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Anita Dittman
Testimony
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In the fall of 2007,
Holocaust survivor Anita Dittman gave her testimony in front of a live
audience at Twin City Fellowship in MN. Lighthouse Trails is pleased to
announce this special presentation, which has an introduction by Olive
Tree Ministries director Jan Markell. This 70 minute long DVD is now
available. To obtain and for more information, please click here.
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Kingdom
Triangle by J.P. Moreland
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Book Review by Lighthouse Trails editors
J. P. Moreland is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at
Talbot (Biola) School of Theology and a faculty member at David Noebel's
Summit Ministries 1. He has written numerous books and has spoken at
over 200 colleges. He has many academic credentials and honors such as:
Outstanding Young Men of America, 1981 and Senior Class Professor of the
Year, Biola University, 1992-93. But Moreland has another credential that
is not being discussed in evangelical circles - he promotes contemplative
and emerging spirituality.
In Moreland's 2007 book, Kingdom Triangle, subtitled: Recover the
Christian Mind, Renovate the Soul, Restore the Spirit's Power, Moreland
says there are three components needed in Christianity, both collectively
and individually. He says that these three "essential
ingredients" are for the "maturation of the Evangelical
community" (p. 13).
It doesn't take too long into Kingdom Triangle to realize that the
second element of this maturing process is "spiritual formation."
On the Acknowledgments page, Moreland thanks John Coe, who is the director
for Biola's Institute for Spiritual Formation. Moreland says that Coe
guided him "into spiritual formation and the inner life." Coe's program offers a menagerie of contemplative
spirituality courses, retreats, etc.
To support Moreland's emphasis on spiritual formation, he has asked
contemplative leader Dallas Willard to write the foreword for the book; and
in fact Moreland calls Willard the mentor he has had for 25 years (p.13).
Given Willard's immense affinity with contemplative spirituality, this long
term mentorship would explain Moreland's belief that spiritual formation is
essential for the Christian community.
In chapter 6 of Kingdom Triangle, Moreland plunges into discussion
about the "true self" and the "false self." He echoes
Thomas Merton and Martin Buber, both who had strong mystical propensities,
and who believed we could attain to our true self (a perfect self) through
mystical practices. Moreland encourages the writings (and practices) of St.
Ignatius Loyola, (p. 156), saying such practices will help us to
"cultivate the ability to discern the divine components" within
us. This follows the course of thinking that Thomas Merton had - that
divinity is already within, and mystical practices help us to realize what
is already there. That is why Merton said,
It is a glorious destiny to be a member
of the human race, ... now I realize what we all are ... If only they
[people] could all see themselves as they really are. I suppose the big
problem would be that we would bow down and worship each other.... At the
center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and
by illusion, a point of pure truth....This little point ... is the pure
glory of God in us. It is in everybody. (Conjectures of a Guilty
Bystander, pp. 157-158)
Roger Oakland discusses Ignatius Loyola
in Faith Undone: "Ignatius founded the Jesuits
with a goal to bring the separated brethren back to the Catholic Church. He
and his band of ruthless men would do everything possible to accomplish
this goal." (p. 116) The Metamorpha website (see Willard, Foster, Coe videos
there) says that the "imagination is key in Ignatian prayer....
Ignatian meditation involves several key spiritual disciplines: lectio
divina, Ignatian contemplation, reminiscence, and the examination of
consciousness (notice: not conscience)."
Moreland tells readers that a "treasure of deep, rich knowledge of the
soul" can be found in the writings of the Desert Fathers, Henri Nouwen, and Richard Foster, (p. 153). Of course,
all three of these sources ultimately point followers to eastern-style
meditation. A four-part series Moreland did for Focus on the Family (click here to read further )substantiates that Moreland
is embracing contemplative spirituality where he suggests that
"Catholic retreat centers are usually ideal for solitude
retreats."
Moreland describes the third element to this triangle for Kingdom living in
his preface when he says that this is the time in history where
evangelicals can "show our culture the way forward" and that
prior to now, Christians were not ready to "lead our culture to higher
ground" (p. 12). He continues: "Signs indicate we are gaining
momentum and may well be ready to manifest our Lord's true character
[through spiritual formation] in a way appropriate to the crisis of our
age... Tools for spiritual formation are available as never before in my
lifetime."
As for Moreland's third element of his Kingdom triangle, Moreland says that
the Kingdom of God or "gospel of the Kingdom" (p. 172) can only
come about on the earth through signs, wonders, and miracles - thus his
title: "Restoration of the Kingdom's Miraculous Power." Knowing
that Moreland's 2nd leg in his three-legged triangle is encapsulated with
contemplative spirituality, which would empower this signs and wonders
Kingdom he describes, is more than alarming. If indeed the realm that
contemplative meditators enter is one filled with familiar (demonic)
spirits, then signs and wonders that follow these excursions, would be on
the same plane.
Moreland wraps up his book by stating that many believers (whom he refers
to as "sojourner[s] in the Way of Jesus]" are bored and do not
sense God's presence in their lives. He says the answer this is to have the
Kingdom Triangle "at the very heart of the new revolutionary movement
gaining momentum day by day" (p. 196). Moreland concludes:
As you enter more and more deeply into
progress in the way of Jesus, the Kingdom Triangle must be at the core of
your life and (your church's) strategy. The first leg provides a thoughtful
sense of truth, knowledge, and direction to this approach to life; the
second leg gives passion to the journey and allows one to lay aside baggage
that gets in the way; the third leg provides the faith and confidence to
risk more and more for God and expect him to actually be a coworker in the
only sensible life plan available. This is what our culture needs... Don't
waste your life being preoccupied with things that don't really matter.
Join me in the revolution. This is your opportunity. Seize it and rejoice
in it (p. 199).
This kind of rhetoric that we are on the
brink of a massive spiritual awakening doesn't sound much different than
what New Agers say today. In a newsletter Lighthouse Trails received on
January 18th from New Age write Gary Zukav, Zukav expresses a similar
vision:
A great change is washing over us, around
us, and through us. A new human consciousness is being born in millions of
individuals, one by one.... We are pioneers in uncharted terrain,
participating through our changing inner experiences in the birth of a new
humanity. The great change ... offers potential not previously available to
us. Our perception is expanding beyond the limitations of the five
senses.... From this new perspective, a multisensory perspective, we are
not separate from anything or anyone, ... and each individual is
responsible for how he or she will respond to his or her experiences....
It is for each of us to decide how long we will choose to see ourselves as
helpless innocents who are at the mercy of our experiences before we move
into a new, more accurate understanding of ourselves as the creator of
them..... From the emerging multisensory perspective, each individual is
responsible for what he or she contributes to the world, regardless of what
others contribute to it.... When will you begin the journey that will take
you there?
It is our hope that those reading this
article can begin to connect the dots: as society (and unfortunately much
of Christianity at large) becomes more and more mystically oriented, the
vehicle for large scale deception is being provided. As the Bible warns
about, in the days prior to Jesus Christ's second coming, there will be a
great falling away through doctrines created by demons.
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WorldNet
Daily Vice President Wrong about the Mystics
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On
January 18th, WorldNet Daily posted an article by WND Vice President, David
Kupelian. The article came out in WND's publication Whistleblower
the previous month and is currently in wide circulation on the Internet. It
is for this reason that Lighthouse Trails is compelled to respond. The
information in the article could potentially mislead many into following
the teachings of mystics and panentheists from the past.
Kupelian's article, titled "If God is everywhere, why do so few people find
Him?" does not refute the notion that God is everywhere but on the
contrary backs up the idea by favorably referencing mystics who believed
that God was in everyone. Kupelian throws in ambiguous comments like
"Christianity is a mystical religion, not a legalistic one like Islam"
which adds fuel to his persuasive recommendations about mystics such as Madame Guyon and St. John of the Cross. He also refers
to George Fox, founder of the Quaker movement, and William Penn, also a
Quaker. Of Penn, Kupelian states:
Penn, a Quaker and close friend of the
movement's founder George Fox, is quite dramatically saying God can somehow
be found in stillness, echoing David the psalmist who wrote, "Be
still, and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10)
What many WND readers may not know is
that Quakers (not all) traditionally believe that all humans have a Divine
light within. That is what prompted Quaker Thomas Kelly to say: "Deep
within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy
place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continuously
return.... In that abiding yet energizing Center we are all made one"
(pp. 29, 38, A Testament of Devotion). Kelly stated that the
"Slumbering Christ, stirring to be awakened ... is within us all"
(p. 29). He says the "Inward Christ" dwelled not just in the
Christian's heart, nor was something to be "accepted or rejected"
but is "the living Center of Reference for all Christian souls ... and
of non-Christian groups as well" (p. 34).
George Fox would concur with Kelly. The three following statements by Fox George Fox illustrate this well:
"Walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in
everyone."
"The Light shines through all."
"There is that of divinity in all things."
Kupelian comes to the defense of two mystics, Madame Guyon and St. John of
the Cross, stating:
Whatever doctrinal reasons the Catholic
Church might have had for rejecting Guyon, it's hard to dispute the classic
wisdom, espoused here, of seeking God in stillness.
But of that stillness, Guyon expressed
these thoughts:
May I hasten to say that the kind of
prayer I am speaking of is not a prayer that comes from your mind. It is a
prayer that begins in the heart .... prayer that comes from the heart is
not interrupted by thinking! (Madam Guyon, Experiencing The Depths of
Jesus Christ p. 4)
G. Richard Fisher of Personal Freedom
Outreach has written an excellent critique of Madame Guyon titled "The
Mindless Mysticism of Madame Guyon." Fisher's research leaves no room
for doubt as to Guyon's mystical affinities. 1 It is Guyon who said: "Here [the contemplative
state] everything is God. God is everywhere and in all things."2
Lastly, St. John of the Cross who said: "My beloved [God] is
the high mountains, and the lovely valley forests, unexplored islands,
rushing rivers."3
Ray Yungen explains the problem: "To absolve these mystics of
fundamental theological error, one has to also defend panentheism."4
We are not proposing that David Kupelian of WorldNet Daily is a
panentheist. However, the mystics he is using as examples were panentheists. And
for the sake of many WND readers, this is something that has to be pointed
out.
Notes:
2. Timothy Freke, The Spiritual
Canticle, the Wisdom of the Christian Mystics (Godsfield Press, 1998),
p. 60.
3. Willigis Jager, The Search for the Meaning of Life(Ligouri, MO,
Liguori/Triumph, 1995), p. 125.
4. Yungen, A Time of Departing, 2nd ed. (Silverton, OR: Lighthouse
Trails,) p. 74.
See also:
The Cloud of Unknowing
Christian Mystics of the Past
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Conference Alert: Breakforth Conference in Canada with Kay
Arthur, Josh McDowell and Erwin McManus
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Last
year at this time, Lighthouse Trails reported on the Breakforth Conference
that took place in Edmonton, Alberta. The speakers included popular teachers
Kay Arthur and Josh McDowell along with contemplative proponents Tony
Campolo and Jack Hayford (see report). We concluded that report by stating:
If Josh McDowell and Kay Arthur are going
to be doing "Christian" conferences with Tony Campolo, we hope
they will tell the conference attendees that contemplative spirituality
does not truly make one more intimate with God, regardless of the high
feelings and emotions it may produce.
Now, Breakforth 2008 is quickly approaching (January 25th -
27th), and the line up of speakers proves to be another disconcerting
mixture: Kay Arthur, Josh McDowell, and emerging leaders Chris Seay and
Erwin McManus.
McManus is just wrapping up his Rethink Conference with Robert Schuller at the Crystal
Cathedral. Within a week he will be sharing the platform with Arthur and
McDowell at Breakforth. If Arthur and McDowell are prepared to stand on
stage at Breakforth and renounce the spirituality of McManus and the
emerging church as well as the contemplative prayer movement, giving an
exacting warning to those attending, then by all means, they should go. But
they did not do that last year when they shared the platform with Tony
Campolo - thus we do not anticipate they will do that this year.
What Arthur and McDowell may not realize is that by their participating at
Breakforth, they are giving the thumbs up signal to thousands that the
emerging church and contemplative spirituality are acceptable avenues to
reach God; and in so doing they become part of the deception, and people's
spiritual lives are going to be affected.
Josh McDowell is presently scheduled to speak at the Breakforth USA 2009. 1
Related Stories:
Kay Arthur/Josh McDowell to Share Platform with
Contemplative
More conference alerts
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Rethink Conference: Christian Leaders Help Bring About Robert
Schuller's Dream of an All-Inclusive Spirituality
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Rethink Conference: Crystal Cathedral,
California
Robert
Schuller once said: "Standing before a crowd of devout Muslims with
the Grand Mufti, I know that we're all doing God's work together. Standing
on the edge of a new millennium, we're laboring hand in hand to repair the
breach." He made that statement in his 2001 biography, My Journey (p. 501), and
today he has taken a giant step forward in seeing his dream of an all
all-inclusive spiritual body come true. What's more, Christian leaders and
organizations are helping to bring it to pass.
This past weekend, the Rethink Conference at Schuller's Crystal Cathedral began.
This three day event was hosted by Schuller and popular emerging
futurist Erwin McManus.
In addition to McManus, the Rethink Conference has several other Christian
leaders speaking: Gary Smalley, Henry Cloud, Chuck Colson, and Kay Warren,
to name a few. While the speaker list includes several names outside the
Christian camp (Larry King, George Bush Sr., Rupert Murdoch, etc.), a
majority of the speakers, both Christian and non-Christian, are proponents
mystical spirituality. The reason this is important to know is because
Schuller's vision of an all-inclusive global religious body cannot happen
without mysticism. It is in fact the vehicle through which Schuller's dream
will occur. He discloses a little more of this vision in his book:
I met once more with the Grand Mufti (a
Muslim), truly one of the great Christ-honoring leaders of faith. ... I'm
dreaming a bold impossible dream: that positive-thinking believers in God
will rise above the illusions that our sectarian religions have imposed on
the world, and that leaders of the major faiths will rise above doctrinal
idiosyncrasies, choosing not to focus on disagreements, but rather to
transcend divisive dogmas to work together to bring peace and prosperity
and hope to the world. (p. 502).
In order for this "bold impossible
dream" to occur, change agents such as Schuller and McManus realize
that Christianity needs to be redefined. Thus, the term rethink. McManus
has believed this for some time. In an interview, he stated:
My goal is to destroy Christianity as a
world religion and be a recatalyst for the movement of Jesus Christ....
Some people are upset with me because it sounds like I'm anti-Christian. I
think they might be right!(1)
It's easier to understand what McManus
means by this by reading this next statement from him:
The Barbarian Way was, in some sense,
trying to create a volatile fuel to get people to step out and act. It's
pretty hard to get a whole group of people moving together as individuals
who are stepping into a more mystical, faith-oriented, dynamic kind of
experience with Christ. So, I think was my attempt to say, "Look,
underneath what looks like invention, innovation and creativity is really a
core mysticism that hears from God, and what is fueling this is something
really ancient." That's what was really the core of The Barbarian
Way. (from Relevant
magazine)
To put this in plain terms, there is a
three step process in making this new vision become a reality. First,
reeducation: convince Christians that the Christianity of today has to be
thrown out and replaced by a whole new way of thinking. Second, get these
new thinking Christians to incorporate mysticism into their lives and hear
the voice of a new kind of God,
not one that is described in the Bible but one that is found through
altered states of consciousness. McManus put it this way: "I build my
life not on the Word of God, but the voice of God. The Scriptures are to me
the instrument that God has placed in history for me to learn the voice of
God."
(2) The voice of this mystical god will direct people to the
final step of the process, and that will be to bring about a supposed
kingdom of God where all will be one, and where man finally realizes his
own divinity. Unfortunately, it will be a kingdom built, not on the truth
of the Word of God, thus not on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The rethinking of Christianity is taking place right now before our very
eyes. The mystical practices are now being implemented by countless people
around the world, including huge numbers of professing Christians through
the spiritual formation movement. It is just a matter of time before this
new age dream will take effect, and a great spiritual delusion will overtake
the masses.
Roger Oakland, author of Faith Undone (the hard-hitting expose on the
emerging church), spent a day at the Crystal Cathedral listening to
speakers share their hopes for the rethinking of Christianity. Oakland
heard one popular evangelical speaker say that the emerging church is energizing Christianity.
What that evangelical leader may not realize is that this
energizing is happening through mystical practices. One person who
does understand this concept is Robert Schuller. Ray Yungen explains:
[W]hat many might not know about Schuller
is his New Thought proclivities. Interspiritual scholar Marcus Bach once
related the following incident that took place at a Unity church in Hawaii
in which Bach was speaking:
Dr. Schuller attended the first of three
services, this one at 7:30 am. When we shook hands at the door, he tarried
to assure me how much Unity principles meant to him and how helpful they
had been to him in his work. (The Unity Way, p. 267)
What could some of these Unity principles
be? Bach explains:
Hinduism's emphasis on meditation fit[s] well into Unity's patterns for
enlightenment.(Ibid, p. 104)
This is one of the major principles that Schuller was making reference to.
In his own book, Prayer: My Soul's Adventure with God, he says:
Move into mighty moods of meditation.
Draw energy from centers of sacred solitude, serenity, and silence.... Find
yourself coming alive in the garden of prayer called meditation.... Yes,
the "New Agers" have grabbed hold of meditation.... Hey,
Christian! Hear me! Let's not give up the glorious, God-given gift of
meditation by turning it over to those outside our faith. (pp. 141, 151)
The point that Schuller misses is that
meditation is what makes a person a New Ager! This perspective is
something to consider in light of the quarter million pastors who have
trained and been mentored under Schuller at his Leadership Institute. (For Many Shall Come in My Name, ch. 3)
The line up at Rethink further confirms
that Schuller and McManus see mysticism as playing a vital role in the
rethinking and energizing of Christianity. Many of the speakers share
McManus' and Schuller's propensity on mysticism's role in transforming
the world.
Equally disturbing is knowing that CCN (Church Communication Network) sponsors
and is helping to broadcast the Rethink Conference. CCN represents many of
today's Christian leaders from Rick Warren, to James Dobson, to Joni Eareckson Tada, to
Max Lucado and many many others.
What this means is that mainstream
Christianity is going mystical, just as Alice Bailey, the woman who coined
the term New Age, predicted so very many years ago. Yungen ties
this all together:
"Bailey
eagerly foretold of what she termed 'the regeneration of the churches' (Problems of Humanity, p.
152).
Her
rationale for this was obvious: The Christian church in its many branches
can serve as a St. John the Baptist, as a voice crying in the wilderness,
and as a nucleus through which world illumination may be accomplished. (The Externalization of the Hierarchy,
p. 510)
"In
other words, instead of opposing Christianity, the occult would capture and
blend itself with Christianity and then use it as its primary vehicle for
spreading and instilling New Age consciousness! The various churches would
still have their outer trappings of Christianity and still use much of the
same lingo. If asked certain questions about traditional Christian
doctrine, the same answers would be given. But it would all be on the
outside; on the inside a contemplative spirituality would be drawing in
those open to it.
"In wide
segments of Christendom this has indeed already occurred.... Thomas Keating
alone taught 31,000 people mystical prayer in one year. People are
responding to this in large numbers because it has the external appearance
of Christianity but in truth, is the diametric opposite---what a skillful spiritual
delusion!"
For
more information on Schuller's "dream" read Deceived on Purpose by Warren Smith.
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The Advent of the "Ancient Wisdom"
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by
Ray Yungen
Many
people may think the New Age movement is a collection of strange cults
populated by aging hippies, emotional cripples, and assorted oddballs who
are duped by money-hungry charlatans and egocentric frauds. This may be
true in some instances, but if such were the overall case, I would not have
spent the last 22 years researching this movement or writing about my
discoveries. The focus of my work is not on fringe religious groups or New
Age riff-raff but on a broad-based effort to influence and restructure our
whole society.
Rather than creating new institutions as is the case with cults, the New
Age goal is to transform people within existing institutions and thereby
transform the institutions themselves! As one writer explained it,
"...a new society forming within the heart of the old."1
This transformation has frequently been referred to as a paradigm shift.
The word paradigm means model, as in outlook or viewpoint.
New Agers predict that as more and more people achieve contact with and
guidance from the higher self, a global shift will occur, in which the
transformed state will become as common as watching television or reading a
newspaper. It will be the predominant model or paradigm for humanity.
One person who should have a fairly decent estimation on the size of the
New Age is best-selling author Eckhart Tolle. In a recent interview, he
revealed the following observations:
Without
considering the Eastern world, my estimate is that at this time about ten
percent of people in North America are already awakening. That makes thirty
million Americans alone, ... about ten percent of the population of Western
European countries is also awakening. This is probably sufficient critical
mass* to bring about a new earth.2
Many
people have a kind of bemused contempt for those involved with mysticism,
and thus, they believe that the New Age movement is a frivolous frolic into
the absurd.
In answer to this, I would like to emphasize two points. First, millions of
people are having real experiences. Second, these experiences are as old as
human civilization.
It is important to understand that the foundation upon which the New Age
movement is based transcends the mere intellectual acceptance of ideas. It
cannot be seen as separate from the mystical experience from which it
springs.
The Mystery Schools are the most easily documented of the ancient adherents
of occultism. They were the caretakers of this esoteric (hidden) knowledge.
These schools formed the nucleus of the religious practices of ancient
nations and empires such as Egypt, China, Chaldea, Persia, Greece, and
Rome, as well as the Aztec and Inca civilizations.
The Mystery religions were so labeled because their teachings were kept
hidden from the common people. In fact, the term occult (meaning hidden or
concealed) originated from the Mystery religions because the majority of
people were ignorant of their true meanings. Only the priests and adepts
(who were initiated through various grades or levels) gained insight into
these hidden truths of the universe.
What was kept hidden or secret? It can best be summed up as the knowledge
of the laws and forces that underlie the universe but are not evident to
the five senses of man's normal perception. Basically, they taught an
awareness of the invisible worlds for wisdom and guidance and the
development of psychic abilities and spiritual healing techniques.
New Age writers often refer to the core teachings of occultism as the
Ancient Wisdom. They also refer to it as the Secret Wisdom, Ageless Wisdom,
and the Perennial Wisdom. Many believe this Ancient Wisdom can be traced
back to the fabled civilization of Atlantis.
Despite enormous geographical distances and cultural differences, the
Mysteries all taught the same message: "Happy and blessed one, you have
become divine instead of mortal."3
Those involved in the New Age movement do not work by accident or
coincidence. Rather, they have a mission to accomplish and receive inner
guidance to show them where, when, and how that work must be done....
New Age writer David Spangler makes it clear who or what this "central
source of wisdom" is and what it wants to accomplish. Referring to his
own spirit guide, "John," he writes:
Over
the years it has been evident that John's main interest is the emergence of
a new age and a new culture, and he identifies himself as one of those on
the spiritual side of life whose work is specifically to empower that
emergence.4
The
New Age movement does not have any real leaders, only followers. I heard
one writer/channeler put it very plainly when he revealed: "Everyone
anywhere who tunes into the Higher Self becomes part of the transformation.
Their lives then become orchestrated from other realms."5
This aspect must be understood in order to fully grasp the significance of
the New Age movement.
It may appear on the surface that all of these groups and individuals are
not connected, but the following quote sheds light on the real situation.
One New Age writer confirmed:
Soon
it also became apparent that those of us experiencing this inner contact
were instinctively (and spontaneously) drawing together, forming a network.
In the many years since, I have watched this network grow and widen to
literally encompass the globe. What was once a rare experience--that of
meeting another person who admitted to a similar superconscious presence in
his or her life--has now become a common, even frequent, event ... what I
once saw as a personal (and individual) transformation I now see as part of
a massive and collective human movement.6
In
his extremely revealing and insightful 1980s book, The Emerging New Age,
sociologist J. L. Simmons disclosed that "tens of thousands" of
metaphysical teachers and counselors existed in America who were in the
process of training and guiding "hundreds of thousands" of
students and clients. In addition to these, "millions" had
"a sporadic but real interest" in metaphysics. Simmons observed:
Each
of these circles is growing in numbers. And there is a steady progression
of people inward: an uncommitted person moves into the active, part-time
circle, and so on.7
Simmons
concluded that because of this swell of interest the movement was
"doubling in size every three to five years."8 The Ancient Wisdom
wasn't just for cave-dwelling mystics anymore!
This process of dismantling the old and fashioning the new is what For
Many Shall Come In My Name is all about. This shift is not mere
speculation, it is a fact!
An October 2006 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. (from chapter 2, For Many Shall Come in My Name)
Notes:
1. George Trevelyan, A Vision of the Aquarian Age (Walpole, NH:
Stillpoint Publishing, 1984), p. 161, book also online at http://www.sirgeorgetrevelyan.org.uk/books/thtbk-VAA14.html,
accessed 03/2007.
2. Kathy Juline, "Awakening to Your Life's Purpose" (Science
of Mind, October 2006), pp. 16-18.
3. Geoffrey Parrinder, World Religions from Ancient History to the
Present (New York, NY: Facts on File Publications, 1983), p.
155.
4. David Spangler, Emergence: The Rebirth of the Sacred (New York,
NY: Dell Publishing Company, 1984), p. 67.
5. Talk by Ken Carey at Whole Life Expo (Los Angeles: February, 1987).
6. Kathleen Vande Kieft, Innersource: Channeling Your Unlimited Self (New
York, NY: Ballantine Books, 1989), p. 38.
7. J. L. Simmons, The Emerging New Age (Santa Fe, NM: Bear and Co.,
1990), p. 211.
8. Ibid., p. 13.
9. Nancy Gibbss, "An In-Depth View of America by the Numbers" (Time
magazine, October 22, 2006).
*Critical Mass: The idea that a particular belief or behavior can be
accepted by all of society once a number of people have aligned.
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Is There a Labyrinth in Your Town?
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According
to the international Labyrinth
Society, a labyrinth is "a single path or
unicursal tool for personal, psychological and spiritual transformation.
Labyrinths are thought to enhance right
brain activity."
Don't be
fooled!
The labyrinth is just another way to perform contemplative or centering
prayer in which all
paths supposedly lead to God. In the last few
years, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of labyrinths in
colleges, hospitals, retreat centers, and churches.
Check
out this labyrinth locator and see how many are in your own community or
state. This list has grown substantially over the past few years, and this
most likely does not include many of the labyrinths that are popping up in
evangelical settings.
"Within
the world of the New Age and the occult, initiation is the principle key
used in advancing the student of mysticism along the path of occult
learning." The
Labyrinth: A Walk to Life or A Walk to Death Steve Muse - Eastern Regional Watch
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Yungen, Smith, Koenig at Conference - Listen Online
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Authors
Ray Yungen and Warren Smith will be speaking together at Shining As Lights
in Perverse Times conference on January 24th through 27th. The conference
will take place at Calvary Chapel Tri-City in Tempe, Arizona and will be a
multi-church event. For those who cannot physically attend, the conference
will be available live through video broadcast online on the
Godly Conferences website (click here).
We hope you will mark your calendars and
be able to either attend or listen online to what Yungen and Smith and
other speakers have to say about topics such as: Spiritual Formation,
contemplative spirituality, the emerging church, Purpose Driven, the New
Age, Bible prophecy, and much more. Bill Koenig from Koenig's International News will
also be speaking at the conference.
*This conference is not
affiliated with Lighthouse Trails Research or Lighthouse Trails Publishing.
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Book on the Emerging Church Issues Warning Around the World
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After just five months since its release date, Faith Undone has
traveled around the world and now has 20,000 copies in print, with over
16,000 either sold or given away. The book makes a well-documented and
serious case against the emerging church movement, showing that it is far
more than the discontent grumblings of young people looking for answers but
is in fact a calculated device by the devil to undermine the Gospel message
of Jesus Christ. Grounded in a centuries old mystical approach, this
movement is powerful yet highly deceptive. The path that the emerging church
is taking is leading right into the arms of an interfaith perspective that
has prophetically profound ramifications. Behind this new kind of
church is a well-designed strategy and maneuver by the prince of this world
to literally take apart the faith of millions. For a detailed chapter by chapter
synopsis, click
here.
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Falling Sparrow - Two true stories
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Announcing
Lighthouse Trails Publishing's Falling Sparrow series
Two new books (both true stories) added
to our Falling Sparrow collection:
East Wind by Ruth Hunt:
Nine years in a Soviet
prison camp would seem an eternity to most of us. For Maria, it was an
investment in eternity. This is the true story of Maria Zeitner Linke-a
story of survival and courage in the death camps of Stalin's Gulag after
World War II. But more than that, it is the story of how one woman turned
her sorrow into an opportunity for growth, ministry, and strengthened
commitment to Jesus Christ. In nine years, Maria moved through six
different camps, including the infamous Buchenwald, which the Soviets had
taken over from the Nazis after the war. In the process, Maria touched the
lives of many people and helped them turn their own mourning into dancing.
This book, which will remind many readers of the works of Corrie ten Boom
and Alexander Solzhenitsyn, offers encouragement and hope to anyone who has
ever wondered, "How would I react if my faith were really put to the
test?" It comes to terms with the true meaning of "practicing
patience in tribulation."
The inspiring and
captivating true story of Diet Eman, a young Dutch woman who, with her
fiance' Hein Sietsma, risked everything to rescue imperiled Jews in
Nazi-occupied Holland during World War II. Throughout the years that Diet
and Hein aided the Resistance their courageous efforts ultimately saved the
lives of hundreds of Jews.
Click
here to see the entire Falling Sparrow series.
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Publishing News
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We also have added several items by
other publishers/producers to our online store. Each one was carefully
selected and has the same high quality as our own Lighthouse
Trails products:
THREE WAYS TO ORDER
DIRECTLY FROM LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS PUBLISHING:
2. Toll Free Order
Line: 866/876-3910
Quantity Discounts: 40% off retail for
orders of 10 or more copies, 50% off for international orders of 10 or more
copies
We ship both retail
and wholesale orders within 24 hours of receiving order.
BOOKSTORES AND OUTLETS
for small retail orders: Lighthouse Trails books are also available to
order from most bookstores (online and walk-in). If your local
bookstore isn't carrying one of our titles, you can ask them to order
it for you. While you may have to wait longer to receive your order,
the advantage of ordering through bookstores is that you will have no shipping
charges.
SAMPLE CHAPTERS OF
LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS BOOKS:
Lighthouse Trails Publishing now has
sample chapters available online for most of the books we publish. We
believe you will find each of these books to be well-written, carefully
documented, and worthwhile. Click here to read some of the chapters.
Note: Lighthouse
Trails is a
Christian publishing company. While we hope you will read the books we have
published, we also provide extensive research, documentation, and news on
our Research
site, blog, and newsletter. We pray that the
books as well as the online research will be a blessing to the body of
Christ and a witness to those who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as
their Savior and Lord.
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Newsletter in Print - Coming Soon
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If
you would like to receive the Coming
from the Lighthouse newsletter in print form by mail, please
send an email to newsletter@lighthousetrails.com. Be
sure and include your mailing address in the email. We will be issuing a
printed newsletter several times a year for those who prefer that over the
email edition or for some reason need both.
Both email and printed editions
will be free.
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