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The
Trail of Spiritual Delusion: Our Weary World Has Seen It All Before
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By Ted Kyle
Guest Writer
There is nothing new
under the sun (Eccl. 1:9). Everything that man can do to man has been done
before--and will be done again.
Especially is this true of false teachers and prophets leading the
credulous astray. It was done anciently; it was done in the middle years;
it is being done today; and it will be done in the end of days. More about
the connection with today and the last days, after a bit of historical
catching-up.
This trail of betrayal and delusion began with the first gathering of
mankind together into a nation. That nation was ruled by Nimrod (Gen. 10:8;
1 Chron. 1:10; Micah 5:6), until his death; and in that same general time
frame, God splintered the proto-nation into family (tribal) groups with the
Confusion of Tongues at Babel.
But then, as Alexander Hislop (1807-1865) pieced pre-history together1,
Semiramis, Nimrod's widow, was the guiding (human) spirit behind a new
religion artfully crafted to pull the tribes of man back into a new
spiritual unity--and ultimately a political unity as well. Guiding the
guide, of course, was Satan, ever intent on thwarting God's plans for man
and substituting his own.
So powerful was this pagan religion that it ultimately led very nearly the
entire world into apostasy. It goes by many names and takes many forms in
many lands. It pays homage to many gods. But their original impetus derived
from the first delusion of a powerful leader (Nimrod) who was slain and who
was believed to have returned to life as a great god
These related religions were known as "mystery religions," for
they were shrouded in mysteries revealed only to initiates. Hence there was
a popular level of revealed pagan religion, into which the masses entered,
and a higher level open only to a select few, who underwent initiation rites
which they were sworn never to reveal.
How Did the Great Apostasy Happen?
Please recall that all this began just a few generations after the Great
Flood. Nimrod was a great-grandson of Noah (Gen. 10:7)--and Noah was well
acquainted with Jehovah God! Not only did Noah know God, he survived the
Flood by 350 years (Gen. 9:28). So he was still very much alive when Nimrod
flourished! (If you wish to delve into this complex web of false spirits
and false gods for yourself, see footnote 1 for a source to begin.)
In view of the brief time frame and the overwhelming success of the mystery
religions we must ask: How was it possible to pull the wool over almost the
whole of mankind so thoroughly as to cause them to turn their backs upon
the true God, who had so recently revealed His awesome power through the
Great Flood?
There is a large clue in Deuteronomy 13:1-3. In this passage, which is
included in Moses' restatement and summation of the Mosaic Law, is a
warning from God about false prophets: "If there arise among you a
prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And
the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying,
Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve
them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that
dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye
love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul."
If a prophet gives a sign or wonder, and the sign or wonder comes to
pass.... Think about that. God was warning the Children of Israel against
genuine wonders--things that would really happen or at the very least would
convincingly appear to happen--but they would be false signs. And God would
allow this as a test to show who really loved Him--and who therefore would
resist the tremendous temptation to follow the crowd, which was being
swayed by what their eyes beheld or their hearts believed.
We are told by ancient historians Justin and Epiphanius that in the
initiation rites the image of a god (Osiris, Tammuz, or Adonis--all of whom
Hislop believed represented Nimrod) spoke to the candidates (Hislop, p.
67). We are also, however, given to understand that powerful drugs were
administered to the candidates, and these may have been hallucinatory. In
any case, the candidates were convinced--not only of the truth of the
vision but also that they would be forever lost if they revealed beyond the
brotherhood what they had seen and heard.
A Three-Fold Deception
I believe that the appeal of this false religion was three-fold, relying on
false signs, a false vision, and a false permissiveness. The vision
centered, I am convinced, on a false messiah or savior, who offered
devotees the salvation mankind has always yearned for. This false messiah
was Nimrod or one of his many avatars.2 But this spiritual bait offered yet
more--much more! Not only was a savior put forward, with the hope of
eternal life, but men and women could have all this without giving up the
sinful pleasures of this life. In fact, Semiramis, who was subsequently
"deified" by this false religion, was known to be a lewd woman,
reveling in orgies. She encouraged her devotees to follow her example--and
perhaps this was the greatest lure of all!
Summing up, think of the great deception as a savior offered, with
confirming signs, and "come as you are--stay as you are." Small
wonder that the bait was swallowed en masse!
Note especially that Satan put forward his own candidate for the Messiah
many centuries before God, in the fullness of time, revealed Jesus Christ
as the true Messiah (see Hislop, chapter 2, sub-section 5, p. 58 ff).
Demonic Influence Over Israel and the Young Church
I will not belabor this point, for it is obvious that the same seductive
power which was exercised over all mankind shortly after the Fall was
specifically exercised over the Children of Israel to lead them from
worshipping Jehovah God to serving the false gods of surrounding pagan
nations. Suffice it to quote a warning from God given shortly before Moses'
successor, Joshua, led the Israelites into the Promised Land.
Moses told the assembled people that after they crossed the Jordan, they
would face blessings from Mt. Gerizim if they obeyed the Lord, and curses
from Mt. Ebal if they disobeyed Him. The first curse pronounced was against
setting up idols, which represented false gods: "Cursed be the man
that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the
work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all
the people shall answer and say, Amen" (Deut. 27:15). But despite
their good intentions at that instant, the time came when "They
sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods
that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not" (Deut. 32:17). The
Old Testament goes on to record the dismal fulfillment of that curse and
its consequences among the Chosen People.
That the apostasy was still a huge issue at the time of Christ, and spilled
over into His young Church, is shown in Paul's warning to the Corinthians:
"What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered
in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say, that the things which the
Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils (demons), and not to God: and
I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the
cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the
Lord's table, and of the table of devils" (1 Cor. 10:19-21).
Demonic Power Is at Work Even Now
Is demonic power active in our present-day culture? Indeed it is, despite
the fact that we live in a society that essentially does not believe in
supernatural power of any sort. For this reason, Satan's "powers of
the air" tend to be low-key and at work behind the scenes, but they
are present. For example, Mormon missionaries ask prospective converts to
read the Book of Mormon and then wait for a burning in their breast, which,
they say, will confirm the truth of the Book of Mormon. If they pray for
it, they will generally get it!
Many New Agers look for the appearance of The Coming One prophesied by
Alice Ann Bailey, who wrote books dictated to her by her "spirit
master."3 Ray Yungen (see footnote 3) notes: "To occultists, the
significance of the Alice Bailey writings has heralded anticipation of a
World Healer and Savior [author's emphasis] in the coming Aquarian Age (the
astrological age of enlightenment and peace). This savior would unite all
mankind under his guidance. ... This person was not to be the Lord Jesus
Christ, of whom Christians await the return, but an entirely different
individual who would embody all the great principles of occultism, chiefly
the divinity and perfectibility of man."4
Yungen, in his book, documents the rapid expansion of New Age principles in
the present day, including ominous inroads into the Church. But while the
principles are purely New Age, they are being sold to the credulous as
exciting revelations of new paths to spiritual growth for our time. And
this is taking place not only in mainline denominations which have been
drifting from biblical Christianity for decades, but also in Evangelical
Churches.
Demonic Power Will Grow Stronger in the Last Days
I am convinced that the world is being prepared even now to accept and
believe the witness of the sign when the false prophet will call down fire
from heaven (Rev. 13:13). Note, for example, the unprecedented increase in
emphasis on television on supernatural powers, ghosts, and spirits. These
themes have been around for a very long time, but not since the
superstitious days of the Middle Ages have they been accentuated so
heavily. This build-up, I believe, is preparing the populace for Satan's
introduction of the Beast and his false prophet, who will deceive
"them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he
had power to do in the sight of the beast;" (Rev. 13-14).
Thus will the false prophet seemingly verify that the Beast that rose out
of the sea (Rev. 13:1), also known as "the son of perdition" and
the anti-Christ, is indeed the promised Messiah. Once again, God will be
testing mankind by allowing these miracle-signs, to reveal the faithful
remnant that will cling to the revealed Word and will not be snared by the
Anti-Christ's powerful delusion.
May all who read these words be among that faithful remnant!
Footnotes:
1. Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons, researched and first published as a
book in 1858, currently available from Chick Publications. Note: While some
of Hislop's extrapolations and projections seem forced, his prodigious
research into ancient sources cannot be written off, and I believe that his
general conclusions are sound. It is obvious that something led the world
rapidly away from God, and Hislop's explanation is the most logical
description I know of.
2. Ibid., p. 59
3. Ray Yungen, A Time of Departing, 2d ed., Lighthouse Trails Pub.
Co., Silverton, Or, 2006, p. 112 ff.
4. Ibid., p. 113.
Related Information:
New Ageism: A Vision That Will Usher in the End of History by
Ted Kyle
"I Just Had a Vision!" by Kevin Reeves
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Is Obama Poised to Cede US Sovereignty?
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"Thatcher
adviser: Copenhagen goal is 1-world government
'Global warming' to be used as 'pretext' for 'change'"
By Jerome R. Corsi
2009 WorldNetDaily
A former science adviser to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher says
the real purpose of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in
Copenhagen on Dec. 7-18 is to use global warming hype as a pretext to lay
the foundation for a one-world government.
"At [the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in] Copenhagen
this December, weeks away, a treaty will be signed," Lord Christopher
Monckton told a Minnesota Free Market Institute audience on Thursday at
Bethel University in St. Paul.
"Your president will sign it. Most of the Third World countries will
sign it, because they think they're going to get money out of it. Most of
the left-wing regimes from the European Union will rubber stamp it.
Virtually nobody won't sign it," he told the audience of some 700
attendees. Click here to continue.
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A "Wonderful" Deception - "The Most Extensive
Critique"
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 On
October 21 and 22, Southwest Radio Church Ministries will be airing an
interview between SWRC Larry Spargimino and Warren B. Smith, author of the
new release, A "Wonderful" Deception. Of that book, Mr.
Spargimino states:
"This book is [Warren Smith's] magnum opus! A fantastic
work ... [T]his volume is the most extensive critique of Purpose Driven
teachings and emergent teaching that I have ever seen ... a wealth of
information, lots of footnotes, lots of quotations ... showing where the
apostasy is and how it has been so pervasive through the church today ... I
am so moved by reading A "Wonderful" Deception"
The
two-part interview is now online on the Southwest Radio website. You may
listen to it in its entirety by clicking here. (Scroll down on that page to October 21st
and October 22nd.)
For more information about Warren B. Smith's work (plus sample chapters and
articles by Smith), please go to: New Age to Grace.
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The Process of Reimagining Christianity
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Perhaps
we as Christians today are not only to consider what it means to be a 21st
century church, but also and perhaps more importantly--what it means to
have a 21st century faith.1--Doug Pagitt
Emergent
church leaders often provide testimonies explaining how they became
involved in their journey to reinvent Christianity. In his book Church
Re-Imagined, Doug Pagitt tells how and why his church originated:
Our
attempt at being a church began in January 2000 in a small second-floor
loft space in a hip little neighborhood of Minneapolis called Linden Hills.
The church was actually birthed much earlier, from conversations between a
few friends who shared a desire to be part of a community of faith that not
only had a new way of functioning but also generated a different outcome.
At that point I had said, on more than one occasion, that I didn't think I
would be able to stay Christian in any useful sense over the next 50 years
if I continued with the expression of Christianity I was currently
living--pretty disconcerting stuff for a pastor.2
Pagitt
explains why he felt he needed to find a new expression of Christianity
that was different from what he had been accustomed to previously. He
states:
This
was not a crisis of faith in the typical sense; I never doubted God, Jesus,
or the Christian faith. And yet I had a deep sense, which has actually
grown deeper since, that I needed to move into a Christianity that somehow
fit better with the world I lived in, not an expression reconstituted from
another time.3
Pagitt
goes into more depth on how he views fitting "better with the
world" he lives in:
We
also understand ourselves as part of a global community. We are required to
live our local expressions of Christianity in harmony with those around the
world. The beliefs and practices of our Western church must never override
or negate the equally valid and righteous expressions of faith lived by
Christians around the world. It is essential that we recognize our own
cultural version of Christianity and make ourselves open to the work of
God's hand in the global community of faith.4
Notice
the emphasis on a "global community of faith" that permits all
"expressions of faith" by anyone and everyone who claims to be
Christian. As we are going to see, Pagitt bases his ideas of changing the
profile of Christianity on an ecumenical view that permits beliefs and
experiences not found in the Bible. Not only are they not found in the
Bible, the plan can't work with an intact Bible. In order for the emerging
church to succeed, the Bible has to be looked at through entirely different
glasses, and Christianity needs to be open to a new type of faith. Brian
McLaren calls this new faith a "generous orthodoxy."5 While such
an orthodoxy allows a smorgasbord of ideas to be proclaimed in the name of
Christ, many of these ideas are actually forbidden and rejected by
Scripture.
Pagitt believes that he is part of a cutting-edge response to the new
postmodern world. It's a response he and others see as completely unique,
never having been tried before in the history of man. Pagitt states:
It
seems to me that our post-industrial times require us to ask new
questions--questions that people 100 years ago would have never thought of
asking. Could it be that our answers will move us to re-imagine the way of
Christianity in our world? Perhaps we as Christians today are not only to
consider what it means to be a 21st century church, but also and perhaps more
importantly--what it means to have a 21st century faith.6
Many
people I meet at conferences who come from a wide variety of church
backgrounds tell me the church they have been attending for years has
radically changed. Their pastor no longer teaches the Bible. Instead, the
Sunday morning service is a skit or a series of stories. The Bible seems to
have become the forbidden book. While there are pastors who do still teach
the Bible, they are becoming the exception rather than the rule.
Emergent leaders often say the message remains the same, but our methods
must change if we are going to be relevant to our generation. The measure
of success for many pastors today is how many are coming, rather than how
many are listening and obeying what God has said in His Word. Let's
consider how Doug Pagitt uses the Bible in his own church. He states:
At
Solomon's Porch, sermons are not primarily about my extracting truth from
the Bible to apply to people's lives. In many ways the sermon is less a
lecture or motivational speech than it is an act of poetry--of putting
words around people's experiences to allow them to find deeper connection
in their lives... So our sermons are not lessons that precisely define
belief so much as they are stories that welcome our hopes and ideas and
participation.7
What
Pagitt is describing is a contextual theology; that is, don't use the Bible
as a means of theology or measuring rod of truth and standards by which to
live; and rather than have the Bible mold the Christian's life, let the
Christian's life mold the Bible. That's what Pagitt calls "putting
words around people's experiences." As this idea is developed,
emerging proponents have to move away from Bible teachings and draw into a
dialectic approach. That way, instead of just one person preaching truth or
teaching biblical doctrine, everyone can have a say and thus come to a
consensus of what the Bible might be saying. Pagitt explains:
To
move beyond this passive approach to faith, we've tried to create a
community that's more like a potluck: people eat and they also bring
something for others. Our belief is built when all of us engage our hopes,
dreams, ideas and understandings with the story of God as it unfolds
through history and through us.8
(This
is from chapter 3, Faith Undone. To read the entire chapter,
including a section on contextualizing the Gospel, click here.
Notes:
1. Doug Pagitt, Church Re-Imagined (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
2005), pp. 17, 19.
2. Ibid., p. 41.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid., pp. 27, 29.
5. Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
2004).
6. Pagitt, Church Re-Imagined, op. cit., pp. 17, 19.
7. Ibid., p. 166.
8. Doug Pagitt, Church ReImagined, op. cit., p. 167.
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Hate Crimes Bill Sneaks Through U.S. House
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USA
(MNN)--The U.S. House of Representatives passed a controversial Hate Crimes
Bill in a 281-146 vote, with 131 Republicans and 15 Democrats objecting to
the measure.
The legislation adds sexual orientation to the list of groups under the
protection of the federal law. It also gives states and local jurisdictions
federal help in prosecuting hate crimes.
The bill passed the House in April as a stand-alone, but there was enough
controversy surrounding it that passage in the Senate was not guaranteed.
Todd Nettleton with Voice of the Martyrs says, "They kind of went
about it in a back door way. It does go to the Senate. Apparently, it will
pass the Senate, from what we understand, partially because it's attached
to this Defense Spending Bill, and the President has said he will sign
it."
Nettleton clarifies that the Hate Crimes Bill is not the same as a Hate
Speech Bill, but, "Is this the first step toward a hate speech bill
that would then make it illegal to express Christian principles about some
of these subjects?" Click here to read this entire article.
Related Articles:
Hate Crimes Bill Passes House - Christian Leaders Partly to
Blame
The Election is Over - What About the Department of Peace?
Related Scriptures from News 4 the Masses
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Contemplative Emphasis Continues at Willow Creek ... Stronger
Than Ever
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Take
heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the
Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he
hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing
shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of
your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away
disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of
three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. Acts
20: 28-30
This
October Willow Creek continues to contribute to the wide spread influence
of contemplative spirituality that is infiltrating mainline church
denominations. Not only have they recently begun to sell Peter Scazzero's
contemplative materials 1, they are also promoting as one of their leadership
training speakers Mindy Caliguire, the founder of Soul Care, a spiritual
formation ministry serving church leaders. She is scheduled to speak on
Oct. 24, 2009 as a 'group life expert' at a conference called This Changes
Everything, (2) a one day satellite training event designed to bring
small groups to a point of transformation and foster spiritual growth. 3
Mindy Caliguire will also be sharing the speaking platform this week (4) with contemplative Canadian pastor and author, Mark
Buchanan, (5) at an Interactive Day for Leaders sponsored by
Willow Creek Canada called Leading from a Healthy Soul--a conversation
about the deeper things in life (October 6 in Mississauga, ON, October 7 in
Calgary, AB, October 8 in Surrey, B.C.). 6
The kind of transformation and spiritual growth in these Willow Creek
training sessions involves equipping leaders with spiritual practices that
are said to bring life to a thirsty soul. But just what kind of spiritual
practices are these?
One needn't attend one of these sessions in order to see the kind of
spirituality this particular speaker draws from. Upon closer inspection, we
find that Mindy Caliguire is not only the founder and president of Soul
Care (soulcare.com) but also the author of six Soul Care resources. These
are books which Willow Creek Association sells (7), as does Willow Creek Canada Leadership Center.
8
While we are reminded that Soul Care's home organizations are Willow Creek
Community Church (www.willowcreek.org) and Willow Creek Association
(www.willowcreek.com), the Soul Care website also recommends some
ministries they work with as "some of our favorite places to go."
These include Renovare and Upper Room.
The Upper Room organization not only promotes contemplative prayer methods but encourages
all types of eastern-style meditation and offers various programs based on mystical spirituality,
including Walk to Emmaus, an adaptation of the Roman Catholic Cursillo
Movement. 9
Also recommended by Soul Care as places to go on retreats (short or
long-term) is Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House in Barrington, IL, a place
which "specializes in silent weekend retreats for men and women
adapted from the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius." 10
Caliguire also has a blog at Soul Care, which also reveals her
contemplative leanings. 11
Another contemplative group Mindy Caliguire works with is the Spiritual
Formation Alliance, a network of Christian organizations and individuals
offering spiritual formation resources, as mentioned on her biography at
Building Church Leaders. 12
With all these contemplative connections, it's no surprise that Soul Care
founder Mindy Caliguire's teaching sessions are also based on contemplative
spirituality and the spiritual disciplines. This is clearly evident if one
listens on-line to her sessions. Caliguire is a good speaker, and she does
quote and reference the Bible, but for those who understand and recognize
contemplative spirituality, it becomes obvious in listening to her that
Caliguire is in that camp.
In Practicing Silent Prayer, Caliguire teaches about
mantras, silence, and finding a quiet place undistracted. She also mentions
that this kind of prayer is "difficult to do. In Practicing Solitude Part 1, she teaches on how to prepare an undistracted
quiet place or retreat, and explains what things to bring to connect with
God. Oddly, she recommends bringing an alternative Bible translation that
is less familiar to you, a journal, and The Way of the Heart by
Henry Nouwen. The following is from Nouwen's book:
The quiet repetition of a single word can
help us to descend with the mind into the heart ... This way of simple
prayer ... opens us to God's active presence. (p. 81)
In 2008, Mindy Caliguire led an
intermediate to advanced class at Willow Creek church that can be
accessed here.
During Soul Searching--Week 1, she told her class how she had drawn from
Dallas Willard, loved Brian Mclaren's book, quoted John Ortberg and Ruth
Haley Barton, and Henri Nouwen and said that David (author of the Psalms)
"got" the inner journey.
Some things she mentioned to her class were to not give each other
advice or quote Bible verses, and that we've hidden ourselves for so long
we hardly know our true selves anymore.
In Week 2 she began with a quote from Henri Nouwen by saying she was
"the living reminder" tonight (as Henri Nouwen referred to
himself). The class then discussed their stories about sensing an
experience from God that week, to "let the real you be brought into
community." Then she taught them the Practice of Examen, providing
Richard Foster's explanation from his book on prayer. One barrier to going
deeper with God, Caliguire said, is a lack of awareness of God's presence.
She further explained how to do An Examen of Conscience and An Examen of
Consciousness or awareness. She mentioned how Ignatius of Loyola was a
rebel in the season when he was ministering and was a reformer that created
a following called the Jesuits. Part of their way of deepening their
relationship with God, she said, involved this form of prayer, part of
their rhythm of life as a community, like the rule of life. She then
explained essential steps to get into the pattern, or rhythm, and highly
recommended it. Roger Oakland, in Faith Undone, says of the Jesuits:
Ignatius founded the Jesuits with a goal
of bringing the separated brethren back to the Catholic Church. He and his
band of ruthless men would do everything possible to accomplish this goal.
(ch. 7)
Ignatius Loyola began the cruel order of
priests, the Jesuits, who would use Ignatius exercises to meditate, put
themselves into a trance and levitate. There are no scripture passages in
the Bible that tell us we need to practice Roman Catholic methods, monastic
rules of life to deal with our guilt ridden lives in order to experience
God. The things that Caliguire is teaching ought to be setting off alarm
bells within the Protestant church.
The "deep" prayer that Caliguire recommends practicing every day
is centering prayer, a practice of silencing the mind that has led others
into contact with spirit guides. In fact, Caliguire has been quoted to say
that she has been led by "soul guides" in the fall 2004, Leadership
Journal, in an article called "Soul Health":
"Try centering prayer for about 20
minutes once a day for a week"
"Thankfully, I had a few soul-guides (in person and on pages) that led
me into a new way of life that, while still a work in process, keeps me
much more clear on my need for authentic connection to God, more than
anything else in my life."
In a Willow Creek magazine article,
contemplative advocate Keri Wyatt Kent talks about the paradigm shift
taking place through spiritual formation programs:
At first, many churches just wanted a
program to 'do' spiritual formation at their church ... Now, we're seeing a
shift as people start to get it--there's a process, and it can't be a
separate program, it needs to be adopted systemically. WILLOW
Magazine, Issue 4, 2007, "Rediscovering Spiritual Formation: From
monastic communities to the emergent church, spiritual formation continues
to shift and change a whole new generation of Christians" by Keri
Wyatt Kent.13
It appears that the goal of not only Mindy Caliguire and Soul Care, but the
contemplative prayer movement as a whole, is to bring this shift to the
church leaders and then to their congregations. This is why we are seeing
so many "conversations," "discussions," pastors
retreats and training sessions like this one promoted by The Center of
Congregations:
The Soul of Your Congregation looks at
spiritual formation for the whole congregation. In April 2009, Mindy
Caliguire from SoulCare and Lyle Smith Graybeal and Chris Webb from
RENOVARE led participants through discussions and exercises to help them
understand spiritual formation and how to incorporate it into all aspects
of congregational life. 14
It is of great interest to note that The
Center of Congregations is an ecumenical organization where together, the
Catholics, Unitarian Universalists, United Methodists and Mennonites (all
groups that heavily promote contemplative mysticism) are connecting and
becoming one in environmental consciousness, with the help of a grant from
Lilly Endowment Inc. Congregations Explore Sustainability and Earth Care
This kind of ecumenical spiritual training is very widespread. For example,
Ascending Leaders is another leadership training organization that uses
Caliguire's materials, alongside resources that include Richard Foster,
Spiritual Directors International, Renovare, Thomas Keating, Contemplative
Outreach and various centering prayer links. 15
To conclude, Mindy Caliguire and her contemplative colleagues are moving
full speed ahead to train others how to have healthy souls through the
practices of contemplative spirituality. And now, thanks to Willow Creek
and their far reaching membership promotions, the practices of these
spiritual "soul care" trainers (John 10:12) will help to escalate
this mystical spirituality. It may even be welcomed into your church to
"shift" your congregation--beginning with your church leadership.
Just like the "Emotionally Healthy Spirituality" resources that
Willow Creek has recently begun to promote, this type of spirituality is
not healthy or biblical, and may lead many sincere souls away from the
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Instead of practicing the Ignatius Examen,
it looks like many Christians desperately need to start
"practicing" what the Bible teaches and examine what they are
being taught.
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Now What Do We Do?
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Many,
both here and abroad, are wondering now what will become of America.
There's a lot of intense speculation going on these days as to whether we
should expect renewal, revival, revolution or the wrath of God.
People are losing their jobs, their businesses, their homes, their
families, their pensions and everything they've worked a lifetime for. And
because the problem is so profound and systemic, there's really nothing the
public or private sector can do to stop our economy from collapsing around
us in spite of all the disinformation and outright propaganda to the
contrary being manufactured by the government's mainstream media machine
and all those who have a vested interested in keeping the illusion of
prosperity alive.
Even the money we use to buy and sell with--the world's reserve
currency--is an illusion that is quickly losing its appeal in the global
marketplace. Americans may soon be the only people on earth that take U.S.
dollars for goods and services--but for how long is anyone's guess.
As I write, the Independent is reporting "the demise of the
dollar"--that "Arab states have launched secret moves with China,
Russia and France to stop using the US currency for oil trading."
Japan and Brazil are reportedly following suit. And, there's no reason to
believe it will stop there.
Because the dollar has long been the world's reserve currency, most of it
has been in circulation and in storage overseas. Imagine what will happen
to its value when all of that unwanted currency comes back home to America
from the countries that no longer want it or need it. Click here to continue.
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The Ominous "Success" of Re-Education
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The
traditional Christian family has been a continual obstacle to the globalist
vision of solidarity. And for over sixty years, the United Nations and its
mental health gurus have fought hard to eradicate those old "poisonous
certainties" that stood in their way. They seem to be gaining ground!
Since Hitler outlawed homeschooling about 70 years ago, German parents have
faced the harshest battles. Now other nations are catching up. Notice the
government attitudes in the following examples:
"A critical hearing is scheduled in Germany in that nation's war
against homeschoolers to determine whether a family can continue to control
the education of its high-performing son, 14.... 'One of the fundamental rights
of parents is the right to educate their children according to the dictates
of their own religious beliefs.'"
That "fundamental right" is fast being replaced by
government-defined "community" or "collective rights."
The fact that those homeschooled children have "extraordinary academic
abilities" and are "socially competent" doesn't matter.
Today's rising global system doesn't want "competent" Christian
leaders. Not in Sweden, not in America -- not anywhere!
"A North Carolina judge has ordered three children to attend public
schools this fall because the homeschooling their mother has provided over
the last four years needs to be 'challenged.' The children, however, have
tested above their grade levels â€" by as much as two years.... The
judge... explained his goal ...to make sure they have a 'more well-rounded
education.' ...the judge also said public school would 'prepare these kids
for the real world and college' and allow them 'socialization.'"
Such socialization tactics "worked well" in the Soviet Union.
Based on the Marxist/Hegelian dialectic process, they include collective
thinking, manipulative peer pressure, denial of absolutes, shameless
"tolerance" for immorality, and irrational intolerance for
contrary views.
The results can be disastrous. Students trained to scorn God's guidelines
and conform to the crowd are anything but free. Most are soon driven by
evolving new notions that undermine all truth and certainty. Loosed from
moral constraints, many are bound by their own lusts, obsessions, and
(ultimately) despair. Click here to continue ...
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PFOX: Stopping Banning Books by Ex-Gays
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During
Banned Book Week, librarians go to great trouble to erect displays of all
the books that have been banned down through the years and to hand out
lists of all the censored books. But wait just a minute. Some books are
still frequently banned in libraries, like books from former gays who have
been set free from their deathstyle through Jesus Christ. So where is the
uproar about those banned books? One group is raising that issue and is
calling on the ALA to include books by ex-gays in their list of banned
books. If censorship is always wrong, then these librarians who are so
passionate about access to information need to let ex-gays have their say
in public libraries as well. Here's the release from PFOX.
CHICAGO, Oct. 6 /Christian Newswire/--In recognition of the goals of Banned
Books Week by the American Library Association (ALA), Parents and Friends
of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX) is requesting the ALA to include ex-gay books
in its annual promotion of ALA's "celebration of the freedom to read"
program.
"For several weeks, PFOX has attempted to secure a statement from the
ALA opposing the censorship of ex-gay books," said Regina Griggs,
executive director of PFOX.... According to Deborah Caldwell-Stone,
director of the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom, ALA policy
recommends diversity in book collection development by libraries,
regardless of partisan or doctrinal disapproval. However, Caldwell-Stone
refuses to state whether that diversity policy includes ex-gay books."
"Books about leaving homosexuality are censored in most high school
libraries, although gay affirming books for youth are readily
available," said Griggs. "For example, Charlie Makela, supervisor
of library services for Arlington County, Virginia public schools, rejected
PFOX's donation of ex-gay books although she accepts books from gay groups.
Ms. Makela is also the chair of the ALA's Supervisors' Section of the
American Association of School Librarians. Shouldn't the ALA enforce its
own diversity policy?" Click here to read this entire article.
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Rick Warren, Tony Blair, and the Vatican Agenda
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by Chris Pinto with Adullam Films
"Essence
of lies, and quintessence of blasphemy, as the religion of Rome is, it
nevertheless fascinates a certain order of Protestants, of whom we fear it
may be truly said that they have received a strong delusion to believe a
lie, that they may be damned."--Charles
H. Spurgeon, "The Sword and the Trowel," Jan.
1873
The above quote from Charles Spurgeon
(the "Prince of Preachers") is very pertinent to the time in
which we live. Many believers are familiar with Spurgeon but are unaware
that one of his mottos was "No peace with Rome."
For the past two years, Adullam Films has been developing a new documentary
titled, "A Lamp in the Dark: The Untold History of the Bible."
Thank the Lord, the first edited draft of the work is complete and should
be ready for duplication by next week, once the final touches have been
made. Our new film records events from the first century onward, showing
the history of the Church, and the long war both for and against the Word
of God. We document the trials of the saints, along with Rome's ancient
hatred of the Bible and her repeated attempts to "keep men from the
knowledge of the Scriptures."
When the Bible began to be translated into the languages of the common man,
it resulted in the Protestant Reformation. What few modern day Christians
are aware of, however, is that Rome launched a Counter Reformation in 1540
with the establishment of the Society of Jesus (also known as the Jesuit
Order). Their purpose was to destroy the work of the Reformers and bring
the world back into the Dark Ages. It is our belief that the Counter
Reformation continues to this day, and is the real secret behind the
Ecumenical Movement, the World Council of Churches, the European Union, and
the Emerging Church.
Several years ago, I met with Roger Oakland while we were still based in
California. Roger had been teaching on the Emerging Church and its
connections to Rome. When I first saw him, I asked: "Do you think this
is the continuation of the Counter Reformation?" His immediate answer
was, "Yes ..."
... which brings us to Rick Warren and Tony Blair.
AMERICA'S PASTOR & THE PATH TO APOSTASY
Rick Warren recently joined with Tony Blair's Interfaith Advisory Board,
which includes leaders from six different faiths. The man called
"America's Pastor" will sit alongside leaders from Muslim,
Buddhist and Hindu "faiths," along with his Roman Catholic
counterpart, Tony Blair. To read Warren's own statement about it, click here.
The Tony Blair Faith Foundation is all part of Blair's new course in life,
since leaving his office as prime minister of England. In 2008, he began
teaching "Faith and Globalization" at Yale University. But how
and why did he end up at Yale teaching on this particular subject? To find
the most likely answer, let's backtrack a few years.
BLAIR AT THE VATICAN
In June of 2006, Tony Blair went to the Vatican to meet with Pope Benedict
XVI. It is worth considering that Blair also met with the Pope on the eve
of the invasion of Iraq, an event the U.K. played no small part in. With
this, consider that his partner, George W. "Bush ... filled the White
House with Catholic speech-writers and consultants" and "Before
he became president, Karl Rove ... invited Catholic intellectuals to Texas
to lecture the candidate on the church's teachings." (UK Telegraph,
"George W. Bush Meets Pope Amid Claims he might Convert to Roman
Catholicism"--June 2008)
Now back to Blair at the Vatican: Of their meeting in 2006, the BBC
reported:
"Mr. Blair spoke privately in the pontiff's study for about 35
minutes. Outlining the nature of the discussions held, a Downing Street
spokesman said: 'The prime minister and the Pope talked about the
challenges of globalization and the importance of dialogue between the
faiths ...'" (BBC News/UK, "Blair Audience with Pope
Benedict," Sat. 3 June, 2006)
The following year, Blair bid farewell to the office of Prime Minister and
shortly thereafter, converted to Roman Catholicism. Now he is teaching
"faith and globalization" at Yale? Is it possible that he's there
under the direction of the Pope? If that is the case, then what does this
say about Rick Warren? Is he also working under the yoke of Rome? And could
this be why he has been promoting the Emerging Church, which is a movement
leading professing believers back to Roman Catholic rituals and
philosophies?
We have for some time believed that the current Emerging Church movement is
a parallel of the Oxford Movement that took place in England during the
19th century. The Oxford Movement was an attempt to Romanize the Church of
England. One of the leading lights of the movement was John Henry
Newman, an Anglican minister who converted to Roman Catholicism, and took
hundreds of Anglican Protestants with him. Newman became a Catholic priest
and was later promoted to cardinal. He was a key figure working to bring
England back to Rome. When Tony Blair met with the Pope in 2007 (right
before he left office), the National Catholic Reporter noted that:
"Blair gave the pope an interesting gift--three photographs of
England's most famous convert to Catholicism, Cardinal John Henry Newman.
One was autographed by the 19th-century cardinal." (National Catholic
Reporter, "Tony Blair in Vatican Confab," July 6, 2007).
To read Blair's own words (from "The Office of Tony Blair") in
launching the faith and development seminar series, click here.
"But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I
write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so
cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety;
then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with
child; and they shall not escape .... Therefore let us not sleep, as do
others; but let us watch and be sober." (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3, 6)
(Source: Adullah Films)
Related Information:
Tony Blair Converts to Catholicism
Willow Creek and Tony Blair at Summer Conference
Tony Blair's Interfaith Foundation--Kjos Ministries
Rick Warren joins Tony Blair's interfaith movement
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Emergent Inebriates: Some Thoughts on Pub Theology
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Pastor of Franklin Road Baptist
As
he begins to rip into "a screaming guitar solo," a band member
sarcastically yells out at the audience, "Let's go to church
boys!"[1] Welcome to Pub Theology. As the reporter describes it, Pub
Theology is "a Sunday night show that's one part church and one part
party." Among other posters on the barroom walls, one alludes to the
final verse of the biblical chapter on love. It reads, "Faith, Hope,
Love and Beer" (The biblical text reads, "But now abide faith,
hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" 1
Corinthians 13:13, NASB).
Being "shaggy-haired, body-pierced and colored with assorted body
art," members of the Sunday evening pub rock group double as members
of a mega-church's "worship team" on Sunday mornings. Confessing
to love both Jesus and rock 'n' roll, band members will burn through a pack
of cigarettes and exhort the audience to visit the bar and buy beer during Sunday
night "church." Initially skeptical about hosting Pub Theology on
Sunday nights, the bar owner now admits the band has turned an otherwise
dead night into a profitable evening.
Regarding this new outreach--the mega-church's ministerial staff approve of
doing Pub Theology--one of the band's members says: "We want to be
sincere and authentic and be who we really are, whether that is wearing
jeans and a T-shirt or having a beer. I think that is real" he
continues, "and I don't think it is wrong or that God is unhappy about
that." Relates another band member: "I can drink a beer and smoke
a cigarette and play some of my favorite songs and hang out with my friends
and maybe meet someone and tell them about Jesus."
Interestingly, most of the band members were raised in religious homes. In
fact, two of its members are former PKS (That's an acronym for
"preacher's kids."). Having been a former pastor, their father
has now become the band's "roadie" (That's a term which refers to
the managers and technicians traveling with the band.). The members account
for the band's existence and approach to ministry for reason of their
holier-than-thou Wesleyan upbringing--you know, "I don't drink, I
don't smoke, I don't go to R-rated movies, I don't dance."
On this point, and as a rebellious child of the 60s who too was raised in
the legalistic environment of Western Michigan, let me say that I
understand and somewhat sympathize with the band members' rejection of
legalism. But all rebels ought to be cautioned that, "rebellion is as
the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and
idolatry" (1 Samuel 15:23). Yet God doesn't make Christians from the
outside in, but rather from the inside out. Though one's Christianity is
defined by inner faith not outer works, Paul did write that Christians are
God's "workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). So
we must not assume the opposite attitude from legalism, that of
antinomianism (i.e., that God's grace cancels out any need to obey His
moral and spiritual law). For as Paul asked: "What shall we say then?
Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? May it never be! How
shall we who died to sin still live in it?" (Romans 6:1-2). Contradicting
antinomianism the writer of Hebrews orders us to, "Pursue . . .
holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest
anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness
springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled" (Hebrews
12:14-15, NKJV).
Nevertheless, the casual and alcoholically lubricated atmosphere of Pub
Theology raises an important issue, for as the reporter asks, "Does
Pub Theology produce any lasting effects, or is it just a casual encounter
with church in a bar--a spiritual one-night stand?" All the band's
claims of "doing ministry" notwithstanding--they do field
questions about Christianity from the audience and callers-in, give
inebriated individuals rides home, and have even seen one rescued drunk
baptized a few days later in their church--Pub Theology shows every symptom
of being a carnal "one-night-stand." (Note: I do not use the word
spiritual.)
First, Pub Theology is not church. If it is, then where's the reading of
Scripture, the apostles' teaching, prayer and observance of the Lord's
Table? (Acts 2:42) But on this point, we can be certain that the band will
avoid any impression of being too "churchly or preachy." But beer
steins are no substitute for communion cups. In fact, to the true church
the Apostle Peter announced that, "the time already past is sufficient
for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a
course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties and
abominable idolatries" (1 Peter 4:3).
Second, Pub Theology is not theology. Reportedly, the band's opening song
was Joan Osborne's one-hit wonder, "What if God was one of us?"
The lyrics add, "Just a slob like one of us."[2] Imagine . . .
God being a slob like the rest of the inebriated crowd at the bar. Given
such a humanizing of God, what we're dealing with is not Pub Theology, but
pub idolatry. "[T]he glory of the incorruptible God" is being
exchanged "for an image in the form of corruptible man" (Romans
1:23, NASB). Do you think Joan Osborne's lyrical questions in any way
resemble or affirm the great Christological passages of the New Testament?
(John 1:1 ff.; Colossians 1:15-17; Philippians 2:5-11). By the way, these
cited passages are comprised of theological statements extracted from early
Christian hymns. Would the pub theology band sing them? I'd think they'd
estimate that the lyrics of these biblical hymns are far too dogmatic,
stodgy, and preachy for the "boys" at the bar!
Third, Pub Theology is not Christian outreach. To attain a
"spiritual" end, it employs carnal, fleshly, and worldly means.
But the Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "And do not get drunk
with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking
to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making
melody with your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:18-19). If the song
"What if God was one of us?" gives any indication, probably none
of the other music the band plays includes "psalms, hymns, or
spiritual songs."
The Apostle Paul would not have employed carnal means to attain spiritual
ends.[3] You can't fight fire with fire. He wrote: "For though we live
in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight
with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine
power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension
that sets itself up against the knowledge of God" (2 Corinthians
10:3-5, NIV; Compare Galatians 5:21 where Paul labels "drunkenness"
a work of the flesh).
So we conclude: Given the atmosphere surrounding Pub Theology, the
description of love as it exists on a poster at
"Sunday-night-church-in-a-bar" might be parodied to read: Now
abide these four, "faith, hope, love, and beer," but the greatest
of these is beer! (Click
here for source.)
Pastor Larry DeBruyn
ENDNOTES
[1] Unless otherwise noted, all quotations are taken from Robert King,
"Faith, Hope, Love, Beer," The Indianapolis Star, September 27,
2009, A1, A14. Article may be viewed online. See Faith & Values, Robert
King, "Pub Theology conveys Christian message in Broad Ripple,"
IndyStar.com, September 27, 2009,
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009909270384.
[2] Lyrics online at: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/onehitwonders/ifgodwasoneofuslyrics.html.
[3] Readers are invited to check out website article, "Was Paul a
Pragmatist?" available at: http://www.frbaptist.org/bin/view/Ptp/PtpTopic20080513102433.
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14 More
Days - 7 Year Anniversary Fall Special
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For the month of September and October, Lighthouse Trails is
offering the following special:
A
combination of any 10 titles of books/DVDs for a set price of $77.50, which
is 40%-45% off the retail price of each title.
Normally, we offer 40% off the retail price on our published
products when a customer buys 10 copies of any one title. With this Fall
special, you may purchase any combination of our published books and DVDs,
and as long as it totals 10, the price will be $77.50 (plus shipping).
This is a great chance to buy a variety of titles at
wholesale prices.
To see the qualifying titles and for more information, click here. If you have any
questions about this offer, please feel free to call us at 866/876-3910 or
e-mail us at sales@lighthousetrails.com.
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