LTRP Note: The following “notes” were written by an attendee at the recent Oprah Winfrey tour in San Jose, California, Oprah’s Life You Want Weekend Tour 2014. Along with a number of New Age speakers was emergent former pastor Rob Bell. While the following is lengthy, it is well written—and we have posted it because it is a perfect example of how a false New Age christ is being brought to millions of Americans through two of its most popular figures, Oprah to the secular, Rob Bell to the young with a Christian background. Warren B. Smith, a former New Ager, was contacted by this attendee, who in turn agreed to allow Lighthouse Trails to post this. In Smith’s book, False Christ Coming: Does Anybody Care?, he describes how a false christ will deceive millions and millions into believing he is the Savior of the world through meditation. We are witnessing this happening today in both the world and shockingly, in the church (through the Spiritual Formation movement).

Written by an anonymous attendee:

Note: The quotes from the various speakers in this account are approximate, based on copious notes rather than precise transcription.

FRIDAY DAYTIME (O’ Town)

O’ Town was a pop-up town square. Inside, there was a gigantic “O” where participants could get a photo in the “O.” There was also a station for massages, make-overs, a kiosk selling Oprah’s books, various Oprah bags, t-shirts, etc., and the books of those “hand-picked spiritual trailblazers” (as Oprah called them) speaking at the conference. There also was an Oprah Show Photo Gallery with various celebrity photos of her guests over the 25-year run of the show. Notable photos included Oprah with President Barack and Michelle Obama, Marianne Williamson, Eckhart Tolle, Rhonda Byrne [the Secret], Dr. Mehmet Oz, and a host of Hollywood New Agers. Once inside “O Town,” attendees were given an “O Tour Wristband,” a special souvenir. They were told to wear it during the weekend. The wristband had internal lights that would later on be controlled remotely, once inside the arena. A Yoga Session also was held during the day.

FRIDAY EVENING

Friday evening was Oprah’s 2-hour New Age testimony. As the intro to her grand entrance, the entire arena was darkened, and everyone’s wristbands lit up into various colors, controlled remotely. They used these wristbands for visual effects (thousands of people with blue lights on their wrists, green lights, red lights, etc.) Also, the wristbands blinked when they wanted people back in the arena. As Oprah entered, it looked like a re-creation of the so-called BIG BANG explosion, which evolutionists believe created the universe. The whole background and the whole arena, with the thousands of lighted wristbands, made it seem like everyone was in outer space. As she entered, it appeared to be an attempt to recreate the supposed creation of the universe by the “BIG BANG.”

Oprah started out the talk by quoting the poem “Invictus”:

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.

Next, she held up the picture of her “meditation chair”: a white chair surrounded by a bunch of trees. She said she goes there often and enters into the silence. Then, she quoted Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.

She then talked about how “it,” “the voice” had been giving her signs all along to guide her life . . .

She began by showing a cute photo of herself at age 5. She shared how she was born in Mississippi, born an illegitimate child. She attended an African-American Southern Baptist church where she memorized her pastor’s sermons and tried to re-preach them, complete with her pastor’s mannerisms, to her classmates. She joked that “that didn’t go over too well as you can imagine.” In her early childhood, she was raised by her Grandma Hattie Mae, who was a maid for a white family. Grandma Hattie’s only adult aspiration for Oprah was for her to find a decent family to work for as a maid. It was then that Oprah claimed, while sitting on her grandmother’s porch, she “heard the voice telling me that I wasn’t (going to be a maid) . . . it told me to not tell my grandmother that.”

Oprah then shared about her teenage pregnancy at age 14, and her baby boy that died. At that point, she had moved in with her birth father Vernon. She had contemplated suicide, but her father told her it was her “second chance.” She then talked about the importance of living each day to the max, and how to be grateful for everything.

It was at this point the arena darkened again, and the background slide was Newton’s Cradle (also known as an Executive Ball Clicker). This Newton’s cradle (or Executive Ball Clicker) consisted of 5 identically sized metal balls suspended in a metal frame, so that they were just touching each other at rest. Each ball was attached to the frame by two wires of equal length, angled away from each other.

With Newton’s Cradle on the background screen, Oprah started talking about Newton’s Law of Motion. She said: “I love Newton’s Third Law, which basically says that ‘every action has an equal and opposite reaction.’ ” She then started the repeating/looping video clip, complete with sound effects, of Newton’s cradle. The looping video clip with sound effects kept showing the last ball on one end being lifted up by its string on one end and released, colliding with the other 4 stationary balls. The impact from the first ball was transmitted through the stationary balls to the last ball at the other end of Newton’s Cradle. For seemingly quite a long time (5 minutes perhaps) she kept looping that video clip with the loud “CLANG” every time there was a collision of balls. The time lapse between each sound of collision (“CLANG”) was around 5 seconds, so she was able to interject her talk and make points while the looping video was going on.

Of course, while the video clip is looping, she wasn’t really explaining anything. She kept talking throughout the looping video clip, but always paused when there was the loud noise of collision of balls. She went on to say “Every cause has an effect . . . every action a reaction . . . your actions/intentions have consequences . . . every action has a reaction . . . Every action creates another reaction, which then creates a new counter action. Actions and reactions . . . actions and reactions . . . This is karma . . .” The main point she made was how she LOVES Newton’s Third Law or Law of Motion. She repeated several times with the loud “CLANG” of the ball/sphere collisions: “Your intentions matter . . . your actions matter . . . action and reaction . . . action and reaction . . .”

The repetition of “CLANG” interspersed with her comments about karma was very mesmerizing, but in a very light weight kind of way, to warm people up to belief in karma by using very simple sounds and visualizations.

Following the Newton’s Cradle illustration, she went on to talk about how her new OWN television network’s purpose is to help others become spiritual. She basically preached a New Age sermon and even sang the refrain of the hymn “I surrender all” but she modified it. The actual song goes: “All to Jesus I surrender . . .. I surrender all, I surrender all, All to thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.” But Oprah left out the “All to Jesus” and “blessed Savior” parts. She said the turning point in her life, when she transitioned from her Southern Baptist roots, was when she finally figured out what “surrender” meant. She said the moment that changed her was when she realized in church, she had been told surrender was bowing her knees (and she bowed her knees on stage), but she realized that surrender is standing up with arms stretched upwards, reaching upwards (and she did this on stage). She said that was surrender, not bowing the knee. That was pivotal for her. She said this was related to her shift in her spiritual life when she got the role of Sophia in Color Purple. She said she became Sophia, and it transformed her life. “The voice” had told her she was destined to get the role.

Oprah said she wanted to make sure everyone understood that they are co-creators with the universe. That everyone’s intentions have power. Their words have power. That they all have their own path and energy field, but they must not mess or interfere with anyone else’s energy field. “Don’t interfere with anyone else’s energy field,” she repeated. She ended the talk with the last line of Invictus again “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”

SATURDAY OVERVIEW

The Speakers on Saturday were: Deepak Chopra, Elizabeth Gilbert Eat, Love, Pray, Rob Bell, and Iyanla Vanzant. Oprah led 3 “workbook” exercises, which were basically New Age meditation exercises.

In addition to the scheduled talks, Oprah added her own commercials (so to speak) for what she wanted to promote.

So, amidst all the various disturbing meditation sessions and demonic talks, Oprah plugged her “SOUL SUNDAY’ on OWN network, which (not surprisingly) airs at 11am when people would normally be at church or watching a TV-based church service.

Also, starting Jan. 2015, Rob Bell will have his own program on Oprah’s OWN Network. And, Oprah hyped up her 6-week documentary miniseries called “BELIEF” which she said took 2 years to make as she traveled to 35 countries interviewing people of all different cultures and backgrounds.

She also plugged her New Age “Life” courses (which is attracting men as well as women).

She also promoted a stationary bicycle workout company called: SOULCYCLE 15, a holistic cycle workout chain. Women from SOULCYCLE led a 15-minute workout with thousands of people. It seemed like Satan was training up a New Age army. It hearkened back to when Hitler trained up thousands of youth to be part of his “pure-breed Aryan army.” There were thousands (mostly women) punching outwards to “get rid of their negative energy,” and then reaching upwards to “grab what they want,” and marching forward, yelling “I AM . . . I AM . . . I AM . . .” for 15 minutes.

Of course, they mixed in some other more normal moves like squats, etc. to make it seem more innocent.

SOULCYCLE15 has the motto:

SOULCYCLE. We aspire to inspire. Inhale intention, and exhale expectation. We commit to our climbs and find freedom in our sprints. We are a fitness community raising the roof of our own cardio purity. The rhythm pushes us harder than we ever thought possible. Our own strength surprises us every time. ADDICTED . . . OBSESSED . . . naturally attached to our bikes. High on our sweat and the hum of our gages . . . we reshape our entire bodies one ride at a time.
CHANGE YOUR BODY.
TAKE YOUR JOURNEY.
FIND YOUR SOUL.
SATURDAY (Oprah with Deepak Chopra)

Oprah introduced this session with: “The Bible says, ‘where two or three are gathered in my name . . .’ I can feel the force, the energy, the vibrations . . . thousands here . . .”

Oprah introduced Deepak by saying: “This is a big open-hearted day. One of your assignments is to DREAM BIGGER!”

When Oprah greeted Deepak Chopra on stage, she said “Namaste.” Deepak responded with a “Namaste.” “Namaste” is a Hindu term [which means “the god in me greets the god in you]. . .

Deepak began to explain his “7 Principles of Success”:

1) See the world as a reflection of your inner state.
2) Understand the essence of relationship (in other words, how you see someone else, is ultimately the way you see yourself)
3) Make sure your intentions are not only for yourself but also for the common good. (Here, Oprah interjected: “I prayed that God would use my show for the higher power.”)
4) Free yourself from emotional toxicity, hostility, resentment, jealousy, guilt, shame, fear. (It was at this point Deepak defined yoga as: “a yoking today or union,” and led us all in a yoga/’breath prayer’ session.)  [LT Note: Breath prayers are taught in Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life.]

He never finished his 7 principles. He spontaneously started to lead the arena in breath prayers and meditation. The meditation session took a bit of time. Here is an approximation of what he said:

“Observe your breathing. Listen to your breath. Who am I? What do I want? Allow any images, sensations, feelings, or thoughts to come to you . . . What is my purpose? What am I grateful for? . . . Repeat to yourself: “I am (your full name) . . . So, I say: “I am Deepak Chopra.” Now just repeat your first name . . . ’I am Deepak’ . . . Now drop your first name and repeat: “I am.” “I am” “I am” “I am” . . . Mantra lets you go beyond the mind . . . Now go to the vibration of “I am.”.. Finally drop that . . . You have dropped all your assumed identities . . . Now rest in awareness . . . rest in this “being” . . . pure . . . Seed yourself with intentions . . . whisper into your awareness these words: “Joyful, energetic body” . . .feel your body . . . ”Loving, compassionate heart.” Bring your awareness into your heart . . .Bring awareness to your crown chakra which is on the top of your head . . . bring awareness to your third eye which is the space between your eyes . . . Introduce intention “Light of Being” . . . Introduce light of awareness, likeness of being, awareness of soul . . . we have seeded conscience with 4 intentions. Relax in your body and slowly open your eyes.”

With thousands of eyes now open, there was stillness in the arena. Deepak then said: “Start every morning and those intentions will organize your day for you spontaneously. The universe organizes itself around your intentions. With this, Oprah said goodbye to Deepak with (again): “Namaste” and he responded with “Namaste.”

Notable Deepak quote: “Religion is believing in someone else’s truth. Spirituality is believing in your own. If someone’s pointing at the moon, you should be looking at the moon, not worshipping the person’s finger.”

SATURDAY (Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Love, Pray)

Photo: Elizabeth Gilbert in India

Her talk was primarily a New Age testimony of her life and how it relates to a 1949 book called The Hero’s Journey. A high level observation is that her New Age testimony is the opposite of Caryl Matrisciana’s. Caryl initially believed the New Age “gospel,” left India, heard the true biblical gospel, repented of her sins and came to believe in the true biblical Jesus Christ. In contrast, Elizabeth heard a “voice” in New York City, went to India, got deceived by the New Age “gospel” and started following a False Christ.

Elizabeth Gilbert’s talk in a nutshell is this:

Mid-30s, wealth, high-level corporate job, married for quite a while, yet realized she was deeply depressed. Long story short, she was on her bathroom floor, crying, had stopped eating, etc., when she heard a “voice from the universe” say to her “You have to completely change your life. You are on the wrong path.” Elizabeth’s prayer to the “voice” was “Show me how to change my life.” The “voice” answered, “Changing your life will be painful.” Then the “voice” said to her: “Transformation will be painful. Change is painful.” She then quoted Meister Eckhart (can’t remember quote). She then said that that moment changed the course of her life.

Because of that “moment,” she basically left her husband and successful career, house, etc., and spent 2 years travelling around the world. The first stop was India because the “voice” had led her out of a NYC Post Office that day to the street where she saw 5 Asian Elephants walking outside of Madison Square Garden.

Through her trip to India, etc. where she got inspired to write her autobiography “Eat, Love, Pray,” she fulfilled what she called her “Calling,” or “Quest.” That is where she dovetailed into explaining for the next hour about Joseph Campbell’s narrative “The Hero’s Journey.” She said this narrative, or “story” has deeply impacted her life.

She then gave a brief summary of what the “Hero’s Journey” is all about. She said there are some basic elements:

1) CALL TO THE ADVENTURE OR THE QUEST
This is where some circumstance, something outside the hero, a crisis, etc. shakes him from his normal life, so much so that he begins to face that there is something greater than himself that is calling him.

2) REFUSAL OF THE CALL
This happens because of fear.

3) CROSSING THE THRESHOLD
This is when the hero makes the commitment to leave the life he knew (familiar, comfortable, know) to pursue the quest, not knowing where it will lead.

4) TESTS, ALLIES, ENEMIES
The hero is here tested and sorts out his allegiances. Those who he thought were his friends turn out to be his enemies. Those he thought were his enemies, turn out to be his allies.

5) BELLY OF THE WHALE or DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL
This is where the hero must face his fears and uncover the power and talents he never knew he had.

6) THE GREAT BATTLE
This is where the hero conquers his fear, realizes his true calling, and returns transformed, intact with his powers and talents which were always within him, that are now realized.

Then, Elizabeth Gilbert went on to say: “Gilgamesh, King David, Buddha, Moses, Bilbo, this sounds familiar doesn’t it? The Hero’s Journey is their story. This story is also ours. It’s our story. Joseph Campbell said that Hero’s Journey is a story that all humans already know intuitively. He said it is the most important tale for humankind.”

Elizabeth Gilbert then went on to share that Joseph Campbell, when asked by someone, said that the hero can only be male. Females, in the story, could be the mother, the wife, the friend, but a female could never be the hero, because females (according to Campbell) are here on earth only to have babies, so in mythology, she has no emotional needs . . . the female can play a role in the Hero’s Journey, but she can never be the Hero.

Elizabeth Gilbert then says: “Joseph Campbell was limited in his thinking by the time period he lived in. Now, in 2014, women do not have to be limited in that way. We have power in 2014 to make choices, to be the hero, to find our own path and quest, to be the hero of our own journeys. She then quoted the Bagadavita (Hindu holy book) which says: “Living your own destiny is far better than living someone else’s.”

Elizabeth’s mini-New Age altar call consisted of: “The call will come for transcendence, for the quest. Will you be willing to leave everything to follow the call? The voice had said to me to ‘not stop until you find beauty/miracles in the world.’ We are co-creators with the universe. Co-creation. Co-creation. Miracles. Miracles happen at the intersection between our intentions and the universe. I realized I was now in collaboration with the universe, on the right path, on the quest. Fight for the freedom to choose to follow your call, the quest, to find your own path. I had to fight. I went through a horrible 2-year divorce battle. I lost most of what consisted of my former life (financially, relationship-wise, etc.). You must decide to become the hero of your own story and stop waiting for someone else to be the hero, to save you. Your own hero’s journey is in your hands. THE HERO IS YOU! Your divine life is in your own hands.
What have you come here to do today?
Be the hero of your own story.
BEGIN.”

(Photo: Harpo Studios, George Burns)

SATURDAY (Rob Bell, author of various books, most notably the book endorsed by Oprah What We talk About When We Talk About God)

Oprah introduced Rob Bell with this: “Rob embodies my deepest belief: Everything is spiritual. We just have to become aware.”

Rob Bell started out his talk with a short bio. He is married to his wife Kristen, and has a 16-year old son, 14-year old son, and 5-year old daughter. He said: “The word for breath is basically the same as the word for spirit. In the Hebrew it is “ruach” and in the Greek it is “pneuma.” The word for breath is a physical manifestation of the spirit. You are a spiritual life. It’s not that you have a spiritual life. You are a spiritual life. He then asked if the audience was familiar with the Lord’s Prayer. He said, “It starts out with ‘Holy be Your Name.” This means to begin each day with life. The first word about you is that the universe, god, whatever language you want to use . . . the universe chose to give you life. The first word of your day is: You have received this gift of life from the universe.”

Rob went on to say: “Despair is a spiritual condition when you are stuck thinking that tomorrow will be the same as today. You need to pause, take a breath, and say to yourself, ‘It’s all a miracle. The life that you want begins by embracing the life you already have, which is already miraculous. All or your life matters . . . Live your life with that awareness all the time that life is sacred, precious . . . life matters . . . Could you grow in your awareness that everything matters? Brother Lawrence was someone who decided to do everything in life with love. The presence of the divine was so evident in his being that people came from all over the world just to peel potatoes with him . . . Have you heard of the story of Jacob’s ladder? He had a dream and he proclaimed afterwards: ‘Surely God was in this place and I was not aware of it.’ “

It was here that Rob interjected more of his life bio by talking about how he and his wife started his church. Rob said: “We started a church, and it grew, and it grew . . . it grew astronomically. But, the busier I got, the more it felt like I was strangely missing out.”

Rob went on with: “I crashed. Kristen and I learned how to be in the moment. This has a rich ancient tradition. The mundane can become electric when you have become so present in the moment. Have you heard of Moses? Some commentators say that it wasn’t that the bush started burning and Moses noticed it. No, the bush had been burning all along, all the time, but Moses finally became aware of it. Did Moses take off his sandals because the ground became holy in that moment in time? No, Moses took off his sandals because he finally became aware the ground had been holy all along. The universe chose to be generous to you.”

Rob then said: “Yes, I know you are thinking, which many people also asked me when I was a pastor: ‘OK Rob, the universe chose to be generous to me, life is a gift, all of life is a miracle, but what about suffering?’ Yes, suffering does raise questions about the universe, but grace, gift, generosity, and breath raise other amazing questions about the universe. These questions all lead to mystery. Suffering leads to mystery. Grace, gift, generosity, breath lead to mystery. Think about when you are reading an amazing mystery novel. When you get near the end, don’t you get sad that the mystery is going to be solved? Solving the mystery ruins everything.“

Rob then began to share a conversation he had with his church-going grandmother, in which they were going back and forth, and Rob said to her: “Be very suspicious of anyone who claims they can explain suffering with great certainty.”

Rob then went on to say: “Remember when you were younger, there were always rules. Don’t do that. Do that. You were taught that morality is binary. But we are spiritual . . .”

Rob went on to say: “When I was a pastor and asked people what ultimately shaped who they were today, most of them did not say that easy or happy moments in their life shaped them. They shared that it was the heart-wrenching moments in life that shaped or made them who they are today. The times that shaped them were the times of loss, heartache, struggle. It was these moments that brought them to realize how life is precious.”

“I am actually quite grateful. The divine is in all of your experiences, inviting you into your true self. We are the most transformed when we enter into the mystery. Our lives are mysterious . . . The joy comes most not from solving the mystery . . . Return to the first word about you: you have received the gift of life.”

Rob then raised his arms and said: “There is this thing called a ‘benediction’, which is where I pray over you. I’m going to do that now . . . .” (Note: Can’t remember what was in the benediction).

For sale at the conference was a special edition of Rob Bell’s book (published by HarperOne): “What We Talk About When We Talk About God.” On the front cover is Oprah’s orange sticker on the upper-right hand corner that says: “Thank you, Rob Bell, for creating this very special edition. Together, we awaken to the life we truly want. -Oprah.”

SATURDAY (Iyanla Vanzant, author of 16 books, including her most recent book: “Forgiveness: 21 Days to Forgive Everyone For Everything)

Some notable quotes:

1) Breathe in. Breath out. Breathing out is “hah” (the sound of breathing out). In ancient times, it was known as “patah.” Ancient people knew it as “RAH,” “BuddHA,” “JehoVAH.” Whenever the ancients said “hah” (breathe out) they were invoking the Divine Light. When the ancients recognized the “hah” (breathe out) in them, they celebrated by singing “HalleluJAH!”
2) “Life talks. We must learn to listen. She tries to help us. Life is a she, because she talks so much.” (laughter)
3) Life (she) wants you to have what you want to have. She is on your side.
4) The mind tricks us. We have to be willing to seek direction from within. Ask help from life (her).
5) “Be willing to stand in your own truth. The truth is within yourself. The life you want is within yourself. Here’s to life. Here’s to love. Here’s to YOU!”

MISCELLANOUS OBSERVATIONS ABOUT ENTIRE WEEKEND

Needless to say, the word “sin” was not mentioned once during the 2-day conference.

1 John 1:8,10 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us . . . If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

“The cross” was not mentioned once during the conference.

Occasional bible verses were quoted out of context.

The buzzwords of the weekend were: “the voice,” “it,” “life,” “whatever you call god,” “mantra,” “vibration,” “energy,” “the divine,” “the universe,” “co-creation,” “power,” “awareness,” “experience,” “standing in your own truth,” “crossing the threshold,” “surrender,” “meditation,” “entering the silence,” “I am,” “change,” “transformation,” etc.

At the end of the conference, Oprah gave what was effectively a New Age “Altar Call.” It did not seem to have the spiritual impact that the whole conference was being built up to have. She pleaded: “Surrender the life you want to that which is spirit. Surrender your vision to that which is spirit. Detach from your desire for it, and know it shall be done. If the dream is aligned with the truth in you, it shall be done. It shall be done. It shall be revealed to you. Step into the life you want now.”

After Oprah’s New Age “altar call” and dramatic conclusion (with head collapsing in exhaustion and the stage going dark), there was an eerie silence for a minute or so while the arena remained dimmed. Then abruptly, the lights and loud rock music came on. At that point, most of the thousands in the arena scrambled out of their seats and out the door. A few lingered and were journaling quite furiously (having embraced all the demonic lies being propagated all weekend). The majority appeared to be unsure of what happened. Some comments afterward included: “I don’t know what just happened” and “That Oprah, she’s something isn’t she?”

A few notable Oprah quotes/mantras during the weekend:

1) “I really appreciate Joel Osteen. I really connected with his ‘I AM Sermon.’ In that sermon he says: ‘Whatever follows the statement ‘I am . . . (confident, tired, happy, etc.) will follow you wherever you go.’”
2) “God doesn’t require our belief. He requires our experience.”
3) “We are here to turn up the VOLUME on your life. I’m here to help you embrace why you are here.”
4) “Find the thread that connects your life experiences.”
5) “You can find out who you are TODAY.”
6) “You can find your second chance in life.”
7) “Be grateful for every day.”
6) “You can find your own validation by serving others.”
7) “Everyone just wants to know that they matter. Everyone is looking for validation.”
8) “Everything that has happened TO you has happened FOR you.”
9) “IT” is always here waiting for your awareness.”
10) “When you inhale you ‘accept’. When you exhale you ‘Surrender’ ” (as she led in “breathing exercises”).

Related Information From Lighthouse Trails Research:

Oprah and Tolle fuel New Age revival

“Oprah and Friends” to teach course on New Age Christ

Oprah Winfrey’s Spirituality

PHOTO: Tony – Born-Again in 2011

To Lighthouse Trails:

Just finished reading  The Light That Was Dark by Warren B. Smith, which I could not put down, and immediately felt compelled to write on behalf of myself, my wife, and another couple who are close friends who we regularly Bible study with. We were all miraculously delivered from the deception of New Age/human potential movement that appears to be alarmingly spreading like wildfire across the globe and into our churches as we speak, while scarcely one voice has been raised in opposition.  I just wanted to say that as one who was also blinded by the false light of New Age hippiedom, we feel a very strong parallel with the path Warren was and is now on. The same urgent fire has been lit in us by the Holy Spirit to warn others that “another jesus” has breached the walls of sleeping modern Christianity, which we firmly believe is rapidly rolling out the red carpet of “strong delusion” for the Antichrist to hit the world stage in the “name of love” as prophesied in 2 Thessalonians 2.

Our beliefs are fundamental in nature, and we try to evangelize to our former New Age friends and now live near Sedona, Arizona, as we believe the Lord had placed us here to witness to its New Age spiritual darkness. My main purpose for writing this is that I feel a connection to Warren as I believe we are on the same path, which I believe is far narrower than post modern and emerging Christianity of today apathetically assumes. I believe the Holy Spirit is compelling me to write this.

I personally feel God has lit a fire of urgency in our spirits to be vocal about this subtle, yet insidious deception  the enemy tries to put out, which not only comes from opposition through New Agers but even more disturbingly through those professing the name of Christ, who have often come to label us as unloving, negative, paranoid, pharisaical, etc., as what I believe is nothing more than a tactic on the part of the adversary, for us to lay down the sword of Truth, which I will not and cannot. It is a battle indeed, a very real war against spiritual wickedness in high places that does indeed require the full armor of God. Oftentimes it can be disheartening and discouraging, leaving us to feel like an archaic, unheard, or annoying voice in the wilderness.

I believe God let us spend many years in wandering the wilderness of New Age humanism so we could well understand the subtle tactics our enemy, so that once He delivered us from it, we would not be saved to be silent about it, but to be vocal.

In Christ,

Tony B.

But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand. – Ezekiel 33:6

By Heather Clark
Christian News Network

Written in the late 1800s by Egerton Ryerson Young (author of Stories from Indian Wigwams and Northern Campfires)

I was interrupted one day while sitting in my study by the quiet entrance of a stalwart Indian whom I had not seen for a year. I had met him the previous summer in his own wigwam on the banks of a beautiful lake a couple of hundred miles north. After a few words of kindly greeting I asked about his family, when, to my surprise, he exclaimed, almost passionately, "Missionary, my heart is sad, and I have come to ask you to get me a wife from one of the Christian families of your village."

Somewhat annoyed, I said: "Do you not know that I do not believe in a man having two wives at the same time? When I visited your wigwam and had religious services among your people last summer I thought you had a very good wife and a pretty babe, and that you were very fond of them."

"Yes," he said, passionately; "all true, missionary!" and then his spirit broke, and he wailed out, "Non pimatissit!" which means, "Not among the living."

This is the pagan Cree Indian way of referring to the death of friends. Having none of the consolation which Christianity gives in reference to death, the very word itself is to them one of such terror that they seldom utter it. When obliged to speak of those that are gone they use the Cree phrase non pimatissit— not among the living. Shocked at this sad news, and pitying the poor fellow, we made him sit down with us to tea, and then after a while we got him to tell us his sad story. He said:

"Missionary, a short time after you left us I started from the place where you had met our people on the Burntwood River to go far away to my own hunting-grounds to catch beaver. I pitched my wigwam on the bank of a fine large lake in which there were plenty of fish, and there I left my wife and babe and my wife’s mother. They had every thing they needed to make them comfortable. There were fish in the lake and rabbits in the woods. With plenty of food in the wigwam I left them light of heart, for I was glad to see them so well. The last thing I saw of them was the baby laughing in the hammock and my wife sitting beside him and busy making the new white fish net for the fall fishing. I went up the lake for some miles until I reached a large stream that flowed down into the lake. As I had seen before this time plenty of signs of beaver up this creek I went up it a few miles and there set my traps. I hunted around for a few days and did very well. Then I packed up my furs and beavermeat, and started on my trip home. My load, which I carried on my back, supported by the carrying-strap from my forehead, was heavy, but my heart was light, for I had been successful as a hunter, and then I was also on my way to see my wife and baby boy. I hurried along on the side of the stream until it entered into the lake, and then I turned to walk along the shore. I had not gone very far before I was surprised to find lying in the water at the edge of the lake the body of a large dead reindeer. I examined him to see if he had been shot, but instead of any bullet marks I found that he had been badly cut about his head with an ax. As he was not fit for food I left him there for the wild beasts to eat and hurried on toward my wigwam. I had not gone very far before I found on the shore one of my canoes badly broken. This very much surprised me, and so I hurried on faster than before, for my heart began to feel strange and heavy; and there was reason for it, missionary, for I had not gone on much farther before I found at the shore in the water the bodies of my wife, babe, and wife’s mother. They were cold and dead, although there were no wounds on their bodies. They had been drowned all drowned."

The poor fellow had been able to control himself fairly well up to this point while in his simple yet eloquent manner he had told his pathetic story. But here even the Indian’s stoical nature was overcome, and his heart was stirred to its depths by the memory of his great loss. So for a time in a hushed silence my sympathetic wife and I sat with him until he had mastered his emotions and could proceed with his narrative. He said:

"I carried the bodies home to my empty wigwam, and as they lay there so still I could but think of how different when I left them a few days before. I hurried away to the wigwams of some of my people miles away, and they came to see me in my sorrow and helped me to bury my dead."

In answer to our questions as to his impressions or ideas as to the manner in which his loved ones had met their death he said nobody had seen how it happened, as all the people were in other places, hunting or fishing, but he and his relatives had talked it over, and they had all come to one mind about it. And this was how they thought it happened: The women in the tent must have seen that large reindeer swimming in the lake, and, being anxious to kill him, they had launched the canoe to go after him. As there were sometimes gray wolves or other wild animals prowling about they were afraid to leave the baby behind, and so they took him with them in the canoe. They only took with them their paddles and a couple of axes.

The reindeer has good lungs, and so he can swim high in the water, and sometimes he will make a desperate fight, even in the water, for his life. So it seemed in this case that, while the women succeeded in so striking him in the head with their axes as to mortally wound him, he succeeded in breaking the canoe, perhaps with his hind feet, for they are able to kick very savagely, even when swimming. The result was, the boat sank, and the women becoming entangled with their clothing, and perhaps trying to save the baby, all were drowned together.

We listened to the recital of this sad story, and would not have been human if we had not been moved by it and also by the simple, pathetic way in which he tried to tell us how he felt when he reached his wigwam and found the fire out, the hammock empty, and the wooden needle still dangling in the last mesh of the net which his wife had been weaving ere she had doubtless hurried out to try and show how bravely she and her mother could kill the deer. We kept the poor fellow all night, and in the morning were better prepared to sympathize with him in his desire to obtain a wife than when he had in such a strange way referred to the matter the previous evening at the beginning of our interview.

"Why," I said to him, "have you come hundreds of miles for a wife? Why did you not go to Nelson River, or to some other place nearer to your home?"

His prompt answer was: "Because I want a Christian wife. I am convinced that what you told me is true. I am trying to believe in your religion and know more about the true God and his Son, and as you can only come once or twice a year to teach us and preach to us I thought a good Christian wife might help me along in the good Christian way."

Still anxious to draw him out, for I saw that I had here a man of more than usual character and thoughtfulness, I said: "But I cannot forget that although I manage to get down once or twice a year by canoe or dog-train to visit your people, and they have always received me kindly and listened very attentively to what I say, yet it is only a very short time since they began to hear about the true way, and many of them are still pagans; so you see there might be a good deal of fear that if a Christian young woman went to live there they would persuade her to return to the old Indian way."

"No, no!" he said very earnestly. "We have all lost faith in the old way, and she would be able to help us to be good Christians all the sooner."

So, after my good, judicious wife and I had listened to the story and talked the matter over, we thought of a family where there were several marriageable daughters dependent on a sickly father, one of whom we thought would make this fine-looking fellow a good wife and help him to be a Christian. Soon after, I escorted the suitor over and introduced him to the family, and had him tell his story and plead his loneliness and make his promise of how good and true he would be. As it did not take Rebekah long to make up her mind, in the ancient primitive times, to consent to be the wife of Isaac, and to start off on a long journey, so it was here. A few days after there was quiet marriage in our little church and a happy wedding-feast. Then the bride and the bridegroom embarked in their birch canoe for their far-distant home. With machine-like precision their paddles rose and fell together as they rapidly propelled their beautiful craft along. We could not help but breathe the prayer that their lives might move along in equal unison. If so, they were assured of many days of sunshine.

I visited them years after. They are consistent Christians, as well as the majority of the Indians in that section of that vast country.

(Stories from Indian Wigwams and Northern Campfires, pp. 302-306, Lighthouse Trails)

By Ray Yungen 
For many years during my research, I would come across the term contemplative prayer. Immediately I would dismiss any thought that it had a New Age connotation because I thought it meant to ponder while praying--which would be the logical association with that term. But in the New Age disciplines, things are not always what they seem to be to untrained ears. What contemplative prayer actually entails is described very clearly by the following writer:

When one enters the deeper layers of contemplative prayer one sooner or later experiences the void, the emptiness, the nothingness ... the profound mystical silence ... an absence of thought.1

To my dismay, I discovered this "mystical silence" is accomplished by the same methods used by New Agers to achieve their silence--the mantra and the breath! Contemplative prayer is the repetition of what is referred to as a prayer word or sacred word until one reaches a state where the soul, rather than the mind, contemplates God. Contemplative prayer teacher and Zen master Willigis Jager brought this out when he postulated:

Do not reflect on the meaning of the word; thinking and reflecting must cease, as all mystical writers insist. Simply "sound" the word silently, letting go of all feelings and thoughts.2

One of the most well-known writings on the subject is the classic 14th century treatise, The Cloud of Unknowing, written by an anonymous author. It is essentially a manual on contemplative prayer inviting a beginner to:

Take just a little word, of one syllable rather than of two . . . With this word you are to strike down every kind of thought under the cloud of forgetting.3

The premise here is that in order to really know God, mysticism must be practiced--the mind has to be shut down or turned off so that the cloud of unknowing where the presence of God awaits can be experienced.

So the question we as Christians must ask ourselves is, "Why not? Why shouldn't we incorporate this mystical prayer practice into our lives?" The answer to this is actually found in Scripture.

While certain instances in the Bible describe mystical experiences, I see no evidence anywhere of God sanctioning man-initiated mysticism. Legitimate mystical experiences were always initiated by God to certain individuals for certain revelations and was never based on a method for the altering of consciousness. In Acts 11:5, Peter fell into a trance while in prayer. But it was God, not Peter, who initiated the trance and facilitated it.

By definition, a mystic, on the other hand, is someone who uses rote methods in an attempt to tap into their inner divinity. Those who use these methods put themselves into a trance state outside of God's sanction or protection and thus engage in an extremely dangerous approach. Besides, nowhere in the Bible are such mystical practices prescribed. For instance, the Lord, for the purpose of teaching people a respect for His holiness and His plans, instated certain ceremonies for His people (especially in the Old Testament). Nonetheless, Scripture contains no reference in which God promoted mystical practices. The gifts of the Spirit spoken of in the New Testament were supernatural in nature but did not fall within the confines of mysticism. God bestowed spiritual gifts without the Christian practicing a method beforehand to get God's response.

Proponents of contemplative prayer would respond with, What about Psalms 46:10? "Be still and know that I am God." This verse is often used by those promoting contemplative prayer. On the surface, this argument can seem valid, but once the meaning of "still" is examined, any contemplative connection is expelled. The Hebrew meaning of the word is to slacken, cease, or abate. In other words, the context is to slow down and trust God rather than get in a dither over things. Relax and watch God work. This isn't talking about going into some altered state of consciousness!

It should also be pointed out that being born again, in and of itself, is mystical. But it is a direct act of God, initiated by Him--the Holy Spirit has regenerated the once-dead spirit of man into a living spirit through Christ. Yet, we notice that even in this most significant of experiences when one is "passed from death into life" (John 5:24), God accomplishes this without placing the individual in an altered state of consciousness.

We can take this a step further by looking at the day of Pentecost recorded in Acts, chapter 2 where those present were "all filled with the Holy Spirit" (vs. 4). Notice that they were "all with one accord in one place" (vs. 1) when the Holy Spirit descended on them. From the context of the chapter, it is safe to assume this was a lively gathering of believers engaged in intelligent conversation. Then, when those present began to speak in other tongues, it was not an episode of mindless babbling or vain repetition as in a mantra. Rather it was an event of coherent speech significant enough to draw a crowd who exclaimed, "we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God" (vs. 11). Other observers who suspected they were in an altered state of consciousness said, "They are full of new wine" (vs. 13). Notice that Peter was quick to correct this group in asserting that they were all fully conscious. Would it not then stand to reason that their minds were not in any kind of altered state? Next, Peter delivered one of the most carefully articulated speeches recorded in Scripture. This was certainly not a group of men in a trance.

So, through the lens of perhaps the two most meaningful mystical experiences recorded in the New Testament (i.e., being born again and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost), an altered state of consciousness was never sought after nor was it achieved. In fact, a complete search of both Old and New Testaments reveals there were only two types of experiences sanctioned by God where the recipient is not fully awake--namely dreams and visions--and in each case the experience is initiated by God. Conversely, every instance of a self-induced trance recorded in Scripture is adamantly condemned by God as we see summarized in the following verses:

When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. (Deuteronomy 18:9-11)

An examination of the Hebrew meanings of the terms used in the above verses shows that much of what is being spoken of is the invoking of spells. And a spell, used in this context, refers to a trance. In other words, when God induces a trance it is in the form of a dream or a vision. When man induces a trance, it is in the form of a spell or hypnosis.

And remember, nowhere in the Bible is the silence equated with the "power of God," but the message of the cross (1 Corinthians 1:18) most certainly is!

Notes:
1.William Johnston, Letters to Contemplatives, op. cit., p. 13.
2.Willigis Jager, Contemplation: A Christian Path (Triumph Books, 1994), p. 31.
3.Ken Kaisch, Finding God, cited from The Cloud of Unknowing, p. 223.

According to a news article earlier this year in the UK newspaper The Telegraph, the “surprise election of Pope Francis came about because of a series of supernatural ‘signs,’ one of the leading Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church has claimed.”  The article also stated: