Coming From the Lighthouse

                                               Printer Friendly Version (click here)   September 15, 2008

In This Issue -

Millions of Christians Now Practicing Yoga?

Spiritual Formation On the Rise

Jonathan Falwell Becomes Vice-Chancellor at Liberty - Which Direction will Liberty Go?

The Silent Church

Latter Rain: The Spawning of Apostasy

The Silence: Everyone is Talking About it!

Church of England Apologizes to Darwin

Way of Life Ministries New Book Exposes Contemplative Mysticism

Christian Resistance Book - A Must Read

Publishing News

Newsletter in Print

Book Spotlights

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Millions of Christians Now Practicing Yoga?

 LTRP Note: The following article is for informational and research purposes to show how widespread Yoga has become within Christianity. For information on the dangers and deception of Yoga, click here.

"Christians practice yoga to connect with God"
BY RENA FULKA
Chicago Sun-Times SouthTown Star


Yoga originated in the Hindu religion to train the body for extended meditation. "It was intended to be a preparation for prayer," said the Rev. David Moffett-Moore, pastor of St. Peter's United Church of Christ in Frankfort.

Today, the spiritual and ascetic discipline is embraced by people of many faiths and cultures, often as a form of health and relaxation.

By one estimate, there are 15 million yoga practitioners in the United States, and roughly half of them are also practicing Christians," Moffett-Moore said.

On Sept. 21, St. Peter's Church will host "Yoga From a Christian Perspective," a three-hour workshop led by Jane Tuma, a certified Iyengar yoga teacher on staff at Yoga Circle of Chicago. Click here to read this entire out-of-house article.

On October 23rd, Lighthouse Trails will be releasing the powerful apologetics biography of Caryl Matrisciana, Out of India. For those who have loved ones participating in Yoga, this book is a must-read. Click here for information.



 

Spiritual Formation on the Rise

Spiritual Formation: A movement that has provided a platform and a channel through which contemplative prayer is entering the church. Find spiritual formation being used, and in nearly every case you will find contemplative spirituality. In fact, contemplative spirituality is the heartbeat of the spiritual formation movement. More...


The number of Christian ministries, schools, and organizations that are promoting Spiritual Formation (i.e., contemplative spirituality) is growing. Below is a current, but not comprehensive, list. If you support or are connected to any of these groups in any way, please contact them and ask them to re-evaluate their position on contemplative spirituality:


 

Bible.org

Focus on the Family

Awana Clubs

Tyndale Seminary (Canada)

CMA (Christian Management Association)

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship

Reformed Church in America

Biola University

Bethel Seminary

Salvation Army

Dallas Theological Seminary

Baptist State Convention of North Carolina

Dallas Willard

Kairos School of Spiritual Formation

Intervarsity Press

Willow Creek

Youth Specialties

Abilene Christian University

Mennonite USA

See our list of Christian colleges and universities that promote Spiritual Formation.

Also see our list of Christian publishers that are promoting Spiritual Formation. 

See Richard Foster's list of organizations that promote Spiritual Formation.

Jonathan Falwell Becomes Vice-Chancellor at Liberty - Which Direction will Liberty Go?

 According to a press release from Liberty University (the largest evangelical university in the world), Jonathan Falwell has been named Vice-Chancellor for spiritual affairs at Liberty. His brother Jerry Falwell, Jr. is the current Chancellor at the school. Jonathan Falwell will be providing counsel and recommendations "on matters related to the doctrinal integrity of the university."

Lighthouse Trails issued two reports in 2007 (one,two) and one report in 2008 regarding Liberty University's possible leanings toward contemplative/emerging. These reports revealed that Liberty was using contemplative books in some of their classrooms and was using a number of contemplative/emerging books in their Center for Worship. One of those books is Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis. 1 A disclaimer on Liberty's website states: "The citation of these books on this website does not constitute an endorsement in part or whole of their contents by Liberty University, its faculty, staff or administration." However, without specific warnings about these books (such as Bell's embracing in Velvet Elvis of New Age mystic Ken Wilber), such disclaimers are too elusive to be of much benefit. Another book used is David Crowder's contemplative-promoting book, Praise Habit (referring to the habits worn by Catholic nuns). In an interview with LifeTeen.com (a web site for Catholic teens), Crowder admits: "Much of the Catholic traditions and writings have been influential in my formation of faith ... I've found much inspiration there." But Liberty's disclaimer says nothing about Crowder's contemplative/Catholic affinities.

The following classes at Liberty have required students to read some of the most blatant contemplative/emerging authors:

Counseling 506 - Henri Nouwen
Evangelism 997 - John Maxwell, Andy Stanley, Rick Warren, Erwin McManus, Richard Foster, Eugene Peterson, CP Wagner,et.al.
Evangelism 101 - Richard Foster, Ken Boa
Path 610 (Spiritual Formation) - Richard Foster
MCCS 994 (Missions): Brian McLaren, Erwin McManus

Liberty University also carries on their website the Code of Ethics for the AACC (American Association of Christian Counselors) with the following statement:

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.

Foster's influence at Liberty can be seen, for one, in campus/teaching pastor Johnnie Moore, who favorably quotes Foster in an blog posting about getting rid of distractions and pausing the mind during prayer (a key selling point by contemplatives). Foster is a pioneer in the contemplative (i.e., ancient future) prayer movement, and is largely responsible for bringing the eastern-style mystical practices and spirituality of Thomas Merton and Thomas Keating into the evangelical church.

In August, Lighthouse Trails reported that Thomas Road Baptist Church (where Jonathan Falwell is Senior Pastor) was hosting the Innovate Church Conference featuring Rick Warren.2 In view of Rick Warren's strong promotion of contemplative and emerging spirituality (not to mention his significant promotion of Richard Foster), and the obvious propensity that Liberty has toward Foster's books, it seems clear that Liberty University is in danger of becoming a contemplative institution.

We hope and pray that Jonathan Falwell will study the contemplative prayer and emerging church movements from a critical and Scriptural point of view and then work toward making Liberty University free from the dangerous influence these movements have on the Christian faith. If he follows in the footsteps of Rick Warren, he may end up leading Liberty University into the spirituality of people like Adele Ahlberg Calhoun. Ahlberg Calhoun's book Spiritual Disciplines Handbook is one of the books Rick Warren recommends to teach spiritual formation and spiritual disciplines. This book promotes mantra meditation, giving detailed instructions on several types of contemplative practices. In addition, the author quotes from many New Age sympathizers and New Age contemplatives. In the book, Ahlberg Calhoun encourages the use of centering prayer, breath prayers, contemplative prayer, labyrinths, palms-up, palms-down exercises, and recommends for further reading a who's who of mystics.

Those who embrace Purpose Driven teachings will ultimately be led in this direction and toward the spirituality of Henri Nouwen (who Rick Warren also strongly promotes). At the end of Nouwen's life, after following mysticism for years, Nouwen came to the conclusion that Jesus Christ was not the only way of salvation. This view is the "fruit" of contemplative spirituality and negates the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.

For more information:
Saddleback IS a Contemplative Church

 

The Silent Church

by Warren Smith

Many Christian believers smirked when Shirley MacLaine stood on the beach in her made-for-TV movie, Out on a Limb exclaiming, "I am God!" Today, Marianne Williamson exclaims that we are all "God" and is introduced by Tom Brokaw on a prime time NBC special report about September 11 as one of our "religious leaders."1 Gary Zukav, a man who personally endorsed the Barbara Marx Hubbard book that describes the "selection process," tells us in his post-September 11 television appearances how we can all spiritually grow and bring peace to the world. And Wayne Dyer, in a post-September 11 PBS fundraising event, stands in an historic New England church and tells his national audience that the world would be a much more peaceful place if everyone adopted the "brilliant" teachings of A Course in Miracles.

Traditional Christian believers frequently mention the analogy of the frog that is so slowly and gradually boiled in a kettle of water that it dies before ever realizing what is going on. Yet many believers fail to realize that the very same thing is happening to them as they tell that story. How else do you explain the rapid rise of the "new gospel" movement with hardly a word of concern within the Church about what's been happening? As "new gospel" advocates continue to publish best selling books and flock to the airwaves in ever-increasing numbers to advance their cause, there is a strange silence in Christendom. Does the Church have any idea what is going on?

So often we have heard the impassioned refrain, "We can never let what happened in Germany ever happen again." And with all of the Holocaust memorials, survivor testimonies, and multitudinous books on the subject, we have done a pretty good job of convincing ourselves that we will never make the same mistakes the German people did in allowing someone like Hitler to rise in their midst. We think that Americans would never stand by and allow something like that to happen here in our country. Our democratic processes and old-fashioned common sense would never allow it.

In the introduction to a 1999 publication (Sixth Pressing) of Hitler's Mein Kampf, Konrad Heiden describes how everything that Hitler was about to do was telegraphed in his early writings:

For years Mein Kampf stood as proof of the blindness and complacency of the world. For in its pages Hitler announced - long before he came to power - a program of blood and terror in a self-revelation of such overwhelming frankness that few among its readers had the courage to believe it. Once again it was demonstrated that there was no more effective method of concealment than the broadest publicity.2

Somehow, Christians don't seem to grasp Jesus' warnings about the tremendous deception that characterizes the time of the end. Perhaps deceived into thinking that we can't be deceived, we don't take seriously enough His warnings that a Hitler-like antichrist figure will one day rise to rule the world - and that many people calling themselves "Christians" will support this spiritual counterfeit who will actually come in the name of Christ. Our adversary wants us to believe that these warnings are for another people at another time. Yet through Scripture, and in our heart of hearts, the Spirit of God tells us that they are not. As we study the Bible, and as we watch and pray and observe the events all around us, we come to understand that these future times described by Jesus are now suddenly and undeniably upon us.

In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul warns of their vulnerability and susceptibility to false teaching in the name of Jesus. He suggests that if someone approached them with "another gospel," "another Jesus" and "another spirit" they might very well go along with it (2 Corinthians 11:3-4). Earlier in that same letter Paul had indirectly encouraged the Corinthians not to be ignorant of their adversary's schemes and devices, lest they be taken advantage of (2 Corinthians 2:11). Paul told the Ephesians that it is a shame that we even have to talk about the things of darkness, but when we expose them they are brought into the light (Ephesians 5:12-13). He also told them that he had not ceased to warn them night and day for three years that men who were "grievous wolves" would "arise" in the Church "speaking perverse things" as they attempted to lead men away from their faith and into the enemy's camp (Acts 20:29-31). Let us beware of these same warnings today.

It is extremely disturbing to see the website of a Colorado-based Christian leader listed as a recommended resource in the back of a 1998 Barbara Marx Hubbard book entitled Conscious Evolution.3 It is equally alarming to find out that this individual is also a member of the same World Future Society that lists Barbara Marx Hubbard as one of its co-founding and current board members.4 And that this respected Christian leader serves as the secretary of a World Future Society subcommittee that once gave Hubbard a special award for her outstanding contributions to the field of religion.5 But perhaps what is most unbelievable is that the Colorado Springs Christian leadership lets him get away with it. Apparently, being "unequally yoked" with a woman who (at the direction of her "Christ") has "re-written" the Book of Revelation and authored the "selection process" is not a major concern for church leaders - leaders who are actually starting to sound a lot like Hubbard themselves.

And it is, indeed, very disturbing to see many Christian leaders today using many of the same words and expressions commonly used by their "new gospel" counterparts. "New revelation" describing how a great "move of God" is going to take believers "pregnant with destiny" to "a new spiritual level" and into a "new dimension" sounds a lot more like the "new gospel" than the traditional Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Are Christian leaders leading the church ever closer to the cross, or ever closer to the "Planetary Pentecost"? Why is there almost no call for spiritual discernment within the Church (except to warn believers not to be deceived into doubting their appointed Christian leaders)? Why is spiritual experience taking precedence over spiritual discernment? Why are there so few warnings about a counterfeit "new gospel" movement that maligns the person of Jesus Christ and threatens the lives of His followers? Why is "new revelation" in many ministries starting to supersede God's written Word? Why are Christians only being prepared for blessings and not for persecution? What in the world is going on?

Expecting only revival and the return of the true Christ, will the Church be deceived by the one who will come in the name of Christ and pretend to be Him? Caught unawares, will the Church mistake the counterfeit Christ's "Planetary Pentecost" for the great "move of God" they had been told to expect? Are we getting set up for the great delusion described in the Bible? Is there any good reason not at least to consider that possibility?

The prophet Daniel makes mention of the God of "forces" in conjunction with antichrist (Daniel 11:38). The "God" of the "new gospel" asks Neale Donald Walsch, "What if I am not a 'man' at all, but rather, a Force?"6 The "Christ" of A Course in Miracles states that there is an "irresistible Force" within each person.7 Marianne Williamson explains that this "universal force" can be "activated" within each person and has "the power to make all things right."8 The "new gospel Christ" tells Barbara Marx Hubbard that on the day of "Planetary Pentecost" a "planetary smile" will flash across the face of all mankind; that an "uncontrollable joy" that he describes as the "joy of the force" will "ripple" through the one body of humanity.9 Benjamin Creme describes the event "as a pentecostal experience for all."10 The "Christ" of A Course in Miracles tells how the world ends in "peace" and "laughter."11

Has anyone wondered whether this same "Force" may be counterfeiting the Holy Spirit in churches and may be producing "revivals" and "moves of God" that are not really "revivals" or "moves of God" at all? Is the "God of forces" in the process of preparing the Church for the "Planetary Pentecost"? Should we not be doing a more thorough job of testing the spirits? Have we put our faith and trust in Christian "leaders" rather than in God? Have we all talked ourselves out of the end times? Have we all agreed that persecution is not something we need to be concerned about? Have we prayed to God that we would not be deluded or deceived?

Ten years ago in my book,
The Light That Was Dark, I wrote the following: "Clearly many who said they were of 'the faith' would soon become a part of the deception too, if they weren't already."

Were we already witnessing the great "falling away" predicted in the Bible? Was the "mystery of iniquity" talked about in the Scriptures already doing its deceptive work with "all power and signs and lying wonders"...? Would people calling themselves Christians abandon their faith in the Bible and the Bible's Christ? Would they join an ecumenical movement that in the name of love and God and unity would sacrifice the truth of the Bible and perhaps one day merge with the new age itself?

Jesus warned that such a faith would lead not to life but to ultimate destruction: "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:13-14).12

Could it be that the reason the Church is so unaware of the "new gospel" movement is because it is being led by that same spirit and heading down that same broad way? Is it happening now, right in front of our very own eyes?

This is from Reinventing Jesus Christ by Warren Smith, chapter 10. Click here to read the entire online edition.

Notes:
1. NBC News Special Report: America on Alert, Tom Brokaw hosting Marianne Williamson as guest, September 16, 2001 broadcast transcript (Livingston, New Jersey: Burrelle's Information Services).
2. Adolph Hitler, Mein Kampf (Sixth Pressing), translated by Ralph Manheim (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.: Mariner Books, 1999), p.xv.
3. Jay Gary website, referenced by Barbara Marx Hubbard in Conscious Evolution, p. 263.
4. Barbara Marx Hubbard, Conscious Evolution, p. 279.
5. Barbara Marx Hubbard and Jay Gary (http://web.archive.org/web/20020818151002/www.wnrf.org/programs/awards.htm and
http://web.archive.org/web/20020818150112/www.wnrf.org/networks/christian.htm). 6. Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: Book 3, p. 325.
7. A Course in Miracles: Combined Volume, (Text) p. 479.
8. Marianne Williamson, Healing the Soul of America, p. 13.
9. Barbara Marx Hubbard, The Revelation, p. 243.
10. Benjamin Creme, Maitreya's Mission: Volume Two (Los Angeles: Share International Foundation, 1993), p. 239.
11. A Course in Miracles: Combined Volume, (Manual for Teachers) p. 37.
12. Warren Smith, The Light That Was Dark, p. 150.
13. Alice A. Bailey, The Externalization of the Hierarchy, p. 417.
14. Marianne Williamson, Healing the Soul of America, p. 205.
15. Benjamin Creme, Maitreya's Mission: Volume Two, p. 239.
16. Barbara Marx Hubbard, The Revelation, p. 324

 

Latter Rain: The Spawning of Apostasy

 LTRP Note: The following article by Kevin Reeves describes the background of much of the Word-Faith, River, Latter Rain, IHOP, Joel's Army, Apostles and Prophets movements, etc. taking place today. Todd Bentley, Rick Joyner, John Wimber, and many others have risen out of the 1940s Latter Rain movement. Followers believe that the Latter Rain "revival" is the latter rain referred to in such Scriptures as Jeremiah 3:3, Joel 2:23, and Hosea 6:3. These movements have now intersected with the contemplative prayer movement. Combined with Purpose Driven, the emerging church, Willow Creek, etc. a powerful mystical body is merging as an apostate, end-time church.

"The Headwaters of the River"
by Kevin Reeves

In February of 1948 in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, a community of believers met to seek God for His power. A power did manifest. Miracles were reported, and Christians from all over set out on a pilgrimage to get this power. The Latter Rain movement emerged full-blown, evidencing supposed signs and wonders, prophetic utterances, and impartations via the laying on of hands. The movement was also marked with a spirit of elitism, false prophecies, and an inbred authority structure based upon the new "word of the Lord." When the Christian community was faced with the decision between solid biblical teaching and awe-inspiring miracles, many swung their legs over the fence of indecision and jumped with both feet into one of the first major 20th century tributaries of the "River." The reasoning went that a new thing, based on the prophecy in Isaiah 43:18-19, had sprung up. All concerns about doctrine or practice could be dealt with sometime down the road, if at all. The pendulum had swung from the Word to experience as the final arbiter.

What many do not realize is that two issues factored heavily into this revival. The first is that a 1946 book written by Franklin Hall, called Atomic Power with God Through Fasting and Prayer,1 was read and promoted by the revival's leaders. The other is that one of the foremost prophets of the era, William Branham, had imparted his ministry power through the laying on of hands to some of those involved in this revival. His teachings were a strong determining factor in the Saskatchewan revival's course.

The Franklin Hall book is a strong call to return the church to a pattern of fasting and prayer. While the premise of fasting is itself biblical, the book strangely asserted that without the discipline of fasting, prayer goes unanswered. As proof, Hall even cites the answered prayer received by pagans offering supplications to their false gods. In his excellent analysis of Dominion doctrine and practice,
Vengeance Is Ours: The Church in Dominion, noted Christian researcher Al Dager astutely observes:

If we analyze Hall's claims, we must come to the conclusion that those who pray to demons will have their prayers answered if they fast, but Christians will not have their prayers answered if they don't fast. At the least, it seems, they would be hindered greatly.2

In another of Hall's books, he wrote that the church would eventually produce an elite group of overcomers with the power to defy the laws of gravity, to walk upside down, and even attain to present immortality. He also spoke of a shining gold dust appearing on the skin of believers. Interesting that reports of this kind of phenomena have been circulating in River churches--even though at least one chemically-analyzed "gold dust" sample proved to be nothing more than children's plastic glitter.3

William Branham, called by some in today's prophetic ministries the greatest prophet to have ever lived, had also drunk deeply of Hall's teachings, including Atomic Power with God Through Fasting and Prayer. Emerging into the late 1940s spotlight with a reputation for accurate words of knowledge and miraculous healing power, Branham astounded the multitudes. It was said he could tell a person he'd never before met what conversations the person had and the situation which he was facing, and he could speak restoration to a chronically diseased part of the body and heal it. He made it known that he was a prophet of the Lord, and his preaching drew the crowds. But what those same crowds didn't generally hear were some of his other pet doctrines.

Branham taught that Satan had sex with Eve in the Garden of Eden, and Cain was the result of that union. He taught that he himself was the seventh angel of the book of Revelation, that he was Elijah the prophet, and that a belief in the Trinity was of the devil. But as long as he kept these beliefs under his hat and continued to wow the mob, the invitations to speak at churches worldwide kept pouring in.

His life certainly appeared marked by the miraculous. And Branham had no hesitation to say so. His testimony included a halo around him at his birth, and an actual photo of him in later life shows what appears to be a ring of light around his head while he stands at the pulpit preaching. It's what his followers have sometimes called The Pillar of Fire. This strange phenomenon supposedly happened in grander manifestation on June 11, 1933 as Branham was baptizing converts in the Ohio River near Jefferson, Indiana. Hearing a voice tell him to look up, Branham beheld a mysterious, star-like light in the sky, which rapidly descended until it rested just above him. Some in the crowd of 4,000 fell in worship, others ran in terror. The voice commissioned Branham, telling him that as John the Baptist was the forerunner of the Messiah, so Branham would be the forerunner of Christ's second coming.

On February 28, 1963 a few miles from Tucson, Arizona, an immense, bright ring of cloud appeared in the clear sky. Branham claimed he was caught up into its midst where it turned out to be "seven mighty angels" who had appeared to give him yet another divine commission; this time he was to make known to the church the mystery of the seven seals of the book of Revelation.4

Taken at face value, this means that the incomplete church had waited two thousand years for Branham to appear on the scene.

A presence made itself known around Branham throughout his life. He had been followed since childhood by a spiritual being that, when Branham reached manhood, manifested as a young man with long hair and flowing robes. Stepping out from a ball of brilliant light, this being commissioned him to go out and heal the afflicted and said that he would know of diseases present that affected an individual by vibrations in his left hand. Branham also claimed to have been given another spiritual gift--he would know what was in the hearts of men.5

Killed by injuries received in an automobile collision in 1965, Branham has physically faded from the scene, but his legacy of incredible tales, supernatural signs, and prophetic anointing lives on. He has a following to this day.

Branham's tradition of sensing the anointing in one's hands is something that continues as well. Many of those within the old Latter Rain ranks, and in the Faith Movement that followed, claim heat or vibrations in their hands which they believe indicates the presence of God for healing.... While Branham and Latter Rain proponents claimed allegiance to God's inerrant Word, their practices and peculiar doctrines denied it. Here are some of the basic beliefs they do adhere to:

* A great, end-times army will arise and take authority over the earth, putting Satan and his minions under their feet.

*The last days remnant of the true church (meaning those adhering to the Latter Rain doctrine) are the elite.

* Specific desirable anointings can be imparted from person to person by the laying on of hands.

* The church needs to experience restoration of all the gifts and revelation knowledge of who we really are in order to walk in fullness of power and finally be complete.

* Modern apostles and prophets must be set up in the church and the elect must submit to them.

* Restoration of the five-fold ministry of Ephesians 4:11 must take place for that authority structure to be erected.

* The church must come into complete physical unity.

* The rapture of believers is a myth, spawned by Satan to corral the church into a retreat mentality.

Some Latter Rain adherents no longer wait with yearning for the redemption of our bodies at the Second Coming. Now, in place of the rapture, they teach to expect Christ to come in us, instead of for us.

According to the Bible, believers in the last days are not, in triumph, going to make the nations fall at their feet (Matthew 24:9). And as for the need for restoration of revelation knowledge in order to be complete--we've always been complete in Christ Jesus (Colossians 2:10). We have always had all the authority (Matthew 28:18; Titus 2:11-15), gifts, and revelation knowledge needed to live righteous before Him and be witnesses of Christ before a lost world (II Peter 1:3).... The God of the Bible is big enough to carry on the work of the Spirit's empowering throughout world history. He doesn't need to create it over and over, as Latter Rain doctrine insists. The canon of Scripture is forever closed. Prophets, by their pronouncements, add to the Bible. This was their purpose before the complete written testimony was set down. There is nothing lacking in the scriptural record. Today's supposed prophets add to the Bible. While they vehemently deny this, a quick glance at their words from the Lord is enough evidence to stop them cold.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (II Timothy 4:3-4)

(excerpt from The Other Side of the River, pp. 171-176)

Notes:
1. Franklin Hall, Atomic Power with God Through Fasting and Prayer, 1946.
2. Albert James Dager, Vengeance is Ours (Redmond, WA: Sword Publishers, 1990). p. 51.
3. Mary Owen, "Oregon church says gold dust, feathers fell during meetings" (Charisma magazine, September 2000, http://www. charisma mag.com /display.php?id=517, accessed 02/07); also see "There's Gold in Them Thar Teeth" by Mike Oppenheimer, http://www.letusreason.org/Pent5.htm, accessed 02/07.
4. Mike Oppenheimer, "The Teachings of 'the Prophet' William Branham" (Let Us Reason ministries, http://www.letusreason.org/Latrain4.htm, accessed on 01/07).
5. Ibid. For photos, history and detailed information on William Branham, see http://www.biblebelievers.org.

 

The Silence: Everyone is Talking About it!

Different than finding a quiet place away from noise and distractions, the silence is referring to a stillness of the mind.

Ray Yungen, author of A Time of Departing, says it is like putting the mind in neutral. Contemplatives say it is like tuning into another frequency. New Agers call it different things like a thin place, sacred space, ecstasy; whatever it is called, both New Agers and Christian leaders are telling us we must practice silence and stillness if we really want to know God. Here is a sampling:

"What you need is stillness and silence so that the sediment can settle and the water can become clear."--Ruth Haley Barton,
"Beyond Words"

"The basic method promoted in The Cloud is to move beyond thinking into a place of utter stillness with the Lord ... the believer must first achieve a state of silence and contemplation, and then God works in the believer's heart."--Tony Jones, The Sacred Way, p. 15

"Progress in intimacy with God means progress toward silence.... It is this recreating silence to which we are called in Contemplative Prayer.--Richard Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home, p. 155

"It is through silence that you find your inner being."--Vijay Eswaran, In the Sphere of Silence, excerpt from website.

"This book [In the Sphere of Silence] is a wonderful guide on how to enter the realm of silence and draw closer to God."--New Age sympathizer, Ken Blanchard

"[G]o into the silence for guidance"--New Ager, Wayne Dyer, ATOD p. 18 (from interview with Wayne Dyer, Portland, OR., 3/27/97)

"While we are all equally precious in the eyes of God, we are not all equally ready to listen to 'God's speech in his wondrous, terrible, gentle, loving, all embracing silence.'"--Richard Foster, Prayer, Finding the Heart's True Home, p. 156.

"When one enters the deeper layers of contemplative prayer one sooner or later experiences the void, the emptiness, the nothingness ... the profound mystical silence ... an absence of thought." --Thomas Merton biographer, William Johnston, Letters to Contemplatives, p. 13.

"In the silence is a dynamic presence. And that's God, and we become attuned to that."--Interspiritualist, Wayne Teasdale, Michael Tobias, "A Parliament of Souls in Search of a Global Spirituality" (KQED Inc., San Francisco, CA, 1995), p. 148.

"I do not believe anyone can ever become a deep person [intimate with God] without stillness and silence."--Charles Swindoll, So You Want To Be Like Christ? Eight Essential Disciplines to Get You There, p. 65

"One of the great things silence does, it gives us a new concept of God."--Calvin Miller, from Be Still DVD

"God's Word is so clear that if we are not still before Him, we will never truly know, to the depths of the marrow in our bones, that He is God. There has got to be a stillness. We've got to have a time to sit before Him and just know that He is. We live in such an attention-deficit culture, and we're so entirely over stimulated, so much coming at us at once, one image after another, that if we are not careful, we are going to lose the art of meditation." Beth Moore, from Be Still DVD

"Kierkegaard, probably the greatest Protestant Christian mind of all time, said ... "If I could prescribe only one remedy for all the ills of the modern world, I would prescribe silence."--Peter Kreeft, from Be Still DVD

"To be still means not only that you make a time to sit with God, but a time for your mind and your heart to be still also. Then God can meet you and fill you with His presence and His Word."--Henry Cloud (CCN) from Be Still DVD, "Being Still: Helpful Hints with Dr. Henry Cloud"

"What does stillness really mean? Is stillness just something physical? Or is it mental? Is it spiritual? Is it emotional? There's so many levels of stillness that we need to practice. And know. Be still and know. Know what? You know, there's something that comes with the assurance of being still. You're no longer practicing or exerting effort." Michelle McKinney Hammond, from Be Still DVD, "Contemplative Prayer: The Divine Romance Between God and Man"

"[S]ilence is one of the great spiritual disciplines. And in fact you're not going to get very far in contemplative prayer unless you know how to be silent. And by that I mean that you really are comfortable with it and you're practiced in it." Dallas Willard, Be Still DVD, "Fear of Silence"

"First, you must remember that when you go into solitude and silence, your basic goal is to do nothing. Yes, nothing!"--J.P. Moreland, "How Spiritual Disciplines Work: Solitude and Silence as Spiritual Disciplines"

"It is to this silence [contemplative prayer] that we all are called."--Henri Nouwen, The Way of the Heart, p. 66.

"God's first language is silence."--panentheist monk Thomas Keating, Intimacy with God, p. 153.

ANTHONY DEMELLO EXPLAINS HOW TO GO INTO THIS SILENCE THAT SO MANY TALK ABOUT--WITH THE MANTRA:

To silence the mind is an extremely difficult task. How hard it is to keep the mind from thinking, thinking, thinking, forever thinking, forever producing thoughts in a never ending stream. Our Hindu masters in India have a saying: one thorn is removed by another. By this they mean that you will be wise to use one thought to rid yourself of all the other thoughts that crowd into your mind. One thought, one image, one phrase or sentence or word that your mind can be made to fasten on. Anthony de Mello, Sadhana: A Way to God (St. Louis, the Institute of Jesuit Resources, 1978), p. 28.

Many of these quotes can be found in Ray Yungen's book, A Time of Departing.

 

Church of England Apologizes to Darwin

"Church to Charles Darwin: We're sorry we doubted you."

WorldNet Daily

Some say the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is making a monkey of himself with a half-baked apology to Charles Darwin for misunderstanding the author of "Origin of the Species" 126 years after his death.

Nevertheless, that's just what the Church of England plans to do today - make an act of contrition to the godfather of evolution.

Officials of the church said senior bishops wanted to atone for the vilification heaped on Darwin by their predecessors.

The church is also eager to counter the view that its teaching is incompatible with science and distance itself from fundamentalist Christians, who believe in the biblical account of the creation.

Click here to read entire story.

Related:

DARWIN: From Physics to Metaphysics

 

Way of Life Ministries: New Book Exposes Contemplative Mysticism

David Cloud of Way of Life Ministries has just released a new book titled Contemplative Mysticism: A Powerful Ecumenical Bond.

Description: Contemplative mysticism, which originated with Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox monasticism, is permeating every branch of Christianity today, including the Southern Baptist Convention.

We document the fact that Catholic mysticism leads inevitably to a broadminded ecumenical philosophy and to the adoption of heresies. For many, this path has led to interfaith dialogue, universalism, pantheism, panentheism, even goddess theology.

This 482-page encyclopedia-like book is filled with the names of contemplative personalities and descriptions of their beliefs, contemplative/mystical definitions, quotes, and other vital documentation.An important desk resource for any discerning believer.  Click here for more information

 

 

Christian Resistance Book - A Must Read


Lighthouse Trails Publishing is pleased to announce the release of Things We Couldn't Say by Diet Eman.

This is the true story of Diet Eman, a young Christian woman who joined the resistance movement in the Netherlands during WWII. Together with her fiance' and other Dutch men and women, "Group Hein" risked their lives to save the lives of Jews who were in danger of becoming victims of Hitler's "final solution."


For more information:
www.lighthousetrails.com
Toll Free Order Line: 866/876-3910 (M-F/8-5)
Or order from your local bookstore.

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Publishing News

THREE WAYS TO ORDER DIRECTLY FROM LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS PUBLISHING:

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

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.

BOOKSTORES MAY ORDER DIRECTLY FROM LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS OR FROM INGRAM OR SPRINGARBOR.

LIBRARIES MAY ORDER DIRECTLY FROM LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS OR FROM BAKER & TAYLOR.

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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Newsletter in Print

Our print newsletter has been delayed. However, we are still taking names. If you would like to receive the Coming from the Lighthouse newsletter in print form by mail, please send an email to newsletters@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. We apologize for the delay.

 

 Both email and printed editions will be free. The first issue of the print newsletter has not yet been issued.

 

Book Spotlights

 

Book Spotlights

These two important books expose the truth about contemplative spirituality, spiritual formation, 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, especially now in light of the Todd Bentley "revival" in Florida.

Find out the truth about the emerging church and the avenues through which it is entering Christianity.

Faith Undone by Roger Oakland

Find out more about the book that tells it like it is.

 

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