ONE –  New Age Department of Peace Bill Introduced to Congress One Week After Inauguration: On February 3, 2009, the Department of Peace bill HR 808 was updated and introduced to Congress by Congressman Dennis Kucinich. For those who are not familiar with the efforts by prolific New Age leaders to bring to reality a US Department of Peace, these efforts began several years ago at a grassroots level. Support for the new department grew and presently 66 members of Congress are supporting the effort.* Just one week after the new president took office, the updated Department of Peace bill was introduced. (March 2009)

* As of December 2009, the number of supporting Congress members has grown to 241.

TWO - Hate Crimes Bill Passes House – Christian Leaders Partly to Blame: On Wednesday, HR 1913 (”Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009″) passed in the US House of Representatives with a vote of 249-175. According to one report, “The bill is now headed for the Senate, which Obama urged to work with his administration to ‘finalize this bill and to take swift action.’”

If this legislation is passed by the Senate (and then signed by Obama into law, which he has promised to do quickly), this broadened hate-crime law could ultimately affect Christians who preach, teach, or report that the homosexual lifestyle is prohibited according to Scripture. (May 2009)

THREE - Brian McLaren Wants End Time Believing Christians Robustly Confronted:  If you are a Christian who believes that the Bible is God’s inspired Word and believe that Jesus Christ will be coming again, you are being marginalized. And you might not even know it. It may surprise you to know where this marginalization is coming from. We’re not speaking of the world today . . . we are talking about people who say they are Christians and who happen to be very influential. In fact, one of them, Rick Warren, was just named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the entire world. 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. (May 4, 2009)

FOUR -  Calvary Chapel Termination Has Profound Implications: Lighthouse Trails regrets to report that on May 5th, Paul Smith, brother of Chuck Smith (the founder of the Calvary Chapel movement), was fired from his position in the Calvary Chapel (CCOF) organization during an unscheduled meeting that day. The motion to fire Paul Smith was made by board member Roger Wing and seconded by Chuck Smith’s son-in-law, Brian Broderson. Other board members affirmed the motion, and Paul Smith was dismissed.

For some time now Paul Smith, who has been in full-time ministry since 1951, has been putting forth tireless efforts to help keep contemplative and emerging spirituality out of the Calvary Chapel movement. (May 2009)

FIVE - “Death by Church” – Emergent New Paradigm Pastor to Speak at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa: 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, Lighthouse Trails is posting this special report. (May 25, 2009)

SIX: 15% of Hospitals Using Occultic Practice–Reiki: In a recent article in Reiki News, it was revealed that 15% of all US hospitals are now implementing the practice of Reiki. In Reiki, a type of therapeutic touch, it is believed that the ki (chi) energy (a supposed universal energy that flows through all things) can be used to heal people. In the Reiki News article written by Reiki proponent William Lee Rand, Rand expresses a concern about a statement released by US Catholic bishops asking Catholic hospitals not to use Reiki because of its Buddhist roots. Rand tries to show that Reiki is a scientific method that has healing results. (June 14, 2009)

SEVEN – Will the “New Science” Prove That God is “in” All Things?: A San Antonio article says that science and religion “have been at one another’s throats but that has begun to shift in the last generation or two.” But it predicts that: “it should shift a lot more as one recognizes that science is speaking a language that is very similar to that of the mystical experiences of all the world religions, and mainly the sense of cosmic oneness and interaction and communication beyond space and time.” (July 5, 2009)

EIGHT – WHY are Joel Rosenberg and Frank Peretti Appearing With New Age/New Spirituality Sympathizers?: Why are so many Christian leaders continually appearing with personalities who claim to be Christian yet promote the heretical “new spirituality”? In January 2010, in Alberta, Canada, such a situation will take place at the Break Forth conference, bringing together a conglomeration of Christian figures, New Age sympathizers, and mystic/emerging proponents. From Joel Rosenberg (Epicenter), Frank Peretti (This Present Darkness), and Lee Strobel (The Case for Christ) to William Paul Young (The Shack), Leonard Sweet (Quantum Spirituality), and contemplative proponents such as Duffy Robbins (Enjoy the Silence) and Brad Jersak, Break Forth will be like drawing gray lines in the sand–blended, indistinguishable lines. (November 9, 2009)

NINE – Efforts Underway to Train U.S. Military Chaplains and Personnel in Eastern Mysticism: [A] project [is]currently underway with US Military Chaplains and other military personnel to receive ongoing training in contemplative mysticism . . . The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society was founded in 1991 and was inspired by retreats led by Thich Nhat Hanh (a Buddhist) and Ram Dass (a Hindu). The Center states that its “intention is ‘not to isolate meditation, but to reflect on the contemplative traditions as powerful techniques that have potential for beneficial change in American society.’” The Center’s objective is to bring meditation into all facets, both religious and secular, of society. (November 28, 2009)

TEN – Manhattan Declaration: “Perhaps Millions” Being Led Toward the New Age/New Spirituality:  “We are seeking to build a movement – hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of Catholic, Evangelical, and Eastern Orthodox Christians who will stand together.”–Manhattan Declaration

On November 20th, a document called the Manhattan Declaration was released at an event at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. The Declaration has received wide media coverage, and as of this writing about ¼ million people have signed the document. (December 4, 2009)

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