“Our aim is to call students to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ, and our approach to reaching this goal is increasingly unique in the educational landscape.” (Briercrest Mission Statement)
Briercrest College and Seminary in Saskatchewan, Canada is a Christian institution that claims to provide “Bible based education enabling Christ-like integrity in life, thought, and service.” 1 On a Belief statement, they say they believe: “The Holy Scriptures as originally given by God, divinely inspired, infallible, entirely trustworthy, and the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.” 2 However, the college/seminary is pushing forward in promoting both contemplative and emerging spiritualities, both of which are contrary to the “Holy Scriptures.”
This report will show many different avenues through which contemplative/emerging is influencing and/or entering Briercrest.
In Faith Undone, Roger Oakland makes some interesting observations about Briercrest professor Dale Dirksen:
In an article he wrote titled “Old is ‘New’ Again: the Emergent Church,” Dirksen says that emergent people are “questioning” things like “the power of human reason” and “have a lot of interest in ancient ideas.” He says they are “hungry for mystery and searching for God.”
Dirksen explains what he sees as advantages for the changes the emergent church hopes to bring. He explains:
Cultural change requires careful and thoughtful response… It is often in change that we refine, or even rediscover the major things and set aside the ones that do not matter so much. We have the chance to do that now.
Similar to most emergent church advocates, Dirksen is looking for a new kind of Christianity. He asks:
If we are going to get serious about following the command of Christ to make disciples, it will mean adopting a new kind of attitude, a new sense of mission. How can we learn about this new culture in which we find ourselves? What is its language? What are its practices? What are its gods?
Dirksen provides his readers with insights that can be used for evangelizing the postmodern generation. He offers a suggestion to understanding emergent language and culture:
[The emergent language] is more than a verbal language. It involves pictures, symbols, actions, even smells. To speak “emergent” the church will need to use more than just words. The good news is that we can find this emergent language in our own faith. But we will have to look back a long way. (emphasis added)
Just how far back does Dirksen think we need to look? He answers that when he states:
To connect with emergent people, however, we will need to look back much further than the twentieth century or even the Reformation. Ancient practices that seem to have spiritual significance for emergent people are often found in the third century, the turn of the first millennium, or the drama of worship in the Middle Ages.
Going back to ancient teachings is necessary, according to Dirksen, but only as far back as the mystics of the third century. (see Faith Undone, pp. 71-72; *see below for Dirksen references)
Dirksen is referring to the desert fathers, who are third century monks that practiced contemplative prayer. Some believe they got these meditative practices from practitioners in pagan religions. Meditation promoter Daniel Goleman from his book Meditative Mind states:
The meditation practices and rules for living of these earliest Christian monks bear strong similarity to those of their Hindu and Buddhist renunciate brethren several kingdoms to the east. While Jesus and his teachings were their inspiration, the meditative techniques they adopted for finding their God suggest either a borrowing from the East or a spontaneous rediscovery. The ways of the Desert Fathers influence Christian monasticism to this day.
Briercrest has become no stranger to the mystics, including those like Brother Lawrence (who “danced violently like a madman”3 when he went into the silence), panentheist Thomas Kelly, mystic Teresa of Avila and many others.4, calling the writings of these mystics “great works of Christian devotion.” It was Thomas Kelly who said that every human being has a divine center and a holy sanctuary.5
One Briercrest course titled “The Writings of Thomas Merton” is taught by Lynn Szabo. Szabo is a “distinguished scholar of the poet, mystic, and political activist Thomas Merton”6 [the original link to Briercrest no longer works, but this link goes to the course that Szabo teaches on Merton] and has served on the Board of Directors of the International Thomas Merton Society. Those who have researched the spirituality of Thomas Merton understand that he was a practitioner and promoter of Eastern-style mantra meditation, which led him to say he was “impregnated with Sufism” (Islamic mysticism -from Merton and Sufism, p. 109).
Briercrest has placed a major emphasis on Spiritual Formation and includes the teachings of Henri Nouwen and many others of similar spiritual affinities. In one course, Spiritual Formation BT112, the syllabus shows that Richard Foster’s book, Devotional Classics is used as a textbook. It is in that 1993 book that Foster exalts mystics like Thomas Merton, John of the Cross, Nouwen, Evelyn Underhill and several others. In the book, Foster says:
I am constantly pleased at how applicable Merton’s writings are … The guidance he gives on meditative prayer is practical and “bite-sized.” (p. 66).
In Devotional Classics, Foster also recommends readers read Merton’s books Seeds of Contemplation and Contemplative Prayer for a “deeper” spiritual experience. No doubt, many Briercrest students who take this course will be introduced to eastern mysticism through Thomas Merton. The instructor of this particular course at Briercrest says that the exercises from the textbooks are “required” to do. In other words, if students want to pass, they better practice contemplative prayer!
While there are numerous other examples, this report will give one final example of Briercrest’s move in the contemplative direction. On their Internet Research Guide sits resources such as Leonard Sweet (New Age sympathizer), The Ooze (an emergent organization) and Worship Leader magazine (a very pro-emergent, pro-mystic publication). Rather than there being a disclaimer that these websites could be harmful to one’s spiritual health, Briercrest calls them “recommended Internet resources you may find helpful in your studies.”
For those not familiar with the teachings of Leonard Sweet, please read A Time of Departing and Faith Undone. Sweet, who has co-partnered with Rick Warren in the past, is a major player in bringing New Age influence into the Christian church. In his book Quantum Spirituality, he speaks of a “christ-consciousness” and a “New Light” movement that all can participate in.
As for The Ooze, Ray Yungen reveals their spiritual proclivity by quoting The Ooze founder and director, Spencer Burke:
I was struck by the incredible wisdom that could be found apart from the “approved” evangelical reading list. A Trappist monk, [Thomas] Merton gave me a new appreciation for the meaning of community. His New Man and New Seeds of Contemplation touched my heart in ways other religious books had not. Not long afterward my thinking was stretched again, this time by Thich Nhat Hanh–a Buddhist monk … Hanh’s Living Buddha, Living Christ gave me insight into Jesus from an Eastern perspective. (p. 157. ATOD)
If Briercrest truly wants to give students a “Bible based education enabling Christ-like integrity in life, thought, and service,” this can only happen if they abandon their present course toward contemplative spirituality and the emerging church.
Notes:
*Quotes by Dale Dirksen are from: Dale Dirksen, “Old is ‘New’ Again” (Passport Magazine, Fall 2005, Vol. 64. No. 2).
For a list of Christian colleges that are promoting contemplative spirituality, click here.
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