Mark Driscoll and Liberty University Are Good Match – Both Promote Contemplative Spirituality

The Associated Baptist Press article, Mark Driscoll’s visit to Liberty University making waves, caught our attention. Driscoll will be speaking at Liberty University as part of a promotional tour for his new book, Real Marriage. The article states:

The conservative Christian school in Lynchburg, Va., is next up on a tour by the founding pastor of Mars Hill Church promoting his new book, Real Marriage, co-authored with his wife, Grace. Some believe the book’s explicit advice on bedroom practices between a husband and wife wouldn’t sit well with Liberty’s late founder Jerry Falwell or with many of the school’s donors and alumni.

While there has been some efforts, including a ballot, to stop Driscoll from speaking at Liberty University (Liberty is co-sponsoring the event), Lighthouse Trails can see how Mark Driscoll and the Liberty University of today are a good match with respect to contemplative spirituality – they both promote it. When all is said and done, contemplative is such a significant issue (given that its roots are anti-Gospel) that to share this propensity with each other, as Driscoll and Liberty do, from our point of view, makes the two entities on the same page. In other words, Driscoll is there because the school resonates with him. A little of our research below.

On Driscoll:

What’s Sex Got To Do With It?

Mark Driscoll under fire over sexually-explicit guide to marriage

WorldNetDaily on Mark Driscoll and Rick Warren: Growing trend to meet with Muslims rings alarm bells for some

CrossTalk Calls Mark Driscoll and Liberty University To Task for Compromising the Faith

Article on Mark Driscoll’s Site Takes Scripture Out of Context to Defend Contemplative

Mark Driscoll IS a Contemplative Proponent

On Liberty University (not a comprehensive list):

Liberty University Climbs Deeper into the Contemplative/Emerging Camp

Rick Warren Addresses Students at Liberty University

Letter from the Editor: Friend’s Husband Angry at Lighthouse Trails – Says LT Lies About Liberty University’s Contemplative Propensities

An Introduction to a Model for Teaching Spiritual Formation to Liberty University Athletic Students (pay attention to pages 245-256 – names of many contemplatives such as Henri Nouwen, Richard Foster, David Benner, Dallas Willard, Jan Johnson, Marjorie Thompson (Soul Feast), Ruth Haley Barton, and several others).

Liberty University courses are peppered with textbooks by contemplative promoting authors.

Also pay attention to the AACC Code of Ethics (on the Liberty website for years), where it states the following:

NOTE 2. Although rooted primarily in an orthodox evangelical biblical theology, this Code is also influenced (according to the paradigm offered by Richard Foster) by the social justice, charismatic-pentecostal, pietistic- holiness, liturgical, and contemplative traditions of Christian theology and church history.

Missions History of the Early Church (see page 24)