Mysticism What Is Mysticism?
Mysticism is a very ancient and extremely dangerous spiritual practice that should NEVER, under any circumstance, be taken lightly or researched without much prayerful discernment and scriptural comparison. Includes 20 Mystical Beliefs & Practices to Avoid Meditation and The Scriptures
Many people quote Scripture to endorse a form of meditation that involves techniques on "quieting" the mind or going beyond the mind. Is this what these verses are talking about? Evangelicals and Mysticism
There is an increasing number of professing evangelicals involved who, under normal circumstances, would have nothing to do with the Church of Rome, but who, wittingly or unwittingly are caught up in mystical practices (or at least advocating such practices) which are either a direct legacy of Roman Catholic mysticism or a deceptive derivative of it. Richard Foster and Renovare
Classical mysticism was virtually unknown in Evangelical circles until 1978 when Quaker minister Richard J. Foster published Celebration of Discipline, the Path to Spiritual Growth. Founding the organization Renovaré to promote the revival of the meditative and contemplative traditions among main line Christians Foster has reintroduced to the church the so-called masters of the interior life [the Medieval Mystics], declaring that they alone have discovered the key to true spiritual life and slowly, over the last few years, convinced multitudes that he is right. It is necessary therefore, to examine their teachings and practices from a biblical perspective Mysticism
Many thirsty believers, wanting something more, something deeper than has been their experience, are becoming infatuated with mysticism. Unfortunately this attraction to mystical practices, which was once in a little corner of the Christian subculture, has moved into the mainstream. More and more organizations, colleges, seminaries and authors are proclaiming the superiority of mystical Christianity. We need to be prepared to defend the faith against this highly dangerous perversion of biblical Christianity. A Look at Quaker minister Richard J. Foster’s Celebration of Discipline, the Path to Spiritual Growth. Defining The Boundaries Of Evangelical Spirituality
It is quite common today to find Catholic and mystical influences permeating both popular and scholarly Evangelical writing on spirituality. Just try to find a recent volume on spirituality written by an Evangelical that isn’t brimming with quotations from Catholics, mystics, and Quakers, and directly or indirectly promoting them as models and teachers of spirituality despite their theologies of revelation and salvation. Real Spirituality
We live in a culture that has very different values and beliefs than those found in the Bible. Yet our culture's values are very similar to the values of the culture in which the New Testament was written. The authors of the New Testament were very concerned about the influence of their culture's worldview on their readers' faith. We should be equally concerned about our culture's influence on how we think about "spirituality." Meditation Techniques vs. The Word Of God
Unfortunately, Eastern forms of meditation are practiced by Christians in many churches. Meditation techniques are called various names to offer the practice to those who are naïve of Hinduism. Nowhere in Scripture does God condone self-induced altered states of consciousness by the manipulation of our mental or bodily processes. Nor is The ultimate spiritual goal is to be absorbed into, or be fully indwelt by, "God" (whatever that may be to the person). Drumming Up "Jesus"
Has Christianity “gone wild” or are we in the last days and the grand delusion is underway? Why are professing Christians buying drums to drum up spiritual experiences? Why are they not reading the Bible that warns about doctrines of demons? Doctrine and Devotion
Each person's spiritual practices are informed and shaped by his theology. In one sense then, there is no such thing as a spirituality that is not theological. A man or woman prays (or doesn't), for example, on the basis of what he or she believes about God and prayer. I contend that we should be more consciously theological in our spirituality, striving for clear, overt connections between our doctrine and our devotion. Certain forms of prayer should be rejected and others practiced, not merely because of church tradition or novelty or how they make us feel, but as a direct result of what we believe the Bible teaches. Otherwise our spirituality will be shaped primarily by the theology of others, namely those whose practices we adopt. The Willow Creek Family Tree
This is a long and growing list of so-called Christian leaders, New Age philosophers and humanistic psychologist who are directly or indirectly validated by Willow Creek and/or its leader, Bill Hybels. It is a dense, interconnected directory of names that might make you dizzy from its complexity, but it speaks volumes about how deeply networked these false teachers are within the Willow Creek organization and how insidious their influence could become to unsuspecting churches. I Want To Feeeeel God
There are 176 verses in Psalm 119. If you take the time to read it you should notice how many times you read the words law, word, testimonies, commandments, statues, precepts. They're in just about every verse. Look how frequently these words are mentioned [174 times.]. (KJV) That certainly doesn't look like a God who is asking us to empty our minds so he may speak to us.
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Index To Section 10A 
