Doctors don't like the term "alternative medicine." They use words like complementary or integrative. But they're paying attention. From yoga to acupuncture, unconventional ways to treat illness are showing promise.

One of the practices discussed at length in the article is a practice called Reiki, which is quickly growing in popularity. Some figures show that there are over one and a half million Reiki channelers in the US alone. And in Germany over a million people have been initiated into Reiki. Other countries follow suit.

For Christians who are familiar with the term Reiki, the idea that it is becoming mainstream along with other techniques, should be quite troubling. According to one large Reiki organization, Reiki can be defined as "a non-physical healing energy made up of life force energy that is guided by the Higher Intelligence, or spiritually guided life force energy." 1

Is this "Higher Intelligence" the God of the Bible, the one and only true God? We don't believe it is, and yet even Christian organizations and churches are embracing Reiki just as they are embracing other mystical practices such as contemplative prayer.

Research analyst Ray Yungen explains how this can be happening: "The reason for this level of acceptance is easy to understand. Most people, many Christians included, believe if something is spiritually positive then it is of God." Yet Yungen points out: "While this is not widely advertised, Reiki practitioners depend on this spirit guide connection as an integral aspect of Reiki." And here lies the problem.

Mike Oppenheimer (Let Us Reason) explains the origins of Reiki:

Reiki is the Japanese word for Universal Life Form Energy. The definition for Reiki is universal, transcendental spirit, power, and essence. The Rei and ki are broken down into their two component parts, (Kanji Japanese alphabet) it is described as the vital life form energy similar to the Chi of Chinese acupuncture. In the Encyclopedia of Alternative Health Care, author Kristin Olsen says Reiki is "an energy healing system based on ancient Tibetan knowledge discovered by a Japanese theologian."2

How does it work? Oppenheimer explains:

Reiki is a "laying on of hands" healing. Reiki today is an energy technique that is passed along from Reiki masters to initiates.... [T]hese Reiki masters themselves don't understand how it works. They can only describe it as a linking with the cosmic radiant energy, an opening of chakras, or an attunement with universal life energy.

Yungen says that one of the main reasons Reiki has become so popular is its apparently pleasurable experience. "Those who have experienced Reiki report feeling a powerful sense of warmth and security. One woman, now a Reiki master, remarked after her first encounter: 'I don't know what this is you've got but I just have to have it" (FMSCN, ch. 6). But as Yungen points out, Reiki is dangerous and has serious spiritual implications:

What Reiki is really about is using this power to transform others into New Age consciousness. As one Reiki leader states:

[I]t also makes a level of spiritual transformation available to non-meditators, that is usually reserved for those with a meditative path.

Statements like this reveal that Reiki is in line with all the other New Age transformation efforts. It changes the way people perceive reality. Most practitioners acknowledge the truth of this. A German Reiki channeler makes this comment:

It frequently happens that patients will come into contact with new ideas after a few Reiki treatments. Some will start doing yoga or autogenesis training or start to meditate or practice [sic] some other kind of spiritual method.... Fundamental changes will set in and new things will start to develop. You will find it easier to cast off old, outlived structures and you will notice that you are being led and guided more and more.

What concerns me is that Reiki apparently can be combined with regular massage techniques without the recipient even knowing it. A letter in the Reiki Journal reveals:

Reiki is a whole new experience when used in my massage therapy practice. Massage, I thought, would be an excellent tool to spread the radiance of this universal energy and a client would benefit and really not realize what a wonderful growth was happening in his or her being.

Since Reiki is not something taught intellectually even children can be brought into it. In one Reiki magazine, I found an ad that was offering a Children's Reiki Handbook: A Guide to Energy Healing for Kids. The book is described as a "guide that provides kids with what they need to prepare for their first Reiki Attunement." (for notes, see For Many Shall Come in My Name, pp. 78-81)

If US News & World Report is correct in their assessment that Reiki, Yoga, and other types of healing practices are now mainstream, then Reiki is here to stay. One can only wonder if Reiki is going to become as popular in Christian circles as Yoga now has. If it does, then as with contemplative spirituality, the spiritual lives of countless people will be jeopardized and the Gospel of Jesus Christ seriously compromised.

For further research:

Yoga

Reiki

READER COMMENTS:

Thank you for your article on reiki spiritualism. I'd like to give my two cents, having had a friend who was highly involved with the practices.

We would go out to dinner together and he would try and 'channel' his 'powers' in order to change the temperature of the room or to heal peoples' headaches. He thinks that the utilization of his own soul power or 'chakra' and channeling (demon possession) will eventually, through practice, give him special superhuman abilities to heal people and raise others from the dead. He talked very highly of all of this.

The only thing he and I could ever agree upon was this 'age of aquarius', what I believe is referred to biblically as the 'days of noah', or the end of the world. He (and all of my other new age friends) know very well that in the past, an age existed that was entirely wicked and perverse (the pre-flood days) and soon the whole world will unite under and revert back to those days, practicing demon possession and sorcery and claiming themselves as gods. And they all wait with eagerness for this as if it were not wicked, but very good. I tell them I agree that this time will occur, but that it will be a time of great evil, not good, and that Jesus Christ will come back to set things straight. Of course they disagree.

Something interesting though that must be noted. My reiki friend also told me that as he got more involved with reiki practices, he would be tormented and chased by 'dark forces'. Of course we know very well what this is, but he thinks he can control them with his own powers, which he has consistently failed to do in the time I was with him.

We must make sure Christians know exactly what this reiki spiritualism is because it is highly experiential and often takes the form of light, healing and performing miracles among men.

That's it. Thank you again and grace with you always.

Christianity Today Proclaims Ancient Future Church At Hand

In the February issue of Christianity Today, the cover article titled "The Future Lies in the Past"" proclaims that the "ancient future" church is now a reality. The cover photo shows a young man kneeling in a pile of sand (shovel sitting next to him), and he has just dug up a medieval looking Christian cross. The caption reads "Lost Secrets of the Ancient Church: How evangelicals started looking back to move forward."

The article begins:

The theme of this particular event held at Wheaton was called "The Ancient Faith for the Church's Future." Quoting CT senior editor Thomas Oden, the article says that this new generation is "rediscovering the neglected beauty of classical Christian teaching." Baylor University's D. H. Williams was also present at the ancient future conference and gave his support by saying: "Who would have thought, a decade ago, that one of the most vibrant and serious fields of Christian study at the beginning of the 21st century would be the ancient church fathers?"

Calling the conference a kind of "coming of age" mile marker, the article acknowledges that this "worship renewal movement" began about 30 years ago and has caused evangelicals to enter "the new millennium by surging into the past ... All signs point to the maturing of the ancient-future church."

Rightfully, the article credits Richard Foster (whose Celebration of Discipline came on the scene 30 years ago (1978)) with the "birth of the ancient-future movement." Others mentioned that helped fuel the new movement were the late Robert Webber (author of Ancient-Future Worship) and Thomas Oden (CT editor and professor at Drew University). It was the hope of Foster, the article states, to bring the church's "historical resources to bear on Christians' spiritual lives."

The article points out that many "20- and 30-something evangelicals" are unhappy with both traditional Christianity (defined in the article as that which focuses on doctrine) as well as the seeker friendly, church-growth type churches.

The article says these young emerging evangelicals are looking for a "renewed encounter with a God" that goes beyond "doctrinal definitions." The question is then asked,

The article points out that prior to now, evangelicals that wanted to "tap" all these ancient riches felt they needed to stop being Protestant and convert to Catholicism; "to read deeply in history is to cease being Protestant." But that has all changed, the article says. Scholars are now saying that "to read history is not to cease being Protestant ... and does not necessarily lead to conversion [to Catholicism]."

The article states that the new evangelicalism must learn the "ascetic disciplines" from "Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, and living, practicing monks and nuns."

For those who understand the spirituality of Richard Foster and those who resonate with him like Dallas Willard and Brennan Manning, this article confirms all that Ray Yungen and Roger Oakland have been trying to warn fellow believers about. One, that the evangelical church is embracing contemplative spirituality, and two, it is an ecumenical drift toward Catholicism (and eventually a broader one world body of all religions). That is not a sweeping and exaggerated statement. It is happening before our very eyes, and Christianity Today has just acknowledged it.

Let's look for a moment at the spirituality of Richard Foster. In the mid-nineties, Ray Yungen had already been researching the New Age for many years. This included studying Thomas Merton, whom Yungen had come to realize was panentheistic (God is in all) and interspiritual in his views and that Merton was a proponent of eastern-style meditation. It was at this time that Ray attended a weekend seminar at a local church featuring Richard Foster. At the request of the youth pastor of the church, Yungen did some preliminary research on the writings of Foster. Surprisingly, he saw a link between Foster and Merton. After Foster had spoken at the seminar, Yungen approached him and asked him what he thought of the current Catholic contemplative prayer movement. After noticeable uneasiness, Foster answered: "Thomas Merton tried to awaken God's people." Yungen knew what Foster meant. There was only one area in spirituality that Merton believed was lacking in Christianity, and that was the mystical element.

In Celebration of Discipline Foster says "we should all without shame enroll in the school of contemplative prayer" (COG, p. 13, 1978 ed.). And he has echoed this belief in many of his other books and writings over the last thirty years. Understand these writings, and you will understand the seriousness of the Christianity Today article.

In 1992, Foster wrote Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home, in which he openly quotes Merton on the virtues and benefits of contemplative prayer putting forth the view that through it God "offers you an understanding and light, which are like nothing you ever found in books or heard in sermons."

Ray Yungen explains the significance of this. To ignore the following is to miss the key to Foster's spirituality:

<But when one digs deeper and finds what exactly this "understanding" is, it casts a very dubious light on Foster's judgment. Listen to a few statements from some of the mystics whom Foster sees as examples of contemplative spirituality:

* [T]he soul of the human family is the Holy Spirit.--Basil Pennington
* I saw that God is in all things.--Julian of Norwich
* My beloved [God] is the high mountains, and the lovely valley forests, unexplored islands, rushing rivers.--John of the Cross
* Here [the contemplative state] everything is God. God is everywhere and in all things.--Madam Guyon

The point is this--their silence and Foster's silence are identical, as he makes notably clear. By using them as models, Foster tells us to follow them because they have experienced deep union with God--and if you also want this, you must go into their silence.

But if this is the case, then Foster's promotion of these mystics brings into play a difficult problem for him. Panentheism was the fruit of their mysticism. This mysticism led them to believe as they did, and Foster cannot distance himself from this fact. Consequently, to promote them as the champions of contemplative prayer, he is also, wittingly or not, endorsing their panentheism. What he endorses is a bundled package. You can accept both or reject both, but you cannot have one without the other.

To absolve these mystics of fundamental theological error, Foster has to also defend panentheism. Therefore, the evangelical church must come to a firm consensus on panentheistic mysticism. Contemplative prayer and panentheism go together like a hand in a glove--to promote one is to promote both. They are inseparable! Further, when one looks at Foster's method of entering this silence, it casts his teachings in a very questionable light.

When Foster speaks of the silence, he does not mean external silence. In his book, Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home, Foster recommends the practice of breath prayer--picking a single word or short phrase and repeating it in conjunction with the breath. This is classic contemplative mysticism. In the original 1978 edition of Celebration of Discipline, he makes his objective clear when he states, "Christian meditation is an attempt to empty the mind in order to fill it." In Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home, he ties in a quote by one mystic who advised, "You must bind the mind with one thought." (A Time of Departing, 2nd ed., ch. 4)>

While the Christianity Today article hits the target straight center in identifying Richard Foster as one of the leading pioneers of the contemplative movement, the article is misleading in one important aspect, however. In reading the article, one is left with the impression that by and large the ancient future (contemplative) movement is primarily attracting the younger generation. But this just isn't true. Countless men and women, Christian organizations, locals churches, colleges and seminaries, and most denominations (to varying degrees) are embracing spiritual formation (i.e., contemplative). Even Rick Warren, in his first book, The Purpose Driven Church, honored the movement and its founder, Richard Foster (pp. 126, 127) when he acknowledged that the spiritual formation movement would help bring the church into "full maturity" and connected Richard Foster to the movement. Warren said the movement "has had a valid message for the church" and "has given the body of Christ a wake-up call." Since that 1995 recognition by Warren, sales of Celebration of Discipline have soared. There is no doubt that this movement has been accepted by the older generation as well.

The ancient future movement to go back to the past (the desert fathers, monks, mystics, etc.) in order to go forward means that leaders in the movement (Foster, Webber, Willard, Merton, etc.) recognize that before an ecumenical all-inclusive spiritual body (as Foster puts it) can be realized, mysticism has got to be brought in. For it is in the mystical state that one thinks he has come into ultimate union with God and with all creation. But in this meditative state, the exclusivity of Jesus Christ's message ("I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6) has been invalidated and compromised. And for this reason, contemplative spirituality (i.e., the ancient future faith) cannot be considered biblical Christianity.

Nothing makes the point clearer than when you look at the chapter on contemplative prayer in Foster's book Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home where he makes positive reference to Basil Pennington saying that Pennington calls this type of prayer "centering prayer." But listen to the following account given by Pennington in his own book appropriately titled Centering Prayer:

Now ponder this account in light of how the Christianity Today article ends:

If some think this is gospel Christianity, consider that Pennington did not give the gospel to the Hindu monk but rather was a co-mystic with him. And if this is ancient future Christianity, then it is not Christianity at all.

For a clear and concise understanding of contemplative spirituality and the emerging church, we hope you will read A Time of Departing and Faith Undone.

2008 Saddleback Small Groups Conference Brings Together Rick Warren and Leonard Sweet

In less than two weeks, Rick Warren will team up with Leonard Sweet at the 2008 Saddleback Small Groups Conference. The following is our November 2007 report on this event. If you want to get a glimpse of a Purpose Driven Christianity, study the beliefs and writings of Leonard Sweet. In 1994 when Warren and Sweet did the Tides of Changes audio project, they made it very clear that they resonated with each other's vision for the future. A few years later, Warren endorsed the cover of Sweet's book, Soul Tsunami. Now in 2008, the two men are back together:

From our November 2007 report:

Rick Warren has invited New Age proponent Leonard Sweet to speak at the 2008 Saddleback Small Groups Conference called Wired. 1 The theme of the conference is "Prepare your church for spiritual growth and connectivity." Unfortunately, spiritual growth and connectivity ala Leonard Sweet could be a panentheistic, mystical dose of the New Age--and it isn't the first time Warren has found comradeship with Sweet. As Ray Yungen explains in A Time of Departing, Sweet and Warren came together in 1994 for their Tides of Change audio series. Yungen describes Warren and Sweet's relationship as well as Sweet's beliefs:

In the set, Warren and Sweet talk about "new frontiers," "changing times" and a "new spirituality" on the horizon.
Later, in Sweet's 2001 book, Soul Tsunami, Warren gives an endorsement that sits on the back as well as on the front cover of the book. Of the book, Warren says:

Leonard Sweet ... suggests practical ways to communicate God's unchanging truth to our changing world.1

Some of these "practical ways" include using a labyrinth and visiting a meditation center.2 Sweet also says, "It's time for a Post Modern Reformation,"3 adding that "The wind of spiritual awakening is blowing across the waters."4 He says that times are changing and you'd better "Reinvent yourself for the 21st century or die."5

To better understand Leonard Sweet's spirituality, I would like to draw your attention to a book he wrote a few years prior to The Tides of Change audio set--Quantum Spirituality. I highly recommend you take a look at this book yourself--Sweet has now placed the book on his website at www.leonardsweet.com in a format easy to download, which, of course, shows that he still promotes its message.

The acknowledgments section of Quantum Spirituality shows very clearly Sweet's spiritual sympathies. In it, Sweet thanks interspiritualists/universalists such as Matthew Fox (author of The Coming of the Cosmic Christ), Episcopalian priest/mystic Morton Kelsey, Willis Harman (author of Global Mind Change) and Ken Wilber (one of the major intellectuals in the New Age movement) for helping him to find what he calls "New Light."6 Sweet adds that he trusts "the Spirit that led the author of The Cloud of Unknowing."7

In the preface of the same book, Sweet disseminates line after line of suggestions that the "old teachings" of Christianity must be replaced with new teachings of "the New Light." And yet these new teachings, he believes, will draw from "ancient teachings" (the Desert Fathers). This "New Light movement," Sweet says, is a "radical faith commitment that is willing to dance to a new rhythm.8

Throughout the book, Sweet favorably uses terms like Christ consciousness and higher self and in no uncertain terms promotes New Age ideology: "[Quantum spirituality is] a structure of human becoming, a channeling of Christ energies through mindbody experience."9 ...

Sweet also tells his readers that humanity and creation are united as one and we must realize it. Once humanity comes to this realization, Sweet says:

Then, and only then, will a New Light movement of "world-making" faith have helped to create the world that is to, and may yet, be. Then, and only then, will earthlings have uncovered the meaning ... of the last words [Thomas Merton] uttered: "We are already one. But we imagine that we are not. And what we have to recover is our original unity."10

Leonard Sweet is what could be called an Alice Bailey Christian because his views on the role of mysticism in the church are evident. He states:

Mysticism, once cast to the sidelines of the Christian tradition, is now situated in postmodernist culture near the center.... In the words of one of the greatest theologians of the twentieth century, Jesuit philosopher of religion/dogmatist Karl Rahner, "The Christian of tomorrow will be a mystic, one who has experienced something, or he will be nothing." [Mysticism] is metaphysics arrived at through mindbody experiences. Mysticism begins in experience; it ends in theology.11

It is this same mysticism (i.e., contemplative prayer) that I believe Rick Warren is also promoting. Warren extends his promotion and endorsement of Sweet to his pastors.com website. Nearly a dozen times Sweet is referred to positively, including an article featuring Sweet and another article written by him. (from chapter 8, A Time of Departing)

For more information:
New Age Proponent Ken Blanchard Returns to Saddleback

Rick Warren Plays "Catch Me if You Can" While Promoting Mysticism

Dallas Willard book offered at Saddleback

Notes
1. Rick Warren, Soul Tsunami by Leonard Sweet (Grand Rapids, MI:Zondervan, 1999), cover.
2. Ibid., Leonard Sweet, Soul Tsunami, op. cit., pp. 431, 432.
3. Ibid., p. 17.
4. Ibid., p. 408.
5. Ibid., p. 75.
6. Leonard Sweet, Quantum Spirituality (Dayton, OH: Whaleprints, 1991), Acknowledgments, viii-ix.
7. Ibid., xi.
8. Ibid., Preface, p. 7.
9. Ibid., p. 70
10. Ibid., p. 13 in Preface.
11. Ibid., p. 76.

The World Religions Coming Together for Global Peace

Recently, Rick Warren joined the Davos Annual Meeting from the Global Economic Forum. You can watch a YouTube video of this forum - (click here).

Roger Oakland wrote a commentary about this (read by clicking here).

Also related:
Rick Warren Predicts Christian Fundamentalism To Be Enemy of 21st Century!

Washington Post on Rick Warren: Critics Have No Right to Challenge "New Reformation"

By Michelle Boorstein
Washington Post Staff Writer

Rick Warren, a megachurch pastor and philanthropist who is courted by political leaders worldwide, says he thinks Christianity needs a "second Reformation" that would steer the church away from divisive politics and be "about deeds, not creeds." ...

That meant advocating for a broader agenda for evangelicals beyond same-sex marriage and bioethical issues like abortion and stem cell research. That's a shift from the e-mail Warren sent before the 2004 election to his regular distribution list of 136,000 pastors, telling them to focus on those hot-button issues, which he called "non-negotiables."

Warren said he now regrets that e-mail -- not because he's changed his views in opposing abortion and same-sex marriage, but because he places them on a longer list of priorities.

Now, he says, he wants to promote personal responsibility and restore civility in American culture.

"I just think we're becoming too rude," he said. "You have no right to demonize someone just because you disagree with them." Read more...

Related News:
Purpose Driven Resisters - Must Leave or Die

Rick Warren: Churches Must Change or They Will Die

Jesus Man Has A Plan

Rick Warren on the Second Reformation:

"Who's the man of peace in any village - or it might be a woman of peace - who has the most respect, they're open and they're influential? They don't have to be a Christian. In fact, they could be a Muslim, but they're open and they're influential and you work with them to attack the five giants. And that's going to bring the second Reformation."--Rick Warren, May 2005, Pew Forum on Religion

"I am praying for a second reformation of the church that will focus more on deeds than words. The first Reformation was about beliefs. This one needs to be about behavior. ... We've had a Reformation; what we need now is a transformation."--Rick Warren, July 2005 at the Baptist World Alliance with Tony Campolo and Jimmy Carter

"Warren said the deeds of a new reformation will require mobilizing Christians, multiplying churches, evangelizing the world and eradicating global problems." --A World of Baptists By Greg Warner Associated Baptist Press

"I see absolutely zero reason in separating my fellowship from anybody," he said. Noting he has theological differences with many of the diverse denominations that invite him to speak, Warren added, "That doesn't stop me from fellowshipping with them." When he heard of the SBC's withdrawal, he added, "I thought, 'This is silly! Why would we separate ourselves from brothers and sisters in the world?'"--Rick Warren at the Baptist World Alliance, Warren: Global Baptists 'are all in this together' By Trennis Henderson

"I have two goals in my life. One is a reformation of the church in America and the other is a return of civility to society when people who disagree can still get along and like each other even if they disagree."--Rick Warren on Larry King,12/2/05

Beatles guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Dies

LTRP Note: The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was extremely important in putting meditation on the map in the US in the 70s. Between 1974 and 1976 700,000 predominantly middle class people signed up for TM classes. His influence extended further into the work of Herbert Benson who modeled his "relaxation response" technique on Transcendental Meditation. Today it is widely used by medical doctors and psychologists as a stress reduction method.

"Beatles guru Maharishi dies at home"
CBS News

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a guru to the Beatles who introduced the West to transcendental meditation, has died at his home in the Dutch town of Vlodrop, a spokesman said Tuesday.

He was thought to be 91 years old.

"He died peacefully at about 7 p.m.," said Bob Roth, a spokesman for the transcendental meditation movement that the Maharishi founded. He said Maharishi's death appeared to be due to "natural causes, his age."

Once dismissed as hippie mysticism, transcendental meditation, the Hindu practice of mind control that Maharishi taught, gradually gained medical respectability. Click here to read this entire news story.

Don't Bury The Emerging Church, Yet!

LTRP Note: The following commentary by Roger Oakland is in response to a recent article written by Trevin Wax titled, "5 Reasons Why the Emerging Church is Now Receding."1

"Don't Bury The Emerging Church, Yet!"
by Roger Oakland

Trevin Wax's article titled "5 Reasons Why the Emerging Church is Now Receding" posted February 5, 2008, asks some interesting questions and raises some valid concerns with regard to the Emerging Church. However, unfortunately Wax has drawn conclusions that steer readers far from an accurate picture of understanding the times from a biblical perspective, and it is necessary to sound the alarm.

Wax asks the question, "Has the Emerging Church begun to recede?" then answers it with a "yes," giving 5 reasons why this is so. While Wax points out several crucial problems of the emerging church, (true biblical evangelism, doctrines on hell and the deity of Christ, etc.), he has underestimated the seriousness and the expansiveness of the emerging church movement by suggesting that it's "influence" has "begun to wane."

He suggests that because some young pastors and leaders are distancing themselves from the term emergent or emerging, this is "a clear sign that the conversation is ending." This is not an accurate view of what is happening throughout the world as the documented facts reveal.

Certain aspects of the emerging church, like other trends or fads that hit Christianity, will no doubt come and go. Perhaps the name will even change. However, the underlying spirituality (I call it emerging spirituality) and the overall vision of the emerging church is not going to fade away or disappear, even if, as Wax suggests, it blends into the evangelical church. It will still exist. Thus, I would disagree that the emerging church is on its way to a burial.

The ideologies and theologies that have been presented by the emerging church and the purpose driven church (one of the greatest evangelistic tools for the emerging church) have opened the door to a much bigger delusion that is coming in the name of Christ.
Click here to read this entire article.

Rick Warren Pushing for the Three Legged Stool

By Maria Kefala
The Hoya (Georgetown University's newspaper)

Rev. Rick Warren, the founder and leader of a nondenominational megachurch, argued that faith-based organizations provide the missing link to successfully face the world's biggest problems yesterday in Gaston Hall....

In his speech, Warren argued that the solution of the world's greatest problems lie in what he called the "third partnership." The third partnership involves a relationship between faith communities, the government and the business sector....

"The future of the world lies in religious pluralism.... [Organized religion] is bigger ... than India and China together. It is the most widespread network in the world and the first truly global organization with the largest pool of volunteers," Warren said. Click here to read this entire article.

For more information:

Rick Warren Calling for Reconciliation Between Religion and Politics

Rick Warren Distorts the Instructions of Jesus to Fit His Global Peace Plan

Update: New Baptist Covenant on Spiritual Formation

On January 30th, Lighthouse Trails issued a report titled: "Al Gore and Tony Campolo to Address Baptist Organizations". The article addressed a conference being held by the New Baptist Covenant. NBC was formed in 2006 by former president Jimmy Carter and represents over 30 Baptist organizations and over 20 million Baptists around the world.

Two of the conference speakers, Al Gore and Tony Campolo, are both advocates of eastern-style mysticism, as are some of the "Presenters" at the conference: MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), The Alban Institute, and The Upper Room. In addition, the Religious Herald reported that conference speakers Linda Bryan and Loyd Allen presented a talk titled "The Spirit of the Lord Upon Me," in which they emphasized spiritual formation, in particularly the silence and solitude. "Allen, who teaches church history and spiritual formation at the MacAfee School of Theology in Atlanta [Mercer University], emphasized that Baptists of this age need to rediscover the spiritual disciplines that create Christ-likeness.... Bryan emphasized 'developing a familiar friendship with Christ' through meditation and contemplation," the article stated.

Allen stated that "contemplation and meditation" was lost at the beginning of the Reformation, a time in history when many believers split from the Catholic church.

The Spiritual Formation program at the MacAfee School of Theology where Loyd Allen teaches uses a textbook by M. Robert Jr. Mulholland titled Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map to Spiritual Formation. The book exalts the spirituality of Thomas Merton, Richard Foster, and other proponents of eastern-style mysticism and gives instruction on meditative exercises such as lectio divina. It encourages visits to Catholic monasteries for periods of silence and instructs on the final stage of mystical prayer where the practitioner experiences "ecstasy" and finds "complete oneness with God" (p. 97).

Based on the first two years the New Covenant Baptist has existed, it appears that contemplative spirituality will be part of the ongoing agenda for these 20 million Baptists.

Falling Sparrow Series by Lighthouse Trails Publishing

"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." Matthew 10: 29-31

The Falling Sparrow series is Lighthouse Trails Publishing's first imprint. These are specially selected biographies that illustrate God's great faithfulness and mercy, in the midst of extreme and unusual hardship and challenge.

The Hiding Place Movie	Trapped in Hitler's Hell by Anita Dittman and Jan Markell	East Wind by Ruth Hunt
Gone the Golden Dream by Jan Markell	Laughter Calls Me by Catherine Brown	Tapestry by Laurel Lee
Holocaust: The Pain and Praise by Jan Markell with Anita Dittman	Things we Couldn't Say by Diet Eman	The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

Publishing News

NEW IN 2007 - Lighthouse Trails released four new books in 2007: Faith Undone, For Many Shall Come in My Name, The Other Side of the River, and Another Jesus. In addition, we now have a DVD/CD of Anita Dittman telling her Holocaust experience to a live audience. This is one story you will want your family to hear.

We also have added several items by other publishers/producers to our online store. Each one was carefully selected and has the same high quality as our own Lighthouse Trails products:

1. Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged by Caryl Productions (DVD)

2. Messages from Heaven by Jim Tetlow (DVD)

3. Yoga and the Body of Christ by Dave Hunt (Book)

4. Yoga Uncoiled by Caryl Productions (DVD)

5. Gods of the New Age by Caryl Productions (VHS)

6. Hidden Heroes by Windbourne Productions (DVD)

Special Note: Lighthouse Trails bookstore is carrying the retail edition of Deceived on Purpose and The Light That Was Dark, both by former New Age follower, Warren Smith. Wholesale orders for these two books can be ordered through Bookmasters.

Click here for more publishing news.

THREE WAYS TO ORDER DIRECTLY FROM LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS PUBLISHING:

1. Online Store

2. Toll Free Order Line: 866/876-3910

3. Mail/Fax Printable Order Form

Quantity Discounts: 40% off retail for orders of 10 or more copies, 50% off for international orders of 10 or more copies

We ship both retail and wholesale orders within 24 hours of receiving order.

BOOKSTORES AND OUTLETS for small retail orders: Lighthouse Trails books are also available to order from most bookstores (online and walk-in). If your local bookstore isn't carrying one of our titles, you can ask them to order it for you. While you may have to wait longer to receive your order, the advantage of ordering through bookstores is that you will have no shipping charges.

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SAMPLE CHAPTERS OF LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS BOOKS:

Lighthouse Trails Publishing now has sample chapters available online for most of the books we publish. We believe you will find each of these books to be well-written, carefully documented, and worthwhile. Click here to read some of the chapters.

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Note: Lighthouse Trails is a Christian publishing company. While we hope you will read the books we have published, we also provide extensive research, documentation, and news on our Research site, blog, and newsletter. We pray that the books as well as the online research will be a blessing to the body of Christ and a witness to those who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

Newsletter in Print - Coming Soon

If you would like to receive the Coming from the Lighthouse newsletter in print form by mail, please send an email to newsletter@lighthousetrails.com. Be sure and include your mailing address in the email. We will be issuing a printed newsletter several times a year for those who prefer that over the email edition or for some reason need both.

Both email and printed editions will be free.

These two important books expose the truth about contemplative spirituality and the new age.

A Time of Departing
and
For Many Shall Come in My Name

HOLOCAUST: LEST WE FORGET

A true story that will change your life and challenge your faith ...

"Will sweep you into 1930s Germany and back with your faith intact ... [Trapped in Hitler's Hell] carries a stark message for today's Western Christian ... will refocus your priorities and recharge your spiritual life."-Leo Hohmann, Read entire review at The Messianic Times Trapped in Hitler's Hell

See all books and DVDs on the Holocaust

The Other Side of the River by Alaskan Kevin Reeves

When mystical experiences and strange doctrines overtake his church, one man risks all to find the truth ... a true story.

Read more about this important book.

Some of the topics this book addresses:

Word Faith movement
Holy Laughter
"Slain" in the Spirit practice
Emphasis on humanity of Jesus over Deity
Gifts & Calling for the unbeliever?
Experience versus Scripture
Repetitive chanting & singing
Paradigm shift
Understanding true worship