Searching for the Truth in the King James Bible;
Finding it, and passing it on to you.




EDITOR:
Steve Van Nattan

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CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER

The story of Hinduism, witchcraft, and evil spirits brought
into the Lord's Church by wolves in sheep's clothing.

 


ARTICLE FROM LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS RESEARCH

by Ray Yungen

It was Alice Bailey (the famous occult prophetess who coined the term New Age), who made this startling assertion:

It is, of course, easy to find many passages which link the way of the Christian Knower with that of his brother in the East. They bear witness to the same efficacy of method.

What did she mean by the term “Christian Knower”? The answer is unmistakable! … [O]ccultism is awakening the mystical faculties to see God in everything. In Hinduism, this is called reaching samadhi or enlightenment. It is the final objective of yoga meditation: God in everything – a force or power flowing through all that exists. William Johnston believes such an experience exists within the context of Christianity. He explains:

What I can safely say, however, is that there is a Christian samadhi that has always occupied an honored place in the spirituality of the West. This, I believe, is the thing that is nearest to Zen. It is this that I have called Christian Zen.

The famous psychologist Carl Jung predicted this system would be the yoga of the west. Christian Zen? Christian yoga? These seem to be oxymorons, like military pacifism or alcoholic sobriety. Christians, conservative ones at least, have always viewed these concepts as heretical and anti-biblical. The word most commonly used for it is pantheism – all is God. But when one looks at the Christian Zen movement one discovers a similar term, which for all practical purposes, means the same thing. This term is called panentheism?God is in all things….

[Does] panentheism have a legitimate place in orthodox Christianity? This is a vital question because panentheism is the foundational worldview among those who engage in mystical prayer. Ken Kaisch, a Episcopal priest and a teacher of mystical prayer, made this very clear in his book, Finding God, where he noted:

Meditation is a process through which we quiet the mind and the emotions and enter directly into the experience of the Divine…. there is a deep connection between us … God is in each of us.

Here lies the core of panentheism: God is in everything and everything is in God. The only difference between pantheism and panentheism is how God is in everything. This position of the panentheist is challenging to understand: Your outer personality is not God, but God is still in you as your true identity. This explains why mystics say, all is one. At the mystical level, they experience this God-force that seems to flow through everything and everybody. All creation has God in it as a living, vital presence. It is just hidden.

The theological implications of this worldview put it at direct odds with biblical Christianity for obvious reasons. Only one true God exists, and His identity is not in everyone. The fullness of God?s identity, in bodily form, rests in Jesus Christ and Him only!

 

BE STILL

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/bestilldvd.htm
One of the presenters of the Be Still DVD is Richard Foster. Richard Foster's book, Devotional Classics, he quotes 16th Century mystic Madame Guyon to describe the practice, "make use of scripture to quiet your mind. First read a passage of scripture. Once you sense the Lord's presence, the content of what you read is no longer important. The scripture has served its purpose; it has quieted your mind; it has brought you to him. You should always remember that you are not there to gain an understanding of what you have read; rather you are reading to turn your mind from the outward things to the deep parts of your being. You are not there to learn or to read, but you are there to experience the presence of your Lord"

 

ORIGIN OF CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER

http://www.onetruthministries.com/LectioDivina.htm
"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."

 

HINDUISM

Kundalini Yoga
This Hundu Puna (worship) aspect is now drenching Charismatic churches and their leaders.

Tantric Yoga
This is sexual perversion in a thin candy shell of contemplation. The object of contemplation is the chakra from which sexual forces come forth.

 

ROMAN CATHOLIC RANK WHITE HOT HERESY ABOUT CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER
This is all about demon possession in the guise of godliness

 

TONY CAMPOLO BELITTLES BIBLE STUDY AND USES THE BIBLE AS A MANTRA
Key words: Close the Bible and listen -- Be still -- Two messages from the same text

 

WRITERS WHO INSPIRE CONTEMPLATIVE CHRISTIAN GURUS

Into the Depths of God
-Calvin Miller

Faith: Tried and Triumphant
-D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones -

This is creepy. This man was a real Bible teacher and NOT in any way near this rubbish. He was Reformed and like the Puritans, he was a deep thinker, but he was NOT into contemplative monastic notions. This again is bait for the narrow way suckers who run to books rather than the Bible.

The Life God Blesses
-Jim Cymbala

Created to Be His Help Meet
-Debi Pearl

The Pearl's Kundalini and Tantric sexual imagery in teaching spiritual things works well for contemplative prayer. The mystics in India were rampant with notions of sex, prayer, and transcendence.

The Pursuit of God
-A.W. Tozer -

Tozer was a deeper life man, but he was death on mysticism. This is a bait name meant to sucker you in.

Secrets of the Secret Place
-Bob Sorge

In his book Fire of God's Love, the following synopsis was made at a book sales site:
"Section V deals with the allegory of the Song of Solomon--Christ's relationship with His Bride, the Church. In this section Sorge examines the different levels of consecration in the life of the Christian. He starts with chapter 19 pointing out the nuances of our fervency for Christ during the honeymoon stage of our union. Chapters 20-23 stays with the theme of the Song of Solomon examining the progressive stages of intensity in our passion for the Lord as we mature in our relationship with Him. The author makes it clear that along our journey toward spiritual maturity we will, of course, encounter opposition from our enemy, Satan. This opposition comes in the form of pain, suffering and obstacles and is ultimately designed to keep us from passionately pursuing our Saviour. However, Sorge encourages the reader through the Word of God to persevere and keep loving God knowing also that the Lord rewards our diligence. "The Fire of God's Love" will help you to appreciate the intensity of His love for us and the joy that comes from loving and obeying Him passionately whether you're in the valley or on top of the mountain."

This sounds like the Pearl's notions that having sex in marriage is as close to heavenly marriage as is possible in this life. Here is the Kundalini principle at work. Song of Solomon has NOTHING to do with the Church and Christ. It is all about marriage. Those who spiritualize it or make types of the book end up with perverted images of Christ and the Church.

Hearing God
-Peter Lord Charismatic and claims to be an Apostle.

The Barbarian Way
-Erwin Raphael McManus

The Joy of Listening to God
-Joyce Huggett

The Practice of the Presence of God
-Brother Lawrence Look who likes his books

When the Soul Listens
-Jan Johnson

Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ
-Jeanne Guyon

 

DEPAK CHOPRA

 

This is 100% contrary to the Word of God:

Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

Colossians 1:25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

 

PRISCILLA SHIRER

Prisilla Shirer is a graduate of (Dallas Theological Seminary) and is an internationally-recognized Bible teacher who focuses her ministry on the expository teaching of the Word of God to women. She desires to see women both understand the uncompromising truths of Scripture intellectually and experience them practically. Priscilla is the author of A Jewel in His Crown, And We Are Changed, He Speaks to Me, and Discerning the Voice of God. She is also an accomplished vocalist. Priscilla and her husband, Jerry, are the founders of Going Beyond Ministries and live in Dallas, Texas with their three sons.

We’re also told that Prisiclla Shirer was mentored by the man-centered motivational speaker Zig Ziglar: she received a request to facilitate a Bible study at Ziglar Training Systems in Dallas, Texas. It was that day that she met international motivational speaker Zig Ziglar, who became not only her friend but also her mentor. She was asked to come on board as one of the company’s motivational speakers and corporate trainers.

So, what about Zig Zigler? He is obviously the guru of her life, and he is highly suspect. Here are some of the noted quotes tossed around among motivational people that are credited to Zig Zigler:

"If you can dream it, then you can achieve it. You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want." That is sub-christian feel good rubbish and leaves God totally OUT of success. Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

"Building a better you is the first step to building a better America." False- A better America will be made of born again Americans, not self-built people. This is simply Robert Schuler in the pot nine days old. Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

"Money isn't the most important thing in life, but it's reasonably close to oxygen on the "gotta have it" scale." So, oxygen, money, and what else. Jesus comes in third place at best. Now, I am told that Ziggy says these things more biblically when at Promise Keepers in the past and other Christian venues more recently. So what. Having two apologetics are NEVER justified simply because one must do so in order to keep the cash flow up. Love of money is clearly Ziggy's top priority right after oxygen. Proverbs 16:16 How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!

"You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want." That is pure pagan rubbish. It sounds like Mother Teresa or the Dalai Lama, but NOT Jesus. Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

"If you want to reach a goal, you must "see the reaching" in your own mind before you actually arrive at your goal." The goal, or "mark" in the Bible is NOT in my mind, it is the high calling of God in Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

ZIGGY GETS EXTRA-BIBLICAL REVELATION

SO WHAT DID PRICILLA LEARN FROM HER MENTOR ZIDDY?

“A place of freedom and peace awaits every woman who aligns herself with God’s design.” Clever, but flawed. We cannot align ourselves, we are MADE to conform by no works of our own. 1 Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. God did it all without our alignment efforts. She is closer than Ziggy, but off nonetheless.

So, Priccilla gets her zeal and motivation from a fast talking slick good old boy, not from the Word of God. Here are some quotes from her books as found at http://www.donotbesurprised.com

Pastor Gary Gilley: It appears from the above that Shirer may be open to direct communication from God to the believer through more than the reading of His Word. In answering another question, "How can I really hear God speak to me personally?" Shirer answered in part:

Pastor Gary Gilley's recent article on the topic:

Of course every mystic’s favorite passage on this subject is Elijah’s “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12-13). For example, Ruth Haley Barton tells us, “Elijah’s willingness to enter into solitude and silence opened room for God to minister to him in ways he had not yet experienced” (p. 19). Even a cursory reading of the account finds that Elijah had no desire to enter into solitude and silence as Barton describes it. He was running for his life from Jezebel, depressed and ready to entirely give up his life as a prophet. God graciously reached out and restored His man, but Elijah wasn’t looking for an experience with God. Additionally there is no command anywhere in Scripture to try to duplicate Elijah’s example. Simply put, while seeking a quiet place to be alone with God is without question a good idea and is exemplified in Scripture, it is not commanded and is never taught as essential for discipleship.

It is important to understand that in using the discipline of silence/solitude, spiritual formation leaders are looking for something beyond discipleship; they are looking for a personal word, a message, a revelation, from the Lord. This is why Elijah’s experience is so prominent in all contemplative writings. The idea is, if Elijah went alone and heard the “still small voice of God,” then if we follow in his footsteps we will experience the same.

Gilley's observation:

It appears from the above that Shirer may be open to direct communication from God to the believer through more than the reading of His Word. In answering another question, "How can I really hear God speak to me personally?" Shirer answered in part:

Pastor Gilley: Is That You, God? is a booklet that contains material from Shirer's full-length book, Discerning the Voice of God. This booklet is published by and is available for purchase from any SBC Lifeway bookstore. Only two paragraphs into the introduction of this booklet, Shirer writes:

Before you read any further, let me assure you of an important point. To not speak contradicts God's nature. The second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, is called the Word (see John 1:1). That designation stands at odds with silence. God loved you enough to die for you; He loves you enough to communicate with you. The Lord can and will speak to you if you've placed your faith in Jesus. First, however, you must expect and anticipate that the divine voice of God can ring in your ears and heart. (Priscilla Shirer, Is That You, God? [Lifeway Press: 2009], 6).

What Shirer fails to acknowledge here is that God has spoken, finally and fully, in His Word. For us to expect additional revelation from Him is to indicate that His Word is not enough. Shirer bases her argument on a misunderstanding of John 10:27, wherein Jesus states, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." A fuller look at the context of this verse helps one to better understand what our Lord is saying:

So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:24-30)

It is clear that our Lord is teaching here about His Father's divine, sovereign election, and the assurance of the saints. Christ's sheep "hear [His] voice," not in an audible manner, but those who have been elected by God will come to know Christ, be saved by Him and thus be enabled to do His will. Only those who are Christ's sheep will believe and follow Him, and He alone has the power to keep them safe.

 

 

Editor Steve Van Nattan: I notice here the clear heritage of these modern mystic in the book Something More by Catherine Marshall written back in about 1960 in which she clearly craved something more than the mere Word of God and the Christian experience well known to true Bible believers. This fired up the Charismatic Movement in its early days, and she went on to write for Guideposts and the Freemason mystic and blasphemer Norman Vincent Peale.

Pastor Gilley: Shirer continues in this booklet to inform her readers of her own personal experiences of "hearing" God's voice.

I often wish that a visible sign, like the cloud that led the children of Israel by day or the pillar of fire that led them by night, would supernaturally appear in my life when I need to make a decision. So far, that hasn't happened. I have, however, heard a still small voice speaking to my heart over various situations.

Interestingly, when God chose to speak in the Bible, those who heard didn't doubt whether God had spoken or what He was asking them to do. He made His Word clear as He spoke to "our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways" (Heb. 1:1, NIV). Just as He did in times long past, God wants us to hear, recognize, and obey His voice today. We too can walk in the assurance that what we hear comes from Him. But before we can do that, we need to understand the Messenger and the primary method through which He chooses to communicate today: the Holy Spirit. (Shirer, 12–13, emphasis added).

It is true that God speaks and works today through the Holy Spirit, especially as the Spirit reveals and illumines the Word of God for every Christian. It is unfortunate that Shirer did not choose to quote verse 2 of the first chapter of Hebrews. If she had, she may have come to understand why it is that the canon is closed, and that God has spoken to us fully and finally through His Word and Son, Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

This was spoken by the Apostles, and Revelation 22:18-19 assigns damnation to any voice speaking anything new into the canon of the World. Also verse 3 makes it clear that the only two voices speaking truth are the Lord himself as he lived his life out in Galilee and the writings of the Apostles.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

Any word not originting from Christ while he lived on earth, or from the Apostolic writings, is damned to hell and from either hell bound men or Satan himself.

Pastor Gilley: Those who believe that God is continuing to offer new revelation today deny the sufficiency of Scripture. Priscilla Shirer does just this in the following quote:

But, as author Dallas Willard said, "Far be it from me to deny that spectacular experiences occur or that they are, sometimes at least, given by God." I believe as he, however, that "the still small voice–or the interior or inner voice, as it is also called–is the preferred and most valuable form of individualized communication for God's purposes. (Shirer, 16, emphasis added).

Shirer here not only has undermined the authority and sufficiency of Scripture, but she has begun to tread on dangerous, mystical ground. Throughout her booklet, Is That You, God?, Shirer seems to indicate that the Christian need not fear hearing from anyone or anything other than the Almighty. Yet, how is she to know if she is conversing with God, with herself, or with another spiritual entity? Even those who promote and teach these aberrant ideas of spiritual formation, contemplative prayer and meditation warn about the possibility of hearing from something or someone other than God. Consider the quotes below from contemplative prayer proponents Dallas Willard (Shirer's inspiration) and Richard Foster (New Ager), respectively:

There are other ‘spiritual voices,’ too…. Satan … too will speak in our heart once he sees he no longer holds us in his hand. Only if we learn to recognize this voice as well can we … correctly identify and firmly resist him and make him flee from us (1 Pet. 5:9; Eph. 6:11). (Dallas Willard, Hearing God, [InterVarsity Press: 1999], 181).

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. While the Bible does not give us a lot of information on that, 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. (Richard Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home [HarperCollins, 1992], 157).

Speaking specifically of Ruth Haley Barton, Gary Gilley draws out a point that nevertheless is applicable to all who would maintain that God speaks in the silence through a "still small voice":

Therefore, in order to support an unwarranted and biblically indefensible idea that God speaks to us apart from Scripture, and often without words in our inner being, the best that Barton can offer is that eventually we will be able to distinguish God’s voice from our own if we just keep practicing. This is disappointing at best. But to make things worse, apparently God “is speaking to us all the time” and we are obligated to obey what He says. This puts an unsustainable burden on those who accept Barton’s ideas as they must not only hear the inner, wordless voice of God, they must also obey it. If they do not they would of course be in sin.

Steve Van Nattan: This is clearly a hit and miss program at best. A hit and miss engine is a long ago invention in which the gasoline engine has a governor which allows to run at a limited speed by not firing the cylinder at every revolution. This makes for a very sloppy sound as it pops and goes silent at purely random times. Contemplative prayer is like that. Hit now, miss later, hit twice, miss twice. Who is making the pop? Who is in the silent times? WATCH A HIT AND MISS ENGINE THAT WAS RESTORED

I conclude on Pricilla Shirer with a short video by John MacArthur. A caveat is needed. John has four major errors in his teaching, but this is not one of them:

Now, pay attention please. There are many such false teachers like Shirer. I did a rather lengthy discussion of her errors because all the alleged Christian mystics preying on the Lord's Church are using the same logic and line of attack as the ravage the Lord's sheep. So, you might just want to read all of this again tomorrow so you have your ammo ready the next time you hear this rubbish.

 

MICHAEL HOGGARD ON CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER

Mike Hoggard, The Mystery of Contemplative Prayer from Brad Botcher on Vimeo.

 

LETTER FROM A READER:

Regarding contemplative prayer and mysticism:

Charismatic’s love mystical experiences because they interpret emotions as evidence of God’s presence and validation upon themselves…

David Wilkerson occasionally mentioned a voluminous work by the Plymouth Brethren that was line upon line extolling the beauty of Christ.

A.W. Tozer loved famous mystics: He loved hymnody and liked hymns by Gerhard Tersteegen who is said to be a “Strong Mystic at hymnary.org”. Dave Hunt sells everything from Tozer.

Tozer wrote this In is biography of A.B. Simpson called A study in Spiritual Altitude pg. 71, 72. “It is characteristic of the God-intoxicated, the dreamers and mystics of the Kingdom, that their flight-range is greater than that of other men, Their ability to sweep upward to unbelievable heights of spiritual transport is equaled only by their sad power to descend, to sit in dazed dejection by the River Chebar or to startle the night watches with their lonely grief. A long list of names could be appended here to support this statement; and it would be noble and saintly list indeed, for Moses’ name would be there, and Thomas Upham’s and Brother Lawrence’s and St. Francis’, and Madam Guyon’s of a host of others. It might well read like a little Who’s Who in the Kingdom of God, if the whole truth were told of the gloom of the great, which overtakes them sometimes on the journey to the City of God.”

William Law is another Christian mystic especially his book The Power of the Spirit. Dave Hunt sells his books.

I never understood why these men seemed to favor the mystical words of men over the Word of God. I always wanted to ask: Are the Psalms not good enough for you? You needed to search elsewhere?

A couple of other interesting things:

People like Brian Tracy and Dan O’conner who are management and business trainers that sell a lot of material for personal development and people skills etc. Well, when you get into their products you find out they promote and support a form of transcendental meditation and sell an instructional CD or link you to another site selling meditation CDs. Dan O’conner was using information from this method from Dr. Masuru Emoto (video below) as a metaphor about how words affect people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWn4QF6dCwM

The bottom line is that if you really want their teaching and instruction to work for you then your key to success is meditation.

And you can see how this video information could lead a lot of people astray.

Also, good video on eugenics! Thanks.

In Christ,

Chris _____________

 

 

LINKS:

CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY GLOSSARY-- At this journal

OUR ARTICLE ON HINDUISM

OUR ARTICLE ON KUNDALINI AS SEEN IN THE CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT

 

 

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