Mysticism: Spiritual Crack

Posted by Christine Pack

Roman Catholic mystic Thomas Merton once compared mystical meditation to the same powerful experience generated by mind-altering drugs.

"Isn't it a pity that people are going into LSD to have spiritual experiences, when we have a tradition in the Church [contemplative prayer] which no one knows anything about?" (Thomas Merton, from  a letter he wrote to fellow mystic Matthew Fox)

The thing that Merton (like all mystics before him and since) didn't understand is that mystical meditation is far more dangerous than drugs. Entering into an altered state of consciousness is playing with spiritual dynamite, and not in a good way.

Monvee, the new product put out by Leadership Network, markets itself as a way for Christians to draw closer to God through something called "Spiritual Formation." Spiritual Formation, for those who don't know, is the main avenue by which mysticism is coming into today's churches.  Today's Christians who are enamoured by this Christian sounding practice try to make the distinction that there is a difference between "bad" mysticism and "good" mysticism. Obviously, to those pleading this case, "bad" mysticism would be occultic, and eastern in origin. But "good" mysticism, so the reasoning goes, would be a type of mysticism that is Christian, biblical, and necessary for spiritual development.  

But the "Christian" mysticism taught in Spiritual Formation courses - and referenced by Thomas Merton above - is not Christian, and is in fact identical to classic occultic meditation practices taught in Hinduism, Buddhism, wicca, paganism, etc.  The technique is always the same: corraling one's thoughts through the use of some device (mantra, breathing, etc.), entering into an altered state of consciousness, then "listening" to God.  This is not Christian.  This is what pagans do. And wiccans. And Buddhists. And Hindus.  And just like with crack, a Monvee user will have to come back over and over again, trying to find that elusive high, trying to get another spiritual charge.  Christians "listen" to God through the study of scripture, not through using a mantra meditation to alter their state of  consciousness so they can get a little spiritual "bump" from God.

Instead of actually drawing a person closer to God, these occultic practices generate a "counterfeit Holy Spirit experience" which "feels" very real, very profound, and very spiritual.  Actually, when people engage in these practices, what they're experiencing is spiritual...only, it is not from God.

"And no wonder, for even Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." (2 Cor 11:14). 

Beware of Spiritual Formation - and warn your brothers and sisters in Christ.  We "listen" to God not by powering down and getting a spiritual "hit" from God, but by reading and studying the Bible- Sola Scriptura.  Spiritual Formation techniques have many different names, but here are some of the most well known:

Lectio Divina 

Contemplative Prayer 

Contemplative Spirituality 

Ancient Future 

Spiritual Disciplines 

Centering Prayer 

Jesus Prayer

photo credit: daveblume via photo pin cc


 Additional Resources 

Secular Interview About What Mysticism Is - BBC Radio Program

What Is Mysticism? (Sola Sisters Article)

What Is Mysticism? (3-Part Series by Dr. Gary Gilley) - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5

Mystical Youth Ministry

Contemplative Monvee: Placing Experience Above Scripture

Contemplative Prayer, Spiritual Formation and the Kundalini Effect 

Mysticism: A Counterfeit Holy Spirit

Fighting For The Faith Interview on Mysticism - Testimony of a Former Mystic

John Ortberg Quotes Thomas Merton

Posted by Christine Pack

John Ortberg, Menlo Park Presbyterian senior pastor and co-creator of Monvee with Dallas Willard, recently tweeted this quote from Thomas Merton:

"No 1 wants 2 b thot of as a beginner. But in prayer, no 1 will ever b anything else. - Thomas Merton"

Who exactly was Thomas Merton? Why is this problematic?  For starters, Merton was a Roman Catholic monk who once compared mystical meditation to the same powerful experience generated by mind-altering drugs.  Merton also rather infamously stated that he saw "no contradiction between Buddhism and Christianity" and said that he intended to become as good a Buddhist as he could.

So my question is this: Why are so many of today's Protestant pastors and leaders (like John Ortberg) thinking that they can learn anything of spiritual growth from Roman Catholics? Roman Catholicism is an apostate, works-based religion. And it used to be that Protestants knew this.  After all, what about that little thing called "the Reformation, during which a long and bloody battle was fought to reclaim the biblical doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone? A doctrine, incidentally, which is denied by the Roman Catholic church?

Monvee, the program co-created by Dallas Willard and John Ortberg, markets itself as a way for Christians to draw closer to God through something called "Spiritual Formation." But Spiritual Formation, for those who don't know, is comprised of centuries old Roman Catholic practices which are the main avenue by which mysticism is coming into today's churches.  Today's Christians who are enamoured by this Christian sounding practice try to make the distinction that there is a difference between "bad" mysticism and "good" mysticism.  Obviously, to those pleading this case, "bad" mysticism would be occultic, and eastern in origin.  But "good" mysticism, so the reasoning goes, would be a type of mysticism that is Christian, biblical, and necessary for spiritual development.  

But the "Christian" mysticism taught in Spiritual Formation courses - and recently mass-merchandised by John Ortberg in Monvee - is not Christian, and is in fact identical to classic occultic meditation practices taught in Hinduism, Buddhism, wicca, paganism, etc.  The technique is always the same: corraling one's thoughts through the use of some device (mantra, breathing, etc.), entering into an altered state of consciousness, then "listening" to God.  This is not Christian.  This is what pagans do. And wiccans. And Buddhists. And Hindus.  And just like with crack, a Monvee user will have to come back over and over again, trying to find that elusive high, trying to get another spiritual charge.  Christians "listen" to God through the study of scripture, not through using a mantra meditation to enter into an altered state of consciousness so they can get a little spiritual "bump" from God.

Instead of actually drawing a person closer to God, these occultic practices generate a "counterfeit Holy Spirit experience" which feels very real, very profound, and very spiritual.  Actually, when people engage in these practices, what they're experiencing is real and is spiritual...only, it is not from God.

"And no wonder, for even Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." (2 Cor 11:14). 

Let me close by urging anyone reading to beware of Spiritual Formation - and please warn your brothers and sisters in Christ. We "listen" to God not by powering down and getting a spiritual "hit" from God, but by reading and studying the Bible - Sola Scriptura.  And also understand that Spiritual Formation is taught under many different names. Here are some of the most well known:

Lectio Divina 

Contemplative Prayer 

Contemplative Spirituality 

Ancient Future 

Spiritual Disciplines 

Centering Prayer 

Jesus Prayer

photo credit: Jesus In Love via photopin cc

 Additional Resources 

Monvee: Mysticism For The Masses

What is Mysticism?

John Ortberg: You Don't Just Become Holier...You Become "You-ier!"

Roman Catholic Monastic Mysticism 

Mysticism: A Counterfeit Holy Spirit

Interview of a Former Mystic

Mysticism: Repent, Before You Have To Drink Ground Calf Juice

Posted by Christine Pack and Cathy Mathews

In a recent post about Monvee, we talked about Roman Catholic mystic Thomas Merton who once compared mystical meditation to the same powerful experience generated by mind-altering drugs.  And as we noted, the problem with mystical meditation is that it is far more dangerous than drugs.  Monvee, the new product put out by Leadership Network, markets itself as a way for Christians to draw closer to God through something called "Spiritual Formation."  But, the Spiritual Formation techniques taught by Monvee, which are the same thing as the "mystical meditation" referenced by Thomas Merton, are identical to classic occultic meditation practices taught in Hinduism, Buddhism, wicca, paganism,etc.

God, however, is very specific about how we are to "draw closer" to Him, and that is only through the blood of Christ (Hebrews 10).  And yet most religions outside of Christianity have some version of mysticism that they practice for the specific purpose of drawing close to God.  So the question must be asked: if these faith traditions are outside of Christ, are they getting to God?  We know the answer to that, and it is obviously, no, they aren't getting to God.  We may not be getting much in the way of deep doctrinal teaching in our churches today, but we at least know that much, right?  We know that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no-one comes to the Father but by him.  However, we also know from the testimonies of mystics that they are experiencing something, so what is it?  It is a "counterfeit Holy Spirit experience" which "feels" very real and very spiritual.  What they're experiencing is spiritual...only it is not from God.

As a former mystic, the biggest blind spot I see in today's Christian culture is almost an innocence about spiritual deception, a thinking that as Christians we can't be deceived. A belief that if, spiritually speaking, something were "off" about a teaching or practice, somehow we would just "know" it because it would "feel wrong." But even more than that, there also seems to be this idea that only we, as Christians, have true spiritual experiences, that somehow these mystics must not be having "real" experiences, that it's all smoke and mirrors.  This is absolutely not true.  What these mystics are experiencing is real, and it is spiritual, and mystics wouldn't have been doing these things for centuries if they weren't connecting to.....something.  God graciously and mercifully has given us many warnings so that we would know how to defend ourselves against spiritual deception.  We are warned that Satan himself can masquerade as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14).  We are told that we must test all things (1 John 4:1), because none of us are beyond being deceived.

So how do we "test all things?"  What is our measure for testing?  Is it our own hearts, our own emotions?  In today's culture, we have a tendency to "test" things through our thoughts and feelings ("I didn't have a peace about it"). No, we must not do that, for we know that our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked above all things (Jer 17:9). Scripture is our standard for testing all things, Scripture is what we must use in determining whether or not something is acceptable to God.

Monvee, which is a blending of Christian terminology and occultic mysticism, is very similar to what the Israelites did in Exodus 32 in the story of the golden calf.   This story is one of the most powerful biblical warnings there is against incorporating pagan practices into our worship of God.   What most people don't realize is that this well-known incident wasn't about straight up paganism.  No, this story records how God's chosen people blended together (1) what they had been taught to do by God with (2) pagan practices that were familiar to them from their years of captivity in Egypt.  They knew about altars and making offerings to God.  And they knew about pagan animal worship from their exposure to Egyptian culture. When Moses delayed returning to the people from atop the mountain where he was speaking with God, the people  decided to create their own tangible way of worshiping God.  So they set up an altar, added a little Egyptian flavor in the form of cow worship, and called it a festival for the Lord.  And God saw this, and was very pleased?  Not exactly.  This is what the Bible records:

"Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.'  "I have seen these people," the LORD said to Moses, "and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation." "  (Exodus 32:7-10, my emphasis)

God was not pleased - and only Moses' intercession on their behalf saved them from being completely destroyed by God. As if that weren't a clear enough warning against mixing pagan worship practices with worship of God, we are also warned in Deuteronomy against spiritual syncretism:

"The LORD your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land, and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, "How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same." You must not worship the LORD your God in their way..." (Deut, 12:29-31a, my emphasis)

God is quite clear on how we are to worship and approach him - and it is not through blending our worship of him with pagan practices. But this is exactly what Monvee is doing with its "personalized spiritual formation" programs: they are taking Christian terminology and mixing in occultic mysticism, and calling it Christian.  I recognize that it is very popular in today's global, syncretized culture to meld different things together. We are most certainly an experience-driven culture, always seeking the fresh, exciting, "new" thing.  And we also like our smorgasbord religions, with a little of this, a little of that.  But we have clear mandates from Scripture about how we are to worship and approach God.  We are to be set apart from the world - not syncretized with it - so that's God's truth will shine like a beacon in the darkness.

If you know anyone who is being drawn into the deceptive practices of Monvee, Spiritual Formation and Contemplative Prayer, please warn them.  These things look spiritual and sound spiritual, but they are occultic and will lead into a dangerous spiritual realm.  We must be diligent to guard our hearts and minds: after all, it is the Lord's honor and glory which are at stake.  When we become just as pagan as the world, how is God revealed, exalted and glorified?  And not only must He be rightly exalted, but it is mockery to blend worldly pagan practices into our worship of Him. The Lord will not be mocked, and He will discipline those He loves: 

"When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. And he took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it." (Exodus 32:19-20)

If you yourself have done these things at the leading of your pastor or church group, I urge you to repent so that you do not find yourself drinking "calf juice." Innocence concerning the "pagan-ness" of a practice will not protect a believer, especially when it comes to the area of the occult.  This is Satan's domain, and we must flee from it.  My heart is broken for those who have been led into these unbiblical practices through church leadership, but it is never too late to fall at the foot of the Cross.  Humble yourself before the Lord, for He is mighty to forgive and restore.

photo credit: jp512 via photo pin cc


 Additional Resources 

Monvee: Mysticism For The Masses

Mysticism: A Counterfeit Holy Spirit

Mysticism: Spiritual Crack

Monvee: Elevating Experience Over Scripture

Testimony of a Former Mystic

Learn to Embrace Your "Inner Monk" at Pastor Tim Keller's Redeemer Presbyterian Church?

Posted by Christine Pack

 

 Additional Resources 

"The Way of the Monk" at Tim Keller's Redeemer Presbyterian Church

Does Tim Keller Endorse New Age Teachers?

Ron Choong’s Ties to Tim Keller and His Heretical Teachings (City of Deception, Jonathan Cousar)

Tim Keller and Social Justice (Sola Sisters)

Tim Keller Recommending Roman Catholic Mysticism (Sola Sisters)

Redeemer's Tim Keller Recommends Ignatius of Loyola? (Sola Sisters)

Tim Keller and the Problems with Ignatius of Loyola (Sola Sisters)

Tim Keller

What Is Mysticism? (Sola Sisters)

Mysticism: Spiritual Crack (Sola Sisters)

Catholic Mysticism Infused Into Our Society (Berean Beacon)

Why the Reformation Was Important (Sola Sisters)

After The Darkness, Light (Post Tenebras Lux) (Sola Sisters)

Biblically Explaining The Heresy of Catholicism (Dr. John MacArthur)

A Chart With Christian/Catholic Views Side-By-Side (Berean Beacon)

Testimony of a Former Roman Catholic Priest....From Darkness to Light (Berean Beacon)

Far From Rome Near To God (Amazon)

On The "Faith" of Mother Teresa: John Ortberg Strikes Out (Sola Sisters)

The Myth of Mother Teresa (Challies)

Mother Teresa A Lost Soul (Berean Beacon)

Mother Teresa in Her Own Words (Sola Sisters)

CNN Reports That Mother Teresa Underwent Exorcism (CNN Archives)

BBC Reports About Exorcism Performed on Mother Teresa (BBC Archives)

Lectio Divina at Tim Keller's Redeemer Presbyterian Church - material adapted from the book Sacred Companions by David Benner. (From David Benner's bio: "I first heard of spiritual direction through reading Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, and this quickly led me to an engagement with the Orthodox tradition of the Christian faith. It was here that I encountered the Jesus prayer – a gift from the Russian Orthodox Church – something that was to change the way I opened myself to God in prayer for ever. Here I also encountered the gift of using icons as an aid to prayer. This led me back to the Christian mystics I had long been attracted to but not ready to really engage, and to the discovery of the Benedictine and Cistercian traditions of centering prayer and lectio divina..... I discovered the Sufi mystical poets, Hafiz and Rumi, people who have been intimate spiritual companions since that first meeting. Within a few years, my wife and I were blessed to be invited to spend several extended periods of dialogue with Buddhists and Taoists at the Tao Fong Shan Centre for Christian Spirituality and Interfaith Dialogue in Hong Kong. Once I tasted the richness of meeting people of other faiths in this sort of sacred place there was no turning back. I quickly discovered that I had more in common with those on a spiritual journey within other religious traditions than I had with Christians who had allowed faith to be reduced to beliefs and counted the holding of these beliefs to be their journey. It remains so to this day.")

Interview With a Former Member of Tim Keller's Church

Posted by Christine Pack

Jonathan Cousar,
City of Deception

Jonathan Cousar, a friend and fellow writer, was recently interviewed about his concerns over mysticism at Tim Keller's church (Redeemer Presbyterian) in Manhattan. Jonathan discussed what happened when he became aware of Tim Keller allowing Roman Catholic Mysticism to be taught at Redeemer, and what played out when he tried to bring his concerns to the leadership. Jonathan was a member of Redeemer for almost 20 years.

You may listen to this show in its entirety here.



 Additional Resources 

Learn to Embrace Your "Inner Monk" at Pastor Tim Keller's Redeemer Presbyterian Church?

Lectio Divina at Tim Keller's Redeemer Presbyterian Church - material adapted from the book Sacred Companions by David Benner. (From David Benner's bio: "I first heard of spiritual direction through reading Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, and this quickly led me to an engagement with the Orthodox tradition of the Christian faith. It was here that I encountered the Jesus prayer – a gift from the Russian Orthodox Church – something that was to change the way I opened myself to God in prayer for ever. Here I also encountered the gift of using icons as an aid to prayer. This led me back to the Christian mystics I had long been attracted to but not ready to really engage, and to the discovery of the Benedictine and Cistercian traditions of centering prayer and lectio divina..... I discovered the Sufi mystical poets, Hafiz and Rumi, people who have been intimate spiritual companions since that first meeting. Within a few years, my wife and I were blessed to be invited to spend several extended periods of dialogue with Buddhists and Taoists at the Tao Fong Shan Centre for Christian Spirituality and Interfaith Dialogue in Hong Kong. Once I tasted the richness of meeting people of other faiths in this sort of sacred place there was no turning back. I quickly discovered that I had more in common with those on a spiritual journey within other religious traditions than I had with Christians who had allowed faith to be reduced to beliefs and counted the holding of these beliefs to be their journey. It remains so to this day.")

Ron Choong’s Ties to Tim Keller and His Heretical Teachings (City of Deception, Jonathan Cousar)

Tim Keller and Social Justice (Sola Sisters)

Tim Keller Recommending Roman Catholic Mysticism (Sola Sisters)

Learn to Embrace Your "Inner Monk" at Pastor Tim Keller's Redeemer Presbyterian Church? (Sola Sisters)

Redeemer's Tim Keller Recommends Ignatius of Loyola? (Sola Sisters)

Tim Keller and the Problems with Ignatius of Loyola (Sola Sisters)

What Is Mysticism? (Sola Sisters)

Mysticism: Spiritual Crack (Sola Sisters)

Catholic Mysticism Infused Into Our Society (Berean Beacon)

Why the Reformation Was Important (Sola Sisters)

After The Darkness, Light (Post Tenebras Lux) (Sola Sisters)

Biblically Explaining The Heresy of Catholicism (Dr. John MacArthur)

A Chart With Christian/Catholic Views Side-By-Side (Berean Beacon)

Testimony of a Former Roman Catholic Priest....From Darkness to Light (Berean Beacon)

Tim Keller

Far From Rome Near To God (Amazon)

On The "Faith" of Mother Teresa: John Ortberg Strikes Out (Sola Sisters)

The Myth of Mother Teresa (Challies)

Mother Teresa A Lost Soul (Berean Beacon)

Mother Teresa in Her Own Words (Sola Sisters)

CNN Reports That Mother Teresa Underwent Exorcism (CNN Archives)

BBC Reports About Exorcism Performed on Mother Teresa (BBC Archives)

Fighting For the Faith Interview

Posted by Christine Pack

Thank you to Chris Rosebrough at Pirate Christian Radio for recently having me on his program to discuss the dangers of Roman Catholic Monastic Mysticism and how it is flowing unchecked into today's visible church via the delivery systems of these very popular practices:

- Spiritual Formation
- Spiritual Disciplines
- Ancient Future
- Contemplative Prayer
- Contemplative Spirituality
- Taize
- Centering Prayer
- Lectio Divina
- Jesus Prayer
- Labyrinth
- Walk To Emmaus

This is a very in-depth interview, and is both a wake-up call and an exhortation to today's Christians to be on guard about what their pastors and elders might unwittingly be promoting or even teaching.

The interview can be listened to here.




 Additional Resources 

Mysticism: A Counterfeit Holy Spirit

John MacArthur on Spiritual Formation and Biblical Sanctification

What Is Mysticism?

Interview With A Former Mystic

Mysticism: Who Needs Crack?

The Dangers of Contemplative Prayer

What Is Mysticism? (5-Part Series by Dr. Gary Gilley) - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5

Mystical Youth Ministry

Biblical Silence vs. Mystical Silence

Contemplating Contemplative Prayer: Is It Really Prayer?

The Origin of Contemplative Prayer (Apprising)

Richard Foster - Celebration of Deception (CIC Article, Bob DeWaay)

The Dangers of Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Disciplines, A Critique of Dallas Willard and The Spirit of the Disciplines (CIC Article, Bob DeWaay)

Redeemer's Tim Keller Recommends Ignatius of Loyola?

Posted by Christine Pack

Pastor Tim Keller,
Redeemer Presbyterian

An excellent post by Pastor Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries points us to a talk by Tim Keller in which Keller points his followers to the mysticism of Roman Catholic Monastic practices for deepening their prayer lives. Keller, who is a Presbyterian-PCA pastor and a leader of The Gospel Coalition had this to say:

"The best things that have been written, almost, are by Catholics during the counter Reformation: Ignatius of Loyola, St. Francis de Sales, John of the Cross, St. Theresa of Ávila.....great stuff."

At the end of this short video is the reminder that Ignatius of Loyola founded the Jesuits in 1540 with the specific purpose of destroying the Protestant Reformation. The obvious question is: why would a Protestant pastor point Christians toward the teachings of a Roman Catholic mystic who poured his life's work into destroying the Protestant Reformation?

Let me also point out that the meditation practices of the Catholic mystics recommended by Pastor Keller are pagan, occultic practices. As a former mystic who was saved out of mysticism, my challenge to the church will always be this: what could a Catholic mystic who holds to Catholic doctrine (and thus is lost) teach us about deepening our relationship to God? These are pagan practices that have been Christianized with biblical terminology, but they are pagan to the core. Focusing repetitively on ANYTHING for a length of time (whether it is one's breathing, a candle, an icon, even a snippet of Scripture) will put someone into a light hypnotic state. Thus, the thing focused on becomes merely a device, so trying to clean this practice up by making the device a snippet of Scripture does not somehow sanctify this practice. Christians, I urge you to reject these unbiblical practices. Christians are meant to be a people who "walk by faith," (2 Cor 5:7) not a people who walk by tangible experiences. In fact, the the entire book of Hebrews is written as a warning against tangibility, as this was a critical time in the church's history during which many Jewish Christians were struggling with the idea of giving up the tangibility of the sacrificial system which had been a part of their culture for several thousand years. Is this not what mysticism encourages, though? A chasing after of mystical encounters with "God?" I put "God" in quotes here because, as a former mystic, I can assure those who engage in mysticism that this is not the way we are to enter into God's presence. Those who engage in mysticism will encounter something of a spiritual nature. Only, it will not the God of the Bible.

"And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." (2 Cor. 11:14)

I'm going to circle back to the Reformation here, and do a little history lesson. The Reformation came about when God providentially raised up brave men who were willing to fight for the truth, and point people back to God's Word instead of the fallible, human priests of the Roman Catholic church. The Roman Catholic church had had a spiritual stranglehold on the world for centuries, but through the providential invention of the printing press, and men like Martin Luther, John Huss, John Wycliff, etc., the tiny spark lit by Martin Luther's 95 Theses, a document exposing the unbiblical nature of Roman Catholic teaching, became a flame that tore through Europe and England, and eventually impacted the entire world. Men and women were now reading God's Word - truth - for themselves, not waiting for it to be told to them by priests.

Thus, the motto of the Reformation became Post Tenebras Lux (translated, After the Darkness, Light). This motto meant that truth (light) was now piercing a dark world that had been taken captive to mysticism and tradition....for lack of having access to the Bible.

And yet, with this willful embracing of mysticism in the church today, I sometimes think this generation's motto ought to be Post Lux Tenebram (After the Light, Darkness). By rejecting Sola Scriptura and embracing mysticism, the church today seems to be going back to the Middle Ages in which, instead of not knowing God's Word because it's not available to them (as was the issue during the Middle Ages), they now do not know God's Word because they are rejecting it in favor of mystical experiences. And pastors like Tim Keller are leading the way.

 Additional Resources 

Ignatius of Loyola, an Examination of His Teachings (Pastor Gary Gilley)

What Is Mysticism? (Sola Sisters)

Mysticism: Spiritual Crack (Sola Sisters)

Catholic Mysticism Infused Into Our Society (Berean Beacon)

Why the Reformation Was Important (Sola Sisters)

After The Darkness, Light (Post Tenebras Lux) (Sola Sisters)

Biblically Explaining The Heresy of Catholicism (Dr. John MacArthur)

A Chart With Christian/Catholic Views Side-By-Side (Berean Beacon)

Testimony of a Former Roman Catholic Priest....From Darkness to Light (Berean Beacon)

Far From Rome Near To God (Amazon)

On The "Faith" of Mother Teresa: John Ortberg Strikes Out (Sola Sisters)

The Myth of Mother Teresa (Challies)

Mother Teresa A Lost Soul (Berean Beacon)

Mother Teresa in Her Own Words (Sola Sisters)

CNN Reports That Mother Teresa Underwent Exorcism (CNN Archives)

BBC Reports About Exorcism Performed on Mother Teresa (BBC Archives)

Tim Keller and the Problems with Ignatius of Loyola

Posted by Christine Pack

"The best things that have been written, almost, are by Catholics during the counter Reformation: Ignatius of Loyola, St. Francis de Sales, John of the Cross, St. Theresa of Ávila.....great stuff." (Tim Keller)

Pastor Tim Keller

In a recent post, we documented that Tim Keller, a Presbyterian-PCA pastor and a leader of The Gospel Coalition, had given a talk in which he pointed his followers to the teachings of Ignatius of Loyola. In this post, we will be documenting more specifically the problems with Ignatius of Loyola. Our position is that, in today's church, the sad fact is that many Christians are not very discerning about what is biblical or not biblical, what is true and not true, and will often default to simply trusting their pastors to give them sound teaching and good book recommendations. Christian brothers and sisters, we should respect our Bible-teaching pastors, but at the same time, we are not off the hook for being discerning about any and every teaching that is recommended to us.

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8) 

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17:11)

And so why, exactly, might it be a bad thing for an evangelical pastor like Tim Keller to give a positive recommendation of Ignatius of Loyola to his followers?  Because Ignatius of Loyola, a Roman Catholic and the founder of the Jesuit Society, wrote a book called Spiritual Exercises which was written as a counter-attack against the Protestant Reformation, and against which Ignatius was vehemently opposed. In short, Ignatius of Loyola poured his life's work into destroying the Protestant Reformation. So the fact that a Protestant pastor of some stature would recommend his work is almost incomprehensible to anyone with even a little bit of knowledge about church history. A few excerpts from Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises:

 2nd Rule 

"To praise confession to a priest" 

Our Response: The Bible tells us to "call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Matthew 23:9; and to "confess your sins one to another" (James 5:16)

 5th Rule  

"To praise vows of Religion, of obedience, of poverty, of chastity and of other perfections of supererogation."

Our Response: Supererogation means "a class of actions that go 'beyond the call of duty.' "  These kinds of actions are encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church for the purpose of promoting a (false) sense of righteousness and piety. As Christians, we know that our righteousness comes from Christ alone, and through any works of our own. ("Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the Cross I cling.")  (1 Corinthians 1:30)

 6th Rule 

"To praise relics of the Saints, giving veneration to them and praying to the Saints."

Our Response: This practice is absolutely nowhere in the Bible. In fact, we regard this to be a Satanic device designed to get our eyes off of Christ and his finished work on the Cross. It it is only through the blood of Christ that we are able to pray to God.  Jesus alone is our mediator....not dead men and women have lived in ages past. We pray to God alone, and only God hears our prayers, and only He has the power to respond to our prayers. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

 8th Rule 

"To praise the ornaments and the buildings of churches; likewise images, and to venerate them according to what they represent."

Our Response: Same as for Rule 6.

 13th Rule 

"To be right in everything, we ought always to hold that the white which I see, is black, if the Hierarchical Church so decides it, believing that between Christ our Lord, the Bridegroom, and the Church, His Bride, there is the same Spirit which governs and directs us for the salvation of our souls. Because by the same Spirit and our Lord Who gave the ten Commandments, our holy Mother the Church is directed and governed."

Our Response: According to Ignatius, the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church are "more right" than Jesus/Scripture. But the Bible tells us that "In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) And the way that we know truth and Jesus himself is through the study of Scripture. We don't need a church to interpret God's word for us.

Our Final Thoughts: All Bible-believing Protestants should praise God for providentially orchestrating the Reformation and the printing press so that the God-breathed, inerrant Word of God could be known all over the world. God provided faithful men during the Reformation who reclaimed the faith from Roman Catholicism for us, and then God oversaw the development of the printing press so that all the world could read the Bible for themselves. What an amazing God! And yet, many pastors today are turning away from the blood-bought truths reclaimed during the Reformation for the heresies and man-made snares of Roman Catholicism. It's almost inconceivable that such a thing could even happen, and yet......

 Additional Resources 

Redeemer's Tim Keller Recommends Ignatius of Loyola?

Ignatius of Loyola, an Examination of His Teachings (Pastor Gary Gilley)

What Is Mysticism? (Sola Sisters)

Mysticism: Spiritual Crack (Sola Sisters)

Catholic Mysticism Infused Into Our Society (Berean Beacon)

Why the Reformation Was Important (Sola Sisters)

After The Darkness, Light (Post Tenebras Lux) (Sola Sisters)

Biblically Explaining The Heresy of Catholicism (Dr. John MacArthur)

A Chart With Christian/Catholic Views Side-By-Side (Berean Beacon)

Testimony of a Former Roman Catholic Priest....From Darkness to Light (Berean Beacon)

Far From Rome Near To God (Amazon)

On The "Faith" of Mother Teresa: John Ortberg Strikes Out (Sola Sisters)

The Myth of Mother Teresa (Challies)

Mother Teresa A Lost Soul (Berean Beacon)

Mother Teresa in Her Own Words (Sola Sisters)

CNN Reports That Mother Teresa Underwent Exorcism (CNN Archives)

BBC Reports About Exorcism Performed on Mother Teresa (BBC Archives)

The Reformation: Post Tenebras Lux (Sola Sisters)

Mystical Calvinists? (Sola Sisters)

Neo-Calvinist Contemplative Spirituality (Apprising)

Mysticism: A Counterfeit Holy Spirit

Posted by Christine Pack

An excellent article at More Books and Things discusses the startling trend of Calvinists beginning to embrace mystical practices such as contemplative prayer, taize, lectio divina, centering prayer, etc. Mystical Calvinists? An oxymoron, if ever there was one. Calvinists are supposed to be the solid ones, the ones holding the line on attacks against the Sola's.....right? Hello? Hello? Is this thing on? Okay, for anyone unclear on this:

Mysticism = the Opposite of Sola Scriptura

But in today's crazy, mixed-up world of postmodernism, syncretism and ecumenism, the Calvinists are letting down their guard. They're letting themselves be convinced that there is a type of mysticism that is not pagan, but is Christian, biblical and necessary for being close to God.

For those who don't know, Sola Scriptura was one of the rallying cries of the Reformation. It is the doctrine that the Bible is the only infallible and inerrant authority for Christian faith, and that Scripture alone contains all knowledge necessary for salvation and holiness.

Christian proponents of mysticism, however, are making the assertion that Scripture is not enough of a revelation from God. No, according to them, we've got to power down, get still and silent, and "hear" from God.

However, speaking as a former mystic/gnostic/hindu/buddhist/pagan, I can attest that the "powering down" thing that mystics do is not biblical. In Matthew, Jesus makes this cryptic statement: "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. ..." "Meaningless repetition" - does that not sound like mantra meditation?

As a New Age mystic in the 90's, I moved freely from religious system to religious system without difficulty. Why was I able to do this? Because syncretism is not just for Christians, silly rabbit! It was considered very tolerant and forward-thinking in the late 80's and 90's in New Age circles to take a little of this, a little of that, and craft for yourself a belief system that you could be comfortable with. But, no matter what religious system I found myself in, mysticism was always at the core.

Okay, let's think about why mysticism would be at the core of so many false religions. It must serve some purpose, after all. Well, my take on this, having participated in many different "flavors" of mysticism is that mysticism functions as a counterfeit Holy Spirit experience.

So - what is the true Holy Spirit and how does it function? All true Christians are indwelt with the Holy Spirit at the moment of conversion. When this happens, the Holy Spirit comes to live and dwell inside each newly born-again Christian until their time on this earth is over. The Holy Spirit has many functions, among them bringing conviction over sin and illuminating Scripture.

False religions do not have this indwelling of the Holy Spirit taking place within their adherents. So what's a Devil to do? Well, he'll just do what he's always done, and rather successfully at that: create some kind of counterfeit experience to mimic a real blessing given by God to true Christians.

So let's look at how mysticism functions. Practically speaking, how does Satan get people into a mystical state? Well, there are many different avenues he has given us for getting into this state. One of the most widely used practices is mantra meditation. This is done by using a repetitive device (repeating a word, focusing on breathing, singing or speaking a phrase over and over) until the mind is emptied and "parked." It's not driving, it's not in reverse, it's idling. It's parked. There are other ways, of course, such as staring at a candle or an image, drumming, whirling, dancing and taking mind-altering drugs. But for our purposes here, we're going to be looking mainly at mantra meditation, as this is what is flowing unchecked into once-solid churches.

In this meditative state, a person is still awake and somewhat aware but one's God-given boundaries are down. So what happens to a person in this state? Mantra meditation is so very seductive because it generates a very powerful, seemingly supernatural experience that can make one feel as if they are actually encountering "God." The first meditation I ever did at age 20 left me utterly convinced that I had experienced the presence of God. In hindsight, I believe that this encounter truly was supernatural. The Bible tells us that Satan himself can masquerade as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14). So I ask you: would Satan be so bold as to actually pretend to be God? Of course he would. He's no gentleman. It's not like he would say to himself, "Well, that would be deceitful, I can't do that!" More like this: "That's deceitful - awesome!! I wonder how many times I could trick people into thinking they're encountering God before somebody starts to catch on?" And Satan was more than happy to give me an "experience" if it would turn me away from the one true God.

Something else happened during my first meditation that I didn’t realize until years later. I came out of that FIRST meditation session with an altered worldview. Now think about that. In the space of 20 minutes (because that's all the time it takes to do a meditation), my worldview shifted dramatically. Prior to this meditation experience, as far as I was concerned all spiritual choices were still "on the table" for me: Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, paganism, gnosticism, etc. But after I had come out of that first meditation, the Christianity of the Bible was no longer on the table for me. Why? Because Christianity is the only religion with such unbending and exclusive truth claims. ("I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life....no-one comes to the Father but through Me.") And meditation counters this claim by generating an experience in which a person feels a profound sense of interconnectedness and oneness with all that "feels" counter to the exclusive truth claims of Christianity. It feels just like you have had an encounter with God, that you have been in the presence of the Divine...only, you haven't.

Now. Let's look at the logical conclusions that practicing mystics MUST come to if they are staying true to their belief system: If I can experience God through meditation, then the cross has no meaning. And Jesus was a liar when He said that He was the only way to God.

Unfortunately, many Christians today are very innocent and naive about the dangers of the occultic realm (which is precisely where mantra meditation leads) because they have not been warned about it by their pastors and they have had no direct personal experience with it (and in this postmodern age, direct personal experience seems to trump everything). Yet, instead of (1) following the clear mandate of scripture on this and (2) listening to those of us who have had direct personal experience with the occult and who attempt to warn about how dangerous it is, many Christians today blindly follow their leaders into any and every new teaching (contemplative prayer, lectio divina, breath prayers, Jesus prayer, etc.). And those who sound the alarm are labeled as narrow-minded, intolerant, Pharisaical, and judgmental....not by the world, but by their fellow Christians!

Also, among professing Christians there is almost an attitude of, "Hey, I can't be deceived, I'm a Christian!" As if somehow just being a Christian renders one "deceit proof." But if this were true, then Jesus would not have given warning after warning for us to vigilantly guard against false teachers and false doctrine, and to take care that no one deceive us.

Christian mysticism is being taught in many seminaries today, including but not limited to the institutions listed below:

Belmont
Dallas Theological Seminary
Bethel University
Fuller Theological Seminary
Biola University
Moody Bible Institute
Wheaton College
John Brown University

Popular Christian authors whose writings fill the shelves in Christian bookstores promote mysticism. Some of the most well-known authors are listed below:

Rick Warren
Rob Bell
Brian McLaren
Doug Pagitt
Shane Claiborne
Tony Jones
Dallas Willard
Richard Foster
Dan Kimball
Donald Miller
Erwin McManus
Brennan Manning
Laurie Beth Jones
Phyllis Tickle
Ruth Haley Barton
Tony Campolo

Christian mystical practices come in many different guises, including, but not limited to:

Spiritual Formation
Spiritual Disciplines
Ancient Future
Taize
Centering Prayer
Lectio Divina
Jesus Prayer
Contemplative Prayer
Contemplative Spirituality
Labyrinth
Walk To Emmaus
The Silence

Promoters of Christian mysticism today say "Embrace the silence!" The Bible says, Test the spirits and flee from deception (I John 4:1), hold fast to what is true (1 Thess. 5:21) and don't assume immunity from deception (Matthew 24).


 Additional Resources 

Fighting For The Faith Interview on Mysticism

John MacArthur on Spiritual Formation and Biblical Sanctification

What Is Mysticism?

Mysticism: A Counterfeit Holy Spirit

Mysticism: Who Needs Crack?

The Dangers of Contemplative Prayer

What Is Mysticism? (5-Part Series by Dr. Gary Gilley) - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5

Mystical Youth Ministry

Biblical Silence vs. Mystical Silence

Contemplating Contemplative Prayer: Is It Really Prayer?

The Origin of Contemplative Prayer (Apprising)

Richard Foster - Celebration of Deception (CIC Article, Bob DeWaay)

The Dangers of Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Disciplines, A Critique of Dallas Willard and The Spirit of the Disciplines (CIC Article, Bob DeWaay)

Forgiveness Better Than Cheap Thrill of Mysticism

Reader Question: Mysticism is not primarily about practice. It is about insight. Practice or practices, techniques, disciplines are all secondary. They're pedagogical tactics, used because people won't see when you tell them 'see!'

The question is not whether we foolish humans think something is okay or not.....the question is what does the Bible say about such things?

Nowhere in the Bible do we have the instructions:

"If by plain teaching a man will not see the truth about God, then please attempt to reach him through whatever methods seem appropriate."

No, it never says that, and in fact, Paul rebuked the Colossians for chasing after empty, mystical visions after having laid hold of Christ:

"Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind." (Col 2:18)

The entire book of Hebrews also addresses this raging controversy of mysticism quite comprehensively.  Humans have constantly gone after the tangible, the substantive in religious practices...because absent being in a real relationship with God, what has someone got? Bells and whistles.  Icons and incense.  Whipped up mystical states, whatever the vehicle might be: whether it is in the privacy of one's own room repeating a mantra to empty the mind, or in a concert hall swaying to throbbing, hypnotic music, repeating choruses over and over and thereby achieving the same mind-emptied state.

But as Christians, we have something far better than whipped-up mystical experiences: we have God's Word.  Astonishing that such a thing could even exist, and astonishing that access to the mind of God is given to such as us.

Reader Question: "If man doesn't find God in his soul, 'totally depraved' as it may be, he won't find it anywhere."

This is the same argument that I pleaded for a number of years with my own father when he was witnessing to me and trying to help me see that my mystical experiences as a practicing Hindu were NOT from God, but were in fact, as stated above, whipped up mystical states (which is what the lost mind will resort to when it does not have God).  No, I was convinced I had found God in my own soul, no better or different than what my father was claiming as a Christian.

Here's the bottom line on that: if in fact it is true that a man can find God in his own soul, then what is the point of the Cross?  If I could get there as a Hindu, if mystical Jews can get there through Kabbalah, if Native American Indians can get there through Shamanism, then why the Cross?

I would submit to you that there is something even greater than whipped up mystical states demonically designed to comfort and lull the lost soul into thinking he knows God when in fact he is far from God......and that is forgiveness of sins.  After that, who needs the cheap crack high of a mystical state?

photo credit: Stig Nygaard via photo pin cc
photo credit: sashapo via photo pin cc

 Additional Resources 

Mysticism: A Counterfeit Holy Spirit

Roman Catholic Monastic Mysticism

Fighting For The Faith Interview on Mysticism

Mysticism: Spiritual Crack

Roman Catholic Mysticism and the Emergent Church Movement