For thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they are filled with customs from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of foreigners. Isaiah 2:6. (Emphasis Added. The word translated “East,” qedem denotes also “antiquity,” or that which is “of old,” as well as the (Geographic) East. Barnes) What Is Centering Prayer.. Origins and History
It was Thomas Keating, who distilled the ancient prayer practices of the Christian contemplative heritage, notably the Fathers and Mothers of the Desert, Lectio Divina, (praying the scriptures), The Cloud of Unknowing, St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila into a simple method of prayer in the 1970’s and is a significant voice in the dialogue in our time. Lectio Divina-Sacred Divination?
Modern day contemplative prayer movement stems from the monastic period of Christianity (early middle ages), which was a time of experimentation and mystical practices. One of the practices, lectio divina, meaning sacred reading, involved taking a page of Scripture and reading it over and over again What Is Centering Prayer?
Can we find God or enhance our experience of Jesus by entering into an altered state of consciousness? Please Contemplate This
If one cannot find any of these methods or techniques in the Bible or show that any prophet or apostle, practiced any of these "spiritual" exercises, how can these exercises be considered God's way of knowing Him? How much of this movement with its mystical saints and classic works is Catholic, advancing the Catholic way of salvation? Could there be any significance in the fact that this movement practically died out after the Reformation, only to be revived today! Contemplative Prayer and the Evangelical Church
The twentieth century, which has seen so many revolutions, is now witnessing the rise of a new mysticism within Christianity. …For the new mysticism has learned much from the great religions of Asia. It has felt the impact of Yoga and Zen and the monasticism of Tibet. It pays attention to posture and breathing; it knows about the music of the mantra and the silence of samadhi.… Now what I say of Zen is true also of Christian mysticism. It also leads to an altered state of consciousness where all is one in God. Contemplative Spirituality
Contemplative or Centering Prayer is a practice derived from Eastern mysticism. Precious biblical concepts like God's grace and love are actually replaced by vague notions of wholeness through an eastern religious meditation technique. A Review of Brennan Manning's The Signature of Jesus | 
Index To 
