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| Will Focus on the Family and The Truth Project Warn About “Unio Mystica,” “Oneness,” and Contemplative Prayer? |
There are concerns about why in Lesson 8 of the Truth Project, Del Tackett uses the term “unio mystica” and “oneness.” If Christian leaders are going to use these terms (terms that frequently and usually are used by the New Age/New Spirituality), then these Christian leaders should take care to educate their followers of Satan’s devices and the New Spirituality deception that is so prevalent with the evangelical church today. It may seem petty to some, but using such terms can, even if unknowingly, condition Christians to be more accepting of the concepts. Focus on the Family has not shown itself to be a ministry that takes spiritual deception serious in that they have and do continue to promote contemplative spirituality, a spirituality that fits right in with the New Age terms of unio mystica and oneness. One website describes how contemplative prayer is synonymous with unio mystical: [quote]Contemplative prayer helps to calm the mind and cultivate inner silence. It seeks to reach a non-conceptual, loving awareness of the Divine. Its ultimate aim is the unio mystica, the divine union in which the human soul gets merged in the Godhead. http://meditation-techniques.suite101.com/article.cfm/contemplative_prayer#ixzz0xwVSqlTR[/quote] We are not trying to say here that the Truth Project is necessarily trying to inadvertently promote contemplative mysticism, but we do believe a caution is worth noting, especially in view of the immense popularity of The Truth Project as well as contemplative spirituality. There is an interesting question and comment by a reader on Del Tackett’s website (http://deltackett.com/2007/09/20/a-silent-killer-in-the-house/). The reader stated: "How does one protect their family from subtle lies mixed with truth in Christian articles, books, etc., in today’s society? For example, our kids were told at church (one we no longer attend) to “repeat a word over and over until your mind becomes silent, thereby silencing your mind” in order to “become one with yourself and God.” This church also said you couldn’t deepen in your relationship with God if you didn’t practice the spiritual disciplines put forth by Richard Foster. "We love your “Truth Project” and would like to hear your thoughts in a blog on the new and upcoming contemplative spirituality, spiritual disciplines, and lectio divina that seems to be taking the Christian world by storm." This family is obviously concerned about what they see as a clear and present danger today. The question remains, will Focus on the Family and Del Tackett see it? Or will they keep talking about unio mystical and oneness without issuing a strong warning to the body of Christ. Will they continue to promote contemplative advocates like Gary Thomas and Richard Foster? Ironically, the title of Tackett’s website article is called “A Silent Killer in the House” (referring to carbon monoxide). Well, there is a “silent” killer in the church. It is called contemplative prayer. Other information: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=4497.
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Things You Should Know |
A Commentary by "Christian Investigator" Steve McConkey
Contact: ChristianInvestigator.com, 608-469-7956
MADISON, Wisc., Aug. 30 /Christian Newswire/ -- Glenn Beck promotes a false gospel. However, many of his political ideas can help America.
The "Restoring Honor" rally was a good idea to promote the values of America. However, when Beck ventured into the realm of "revival," his beliefs are open to scrutiny.
Despite mentioning God, Beck's Mormonism and other false religions promote a false gospel. "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ." (Galatians 1:6-7)
He accuses President Obama of false theology. Beck is hypocritical as the Mormon church has propagated deception for years. Obama's liberation theology is in equal error.
Our country was founded on Judeo-Christian values. Mormonism is not a Christian denomination but a cult of Christianity.
Some Mormon beliefs from "Christianity, Cults and Religions" (Rose Publishing, 2005):
1) God has a physical body and so does his wife.
2) No Trinity. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three separate gods. People can become gods.
3) Jesus was created by sexual union between God and Mary.
4) Jesus was married.
5) Jesus' death does not atone for all sin.
6) Baptism for the dead.
7) African descendants were not granted Mormon privileges until 1978.
8) Jesus and Satan were spirit brothers.
4 WINDS offers ChristianInvestigator.com, the first ever news and apologetics site offered by a sports ministry. The ChristianInvestigator.com site was started for athletes, but the vast number of readers are now non-athletes. Steve McConkey is the President/Founder of 4 Winds Christian Athletics (4 WINDS). Steve and his wife started in world-class track and field ministries in 1981. From 1982 through 1992, Steve was a successful Director/Coach of elite post-collegiate Christian teams. After dropping the track and field team in 1992, 4 WINDS started ministering to athletes on all teams. |
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| Letter from the Editor: Friend’s Husband Angry at Lighthouse Trails – Says LT Lies About Liberty University’s Contemplative Propensities | |
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| Wall Street Journal: Ted Haggard Climbs Back in Pulpit | |
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.— The Rev. Ted Haggard stood at a pulpit made from stacked buckets one recent Sunday and announced his resurrection. Mr. Haggard was forced to resign nearly four years ago as president of the politically powerful National Association of Evangelicals and to step down from the megachurch he founded, after admitting that he had bought methamphetamine from, and had a sexual encounter with, a gay prostitute. Once one of the most prominent church leaders in the U.S., Mr. Haggard confessed in a tortured letter, calling himself “a deceiver and a liar” who had long wrestled with desires he described as “repulsive and dark.” He signed a contract promising to follow a path laid out by fellow clergy: to find a new career in a new state and to stay away from pastoral work. Click here to continue reading. Related Story: “Teg Haggard Story Will Raise Serious Questions For All” - From August 2006 |
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| Jim Wallis and Other Emerging Leaders Tell Christians and Media – Stop Challenging Obama’s “Christian” Faith |
LTRP Note: The following news story is not posted as any kind of endorsement but rather for informational and research purposes only. Please also read: Obama appoints “faith-based” advisory council, “New Spirituality” President’s Plan for Older Citizens, Obama: Grew up with “the Bible and the Koran” – Believes Many Paths Lead to God, Obama Foreshadows the Coming Spirituality “Faith is not a political issue” Washington, DC (August 25, 2010)—Over 70 prominent Christian leaders and denominational heads from across the ideological spectrum joined together today to call for a stop to the misrepresentation of President Obama’s Christian faith. In an open letter, these Christian leaders called on the media, public officials, and their fellow Christians to stand with them in opposing those who continue to insinuate that the President is a Muslim, not a Christian. The full text of the letter and a list of signatories is below. As Christian leaders— whose primary responsibility is sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with our congregations, our communities, and our world— we are deeply troubled by the recent questioning of President Obama’s faith. We understand that these are contentious times, but the personal faith of our leaders should not be up for public debate. President Obama has been unwavering in confessing Christ as Lord and has spoken often about the importance of his Christian faith. Many of the signees on this letter have prayed and worshipped with this President. We believe that questioning, and especially misrepresenting, the faith of a confessing believer goes too far. This is not a political issue. The signers of this letter come from different political and ideological backgrounds, but we are unified in our belief in Jesus Christ. As Christian pastors and leaders, we believe that fellow Christians need to be an encouragement to those who call Christ their savior, not question the veracity of their faith. Therefore, we urge public officials, faith leaders, and the media to offer no further support or airtime to those who misrepresent and call into question the President’s Christian faith. And we join with the President in praying that God will continue to bless the United States of America. (Source – Eleison Group) Some of the signers include: Ron Sider Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz) Richard Stearns
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| The Next Great Awakening. . . or Great Deadening? |
by Herescope
The quotation above came in the midst of this summer’s Next Great Awakening Tour, which was hosted by Pastor Jim Garlow and David Barton, to visit the tourist sights of the First and Second Great Awakenings in America. This quote was from a “quick report” by Garlow, who announced the tour “is going awesome!”[2] The tour included Speaker Newt Gingrich, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Rick Santorum, Rep. Bob McEwen, Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins, along with other notables.[3] Most significantly, the tour featured Lance Wallnau, chief promoter of the controversial New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) doctrine, the 7 Mountain strategy of taking Dominion.
This fact gains considerable significance with the news this week, as both Jim Garlow and David Barton are undergoing controversy after partnering in a political/spiritual rally with conservative radio host, Glenn Beck, a Mormon. This event with Beck, and this tour over the summer, are indicative of a new way that the evangelical Right is conducting itself. Why were these high-profile evangelical and political leaders openly fraternizing with Lance Wallnau?! Do they agree with his mandate to “possess and occupy,” take “territory,” “take the high places,” and “conquer”?[4] And how can they possibly call this agenda of aggressive Dominion-mongering a “Great Awakening”? That is the question that we will be addressing in a series of posts in the days to come. The open association of David Barton and Jim Garlow with the New Apostolic Reformation leaders goes back several years at least. Cindy Jacobs, one of the leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation and her organization, Generals International, featured a “Raise Up An Army Convergence ‘09″ conference[5] in which Barton and Garlow were keynote speakers along with Chuck Pierce and Dutch Sheets, key “apostles” under C. Peter Wagner in the NAR. This conference was promoted on The Elijah List,[6] which is the chief media organ for the leaders, doctrines and events of the NAR. The event’s purpose was described by Cindy Jacobs: “to raise up a prayer army to both awaken and reform this nation,” and used all of the strident military rhetoric of the NAR’s prayer warfare agenda.[7] The Convergence ‘09 appeared to have the full trapping of the extreme “worship” style that characterizes the leaders of the NAR.[8] Click here to continue reading and for endnote material. |
| Anita Dittman - 10 minute preview of her testimony - Trapped in Hitler's Hell | |
To purchase this full DVD (60 minutes long), click here. |
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| Letter to the Editor: The Affects of “Spiritual Formation” in a Christian Church | |
from Nick My hope is that this might benefit someone, if not in the writing of it, but in the responses it might receive. Telling myself always in all that I do, I try to do for the Glory of God. The need to unburden is great. I cry over the lost joy I had in going to church, and I’ve stopped attending. I feel the pull to go back, if anything to be a witness to what is transpiring since to my shame there seems to be little I can do to change the direction my church is heading in. Yet I can’t stop trying! It began three years ago when a lady who attends my church and temporarily worked where I do, wanted to know if I had ever heard of the book called Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. She read it and was concerned with the contents. It was being taught in the youth group which her daughter was a part of. She asked me to see what I could find out about the book and the author. I had never heard of the book or the author, but figured that I should be able to Google it and find what I needed without actually having to read the book. Little did I know what I was in for! I’m sure many of you if not all of you have been equally surprised to find that there is an abundance of material in this arena. Sadly, most of it is positive on the subject, and increasingly the norm in Christian circles. On one of my searches I came across Lighthouse Trails! Boy were my eyes opened and of cause I will be forever grateful for those at Lighthouse Trails and those who have stayed faithful to the Word of God. I can now include this blog in that blessing as well. I never realized that any movement of this size touching all areas of society and more importantly the church could exist so under cover! The words Emergent Church, Spiritual Formation, Centering Prayer, Labyrinth, etc… They weren’t even a part of my vocabulary at the time. I thought Labyrinth was a movie! Now I can hear terms from unexpected places that brings my heart to my throat and my mind starts to scream, please God no!!!!!! Even as I write this my eyes tear for this deception that is sinking its claws into not only my church, but countless others. From Lighthouse Trails I ordered the book by Ray Yungen For Many Shall Come In My Name. This is where I first was introduced to the concept or should I say the term Centering Prayer. The subject matter so moved me that I ordered 10 copies and provided it to my pastor to distribute it to the ministry team at church. Thinking maybe they were unaware of the direction the church was moving in. Looking back I never realized how naïve I was! How unprepared! I believed that the books would be read and I would receive some type of response. Negative! Upon giving the Pastor the book and its copies, the reaction was not what I hoped for. He looked at the back and said that it had no supporting commentaries on the back. Looking inside, he said it looks like he’s probably a Baptist. Getting over the shock of that statement, or should I say trying not to show how much that statement shocked me, I told him that the supporting commentaries might get me to read the book, but it would be the contents that would make or break the book for me. He thanked me and took the books with a promise of getting back to me. The church is of good size. It has about 800 or more members with easily 1000 to 1500 attending two services on any given Sunday. The Easter program will have up to 8,000 going through its doors in less than a week. Since it was around this time I had given him the books, I didn’t anticipate him getting back to me promptly. I was also hopeful that the ministry team would also provide him feedback. Time passed and not a word. As days, weeks, and months passed I started to believe nothing was going to come of opening this dialogue with my pastor. After some time I attempted to reconnect with him by e-mail in order to set up a meeting between us. I’d say about six months later. With his initial reaction in receiving the books, and with the passing of time, my hope that anything positive would come of this, started to dwindle. During the wait I continued to research online and started to compile quotes and references garnered from different sites into a binder. There is so much material! I’m not ashamed to say, I was overwhelmed. The subjects seemed to cross over into each other. An example of this is a chart showing the connectivity between individuals that was so intertwined, that a Rubik’s Cube would have been easier to figure out than this chart! I asked myself how to put this data into a form whereby whoever I gave it to could research through it and not be overwhelmed as I had been. Trying to provide something that was compact, researchable, and most importantly supported by scripture was what I aimed for. Listing by author instead of by subject seemed the best way to go. I decided if I went the other way, I’d have to have a binder for each subject! With a starting point of Rob Bell, through Philip Yancy and still finding more, the meeting that I had been dreading to have finally occurred. More than half a year had passed. By then I had put together a binder with 24 different authors, preachers, teachers, in a little over a hundred pages. I had left out much because some of the information did not have direct references I could locate, while others had none at all. The reason for this was if I were to provide the binder to someone, I didn’t want it to be unsupported, allowing the person to treat it as gossip or someone being spitefulness. My intention was not to present my Pastor with the binder at our next meeting because the meeting had to deal with the book by Ray Yungen. My wife warned me that it wouldn’t be right to come out of the clear blue sky with this binder or “blind side” him with it. I told her that I was taking it with me, but would allow the Holy Spirit to move me on whether I would give the binder to Pastor. If the Holy Spirit provided the opportunity then I would use the binder, if not then I would hold on to it for another time. Not being a theologian and feeling extremely worried about the meeting I prayed myself up and turned it over to God. Continuing to tell myself, “His will not mine.” This is how naïve I was and to some extent still am. Even though he had neither provided the books to the ministry team and only scanned the book himself. I believed the meeting went well. In the meeting he mentioned that a couple of ladies had brought similar observations to his attention, and even stated that should he find out what was being said was true, he would have the churches article of faith change to reflect that it would not accept such doctrine! Strong words! Joyful words to my ears! This I believe is where the Holy Spirit took over. Amazing!!!! Right after stating what he would do, he told me that he had told the ladies that they would need documentation on the subject matter before he would address it. I guess the book wasn’t enough. We do serve an amazing God my brothers and sisters! Here I was sitting with this binder in my briefcase! I looked at him and said “it just so happens I have a binder containing such information” and pulled out the binder and handed it to him. When I pulled out the binder, I don’t know if he was pleased or not, but he was definitely surprised. At that moment I felt such a filling of joy that I could have run a marathon with the energy I felt!!!! Being an admin person, I attempted to make it presentable and easy to utilize. Even had a table of contents listing each author with the name of the documents reflected under each one. He told me he would look into it once the Easter play was done. My hope was running high! Sadly, another meeting between us has never happened. It has been two years and the binder has made its way into the associate pastor’s hands a half year after providing the binder to the pastor. The associate pastor told me he didn’t know what to do with it; I told him he should return it to the pastor. I’m assuming he did. I haven’t mentioned things like psychedelic lights occurring during one praise and worship service (I complained and it hasn’t happened again. At least not while I was still going regularly). On stage with the men’s choir and hearing an individual who is now titled the Director of Spiritual Formation say on communion “it’s worthy to be worshipped”! I used to be Catholic and in a Catholic Church I would not have been surprised to hear this! But in [an Evangelical] Church? No Way!!! It hit me so hard, I wanted to do like scripture mentions when people start to mourn. I wanted to rip my shirt, pour ashes on myself and run out of the place screaming! However, this happened during the first service and there was another service to go! My hope was that somehow I had misheard what he had said (I have a hearing problem called Tinnitus. For anyone who believes in the “silencing” of their mind to commune with God, I’d welcome the discussion). He did not repeat it during the second service, but the seed was planted in my mind. I still believe the comment was said. Small groups have become the norm covering Spiritual Formation books. Even on Facebook I see the Associate Pastor and Director of SF providing links or quotes from Emergent/SF individuals and associated sites. I’ve taken a worship class that would make for another example but the details of it would lengthen this post even more than it already is. I’ve done nothing since then in addressing this with my Pastor. I feel like a very poor servant for our Lord. To be honest I’m torn between completely severing ties with the church and continuing to go. I love the people in this church. If I was a teacher I’d ask to be allowed to teach a class on the subject. I’m not. My knowledge base is poor and my skills in this area even worse. I’m praying on once again opening dialogue with my Pastor (by e-mail) and asking bluntly if the church is Emergent and/or Universalist. I don’t know if he’s rationalized the changes or truly doesn’t see the danger involved, but his ministry staff is all for it, and sadly even his wife (Creative Arts Ministry Director). My heart goes out to him and yet I have this need to have him say yes, so I can move on. I know this is not right, yet I can’t seem to help myself. God continues to show me that this is not going away. Since I’ve been typing this post, I’ve sent out the e-mail posing the question above. His reply was an empathically typed “NO”! Nick |
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| Letter from a Crisis Pregnancy Center | |
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| Warren B. Smith and Ray Yungen Speaking Schedule | |
Below is a partial speaking schedule for Lighthouse Trails authors Warren B. Smith and Ray Yungen. If you live near any of these areas, we hope you will get the chance to attend. All these events are offered free of charge. If you are interested in having Warren or Ray (or both) speak to your group, call us at 406/297-7756, or email at editors@lighthousetrails.com. September 18, 2010 September 22, 2010 2011 April 9-11, 2011 April 2011 May 21, 2011 May 27-29 2011 October 12-15, 2011 2012 April 13-14, 2012 |
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| FREE THINGS FROM LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS | |
1. FREE PRINT NEWSLETTER: Starting January 2010, From the Lighthouse print newsletter will be mailed to those requesting it. If you would like to request the newsletter, please fill out our Newsletter Request Form. 2. FREE CATALOG: Fill out our short form to receive a free catalog. Click here to access form. 3. FREE E-NEWSLETTER: Sign up to receive our free e-newsletter, delivered to your email box 3-4 times a month. 4. FREE SAMPLE CHAPTERS: Check out our free sample chapters of many of our books. 5. FREE SHIPPING OFFERS: Lighthouse Trails has a growing number of FREE SHIPPING offers on our books, DVDS, and CDs. 6. New Lighthouse Trails interactive forum - CHECK IT OUT. 7. FREE ONLINE E-BOOKS: Lighthouse Trails currently has two free e-books. We also hope to soon be offering some of our titles as Kindle books (digital books to be read on Kindle machines) for low prices. We hope that in offering these digital versions of our books, readers will have the chance to see the quality of our workmanship before purchasing print versions. Click here to see our available e-books. 8. FREE SHIPPING: Lighthouse Trails offers free shipping on a number of items on our store. You can check out those specials, by clicking here. |
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| Faith Undone Now available in Kindle Format | |
Lighthouse Trails is in the process of turning each of our books into e-book format to make available to our readers. We will also have a Kindle edition of each book for Amazon customers. We have just completed our first Kindle, which is Faith Undone. You may purchase the Kindle edition of Faith Undone by clicking here. Other titles will follow soon. These titles will also be available on our website store in regular e-book format. |
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| Missionary Truett Dodd Suffers Heart Attack – Please Pray for Him | |
On August 24th, Russian missionary Truett Dodd suffered a heart attack. He had a bypass surgery ten years ago and now doctors say he must have another bypass surgery. Please pray for Truett. He just returned home from Siberia a couple weeks ago and is scheduled to return in April. Truett has been serving the Lord in Russia for eighteen years, since he was in his mid sixties, in particular the cold region of Central and West Siberia. Part of his work is taking Bibles in Russian to the Russian people. If you would like to send a donation to this faithful servant, you can do so by clicking here and give through Paypal. And please pray for his speedy recovery. He told Lighthouse Trails this week that he still has a lot of work to do. At 83 years old, Truett is not ready to quit the ministry yet!
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