Lighthouse Trails Research Project - Exposing Contemplative Spirituality

by Jan Markell
Olive Tree Ministries

On July 5 the Washington Times online reported that Pastor Rick Warren told his Islamic audience, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA,) that he envisions "a coalition of faith." Whether Pastor Warren knows this or not, this is just another term for the coming one-world religion outlined in Revelation 13. It is further outlined in Revelation 17. I have not taken on the issue of Rick Warren all that often, but after reading what the Washington Times has to say about his message to a group of spiritually lost Muslims, I feel I must address this in an open letter to who many say is the most influential pastor in America and some would say the world.

Pastor Warren, you pleaded with 8,000 Muslim listeners on Saturday, July 4, to work together to solve the world's greatest problems by cooperating in a series of interfaith projects. You said, "Muslims and Christians can work together for the common good without compromising my convictions or your convictions."

Pastor Warren, you needed to compromise the convictions of the Muslims in attendance. To just say that "My deepest faith is in Jesus Christ" was not enough to a thoroughly lost crowd. The hour is too late to withhold a gospel message without which they will face a Christless eternity, and you will be held accountable. The "world's greatest problems" will always be with us and the Bible says so in Matthew 26:11. Sin is at the root of them. I have to conclude you are more interested in ecumenical unity and solving AIDS, poverty, and other social issues. Last Saturday you were given a golden opportunity that 99.9% of American Christians could never get.

You said you were not interested in interfaith dialogue, but you seize every opportunity to talk to all religions and you always leave out the gospel. You even address Jewish groups but you tell them how to grow a mega-synagogue like your own church, Saddleback. In this "can't we all get along?" generation, you usually leave out the only good news left: There is salvation in Christ and Christ alone (Acts 4:12), and the hour is late, so make a conscious decision to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Click here to read this entire article.

Related:
Rick Warren speaking to Islamic group with terror ties

Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, and other Christian Leaders Invite Muslims to Share "Common Love for God"

Rick Warren's new reformation to include Islam:

"Who's the man of peace in any village--or it might be a woman of peace - who has the most respect, they're open and they're influential? They don't have to be a Christian. In fact, they could be a Muslim, but they're open and they're influential and you work with them to attack the five giants. And that's going to bring the second Reformation."--Rick Warren, May 2005, Pew Forum on Religion

Rick Warren's Inter-Religion Global Reformation

LTRP Note: Because of Rick Warren's recent appearance at the Islamic Society of North America, we are reposting this 2008 Lighthouse Trails article, showing the nature of Rick Warren's "new reformation," one he says is from God and one that in essence is an inter-religion reformation.

"Rick Warren's New Global Reformation and His PEACE Coalition"

Warren's reformation may appear to be a biblically-based reformation, one that represents the Christian church, caring about the poor and needy. But Warren has defined this "new reformation" and how he intends to "re-engineer" the Christian faith. For instance, when Warren spoke at the Pew Forum on Religion in 2005, he told the audience that his new Christian reformation would include those from other faiths (in particularly Muslims). So when Warren talks about extending his vision to "the wider Evangelical community," this is an inaccurate remark because Warren has intended for that extension to include people of all faiths, as well as people of no faith and as well as those practicing homosexuality:

"Who's the man of peace in any village - or it might be a woman of peace - who has the most respect, they're open and they're influential? They don't have to be a Christian. In fact, they could be a Muslim, but they're open and they're influential and you work with them to attack the five giants. And that's going to bring the second Reformation." - Rick Warren, May 2005, Pew Forum on Religion

In an interview in August 2006 with Charlie Rose, Warren stated that we don't have to have the same religion or moral beliefs to work with people on poverty, disease, etc. As an example he said he just met with the President of the gay-activist group ACT UP, and asked him, "Eric [Sawyer], how can I help you get your message out?" Sawyer answered, "Use your moral authority." Warren then said to Rose, "I'm working with these guys ... I'm looking for a coalition of civility, which means let's get back to the original meaning of tolerance."

Not only will Warren's PEACE plan for a new reformation include Muslims and gays, it will also include those with New Age propensities. Just this month, Warren hosted a Small Groups Conference in which New Age sympathizer Leonard Sweet was a featured speaker. Sweet's spirituality is unveiled in his book Quantum Spirituality where he says he resonates wholeheartedly with New Age mystics (like Matthew Fox and Ken Wilber) and says that we can help people find their "christ-consciousness" through small groups. Warren has promoted Leonard Sweet for many years and clearly continues to do so with virtually no response or critique from Christian leaders around the world.
Click here to read this entire 2008 article.

Rick Warren Calls on Muslims and Christians to Work Together

by Slice of Laodicea

From The Orange County Register as cited at the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) website:

Speaking to a crowd of nearly 8,000 Muslims at the Islamic Society of North America's annual convention in Washington D.C., Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren called on Muslims and Christians to form an interfaith coalition to combat prejudice and stereotypes. While Fourth of July revelers staked out seats to watch fireworks at the nearby Capitol Building, Warren addressed convention-goers-- some of them from Orange County Muslim student associations--about the need for mutual respect.

...If you haven't yet heard Warren's talk at ISNA we have a video of it. Click here to read more and to view the video clip.

Are Christian and Emergent Leaders Heading Toward a False Christ Through Quantum Spirituality?

by Warren Smith

(from A "Wonderful" Deception)

Many prominent New Age figures have stated that the foundational teaching of the New World Religion is the "immanence"of God (i.e., God "in" everything). Benjamin Creme, New Age leader and spokesperson for the false New Age "Christ" Maitreya, says:

But eventually a new world religion will be inaugurated which will be a fusion and synthesis of the approach of the East and the approach of the West. The Christ will bring together, not simply Christianity and Buddhism, but the concept of God transcendent--outside of His creation--and also the concept of God immanent in all creation--in man and all creation.1

New Age matriarch Alice Bailey also describes how the ultimate path to God in the New World Religion will be based on accepting the teaching of God's "immanence"--God "in" everything. Bailey writes:

. . . a fresh orientation to divinity and to the acceptance of the fact of God Transcendent and of God Immanent within every form of life.

These are the foundational truths upon which the world religion of the future will rest.2

. . . Robert Schuller has already publicly aligned himself with this foundational teaching of the New World Religion. On November 9, 2003, in an Hour of Power sermon broadcast to millions of people around the world, Schuller stated that over the previous several years his increased understanding of God's "immanence" had caused his faith to become "deeper, broader, and richer more than ever." He then proclaimed: "God is alive and He is in every single human being!"3

. . . Leonard Sweet presents this same teaching of immanence in his book Quantum Spirituality. While Sweet praises, promotes and even consults with New Age leaders, he also teaches that God is immanent--"in the very substance of creation [panentheism]."4 Eugene Peterson's "as above, so below" in the Lord's Prayer carries this same immanent God "in" everything message.5

If this immanent "God in everything" new worldview is where the church is heading, how might church leaders . . . present this view without looking like they've "flip-flopped" on their Christian faith? Again, the answer seems to be the intent to wed this God "in" everything immanence with the "new science" and the "new math." In other words, new findings from fractal theory, chaos theory, and quantum physics will seem to prove that God is "in" everything--"as above, so below." Given that Leonard Sweet's quantum spirituality may signify where . . . church leaders are headed, it is important to take a closer look at how New Age leaders are presenting their quantum spirituality.

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:

Five years ago, I had a beautiful experience which set me on a road that has led to the writing of this book. I was sitting by the ocean one late summer afternoon, watching the waves rolling in and feeling the rhythm of my breathing, when I suddenly became aware of my whole environment as being engaged in a gigantic cosmic dance. . . . As I sat on that beach my former experiences [research in high-energy physics] came to life; I 'saw' cascades of energy coming down from outer space, in which particles were created and destroyed in rhythmic pulses; I 'saw' the atoms of the elements and those of my body participating in this cosmic dance of energy; I felt its rhythm and I 'heard' its sound, and at that moment I knew that this was the Dance of Shiva, the Lord of Dancers worshipped by the Hindus.6

Commenting on his experience thirty years later, Capra writes that back in 1970 he "knew with absolute certainty that the parallels between modern physics and Eastern mysticism would someday be common knowledge."7 In 1999, in a twenty-fifth anniversary edition of his book, Capra reflects on the fact that The Tao of Physics had sold more than a million copies over the years and had been translated into at least twelve languages:

What did The Tao of Physics touch off in all these people? What was it they had experienced themselves? I had come to believe that the recognition of the similarities between modern physics and Eastern mysticism is part of a much larger movement, of a fundamental change of worldviews, or paradigms, in science and society, which is now happening throughout Europe and North America and which amounts to a profound cultural transformation. This transformation, this profound change of consciousness, is what so many people have felt intuitively over the past two or three decades, and this is why The Tao of Physics has struck such a responsive chord.8

Capra adds:

The awareness of the unity and mutual interrelation of all things and events, the experience of all phenomena as manifestations of a basic oneness, is also the most important common characteristic of Eastern worldviews. One could say it is the very essence of those views, as it is of all mystical traditions. All things are seen as interdependent, inseparable, and as transient patterns of the same ultimate reality.9

Fritjof Capra then describes the union of mysticism and the new physics as the "new spirituality" that is "now being developed by many groups and movements, both within and outside the churches." As an example of how this "new spirituality" is moving into the church, he refers to one of Leonard Sweet's "role models" and "heroes"--Matthew Fox:

On the other hand, I also believe that our own spiritual traditions will have to undergo some radical changes in order to be in harmony with the values of the new paradigm. The spirituality corresponding to the new vision of reality I have been outlining here is likely to be an ecological, earth-oriented, postpatriarchal spirituality. This kind of new spirituality is now being developed by many groups and movements, both within and outside the churches. An example would be the creation-centered spirituality promoted by Matthew Fox and his colleagues.10

A perfect example of Capra's reference to how this quantum "new spirituality" is being developed in churches is exemplified by Margaret Wheatley's appearance at the Leadership Network's May 2000 "Exploring off the Map" conference with Leonard Sweet and others. . . . Wheatley first encountered the "new science" in Fritjof Capra's book The Turning Point, as noted in the updated introduction of her book Leadership and the New Science:

I opened my first book on the new science--Fritjof Capra's The Turning Point, which describes the new world view emerging from quantum physics. This provided my first glimpse of a new way of perceiving the world, one that comprehended its processes of change, its deeply patterned nature, and its dense webs of connections.11

To further illustrate how pervasive this quantum spirituality has become in the church, consider an organization called VantagePoint3. This South Dakota-based group has developed a three-phase "spiritual formation" program called The VantagePoint3 Process (or L3), which incidentally is being used by a growing number of churches across North America. In the first phase--"Emerging Leaders"--a quote and summation of Margaret Wheatley is used to teach one of the points in that phase. The curriculum quotes Wheatley from her book Leadership and the New Science and emphasizes her view on "relationship" and "interconnection."12 The fact that this program points to Wheatley demonstrates yet another way that quantum physics and quantum spirituality is already in the church. It is worth noting that this curriculum uses Galatians 3:27-28 to partially summarize what Wheatley has to say. But while Galatians 3 speaks of "Christ Jesus," Wheatley's quantum "Christ" is the universal "Christ" of quantum "oneness." VantagePoint3's use of Wheatley to teach about "Christ" is a perfect example of what Fritjof Capra described as this new spirituality being developed within the churches.

The VantagePoint3 Process also cites materials by Leonard Sweet, Peter Senge, and Ken Blanchard. All three were featured with Wheatley at the "Exploring off the Map" conference organized by Bob Buford and Leadership Network.

Another example of how quantum physics has already entered the church is through the ministry of Annette Capps--the daughter of best-selling author and charismatic pastor Charles Capps. There are over 100,000 copies of Annette Capps' booklet Quantum Faith in print. In the booklet, she presents a Christian faith compatible with the so-called "scientific" principles of quantum physics and as such is also compatible with the so-called "scientific" principles of the New Age/New Spirituality. She even refers readers to New Age leader Gary Zukav's book The Dancing Wu Li Masters--An Overview of the New Physics.13 In her booklet, she writes:

As I studied the theories of quantum physics, I was reminded of a prophecy given by my father, author and teacher Charles Capps, "Some things which have required faith to believe will no longer require faith, for it will be proven to be scientific fact."14

Obviously, authors like Gary Zukav and Fritjof Capra have had a huge influence not only in the world, but also in the church. Capra, a New Age physicist and Aquarian conspirator, is mentioned frequently in Marilyn Ferguson's book The Aquarian Conspiracy.15 In addition, countless books and articles have been written about the quantum aspects of the "new science" and the "new spirituality" since the publication of Capra's The Tao of Physics and The Turning Point. Gary Zukav and his writings on quantum physics were praised and featured years ago by Oprah Winfrey on the Oprah Winfrey Show.16 William Young's best-selling book The Shack is just the latest in a long line of books that deal directly or indirectly with quantum physics and quantum spirituality. And like Wheatley's book Leadership and the New Science but on a much larger scale, Young's book is also having great influence by subtly introducing quantum physics and quantum spirituality into the church. . . .

In his 2009 book So Beautiful, Leonard Sweet underscores [this] quantum "relational worldview"17 by favorably quoting from William Young's The Shack regarding relationship.18 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."19

[The question must be asked] Are they [Christian and emerging leaders] 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"? (This has been an excerpt from Warren Smith's new 2009 book, A "Wonderful" Deception, chapter 13. For more on The Shack, see chapter 12 of A "Wonderful" Deception.)

Notes:

1. Benjamin Creme, The Reappearance of the Christ and the Masters of Wisdom (London, England: The Tara Press, 1980), p. 88; see also: Warren Smith, Deceived on Purpose, op. cit, p. 156.
2. Alice Bailey, The Reappearance of the Christ, op. cit, p. 150; see also: Smith, Deceived on Purpose, op. cit., p. 156.
3. Hour of Power, Robert H. Schuller, Program #1762, "God's Word: Rebuild, Renew, Restore," November 9, 2003, op. cit.
4. Leonard Sweet, Quantum Spirituality, p. 125.
5. Warren Smith, Deceived on Purpose, pp. 32-34; Ronald S. Miller and the Editors of New Age Journal, As Above, So Below: Paths to Spiritual Renewal in Daily Life (Los Angeles, CA: Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc., 1992), p. xi.
6. Fritjof Capra, The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism (Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 1999), p. 11.
7. Ibid., p. 323.
8. Ibid., pp. 324-325.
9. Ibid., p. 330.
10. Ibid., p. 341.
11. Margaret J. Wheatley, Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World (San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Inc., 3rd ed., 2006), pp. 3-4, brought to my attention by Discernment Research Group.
12. Emerging Leaders: Relational Foundations of Leadership (Sioux Falls, SD, Vantage Point3, 2006, http://www.vantagepoint3.org/fileadmin/main/tour/EMS3%20WebSamples.pdf), p. 52; this information provided by Jennifer Pekich.
13. Annette Capps, Quantum Faith (England, AR: Capps Publishing, 2003, 2007), p. 4, booklet brought to my attention by Larry DeBruyn.
14. Ibid., p. 6.
15. Marilyn Ferguson, The Aquarian Conspiracy, pp. 145, 149-150, 152, 172, 261, 374.
16. Gary Zukav's first appearance on Oprah was in October 1998. This propelled his book The Seat of the Soul to the top of the New York Times best-seller list for two years.
17. Leonard Sweet, So Beautiful (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2009), p. 279, #118.
18. Ibid., p. 101.
19. Ibid., p. 256, #22.

Related Information:

Will the "New Science" Prove That God is "in" All Things?

Government Regulations on Yoga? Instructors Say No

LTRP Note: In light of the fact that Yoga has been now integrated into a fast growing number of public schools and kindergartens, under the premise that it is not a religion, this New York Times article is quite revealing: US state governments wants to regulate the multi-billion dollar Yoga industry, and Yoga teachers are saying no, partly because they say it is a religious practice and should not be regulated.

"Yoga Faces Regulation, and Firmly Pushes Back"

New York Times
By A. G. SULZBERGER

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Ten years ago, with yoga transforming into a ubiquitous pop culture phenomenon from a niche pursuit, yoga teachers banded together to create a voluntary online registry of schools meeting new standards for training instructors.

But that list--which now includes nearly 1,000 yoga schools nationwide, many of them tiny--is being put to a use for which it was never intended. It is the key document in a crackdown that pits free-spirited yogis against lumbering state governments, which, unlike those they are trying to regulate, are not always known for their flexibility.

Citing laws that govern vocational schools, like those for hairdressers and truck drivers, regulators have begun to require licenses for yoga schools that train instructors, with all the fees, inspections and paperwork that entails. While confrontations have played out differently in different states, threats of shutdowns and fines have, in some cases, been met with accusations of power grabs and religious infringement--disputes that seem far removed from the meditative world yoga calls to mind.Click here to read this entire article.

How Hinduism Has Changed its Message

by Caryl Matrisiciana

Yoga is experiencing a renaissance worldwide. What has brought about this phenomenon? Classic Hinduism is not missionary minded in the same sense as Christianity. Christian missionaries share their faith and carry on humanitarian work, but Hindu missionaries only proselytize.

This difference is generated by the diametrically opposed beliefs of the two religions. Yogic spirituality aims at enabling an individual to save himself by recognizing he is "God" and thus shortening his reincarnation cycles. But while Hindus seek to win the world to their religion, humanitarian ideas actually conflict with Hinduism's teaching on karma. Karma dictates that one's shortcomings and sufferings are due to what one has done in previous lives. To help people improve themselves through medicine or education is, in essence, to tinker with their karma.

When the British ruled India, they were still part of a Christian commonwealth. The influence of Christianity upon their society caused them to introduce in India the unheard of practice of serving the community by building hospitals and schools. As a result, there are still in India today many community-based programs borrowed from the biblical model of caring for widows, orphans, the sick and the needy.

Hindu purists, however, such as members of VHP [Vishwa Hindu Parishad, meaning World Hindu Council], RSS [VHP-sponsored Rashtriya Swayam Sevak], oppose allowing India's people to follow any other faith and attempts to improve the desperate plight of the poor. To help soften the cruelty of Hinduism, part of its new missionary strategy to reach the West was to market Yoga as a self-realization program that can solve all of life's problems.

But what do Western missionaries of Hinduism look like? Do they dress in saffron robes like the Hare Krishnas? Not at all. Every Yoga teacher in the West has become a missionary of Hinduism, often unwittingly. These 70,000 instructors in more than 20,000 locations across America alone, who teach millions of people Yoga, come from all walks of life.1

In addition to the thousands of Yoga instructors, the heads of business corporations, hospitals, and educational facilities are all missionaries to Hinduism as well. These unsuspecting representatives of the Hindu religion--most who would never think of promoting Bible studies or Christian values as a positive alternative in the workplace--are aggressive missionaries for Eastern mysticism today.

These authority figures claim Yoga's benefits include reduction of stress and burnout, and increased concentration and self-confidence for pregnant women, business people, and senior citizens.

Thus, Nike, HBO, Forbes, Apple, and scores of other Fortune 500 companies offer classes on Yoga meditation as a regular employee benefit. Hospitals promote Yoga programs as alternative medical therapy to reduce blood pressure and benefit the heart. YMCAs and YWCAs offer Hatha Yoga as physical education. Health spas adapt Yoga as wellness programs and relaxation techniques, and urban health clubs across the country offer Yoga classes in response to demand. TV presents Yoga as physical fitness exercises.

Google.com displays over 100,000,000 pages on the subject of Yoga. A simple search on Amazon.com pulls up some 18,700 books on Yoga. Some outlet store websites, like Target's, offer thousands of Yoga products. It is no wonder that Yoga is nearly a six billion dollar a year industry. How ironic that a belief system that has deeply impoverished so many in India has become such a lucrative trade.

Clearly, the missionary objective to make the ancient philosophy of Hindu Yoga a part of mainstream Western culture has succeeded. (from Out of India, chapter 14)

Notes:
1. "A Growing Profession: 70,000 Yoga Teachers Estimated by NAMASTA, North American Studio Alliance" (NAMASTA press resources, April 12, 2005, http://www.namasta.com/pressresources.php).

Individual Spirituality Rejected by "New Spirituality"

by Larry DeBruyn

LTRP Note: The following comments made by Larry DeBruyn help to point out the emerging church teaching that God is more concerned about (and desirous of) community or cultural salvation as opposed to individual salvation. This is a classic earmark of emerging/contemplative spirituality. This is the message conveyed in books such as Death by Church by Mike Erre and An Emergent Manifesto of Hope by Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones.

"Saved, One-by-One"
by Larry DeBruyn

At the Episcopal Churches General Conference recently held in Anaheim, California, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, opened the conference with a stunning statement saying, "the great Western heresy" is "we can be saved as individuals, that any of us alone can be in right relationship with God." According to the bishop-ess, "That individualist focus is a form of idolatry, for it puts me and my words in the place that only God can occupy." Say what . . . ?

The third chapter of John records Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus who by himself came to Jesus at night (John 3:1-14). John is clear on this. Click here to read the rest.

Related:

Death by Church review

An Emergent Manifesto of Hope review

UK Article Predicts Mysticism to Replace Christianity

LTRP Note: This 2004 UK article predicted that Christianity was going to be replaced by mystical spirituality. Today, five years later largely because of the spiritual formation movement, the Purpose Driven movement, and the emerging church, this is exactly what is taking place! The words of Karl Rahner are ringing true when he said the Christian of the future will be a mystic or he will be nothing at all. Are we witnessing the great falling away?

The Times
England
"Spirited away: why the end is nigh for religion"

Christianity will be eclipsed by spirituality in 30 years, startling new research predicts. Our correspondent reports on the collapse of traditional religion and the rise of mysticism.

Study after study appears to prove that people are increasingly losing faith in the Church and the Bible and turning instead to mysticism in guises ranging from astrology to reiki and holistic healing. The Government, significantly, said this week that older people should be offered t'ai chi classes on the NHS to promote their physical and mental wellbeing....

Twice as many people believe in a "spirit force" within than they do an Almighty God without, while a recent survey hailed a revival of the Age of Aquarius after finding that two thirds of 18 to 24-year-olds had more belief in their horoscopes than in the Bible. ...

So what does meditation have that conventional worship does not? Neutrality, suggests Elizabeth Forder, who runs the centre. "We are not affiliated to any religion and there is no belief system imposed on anybody here," she says. "I was brought up a Christian, but it held no real meaning for me. I would class myself as a universalist, believing that all religions offer the same end."Click here to read this entire article.

Spiritual formation is Dangerous....and Here's Why

Book Review on Castles in the Sand
by C. Pack
(Used with permission)

"Spiritual Formation is Dangerous.... And Here's Why"

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.

In my spiritual immaturity, I just assumed that there was a type of mysticism that was okay within the framework of Christendom. I even participated in "setting the stage" for these new practices to come into our church: I helped hang blackout curtains to set the right "atmosphere," I set up candles, I carefully placed incense stations so they were out of reach of small children, etc.

However, after doing a little research (just to put my mind at ease), I came to the startling realization that these "Christianized" practices (yoga, contemplative prayer, Lectio Divina, etc.) were identical to what I (and my New Age friends) had done, way back in the 80s and 90s...they just had new names.

This book by Carolyn Greene unmasks the demonic nature of these practices and shows how our Christian children are being exposed to them. The heroine of this novel, Teresa, goes off to a Christian college that has always had a reputation for being doctrinally solid. Unbeknownst to her (and her foster grandparents, who themselves attended the school), the college has just begun implementing new classes in Spiritual Formation, Ancient Future, Lectio Divina, and Contemplative Prayer, among others. Not only that, but they've bulldozed the boring old soccer field to make way for a Labyrinth....

The story cuts back and forth between the experiences of the young student Teresa and another Teresa set in the 16th century - St. Teresa of Avila, a well-known mystic. As the student Teresa is unwittingly sucked deeper and deeper into a vortex of unbiblical practices and demonic deception, she becomes the star pupil of the college's glamorous new teacher, Dr. Jasmine Winters, who is introducing these enthralled young students to new - yet unbiblical - ways to "experience" God.

On a sidenote, let me state that as parents, we have been "trained" by our church leadership to turn over the spiritual discipling of our children to the leadership, whether at church or school.....but how sure are we that the youth group or private school or "Christian" college our kids are attending are, in fact, discipling them in solid Biblical truths? The emergent church movement, which heavily promotes Spiritual Formation and Contemplative practices, is a HUGE and very popular movement today. It prides itself with being able to "dialogue" with today's youth, with being culturally relevant to them. But as Christians, we know that our children's deepest spiritual need is NOT to be "engaged" by someone with hipness and cultural relevancy, but is rather to be given spiritual truth: that they are dead in their sins, depraved at their core, and in need of God's mercy and plan of salvation, through Christ's atoning death on the cross. The emergent church movement never gives this message, because at its core, emergent theology is a cross between New Age and Universalist thought (man's divine inner goodness + good works = salvation).

If the gospel is not clearly given to our youth, but instead we are giving them exciting, but unbiblical, "experiences" - which seem spiritual because they're wrapped in Christian terminology - then we've damned them. In our rush to do the next big thing, we are taking the edge off the blade, as it were, and giving our children just enough "Christianity" to "feel" spiritual and saved, without them coming to God on His terms: through the blood of Christ. These emergent experiences do not have the power to save, but instead are just "a form of godliness" without salvific power (2 Tim 3:5).

This book will be eye-opening for anyone who has heard the terms Ancient Future, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation, Contemplative Prayer, Lectio Divina, etc. and perhaps wondered what they were, and if they were biblical. They absolutely are not... and Carolyn Greene shows us why. (Originally posted at Amazon.com, used with permission from C. Pack)

Click here for more information on Castles in the Sand.

The UN Seizure of Parental Rights

by Berit Kjos

Don't be deceived! The twenty-year-old Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has little to do with personal rights. It has everything to do with changing values and undermining the traditional family. Since it transfers parental authority to the state, Christian children are legally free to reject safe family guidelines. The state will back their choice! As Hillary Clinton wrote back in the nineties, "It Takes a Village!"

This process started long ago. Its milestones include the birth of the United Nations in 1945 and, starting in 1948, its "consultative" relationships with the new World Federation for Mental Health. The Federation's founding document, "Mental Health and World Citizenship," exposed the mind-changing agenda behind the social sciences:

"Studies of human development indicate the modifiability of human behaviour throughout life, especially during infancy, childhood and adolescence.... Social institutions such as family and school impose their imprint early.... It is the men and women in whom these patterns of attitude and behaviour have been incorporated who present the immediate resistance to social, economic and political changes."

The CRC is designed to erode that resistance! For example, its ARTICLE 14 tells parents to "respect the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion." That might make sense if parents were free to teach them safe moral and spiritual boundaries. But it spells disaster in today's boundary-free culture, which bombards our children with promiscuous, pornographic and pluralistic suggestions and images.

ARTICLE 14 includes this qualification: "Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health or morals, or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others." But who are those "others" that need protection? All who despise the Bible and are offended by moral standards? That's already happening! As one school administrator warned a student: "Leave your faith in the car."

ARTICLE 15 grants children the right to "freedom of association," while ARTICLE 16 forbids "interference with his or her privacy... or correspondence." Their freedom to choose would fling the doors open to every lewd kind of literature, texting and Internet communications.

Notice the strange twist. With ratification of this Convention, the state terminates parental rights to set wise boundaries and maintain moral standards. It "frees" children to follow their new pied pipers into a world of corruption, group thinking, and government control. Meanwhile, Christian children lose their traditional right to express their faith, since Christian beliefs and values are too divisive for today's changing world. Click here to read this entire article.

Richard Foster Keynote Speaker at International Christian Retail Show

LTRP Note: As a vast of number of the large and medium size Christian publishing houses continue releasing book after book on contemplative prayer, spiritual formation, the emerging church, and the new spirituality, it isn't too surprising that the International Christian Retail Show would feature contemplative pioneer Richard Foster as the keynote speaker this year.

Examiner
San Antonio

"Christian authors and staff from publishing houses scattered throughout the United States are preparing to attend the International Christian Retail Show in Denver, Colorado this weekend. The event will begin on Saturday, July 11th at 7:00 PM with the Christy Awards ceremony at the Denver Marriott City Center. Bestselling author Richard Foster will be presenting the keynote address entitled The Spiritual Formation of the Writer." Click here for source.

Related Information:

Celebration of Discipline - 30 Years of Influence!

What is Really Happening in Honduras?

LTRP Note: Last week we posted an Associated Press article regarding the situation in Honduras. We believe that article gave a slanted biased view of what is happening there right now. We believe the two articles below may give a more accurate picture.

ARTICLE #1
Banana Democrats
by Investors Daily

Americas: During his campaign, President Obama made a big deal of criticizing leaders who are elected democratically but don't govern democratically. He's had a chance to show that it mattered in Honduras. He didn't.

That's the sorry story as Honduras' now ex-president, Mel Zelaya, last Thursday defied a Supreme Court ruling and tried to hold a "survey" to rewrite the constitution for his permanent re-election. It's the same blueprint for a rigged political system that's made former democracies like Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Ecuador into shells of free countries.

Zelaya's operatives did their dirt all the way through. First they got signatures to launch the "citizen's power" survey through threats warning those who didn't sign that they'd be denied medical care and worse. Zelaya then had the ballots flown to Tegucigalpa on Venezuelan planes. After his move was declared illegal by the Supreme Court, he tried to do it anyway.

As a result of his brazen disregard for the law, Zelaya found himself escorted from office by the military Sunday morning, and into exile. Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Cuba's Fidel Castro rushed to blame the U.S., calling it a "yanqui coup." Click here to read this entire article.

ARTICLE #2
The ugly face of liberalism
By Selwyn Duke
American Thinker

It has been interesting watching the response to the Honduran military's recent ousting its nation's president, Manuel Zelaya. Barack Obama called the action "not legal" and Hillary Clinton said that the arrest of Zelaya should be condemned. Most interesting, perhaps, is that taking this position places them shoulder to shoulder with Fidel Castro, Daniel Ortega and Venezuelan's roaring mouse, Hugo Chavez, who is threatening military action against Honduras. Now, some would say this is an eclectic group - others would say, not so much - regardless, what has gotten them so upset?

Let's start with what they say. They are calling the ouster a "coup" and claim that Zelaya is still Honduras' rightful president. Some of them say we must support democracy. But they have said little, if anything, about the rule of law. And most of what they have said is wrong.

First, it doesn't appear that Sunday's ouster was a military coup but a law enforcement action. It is not a military strongman who sought extra-legal control, but Zelaya himself. Here is the story.

Zelaya is a leftist, a less precocious version of Chavez, sort of like the Venezuelan's Mini-me. And, like Chavez, it seems that Zelaya was bent on perpetuating his rule and increasing his power in defiance of the rule of law. That is to say, the Honduran Constitution limits presidents to one four-year term, and this wasn't quite enough to satisfy Zelaya's ambitions. So he sought to amend the constitution, which may sound okay, except for one minor detail.Click here to read this entire article.

A "Wonderful" Deception NOW AVAILABLE

NOW AVAILABLE

A "Wonderful" Deception by Warren Smith

The further New Age implications of the emerging Purpose Driven movement

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. And while biblical prophecy is being minimized and explained away, an unexpecting powerful spiritual deception 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.

Some of the key areas this book addresses:

*How a "broad way" Christianity is deceiving many in the church
*How the "new science" will try to prove that God is "in" everything
*How Rick Warren continues to align himself with New Age sympathizers
*How attempts have been made to discredit critics of the Purpose Driven movement
*How the best-selling novel, The Shack, fits into the "wonderful" deception
*Ten scriptural reasons not to be connected with the Purpose Driven movement

Book Information:
Lighthouse Trails Publishing
Softbound, 232 Pages
ISBN: 978-0-9824881-0-2
Retail: $14.95
Quantity Discounts Available
To order. (All backorders have now been shipped.)

Lighthouse Trails New Catalog

Lighthouse Trails Publishing's new product catalog is now available. If you are on our customer database, you will be receiving a copy by mail this month. If you are not on the customer database and would like to receive a copy, please fill out our online catalog request form. It is also posted now online at: www.lighthousetrails.com/2009catalog.pdf.

Contents:

2009 New Releases

Emerging Church
Contemplative
Apologetic Biographies
Apologetics
Yoga
Remembering the Holocaust
Falling Sparrow Biographies
Children & Family

Book/DVD Sets
Music

Publishing News

CHOOSING THE RIGHT BOOK/DVD (CLICK HERE)

New Releases

Browse by Author

Browse by Topic

THREE WAYS TO ORDER DIRECTLY FROM LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS PUBLISHING:

1. Online Store

2. Toll Free Order Line: 866/876-3910

3. Mail/Fax Printable Order Form

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.

BOOKSTORES MAY ORDER DIRECTLY FROM LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS OR FROM INGRAM OR SPRINGARBOR.

LIBRARIES MAY ORDER DIRECTLY FROM LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS OR FROM BAKER & TAYLOR.

* * * *

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.

* * * *

Featured Resources

Contemplative Spirituality: A belief system that uses ancient mystical practices to induce altered states of consciousness (the silence) and is rooted in mysticism and the occult but often wrapped in Christian terminology. The premise of contemplative spirituality is pantheistic (God is all) and panentheistic (God is in all). Common terms used for this movement are "spiritual formation," "the silence," "the stillness," "ancient-wisdom," "spiritual disciplines," and many others.

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.