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This
past week we received emails and phone calls
from believers who have had to leave their churches.
In nearly every case, they were leaving because
of spiritual formation programs, which included
contemplative spirituality, emerging church
ideas, and/or a Purpose Driven agenda. For some,
they were asked or told to leave. Others were
leaving because they were concerned about their
children and what they were being taught. For
many, they were leaving behind family and friends
... and for most, they had been treated badly
by church leadership when they tried to warn
them and others about the spiritual deception
taking place.
To those of you who are standing for the faith
in the midst of such difficulty, we are thankful
that the Lord has given you strength, and we
pray you will be comforted.
"Then
spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the
light of the world: he that followeth me shall
not walk in darkness, but shall have the light
of life."John 8:12
"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not,
nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God,
he it is that doth go with thee; he will not
fail thee, nor forsake thee." Deuteronomy 31:6
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New Age Leader, Marianne
Williamson, Comes to Rick Warren's Defense - "Meditation"
is Common Ground
In an
article in the Detroit News, something happened
that doesn't happen every day. In fact, it may
never have happened before. The headline read,
"Faith leaders deserve a shot at creating peace
on earth." The author of the article was defending
Rick Warren - well that's not too unusual - many
Christian leaders, pastors and teachers have done
that consistently these past four years. That
would hardly be newsworthy. But this article was
written by someone who does not defend conservative
Christians. On the contrary, she stands for beliefs
that are opposed to biblical Christianity. Her
name is Marianne Williamson.
Many of you may be familiar with her, but for
those who are not, Williamson is a major figure
in the New Age movement. She is currently part
of a growing effort in Washington DC to convince
the US government to open a Department
of Peace. Respected figures like Walter Cronkite
work with Marianne Williamson in this effort,
and New Age leader Barbara
Marx Hubbard is a co-visionary of Williamson's
peace plan.
Williamson became popular, largely through the
Oprah show, when Williamson wrote a book, Return
to Love, (based on the New Age classic A
Course in Miracles), and Oprah brought
Williamson onto her show -- the book became an
overnight success. A Course in Miracles could
be referred to as the New Ager's bible. One former
New Age follower wrote about Williamson:
Over the past decade, Williamson has
continued to champion A Course in Miracles
in the media and in her public appearances
around the country. A more recent book, Healing
the Soul of America, has enabled Williamson
and the Course to make a subtle transition
into the political arena. Hoping to inspire
a "new gospel" approach to national and world
problems, Williamson, along with bestselling
Conversations with God author Neale Donald
Walsch, cofounded The Global Renaissance Alliance.[Now
called the Peace Alliance.] (1)
What is so significant about Williamson's recent
defense of Rick Warren is how she ties meditation
into the scope of the global peace plan, and as
we have laid out over and over in the books we
have published (e.g., A Time of Departing) and the articles
we have written here at Lighthouse Trails, Rick
Warren is a promoter of Eastern style meditation
(i.e., contemplative prayer). And of all people
to recognize this, Marianne Williamson did! Christian
leaders haven't, but a New Age leader has. Williamson,
in defending Warren's trip to Syria says:
Terrorism is a spiritual darkness;
it is a mass psychosis. People who know how
to lead groups in prayer and collective meditations,
people who have expertise in healing hearts
and minds and relationships, people who know
about dismantling insane behavioral patterns
-- such as these have at least as much to offer
in response to terrorism, as do people who know
how to drop bombs.
In referring to "collective meditations" just
what exactly does Williamson mean, and what role
will meditation play in bringing about global
peace? Smith explains:
Williamson's discussion of peace,
the "new gospel" teaches that peace can only
come through the "Atonement" (at-one-ment).
This is described on page 175 of the Course
Text: "Yet you cannot abide in peace unless
you accept the Atonement, because the Atonement
is the way to peace." After introducing this
idea of "atoning" Williamson described how she
and others are gathering together in small "cell"
groups ("cells of peace") to pray for world
peace. Williamson explained that as people join
their hearts together through meditation and
prayer, they begin to create a loving "energy
field" that counters the hate and negativity
being generated by the world. She explained
that as the number of people consciously gathering
together to create peace increases, so the strength
of the "forcefield" will proportionately increase.
She said that prayer becomes a "conduit for
miracles" as the "forcefield" grows in strength,
and as the love generated from it is "harnessed"
and purposefully directed for the "good" of
the world. (Reinventing Jesus Christ,
chapter 7)
Rick Warren also believes in meditation. He stated
that clearly in his first book (Purpose Driven
Church) many years ago, when he said that
the Spiritual Formation movement was a vital wake
up call to the church. He revealed what he meant
by "Spiritual Formation" when he named Richard
Foster and Dallas Willard as key figures in the
movement. Ray Yungen elaborates:
I realize there are serious ramifications
regarding the issues discussed here. What I
am saying is that Rick Warren is part of the
effort to bring contemplative prayer into mainstream
Christianity.... He sees Willard as being on
the same level as Foster in the spiritual formation
movement (i.e., contemplative prayer movement).
In Willard's book, The Spirit of the Disciplines,
the title of which sounds very close to Foster's
book, Celebration of Discipline, Willard
quotes Merton and Nouwen and extols the practice
of the silence:
In silence we close off our souls
from "sounds," whether those sounds be noise,
music, or words.... Many people have never
experienced silence and do not even know that
they do not know what it is.
Like Foster, Willard sees this spiritual discipline
as the most powerful way to commune with God.
He maintains: "It is a powerful and essential
discipline. Only silence will allow us life-transforming
concentration upon God."(A Time of Departing,
2nd ed)
The "transformation" that Foster and Willard speak
of takes place through meditation. That's precisely
what Marianne Williamson is saying! Listen:
Meditation is time spent with God
in silence and quiet listening. It is the time
during which the Holy Spirit has a chance to
enter into our minds and perform His divine
alchemy. (Williamson, Return to Love)
Is Williamson speaking about the Holy Spirit of
the Bible, the third part of the Godhead? According
to Williamson, the answer to that is absolutely
not! She believes in the cosmic christ or christ
consciousness, which is not the Christ
of Christianity:
Even if he takes another name, even
if he takes another face, He [Jesus] is in essence
the truth of who we are. Our joined lives form
the mystical body of Christ.
Jesus and other enlightened masters are our
evolutionary elder brothers. (The concept of
a divine, or "Christ" mind, is the idea that,
at our core, we are not just identical, but
actually the same being.
"There is only one begotten Son" doesn't mean
that someone else was it, and we're not. It
means we're all it. There's only one of us here.
You and I have the Christ-mind in us as much
as Jesus does.(Quotes taken from Reinventing
Jesus Christ, citing Return to Love)
Make no mistake about it, Marianne Williamson
is not referring to the biblical Jesus Christ,
and she will be the first to say so. But she does
resonate with Rick Warren, and we propose to you
that it is because he is a promoter of mystical
meditation, which according to New Age thought
is the conduit to bring about a global awakening
(or a new reformation as some New Agers call it).
In her Detroit News article, she exhorts Warren:
"Don't go quiet, Rick. If anything, push back
-- and do not back down." I think Williamson can
rest assured that Rick Warren will not back down.
He has already made it clear that he will do "whatever
it takes" to bring about global peace through
a new reformation, and there is no doubt about
it, it will be a reformation through spiritual
formation.
For those believers who are reading this, and
have put two and two together, you realize the
significance of what is taking place. Barbara
Marx Hubbard said that the Book of Revelation
scenario of a disastrous Armageddon does not have
to happen, if a critical mass of people
come together. Rick Warren also believes that
a critical mass is necessary. At the recent AIDS
conference in Canada, Warren said he is "pressing
for a 'coalition of civility,' where diverse groups
can disagree without being disagreeable or denouncing
one another, and seek unity without requiring
uniformity in order to reach critical mass."
Yungen, when referring to a time when all the
people of the world will come together in unity,
through meditation, says:
Through Rick Warren, Richard Foster's
vision [of unity through meditation or contemplative
prayer] could enter fully into mainstream evangelicalism
both in North America and around the world;
and with the unprecedented following and support
Warren has gained, we could be heading towards
a crisis in the church that might possibly lead
to the falling away that the Apostle Paul warns
about.... As you decide for yourself whether
Rick Warren's embrace of the contemplative has
any consequential significance at all, remember
the words of Sue Monk Kidd [who endorsed Dallas
Willard's book, Spirit of the Disciplines
and has herself become a member of Williamson's
religion] where she echoes the very essence
of Thomas Merton in the conclusions she arrived
at:
I am speaking of recognizing the
hidden truth that we are one with all people.
We are part of them and they are part of us
... When we encounter another person, ...
we should walk as if we were upon holy ground.
We should respond as if God dwells there.
(A Time of Departing, 2nd ed.)
Let us remember the exhortation of the apostle
Paul during these sober and serious times in which
we live:
I charge you therefore before God
and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the
living and the dead at His appearing and His
kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season
and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort,
with all longsuffering and teaching. For the
time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine, but according to their own desires,
because they have itching ears, they will heap
up for themselves teachers; and they will turn
their ears away from the truth, and be turned
aside to fables. But you be watchful in all
things, endure afflictions, do the work of an
evangelist, fulfill your ministry. II Timothy
4:1-5
For More Information:
A
Time of Departing (to learn about contemplative
spirituality and how Rick Warren and other Christian
leaders are embracing it)
The
New Gospel Campaign for Peace (update of Reinventing
Jesus Christ)
|
National Pastor's Convention
2007
May Be Harmful to Your
Church's Spiritual Welfare
Zondervan Publishing's 2007
National
Pastors Convention will take place on February
5th through 10th. If you and your church plan
to send your pastor, youth pastor or other church
leaders, you might want to think twice about that.
As we have shown through our documentation
and research , the National Pastor's Convention
is a place where pastors will be introduced to
contemplative spirituality and the emerging church.
And they won't be told the truth about these belief
systems. On the contrary, they will be told that
they need new "ancient wisdom" practices like
contemplative prayer, lectio divina, labyrinths
and more to have a really deep and meaningful
relationship with God.
In addition to the contemplative practices they
will be introduced to, they will sit under the
teachings of many who promote a "new kind of Christianity"
that is based more on eastern-style religions
than on biblical Christianity. Some of those teachers
include: Ruth Haley Barton (The Transforming Center),
Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, Robert Webber (Ancient-Future
Worship) and Gary Thomas (Sacred Pathways).
Pre-event activities include a National
Pastors Retreat, Critical
Concerns Courses, which will include teachings
by labyrinth-promoter Dan Kimball, yoga-promoter
Doug Pagitt and an array of other contemplative/emerging
leaders.
Not only will pastors attending get a heavy dose
of Eastern mystical practices, they will be encouraged
to become enlightened Christians, ones who are
not bound by the limitations of doctrine. So before
spending the money to send your pastor to this
event, please do some research, weigh what you
find against Scripture and take this to the Lord
in prayer. This event could be harmful to your
church's spiritual welfare.
For detailed research and information on the convention
speakers, please see our Research
Project website.
|
BOOK ALERT
Author Pete Scazzero's
Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: Unleash a Revolution
in Your Life in Christ
 LTRP Note: Carla from
Fools Only has done an excellent job in evaluating
Pete Scazzero's book, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality.
Unfortunately, Scazzero has done a terrible job
in representing biblical Christianity. When you
read the documentation, we think you will agree.
Check your church book shelves though - this book
is being promoted by many Christian organizations
and leaders.
"I recently picked up my copy of the newest book
by Peter Scazzero from the Christian book store.
As I suspected, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality
is very contemplative.... Okay, in a nutshell
... this book heavily promotes enough contemplative
practices and interspiritual teachers and mystics
to ring a Buddhist monastery bell.
"Throughout the book are quotes from the following:
Dallas Willard
Meister Eckhart
St. Theresa Avila
Kieran Kavanaugh, editor of John of the Cross
Thomas Merton(Trappist monk and interspiritualist)
Daniel Goleman(scientist who studies and promotes
Buddhist meditation)
Richard Foster
Daniel Wolpert
Brennan Manning
Ignatius's teachings
M. Scott Peck
The Sayings of the Desert Fathers
Basil Pennington
Dan Allender (AAAC)
Larry Crab (Papa Prayer)
Tony Jones, Sacred Way
Phyllis Tickle
Henri Nouwen
Brother Lawrence
Eugene Peterson
Tilden Edwards
"This book also contains teaching on Lectio Divina,
the Daily Office, silence and centering down (pg
160- 163), using James Finley's guidelines ..."
Click
here to read the remainder of part one of this
special report.
PART TWO: "So someone has written another
book about contemplative prayer...so what? Only
a small handful of people who would want to buy
a book like Emotionally Healthy Spirituality
will actually read it, right? Wrong! This book
and it's author are very influential, as you will
see. Click
here to finish reading part two."
See related information: Pete
Scazzero's Website
Ministries Promoting Scazzero:
The
Foursquare Church: "We have provided significant
training, coaching, resources and help (Archibald
Hart, Pete Scazzero) as an ongoing commitment
to the health and well-being of our supervisors
and superintendents."
Zondervan
Publishing
CCN
(Church Communication Network)
Focus
on the Family Canada
Willow
Creek
|
Megachurch Wooddale Church
to Continue "The Gathering"
Emerging/contemplative spirituality is digging
its heels deeper into Wooddale
Church, the church of Pastor Leith
Anderson, who recently replaced Ted Haggard as
NEA (National Association of Evangelicals) president.
As reported in our article, "Haggard's
Replacement Promotes Contemplative Spirituality
and the Emerging Church", Leith Anderson
and Wooddale leadership have been promoting contemplative
spirituality for some time.
Recently, Wooddale began a service called The
Gathering, geared toward the "post-modern generation."
An announcement on a
blog dedicated to The Gathering stated:
The
planning for the re-start of the Gathering at
Wooddale Church is in full swing! As you know
the response to the test run was overwhelming.
So much so, that we are now considering having
two Gathering services.
To view more information about The Gathering,
including a video clip, click
here.. There is also this second
blog designated to The Gathering.
|
Practicing Contemplative
-- Does Intent Justify the Method?
If
our intent is to find Jesus, is the method of
going about this acceptable, even if the method
might happen to be a Buddhist meditation style.
Brian Edgar, Director of Theology and Public Policy
for the Australian Evangelical Alliance believes
it is when he states:
Sometimes
people suggest that certain methods (such as
meditative, contemplative or imaginative prayer)
are not Christian. But the key question is about
the intention or the focus involved, rather
than simply the technique. If the aim is to
focus upon the Lord Jesus Christ through the
presence of the Spirit then it is Christian.
If a prayer is focused at something or someone
else then it is not. It is really just the same
as preaching. Speaking and listening can be
a thoroughly spiritual exercise. But non-Christians
also speak and listen, and what makes something
a Christian exercise is the content rather than
the method. (Edgar, Spirituality)
Panentheist
and contemplative Tilden Edwards, of Shalem Institute
would agree with Edgar when he states:
In
the wider ecumenism of the Spirit being opened
for us today, we need to humbly accept the learnings
of particular Eastern religions ... What makes
a particular practice Christian is not its source,
but its intent ... this is important to remember
in the face of those Christians who would try
to impoverish our spiritual resources by too
narrowly defining them. If we view the human
family as one in God's spirit, then this historical
cross- fertilization is not surprising ... selective
attention to Eastern spiritual practices can
be of great assistance to a fully embodied Christian
life.(ATOD)
Ray
Yungen addresses this:
The
premise here is that in order to really know
God, mysticism must be practiced-the mind has
to be shut down or turned off so that the cloud
of unknowing where the presence of God awaits
can be experienced. Practitioners of this method
believe that if the sacred words are Christian,
you will get Christ-it is simply a matter of
intent even though the method is identical to
occult and Eastern practices. So the question
we as Christians must ask ourselves is, "Why
not? Why shouldn't we incorporate this mystical
prayer practice into our lives?" The answer
to this is actually found in Scripture.
While certain instances in the Bible describe
mystical experiences, I see no evidence anywhere
of God sanctioning man-initiated mysticism.
Legitimate mystical experiences were always
initiated by God to certain individuals for
certain revelations and was never based on a
method for the altering of consciousness. In
Acts 11:5, Peter fell into a trance while in
prayer. But it was God, not Peter, who initiated
the trance and facilitated it. By definition,
a mystic, on the other hand, is someone who
uses rote methods in an attempt to tap into
their inner divinity. Those who use these methods
put themselves into a trance state outside of
God's sanction or protection and thus engage
in an extremely dangerous approach. Besides,
nowhere in the Bible are such mystical practices
prescribed. For instance, the Lord, for the
purpose of teaching people a respect for His
holiness and His plans, instated certain ceremonies
for His people (especially in the Old Testament).
Nonetheless, Scripture contains no reference
in which God promoted mystical practices. The
gifts of the Spirit spoken of in the New Testament
were supernatural in nature but did not fall
within the confines of mysticism. God bestowed
spiritual gifts without the Christian practicing
a method beforehand to get God's response....
[Y]ou can call a practice by any other name,
but it is the same practice, hence the same
results. For example, if you were to jump off
a cliff with the intent to fly saying the word
"fly, fly, fly" as you jump off and someone
else jumped off the same cliff with the intent
to hit the bottom saying "fall, fall, fall"
as he jumps off, in either case both will hit
the bottom. Unfortunately, this is exactly what
is happening in contemplative prayer, although
the intent may be to honor Christ. (A Time
of Departing) |
Foursquare Church Promoting
Emerging/Contemplative Leaders
The Foursquare
Church main website is recommending a number
of pro- contemplative/emerging church authors.
The list includes books by Brian McLaren, Robert
Webber (Ancient-Future Worship), business guru
John Maxwell, New Age sympathizers Ken Blanchard
and Leonard Sweet, Dan Kimball, Rick Warren, and
C. Peter Wagner. (see our research site for information
on the teachings of these authors).
Foursquare president Jack Hayford has been in
alliance with contemplative guru Richard Foster
as we explained in a recent article, "Teen
Mania Introduces Kids to Contemplative-Promoting
Speaker." In addition, Foursquare church,
The
Lake, is introducing "wanderers" to many of
the same authors mentioned above.
It looks as though the Foursquare movement has
decided to go in the emergent/contemplative direction.
Unfortunately, they won't be alone. Many other
churches, Christian colleges and organizations
are aggressively following suit.
|
Mr. Warren ... Excuses, Excuses
While Rick Warren is making
all
the excuses in the world why it was ok for
him to go to Syria, he is leaving out one important
and often neglected element ... Israel. What about
Israel? In the video clip by YouTube.com
(which was quickly removed as Rick Warren learned
that "bloggers"* were criticizing him for his
trip to Syria and alleged comments he made while
there), Warren said that Christians and Muslims
lived peacefully together in Syria. He added:
"The official government role [in Syria] and position
is to not allow any extremism of any kind." But
what about Syria's extremism against Israel and
Jews? Warren did not mention anything about that.
Nor did he mention Syria's hostility towards Israel
and threats, that if ever carried out, Israel
would be no more.
Mr. Warren, going to Syria, an enemy to Israel,
to tell them about your peace plan, which doesn't
seem to include Israel by the way (except perhaps
a carved up version of Israel?), is a horrible
slap in the face (or may prove to be a shot in
the back) to Israel. Did you happen to tell the
Grand Mufti when you were sitting there in
his presence that the God of the Bible
made a covenant with Israel and promised never
to break it? And while God longs that none should
perish but rather all would come to repentance
(2 Peter 3:9, John 3:16), and while He promised
to give eternal life to those who believe on His
Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:36), saving them from
the wrath of God, Israel still holds a special
place in God's heart. Did you mention these things?
Or was your own ecumenical peace plan foremost
on your mind?
Sorry Mr. Warren, not this time. You make excuses
for everything you do ... and you say you will
do "whatever
it takes" to accomplish your goal of bringing
in a second reformation that will include all
religions. By going to Syria, I think you have
proven your point.
Related Information:
Rick
Warren's 2nd Reformation
The
P.E.A.C.E. Plan
The
Emerging Global Church
Is
Rick Warren Promoting Contemplative Spirituality?
What
About the Emerging Church?
*It is worthwhile to note
that those whom Rick Warren refers to as "bloggers"
include many reputable and long standing ministries
and organizations, some of which are news agencies,
radio ministries, discernment ministries, and
publishing companies. The implication in using
the term "bloggers" is that there is no credibility
or stability thus they should be ignored. With
the exception of Lighthouse Trails (just under
5 years old), these other ministries have been
around a very long time.
|
Why We Should Be Very Concerned
About Leonard Sweet and Rick Warren ... and Their
Plans for the Future
Leonard
Sweet: He is quoted by Christian authors and leaders
frequently. His name appears on many Christian
ministry websites, and his books are used in countless
Christian seminaries and colleges. Rick Warren
endorsed the cover of one of his books (Soul
Tsunami) and even did an audio series
with him (Tides
of Change) in the mid nineties. (Sweet's
name also appears several times on Rick Warren's
pastors.com website.) Zondervan publishing publishes
books by him, and he enjoys
a spot on CCN (Church Communication
Network) with Christian leaders like Joni Eareckson
Tada, Stormie Omartian, and James Dobson (Focus
on the Family). Reggie McNeal (Southern Baptist
Convention), someone that many look up to, is
part of Leonard Sweet's Advances events. In A
Time of Departing, Ray Yungen writes:
[Leonard] Sweet is said to be "one of the church's
most important and provocative thinkers." (quoting
Robert Schuller) Clearly, Leonard Sweet is considered
by many to be a trustworthy Christian leader.
But
what does Sweet believe, and what is the message
he is teaching? The best way to get the answers
to these questions is to take a look at his book,
Quantum
Spirituality. Now while he wrote the
book in the early 90s, he still believes in the
message of this book. How do we know that? He
offers a free download of the entire book on his
website. If he had changed his mind about that
book, realized in later years that it was heretical/New
Age, he certainly would not be offering it on
his
website.
Leonard
Sweet is a futurist. Better put, he is a New Ager,
which means he believes that God (or divinity)
is in all things and connects all things together.
What's more, it also means he believes that a
time is coming when the people of the world will
become united enough (through a critical mass),
largely through meditation, that an age of enlightenment
will overtake the earth, when we all realize we
are one with each other and with God. New Age
simply is the doctrine that was started by Lucifer
(the enemy of God), when he aspired to be like
the Most High God (Isaiah 14). One of the great
doctrines of the New Age is that the
gap between good and evil will be eradicated.
This is clear when you read the works of people
like Neale Donald Walsch, who says even Hitler
will be in Heaven, but Leonard Sweet talks about
this eradication too.
Part
of this futuristic mind-set that Sweet propagates
(which by the way is very similar to that of dominionists
like Rick Warren, although somewhat disguised
at this point) is that the Armageddon scenario
talked about in the Bible (Matthew 24, Revelation,
Daniel, etc.) does not have to happen at all,
and that rather, the church (or those enlightened
ones) will rise up and change the culture, control
the governments and bring in the "Age of Enlightenment"
(Rick Warren calls it a new reformation - same
thing), through force, awareness or "whatever
it takes."
In
Quantum
Spirituality, Sweet reveals quite a
bit before he even gets started. In the acknowledgments
and Preface (usually the rather boring parts of
a book), one can find an entire book in and of
itself. Listen to Ray Yungen explain:
The
acknowledgments section of Quantum Spirituality
shows very clearly Sweet's spiritual sympathies.
In it, Sweet thanks interspiritualists/universalists
such as Matthew Fox (author of The Coming
of the Cosmic Christ), Episcopalian priest/mystic
Morton Kelsey, Willis Harman (author of Global
Mind Change) and Ken Wilber (one of the
major intellectuals in the New Age movement)
for helping him to find what he calls "New Light."
Sweet adds that he trusts "the Spirit that led
the author of The Cloud of Unknowing."
In the preface of the same book, Sweet disseminates
line after line of suggestions that the "old
teachings" of Christianity must be replaced
with new teachings of "the New Light." And yet
these new teachings, he believes, will draw
from "ancient teachings" (e.g., the Desert Fathers).
This "New Light movement," Sweet says, is a
"radical faith commitment that is willing to
dance to a new rhythm."
Throughout the book, Sweet favorably uses terms
like Christ consciousness and higher self and
in no uncertain terms promotes New Age ideology:
[Quantum spirituality is] a structure of human
becoming, a channeling of Christ energies through
mindbody experience....
Sweet also tells his readers that humanity and
creation are united as one and we must realize
it. Once humanity comes to this realization,
Sweet says:
Then,
and only then, will a New Light movement of
"world making" faith have helped to create
the world that is to, and may yet, be. Then,
and only then, will earthlings have uncovered
the meaning ... of the last words [Thomas
Merton] uttered: "We are already one. But
we imagine that we are not. And what we have
to recover is our original unity."
Leonard
Sweet is what could be called an Alice Bailey
Christian because his views on the role of mysticism
in the church are evident. He states:
Mysticism,
once cast to the sidelines of the Christian
tradition, is now situated in postmodernist
culture near the center.... In the words of
one of the greatest theologians of the twentieth
century, Jesuit philosopher of religion/dogmatist
Karl Rahner, "The Christian of tomorrow will
be a mystic, one who has experienced something,
or he will be nothing." [Mysticism] is metaphysics
arrived at through mindbody experiences. Mysticism
begins in experience; it ends in theology
This
same theology is being promoted by today's Christian
leaders, and most of us didn't even know it was
happening. Perhaps we underestimated Satan's determination
to win in the end.
It's
kind of a connecting-the-dots challenge, but when
they are all connected, as they are being done
before our very eyes today, it includes not only
New Agers but many who have been considered Christian
leaders for a very long time. And at some point,
perhaps in the near future, there will be a convergence
of the two mindsets. Contemplative spirituality
(mysticism) is helping to bridge the two together.
Unfortunately, because so many Christians look
up to these leaders, it will be a pied piper effect,
and many undiscerning, unaware Christians will
go over the cliff of deception with them.
For
there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets,
and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch
that, if it were possible, they shall deceive
the very elect. Matthew 24:24
If
your church or Christian college is using materials
by Leonard Sweet, perhaps its time to bring this
to the attention of your pastor or professor.
For
related information:
Our
Research on Leonard Sweet
Spiritual
Fusion - East Comes West
Leonard
Sweet & Willis Harman: "Spiritual Sciences"
A
Time of Departing
"Reinvent
or Die"
The connections between the two men [Rick Warren
and Leonard Sweet] include a 1994 audio set titled
The
Tides of Change. In the set, Warren
and Sweet talk about "new frontiers," "changing
times" and a "new spirituality" on the horizon.
Later, in Sweet's 2001 book, Soul
Tsunami, Warren gives an endorsement
that sits on the back as well as on the front
cover of the book. Of the book, Warren says:
Leonard
Sweet ... suggests practical ways to communicate
God's unchanging truth to our changing world.
Some
of these "practical ways" include using a labyrinth
and visiting a meditation center. Sweet also says,
"It's time for a Post Modern Reformation," adding
that "The wind of spiritual awakening is blowing
across the waters." He says that times are changing
and you'd better "Reinvent yourself for the 21st
century or die." A
Time of Departing, 2nd ed.
See also: Rick
Warren and Leonard Sweet Riding the "Tides of
Change" on the Heels of Mysticism
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American Family Association
Misleads Supporters
Customers
and financial supporters of American Family
Association have been contacting Lighthouse
Trails with concerns about books being carried
in the AFA
Resource Bookstore and responses
those customers received from AFA.
For
several months now, Lighthouse Trails and other
Christian research organizations have had correspondence
with AFA regarding books they sell that are
blatantly opposed to biblical Christianity.
These books promote and teach contemplative
spirituality, a mystical, esoteric belief system
that uses Eastern-style meditation techniques.
While AFA has at times removed a few titles,
countless titles remain. AFA has been well aware
of the situation and has been offered assistance
by ministries such as Christian Research Service,
(who has been working with AFA for at least
three years on this issue and provided AFA with
a Master
List of authors and titles that fall
within the New Age/contemplative/emerging church
camp).
Recently,
AFA stated in emails to concerned supporters
the following:
[T]hey
[store consultants] have taken these books [The
Papa Prayer, Crabb and Ragamuffin Gospel,
Manning] off our store and all books written
by these two authors. Thanks for letting
us know about this, otherwise we may have never
realized it. [emphasis added]
We took care of this problem a few months ago.
Thanks for contacting us.
These
statements are erroneous and misleading. As you
read this article, the AFA store is still carrying
numerous books by both Larry Crabb and Brennan
Manning, both promoters of contemplative. What's
more the AFA store has a long list of other titles
and authors that fall not only in the contemplative
camp but the New Age camp as well. Some of those
who we would classify as New Age sympathizers
are: Basil Pennington, Leonard Sweet, Ken Blanchard,
Sue Monk Kidd, and Alan Jones. Those with contemplative
proclivities are: Richard Foster, Thomas Merton,
Gary Thomas, Liz Babbs, Brennan Manning, Rick
Warren, and Ruth Haley Barton. And those within
the emerging church camp include: Tony Jones,
Doug Pagitt, Rob Bell, Pete Greig (Red Moon Rising),
and Mark Yaconelli.
To
tell customers that they have removed all books
written by Larry Crabb and Brennan Manning, when
they have done no such thing, and to insinuate
that they "may have never realized it," when they
have known all along, and to say they "took care
of this problem months ago," when the problem
still exists, is called lying
to the public. But what really is astounding
is that they would remove Crabb's The
Papa Prayer and Manning's Ragamuffin
Gospel but keep these other books by
hard core New Agers and mystics. That's like telling
a teenager they can't use marijuana but it's ok
to use heroin or cocaine.
There
will never be a way of knowing how many sincere
Christians, or those searching for truth, have
turned to Eastern mysticism by buying a book from
AFA. American Family Association is deceiving
their supporters. If they want to carry these
titles, they are legally entitled to do that,
but to mislead concerned followers is wrong. If
AFA is going to continue promoting the New Age
and contemplative through the sales of these books,
then we hope they will remove statements from
their site that present themselves as biblical
Christians and stop telling people they have already
taken care of the problem.
Related Information:
New
Age/Contemplative Books on Popular Christian Websites
Beware
of Christian Bookstores
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