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Who Are The Desert Fathers?
Category: * Contemplative
Source: Ray Yungen
"In the early Middle Ages, there lived a group of hermits in the wilderness areas of the Middle East. They were known to history as the desert fathers.
"They dwelt in small isolated communities for the purpose of devoting their lives completely to God without distraction. The contemplative movement traces its roots back to these monks. They were the ones who first promoted the mantra as a prayer tool.
"One meditation scholar made this connection when he said: 'The meditation practices and rules for living of these earliest Christian monks bear strong similarity to those of their Hindu and Buddhist renunciate brethren several kingdoms to the East ... the meditative techniques they adopted for finding their God suggest either a borrowing from the East or a spontaneous rediscovery....'
"The desert fathers believed as long as the desire for God was sincere--anything could be utilized to reach God. If a method worked for the Hindus to reach their gods, then Christian mantras could be used to reach Jesus.
"In many ways the desert fathers were like Cain--eager to please but not willing to listen to the instruction of the Lord and do what is right. One cannot fault them for their devotion, but one certainly can for their lack of discernment." Ray Yungen, from A Time of Departing, 2nd ed.
Click here for more research on The Desert Fathers
This article or excerpt was posted on October 9, 2008@ 12:00 pm .
From: http://www.lighthousetrails.com/atimeofdeparting.htm
How to Tell if Your Church is Becoming Emergent . . . Even If They Say It's Not
Category: * Emerging Church
Source: Editors at Lighthouse Trails
LTRP Note: The emerging church (or the merging church as we often call it) is growing, but many believe it is a passing fad, one that is nearing its end. In fact, lately some emerging church leaders are saying they don't want to use the term anymore. But as we pointed out in our recent article, "Some Say the Emerging Church is Dead - the Truth Behind the Story," even if the term is put to rest by the leaders of the movement, the emerging church is anything but dead. Lighthouse Trails hears from many people who are trying to figure out whether their churches are going emergent. Church leadership often says "No, we are not emergent." But tell tale signs would indicate otherwise. The following list by Roger Oakland may help those who are trying to determine whether their church is becoming emergent.
Signs the Emerging Church is Emerging
by Roger Oakland
There are specific warning signs that are symptomatic that a church may be headed down the emergent/contemplative road. In some cases a pastor may not be aware that he is on this road nor understand where the road ends up.
Here are some of the warning signs:
Scripture is no longer the ultimate authority as the basis for the Christian faith.
The centrality of the gospel of Jesus Christ is being replaced by humanistic methods promoting church growth and a social gospel.
More and more emphasis is being placed on building the kingdom of God now and less and less on the warnings of Scripture about the imminent return of Jesus Christ and a coming judgment in the future.
The teaching that Jesus Christ will rule and reign in a literal millennial period is considered unbiblical and heretical.
The teaching that the church has taken the place of Israel and Israel has no prophetic significance is often embraced.
The teaching that the Book of Revelation does not refer to the future, but instead has been already fulfilled in the past.
An experiential mystical form of Christianity begins to be promoted as a method to reach the postmodern generation.
Ideas are promoted teaching that Christianity needs to be reinvented in order to provide meaning for this generation.
The pastor may implement an idea called “ancient-future†or “vintage Christianity†claiming that in order to take the church forward, we need to go back in church history and find out what experiences were effective to get people to embrace Christianity.
While the authority of the Word of God is undermined, images and sensual experiences are promoted as the key to experiencing and knowing God.
These experiences include icons, candles, incense, liturgy, labyrinths, prayer stations, contemplative prayer, experiencing the sacraments, particularly the sacrament of the Eucharist.
There seems to be a strong emphasis on ecumenism indicating that a bridge is being established that leads in the direction of unity with the Roman Catholic Church.
Some evangelical Protestant leaders are saying that the Reformation went too far. They are reexamining the claims of the “church fathers†saying that communion is more than a symbol and that Jesus actually becomes present in the wafer at communion.
There will be a growing trend towards an ecumenical unity for the cause of world peace claiming the validity of other religions and that there are many ways to God.
Members of churches who question or resist the new changes that the pastor is implementing are reprimanded and usually asked to leave. (This list is taken from Roger's article on how to tell if your church is becoming emerging. Click here to read the article.
In addition to the signs above, and as Roger points out in his book Faith Undone, if a church is incorporating the materials of Purpose Driven or/and Willow Creek, then they are putting themselves at risk of becoming emerging. Willow Creek and Rick Warren are two of the strongest advocates for emerging/contemplative spirituality.
This article or excerpt was posted on @ 10:55 am .
From: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com
Should Christians Expose Error?
Category: * Defending the Faith Source: Editors at Lighthouse Trails
"Exposing Error: Is It Worthwhile?"
By Dr. Harry Ironside (1876-1951)
Objection is often raised even by some sound in the faith-regarding the exposure of error as being entirely negative and of no real edification. Of late, the hue and cry has been against any and all negative teaching. But the brethren who assume this attitude forget that a large part of the New Testament, both of the teaching of our blessed Lord Himself and the writings of the apostles, is made up of this very character of ministry-namely, showing the Satanic origin and, therefore, the unsettling results of the propagation of erroneous systems which Peter, in his second epistle, so definitely refers to as "damnable heresies."
Our Lord prophesied, "Many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many." Within our own day, how many false prophets have risen; and oh, how many are the deceived! Paul predicted, "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." My own observation is that these "grievous wolves," alone and in packs, are not sparing even the most favoured flocks. Undershepherds in these "perilous times" will do well to note the apostle's warning:
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers." It is as important in these days as in Paul's-in fact, it is increasingly important-to expose the many types of false teaching that, on every hand, abound more and more.
We are called upon to "contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints," while we hold the truth in love. The faith means the whole body of revealed truth, and to contend for all of God's truth necessitates some negative teaching. The choice is not left with us. Jude said he preferred a different, a pleasanter theme-"Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordainedto this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jude 3, 4). Paul likewise admonishes us to "have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Eph. 5:11).This does not imply harsh treatment of those entrapped by error-quite the opposite. If it be objected that exposure to error necessitates unkind reflection upon others who do not see as we do, our answer is: it has always been the duty of every loyal servant of Christ to warn against any teaching that would make Him less precious or cast reflection upon His finished redemptive work and the all-sufficiency of His present service as our great High Priest and Advocate.
Every system of teaching can be judged by what it sets forth as to these fundamental truths of the faith. "What think ye of Christ?" is still the true test of every creed. The Christ of the Bible is certainly not the Christ of any false "-ism." Each of the cults has its hideous caricature of our lovely Lord.
Let us who have been redeemed at the cost of His precious blood be "good soldiers of Jesus Christ." As the battle against the forces of evil waxes ever more hot, we have need for God-given valour.
There is constant temptation to compromise. "Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach." It is always right to stand firmly for what God has revealed concerning His blessed Son's person and work. The "father of lies" deals in half-truths and specializes in most subtle fallacies concerning the Lord Jesus, our sole and sufficient Savior.
Error is like leaven of which we read, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." Truth mixed with error is equivalent to all error, except that it is more innocent looking and, therefore, more dangerous. God hates such a mixture! Any error, or any truth-and-error mixture, calls for definite exposure and repudiation. To condone such is to be unfaithful to God and His Word and treacherous to imperiled souls for whom Christ died.
Exposing error is most unpopular work. But from every true standpoint it is worthwhile work. To our Savior, it means that He receives from us, His blood-bought ones, the loyalty that is His due. To ourselves, if we consider "the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt," it ensures future reward, a thousand-fold. And to souls "caught in the snare of the fowler"-how many of them God only knows-it may mean light and life, abundant and everlasting.
courtesy Deception in the Church website
This article or excerpt was posted on October 8, 2008@ 9:50 am .
From: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com
Lee Strobel Makes a Case for "Early Church Father"
Category: * BOOK REVIEWS
Source: Editors at Lighthouse Trails
Popular and prolific Christian figure, Lee Strobel, has made a case for an "early church father," Ignatius of Antioch (not Loyola). Strobel, author of nearly 20 books, is currently a member of Saddleback Church. He was a teaching pastor at Willow Creek for many years, then joined the teaching staff at Saddleback Church in 2000. (from Strobel's site)
Strobel was a speaker at Robert Schuller's Rethink conference in 2007 and spoke of the early church father, Ignatius of Antioch. (watch video) Strobel speaks as one with authority when he describes the life of Ignatius, but he has left out some vital information about the early post-disciple "church fathers."
In view of the ancient-future emphasis on "early church fathers" by major evangelical and emerging church leaders today, and in light of the ecumenical move toward Catholicism and the Eucharistic christ, further insight is important. Roger Oakland, in his timely and crucial book, Faith Undone, offers these comments:
Going back to the past to find experiences that will attract the postmodern generation is one goal of the emerging church movement. However, a serious question needs to be asked at this point. Why only go back to the Middle Ages, the turn of the first millennium, or the third century? Wouldn't this open the door for some devious doctrines that may have crept into the church? Why not just stay with Scripture in order to remain in the truth?
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (II Timothy 3:16)
Those convinced that great spiritual insight can be gleaned from church fathers and mystics often overlook such definitive, God-inspired instruction. The Bible is stable and eternal; thus the truths penned in it centuries ago are still relevant today. I propose it isn't biblical truths that emergents say we need to go hunting for in previous historical periods, but rather unscriptural methods, rituals, and mystical experiences to be gathered and brought into the present time.
Vintage spirituality proponents have an apologetic for those who question leaving scriptural doctrine behind for post-New Testament extra-biblical revelation. (The late emerging leader] Robert Webber wrote:
Webber's statement may convince some there is no danger in embracing the Catholic Church fathers from the first to third centuries who promoted many ideas without biblical basis. However, before you are convinced, consider another statement Webber makes:
This of course would be true if the church fathers point us to God's Word. But what if that is not the case? The unsuspecting could actually be led away from biblical doctrine toward the doctrines made up by man and even inspired by demons when trusted leaders and professors espouse these mystics as safe and equal to Scripture. If it can be shown that heretical teachings had already entered in through many of these early church fathers, shouldn't we be leery, to say the least?
With this in mind, let's look at these early Catholic Church fathers. The following is an excerpt from a lecture by the International Catholic University titled "Importance of Studying the Church Fathers." The author states:
The emerging church, through its emphasis on the teachings of the church fathers (the mystics), based upon a foundation that ancient-future faith is the answer to reaching the postmodern generation ... is leading possibly millions into the arms of Rome.
Do you recall what Paul prophesied would happen to the early Christian church? He stated:
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over 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. (Acts 20:28-30)
Paul actually warned the church that after he was gone, "grievous wolves" would enter the church and hurt believers. A look at church history validates Paul's prophetic warning. He said it would happen, and then it happened. Numerous church leaders emerged during the first to the third centuries. Scriptural principles were ignored, and many followed the experiential teachings of men who claimed they had discovered new and innovative methods to get in touch with God.
The reason why this happened is simple. We know God's Word is light. When we replace the Word of God with the words of man, which are considered to bring enlightenment, we have a perfect formula for returning to darkness. The early mystics added ideas to Christianity that cannot be found in the Bible--a recipe for spiritual detriment. Jude also warned about the coming apostasy in the early church:
For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 4)
Many emerging church leaders are suggesting the need to study the ideas and beliefs of church leaders of the post-disciple era. They say if pastors and church leaders reintroduce these teachings from the past, we will have spiritual transformation and successful churches in the 21st century.
But wait a minute! If the church that emerged from the New Testament church was based on ideas and beliefs foreign to Scripture, why would we want to emulate a previous error? When doctrines of men replace the doctrine of Scripture, many are led astray. It has happened in the past, and it is happening now. Following doctrine not based on the Word of God always results in the undoing of faith. (from Chapter 5, Faith Undone)
Notes:"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (II Timothy 3:16)
Those convinced that great spiritual insight can be gleaned from church fathers and mystics often overlook such definitive, God-inspired instruction. The Bible is stable and eternal; thus the truths penned in it centuries ago are still relevant today. I propose it isn't biblical truths that emergents say we need to go hunting for in previous historical periods, but rather unscriptural methods, rituals, and mystical experiences to be gathered and brought into the present time.
Vintage spirituality proponents have an apologetic for those who question leaving scriptural doctrine behind for post-New Testament extra-biblical revelation. (The late emerging leader] Robert Webber wrote:
I once believed that the church became apostate at the close of the first century and hadn't emerged again until the Reformation. I jokingly say to my students, "We Protestants act as though Pentecost occurred October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther tacked his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenburg church." This attitude results in a negative view of the early church fathers and Christianity prior to the Reformation. The fact is that God's church has existed from the Pentecost described in Acts. We belong to the whole church and need, for our own spiritual health, to affirm every part of it.1
Webber recognized some are suspicious about taking instruction from the church fathers, especially when the church fathers are the fathers of the Catholic Church. In order to answer this concern, he wrote:
Because evangelicals fear that a respect for early church fathers will turn them into Roman Catholics, a distinction needs to be made between catholic and Roman Catholic. The early Fathers are catholic in the sense that they defined the classical Christian tradition for the whole church. This is a tradition, as I have been presenting, common to every branch of the church. Roman Catholicism, as such, is a tradition that has added to the common tradition. I believe in the common tradition and share that tradition with my Catholic brothers and sisters. But I do not believe in some of the added traditions of the Romanization of the church in the medieval era.2
Webber, like many emergent leaders, was trying to differentiate between Roman Catholic and catholic (as a universal body). However, the Roman Catholic Church does not make this distinction because they claim an apostolic succession of papacy (popes) beginning with the apostle Peter. Therefore, all of Catholicism is Roman Catholicism. Some in the emerging church do not show an attachment to the authority of the papacy but embrace the practices and early history of the Catholic Church as described above by Webber. But many Protestants who began by attaching themselves to the history, teachings, and practices of the early Catholic Church have now taken the natural next step of becoming Roman Catholic.Webber's statement may convince some there is no danger in embracing the Catholic Church fathers from the first to third centuries who promoted many ideas without biblical basis. However, before you are convinced, consider another statement Webber makes:
The early Fathers can bring us back to what is common and help us get behind our various traditions, not in a sense that we deny our own tradition, but that we give a priority to the common teaching of the church. Here is where our unity lies. To summarize, the words One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic point to the oneness of the church, as a matter of faith. Christians do not believe something about the oneness of the church; they believe in the oneness of the church. Consequently, evangelicals need to go beyond talk about the unity of the church to experience it through an attitude of acceptance of the whole church and an entrance into dialogue with the Orthodox, Catholic, and other Protestant bodies.3
By Webber's estimation, listening to the Catholic Church fathers is as safe as mother's milk. He and other emerging church teachers insist there are so many spiritual insights to gain by studying the church fathers that we can only benefit from them.This of course would be true if the church fathers point us to God's Word. But what if that is not the case? The unsuspecting could actually be led away from biblical doctrine toward the doctrines made up by man and even inspired by demons when trusted leaders and professors espouse these mystics as safe and equal to Scripture. If it can be shown that heretical teachings had already entered in through many of these early church fathers, shouldn't we be leery, to say the least?
With this in mind, let's look at these early Catholic Church fathers. The following is an excerpt from a lecture by the International Catholic University titled "Importance of Studying the Church Fathers." The author states:
But why do we study them? The Holy Father has given us the basic reasons. They are the framers of the structure of the Church built upon Christ Jesus as the cornerstone and the Apostles as the foundation. Specifically, they are the privileged witnesses to traditions. Founders, whether they be founders of institutions or founders of religious societies, always have a privileged position.... They were the closest to the sources; the early Fathers, referred to as Apostolic Fathers, personally knew the Apostles and the Disciples. They had access to the purity of the sources of the living tradition, the very teachings of those closest to Christ, and they were the ones that developed the first structures of the Church.4
If we embrace the teachings of these early church fathers, where will it lead us? Well, according to the author of this lecture, right into the arms of the Catholic Church:
The Church Fathers are the guarantors of an authentic Catholic tradition.... Many great Christian men and women have found their way either back to, or into, the Catholic Church through meditating and reflecting upon the writings of the Church Fathers. John Henry Cardinal Newman, a great nineteenth century English Cardinal who in his younger years was a member of the Church of England, fell in love with the writings and thought and spirit of the Church Fathers. And in his Apologia pro vita sua, he points out that he saw in them the true Church, the universal Church, the Catholic Church, and they became very instrumental in his acceptance and embrace of the Roman Catholic Church.5
For John Henry Cardinal Newman, his conversion to the Catholic Church took place after he began "meditating and reflecting" on the writings of the Catholic Church fathers. This same story can be repeated thousands and thousands of times now that we are in the 21st century....The emerging church, through its emphasis on the teachings of the church fathers (the mystics), based upon a foundation that ancient-future faith is the answer to reaching the postmodern generation ... is leading possibly millions into the arms of Rome.
Do you recall what Paul prophesied would happen to the early Christian church? He stated:
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over 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. (Acts 20:28-30)
Paul actually warned the church that after he was gone, "grievous wolves" would enter the church and hurt believers. A look at church history validates Paul's prophetic warning. He said it would happen, and then it happened. Numerous church leaders emerged during the first to the third centuries. Scriptural principles were ignored, and many followed the experiential teachings of men who claimed they had discovered new and innovative methods to get in touch with God.
The reason why this happened is simple. We know God's Word is light. When we replace the Word of God with the words of man, which are considered to bring enlightenment, we have a perfect formula for returning to darkness. The early mystics added ideas to Christianity that cannot be found in the Bible--a recipe for spiritual detriment. Jude also warned about the coming apostasy in the early church:
For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 4)
Many emerging church leaders are suggesting the need to study the ideas and beliefs of church leaders of the post-disciple era. They say if pastors and church leaders reintroduce these teachings from the past, we will have spiritual transformation and successful churches in the 21st century.
But wait a minute! If the church that emerged from the New Testament church was based on ideas and beliefs foreign to Scripture, why would we want to emulate a previous error? When doctrines of men replace the doctrine of Scripture, many are led astray. It has happened in the past, and it is happening now. Following doctrine not based on the Word of God always results in the undoing of faith. (from Chapter 5, Faith Undone)
1. Robert Webber, Ancient-Future Faith, pp. 88-89, italics in original.
2. Ibid., p. 89.
3. Ibid.
4. Douglas Mosey, "Importance of Studying the Church Fathers" (International Catholic University, http://home.comcast.net/~icuweb/c01701.htm).
5. Ibid.
For further information on the Eucharist Christ, the early post-disciples church fathers, and the new evangelization program by the Catholic church, read Another Jesus by Roger Oakland.
Related Stories:
New Emerging Church Network - From the Frying Pan into the Fire
Messages from Heaven Now Online (free)
What Lies Behind Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ
Other articles on Eucharistic Adoration
This article or excerpt was posted on October 7, 2008@ 7:29 am .
From: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com
CCEL (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) Remains on Contemplative Path
Category: * Contemplative
Source: Editors at Lighthouse Trails
On October 2nd, Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) director Harry Plantinga posted a statement about contemplative prayer.1 The statement points readers to The Cloud of Unknowning, a primer on contemplative prayer and contemplative pioneer Thomas Keating. Because of the continued endorsement of contemplative by CCEL, we are reposting the following article:
The Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) is a digital (online) library of hundreds of Christian books, most of which are older (classic) publications in the public domain (non-copyrighted). The CCEL is an outreach of Calvin College and is highly popular, used by thousands of people a year.
In July 2007, Lighthouse Trails reported that CCEL was promoting mystic Madame Guyon. It was Guyon who said: "Here [the contemplative state] everything is God. God is everywhere and in all things." The Christian History Institute said this of Guyon: "Modern critics say that Jeanne-Marie used self-hypnosis to achieve her 'spiritual' states and trances and point out that she used 'automatic writing' which suggests spiritualist practice. They wonder that she had so little to say about Christ (in proportion to the total number of words she wrote)." 1
On April 1, 2008, in the CCEL newsletter, Harry Plantinga, director of CCEL, stated that when he was growing up, there was more focus on "correct belief" (doctrine) than about "loving God" and that he found this to leave him wanting to know God, not just know about Him. He came to believe that the answer to this dilemma was in mysticism, stating that "Christian mysticism addresses that longing of the heart."
Plantinga quotes Webster's dictionary as saying that in mysticism it is "possible to achieve communion with God through contemplation and love without the medium of human reason." This definition is actually quite accurate in describing mysticism. "Without the medium of human reason" means without considering doctrine or theology. This is the conclusion that mystic Thomas Merton arrived at. Ray Yungen documents correspondence Merton had with a Sufi master. The two were discussing fana (eastern mysticism). Merton asked the Sufi leader what the Muslim view of salvation was. The Sufi answered that Islam "does not subscribe to the doctrine of atonement or the theory of redemption."2 Merton replied:
Personally, in matters where dogmatic beliefs differ, I think that controversy is of little value because it takes us away from the spiritual realities into the realm of words and ideas ... in words there are apt to be infinite complexities and subtleties which are beyond resolution.... But much more important is the sharing of the experience of divine light, ... It is here that the area of fruitful dialogue exists between Christianity and Islam.3
Those who study contemplative spirituality from a critical point of view come to understand this is purecontemplative spirituality - doctrine stands in the way of unity and oneness; mysticism eradicates that problem.In the April 1st, CCEL newsletter Harry Plantinga points readers to an online study group calling it an "interesting" and "compelling" introduction to mysticism. The group is using a book by mystic Evelyn Underhill - Practical Mysticism. In mysticism proponent Richard Kirby's book, The Mission of Mysticism, Kirby identifies Underhill as someone who can be looked to as a mystic, calling her "prominent among those charting the geography of spiritual development (p. 50). But Kirby admits that this mystical spirituality is no different than occultism:
The meditation of advanced occultists is identical with the prayer of advanced mystics; it is no accident that both traditions use the same word for the highest reaches of their respective activities: contemplation (samadhi in yoga). (emphasis in original)4
This presents quite a dilemma for CCEL. Plantinga, whether he knows it or not, is pointing readers to someone who, for all practical purposes, was an occultist. Ray Yungen explains why we would say this about Underhill:
Many Christian writers use terms such as pantheism or monism in an attempt to explain what New Agers believe; however, these words alone are rather limiting in conveying the big picture. The best explanation I have come across is from a book titled The Mission of Mysticism, which states:
Yungen is absolutely right! And Lighthouse Trails beseeches CCEL to consider this. Just because Underhill and other mystics are emotionally stirring, often sincere, and coat their teachings with biblical language does NOT mean they are biblical![O]ccultism [New Ageism] is defined as the science of mystical evolution; it is the employment of the hidden (i.e., occult) mystical faculties of man to discern the hidden reality of nature; i.e., to see God as the all in all.(p. 6)"
These mystical faculties are the distinguishing mark of this movement--a mystical perception rather than simple belief or faith. A Christian writer once described this movement as a system of thought when, in fact, it is more aptly defined as a system of non-thought. Meditation teacher Ann Wise explained this by stating:
A man came to see me once saying that he had meditated for an hour a day every day for twelve years. Although he enjoyed the time he spent sitting, he felt he was missing something. From talking to other meditators, he felt that he must have been doing something wrong because he had none of the experiences that he had heard others describe. I measured his brainwaves while he was "meditating" and discovered that he had spent those twelve years simply thinking!5
This is why this particular style of meditation is commonly referred to as the silence. This is not silence as being in a quiet environment but inner silence as in an empty mind that opens up the mystical faculties. "The enemy of meditation is the mind,"6 wrote one New Age teacher. ... I challenge the Christian community to look at the facts surrounding the contemplative prayer movement and see its connection to New Age occultism and Eastern mysticism. Just because a writer is emotionally stirring, sincere, and uses biblical language does not necessarily mean he or she advocates sound, biblical truths.(A Time of Departing, pp. 14,16, 89)IN a CCEL newsletter last December, Plantinga listed several contemplative authors including Thomas Merton and Brother Lawrence and said these books "make a difference in people's lives, through the action of the Holy Spirit." 7We would propose that the spirituality that made Brother Lawrence "dance violently like a mad man"8 and made Thomas Merton liken the presence of God to an LSD trip(9) is not the "action of the Holy Spirit" but is rather the action of familiar spirits of which the Bible so carefully and thoroughly warns against. On the contrary, it is the Holy Spirit that bears witness to the message of the Cross (see 1 John 5:7 ff), but Thomas Merton was willing to toss aside this essential doctrine as a result of the enlightenment he received through practicing contemplative meditation.
"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Proverbs 14:12
Notes:
2. Ray Yungen, A Time of Departing, 2nd Ed. (Silverton: OR, Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2002, 2006) quoting Thomas Merton from Rob Baker and Gray Henry, Editors, Merton and Sufism (Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae, 1999), p. 109.
3. Ibid.
4. Richard Kirby, The Mission of Mysticism (London, UK: SPCK, 1979), p. 7.
5. Ann Wise, The High Performance Mind(Los Angeles, CA: Tarcher/Putnam,1995), p. 57.
6. Barry Long, Meditation, a Foundation Course (Barry Long Books, 1995), p. 13.
7. http://www.ccel.org/newsletter/2/12
8. Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God, translated by John Delaney, Image Books edition, 1977, p. 34.
9. Said by Thomas Merton to Matthew Fox, quoted in an online interview that is no longer posted on the web.
This article or excerpt was posted on @ 4:52 am .
From: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com
Billy and Franklin Graham Join Emerging Church Leaders and The Shack Author for Catalyst Conference
Category: * Emerging Church
Source: Editors at Lighthouse Trails
Billy Graham, and his son Franklin, will be speaking at the upcoming Catalyst Conference on October 8-9. Possibly, the father/son Grahams are not aware of the teachings and the spirituality that the Catalyst Conference represents. Unfortunately, Catalyst will gain respect and audience by many trusting and unaware admirers of the Grahams for including them on their list of speakers.
One of this year's speakers is Mark Batterson, lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington DC. Batterson joined emerging leader Erwin McManus at McManus' 2008 Awaken event, and he points readers on his website to Eckhart Tolle, a New Age guru who is currently being heralded by Oprah Winfrey. Batterson says that Tolle's book, Practicing the Power of Now, is "instrumental in the way I think about life." His public recommended reading list also includes several other New Agers and mystics: Jack Canfield, New Age mystic Daniel Goleman (The Meditative Mind), mantra-meditation promoter Gary Thomas (Sacred Marriage, Sacred Pathways), Leonard Sweet, Tony Jones, Brian McLaren, and several others who fall in the New Age and/or emerging/contemplative camp.
Another speaker at this year's Catalyst is The Shack author William Paul Young. As Lighthouse Trails has indicated in several articles, The Shack has New Age implications that should concern discerning believers. Billy and Franklin's participation at Catalyst will no doubt result in thousands of people seeing that as a thumbs up for The Shack. Our most recent article on The Shack, "Update on The Shack: New Age Similarities, Popularity Continues, and Calvary Chapel Gives Official Statement," addresses where the book refers to God as "the ground of all being" that "dwells in, around, and through all things--ultimately emerging as the real" (p. 112); this is the ripe fruit of contemplative/emerging spirituality. One can find this language and definition of God in the writings of John Shelby Spong and Marcus Borg, and the concept overflows within the emerging camp. This description of God does not mean that God upholds everything; it means that God is the essence of all that exists (in other words, He dwells in all humans and all creation - read A Time of Departing for more info).
Another speaker at Catalyst 2008 is emerging leader Sally Morgenthaler. Morgenthaler wrote the foreword for Dan Kimball's emerging church book, Emerging Worship , and she resonates deeply with contemplative proponents like the late Robert Webber. Her own book, Worship Evangelism, carries an endorsement on the cover by New Age sympathizer Leonard Sweet as well as C.Peter Wagner. Morgenthaler is currently a "Visiting Professor" at the very contemplative Christian school, George Fox University, along with Dan Kimball and Leonard Sweet.1 In her book, Worship Evangelism, she references mystic Henri Nouwen as someone who can lead us into God's presence. Nouwen believed that Christian leaders had to move from the "moral to the mystical" in order to be effective (from In the Name of Jesus).
Jim Collins is also one of the speakers at Catalyst this year. He too resonates with contemplative/emerging "theologies." In our article, "Willow Creek Leadership Summit Starts Today - Speaker Promotes New Age," Collins' affinity toward mystical spirituality is brought out. In 1982, Collins took Michael Ray's course, "Creativity in Business." The course (and the book named after the course) "takes much of its inspiration from Eastern philosophy, mysticism and meditation techniques" (from the book). In one section of the book it talks about "your wisdom-keeper or spirit guide-an inner person who can be with you in life.... We meditate to unfold our inner being." The book also presents Tarot cards.
Collins was so inspired by Ray's course in 1982 that he wrote the foreword for Ray's 2004 book, The Highest Goal: The Secret That Sustains You in Every Minute. Collins says the book is "the distillation of years of accumulated wisdom from a great teacher." Collins says he discovered "the path to my highest goal" by reading the book. What is this highest goal that Michael Ray speaks of? Realizing the divinity within. And how is this realization obtained? Through meditation. In the book, Ray tells readers to "[p]ractice emptying your mind," "[e]xperience not thinking" and to "[m]editate regularly." Other quotes in the book include those of Eastern religion gurus such as Ram Dass, Jiddu Krishnamurti, and Swami Shantananda.
Catalyst has several other speakers who fall into the same camp as the speakers mentioned above. Clearly, participants at Catalyst will be introduced to many who resonate with the non-biblical beliefs of the emerging church and contemplative spirituality. And with the two Graham's names on the ticket, many of these participants will come to the event with open hearts and minds to all that is taught and said.
This article or excerpt was posted on @ 4:05 am .
From: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com
Warren Smith DVD: Standing Fast in the Last Days
Category: * Publishing NEWS
Source: Editors at Lighthouse Trails
Silverton, Oregon
October 2, 2008
Lighthouse Trails Publishing is pleased to announce the release of Standing Fast in the Last Days DVD by Warren Smith.
On June 5th, 2008, former New Age follower Warren Smith spoke to 800 pastors at the 2008 Calvary Chapel Senior Pastors' Conference in Murrieta, California. Warren, integrating his compelling testimony into his talk, shares his deep concerns regarding the spiritual deception taking place in the church today. Covering topics such as the Emerging Church, Purpose-Driven, the New Age, and what is being called the New Spirituality, Warren exposes what may be the signs of a great spiritual falling away that the Bible has predicted will happen prior to Christ's return. Some of the topics Warren addresses are: the influence of Oprah Winfrey and Robert Schuller, a growing hostility toward biblical Christians, a plan for a false world peace, how mysticism is becoming an integral part of today's society, and the interspiritual, ecumenical movement that is gaining momentum and deceiving many.
$14.95 Retail * 57 minutes
For more information: Lighthouse Trails Publishing
Toll Free Order Line: 866/876-3910.
*************
Release Date: October 8th
PRE-ORDER
This product qualifies for quantity discounts (10 or more copies).
Author Bio: Author and speaker Warren Smith (B.A. University of Pennsylvania; M.S.W. Tulane University) has written extensively on the subject of spiritual deception and has been widely interviewed on radio and television. With a background in social work, he has served as a San Francisco street worker, served as a program coordinator for people with developmental disabilities, directed several homeless programs, and has worked as a Hospice social worker in New Orleans and on the California coast. He is the author of Deceived on Purpose, The Light That Was Dark, and Reinventing Jesus Christ. Author's Website
This article or excerpt was posted on October 2, 2008@ 12:37 pm .
From: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com
Rick Warren on Christianity Today: "[I]nterested in interfaith projects . . . we do serve the same Lord."
Category: * Purpose Driven
Source: Editors at Lighthouse Trails
On October 1, 2008, Christianity Today released an article on their website titled: "After the Aloha Shirts." The article further reveals Rick Warren's hopes for an interfaith Purpose Driven new reformation. In the article, Warren states:
We need to mobilize a billion Catholics and Orthodox [believers]. I'm not really that interested in interfaith dialogue. I am interested in interfaith projects. Let's do something together. You are probably not going to change your doctrinal distinctives, and I'm probably not going to change my doctrinal distinctives. We have different beliefs. But the fact is, we do serve the same Lord. Let's work on the things we can agree on.1
Below are other statements Rick Warren has made over the last few years to substantiate his view of a global church. You will see this "church" is not limited to born-again, biblical believers. On the contrary, it is a united religion suitable for the whole world and acceptable and complimentary to governments and businesses
"My kingdom is not of this world."--Jesus (John 18:36)
"And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." (John 1:5)
"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." (Ephesians 5:11)
"He [Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not." (John 1:10)
"If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."--Jesus (John 15:19)
"They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. (I John 4: 5-6)
"I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." (John 17:14)
"[K]now ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? (James 4:4)
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" (II Corinthians 6:14)
Below are other statements Rick Warren has made over the last few years to substantiate his view of a global church. You will see this "church" is not limited to born-again, biblical believers. On the contrary, it is a united religion suitable for the whole world and acceptable and complimentary to governments and businesses
The small group structure is the structure of renewal in every facet of Christianity - including Catholicism.... I would encourage you to look at this evolving alliance between evangelical Protestants and Catholics, particularly in the evangelical wing of Catholicism. --Rick Warren at the Pew Forum on Religion, May 23, 2005
Who's the man of peace in any village - or it might be a woman of peace - who has the most respect, they're open and they're influential? They don't have to be a Christian. In fact, they could be a Muslim, but they're open and they're influential and you work with them to attack the five giants. And that's going to bring the second Reformation.at the Pew Forum on Religion
Last week I spoke to 4,000 pastors at my church who came from over 100 denominations in over 50 countries. Now, that's wide spread. We had Catholic priests, we had Pentecostal ministers, we had Lutheran bishops, we had Anglican bishops, we had Baptist preachers. at the Pew Forum on Religion(see Purpose Driven Catholics)
You've heard me say many times that the greatest thing you can do with your life is tell somebody about Jesus ... if you help somebody secure their eternal destiny, that they spend the rest of their life in Heaven not Hell ...your life counts, your life matters because nothing matters more than helping get a person and their eternal destiny settled. They will be forever eternally grateful....And I've always said that that was the greatest thing you can do with your life. I was wrong. There is one thing you can do greater than share Jesus Christ with somebody, and it is help start a church."- Sermon from 11/2003 when Rick Warren Announced His Global Peace Plan to Saddleback. Hear entire sermon - This portion starts around the 14 minute mark.)
In an interview in August 2006 with Charlie Rose, Warren stated that we don't have to have the same religion or moral beliefs to work with people on poverty, disease, etc. As an example he said he just met with the President of the gay-activist group ACT UP, and asked him, "Eric [Sawyer], how can I help you get your message out?" Sawyer answered, "Use your moral authority." Warren then said to Rose, "I'm working with these guys ... I'm looking for a coalition of civility, which means let's get back to the original meaning of tolerance."
In contrast, Scripture states:Who's the man of peace in any village - or it might be a woman of peace - who has the most respect, they're open and they're influential? They don't have to be a Christian. In fact, they could be a Muslim, but they're open and they're influential and you work with them to attack the five giants. And that's going to bring the second Reformation.at the Pew Forum on Religion
Last week I spoke to 4,000 pastors at my church who came from over 100 denominations in over 50 countries. Now, that's wide spread. We had Catholic priests, we had Pentecostal ministers, we had Lutheran bishops, we had Anglican bishops, we had Baptist preachers. at the Pew Forum on Religion(see Purpose Driven Catholics)
You've heard me say many times that the greatest thing you can do with your life is tell somebody about Jesus ... if you help somebody secure their eternal destiny, that they spend the rest of their life in Heaven not Hell ...your life counts, your life matters because nothing matters more than helping get a person and their eternal destiny settled. They will be forever eternally grateful....And I've always said that that was the greatest thing you can do with your life. I was wrong. There is one thing you can do greater than share Jesus Christ with somebody, and it is help start a church."- Sermon from 11/2003 when Rick Warren Announced His Global Peace Plan to Saddleback. Hear entire sermon - This portion starts around the 14 minute mark.)
In an interview in August 2006 with Charlie Rose, Warren stated that we don't have to have the same religion or moral beliefs to work with people on poverty, disease, etc. As an example he said he just met with the President of the gay-activist group ACT UP, and asked him, "Eric [Sawyer], how can I help you get your message out?" Sawyer answered, "Use your moral authority." Warren then said to Rose, "I'm working with these guys ... I'm looking for a coalition of civility, which means let's get back to the original meaning of tolerance."
"My kingdom is not of this world."--Jesus (John 18:36)
"And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." (John 1:5)
"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." (Ephesians 5:11)
"He [Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not." (John 1:10)
"If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."--Jesus (John 15:19)
"They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. (I John 4: 5-6)
"I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." (John 17:14)
"[K]now ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? (James 4:4)
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" (II Corinthians 6:14)
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.--Jesus (John 3:7-8)
This article or excerpt was posted on @ 12:33 am .
From: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com
Out of India Has Gone to Press!
Category: * Publishing NEWS
Source: Editors at Lighthouse Trails
Lighthouse Trails 2nd book release for 2008, Out of India by Caryl Matrisciana, has gone to press. It will be ready for shipping on October 24th and can be pre-ordered now.
Product Information:
Apologetics Biography
248 pages
1st Edition
$12.95 Softbound, over 40 photos and illustrations
Revised & adapted from the best-selling book, Gods of the New Age (Harvest House 1985)
Chapter One
To Order
Table of Contents
Description: The biography of Caryl Matrisciana. Born and raised in India, Caryl saw firsthand the effects that Hinduism had on the people of that nation. After leaving India as a young adult, she became involved in the counter-culture New Age movement, only to find that the elements of Hinduism and the New Age were very much the same. Later as a Christian, Caryl discovered that this same spirituality had entered the Christian church through various avenues.
Author Bio: As co-founder and co-producer of Jeremiah Films for 23 years, Caryl contributed research and expertise to more than 55 documentaries and also served as the Creative and Marketing Director. In 2002, she founded Caryl Productions, (visit www.caryltv.com) which produces cutting edge video journalism and information to help discern the times in which we live.
Topics covered in this book:
*Hinduism
*Yoga
*"Christian Yoga"
*The hippie generation and the Beatles
*the New Age
*Chakras
*Reiki
*Hypnotism
*Chicken Soup for the Soul
*Centering Prayer and mantra meditation
*Ashrams
*Divination
*Vegetarianism
*The Emerging Church
*Purpose Driven
*Gandhi
*Global Peace Plans
*The Secret and The Moses Code
*The Great Tribulation
*New Age music
*Interreligious dialogue
*Breath Prayers
*Horoscopes and Astrology
*Interspirituality
*Tantric Sex
*The "New Reformation"
*Nazism
*Relaxation Techniques
*Salvation
*Spiritual Formation
*Suffering
and much more
978-0-9791315-3-0
This article or excerpt was posted on September 30, 2008@ 4:38 am .
From: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com
Kimball and McManus' New Emerging Network - Going From the Frying Pan into the Fire
Category: * Emerging Church
Source: Editors at Lighthouse Trails
As Lighthouse Trails reported last week in our article, "Some Say the Emerging Church is Dead - the Truth Behind the Story," a new emerging network/alliance is forming among several disgruntled emerging church leaders such as Dan Kimball, Erwin McManus, and Scot McKnight.1
According to McKnight, the new network/alliance will be "committed to the Lausanne Covenant." One blog posting said that the Lausanne Covenant is "more typically evangelical than Emergent Village is presumed to be." However, documentation shows that Lausanne is currently on the same theological path that the emerging church has been on all along with respect to ecumenism, global peace, eschatology, and mysticism. The fact is, Lausanne has had plans for some time to work together with emerging church leaders.
A 2005 Lausanne Committee report titled "The New People Next Door" states that they hope to bring together "younger emerging leaders" from around the world and that "[t]ransformation was a theme," adding: "We pray for peace and reconciliation and God's guidance in how to bring about peace through our work of evangelization."(2 This 64-page report by Lausanne claims it is "heavily drawn" from the book, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity by Philip Jenkins (p. 57), a book strongly pro-ecumenical and pro-Roman Catholic. Jenkins is also author of The New Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice.
To reach its objectives, Lausanne has turned to Rick Warren, who will be at The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in South Africa in 2010. Warren, one of the emerging church's strongest supporters and also a major proponent of the contemplative prayer movement, has shown an affinity to both Dan Kimball and Erwin McManus as well as other emerging leaders. To see where Rick Warren stands on the contemplative issue, one only needs to look as far as Warren's list of recommended spiritual resources. One of the books that Warren resonates with is Adele Ahlberg Calhoun's Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, which openly promotes eastern-style meditation.3
Leighton Ford, Honorary Life Chairman for Lausanne, is also helping to bring about the goals of Lausanne. Ford came out of the contemplative closet with his recent book, The Attentive Life: Discerning God's Presence in All Things. The book offers a collection of quotes by and references to some of the most prolific eastern-style meditation teachers, including Thomas Keating, David Steindl-Rast, Gerald May, Kathleen Norris, and atonement rejector and Episcopal priest Alan Jones (Reimagining Christianity). It is Steindl-Rast who suggested that the Gospel "gets in the way" between Christian and Buddhist dialogue (see A Time of Departing.
The fact that Lausanne is working with two highly influential contemplative proponents, Ford and Warren, reveals the organization's affinity toward mysticism, an affinity which is shared by the emerging church, including Kimball and McManus.
As Lighthouse Trails and its authors have stated on numerous occasions, the "fruit" of contemplative prayer is interspirituality and panentheism. While the seemingly heart cry of the emerging church (and Lausanne) has been missions and global unity, the underlying force is mysticism, which we believe will be Satan's instrument to deceive the whole world (Revelation 12:9). Mysticism (i.e., the occult) is overtaking all segments of society, and this means that the world is falling under the spell of sorceries (magical arts) that according to the book of Revelation will deceive all nations (Revelation 18:23 - see last chapter in FMSC).
It is ironic that Kimball, McManus, and McKnight are suggesting that they must leave emergent behind (at least in name) because certain segments of the movement are not theologically conservative enough. Translated: Brian McLaren and others deny the atonement, and that is just too radical, they say. But the apple may fall quite close to the tree in this case--
A few years ago, former New Age follower Warren Smith wrote an article titled "Evangelicals and New Agers Together." In the article, he identified a man named Jay Gary. Gary served as a conference planner on Lausanne for three years in the 1980s. Smith points out in his article Gary's endorsement of New Age leader and former assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, Robert Muller. What's more, as Smith points out, in Muller's book New Genesis: Shaping a Global Spirituality:
Muller said he often heard himself being described as a "Teilhardian." He admitted that "...now after a third of a century of service with the UN I can say unequivocally that much of what I have observed in the world bears out the all encompassing, global, forward-looking philosophy of Teilhard de Chardin [a staunch mystic and panentheist]."
Muller's unabashed identification with Chardin should have put Gary on immediate alert. Instead he seems oblivious to the dangers of Muller's doctrine. Perhaps because of his contact with Muller and others, even his own writing seems to have an underlying Teilhardian quality.
Gary had apparently so imbibed Muller's fondness for Teilhard's writings that one of Gary's chapter subtitles, "Hymns of the Universe" is the actual title of one of Teilhard de Chardin's most mystical books about the Cosmic Christ! And wouldn't Gary find it curious that in Chardin's book this mystical godfather of the New Age also talks about a star that the world is waiting for - a star that heralds the coming of the Cosmic New Age Christ.
Jay Gary is a link in this emerging shift that should not be ignored. Today, he is a member of and a speaker for the World Future Society where New Age leader Barbara Marx Hubbard is on the "Global Advisory Council." Interestingly, the man who Kimball and McManus wish to distance themselves from (Brian McLaren) talks about Jay Gary in McLaren's own book, The Secret Message of Jesus (p. 179). In referring to "eschatological [end-time] intentions," McLaren says Gary writes "brilliantly" in his explanation of the future of the world where Gary describes a "creative future" that is much different than the future that is described by those who believe the book of Revelation.Muller's unabashed identification with Chardin should have put Gary on immediate alert. Instead he seems oblivious to the dangers of Muller's doctrine. Perhaps because of his contact with Muller and others, even his own writing seems to have an underlying Teilhardian quality.
Gary had apparently so imbibed Muller's fondness for Teilhard's writings that one of Gary's chapter subtitles, "Hymns of the Universe" is the actual title of one of Teilhard de Chardin's most mystical books about the Cosmic Christ! And wouldn't Gary find it curious that in Chardin's book this mystical godfather of the New Age also talks about a star that the world is waiting for - a star that heralds the coming of the Cosmic New Age Christ.
The Lausanne that Kimball, McKnight, and McManus are "committed to" is an organization that while appearing to be more evangelical than the "emergent church," gives ample reason to believe they are on the same track as McLaren and other radical, Bible rejecting emergents. The break-awayemergents (Kimball, McManus, etc.) see themselves as more conservative orthodox members of the emergent movement, but in reality they embrace the same mysticism and the same eschatology beliefs that have led McLaren and others like him into radical apostasy. In essence, nothing is changing at all - it will be like the child who hides his peas under the mashed potatoes - they're still there but just out of sight for awhile.
For those who are skeptical, let us leave you with this. It's been sometime since Jay Gary has been a part of Lausanne - now it is Rick Warren who is there as the influencer. But Jay Gary and Rick Warren share something vital in common - Leonard Sweet. Sweet was invited to Regent Universitya few years ago to speak with Gary who is on staff there. And just a few months ago, Rick Warren had Sweet come and speak at the Small Groups Conferenceat Saddleback. Sweet is a New Age sympathizer, and yet both men find him appealing. So nothing has changed at Lausanne, and for Kimball and McManus, who claim to be going in a more theologically sound direction, they may be jumping from the frying pan into the fire and unfortunately taking a vast number of young people with them.
Related Stories:
The Call to Global Onenessby Berit Kjos
The World Christian Movementby Al Dager
Kjos Ministries Database on Lausanne
Evangelicals and New Agers Togetherby Warren Smith
For more on Jay Gary, read chapter 10 of Warren Smith's Reinventing Jesus Christ
Brian McLaren to speak at World Future Society by Herescope
This article or excerpt was posted on @ 2:38 am .
From: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com
Rick Warren Will Go Down in History as an "Inter-Faith Activist"
Category: * Purpose Driven
Source: Editors at Lighthouse Trails
LTRP Note: The title of the following article by Newsweek and the Washington Post is "Rick Warren, Interfaith Activist." Lighthouse Trails believes this is an accurate name for Rick Warren--he IS an "interfaith activist." More concerned about establishing a Purpose Driven global kingdom that about warning the world of spiritual deception and the impending dangers, Rick Warren has done an injustice to the Gospel message of Jesus Christ all the while ridiculing, marginalizing, and belittling the body of Christ. And anyone who has studied interspirituality (interfaith) knows the premise of it is that all paths lead to God. Interspirituality rejects the words of Jesus Christ who said, "No man cometh to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6).
"Rick Warren, Interfaith Activist"
by Eboo Patel
Newsweek/Washington Post
Rick Warren is our new Billy Graham - at the center of not only his own Christian tradition, but of American civil religion as well. Churches follow his direction (most recently into Rwanda), and political candidates seek his blessing. . . .
Last week at the Clinton Global Initiative, Warren was asked how "the church" could help to solve poverty. His response was to rattle off the numbers of Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians in the world - in that order - and make a plea that the public and private sectors take seriously "the faith sector as the third leg of the stool of successful development".
This is a big deal, because it signals an important turn in the American Evangelical tradition - from viewing people of other faiths primarily as lost souls requiring conversion to viewing them as partners in the plan to make earth more humane and just.
Click here to read this entire article.
Quotes by Rick Warren at Clinton's Global Initiative
"There are 600 million Buddhists in the world, there are 800 million Hindu's in the world, there are a billion Muslims in the world, and there are 2.3 billion Christians . . . And there is already an army ready to be mobilized, an army of compassion, in those villages. They're called churches or mosques or temples or synagogues."
"[W]e are not interested in simply wealth redistribution, we're interested in wealth creation, and there is no reason at all why those churches can't be involved; in fact, I would give you lots of examples
where they are involved in the kind of things that Muhammad is doing in creating wealth, in creating jobs, in training jobs, and things like that. And I hope we can discuss that."
Related Articles:
Fox News: "Can Rick Warren Save the World?"
The World Has Become Purpose-Driven
Rick Warren Distorts the Instructions of Jesus to Fit His Global Peace Plan
Wall Street Journal on Purpose Driven Resisters Tells Just Part of the Story
Mr. Warren ... Excuses, Excuses
This article or excerpt was posted on September 29, 2008@ 11:18 pm .
From: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com
Contemplative Spirituality and the Emerging Church Come to Kansas Through YouthFront and MNU
Category: * Contemplative
Source: Editors at Lighthouse Trails
Contemplative spirituality and the emerging church have come to Kansas and in no small way. First of all, the Christian university in Olathe, Kansas, MidAmerica Nazarene University, is introducing students to the writings of Brian McLaren, Shane Claiborne, Henri Nouwen, and Rob Bell, four of the strongest voices for contemplative emerging spirituality.1 In the required chapel services, speakers include Tony Jones, Brian McLaren, Tony Campolo, Calvin Miller, and Leonard Sweet, all of whom teach mystical spiritual practices. A newer style of chapel has been introduced at MNU: "Morning Prayers." The description for the service reads: "It will be a contemplative, liturgical service, which will include the reading of the morning prayers, scriptures, hymns, and communion." 2 MNU is just one of a number of Nazarene Universities that has moved swiftly into the contemplative/emerging camp over the past few years.
Secondly is a Kansas-based Christian organization called YouthFront, a national youth ministry training organization that has gone in the contemplative/emerging direction. Books being promoted by YouthFront include those by emerging leaders Scot McKnight and Tony Jones, and YouthFront's president Mike King. King is the author of Presence-Centered Youth Ministry (also promoted by YouthFront), and in his book, he presents the classic contemplative/emerging teachings. The majority of the quotes and references in the book are by contemplatives such as Dallas Willard, Henri Nouwen, Brennan Manning, Ignatius Loyola, and Brother Lawrence as well as emerging church leaders such as Tony Campolo, Robert Webber, Mike Yaconelli, Phyllis Tickle and more. In a chapter titled "Prayer Practices for Presence-Centered Youth Ministry, King advises readers to practice exercises such as breath prayers, prayer ropes, Ignatius exercises, silence and solitude, making the sign of the cross, praying with icons, and more.
Not surprisingly, Mark Ostreicher, of Youth Specialties, placed his endorsement on the back cover of King's book. Youth Specialties is a leader in bringing contemplative/emerging beliefs to tens of thousands of youth across North America.
YouthFront has had a significant influence in Kansas through their YouthFront Camps, where young people are "trained." Kansas City magazine chose YouthFront Camps as "a 2008 Family Favorite in their 'reader-approved choices for the favorite family-friendly places in the Kansas City area.'"3 It is alarming to know that families in Kansas are trusting their children to mystics.
In addition to training youth, YouthFront also trains youth workers who come from many different churches. Part of this training involves participation in events such as the Youth Specialties National Youth Workers Convention, a pro-contemplative, pro-emergent convention which speakers list includes names such as Mark Yaconelli, Jim Burns, Greg Stier, Phyllis Tickle, Shane Claiborne, Tony Campolo, and many others in the contemplative/emergent camp.
This past summer Nazarene Theological Seminary (NTS) partnered with YouthFront to teach a youth spirituality and formation course.4 The following link is to a blog posting written by someone who witnessed what was taking place with teens at YouthFront: http://revolutioninjesusland.com/index.php/2008/07/30/youthfront.
Kansas is also the home of the highly prolific IHOP (International House of Prayer) with contemplative proponent Mike Bickle. With the influence of MidAmerica Nazarene University, YouthFront, and IHOP, it looks like contemplative prayer and the emerging church have planted their feet down solid on Kansas soil.
Related Stories:
Those Who Resist
Nazarene Superintendent Praises "A Time of Departing" But Denomination's Schools Sinking into Contemplative
This article or excerpt was posted on September 28, 2008@ 3:19 am .
From: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com
Tony Blair Begins Search for 30 Young Leaders for Global Inter-Faith Agenda
Category: * Interspirituality
Source: Miscellaneous News Source
LTRP Note: The following story pertains to Tony Blair's Faith Foundation, of which Rick Warren is on the Advisory Council.1
"Tony Blair Faith Foundation Launches Search for Thirty Young Ambassadors for the Millennium Development Goals"
Wall Street Journal
Tony Blair today (Thursday) launches an international search for thirty outstanding young people to serve as inter-religious ambassadors for the Millennium Development Goals. In Spring 2009 these young activists aged 18 - 25 will be selected to be the first Faiths Act Fellows....
Tony Blair said: "The Faiths Act Fellows will become ambassadors for inter-religious cooperation in the fight against deaths from malaria and the accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goals. Click here to read this entire article.
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The Tony Blair Faith Foundation by Herescope
This article or excerpt was posted on September 26, 2008@ 10:51 am .
From:
"Servant Leadership" ... A Christian Idea ... Not Exactly
Category: * BOOK REVIEWS
Source: Warren Smith
LTRP Note: Today, there is much talk about teaching people to become good leaders. In reality, what is happening is people are being taught to be good followers. The term (and the concept) Servant Leadership, used by many of the most prolific Christian authors and teachers today, did not originate with them.
Servant Leadership
To further encourage people to accept the teachings of the New Age/New Gospel/New Spirituality, Neale Donald Walsch founded a new organization in 2003 called Humanity's Team. The expressed purpose of Humanity's Team was "to change the world" . . . The Humanity's Team Leadership gathering was a concerted effort by Walsch, Hubbard and their other New Age colleagues to further develop the new paradigm concept of self-declared "servant leadership" as an organizing principle by which to change the world. In the Preface to the "Humanity's Team Leadership Declaration Agreement," Walsch tells his self-declared New Age "servant leaders" that:
By declaring yourself a leader, you're taking initiative and moving into a role of influence in a lively and vital network that's changing the world. We're changing the world, first by changing ourselves and then by touching the world as changed beings. We believe the change in us catalyzes change in others. So in changing the world, we're choosing to be the change we wish to see in the world. By taking on this leadership role, you are choosing to be the change too.1
In another section of this same Agreement, entitled "responsibilities of self-declared leaders," it states: "To serve, because that is leadership's function." On his Humanity's Team website Walsch has a "worldwide servant leaders list."2 He invites those visiting his website to declare themselves to be "servant leaders."The term "servant leadership" originated with former AT&T business executive Robert K. Greenleaf who wrote the 1977 book Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness.3 Greenleaf stated that he was inspired to create the "servant leadership" model after reading German-born author Hermann Hesse's mysterious, metaphysical book Journey to the East:
The idea of the Servant as Leader came out of reading Herman Hesse's Journey to the East. In this story we see a band of men on a mythical journey, probably also Hesse's own journey.4
Hesse was described by his publisher as "a Western man profoundly affected by the mysticism of Eastern thought."5 The publisher explained that Journey to the East was the story of a group of seekers from a "secret society" whose ultimate destination was "the East"--the "Home of the Light"--where they expected to find "spiritual renewal."6 Greenfleaf's inspiration for "servant leadership" came from Hesse's "Leo," the obscure "servant leader" of this secret society that was journeying toward the East. Greenleaf wrote that he received his insight about "servant leadership" as he "contemplated" Leo: "I did not get the notion of servant as leader from conscious logic. Rather it came to me as an intuitive insight as I contemplated Leo."7Greenleaf described how his "servant leadership" model was based on the idea of a "servant leader" that was a "living" leader, as Leo was to his group, rather than some "dead prophet" from the past.
Some who have difficulty with this theory assert that their faith rests on one or more of the prophets of old having given the "word" for all time and that the contemporary ones do not speak to their condition as the older ones do.... One cannot interact with and build strength in a dead prophet, but one can do it with a living one.8
It is no wonder that a "living" New Age "prophet" like Walsch--who is obviously trying to overturn the Bible's "dead prophets"--would find Greenleaf's mystically inspired model of "servant leadership" compatible to his Humanity's Team New Age/New Gospel/New Spirituality leadership movement. Greenleaf's term "servant leadership" might sound biblical, but it clearly is not.Ironically, in 2003, when Neale Donald Walsch founded his worldwide Humanity's Team on the principle of self-declared "servant leadership," self-professing Christian businessman Ken Blanchard also founded his worldwide "Lead Like Jesus" movement on this same principle of self-declared "servant leadership." In their curiously similar 2003 "servant leadership" programs, both Neale Donald Walsch and Ken Blanchard had their leaders sign statements declaring themselves to be servant leaders."9 There is often overlapping language, common to both of their "servant leader" movements. Walsch's Humanity's Team Leadership Declaration encourages his "servant leaders" to "be the change" they wish to see "in the world."10 In Blanchard's 2006 book Lead Like Jesushe also tells his servant leaders they should "be the change" they wish to see "in others."11 There is an obvious danger of these overlapping servant leader movements. One day soon the Christian "servant leader" may very well become indistinguishable from the New Age/New Spirituality "servant leader." In fact, at the end of Hesse's book Journey to the East, the figure of the author/seeker merges into and becomes indistinguishable and at "one" with the servant leader Leo. Thus Hesse's book, along with Greenleaf's notion of servant leadership, actually facilitate the plans of the New Age "Christ" who is trying to transform biblical Christianity into the emerging New Spirituality. Click here to read more from Reinventing Jesus Christ by Warren Smith.
Notes:
4. Robert K. Greenleaf, SERVANT LEADERSHIP: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness(New York: Paulist Press, 1977), p. 7.
5. Hermann Hesse, THE JOURNEY TO THE EAST (New York: Picador, 1956), back cover.
6. Ibid.
7. Greenleaf, SERVANT LEADERSHIP, p. 12.
8. Ibid., p. 9.
9. (Walsch): Humanity's Team Leadership Declaration Agreement. This agreement was distributed to the attendees of the Leadership Gathering in Portland, Oregon, June 27-July 1, 2003. (Blanchard): Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges, THE SERVANT LEADER: TRANSFORMING YOUR HEART, HANDS, & HABITS(Nashville, Tennessee: J. Countryman, 2003), pp. 120-121.
10. Humanity's Team Leadership Declaration Agreement, p. 1.
11. Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges, Lead Like Jesus: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Times (Nashville, Tennessee:W Publishing Group, 2005), p. 209.
Related Information:
Rick Warren Distorts the Instructions of Jesus to Fit His Global Peace Plan
Warren, Blanchard, Hybels, Laurie, Buford - Launching New York Leadership Center This Week
This article or excerpt was posted on September 25, 2008@ 6:35 pm .
From: http://www.deceivedonpurpose.com
"Christian Yoga" Catches on in Arizona
Category: * YOGA
Source: Miscellaneous News Source
LTRP Note: The following out-of-house news story is presented for research and informational purposes. Lighthouse Trails believes that what is being called "Christian Yoga" is not Christian at all but is a derivative of Hinduism.
Travis Roemhild
East Valley Tribune (Phoenix, AZ)
A spiritual twist has been added to the cocktail of exercises known as yoga.
Two Valley women have been teaching Christian yoga for years now and will be holding an upcoming event to introduce it further to the public.
The concept for Christianity-centered yoga has sprung up across the country, but Elena Porter pioneered it in Arizona in 2002. She had been a yoga instructor for years and realized that her experience could be better.
"I found yoga to be very peaceful," Porter said. "But I did not find it to be very spiritual."
So one day, she decided to try something different and focus her thoughts on a specific Biblical verse before she began her exercises for the day. It was that idea that would plant the seeds for the growth of Christian yoga at her church and around the Valley.
"I felt like I had an incredible spiritual experience," Porter said. "So I was encouraged by a friend to pursue teaching Christian yoga."
She said she went to her pastor at Mountain Park Community Church, 2408 E Pecos Road, with the intention of talking to him about possibly starting a class for the public.
"I don't know what compelled me to do it, but afterwards I was freaking out thinking, 'I'm about to teach this class,'" Porter said. "Never in my mind did I think it would catch on."Click here to read this entire story.
To understand the roots of Yoga, including "Christian Yoga" please read Out of India by Caryl Matrisciana. Also visit our research page on Yoga.
This article or excerpt was posted on September 24, 2008@ 12:44 pm .
From:
ACSI (Association of Christian Schools) Searches for New President - Will This One Be a Contemplative?
Category: * Contemplative
Source: Editors at Lighthouse Trails
The ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International) has announced that Ken Smitherman, president of ACSI, will be retiring next August. 1 Lighthouse Trails has issued two reports on ACSI this year regarding their leanings toward contemplative through their Spiritual Formation program. Our first report stated that contemplative books are being recommended and offered to ACSI's 5300 member schools. In addition, ACSI told attendees of the Early Education Conference on April 19, 2008 to read Henri Nouwen's book, In the Name of Jesus for preparation for the conference. Our second report stated that ACSI is recommending to its member schools Brian McLaren's A New Kind of Christian. McLaren, who has made many public statements that attempt to derail biblical Christianity, is part of the emerging church movement. (see 1st report)
In this latter report, we explained that in addition to the McLaren recommendation, ACSI president Ken Smitherman speaks favorably of emerging leader and mysticism proponent Rob Bell's book, Velvet Elvis. The report also stated that Smitherman defends his embracing of mystical spirituality (for this documentation, see our 2nd report).
With regard to the ACSI's search for a new president, their website states that this person must have an "understanding of spiritual formation." Those the ACSI turns to for their own "understanding" of spiritual formation include Brian McLaren, Dallas Willard, J.P. Moreland, and other contemplative figures.2 What's more, two of their conferences in 2008 took place at a contemplative Catholic Retreat Center in Colorado.3
We hope that ACSI will put in the place of president someone who understands the dangers of the contemplative prayer and emerging church movements and someone who will seek to uphold the Word of God at all costs. This is an organization that works with and serves thousands of Christian schools worldwide representing 1.2 million students. If they present contemplative spirituality as an acceptable and beneficial belief system, the spiritual damage to countless students will be devastating. Please pray that the ACSI search committee will make every attempt to understand these dangers before making their selection. On their website, they state:
The next president of ACSI will face many opportunities and challenges. The Presidential Search Committee is committed to prayer and invites you to join us as we seek the Lord's guidance and wisdom for the selection of the next president whose godliness, giftedness, and vision will lead our diverse community into the future.
It also says they are looking for "One who ... affirms the authority of Scripture as God's inerrant Word." Because contemplative and emerging spirituality are contrary to the Word of God, choosing a contemplative president would go against the ACSI's writtencommitment to find someone who "affirms the authority of Scripture."This article or excerpt was posted on September 22, 2008@ 2:41 am .
From: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com
Some Say the Emerging Church is Dead - the Truth Behind the Story
Category: * Emerging Church
Source: Editors at Lighthouse Trails
According to a September 19th Christianity Today blog article, the emerging church is dead. "An overused and corrupted term now sleeps with the fishes," the article states. But is this even remotely true? Or rather could it be that the emerging church, or what we call the "merging" church, is morphing into its next "higher" level, and just as a butterfly would not want to be called a worm, neither do many in this evolving movement want to be called "the emerging church" any longer. However, unlike the beauty of a golden butterfly broken from its cocoon, the merging church does not share such grandeur. In reality, it is a dangerous pied piper leading millions over a deadly cliff of deception. And just as the "birth" of the emerging church was a well-thought out, highly-financed "dream" of millionaire corporations and futurists, so too will be its supposed "death" and rebirth. But don't be fooled, the emerging church and the spirituality behind it is alive and kicking.
The Christianity Today posting claims that an "informant" from a publishing house told him that two years ago plans were in the making to drop the term "the emerging church" because "the term has become so polluted." The writer says that emerging church leaders, like Dan Kimball, don't want to use that term anymore. Kimball says the current emerging church has too many "theological strands" that he "strongly disagrees with." Kimball's 2003 book The Emerging Church (endorsed by Rick Warren and Brian McLaren, both who wrote forewords for the book) has been considered a signature book for the movement.
The writer of the CT article proclaims: "It seems my informant's prophetic word has come to pass. The emerging church is dead--at least in nomenclature, if not in spirit." But nothing could be further from the truth. And just as there has been a concerted effort by top New Age leaders over the last decade or so to drop the term "New Age" because of its negative exposure, so too emerging church leaders want to drop the name of their movement, and for the very same reason the New Agers are running from their term ... not because, as Kimball suggests, it's too hard to define the movement anymore theologically but rather because the movement has been exposed for what it really is by Bible believing Christians.
Lighthouse Trails will assume that those reading this special commentary have already read Roger Oakland's expose of the emerging church, Faith Undone, and understand how the movement began with big corporation dollars and the idea of an emerging church from men like Peter Drucker as well as Bob Buford's Leadership Network (of which contained the influence of Rick Warren and Bill Hybels and mystics of the past). For those who have not read Faith Undone, you can read about this in our article, "Bob Buford, Peter Drucker, and the Emerging Church." In essence, the major manipulation of success-driven leaders, publishing companies, and corporations created the emerging church movement, and now perhaps a new spiritual move (a better one at that) will arise, with many calling it a move of God, when in truth it will merely line more pockets and continue to bring confusion and disillusionment to millions.
If the CT writer's words are true and a publishing house informant told him the plan that the publishing industry has to drop the term emerging church, what will they replace it with? The New Age gurus have attempted to replace their term with "the New Spirituality." To define this new spirituality, they use words and terms like awakening, emergence, oneness, God's dream, transformation, new reformation, Kingdom of God on earth, global peace, expansive redemption, rethinking, co-creation, christ-consciousness, and imagination. But while these New Age leaders have moved away from the term "New Age," replacing it with these other terms, it is important to note that the woman who coined the term "New Age," Alice Bailey, used most of the terms above to define the New Age. These words do define the New Age.
With that in mind, what words and terms are the emerging church leaders using today? Here's the list: awakening, emergence, oneness, God's dream, transformation, new reformation, Kingdom of God on earth, global peace, expansive redemption, rethinking, co-creation, christ-consciousness, and imagination. We could show you example after example. Phyllis Tickle's new book, The Great Emergence, Erwin McManus' book Wide Awake and his website Awaken (formerly Awaken Humanity), Leonard Sweet's "christ-consciousness," Rob Bell's co-creation, Rick Warren's global peace and new reformation, Brian McLaren's God's Dream, and the list could go on and on.
Just as the New Age movement has had to rename itself in order to maintain societal acceptance so too the emerging church must put on a coat of different colors to maintain its welcome within the walls of Christianity. Those, like Roger Oakland, who have meticulously revealed the true nature of the emerging church, have forced its leaders (including the publishing houses and financiers) to play their hand.
What will be the next move and what will be the implications? The CT article says that "news has been leaking about a new network being formed by Dan Kimball, Erwin McManus, and Scot McKnight among others." Dan Kimball and Erwin McManus HAVE been sharing some of the same platforms lately. At Robert Schuller's 2008 Rethink conference, the two were there as speakers. At McManus' Awaken 2008 conference, Kimball accepted McManus' invitation to be a speaker there. Incidentally, as we stated in a a news brief about that event, one of the speakers at Awaken 2008, has promoted New Age leader and Oprah favorite, Eckhart Tolle. But in light of the marked similarities between the New Age and the emerging church, that really shouldn't come as a surprise. As for a new network, Dan Kimball talked about Awaken on his own website after the event was over. On that post, Kimball stated: [W]e have been dreaming and meeting about forging a relational and intentional network/alliance." Kimball was also with McManus at LeadNow08, another of many emerging-type conferences taking place across North America today. It will be interesting to see this new "network/alliance" - very likely we can expect to see the emergence of this dream of the awakening of humanity for the purposes of global peace brought about through a new reformation to establish the kingdom of God here on earth. Mysticism will be the vehicle to bring it about.
When the emerging church came on the scene in the late 1990s, it was able to enjoy several years of movement with virtually no criticism. Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, Mark Driscoll, and the other formative men wrote book after book, did event after event and quickly gained momentum and by the way, lots of media coverage, so much so that in 2005 Brian McLaren was named as one of Time magazine's 25 Most Influential Evangelical Leaders, an entitlement that took some of the winners decades of ministry to obtain. But then books, like A Time of Departing which identifies the mystical elements of the emerging church, and Faith Undone, which shows the anti-biblical nature of the movement, came out and many people started understanding that the emerging church was an interspiritual, universalist body that was against the atonement of Jesus Christ and perpetuated a growing hostility toward the bride of Christ (the body of born-again believers). It all became just too obvious; and thus a natural response is to say, that movement has become corrupted; we are moving on to something else.
Clearly, Erwin McManus is going to be one of the leaders in this revised, evolved merging church. Where is he going to lead it? In a trailer for his summer 2008 book, Wide Awake, McManus says "It's amazing how a dream can have the power to change an entire planet ... What would happen if all of us began to discover our god-given dreams? What would happen if all of us began to live wide awake? ... If all of us began to live wide awake ... the world would never be the same again." How can "all of us" (all humanity is what he means) live wide awake when the Bible says that in the days before Christ's return there will be a great falling away, and where it says that nations will turn against God and where it says an anti-christ will cause multitudes to bow down and worship him? Why is McManus suggesting that all humans can be wide awake? And to what are they awakening? The Bible says that in the last days Satan will deceive the whole world (Revelation 12:9). But perhaps McManus would agree with New Ager Barbara Marx Hubbard who says if enough people come together, then Revelation's predictions can be avoided. This notion is what New Agers term Armageddon Alternative. In Warren Smith's stunning expose' of the New Spirituality, he describes this "alternative" to Armageddon and the implications it carries.1
While it appears that emerging is going to do another split (remember when Mark Driscoll (and others) divided the movement into a few different groups: revisionist, reformed, and relevant), the point to keep in mind is that it is still emerging spirituality. And such spirituality embraces mysticism, attempts to bring about a global kingdom on earth, and believes humanity can awaken to its own divinity and oneness. Those are the earmarks of the emerging church - calling it any other name changes it no more than calling the New Age a new name makes it something else. As the saying goes, "A rose by any other name is still a rose." In this case, apostasy by any other name is still apostasy.
When Erwin McManus said a few years ago it was his "goal to destroy Christianity,"2 it didn't seem to bo