The Secret: "A New Era for Humankind" |
|
 Last year's
film release, The
Secret,
makes no secret
about it's
intentions:
to let the
world know
that humanity
is on the
brink of a
new era. This
new era will
open up to
humanity unleashed
power, riches,
creativity
and all that
we ever dreamed
of. A "secret"
that has been
locked away
for centuries
is now available
to all.
The film,
available
only on DVD
or online,
is promoted
by celebrities
like Oprah
and Larry
King, and
in just a
few days (Feb.
8th), Oprah
will air a
special about
the film.
Such promotion
has helped
to make the
film an incredibly
popular one,
as can be
seen by Amazon
ranking, which
puts the DVD
in the #1
position for
DVDs. According
to a News
& Observer
article, "'Secret'
Spreads Around
the World,"
700,000 copies
of the DVD
have sold
since its
release last
March.
News &
Observer explains
just how this
"Secret" works:
In
the film,
viewers learn
to ask for
what they
want. And,
if they believe
it, they will
receive it.
It sounds
simple enough,
but here's
the catch:
If you're
cynical, sad,
depressed
and resigned
that nothing
will change,
nothing will.
Thoughts are
so powerful,
the teachers
insist, that
you attract
what you think
about, even
if you don't
want it. Get
it?1
It's these "teachers,"
both ones from
the past and
present day
ones, that The
Secret uses
to reveal this
hidden knowledge.
Present day
teachers include Jack
Canfield (Chicken
Soup for the
Soul), John
Gray (Men
Are From Mars,
Women Are From
Venus),
and an assortment
of philosophers,
writers, and
visionaries
who share their
insights on
the "Secret":
"We
have a magnificent
inner calling,
vision, mission,
power inside
us that we
are not honoring
and harnessing,"
says philosopher
and "Secret"
teacher John
Demartini
in a recent
telephone
interview.
"This movie
brings it
to the forefront
that we can
[harness that
power]."2
Larry King calls
the DVD the
"most profound
information
he has run across
in 40 years."
The film focuses
on the "law
of attraction"
and was produced
by Australian-born
screenwriter
and producer
Rhonda Byrne,
who after a
series of setbacks
in her own life, discovered that past personalities
like Albert
Einstein, Thomas
Edison, William
Shakespeare,
Abraham Lincoln
and others had
this secret
knowledge, and
Byrne came to
believe that
it "was part
of every religion,
including Christianity,
Hinduism and
Buddhism."
In the trailer
of the movie,
it begins by
showing a genie
from a lamp,
who tells the
beholder "your
wish is my command."
Research analyst
Ray Yungen explains
this concept:
[T]the
genie represent[s]
the Higher
Self, who
was reached
through meditation
by staring
at the flame
of an oil
lamp. It was
believed that
a person could
have whatever
he or she
wanted, once
in touch with
it. Our word
genius comes
from this
Latin word
for spirit
guide and
now means
a person with
great creative
power.3
The premise
of this is that
we all have
a divine essence
within us, and
we just need
to get in touch
with it. In
other words,
as panentheists
teach, God is
in all of creation,
including all
human beings,
and once a person
becomes aware
of this, there
are no limits
to what he can
achieve. Yungen
elaborates:
Once
a person merges
with the Higher
Self, he is
on his way
to empowerment,
meaning he
is capable
of creating
his own reality.
Basically,
all power
is within
the Higher
Self, so when
one is in
tune with
it, he can
run his own
show....
Metaphysicians
believe that
we all create
our own circumstances
anyway, so
when we are
guided and
empowered
by our Higher
Self, we can
consciously
co-create
with it.4
What is so alarming
about The
Secret is
that it shares
the same mystical
view as the
contemplative
prayer movement,
which is that
all is one. The Secret film constantly
makes reference
to "the universal
mind." This
is the same
mindset that
Thomas Merton,
Henri Nouwen,
and Tilden Edwards
had. Listen:
"The
human family
is one in
God's spirit"--Edwards5
Thomas Merton
said he believed
that all religions
share "the
experience
of divine
light"6
Nouwen believed
that "it is
in the heart
of God that
we can come
to the full
realization
of the unity
of all that
is"7
The "universal
mind" in The
Secret is
the same as
the unity of
all that exists
and this is
exactly what
is found among
the "Christian"
contemplative
masters.
With the church's
fascination
and embracing
of meditation
through the
contemplative
prayer movement
(i.e., spiritual
formation),
the film further
gives the green
light to millions
of Christians
to be ushered
deeper into
mysticism. While
less than a
million people
have thus far
bought the DVD,
everyone knows
that when a
product has
Oprah's signature
of approval
on it, sales
automatically
soar to astronomical
levels, and
Christian women
are a huge segment
of Oprah's audience.
Without exaggeration,
meditation is
becoming an
integral part
of our society,
in every facet:
education, business,
government,
entertainment,
health and religion.
And with most
Christian leaders
promoting contemplative
spirituality
to at least
some degree,
Christendom
is being affected
dramatically.
When Alice Bailey,
who coined the
term New Age
and was instructed
by her spirit
guide, said
that the age
of enlightenment
was going to
come, not around
the Christian
church but rather
through it,
her "prophecy"
may be coming
to pass. Just
last year, Fox
Home Entertainment
released a film
called Be
Still, an
infomercial
for contemplative
prayer, in which
numerous well
known and highly
respected Christian
leaders took
part. And nearly
every major
online Christian
bookstore is
selling books
that promote
New Age style
meditation,
which has a
premise that
all paths lead
to God and divinity
is within every
human being
thus removing
the need for
a Savior. If
this promotion
and embracing
of meditation
keeps up, then
there really
will be "a new
era for humankind."
But it will
be an era that
the Bible warns
about when it
says: Now the
Spirit expressly
says that in
latter times
some will depart
from the faith,
giving heed
to deceiving
spirits and
doctrines of
demons."
This week, when
Oprah shows
her special
about the The
Secret,
please be praying
that women (and
men) watching
this show will
see this as
further seduction
into a mystical
realm that is
void of the
gospel of the
true God and
Light, Jesus
Christ.
Notes:
1.
http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/538825.htm
l 2.
Ibid.
3. For Many Shall Come in My Name,
1st Ed.,p. 14.
4. Ibid., pp. 11-12.
5. A Time of Departing, 2nd
ed., p. 43.
6.
Ibid., p. 60.
7.
Ibid., p. 63.
|
The Berean Call Says AFA Did Not
Do the Right
Thing Regarding
Bookstore
Complaints |
|
On
February 1st, The
Berean Call issued the
following
statement:
When
the American
Family Association
was challenged
for having
a Contemplative/Mystical
category at
their Family
Resource Bookstore,
they removed
the category,
but kept the
books and
placed them
in other categories.
As another
ministry previously reported
[on 1/11/07] :
Under
'Mysticism,'
authors
include
mystics:
Jean-Pierre
De Caussade,
St. John
of the Cross,
Evelyn Underhill,
Calvin Miller,
and many,
many others
with panentheistic
persuasions.
In Miller's
book, Into
the Depths
of God,
he states:
Evelyn
Underhill
was a mystic
who believed
that mysticism
was the
vehicle
in which
all religions
could come
into contact
with the
'Absolute'
(God) however
one perceived
him to be.
She states:
[T]hose
who use the
term Mysticism
are bound
in self-defense
to explain
what they
mean by it.
Broadly speaking,
I understand
it to be the
expression
of the innate
tendency of
the human
spirit towards
complete harmony
with the transcendental
order; whatever
be the theological
formula under
which that
order is understood.
Whether that
end be called
the God of
Christianity,
the World-soul
of Pantheism,
the Absolute
of Philosophy,
the desire
to attain
it and the
movement towards
it-so long
as this is
a genuine
life process
and not an
intellectual
speculation-is
the proper
subject of
mysticism.
I believe
this movement
to represent
the true line
of development of the highest
form of human
consciousness.--
Evelyn Underhill,
from Mysticism:
A Study in
Nature and
Development
of Spiritual
Consciousness
When
well-meaning
Christians (wittingly
or unwittingly)
enter into practices
or teachings
which are contrary
to the Word
of God, and
therefore counterproductive
to the cause
of Christ, our
love for them
compels us to
share our perspective
with them. Those
who expressed
their concerns
to the American
Family Association
did the right
thing. The AFA
did not. - The
Berean Call
|
Rick Warren Says He Practices Silence and
Solitude |
|
In
the January
31st issue
of Rick Warren's
e-newsletter,
his feature
article is
titled, "How
to Dream Bigger." Warren gives
eight steps
on how to
"help you
find God's
dream for
your life."
While the
premise behind
what Warren
and Bruce
Wilkinson
refer to as
"God's dream"
is faulty
and unbiblical,
this article
focuses primarily
on Step One
of Warren's
plan. He states:
Open
your mind
to God. If
you're going
to do this,
you've got
to be quiet
before the
Lord. Schedule
times of
silence, of
solitude.
For many of
you, God can't give you a
dream because
you won't
sit down and
shut up! You
just need
to be quiet
before him.
You start
by getting
God's perspective
on your life.
(emphasis
mine)
Warren
states that
he went through
this step (and
the other seven
steps) to develop
"God's dream
for Saddleback."
But it is in
step one that
shows the heretical
nature of the Purpose Driven mindset. Although
this step may
sound legitimate
at first glance,
Warren's idea
that God "can't"
give us something
unless we engage
in certain steps
or a formula
actually belittles
God in the sense
that it implies
he is impotent
unless we do these things.
And just what
are these things?
Silence and
solitude.
Now some may
say that Warren
doesn't mean
practicing contemplative
prayer or going
into an altered
state of silence
to hear from
God when he
says silence
and solitude.
But based on
Warren's own
words, he does
indeed mean
just that! In
a previous Lighthouse
Trails article,
"Is
Rick Warren
Promoting Contemplative
Prayer? ,"
we show Rick
Warren's strong
affinity and
promotion of
contemplative
spirituality
from as far
back as his
1995 book, The
Purpose Driven
Church ,
when he said
the Spiritual
Formation movement
(ala Richard
Foster and Dallas
Willard) had
a "vital message
for the church,"
and has "given
the body of
Christ a wake
up call" (p.
127).
Since 1995,
and through
many various
means, Warren
has consistently
promoted contemplative
spirituality.1
For example,
in his book The Purpose
Driven Life,
Warren tells
readers (of
which now number
in the tens
of millions)
to practice breath
prayers (pp. 89, 299)
and as an example
refers to a
Benedictine
monk, Brother
Lawrence. In
Lawrence's book, The Practice
of the Presence
of God,
it says he "danced
violently like
a mad man" when
he went into
this "presence."
2 This could
be indicative
of someone who
is practicing
deep mantra
meditation where
such behavior
often takes
place. 3
Warren has backed
up his public
promotion of
contemplative
time and again
through book
and article
endorsements,
statements made
by himself,
and teachings
that come out
of Saddleback.
This is all
documented on
our research
site and in
our books. And
in light of
his spiritual
proclivities,
this current
article by Warren,
"How to Dream
Bigger," when
he recommends
practicing the
silence and
the solitude,
should alarm
any discerning
believer.
To anyone who
has studied
New Age or metaphysical
literature,
the common theme
is that one
can't hear the
higher self
unless he or
she goes into
the silence.
It is very disturbing
that Rick Warren
uses the same
terminology
(and we believe
practice) as
New Age followers.
There may be
an explanation
for this. According
to Robert Schuller,
Warren was tutored
by him and was
greatly impacted
by Schuller's
ministry. And
yet Schuller
is a profound
advocate of
mantra meditation.
Listen to a
few of his statements:
The
most effective
mantras employ
the "M" sound.
You can get
the feel of
it by repeating
the words,
"I am, I am,"
many times
over.... Transcendental
Meditation
or TM... is
not a religion
nor is it
necessarily
anti-Christian.
(Peace
of Mind Through
Possibility
Thinking,
pp. 131-32)
"Shh!
Quiet. Be
Still. Whisper.
Here God's
Spirit speak
to your inner
ear. Relax
and let God
reshape your
soul.... Move
into mighty
moods of meditation.
Draw energy
from centers
of sacred
solitude,
serenity,
and silence....
Find yourself
coming alive
in the garden
of prayer
called meditation Prayer: My
Soul's Adventure
with God (p.
141).
Someone
could say that
Schuller isn't
talking about
New Age meditation
but this next
statement puts
that to rest.
Yes
the New Agers
have grabbed
hold of meditation.
Eccentric
religionists
and far out
psychological
therapies
have taken
off with it
... Hey, Christian!
Here me! Let's
not give up
the glorious
God-given
gift of meditation
by turning
it over to
those outside
our faith!
Meditation
not only offers
the opportunity
for spiritual
rejuvenation,
it can help
make our stressful,
overloaded
lives more
peaceful and
productive"
(p. 151).
What
Schuller is
saying is why
should they
have it (meditation)
and not us;
but meditation
is what makes
them New Agers!
Schuller picked
this up from
Norman Vincent
Peale who was
heavily influenced
by Unity Church,
a denomination
that adheres
to the core
beliefs of New
Age spirituality.
And in turn,
Rick Warren
most likely
got it from
Schuller.
In Chuck
Swindoll's book, So You Want
to Be Like Christ:
Eight Essential
Disciplines
to Get You There,
Swindoll differentiates
between silence
and solitude.
Solitude, he
says is the
outward quietness
(e.g., sitting
by a quiet stream,
finding a quiet
place in the
house with no
phone or tv).
Solitude as
described like
this is good.
But as Swindoll
explains, the
silence is a
"stillness"
of the mind,
or as Ray Yungen
puts it, putting
the mind in
neutral. But
this cannot
be accomplished
without some
type of repetition
or intense focusing
so as to induce
a self-hypnotic
state. The "Christian
contemplative"
believes this
is done in order
to hear God.
Swindoll, in
his book (p.
65) says: "I
do not believe
anyone can ever
become a deep
person without
the stillness
and silence."
He says this
shortly after
he quotes Henri
Nouwen from
his contemplative
primer, The
Way of the Heart.
Rick Warren
believes this
too; as he states
in his article,
this type of
prayer is needed
for "God to
open your mind"
for the purpose
of receiving
information
(a dream) from
Him. But it
is our contention
that this is
no different
that divination
(warned against
in the Old Testament)
in which a method
or formula is
practiced in
order to receive
some information.
And for that
reason, Rick
Warren's Purpose
Driven ideas
should be avoided
at all costs.
It is interesting
to note that
in this issue
of Warren's
newsletter,
he posts an
article by Focus
on the Family's
H.B. London,
who is a strong
supporter of
Richard Foster's
contemplative
teachings. So
Warren's own
newsletter proves
exactly what
he means when
he says silence
and solitude.
Notes:
1. Please refer
to chapter eight,
"America's Pastor,"
in A
Time of Departing for
a more in depth
look at this
or/and go to our
research site.
2. Brother Lawrence,
translated by
John Delaney, The Practice
of the Presence
of God,
Image Books
1977 edition,
p. 34.
3. See God's of the New
Age video by Jeremiah
Films for examples
of this.
|
"Reformed Worship" magazine promotes Taize' |
|
 Reformed Worship,
a publication
of Faith
Alive Christian
Resources CRC
(Christian
Reformed Church)
Publications,
is carrying
an article
on their website
that promotes
the practice
of Taize' worship. The
article, "How
to ... Plan
in the Style
of Taize," says that
the students,
faculty, and
staff of Calvin
Theological
Seminary spend
time together
once a week
in "contemplative
services"
in "the manner
of the Community
of Taize'."
Taize is a
form of contemplative worship that incorporates
mystical practices
and interspiritual
beliefs as
this article
describes:
"Short
chants, repeated
again and
again, give
it a meditative
character,"
the brothers
explain in
a brief introduction
printed in
the paperback
songbook.
"Using just
a few words,
[the chants]
express a
basic reality
of faith,
quickly grasped
by the mind.
As the words
are sung over
many times,
this reality
gradually
penetrates
the whole
being." See
whole article.
For those who
may wonder if
Calvin Theological
Seminary's Taize'
is the same
as the Taize'
in France, the
article provides
a link(to learn
more) to Taize'
community in
France.
This article
in Reformed
Worship is
just another
indication that
contemplative
spirituality
is no respecter
of denominations.
Nearly all are
affected and
influenced.
Note: The Reformed
Worship article
mentioned above
is from a 2002
edition. However,
because Calvin
Theological
Seminary is
still promoting
contemplative
and still carries
this article
online, their
2002 affinities
do not appear
to have reversed
regarding contemplative.
See their "MA
in Worship at
Calvin Theological
Seminary" as an
example of this.
|
Brian McLaren Included on New Age Vision
Project |
|
On
a website
called The
Vision Project the motto
reads: "Something
Wonderful
is Trying
to Happen
to and Through
Humanity."
A brief description
explains:
The
Vision Project
is a gathering
of the visions
of people
from many
walks of life,
nations and
races, some
well-known
and some not.
Letting these
visions play
through your
mind and heart
will change
you. You will
no longer
wonder if
we are going
to make it,
and you will
be better
able to see
how.
The
site lists who
they consider
those visionaries
who fulfill
the goal of
seeking planetary
peace and unity.
People we would
expect to find
on such a list
like Barbara
Marx Hubbard,
Andrew Cohen,
Jean Houston,
and Robert Muller
are predictably
there. The "visions"
of these and
other New Agers
on the list
involve the
earth reaching
a point where
man realizes
his divinity
within and that
he is a co-creator
and the master
of his own destiny.
What these visions
do not incorporate
though is the
idea of a single
Savior and a
planet full
of wretched
sinners who
desperately
need this Savior
for salvation
from eternal
hell.
To the surprise
of some, but
not to this
writer, emerging
church leader
Brian McLaren
is on this list
of planetary
visionaries.
Many may think
there has been
some mistake.
After all, a
couple years
ago Time magazine
named him one
of the 25 most
influential
evangelical
Christians.1 And he frequents
the chapel services
of many Christian
colleges and
seminaries.
And yes, his
books are in
most Christian
bookstores.
Brian McLaren
may or may not
know his name
is on this website.
But that is
not the point.
What is significant
here is that
New Age proponents
view his spiritual
proclivities
as similar to
their own. After
studying McLaren's
teachings for
some time now,
we would have
to agree ...
his vision belongs
on the list.
McLaren, who
has in the past
questioned the
idea of God
sending His
Son to a violent
death on a Cross
calling it and
hell "false
advertising
for God," has
consistently
taught ideas
that do indeed
line up with
a New Age vision
of humanity
realizing its
divinity within:
[O]ne
of the huge
problems is
the traditional
understanding
of hell. Because
if the cross
is in line
with Jesus'
teaching then--I
won't say,
the only,
and I certainly
won't say
even the primary--but
a primary
meaning of
the cross
is that the
kingdom of
God doesn't
come like
the kingdoms
of the this
world, by
inflicting
violence and
coercing people.
But that the
kingdom of
God comes
through suffering
and willing,
voluntary
sacrifice.
But in an
ironic way,
the doctrine
of hell basically
says, no,
that that's
not really
true. That
in the end,
God gets His
way through
coercion and
violence and
intimidation
and domination,
just like every other
kingdom does.
The cross
isn't the
center then.
The cross
is almost
a distraction
and false
advertising
for God.2
To
back up McLaren's
rejection of
the message
of Christ's
atonement through
blood, McLaren
endorsed the
back cover of Reimagining
Christianity by Alan
Jones. In this
book, Jones
calls the doctrine
of the Cross
a vile doctrine.3
The Vision Project
chose a few
other names
that keep popping
up in Christian
circles.
Bono, for instance,
is listed as
is Richard
Rohr and David
Steinl-Rast,
these two latter
names being
major proponents
for mantra meditation
(i.e., contemplative
spirituality).
You will more
and more find
these two names
showing up on
the shelves
of Christian
bookstores and
in Christian
colleges as
is with McLaren.
The Vision Project
is registered
to Vox
Sophia Publishing,
the publishing
arm of The
School of Ageless
Wisdom in
Arlington, Texas,
USA, focusing
on the teachings
of occultist Alice
Bailey.It
is Bailey who,
through her
channeled work,
said that the
age of enlightenment
(when all realize
their divinity)
will not come
to the earth around the Christian
church but rather through it. And that is something
to think about.
Related Information:
Brian
McLaren Calls
Hell and the
Cross "False
Advertising
for God"
Brian
McLaren, Emerging,
But into What?
|
The Dirty Little Secret About Many Christian
Online Bookstores |
|
by
Paul Proctor
- News With
Views
What
they don't
tell you about
their problematic
publications
The purpose
of our efforts
to reveal
some of the
unfortunate
items being
offered for
sale in many
of today's
online Christian
bookstores
is not to
condemn their
owners or
operators
but rather
to raise awareness
of an old
and reoccurring
problem in
the industry
itself and
in the process,
warn unsuspecting
Christians
of the dangers
lurking within
these seemingly
innocent outlets
before they
or their children
find out by
accident.
Again, this
problem is
not new. And,
the dirty
little secret
about the
filth and
heresy being
marketed in
a lot of Christian
bookstores
is this: Even
after customers
and critics
complain and
questionable
titles are
removed, more
often than
not, they
come back.
This allows
the bookstore
owner to repeatedly
say: "We removed
those books"
without ever
mentioning
that they
might someday
return or
maybe already
have. Clever,
huh?
So, just because
the junk goes
away for a
while, that
doesn't mean
it will stay
away.
But, in all
fairness,
it's also
quite common
for once-
blocked books
to reappear
for sale in
their online
stores without
their knowledge.
|
Last Days Bible Conference with Ray Yungen |
|
Ray
Yungen will
be speaking
at the Last
Days Bible
Conference in Calgary,
Alberta this
coming April.
If you live
in that area,
we hope you
can make it
to hear him
talk about
contemplative
spirituality.
Ray Yungen,
author, speaker
and research
analyst has
studied religious
movements
and the contemplative
prayer movement
for more than
twenty years.
He is the
author of A Time
of Departing and For
Many Shall
Come in My
Name.
His exuberance
for life and
his love for
Jesus Christ
and for people
are evident
in his writing.
Mr. Yungen
resides in
Salem, Oregon.
|
Missionary Highlight |
|
For
the past four
years, Chris
and Jennifer
Lawson have
been missionaries
in Scotland,
serving the
Lord there
in several
capacities.
Due to illness
in the family,
the Lawson's
are moving
back to the
US this spring.
Please pray
for these
faithful servants
who have poured
their lives
out sacrificially
to the body
of Christ
as well as
to those who
have not yet
heard or received
the Good News.
Check out
their website, Scotland
Missions,
for news,
photos and
articles.
And if you
would like
to help this
missionary
family at
this time, click
here.
|
Publishing News |
|
We
will be going
to print with The
Other Side
of the River this
week. Please
pray for us
as we wrap
up the editing
of this important
biography
by Kevin Reeves
from Alaska.
|
|
