LTRP Note: This an update to our previous articles regarding Assemblies of God’s invitation of contemplative leader Ruth Haley Barton to their 2013 General Council conference. Please see the links at the bottom of this page for a chronological listing of articles relating to this matter.

“Will Assemblies of God Leaders Ignore Contemplative Evidence?”

By the Editors at Lighthouse Trails

In the course of attempting to provide evidence to the leaders of Assemblies of God as to the nature of Ruth Haley Barton’s spirituality, AG General Superintendent Dr. George Wood has issued both public and private statements. This past week we received an e-mail from an Assemblies of God pastor, which included an e-mail the pastor received from Dr. Wood about the Ruth Haley Barton controversy. We are posting  Dr. Wood’s e-mail to the AG pastor for two reasons: first, the pastor gave us permission, saying he was  very concerned about his denomination; and second, Dr. Wood’s e-mail to the AG pastor brings further clarification to his earlier public statements.

The following is Dr. Wood’s e-mail to an AG pastor. This is an extract that includes all parts pertaining to the issue at hand. We have removed a few personal comments:

The group of women who invited Ruth Barton is the Credentialed Women In Ministry, not the Women’s Ministry Department. The task force for our Credentialed Women in Ministry is led by a volunteer, Dr. Jodi Detrick. You have noted her prior response to Lighthouse Trails (LT). I gave direction to not respond to further LT posts.

I have looked at what LT has said. I have also read Ruth Barton’s book, Strengthening the Soul of Your Ministry. Quite honestly, it is one of the best books I’ve ever ready on breaking away from the busy-ness of ministry to seek the presence of God. She uses the life of Moses as a template for how we need to desire the Presence of the Lord above all else. I encourage you to read it and judge for yourself. I also note that Ruth Barton’s books are published by InterVarsity Press, a solid evangelical publisher. . . .

Barton talks about how Moses, despite the heavy responsibilities he bore, treasured most his fellowship with God, his taking time to listen to God. Near the end of her book, she talks about how we often think it unfair that for one rash act of striking the rock twice, Moses was told by God he could not enter the Promised Land. However, this is the same Moses who wanted to see God face to face, and instead God said, “You can only see the back of me.” In denying Moses entry into Canaan, Barton pointed out a fact I had not thought of – Moses’ great desire in his life was to see God face to face, so in denying him entry into the Promised Land God responded to a deeper yearning within Moses. Instead of giving him the Promised Land, God let Moses come into the Promised Presence. That one insight was so helpful to me in ministering to [a] dying friend. And, it helps me in my life with all the responsibilities of this office to make sure I keep my attention and focus on His Presence more than I do all the things that belong to my present duties.

As I read books, I find that usually I don’t agree 100% with everything an author has said; but I take the one or few things I don’t agree with and measure it against the vast amount of profit I gain from the insights of the author. If people are looking for something to pick at, they can always find it.

Basically it boils down to this: I trust the people I know and whose ministry I know. I don’t hold equal weight with people I don’t know. I don’t know LT. They are not in our Fellowship. But, I do know the women who serve on our task force for Credentialed Women in Ministry. They are women of God and have proven fruitfulness in ministry. They invited Ruth Barton and I trust their spiritual discernment and judgment.

Finally, the Credentialed Women in Ministry event at General Council is not a main session. It is their separate event. I believe the credentialed women in our Fellowship who attend also will have sufficient discernment as to whether the ministry of Ruth Barton is beneficial to them or not. If she ministers along the themes of the book I mentioned above, then there will be real profit for those who come. The event is not for lay women, but for credentialed women. Possibly some minister’s wives will attend as well.

George Wood

The first thing we want to clarify is this: We understand  Dr. Wood is a man who is in a position of high leadership. It is not our intention to put ourselves above Dr. Wood nor is it our intention to humiliate or  embarrass anyone. We are attempting to present our material in an attitude of humility and godliness, and we do not mean for this to be a show of disrespect by any means.

That said, our hearts are greatly troubled by Dr. Wood’s apparent unwillingness to openly address the evidence we have presented. The fact is, in each of his statements so far, he has not brought up the issue at hand at all. He does not even try to refute it, almost as if he doesn’t believe it, or believes that it is completely irrelevant.

As to the suggestion that he made that he would not listen to Lighthouse Trails because he does not know us, this is not a valid argument. It would be like this scenario: a neighbor you have never met comes running over to your house, crying out that a nearby dam is reported to have been breached and you must evacuate. But you say to yourself, I don’t know that neighbor, and I don’t like the way he approached me. So you go back in your house, and you close your door. In other words, if someone has documentation, even though it may at first sound implausible, one has an obligation to check it out and see if it is valid.

In addition to the points of evidence we have presented on our previous statements about this situation (see links below), we have the following to add. We pray that Dr. Wood and other Assemblies of God pastors and leaders would consider these things.

As we pointed out earlier, by Ruth Barton’s own admission, her spirituality was shaped by Thomas Keating.  To show why this is so significant, and where it can lead, another individual who was spiritually shaped by Thomas Keating was Catholic monk and interspiritual activist Wayne Teasdale. (Teasdale writes about it in his book, The Mystic Heart). Of Keating, he states:

I owe so much to so many people everywhere, particularly those who have influenced my spiritual growth [and then he names Thomas Keating - p. xxi].

Eastern meditation has inspired Christian forms of contemplation like Thomas Keating’s Centering Prayer (p. 32).

[M]onastics have carried the primary responsibility for this significant, mystical interfaith work. They have deeply assimilated Hinduism, Zen, Taoism and other forms of Buddhism, notably the Theravadan and Tibetan traditions. Thomas Merton and Thomas Keating, both Trappists, are two leading figures in this development (p. 39).

Few have contributed more to interspirituality in our time than Keating (p. 41).

The point here, which is really quite obvious, is that Teasdale saw contemplative Christianity as being aligned with Eastern meditation, and he recognized that Thomas Keating had the same goals. Teasdale also acknowledged Keating’s contribution to his own spiritual “growth.” And so does Ruth Haley Barton. This is absolutely a point that cannot be overlooked or ignored.

To emphasize the spiritual infrastructure of Teasdale’s  (and Keating’s) spirituality, listen to what  Teasdale has to say in The Mystic Heart:

* It was during my college years that my first mystical experiences occurred. . . . The divine completely took me over. . . . I couldn’t think, analyze, remember, imagine, or speak (p. 225).

* For many years I have been intensely aware of the divine as a breathing presence that surrounds me, is within me, and takes me into itself. . . . Whenever I am aware of it, there is no mistaking it for something else. I immediately know who it is (p. 226).

* I began to appreciate and value other traditions.  I discovered that Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Sufism, the Kabbalah, Hasidism did not take me away from my faith, but augmented my deep commitment to Christian contemplation.  I became impassioned in my interest in these traditions (emphasis added, p. 236).

* Interspirituality, and the intermystical life it entails, recognizes the larger community of humankind in the mystical quest. . . . To leave out any spiritual experience is to impoverish humanity.  Everything must be included (p. 236).

What Teasdale is describing here is the effect that happens to virtually every leader of the contemplative prayer movement (e.g., Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Richard Rohr, etc.). You usually won’t hear such blatant statements by the contemplatives in the evangelical camp (e.g., Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Brennan Manning, and Ruth Haley Barton), but they betray any sense of opposition by their sympathy, promotion, endorsement, and referencing of these panentheistic teachers.

On Ruth Barton’s website, she gives a disclaimer that she does not agree with everything her mysticism teachers taught her. So, what did she take from them? That is very clear – meditation. And like her evangelical kindred companions in the contemplative prayer movement (Foster, Willard, etc.) , they say contemplative meditation is different than Eastern or New Age meditation. We addressed this in our last report with overwhelming evidence that the realm entered during contemplative meditation is the same as the realm entered during New Age and Eastern meditation (i.e., an occultic presence is the result, not the presence of God).

Here is the controversy: These interspiritual mystics (Teasdale, Keating, Tilden Edwards, etc.) do not adhere to the biblical tenet that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. They believe that all religions can lead to God. So how can we take something from them that will improve or enhance our Christianity, give us more intimacy with God, or bring us into His presence when the very essence of Christianity (i.e., Jesus Christ is the only Savior of mankind and one must believe on Him to be saved) is rejected by these teachers? The Christ they worship is the cosmic Christ (i.e., the divine in all things). And this fundamentally negates the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.

In Sacred Rhythms, Ruth Barton says that “all of us are in God” (p. 409). Barton does not specify between all Christian believers who are in God and all humanity.  If Barton means all of humanity is with God, she would be right in line with all of the leaders she quotes in the contemplative prayer movement. One of the things that causes us to believe this could be the case is that on that same page she says this, she has a quote by contemplative teacher Basil Pennington who believes that the soul of all humanity is the Holy Spirit (Centered Living, p. 104).

Based on her affinity with all these writers, at some point Barton began to embrace and absorb their views to the degree that she quotes from them and acknowledges that she has grown spiritually from them.

If we want to understand where contemplative spirituality will lead someone, all we have to do is look at Sue Monk Kidd. She was once a conservative Southern Baptist Sunday school teacher. She started reading Thomas Merton and doing what Barton refers to as “simple prayers.” After she had practiced contemplative prayer for a while, listen to what happened to Monk Kidd in her own words:

The minister was preaching. He was holding up a Bible. It was open, perched atop his raised hand as if a blackbird had landed there. He was saying that the Bible was the sole and ultimate authority of the Christian’s life. The sole and ultimate authority.

I remember a feeling rising up from a place about two inches below my navel. It was a passionate, determined feeling, and it spread out from the core of me like a current so that my skin vibrated with it. If feelings could be translated into English, this feeling would have roughly been the word no!

It was the purest inner knowing I had experienced, and it was shouting in me no, no, no! The ultimate authority of my life is not the Bible; it is not confined between the covers of a book. It is not something written by men and frozen in time. It is not from a source outside myself. My ultimate authority is the divine voice in my own soul. Period. (The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, p. 76).

This is not the presence of God giving Sue Monk Kidd a “current” that her skin “vibrated with.” With the Holy Spirit, the result would be the opposite of what happened to her. The Holy Spirit would lead someone to cling to God’s Word, not repel it. Even still, Richard Foster used Monk Kidd as a favorable example in his book Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home as someone who uses contemplative prayer (along with Thomas Merton and Basil Pennington).

What we are trying to get across here is that the entire contemplative movement is spiritually corrupt - its roots and its adherents. When you examine this, you have to come to the conclusion that this is not a Christian movement. Some contemplative proponents say they are merely taking back what was hijacked by the New Age or Eastern religion, but that is preposterous, and there is no evidence in Scripture to back up the idea that a mantra-type meditation is either needed or required in order to be in the presence of God. When we are born again, we are inhabited by God’s Spirit. Being born again through faith in Jesus Christ is both a prerequisite and a guarantee that we are in His presence and have fellowship with God. There is no esoteric path into the presence of God! When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He warned against praying “vain repetitions as the heathen do” (Matthew 6:7),  but the contemplatives teach the opposite of Jesus’ warnings to their own hurt and the hurt of the many who follow them.

Ray Yungen, the author of A Time of Departing, has been examining this issue for nearly thirty years now. It was he who brought this to the attention of Lighthouse Trails 11 years ago. Yungen began to see the connection between contemplative spirituality and Eastern mysticism when he was introduced to the teachings of Richard Foster and learned that Foster was a disciple of Thomas Merton. It was Merton who said he was “deeply impregnated with Sufism”* (Islamic mysticism). Is it possible that a good Christian can be indwelled by the same spirit as Muslim mystics who reject the Gospel, which is the foundation for biblical Christianity.

In order for the Assemblies of God leadership to neutralize our objections, they would have to explain a way our evidence. Keep in mind that basically all of our evidence springs from people who are promoters and practitioners of contemplative prayer. None of the evidence comes from those who are hostile toward it. So we are presenting first-hand documentation that is not taken out of the context in which the writers say it.

If this warning is ignored and Ruth Haley Barton is allowed to speak at the upcoming General Council conference of the Assemblies of God, we would suggest that people ask her what she thinks of Thomas Merton. Most likely, she will say she doesn’t agree with everything he wrote, but generally he has a lot to teach us (like Richard Foster, who once told Ray Yungen that Merton was trying to awaken God’s people). But the very thing that Merton has to teach us (or awaken us to) is the very thing that caused him to be heretical. What he has to teach us is how to enter the silence, but it is an ungodly silence.

In this latest response from Dr. George Wood, he says that Ruth Barton’s book, Strengthening the Soul of Your Ministry, is the best book he has ever read on entering the presence of God. And yet, the majority of people Barton quotes or references in the book have the theological perspective that dovetails with Eastern religion -Teresa of Avila, Gerald May, Parker Palmer, Buddhist sympathizer Peter Senge, Richard Rohr – quoted twice, atonement rejector Alan Jones, Elizabeth Dryer, Tilden Edwards, Wayne Muller, Thomas Merton, Rosemary Dougherty, and Henri Nouwen. This book that Dr. Wood speaks so highly of is a who’s who of outright mystics.

There may have been a time in some of these people’s lives when they would have rejected or ignored Eastern religious thought and meditation, but at some point, they allowed themselves to be lured into meditative practices and the “presence” those practices bring with them rather than relying on a relationship with Jesus Christ that is genuine through the Word of God and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 

In 1992, Newsweek magazine did a cover story called “Talking to God,” which made a clear reference to contemplative prayer:

[S]ilence, appropriate body posture and, above all, emptying the mind through repetition of prayer—have been the practices of mystics in all the great world religions. And they form the basis on which most modern spiritual directors guide those who want to draw closer to God.

Ruth Haley Barton has often talked about a time in her life a number of years ago when she was feeling empty and far from God. She said she had exhausted all her Protestant avenues of help and turned to a non-Protestant spiritual director (suggesting that she probably turned to someone in the Catholic church). This is what led Barton to embrace the kind of drawing closer to God of which the Newsweek article speaks.

It is worth noting that the Newsweek article said that most mainstream denominations (e.g., United Methodist, Episcopal, Lutheran) and Catholic groups had now embraced mystical prayer. But today, it is becoming widespread in the traditional evangelical camp as well.

Ray Yungen makes this observation:

It is amazing to me how Newsweek clearly observed this shift in the spiritual paradigm over [twenty] years ago, while many Christians (including most prominent leaders) still live in abject ignorance of this change. Are the teachings of the practical Christian mystic actually being assimilated so well that even our pastors are not discerning this shift?

 Dr. Wood, for the sake of the 65 million members worldwide in the Assemblies of God, it is not good to ignore the evidence if you think you can refute it.

 * As quoted in Merton and Sufism by Baker and Henry, p. 69, citing Merton speaking at a women’s retreat at the Gethsemani monastery in Kentucky in 1968 (the year of his death).

Related Articles:

April 15th – SPECIAL REPORT: Assemblies of God “Believe” Conference Makes Bold Move – Brings in Contemplative Key Player Ruth Haley Barton

May 1st – Assemblies of God General Superintendent Letter Responds to Lighthouse Trails Article – Defends Contemplative Spirituality

May 3rd – Former AOG Pastor Responds to Statement About Ruth Haley Barton

May 13th – SPECIAL FOLLOW-UP REPORT: Lighthouse Trails Statement to Assemblies of God Response Regarding Invitation of Ruth Haley Barton

May 18th – Is AOG Superintendent George Wood Responding With Video Regarding Ruth Haley Barton Issue?

LTRP Note: Brian McLaren, one of the original “Terra Nova” emergent leaders, is asking followers to send substantial amounts of money for a mystery project that McLaren says will go toward a “broad-based, diverse, and deep Christian movement.” Lighthouse Trails has done extensive research on Brian McLaren for nearly 10 years. Please refer to the links below this article for some of that research or type  “Brian McLaren” into one of our two search engines. McLaren has had a major influence in the social, political, and religious sectors of the Western world.

“Brian McLaren ask for significant cash for mystery project”

By Stand Up For The Truth

On his blog [on May 22, 2013], Brian McLaren is making a mysterious appeal for money. Not just a few dollars, but big, bodacious financial support from those with deep pockets.

What’s it for? Brian won’t say, but if you want to contribute, you could email him at a special “happy to help” address and let him know you’re rich, and he’ll get back to you by this weekend.

He explains that his calling as a “movement person” has been supporting broad-based movements that embody a “Christ-like ethos and leads to Christ-like action for the good of the world.” But he leaves out the part where he denies the substitutionary atonement of the cross and what Christ did to fully pardon our sins.

What I’m looking for is a team of partners to join me in a generous and strategic impulse.

If you believe in the kinds of things I write, say, and do, and would like to join me in making a significant financial investment over the next three years – to help a broad-based, diverse, and deep Christian movement rise to the next level, I am hoping we can come together in a joint project. Click here to continue reading.

Related Information:

Brian McLaren’s views on Heaven, Hell, and the Cross (an interview)

Brian McLaren – Rethinking the Second Coming of Jesus Christ

Everything Must Change! says Brian McLaren

Brian McLaren: Hoping Obama Will Be Our Next President

BOOK REVIEW: Brian McLaren’s New Book: Finding Our Way Again

Brian McLaren’s Hope for the Future – The Minds of Your Grandchildren

Book Review on McLaren’s book: The Secret Message of Jesus by Berit Kjos

**The New Missiology – Doing Missions Without the Gospel by Roger Oakland **

By Kristen Wyatt
CNS News

DENVER (AP) — In the most prominent challenge of its kind, Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. is asking a federal appeals court Thursday for an exemption from part of the federal health care law that requires it to offer employees health coverage that includes access to the morning-after pill.

The Oklahoma City-based arts-and-crafts chain argues that businesses — not just the currently exempted religious groups — should be allowed to seek exception from that part of the health law if it violates their religious beliefs. – Click here to continue reading.

Related:

Hobby Lobby Granted Full Rehearing of Obamacare Abortion Pill Mandate Challenge

Obama Administration: We Can and Will Force Christians to Act Against Their Faith

On May 20-23, Moody Bible Institute held its annual Pastors’ Conference (this year called re|Focus). Keynote speakers included Alistair Begg, Voddie Bauchman, Michael Easley (former Moody Bible Institute president) and a number of other evangelical pastors and speakers. On Tuesday, during one of the breakout sessions, Peter Spychalla, Director of Prayer Ministries, East White Oak Bible Church in Illinois gave a teaching on the contemplative practice called lectio divina (see page 35 of brochure): The description for the lectio divina workshop reads:

Reading and Praying Scripture for Spiritual Transformation
Revive your devotional life by learning to read and pray Scripture for spiritual transformation rather than reading merely for information. Learn how historic traditions and contemporary practice of lectio divina (spiritual reading of Scripture) can help you meditate on Scripture, pray Scripture, apply Scripture, and grow in life changing intimacy with God.

To understand what lectio divina is, read our article (which is also a booklet), “Lectio Divina: What it is, What it is Not, and Should Christians Practice it?

While the news that Moody is promoting lectio divina is going to come as a shock to some, Lighthouse Trails wants to make one thing very clear: Moody Ministries, which includes Moody Bible Institute , Moody Publishing, Moody Radio, and Moody Conferences, has been going down the contemplative path for many years. In fact, this is not the first time Lighthouse Trails has written about Moody’s contemplative openness. We are also going to include The Moody Church in this article. While Moody Ministries and The Moody Church are under two separate corporations, they do share the same founder. Also The Moody Church’s senior pastor, Erwin Lutzer, is an author of Moody Publishers. 

The History of Our Warnings to Moody

In 2006, while reviewing Larry Crabb’s book The Papa Prayer, where Crabb makes the claim that “centering prayer” has greatly benefited him, we were stunned to see a number of respected Christian leaders names’ on the endorsement pages in the book. We wrote an article warning our readers about Crabb’s book and attempted to warn a couple of the men who had endorsed the book. Here is an excerpt from our article, “Trusted Evangelical Leaders Endorse The Papa Prayer by Larry Crabb!”:

We called both the offices of James Kennedy and Erwin Lutzer to ask each of them if they realized what Larry Crabb was promoting, both in the book and in his ministry as well. We hoped we might be able to shed some light on the matter and that each of them would realize endorsing such a book would spiritually harm a lot of people. Perhaps they would want to issue a retraction. We received a call back from one of these men on the same day we called. Erwin Lutzer, Senior Pastor of The Moody Church and popular and respected author and speaker, listened to our concerns but told us that when he read the terms “contemplative prayer” and “centering prayer” in Crabb’s book, he did not think of it as any kind of New Age prayer. He said he absolutely does not endorse or promote the New Age at all. While we were happy to hear this, we told Pastor Lutzer that Larry Crabb does promote New Age beliefs and Lutzer’s name in the book will lead many who trust him to think Crabb’s book and other work are acceptable. Pastor Lutzer asked us to please remember to love all the brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. He felt this was more important than criticizing others and naming names, and he said that we (Lighthouse Trails) may not really be qualified to identify spiritual deception within the church.

In The Papa Prayer, Crabb states:

I’ve practiced centering prayer. I’ve contemplatively prayed. I’ve prayed liturgically….I’ve benefited from each, and I still do. In ways you’ll see, elements of each style are still with me . . .  Other forms of relating to God that have unique value in connecting us to Him include contemplative prayer and centering prayer. (pp. 9, 22)

 One week after we came out with our article on Erwin Lutzer’s endorsement of Crabb’s book, we wrote another article titled, Moody Bible Institute – What Ever Happened?”  This article addressed Moody’s Midday Connection radio show, which was bringing in contemplative guests such as Keri Wyatt Kent, Larry Crabb, and Dallas Willard. Our article stated:

When Midday Connection (MBI ministry) was recently asked about their obvious promotion of Wyatt Kent and of contemplative spirituality, they stated that they were committed to spiritual formation and named “solid guests” like Larry Crabb and Dallas Willard who were teaching people “spiritual disciplines.” They said they were just “re-stating some old truths in new ways.” It makes sense that they would use Larry Crabb as an example of these “new ways.” Crabb, in the foreword of a book (Sacred Companions) by contemplative-promoting David Benner, said that it was time to get rid of the old written code and replace it with new ways of practicing spirituality. Even still, it is surprising that Moody would call Larry Crabb and Dallas Willard “solid guests … “who recognize the need to teach people spiritual disciplines.”

We also pointed out in this article that Moody Conferences was bringing in speakers such as emergent figures Dan Allender and the now late Robert Webber. Both Allender and Webber have shown affinity with emergent leader Brian McLaren. In addition, we showed how Moody Publisher’s magazine promoted Gary Thomas’ contemplative book, Sacred Pathways, where Thomas tells readers to repeat a word for 20 minutes. Our article also showed that Moody Bible Institute Graduate School has  a Department of Spiritual Formation, and a Master of Arts Degree in Spiritual Formation and Discipleship (MASF/D). A number of contemplative authors are used in these programs (Nouwen, Benner, Willard, Foster, etc.).

But Moody’s admiration for things contemplative goes back further than 2006. In 1987, Moody Monthly wrote an endorsement for Sue Monk Kidd’s book, God’s Joyful Surprise. In this book, one of Monk Kidd’s earlier books, she unfolds her journey into contemplative spirituality, largely from reading Thomas Merton and other contemplative authors. Once a conservative Southern Baptist Sunday School teacher, today she promotes neo-paganism and goddess worship. This is what Moody Monthly wrote on the back cover of God’s Joyful Surprise over two decades ago:

Carefully avoiding a how-to approach [Kidd] suggests some disciplines for cultivating an interior quietness and a richer personal experience of God’s love. Her writing, well-balanced by the wisdom of writers like Brother Lawrence, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Henri Nouwen is alive with humorous anecdotes.

One year after our two initial articles on Moody, we posted one titled “Young Christian Woman Withdraws from Moody Bible Institute Because of Contemplative Promotion.”  We stated:

The young woman learned that the college (and at least one of the classes she was registered for) was promoting contemplative spirituality. Upon learning this, she spoke with various school officials about the situation. After coming to the conclusion through these meetings that Moody would at this time continue in the direction it was going, the young woman prayerfully decided she could not compromise her faith by receiving a degree from an institution that was promoting these teachings. This week, she withdrew herself from this fall’s upcoming classes and will now search for another Christian college.

Two of the authors this young woman challenged that were being used at Moody were Henri Nouwen and John Eldredge. Within a few weeks of our posting the plight of the student, we received a call from Moody’s public relations office telling us they had posted a response (and sent us an email) to Lighthouse Trails. That response still sits on the Moody website today.  You may access it by clicking here.  We stated the following with regard to their response:

Moody states that they agree that according to our definition of contemplative spirituality, it is wrong. Our definition states:

“A belief system that uses ancient mystical practices to induce altered states of consciousness (the silence) and is rooted in mysticism and the occult but often wrapped in Christian terminology; the premise of contemplative spirituality is pantheistic (God is all) and panentheistic (God is in all).”

Their email states that they do not endorse this type of spirituality. They say that although they use books by contemplatives authors in their courses, it does not necessarily mean they adhere to the teachings of these authors. They say they are using these books to possibly discuss the errors of these books and authors. But this defense is contrary to evidence in their ministries and on their web sites that show they are promoting these authors and their teachings.

Basically, Moody was denying that they were promoting contemplative spirituality even though they were using contemplative authors. We offered to send complimentary copies of A Time of Departing and Faith Undone to the Moody public relations office back in 2007, but we were told not to send them.

Two months later, in November of 2007, we wrote the following article: “Moody Bible Institute Recommends Richard Foster’s Meditation! – Lighthouse Trails Challenges MBI.”  We stated:

MBI professor Dr. Winfred O. Neely tells readers that “deep and prolonged thinking about the Lord’s word, person, and work is biblical.” While he states that eastern style meditation is wrong and dangerous, he brings terrible confusion to the matter by also stating: “For more in depth reading about the vital practice of biblical meditation, I suggest that you pick up Richard Foster’s book, The Celebration of Discipline.” . . .  Once again, we beseech Moody Bible Institute to read A Time of Departing so professors and students alike will not be drawn into the deception of Richard Foster’s spirituality. Foster has and continues to uplift and emulate the late monk Thomas Merton who said that God dwells in every human being. Merton knew that the silent state one goes into through contemplative would lead the practitioner into a view that God is in all. Is this really what MBI wants to convey to their students when they continue to include Richard Foster, Henri Nouwen, Larry Crabb, and Dallas Willard in the lecture halls and publications of their institution?

It is vital to understand that the spirituality of these men is based on the same method that Thomas Merton used, and yet Merton’s biographers made this very clear when he explained:

If one wants to understand Merton’s going to the East it is important to understand that it was his rootedness in his own faith tradition [Catholicism] that gave him the spiritual equipment [contemplative prayer] he needed to grasp the way of wisdom that is proper to the East. (Shannon, Silent Lamp, p. 281)

In other words, if we want to understand Merton’s conversion to eastern thought, it was contemplative prayer that was the catalyst! This isn’t complicated or does it take a doctorate degree in theology to grasp. It’s as clear as day.

 In January of 2008, we posted the following: “Moody Bible Institute Favors Mystic Henri Nouwen.”  We started off our article by stating:

Leaders at Moody Bible Institute have adamantly insisted they do not promote or endorse contemplative spirituality. And in spite of repeated promotion of contemplatives . . . they have publicly stated they are against contemplative. Lighthouse Trails offered on more than one occasion to send faculty and staff complimentary copies of A Time of Departing [by Ray Yungen] to help explain the dangers of this mystical belief system. That offer has not yet been accepted. Now, to kick off the new year, MBI’s “Today in the Word” January 5th and January 9th editions are favorably referencing mystic Henri Nouwen.

We pointed out that whoever at MBI quoted Nouwen from his book In the Name of Jesus perhaps did not read the section in Nouwen’s book called “The Discipline: Contemplative Prayer” where Nouwen says: “For Christian leadership to be truly fruitful in the future, a movement from the moral to the mystical is required” (p. 32). When Nouwen says “from the moral to the mystical,” he is referring to exactly that – the mystical. Nouwen personally practiced mantra-type meditation for many years, which led him to absorb the universalism and panentheism of the mystics he admired. We concluded our article by stating:

Nouwen’s propensity for the mystical elements of spirituality with panentheistic overtones, are quite evident when one studies his writings. Even one of his biographer’s noted that Nouwen was enamored with Sri Ramakrishna who believed that all the world’s religions were valid revelations from God. Yet Nouwen esteemed him as an important spiritual figure (from Wounded Prophet). There is ample evidence to show why Henri Nouwen cannot be considered a trustworthy source for biblical Christianity. Is it that MBI does not want to look at the evidence because they are attracted to the same spirituality as Nouwen, Crabb, Foster, and Kent? If this is not the conclusion that we should reach, then what is it?

In December of 2008, we posted “Confusion Over Moody’s Pastors Conference – Concern Over Contemplative Promotion.” In this article, we revealed that the 2009 Moody Pastors’ Conference was going to be including a break out session called Soul Care to be presented by a contemplative organization called Soul Care. After some correspondence between Lighthouse Trails and Moody’s public relations office, the break out session Soul Care was cancelled. However, our article also showed that on January 10th 2008, Moody’s Mi-Day Connection radio program interviewed Soul Care’s founder Mindy Caliguire and contemplative advocate Adele Ahlberg Calhoun to “talk about practices that can transform us.” Ahlberg Calhoun has been the subject of Lighthouse Trails articles because of her book, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook. In the book, Ahlberg Calhoun promotes mantra meditation, giving detailed instructions on several types of contemplative practices. In addition, she quotes from many New Age sympathizers and New Age contemplatives and encourages the use of centering prayer, breath prayers, contemplative prayer, labyrinths, palms-up, palms-down exercises, and recommends for further reading a who’s who of mystics. One of those she lists is Shalem Institute’s co-founder Tilden Edwards (p. 62).

A year later, in 2009, we wrote another article, this one titled: “Keri Wyatt Kent Continues Leading Women Toward Contemplative – Moody Bible Institute Helps,” showing Wyatt Kent’s continued connection with Moody’s Midday Connection program.

In November of 2011, we wrote “Focus on the Family’s Adventures of Odyssey Has “Eugene” Going to a Monastery – Moody Radio Broadcasts Program” (headline is self explanatory).

 In December of 2011, we wrote the following: “Moody Publishers Release Prayers for Today: A Yearlong Journey of Contemplative Prayer.” This seemed to be a big bold step Moody was taking toward contemplative. Regarding the contemplative prayer book that Moody published, we stated:

The book is a collection of various prayers by a wide assortment of writers (e.g. the prayer of confession, the prayer of thanksgiving, the prayer of renewal, etc). Near the end of the book, Kurt Bjorklund, the author, has a section titled “Works Cited.” He lists ”the sources for prayer utilized in this book.” There are around 70 sources. It is from these sources that the prayer collections are gathered.

At least a dozen of these are books by contemplative authors who Lighthouse Trails has written about in the past: Richard Foster, Brennan Manning, Ken Boa, Leighton Ford,  Max Lucado, Meister Eckhart, Thomas Aquinas, Teresa of Avila, and Mother Teresa, all strong advocates of contemplative prayer. In addition, there is a book by emerging hero N.T. Wright, one by atonement denier Harry Fosdick (who suggests the Cross is barbarian), a book called the Catholic Prayer Book, one titled Celtic Daily Prayers, and The Book of Common Prayer.

Bjorklund also turns to a number of ancient and contemporary Catholic monks and priests. One such contemporary priest, the abbe Huvelin, once said, “I want all the inhabitants [of this place - his hermitage] whether Christians, Moslems, Greeks, Jews, or idolaters, to look upon me as their brother, their universal brother.” [Based on our research, what he means is not brothers in the social sense but rather brothers in the spiritual sense.] Such is an underlying sentiment in contemplative circles. The abbe Huvelin is a fitting choice for Bjorklund’s book. Other books in this list of 70-some sources by Bjorklund include A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants, A Guide to Prayer For All Who Seek God, and Harper Collins Book of Prayers (and there are others),  all of which are brim full with prayers, references, and quotes by contemplative mystics.

It is a sad dilemma for us at Lighthouse Trails that try as might, Moody has dug in their heels and refuses to look at the evidence we present in our work. We are not asking them to take our word for it. We offer well-documented research, right out of the mouth of the mystics themselves. One year ago, in the spring of 2012, we  posted “The Moody Church of Chicago Welcomes Contemplative Advocate Larry Crabb As Guest Speaker.” It appeared that Lutzer’s Moody Church was going to stay in step with Moody Ministries. After watching the “sermon” that Larry Crabb gave at The Moody Church last spring, we made these observations:

In this message, Larry Crabb is introducing Jesus as more of an example or model to us (one that we can be like) than a Savior to us. This is the crux of the contemplative/emerging message. This is where spiritual formation comes in. Since to be truly Christ-like is not possible without Christ in us (born-again), the contemplatives turn to the disciplines (with the emphasis on the mystical), and this gives them the illusion of being close to God (the mystical experience produces this euphoric feeling).

His conclusion is that we need to search for our own “center[s].” His psychology-filled, Scripture-starving sermon did not point to Jesus Christ and His magnificence but rather pointed to how the attributes of God can make us a great community and have great relationships. . . .

Lest some think we are speaking inaccurately about Crabb’s propensities toward contemplative spirituality, take a look at his connection with Richard Foster (Renovare) and Dallas Willard, two of the main pioneers in the modern day contemplative prayer movement: http://store.renovare.us/search.aspx?searchterm=crabb.

And in Crabb’s book, Real Church, he makes the following revealing statement: “I’m glad that as a conservative evangelical who still believes in biblical inerrancy and penal substitution, I’ve gotten over my Catholic phobia, and I’ve been studying contemplative prayer, practicing lectio divina, valuing monastic retreats, and worshipping through ancient liturgy. I appreciate Bernard of Clairvaux’s [a panentheistic] provocative insights. I’m drawn to Brother Lawrence’s profoundly simple ways to practice God’s presence. I’m intrigued and enticed by Julian of Norwich’s [also a panentheist] mysterious appearings of Jesus (p. 41). (Crabb does say he is against “false mysticism” in the book, but clearly advocates what he considers legitimate mysticism, that of the contemplative mystics.)

This brings us full circle and leads us to answer the question, is the prayer of occultic mystics the same as the prayer of “Christian” contemplatives? We believe we answered that question in our recent article regarding Ruth Haley Barton’s invitation to the Assemblies of God General Council conference coming up this summer, “Lighthouse Trails Statement to Assemblies of God Response Regarding Invitation of Ruth Haley Barton” We hope you will read that article, and then, if you are persuaded as we are in knowing that contemplative prayer is a dangerous, occultic practice, contact Moody and beseech them to study this matter and find the truth on it.

Incidentally, last month, Eric Targe, a Senior student at MBI and a Pastoral Intern at The Moody Church wrote a blog article promoting lectio divina called “Reclaiming Tradition – Lectio Divina.

Moody Ministries
800-356-6639

LTRP Note: For the past several years, since 2007 when Roger Oakland’s expose on the emerging church (Faith Undone) came out, some figures in the emerging church tried to say that the emerging church was dead. We knew that was not true, even though at times there were efforts to change the name of the movement. Now Brian McLaren, one of the pioneers of the modern day emerging church movement (and an informal advisor to Obama during his campaign) has come forth asking for large amounts of money to help organize the emerging church movement. He is thinking it could possibly be called Emergence Christianity.

“Donation plea: Brian McLaren Responds”
From Stand Up For the Truth

LTRP Note: In view of Brian McLaren’s recent plea for money in order to re-organize the emerging church and his comment about “laggards,” this article by Ray Yungen is a must read.

by Ray Yungen 
One of the main tenets of New Age thought is peace, goodwill, and the unity of all humanity. Remember, the Age of Aquarius is to be the Age of Oneness. In context with this idea, the New Age term cleansing is quite disturbing. A number of books make reference to those who are laggards when the New Age reaches its maturity. New Age leaders consider these resisters as eventually the only hindrance in allowing this global oneness to occur:

Remnants of the Fifth Root Race [untransformed humanity] will continue to survive in the initial stages of the new Cosmic Cycle, but unless they increase their awareness or consciousness to the Higher Mind and the tempo of spirituality, they will be removed from the Life Stream of the Race.1 (emphasis added)

Unity-motivated souls will respond to His [the New Age Messiah's] call, their inner drive for spiritual world unity will synchronize with higher energy. People opposing the recognition of the Christ may struggle intensely, but it will not be prolonged. The Christ energy by then will be so strong people will be dealt with according to their own individualized karma and their ability and desire to assimilate this accelerated energy.2 (emphasis added)

The final appearance of the Christ will be an evolutionary event. It will be the disappearance of egocentric [lower self], subhuman man and the ascension of God-centered Man. A new race, a new species, will inhabit the Earth–people who collectively have the stature of consciousness that Jesus had.3 (emphasis added)

Even Alice Bailey herself, who personified New Age consciousness, backs what these previous quotes imply:

The new era is coming; the new ideals, the new civilization, the new modes of life, of education, of religious presentation and of government are slowly precipitating and naught can stop them. They can, however, be delayed by the reactionary types of people, by the ultra-conservative and closed minds…. They are the ones who can and do hold back the hour of liberation. A spiritual fluidity, a willingness to let all preconceived ideas and ideals go, as well as all beloved tendencies, cultivated habits of thought and every determined effort to make the world conform to a pattern which seems to the individual the best because, to him, the most enticing–these must all be brought under the power of death.4 (emphasis added)

If one understands the rationale behind these statements, then it becomes clear what they are talking about. Those who will accept the Christ consciousness can stay–those who won’t–must go. The quote about people’s “ability and desire” to assimilate the “Christ energy” as the determining factor in their fate is very thought provoking.

Barbara Marx Hubbard, a major New Age proponent and a supporter of Marianne Williamson’s Department of Peace efforts in Washington, DC says there must be a “selection process” for those “who refuse to see themselves and others as a part of God [Hubbard's New Age God].” She states:

He [God] describes, therefore, the necessity of a “selection process” that will select out resistant individuals who “choose” not to evolve.5 (emphasis added)

Human must become Divine. That is the law.6

You will recall David Spangler’s words from Chapter 8 of For Many Shall Come in My Name, about Satan being the angel of man’s “inner evolution.” Christians know Lucifer to be Satan, the Adversary, and II Thessalonians 2:9 informs us that Satan is the one who will empower the Antichrist. Those defying the Antichrist will really be defying Satan–and they will suffer dearly for it.

Persecution and death is predicted in the Bible for those who won’t fall into line during the Antichrist’s rule. The parallel between what the Bible says about this period and the statements above are striking. The following prophecies reveal what is in store for those who will preach the real Jesus Christ and the Gospel of the true kingdom during this time. Jesus said in Matthew 24:9:

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

“They” are the many who are coming in His name claiming to be “christs.” Revelation says of this period:

And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, 0 Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:9-10)

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4)

The following verse lends credence that this will be on an individual spiritual basis:

And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. (Luke 21:16)

This implies that a family member or a friend may be turned over to be dealt with for their own good. It will be seen as an altruistic act.

This view would most likely infuriate anyone involved with or attracted to New Age spirituality. After all, nowhere do you find New Agers saying they are going to kill anybody. It is left rather vague about how anyone will be removed. But the following channeled words by Neale Donald Walsch’s “God” explain the rationale for what most people would consider outrageous and impossible. Listen to his “God”:

So the first thing you have to understand–as I’ve already explained to you–is that Hitler didn’t hurt anyone. In a sense, he didn’t inflict suffering, he ended it.7

There is no “death.” Life goes on forever and ever. Life is. You simply change form…. After you change form, consequences cease to exist. There is just Knowing.8

The real issue is whether Hitler’s actions where [were] “wrong.” Yet I have said over and over again that there is no “right” or “wrong” in the universe. Now your thought that Hitler was a monster is based on the fact that he ordered the killing of millions of people, correct? What if I told you that what you call “death” is the greatest thing that could happen to anyone–what then?… Shall we therefore punish Bre’r Fox for throwing Bre’r Rabbit into the briar patch?9

This is a very revealing statement. Traditional morality has been virtually turned on its head here. In other words, according to the higher consciousness that Walsch is in tune with, killing people could actually be doing them a favor! But would Walsch think this is profound higher wisdom if he himself was shivering sick and starving in a cattle car bound for Auschwitz. Would he have a smile on his face if he were stripped naked and herded into a gas chamber to face a gruesome, agonizing death. I think not!

But incredibly, Walsch is one of the featured speakers in The Secret (see page 103) which is now sweeping the Western world in popularity. In The Secret, Walsch is described as a “modern-day spiritual messenger”10 and his Conversations with God books including the one from which the previous quotes about Hitler were taken) are called “groundbreaking.”

Could there have been the same spiritual component to Hitler’s persecution of humanity in Europe? Most likely. Consider the following evidence. The swastika, the main symbol of Nazism, is an age-old Hindu symbol that is still found on many temples throughout India. The word is not even German, but Sanskrit-Svastika–meaning “that which is excellent.”11 A New Age book has described its meaning as representing “the final stage in which the chakra is active, developed, opened, and energized by awakened kundalini energy.”12 Thus, the very banner of Nazism stood for the energy that underlies the whole New Age movement. New Agers even acknowledge this. David Spangler makes reference in one of his books to “…the Nazi movement, which had many roots in occultism.”13 The swastika symbol was also prominently displayed on Madame Blavatsky’s personal brooch, in exactly the same style as the Nazi one (tilting at an angle to the right) decades before the Nazi Party was even formed. One can also see the parallel between Nazism and the Ancient Wisdom in the Hindu caste system, with its Brahmin (aryan) caste and its lower untouchable caste. The Nazis also took the term Aryan-literally, the worthy race–from Hinduism.14 The word has nothing to do with ancient Germany as many believe, but is a Hindu word meaning noble or superior. (From For Many Shall Come in My Name by Ray Yungen, 2007, pp. 162-167)

Related Articles:

The Eerie Silence of a Silent Church  by Warren B. Smith

Purpose Driven Resisters – Must Leave or Die

John Foxe (1517-1587) and His Book of Martyrs – An Introduction
 

Notes:
1. Donald Yott, Man and Metaphysics, (New York, NY: Sam Weiser, Inc., 1980), p. 58.
2. John Davis and Naomi Rice, Messiah and the Second Coming, (New York, NY: Sam Weiser, Inc., 1980), p. 152.
3. John White, “The Second Coming” (New Frontier Magazine, December 1987), p. 45.
4. Alice Bailey, The Externalization of the Hierarchy (http://laluni.helloyou.ws/net news/bk/externalisation/exte1119.html, accessed 03/2007), Section II – The General World Picture.
5. Warren Smith, Reinventing Jesus Christ, (Ravenna, OH: Conscience Press, printed edition, 2002), p. 16, citing Barbara Marx Hubbard, Conscious Evolution: Awakening the Power of Our Social Potential (Novato, CA: New World Library, 1998), pp. 240, 267.
6. Ibid., p. 19, Smith citing Marx Hubbard from The Revelation (Novato, CA: Nataraj Publishing, 1995), p. 233.
7. Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God, Book 2 (Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Road Publishing Company, Inc., 1997), p. 56.
8. Ibid., p. 40.
9. Ibid., p. 36.
10. Rhonda Byrne, The Secret (New York, NY: Atria Books and Hillsboro, OR: Beyond Words Publishing, First Atria Books/Beyond Words hardcover edition, 2006), p. 197.
11. Geoffrey A. Barborka, Glossary of Sanskrit Terms (Buena Park, CA: Stockton Trade Press, Point Loma Publications, 1972), p. 64.
12. Zachary E Lansdowne, Ph. D., The Chakras and Esoteric Healing (York Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser, Inc., First Indian edition: Delhi, 1993), p. 114.
13. David Spangler, Emergence: The Rebirth of the Sacred (New York, NY: Dell Publishing Company, 1984), p. 159.
14. Geoffrey A. Barborka, op. cit., p. 15.

Sandy Simpson, from Deception in the Church Ministries, has just announced a new feature on his website - Downloadable video and audio lectures and discussions. The downloads are selling for just a few dollars each for an instant downloadable video or audio file, which you can watch from your computer. We purchased one called The Question of Dominion, where Sandy is talking about dominionism. Very informative. To access these downloadable videos and audios, visit Deception in the Church website and look for the blue icon throughout the site. Deception in the Church has thousands of articles, links, books, CDs, and DVDs that deal with the spiritual deception in the church today.

By Heather Clark
Christian News Network

Sebastian, Fla. – Debate is stirring nationwide over a case involving a Florida teenager who has been charged with felony child abuse for engaging in a sexual relationship with a female teammate, who is a minor.

Kaitlyn Hunt is an 18-year-old senior at Sebastian River High School — that is, until recently, when she was expelled from school after being arrested on criminal charges for having a same-sex physical relationship with a 14-year-old freshman. According to reports, both Hunt and the girl play on the school’s basketball team, and both were stated to have been in a consensual relationship.

However, when the coach found out about the two being romantically involved, she contacted the younger teen’s parents, who then called police. The girl’s mother, who also serves as a coach, had Hunt kicked off the team. Click here to continue reading.