Gary Thomas

Letter to the Editor From Dallas Theological Seminary Student—DTS Does Advocate for Contemplative Spirituality

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To Lighthouse Trails: The relationship Dallas Theological Seminary has with contemplative spirituality has been debated on Lighthouse Trails, and defended by DTS. As a current student, I can confirm some departments and professors do advocate explicitly for the contemplative brand of spirituality.  The school requires four semesters of spiritual formation. Students must engage with the … [Read more…]

Letter to the Editor: The Handwriting on the Wall . . . and Rightnow Media

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To Lighthouse Trails and readers: As I stood at the bedside of my dad in a hospital, in shock at his unexpected passing, I looked up at the wall, and there on the whiteboard was written, “Last rites- 2:00 pm.” I had spent two and a half months visiting daily in the hospital while my … [Read more…]

A Rose By Any Other Name OR A Deception By Any Other Name – It’s All the Same

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Dear Lighthouse Trails: This is from a circulating email from Prairie [formerly Prairie Bible Institute or PBI in Three Hills Alberta]. It sounds so good, but I suspect it is dangerous. S. ____ Email Our Reader Received from Prairie: What’s NEW for our upcoming year New Student Orientation begins tomorrow! This time of year campus … [Read more…]

NEW BOOKLET: Teresa of Avila – An Ancient Mystic Who Helped Shape Today’s Spiritual Formation Movement

NEW BOOKLET: Teresa of Avila – An Ancient Mystic Who Helped Shape Today’s Spiritual Formation Movement by Carolyn A. Greene is our newest Lighthouse Trails Booklet. The Booklet is 18 pages long and sells for $1.95 for single copies. Quantity discounts are as much as 50% off retail. Our Booklets are designed to give away to others or … [Read more…]

Letter to the Editor: Please Add BiblicalTraining.Org to Colleges/Schools Promoting Spiritual Formation (Contemplative Prayer)

To Lighthouse Trails: I have been studying Bill Mounce’s “Basics of Biblical Greek” textbook. It is an excellent course of study, but Mr. Mounce puts a plug for his website biblicaltraining.org. Though they are a Calvinist-based ministry, there are some good apologetic things and history things that I’ve looked at. I was shocked though when … [Read more…]

Tantric (i.e., Contemplative) Sex and Christianity—A Match NOT Made in Heaven

The Bible says we live in a “crooked and perverse” world and that as believers we are to “shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). The closer we move toward the “end of the age” (Matthew 24), the darker and more perverse the world becomes. Global peace plans, inter-faith movements, emergent spiritualities, and other … [Read more…]

Letter to the Editor From a FORMER Contemplative: Focus on the Family’s “Father Gilbert’s Mysteries” Points Listeners to Contemplative Prayer

LTRP Note: This is perhaps one of the most significant letters we have ever received, not just because it exposes more of Focus on the Family’s contemplative propensities, but because it  shows the results (i.e., the “fruit”) of practicing contemplative prayer. This “fruit” is precisely why Lighthouse Trails has been crying out a warning for … [Read more…]

Mark Driscoll Resigns From Mars Hill Church For Social Failures – But Media Silent on Controversial Doctrinal Issues

On October 14, 2014, Mark Driscoll, the senior pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington for the past 18 years, formally resigned from his position after numerous accusations came against him from former members and others. As is the case with most mega-church pastors these days when they do just about anything different than … [Read more…]

Letter to the Editor: What To Do When Christian Charities, Such as Compassion, Turn Contemplative/Emergent

Hi Lighthouse Trails! Thank you so much for your ministry! My family has been learning about apostasy for a little while now, and we stumbled across your website recently. . . We read your article about VOM and Michael Wurmbrand and were deeply saddened by it.  We have supported VOM for many years so it … [Read more…]

BOOK ALERT: Conformed to His Image by Ken Boa

The title of Ken Boa’s book, Conformed to His Image, is taken from the Scripture Romans 8:29: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” However, before believers delve into this book with the hope it … [Read more…]

Letter to the Editor: Saddened and Alarmed at Focus on the Family’s Promoting Contemplative Spirituality

LTRP Note: The following letter to the LT editor and the response this person received from Focus on the Family is used with permission from our reader. Important to note that FOF’s response is similar to the response FOF was giving back in 2006 (when we received a letter from them) when asked why they were promoting Richard … [Read more…]

Letter from Focus on the Family: Takes Lighthouse Trails with a “healthy dose of salt” & defends contemplative Gary Thomas

LTRP Note: This weekend we received a letter from a Lighthouse Trails reader who sent us this response he received from Focus on the Family regarding their promotion of contemplative Gary Thomas. Our reader gave us permission to post the letter he received.  Dear _____________,  Greetings from Focus on the Family!  Thank you for your … [Read more…]

Ann Voskamp’s Best Selling Book One Thousand Gifts – A Collision of Inspiration and the New Spirituality

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp is a 2010 Zondervan title that is a New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon Best-Seller. The author is a contributing writer for DaySpring, and she has a blog that receives 40-50 thousand visitors every week.1  Voskamp has risen quickly in popularity, with invitations to various conferences and other events. (In April, she spoke in … [Read more…]

Emanuel Swedenborg’s Occultic Beliefs Influence Rick Warren’s Health Advisor and Now the Christian Church

This is a  follow up article to our article,  Rick Warren’s New Health and Wellness Initiative Could Have Profound Repercussions on Many. Exclusive Lighthouse Trails Commentary by John Lanagan Free-Lance Writer My Word Like Fire Ministries “You can become a Reiki master in three weekends.” –Lisa Oz, wife of Dr. Mehmet Oz Perhaps it is not … [Read more…]

Mark Driscoll IS a Contemplative Proponent

Mark Driscoll is a name that has grown in popularity among evangelicals especially over the past few years. Somewhat known for his vulgar and crass language in public, he has been invited to speak at conferences by a wide assortment of Christian leaders–John Piper and Robert Schuller to name two. Driscoll also shared a platform this … [Read more…]