Archive for the ‘Contemplative Organizations’ Category

The following comments were received after our recent article, Is BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) Heading in the Contemplative Direction?. We have used substitute names for these women (all who have been personally involved with BSF), so as to protect their privacy, but the letters are real letters from real people. Many of these women are BSF teachers and leaders.

Comment #1: After attending the last few weeks of BSF this Spring, I also received the newsletter with list of recommended books. I wrote to the director of BSF a month or two ago regarding this, but have not received a response. One illustration I gave was of Willard’s book “The Great Omission,” which I had read.  Mary Ann

Comment #2: Thank you for sounding the warning on BSF International after their May 2010 magazine quoted “The Message” and promoted several emergent/contemplative books on their reading list.  I have been in BSF for 7+ years and I was shocked by the current magazine.  No one else seems concerned.  I am horrified.  I am also a Discussion Leader and was told at the Retreat this year in Louisville, KY that we were in for “big changes” by the new Director Susie Rowan. Please stay on top of this story as I see BSF slipping down a deceptive slope and I seem unable to do anything about it, even after sounding the alarm to our Teaching Leader and Substitute Teaching Leader here in _________. God Bless everything you do! Cynthia

Comment #3:  Being that we have corresponded in the past I just wanted to share a few comments with you.  Thank God for LHT!  It took me years to find you but each Newsletter is an encouragement to us in ways you can’t imagine. I was totally alone in my thinking (and wasn’t aware of Lighthouse Trails) when I quit BSF about  ten years ago.  I went to leaders to discuss my concerns, no one could see my point of view.  It started out withthe original study questions which were challenging to everyone and our answers should only come from KJV.  Then came the “new” studies, our reading could be from different versions of the Bible (one gal brought her old Catholic Bible).   The questions, in my opinion, were full of “how do you feel” and “what do think” kind of wordings.  Each question was worded in such a way “our” feelings seemed to be more important than WORD.  The study seemed to make the Bible-up to our own interruption.  It was just getting started!!  I appreciate  your article. On Jim Wallis, I am given to understand he was Plymouth Brethren.  I believe he might have been the disgruntled Jim Wallis from the Detroit Michigan area.  We grew up PB and his belief system is sooo contrary to the teachings we grew up with.  My Grandfather was a lay minister in the PlymouthBrethren and he would have taken Wallis down in a mega second, if he were alive today. I cannot believe how many have fallen away from the truth we were exposed to in this non-denominational church.  I know we all fall short and most of us are too worldly but starting a neo-religion based on pagan practices,  just breaks our hearts. Keep up the (good) GOD work!! In Christ. Kathy

Comment #4: Thank you for your article re. BSF.  I hope they will respond soon.  I see the hundreds reading the recommended books, and then coming to Isaiah (next year’s study) saying that Isaiah’s vision was just as the contemplative prayer and visions. Rachel

Comment #5: I quit attending BSF back in 2000 because it was very ecumenical. Since attendees were from various churches we weren’t allowed to speak the truth as in the Word of God if it would offend any church (i.e. Catholic, Mormon, etc.) … Each person in the group was supposed to give their opinion on what they got out of the scripture being studied, not what the truth of God’s Word was. It reminded me of the dialectic method. Laura

Comment #6(shortened version):  I have been involved in BSF for a very long time…and am currently entering my __th year of leadership. I could never imagine my life without BSF….until this past year. I have noticed the questions being “watered down”….with more of “what do you think…rather than what does the Bible say type of questions. Within the organization, there has been an increased awareness and concern about decreasing attendance ….especially of the younger generation. When I attended the retreat this past year, we were told that plans were in place to correct that problem. We were told to “LOVE” the members more because the younger people are needing more love….

We were told at the retreat that they were going to change the “stigma” that BSF has had about being so rigid….. that wherever there were “barriers” between the rules and members, that those barriers would “come down.” The rules and routine for the various groups would be different to be “relative” for each setting. The younger groups would have different, more “comfortable” routines than the older ones. The goal was to be more appealing and attractive to compete with other less-rigid studies that are out there. It was clear to me that BSF was taking initial steps down the Emergent path.

There were 2,000 leaders at the retreat I attended. I would say that more than 1/2 of them were brand-new leaders….and yes, many were very young. I was appalled to see body piercings, tattoos and THE MESSAGE being used by several of them. This was my second retreat and it was totally different than the one I attended 3 years ago. This one was more of a tribute/commercial for BSF and the new director, Susie Rowan. The cheering and ovations were astounding as the organization was in promotion of itself and it’s leadership. …

I alerted my Teaching Leader of my concerns…but was abruptly brushed aside. The majority of our local leadership circle are among the many who were taken in by the deception that I believe was taking place at the retreat and within the organization itself. I was told by my Teaching Leader that I need to “love” more and not be so critical. (As a side note…I was also told that I could no longer tell anyone that Beth Moore twists Scripture! I always reserve my personal opinions for time outside of BSF…but it was very clear that I shouldn’t even be pursuing that truth on my own time.) …

I have planned to remain in leadership through this next year because the study of Isaiah is a new one. I am very interested in seeing the changes that will unfold. I have no doubt that this will be my last year though…if I even last that long! I can no longer promote the study…I will not invite anyone anymore. I have no doubt that the introduction of the quote from The Message and the endorsed books are trial balloons..and that without resistance, they will be ushering in the end of a great, 50+yr old Bible Study.

Thank you for your incredible ministry! You have NO IDEA how welcome your article was to me! I was beginning to think that I was just imagining things…and basically that’s what I’ve been told by my leadership too. God bless your work! Come Lord Jesus! Theresa

Comment #7: I want to thank you for your article about BSF moving in a contemplative direction. I have been involved with BSF for several years, joined leadership this year, and began to have the very same concerns. They were compounded when my mother (who is a leader in a different class) attended the retreat this past February. Many of the leaders there were utilizing The Message as their Bible “translation” and many of the talks seemed to be
leaning toward a contemplative slant. Thankfully, my class is blessed to have a woman leading who is greatly grounded in the truth and sees the same
concerns that I do. Nevertheless, I think it is important to send the warning out about BSF. Your article expressed every one of my concerns to
the letter. (I also have concerns about their newest move into China with the apparent blessing of the Chinese government, but that is another issue).
Thank you for your dedication to the Truth. Blessings, Jennifer

Comment #8:  I find it very interesting that BSF is recommending Eugene Peterson, or Dallas Willard at all.  If Jane Roach (second in command at BSF Headquarters) is still in their ranks, there has to be some internal friction going on down in San Antonio.  She often spoke at BSF Retreats (conventions) and was critical of any kind of worldly practices in the church.  Having been a BSF Discussion Leader and Assistant Class Administrator, I can tell you that BSF gives NO interviews, and flies totally under the radar.  They are nearly invisible on the internet as you’ve probably noticed.  Their philosophy is to give out NO information so their reputation remains untarnished. 

Having been an insider, I can tell you that while the fellowship seemed great when I was young in the faith and naive, there was a strong unspoken pressure that bore down on those in leadership.  When the time came for me to step out of BSF, I found it very difficult to do so even for valid reasons.  BSF told their leaders they couldn’t leave BSF unless God had called them to a different ministry.  Family concerns didn’t seem like reason enough.  Now that I’m an outsider, it occurs to me that there is a degree of mind control exerted on the participants through their rules, signed agreements (for those in leadership), dress code, etc.  They even subtly mention legal action for those that copied their materials or imitated their class structure. Not remembering what I exactly signed when I became a Discussion Leader and Assistant Class Administrator, I’ve been leery of exposing them too much for fear of reprisals.  An example of this control is seen in the tiny print at the top of each of their lessons that are handed out weekly to class members, “BSF notes are provided for the personal use of class members during their active participation and must not be loaned or given to nonmembers.”  These notes are free to the class members, yet BSF doesn’t want them to be shared.  

And their control extends into the very structure of their weekly lesson questions.  They ask questions in such a way as to either assume the answer or steer the class member, who is quite often a new or non Christian, toward their viewpoint.  This is especially evident in their Romans study.  The materials were compiled from James Boice’s four book series on Romans.  Boice was a personal friend and I believe a BSF Board member when the Romans study was released as a new BSF study in 1998.  He was personal friends with the then BSF General Director, Rosemary Jensen.  Rosemary Jensen was facing forced retirement from BSF because she was turning 70,but insisted on the Romans study before she was dismissed.  James Boice died two years later of liver cancer.  BSF is currently about to unveil a brand new study on Isaiah which makes me wonder what they will teach concerning the return of Christ and the Kingdom.  BSF’s founder Wetherell Johnson held to the pre-trib rapture position, but BSF has stayed neutral about the timing (infant or believer’s) and mode of baptism.  This is probably more info than you wanted, so I’ll just close…. Thanks for all you do! Blessings, Elaine

Comment #9:I’ve been reading Lighthouse Trails for years & very much appreciate all of your very well researched information. I believed in the Lord Jesus in May 1999 at 50 yrs of age. It is truly a miracle. God is so faithful. I started attending BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) in Sept of 2002. When I received the BSF Magazine in May, I was very disturbed with the quote from the Message & the recommendation to read a book by Dallas Willard. I thought this place would be the last stronghold which had resisted all this mystical stuff. I have made copies of articles about the Message & Dallas Willard (withBiblical quotes) to send them & really was waffling on sending them…not knowing how to put all my worries into words. Never in my life did I expect to read about my wonderful BSF in relation to mysticism. It breaks my heart. But I will send them tomorrow & write a letter expressing my concern. My teaching leader in _________, is so wonderful. Please print an article if they answer you & I will let you know what they say to me. Thank you for your diligence. I’m hoping that BSF will take a letter seriously that is written by someone who has attended for 8 years & learned so much Biblical Truth. Glenda

LTRP Note: In 2002, when the first edition of A Time of Departing by Ray Yungen was released, Lighthouse Trails sent a copy of the book to Rick Warren, hoping to warn him of this  mystical spirituality that was fast moving into the evangelical church via Richard Foster and other contemplative pioneers. Rick Warren sent LT a personal note thanking us for the book saying, “I agree this is a hot topic!” Little did we know at the time that Rick Warren was fully aware of the contemplative prayer  (spiritual formation) movement already- years before The Purpose Driven Life was released (same month that A Time of Departing was released), in Rick Warren’s first book, The Purpose Driven Church, Warren said that the spiritual formation movement (ala Richard Foster and Dallas Willard) was a “valid message for the church” and has “given the body of Christ a wake up call” (PDC, p. 127). From the time A Time of Departingwas first released (2002) until its second edition  four years later, a lot has come to the surface, so much so that the 2nd edition of Yungen’s book carries an entire chapter on Rick Warren’s promotion of contemplative spirituality. In fact, Rick Warren is one of the most influential and powerful proponents of the contemplative prayer movement (as well as the emerging church movement) on the scene today.  The article below reminds us of this and why it should not be so. Keep in mind that Richard Foster is not the only contemplative figure whom Rick Warren  promotes. There are many: Henri Nouwen, Gary Thomas, Tricia Rhodes, Adele Calhoun, Leonard Sweet, and Mark Driscoll – just to name a few.

by Christine Pack
Sola Sisters

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.

But in today’s undiscerning church, this pagan practice has been flowing into churches because its proponents insist that this is a Christian practice and has been practiced by Christians for centuries. After all, what could be wrong with something called “Spiritual Formation,” right? It sounds kind of Christian and churchy, doesn’t it? And we know there’s something about Christ being formed in us (Gal 4:19), so that has to be what this is talking about, right?

Wrong.  Spiritual Formation is a series of disciplines which supposedly aid in “spiritual development,” and which are generally thought to be Christian because these disciplines were formed centuries ago by monks in Roman Catholic monasteries. There’s just one problem here, but it’s a biggie: these Roman Catholic monks, who were known as the Desert Fathers, cloistered themselves in the Middle East and Egypt; and, because of their close proximity to eastern cultures, ended up being heavily influenced by paganism to the point of grafting pagan practices into their prayers, chiefly, mantra meditation.  So in essence, these “spiritual disciplines” that are part of today’s “Spiritual Formation” programs are classic, eastern occultic practices that have simply been “Christianized” with a sprinkling of the magic pixie dust of Christian terminology.  But make no mistake, these practices areoccultic. Click here to continue reading this article.

Related Information:

Saddleback Church IS a Contemplative Church

Merton & Nouwen: Sacrificing Truth for Mystical Experiences

LTRP Note: In a January 4, 2010 article, “Mystical Spirituality Paradigm Saw Major Growth in 2009,” we made reference to the January issue of Charles Stanley’s popular magazine In Touch. In that issue was an article by a Joseph Bentz who highlighted the spiritual journeys of two women, whom Bentz claimed were both converted to the Christian faith. Both women today can be considered significant proponents of the new spirituality. We stated:

While we are not suggesting that Charles Stanley is a contemplative now because of the inclusion of this article, we believe it is a perfect example of a steady blending of contemplative and New Age to the point where eventually no one will notice the difference, and what will be known as Christianity will be mystical.

This week, we received the following email from someone who has followed Charles Stanley’s ministry for many years and who is very concerned about this lack of spiritual discernment in his ministry. A few years ago, we spoke with one of Stanley’s top assistants, with the hope that he would ask Charles Stanley to read A Time of Departing and/or Faith Undone, which we sent to the assistant for Dr. Stanley. We never heard whether he read the books, but seeing Anne Lamott and Sara Miles names in his current issue of In Touch is very disheartening. Why won’t Christian leaders bring themselves up to speed on these matters and begin warning rather than abetting?

The Letter to Charles Stanley (used with permission):

Dear Dr. Stanley:

Regretfully, I again must write this followup letter to the one I wrote you dated January 4, 2010  regarding the In Touch magazine article in the January 2010 issue by Joseph Benz titled, “I Didn’t Want to be a Christian but….How Running Away Can Take you on an Unexpected Journey.”

I had a phone call on Friday, January 15, from a young woman on the In Touch staff regarding my letter. I’m sorry that I did not get her name, but I had just finished a call on which I was still focused and neglected to get her name. I may perhaps be mistaken, but I assumed she was one of the editors at the magazine. The young woman expressed the intent of the author was that God could reach anyone, and I wholeheartedly agreed with that, as I am a testament to that indisputable fact. I, in turn, expressed my concerns that the two women Mr. Benz focuses on in the article, Anne Lamott and Sara Miles, both authors, by their own words, deeds, and indeed, lifestyles do not show a biblical conversion. In fact, the copies of interviews given by Lamott and Miles since their “epiphanies” which I am enclosing with this letter portray no such Christian conversion. In fact, Sara Miles is a lesbian in a 14+-year “marriage” relationship with her lesbian lover. Gay and proud of it she is. Your caller seemed surprised at that, even though it was mentioned in my previous letter, and you can read Ms. Miles own declaration of that fact and her other unbiblical beliefs in the enclosed materials. Anne Lamott, on the other hand, is braggadocios in the fact that in each of her books she uses the “F” word in describing her “conversion,” and states she was “F* by Jesus.”

I had also stated in my earlier letter that I was concerned that those reading the article would purchase the 2 books noted within the footnotes without researching the authors simply because the titles appeared in the In Touch magazine. Your [seemingly] young staff member said rather astonishingly that she had not thought along those lines. She also said that Mr. Benz was a well-known and respected author and professor. I do not care what credentials Mr. Benz carries. If in my own research I am providing you with copies of interviews from Lamott and Miles regarding their “spiritual” journeys, how could Joseph Benz not be privy to the same information or more about their professed conversions? Did the good professor read the books they authored, or does he blindly write his articles and books without research? If he has read their books, if he did research on the 2 subjects, is it not academic arrogance to foist upon the readers of In Touch magazine a false impression that Lamott and Miles had a conversion to the Jesus of the Bible, which is not evident in any of their own words over the many years of their “born-again” conversions. Mr. Benz has presented another Jesus, a false one at that, and he has done it deceptively within the pages of In Touch magazine.

In an article titled, “Neo-Liberal Stealth Offensive,” author Phil Johnson , executive director of Grace to You ministry [John MacArthur] and lay pastor at Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, CA, states, “The gospel’s most dangerous earthly adversaries are not raving atheists who stand outside the door shouting threats and insults. They are church leaders who cultivate a gentle, friendly, pious demeanor but hack away at the foundations of faith under the guise of keeping in step with a changing world. No Christian should imagine that heresy is always conspicuous or that every purveyor of theological mischief will lay out his agenda in plain and honest terms. The enemy prefers to sow tares secretly, for obvious reasons. Thus Scripture expressly warns us to be on guard against false teachers who creep into the church unnoticed (Jude 4), wolves who sneak into the flock wearing sheep’s clothing (Matt 7:15), and servants of Satan who disguise themselves as angels of light (2 Cor. 11:13-15).”

I am not the only one who is waiting a response, Dr. Stanley. My close brothers and sisters in Christ are waiting, my pastor and other pastors are waiting a response, and others not known to either of us personally are waiting for a response. In fact, in the enclosed article from the morebooksandthings blog, some are questioning if In Touch has begun to get out of touch with the true Gospel. You may be completely unaware of Mr. Benz’s January article, although the young woman caller did assure me that you had more input than I might think you had in the day-to-day operations. I do know that Joseph Benz has written for In Touch in the past. As I have stated previously, it is interesting that he used The Message in his In Touch magazine article for Scripture quotation, particularly in light of the fact that Eugene Peterson is a contemplative mystic. The one phrase that keeps crossing my mind is, “birds of a feather flock together.” 

Dr. Stanley, I care about you, In Touch, and First Baptist Atlanta. My previous letter sets forth my high regard for you. I do hope that you will publicly quell the questions this January article has raised. I would, however, like to raise one other question. Do you perhaps have tares amongst your staff at In Touch? The good folks at Lighthouse Trails at lighthousetrailsresearch.com devote their entire ministry to contemplative spirituality, emergent church, and the “New Christianity.” I highly recommend this internet site as a point of research and reference to you and your staff, if you are unaware of their ministry.

Please know that I come to you with this matter in the love of Christ and in the calling of the Holy Spirit, earnestly contending for the faith.

Sincerely,
B. Anderson
Ohio

Interview excerpt with Sara Miles (2007) by San Francisco Chronicle:

SF Chronicle: You are married to a woman who you’ve been with for almost 14 years. How do you reconcile Christian teachings that oppose same-sex relationships with your own beliefs as a Christian?

Sara Miles: Which Christian teachings? I think it’s kind of simple to say that the Bible says this or that thing is good or bad. The Bible is a collection of documents that is remade every time somebody reads it. And Christianity is a religion that over the centuries has adapted to incredibly different cultures, so people reinterpret and reinterpret and reinterpret [the Bible]. I also don’t feel like once the last pages of the King James Bible were assembled that God stopped talking to Christians. The conversation between God and the church is not finished.

Related Article:

Mystical Spirituality Paradigm Saw Major Growth in 2009

by John Lanagan
My Word Like Fire

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.

“Meditation is something that can always be further developed. It has no boundaries, either of width or height,” writes AA co-founder Bill Wilson.[1]

AA’s 6th Step states: Were entirely ready to have God remove all of these defects of character.

Now let’s look at the point the authors of Drop The Rock, a book about removing character defects,  make about Step 6. “In using meditation for the Sixth Step, a form of contemplation can be used. Taking a single word or thought and letting it run through our mind can be very revealing. Take for example the word ’surrender.’  We may start repeating the word in our mind like: ‘Surrender. Surrender. Surrender. Give up. Release. Let go. Surrender. Peace. Renewal. Surrender. Vulnerable. Open. Surrender. Surrender. Surrender. Strength. Higher Power. Surrender.’ We can keep this type of string of thoughts going for a while, probably no more than five minutes to start, as we do our regular morning or evening routine of prayer and meditation.”[2] (Bold mine) Click here to continue.

Related:

Meditating on AA

Alcoholics Anonymous and Contemplative Spirituality

According to a post on Jonathan Falwell’s Twitter account, Saddleback contemplative-proponent Lance Witt will be joining the leadership team at Thomas Road Baptist Church. The post states:

I’m excited that @lancewitt will be joining the TRBC team in January. Another hand on deck to help us reach people for Christ.

The Human Resources department at Thomas Road Baptist Church has confirmed that Witt will be coming on staff on January 5th, 2010.

Jonathan Falwell is the son of the late Jerry Falwell and pastors his father’s church in Lynchburg, Virginia. Concerns by some have grown since the passing of the elder Falwell. In a 2008 Lighthouse Trails report “Jonathan Falwell Becomes Vice-Chancellor at Liberty – Which Direction will Liberty Go?,” it was pointed out that Liberty University (where Jonathan Falwell serves as Vice-Chancellor) is using contemplative/emerging authors in their classrooms and other venues. One of those mentioned in the report is Rob Bell. The influence of Richard Foster, contemplative pioneer, is also evident at Liberty. For example, in a Code of Ethics for the AACC on Liberty’s website, it states:  

Although rooted primarily in an orthodox evangelical biblical theology, this Code is also influenced (according to the paradigm offered by Richard Foster) by the social justice, charismatic-pentecostal, pietistic-holiness, liturgical, and contemplative traditions of Christian theology and church history.

Additionally, Richard Foster’s books have been used in classes at Liberty as have Henri Nouwen’s, Erwin McManus’ and a number of other contemplative/emerging figures.

While many may not know the name Lance Witt, Lighthouse Trails has written about him in the past. He has served as an Executive Pastor at Saddleback. In a LT article titled “Is Saddleback a Contemplative Church,” it states:

In an article written by Saddleback pastor, Lance Witt, titled “Enjoying God’s Presence in Solitude,” Witt says we are “designed to enjoy the presence of God, but that’s easier said than done.” In the article, Witt uses Thomas Merton as an example of someone who knew about solitude. But Merton’s solitude was connected to his Buddhist sympathies. Merton likened contemplative prayer to an LSD trip.

Witt finishes his article with:

The goal of solitude is not so much to unplug from my crazy world, as it is to change frequencies so that I can hear the Father. Richard Foster has said, “Solitude doesn’t give us the power to win the rat race, but to ignore it altogether.”

What does Witt mean by “changing frequencies”? Several years ago, Lighthouse Trails spoke with Lance Witt, via email, and asked him if the kind of contemplative prayer he taught was a practice in which words or phrases are repeated over and over. He told us that it was indeed this type of prayer he taught. This “changing frequencies” is contemplative language and means going into an Alpha state of mind (an altered state of consciousness) in order to stop distractions. It’s like putting the mind in neutral. Contemplatives believe this is how they can hear the voice of God.

Lighthouse Trails has spoken with Lance Witt a number of years ago, via email, and asked him if the kind of contemplative prayer he taught was a practice in which words or phrases are repeated over and over. He told us that it was indeed this type of prayer he taught.

In the summer of 2008, Rick Warren (a major advocate for the contemplative/emerging movement) and Lance Witt were both speakers at the Innovate Church Conference, held at Thomas Road Baptist Church; so for many, it will seem a natural step to bring Lance Witt on board. But for Lighthouse Trails, it is seen as another step toward an organized Christian church that is heading quickly toward a time of departing and of a great mystical-based apostasy.

Also see:

Saddleback IS a Contemplative Church

LTRP NOTE: According to the following news report, Focus on the Family founder, James Dobson, has stepped down from his long standing, popular radio program. Lighthouse Trails has reported on a number of occasions regarding Focus on the Family’s promotion of contemplative spirituality. The question must be asked, will Focus on the Family’s vision turn toward the new spirituality that incorporates a contemplative, mystical, emerging spirituality? Time will tell.

“Focus Takes Next Step in Leadership Transition” 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Nov. 2  /Standard Newswire/ — Focus on the Family Founder and Chairman Emeritus James C. Dobson, Ph.D., will leave the ministry as its primary radio voice at the end of February, the ministry announced Friday.

Dr. Dobson’s departure from the radio program and from official affiliation with the organization he founded in 1977 is just the “third chapter in a transition that began in 2003,” when Dr. Dobson stepped down as Focus president, said Jim Daly, the ministry’s president and CEO. It was a mutual decision between Dr. Dobson and the ministry’s board of directors, which Dr. Dobson left in February of this year, Daly added. Click here to read the rest of this news story.

Related Stories:
Serious Concerns for Focus on the Family’s Marriage Conference

by John Lanagan  
“For our struggle is … against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

The elements of the false church continue to take shape. Some, it seems, are already here. Striving to unite into one smooth apostasy, spiritual forces behind emergent and contemplative heresy continue to mix, and mesh, and blend with other systems. One such system is the 12 Step spirituality of Alcoholics Anonymous. This powerful, theological chameleon has already done much damage to the Body of Christ.

In 2008, two influential contemplative advocates, Fr. Richard Rohr and centering prayer pioneer Fr. Thomas Keating, facilitated a conference “to demonstrate to those in 12 Step fellowship ways to embrace the invitation of the 11th Step to improve our conscious contact with God….[This] will offer us all a wonderful opportunity to deepen our contemplative practices.”[1] (italics mine)

In 2007, Fr. Rohr’s Center for Action and Contemplation presented ‘How Do We Breathe Underwater?? The Gospel And 12 Step Spirituality.’[2] Rohr has also authored ‘The 12 Steps as Coded Gospel.’[3]

Such subject matter sounds very Biblical. Yet Fr. Rohr is a proponent of interspirituality via meditation. He believes, like many contemplatives, that God is in all, and all is in God.

Fr. Thomas Keating has introduced thousands to centering prayer. His book, Divine Therapy and Addiction: Centering Prayer and the Twelve Steps, demonstrates “the Alcoholics Anonymous Twelve-Step method and its connections to, and similarities with, the Christian mystical traditions of centering prayer and Lectio Divina.”[4]

So what is going on here? Why such interest in 12 Step spirituality? Contemplatives recognize the meditative Silence–”thoughtless, empty, and void”[5]–that has been simmering in Alcoholics Anonymous since its inception.

Much like farmers kneeling in rich, fertile soil, Rohr, Keating, and other contemplatives are tending a meditative garden that has already produced much fruit. There are now 12 Step groups for everything from overeating to sexual addiction. Literally millions of people have already experienced meditation as part of their 12 Step program.

AA’s 11th Step states: 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.

“Meditation is something that can always be further developed. It has no boundaries, either of width or height,” writes AA co-founder Bill Wilson.[6] This is equally true of 12 Step theology–there are absolutely no boundaries when it comes to defining the “higher power.”

In the Bible, we are clearly told, “I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.” (Isaiah 42:8)

According to Alcoholics Anonymous, “We found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him. To us, the Realm of Spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive; never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we believe, to all men. When, therefore, we speak to you of God, we mean your own conception of God.”[7]

This undefined “god” is meant, of course, to help. Tormented people, in the grasp of some overwhelming bondage, enter a 12 Step group and are told they must turn to a higher power. It doesn’t matter what you believe in, they are told, but it is crucial you believe in something.

So they do. They choose a spirit, perhaps, or a self-designed deity, or decide to worship the universe, or St. Jerome, or virtually anything else. But they surely reach out to something.

Then, when they reach the 11th Step, they seek through prayer and meditation even deeper communion with whatever idol–or entity–they have invited into their lives. As instructed, they ask for knowledge. What does the deity want them to do? They ask for power. And some enter the silence.

While the silence has always existed in the thorny undergrowth of 12 Step spirituality, Rohr, Keating, and others would like to see this become an integral part of the 11th Step. Thus the contemplatives have brought the tools of their trade. They have introduced the repetitive word (mantra/centering prayer), and repetitive phrase (Lectio Divina), and breath prayer at their contemplative/12 Step conferences and workshops.

Roger Oakland writes, “When [someone] is introduced to meditation, which produces a feeling of euphoria and well-being, he mistakes this for the presence of God. And thus the foundation of his faith is not on Christ or the Word of God, but rather on this feeling.”[8]

“No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14)

Historically, around the world, much has been experienced in the meditative silence. Bliss. Spirit-guides. A higher self. Oneness. And there have been false “christs,” wrapped in shining deception, communicating instructions and “wisdom” to some.

We can see the effect of one such false “christ” through the Oxford Group book, God Calling, in early AA history. Alcoholics Anonymous came out of Dr. Frank Buchman’s neo-evangelical Oxford Group of the 1930s. Buchman is credited with spreading meditation on every continent.[9]

AA co-founders Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith attended Buchman’s Oxford Group meetings together and separately. They poured Oxford Group meditative practices, along with its generic spiritual principles, into the bubbling stew of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Walter Martin, in Kingdom of the Cults, places Oxford Group founder Frank Buchman alongside cult figures such as Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy.[10]

Pastor H.A. Ironside, who preached during the 1930s and 1940s, was familiar with the Oxford Group in his own city. He had grave concerns about its meditative practices:

“Each [Oxford Group] member is urged … to sit quietly with the mind emptied of every thought … waiting for God to say something to them…. Sometimes they tell me nothing happens, at other times the most amazing things come. Tested by the Word of God, many of these things are unscriptural. They lay themselves open for demons to communicate their blasphemous thoughts to them.”[11] (italics mine)

Oxford Group member (and minister) C. Irving Benson cautions about this Quiet Time/guidance and notes use of the Bible during this meditative period. Nevertheless, he writes, “The silence becomes a sacrament wherein God comes to us.”[12] Benson also states, “I wait in self-forgetting silence, contemplating the presence of God.”[13]

This brings us to God Calling, a book written by two women who identified themselves simply as “Two Listeners.”[14] Receiving Quiet Time “guidance” in the manner taught by the Oxford Group, they believed they recorded the words that Jesus Christ gave them daily.

The false “christ” that was channeled through these women advised, among other things, “Cultivate silence. ‘God speaks in silences.’ A silence, a soft wind. Each can be a message to convey MY meaning to the heart, though by no voice, or even word.” (January 7)

And, “Seek sometimes not even to hear me. Seek a silence of spirit-understanding.” (Feb. 27)

An ex-Oxford Group member named Richmond Walker, years later as an AA member, compiled prayers and meditations into one little book. Much of it was based on the demonic writings found in God Calling.

Walker, however, eliminated every reference to the Two Listeners’ “jesus” in favor of universal spirituality. The book, Twenty-Four Hours a Day, begins with an ancient Sanskrit proverb. “Twenty-Four Hours a Day” has been read by–and has influenced–millions of AA members.

According to an AA history website,
“[The book] explained how to practice meditation by quieting the mind and entering the Divine Silence in order to enter the divine peace and calm and restore our souls.”[15]

This meditation book also resonates with the New Age teaching that God is within: “There is a spark of the Divine in every one of us. Each has some of God’s spirit that can be developed by spiritual exercise.” (April 30)[16]

Do Christians in AA realize this New Age teaching can also be found in the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book (the AA “bible”): “We found the Great Reality deep down within us. In the last analysis, it is only there He can be found.”[17] (italics mine)

This belief that God is in all people is rapidly spreading. Alcoholics Anonymous and contemplatives like Rohr and Keating are wrong–God’s indwelling is not possible without receiving the Salvation of Christ. (Ephesians 1:13, 1 Cor 15:50, John 14: 15-17)

Yet Christians who embrace the 12 Steps are in error as well (2 Corinthians 6:14-17, Galatians 1:6-9). Cultural acceptance of higher power theology already has us on the verge of universalism; this growing fusion of contemplative/12 Step spirituality will produce, and ultimately proliferate, the great and terrible delusion of man’s divinity.

For more on Alcoholics Anonymous, see John Lanagan’s website.

Endnotes:
1. Inner Room Conference promotional material http://www.cacradicalgrace.org/
2. “How Do We Breathe Underwater?? The Gospel And 12 Step Spirituality,” Center for Action and Contemplation, promotional material
3. Fr. Richard Rohr, “The 12 Steps as Coded Gospel”
4. Fr. Thomas Keating, “Divine Therapy and Addiction: Centering Prayer and the Twelve Steps,” promotional material
5. Ray Yungen, A Time of Departing, Lighthouse Trails Publishing, pg. 15
6. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pg. 101
7. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 46-47
8. Roger Oakland, Faith Undone, Lighthouse Trails Publishing, pg.112
9. Dave Hunt, Adaptation of Occult Invasion, 1998
10. Walter Martin, Kingdom of the Cults, Bethany House Publishers, pg. 30
11. H.A. Ironside, The Oxford Group Movement: Is It Scriptural? http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-ironside.html
12. C. Irving Benson, The Eight Points of the Oxford Group: An Exposition for Christians and Pagans, Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, pg. 67
13. Ibid., pg.69
14. Two Listeners, God Calling, Barbour Publishing, Inc.
15. AA History–The 24 Hours a Day book http://www.barefootsworld.net/aa24hoursbook.html
16. Richmond Walker, Twenty-Four Hours a Day, Hazelden Foundation, Meditation for the Day, April 30
17. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 55

Letter from a Lighthouse Trails reader–Concerns about the Navigators:

You might want to update http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/organizations.htm
and include the Navigators. See below for books they are pushing. Eugene Peterson of the Message has been key in the Navigators for years.

I am amazed how widespread this movement is. The below e-mail is from friends in Manila, the Philippines. We had no idea about this couple. My wife … was involved with Reach. Reach is an offshoot of the Navigators and did some things differently then from the Navs like help new Christians get into a personal business.

So, I went to the Navigator site to see what is going on:

http://www.navpress.com/store/search.aspx?q=contemplative: books on contemplative prayer at Navpress of the Navigators

Lectio Divina at the Navigators

The Message at the Navigators

Dallas Willard at the Navigators

Dallas Willard and Don Simpson

This all hits hard. I was saved through the Navigators in 1973. They used The Word, Prayer, Scripture memory, time with the Lord back then. They had us witness and spend time in fellowship. The wheel illustration with Jesus Christ as the hub.

P.D.

Lighthouse Trails has now added the Navigators to the Contemplative Organizations page on our research site. NavPress (part of the Navigators) is also on the Contemplative Publishers page.