“The Vineyard Movement Grabs Hold of Contemplative Spirituality”
The Vineyard movement was started in the 1970s by John Wimber (who had been a leader in the Friends (Quaker) church) after breaking off from Calvary Chapel where Kenn and Joanie Gulliksen had started the first meetings. Vineyard Anaheim is the “mother” or “flagship” Vineyard church, pastored today by Lance Pittluck. Regarding the ”Spiritual Formation” workshop that our reader wrote to us about, on the church website, it states:
We believe that every disciple is invited by the Holy Spirit into becoming conformed to the Image of Christ through the disciplines encompassed by solitude, silence, scripture-meditation and reflection.
Vineyard Anaheim has turned to Richard Foster’s Renovare to bring these “disciplines” to their church members. Richard Foster, also a Quaker, is one of the pioneers in bringing contemplative spirituality to the evangelical/Protestant church and is a disciple of Thomas Merton. Foster believes that Merton tried to “awaken” God’s people (through mysticism)2 and that he “has perhaps done more than any other twentieth-century figure to make the life of prayer widely known and understood.3 Yet Merton’s panentheistic view (i.e., God in all) coupled with his strong affinity to Buddhism (he once stated: “I see no contradiction between Buddhism and Christianity … I intend to become as good a Buddhist as I can”4) is contrary to the God of the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Richard Foster so resonates with Merton that he includes him in his list of spiritual masters in his two books Spiritual Classics and Devotional Classics.
It’s not just Richard Foster that Vineyard is looking to for “spiritual formation.” On the ”Pastoral Staff Recommends” page, there is a who’s who of contemplative mystics listed. Craig Lockwood, the pastor who will be heading up the Spiritual Formation program, includes Dallas Willard, Jan Johnson, Larry Crabb, Madame Guyon, Richard Foster, Gary Thomas, Morton Kelsey, and Adele Calhoun on his recommended reading list. These are some of the “heavy weights” in the contemplative movement, and you can read about most of them in A Time of Departing by Ray Yungen or on our research site. Typical of the contemplative mindset, one of those listed, Morton Kelsey, stated: “You can find most of the New Age practices in the depth of Christianity . . . I believe that the Holy One lives in every soul.”5
In Adele Ahlberg Calhoun’s book, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook (which Lockwood recommends), Ahlberg Calhoun promotes mantra meditation, giving detailed instructions on several types of contemplative practices. In addition, she quotes from many New Age sympathizers and New Age contemplatives and encourages the use of centering prayer, breath prayers, contemplative prayer, labyrinths, palms-up, palms-down exercises, and recommends for further reading a plethora of mystics. One of those she lists is Tilden Edwards, the founder of the mysticism promoting Shalem Prayer Institute, who said that contemplative prayer is the bridge between Christianity and Eastern religion.6
An interesting name shows up on the “Pastoral Staff Recommends” page at Vineyard Anaheim – J.P. Moreland. The beliefs of Moreland have been discussed in a number of Lighthouse Trails articles regarding his contemplative views, but we didn’t realize that he attends Vineyard Anaheim. When we saw his name on the Pastoral Staff Recommends page, we called Vineyard and were told that Moreland attends Vineyard Anaheim and “sometimes speaks” there. Moreland, a teacher at Biola University and Summit Ministries (in Colorado) recommends a number of Dallas Willard books and The Way of the Heart by Henri Nouwen. In that book, which is a primer on contemplative prayer, Nouwen states:
The quiet repetition of a single word can help us to descend with the mind into the heart . . . This way of simple prayer . . . opens us to God’s active presence. 7
What Nouwen is describing here is mantra meditation (i.e., eastern-style meditation). Practicing mysticism is what led Nouwen to say near the end of his life:
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.8
By saying this, Nouwen illustrated the “fruit” of contemplative spirituality – panentheism (God in all) and interspirituality. This can be further proven by Nouwen’s strong affinity with New Age meditation proponent, Beatrice Bruteau where he called her a “trustworthy guide to contemplative consciousness” (from Abba’s Child) . J.P. Moreland’s endorsement of The Way of the Heart will point Vineyard members to the same spirituality Nouwen came to embrace.
In a book review of Moreland’s book Kingdom Triangle, he lays out a three-step process to bring about a kingdom of God on earth through spiritual formation (i.e., contemplative prayer). This would resonate with what Vineyard is doing – turning to contemplative to accelerate their kingdom of God on earth goals.
In Kevin Reeves book The Other Side of the River, Reeves addresses the spiritual viewpoints of John Wimber. Wimber said that the Western church needed to go through a major paradigm shift because of its resistance to the supernatural.9 Reeves explains some of Wimber’s ideas:
The old study and learn method (commended by the apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 4:13-16, and II Timothy 3:14-17) is no longer adequate. In fact, according to Wimber and a flood of Third Wave teachers, it never has been. Experience is what counts, they say, and all that head knowledge we’ve been accumulating all these years is a big waste of time. This teaching states that to really know God, His power and miracles, we need to shuck all that dead letter stuff and get into the life.
Wimber also first introduced into mainstream charismatic congregations the incredibly strange manifestations that are supposedly initiated by the Holy Spirit. Pogoing (jumping up and down in place), rippling on or under the skin, tingling, shaking, convulsions, uncontrollable laughter—many of the same kinds of manifestations traditionally attributed to demonic influence—have now attained prominence in River meetings. It is shocking and frightening to see the similarities between Wimber’s manifestations and what is called Kundalini, “a Hindu term for the mystical power or force that underlies Hindu spirituality.” Here is a list of Kundalini symptoms:
* Burning hot or ice cold streams moving up the spine.
* Pains in varying locations throughout the body.
* Vibrations, unease, or cramps in legs and other parts of body.
* Fast pulse and increased metabolism.
* Disturbance in the breathing–and/or heart function.
* Sensitivity to sound, light, smell, and proximity of other people.
* Mystical/religious experiences.
* Parapsychological abilities.
* Persistent anxiety or anxiety attacks, confusion
* Insomnia, manic high spirits or deep depression. Energy loss.
* Impaired concentration and memory.
* Total isolation due to inability to communicate inner experiences out.
* Experiences of possession and poltergeist phenomena. 10
What some may not realize is that many of these symptoms are also experienced during deep contemplative meditation. By combining the hyper-charismatic experiences with contemplative spirituality (as Vineyard is doing), the process of going into altered states of consciousness (i.e., demonic realms) is speeded up; and the voice heard, believed to be God, may not be Him at all. Reeves points out that Wimber was drawn to the writings of Agnes Sanford and Morton Kelsey. Did Wimber realize that Kelsey “equates the ministry of Jesus with shamanism, commends encounters with the dead as natural spirit-earth links, bases much of his book on paganistic Jungian psychology, and calls the atonement a “hypothesis developed” by the early church”?11
An article titled “Buried Seed: Spiritual Direction and the Vineyard Movement” written by a Vineyard “spiritual director” in New Zealand reveals the efforts by spiritual directors in Vineyard to integrate spiritual formation into the Vineyard movement. Just to show the lack of discernment that occurs by contemplative advocates, the author of the article lists Thomas Keating as a source he used to write the article. Keating, like Merton, is a panentheist and mystic Catholic priest.
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, especially where they have been initiated by reliable teachers and have a solidly developed Christian faith to find inner form and meaning to the resulting experiences. 12
Our reader who sent us the e-mail inquiring about Vineyard Anaheim asked if there was any emergent connection to spiritual formation. We have always contended that they are basically the same thing (see Faith Undone). What’s more, on the recommended reading list of Vineyard Anaheim, senior pastor Lance Pittluck recommends Rob Bell along with several other contemplative/emerging figures (Nouwen, Sider, Manning, Miller, Boyd, etc). It is clear that Pittluck resonates with these people.
For those who wonder if the contemplative/emerging infiltration is confined to just Vineyard Anaheim, a Book Recommendations for Youth list on the main USA Vineyard website recommends emerging church favorites N.T. Wright, Andy Stanley, Erwin McManus, and Shane Claiborne, and contemplatives Henri Nouwen, Dallas Willard, John Ortberg, Jim Burns, and John Eldredge. Sadly, Vineyard youth are being introduced to these contemplative/emerging leaders. In addition, Vineyard has at least one leader who is designated to work with Vineyard churches in spiritual formation. And just as a sampling to show this is not an isolated situation, listed below are a few Vineyard churches that are incorporating “spiritual formation” into church life:
Vineyard City Church – Redding California’ (also links to the very contemplative/emerging Simpson College and Bethel Church in Redding)
Live Oak Vineyard – Monrovia California (promotes New Age sympathizer Phyllis Tickle)
Friends Langley Vineyard – BC Canada
Vineyard Community Church – Cincinnati, OH
All this would leave little doubt that the Vineyard movement has hopped onto the contemplative/emergent track, seemingly full speed ahead. LTR
Notes:
Bill Jackson, The Quest For The Radical Middle: A History of the Vineyard, ch 3, p. 80.
Ray Yungen, A Time of Departing (Eureka, MT: Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2nd ed, 2006), pp. 76-77, quoting Richard Foster at a seminar Yungen attended.
Richard Foster and Emilie Griffin, Spiritual Classics (San Francisco, CA: Harper, 2000), p. 17.
David Steindl-Rast, “Recollection of Thomas Merton’s Last Days in the West” (Monastic Studies, 7:10, 1969).
Morton Kelsey cited in Charles H. Simpkinson, “In the Spirit of the Early Christians.”
Tilden Edwards, Spiritual Friend (New York, NY: Paulist Press, 1980), pp. 18.
Henri Nouwen, The Way of the Heart (San Francisco, CA: Harper, 1991), p. 81.
Henri Nouwen, Sabbatical Journey (New York, NY: Crossroad Publishing, 1998), p. 51.
John Wimber: 1934-1997. Wimber’s “paradigm shift” is discussed and documented in several books and articles such as C. Peter Wagner’s Acts of the Holy Spirit (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2000), p. 123.
Kevin Reeves, The Other Side of the River (Eureka, MT: Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2007), pp. 167-168.
Ibid, p. 169.
M. Basil Pennington, Thomas Keating, Thomas E. Clarke, Finding Grace at the Center (Petersham, MA: St. Bede’s Pub., 1978), pp. 5-6.
Showing posts with label contemplative. Show all posts
Showing posts with label contemplative. Show all posts
August 23, 2011
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
December 30, 2010
RICK WARREN'S "APOLOGETICS" WEEKEND SHOULD APOLOGIZE FOR REPRESENTING "ANOTHER GOSPEL"
Eight years after the release of The Purpose Driven Life and numerous efforts by discerning Christian believers to warn others of this movement, the Saddleback Apologetics Weekend unveils more clearly than ever the spiritual direction toward which the evangelical church is racing . . .
In September 2009, Rick Warren held his first Apologetics Weekend conference at Saddleback Church. The conference featured some known apologists such as Norman Geisler and Gary Koukl. (It also included contemplative teacher J.P. Moreland.) The conference was a surprise to some who have followed with discernment the teachings and promotions of Rick Warren over the last decade-it seemed out of place for someone who had promoted the emerging church, contemplative prayer, and kingdom-on-earth-now beliefs to be presenting an "apologetics" conference. No doubt, some assumed that Rick Warren was changing his ways. Just a month prior, at the annual Harvest Crusade by Greg Laurie, Chuck Smith (founder of Calvary Chapel) stood in front of thousands and introduced Rick Warren who was sitting on the platform as his "good friend," inviting him to lead the audience in prayer (see video). Just three years earlier, Chuck Smith denounced the Purpose Driven teachings as incompatible with Calvary Chapel teachings and dropped Warren's book from the Calvary Chapel book distribution.
Between the Harvest Crusade and the Apologetics Weekend at Saddleback, both in 2009, it's no wonder some people were thinking Rick Warren and the Purpose Driven movement were now coming into alignment with traditional evangelical thought. But no evidence showed that Warren's focus or direction had actually changed. And one year after the 2009 Saddleback Apologetics Weekend, the 2nd Annual Apologetics Weekend took place and has provided the proof (once again) that Rick Warren's Purpose Driven movement is indeed going down a path that is contemplative, emerging, and even on a ecumenical road to "Rome." The title of the 2010 "Apologetics" conference was "Who is Jesus?" We believe that the "Jesus" represented at this conference is another Jesus with another gospel, as we will show in this article (2 Corinthians 11:4, Galatians 1:8).
Seeing this year's Apologetics Weekend speaker lineup was even a surprise for Lighthouse Trails. Not because we thought Warren's choice of speakers was contrary to what he believes but because it seemed so blatant and obvious.
This report will focus on three of the speakers at Saddleback's 2010 Apologetics Weekend conference: Philip Yancey, Peter Kreeft, and Scot McKnight. By the time readers finish reading this article, we think you may agree that Rick Warren's Apologetics conference should really be titled: "Rick Warren's Emerging Contemplative Road to Rome Apologetics Weekend."
Christianity Today editor-at-large, Philip Yancey, has been the subject of a number of Lighthouse Trails articles for his strong propensity toward contemplative prayer as well as his public statements regarding the homosexual lifestyle. Last week we posted an article about Yancey's upcoming speaking engagement with the "Gay Christian Network." Roger Oakland addresses some of Yancey's views in Faith Undone (p. 215):
In 2004, Philip Yancey accepted an interview with Candace Chellew-Hodge for Whosoever, "an online magazine for Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual, and Transgendered Christians." When Chellew-Hodge asked Yancey about his views on gays and lesbians in the church, Yancey answered:
"When it gets to particular matters of policy, like ordaining gay and lesbian ministers, I'm confused, like a lot of people. There are a few-not many, but a few-passages of Scripture that give me pause. Frankly, I don't know the answer to those questions."
My question to Yancey and other proclaiming Christian leaders is why don't you know the answer? The Bible is clear on this matter . . . part of being a Christian is accepting God's Word and trusting that it is truly just that. Yancey may not be an emergent leader, but his beliefs certainly fit with emerging spirituality. The following statement he [Yancey] makes shows he shares a similar disregard for biblical doctrine:
"Perhaps our day calls for a new kind of ecumenical movement: not of doctrine, nor even of religious unity, but one that builds on what Jews, Christians, and Muslims hold in common. . . . Indeed, Jews, Christians, and Muslims have much in common."
Yancey is not just causing confusion over the sinfulness of practicing homosexuality, but he is a strong advocate for contemplative mystical spirituality as well. In his 2006 book (with a 2010 edition with the same basic components), Prayer: Does it Make Any Difference, there is a who's who of mystical prayer and panentheist references some of which are Thomas Merton, goddess worshipper Sue Monk Kidd, Henri Nouwen, Evelyn Underhill, Kenneth Leach, Meister Eckhart, Teresa of Avila, The Cloud of Unknowing, Francis de Sales, Richard Rohr (referring to him as a "theologian - p. 205), and Anne Lamott-not to mention emerging innovators such as Phyllis Tickle, Jurgen Moltmann, and Walter Brueggemann. Yancey frequently references Thomas Merton in the book and recommends his readers turn to Merton (p. 337) and David Steindl-Rast (p. 338) for spiritual guidance. Yancey must have read these authors for he not only recommends them but also quotes from their books. This is not guilt by association but rather guilt by promotion. We could give you almost countless examples of what these authors believe, but let us just briefly look at a few quotes.
In Ray Yungen's book, A Time of Departing, he discloses that: "David Steindl-Rast once asked Thomas Merton what role Buddhism played in his going deeper into the spiritual life. Merton replied quite frankly: "I think I couldn't understand Christian teaching the way I do if it were not in the light of Buddhism" (The Dawn of the Mystical Age, Tuoti, p. 127, ATOD, p. 140).
Even more disturbing is Steindl-Rast's view of the atonement of Christ:
Unfortunately, over the course of the centuries, this [Christianity] has come to be presented in almost legal language, as if it were some sort of transaction, a deal with God; there was this gap between us and God, somebody had to make up for it-all that business. We can drop that. The legal metaphor seems to have helped other generations. Fine. Anything that helps is fine. But once it [the atonement] gets in the way, as it does today, we should drop it. (The Ground We Share, p. 45)
And lastly, we give you this quote by another Yancey author, Richard Rohr:
The term "cosmic Christ" reminds us that everything and everyone belongs. . . God's hope for humanity is that one day we will all recognize that the divine dwelling place is all of creation. Christ comes again whenever we see that matter and spirit co-exist.
It's not just that these authors who Yancey resonates with are individually bad-it's their collective movement that is bad. This is the same movement that Yancey clearly seems attracted to. This is the very reason Lighthouse Trails exists, not to slam people but to warn them where the contemplative, emerging movement will take them-ultimately away from the message of the Cross.
If you are unfamiliar with some of these names we have mentioned in this article, type them into the Lighthouse Trails search engine - what you find will be another "gospel" that is universalistic, mystical, socialistic, and interspiritual. Quoting one of Merton's biographers, Yungen recounts a scenario which reveals Merton's view on the relationship between God and man:
During a conference on contemplative prayer, the question was put to Thomas Merton: "How can we best help people to attain union with God?" His answer was very clear: We must tell them that they are already united with God. "Contemplative prayer is nothing other than 'coming into consciousness' of what is already there." (from Brennan Manning's book, The Signature of Jesus, p. 211)
Ray Yungen explains: "Merton was referring here to his pure glory-of-God-in-everybody worldview. He is not just speaking of Christians. His universalism elsewhere repudiates that fact" (ATOD, p. 83).
For Rick Warren to feature Philip Yancey at an "apologetics" conference gives another green light to the panentheistic contemplative prayer movement and the emerging theology that goes hand in hand. According to Webster's dictionary, the word "apologetics" is "a branch of theology devoted to the defense of the divine origin and authority of Christianity" (i.e., a defense of the biblical Christian faith).
Scot McKnight, one of the other speakers at Rick Warren's conference, is also part of the emerging spirituality. Roger Oakland speaks of McKnight in Faith Undone. What Oakland shows here illustrates the "road to Rome" views of those in the emerging/contemplative church:
McKnight, another emerging church influencer, was professor of religious studies at North Park University and on the Coordinating Group for Emergent Village. Of the emerging church, he stated:
"As a theologian, I have studied the movement and interacted with its key leaders for years-even more, I happily consider myself part of this movement or "conversation." As an evangelical, I've had my concerns, but overall I think what emerging Christians bring to the table is vital for the overall health of the church." ...
In referring to an Anglican service, McKnight speaks of the Eucharistic focus. He stated:
"[T]he point of an Anglican gathering on a Sunday morning is not to hear a sermon but to worship the Lord through the celebration of the Eucharist.... First some scripture readings and then the sermon and then some announcements and then the Eucharist liturgy with everyone coming forward to kneel and participate-publicly-in the body and blood."
McKnight said that "the Eucharist profoundly enables the grace of God to be received with all its glories and blessings" (Turning to Jesus, p. 7). No doubt, McKnight has had an impact on those in the emerging church movement, and his views on the Eucharist will rub off. (Faith Undone, pp. 136-137)
In McKnight's books Embracing Grace: A Gospel for All of Us (with an endorsement by Brian McLaren on the front cover and McLaren references within) and in his book A Community Called Atonement, McKnight doesn't necessarily reject penal substitutionary atonement (as does McLaren) but says there are many ways of viewing atonement, likening it to golf clubs-using different ones for different purposes (Prologue). Worth noting, McKnight's Atonement book was published by the emerging publishing partnership of Abingdon Press and Emergent Village. McKnight is seen by the emerging church as someone who represents it. And McKnight's website and his books confirm this with numerous favorable references on these issues. In his book Jesus Creed, he recommends a variety of books by contemplative advocates including Gary Thomas' book, Sacred Pathways, where he instructs readers to repeat a word for twenty minutes (which is mantric like meditation) and several other authors of whom we have already mentioned in this article. One of the books McKnight recommends is Eternal Wisdom from the Desert: Writings from the Desert Fathers. St. Anthony is one of the desert fathers featured in that book. Contemplative teacher, Willigis Jager disclosed the following:
Christian literature makes reference to many episodes that parallel the experiences of those going a yogic way. Saint Anthony, one of the first desert mystics, frequently encountered strange and sometimes terrifying psychophysical forces while at prayer. (Jager, Contemplation: A Christian Path, p. 72)
What is being described here is the Kundalini experience that can happen during mantric-like episodes. While McKnight does not come right out in his books and recommend practicing this, he recommends those who do. What we consider McKnight to be is a "bridger," someone who claims orthodoxy but is actually being used as a bridge between orthodoxy and a dangerous mystical practice.
Lastly, this article will focus on Peter Kreeft, one of the other "apologetic" teachers at Saddleback this past fall. Kreeft was a Dutch Reformed Protestant who converted to Catholicism. He is considered by many to be a leading apologist of the Catholic faith. Kreeft embraces wholeheartedly the doctrinal elements that have traditionally split Catholics and Protestants such as the validity of the devotion to Mary and the validity of the Catholic sacraments. In his book, Ecumenical Jihad, he states the following:
Now I see that God prefers to work through intermediaries-Mary and the saints . . . He wants us to pray through Mary and not only directly. (p. 154)
[Mary] may bring the churches together again and heal the tears in her Son's visible body on earth, she, the very one who seems to divide Catholics from Protestants. The most distinctive Catholic doctrines, especially those concerning the Eucharist and Mary, may prove to be the most unifying and attracting ones. (p. 158)
Consecrate your life to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. She is the one who will win this war. She is the one (as the Bible says) who triumphs over Satan. (p. 169 - parenthesis in original)
In Faith Undone, Roger Oakland explains Kreeft's predictions of the plans of the Catholic church to bring in a eucharistic, mystical "Christ" whom the world will worship. Oakland states:
What if the Eucharistic Jesus that Catholics worship and adore miraculously started healing those who adored his presence? Wouldn't this be a strong draw to those yet outside the Catholic Church? And as Boston College professor and meditation proponent Peter Kreeft predicted in his book Ecumenical Jihad, Eucharistic adoration will have a powerful ecumenical, interspiritual effect. He says "the power that will reunite the [Catholic] Church and win the world is Eucharistic adoration. (FA, pp. 141-142)
For readers who do not understand the significance of the papacy's efforts to win back the lost brethren (Protestants) to the Mother of all churches (Rome) through the Eucharistic "Christ" and the new evangelization plan, please read Roger Oakland's powerful expose, Another Jesus (we have several excerpts free on our site).
In addition to Kreeft's absolute commitment to the Catholic Church's Eucharistic "Christ" and the role of Mary, he is a proponent of contemplative spirituality as well. Kreeft was one of the speakers in the Be Still DVD, the infomercial for contemplative prayer, with Beth Moore and Richard Foster. As with most, if not all, long-term contemplative proponents, Kreeft's interspiritual propensities are illustrated in his writings. In Ecumenical Jihad, he says that it is "very likely" that within the Hindu and Muslim faiths there is a "hidden Christ" (p. 156). Quoting the late panentheist and interspiritualist Raymond Pannikar ("the apostle of inter-faith dialogue"), Kreeft gives credence to Pannikar's cosmic christ that Pannikar believed exists in all people. Kreeft believes that if all the religions of the world can come together in unity (and in adoration of the Immaculate [without sin] Mary), then the ills of the world can be healed. Remembering something Rick Warren said about four years ago in referring to a "second reformation in the church" helps one to understand why Warren resonates with Kreeft enough to invite him as an apologist:
The man of peace is open and influential ... and here's the other thing, the man of peace does not have to be a Christian believer, could be Muslim, could be Jewish. (Interview with Charlie Rose - 29:00 min. mark)
Yancey, McKnight, and Kreeft - apologetics for the biblical Christian faith? Based on what we have just shown here, how would you answer that question? Apparently, these are not important issues to Rick Warren though. Rick Warren told Larry King once that his goal in life is to bring about a new reformation. But the reformation Warren has defined over and over is ecumenical, contemplative, and emerging. Obviously, he considers Yancey, McKnight, and Kreeft fellow defenders of the faith. But we must ask ourselves, what faith is Rick Warren defending?
In a SoJourner's magazine article (see *below) Philip Yancey once stated that he was surprised at how much he had gotten away with in the evangelical church. We wonder if Rick Warren may be saying the same thing these days. We beseech Christian leaders who have helped further the Purpose Driven movement through their public adherence to step up to the plate and say, "I Was Wrong. I was wrong to promote him. I was wrong to be silent when I did finally realize the truth." Is it really that difficult for Christian leaders to see the direction that Rick Warren has been going all along? Leaders, pastors, teachers, are you going to continue linking arms with "America's Pastor" who is clearly drawing closer and closer to a spirituality that the likes of David Steindl-Rast would embrace? Or will you choose to hold fast to the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Will you please men or will you be the servant of Christ?
"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ". Galatians 1:6-10
Notes:
* Philip Yancey: "I myself have been surprised at what I can get away with. When I sent off the manuscript of What's So Amazing About Grace? I said to my wife, Janet, "That's probably the last book I'm going to write for the evangelical market." It's got a whole chapter on Mel White, who's now a gay activist, and it's got a whole chapter on Bill Clinton, who's not the most favored president of evangelicals." Sojourner Magazine "Sex, Lies and Living on the Evangelical Edge".
In September 2009, Rick Warren held his first Apologetics Weekend conference at Saddleback Church. The conference featured some known apologists such as Norman Geisler and Gary Koukl. (It also included contemplative teacher J.P. Moreland.) The conference was a surprise to some who have followed with discernment the teachings and promotions of Rick Warren over the last decade-it seemed out of place for someone who had promoted the emerging church, contemplative prayer, and kingdom-on-earth-now beliefs to be presenting an "apologetics" conference. No doubt, some assumed that Rick Warren was changing his ways. Just a month prior, at the annual Harvest Crusade by Greg Laurie, Chuck Smith (founder of Calvary Chapel) stood in front of thousands and introduced Rick Warren who was sitting on the platform as his "good friend," inviting him to lead the audience in prayer (see video). Just three years earlier, Chuck Smith denounced the Purpose Driven teachings as incompatible with Calvary Chapel teachings and dropped Warren's book from the Calvary Chapel book distribution.
Between the Harvest Crusade and the Apologetics Weekend at Saddleback, both in 2009, it's no wonder some people were thinking Rick Warren and the Purpose Driven movement were now coming into alignment with traditional evangelical thought. But no evidence showed that Warren's focus or direction had actually changed. And one year after the 2009 Saddleback Apologetics Weekend, the 2nd Annual Apologetics Weekend took place and has provided the proof (once again) that Rick Warren's Purpose Driven movement is indeed going down a path that is contemplative, emerging, and even on a ecumenical road to "Rome." The title of the 2010 "Apologetics" conference was "Who is Jesus?" We believe that the "Jesus" represented at this conference is another Jesus with another gospel, as we will show in this article (2 Corinthians 11:4, Galatians 1:8).
Seeing this year's Apologetics Weekend speaker lineup was even a surprise for Lighthouse Trails. Not because we thought Warren's choice of speakers was contrary to what he believes but because it seemed so blatant and obvious.
This report will focus on three of the speakers at Saddleback's 2010 Apologetics Weekend conference: Philip Yancey, Peter Kreeft, and Scot McKnight. By the time readers finish reading this article, we think you may agree that Rick Warren's Apologetics conference should really be titled: "Rick Warren's Emerging Contemplative Road to Rome Apologetics Weekend."
Christianity Today editor-at-large, Philip Yancey, has been the subject of a number of Lighthouse Trails articles for his strong propensity toward contemplative prayer as well as his public statements regarding the homosexual lifestyle. Last week we posted an article about Yancey's upcoming speaking engagement with the "Gay Christian Network." Roger Oakland addresses some of Yancey's views in Faith Undone (p. 215):
In 2004, Philip Yancey accepted an interview with Candace Chellew-Hodge for Whosoever, "an online magazine for Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual, and Transgendered Christians." When Chellew-Hodge asked Yancey about his views on gays and lesbians in the church, Yancey answered:
"When it gets to particular matters of policy, like ordaining gay and lesbian ministers, I'm confused, like a lot of people. There are a few-not many, but a few-passages of Scripture that give me pause. Frankly, I don't know the answer to those questions."
My question to Yancey and other proclaiming Christian leaders is why don't you know the answer? The Bible is clear on this matter . . . part of being a Christian is accepting God's Word and trusting that it is truly just that. Yancey may not be an emergent leader, but his beliefs certainly fit with emerging spirituality. The following statement he [Yancey] makes shows he shares a similar disregard for biblical doctrine:
"Perhaps our day calls for a new kind of ecumenical movement: not of doctrine, nor even of religious unity, but one that builds on what Jews, Christians, and Muslims hold in common. . . . Indeed, Jews, Christians, and Muslims have much in common."
Yancey is not just causing confusion over the sinfulness of practicing homosexuality, but he is a strong advocate for contemplative mystical spirituality as well. In his 2006 book (with a 2010 edition with the same basic components), Prayer: Does it Make Any Difference, there is a who's who of mystical prayer and panentheist references some of which are Thomas Merton, goddess worshipper Sue Monk Kidd, Henri Nouwen, Evelyn Underhill, Kenneth Leach, Meister Eckhart, Teresa of Avila, The Cloud of Unknowing, Francis de Sales, Richard Rohr (referring to him as a "theologian - p. 205), and Anne Lamott-not to mention emerging innovators such as Phyllis Tickle, Jurgen Moltmann, and Walter Brueggemann. Yancey frequently references Thomas Merton in the book and recommends his readers turn to Merton (p. 337) and David Steindl-Rast (p. 338) for spiritual guidance. Yancey must have read these authors for he not only recommends them but also quotes from their books. This is not guilt by association but rather guilt by promotion. We could give you almost countless examples of what these authors believe, but let us just briefly look at a few quotes.
In Ray Yungen's book, A Time of Departing, he discloses that: "David Steindl-Rast once asked Thomas Merton what role Buddhism played in his going deeper into the spiritual life. Merton replied quite frankly: "I think I couldn't understand Christian teaching the way I do if it were not in the light of Buddhism" (The Dawn of the Mystical Age, Tuoti, p. 127, ATOD, p. 140).
Even more disturbing is Steindl-Rast's view of the atonement of Christ:
Unfortunately, over the course of the centuries, this [Christianity] has come to be presented in almost legal language, as if it were some sort of transaction, a deal with God; there was this gap between us and God, somebody had to make up for it-all that business. We can drop that. The legal metaphor seems to have helped other generations. Fine. Anything that helps is fine. But once it [the atonement] gets in the way, as it does today, we should drop it. (The Ground We Share, p. 45)
And lastly, we give you this quote by another Yancey author, Richard Rohr:
The term "cosmic Christ" reminds us that everything and everyone belongs. . . God's hope for humanity is that one day we will all recognize that the divine dwelling place is all of creation. Christ comes again whenever we see that matter and spirit co-exist.
It's not just that these authors who Yancey resonates with are individually bad-it's their collective movement that is bad. This is the same movement that Yancey clearly seems attracted to. This is the very reason Lighthouse Trails exists, not to slam people but to warn them where the contemplative, emerging movement will take them-ultimately away from the message of the Cross.
If you are unfamiliar with some of these names we have mentioned in this article, type them into the Lighthouse Trails search engine - what you find will be another "gospel" that is universalistic, mystical, socialistic, and interspiritual. Quoting one of Merton's biographers, Yungen recounts a scenario which reveals Merton's view on the relationship between God and man:
During a conference on contemplative prayer, the question was put to Thomas Merton: "How can we best help people to attain union with God?" His answer was very clear: We must tell them that they are already united with God. "Contemplative prayer is nothing other than 'coming into consciousness' of what is already there." (from Brennan Manning's book, The Signature of Jesus, p. 211)
Ray Yungen explains: "Merton was referring here to his pure glory-of-God-in-everybody worldview. He is not just speaking of Christians. His universalism elsewhere repudiates that fact" (ATOD, p. 83).
For Rick Warren to feature Philip Yancey at an "apologetics" conference gives another green light to the panentheistic contemplative prayer movement and the emerging theology that goes hand in hand. According to Webster's dictionary, the word "apologetics" is "a branch of theology devoted to the defense of the divine origin and authority of Christianity" (i.e., a defense of the biblical Christian faith).
Scot McKnight, one of the other speakers at Rick Warren's conference, is also part of the emerging spirituality. Roger Oakland speaks of McKnight in Faith Undone. What Oakland shows here illustrates the "road to Rome" views of those in the emerging/contemplative church:
McKnight, another emerging church influencer, was professor of religious studies at North Park University and on the Coordinating Group for Emergent Village. Of the emerging church, he stated:
"As a theologian, I have studied the movement and interacted with its key leaders for years-even more, I happily consider myself part of this movement or "conversation." As an evangelical, I've had my concerns, but overall I think what emerging Christians bring to the table is vital for the overall health of the church." ...
In referring to an Anglican service, McKnight speaks of the Eucharistic focus. He stated:
"[T]he point of an Anglican gathering on a Sunday morning is not to hear a sermon but to worship the Lord through the celebration of the Eucharist.... First some scripture readings and then the sermon and then some announcements and then the Eucharist liturgy with everyone coming forward to kneel and participate-publicly-in the body and blood."
McKnight said that "the Eucharist profoundly enables the grace of God to be received with all its glories and blessings" (Turning to Jesus, p. 7). No doubt, McKnight has had an impact on those in the emerging church movement, and his views on the Eucharist will rub off. (Faith Undone, pp. 136-137)
In McKnight's books Embracing Grace: A Gospel for All of Us (with an endorsement by Brian McLaren on the front cover and McLaren references within) and in his book A Community Called Atonement, McKnight doesn't necessarily reject penal substitutionary atonement (as does McLaren) but says there are many ways of viewing atonement, likening it to golf clubs-using different ones for different purposes (Prologue). Worth noting, McKnight's Atonement book was published by the emerging publishing partnership of Abingdon Press and Emergent Village. McKnight is seen by the emerging church as someone who represents it. And McKnight's website and his books confirm this with numerous favorable references on these issues. In his book Jesus Creed, he recommends a variety of books by contemplative advocates including Gary Thomas' book, Sacred Pathways, where he instructs readers to repeat a word for twenty minutes (which is mantric like meditation) and several other authors of whom we have already mentioned in this article. One of the books McKnight recommends is Eternal Wisdom from the Desert: Writings from the Desert Fathers. St. Anthony is one of the desert fathers featured in that book. Contemplative teacher, Willigis Jager disclosed the following:
Christian literature makes reference to many episodes that parallel the experiences of those going a yogic way. Saint Anthony, one of the first desert mystics, frequently encountered strange and sometimes terrifying psychophysical forces while at prayer. (Jager, Contemplation: A Christian Path, p. 72)
What is being described here is the Kundalini experience that can happen during mantric-like episodes. While McKnight does not come right out in his books and recommend practicing this, he recommends those who do. What we consider McKnight to be is a "bridger," someone who claims orthodoxy but is actually being used as a bridge between orthodoxy and a dangerous mystical practice.
Lastly, this article will focus on Peter Kreeft, one of the other "apologetic" teachers at Saddleback this past fall. Kreeft was a Dutch Reformed Protestant who converted to Catholicism. He is considered by many to be a leading apologist of the Catholic faith. Kreeft embraces wholeheartedly the doctrinal elements that have traditionally split Catholics and Protestants such as the validity of the devotion to Mary and the validity of the Catholic sacraments. In his book, Ecumenical Jihad, he states the following:
Now I see that God prefers to work through intermediaries-Mary and the saints . . . He wants us to pray through Mary and not only directly. (p. 154)
[Mary] may bring the churches together again and heal the tears in her Son's visible body on earth, she, the very one who seems to divide Catholics from Protestants. The most distinctive Catholic doctrines, especially those concerning the Eucharist and Mary, may prove to be the most unifying and attracting ones. (p. 158)
Consecrate your life to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. She is the one who will win this war. She is the one (as the Bible says) who triumphs over Satan. (p. 169 - parenthesis in original)
In Faith Undone, Roger Oakland explains Kreeft's predictions of the plans of the Catholic church to bring in a eucharistic, mystical "Christ" whom the world will worship. Oakland states:
What if the Eucharistic Jesus that Catholics worship and adore miraculously started healing those who adored his presence? Wouldn't this be a strong draw to those yet outside the Catholic Church? And as Boston College professor and meditation proponent Peter Kreeft predicted in his book Ecumenical Jihad, Eucharistic adoration will have a powerful ecumenical, interspiritual effect. He says "the power that will reunite the [Catholic] Church and win the world is Eucharistic adoration. (FA, pp. 141-142)
For readers who do not understand the significance of the papacy's efforts to win back the lost brethren (Protestants) to the Mother of all churches (Rome) through the Eucharistic "Christ" and the new evangelization plan, please read Roger Oakland's powerful expose, Another Jesus (we have several excerpts free on our site).
In addition to Kreeft's absolute commitment to the Catholic Church's Eucharistic "Christ" and the role of Mary, he is a proponent of contemplative spirituality as well. Kreeft was one of the speakers in the Be Still DVD, the infomercial for contemplative prayer, with Beth Moore and Richard Foster. As with most, if not all, long-term contemplative proponents, Kreeft's interspiritual propensities are illustrated in his writings. In Ecumenical Jihad, he says that it is "very likely" that within the Hindu and Muslim faiths there is a "hidden Christ" (p. 156). Quoting the late panentheist and interspiritualist Raymond Pannikar ("the apostle of inter-faith dialogue"), Kreeft gives credence to Pannikar's cosmic christ that Pannikar believed exists in all people. Kreeft believes that if all the religions of the world can come together in unity (and in adoration of the Immaculate [without sin] Mary), then the ills of the world can be healed. Remembering something Rick Warren said about four years ago in referring to a "second reformation in the church" helps one to understand why Warren resonates with Kreeft enough to invite him as an apologist:
The man of peace is open and influential ... and here's the other thing, the man of peace does not have to be a Christian believer, could be Muslim, could be Jewish. (Interview with Charlie Rose - 29:00 min. mark)
Yancey, McKnight, and Kreeft - apologetics for the biblical Christian faith? Based on what we have just shown here, how would you answer that question? Apparently, these are not important issues to Rick Warren though. Rick Warren told Larry King once that his goal in life is to bring about a new reformation. But the reformation Warren has defined over and over is ecumenical, contemplative, and emerging. Obviously, he considers Yancey, McKnight, and Kreeft fellow defenders of the faith. But we must ask ourselves, what faith is Rick Warren defending?
In a SoJourner's magazine article (see *below) Philip Yancey once stated that he was surprised at how much he had gotten away with in the evangelical church. We wonder if Rick Warren may be saying the same thing these days. We beseech Christian leaders who have helped further the Purpose Driven movement through their public adherence to step up to the plate and say, "I Was Wrong. I was wrong to promote him. I was wrong to be silent when I did finally realize the truth." Is it really that difficult for Christian leaders to see the direction that Rick Warren has been going all along? Leaders, pastors, teachers, are you going to continue linking arms with "America's Pastor" who is clearly drawing closer and closer to a spirituality that the likes of David Steindl-Rast would embrace? Or will you choose to hold fast to the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Will you please men or will you be the servant of Christ?
"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ". Galatians 1:6-10
Notes:
* Philip Yancey: "I myself have been surprised at what I can get away with. When I sent off the manuscript of What's So Amazing About Grace? I said to my wife, Janet, "That's probably the last book I'm going to write for the evangelical market." It's got a whole chapter on Mel White, who's now a gay activist, and it's got a whole chapter on Bill Clinton, who's not the most favored president of evangelicals." Sojourner Magazine "Sex, Lies and Living on the Evangelical Edge".
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