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

Posted by Christine Pack

Thank you to Linda Harvey of Mission America for recently having me on her radio program.  I briefly gave my testimony and told why we write the Sola Sisters blog. We also discussed spiritual disciplines, and how these Christian sounding practices are not Christian....and are covertly bringing Roman Catholic monastic mysticism and eastern meditation practices into churches today.


 Additional Resources 

Mission America

The Dangers of Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Disciplines

Unbiblical Teachings on Prayer, Mysticism and "Experiencing God"

The False Claims and Practices of "Christian Mystics"

Redeemer Elder Proves He Is Not Equipped to Fulfill Role of Elder

Tim Keller's Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City continues its surprising slide into mysticism with a new quote from one its elders.  We've previously documented several instances of new age mantra meditation practices being promoted or even taught at Redeemer, including a recent class offering called "The Way of the Monk," which taught attendees how to practice Roman Catholic monastic mysticism.  When questioned about these practices, one elder responded:

"We at Redeemer are focused entirely as a church on our audience in the Center City. Our conviction is that this audience can discern among the incredible variety of sources for their spirituality and reason what is good and what is not. We believe we can draw on and refer to sources that may be outside of the core beliefs of orthodox Christianity historically and our audience can benefit from it without getting sucked into any heretical parts of that source. We believe this for the non-Christians that attend, who are completely contending within the world with all of the diverse input they might be getting, as well as for the believers." (Elder at Redeemer Presbyterian, NYC)

In making this statement, this elder at Redeemer has abdicated his right to serve as an elder.

"An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it." (Titus 1:6-9, my emphasis)

We need our elders to guard the flocks entrusted to them, "holding firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught."  This means that elders must not allow sound teachings mixed with error to be brought into their churches, but should "refute those who oppose" sound doctrine.

Also, contrast this elder's statement to the life of the Apostle Paul, who basically spent his entire ministry calling out and refuting false teaching:

- Gnosticism (Ephesians)

- Secular philosophy, eastern mysticism & strict ascetism (Colossians)

- Jewish legalism (Galatians)

- Fanaticism (Thessalonians)

- Those denying the resurrection of Jesus (Corinthians)

What we need today are sober-minded, Godly men who take seriously their charge before God to guard their flocks, to bar the door, if need be, and say, "You will not bring false teaching into this church!" Where are such men?


 Additional Resources 

The Need for Elders Who Guard Their Flocks

Does Tim Keller Endorse New Age Teachers?

"The Way of the Monk" at Redeemer

Testimony of a Former Roman Catholic Priest

 Additional Resources 

Far From Rome, Near to God

The Berean Beacon 

A Chart With Christian/Catholic Views Side-By-Side (courtesy of former Roman Catholic priest Richard Bennett)

Why Is Rick Warren Quoting Universalist Henri Nouwen?

"For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough." (2 Cor 11:4)

Roman Catholic priest Henri Nouwen, who was deeply influenced by mystic Thomas Merton, taught what the Bible warns us about: "another Jesus."  This false "Jesus" that Nouwen taught was a Jesus of universal reconciliation.  But for some reason, Nouwen has become the darling of the Emergent Church movement as well as many in the Evangelical camp.  Who were these men (Henri Nouwen and Thomas Merton), in their own words?

"Today I personally believe that while Jesus came to open the door to God's house, all human beings can walk through that door, whether they know about Jesus or not. Today I see it as my call to help every person claim his or her own way to God." (Sabbatical Journey, Henri Nouwen's last book, my emphasis) 

"The God who dwells in our inner sanctuary is the same as the one who dwells in the inner sanctuary of each human being." (Here and Now, by Henri Nouwen)

 "I am going to become the best Buddhist I can." (Thomas Merton, Hiroshima Day Speech)

Henri Nouwen's teaching became part of something called the "Wider Mercy Doctrine" that has become very widely accepted in the world today, especially among missionaries.  The Wider Mercy Doctrine is a teaching that has been the cornerstone of Universalist belief for centuries.  It teaches that people can be saved whether or not they know about Jesus.  But this is in direct contradiction to Scripture which clearly teaches an exclusive, narrow gospel:

"Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

So why is Saddleback pastor Rick Warren quoting Henri Nouwen and pointing the sheep of his flock toward an apostate Universalist?

 Additional Resources 

Testimony of a Former Roman Catholic Priest

Roman Catholic Mysticism and the Emergent Church Movement

How Not to Speak of Christ and His Work

Henri Nouwen and Buddhism

Rick Warren Wants Us To Learn From Henri Nouwen

The Wider Mercy Doctrine

The Need for Elders Who Guard Their Flock

Mystics or Christians....But Not Both

“We may be mystics, or we may be Christians. We cannot be both. And the pretension of being both usually merely veils defection from Christianity. Mysticism baptized with the name of Christianity is not thereby made Christianity. A rose by any other name will smell as sweet. But it does not follow that whatever we choose to call a rose will possess the rose’s fragrance.”  - Benjamin B. Warfield (Read entire paper here)







 Additional Resources 

Roman Catholic Monastic Mysticism

Mysticism: A Counterfeit Holy Spirit

Fighting For The Faith Interview on Mysticism

Mysticism: Spiritual Crack

Roman Catholic Mysticism and the Emergent Church Movement

I'm Sorry, Glenn....It's Over.

Posted by Christine Pack

Dear Glenn,

This is a hard letter to write, because we've had some good times.  But I'm sorry, it's over between us.  And please believe me when I tell you this: it's not me, it's you.  You see, I haven't changed.  I'm still the same conservative gal, the one who sat around hoping that somehow, some way, this country would be set right again.  And along you came, with a little sparkle in your eye, so full of national pride, so distraught and earnest over what was happening to our country right under our noses.  Hegelian dialectic! Cloward-Piven! Fabian socialiasm! The third way!  And suddenly, I wasn't the only one running up the hill, vainly shouting these things into the wind....you were right there with me.  We were having such a good time.  I was telling everybody about you!

And okay, sure, I knew you were a Mormon.  But maybe, I said to myself, he's really a Christian.  Maybe he's one of those "cultural Mormons," a Mormon in name only, who doesn't even know about all that kooky Mormon theology.  After all, he talks about God and Jesus and salvation and atonement....  Looking back, I'm so ashamed of myself:  I should have known better!  After all, a large part of what I do is write about cults, and how they use the same terminology that Christians do, only with redefined meanings.  Oh, how I wanted to believe.

"Bat Creek Stone"

But then, you changed.  It all started with the rock. You know what I'm talking about, Glenn.  It's no use getting all wide-eyed and coy with me, I'm onto you now. You brought out that rock, and exclaimed over its "Hebrew" inscription.  At the time I didn't know what you were talking about, but after a little digging, I discovered that this rock, known as the Bat Creek Stone, is believed by Mormons to be evidence of ties between ancient Israel and Native American Indians. And I discovered that the Mormon Bible teaches that America will become God's latter-day base of operations for His restored church. (3 Neph 21:4) With these findings, your zealous patriotism was taking on new meaning for me.

Suddenly, we had taken a strange turn.  I didn't want to be proselytized by someone who believed in Planet Kolob and spirit babies; I wanted the old Glenn back, the one with the blackboard, running back and forth between Cass Sunstein and Jim Wallis and Barack Obama, sweating and red-faced. You began to talk more about faith, and suddenly I could no longer pretend we were on the same page.  "Get back to God," you earnestly spoke into the camera. "Whatever that means for you, go back to your church, your synagogue, your mosque, your whatever."

Excuse me, but....."Whatever that means for you?" As in, however you want to approach God is fine by me, just so long as you have a tidy little moral code that keeps you out of trouble?  I couldn't believe it.  I was crushed! No longer could I pretend that you were somehow secretly a Christian who hadn't yet mustered up the courage to leave his cult.

And then came the 8/28 rally.  By that time, I couldn't even watch.  My heart was already broken.

And then it began to dawn on me: I think I've been played.  Not by you, Glenn.  But by the Progressive Left Wingers.  You see, all along, as your tide was rising, we Tea Partiers and conservatives were cackling about 2012, about "just wait!" and "oh boy, we'll show them!"  But the Progressives weren't concerned in the least.  Why was that?  Could it be that, on the rising swell of your popularity, they were envisioning the possibility of a Mitt Romney run.....and instead of being concerned, they already had it mapped out? Instead of quaking with fear over the handsome, articulate, former governor of Massachusetts, they were ready and waiting with a loooong list of questions about temple garments, Brother Lucifer, and baptism for the dead?   Maybe that's why they weren't worried about you or a possible Mitt Romney run....they were secretly rubbing their hands together with glee at the thought of "temple garments" being shown over and over again on CNN.

Oh dear, it's all starting to become clear to me.  The truth is, we don't believe the same things. Your Mormon "gospel" of moralism and good works and America-as-the-promised-land is the kind of false gospel that the Bible warns about.  And now I'm officially freaked out.  Of course, I'm still conservative and want what's best for the country, but the bottom line for me is God....not country.  Don't get me wrong. I love my country, and I'm heartbroken to see it sliding into socialism, but I'm sorry: God trumps country.

So Glenn, this is it, it's over.  Now, instead of pleading with my friends to tune in, I'm begging everyone to wake up and realize that, as nice and earnest as you are, you are not a Christian. And to pray for you. But I want you to know that I still wish you the best, even though you scare me now.  It's not me, Glenn.  It's you.

Sadly,

Sola Sisters

photo credit: david_shankbone via photo pin cc
photo credit: More Good Foundation via photopin cc

 Additional Resources 

Patriotism, Ecumenism and the Glenn Beck Movement

It's Official: Mormonism Is Crazier Than Scientology