Coming From the Lighthouse

Printer Friendly Version October 25, 2007

In This Issue -

Why Focus on the Family Should Not Promote and Sell Gary Thomas' Books

Reiki, Thomas Merton, and Richard Foster

Mysticism and Global...Mind Change

J K Rowling: "Christianity inspired Harry Potter"

Rick Warren Launches New Plan to Multiply Impact Worldwide

Dalai Lama Receives Congressional Gold Medal

Mennonite MB Herald Promoting Contemplative Spirituality

LifeWay.com Removes Pro-Yoga References

Chancellor of Bob Jones University (Bob Jones III) Endorses Romney for President

Another Jesus Now Here!.

FAITH UNDONE - The Truth About the Emerging Church

Oakland, Yungen in BC, Canada Conference

Why Focus on the Family Should Not Promote and Sell Gary Thomas' Books

Sacred Marriage, Sacred Parenting, and Sacred Pathways - Most likely, you have heard of at least one of these books. The author, Gary Thomas, is touted by Rick Warren, Focus on the Family, and a host of other well-known Christian ministries. Last year, Lighthouse Trails wrote a special report on Focus on the Family because of their promotion of Thomas and his book Sacred Parenting. FOF answered Lighthouse Trails stating that they saw nothing wrong with Thomas, and they were not interested in looking at the documentation that proved otherwise.

As we have shown in the past, Gary Thomas is an advocate for mantra meditation. In his book, Sacred Pathways, he states:

It is particularly difficult to describe this type of prayer in writing, as it is best taught in person. In general however, centering prayer works like this: Choose a word (Jesus or Father, for example) as a focus for contemplative prayer. Repeat the word silently in your mind for a set amount of time (say, twenty minutes) until your heart seems to be repeating the word by itself, just as naturally and involuntarily as breathing. (p. 185)

It is important to note here that Rick Warren also resonates with Thomas and his spirituality. Warren states: "Gary has spoken at Saddleback, and I think highly of his work ... he tells them [readers] how they can make the most of their spiritual journeys. He places an emphasis on practical spiritual exercises." 1

Now more research shows that Gary Thomas' spirituality and his devotion to mystical practices delves into an area that could have significant ramifications on countless families. In his book Sacred Marriage (a book that FOF also stands by and sells on their website) 2, Thomas introduces the reader to a woman named Mary Anne McPherson Oliver. It is Oliver's book, Conjugal Spirituality, that Thomas favorably referencing several times throughout Sacred Marriage. Thomas also references Oliver on his website in a Sacred Marriage study guide. 3

Who is Mary Anne McPherson Oliver and why should Christians be concerned about Gary Thomas' promotion of this woman's book, Conjugal Spirituality?

On the back of Oliver's book, it states that "[r]eligious practice as we know it today remains, in effect, 'celibate.' Mary Anne Oliver proposes an alternative ... she examines the spiritual dynamics of long-term relationship."

Some may be wondering, "What does that all mean?" To put it simply, Oliver believes that sexuality and spirituality go together and that couples are missing out because they have not incorporated the two but rather have practiced what she calls a celibate spirituality. But she is not just talking about spirituality - she is talking about mystical spirituality!

Oliver received her doctorate in mystical theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, and her book permeates with her mystical persuasions. She describes her "discomfort" regarding present views on sexuality and religion and says she hunted for answers by talking to monks, going on retreats and even spending an entire ("liturgical") year at Taize, an ecumenical, meditation-promoting community in France. Eventually, she came to identify what she termed "conjugal spirituality" (p. 1).

Oliver says that "negative attitudes" and "walls" toward sex have inhibited people and says: "Although the walls are coming down, the separation of sex and spirituality which has been operative since the 4th century has yet to be completely eliminated" (p. 16).

What exactly is Oliver proposing couples do to remove these "walls"? Very clearly, her message to couples is to turn to mysticism. In dismay, she says that "spiritual counselors and writers" have not begun to teach the "Upanishads and Tantric writings as the basis for moral theology for couples" and that [s]ome still refuse to grant that mystical experience can be associated with erotic love" (p. 18). Oliver says that changes in mainstream theology have prepared the way for "the emergence of conjugal spirituality." She adds: "An upsurge of interest in the spiritual life and a renaissance in mystical studies have widened the domain of spirituality" (p. 27).

This mysticism that Oliver encourages is experienced through "bodily exercises" that the couple practice together, "creating one spiritual space." Listen to some of her instructions in what she describes as "intercourse on all levels of consciousness":

1. "Center 'that whole human reality which some people are beginning to call body mind'" (p.85).
2. "Two basic movements in which each can contact the core energy of the other and experience the enlarging of the oval inhabited by the divine presence" (p. 91).
3. Yin and Yang movements
4. "Concentrate in the stillness and silence" (p. 93).
5. "Center yourselves."
6. "Meditate using the five senses. Experience the circuit of energy circling slowly through the joined bodies" (p. 93).
7. "Focus a few minutes on the breath as a sign of the Spirit's activity within yourself" (p.102).
8. "Repeat name or "I love you" as a mantra" (p. 102).

In Conjugal Spirituality, Oliver talks favorably about mystic Teilhard de Chardin's Omega Point and the "Indian Tantric Yoga tradition ... spoken of as kundalini potential energy" (p. 97). She describes public sexual ceremonies in which couples practice "Taoist visualizations and meditations, accompanied by breathing exercises" and talks of "[i]nvoking the gods and goddesses." Oliver says that society may frown on such public displays of sexual mysticism at this time and couples may have to improvise until restrictions are lifted. She says that "sexual union celebrated [is] an eschatological sign of God's kingdom where all will be one" (p. 101).

In the book, Oliver refers to Carl Jung and states that he "predicted that the West would produce its own yoga on the basis laid down by Christianity." She adds: "I believe conjugal spirituality to be just such a distinctively Western yoga" (p. 109).

For those who do not understand the significance of Gary Thomas' promotion of Conjugal Spirituality, perhaps a brief lesson in tantric sexuality (an underlying theme in Oliver's book) will help to illustrate it. Ray Yungen explains:

Tantra is the name of the ancient Hindu sacred texts that contain certain rituals and secrets. Some deal with taking the energies brought forth in meditation through the chakras and combining them with love-making to enhance sexual experiences.

Once completely off-limits to the masses of humanity, tantra, like all other New Age methodologies, is now starting to gain increasing popularity. A Google search on the Internet shows 6,600,000 entries for the word tantra! This union of sexuality and Eastern spirituality is a perfect example to illustrate just how much the New Age has permeated our society as it has affected even the most intimate areas of people's lives.

The potential to impact a very great number of people, especially men, was brought out in an article by a sex worker who incorporates "Tantric Bodywork" into her services. She paints a very sad portrait of the dynamics of the "enormous sex industry" in which millions of stressed and unhappy men seek out "erotic release" from women who are just as unhappy and stressed as their clients. She observes that there is a "culturally rampant phenomenon that spouses are disconnected from each other."

To remedy this tragic interplay of exploitation, she has turned to Tantric Union to give her clients what she feels is not just sex but "union with the divine." After she read a book called Women of the Light: The New Sacred Prostitute, she turned her erotic business into a "temple." Of this temple, she says it is:

...dedicated to being a haven of the sacred, a home for the embodiment of spirit, filled with altars, sacred objects, plants, art, dreamy sensual music, blissful scents. My space is home to Quan Yin [a Buddhist goddess], crystals blessed by the Entities of John of God [a Brazilian spirit channeler].

Now the "multitudes of men" who come to her get much more than they bargained for. In the past, wives and girlfriends needed only to worry about sexually transmitted diseases from cheating husbands and boyfriends, but now their men may instead bring home spiritual entities!

Most readers might think that tantra is something exceedingly obscure that would never attract average people. But the movie industry thinks otherwise. In a 2003 movie, Hollywood Homicide (starring Harrison Ford, one of the industry's leading men), viewers were presented with a brief snippet of tantric sex in one scene where fellow police officers opened the locker of Ford's rookie detective partner and out falls a book (which the camera focuses on) about tantra, revealing the side-kick's spiritual/sexual affinities. (from /For Many Shall Come in My Name, chapter 8)

In light of Gary Thomas' promotion of mantra meditation in his book Sacred Pathways, it makes perfect sense that he would be quoting from someone like Oliver. Now the question is, will Focus on the Family continue selling and promoting Sacred Marriage (Zondervan) which points people to the spirituality of Oliver, or will they finally realize Gary Thomas' books do not belong in a Christian bookstore and on the website of a Christian ministry.

Reiki, Thomas Merton, and Richard  Foster

A mystical pragmatism is growing particularly fast through various New Age healing techniques. One such procedure is called Reiki (pronounced ray-key), a Japanese word that translates to Universal Life Energy or God energy. It has also been referred to as the radiance technique. Reiki is an ancient Tibetan Buddhist healing system, rediscovered by a Japanese man in the 1800s, that only recently has come to the West.

The Reiki technique consists of placing the hands on the recipient and then activating the energy to flow through the practitioner and into the recipient. One practitioner describes the experience in the following way:

When doing it, I become a channel through which this force, this juice of the universe, comes pouring from my palms into the body of the person I am touching, sometimes lightly, almost imperceptibly, sometimes in famished sucking drafts. I get it even as I'm giving it. It surrounds the two of us, patient and practitioner.1

What is this "juice of the universe?" The answer is an important one, given by a renowned Reiki master who explains:

A Reiki attunement is an initiation into a sacred metaphysical order that has been present on earth for thousands of years ... By becoming part of this group, you will also be receiving help from the Reiki guides and other spiritual beings who are also working toward these goals.2

While this is not widely advertised, Reiki practitioners depend on this "spirit guide" connection as an integral aspect of Reiki. In fact, it is the very foundation and energy behind Reiki. One Reiki master who has enrolled hundreds of other masters spoke of her interaction with the spirit guides:

For me, the Reiki guides make themselves the most felt while attunements are being passed. They stand behind me and direct the whole process, and I assume they also do this for every Reiki Master. When I pass attunements, I feel their presence strongly and constantly. Sometimes I can see them.3

A Christian's initial response to this information might be, "So what? I don't travel in those circles, so it does not concern me." This nonchalant viewpoint would be valid except for the fact that Reiki is currently growing to enormous proportions and in some very influential circles. (It may even be in your local hospitals, schools, and youth organizations.) It is essential to know that many nurses, counselors, and especially massage therapists use Reiki as a supplement to their work. It is often promoted as a complementary service.

Even more significant are the numbers involved in this practice. Examine the following figures to catch just a glimpse of the growing popularity of Reiki. In 1998, there were approximately 33,000 Reiki listings on the Internet. Today that number, on some search engines, constitutes nearly 5,000,000 listings. [In less than a decade] that number has increased 150 fold!... [T]here are now over one million Reiki practitioners in the U.S. One Reiki master delightfully noted this surge of interest when he stated:

Over the years, there has been a shift in the belief system of the general public, allowing for greater acceptance of alternative medicine. As a result, we are seeing a growing interest in Reiki from the public at large. People from all backgrounds are coming for treatments and taking classes.4

One very revealing statistic involves Louisville, Kentucky, where 102 people were initiated into Reiki in just a single weekend.5 This denotes a large number of people are drawn to Reiki in the Bible belt, traditionally a conservative part of America.

It is important to understand the way in which Reiki is presented to the public at large. Despite its underlying metaphysical foundation, when one reads the literature put out by Reiki practitioners it is not at all apparent. One Reiki master who runs a day spa repeatedly uses words like comfort and nurture in her brochure. Reiki is something that will give you pleasure. Another woman who is a professional counselor tells her potential clients that Reiki will give them deep relaxation and reduce pain. Again and again these same themes emerge from promotional literature on Reiki--relaxation, well-being, reduce illness, reduce stress, balance your mind, etc. How can one say that Reiki is bad when it claims to help people?

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. A pastor friend of mine recounted a situation in which a Christian, who had some physical problems, turned to Reiki for comfort. When this pastor advised the man that Reiki fundamentally opposed the Christian faith he became furious and responded with the following defense, "How can you say this is bad when it helped me?" That is why I titled [a chapter in my book] "Discernment." To discern is to "test the spirits" (1 John 4:1). If something is of God it will conform to the very cornerstone of God's plan to show His grace through Christ Jesus and Him alone (Ephesians 2:7). Reiki, as I defined earlier, is based on the occult view of God.

This assessment of Reiki is beyond question. Every Reiki book I have ever seen is chock full of pronouncements that back up the point I am trying to make. In The Everything Reiki Book, the following clears up any doubt about Reiki's incompatibility with Christianity:

During the Reiki attunement process, the avenue that is opened within the body to allow Reiki to flow through also opens up the psychic communication centers. This is why many Reiki practitioners report having verbalized channeled communications with the spirit world. (emphasis mine)6

What is even more disturbing is that the Reiki channeler may not even have control over this "energy" as the following comment shows:

Nurses and massage therapists who have been attuned to Reiki may never disclose when Reiki starts flowing from their palms as they handle their patients. Reiki will naturally "kick in" when it is needed and will continue to flow for as long as the recipient is subconsciously open to receiving it.7

Another such method is Therapeutic Touch. Like Reiki, it is based on the occultic chakra system, portrayed as the seven energy centers in the body aligned with spiritual forces. The seventh chakra identifies with the God-in-all view. Therapeutic Touch is widely practiced by nurses in clinics and hospitals. It is seen as a helpful and healing adjunct to nursing care.

If the connection between Reiki healing and other metaphysical practices can be seen, then we more fully understand why the following quote is one of the most powerful statements as to the true nature of contemplative prayer. A Reiki master in the course of promoting the acceptance of this method relayed:

Anyone familiar with the work of ... or the thought of ... [she then listed a string of notable New Age writers with Thomas Merton right in the center of them] will find compatibility and resonance with the theory and practices of Reiki.8

Reiki comes from Buddhism, and as one Merton scholar wrote, "The God he [Merton] knew in prayer was the same experience that Buddhists describe in their enlightenment."9

This is why it is so important to understand the connection between the writings of Richard Foster and Brennan Manning with Merton. Promotion indicates attachment, and attachment indicates common ground. Something is terribly wrong when a Reiki master and two of the most influential figures in the evangelical church today both point to the same man as an example of their spiritual path. (from chapter 5, A Time of Departing) To understand more about the connection between Foster, Manning, and Merton, read A Time of Departing in its entirety.

Notes:
1."Healing Hands" (New Woman Magazine, March, 1986), p. 78.
2. William Rand, Reiki: The Healing Touch (Southfield, MI: Vision Pub.,1991), p. 48.
3. Diane Stein, Essential Reiki (Berkley, CA: Crossing Press, 1995), p. 107.
4. William Lee Rand, "Reiki, A New Direction" (Reiki News, Spring 1998, http://www.reiki.org/reikinews/reikinewdir.html, accessed 12/2005), p. 4.
5. Reiki News, Winter, 1998, p. 5.
6. Phylameana lila Desy, The Everything Reiki Book (Avon, MA: Adams Media, 2004), p.144.
7. Ibid., p. 270.
8. Janeanne Narrin, One Degree Beyond: A Reiki Journey into Energy Medicine (Seattle, WA: Little White Buffalo, 1998), p.xviii.
9. Brian C. Taylor, Setting the Gospel Free (New York, NY: Continuum Publishing , 1996), p. 76.

Related Research:
More on Reiki

Mysticism and Global  Mind Change

by Berit Kjos

This East-West synthesis didn't happen by chance. For several decades, influential church leaders have been promoting a "new way of thinking," a more experiential religion, an end to "separatism," and an inclusive oneness that would fulfill their vision of an earthly "Kingdom of God."

The hidden seeds of this unholy transformation began sprouting about five decades ago. In an article titled "The Higher Self Gets Down To Business," Christianity Today credits Willis Harman, a former Stanford Professor and management guru, with the occult revival:

"The esoteric use of ordinary words like self-actualization, intuition, and visualization in the New Business spirituality cannot be appreciated without considering their role in the cosmic scheme of the movement's unofficial father: metaphysical futurist Willis Harman. 

"Harman, who died in 1997, founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences and helped start the World Business Academy. Noetic comes from the Greek word for intuitive knowing. Intuition was no mere 'gut feeling' for Harman, but the very means of connecting to the one Universal Mind. Nor was visualization merely a means of clarifying goals, but of altering material reality."[4]

Instead of opposing this spiritual revolution, pastors and leadership gurus have been driving it -- and training others to do the same. Those who resist it are unjustly labeled fearful, divisive and -- worst of all -- fundamentalist! 

As Rick Warren said, "...Christian fundamentalism, Jewish fundamentalism, secular fundamentalism - they're all motivated by fear. Fear of each other." Click here to read the rest of this article.

J K Rowling: "Christianity inspired Harry Potter"

Rick Warren Launches New Plan to Multiply Impact Worldwide

By Lillian Kwon
Christian Post

Saddleback Church, one of the largest churches in the nation, has launched a new global vision to multiply impact on the local and international levels.

Within the next three years, megachurch in the Lake Forest, Calif., aims to launch nine new off-site campuses in addition to its San Clemente campus, which meets every weekend at the local high school, and step up its global P.E.A.C.E. plan. By 2010, Saddleback hopes to see 10,000 more lives changed and baptized.

"One of the most important words in the Christian life [is] 'go,'" said Rick Warren, founding and senior pastor of Saddleback, during his "Multiplying Our Impact" sermon series last month. "The Christian life is a journey and over and over again God says you are to go. We are not a passive faith; you are a 'going' faith."

Thousands of Saddleback congregants and staff have been on the move to open a campus in Corona and Irvine late this year and early 2008. Two pastors have already been picked out of the Saddleback staff to lead the sites, which will have their own live worship music and video feed from the main Lake Forest campus. The campuses will host smaller congregations of 400 to 600 people. Click here to read the rest of this news story.

Related News and Documentation:

Fox News: Can Rick Warren Save the Word?

Rick Warren Predicts Christian Fundamentalism to Be Enemy of 21st Century

Rick Warren Speaks on Catholicism, The Essentials of the Faith, Peter Drucker and Global Peace

Purpose Driven Resisters: Must Leave or Die

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

by Understand the Times

Understand The Times sends out news alerts to inform our newsletter recipients about current events that line up Bible Prophecy. This news alert is somewhat different. Today [October 17th] I experienced a news event first hand while in Washington D.C. Then I had one of my researchers find the news event online to post as an alert.

I am writing this from the Washington Dulles Airport on my way to London, England. I had a one day layover in Washington, spending some time with my wife Myrna while she was attending a work related conference. This morning I went with a friend to see the Smithsonian museum located at the Washington Mall. While there we walked towards the House of Congress where a large crowd was assembling. When I asked a security guard what was going on I was told that the Dalai Lama was soon to appear following a presentation of a Congressional award.

The sound of Tibetan chanting and whaling over the loud speakers confirmed that a ceremony was about to take place. A large sign posted the following message: "There can be no world peace without first obtaining inner peace."

While the secular media would never report what I am about to state, my perception is that this event has paramount significance in the spiritual realm. Last week a so-called "born-again" President stated that all religions pray to the same God. This week in front of the United States House of Congress, Tibetan monks were chanting to the gods and a "man of peace" who some say is God was being honored. Click here to read the rest of this story.

Related Story:
President Bush: All religions pray to same God

Mennonite MB Herald Promoting Contemplative Spirituality

Chancellor of Bob Jones University (Bob Jones III) Endorses Romney for President

 By Ron Barnett
The Greenville News

Dr. Bob Jones III, chancellor of the fundamentalist Christian university in Greenville that bears his name, is looking past his religious differences with Gov. Mitt Romney and endorsing the Mormon for the Republican nomination for president, he told The Greenville News this afternoon.

"This is all about beating Hillary," Jones said. "And I just believe that this man has the credentials both personally and ideologically in terms of his view about what American government should be to best represent the rank and file of conservative Americans.

"If it turns out to be Guiliani and Hillary we've got two pro choice candidates, and that would be a disaster."

Asked whether Romney's religion was a stumbling block for him, Jones replied, "What is the alternative, Hillary's lack of religion or an erroneous religion? Click here to read more.

Silverton, Oregon
October 24, 2007
Lighthouse Trails Publishing is pleased to announce the release of Another Jesus by Roger Oakland.

A new evangelization program is underway to win the lost brethren back to the Mother Church. How will this be done? Through the Eucharistic Christ.

Many Christians think that the Christian tradition of communion is the same as the Catholic tradition of the Eucharist. But this is not so. The Eucharist (i.e.Transubstantiation), is a Catholic term for communion when the bread and the wine actually become the very body and blood of Jesus Christ, thus when taken the partaker supposedly experiences the presence of God. These transformed elements are placed in what is called a monstrance and can then be worshipped as if worshipping God Himself. The implications are tied in with salvation.
With the Eucharist, salvation becomes sacramental (participation in a ritual) as opposed to justification by faith in Christ alone. While this mystical experience called the Eucharist cannot be upheld through Scripture, there appears to be an increase of interest by evangelical Christians towards this practice. In Another Jesus?: the eucharistic christ and the new evangelization, Oakland warns about this growing deception within Christianity that presents a different gospel and another Jesus.

Discusses the following:
1. Efforts to merge evangelicals and Catholics together
2. Catholic Evangelism and the Eucharistic Christ
3. Those who have been martyred for rejecting the Eucharist doctrine
4. The Pope's New Evangelization program to win the lost brethren back to the Mother church
5. Appearances of Jesus and Mary
6. The New Global Era
7. Christ's second coming and lying signs and wonders
8. Evangelicals who converted to Catholicism and why they did
9. Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and why the film was made
10. The Mary Connection
11. What is true salvation?

Another Jesus
Roger Oakland with Jim Tetlow
Retail price: $12.95
192 Pages
ISBN: 978-0-9791315-2-3

FAITH UNDONE - The Truth About the Emerging Church

Oakland, Yungen in BC, Canada Conference

November 9-11, 2007