Coming From the Lighthouse

Printer Friendly Version (click here) March 31, 2008

In This Issue -

Why Christian Pastors Should Not Attend the 2008 National Pastors Retreat

Ken Blanchard Presents: Little Wave and Old Swell (A Course in Miracles for Children)

Rob Bell and the Dahli Lama - A Dream Come True?

Saudi King Calls for Interfaith Dialogue

DECODING "THE MESSAGE"

Oprah and Tolle fuel New Age revival

Reiki Healing

Gods of the New Age

Publishing News

Newsletter in Print - Coming Soon

Book Spotlights

Why Christian Pastors Should Not Attend the 2008 National Pastors Retreat

The Transforming Center is advertising this year's pastors retreat as is Zondervan Publishing which hosts both the retreat and the annual National Pastor's Convention. This year's retreat is titled Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership Retreat, and the featured speaker is Ruth Haley Barton, co-founder and president of the Transforming Center. The retreat will take place in early April at a retreat center in Pennsylvania. There will be a second retreat later in the fall.

These national pastors events began with the contemplative/emerging organization Youth Specialties, but in 2006 Zondervan bought Youth Specialties and placed the pastors conventions and retreats directly under its planning and supervision.

To understand why Christian pastors who desire to maintain biblical integrity should not attend this retreat, it is needful to understand the spirituality of Ruth Haley Barton.

Barton is the former associate director of spiritual formation at Willow Creek Community Church, and along with John Ortberg, created the curriculum for their Spiritual Formation program. She eventually left Willow Creek to start the Transforming Center, which trains thousands of pastors and leaders in contemplative spirituality (i.e., spiritual formation).

Barton was trained at the Shalem Institute, and this is a key factor in understanding Barton's contemplative proclivities. Shalem is an interfaith organization devoted to the support of contemplative spirituality and interspirituality among all religious traditions. The founder of Shalem, Tilden Edwards, backs this support up when he says that the "mystical stream [contemplative prayer] is the Western bridge to Far Eastern spirituality"(from his book, Spiritual Friend, p. 18).

Barton has carried on the contemplative message to Willow Creek which has been one of the most influential avenues that contemplative has entered evangelical Christianity. After leaving Willow Creek, Barton's mission for the contemplative has continued with her Transforming Center. In her own words, she explains this journey toward the mystical:

A few years ago, I began to recognize an inner chaos in my soul . . . No matter how much I prayed, read the Bible, and listened to good teaching, I could not calm the internal roar created by questions with no answers.

I sought out a spiritual director, someone well versed in the ways of the soul--eventually this wise woman said to me, What you need is stillness and silence so that the sediment can settle and the water can become clear.... I decided to accept this invitation to move beyond my addiction to words. (from "Beyond Words: Experience God's presence in silence and solitude")

Barton's "move beyond" her "addiction to words" led her to say:

Ask for a simple prayer to express your willingness to meet God in the silence ... a simple statement ... such as "Here I am." ... Help yourself return to your original intent by repeating the prayer that you have chosen." --from Discipleship Journal Vol. 113 1999

We hope and pray pastors who are desiring to stay true to the biblical faith will steer clear of Zondervan's pastors retreat.

Note: For a detailed account of the history of Youth Specialties and Zondervan, and their part in the emerging church, read chapter two of Faith Undone.

Ken Blanchard Presents: Little Wave and Old Swell  (A Course in Miracles for Children)

Little Wave and Old Swell by Jim Ballard is a book packaged like a children's picture book, one that moms and dads will sit and read to their young ones at bedtime. The story is woven within the pages of colorful abstract oil paintings of the ocean and the sky.

The book begins with a conversation between Little Wave and Old Swell:

"What is it, Old Swell?" Little Wave asked his teacher. Little Wave was gazing out at the place where the sky and sea meet. He had seen other things rising out there--clouds and ships and whales. But never had he seen anything like the long, dark line that lay across the horizon. Old Swell knew that Little Wave had never seen land and that he would not understand. So he answered like the sage he was, "That," said Old Swell, "is Destiny."

And so goes the story of the journey of Little Wave and his dialogue with Old Swell.

At first, the story could seem harmless enough, but the cover inscription will cause discerning Christians to grab another bedtime tale. It reads: "Inspired by Hindu swami Paramahansa Yogananada" The book is written by New Age proponent Jim Ballard, so it would naturally make sense that he would be inspired by the Hindu guru (a whole page and a painting of the guru is devoted to him in the back of the book). What will throw many off, and no doubt cause some Christians to question their concerns about the book, is another inscription on the front cover. This one reads: "Foreword by Ken Blanchard"

Blanchard, known by most for being a business leadership figure and for his One Minute Manager books, professes to have become a Christian in the mid 80s (see his biography, We are the Beloved). However, for over twenty-five years, he has been writing the forewords and endorsements to books that teach and/or promote Buddhist and eastern-style meditation. His foreword to the book What Would Buddha do at Work? came out in 2001.

Some may say, so what if Blanchard endorses these books - what does it really matter? If Blanchard was not a professing Christian and very well accepted by many evangelical Christians (he recently spoke again at Saddleback), his endorsing of eastern religious writers and teachers might not be so serious. But when a man or woman represents Christianity, the Bible is clear that he or she is responsible (especially one who is in leadership) for their words and actions. Readers grabbing a hold of Little Wave and Old Swell may find Blanchard's outstanding endorsement of the book license to read it and embrace the spirituality behind it.

We have titled the name of this article "A Course in Miracles for Children" because the message in both books is essentially the same - and that is, that all is God, and therefore man is God, and he can come to this realization through mystical meditation.

Ballard is no stranger to New Age philosophy. In his book, Mind Like Water (also endorsed by Blanchard), Ballard says:

I signed up for the yoga meditation lessons ... founded by Paramahansa Yogananda....I had evidently reached a level of consciousness beyond the usual ... I continue to consider meditation far and away the most important thing I do. (p. 77,78)

In this book, Ballard teaches breath prayer, visualization, mantra meditation, and a number of other practices to enter the altered state of consciousness.

In Little Wave and Old Swell, Old Swell (representing the higher consciousness) tries to teach Little Wave "deep listening.": "As he pondered this mystery, Little Wave felt a strange, deep contentment. Perhaps this was what Old Swell meant by being still." Old Swell responds to Little Wave's questions, "You thought that you were separate, but no. You can never be apart from your Source. Know that you and I and all of our brother and sister waves are One with the Great Deep. We have always been One. We shall always be One." Later in the book, after a period of storm, Little Wave asks his teacher "teach me about Don't hurry; don't stop":

He didn't know how, but he was certain it had something to do with Deep Listening ... As he concentrated, he began to feel great peace. Then came a trickling of Joy ... He listened. The gentle hum grew louder ... Finally he was hearing the Sound. Little Wave listened more carefully. He had never heard a sound like this before. And yet somehow he felt he had always heard it, there behind every other sound. Ommm-m-m-m... Ommm-m-m-m-m..."

Here we find the classic Hindu mantra om as the catalyst for Little Wave's spiritual transformation.

As Little Wave listened, he realized the Sound was coming from inside him, all around him, everywhere. It was the Voice of Everything.

The book finishes with this prayer: "Help me to feel my connection with the vast Ocean of Life, the Oneness within all things." Keep in mind that this is the classic Hindu concept of God--God is in all, and all is God. And this is especially evident by the fact that this story was inspired by a famous Hindu guru. This is what one will get from any and every Hindu spiritual teacher.

Like Jim Ballard, Ken Blanchard has looked to Paramahansa Yogananda for guidance. In the foreword to What Would Buddha do at Work, Blanchard states:

I look for inspirational messages from a variety of sources besides Jesus. Our folks get to hear words of wisdom from great prophets and spiritual leaders like Buddha, Mohammed ... Yogananda and the Dalai Lama.

Finding Yogananda a "great" spiritual leader would explain why Blanchard wrote the foreword to Little Wave and Old Swell. In the foreword, Blanchard says "Yogananda loved Jesus, and Jesus would have loved Yogananda." He adds: "Little Wave and Old Swell is a book for the innocent seeker in each of us ... It's a tale to tell children. And it can be a gift of hope to someone in bereavement ... Enjoy this story. Read it many times. Let it speak to your heart."

It is important to point out that this is not just a book for adults but for young people and children as well. Blanchard recognizes the spiritual component within its pages and endorses this component. This is what Ken Blanchard really believes. In addition, the fact that Blanchard says that Jesus would like Paramahansa Yogananda indicates he has accepted the classic New Age view that Jesus is just another New Age guru wherein they all honor each other. In reality, Jesus would have told Yogananda he must be born again, not achieve higher consciousness. If there is one thing that Christian Scripture teaches, it is that all is not one, and that God is a separate entity from man. In Hinduism, God is not a being, but Being itself.

The message in A Course in Miracles, as has been articulated by former New Ager Warren Smith in his book Reinventing Jesus Christ, is that all is One. Unfortunately, Little Wave and Old Swell carries the same message. And when a Christian figure as popular as Ken Blanchard tells readers, including children, to "let it speak to your heart," this is an indescribable tragedy within our Christian culture, not just that Blanchard said it but that Christian leaders seem unaware of its implications.

Note: For more information on the spirituality of Jim Ballard and Ken Blanchard, and the ties between Blanchard and Rick Warren, please read Chapter 5 and Chapter 10 Updates of Warren Smith's book, Reinventing Jesus Christ.

Quotes from the "Jesus" of A Course in Miracles

There is no separation of God and His creation.

God is All in all in a very literal sense. All being is in Him Who is all Being. You are therefore in Him since your being is His.

When God created you He made you part of Him.

Everyone God created is part of you and shares His Glory with you.

The mind can make the belief in separation very real and very fearful, and this belief is the "devil." (These quotes courtesy chapter 1 of Reinventing Jesus Christ)

Related Information:

Ken Blanchard Joins the Secret Team

Ken Blanchard and the Hoffman Quadrinity Process

Ken Blanchard Returns to Saddleback

In the mid 1970s interreligious efforts began within the monastic stream of the Catholic church with the hope that a mystical (East-West) spirituality could be absorbed into Christianity at large. Thomas Keating, Basil Pennington, and David Steindl-Rast were among those who shared this vision and effort, as was Swami Satchidananda, and eventually the Dalai Lama. Today, over thirty years later, the vision and hope of these monastics has become a reality. Mysticism (which has interspirituality at its very core) is now part of today's Christian culture. A gathering that is going to take place on April 11th is further proof that this has come to fruition - Rob Bell (along with Doug Pagitt) will be joining the Dalai Lama at the Seeds of Compassion gathering in Seattle. For those who may not see the significance of this, Bell (creator of the Nooma films and author of Velvet Elvis) is a popular and influential figure among evangelical Christian youth, with his materials being used in countless Christian schools (junior high and high schools as well as colleges) and youth groups.

Backtrack: In 1977, the Monastic Interreligious Dialogue (MID) was formed for the purpose of bringing Eastern-style mysticism to the forefront of Catholicism and eventually traditional Christianity.1 The MID was sanctioned by and propagated by head authorities in the Catholic church as is stated in one report:

It should be brought to the attention of monastic communities that this effort of meeting and understanding Eastern religions is made at the express and repeated request of the Roman authorities. 2

Further, the objective of this dialogue effort was made very clear:

The methods of concentration [i.e., mantra meditation] used in other religious traditions can be useful for removing obstacles to a deep contact with God [i.e., contemplative]. They can give a better understanding of the oneness of Christ as expressed in the various traditions and contribute to the formation of a new world religious culture. They can also be helpful in the development of certain potencies in the individual, for there are some Zen-Hindu-Sufi-etc. dimensions in each heart.

Initiatives proposed included "infiltrat[ing] the media," "East-West dialogue," providing retreats in monasteries, and so forth. By offering the "proper environment for Christian meditation, alone or in a group, using Eastern methods ... the Christian contemplative tradition [can be] accessible to all people.3

Buddhism and Christianity: MID recognizes the immeasurable contribution of Thomas Merton in this interreligious, mystical dialogue. Merton, who once said, "I see no contradiction between Buddhism and Christianity ... I intend to become as good a Buddhist as I can,"4 did not live to see this Buddhist/Christian melding come to pass. He died in 1968. But ten years later, and just one year after the MID was formed, a man who has highly regarded Thomas Merton, wrote a book that has probably been more influential than any other in bringing the MID's mystical dream into the evangelical church. In essence, Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline broke the barrier between mysticism and traditional Christianity. In the 1990s, Foster told research analyst Ray Yungen: "Thomas Merton tried to awaken God's people."5 For thirty years Foster has carried the mantle of Merton's mysticism to the evangelical church, and that first book has sold over 2 million copies, half of which have sold since Rick Warren recognized Foster as a key player in the spiritual formation movement.6 With many Christian organizations rallying behind the work of Foster (such as Focus on the Family through H. B. London), it is no wonder such inroads have been established.

Another significant avenue through which this spirituality has entered the Christian church is through the writings of Henri Nouwen. Nouwen is also promoted by key Christian figures (Rick and Kay Warren, Willow Creek, etc.). And in fact, many Christian organizations and Christian colleges use Nouwen's books to train Christians in spiritual formation. Nouwen, who was very much influenced by Merton, said near the end of his own life:

Today I personally believe that while Jesus came to open the door to God's house, all human beings can walk through that door, whether they know about Jesus or not. Today I see it as my call to help every person claim his or her own way to God.7

Today - Rob Bell and the Dalai Lama: Now, here we are in 2008 with contemplative (i.e., East-West) spirituality immersed in evangelical Christianity, so much so that trusted organizations, like Awana and Moody Bible Institute, are promoting Richard Foster's spiritual formation (and that means Merton's) and blindly defending their promotion, while followers and adherents are being led in this dangerous direction. New Age sympathizer Rob Bell (to whom many Christians have no objection), tells Velvet Elvis readers to spend three months reading New Age mystic Ken Wilber ("a mind-blowing experience"). Bell will join with the Dalai Lama in April to further implement the MID dream.8

Ray Yungen articulates well the implications of this interspiritual mystical paradigm:

[Alice] Bailey eagerly foretold of what she termed "the regeneration of the churches."9 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."10

In other words, instead of opposing Christianity, the occult [i.e., mysticism] 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.... Could this possibly be the falling away Paul speaks of in II Thessalonians 2:3?...

Could this revitalization of Christendom fit in with Bailey's "new and vital world religion"11--a religion that would be the cornerstone of the New Age? Such a religion would be the spiritual platform for the New Age "coming one." This unity of spiritual thought would not be a single one-world denomination but would have a unity-in-diversity, multicultural, interfaith, ecumenical agenda. Thomas Merton made a direct reference to this at a spiritual summit conference in Calcutta, India when he told Hindus and Buddhists, "We are already one, but we imagine, we are not. What we have to recover is our original unity."12

One can easily find numerous such appeals like Merton's in contemplative writings. Examine the following:

The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist, nor a Hindu or Buddhist to become a Christian. But each must assimilate the spirit of the others.13 --Vivekananda

It is my sense, from having meditated with persons from many different [non-Christian] traditions, that in the silence we experience a deep unity. When we go beyond the portals of the rational mind into the experience, there is only one God to be experienced.14--Basil Pennington

The new ecumenism involved here is not between Christian and Christian, but between Christians and the grace of other intuitively deep religious traditions.15-Tilden Edwards (Shalem)...

Some day, and it could be soon, the Lord will allow the man of lawlessness to emerge. In the mean time, the world is opening its arms to wholly embrace a spirituality that will exist under the umbrella of mysticism. The correlating theme will be--we are all One. When the man of lawlessness does rise to power with a one--world economy and political base, he will seduce many into searching for their own Christ consciousness rather than the Messiah, Jesus Christ. (from chapter six, A Time of Departing)

One of the other speakers to appear at the Seeds of Compassion in April is Joan Chittister. Chittister, a Catholic nun and writer says this: "To be contemplative we must become converted to the consciousness that makes us one with the universe, in tune with the cosmic voice of God.17" This identifies the contemplative prayer movement perfectly. And for those who view this cosmic oneness as the goal for humanity, the coming together of the Dalai Lama and Rob Bell (East meets West) is a dream come true. It is not the topic of compassion for the needy that Lighthouse Trails objects to, but rather it is this interspiritual, mystical dream that excludes the gospel message of Jesus Christ.

Notes: (Only non-linked endnotes listed)
4. David Steindl-Rast, "Recollection of Thomas Merton's Last Days in the West" (Monastic Studies, 7:10, 1969).
5. At a church meeting in Salem, Oregon.
6. See Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Church, pp. 126-127.
7. Henri Nouwen, Sabbatical Journey (New York, NY: Crossroad Publishing, 1998), p. 51.
8. Read Faith Undone for an analysis of Rob Bell and Velvet Elvis.
9. Alice Bailey, Problems of Humanity (New York, NY: Lucis Publishing, 1993), p. 152.
10. Alice Bailey, The Externalization of the Hierarchy (New York, NY: Lucis Publishing, 1976), p. 510.
11. Alice Bailey, Problems of Humanity (New York, NY: Lucis Publishing, 1993), p. 152.
12. Joel Beversluis, Project Editor, A Source Book for Earth's Community of Religions (Grand Rapids, MI: CoNexus Press, 1995, Revised Edition), p. 151.
13. Swami Vivekananda's "Addresses at the Parliament of Religions" (Chicago, September 27, 1893, http://www.ascension-research.org/Parliament-of-Religions-1893.html).
14. M. Basil Pennington, Centered Living (New York, NY: Image Books, 1988), p. 192.
15. Tilden Edwards, Spiritual Friend (New York, NY: Paulist Press, 1980), p. 172.
16. "Catholics Urged To Appreciate Other Faiths" (The Catholic Sentinel, May 24, 2002), p. 3.
17. Joan Chittister, Illuminated Life, p. 81. 

Saudi King Calls for Interfaith Dialogue

Washington Post

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- The Saudi king has made an impassioned plea for dialogue among Muslims, Christians and Jews--the first such proposal from a nation with no diplomatic ties to Israel and a ban on non-Muslim religious services and symbols.

The message from King Abdullah, which was welcomed by Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders, comes at a time of stalled peace initiatives and escalating tensions in the region.

Muslims have been angered by cartoons published in European papers seen as insulting the Prophet Muhammad and by the pope's baptizing on Easter of a Muslim journalist who had converted to Catholicism. Click here to read this entire article.

Related Stories:
Obama Foreshadows the Coming Spirituality

Muslims Accept Pope's Invitation to Dialogue

Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Brian McLaren and other Contemplative/Emerging Leaders Invite Muslims to Love God, Neighbors Together

Evangelicals and Mormons Hope to Bridge Theological Gap

Erwin McManus Teams Up with Robert Schuller - Could Have Far-Reaching Effects

DECODING "THE MESSAGE"

by Pastor Larry DeBruyn

Oprah and Tolle fuel New Age revival

by Berit Kjos

Remember the lasting symbols of the sixties? Beatle mania? "Free love"? The peace sign? Maharishi Yogi?

The New Age revolution seemed to fade away, didn't it? But instead it was spreading its hidden roots across America. Now its mysticism and sexual "freedom" are back in full bloom! And countless ex-hippies -- who cut their hair and joined mainstream America -- are reviving Eastern meditation, yogic "breathing" and other pathways to "collective consciousness."

This "awakening" is a natural part of the postmodern rejection of truth. Neither facts, logical thinking, nor Biblical faith are relevant to the new spirituality. So it's not surprising that Eckhart Tolle, celebrated author of A New Earth, dismisses them all as "form" or "ego": distracting "attachments" that block awareness of human Divinity and oneness with "God."

Tolle's teaching is anything but new. One of his sources of inspiration was the 13th century father of German mysticism, Meister Eckhart, who wrote, "He who would be serene and pure needs but one thing, detachment." It's interesting that Tolle did "let go" of any attachment to his original first name, Ulrich. He changed it to Eckhart.

To validate his message, Eckhart Tolle reinterprets history. Notice how he blends Eastern and Western mysticism -- praising Zen as well as the Kabbalah:

"The greatest achievement of humanity is... the recognition of its own dysfunction, its own madness. In the distant past, this recognition already came to a few individuals. A man called Gautama Siddhartha, who lived 2,600 years ago in India, was perhaps the first who saw it with absolute clarity. Later, the title Buddha was conferred upon him. Buddha means 'the awakened one.'"

"...religions, to a large extent, became divisive rather than unifying forces. ... They became ideologies, belief systems people could identify with and so use them to enhance their false sense of self. Through them, they could make themselves 'right' and others 'wrong'..."

"...movements developed within all major religions that represented not only a rediscovery, but in some cases an intensification of the light of the original teaching. This is how Gnosticism and mysticism came into existence in early and medieval Christianity, Sufism in the Islamic religion, Hasidism and Kabbala in Judaism, Advaita Vedanta in Hinduism, Zen... in Buddhism....

"Only a small minority of people had access to them. Their numbers were never large enough to have any significant impact on the deep collective unconsciousness of the majority."

Since the spiritual climate has changed, "enlightened" prophets expect the current awakening to reach a critical mass that will usher all of humanity (except uncompromising resisters) into the New Earth -- a physical manifestation of the New Heaven (which has nothing in common with the Biblical heaven). Detached from "form," all will know their identity as "I AM," or universal "Consciousness."

Of course, if you're more comfortable with God's Word than with occult experiences, you won't share in this awakening. You can't stand with one foot in each camp. To read this entire article and for endnote material, click here

Reiki Healing

by S.E. Ray

According to a Time/CNN poll, about 30 percent of Americans have resorted to some form of "unconventional therapy," in the last year. Perhaps more importantly, New Age "holistic health" approaches have been steadily permeating the health care medical mainstream as scientifically beneficial. Therapies such as acupuncture, biofeedback, and "Therapeutic Touch" (the laying on of hands to channel "Universal Life Energy" as in Reiki) are increasingly accepted and utilized by physicians, hospitals, and clinics. What is not promoted is the fact that holistic health practitioners often induce pantheistic/occult philosophy as a spiritual experience that can beguile the uninformed and vulnerable patient.

At the heart of certain holistic health theories and practices is this "energetic medicine." Energetic medicine encompasses dozens of diverse therapies and diagnostic approaches, including meridian therapy (acupuncture, acupressure), Applied Kinesiology (electro acupuncture), homeopathy, reflexology, polarity therapy, Therapeutic Touch, Reiki and the chiropractic. All these approaches are concerned with balancing or releasing energy in the body for the advancement of health and the treatment of disease. The energy that is the basis of these therapies has been given many names, including bioenergy, vital force, the life force, universal life energy and cosmic energy. Click here to read this entire article.

COMING SUMMER 2008! Gods of the New Age

Publishing News

Newsletter in Print - Coming Soon

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Book Spotlights