*If you would like to print this newsletter, right click to open a menu and choose "Select All." Then click print, then choose the Selection option. This will print everything that is highlighted. Remember, rather than forwarding this entire newsletter to others, send them the link (see click here above). This way you can be sure you won't be unsubscribed by someone else. If you have trouble printing the newsletter as stated above, you can copy and paste it into a new Word document, and there you can change font size and other elements. Note: Because we are a research ministry, we do post articles from various secular and Christian sources along with our own in-house articles if we believe our readers can benefit from the information. Note about our phones: This week, we discovered that our toll free line (866-876-3910) was intermittently not working. We contacted our long distance carrie on the 19th, and within two hours they had found the problem and fixed it. We aren't sure how long this problem was going on, but if you have been trying to reach us on that number and had problems, it is now working. We want to thank those readers who called on our regular line on the 18th and 19th to tell us that the line wasn't working properly. |
| Why Kids Today are Obsessed with the Occult (and Harry Potter) |
The following video clip is a clip from Roger Oakland’s lecture series Searching for the Truth on Origins.
For more information or to order this entire DVD series, click here.
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| Christianity Today: Harry Potter – “a role model” and “a great thing” |
LTRP Note: The following article is not to be considered an endorsement for the emerging/contemplative-promoting Christianity Today but is posted for informational and research purposes only. Please see our links below the article for critique of Harry Potter.
by John Granger As part two of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows opens in theaters worldwide this month, we have reached the final chapter—of sorts. It’s a phenomenon that began 13 years ago with the release of the first installment in J. K. Rowling’s series. I’m a Potter pundit who has written and edited as many books about the Hogwarts saga as there are novels in said series. So you would think I’d be sad to see the tale of the boy wizard come to an end. But I’m not, because the tale is not ending. Harry is here to stay. What makes me think that Potter mania will not go the way of the Hula-Hoop and pet rock is the remarkable ripple effect of Harry’s seven-year battle with the Dark Lord. The Hogwarts saga has reshaped our ideas of what a story can and should do, and writers and filmmakers have and will continue to respond to this new set of audience expectations. Click here to continue reading. Related Information: Promotional calls The Shack “cultural phenomenon” in “same realm as the Twilight novels and the Harry Potter series” by John Lanagan Harry Potter and the Superconsciousness by Ray Yungen Harry, Yoda and Yoga by Marsha West Movie Warning: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by Kjos Ministries Playtime for Kids and It’s Called Divination by Jan Markell |
| Voice of the Martyrs Says: New NIV “was written, it seems, by cowards for cowards" |
By John Lanagan In the May 2011 print edition of Voice of the Martyrs, Director Tom White states, “I do not need to be shielded by a miserably comfortable religion, existing in what I call a numbed down Christianity. One current example of this dangerous numbing down of the Christian faith is the 2011 NIV Bible. It was written, it seems, by cowards for cowards. In Job, Amos, Psalms, Isaiah and Jeremiah, the translators have removed all 16 references to our greatest motive for evangelizing–the “shadow of death”–and replaced the phrase with “darkness.” [1] Mr. White continues, “The words ‘shadow of death’ in the Old Testament are from the Hebrew word ’Tsalmaveth,’ which literally means the ‘grave’ or figuratively, ‘calamity.’ The grave has been artfully removed. Now Job in his struggles never has to face death. He only faces some kind of internal ‘darkness.’ Today he could simply get a prescription to avoid this challenge.” [2] Click here to read more and for footnote material. |
by Roger Oakland If you haven’t already noticed, anti-Christian sentiment is growing toward those who believe in a biblical last days/Book of Revelation scenario prior to Christ’s return. A 2005 article titled “Lutheran leader calls for an ecumenical council to address growing biblical fundamentalism” should help convince you. The article shows not only this growing resentment towards Bible-believing Christians but also the interspiritual path this change in attitude is taking:
Hanson’s request for a group to monitor and expose anti-ecumenists who take the Bible literally carries some weight! His message contains other statements showing his concern about Bible literalists—particularly those who take Bible prophecy seriously and see Israel and the Middle East crisis as an end-times sign post. The article continues:
Bishop Hanson believes that a global ecumenical group made up of Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans is the answer to the crisis he sees. Hanson calls this effort a “ministry of reconciliation,” that will “result of Christ breaking down the dividing walls,” and “reconcil[ing] the whole creation to God’s self.”3 But Hanson says that those who believe in a biblical end times and a literal Bible interpretation are counterproductive to and holding back the cause of Christ, which he suggests is to unite all of creation and produce a planetary utopia. Incredibly, Hanson would like to reverse the outcome of the first reformation, join hands with the Catholic Church, and embrace the Eucharistic Jesus in order to bring about an ecumenical unity and the kingdom of God here on earth. He explains:
In this goal to bring about the kingdom of God on earth through an ecumenical, inter-faith movement, Reverend Munib Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jerusalem, believes that those who adhere to an apocalyptic end-time scenario (with a focus on Israel) are spreading “heresy.” He says they “pretend to love the Jewish people” but are “actually anti-Jewish” with teachings that are “racist.” He has requested that Lutherans “alert all Christians everywhere to its dangers and false teachings.”5 As I mentioned earlier in the book [Faith Undone], Rick Warren tells his followers that the details of Christ’s return are none of our business. Tony Campolo says Christians that focus on end-time scenarios have been the cause of “extremely detrimental” consequences (see chapter 9). One thing you will notice in the writings of most emerging church leaders is an absence of discussion on a catastrophic apocalyptic atmosphere before Christ’s literal return to earth. What you will see though is lots of discussion about establishing the kingdom now and never mind thinking about life after our earthly deaths. Brian McLaren gives an example:
In an interview on Planet Preterist website, McLaren discusses his dilemma over eschatological-thinking believers:
McLaren also says that such Christians are really going to hurt our world. He continues:
In the interview, McLaren is asked what he thinks about a “preterist book”* that was being released. McLaren states:
In essence, McLaren is saying if you believe the Book of Revelation and Matthew 24 are yet to take place, you are a dangerous psychological misfit and are assumed to have no compassion for the suffering, no concerns for the environment or the world in which we live, and have the potential to blow up the world with “weapons of mass destruction.” If McLaren was talking about big governments and political parties, that would be one thing, but he is clear—he is referring to Christians who believe what the Bible says about the last days. (from Faith Undone, chapter 12, “A New Reformation”) *Preterism: The belief that biblical prophecies, such as in Matthew 24, took place before 70 AD, thus preterists do not wait for a second coming of Christ. Related: SPECIAL REPORT: The Jesuit Agenda and the Evangelical/Protestant Church Notes: |
| Letter to the Editor: Our North Carolina Churches and Christian Schools Turning to the “New” Spirituality |
Greetings Lighthouse Trails: While ordering DVD’s and books today, my wife and I were reminded how much we depend on you for quality helps as we watch churches and schools submit and succumb to the “New Spirituality” invasion. You provide superb materials that we use regularly. I only wish there were others who would buy the books to give away as well as become informed about the events taking place right before our eyes. One church nearby sent their Pastor to a continuing education site where he learned to meditate with a mantra and has suggested to his church the value of lectio divina. He said he goes into his private prayer place four times a day at stated times. Another church constructed a labyrinth in their building and invited their youth to learn the values of walking and praying as a part of their discipline. We wrote to people we know to ask if they were aware of what was happening to their old line denominations, their church, and their staff. We were not taken seriously and were invited by the various staffs to back off, stop contacting them, and assured us they planned to continue these new techniques in worship. On one occasion we sent books and other materials and asked a couple to read them and let us know if any of what they are reading sounded anything like what they are hearing from their church. After several months, there has been no response, not even to acknowledge they received the books. Two other churches have recently hired additional staff for the purpose of spiritual transformation. They began with retreats to introduce the techniques that would later be developed more into regular exercises. We suggested to members whom we know that it would probably be two years of gently teaching meditative and unbiblical things before their true assignments would be clear. We suggested that they would be hearing familiar words that Christians use, words that they know well, but with new meanings and a different teaching. So far, they seem to think our warnings are alarmist, but they are going to keep watch. In addition to the facts that your materials present, there is the continuing warning to be discerning. We wish discernment could be taught or caught. We have discovered that it can develop when people read prayerfully the Scriptures and, using them as the “plumb line,” measure everything they read and hear by them. They are indeed the canon, the rule that is constant. Again, thank you for your ministry of teaching and encouragement. Perhaps encouragement is the thing most needed and your website is a daily visit for us. In Christ, A couple from North Carolina LTRP Note - Read about the Wild Goose Festival that was held in North Carolina this year: Contemplative Spirituality Lands on Charles Stanley’s In Touch Magazine . . . Again |
| The Impact of Practical Mystics vs. Cults |
By Ray Yungen Evangelical scholar David L. Smith correctly assessed the powerful, yet subtle, impact New Age spirituality is having on society when he made the following observations:
Smith recognizes that, rather than just a small segment, the overall social fabric of society is being impacted. This movement has clearly evolved well past the subculture stage into something much more dynamic and sophisticated. This stunning change has been brought about by the rise of a new breed of mystic—one that presents mysticism as a complement to secular goals and one that is adept at easing the public’s natural impulse to reject the strange and unfamiliar. Some examples of this are:
An article in one major Pacific Northwest newspaper features a large color picture of a local university professor in a classic Zen Buddhist meditation pose. He has not joined the Buddhist religion but is trying to reverse his heart condition through Eastern meditation.3 A popular morning talk show entices viewers with the promise of “how to get along with your spouse.” The show then features popular New Age author Wayne Dyer exhorting viewers to “go into the silence for guidance” when they get angry with their mate[s].4 These are just a few examples of what could be called secular mysticism or generic mysticism, meditation practiced not for religious reasons but as a tool to improve life. Many Christians have a difficult time comprehending this concept. They have been trained to think in terms of cults such as the Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) or the Watchtower Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses). But these groups are rather limited in their impact because, even if they become sizable, they remain only isolated islands in society. The advantage practical mystics have is that they only have to piggyback a seemingly benevolent meditation method onto whatever programs they are promoting—in other words, they do not have to proselytize people to a dogma, only a practice. New Age publisher Jeremy Tarcher spoke of this challenge in an interview. Speaking of practical mystics he explained: “They have to learn to present their perceptions in appropriate language and actions that don’t arouse fear or resistance.”5 Because of their success at this effort, one writer declared that interest in meditation was currently exploding. This explosion in Western culture is unprecedented and very real. In the West, mysticism had always been restricted to a tiny fraction of the population (i.e., shamans, esoteric brotherhoods, and small spiritually elite groups). Never before has there been a widespread teaching of these methods to everyone. Now, mysticism pervades the Western world. How did this happen? The first such book to reach a broad audience was Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain. This book could rightfully be called a practical mystic’s bible. Many people can trace their first involvement in metaphysics to this book. Since its publication in 1978, it has sold millions of copies and has influenced the fields of psychology, health, business, and athletics.6 The book became so popular because it addresses such topics as creativity, career goals, relationships, better health, and simple relaxation and peacefulness. Who wouldn’t want to have all this, especially if all it takes is engaging in a simple practice? Gawain spells out very clearly what that practice entails. She teaches her readers:
There had been books like hers before, but those appealed to people already in the New Age subculture. This wasn’t true of Creative Visualization. This book had just the right secular slant on something inherently spiritual. Gawain believed that one could stay a Jew, Catholic, or Protestant and still practice the teachings of the book. All you were doing was developing yourself, not changing your religion. Gawain was merely the forerunner of what has become a flood of such books. A more recent book, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, which is about the “spiritual path to higher creativity,”27 has sold over two million copies. A good example of this approach was a business in a major West Coast city that sold books, tapes, and videos on stress reduction. The owners were very active in their community. Doctors, therapists, and teachers came to them for help. They gave talks to school faculties, major corporations, and all the major hospitals in their city. Their clientele tended to be affluent, well-educated professionals and business people who were interested in personal growth. Yet, along with stress reduction and self-improvement, another element was subtly present—spiritual awareness. One of the owners wrote how she attended a powerful workshop with “Lazaris” and discovered that his techniques were “practical and useful.”8 That does not sound too extraordinary at first glance—however, Lazaris is not a person but a spirit guide! Because of the stereotypes about people who gravitate toward mystical experiences (such as counterculture types), we may tend to assume people associated with these practices have strange personalities or are in other ways offbeat. On the contrary, these individuals are professional, articulate, conservatively dressed, and above all, extremely personable. They are positive and likeable. A newspaper reporter who did an article on one of them told me, “She is one of the most calm, serene persons I have ever met.” The reporter added, “People want what she has!” The health, self-help, and recovery sections of secular bookstores are now saturated with New Age metaphysical books. Christian columnist Terry Mattingly summed up the situation brilliantly when he observed: “The New Age didn’t crest, it soaked in . . . It is now the dominant theme in commercial bookstores.”9 If the self-help and personal growth sections of most secular commercial bookstores were examined, the only conclusion to come away with would be that New Age mysticism is the prominent spiritual viewpoint of this country. A case in point: One day while strolling through a shopping mall, I noticed a New Age bookstore and a secular bookstore just around the corner from each other. Upon examination, it was clear the secular bookstore had far more New Age books than the New Age bookstore did—hundreds more. Moreover, the vast majority were not in the New Age section but in the self-help, health, and other sections. Thus, New Age bookstores have almost been rendered obsolete by the explosion of practical mystic books stocked in traditional bookstores. This is not an understatement or scare-tactic conjecture. Take a look at book sales for some of the major New Age authors around today. Just the top two, Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra, have sold fifty million books between them. James Redfield, the author of The Celestine Prophecy, can boast of a staggering twenty million books sold, and Neal Donald Walsch, the channeler of Conversations with God, a paltry seven million.10 If you think the New Age movement is a colorful assortment of strange cults populated by free-spirited aging hippies and assorted oddballs who are being duped by money-hungry charlatans and egocentric frauds, then think again. We are not dealing with fringe religious groups or chanting flower-children anymore but with a broad-based concerted effort to influence and restructure our whole society. (Excerpt from A Time of Departing, chapter 1) Notes: |
| Russian Lawmakers Pass Law to Regulate (Lower) Abortion Rate |
By Amie Ferris-Rotman “Russia says abortion ads must carry health warning” MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian lawmakers, worried about a falling birth rate, passed a law on Friday that abortion advertisements must carry a health warning. Russia has one of the world’s highest abortion rates and cutting this could help it stem a demographic disaster that is looming as its population shrinks. Under the new law approved by the lower house of parliament, 10 percent of the space used in abortion ads must carry a list of possible negative consequences for women, including infertility, RIA news agency reported. According to the lower house’s website, duma.gov.ru, 2007 saw 1.5 million abortions — almost on a par with the number of children born that year. “These ads make young girls believe they won’t have any problems interrupting a pregnancy,” RIA quoted parliamentarian Viktor Zvagelsky as saying of current advertisements. Click here to continue reading. |
| The Path From Independent Baptist to the Shack, Rome and Beyond (or the treacherous waters of Southern Baptist Convention) |
LTRP Note: The Southern Baptist Convention is changing. Recently, Rick Warren spoke at their annual convention and encouraged pastors to climb on board his global P.E.A.C.E. Plan. In view of the move we have seen in the Southern Baptist Convention over the last several years (like most other evangelical denominations and movements) toward the contemplative/progressive/emerging spirituality, this article by David Cloud of Way of Life is insightful. “The Path From Independent Baptist to the Shack, Rome and Beyond” The path from Independent Baptist to the broader evangelical church is clearly marked, and it typically leads through the Southern Baptist Convention. There we encounter treacherous waters where ancient heresies and end-times fables abound. I don’t know of any Independent Baptist preachers (yet) who believe in the non-judgmental Shack god/goddess or salvation apart from faith in Christ or Christian homosexuality or the downgrade of hell or the partial inspiration of Scripture or Robert Schuller’s self-esteemism or who love the Roman Catholic mass or promote contemplative mysticism or deny the substitutionary atonement of Christ or promote New Age practitioners. But many evangelicals and Southern Baptists are guilty of these things. When the walls of separation are torn down or become “soft,” Independent Baptists can drift into these treacherous waters and become shipwrecked. In fact, they don’t even have to drift out of the Independent Baptist movement today, because the treacherous waters are back flowing into the IB movement through the gaps in separation and bringing the spiritual dangers with them. Some claim that the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is “conservative” and theologically safe today and that the battle against liberalism has been won. There is a move by some fundamentalists to join hands with “conservative evangelicals.” Click here to continue reading.
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| Poll: Obama’s Outreach Has Not Improved Arabs’ Views of the U.S. |
By Patrick Goodenough  (CNSNews.com) – Two years of outreach to the Arab-Islamic world by the Obama administration apparently has not ushered in more favorable opinions of the United States among Arabs, according to a new poll of attitudes in six key Mideast countries.Favorable views of the U.S. among respondents in the Zogby International poll have dropped by more than half across the six countries compared with a similar survey conducted two years ago – from an average 33 percent in 2009 to 15 percent in 2011. In four of the six countries polled – Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates – favorable opinions of the U.S. are even lower now than they were in 2008, the final year of President Bush’s second term. In the other two countries – Egypt, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia – they are higher now than in 2008, but down noticeably from 2009, when the poll was conducted several months after President Obama took office. Click here to continue. |
| Green Bay Catholic Priest David Ricken leads Mass at Lifest Before Joint Worship with Greg Laurie |
LTRP Note: Today, a pastor sent Lighthouse Trails the link to the following news article. In view of our article on 7/11/11, “The Jesuit Agenda and the Evangelical/Protestant Church,” we post this news item. Bishop David Ricken who led Mass at Lifest is on the Bishops Advisory Council at Creighton University, a Jesuit school. By Cheryl Anderson OSHKOSH — Bishop David Ricken always wanted to go to Lifest. But since taking over as head of the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay in 2008, something else always came up. . . . [Bishop] Ricken led 9 a.m. Mass from the Thrivent Café Stage on the final day of the 13th annual Lifest celebration at Sunnyview Expo Center. Hundreds worshipped as intermittent showers trickled down on the large tent. . . . Protestant devotions, a children’s service and the Catholic Mass each were held separately before joint worship at 11 a.m. on the grandstand featuring Lenz; Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., and head of the international Harvest Crusades. Click here to read entire story. Related:
Bishop: Virgin Mary apparition did appear: fox11online.com To understand more about the Mass and the Mary apparitions, please read Another Jesus by Roger Oakland. |
| United Methodist Church Defies Its Founder John Wesley on Islam – Cites Koran at Church Service |
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By James Sundquist As more Methodist Churches make a mockery of their own founder John Wesley by reading the Koran and reciting Islamic Prayers throughout the U.S., and well known partner of Rick Warren, Methodist leader Leonard Sweet touts Mohammad, the following letter of warning was sent to Pastor Steve Stone and staff members of still another Methodist Church inviting this false religion to conduct services in defiling its sanctuary. To date, none have repented who received the following warning letter, and their own pastor retaliated, gnashing his teeth at me. . . . Here is proof of another Muslim leading congregation in Quran recitation from a Methodist pulpit. Click here to view video and read rest of article. |
LTRP Note: While the article below by Berit Kjos was written a number of years ago, because of the new Harry Potter release and because of its huge popularity, even among Christian families, we are posting Berit's article. by Berit Kjos Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone opened on November 16 at a record-breaking number of theaters across the country. "Christian" as well as public schools bussed their students to see the long awaited movie based on the first book in J. K. Rowling's ground-breaking series. Teachers are facilitating classroom discussions that train students to seek "common ground" and conform to an ever-changing group consensus.[2] While forbidding prayer in the name of Jesus, most schools seem to welcome spells and sorcery in the name of Harry Potter. The pressure to participate in the fun and frenzy is intense. So what can a Christian child do in the midst of such hype, hypocrisy and popular wizardry? Those who know God can find answers in His Word. Consider this list of Biblical warnings and wisdom, then put on the Armor of God and pray that He lead you in His way. 1. God shows us that witchcraft, sorcery, spells, divination and magic are evil. He hates those practices because they blind us to His loving ways, then turn our hearts to a deceptive quest for self-empowerment and deadly thrills. Harry Potter's world may be fictional, but the timeless pagan practices it promotes are real and deadly. Well aware that the final result is spiritual bondage and oppression, He warns us:
2. The movie's foundation in fantasy, not reality, doesn't diminish its power to change beliefs and values. Imaginary (or virtual) experiences and well-written fantasies can affect the mind and memories as much, if not more, than actual experiences.[3] Designed to stir feelings and produce strong emotional responses, a well-planned myth with likeable characters can be far more memorable than the less exciting daily reality -- especially when reinforced through books, toys and games as well as movies. Small wonder Harry's fans have been counting the days until their next fantastic journey into Hogwarts' classes on sorcery, divination, potions and spells.
3. Each occult image and suggestion prompts the audience to feel more at home in this setting. Children identify with their favorite characters and learn to see wizards and witches from a popular peer perspective rather than from God's perspective. Those who sense that the occult world is evil face a choice: Resist peer pressure or rationalize their imagined participation in Harry's supernatural adventures. The second choice may quiet the nagging doubts, but rationalizing evil and justifying sin will sear the conscience and shift the child's perception of values from God's perspective to a more "comfortable" cultural adaptation. Even Christian children can easily learn to conform truth to multicultural ideals and turn God's values upside down - just as did God's people in Old Testament days:
Click here to continue reading this article.
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