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Moody
Bible Institute Recommends Richard Foster's Meditation! Lighthouse Trails
Sends Challenge to MBI Professors
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In the August 7, 2007 edition of Moody Bible Institute
publication Today in the Word, MBI professor Dr. Winfred O.
Neely tells readers that "deep and prolonged thinking
about the Lord's word, person, and work is biblical." While he states
that eastern style meditation is wrong and dangerous, he brings terrible
confusion to the matter by also stating: "For more in depth reading
about the vital practice of biblical meditation, I suggest that you pick up
Richard Foster's book, The Celebration of Discipline."
Celebration of Discipline is the book in
which Foster said, "We should all without shame enroll in the school
of contemplative prayer." Foster is an advocate of mantra meditation
and has promoted it both directly and indirectly for decades.
Once again, we beseech Moody Bible Institute to read A Time of Departing
so professors and students alike will not be drawn into the deception
of Richard Foster's spirituality. Foster has and continues to uplift and
emulate the late monk Thomas Merton who believed that God dwells in
every human being. Merton knew that the silent state one goes into through
contemplative would lead the practitioner into a view that God is in all.
Is this really what MBI wants to convey to their students when they
continue to include Richard Foster, Henri Nouwen, Larry Crabb, Dallas
Willard in the lecture halls and publications of their institution?
LTPC offer and challenge to MBI: Lighthouse Trails is putting forth
a challenge to MBI to have every professor there read A Time of Departing and Faith Undone. We believe the
research in both books is so solid and well-documented that it
will settle this very important case that cannot be refuted. With this
challenge we offer to send a free copy of each book to every professor
there - no strings attached. This is a serious situation, and Lighthouse
Trails would like to help in any way possible. We hope when those from MBI
read this report, they will ask MBI president Dr. Easley to have
someone contact Lighthouse Trails Publishing and request these books for
the staff (503/873-9092).
Quotes by Richard Foster:
"The wonderful thing about contemplative prayer is that it can be
found everywhere, anywhere, anytime for anyone." - from the Be Still
DVD
"[W]e began experiencing that "sweet sinking into Deity"
Madame Guyon speaks of. It, very honestly, had much the same
"feel" and "smell" as the experiences I had been
reading about in the Devotional Masters" (from Renovare Perspective.01/
1998)
"What an inviting picture of movement and work in harmony with the divine
Center of the universe"(Inward Simplicity: The Divine Center)
"Can we live in virtually constant communion with the divine Center of
the universe?"(Inward Simplicity: The Divine Center)
"Simplicity, then, is getting in touch with the divine center" (Simplicity)
"Thomas Merton has perhaps done more than any other twentieth-century
figure to make the life of prayer widely known and understood ... his
interest in contemplation led him to investigate prayer forms in Eastern
religion ... [he is] a gifted teacher" (Spiritual Classics -
p.17).
"Dom John Main understood well the value of both silence and solitude
... Main rediscovered meditation while living in the Far East." (Spiritual
Classics - p.155)
Related Stories:
Moody Bible Institute - Whatever Happened?
Young Christian Woman Withdraws from Moody Bible Institute
Because of Contemplative Promotion
Moody Bible Institute Responds to Lighthouse Trails
Quotes by Thomas Merton:
"It is a glorious destiny to be a member of the human race, ... now I
realize what we all are .... If only they [people] could all see themselves
as they really are ...I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall
down and worship each other ... At the center of our being is a point of
nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusions, a point of pure
truth ... This little point ...is the pure glory of God in us. It is in
everybody." A Time of Departing (quoting Thomas Merton, Conjectures
of a Guilty Bystander (1989 edition, 157-158)
"I'm deeply impregnated with Sufism." Thomas Merton, from The
Springs of Contemplation, p. 266
"And I believe that by openness to Buddhism, to Hinduism, and to these
great Asian traditions, we stand a wonderful chance of learning more about
the potentiality of our own traditions, because they have gone, from the
natural point of view, so much deeper into this than we have." Quote
from the book, Lost Christianity by Jacob Needleman
"Isn't it a pity that people are going into LSD to have spiritual
experiences, when we have a tradition in the Church [contemplative prayer]
which no one knows anything about?" Interview in which Matthew Fox quoted Merton.
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Prayer
Labyrinth on the Campus of Eastern Mennonite
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LTRP Note: Labyrinths
are part of the present day contemplative prayer movement. They have their
roots in pagan history as we have documented at Lighthouse Trails Research.
The article below is another example how mysticism is entering
Christianity.
"Following
the path of prayer: Labyrinth dedicated at EMU"
By Laura Lehman Amstutz
Eastern Mennonite University
HARRISONBURG, Va. - Building a prayer labyrinth on the
campus of Eastern Mennonite University has been a 15-year dream for
professor of spiritual formation Wendy Miller. On Oct. 13, that dream came
true as Miller and others dedicated the prayer labyrinth on the hill
northwest of the Eastern Mennonite Seminary building.
"Building the labyrinth was a bit like a labyrinth itself,"
Miller said at the dedication ceremony. "There were all kinds of
twists and turns.
"Even though we knew we were moving forward, it wasn't always obvious
that we were moving toward the center."
From the dream, spawned by Miller and a number of seminary students, others
began to get excited about the idea. Brian Martin Burkholder, campus pastor
at EMU, had been thinking about how the university might best use some
grant money to facilitate spiritual formation in an ongoing way. Click here to read more.
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Rick Warren Plays "Catch Me if You Can" While
Promoting Mysticism
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As Rick Warren moves
ahead toward his global peace agenda, working with nearly anyone or any
group who rallies behind him, he has moved to the forefront of evangelical
leaders who are propagating the contemplative prayer movement (i.e.,
spiritual formation). In essence, he has become an evangelist for
contemplative spirituality. For those who realize that contemplative (that
is mystical meditation) is the driving force behind the kingdom-now,
heaven-on-earth emerging church movement, this is an alarming deduction.
As has been carefully documented since A Time of Departing first brought to the light
Rick Warren's involvement and promotion of contemplative, Warren has
consistently shown support for and resonance with contemplative leaders and
authors and their mystical practices. This week is no exception. In his Ministry Toolbox newsletter (issued to hundreds of
thousands of pastors and church leaders around the world), Warren directs
readers to Metamorpha, "an online community for Christian spiritual
formation."1 Warren's newsletter describes Metamorpha as "a
place for deeper, more authentic, and more relevant conversation about the
Christian faith." Unfortunately, Metamorpha is actually a place where
mysticism is heralded and exalted. With video features by mystic proponent
Richard Foster, and others of the same caliber such as David Benner, Dallas
Willard, and Biola University's own contemplative professor John Coe
(director of Biola's Institute for Spiritual Formation), Metamorpha is
proclaiming their message loud and clear - mysticism is essential to the
Christian life.
While Rick Warren seems to play a kind of "Catch me if you can"
with the body of Christ, going virtually unnoticed and unchallenged by
nearly every major Christian leader and organization, his dare devilish
fellowship with those who blatantly promote New Age mysticism (such as Warren's recent invitation to Ken Blanchard to Saddleback)
seems to be picking up momentum.
One of the videos on Metamorpha is Jan Johnson, who wrote the book When
the Soul Listens: Finding Rest and Direction in Contemplative Prayer.
Johnson states:
Contemplative prayer, in its simplest form, is a prayer in
which you still your thoughts and emotions and focus on God Himself.
This puts you in a better state to be aware of God's presence, and it makes
you better able to hear God's voice, correcting, guiding, and directing
you.(p. 16) ... In the beginning, it is usual to feel nothing but a cloud
of unknowing.... If you're a person who has relied on yourself a great deal
to know what's going on, this unknowing will be unnerving(p. 120).
When Johnson speaks of the cloud of unknowing she is referring to a book written
centuries ago by a monk called The Cloud of Unknowing, which is a primer on
contemplative mysticism.
Metamorpha lists several contemplative exercises, one which instructs
readers to repeat one phrase over and over for 10 minutes.2 In an article on the site, instruction for Ignatian
exercises (named after St. Ignatius of Loyola) is given. Of Ignatius, Roger
Oakland states: "Ignatius founded the Jesuits with a goal to bring the
separated brethren back to the Catholic Church. He and his band of
ruthless men would do everything possible to accomplish this goal." (Faith
Undone, p. 116) In the Metamorpha article, it says that the
"imagination is key in Ignatian prayer.... Ignatian meditation
involves several key spiritual disciplines: lectio divina, Ignatian
contemplation, reminiscence, and the examination of consciousness (notice:
not conscience)."3
A video on Metamorpha by Richard Foster titled "What role do the
ancient Christians play in life of believers today?" is quite
revealing.4 Foster lists several ancient mystics as those we
should turn to for spiritual direction. One he named is Jean Pierre de
Caussade (from 1700s), a mystic and the author of Abandonment to Divine
Providence.5 Foster also names panentheist Thomas Kelly who Foster
quotes in one of his books as saying there is a divine center in every
person. Foster also tells readers to practice meditation exercises such as
lectio divina.
For those who still have doubts that Rick Warren meant what he said in the
90s in his first book, Purpose Driven Church, his promotion this
week of Metamorpha should dispel all questions. In that book, Warren said
that the spiritual formation movement was "a valid message for the
church" and a "wake-up call" for the body of Christ. He
said Richard Foster and Dallas Willard were key players in that movement
(p. 126). Now today, he still embraces the spirituality of Richard Foster
who has been teaching the heresy of mysticism since his 1978 book Celebration
of Discipline and who emulates the late panentheist Thomas Merton.
Incidentally, in Warren's rendezvous with mysticism in this week's
newsletter, he includes Pete Scazzero. You may remember the November 2006 book alert on Scazzero's book, Emotionally
Healthy Spirituality, the book featured on Warren's site this week. It
is really quite astounding that Warren has featured this book. Look at the
partial list of who is in Scazzero's book:
Dallas Willard
Meister Eckhart
St. Theresa Avila
Kieran Kavanaugh, editor of John of the Cross
Thomas Merton (Trappist monk and interspiritualist)
Daniel Goleman (scientist who studies and promotes Buddhist meditation)
Richard Foster
Brennan Manning
Ignatius's teachings
M. Scott Peck
The Sayings of the Desert Fathers
Basil Pennington
Dan Allender (AAAC)
Larry Crabb (Papa Prayer)
Tony Jones, The Sacred Way
Phyllis Tickle
Henri Nouwen
Brother Lawrence
Eugene Peterson
Tilden Edwards (panentheist founder of Shalem Institute)*
These names all have one thing in common - their embracing of mysticism.
Scazzero's book is a who's who of Eastern style meditation.
As incredible as it is, Purpose Driven Life and Celebrate Recovery
are saturating evangelical churches across the globe in nearly every
denomination, and Rick Warren's efforts to bring the contemplative emerging
paradigm to the forefront of Christianity are succeeding, and most
Christians don't even see it happening.
*Note: Most of the authors listed above can be found on the
Lighthouse Trails Research site. Just go to the search engine and type in
the needed name.
Related Stories:
Why We Should Be Very Concerned About Leonard Sweet and
Rick Warren ... and Their Plans for the Future
Spiritual Fusion: East Comes West
Related to Rick Warren's Pastor.com website and his Ministry Toolbox
newsletter:
Pastors.com: Misleading Pastors into Interspirituality Via
Contemplative Prayer
June 2007 - Rick Warren OK with Harry Potter
January 2007 - Rick Warren Recommends Contemplative
Conference
October 2006 - Rick Warren and Leonard Sweet Riding the
"Tides of Change" on the Heels of Mysticism
September 2005 - Rick Warren Promotes Contemplative Prayer
on Ministry Toolbox
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The Emerging Church and the Woman at the Well
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by
Roger Oakland
If
you listen to the emergent conversation long enough, you will hear a
recurring theme: Christians are wrong to confront unbelievers head on with
the Word of God. We should instead lay aside our desire to preach or share
the truths from the Word and spend more time developing relationships and
friendships with the unchurched (a politically correct name for unsaved).
They often use Jesus as an example, saying He did not confront people but
always accepted them for who they were.
One example is in Dan Kimball's 2007 book, They Like Jesus but Not the
Church. In his chapter titled "The Church Arrogantly Claims All
Other Religions are Wrong," Kimball refers to the story where Jesus is
sitting near a well by Himself (the disciples have gone to the nearby
town), and he talks to a Samaritan woman. Kimball alters the story by
saying:
He
[Jesus] stopped and asked questions of the Samaritan woman (John 4) and
didn't just jump in and say, "Samaritans are all wrong."
But
Kimball is wrong. Jesus did the exact opposite! He didn't ask her any
questions, and he confronted her straight on--something Kimball says
(throughout his book) is a terrible thing to do to an unbeliever. Listen to
Jesus' words to the woman:
Jesus
saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither
in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye
know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But
the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the
Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and
in truth.
The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called
Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her,
I that speak unto thee am he. (John 4:21-26)
Kimball
largely bases his premise on the reasoning that Christians should not do or
say anything that might offend unbelievers, even if that anything is truth
and Scripture.
The fact is, Jesus did confront people with the truth, as did His disciples
(as well as the Old Testament prophets). And why did He? He told the woman
at the well the reason:
Jesus
answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is
that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and
he would have given thee living water. (John 4:10)
There
is no question about it, the Word of God is offensive to the
unbeliever just as I Corinthians 1:18 states:
For
the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us
which are saved it is the power of God.
And
again in II Corinthians 2:15-16, when Paul explains the attitude he encountered
when witnessing to unbelievers:
For
we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in
them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to
the other the savour of life unto life.
If Paul had been adjusting (contextualizing) the Word of God
to fit the culture and context of the lives of those he spoke to, he would
not have said "the aroma of death leading to death." He took the
spiritual state of these people very seriously, and he had full confidence
that God's Word, unaltered and unchanged, could reach into the heart and
soul of any person who would receive Christ by faith. Whether a person is
young, mentally challenged, or of a different culture or ethnic group, the
Gospel is God's Gospel, and He made it so that all who receive it by faith
will understand His love and forgiveness and have eternal life. (This has
been an excerpt from Faith Undone, pp. 45-47.)
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Dan Kimball - Is He or
Isn't He?
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While
some have begun to see the heresy of Brian McLaren's and Doug Pagitt's
teachings, confusion has arisen as to who is part of the emerging church
and who isn't. As Roger Oakland has stated in his book, Faith Undone,
there are certain key elements that distinguish emerging church leaders:
promotion of mysticism (i.e., contemplative), kingdom-now eschatology,
ecumenism, a lax view of homosexuality, an anti-biblical overhauling of
missions and evangelism, and a drawing toward Catholicism and its
practices.
The upcoming Rethink Conference hosted by Robert Schuller at the
Crystal Cathedral will be including speakers who embrace many elements of
this description. One of those speakers is Dan Kimball. In both his books, The
Emerging Church (endorsed heartily by Rick Warren) and They Like
Jesus But not the Church, Kimball displays true emerging church
characteristics. As thousands of people will flock to Crystal Cathedral to
hear contemplative proponents Kimball, Ortberg, New Ager Jon Gordon, Erwin
McManus, H.B. London (Focus on the Family), and Kay Warren, may we warn our
loved ones, friends, and fellow church members about belief systems that
are anti-biblical and very misleading. The following book review should
answer questions regarding the spirituality of Dan Kimball:
Dan
Kimball's new book, They Like Jesus But Not the Church should really
be called They Like (Another) Jesus But Not the Church, the Bible,
Morality, or the Truth. Kimball interviews several young people (one is
a lesbian) who tell him they "like and respect Jesus" but they
don't want anything to do with going to church or with those Christians who
take the Bible literally. Kimball says these are "exciting times"
we live in "when Jesus is becoming more and more respected in our
culture by non-churchgoing people" (p. 12). He says we should "be
out listening to what non-Christians, especially those in their late teens
to thirties, are saying and thinking about the church and
Christianity" (p. 12).
According to Kimball, it is vitally important that we as Christians be
accepted by non-Christians and not thought of as abnormal or strange. But
in order to do that, he says we must change the way we live and behave. He
says things like Christian bumper stickers (p. 40) and Christian words like
"fellowship," (p. 41) are "corny" and might offend a
non-believer or seeker. Kimball insists (p. 19) that "those who are
rejecting faith in Jesus" do so because of their views of Christians
and the church. But he makes it clear throughout the book that these
distorted views are not the fault of the unbeliever but are the fault of
Christians, but not all Christians, just those fundamentalist ones who take
the Bible literally, believe that homosexuality is a sin and think certain
things are wrong and harmful to society ... and actually speak up about
these things.
Incidentally, Kimball devotes an entire chapter to homosexuality, "The
Church is Homophobic." Now his chapter titles are supposed to be what
these skeptical, disheartened emerging generation persons see in the
church. If we would not be homophobic, they would like us much better.
Kimball explains:
Quite honestly, and some people might get mad at me for
saying this, I sometimes wish this weren't a sin issue [homosexuality],
because I have met gay people who are the most kind, loving, solid, and
supportive people I have ever met. As I talk to them and hear their stories
and get to know them, I come to understand that their sexual orientation
isn't something they can just turn off. Homosexual attraction is not
something people simply choose to have, as is quite often erroneously
taught from many pulpits. (p. 138)
This is alarming that Kimball is saying this. Substitute the
sin for pedophilia and hear how it sounds: "I sometimes wish molesting
children wasn't a sin issue, because I have met pedophiles who are the most
kind, loving, solid, and supportive people I have ever met." Kimball
says (p. 110) we need to focus more on what we stand for rather than what
we are against. If I had his views I wouldn't want anyone focusing on
criticisms against them either.
While the book is a theological disaster, many new believers probably won't
know that. That is to be expected. That is why we have pastors and leaders.
But this presents some serious concern. One of the most respected leaders
in Christendom has his endorsement in the book. Josh McDowell tells readers
"it would be foolish" to not carefully study Kimball's book.
Gregory Koukl of Stand to Reason (an apologetics ministry) also endorses
the book:
With insight, gentleness, and an unswerving commitment to
the wisdom of the past, Dan Kimball shows us what we don't want to see but
must see if we care about the Great Commission in the twenty-first century.
McDowell's and Koukl's endorsements are nestled between
staunch emerging church/New Thought promoters: Leonard Sweet, Tony Jones,
Mark Oestreicher (Youth Specialties) and several others. One example of
Kimball's poor biblical theology is in his chapter titled: "The Church
Arrogantly Claims All Other Religions are Wrong." Kimball refers to
John 4 where Jesus talks to the Samaritan woman. Kimballs says: "He
[Jesus] stopped and asked questions of the Samaritan woman and didn't just
jump in and say, 'Samaritans are all wrong.'" But that is exactly what
Jesus did! He didn't ask her any questions. Kimball has misled his readers!
Jesus confronted her straight on, something Kimball says (throughout his
book) is a terrible thing to do to an unbeliever. Listen to Jesus' words to
the woman:
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh,
when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the
Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation
is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh
such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must
worship him in spirit and in truth.
The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called
Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her,
I that speak unto thee am he.
Kimball's entire premise is largely based on this type of
faulty reasoning, that Christians should not do or say anything that might
offend unbelievers, even if that anything is truth and Scripture. But the
Bible says that the message of the Cross is offensive and foolish to the
unbelieving heart: "For the preaching of the cross is to them that
perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of
God" (I Corinthians 1:18).
Kimball says that "to them [the unbelievers], Christianity isn't
normal." He adds: "This is really important to realize" (p.
29). But the Bible is so clear that those who belong to the Lord Jesus are not
looked upon as normal by the world. In fact, Jesus tells us to expect it:
If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it
hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet
because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world,
therefore the world hates you." (John 15: 18,19).
Kimball says "Christians are now the foreigners in a
post-Christian culture, and we have got to wake up to this reality if we
haven't" (p. 30). He is desperate for this realization to happen
saying "we aren't respected" by those outside the church nor are
we sought after for advice by unbelievers (p. 30). But Christians have
always been foreigners in the world, and they have suffered terribly for
it. Throughout Christian history, there have been countless murders and
atrocities that have been committed against Christians. Jesus said, "I
am not of this world" (John 8:23) and also: "My kingdom is not of
this world" (John 18:36). The apostle Paul said: "For our
citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be
conformed to His glorious body...." (Philippians 3:20), and Jesus
said: "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them
because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world."
(John 17:14)
Perhaps what is most damaging about Kimball's book is his black
and white, either or reasoning (the very thing he accuses Christians of).
He makes it very clear that you cannot be a Christian who takes the Bible
literally and also be a humble, loving thoughtful person. They are two
different things, according to Kimball. There is no such thing as a loving,
humble Christian who takes the Bible literally. His book further alienates
believers in a world that is already hostile to those who say Jesus is the
only way to salvation, the Bible should be taken literally, homosexuality
is a sin, and we are called out of this world to live righteously by the
grace of God. Some of Kimball's other black and white statements are:
"The church is homophobic" versus "The church is a loving
and welcoming community." (Kimball denounces those who take any kind
of stand publicly against homosexuality.) Another: "The church
arrogantly claims all other religions are wrong" versus "The
church is respectful of other people's beliefs and faiths." Once
again, Kimball says it can't be both ways. Christians who do claim that all
other religions are wrong contrast those who are respectful of other
people. He says they can't be both. Click here to read the rest of this article.
More Research on the teachings of Dan Kimball
Erwin McManus Teams Up with Robert Schuller - Could Have
Far-Reaching Effects
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Belmont University (Baptist): Emergent Book More Popular than
Bible
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"Belmont seeks broader identity"
Baptists say school has left religious roots
By Colby Sledge
The Tennessean
At Belmont University, the new religion is change.
Enrollment is the highest ever. As soon as one residence hall is completed,
another goes up. Students and faculty call President Bob Fisher "Bob
the Builder," for his drive toward the school's master plan....
Many students say they came for Belmont's programs, not its affiliation. A
pedestrian can pass by eight, 10 or 12 cars in parking lots on campus and
not spot a Tennessee license plate, a testament to the draw of Music Row
and the school's music-industry emphasis.
"I would probably say it's music business over religion," said
sophomore Claire Warner when asked how she would best describe Belmont....
On the school's Facebook Web page, "God" comes in third in top
student interests. (First is "Music," followed by
"Singing.") The most popular book on campus is not the Bible, but
Blue Like Jazz by Christian author Donald Miller, a leader in the
emerging church movement that draws away from fundamentalism, as the state
convention becomes more conservative. Click here to read this entire news story.
Related Research:
Christian Colleges That Promote Contemplative Spirituality
Belmont University Among Southern Baptist Convention's
'List of Colleges and Universities' Promoting Yoga, New Age
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Mennonites Positive About Historic Dialogue with the Vatican
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LTRP
Note: The following out-of-house article is another
indication of a Protestant move toward the Catholic Eucharistic christ and
the pope's new evangelization program to win back the lost brethren.
From Chuck Colson's "Evangelicals and Catholics Together"
document to the evangelical embracing of Mel Gibson's The Passion (inspired
by Catholic mystics) to the emerging church's chasing of Catholic mystical
practices, it has become increasingly apparent that Christianity is being
beckoned toward Rome. To read a documented and compelling analysis of this,
read Another Jesus.
by Ekklesia
New Way of Thinking
Mennonites have welcomed the opportunity recently presented to their 1.2
million strong world body to dialogue officially with the Roman Catholic
Church on peace and theological concerns, as part of a historic visit to
the Vatican.
Ferne Burkhardt, news editor for Mennonite World Conference (MWC) writes:
When Mennonites from 10 countries spent five days with Catholic Church
leaders in Vatican City, each group was interested in learning to know the
other better. The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity invited
and hosted the Mennonite World Conference delegation from 18 - 23 October
2007.
"We were so warmly welcomed that it was almost overwhelming,"
said Nancy Heisey, MWC president. "We learned much about how the Roman
Catholic Church carries out its mission, and we were able in many of our
encounters to share our own understandings, to describe our ministries and
to raise our questions."
The invitation for the visit grew out of the international dialogue between
MWC and the Pontifical Council, which took place from 1998 to 2003 and
resulted in a 48-page report, "Called Together to be
Peacemakers." ...
On Sunday morning, the Mennonites attended a service at the Basilica of St
Mary Major where they were introduced to worshippers by the Basilica's
Archpriest. They also prayed together at the catacombs and fellowshipped
with leaders of the Focolari, an important lay movement within the Catholic
Church, where they heard testimonies of meeting Jesus and of changed lives. Click here to read more of this article.
Related Stories:
Mel Gibson Reveals True Purpose of the Passion - Leading
People to Catholicism!
Head of Evangelical Group Converts to Catholicism
Evangelical Christians Combine Contemplative Mysticism with
Catholic Eucharist
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Baptist Bulletin Reviews Faith Undone
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Review
by Baptist Bulletin
October 2007
"[A] welcome book on a growing movement calling itself 'the emerging
church.' Until now, relatively few books have surfaced to review these
trends from a critical perspective. Roger Oakland writes in a popular,
accessible style to evaluate major issues involving the emerging church ...
a valuable introduction to personalities and books that are becoming
popular in the Christian press ... informative, practical, and easy to
read." Click here to read the entire review.
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Another Jesus and Messages from Heaven
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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
Also now carrying
Eternal Productions: Messages
from Heaven
A Biblical Examination of the
Apparitions of the Virgin Mary and Other Supernatural Activity in the End
Times
Includes 5 languages! English, Spanish,Portuguese, Italian and Polish Tens
of millions visit apparition sites hoping to encounter the Blessed Virgin
Mary. Those who follow the apparitions believe Mary has come to turn us
back to God, while others insist that these events are either fabrications
or the working of Satan. Does the Bible anticipate apparitions, signs and
wonders in the last days? Does the Word of God reveal the origin of these
phenomena?
Running time: 79 minutes
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Publishing News - Faith Undone, 3rd printing
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Faith Undone, our newest release, has now gone to its third
printing. We believe this hard-hitting, well-documented book is in
such demand because believers want to learn the truth about the
emerging church that incorporates mysticism, Purpose Driven, global
ecumenism, and more.
If you haven't read Faith
Undone, we encourage you to do so. One of the reasons the book
is selling so fast is because many people and many churches are buying
multiple copies to give to others. We strive at Lighthouse Trails to keep
our book prices low, as well as offer large discounts for quantity orders,
so that our books can be available to all who wish to read them.
_____________________________________________
Discusses
the following:
1. Ancient rituals and
practices brought back to life
2.The Eucharistic
Evangelization
3.The emerging road to Rome
4.Contemplative
spirituality and mysticism
5.The emerging church's
view of Hell and the Atonement
6.How the emerging church
considers biblical prophecy and the future of planet Earth
7.The key catalysts of the
emergent church
8.Purpose Driven ecumenism:
Part of the emerging church's new reformation
9.How emerging spirituality
is altering missions and evangelism
10.Understanding the
emerging church in light of Bible prophecy
ISBN: 978-0-9791315-1-6
Click
here for
more information and a chapter by chapter synopsis of Faith Undone.
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 within 24 hours of receiving order.
This
book will also be available to order from most bookstores (online and
walk-in) by mid-August. If your local bookstore isn't carrying Faith
Undone, you can ask them to order it for you.
Lighthouse
Trails Publishing's 2nd spring release, For Many Shall Come in My Name by
Ray Yungen is now
here.
For
more information on this book, click
here.
* * * *
For information on our 1st 2007 spring release, The Other
Side of the River, click here.
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.
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.
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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.
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ALERT: Rethink Conference Articles
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A giant step toward the convergence of the three-legged
stool
Crystal Cathedral (Robert Schuller)
Quotes
by Robert Schuller:
"I met once more with the Grand Mufti [a Muslim], truly
one of the great Christ-honoring leaders of faith.... I'm dreaming a bold
impossible dream: that positive-thinking believers in God will rise above
the illusions that our sectarian religions have imposed on the world, and
that leaders of the major faiths will rise above doctrinal idiosyncrasies,
choosing not to focus on disagreements, but rather to transcend divisive
dogmas to work together to bring peace and prosperity and hope to the
world...." p. 502
"Standing
before a crowd of devout Muslims with the Grand Mufti, I know that we're
all doing God's work together. Standing on the edge of a new millennium,
we're laboring hand in hand to repair the breach." p. 501
What is Robert Schuller Doing
These Days?
Robert Schuller interviewed New Ager Gerald Jampolsky on October 2004. Schuller's web site
began promoting and advertising Jampolsky's 1999 book, Forgiveness (with a foreword by Neal Donald Walsch).
Some places Schuller talks about
Jampolsky-
Hour of Power, March 2004
Crystal Cathedral Church Service, October 2004
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