Mysticism In The Church... Contemplative or Centering Prayer Contemplating The Alternative
Since it is certain that, regardless of personal belief, something does transpire during mystical experiences, the question that springs to mind is what can explain this phenomena. To say it is the Holy Spirit is just so much tosh, since there is not one, not two, but seven common themes of mysticism between Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu and American agnostic mystical experiences.
Roots of Evil I .. The Origin and History of Contemplative Prayer
The Desert Fathers, Hesychasm and the Philokalia, St. John Cassian, The Way of a Pilgrim, The Jesus Prayer, The Cloud of Unknowing, Dom John Main, Meister Eckhart. All of the above thought they had discovered the way to God, totally ignoring the restrictions God places on what means we use to come to Him. They also forgot the warnings that evil spirits have been practicing the art of deception for thousands of years. Spirits that willingly give people whatever experiences they know they will fall for. Roots of Evil II .. The Origin and History of Contemplative Prayer
Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Thomas Keating... We trust these men to point us in the direction of God. Yet they were all Catholics who, not only could not see through Rome’s foundational heresies, but promoted the integration of pagan practices such as Zen Buddhism and Hindu yoga with Christianity.
So why are we not insisting that our teachers at least be Christians? Guess we must be even more stupid than they were..
Contemporary Christian Divination
We are not putting God in a box, God is putting us in a sheepfold if we are willing to be there. The practices of “thinking outside the box” that are so popular today are fatal when it comes to spirituality. God has not left access to spiritual truth in the hands of innovative thinkers who like pioneers blaze new trails. God has given access to Himself, once for all, through Jesus Christ who is our heavenly High Priest. The truth is revealed once for all in the Scriptures. Mysticism
A Look at Quaker minister Richard J. Foster’s Celebration of Discipline, the Path to Spiritual Growth. 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. 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. 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 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." 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.
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 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. Teen Mania/ BattleCry /Acquire the Fire
So how can we tell whether Teen Mania’s success comes from well oiled corporate planning or from a movement of the Holy Spirit, seeking to draw young people to Christ. The Bible says.. By their fruits Ye shall know them " (Matt 7:16 ). So what are some of the fruits of Teen Mania and related organizations? How can one point a finger at a Christian youth organization devoted to steering teenagers away from drugs, alcohol and premarital sex. Unfortunately Ron Luce and his organization have made it very easy introducing "millions of young people worldwide" to mysticism.
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Index To Section 10A 
