 6/13/07 As I read Dan Kimball's book, The Emerging Church, I realized
the book opened up a Pandora's Box of concerns for what Kimball
was communicating to this new generation of churches about
vintage Christianity. Reading the book, I became impressed with
a very disturbing sense that Kimball is attempting to take
today's youth back into an experience-based relationship with
God much like the Catholic mystics have revealed to us through
their writings. And now through contemplative prayer and
contemplative spirituality we are to come into a deeper
relationship with God. On the Internet, countless sites promote
the Emerging Church experience with its myriad forms of worship
and prayer-and on most of these sites Kimball's book is heartily
promoted.
(2) Emerging Church Quotes
compled by Sandy Simpson, 12/08
Quotes by Emerging Church leaders.
(6) Follow
Up:
Dan Kimball and the Emerging Church by Lighthouse
Trails Editors, 11/22/10 This is a follow up to the recent radio show between VCY
America and Lighthouse Trails. If you haven't already listened
to it, you can do so here.
Below
we are providing some documentation to support what was said on
the radio show.
Brennan Manning
(1) Beware
of
Wolves in Sheep's Clothing by Mike Gendron,
Proclaiming The Gospel In the last ten years, he has become a
popular speaker in many "evangelical" churches. Manning was
ordained to the Franciscan priesthood after graduating from
St. Francis Seminary in 1963. Later he was theology instructor
at the University of Steubenville (a Catholic seminary and
catalyst for Mary to be named co-redeemer). After being
treated for alcoholism and leaving the Franciscan Order in
1982, he married Roslyn Ann Walker. The marriage has since
ended in divorce but his popularity as a writer and speaker
continues to grow despite his proclamation of "another"
gospel.
(2) Brennan
Manning�s
�New Monks� & Their Dangerous Contemplative Spirituality
(Booklet) by Lighthouse Trails, 8/26/13 Little did I know when I began to read
The Signature of Jesus, the time and effort that would be
involved in understanding it. I am not a theologian by
training. My background is in technical management in
electronic component manufacturing. However, I stumbled onto
something that I became convinced was very dangerous and
little understood.
(3) Letter
to the Editor: Brennan Manning Book Review by John Caddock
Saved Me From Years of Wandering in the Wilderness by
Lighthouse Trails, 2/19/21
LTRP Note: The following letter to the editor is one we
received a few years ago, referring to a book review about
Brennan Manning’s book, The Signature of Jesus. The review was
written by John Caddock and was the first piece we ever read
on the Internet refuting contemplative prayer shortly after we
met Ray Yungen and read his then-unpublished manuscript A Time
of Departing over twenty years ago. This book review by
Caddock has opened the eyes of many people and is still doing
so today as this letter reveals. Below the letter is the full
review. As with all our blog articles, you can print it
freely. It is also available in booklet format for those
needing that. We are reposting this because the contemplative
prayer movement is having more negative impact in the church
than ever before, and the influence of pioneers like Brennan
Manning remains robust. Keep in mind that while many of our
long-time readers are fully aware of the dangers of the
contemplative prayer movement and have personally stayed clear
of it, there is probably not one of them who does not have a
family member or friend who is not delving into this. We have
gone through a mystical occult paradigm shift, and there is no
turning back.
Brian McLaren
(1) Brian
McLaren
In Denial by Rev. Ken Silva, December 30, 2005 As the "New Christianity" of the growing synchronistic
ecumenical religion of Purpose Driven new Evangelicalism within
the Emergent Church takes deeper root we see more and more
leaders within the Body of Christ in apparent denial concerning
an emerging New Downgrade No-Controversy. For example, Brian
McLaren, a leading churchman in the Emergent convoluted
conversation, is in denial about the vicarious penal
substitutionary atonement of Christ Jesus on the cross.
(2) Brian
McLaren
And Hell by Rev. Ken Silva, December 30, 2005 Prominent Emergent Church theologian Brian McLaren has said:
"For many Christians, their faith is primarily about what
happens to people after they die. That distracts them from
seeking justice and living in a compassionate way while we're
still alive in this life. We need to go back and take another
look at Jesus' teachings about hell. For so many people, the
conventional teaching about hell makes God seem vicious. That's
not something we should let stand."
(3) Brian
McLaren
And Evangelical Panentheism by Rev. Ken Silva,
1/18/06 In Brian
McLaren
And The Emerging Church I began to explore what McLaren's
particular theology has been emerging into, and now beginning
with this series we start putting all the pieces together. As I
previously stated I am not someone prone to conspiracy theories
so what I offer is something I was most definitely not looking
for. However, what I am going to be showing you is based on my
careful and personal analysis of what McLaren himself writes as
well as what those he associates with and endorses have said in
their own books. Also read Part
2, Part
3,Part
4, Part
5, and Part
6.
(4) An
Emerging
Pastoral Assessment by Rev. Ken Silva, 1/30/06 I feel led to present the following pastoral assessment for the
edification of the true Body of Christ as evidence of the
devastating results that the counterfeit Christian teachings of
men like Brian McLaren have already been having on the Christian
witness among our youth. You are about to see a living testimony
of what has been happening within our Lord's Church because our
leaders failed in recognizing the new liberalism which is now
being spread like the black plague of theology throughout
Evangelicalism by this Emerging Church movement.
(5) Brain
McLaren:
Turning Aside To Myths by Rev. Ken Silva, 2/10/06 I will have to admit that I find it a little odd looking around
at the various writings about Brian McLaren where his non-stand
about homosexuality (or about anything else for that matter)
actually has surprised people. There is little chance that
McLaren is ever going to come down on the side of what the Bible
says about this forbidden lifestyle because of his own views on
Scripture. In fact, this becomes near impossible now through his
involvement with "living spiritual teachers" like Alan Jones and
Marcus Borg. You see their warped view of Christian
spirituality, twisted as it is by the practice of neo-pagan
mysticism only figures to draw McLaren further away from
believing what Holy Scripture says. This is also tied to how
McLaren approaches the Bible because the Emergent spiritual
director follows a very allegorical "Alexandrian School"
approach to Holy Scripture so he would not readily see what it
clearly appears to be saying when read at face value. Read
Part
1 & Part
2.
(6) Brain McLaren: A
Prime Example Of Diaprax by Sandy Simpson,
2/16/06 I have written in a previous article called The
Emerging/Emergent
Church - and their use of "diaprax" briefly detailing the
use of the Hegelian Dialectic and praxis (diaprax) by New
Apostolic and Emerging Church leaders. What I want to show
in this article is a perfect example of diaprax in the teachings
of Brian McLaren, a main leader in the Emerging Church. If
you want to read the entire transcript of "An New Kind Of
Christian - Part 1", a video teaching by Brian McLaren, you can
access it here.
I
also urge you to watch the video for yourself which is available
online here.
When
you watch be aware of the intentional and even unintentional
uses of brainwashing techniques. I will only quote certain
parts of McLaren's teachings to emphasize the use of diaprax as
well as other false teachings.
(10) Brian
McLaren
- A True Son Of Lucifer by Jacob Prasch, Moriel
Ministries, 3/06 But with no biblical compass for determining the direction in
which he is misleading his followers because of his dismissal of
propositional truth, truth itself can not be a factor in
McLarens unsolvable equation in his delusional fantasy world
where two plus two can equal six or co-equally can equal ten if
you feel that works for you. Objective reality is assassinated
by a subjective morality that in the end is by any biblical
standard - no morality at all; Post modernism comes to church.
(11) The
Emergent
"Jesus Worldview" by Discernment Research Network,
6/6/06 Herescope has warned about a "biblical worldview" and a
"Christian worldview" in previous posts because these terms are
loaded with extra-biblical agendas and meanings, particularly
dominionism. The other day we encountered the phrase "Jesus
worldview" from none other than Brian McLaren of Emergent Church
fame.
(12) Brian
McLaren:
The Emergent Cult Leader by Ken Silva, Apprising
Ministries, 7/19/06 Brian McLaren is beyond question a leading authority in the
Emergent Church and is influencing thousands through his
speaking engagements and numerous writings. In his latest book
The Secret Message of Jesus McLaren apparently has "discovered"
what has escaped the Church of Jesus Christ for nearly two
thousand years until he happened to come along. In typical
fashion McLaren tries to hide his criticism and contradiction of
the historic orthodox Christian faith behind "if," but it
becomes clear enough that these are his own personal
beliefs. Right in line with other religious cult leaders
McLaren shows he doesn't think the Church has correctly
understood the message of Jesus down through the centuries when
he writes: "if this reading of the Gospels is accurate, why
didn't scholars see it a hundred or five hundred or eighteen
hundred years ago?"
(13) Brian
McLaren:
Sower Of Confusion by Ken Silva, Apprising Ministries,
8/7/06 Brian D. McLaren is Chair of the Board of Directors of Emergent
Village as well as an author published by Zondervan. He is also
among Adjunct and Visiting Professors, along with his good
friend Leonard Sweet, at George Fox Evangelical Seminary, a
school designed to demonstrate "the meaning of Jesus Christ by
offering spiritual formation and education for ministry."
McLaren's website lists him as speaker, emergent networker,
Christian activist." He also just happens to be a "Christian"
minister of the Gospel who openly denines the vicarious penal
substitutionary atonement on the Cross of Jesus Christ: "I'm
sure that [justification by grace through faith in the finished
atoning work of Christ on the cross] is a facet of the gospel,
and it's the facet that modern evangelical protestants have
assumed is the whole gospel, the heart of the gospel. But what's
the point of that gospel?"
(14) Emergent
Church:
All Faith Traditions Emerging by Rev. Ken Silva on
August 11, 2006 In this short piece I remind you of the "historic" meeting
between leaders of these two Emergent "faith traditions" in
January of this year. We are headed toward a universal
inclusivism that Landres himself says is "blurring the line
between the 'sacred' and the 'secular';..." This is not in any,
way shape or form, Christian theology and yet Emergent Guru
Brian McLaren says: "I'm thrilled with the possibility of
developing friendship and collaboration in ways that help God's
dreams come true for our synagogues, churches, and the world."
(15) Emergent
Inclusiveness
and Brian McLaren by Ken Silva, Apprising Ministries,
9/4/06 One of the most prominent leaders within the Ecumenical Church
of Deceit is Emergent leader Brian McLaren. McLaren is slated as
plenary speaker at Going Forward Together: Third Millennium
Christianity taking place November 16-19, 2006 at St. Stephen's
Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia.Lord willing I'll have
more on this later but for now I have been trying to warn the
Body of Christ about this neo-liberal cult of the Emergent
Church which is attempting to bring inclusivism into the Lord's
Church. Years ago Dr. Walter Martin preached a message called
The Spirit of the Age in which he said the spirit of the age was
universalism. It turns out Martin was right and as he further
warned that it is "actually quite hostile to the historic
orthodox Christian faith."
(16) Brian
McLaren:
Save The Planet by Slice of Laodicea, 9/11/06 Below Steve Muse of Eastern Regional Watch wrote: "I came
across this article yesterday, Evangelical Author Puts
Progressive Spin On Traditional Faith by Caryle Murphy of the
Washington Post, which clearly reveals Brian McLaren's heart and
mind with regard to Evangelical Christianity." In this article
Murphy unknowingly brings out just how far away from the
Christian mission the Emergent rebellion against the Bible led
by McLaren has now strayed.
(17) Report
On
Brian McLaren, Emergent Church Leader by Jewel
Grewe, Dicernment Ministries Newsletter, Volume 17, Number 6,
Novemeber/December 2006
On October 24, 2006 Brian McLaren spoke at
the Wake Divinity School, Wait Chapel, North Carolina. A friend
of Discernment Ministries went to hear this talk and below are
some notes taken during this event.
(19) A
New Vision For God's Kingdom on Earth by Lighthouse
Trails Research, 1/30/07 "Imagine a World, A New Vision for God's Kingdom on Earth" -
These are the words used to describe the upcoming "Big Event 2007"
with Brian McLaren held at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church,
Severna Park, Maryland in February. With workshops titled "What
are the world's greatest problems?" and "Youth in Today's
Challenging World," at a quick glance to most, the conference
would seem benign. But just what does this mean, "A New Vision for
God's Kingdom on Earth," or as a PowerPoint presentation* says
about the event, "the kingdom of God is here now"?
(20) Brian
McLaren:
Postmodern Christianity Understood as Story by
Jennifer Riley, Christian Post Reporter, Mon, Feb. 18 2008 02:43
PM ET He (McLaren) suggested that the mainline become more flexible
in practice while evangelicals "loosen up" on some of their
doctrinal system.
(21) "Reframing
Jesus" by Herescope, 2/29/08 Be prepared for a total makeover of Christianity in Brian
McLaren's most recent book, Everything Must Change.
(22) Formula
Zero
- Racing towards oblivion - Who is Brian McLaren? by
Neil Richardson, Vanguard Newsletter, Issue 23, July 2007 Brian McLaren's brand new formula of Christianity when tested
by the Word of God proves to be, like the first chapter of A
Generous Orthodoxy, nothing but a big zero. He dismantles every
single major doctrine of the Bible: the authority of Scripture, the nature of God and Creation, the
nature of Man and Sin, who the Lord Jesus is, why He died, who
the Holy Spirit is, what His work is in converting unbelievers,
what the unchanging Gospel is that we proclaim, what being part
of the Body of Christ means, how truth and unity must connect,
the doctrines of hell and the devil.
(23) Updated! How
"Everything
Must Change" - A Pastor Reports on Brian McLaren's "Everything
Must Change" Tour by Herescope, 6/2/08 - Read Part
1, Part
2,Part
3,Part
4 & Part
5. The emergent community's fixation with non-Biblical practices
rooted in the Middle Ages has been responsible for leading many
sincere pilgrims to explore the "ancient-modern" church through
candles, incense, adoration of icons and relics, etc. The
audience was repeatedly encouraged to cast off their old
"framing story" (the way they see the world) including such bad
things as doctrinal and systematic Bible study, since (according
to emergent thought) nothing can be definitely known. Therefore,
any positive statements that sounded like confidence in the
existence of absolute truth were scoffed at as being "narrow
minded and proud".
(24) McLaren's
"Everything
Must Change" Tour by Pastor Jeffrey Whittaker,
6/08 We've all heard it said: "The more things change, the more they
remain the same". The Bible says it another way in Ecclesiastes
1:9-10: The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and
that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no
new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be
said, See, this is new? It hath been already of old time, which
was before us. I found that the essence of these statements are
still proving to be axiomatic after my experience at the
"Everything Must Change" conference held at Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana with emergent church leader Brian
McLaren. I sat through session after session listening to the
emergent "gospel"; complete with medieval chants and choruses of
despair, apologies to the Native American Indians of the St. Joseph River Valley, as well as to "Mother
Earth" for scarring her through our mining and oil drilling
operations. The sarcasm with which traditional Scriptural
positions were discussed, coupled with repeated swipes at Christians who were (in McLaren's opinion) waiting to be
"snatched away", "evacuated", or "beamed up", brought one
particular Scripture passage constantly to my heart and mind.
(25) Transformation
Of
The Church by Jeff Whittaker, Herescope,
10/14/08 Pastor Whittaker gives a lively and animated report of his
personal experience attending Emergent church leader Brian
McLaren's "Everything Must Change" conference in Goshen,
Indiana. His entertaining and eye-opening report details the
extent to which this movment has adopted the non-biblical
practices and doctrines of earth-centered spirituality.
(26) The Mindset
Of Mockers In The Last Days by Mike Oppenheimer, Let
Us Reason Ministries, 11/6/08 The Bible speaks a lot about scoffers and mockers in the
last days, those who question the word because they have
departed from the faith.
(27) THE
COMING
KINGDOM - Evolution or Revolution? by Pastor Larry
DeBruyn, November 17, 2008 According to Brian McLaren, "the Second Coming Jesus"-once held
by an evangelical consensus to be one of the five fundamentals
of the Christian faith-needs rethinking.
(29) Brian
McLaren
Wants End Time Believing Christians Robustly Confronted
by Editors at Lighthouse Trails, 5/4/09 In an April 2009 article in Sojourner's magazine by emerging
church leader, Brian McLaren, McLaren clearly has targeted
Christians. But not just any Christians. McLaren is talking
about Christians who believe Jesus Christ is coming back again,
suggesting that these type of Christians are the reason there is
no peace in the Middle East. He says what these end-time
believing Christians are doing is "terrible," "deadly," and
"distorted."
(30) Brian
McLaren
of Emerging Church to Celebrate Ramadan by Apprising
Minsitries, 8/17/09 Ramadan is the Muslim holy month of fasting for spiritual
renewal and purification. It commemorates the month during which
Muslims believe Mohammed received the Quran through divine
revelation, and it calls Muslims to self-control, sacrificial
generosity and solidarity with the poor, diligent reading of the
Quran, and intensified prayer. This year, I, along with a few
Christian friends (and perhaps others currently unknown to us
will want to join in) will be joining Muslim friends in the fast
which begins August 21. We are not doing so in order to become
Muslims: we are deeply committed Christians. But as Christians,
we want to come close to our Muslim neighbors and to share this
important part of life with them" (Online source)
(31) Brian
McLaren
Imagining A Different God by Ken Silva, 9/4/09 Today McLaren informs us that: "Sister Joan Chittister writes a
provocative reflection on God and evolution, and on the God of
evolution, here. (Thanks Mike Todd!) There are strong resonances
between what Joan is saying and what my upcoming book explores.
Most of us grew up learning about the God of Laws, the God who
made sense in Sir Isaac Newton's mechanistic universe. (Nothing
expressed this contextualization better than the little booklet
"Four Spiritual Laws," which could have been called "Four
Spiritual Mechanisms.") Now, we are struggling to imagine a
bigger God, a God who makes sense in the evolutionary universe
of Darwin, Einstein, LeMaitre, Hubble, Heisenberg, and Kuhn "" (Online
source)
(32) Brian
McLaren
and Evangelical Pantheism by Ken Silva, 9/09 A mystic himself McLaren also associates with such as Living
Spiritual Teacher Alan Jones and "Progessive Christian" scholar
Marcus Borg, another Living Spiritual Teacher, who will all take
us into the void of a bankrupt New Age of Contemplative
Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM). In truth we're encountering a
neo-paganism consistent with Eastern religions e.g. Buddhism and
Hinduism all mixed up into a new Gnosticism, which then emerges
as a pseudo-Christianity teaching that within all mankind is the
indwelling spark of the divine; i.e. that on some level, man is
also like God. Read Part
1, Part
2, Part
3 & Part
4
(33) Liberalism
2.0
- The New Progressive Christian Theology by Ken Silva,
Apprising Ministries, 3/16/10 Since this attempt at "transforming Christian theology," to use
McLaren's friend progressive/process theologian Dr. Philip
Clayton's term, is still developing I would say there is a level
of sincerity in McLaren's posture of asking questions. However,
don't kid yourself, such as these new Gnostics believe that
they're on a mission from God and they're not about to stop
actively promoting what some are beginning to call a "big tent"
version of Christianity. Let's be clear; this is absolutely not
merely a rehash of liberalism, rather, it's an attempt to cobble
together a new, more user-friendly, version of it.
(34) Brian
McLaren:12
Step groups may help us escape Bible by John Lanagan,
My Word Like Fire, 3/23/10 In his book, A New Kind of Christianity, Emergent leader Brian
McLaren attacks Biblical understanding, and tries to revise both
God and the Bible. In his chapter on reinterpreting God's Word,
he notes, "Even for those of us on this quest, breaking out of
centuries-old habits won't be easy""
(35) Apostatizing
from
the Apostle - Oh, and By the Way, from Jesus Too! by
Pastor Larry DeBruyn, 4/3/10 An ideology contending that Paul somehow obstructs the
understanding of Jesus is not a new. At core, liberal
Christianity disdains Paul's message. Professing Christians can
show themselves to be "enemies of the cross of Christ"
(Philippians 3:18), and because they are, they will seek to
dismiss Paul's letters as relevant to a "Jesus-only" faith. But
at stake in the debate about whether Paul hinders or helps our
understanding of the life and mission of Jesus is the authority
that his writings, as well as those of Peter, Matthew, and John,
will play in that understanding. If these apostolic writings are
dismissed, then Christians will be removed from "the foundation
of the apostles and prophets," will be without "Christ Jesus
himself as the chief cornerstone," and will be "foreigners and
aliens" in the world (Ephesians 2:20, NIV).
(36) Brian
McLaren
Spreading Division In Christianity by Apprising
Ministries, 4/7/10 McLaren's idea of writing a scholarly approach to "Christian
Faith of tomorrow" seems to involve mischaracterizing
Christians, setting up and knocking down a laughable straw-man
argument that we view Scripture through a "Greco-Roman" lens,
spewing forth vitriol at fellow Christians - all the while
holding forth a smug attitude of false humility and piety.
(37) Brian
McLaren
Inadvertantly Reveals Who He Worships by Ken Silva,
July 16, 2010 The god Of Mysticism's Mystery Not The One True And Living
God Revealed In The Bible. Apprising Ministries reminds
you that just about a year ago Living Spiritual Teacher and
Emerging Church guru Brian McLaren placed up the video below,
which he tells us was "a song i've written over the last few
days "" It's actually an ode to his god whom we find out McLaren
refers to as Majestic Mystery. So as you can see from our
opening text above, McLaren and the Mystics have now
inadvertently revealed just who it is that they are worshipping"
(38) Why
Are
Women of Faith Promoting Mystic/Emerging Brian McLaren?
by John Lanagan, My Word Like Fire Ministries, 10/15/10 Who owns Women of Faith? Founded by Christian 12 Step advocate
and author Steve Arterburn, Women of Faith was purchased by
Thomas Nelson Publishers in 2000. Many of the books promoted by
Women of Faith are, logically enough, published by Thomas
Nelson. Incredibly, one author who has a number of books for
sale in the Women of Faith bookstore is apostate Brian McLaren.
In describing McLaren's The Secret Message of Jesus, we are
informed: "When Brian McLaren began offering an alternative
vision of Christian faith and life in books such as A New Kind
of Christianand A Generous Orthodoxy, he ignited a firestorm of
praise and condemnation that continues to spread across the
religious landscape. To some religious conservatives, McLaren is
a dangerous rebel without a doctrinally-correct cause. Some
fundamentalist websites have even claimed he's in league with
the devil and have consigned him to flames." [1] "But I will
warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed,
has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!"
(Luke 12:5) As noted in the article, Women of Faith Spread The
Message, this organization is already exposing thousands of
women, many of them new believers, to Eugene Peterson's
deceptive paraphrase,The Message.
(39) Brian
McLaren
and Richard Foster's Editorial Team Agree with Lighthouse
Trails - Contemplative Prayer and Eastern Mysticism Are Same
Thing by Lighthouse Trails, 11/2/10 To those who know and embrace the glorious Gospel of Christ,
there can be no fellowship with religions that reject the very
foundation of the biblical Christian faith. Something is
radically wrong when someone who claims to be a Christian has a
sense of solidarity with someone who has a view that man is
divine (i.e., man is God). Shear logic should point out the
truth of what we are trying to say. Lighthouse Trails' hope is
that you look at this issue with an open mind and honest
discernment. The truth is in plain view.
(40) Time's
Up
Brian McLaren by Ken Silva, 1/20/11 Well, looking again at Brian McLaren's non-stand about
homosexuality (or about anything else for that matter), you need
to understand this. There was always little chance that McLaren
is ever going to come down on the side of what the Bible
actually says about the deviant and sinful lifestyle of having
sexual relations with another of the same sex, i.e
homosexuality, because of his own warped and toxic views
concerning the inspired texts of Holy Scripture. You should know
that McLaren sees the Bible in a very allegorical "Alexandrian
School" approach to Scripture so he would not readily see what
it clearly appears to be saying when simply read at face value.
(41) The
Crossless
Gospel by Gary Gilley, Think On These Things,
February/March 2011 - Volume 16, Issue 6 In Brian McLaren's The Secret Message of Jesus he claims to
have discovered the true gospel that Jesus came to give.
According to McLaren this message has been missed by Christians
for generations but fortunately for all of us he and a few of
his friends in the emergent church movement have been able to
break Jesus' code and unravel His true, but secret, message. I
should clarify at this point that in no sense do I view McLaren
as an evangelical; I believe he and the emergent church are old
fashioned liberals with new window dressing. Be that as it
may, many in evangelical circles are listening to him and
therefore his positions need to be addressed. Read Part
1 & Part
2.
(42) Brian
McLaren
Takes On Al Mohler Over Rob Bell by Ken Silva,
Apprising Ministries, 3/23/11 With this in mind, I'll bring to your attention that guru
McLaren has decided to wade into the minor flap raised by one of
his disciples, the Emerging Church rock star pastor Rob Bell,
with his new book of mythology called Love Wins. The saga of
Mohler and McLaren begins with Mohler's article We Have Seen All
This Before: Rob Bell and the (Re)Emergence of Liberal Theology
where he correctly showed that Bell's musings are indeed quite
similar to what the late cult expert Dr. Walter Martin labeled,
"The Cult of Liberalism."
(43) Connecting
the
"Dots" on Brian McLaren by Michael Theophilus (a
Christian pseudonym), 5/13/11 First, let me say that this research report is prepared under
the Christian pseudonym, Michael Theophilus, i.e., Michael (who
is like God-made in "our image") and Theophilus (lover of God).
The main reason for the pseudonym is that the author is not
intended to be the subject nor the focus of this report. Rather,
it is this Watchman's prayer and wish that the reader's entire
focus be on the information that is revealed in this report so
that my fellow Watchmen may sound theirs alarms as the Lord
directs them to do so. PURPOSE: The purpose of this report is to
connect the dots, i.e., the false teachers (heretics and
apostates), some of whom are currently in "the church" with one
another, as well as revealing some of their connections with
others who claim no Christian beliefs, but rather are shown
and/or are known to be Satanically connected directly or
indirectly through their occultic (New Age, Gnostic, etc.)
writings and/or affiliations, e.g., Brian McLaren being
connected to Barbara Marx Hubbard and both of them being
connected to Lucis Trust.
(45) An
Open
Letter to Brian McLaren by Jim Fletcher, 8/19/11
Jim Fletcher is right. Friends of Israel today are treated like
we have a mental disease. Even within evangelicalism, we are
scorned and marginalized. What is our crime? I guess it's our
interpretation of the Bible for we see Israel's land as
God-given, not a piece of property that can be divided up and
handed over to terrorists. I have written and spoken on Emergent
Church issues for years and have aimed often at one of its
leaders, Brian McLaren. Most of those in this stream consider
Israel to be an inconvenience at best and dangerous at worst.
Sister ministry leader Jim Fletcher expresses my sentiments
about McLaren and his followers who claim that friends of Israel
are worse than Muslim terrorists. Thanks, Jim.
(46) Conference
To
Indoctrinate Children Into Brian McLaren Mythology by
Ken Silva, 9/7/11 In this way, Living Spiritual Teacher and EC guru Brian
McLaren, universalist EC pastor Doug Pagitt, and his friend Dr.
Tony Jones, the progressive "theologian in residence" at
Solomon's Porch headed by Pagitt-along with a whole host of
Emergent apostates-were given virtually free reign over what are
now a new generation of teachers.
(47) Brian
McLaren:12
Step groups may help us escape Bible by John Lanagan,
My Word Like Fire, 5/23/10 In his book, A New Kind of Christianity, Emergent leader Brian
McLaren attacks Biblical understanding, and tries to revise both
God and the Bible. In his chapter on reinterpreting God's Word,
he notes, "Even for those of us on this quest, breaking out of
centuries-old habits won't be easy"In the same paragraph,
McLaren makes an interesting statement. "No wonder those of us
who want and need to change our approach may need to form
twelve-step groups to deprogram our thinking."
(48) Like
We
Said, Brian McLaren Wants the Minds of Your Children and
Grandchildren by Lighthouse Trails, 4/7/12 On May 7-10 2012, in Washington, DC, Brian McLaren will be a
speaker at the Children, Youth, and a New Kind of Christianity
event. He will be joining other emergent leaders - Tony Campolo,
Shane Claiborne, Samir Selmanovic and other "progressives." In
the video below (a promotional for the event) McLaren tells
viewers that they are holding the conference so they can figure
out how to get their message into children's curriculum. And, no
doubt, they will do it. After all, virtually all of the large
Christian publishers are now publishing emerging/contemplative
material.
(49) May
2012
Conference To Indoctrinate Children Into Brian McLaren's
Mythology by Ken Silva, 4/19/12 Now you have the necessary backdrop to see what's going on-and
what's at stake-with this piece from American Baptist Press
Conference seeks to nurture children, youth in 'new kind of
Christianity'.
(50) Conference
Seeks
to Nurture Youth in a New Kind of "Christianity" by
The Berean Call, 4/25/12 TBC: McLaren's purpose is to "reach" Christian youth with his
ideas, which in practice deviates little from far left
politicians, and is devoid of the hope of the Gospel. For
example, the speakers at this apostate event include Rev.
Jeremiah Wright and speaker's topics include: Ivy Beckwith,
"Godspell, Footloose (the original) and a New Kind of Children
and Youth Ministry," Susan Burt, "Opening the World of Faith by
Nurturing the Imaginative, Questioning Spirit," Patricia Lyons,
"Harry Potter, God and Youth: Using Fiction to Transform Young
Readers into Young Theologians," Dave McNeely, "A New Kind of
Sexuality: Finding a Framework," Melinda Melone, "Welcoming
Rainbow Kids: Resources and Approaches for Working with Youth in
the GLBTIQA (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Transexual,
Intersex, Queer, Questioning, Ally) Community.
(52) Brian
McLaren
Leads Ceremony At Son's Same-Sex Wedding by Ken Silva,
9/26/12 Brian McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christian and a
prominent Christian speaker, led a non-traditional marriage
commitment ceremony this weekend, according to The New York
Times. Held at the Audubon Naturalist Society in Chevy Chase,
Maryland, this ceremony included "traditional Christian
elements," but no bride. And the groom-one of them-was McLaren's
son, Trevor McLaren. The Timesreports that Trevor McLaren wed
Owen Ryan Saturday in Washington, D.C., followed by the
afternoon commitment ceremony.
(53) Brian
McLaren
tour focuses on inter-faith relations at Understand
The Times, 10/25/12 Emerging church leader Brian McLaren will be visiting six
English cities this winter. He'll be picking up on the themes of
his new book, "Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed
Cross the Road?" The tour has been organised by Greenbelt in
partnership with book publisher Hodder & Stoughton. McLaren
will be joined in each city by a faith leader from a
non-Christian faith tradition. Together, they will explore
Christian identity in a multi-faith world and respectful
engagement between the faiths.
(54) Smilingly
Leading
You To Hell by Forgotten Word Ministrires,
12/1/12 Brian McLaren may well be the nicest guy around. He recently
faced a good bit of criticism for leading a commitment ceremony
following his son’s same-sex wedding—a
ceremony that included “traditional Christian
elements.” In the aftermath, McLaren was as nice as he
has ever been. On his blog he answered a former fan who now
understood that he could no longer see McLaren as a mentor. This
person was reeling, trying to figure out who could now help
guide him in his understanding of the Christian faith.
McLaren’s answer was nice; it had the appearance of
humility and genuinely sorrowful affection. Yet it was radically
opposed to the Bible. He rashly changed the way we interpret
Scripture, denying what the Bible makes so clear. If you allow
him to, Brian McLaren will “nice” you
straight to hell.
(55) Brian
McLaren
addresses SDA conference by The Berean Call,
10/7/13 Brian McLaren is making inroads with his unbiblical Gospel in
many places, including the Seventh day Adventists. Here are some
excerpts from the 2013 Adventist Forum Conference
(57) Brian
McLaren�s
Mystery Project Out of the Bag � Cana Initiative � A Gathering
of Emergents by Lighthouse Trails, 11/21/13 If you want to understand where the
emerging/emergent/contemplative/progressive church is heading
and how they are going to get there, just read the chapter by
chapter synopsis of Faith Undone. Pay attention to the sections
that talk about the denial of the atonement of Jesus Christ for
our sins and the kingdom of God on earth now (prior to Christ�s
return) being established. We don�t know how much money Brian
McLaren and his wife donated to kick off the new initiative, but
we do know he and the others means business. Watch in the
future to see how many books are published by CANA initiators.
In the past decade, numerous publishers have provided ample
platform for McLaren and the others. Some of the more
outstanding publishers catering to emergent have been: Wiley
& Sons, Zondervan, Thomas Nelson, Baker (Emersion Books),
Intervarsity Press, and NavPress. McLaren�s most recent book,
Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?:
Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World and his 2014
upcoming book We Make the Road by Walking: A Year-Long Quest for
Spiritual Formation, Reorientation, and Activation are examples
of what we have to look forward to from these CANA Initiators.
(58) Brian
McLaren�s
Palestinian Justice Speech by Menno-lite, 6/6/14
The Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) regional conference
recently took place this last April at First United Methodist
Church in Portland, Oregon[1]. It was called Seeds for Justice
and Hope for Palestinians and Israelis � What is required of US?
Since there are quite a few Mennonites who are fond of both
Brian McLaren and Sabeel, it is fitting for this blog to draw
attention to what was taught during McLaren�s one hour plenary
session. Read Part
1 & Part
2.
(59) McLaren's
"Palestinian
Justice" Speech, part 1 by The Berean Call,
9/3/14 The Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) regional conference
recently took place this last April at First United Methodist
Church in Portland, Oregon[1]. It was called Seeds for Justice
and Hope for Palestinians and Israelis � What is required of US?
During the first half hour[2], McLaren�s talk began with his
background in the Plymouth Brethren, Darby, dispensationalism,
and the Jesus people movement. From there he went to questioning
his beliefs in the Bible, fast-forwarding to Greenbelt to Sabeel
to Israel � all parts of his journey to rethinking and writing.
Unfortunately, McLaren�s experiences on his quest left him with
a jaded perception of �church� as a place where there are
questions you can�t ask and explanations you can�t give. Through
his doubting and rethinking process, he concluded that in the
same way that the Christian religion created Europe and failed
Europe, the Christians created the injustice that currently
exists in Palestine.
(60) Brian
McLaren
and a New Era of Bible Reading at The Berean Call,
11/12/14 We've moved into a new era of approaching the Bible,
controversial Christian author and speaker Brian McLaren says.
It's an era that could see Christians abandoning the idea that
there is one "right" way of interpreting Scripture � an era he
calls Bible 3.0. Bible 3.0, as McLaren characterises it, is an
approach that sees the Bible less as inerrant and more as being
"in conversation with everything and everyone." It is an
approach to Scripture that has been made necessary, if not
inevitable, by the unprecedented access readers of the Bible
have to a broad range of readings and interpretations of the
Bible through the internet. Whereas in the past, Christians
might have had to go to another denomination's church or part of
the world to hear a different take on Scripture, today the
internet allows us to immediately access a myriad of different
interpretations of the same text.
(61) Brian
McLaren,
You Have Missed the Boat With Your “All-Inclusive
Reformation�?—Homosexuals and Feminists: Yes; The Bible and
White Christian Men: No by Lighthouse Trails, 11/10/17
As groups around the world celebrate the 500th anniversary of
the Reformation with highly ecumenical events and speeches,
Brian McLaren, once likened to Luther,1 has outlined his view of
what the next reformation will look like in an article he wrote
on November 1, 2017 titled, “The Last Reformation … and the Next
Reformation.�? A disgruntled former evangelical Christian,
McLaren says that the first reformation was led by white
European men whose belief of an inerrant Bible was “papal
authority with paper authority.�? In contrast, McLaren says the
next reformation will be much different: "The last reformation
is associated with one “great man�?–Martin Luther. He was joined
by other “great men�? – all white and European. The next
reformation will be associated not with one “great man�? but
with many diverse people–especially women and people of color.
The contribution of Liberation Theology, Black Theology,
Feminist/Eco-Feminist/Womanist/Queer and related theologies will
be as central to the next reformation as white European theology
was to the last reformation.2"
Beth Moore
ACT Note: Though not a recognized EC leader she endorses Be Still
DVD and eastern religious style "prayer".
(1) Beth
Moore
Gives Thumbs Up to "Be Still" DVD by Lighthouse Trails
Research Project, Newsletter, 6/06 Beth Moore's statement of "apology" should be disregarded - new
information takes precedence. The Be Still DVD by Fox Home
Entertainment was just released in April. Featured speakers
include Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Max Lucado, Beth Moore
and many others. Shortly after the DVD was released, Ingrid
Schlueter of Slice of Laodicea spoke with Beth Moore and told
Moore that the DVD was promoting the mystical practice of
contemplative prayer. Within one hour, Moore issued a statement
to Slice of Laodicea and asked that they post it on their
website, which they did. However, there has been a growing
concern about her statement and the fact that Moore's ministry,
Living Proof Ministries, never placed the statement on their
website. Lighthouse Trails has now received emails from a number
of people who have sent us a new statement from Living Proof
Ministries. Because Living Proof is issuing this statement to
the public, we are making this available for all to read.
According to this recent email, Moore's original statement of
apology should now be disregarded. The statement clarified:
"[W]e believe that once you view the Be Still video you will
agree that there is no problem with its expression of Truth."
Living Proof is offering to send a free copy of the DVD to
anyone who receives their email statement and wishes to view the
DVD, saying that, "[I]t would be our privilege to do this for
you to assure you that there is no problem with Beth's
participation in the Be Still video."
(4) Beth Moore's
Illicit Tent of Meeting by Bob DeWaay, 6/06 Recently, on Ingrid Schlueter's Web site Beth Moore denies that
she promotes approaches to prayer that have Eastern overtones.
The issue arose from her participation on the Be Still DVD which
has been critiqued on this site by Ingrid and then Brian Flynn.
Brian and I viewed a segment of Beth Moore on that DVD. We found
disconcerting her poor understanding of Exodus 33:7-11, the
passage she uses as her proof text. In her discussion of Moses'
tent of meeting she proposes that each believer can have their
own tent of meeting where they can go to have two way
conversations with God.
(3) A
Beth Moore Expose' by Apprising Ministries,
3/13/10 Apprising Ministries pieces like How Would You Know Beth Moore?
I've shared my concerns about people like Moore who appear to
claiming to receive special revelation directly from God.
(4) Beth Moore
Exposés by PFO, 6/6/10
She is a best-selling author whose Bible study books and workbooks
have sold more than 10 million copies, and who leads the pack of
authors at LifeWay, the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist
Convention. She is said to be an "evangelical superstar" and "one
of the most respected and sought-after Bible teachers," whose
conferences draw women - and some men - by the thousands. She's
Beth Moore, the blond, petite 52-year-old with a Texas accent, who
has become a Christian darling among believers of all
denominations. Unfortunately, what she does deliver in her
many resources is a lack of discernment, an unhealthy ecumenism,
careless use of words, and a poor exegesis of the Word of God. In
2007, following repeated requests for a critique of Beth Moore,
PFO offered its first article which examined both the teaching
found in her best-selling book, When Godly People Do Ungodly
Things, and her unorthodox associations. Because of the
popularity of that initial evaluation, PFO received calls for
additional articles surveying her unabashed mysticism and faulty
biblical interpretations.
(5) Beth
Moore
Praises Brother Lawrence And Obscures The Reformation
by Ken Silva, 9/5/11 Interstingly enough, both of them are pretty iffy about
Reformation theology, most specifically that the Roman Catholic
Church teaches another gospel. This clip below is from the Be
Still DVD, which is an ode to the unbiblical practice of
Contemplative/Centering Prayer (CCP).
(6) SBC
Lifeway
Bible Teacher Beth Moore Praising Apostate Mystic and
Contemplative Prayer by Ken Silva, 12/21/11 In the section of the Be Still"And Know That I Am God DVD
called Cloud of Witnesses: Contemplative Figures Throughout
History, i.e. so-called "Christian" mystics, SBC Bible teacher
Beth Moore gives us some very revealing information concerning a
growing rebellion against Sola Scriptura within "Protestant"
evangelicalism.
(8) Beth
Moore
The Mystic by Ken Silva, 1/12/12
As I pointed out in Beth Moore Seeking Direct Revelation From God
At Passion 2012 Moore tells us herself she was apparently doing so
along with the other speakers: "I didn't take many pictures during
the sessions because I didn't want to be distracted and miss God.
I wanted to worship and to receive a word myself! I know you get
that." (Online source) It seems to me that if she meant in
Scripture then she wouldn't have to worry about "missing" what God
has to say and can "receive a word" from God at any time,
no?
(9) Straightening
Out
Beth Moore On Discernment by Ken Silva, 2/19/12
The Roman Catholic Church condemned the Gospel of Jesus Christ;
this was at the very heart of the Protestant Reformation. So we
have to ask: Does SBC Bible teacher not know this? And we also
need to ask: Why does Lifeway, publishing arm of the SBC,
promote Beth Moore's heretical view on its website?
(10) Beth
Moore's
Classic Chat With God by Ken Silva, 8/19/12 The reason I brought this up is because charismatic big names
in the SBC, e.g. like Rick Warren and Beth Moore, have been led
by their subjective feelings-allegedly by God-to become
protholics. They're not really Protestant, and not quite Roman
Catholic. Unfortunately, all who follow feelings eventually end
up there. Don't you think it's rather odd that two of the most
visible voices in the SBC, the largest Protestant denomination
in the United States, actually repudiate the Protestant
Reformation with their sinful ecumenicism? Yet, Warren and Moore
will often claim to be receiving direct revelation form God. In
fact, you'll hear Beth Moore below even tell us that Jesus "can
be the bossiest thing." This video is Moore's infamous "Hair
Brush Story," which she retold on Life Today January 11th of
this year. Seems in April of 2005 she was at the Knoxville
airport waiting to board the plane when apparently God took over
control of her ...
(11) Beth
Moore
and Ken Silva Discuss Her Demonic Vision by Ken Silva,
9/26/12 The Roman Catholic Church long ago condemned the Gospel of
Jesus Christ; this was at the very heart of the Protestant
Reformation. Beth Moore needs to be brought to account for this
demonic vision and to repent of her sinful ecumenical teaching.
And shame on the SBC for not only promoting it, but even
charging people for it!
(12) Beth Moore Bio
by Matt Slick, CARM, 1/14/13 We must be very careful when listening to a teacher. Beth
Moore, in my opinion, is not to be trusted to properly teach
from the word of God. She is leading many astray with her
approval of contemplative prayer, personal revelations, and
faulty biblical exegesis. Yes, I know that many claim to
have been helped by her. That is fine. But, the
experience of feeling helped is not where truth lies.
Rather, it is God's word that is the standard of what is good
and bad, not if we are helped through the wolf of pop psychology
in Christian terminology. Therefore, I cannot endorse Beth
Moore.
(13) Examining
Beth
Moore's statement: the 'Bride is paralyzed by unbelief'
by The End Times, 7/8/13 Last night, I was thinking about something Beth Moore said. I
want to look closely at the content of what Beth Moore said in
this example I will show you. I am personally offended by it and
I'm spiritually grieved by it.
(14) Beth
Moore's
'Twelfth Month Redemption' by Don't Not Be Surprised,
12/12/13
She tells her viewers that she used a search on Bible Gateway to
find every instance of the 'twelfth month' in Scripture. Then she
looked up these passages and found that many of them described
some type of reversal in circumstances. This, she concludes, must
mean that God offers reversals of fortune in the twelfth month of
the year. Thus, everyone who has had a difficult and trying 2013
needs to pray that God would redeem the year in this final month
of December. Moore's attempt to universally apply a principle that
God redeems an entire year in the twelfth month is pure
manipulation of the biblical text that could lead many of her
devoted followers into despair if they find that such a reversal
does not happen to them.
(15) Beth
Moore
Worships At Joel Osteen's Church As Pastrix Christine Caine
Preaches by Ken Silva, 12/24/13 Certainly we should be able to see that Joel Osteen Moving One
Step Closer To Mainstream Evangelicalism when someone as revered
in conservative Christian circles as Beth Moore feels
comfortable enough to announce she was going to go and join in
fellowship with 1) someone like Osteen and his false gospel, and
2) with women in rebellion against God�s Word.
(16) Future
Outpouring
�Prophecy� Of Beth Moore by Ken Silva, 3/24/14 Moore tells us, �In mid-November of 2012, God dropped a word so
convicting on my heart,� so �I knew God was talking to me� and �
I have rarely � if ever � received clearer orders from God.� In
her post Moore speaks of a �fresh work of Christ� bringing a
�revival� through the �wind� of the Holy Spirit, i.e. a new
outpouring.
(17) Is
Beth
Moore�s �Spiritual Awakening� Taking the Evangelical Church
Toward Rome? by Lighthouse Trails, 8/14/14 Editor�s Note: Lighthouse Trails bears no animosity toward
Catholics. We have a genuine love and concern for them. However,
we are obliged to speak up about the teachings of the Catholic
Church, especially as we witness the �emerging� of Protestantism
and Catholicism, which is taking place via Christian leaders
today.
(18) Beth
Moore
Talks 'Unity' with Word Faith Teacher Joyce Meyer by
Do Not Be Surprised, 8/15/14 Is this what Beth Moore meant when she claimed to have received
personal, direct revelation from God to "stop sowing over and
over again in the same field"? Is this the unity of which Moore
spoke at James Robison's Awaken Conference? It certainly seems
that way.
(19) Beth
Moore
& Priscilla Shirer�s History of Contemplative Prayer and
Why War Room Should Not Have Used Them (Booklet) by
John Lanagan and the Editors at Lighthouse Trails, 9/22/15 Contemplative prayer, which Priscilla Shirer refers to as her
�brand new way� and Beth Moore says is essential in really
knowing God, is in reality an ancient prayer practice that is
essentially the same as New Age or Eastern meditation though
disguised with Christian terminology. Those who participate and
enter the contemplative silence, as it is called, open
themselves to great deception.
(20) The
Beleaguered
Disciple: One Woman�s story of finding discernment and losing
Beth Moore at The Pen, 10/10/15 The bottom line is this. I don�t care if Beth Moore
studies are actually �good� and do not contain false teaching �
one cannot separate the studies from what Moore says and does
elsewhere, with whom she associates. She associates with
Joyce Meyer, Christine Caine, Joel Osteen, James Robison, and
Hillsong. This is associating with false teaching at best,
heresy at worst.
(21) Letter
to
the Editor: Churches in Deception Covering Their Tracks and
Targeting Women at Lighthouse Trails, 3/214/16 It used to be on a church website somehow�some slide, or
announcement, etc.�but then later it was hidden in the
links, or the church bulletin, or the women�s ministry
where a Beth Moore book was listed. Now in the bulletin, when it
is a Beth Moore book, they only label the study with a title or
theme name. But when I Google that name, I get a
book title by Beth Moore. They are hiding it deliberately.
(22) Letter
to
the Editor: Serious Concerns Over Beth Moore’s New Series,
“Entrusted�? at Lighthouse Trails, 12/8/16 LTRP Note: We find it noteworthy that on the eve of our going
to press with Roger Oakland’s new book, The Good Shepherd Calls,
we read this letter to the editor that arrived in our inbox this
morning. The things this letter talks about are some of the same
things Roger discusses in the book. What’s more, this letter to
the editor is more proof that it isn’t just Lighthouse Trails,
Understand The Times, and a handful of other discernment
ministries that see what is coming about. (Those whom we
challenge and critique want people to think that it is indeed
just a handful, but it isn’t.) Based on the phone calls,
e-mails, letters, and social media comments for nearly 15 years,
it is clear that many Bible-believing Christians understand the
times in which we live and see the apostasy coming upon the
church. As for the letter below, we commend this woman for
speaking up and warning her church members.
(23) Women can teach, but not Beth
Moore by Sandy Simpson, 8/11/17 False teaching disqualifies anyone from teaching! Let’s
look at what Beth Moore is teaching.
(24) Beth
Moore Preaches About As well As A Dog Can Walk On Its Hind
Legs by Protestia, 11/19/20
That is to say, not very well. You want to hear some bad
preaching? We have some bad preaching for you. In a newly
unearthed clip, Beth Moore – both the doting perfect princess of
Lifeway/SBC proper and the red-headed stepchild of the faithful
remnant within, preached a sermon in March 2020 at Progressive
Baptist Church in Chicago. She was introduced by Senior Pastor
Charlie Dates in glowing terms as “Auntie Beth,” who commended
her to his congregation “I hope you will receive with me with
all the honor in the world, the esteemed privilege we have to
hear from one of God’s leading women in the world, Beth Moore.”
If the name Charlie Dates sounds familiar, you likely know him
from an article we wrote where we relayed that, being an SBC
Executive Committee Panel Member, he said the SBC “Don’t Need
Black Faces with White Theology/Voices/Ideas Leading the
Convention.” But in the clip below, Moore makes this
fascinatingly bizarre and eisegetical connection between Noah
getting drunk at some point after becoming a farmer
and…Christians getting drunk off their own fruity giftedness?
And something about getting lit and being alone? Who are the
sons covering Noah’s nakedness? Is that metaphorical too? What
in world is going on here? The historical-grammatical method is
far, far away from this one.
(25) Beth
Moore Says God Is Judging His People Because They ‘Sinned
Grievously’ By Supporting Trump at Christian Research
Network 1/23/21
“God is judging the Church for sinning “grievously” by “wedding
evangelicalism to a political party.” Because, it wasn’t about
protecting religious freedom — that we all know is now gone. It
wasn’t about protecting unborn life — that we now know will be
in greater danger. It wasn’t about protecting the consciences of
people who don’t want to be forced to deny reality when it comes
to sex and gender.” Beth Moore is the Southern Baptist
Convention’s top lady-preacher and prime merry-andrew of
Evangelicalism. Beth Moore, like her spiritual brother, Russell
Moore (no relation), has lead the charge in opposing
conservative policies in the political realm, primarily railing
against the evil orange man, daily. Today, she has what she’s
been asking for. Moore has repeatedly lambasted conservative
Evangelicals who supported Donald Trump while giving approval to
those who support the pro-sodomy, pro-abortion anti-religious
freedom political party. The Democrats, unlike the Republicans,
stand for everything that God is against. In fact, the Democrat
party platform is like the antithesis to the 10 Commandments.
Yet, Beth Moore, like the growing swaths of leftist
Evangelicals, are increasingly encouraging “political diversity”
and giving approval to leftists.
(26) Birds
Of A Feather: Karen Swallow Prior Defends Beth Moore, Slanders
The Church by Protestia, 4/7/21
“False teachers like Beth Moore and Karen Swallow Prior for too
long have ignored the Word of God’s clear proclamations
regarding men and women in the church (and by extension the
family), and have led the Southern Baptist Convention downhill
to the point where the denomination may not be salvageable.” In
an op-ed published at Religion News Service, SEBTS professor,
notorious functional egalitarian, Karen Swallow Prior, blamed
the Southern Baptist Convention (her denomination) for “leaving
women to fend for themselves” and basically forcing Beth Moore
to leave rather than see Moore’s ministerial ambitions stifled.
(27) Beth
Moore Now In Open Rebellion To The Bible at CRN,
4/12/21
“I beg your forgiveness where I was complicit. I could not see
it for what it was until 2016. I plead your forgiveness for how
I just submitted to it and supported it and taught it. I trusted
that the motives were godly. I have not lost my mind. Nor my
doctrine. Just my naivety. And, dudes, do not DM me. Spend your
energy tending to your house.” In a showcase of how progressive
Beth Moore has become, the lady preacher, err Bible teacher, and
famous Never Trumper, attacked the biblical doctrine of
complementarianism as a “doctrine of MAN.” In her Twitter thread
against complementarianism, Beth Moore cites 2016 as year she
changed.
(28) Beth
Moore Demeans Godly Women As ‘Just Packing The Brothers’
Lunchkits’ at CRN, 5/13/21
“Beth Moore likes to build straw men so she can tear them down
while she laughs and mocks faithful leaders and Christians in
the Church and now, other women who choose obedience over
rebellion.” Beth Moore has been on the attack against Scripture
for a long time. Last year, Moore launched her tirade against
the Word of God by attempting to pit Paul against Jesus implying
that the two contradicted each other in the Bible. Now, she
openly denies the objective interpretation of Scripture based on
authorial intent which has been practiced by the Church as long
as the Scriptures have been around.
(29) Beth
Moore’s Living Proof Ministry Is In The Red. Is Her Ministry
Empire In Danger? by The End Time, 6/15/21
“Beth Moore’s departure from the SBC, strategically announced
just prior to the SBC annual meeting, in fact gives her more
flexibility and latitude than ever. Sadly, her forty-year
unbiblical influence leaves SBC messengers to clean up her mess
in attempts to retake the ship and steer it from shoal infested
rocky waters to deeper, calmer seas.” The 2021 Annual Meeting of
the Southern Baptist Convention is occurring in a few days (June
15-16). Messengers from member churches from all over the United
States have poured in to Nashville in order to attend…
(30) The
Most Popular False Teacher In Evangelical Circles at
CRN, 7/24/21
In one of the rare situations where Beth Moore actually wrote
something biblically sound and true — a clear position on the
sinfulness of homosexuality — she later retracts the statement
and insists that she’s “exceeded Scripture” and then said that
by writing that, she was “doing more harm than good.” Beth Moore
started out in the early 1990s primarily as a women’s
Bible-study teacher.
(31) Beth
Moore Affirms Divorce For Women Who Don’t Want Sexual
Relations With Husband at CRN, 7/31/21
“She kicks against the goads with God’s word anyway, and she
does so in the name of Jesus–something she complains about other
people doing.” Beth Moore is championing a new cause: sexual
coercion. If it isn’t one thing, it’s another–from denying the
sinfulness of homosexuality to promoting feminism, you can rest
assured that if she’s on it, her position is probably
unbiblical.
(32) Commentary:
Has Beth Moore Inadvertently Become a Proponent of Critical
Race Theory (CRT)? by L. Sharp, 8/17/21
The CRT lie is that every white person is inherently racist
(whether they know it or not) [and in] a “perpetual state of
guilt and apology to people of color. . . . It doesn’t matter if
they never felt or acted as if they were superior to others
because they were white; they are white, and therefore,
according to CRT, they are racist.” Beth Moore has been moving
away from the Bible for a while now. Lighthouse Trails has
documented over the years her becoming a proponent of
contemplative prayer, “emergent” doctrine, and ecumenism (most
notably with Roman Catholicism). See link:
https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?s=beth+moore Beth
Moore publicly announced on March 9, 2021 that she was “no
longer a Southern Baptist” See link:
https://religionnews.com/2021/03/09/bible-teacher-beth-moore-ends-partnership-with-lifeway-i-am-no-longer-a-southern-baptist/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMInIm4-fSL8gIVwj2tBh0Sewj5EAAYASAAEgLqNvD_BwE
Recently, on Twitter (July 21, 2021), she decided to vent her
frustrations, specifically aimed at the fact 6 Southern Baptist
Seminary Presidents had signed a statement in Nov. 2020,
declaring that Critical Race Theory (CRT) was “incompatible with
the Baptist Faith & Message”. This Nov. 2020 statement was a
shift from the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) 2019 statement
calling CRT “insufficient to diagnose and redress the root
causes” of societal ills, but could be used as an “analytical
tool to aid.” Perhaps her criticism of the SBC has escalated,
after the more recent June 2021 SBC Convention, where the SBC
shifted very clearly toward non-support of CRT.
(33) The
Increasingly Uncharitable Political Posturing Of Beth Moore
by Peter Heck, 8/24/21
“When proclaiming what those Scriptures teach is “godly,”
believers should be dutifully committed to speaking only where
it speaks, and identifying as our opinion where it doesn’t.” A
lot was made recently of a state senator in Texas bastardizing
the Word of God in spectacular fashion as she made her case for
securing election integrity. There’s nothing quite like ripping
a Bible verse out of context to support one’s political agenda
to get a bevy of online Twitter theologians worked into a
lather. It’s not that I don’t think such a galling
misapplication of Scripture needs correcting; it’s more that I’m
perplexed at the selective application of outrage and contempt
over the offense. Consider that just a few days after the Texas
clip went viral, well-known Bible teacher Beth Moore decided it
appropriate to use her own social media account to adulterate a
teaching of Christ Jesus Himself.
(34) Beth
Moore Says Abstaining From Gay Sex Is A ‘Sacrifice’ For Gay
Celibates at CRN, 10/9/21
“Moore explains that homosexuals who choose not to practice
their sin are actually “sacrificing” themselves for this cause.”
Beth Moore has said some of the most ludicrous things over the
years, but until recently, nobody would have suspected that she
had completely sold herself out to the LGBTQ agenda. The
militant gay mafia would have everyone believe that
homosexuality and other sexually deviant behaviors are normal
and natural, and therefore, should be accepted and celebrated by
everyone — including Christians.
(35) Beth
Moore is finally "home" by Elizabeth Prata, The End
Time, 12/25/21
I am not remarking on a liturgical service or anything about
Anglicanism. I am saying that Beth Moore’s departure from the
SBC to a place where her heart’s desire has always been to serve
in a place the Bible forbids has finally been satisfied. She is
finally “home”. Recently Beth Moore departed Lifeway, renounced
being a Baptist, and loudly left the Southern Baptist
Convention. In June she declared on her Twitter that she had
found a “small liturgical church” in her area. Beth has been
mightily enjoying this small, liturgical church. It is an
Anglican church. Anglican, not Episcopalian.
(36) Beth
Moore Scolds Men Who Believe Women Shouldn’t Post Immodest
Pictures On Social Media at CRN, 2/11/22
“The raging feminist wing of professing Christendom always likes
to come in and defend the indefensible. First up, Beth Moore…”
First, I want to start by stating that the problem of immodesty
is not unique to women–there are plenty of men who do the exact
same thing. It is unclear why some give a pass to men while not
to women. However, in the context of this latest incident, the
men involved would not give a pass to men.
(37) Beth
Moore Preaches Sunday Morning At Baptist Megachurch In
Houston, Belittles Her Husband at CRN, 8/9/22
Beth Moore’s feud with the Southern Baptist Convention didn’t
last long. After last year’s departure from the denomination,
because it would not allow women to preach in pulpits, she
announced that she was “no longer a Southern Baptist” and
canceled her contract with LifeWay. Apparently, that hasn’t
stopped her from preaching in Baptist pulpits. ... She then
followed up her Sunday morning sermon by belittling her husband
on Twitter.
(38) The
“Jesus is my boyfriend” syndrome at Famine In The
Land, 8/12/22
Jesus is not your boyfriend – “so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:10-11. By pandering
to her Twitter fan club, Beth Moore reveals her distorted,
irreverent, and false view of who Jesus is. Mark and avoid this
deluded teacher.
(39) Paula
White Joins Forces With Demonic ‘Moonies Cult’ at CRN,
8/19/22
New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) queen Paula White demonstrated a
further lack of biblical discernment and an increasing glut of
demonic hand-holding when she got up on stage and gave a keynote
address at the World Christian Leadership Conference which took
place August 11-15, 2022. The conference was founded by Dr. Hak
Ja Han Moon, the widow of the Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon,
co-founder of the Universal Peace Federation and the World
Unification Church.
(40) Beth
Moore Heads Preaching Conference At Gay-Affirming ‘Christian’
University by Marsha West, 9/17/22
Baylor launched a website on sexuality last week which appears
to take a softening stance on homosexuality. The website states
that it is “committed to providing a caring, loving and
supportive community for students in all aspects of their lives,
including the development of their sexuality.“ Beth Moore is one
of Evangelicalism’s foremost progressive activists who has used
her platform to advance some of the most godless ideologies in
the Church which are contrary to the doctrines taught in
Scripture.
(41) Beth
Moore Chastises Christians Who Publicly Humiliate Heretics
by Protestia, 1/21/23
“Writing articles or sharing pictures or memes of why Joel
Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, or some false teacher who says he’s
the second coming of Christ, is a virtue, not a vice, and is a
work of the spirit. The fact that she’s mad about it is very,
very telling.” Days after Beth Moore took exception to Jonathan
Edwards’s sermon ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God’ for very
BethMoorish reasons, she took to Twitter to chastise those who
would publicly humiliate heretics and share pictures and memes
about why they are so bad.
(42) Beth
Moore Rants Over Women Not Being Allowed To Preach In The SBC
On The Podcast Of An Advocate For ‘Gay Christianity’
by The Dissenter, 3/5/23
Preston Sprinkle is the founder of the Center for Faith,
Sexuality, & Gender, a ministry dedicated to advocating and
promoting “Side B” “gay Christianity.” Similar to Revoice, of
which he is also an original advisory board member, Sprinkles’
ministry promotes the aberrant belief that one can continue
living as an open homosexual so long as they don’t engage in
homosexual sex. And it was to Preston Sprinkles’ podcast that
Beth Moore turned to complain about the Southern Baptist
Convention’s decision to take a harder stance against women
preaching.
(43) Imam
Stands In Pulpit At Beth Moore’s Church And Preaches From The
Koran by The Dissenter, 9/2/23
“Beth Moore’s church has now invited a Muslim Imam to come
deliver a sermon and offer a prayer of worship in front of the
church. This Imam came and took the pulpit…” Beth Moore, when
she apostatized a few years ago and left a somewhat biblical
denomination for a completely apostate denomination, made it
clear that her intentions were to continue to rebel against God
by performing the function and role of a pastor, which the
Scriptures reserve for men.
(44) Debunking
Leftist Myths About Jesus – Jesus Was A Feminist by
The Dissenter, 12/16/23
“Jesus did not come to promote a revolt against societal norms
but to offer a radical transformation of the heart, one that
transcends social and political structures and exposes the
deadening rot within our very being.” In the battleground of
contemporary Christian discourse, figures like Beth Moore and
Kristin Du Mez emerge not as benign participants but as
antagonists, waging a calculated campaign to hijack Christianity
in service of their feminist agenda. With the assistance of
effeminate men masquerading as leaders of the Evangelical
Church, Beth Moore now brazenly flouts biblical mandates (1
Corinthians 14:34), trading biblical fidelity for egalitarian
feminism.
(45)Beth
Moore Joining ‘Volf’ In Sheep’s Clothing For Painters,
Prophets, Poets Conference by Protestia, 5/23/24
Volf [is a] progressive thinker who argued in 2016 that all
Christians should vote for Hillary Clinton, as her worldview was
more in line with Christian principles and beliefs than Donald
Trump. He has strenuously argued that Jews, Christians, and
Muslims worship the same God…” Beth Moore continues her bad
choices tour, joining noted Episcopal Priest Miroslav Volf for
the Painters, Prophets, Poets Conference, a three-day affair in
October where “all are invited into the work of envisioning and
promoting Christ’s work of remaking the world in their own
particular places, in their own particular ways.”
(46) Beth
Moore Denounces Southern Baptists As ‘Masters Of Diversion’
For Dealing With Women Preachers by The Dissenter,
6/6/24
“This accusation is not only unfounded but also hypocritical.
Moore herself uses this tactic to divert attention from her
many, many false teachings as well as her alignment with
liberals, rank heretics, and God-hating social activists who
promote everything from abortion to homosexuality.” In 2021,
the popular Evangelical lady-preacher, Beth Moore, left the SBC
after it became apparent to her that she would not be able to
impose her feminist ideology on the denomination. Moore’s
departure from the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has been
portrayed by her and her supporters as a principled stand
against systemic abuse and sexism.
Doug Pagitt
(1) Doug
Pagitt
and the Emerging Church Gay Agenda by Ken Silva,
Apprising Ministries, 8/26/10 A couple of these apostate EC elite I mentioned above would be
the heretical quasi-universalist Emerging Church pastor Doug
Pagitt, who heads the Emergent Solomon's Porch, and his equally
heretical "theologian in residence" Tony Jones. As I showed you
in Emergence Christianity Theologian Tony Jones And His
Unrepentant Homosexual Christians Jones has played the man and
gone on record that he personally affirms a lifestyle of having
sexual relations with another of the same sex, i.e
homosexuality, is a viable one for the regenerated Christian.
Doug Pagitt, not so much; although the evidence I brought out in
Doug Pagitt, The Emerging Church, And Affirming Homosexuality
leaves little doubt that Doug Pagitt's in agreement with his
friend Tony Jones.
(2) The
Kind
Of Christianity Doug Pagitt Offers by Ken Silva,
Apprising Ministries, 9/1/10 Apprising Ministries has told you before that the sinfully
ecumenical Emerging Church, which has now blossomed into a
full-blown neo-liberal cult that's operating within mainstream
evangelicalism itself, would prove to be a Trojan Horse
unloading critical-thinking skills numbing Contemplative
Spirituality/Mysticism under the guise of so-called Spiritual
Formation ala Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard
Foster and his spiritual twin Dallas Willard. Online apologetics
and discernment ministries tried to warn you that the primary
goal of the Emergent Church has been to attack the Protestant
Reformation-specifically Sola Scriptura-but, unfortunately, the
warnings went unheeded. Instead mainstream evangelical churches
made the horrible decision to use their Young Adult and Youth
ministries as spiritual guinea pigs feeding them on materials
from apostate EC leaders. Two of the most notorious of these
would be the heretical quasi-universalist Emerging Church pastor
Doug Pagitt, who heads the Emergent Solomon's Porch, along with
his equally heretical "theologian in residence" Tony Jones;
two-thirds of the unholy trinity of the Emerging Church, with
the other being guru Brian McLaren. Sadly, these men will have
much to answer for having caused so many to make shipwreck of
their faith (see-1 Timothy 1:19).
(3) Toxic
Theology
Of Doug Pagitt by Ken Silva, 9/3/10 Here I agree that Pagitt is quite right; pagan religions are
"not at all in contrast with [his] Christianity"; however, this
is not even remotely close to the historic, orthodox, Christian
faith once for all delivered to the saints.
(4) Articles on Doug
Pagitt by Apprising Ministries, 9/20/10
A number of articles on Pagitt.
(5) Doug
Pagitt
and homosexual sin by Ken Silva, 10/12/10 In Doug Pagitt And The Emerging Church Gay Agenda I reiterated
that online apologetics and discernment ministries tried to warn
you the primary goal of the EC has been to attack the Protestant
Reformation-specifically Sola Scriptura-but, unfortunately, the
warnings went unheeded. As I pointed out before, this is the
reason why God moved me to begin covering the issue of a growing
acceptance within evangelicalism that the deviant and sinful
lifestyle of having sexual relations with another of the same
sex, i.e homosexuality, is a viable one for the regenerated
Christian.
(6) Doug
Pagitt
Excited About Interfaith Powwows At Solomon's Porch by
Ken Silva, 2/3/11 The link takes us to the You Tube clip below, which in part we
have because Fuller Seminary Sponsors Emerging Church Heretic
Doug Pagitt; such is the growing syncretism within rapidly
apostatizing evangelicalism. As you'll see Pagitt's excited that
tonight the "Holistic, Missional, Christian Community" Solomon's
Porch kicks off its new "Thursday Torah Teaching with Rabi
Joseph Eidelheidt [sic]"[1] series at something called
"Solomon's Porch Gathering Space."
Leonard Sweet
(1) Ding Dong, Ding Dong, Wake Up
Leonard Sweet!
by Sandy Simpson, 11/27/05 This article will expose Leonord Sweet as a postmodernist who
apparently is so caught up in his postmodern paradigm shift that
he is unable to think clearly at all, let alone teach. On
his The
Double
Ring Video by Leonard Sweet, Sweet's SoulCafe, 1998, Vol.
3 which I have transcribed here in totality, you can hear the
bell toll twice announcing the demise of Christianity falling
headlong into a global apostate end times false religion.
(2) Satan,
The First Postmodernist by Sandy Simpson,
12/1/05 This is an article written after giving further thought to the
definition of "postmodernism" given by the likes of
postmodernist Leonard Sweet and other Emerging Church promoters.
(5) Engineering
The
Emergent Experience by Watcher's Lamp, 2/12/07
In a classic case of the dialectic
process, Leonard Sweet has declared, " "the old model of
church is killing the West," at a conference at Baylor
University. Sweet continues to state, "in the midst of an
ever-changing culture, and more specifically, postmodernism
the church must become missional, relational and
incarnational, rather than remain attractional, propositional
and colonial." In layman's terms"the emergent way is in, the
seeker-sensitive is out. Perhaps the seeker-sensitive way is
the first step toward the emergent way, with the final
destination for Rome ?
(7) New
Age
Sympathizer Leonard Sweet To Speak at Pastor Skip Heitzig's
Calvary Chapel Church from Warren B. Smith's book, A
"Wonderful" Deception, 3/26/2010 LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS REPORT:This coming June, Calvary Chapel
Albuquerque (a veteran Calvary Chapel church pastored by Skip
Heitzig) will host the National Worship Leader Conference in
Albuquerque, New Mexico and will feature New Age sympathizer and
emerging church leader, Leonard Sweet. The NWLC event will take
place in three different U.S. locations with Sweet participating
in two of them.
Updated! (8) Leonard
Sweet Quotes compiled by Sandy Simpson. 3/10 This is a page containing a number of quotes proving Leonard
Sweet, probably the leading spokesman promoting Emergent Church,
is a false teacher. I will comment in blue about each
quote. The issue of Sweet being invited into many churches
and Christian universities to speak has become even direr as
recently he was invited
to
speak at a Calvary Chapel conference.
(9) David
Spangler,
Leonard Sweet and Quantum Spirituality by Ken Silva,
Apprising Ministries, 5/2/10 Apprising Ministries has been telling you in posts like
Liberalism 2.0 The New Progressive Christian Theology and Brian
McLaren Addresses TransFORM East Coast Conference that, while
the spiritually obtuse within evangelicalism would like to think
so, the neo-liberal cult of the Emerging Church is not dead at
all. In fact, the just wrapped up TransForm East Coast
conference launches the Emergent Church 2.0 with a new
more clearly defined progressive/neo-liberal theology aka
Emergence Christianity.
(10) On Emergent Church leaders calling
apologetics and discernment ministries "Online Discernment
Ministries" (ODM)by Sandy Simpson, 5/14/10 It does not surprise me at all that prominent Emergent Church
(EC) leadership and others associated with that movement would
use name calling as a way to try to shut up opposition to their
false teachings. This is typical for Christian
liberals. Rather than answer to what they have been
writing in their books and teaching on in public for years, they
resort to name calling. The term they are using lately is
ODM meaning online discernment ministries. They use that
term in a disparaging way but the term itself shows that they do
not know how to do research and are not interested in the facts
about many apologetics ministries.
(11) Letter to George Fox
University regarding Leonard Sweet by James Sundquist,
6/4/10 Dear President Robin Baker, Chuck Conniry, Dean, Faculty and
Administration of George Fox University and fellow defenders of
The Faith: Please find attached my response to Chuck Conniry and
Randy Woodley of George Fox University, the complete
comprehensive full report on Leonard Sweet vs. Scripture. In
particular, I respond to Randy Woodley's accusations.
(12) Leonard
Sweet,
Frank Viola and the Third Way by Ken Silva,
6/8/10 This would be the third way, the alleged "new reformation" of
the Emerging Church 2.0 with its Emergence [theory] Christianity
that's slithering its way deeper into the mainstream of the
squishy evanjellyfish community; and, maybe into your own local
church. If I were you, I'd be closely checking the theology of
your Worship leaders and Youth pastors by asking some very hard,
and precisely defined, questions. It's an incontrovertible fact
that this spiritual skubalon has been coming out of mainstream
evangelical publishing houses for years now aimed right at that
demographic; you ignore this at their peril.
(13) Quantum
Spirituality
Has Entered the Church Through Christian Leaders by
Warren Smith, 7/20/10 Leonard Sweet is definitely one of the point men for today's
emerging/postmodern/Purpose Driven Church. As Rick Warren has
aligned himself with Sweet, it is important to remember that
Sweet has described former and present New Age figures as his
"heroes" and "role models." He has openly acknowledged that his
quantum "new cell theory" understanding of "new light
leadership" was formulated with the help of veteran New Age
leader David Spangler. Additionally, Sweet describes mystical
New Age priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin as "Twentieth-century
Christianity's major voice." And while Sweet's almost "in your
face" New Age sympathies are there for all to see, Rick Warren,
and other Christian figures continue to hold him in high esteem.
But it is just business as usual as Warren's apologist tells us
that "Doctrinally/theologically, Leonard Sweet is about as
Christian as anyone can get."
(14) Moriel
and
Way of Life Ministries Report on Concerns Over Calvary Chapel
Embracing of New Age Sympathizer Leonard Sweet at
Lighthouse Trails Research, April 26th, 2010 Moriel has received a number of inquiries and comments
regarding the invitation by Skip Heitzig extended to Leonard
Sweet, the New Age Christian mystic usually identified with the
"Emergent Church", a movement against which senior Calvary
pastor and founder Pastor Chuck Smith publicly opposed. The
event is to be held at Calvary Chapel, Albuquerque along with
the so-called music ministry of a Roman Catholic worship leader
in what has been described as the first official New
Age/Ecumenical event to take place at a Calvary Chapel. This
despite the majority of Calvary Chapel pastors not subscribing
to the event's Ecumenical agenda who support the expressed
position of Pastor Chuck Smith opposing tenets and practices of
the Post-Modern mysticism defining the Emergent Church, seeking
to prevent it from entering into Calvary Chapels. The
announcement follows a public financial scandal reaching the
secular press at the same church in 2008. Moriel cannot speak
for Skip Heitzig and we urge those contacting us to rather
direct their comments and questions to him. Moriel and Jacob
Prasch do dismiss Leonard Sweet as a dangerous deceiver, and
although not opposed to Catholic people we reject Ecumenical
union of any kind with Roman Catholicism. We also firmly endorse
the position expressed by Pastor Chuck Smith in opposition to
this "emergence" which was undertaken by him in a personally
painful yet noble and necessary reaction to its attempted influx
into a Calvary Chapel in California. Moriel and Jacob Prasch
also sanction the caveats issued to Calvary Chapel pastors by
former New Ager Warren Smith who was invited by Chuck Smith to
address a major Calvary Chapel pastors conference regarding
these faulty trends.
(15) Leonard Sweet and His Quantum Spirituality
Date: September 09, 2010
Host: Ingrid Schlueter, Crosstalk Radio
Guest: Sandy Simpson
Listen: RealAudio
| Windows
Media | MP3
| Order
Tape
or CD
(16) 10
Minute
Video Preview - Part 4 - Exposing the Quantum Lie by
Warren Smith, 9/10/10 Warren Smith continues to expose the Quantum Lie, and a lot
more proponents come onto the scene as the big picture begins to
unfold. Watch how The Shack, The Truth Project, The Secret, Rick
Warren, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Neale Donald Walsch and others all begin
to be "on the same page" in terms of belief. For the Full DVD
please see http://www.lighthousetrails.com.
(17) Assemblies
of
God Theological Seminary and Professor Earl Creps Promote
Contemplative Spirituality by Lighthouse Trails,
9/10/10 While Creps ends that discussion with "I am painfully orthodox
doctrinally," resources he offers throughout his blogs and
websites would paint another picture. Under Apologetics
Resources, Creps recommends Leonard Sweet's book, Quantum
Spirituality. Listen to Sweet, as he describes the New Light in
his book: "I have followed those 'New Light leaders' ... [S]ome
of those who led [me] into new light are: ... Matthew Fox,
Richard Mouw, Rowan Williams." Others that Leonard Sweet thanks
include: Morton Kelsey, M. Scott Peck, Walter Bruggemann, Ken
Wilber, Thomas Berry and many other New Age sympathizers.
(18) Giving
Leonard
Sweet a nudge by Ken Silva, 9/14/10 So his theology hasn't changed despite what he said in his
rather patronizing A Response to Recent Misunderstandings filled
with postmodern Humpty Dumpty language; the truth is, Christian
missionary Sandy Simpson of the respected online apologetics and
discernment ministry Deception In The Church put together
Leonard Sweet Quotes, and nothing he quotes Sweet as saying
there, or in my Emergence Christianity: Quantum Shift To
Panentheism, has been retracted.
(19) Southern
Baptist
Theological Seminary Gives Favorable Review of Book by New Age
sympathizer Leonard Sweet by Lighthouse Trails,
2/23/11 In the January 24th issue of Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary's Towers magazine sits a review of Leonard Sweet's
recent book, Jesus Manifesto (p. 11). The review states that
Sweet's book "can be a good resource for young and old
Christians alike." The review was written by Towers managing
editor Aaron Cline Hanbury who on his own blog recommends
"grounded" Christians read Rob Bell's book, Velvet Elviswhere
Bell tells readers to study New Age mystic and tantric sex
advocate Ken Wilber for three months for a "mind-blowing
introduction to emergence theory and divine creativity
[panentheism (God in all) and pantheism (all is God)]" (p.192
V.E.).
(20) How
the
"Quantum Christ" (God is in everything) is Tranforming the
World . . . and Entering the Church! by Warren B.
Smith, 3/30/11 In his 2009 book So Beautiful, Leonard Sweet underscores his
quantum "relational worldview"14 by favorably quoting from
William Young's The Shack regarding relationship.15 He also
tells readers to look to Margaret Wheatley's Leadership and the
New Science to further understand his quantum view on the
"spiritual and social significance of relationship."16 And he
still continues to refer readers back to his 1991 book, Quantum
Spirituality. While appearing to be somewhat of a 21st century
renaissance man who leaves everyone in the wake of his
postmodern intellect, Leonard Sweet's "scientific"
postmodern/quantum/New Age view on things raises some critical
questions-particularly in regard to his association with Rick
Warren. If Warren, Sweet, and other Christian leaders continue
to move the church towards the New Spirituality, how will it
ultimately play out? Will we see Warren, Schuller, Sweet,
McLaren, and other "New Light" leaders signing a mutual accord
someday affirming that God is "in" everything? Will that
proclamation be based on new "scientific findings" from quantum
physics? Will they explain that [Jesuit] Pierre Teilhard de
Chardin and the "God" of Neale Donald Walsch and William Young
had it right-that "the sub-atomic reality" is that God is in
every atom? That God really is-scientifically speaking-"in"
everyone and everything? But what about the inevitable reaction
that will come from those referred to by Rick Warren as
"fundamentalists"18 when they accuse Warren of flip-flopping?
Will Warren defend his new worldview by repeating what he said
at the Saddleback Civil Forum-that "sometimes flip-flopping is
smart because you actually have decided a better position based
on knowledge that you didn't have"? Armed with seemingly
scientific "facts" from quantum physics, will Warren defend his
new worldview by stating, "That's not flip-flopping. Sometimes
that's growing in wisdom"? Is this where Warren, Sweet, and
other Christian leaders will try to take the church? Are they
about to take a big "quantum leap" into the New Spirituality of
a New Age that is based on the findings of the "new science"?
Given the continued New Age implications of the emerging Purpose
Driven movement, it would seem that this is a real possibility.
(21) Southern
Baptist
Theological Seminary Gives Favorable Review of Book by New Age
Sympathizer Leonard Sweet by Lighthouse Trails, April
1, 2011In the January 24th issue of Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary's Towers magazine sits a review of Leonard
Sweet's recent book, Jesus Manifesto (p.11). The review states
that Sweet's book "can be a good resource for young and old
Christians alike." The review was written by Towers managing
editor Aaron Cline Hanbury who on his own blog recommends
"grounded" Christians read Rob Bell's book, Velvet Elvis, where
Bell tells readers to study New Age mystic and tantric sex
advocate Ken Wilber for three months for a "mind-blowing
introduction to emergence theory and divine creativity
[panentheism (God in all) and pantheism (all is God)]" (p.192
V.E.).
I told you we were headed into a land where words have no
fixed meaning; as we're told Leonard Sweet is "one of the top
Evangelical leaders." Essentially the word has become
meaningless; and Sweet is a minister in the rather liberal
United Methodist Church.
(25) Leonard
Sweet:
Changing The Emergent Leopard�s Spots by Discerning
The World, 3/5/15 Like Leonard Sweet who hails New Ager, David Spangler, Willis
Harman, M, Scott Peck, Matthew Fox and other contemplatives as
the �New Light Leaders� and among the most creative religious
leaders in America today, (who) . . . . are . . . . carving
out channels for new ideas to flow, (2) Sephan Joubert has his
own little crowd of Emergent contemplatives whom he lusciously
hails as �Today�s new saints [who] are those who in solitude
find peace and quiet with God and manifest it in genuine
ways.� Leonard Sweet 2015However hard they may try to
persuade their followers that their association with
well-known contemplatives and New Agers does not defile their
own spotless anti-Emergent character, they need to explain why
they are still tenaciously, happily and openly fraternizing
with the leaders of the Mosaïek Church in Fairland,
Johannesburg who are all full-blooded contemplative
emergents. (Please see the billboard on the left
announcing Leonard Sweet�s visit to the Mosaïek Church on
March 10th, 2015).
(26) Letter
to
the Editor: Ravi Zacharias to Share Platform with New Age
Sympathizer Leonard Sweet at Synergize 2016 at
Lighthouse Trails, 6/21/16
Ravi Zacharias was general editor of Walter Martin�s 2003
revised,updated, and expanded edition of Martin�s classic
reference book originally published in 1965: �The Kingdom of the
Cults.� In the �General Editor�s Introduction� of that 2003
edition, Ravi Zacharias credits Martin as contributing to
his own thinking on the task of apologetics and says he
considers it a �distinct honor� to have been asked by Walter
Martin�s family to become general editor of the updated edition
of Martin�s classic reference book. Ravi Zacharias also says in
that General Editor�s Preface (2003): �Of one thing we can be
sure: Where we find truth, often in close proximity we also find
a way that distorts and faults . . . the power to deceive is
enormous.� How can Ravi Zacharias have written that in 2003 and
be willing to speak at a conference with Leonard Sweet?
(27) On
Leonard
Sweet: Connectness Or Correctness – Which Will It Be?
by Tamara Harzell, 9/6/17 “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season;
reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to
themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn
away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto
fables.�? (2 Timothy 4:2-4) Sadly, it has become quite obvious
that the time has already come. Openly preferring the fables
of man’s imagination to the doctrinal truth of God’s Word,
today’s shifting Christianity is heaping to itself teachers to
scratch its itching ears. People are choosing to be led in “a
way that seemeth right unto a man�? rather than in the way
that is right unto God as set forth by God in the Word of God.
In Leonard Sweet’s 2009 book, So Beautiful: Divine Design for
Life and the Church, which, sadly, is just as anti-truth,
anti-God, anti-Christ as everything else that caters to
today’s epidemic of itching ears, this “[r]enowned professor
and theologian�? —who has worked for “years as a mentor to
pastors�? and “is a frequent speaker at national and
international conferences, state conventions, pastors’
schools, retreats�? as well as “a consultant to many
denominational leaders and agencies�? —asks a question that
effectively sums up the new way of thinking: “What if we were
to think connectness rather than correctness?
(28) The
Significance of Understanding Leonard Sweet’s “More
Magnificent Way of Seeing Christ” (Booklet) by
Warren B. Smith, 3/8/19 Over the past few decades, a number of New Age sympathizers
have had a significant influence in the evangelical church.
One of the chief is Methodist author, speaker, and teacher
Leonard Sweet. Sweet openly calls the Father of the New Age
Movement—the late Jesuit priest Teilhard de
Chardin—“twentieth-century Christianity’s major voice.” Sweet
also teaches the foundational New Age doctrine that God is
“in” everyone and everything—that God is embedded in all
creation. Brought forward and popularized by Rick Warren,
Leonard Sweet and his New Age sympathies have not been
adequately addressed by today’s pastors and church leaders. A
look on Sweet’s website shows he has partnered with numerous
popular figures such as Brian McLaren, Mark Batterson (Circle
Maker), Erwin McManus, Mark Driscoll, Frank Viola, and Karen
Swallow Prior (professor at Liberty University). The following
booklet by Warren Smith reveals the “New Age Christianity”
that Leonard Sweet has helped to bring into the church.
(29) How
the “Quantum Christ” (God is in everything) Is HAS
Transformed the World . . . and Entered the Church!
by Warren B. Smith, 9/21/21 While appearing to be somewhat of a 21st century renaissance
man who leaves everyone in the wake of his postmodern
intellect, Leonard Sweet’s “scientific” postmodern/quantum/New
Age view on things raises some critical questions—particularly
in regard to his association with Rick Warren. If Warren,
Sweet, and other Christian leaders continue to move the church
towards the New Spirituality, how will it ultimately play out?
Will we see Warren, Schuller, Sweet, McLaren, and other “New
Light” leaders signing a mutual accord someday affirming that
God is “in” everything? Will that proclamation be based on new
“scientific findings” from quantum physics? Will they explain
that [Jesuit] Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and the “God” of
Neale Donald Walsch and William Young had it right—that “the
sub-atomic reality” is that God is in every atom? That God
really is—scientifically speaking—“in” everyone and
everything? But what about the inevitable reaction that will
come from those referred to by Rick Warren as
“fundamentalists”18 when they accuse Warren of flip-flopping?
Will Warren defend his new worldview by repeating what he said
at the Saddleback Civil Forum—that “sometimes flip-flopping is
smart because you actually have decided a better position
based on knowledge that you didn’t have”? Armed with seemingly
scientific “facts” from quantum physics, will Warren defend
his new worldview by stating, “That’s not flip-flopping.
Sometimes that’s growing in wisdom”? Is this where Warren,
Sweet, and other Christian leaders will try to take the
church? Are they about to take a big “quantum leap” into the
New Spirituality of a New Age that is based on the findings of
the “new science”? Given the continued New Age implications of
the emerging Purpose Driven movement, it would seem that this
is a real possibility. (from chapter 13 of A “Wonderful”
Deception by Warren B. Smith)
New Sandy Simpson Messages in Books, CDs &
DVDs
NEW
BOOK!
Reverse Paradigm Shift by Sandy Simpson
We live in a topsy-turvy
world of opposing ideas.It is easy to get lost and overwhelmed.We as Christians often don’t realize how much
we have been diapraxed by the world, the flesh and the
devil.Our
paradigm has been altered to such a degree that, without
the solid foundation of Scripture, we are often set
adrift without the anchor God has provided us.Our paradigm is our worldview, our
understanding of reality.Without the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the
written eternal Word, we really have no hope of
understanding reality, our cultures, or our lives.I have written
this book to clue the reader into some of the issues
that surround the modern born-again believer and how to
reverse the shift that has exponentially changed our
perspective in some cases.Fortunately, in the foreknowledge of our Lord,
He provided us with a roadmap to navigate our fallen
world.We
don’t need a new map, as Emergent Church advocates
claim.We
need the tried and true map of the ages.There is “nothing new under the sun”.There have always been false prophets and false
teachers who are there by the will of the enemy to
mislead and ultimately destroy the faith of many.We are clearly living in the Apostasy foretold
in the Bible that has been growing preceding the
appearance of the Antichrist.We need to carefully test ourselves to be sure
we are in the Faith, and then hold on to the hope we
have in Christ.
The
“Jesus is my boyfriend” syndrome