An Open Letter of Repentance To All Whom I Have Taught or Endorsed The Teachings of Henry Blackaby or Beth Moore

Article by Amanda Bowers (Hears His Voice blog)

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. James 3:1

Dear Sisters in Christ,

It is with regret and repentance in my heart that I am sending this letter to you. As you know over the past four years I participated in leading and facilitating several Bible studies including specifically authors Beth Moore and Henry Blackaby. This was a great privilege and opportunity, and it was something I enjoyed greatly as I fellowshipped with each of you desired to grow together in the knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ by the study of His Word.

However, as it has pleased our Lord to reveal to me over the past six months and while I never intended to ever misuse the Word or take it out of context in any way so as to mislead or harm anyone, and while I am not saying that was the intent of the above teachers I mentioned, I have come to realize that my lack of full understanding of God’s Word, in particular with regard to the closure of the Canon of Scripture and also my irresponsibility in not fully evaluating the above teachers before agreeing to promote or endorse them by leading studies, it is quite possible that I have misled some of you. For this I sincerely ask your forgiveness and I repent. I have stepped down from teaching at this time as I desire to not take lightly the great privilege and honor it is to teach the Word of God and I recognize that I have much more to learn.

Now as to specifics for what I am referring to, it has come to my knowledge that the above teachers, while I have no intention of judging their hearts or motives, have misused God’s Word and/or aligned themselves up with others who have done so.

Regarding Beth Moore, through a series of circumstances this summer (you can read about it here), I became acquainted with a movement known as, “Spiritual Formation” and in this movement in particular I became aware of a type of prayer being promoted known as “Contemplative Prayer” (also goes by the title “listening prayer” and “centering prayer” also may hear the term “God’s whispers” or listening for that “still small voice”) This type of prayer is touted as being handed down to us by what are known as the “Desert Fathers” which is used to describe many of the monks and priests of the first centuries. While on the surface this prayer seems to be about contemplating our Lord as we pray which would be Biblical, it is in fact a prayer that endorses the notion that in order to really “connect with God’ one must “empty or quiet their minds of all thought” in order to “hear God speak to us”. Many of the proponents of Contemplative prayer go so far as to say that we should learn from those who practice this type of prayer in the eastern religions, such as Hindus and Zen Buddhists. Well, sadly, NO WHERE in Scripture are we ever taught to “empty our minds”. Sure, we are told to “Be still and know that I am God” which is the most popular verse of Scripture used to endorse this prayer, a careful study of Psalm 46:10 reveals that the psalmist is referring to our anxiety and not being anxious about our lives as God is in charge. This passage is not an instruction in prayer at all. In fact, if we study scripture we know that Jesus told us numerous times to be watchful in prayer because we have an enemy that seeks to destroy us. We are told to “renew our minds” by the Word of God, not to empty them.

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 4:2

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. Luke 12:37

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41

One of the leading proponents of Contemplative prayer is a man named Richard Foster. The most dangerous aspect of this teaching and the movement known as “Spiritual Formation” is that there is a blurring of lines between Christianity and other religions. In fact, Mr. Foster, makes no apologies on his ministry website, Renovare, he states the following:

“Renovaré is a nonprofit Christian organization headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, and active worldwide. We seek to resource, fuel, model, and advocate more intentional living and spiritual formation among Christians and those wanting a deeper connection with God. A foundational presence in the spiritual formation movement for over 20 years, Renovaré is Christian in commitment, ecumenical in breadth, and international in scope.

In his very popular book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster describes an experience of “contemplative prayer” in this way: 

“In your imagination allow your spiritual body, shining with light, to rise out of your physical body. Look back so that you can see yourself lying in the grass and reassure your body that you will return momentarily. Imagine your spiritual self, alive and vibrant, rising up through the clouds and into the stratosphere. . . Go deeper and deeper into outer space until there is nothing except the warm presence of the eternal Creator. Rest in His presence. Listen quietly, anticipating the unanticipated. Note carefully any instruction given. With time and experience you will be able to distinguish readily between mere human thought that may bubble up to the conscious mind and the True Spirit which inwardly moves upon the heart. (Foster: 27, 28)”

Sisters, that is NOT biblical prayer! That is called Astral Projection by the New Age movement.
I hope you notice right away that no one but Christians who have been born again by the Spirit can have a “deeper connection with God”. Mr. Foster is endorsing that ANYONE who desires a deeper connection with God can achieve this connection practicing the many “spiritual disciplines” he endorses which include “contemplative prayer” and other extra biblical means.

What does this have to do with Beth Moore? Ms. Moore participated in and endorsed contemplative prayer with Richard Foster in a 2006 video called “Be Still,” (and yes, I viewed it myself). She unashamedly endorsed contemplative prayer as a means by which we can hear God in our lives and have a deeper connection to God. She also quotes other contemplatives in many of her studies (including one I taught some of you called, “When Godly People Do Ungodly Things”), including Roman Catholic mystics Basil Pennington and Brennan Manning.

Here are some online references that speak more about Beth’s participation and endorsement in this unbiblical form of prayer.

A Word on Beth Moore 

Breaking Free From Beth Moore 

A Beth Moore Exposé

And here are articles explaining the dangers of mysticism, and why mysticism is unbiblical: 

What Is Mysticism? 

Are You Bowing To the Golden Calf of Mysticism?

I also highly recommend this video done by former Roman Catholic Priest Richard Bennett who was born again years ago and is warning people about this very type of teaching.

I can provide you much more evidence that Richard Foster who is a Quaker and sadly he is widely accepted as offering Christians much to learn regarding prayer, is not handling the Word of God correctly and in fact, promotes that ANYONE desiring a closer relationship with God can have it. ANYONE: regardless if they are Christian or not. (In fact, I began writing a blog to share what God has shown me over the past few months, and you are welcome to go there for more information.)

There is a dangerous movement coming into many evangelical churches and if I were to write to you all that I have learned this past six months, this letter would be even longer. But I am happy to share more with any of you who desire to know and I sincerely hope you will at least consider giving an ear to what I have to say as one who loves the Lord and loves you as my sisters. You can email me at jcdisciple07@gmail.com. I will send you as much material as you want documenting my concerns over Richard Foster and the endorsement of him by Beth Moore and others in the evangelical world. And again, I sincerely ask your forgiveness for my not being more cautious myself as to who I endorse or align myself with in teaching. We are told in the Word several times that when false teachers, as Foster is one, are discovered we are not to promote them, but to flee from their teaching and expose them. By endorsing him and being in his video, Beth Moore is lending a full endorsement to him.

Just so you know, I did contact Living Proof Ministries with my concerns, but received no reply. Several others online have indicated that she has been contacted and either has not contacted them back or has maintained that she stands behind her promotion and participation in the Be Still video of 2006.

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. Romans 16:17-18, my emphasis

I want to also thank a few of you who, during the time that I was leading “When Godly People Do Ungodly Things,” were alert that something wasn’t quite right and came to me about Beth Moore and her teachings. At that time my discernment skills were not as sharp as they should have been, but your questioning planted a seed that the Lord later used to deliver me from her bad teaching and I hope now to set that straight for you and any others who may have been led astray by me. Again, I am truly sorry.

Now, as to Mr. Blackaby, my concern with him is similar but hinges more on the endorsement that God is still speaking to us and giving us revelations today. Let me be clear here that, while I do not disagree that the Holy Spirit guides us by conviction of sin, bringing to our remembrance passages of Scripture that we have studied, and pointing always to Jesus, I do not believe that the prophetic gifts and visions are still occurring today, Scripture and church history has taught and confirmed via numerous trials over various heresies that these gifts were poured out during the days of the Apostles to verify they were from God and for the writing down of the canon of Scripture, but as the canon was closed, these charismatic gifts ceased. Again we are not taught in scripture to sit in silence and empty our minds in an attempt to “listen to God”

In his book, Hearing God’s Voice, Mr. Blackaby even states this,

“There is nothing more important in life than understanding when God is speaking to you. If you are disoriented to God’s voice, your life is dangerously vulnerable. The Bible indicates conclusively that God does speak to people and that he does guide them in his will. The problem of not hearing from God never lies with God. He does communicate his will. It is not a matter of us searching in vain for God’s hidden will. He readily reveals it to those who show themselves obedient to do it. If you do not hear God’s voice, could it be your heart is not ready to respond to what he says?”

This is pretty typical of Blackaby’s teaching. Indicating that if you don’t “hear God speaking to you” it is a problem with you and probably because you are sinning or unwilling to obey. Well, what if you have searched and confessed every sin you know to do so, and still don’t “hear” God? Who of us is ever completely free from sin? Why do we continue to seek to “hear God” when He has already given us a written revelation for our lives.

It was this teaching that tormented my soul, kept me paralyzed as to how to serve God many times, and caused a class system in thinking that some Christians are just more “holy” than others. Friends, this is simply NOT TRUE. Your heavenly Father loves You dearly and He has given you a closed cannon of Scripture to study and obey. We pray to God using words as He instructed in the Lord’s Prayer, then by the Holy Spirit, does answer our prayers and providentially does guide us, but He uses the Word to do so and He never instructs us that if we aren’t “hearing Him speak” it is because we aren’t righteous enough or haven’t learned the proper techniques to sit in silence and “hear Him”. 

Again, I reiterate, I am not at all saying that Ms. Moore or Mr. Blackaby are intentionally misleading folks any more than I was intentionally misleading you. I believe they have the best of intentions in their teaching, but the bottom line is we are instructed in scripture to test everything and to be Bereans and take it back to scripture to see if it is so.

The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. Acts 17:10-12

For some other references to help you understand my concerns over Mr. Blackaby I refer you here:

Experiencing God Book Review (Gary Gilley) 

Unbiblical Teachings on Prayer and Experiencing God (Bob DeWaay)

When Ms. Moore promotes contemplative prayer and silence which is akin to eastern mystical mediation and when Mr. Blackaby threatens Christians that if they aren’t “hearing God” it is because they don’t have a right relationship with God and haven’t rightly learned how to read the signs of circumstances, people, and random Bible reading, they both mislead Christians into a more mystical experiential driven walk with God rather than one built upon solid Bible understanding an Biblical decision making.

I offer a few more articles and videos at the end of this letter for you to read to understand more than I can express in this short letter. If you do not use the internet or have access, please contact me. I am happy to print out these articles and mail them to you. Essentially, this is an issue over what was termed by the Reformers of the protestant Reformation, Sola Scriptura. It means Scripture Alone. It was a fundamental issue that the Reformers stood upon when protesting the Roman Catholic Teaching that men need additional teaching and experiences outside of Scripture in order to fully know how to be saved, how to know Christ, and how to know what He wants for their lives. The Reformers staunchly defended the idea that Scripture is all that is necessary for faith and living. Basing this upon the Scriptures that tell us,

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3:16-17, my emphasis

I want to add that, historically, Baptists have been the ones to stand firmly against the charismatic false teachings that tried to enter the church. I really don’t know what is happening today, but many have sadly been led astray from this foundational truth and are compromising the Word by promoting eastern mysticism as a valuable tool for Christians.

Again, I want to say. I am NOT SAYING the Holy Spirit doesn’t lead us and guide us into God’s providential will. Not at all! In fact, I truly believe that God is Sovereign and nothing happens that isn’t according to His decree and Sovereign will. What I am saying, however, is that in our prayer life we are never taught to sit in silence to "summon" God to reveal to us through inner hunches His will for our lives. We are never taught that we can’t make decisions until we know what God is “saying to us” or “revealing” to us. God has already “revealed” His will for every believer in His written Word. The canon has been closed and all we need is to study it in context, obey what we are told which includes renewing our minds and not being conformed to this world, so that by this renewal of our mind and knowledge of the Word, as we go through our lives, the Holy Spirit will guide us and bring to our remembrance Scripture in order to enable us to make wise decisions. But to seek to “hear Him” in some mystical fashion, and worse, to threaten Christians that if they aren’t “experiencing God” in this manner it is likely because of sin or unwillingness to obey, is at best a misrepresentation of the correct way to pray, and at worse tormenting to the soul of a genuine believer longing to follow Christ.

I love you, dear sisters, and I hope you understand my heart is only to warn you and apologize for not being more discerning in the past. I recognize these are heavy topics and may take you completely by surprise. I only pray, that you will understand my heart is only desirous of honoring our Lord and His Word and in loving my sisters by not refraining to speak the truth in love.

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13

In His Name and For His Glory Alone,

Amanda Bowers

 Additional Resources 

Hello, My Name Is Amanda, and I Was a False Teacher

Just Do Something: How to Make a Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, etc.

 What is Contemplative prayer? 

http://youtu.be/3fOkxORTWHs

http://youtu.be/RaccrwYGOsA

 Who is Richard Foster and what is Spiritual formation? 

http://hearshisvoice.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/104/
http://hearshisvoice.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/114/
http://hearshisvoice.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/why-i-believe-richard-foster-is-a-false-teacher-reason-2-denies-total-depravity-and-salvation-by-grace-alone/
http://hearshisvoice.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/151/
http://cicministry.org/commentary/issue112.htm

Monvee: “You Don’t Just Become Holier...You Become “You-ier!” ”

"The Me I Want To Be" is a book and teaching program written by John Ortberg for Monvee.  Monvee, a program that bills itself as "the future of spiritual formation" is a product designed to help people "experience handcrafted spiritual growth," but which dangerously teaches and promotes occultic mantra meditation practices.  And sadly, it also encourages people to continue in narcissistic self-centeredness, with teaching like this:

"You don't just become holier...you become 'you-ier'!" 

Well, besides being a little cheesy, this nugget of man-made wisdom from Monvee is in direct opposition to what the Scripture tells us about the self, which is that:

We must die to self (1 Cor 15:31)

We must crucify the flesh (Gal 5:24)

We must decrease and Christ must increase (John 3:30)

Monvee promises an individualized self-evaluation for the purpose of crafting a "personalized Spiritual Formation plan" for each participant.  But really, by the time we truly come to Christ, aren't we just done with "self?" I know I was.  I was done with the navel-gazing, the constant fixation on my wants, my fears, my desires, my issues, my goals, my likes, my dislikes, my wounds, my plans, my dreams, my......well, you get the idea.  By the time God reached down and mercifully saved me, I was completely done with "me" - and that's saying a lot for someone as narcissistically self-absorbed as I was.

And is it just "me," or does anyone else notice anything strange about the cover of John Ortberg's book, supposedly a Christian book?  Well, we can all see a nice big ME, front and center, right?  But what (or should I say, Who?) is conspicuously absent from this book cover?  It's Christ....our Lord and Savior, who brought us a salvation so magnificent, so profound, that even the angels long to look into its mysteries (1 Peter 1:10-12).

Sadly, John Ortberg has brought us just another ear-tickling message designed to cater to our pampered, self-indulgent flesh.  I don't know about anyone else, but like one of my favorite bands (MercyMe), I'm weary of "self."  Go ahead, feel free to sing along - the lyrics are below.



"So Long, Self" - by MercyMe

Well if I come across a little bit distant / It's just because I am / Things just seem to feel a little bit different / You understand / Believe it or not but life is not apparently / About me anyways / But I have met the One who really is worthy / So let me say

So long self
Well it's been fun, but I have found somebody else
So long self
There's just no room for two
So you are gonna have to move
So long self
Don't take this wrong but you are wrong for me, farewell
Oh well, goodbye, don't cry
So long self

Stop right there because I know what you're thinking / But no we can't be friends / And even though I know your heart is breaking / This has to end / And come to think of it the blame for all of this / Simply falls on me / For wanting something more in life than all of this / Can't you see

Don't feel so bad  / There'll be better days  / Don't go away mad (but by all means) / Just go away, go away

 Additional Resources 

Monvee—The New Evangelicalism about Me: A Review of John Ortberg's The Me I Want to Be

Spiritual Growth? There's An App For That

Monvee: The New Evangelicalism About Me - A Review of John Ortberg's "The Me I Want To Be" 

Monvee: Mysticism For The Masses

On The "Faith" of Mother Teresa: John Ortberg Strikes Out

John Ortberg Quotes Thomas Merton

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)

Sola Experienca?

Posted by Christine Pack

Erik Raymond of the Ordinary Pastor blog has written an excellent article entitled Sola Experienca Is For Real, which challenges a rising tide of mysticism among professing Christian believers. From the article:

"We have a culture awash in a neo-gnosticism that gobbles up personal experience like samples at Costco. We cannot resist them. Then we have people everywhere telling their own stories and then interpreting them with authority. And of course we have a church that goes right along with it to reinforce sola experiencia to the thousands who attend each Sunday morning." 

"I was reading about the new movie to be released this weekend about the runaway bestseller, Heaven is for Real. In this book, as I’m sure you are aware, a 6-year-old boy reportedly went to heaven and then came back to tell us all about it. Our supernaturalist society gobbled up the book. The family is a professing Christian family from small-town Nebraska. I am sure they are nice and truly believe all of what they wrote and say. However, what they are doing is unwittingly contributing to the fog that reinforces the heart’s unsubmissiveness to God and his word."

The article can read in its entirety here.


 Additional Resources 

What Is Mysticism?

Mysticism: A Counterfeit Holy Spirit

Interview With A Former Mystic

Contemplative Prayer, Spiritual Formation and the Kundalini Effect 

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, 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)

Contemplative Monvee: Placing Experience Above Scripture

Christians and Making Decisions

Bestseller "Experiencing God" Misleading Christians With "Soft" Mysticism?

Posted by Christine Pack

Reverend Jack Hughes and Reverend Justin Peters recently gave an interview in which they discussed their concerns with bestseller Experiencing (by Henry Blackaby and Claude King). This is such an important topic because this book is HUGE - beyond huge, really - in evangelical circles. My sister has a theory that the soft mysticism as taught by Blackaby leads to the hardcore mysticism of Richard Foster, Dallas Willard and the Spiritual Disciplines so big in evangelicalism today. In other words, Blackaby's Experiencing God book has primed the pump, so to speak, in helping Christians become attuned to the idea that they should be "hearing from God." In fact, in this interview, Reverend Justin Peters makes the point that Blackaby goes so far as to say that if you are not hearing from God, then something is wrong with your Christian walk! This is terrible teaching for the Christian, and absolutely not true. But once Christians have become opened up to this idea that they can and should be hearing from God on a regular basis, then they will be all the more open to the techniques and practices offered up in the Spiritual Disciplines of the Spiritual Formation movement that is so popular today, and which will ensure some kind of spiritual experience. But please note that while the experiences achieved through these techniques will be spiritual in nature, the fact remains that the techniques themselves are pagan and occultic in origin, and are thus forbidden to Christians. And that means that God will not reveal himself to man through occultic means......therefore, any "spirit" encountered through these techniques will not be of God.

In fact, a general rule of thumb for the Christian is this: we don't need any techniques or tricks for getting to God. We already have access to God, knowing that we can go boldly before the throne of grace because of the shed blood of Jesus. We also are counseled by the book of Hebrews (and elsewhere) that we are a people who are to walk by faith, not by sight, and that we must guard against the human tendency to insist upon tangibility in our encounters with God.

 Additional Resources 

Unbiblical Teachings on Prayer and Experiencing God: How Mysticism Misleads Christians by Bob DeWaay

God's Will and Christian Liberty - Part 1 and Part 2

Pastor Gary Gilley Reviews Experiencing God - Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

Dan Kimball of the Emerging Church and Lectio Divina

by Ken Silva, Apprising.org

The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him. (Proverbs 18:17)

Things Aren’t As Simple As They May Appear

Apprising Ministries has been among those pioneering the mission filed of online apologetics and discernment ministry and it’s a well known fact that a major focus of mine has been the sinfully ecumenical neo-liberal cult of the Emergent Church aka the Emerging Church. 

In covering the EC I’ve been showing you, as well as carefully documenting, the really awful impact these rebels against the final authority of the Word of God are having upon the church visible through their postmodern version of Progressive Christian theology—a Liberalism 2.0—often referred to as “big tent” Emergence Christianity.

One of those involved with the EC, right from very early on, would be Dan Kimball, author of the book The Emerging Church. You may recall that I wrote a piece concerning Kimball last February called Curious Associations Ed Stetzer, Dan Kimball, And Tim Keller MissionSHIFT where I pointed you to this rather odd association of alleged Reformed men with Kimball. I also told you that I have spoken to him numerous times over a period of five years via email and by phone.

However, I ceased doing so because each time Kimball had asked me to keep any of the details off the record, which really doesn’t help at all; for you see, when one is a teacher in the public arena like Dan Kimball, via church conferences and books etc., then their beliefs and teachings are there for all to see. The problem which then arises is when one later says privately that they might believe other than their public record would indicate, then they themselves are introducing confusion. Recently Dan Kimball gave an interview, as you can see in Dan Kimball On The Record; some of which he chose to use to take some swipes at those of us in this line of ministry that he referred to as “watchdog discernment ministry.”

As I told you in Emerging Church Leader Dan Kimball On “Discernment Ministries”, he would also go on to writeA call for Christian discernment web sites to lovingly discern each other where this well known spokesman within the youth ministry sector EC would opine “a couple things” he “wanted to express” because:

someone I know has been hurt from a recent series of inaccurate things reported on Christian “discernment” web sites and in the comments on those web sites. In fact, many people get hurt from these web sites all the time. So often from misrepresentation and those posting not having facts correct about people… It is far too easy for people to make judgments, so incredibly often it is by those who have not even read the books by the very authors they judge. Or taken the time to look at the accuracy of web sites who may quote a sentence or two but never look at the context it was written from.  

I think that some (not all, but several) of these Christian discernment web sites and the people who comment on them and follow them don’t take these words of Jesus seriously [refers to John 7:24]. They judge by mere appearance. Not just the people who run the web sites, but also the people who make comments on them or link to them etc. They judge by appearance. They judge by guilt-by-association. They judge by taking sentences out of context to build a case for what they already pre-believe to prove their point. Almost cult-like actually, in how things can be twisted to make a point. (Online source)

Yeah, I can see here we can be thankful that Dan Kimball himself was above making any “judgements” about “several” anonymous “cult-like” Christian ”discernment web sites,” which he just knows “don’t take [the] words of Jesus seriously,” who “have not read” any books they write about, and simply “build a case for what they already pre-believe.” Kimball then went on to state:

I just think it is time for Christian discernment web sites to turn their focus on each other for a while. Like they do for “false teachers” in examining them, maybe they need to look out for “false discerners”. Figure out which ones are credible and which ones aren’t. Discernment web sites need to be discerning each other. I wish they would develop some sort of screening system or a code of discernment tools to hold each other accountable to that. Use your discerning skills and truly discern each other for a change to weed out the false discerners from the true discerners. (Online source)

To which I replied to him in the combox of his post: 

“Use your discerning skills and truly discern each other for a change.” Hmm, that sounds like it would also apply to leaders within the Emerging/ent Church as well, no?
(Online source)

Unfortunately, in a fashion quite typical of leaders within the Emerging Church, Kimball responds ignoring the substance of my comment: 

Hi Ken!

Thanks for commenting! Yes, we should be discerning what we teach constantly through the lens of Scripture. Absolutely!

And with discernment web sites they should be doing that all the more since that is 100% of what they do and focus on. I believe so much of the poorly done discerning would be cleaned up if discernment web sites held each other accountable and screened each other and checked the accuracy of what they report as they do with those they discern in the church world.

Thanks again for the comment! Hope all is well! (Online source)

So I had to spell it out for him: 

Dan,

“I believe so much of the poorly done discerning would be cleaned up if discernment web sites held each other accountable and screened each other and checked the accuracy of what they report as they do with those they discern in the church world.”

I know what you mean; so much of the poorly done teaching would be cleaned up if Emerging Church web sites held each other accountable and screened each other and checked the accuracy of what they teach by Scripture as they do with those “fundamentalists” in the church world they so love to criticize.

I’m just sayin’. Thanks again for the the chance to comment! Hope all is well too!
(Online source)

Before One Begins To Teach They Should First Know What They’re Talking About

In other words, what’s sauce for the emerging goose is sauce for the discerning gander; if Dan Kimball doesn’t see a need for leaders within the Emerging Church to hold each other accountable and check their accuracy, then who in the world is he to pass judgment upon some anonymous so-called discernment websites that he’s apparently lumped all together? Kimball also trots out a favorite Emergent Church contrived complaint: “They judge by taking sentences out of context to build a case for what they already pre-believe to prove their point.” Right; yeah, because these guys apparently are above criticism, then it’s obvious that “they,” whomever they may be, must be blah, blah, blah.

Well, using Lectio Divina as an example, I’m about to show you that it’s Dan Kimball who is the one that’s causing the confusion; not discernment people, because his writings concerning it never gave any indication that he was merely reading the Bible as Lectio Divina. Kimball tells us in that aforementioned interview:

I was with about six or seven people once in Colorado, and someone said, “All right, we’re going to do Lectio Divina”; and they opened up to a passage in Scripture—I think it might have been the Psalms, I’m trying to remember, and they, you know, it was like “all right.” And I’d never heard of it before, but then that’s what it was called; sit around in a circle and someone just starts, y’know, and they’ll like open up the Bible and they read a section—I’m opening up my Bible right now—and they read, say, “Psalm” and it was “The Lord lives. Praise be to my rock. Exalted be God my savior.” That’s Psalm 18:46.

And then, they’d pause for a moment just like that and they’d say, “The Lord lives. Praise be to my rock. Exalted be God my savior.” An’ I think they read two or three verses and then w-went around the circle and I’m like, “You know that was refreshing!” We didn’t, you know, there was no mystical chanting, of like, losing your mind—it was—you’re reading a Bible verse, three or four times, and it was—it was actually—and what Irealized was it was just you were calming down for a moment, in the rush of meetings, and stuff that you were about to go into; and I’m like, “That was, I loved reading Scripture.” It was not the “emptying of mind” or’s going into some weird, meditative state of, you know, whatever. It was reading a Bible verse three or four ti[mes]—what the heck was wrong with that?

What’s wrong with that would be: This isn’t even Lectio Divina in the first place. The fact is, Dan Kimball is the one who writes promoting Lectio Divina, and then with no disclaimer in his teachings, he turns around and redefines what it is. Therefore, Kimball is the one who is taking things out of context, and not discernment people criticizing this practice of Counter Reformation spirituality, which I pointed out in Spread Of Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism: Lectio Divina most certainly does involve Contemplative/Centering Prayer (CCP)—meditation in an altered state of consciousness—the main vehicle of CSM aka “silence.” You see, this practice of antibiblical ascetism—and all the so-called spritual disciplines—would flower in the monastic traditions of apostate Roman Catholicism; i.e. this contributed to why the Lord would send His Reformers in the first place to bring us back to His Word.

Protestants adhering to sola Scriptura ala Reformation theology 1) don’t get to redefine practices that originated within Roman Catholicism, and 2) they would not even use these practices because they negate sola Scriptura in favor of sola Feelings-a. The tragic truth is, the Emerging Church was a Trojan Horse which unloaded corruptContemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM) ala Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster—and his spiritual twin Dallas Willard—within the mainstream of evangelicalism. It’s also beyond question that this CSM—rooted as it is in the Counter Reformation (hello!) spirituality of apostate Roman Catholicism—masquerading as spurious Spiritual Formation—was planted within the EC as a key core doctrine right from its inception; and when evanjellyfish embraced the EC it began moving away in earnest from the Biblical theology of the Reformation.

Men like Dan Kimball have been assisting this slide into apostasy e.g. with his recommending Lectio Divina as in the following: 

We have neglected so many of the disciplines of the historical church, including weekly fasting, practicing the silence [ala Desert Fathers], and lectio divina.[1]

As well as this:

In Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican churches, you’ll find a well-developed calendar and more set pattern of worship. In many American branches of the church, however, liturgical practices were removed and forgotten a long time ago. Yet among emerging generations there is a desire to embrace Christianity’s ancient forms of worship, which includes liturgy.

In the book Soul Shaper, Tony Jones explains a lot of ancient spiritual disciplines and shows how they can be attractive ways of worship for emerging generations. Lectio Divina, which is the practice of repeatedly meditating and praying through a passage of Scripture, and many other spiritual exercises are being reintroduced in emerging worship gatherings.

There is also a growing practice in emerging worship to focus on the Christian calendar, which is organized around two major seasons of sacred time: Advent. Christmas, and Epiphany; and Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost. Churches that have used liturgy for some time are breathing new life into their “routine” practices. Other emerging worship gatherings are revising ancient practices.

Then the below, which comes from an article by Kimball that ran in Ministry Toolbox at Pastors.com of fellow Druckerite, the Purpose Driven Pope Rick Warren. In this piece called Emerging worship: Moving beyond only preaching and singing Kimball explains:

(Online source)

Ok, now Dan Kimball is claiming he that he apparently doesn’t understand what actual Lectio Divina is, but this really doesn’t help his case at all because he’s the one who just said we need to: “Take time to learn the history of various expressions of worship.” So, did Dan not even take his own advice then? I mean, as I showed you previously in Spread Of Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism: Lectio Divina, under “Helpful Books” Kimball himself recommends the below from Tony Jones, progressive/liberal “theologian in residence” at the church of his equally heretical quasi-universalist pastor Doug Pagitt. You probably know that both are part of the unholy trinity in the Emergent Church along with Living Spiritual Teacher and Emerging Church guru Brian McLaren:

And when we read posts like this from Dan Kimball, even though he makes claims to the contrary, it’s a bit hard to believe that he didn’t know what his friends—whom he’d known for at least eight years or so—were teaching.

O but Dan Kimball doesn’t know what those heretics teach, believe, and confess. Well, be that as it may, underVia Contemplativa: Contemplative Approaches To Spirituality in the book Kimball has just recommended, his own friend (then at least) Tony Jones informs us that what Dan Kimball calls “a contemplative praying of the Scriptures” above was “cemented” into “Western monasticism” by “St. Benedict (c.480-c.550).”[3] In his book, which Dan Kimball wanted us to know is so “helpful,” Jones continues on the very next page to teach:

Lectio divina was articulated further by Guigo II (c.1117-c.1198, the ninth prior of the Grand Chartreuse, a Carthusian order in France. In his book Scala Claustralium (The Ladder of Monastics), Guigo writes:

One day I was engaged in physical work with my hands and I began to think about the spiritual tasks we humans have. While I was thinking, four spiritual steps came to mind: reading (lectio), meditation (meditatio), prayer (oratio), and contemplation (contemplatio). This is the ladder of monastics by which they are lifted up frtom the earth into heaven.. There are only a few distinct steps, but the distance covered is beyond measure and belief since the lower part is fixed on the earth and its top passes through the clouds to lay bare the secrets of heaven [Casey 59]

These four steps have been foundational in the practice of the lectio divina ever since.[4]

Now I’d be absolutely fascinated to see how Dan Kimball can explain how I’ve taken any of this out of context in order to fit some preconceived ideas I might have. I happen to be a former Roman Catholic and it’s an indisputable fact that Lectio Divina involves those four steps, which does also include the transcendental meditation-lite in an altered state of consciousness known as Contemplative/Centering Prayer. This is confirmed by no less an authority than the late Roman Catholic monk and supposed “Spiritual Master” Basil Pennington, a close friend of revered CSM guru Thomas Merton, who explains:

For the past twenty-five years we have been sharing Centering Prayer in all parts of the world. In all our prayer workshops we have always included lectio. For the monk and nun, lectio and contemplation, Centering Prayer, are all part of one reality.[5]

Finally, we consider Benedict XVI Promotes Biblical Meditation: Ancient Practice Could Bring Renewal to Church where we’re told that this spiritual Benedict Arnold, who will have forgotten more about Lectio Divina than Dan Kimball would ever know, instructs us he “believes that the recovery” of “the practice of lectio divina,” is going to usher in some kind of a ”new spiritual springtime for the Church.” Well, he must be just ecstatic as he watches foolish pretending to be Protestants doing just that as they follow other lost sheep coming home to antichrists of Rome. Pope Benedict continues:

“If this practice is promoted with efficacy, I am convinced that it will produce a new spiritual springtime in the Church,” stated the Holy Father. To promote “lectio divina,” Benedict XVI suggested “new methods, attentively pondered, adapted to the times.”…”lectio divina” became a mainstay of religious life. The monastic rules of Sts. Pacomius, Augustine, Basil and Benedict made the practice of diving reading, together with manual work and participation in liturgical life, the triple base of monastic life.

The systematization of “lectio divina” in four steps dates back to the 12th century, explained the Holy Father. Around 1150, Guido, a Carthusian monk, wrote a book entitled “The Monks’ Ladder,” where “he set out the theory of the four rungs: reading, meditation, prayer and contemplation,” according to the Pope. “This is the ladder by which the monks ascend from earth to heaven.” (Online source)

So, as you can plainly see, when someone on a discernment website—whatever that means—says that Dan Kimball promotes practices of Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism it’s precisely because they have done their homework and followed Kimball’s own advice to learn the history of various expressions of worship. The fact is, words mean what they’ve been defined by dictionaries and encyclopedias have defined them, or we lose any ability to even communicate. In the end, it’s been proven now that it is Dan Kimball himself who is out of context here concerning Lectio Divina, and not someone like me.

________________________________________________________________________________
Endnotes: 

[1] Dan Kimball, The Emerging Church: Vintage Christianity for New Generations [Grand Rapids: Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2003], 223.

[2] Dan Kimball, Emerging Worship: Creating Worship Gatherings for New Generations [Grand Rapids: Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2004], 93.

[3] Tony Jones, Soul Shaper: Exploring spirituality and contemplative practices in youth ministry [Grand Rapids: Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2003], 037. 

[4] Ibid., 038.

[5] M. Basil Pennington, Lectio Divina: Renewing the Ancient Practice of Praying the Scriptures [New York: Crossroad Publishing, 1998], ix.