BOOK REVIEW FROM BOOKS AND CHOCOLATE
The full title of this book is For Many Shall Come in My Name: How the “Ancient Wisdom” is Drawing Millions of People into Mystical Experiences and Preparing the World For the End of the Age. It’s a long title but sums up the topic.
The new trend within the Christian church is a call to return to the “ancient wisdom”, drawing on the teachings of Catholic mystics from centuries ago and combining them with the techniques of meditation, labrynth walking, centering, mantras, reiki, etc., newly packaged as contemplative prayer and spiritual formation.
But there is nothing new here, as Yungen documents. The “ancient wisdom” permeating the church is the same old “new-age” teachings of paganism, the occult, and Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. It just has a more savvy wrapping and is being embraced not only by mainstream Christian denominations but also in the fields of health, business, education, self-help, and arts and entertainment. It is presented as the science of metaphysics or as biblical; not for the open door to the dangerous side of the spiritual realm that it is. Click here to read entire book review.