Showing posts with label spiritual formation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spiritual formation. Show all posts
July 26, 2012
April 26, 2012
"A New Kind of Christianity"
CONFERENCE SEEKS TO NURTURE CHILDREN, YOUTH, IN "NEW KIND OF CHRISTIANITY"
Scheduled May 7-10, 2012, at Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., the Children, Youth and a New Kind of Christianity conference will bring leaders, ministers, volunteers, parents and students together for dialogue about the spiritual formation of children and youth in the "emergent" or "missional" church.
Nationally known presenters include progressive evangelical social activists like Brian McLaren, Tony Campolo and Jim Wallis alongside children's and youth ministry experts such as Ivy Beckwith, Joyce Bellous, Amy Dolan and Michael Novelli.
McLaren, author of books including A New Kind of Christianity, said in a promotional video that in his travels he has heard a recurring theme that new forms of ministry, worship and community taking root and growing around the world are not being transmitted effectively to children and youth.
Presented by Emergent Village, Wood Lake Books, Virginia Theological Seminary and Calvary Baptist Church, sponsors include the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Dave Csinos, chair of the conference planning committee, said that along with event sponsorship by the national CBF, the CBF of Virginia will sponsor an opening reception.
http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/6697/53/
[TBC: McLaren's purpose is to "reach" Christian youth with his ideas, which in practice deviates little from far-left politicians and is devoid of the hope of the gospel. For example, the speakers at this apostate event include Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and speaker's topics include: Ivy Beckwith, "Godspell, Footloose (the original) and a New Kind of Children and Youth Ministry"; Susan Burt, "Opening the World of Faith by Nurturing the Imaginative, Questioning Spirit"; Patricia Lyons, "Harry Potter, God and Youth: Using Fiction to Transform Young Readers into Young Theologians"; Dave McNeely, "A New Kind of Sexuality: Finding a Framework"; Melinda Melone, "Welcoming Rainbow Kids: Resources and Approaches for Working with Youth in the GLBTIQA (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Transexual, Intersex, Queer, Questioning, Ally) Community."]
Scheduled May 7-10, 2012, at Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., the Children, Youth and a New Kind of Christianity conference will bring leaders, ministers, volunteers, parents and students together for dialogue about the spiritual formation of children and youth in the "emergent" or "missional" church.
Nationally known presenters include progressive evangelical social activists like Brian McLaren, Tony Campolo and Jim Wallis alongside children's and youth ministry experts such as Ivy Beckwith, Joyce Bellous, Amy Dolan and Michael Novelli.
McLaren, author of books including A New Kind of Christianity, said in a promotional video that in his travels he has heard a recurring theme that new forms of ministry, worship and community taking root and growing around the world are not being transmitted effectively to children and youth.
Presented by Emergent Village, Wood Lake Books, Virginia Theological Seminary and Calvary Baptist Church, sponsors include the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Dave Csinos, chair of the conference planning committee, said that along with event sponsorship by the national CBF, the CBF of Virginia will sponsor an opening reception.
http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/6697/53/
[TBC: McLaren's purpose is to "reach" Christian youth with his ideas, which in practice deviates little from far-left politicians and is devoid of the hope of the gospel. For example, the speakers at this apostate event include Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and speaker's topics include: Ivy Beckwith, "Godspell, Footloose (the original) and a New Kind of Children and Youth Ministry"; Susan Burt, "Opening the World of Faith by Nurturing the Imaginative, Questioning Spirit"; Patricia Lyons, "Harry Potter, God and Youth: Using Fiction to Transform Young Readers into Young Theologians"; Dave McNeely, "A New Kind of Sexuality: Finding a Framework"; Melinda Melone, "Welcoming Rainbow Kids: Resources and Approaches for Working with Youth in the GLBTIQA (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Transexual, Intersex, Queer, Questioning, Ally) Community."]
July 27, 2011
Contemplative Prayer - Eastern Meditation "Christianized"
Keating, Kundalini and Contemplative Prayer
By Brian Flynn
The class began with a meditation exercise that we were to practice everyday when we awoke and again each evening. Elinor instructed us to sit with our feet firmly on the ground and to close our eyes. She then asked us to imagine roots or cords extending from the soles of our feet down into the earth. She said to imagine going deeper and deeper to the light, with the heat and power of the earth below us. Her words flowed from one to another and had an almost hypnotic effect on me:
Once the cords reach a certain point, attach the cords to that power. Bring that energy up those roots, up through the soles of your feet, up your legs, and allow them to attach to the base of your spine to the first Chakra. You are now grounded in earth’s energy.
I finally felt I was heading in the right direction and tapping into a world and an energy that would give guidance and insight. Excerpt from Running Against the Wind.
During my years as a New Age medium, grounding myself was one of the first steps required to prepare my mind before performing psychic readings. It was from this series of meditative steps that I was able to hear from my spirit guides. Who could have guessed that years later I would be warning Christians not to imitate this exact same practice?
After I was saved, many church leaders asked me if I would be willing to share my testimony and to offer an explanation of the New Age practices that I used to perform. At first I felt a little apprehensive because although I was involved in these practices personally, I actually knew very little about their origin. This led me to do extensive research on the movement I had left behind.
After several years of research on this topic, I was fortunate to have the chance to speak to Peter Jones who has authored many books on the occult. When I described the meditation process of what we called in class "running our energy" he explained that it was a form of a Kundalini meditation. I had never heard the word used to describe this practice before.
The Sanskrit word Kundalini means the curled one, and is also called Kundalini awakening or the awakening of the serpent. Practitioners describe it as a curled channel in the tailbone area. It can rise through the chakras (psychic centers situated along the spine from the tailbone to the top of the head), creating physical symptoms ranging from sensations of heat and tremors to involuntary laughing or crying, nausea, diarrhea or constipation, rigidity or limpness, and animal-like movements and sounds. [Emphasis added]
I considered myself fortunate to have never experienced the symptoms that are described above. However, I never knew the reason why until recently. My publisher, Lighthouse Trails Publishing, received a letter from a woman who before becoming a Christian was practicing Kundalini. After reading my book, she offered an interesting insight as to why I did not experience any of the negative manifestations of the Kundalini awakening:
First and most startling, when Brian and his wife went to the spiritual coach, to learn to channel, they did a type of grounding exercise which they called "running their energy." This running of the energy is what saved them from possibly having a neurological crisis. In other words, although the purpose of the class was nefarious, the technique was good! The technique was to keep them "grounded" while they were flying off into the empyrean (the highest heaven) to contact spirits, for their protection. Apparently it worked to this extent: although they became subject to spirit guides, they did not become sick.
People who practice kundalini in America often become sick. Because they are not grounded, for one thing, or if they are grounded, they push the exercise beyond where grounding can physically protect them. When I had my kundalini awakening, I was not grounded and was not taught what it was at all. So I became very sick.
I am not sure if my teacher knew that the grounding portion of the multiple steps to running our energy was to prevent the Kundalini effect or not. When I asked my teacher what were the origins of this practice she often danced around the question. She either did not know or refused to share that information. In either case, does it not seem odd that a spiritual practice whose purpose is to either bring harmony in one’s life or to feel closer to God would have a negative physical manifestation?
On a pro-contemplative spirituality web site, I came across the descriptions of those who had experienced the same effect while practicing contemplative prayer. Here is one example:
"I have been practicing Centering Prayer for 2 ½ years…. I began experiencing Kundalini-like symptoms three months after beginning the practice. They were quite intense at first. They have continued in various forms since then. Lately, I only experience them at the very beginning of prayer. I am not aware of any other moral manifestations. Father [Thomas] Keating advised me personally to ignore them if I could, and if they were too bothersome to “balance the energy” with physical exercise or a yoga practice."—Gary
Thomas Keating
Is the practice of kundalini and contemplative prayer the same? Father Thomas Keating, who has inspired many evangelical contemplatives like Henri Nouwen, Richard Foster, and Brennan Manning, wrote the foreword to Philip St. Romain's book, Kundalini Energy and Christian Spirituality. In the forward, Keating acknowledges that kundalini is the same as Christian contemplation. He states:
Since this energy [kundalini] is also at work today in numerous persons who are devoting themselves to contemplative prayer, this book is an important contribution to the renewal of the Christian contemplative tradition. It will be a great consolation to those who have experienced physical symptoms arising from the awakening of kundalini in the course of their spiritual journey ... Most spiritual disciplines world-wide insist on some kind of serious discipline before techniques of awakening kundalini are communicated. In Christian tradition ... the regular practice of the stages of Christian prayer ... contemplation are the essential disciplines...
Keating explains that the reason spiritual directors are needed is to help guide the Christian contemplative is because of the powerful and dangerous nature of kundalini. He says that these "spiritual directors" may need to consult with "Eastern teachers in order to get a fuller understanding."
The disciples of Jesus Christ did not call upon Eastern teachers to guide them when praying to our Lord. Nor is there any warning in the Bible cautioning us about negative physical manifestations when engaging in simple Christian prayer. For years, I have been telling my Christian brothers and sisters that contemplative prayer is an Eastern form of meditation. Finally, I have a contemplative who admits it to be so. And now that I know about Keating’s declaration that kundalini is the same as contemplative, Richard Foster’s statement makes more sense. In Foster’s book, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, he states:
I also want to give a word of precaution. In the silent contemplation of God we are entering deeply into the spiritual realm, and there is such a thing as a supernatural guidance that is not divine guidance. While the Bible does not give us a lot of information on the nature of the spiritual world, we do know … there are various orders of spiritual beings, and some of them are definitely not in cooperation with God and his way! … But for now I want to encourage you to learn and practice prayers of protection.… “All dark and evil spirits must now leave.”
I believe Foster made these comments because he was well aware that contemplative prayer could be dangerous because it is no different than kundalini. And yet in Celebration of Discipline (p. 13, 1978) he says “We should all without shame enroll in the school of contemplative prayer."
The unfortunate outcome is that both Thomas Keating and Richard Foster continue to endorse contemplative prayer and encourage others to engage in this un-biblical practice when they know good and well it can have detrimental effects.
How much more evidence do the leaders in our churches require before they repent of promoting this practice When Rick Warren stated in his first book, Purpose Driven Church that Foster’s spiritual formation was a wakeup call to the church, he gave the green light to millions to practice something that could potentially have long or permanent lasting damage on practitioners.
I pray fervently that my fellow Christians will return to the word of God for comfort and knowledge and that they will come to understand the true means of grace that our Heavenly Father has bestowed upon us. Please pray with me that this will come to pass.
Source
By Brian Flynn
The class began with a meditation exercise that we were to practice everyday when we awoke and again each evening. Elinor instructed us to sit with our feet firmly on the ground and to close our eyes. She then asked us to imagine roots or cords extending from the soles of our feet down into the earth. She said to imagine going deeper and deeper to the light, with the heat and power of the earth below us. Her words flowed from one to another and had an almost hypnotic effect on me:
Once the cords reach a certain point, attach the cords to that power. Bring that energy up those roots, up through the soles of your feet, up your legs, and allow them to attach to the base of your spine to the first Chakra. You are now grounded in earth’s energy.
I finally felt I was heading in the right direction and tapping into a world and an energy that would give guidance and insight. Excerpt from Running Against the Wind.
During my years as a New Age medium, grounding myself was one of the first steps required to prepare my mind before performing psychic readings. It was from this series of meditative steps that I was able to hear from my spirit guides. Who could have guessed that years later I would be warning Christians not to imitate this exact same practice?
After I was saved, many church leaders asked me if I would be willing to share my testimony and to offer an explanation of the New Age practices that I used to perform. At first I felt a little apprehensive because although I was involved in these practices personally, I actually knew very little about their origin. This led me to do extensive research on the movement I had left behind.
After several years of research on this topic, I was fortunate to have the chance to speak to Peter Jones who has authored many books on the occult. When I described the meditation process of what we called in class "running our energy" he explained that it was a form of a Kundalini meditation. I had never heard the word used to describe this practice before.
The Sanskrit word Kundalini means the curled one, and is also called Kundalini awakening or the awakening of the serpent. Practitioners describe it as a curled channel in the tailbone area. It can rise through the chakras (psychic centers situated along the spine from the tailbone to the top of the head), creating physical symptoms ranging from sensations of heat and tremors to involuntary laughing or crying, nausea, diarrhea or constipation, rigidity or limpness, and animal-like movements and sounds. [Emphasis added]
I considered myself fortunate to have never experienced the symptoms that are described above. However, I never knew the reason why until recently. My publisher, Lighthouse Trails Publishing, received a letter from a woman who before becoming a Christian was practicing Kundalini. After reading my book, she offered an interesting insight as to why I did not experience any of the negative manifestations of the Kundalini awakening:
First and most startling, when Brian and his wife went to the spiritual coach, to learn to channel, they did a type of grounding exercise which they called "running their energy." This running of the energy is what saved them from possibly having a neurological crisis. In other words, although the purpose of the class was nefarious, the technique was good! The technique was to keep them "grounded" while they were flying off into the empyrean (the highest heaven) to contact spirits, for their protection. Apparently it worked to this extent: although they became subject to spirit guides, they did not become sick.
People who practice kundalini in America often become sick. Because they are not grounded, for one thing, or if they are grounded, they push the exercise beyond where grounding can physically protect them. When I had my kundalini awakening, I was not grounded and was not taught what it was at all. So I became very sick.
I am not sure if my teacher knew that the grounding portion of the multiple steps to running our energy was to prevent the Kundalini effect or not. When I asked my teacher what were the origins of this practice she often danced around the question. She either did not know or refused to share that information. In either case, does it not seem odd that a spiritual practice whose purpose is to either bring harmony in one’s life or to feel closer to God would have a negative physical manifestation?
On a pro-contemplative spirituality web site, I came across the descriptions of those who had experienced the same effect while practicing contemplative prayer. Here is one example:
"I have been practicing Centering Prayer for 2 ½ years…. I began experiencing Kundalini-like symptoms three months after beginning the practice. They were quite intense at first. They have continued in various forms since then. Lately, I only experience them at the very beginning of prayer. I am not aware of any other moral manifestations. Father [Thomas] Keating advised me personally to ignore them if I could, and if they were too bothersome to “balance the energy” with physical exercise or a yoga practice."—Gary
Thomas Keating
Is the practice of kundalini and contemplative prayer the same? Father Thomas Keating, who has inspired many evangelical contemplatives like Henri Nouwen, Richard Foster, and Brennan Manning, wrote the foreword to Philip St. Romain's book, Kundalini Energy and Christian Spirituality. In the forward, Keating acknowledges that kundalini is the same as Christian contemplation. He states:
Since this energy [kundalini] is also at work today in numerous persons who are devoting themselves to contemplative prayer, this book is an important contribution to the renewal of the Christian contemplative tradition. It will be a great consolation to those who have experienced physical symptoms arising from the awakening of kundalini in the course of their spiritual journey ... Most spiritual disciplines world-wide insist on some kind of serious discipline before techniques of awakening kundalini are communicated. In Christian tradition ... the regular practice of the stages of Christian prayer ... contemplation are the essential disciplines...
Keating explains that the reason spiritual directors are needed is to help guide the Christian contemplative is because of the powerful and dangerous nature of kundalini. He says that these "spiritual directors" may need to consult with "Eastern teachers in order to get a fuller understanding."
The disciples of Jesus Christ did not call upon Eastern teachers to guide them when praying to our Lord. Nor is there any warning in the Bible cautioning us about negative physical manifestations when engaging in simple Christian prayer. For years, I have been telling my Christian brothers and sisters that contemplative prayer is an Eastern form of meditation. Finally, I have a contemplative who admits it to be so. And now that I know about Keating’s declaration that kundalini is the same as contemplative, Richard Foster’s statement makes more sense. In Foster’s book, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, he states:
I also want to give a word of precaution. In the silent contemplation of God we are entering deeply into the spiritual realm, and there is such a thing as a supernatural guidance that is not divine guidance. While the Bible does not give us a lot of information on the nature of the spiritual world, we do know … there are various orders of spiritual beings, and some of them are definitely not in cooperation with God and his way! … But for now I want to encourage you to learn and practice prayers of protection.… “All dark and evil spirits must now leave.”
I believe Foster made these comments because he was well aware that contemplative prayer could be dangerous because it is no different than kundalini. And yet in Celebration of Discipline (p. 13, 1978) he says “We should all without shame enroll in the school of contemplative prayer."
The unfortunate outcome is that both Thomas Keating and Richard Foster continue to endorse contemplative prayer and encourage others to engage in this un-biblical practice when they know good and well it can have detrimental effects.
How much more evidence do the leaders in our churches require before they repent of promoting this practice When Rick Warren stated in his first book, Purpose Driven Church that Foster’s spiritual formation was a wakeup call to the church, he gave the green light to millions to practice something that could potentially have long or permanent lasting damage on practitioners.
I pray fervently that my fellow Christians will return to the word of God for comfort and knowledge and that they will come to understand the true means of grace that our Heavenly Father has bestowed upon us. Please pray with me that this will come to pass.
Source
June 16, 2011
Rick Warren Points Network Followers to the Contemplative “Sabbath”
Rick Warren Points Network Followers to the Contemplative “Sabbath”
October 12th, 2008 | Author: Lighthouse Trails Editors
On October 1st in his weekly e-newsletter, Rick Warren points followers to Pete Scazzero’s contemplative “Sabbath” experience. In the article, “Why Can’t We Stop!”, Scazzero states: “One of the keys to our freedom is a rediscovery of Sabbath-keeping – a radical, countercultural, essential spiritual formation practice for us as pastors.” While many readers of this article may think that Scazzero is simply encouraging Christians to make sure they take a day of rest each week, what they probably don’t know is that Scazzero is a strong proponent for contemplative mystical prayer. And contemplatives don’t just believe in a day of rest – they believe in entering what they call the silence or sacred space through repetitive mantra-like prayer.
Scazzero has been the topic of several Lighthouse Trails articles, largely because of his books which heartily promote the mystics and their prayer style as well. 1 In Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (the book that is featured on Rick Warren’s website), Scazzero points readers to some of the most prolific teachers of eastern-style meditation, many of whom are outright panentheists such as Meister Eckhart, Basil Pennington, and Tilden Edwards. Scazzero also gives instruction on meditative practices such as lectio divina and “centering down.” In a two-part expose’ of Scazzero’s book, documentation shows clearly that his “emotionally healthy spirituality” is anything but healthy. (Part One, Part Two)
Interestingly, in the article Rick Warren posts, Scazzero says: “As one theologian stated, ‘To fail to see the value of simply being with God and ‘doing nothing’ is to miss the heart of Christianity.” What he doesn’t tell readers is who this “theologian” is. It is Catholic “theologian” Leonard Doohan. Scazzero may have seen the quote in Lynne Babb’s book, Sabbath Keeping, a book where Babb recommends readers turn to panentheist and universalist Tilden Edwards for further spiritual guidance. It is Edwards (founder of Shalem Institute) who says: “This mystical stream [contemplative prayer] is the Western bridge to Far Eastern spirituality” (from his book, Spiritual Friend).
When Scazzero says “simply being with God” and “doing nothing,” he is referring to what contemplatives call entering the silence or putting the mind into a stillness. It is not surprising that Rick Warren resonates with such language. One of the people Warren and his wife Kay look up to is mystic Henri Nouwen, who had a huge affinity with mysticism. This state of stillness (of the mind) is a common theme among contemplatives. Contemplative advocate Beth Moore says: “[I]f we are not still before Him [God], we will never truly know to the depths of the marrow of our bones that He is God. There’s got to be a stillness.”2 However, the mind cannot naturally be put into a still state, and this is where mantra meditation, or focusing on the breath or particular words comes into play. There cannot be this stillness of the mind without some form of mantric-like practice. This is why all “evangelical” contemplative proponents endorse the mystics. But this state of stillness is the same state entered by Hindu mystics, Buddhist mystics, and New Age mystics. And that realm entered is NOT the realm of God but rather is a demonic realm.
On Scazzero’s website, he offers the following link to an interview he recently had with Canadian radio host Drew Marshall where they talk about Emotionally Healthy Spirituality and its connection to contemplative mysticism: radio interview In the interview, Scazzero says that Christianity needs monasticism, which he identifies as that which has come from the Desert Fathers. Drew Marshall is a proponent of contemplative spirituality and has no doubt influenced many Canadians in this direction.
Also on Scazzero’s website is a link called “contemplative spirituality” in which he recommends many contemplative mystics such as Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Robert Webber, Richard Foster, and Phyllis Tickle. It is Thomas Merton who likened the contemplative experience to an LSD trip. 3
Rick Warren’s promotion of Pete Scazzero is not an isolated incident. He has been doing this for many years, as Lighthouse Trails has documented frequently. With potentially tens or even hundreds of millions of people now part of the Purpose Driven network, Warren’s promotion of contemplative spirituality will have far-reaching effects. And as long as popular Christian leaders endorse, sponsor, and work with Rick Warren rather than warn others about him and his teachings, they are responsible with him for the proliferation of contemplative/emerging spirituality and the dangerous deception that comes with it.
Related Information:
About Spiritual Direction
October 12th, 2008 | Author: Lighthouse Trails Editors
On October 1st in his weekly e-newsletter, Rick Warren points followers to Pete Scazzero’s contemplative “Sabbath” experience. In the article, “Why Can’t We Stop!”, Scazzero states: “One of the keys to our freedom is a rediscovery of Sabbath-keeping – a radical, countercultural, essential spiritual formation practice for us as pastors.” While many readers of this article may think that Scazzero is simply encouraging Christians to make sure they take a day of rest each week, what they probably don’t know is that Scazzero is a strong proponent for contemplative mystical prayer. And contemplatives don’t just believe in a day of rest – they believe in entering what they call the silence or sacred space through repetitive mantra-like prayer.
Scazzero has been the topic of several Lighthouse Trails articles, largely because of his books which heartily promote the mystics and their prayer style as well. 1 In Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (the book that is featured on Rick Warren’s website), Scazzero points readers to some of the most prolific teachers of eastern-style meditation, many of whom are outright panentheists such as Meister Eckhart, Basil Pennington, and Tilden Edwards. Scazzero also gives instruction on meditative practices such as lectio divina and “centering down.” In a two-part expose’ of Scazzero’s book, documentation shows clearly that his “emotionally healthy spirituality” is anything but healthy. (Part One, Part Two)
Interestingly, in the article Rick Warren posts, Scazzero says: “As one theologian stated, ‘To fail to see the value of simply being with God and ‘doing nothing’ is to miss the heart of Christianity.” What he doesn’t tell readers is who this “theologian” is. It is Catholic “theologian” Leonard Doohan. Scazzero may have seen the quote in Lynne Babb’s book, Sabbath Keeping, a book where Babb recommends readers turn to panentheist and universalist Tilden Edwards for further spiritual guidance. It is Edwards (founder of Shalem Institute) who says: “This mystical stream [contemplative prayer] is the Western bridge to Far Eastern spirituality” (from his book, Spiritual Friend).
When Scazzero says “simply being with God” and “doing nothing,” he is referring to what contemplatives call entering the silence or putting the mind into a stillness. It is not surprising that Rick Warren resonates with such language. One of the people Warren and his wife Kay look up to is mystic Henri Nouwen, who had a huge affinity with mysticism. This state of stillness (of the mind) is a common theme among contemplatives. Contemplative advocate Beth Moore says: “[I]f we are not still before Him [God], we will never truly know to the depths of the marrow of our bones that He is God. There’s got to be a stillness.”2 However, the mind cannot naturally be put into a still state, and this is where mantra meditation, or focusing on the breath or particular words comes into play. There cannot be this stillness of the mind without some form of mantric-like practice. This is why all “evangelical” contemplative proponents endorse the mystics. But this state of stillness is the same state entered by Hindu mystics, Buddhist mystics, and New Age mystics. And that realm entered is NOT the realm of God but rather is a demonic realm.
On Scazzero’s website, he offers the following link to an interview he recently had with Canadian radio host Drew Marshall where they talk about Emotionally Healthy Spirituality and its connection to contemplative mysticism: radio interview In the interview, Scazzero says that Christianity needs monasticism, which he identifies as that which has come from the Desert Fathers. Drew Marshall is a proponent of contemplative spirituality and has no doubt influenced many Canadians in this direction.
Also on Scazzero’s website is a link called “contemplative spirituality” in which he recommends many contemplative mystics such as Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Robert Webber, Richard Foster, and Phyllis Tickle. It is Thomas Merton who likened the contemplative experience to an LSD trip. 3
Rick Warren’s promotion of Pete Scazzero is not an isolated incident. He has been doing this for many years, as Lighthouse Trails has documented frequently. With potentially tens or even hundreds of millions of people now part of the Purpose Driven network, Warren’s promotion of contemplative spirituality will have far-reaching effects. And as long as popular Christian leaders endorse, sponsor, and work with Rick Warren rather than warn others about him and his teachings, they are responsible with him for the proliferation of contemplative/emerging spirituality and the dangerous deception that comes with it.
Related Information:
About Spiritual Direction
April 8, 2011
Rick Warren Speaks Out Against Those Warning the Church of Meditation
Rick Warren Speaks Out Against Those Warning the Church of Meditation
February 14th, 2011 | Author: Free-Lance Writers
by John Lanagan
My Word Like Fire Ministries
No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14)
Perhaps stung by criticism about his Daniel Plan alliance with three well known New Age doctors, Rick Warren simultaneously addressed and sidestepped the meditation issue during a recent sermon.1 Warren never acknowledged his own promotion of teachers of anti-biblical meditative practices such as contemplative prayer, never addressed the Daniel Plan controversy, but seemed to accuse instead the Christians who sounded the alarm about Eastern/New Age meditation advocates Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Daniel Amen, and Dr. Mark Hyman.
In a seeming attempt to “spin” the continuing controversy, Rick Warren claimed Christians on the Internet have been warning against biblical meditation!
With a touch of sarcasm and making a scary, mocking, wooing sound, Rick Warren stated:
It’s called meditation. Meditation? What in the world is that? Some people think, wow, that’s scary. This has actually become a controversial word. Some very, very confused believers have been teaching—I’ve seen it on the Internet—that Christians should be afraid of meditation and run from meditation. That’s nonsense! The Bible talks about meditation and commands it.
Wait a minute. He’s “seen it on the Internet”? In reality, Rick Warren cannot identify one Bible-believing blogger or online discernment or research ministry that teaches that Christians should fear and “run from” biblical meditation.
Biblical meditation is simply reflecting upon or pondering the Word of God. We “chew” upon it, or as Warren himself described it, we “ruminate” on what we read in God’s Word. It is wonderful, powerful, and something we are commanded to do. (Joshua 1:8)
In biblical meditation, a repetitive word or chant is never used, the mind never ceases being active, and there is never an altered state of consciousness. Thus, one does not enter what is known as the silence. But this is exactly what happens during Eastern/New Age meditation. In his sermon, Warren explained it very well: “So when the Bible says meditate it’s not talking about zone-out in some psychic, New Age trance, or put your mind in neutral and contemplate your navel. Ommm.” (Bold mine)
“Ommm,” indeed. Rick Warren has played a significant role for many years in promoting contemplative prayer—the barely disguised, “Christian-ized” version of Eastern/New Age meditation. Popular and influential, he has helped publicize very many contemplative teachers—Richard Foster and Dallas Willard (both exalted in The Purpose Driven Church, pp. 126-127), Henri Nouwen (a favorite of his wife’s, he says), Tricia Rhodes, Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Gary Thomas (a “friend” of Warren’s), and many others (see quotes at the end of this article.)
Contemplative teachers in the Christian camp will not advise believers to focus on a mantra like “Ommm” (for example), but rather on a word or phrase like “Jesus” or “Abba Father.” In this way, the contemplative prayer appears “Christian” but nevertheless serves as entrance to the silence.
Many of those who enter the silence frequently end up believing all is in God, or God is in all—beliefs contradictory to biblical teaching and to the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. Sue Monk Kidd is just such a person. She started off as a conservative Southern Baptist Sunday School teacher, but when she was introduced to Thomas Merton, it changed her whole spiritual outlook, and eventually she became a worshipper of the goddess Sophia, saying that God is even in excrement. And should we not be concerned that her name sits on the back of Dallas Willard’s book, The Spirit of the Disciplines, and yet Rick Warren recommends that book on his website and shows great admiration and recognition for Willard’s role in the Spiritual Formation (contemplative prayer) movement in Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Church.
The silence is the realm of deceptive spirits. And more and more churches, ministries, organizations, and schools are going contemplative. For Rick Warren to stand up (just days after New Age meditation advocates Oz, Hyman, and Amen have addressed his congregation and even referring at times to their style of meditation) and belittle, mock, and scorn Christians who are warning against eastern style meditation coming into the church all the while he has been promoting the teachers of such meditation for years, is astounding, not to mention very wrong.
As you will see in this video below, Rick Warren essentially gives a long and detailed explanation of biblical meditation (You will see in the video below – 32 min. mark – this is where he seemingly mocks those who are warning against meditation.) Rick Warren’s explanation on biblical meditation is not the explanation Christians need to hear, not when Henri Nouwen, Gary Thomas, Richard Foster, Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Brennan Manning, Thomas Merton, and others who have been extolled by Warren are teaching millions to go into the contemplative silence .
(Start the video around the 32 minute mark for information pertaining to this article.)
This video clip has been posted here because of embedded code that was offered for public use from the Saddleback site.
From Lighthouse Trails: Quotes by some of those whom Rick Warren has promoted over the last couple decades:
Gary Thomas: “It is particularly difficult to describe this type of prayer in writing, as it is best taught in person. In general however, centering prayer works like this: Choose a word (Jesus or Father, for example) as a focus for contemplative prayer. Repeat the word silently in your mind for a set amount of time (say, twenty minutes) until your heart seems to be repeating the word by itself, just as naturally and involuntarily as breathing.2
Of Gary Thomas, Rick Warren states: “I think highly of his work … he tells them [readers] how they can make the most of their spiritual journeys. He places an emphasis on practical spiritual exercises.”3
Tricia Rhodes: “Take deep breaths, concentrating on relaxing your body. Establish a slow, rhythmic pattern. Breathe in God’s peace, and breathe out your stresses, distractions, and fears. Breathe in God’s love, forgiveness, and compassion, and breathe out your sins, failures, and frustrations. Make every effort to “stop the flow of talking going on within you—to slow it down until it comes to a halt.’”4 (emphasis added)
Rick Warren about Rhodes: “This book is a quiet-time companion for those who hunger for a greater intimacy with God. It offers fresh insight into little understood aspects of prayer and introduces a step-by-step journey of learning contemplative prayer.”5
Henri Nouwen:“Through the discipline of contemplative prayer, Christian leaders have to learn to listen to the voice of love … For Christian leadership to be truly fruitful in the future, a movement from the moral to the mystical is required.” (Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus, pp. 6, 31-32)
Of Henri Nouwen, Rick Warren says: “My wife, Kay, recommends this book [In the Name of Jesus]: “It’s a short book, but it hits at the heart of the minister. It mentions the struggles common to those of us in ministry: the temptation to be relevant, spectacular and powerful. I highlighted almost every word!”7 (Nouwen’s books also sit on the Saddleback website today.)
Dan Kimball: “Meditative prayer like that we experienced in the labyrinth resonates with hearts of emerging generations. If we had the room, we would set up a permanent labyrinth to promote deeper prayer.”8
Rick Warren about Kimball’s book, The Emerging Church:“This book is a wonderful, detailed example of what a purpose-driven church can look like in a postmodern world.… Dan’s book explains how to do it [reach an “emerging generation”] with the cultural-creatives who think and feel in postmodern terms. You need to pay attention to him [Kimball] because times are changing.”9 (This book of Kimball’s also talks about the labyrinth as well as other forms of contemplative such as lectio divina.)
Brennan Manning: “[T]he first step in faith is to stop thinking about God at the time of prayer … simply return to listening to your sacred word. Gently return your mind to your sacred word.” (Ragamuffin Gospel, p. 212, 218)
Rick Warren on Manning: Ragamuffin Gospel sits on Rick Warren’s website today, under “Must Read Books.” It is this very book that reveals Manning’s true affinity with contemplative spirituality. In the back of the book, Manning makes reference to Basil Pennington saying that Pennington’s methods will provide us with “a way of praying that leads to a deep living relationship with God.” However, Pennington’s methods of prayer draw from Eastern religions. In his book, Finding Grace at the Center, Pennington says:
We should not hesitate to take the fruit of the age-old wisdom of the East and “capture” it for Christ. Indeed, those of us who are in ministry should make the necessary effort to acquaint ourselves with as many of these Eastern techniques as possible. Many Christians who take their prayer life seriously have been greatly helped by Yoga, Zen, TM and similar practices. (pp. 5-6)
Saddleback readers will get Pennington when they are given Ragamuffin Gospel.
Leonard Sweet: “Mysticism, once cast to the sidelines of the Christian tradition, is now situated in postmodernist culture near the center.… In the words of one of the greatest theologians of the twentieth century, Jesuit philosopher of religion/dogmatist Karl Rahner, “The Christian of tomorrow will be a mystic, one who has experienced something, or he will be nothing.” [Mysticism] is metaphysics arrived at through mindbody experiences. Mysticism begins in experience; it ends in theology.” (Quantum Spirituality, p. 76).
Rick Warren on Leonard Sweet:For extensive documentation on Warren’s ongoing comradeship with Leonard Sweet, read A “Wonderful” Deception by Warren B. Smith. Leonard Sweet spoke at the Saddleback Small Groups Conference a couple years ago, for one example.
Adele Ahlberg Calhoun: One of the authors that has been in the Saddleback Spiritual Growth Center for a long time is Adele Ahlberg Calhoun author of Spiritual Disciplines Handbook (the one Saddleback is recommending). The book is promoting mantra meditation, giving detailed instructions on several types of contemplative practices. In addition, the author quotes from many New Age sympathizers and New Age contemplatives. In Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, Ahlberg Calhoun encourages the use of centering prayer, breath prayers, contemplative prayer, labyrinths, palms-up, palms-down exercises, and recommends for further reading a who’s who of mystics.
What is the “Fruit” of Contemplative Prayer
Where does contemplative prayer lead? Listen to these two quotes by men who have been promoted by Rick Warren, and you will see the answer to that question. It is an answer that should greatly trouble Bible believing Christians, realizing the implications by “America’s Pastor”:
Henri Nouwen: “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.”—From Sabbatical Journey, Nouwen’s last book, page 51, 1998 Hardcover Edition
Thomas Merton: “It is a glorious destiny to be a member of the human race, … now I realize what we all are.… If only they [people] could all see themselves as they really are … I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other.… At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusions, a point of pure truth.… This little point … is the pure glory of God in us. It is in everybody.” (emphasis mine) Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, pp. 157-158.
**Most of these quotes above are taken from Ray Yungen’s book, A Time of Departing.
Endnotes:
1. Part 4: The Prayer That Changes You http://saddleback.com/mc/m/903D
2. Gary Thomas, (from Sacred Pathways, 1st ed. p. 185)
3. Rick Warren’s Ministry Toolbox, “Book Look” section (Issue #40, 2/20/2002)
4. Tricia Rhodes, The Soul at Rest (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1996), p. 28.
5. Rick Warren’s Ministry Toolbox (February 18, 2004).
6. Quote by Saddleback pastor Lance Witt, “Enjoying God’s Presence in Solitude”
7. Rick Warren quoting Kay Warren on the Ministry Toolbox (Issue #54, 6/5/2002).
8. Dan Kimball, “A-Maze-ing Prayer” (http://web.archive.org/web/20041019214503/www.vintagefaith.com/artilces/labyrinth.html).
9. Rick Warren in the foreword of Kimball’s book, The Emerging Church
February 14th, 2011 | Author: Free-Lance Writers
by John Lanagan
My Word Like Fire Ministries
No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14)
Perhaps stung by criticism about his Daniel Plan alliance with three well known New Age doctors, Rick Warren simultaneously addressed and sidestepped the meditation issue during a recent sermon.1 Warren never acknowledged his own promotion of teachers of anti-biblical meditative practices such as contemplative prayer, never addressed the Daniel Plan controversy, but seemed to accuse instead the Christians who sounded the alarm about Eastern/New Age meditation advocates Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Daniel Amen, and Dr. Mark Hyman.
In a seeming attempt to “spin” the continuing controversy, Rick Warren claimed Christians on the Internet have been warning against biblical meditation!
With a touch of sarcasm and making a scary, mocking, wooing sound, Rick Warren stated:
It’s called meditation. Meditation? What in the world is that? Some people think, wow, that’s scary. This has actually become a controversial word. Some very, very confused believers have been teaching—I’ve seen it on the Internet—that Christians should be afraid of meditation and run from meditation. That’s nonsense! The Bible talks about meditation and commands it.
Wait a minute. He’s “seen it on the Internet”? In reality, Rick Warren cannot identify one Bible-believing blogger or online discernment or research ministry that teaches that Christians should fear and “run from” biblical meditation.
Biblical meditation is simply reflecting upon or pondering the Word of God. We “chew” upon it, or as Warren himself described it, we “ruminate” on what we read in God’s Word. It is wonderful, powerful, and something we are commanded to do. (Joshua 1:8)
In biblical meditation, a repetitive word or chant is never used, the mind never ceases being active, and there is never an altered state of consciousness. Thus, one does not enter what is known as the silence. But this is exactly what happens during Eastern/New Age meditation. In his sermon, Warren explained it very well: “So when the Bible says meditate it’s not talking about zone-out in some psychic, New Age trance, or put your mind in neutral and contemplate your navel. Ommm.” (Bold mine)
“Ommm,” indeed. Rick Warren has played a significant role for many years in promoting contemplative prayer—the barely disguised, “Christian-ized” version of Eastern/New Age meditation. Popular and influential, he has helped publicize very many contemplative teachers—Richard Foster and Dallas Willard (both exalted in The Purpose Driven Church, pp. 126-127), Henri Nouwen (a favorite of his wife’s, he says), Tricia Rhodes, Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Gary Thomas (a “friend” of Warren’s), and many others (see quotes at the end of this article.)
Contemplative teachers in the Christian camp will not advise believers to focus on a mantra like “Ommm” (for example), but rather on a word or phrase like “Jesus” or “Abba Father.” In this way, the contemplative prayer appears “Christian” but nevertheless serves as entrance to the silence.
Many of those who enter the silence frequently end up believing all is in God, or God is in all—beliefs contradictory to biblical teaching and to the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. Sue Monk Kidd is just such a person. She started off as a conservative Southern Baptist Sunday School teacher, but when she was introduced to Thomas Merton, it changed her whole spiritual outlook, and eventually she became a worshipper of the goddess Sophia, saying that God is even in excrement. And should we not be concerned that her name sits on the back of Dallas Willard’s book, The Spirit of the Disciplines, and yet Rick Warren recommends that book on his website and shows great admiration and recognition for Willard’s role in the Spiritual Formation (contemplative prayer) movement in Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Church.
The silence is the realm of deceptive spirits. And more and more churches, ministries, organizations, and schools are going contemplative. For Rick Warren to stand up (just days after New Age meditation advocates Oz, Hyman, and Amen have addressed his congregation and even referring at times to their style of meditation) and belittle, mock, and scorn Christians who are warning against eastern style meditation coming into the church all the while he has been promoting the teachers of such meditation for years, is astounding, not to mention very wrong.
As you will see in this video below, Rick Warren essentially gives a long and detailed explanation of biblical meditation (You will see in the video below – 32 min. mark – this is where he seemingly mocks those who are warning against meditation.) Rick Warren’s explanation on biblical meditation is not the explanation Christians need to hear, not when Henri Nouwen, Gary Thomas, Richard Foster, Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Brennan Manning, Thomas Merton, and others who have been extolled by Warren are teaching millions to go into the contemplative silence .
(Start the video around the 32 minute mark for information pertaining to this article.)
This video clip has been posted here because of embedded code that was offered for public use from the Saddleback site.
From Lighthouse Trails: Quotes by some of those whom Rick Warren has promoted over the last couple decades:
Gary Thomas: “It is particularly difficult to describe this type of prayer in writing, as it is best taught in person. In general however, centering prayer works like this: Choose a word (Jesus or Father, for example) as a focus for contemplative prayer. Repeat the word silently in your mind for a set amount of time (say, twenty minutes) until your heart seems to be repeating the word by itself, just as naturally and involuntarily as breathing.2
Of Gary Thomas, Rick Warren states: “I think highly of his work … he tells them [readers] how they can make the most of their spiritual journeys. He places an emphasis on practical spiritual exercises.”3
Tricia Rhodes: “Take deep breaths, concentrating on relaxing your body. Establish a slow, rhythmic pattern. Breathe in God’s peace, and breathe out your stresses, distractions, and fears. Breathe in God’s love, forgiveness, and compassion, and breathe out your sins, failures, and frustrations. Make every effort to “stop the flow of talking going on within you—to slow it down until it comes to a halt.’”4 (emphasis added)
Rick Warren about Rhodes: “This book is a quiet-time companion for those who hunger for a greater intimacy with God. It offers fresh insight into little understood aspects of prayer and introduces a step-by-step journey of learning contemplative prayer.”5
Henri Nouwen:“Through the discipline of contemplative prayer, Christian leaders have to learn to listen to the voice of love … For Christian leadership to be truly fruitful in the future, a movement from the moral to the mystical is required.” (Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus, pp. 6, 31-32)
Of Henri Nouwen, Rick Warren says: “My wife, Kay, recommends this book [In the Name of Jesus]: “It’s a short book, but it hits at the heart of the minister. It mentions the struggles common to those of us in ministry: the temptation to be relevant, spectacular and powerful. I highlighted almost every word!”7 (Nouwen’s books also sit on the Saddleback website today.)
Dan Kimball: “Meditative prayer like that we experienced in the labyrinth resonates with hearts of emerging generations. If we had the room, we would set up a permanent labyrinth to promote deeper prayer.”8
Rick Warren about Kimball’s book, The Emerging Church:“This book is a wonderful, detailed example of what a purpose-driven church can look like in a postmodern world.… Dan’s book explains how to do it [reach an “emerging generation”] with the cultural-creatives who think and feel in postmodern terms. You need to pay attention to him [Kimball] because times are changing.”9 (This book of Kimball’s also talks about the labyrinth as well as other forms of contemplative such as lectio divina.)
Brennan Manning: “[T]he first step in faith is to stop thinking about God at the time of prayer … simply return to listening to your sacred word. Gently return your mind to your sacred word.” (Ragamuffin Gospel, p. 212, 218)
Rick Warren on Manning: Ragamuffin Gospel sits on Rick Warren’s website today, under “Must Read Books.” It is this very book that reveals Manning’s true affinity with contemplative spirituality. In the back of the book, Manning makes reference to Basil Pennington saying that Pennington’s methods will provide us with “a way of praying that leads to a deep living relationship with God.” However, Pennington’s methods of prayer draw from Eastern religions. In his book, Finding Grace at the Center, Pennington says:
We should not hesitate to take the fruit of the age-old wisdom of the East and “capture” it for Christ. Indeed, those of us who are in ministry should make the necessary effort to acquaint ourselves with as many of these Eastern techniques as possible. Many Christians who take their prayer life seriously have been greatly helped by Yoga, Zen, TM and similar practices. (pp. 5-6)
Saddleback readers will get Pennington when they are given Ragamuffin Gospel.
Leonard Sweet: “Mysticism, once cast to the sidelines of the Christian tradition, is now situated in postmodernist culture near the center.… In the words of one of the greatest theologians of the twentieth century, Jesuit philosopher of religion/dogmatist Karl Rahner, “The Christian of tomorrow will be a mystic, one who has experienced something, or he will be nothing.” [Mysticism] is metaphysics arrived at through mindbody experiences. Mysticism begins in experience; it ends in theology.” (Quantum Spirituality, p. 76).
Rick Warren on Leonard Sweet:For extensive documentation on Warren’s ongoing comradeship with Leonard Sweet, read A “Wonderful” Deception by Warren B. Smith. Leonard Sweet spoke at the Saddleback Small Groups Conference a couple years ago, for one example.
Adele Ahlberg Calhoun: One of the authors that has been in the Saddleback Spiritual Growth Center for a long time is Adele Ahlberg Calhoun author of Spiritual Disciplines Handbook (the one Saddleback is recommending). The book is promoting mantra meditation, giving detailed instructions on several types of contemplative practices. In addition, the author quotes from many New Age sympathizers and New Age contemplatives. In Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, Ahlberg Calhoun encourages the use of centering prayer, breath prayers, contemplative prayer, labyrinths, palms-up, palms-down exercises, and recommends for further reading a who’s who of mystics.
What is the “Fruit” of Contemplative Prayer
Where does contemplative prayer lead? Listen to these two quotes by men who have been promoted by Rick Warren, and you will see the answer to that question. It is an answer that should greatly trouble Bible believing Christians, realizing the implications by “America’s Pastor”:
Henri Nouwen: “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.”—From Sabbatical Journey, Nouwen’s last book, page 51, 1998 Hardcover Edition
Thomas Merton: “It is a glorious destiny to be a member of the human race, … now I realize what we all are.… If only they [people] could all see themselves as they really are … I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other.… At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusions, a point of pure truth.… This little point … is the pure glory of God in us. It is in everybody.” (emphasis mine) Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, pp. 157-158.
**Most of these quotes above are taken from Ray Yungen’s book, A Time of Departing.
Endnotes:
1. Part 4: The Prayer That Changes You http://saddleback.com/mc/m/903D
2. Gary Thomas, (from Sacred Pathways, 1st ed. p. 185)
3. Rick Warren’s Ministry Toolbox, “Book Look” section (Issue #40, 2/20/2002)
4. Tricia Rhodes, The Soul at Rest (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1996), p. 28.
5. Rick Warren’s Ministry Toolbox (February 18, 2004).
6. Quote by Saddleback pastor Lance Witt, “Enjoying God’s Presence in Solitude”
7. Rick Warren quoting Kay Warren on the Ministry Toolbox (Issue #54, 6/5/2002).
8. Dan Kimball, “A-Maze-ing Prayer” (http://web.archive.org/web/20041019214503/www.vintagefaith.com/artilces/labyrinth.html).
9. Rick Warren in the foreword of Kimball’s book, The Emerging Church
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