| The New Age Movement and the Emerging Church Hand-out |
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| Written by John Feakes |
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Here are the notes and references that go along with my lecture “The New Age Movement and the Emerging Church” which I gave August 27, 2008. We’ll get the mp3 recording of the lecture up as soon as we can. Thanks, John Feakes The New Age Movement and the Emerging Church C.S. Lewis noted that in the final conflict between religions, Hinduism and Christianity would offer the only viable options because Hinduism absorbs all religious systems, and Christianity excludes all others, maintaining the supremacy of Jesus Christ.Review of Biblical History: God created a perfect world (Genesis 1:20-31) The Fall of mankind (Genesis 3) The Flood (Genesis 6-9) After the flood: - Rebellion at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) - The people scatter all over the globe. We are interested in India and the beginnings of Hinduism (in which the New Age movement has its roots). - (2000 BC) The Dravidians occupy the Peninsula - The Aryans descended onto the Peninsula from the Caspian region - Aryans conquered the Peninsula, adopted animism, worshipped spirit-gods in rivers, rocks, trees, etc - Gautama Buddah (Siddhartha) born 563 B.C. in Lumbini near the Nepal / India border - Born into aristocracy - Saw poverty for the first time in his early 20’s - Age 29, left wife and son to seek nirvana & find the cause of suffering - Studied under 2 YOGA masters – unsatisfied - Tried extreme asceticism (fasting, standing for weeks, etc) - Age 35, entered a trance, remembered previous incarnations His “divine eye” was opened - All ignorance and desires were extinguished - Buddha’s Conclusions: Existence is Suffering Desire causes suffering Ridding all desire ends suffering Desire can be eradicated by following the 8 – Fold Path: 1. Right Belief – understand the 4 Truths, 2.Right resolve – Pure Motives, 3. Right Speech - Truthful Talk, 4. Right Conduct – Peaceful, 5. Right Livelihood – occupation harms no one, 6. Right Effort – seek knowledge w/ self control, 7. Right Thought – active, self critical mind, 8. Right Concentration – meditation and Raja YOGA In India: - The work Mahabhrta: contains Bhagavad Gita - Focuses on developing indifference to desire, pleasure, pain - 1 God expressed in many forms (a type of polytheism) - Doctrine of Avatars (Brahman incarnated) - i.e. Krishna (god manifest as a person on the earth) Gnosticism: The Heresy fought by the early church (Secret “Knowledge”) - 52 ancient manuscripts found in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, 1945 contain the “Secret” gospels: - Gospel of Thomas - Gospel of Philip - Gospel Truth - The Gospel to the Egyptians - The Apocalypse of Peter - The Apocalypse of Paul - The Letter of Peter to Philip, - The Thunder, Perfect Mind, - Testimony of Truth. “It is in the Testimony of Truth that we read the Garden of Eden scene from the point of view of the serpent. God is made out to be a jealous, raging man while the serpent is seen as the speaker of divine wisdom.” James Garlow and Peter Jones, “Cracking the Da Vinci Code”, Cook Communications, 2004, p. 163 “Gnosticism is a system of direct experiential knowledge of God…the soul and the universe;…in the early centuries of this era, amid a growing Christianity, it took on the form of the Christian faith, while rejecting most of its specific beliefs. Its wording is therefore largely Christian, while its spirit is that of the latest paganism of the West.” Duncan Greenlees, “The Gospel of the Gnostics”, Mandras, India: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1958, p. vii Regarding the Judas “Gospel”: “Here is a book that turns the theology of traditional Christianity on its head and reverses everything we ever thought about the true nature of Christianity.” p. 119 The Gnostics Refuted by early church apologists In A.D. 270 an Egyptian monk named St. Anthony became the 1st Christian hermit Nearly 80 years later the 1st monastery was built Hermits for the 1st time were brought together under one roof “The meditation practices and rules for living of these earliest Christian monks bear strong similarity to those of their Hindu and Buddhist enunciate brethren several kingdoms to the east…the meditative techniques they adopted for finding their God suggests either a borrowing from the East or a spontaneous rediscovery. The ways of the Desert Fathers influence Christian Monastiscm to this day.” Daniel Goleman, “The Meditative Mind”, Los Agleles, CA, Tarker/Putnam Inc., 1988, p. 53 “Development of Christian meditative disciples should have begun in Egypt because much of the intellectual, philosophical, and theological basis of the practice of meditation in Christianity also comes out of the theology of Hellenistic and Roman Egypt. This is significant because it was in Alexandria that Christian theology had most contact with the various Gnostic speculations which, according to many scholars, have their roots in the East, possibly India.” Father William Teska, “Meditation in Christianity”, Himalayan Institute, 1973, p. 65 1300’s – Cloud of unknowing written - An Amalgam of Eastern religious practice and Christian belief Fast-forward to the 1800’s: - The Age of Unbelief - Charles Lyell: “Principles of Geology” (1831) - Charles Darwin: “On the Origin of Species” (1859) - Karl Marx: “Communist Manifesto” (1848) “Das Kapital” (1873) “Humans are essentially religious creatures and they don’t rest until they have some sort of answers to the fundamental questions. Rationalism and secularism don’t answer those questions.” Time Magazine, Dec. 7, 1987 Arnold Toynbee (1889 - 1975) predicted that in 2000 the West will still dominate Earth, but in the 21st century India will conquer her conquerors. Religion worldwide will regain its earlier importance, and world events will return to the East where civilization originated. "India will teach us the tolerance and gentleness of mature mind, understanding spirit and a unifying, pacifying love for all human beings.” Will Durant, The Story of Civilization Helena Petrovna Blavatsky: - Adopted Hindu Philospophies - Believed in Karma / Reincarnation - Founded the Theosophical Society in 1875 Mary Baker Eddy founded the “Science of Health” organization in 1866 - 1 month after the death of P.P. Quimby. There is a marked similarity between the writings of Eddy and Quimby. Her book, “The Science of Health with Key to the Scriptures”, Published 1875; promoted the Hinduistic denial of physical reality (Maya) “Interestingly, if a medieval monk were to meet a modern Christian Scientist as the latter studied his weekly Lesson-Sermon, the monk would identify immediately with him. The Scientist's daily reflective study resembles that of the monk’s daily meditation of sacred texts, called lectio divina (“divine study”). Both meditate on the words, hoping to reach beyond them to the reality they signify.” Christian Science: A Sourcebook of Contemporary Materials, The Christian Science Publishing Society, 1990, p. 21 Thomas Merton (1915-1968) “The God he [Thomas Merton] knew in prayer was the same experience that Buddhists describe in their enlightenment.” - Brian C. Taylor, “Setting the Gospel Free” “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.” – Thomas Merton “I’m deeply impregnated with Sufism.” Thomas Merton, Quoted in Rob Baker and Gray Henry, Editors, “Merton and Sufism”, Louisville, KY, Fons Vitae, 1999, p. 69 “Asia, Zen, Islam, etc., all these come together in my life. It would be madness for me to attempt to create a monastic life for myself by excluding all these. I would be less a monk.” Merton, ibid., p. 41 “His [Merton’s] change of mind with regard to the higher religions was not the result of tedious comparison and contrast or even concerted analysis. It was an outgrowth of his experience with the Absolute.” - Raymond Bailey, Thomas Merton of Mysticism “Almost any form of meditation…will take you to an experience of yourself as source…” Shakti Gowain, Author of “Creative Visualization” “If you want to lead your enterprise into the twenty-first century, read this powerful book.” Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute Manager, his endorsement of the book, “The Corporate Mystic” “This important book [“The Corporate Mystic”] will sweep you into a different level of consciousness – one of a spiritual perspective and feeling – so necessary in future leadership.” Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People “…from every culture, religion and race, the mystical experience has a recurring pattern … the core experiences are often indistinguishable from each other.” - A Most Surprising Song, Louann Stahl “The classical experience of enlightenment as described by Buddhist monks, Hindu gurus, Christian mystics, Aboriginal shamans, Sufi sheiks and Hebrew kabalists is characterized by two universal elements: radiant light and an experience of oneness with creation.” - The How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci Workbook, Michael J. Gelb “The most important book” she ever read (from Gary Zukav’s website, speaking of Oprah’s endorsement of Zukav’s book New Age book, “The Seat of the Soul) “One of the biggest mistakes humans make is to believe there is only one way. There are many diverse paths leading to what you call God.” Oprah Winfrey, cited by LaTonya Taylor, “The Church of O”, Christianity Today, April 1, 2002, vol. 46, No. 4, p. 38 “The Secret” was endorsed by Oprah. The Secret claims that humans can alter reality with the power of our minds. Is this so? “Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?” Matthew 6:27 “Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.” Matthew 5:36 New Age practices and the Christian Church The New Age is not slowly trickling into the church... …it’s flooding in! “Not since Gnosticism at the dawn of the Christian era has there arisen a philosophy as pervasive and threatening to orthodox Christianity as the New Age movement…It would be difficult to find any area of life, which has not been touched or redirected to some degree by the concepts of the movement.” Evangelical Scholar David L. Smith, “ A Handbook of Contemporary Theology”, Victor Books, 1992, p. 273 The “Gnostic” Heresies have made a tremendous comeback The powerful refutations of the early church are being ignored Leonard Sweet, Professor of Evangelism, Drew University - A Key figure in the Emerging Church Movement “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 mind body experiences. Mysticism begins in experience; it ends in theology.” Leonard Sweet, “Quantum Spirituality: A Post Modern Apologetic”, Dayton, OH: Whaleprints, 1st Ed., 1991, p. viii p. 76 “People want to know God. They want less to know about God or know about religion than to know God. People want to experience the “Beyond” in the “Within”. Post moderns want something more than new products; they want new experiences, especially new experiences of the divine.” Leonard Sweet, “Soul Tsunami”, Zondervan, Publishing, 1999, p. 420 “In order to guide persons having this experience [divine oneness], Christian spiritual directors may need to dialogue with Eastern teachers in order to get a fuller understanding.” - Thomas Keating “To him [Keating], as a Trappst monk, meditation was second nature. He invited the great Zen master Roshi Saski to lead retreats at the abbey. And surely, he thought, there must be a precedent within the church for making such simple but powerful spiritual techniques available to laypeople. His Trappist brother Father William Meninger found it in one day in 1974, in a dusty copy of a 14th-century guide to contemplative meditation, “The Cloud of Unknowing.”, Newsweek, Sept. 2005, “Spirituality in America” The Cloud of Unknowing - Rediscovered in 1974 - Now the basis for Catholic spirituality “The basic method promoted in The Cloud is to move beyond thinking into a place of utter stillness with the Lord … the believer must first achieve a state of silence and contemplation, and then God works in the believer’s heart.” - Tony Jones “Choose a single, sacred word or phrase … Without moving your lips, repeat the sacred word inwardly, slowly and often.” - Former Catholic Priest, Brennan Manning, “The Signature of Jesus” “I would like to say that we Christians should not hesitate to make use of the good techniques that our wise friends from the East are offering.” “We should not hesitate to take the fruit of the age-old wisdom of the East and “capture” it for Christ.” - Basil Pennington, Finding Grace At The Center “Many Christians who take their prayer life seriously have been greatly helped by Yoga, Zen, TM, and similar practices …” - Basil Pennington Finding Grace At The Center The Emerging Church - PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE - Sold over 30 million copies - Over 400,000 churches worldwide participated in Purpose Driven program - Endorsed by practically every evangelical leader “The Bible tells us to ‘pray all the time.’ One way is to use ‘breath prayers’ throughout the day … You choose a brief sentence or a simple phrase that can be repeated to Jesus in one breath … Pray it as often as possible.” “Best Friends with God” from Purpose Driven Life Rick Warren uses Brother Lawrence as an example of practicing the presence of God (i.e., breath prayers) – “The Purpose Driven Life”, p. 88 “It is said of Brother Lawrence that when something had taken his mind away from love’s presence he would receive “a reminder from God” that so moved his soul that he “cried out, singing and dancing violently like a mad man.” Gerald May, citing from The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, Image Books, 1977, p. 34. “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.” Gary Thomas, Sacred Pathways “Gary has spoken at Saddleback, and 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.” Rick Warren Helen Schucman, and psychologist William Thetford "scribed" the book “A Course in Miracles” by means of a process coming from a divine source through a form which Schucman referred to as "inner dictation". Schucman said the source of her channeling was Jesus Christ. Excerpts from “A Course in Miracles”: “Do not make the pathetic error of “clinging to the old rugged cross.” “The journey to the cross should be the last “useless journey.” “The recognition of God is the recognition of yourself.” When God created you he made you part of Him.” “There is no sin: it has no consequence.” “The Atonement is the final lesson he [man] need to learn, for it teaches him that, never having sinned, he has no need of salvation.” For Christ takes many forms with different names until their oneness can be recognized.” Jerald Jampolsky endorsed “A course in Miracles” when he dedicated his own book, “Love is Letting go of Fear” to Helen Schucman and William Thetford: “This book is dedicated to Helen and Bill, who have been both teachers and friends to me. It was because of their joint willingness that “A Course in Miracles” came into being, a work which provides the foundation for this book.” “Dr. Gerald Jampolsky, a noted psychiatrist and dear friend of mine, was for twenty-five years a very strong agnostic. Then one day, without warning, his life totally changed, and he became a believer in God.” Robert Schuller, “The be Happy Attitudes”, 1985 “Our very survival ‘as a species depends on hope. And without hope we will lose the faith that we can cope.’” Robert Schuller (quoting author Rene Dubos), “Self Esteem: The New reformation, 1982 “Hope is as essential to your life as air and water. You need hope to cope.” Rick Warren, PDL, 2002 “What is the basic, driving force in life?” Robert Schuller, “Self Love”, 1969 “What is the driving force in your life?” Rick Warren, PDL, 2002 “Yes, God is alive and he is *in every single human being.” Robert Schuller, “Hour of Power”, Nov 9, 2003 “The Bible says, ‘he rules everything and is everywhere and is *in everything.” Rick Warren, PDL, 2002 “The twenty-first century will be the time of awakening, of meeting the Creator within. Many beings will experience Oneness with God and with all life. This will be the beginning of the golden age of the New Human, of which it has been written; the time of the universal human, which has been eloquently described by those with deep insight among you. There are many such people in the world now - teachers and messengers, Masters and visionaries - who are placing this vision before humankind and offering tools with which to create it. These messengers and visionaries are the heralds of a New Age.” Neale Donald Walsch, “Friendship with God: An Uncommon Dialogue”, p. 295-296 Neale Donald Walsch’s “God” greatly endorses the teachers of Robert Schuller. So does Rick Warren Neale Walsch’s P.E.A.C.E. Plan: - Permit ourselves to acknowledge that some of our old beliefs about God and about life are not working. - Explore the possibility that there is something we do not understand about God and about life, the understanding of which could change everything. - Announce that we are willing for new understandings of God and Life to now be brought forth, understandings that could produce a new way of life on this planet. - Courageously examine these new understandings and, if they align with your personal inner truth and knowing, to enlarge our belief system to include them. - Express our lives as a demonstration of our highest beliefs, rather than as a denial of them. The Five Steps to Peace, Conversations with God Website, www.cwg.org/5steps/5stepstopeace.pdf Rick Warren’s P.E.A.C.E. Plan, Announced at Saddleback Church, Nov. 2, 2003 - Plant Churches - Equip Leaders - Assist the Poor - Care for the sick - Educate the next generation “Before you were born, God planned this moment in your life. It is no accident that you are holding this book.” Rick Warren, PDL, 2002 “[T]his book has arrived in your life at the right and perfect time…Everything happens in perfect order, and the arrival of this book in your life is no exception.” Neale Donald Walsch, “Conversations with God: Book 2, 1997 Aldous Huxley is the single most quoted writer in Marilyn Ferguson’s “The Aquarian Conspiracy. “If Paul had kept his experience of doubt and depression a secret, millions of people would never have benefited from it. Only shared experience can can help others. Aldous Huxley said, ‘Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you.’” - Rick Warren, PDL, 2002, p. 248 Rick Warren endorsed the writings of Henri Nouwen. Schuller was a great admirer of Nouwen and made his students watch videos of him “We should be returning to a no-holds-barred approach to worship and teaching so that when we gather, there is no doubt we are in the presence of a Holy God. I believe that both believers and unbelievers are hungry for this. It isn’t about clever apologetics or careful exegetical and expository preaching…Emerging generations are hungering to experience God in worship.” Dan Kimball, “The Emerging Church”, p.116 Worship Inseparable from Doctrinal Truth: “My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes. My tongue shall speak of thy word: For all thy commandments are righteousness.” Psalm 119:171-172 “I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods I will sing unto thee. I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness. And for thy truth: For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. ” Psalm 138:1-2 Rick Warren endorses Kimball’s ideas “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.” —Rick Warren, from the foreword. God has raised up a parachurch movement to reemphasize a neglected purpose of the church….The Discipleship/Spiritual Formations Movement … developing believers to full maturity. Richard Foster and Dallas Willard have underscored the importance of building up Christians and establishing personal spiritual disciplines.” Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, Warren calls this movement, “a valid message for the church” and “a wake up call.” Sue Monk Kidd is a former Baptist and best-selling author. Her first two books were written from a Christian perspective She was featured in Virtue, Today’s Christian Woman, and Moody Monthly, Monk-Kidd was profoundly influenced by the writings of Catholic mystic Thomas Merton “The minister was preaching. He was holding up a Bible. It was open, perched atop his raised hand as if a blackbird had landed there. He was saying that the Bible was the sole and ultimate authority if the Christian’s life. The sole and ultimate authority. I remember a feeling rising up from a place about two inches below my navel. I was a passionate, determined feeling, and it spread out from the core of me like a current so that my skin vibrated with it. If feeling could be translated into English, this feeling would have roughly been the word no! It was the purest inner knowing I had experienced, and it was shouting in me no, no, no! The ultimate authority of my life is not the Bible; it is not confined between the covers of a book. It is not something written by men and frozen in time. It is not from a source outside myself. My ultimate authority is the divine voice in my own soul. Period.” Sue Monk Kidd, “The Dance of the Dissident Daughter”, p. 76 “We also need goddess consciousness to reveal earth’s holiness…matter becomes inspirited; it breaths divinity. Earth becomes alive and sacred…Goddess offers us the holiness of everything.” Monk Kidd, p.163-163 Richard Foster uses Sue Monk-Kidd as an example of what he is promoting. “We should all, without shame, enroll in the school of contemplative prayer.” Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline “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 that is not divine guidance. While the Bible does not give us a lot pf information on the nature of the spiritual world, we do know…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…”All dark and evil spirits must now leave.” Richard Foster, “Prayer: Finding the Heart’s true Home”, Harper, 1992, p. 18 “At the outset I need to give a word of warning, a little like the warning labels on medicine bottles. Contemplative prayer is not for the notice. I do not say this about any other form of prayer. All are welcome, regardless of proficiency, or expertise, to enter freely into adoration and meditation and intercession and a host of other approaches to prayer. But contemplation is different. While we are all equally precious in the eyes of God, we are not all equally ready to listen to “God’s speech in his wondrous, terrible, gentle, loving, all embracing silence.” Richard Foster, “Prayer: Finding the Heart’s true Home”, Harper, 1992, p. 156 “…the life of contemplative prayer, … Loved and in communion with all things, the soul is born in and out of the secret silence of God. This silence at the heart of mysticism is not only the meeting point of the great traditions but also where all hearts might meet.” Alan Jones, Reimagining Christianity “It used to be that Christian institutions and systems of dogma sustained the spiritual life of Christians. Increasingly, spirituality itself is what sustains everything else. Alan Jones is a pioneer in reimagining a Christian faith that emerges from authentic spirituality. His work stimulates and encourages me deeply.” Brian McLaren, back cover Reimagining Christianity In a Chicago Sun-Times article, "Maverick minister taps new generation," the question is raised, Who will be the next Billy Graham? The article suggested Rob Bell as the possible replacement. While that may seem like a far-fetched notion to many, the article quotes emerging leader Brian McLaren as saying it "could very well be true." “For a mind-blowing introduction to emergence theory and divine creativity, set aside three months and read Ken Wilber’s “A Brief History of Everything.” Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis, p. 192 “A Brief History of Everything” is published by Shambhala Publications, named after the term, which in Buddhism means the mystical abode of spirit beings. Wilber is one of the most respected and highly regarded theoreticians in the New Age movement today.” Roger Oakland, Faith Undone, p. 110 “Yoga, Zen, centering prayer, kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), TM, tantra (Hindu-based sexuality), and kundalini yoga” , from Wilber’s website, suggested spiritual practices “I started using the phrase “listening prayer” when I talked about my own experiences in meditation. I built myself a prayer room—a tiny sanctuary in a basement closet filled with books on spiritual disciplines, contemplative prayer, and Christian mysticism. In that space I lit candles, burned incense, hung rosaries, and listened to tapes of Benedictine monks. I meditated for hours on words, images, and sounds. I reached the point of being able to achieve alpha brain patterns, the state in which dreams occur, while still awake and meditating.” , Mike Perschon, writer for Youth Specialties “Mystics in every religious tradition speak of alpha states of consciousness and the lure of Divine Light, although they do so in their own metaphors and images. In their own ways they have learned how to enter alpha as they pray or worship. They learn how to become enlightened.” Laurie Cabot , “Power of the Witch” “…a theology of mysticism provides some hope for common ground between Christianity and Islam. Both religions have within their histories examples of ecstatic union with God…Could [the Sufis] have encountered the same God we do in our Christian mysticism?” Tony Campolo, “Speaking My Mind”, Nashville, TN, Thomas Nelson, 2004, pp. 149-150 Nouwen believed that people could be saved apart from Christ. He saw “great treasure” for the Christian spiritual life in Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam Campolo called Nouwen “one of the great Christians of our time.” (Tony Campolo, “Speaking My Mind”, Nashville, TN, Thomas Nelson, 2004, p. 72) Refuting Pantheism: God is not the Universe “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 “Thus shall ye say unto them, the gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.” Jeremiah 10:11-12 “…before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.” Isaiah 43:10-11 Vain Repetitions are not the way to God “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” Matthew 6:7 “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon the earth: therefore let thy words be few.” Ecclesiastes 5:2 “But I say unto you, That every *idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Matthew 12:36 “This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:” 2 Peter 3:1-2 The Holy Spirit is not in Everyone “In whom ye trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 2:13-14 “But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” Romans 8:9-10 Man is not Inherently Good “Behold I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Psalm 51:5 “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one.” Job 14:4 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9 We Cannot Save Ourselves “When his disciples heard it they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:25-26 Salvation through Jesus of Nazareth Alone “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:10-12 Is the Emerging Church a “Cult”? Extra-biblical Revelation: “Mysticism begins in experience; it ends in theology.” Leonard Sweet, “Quantum Spirituality: A Post Modern Apologetic”, Dayton, OH: Whaleprints, 1st Ed., 1991, p. viii p. 76 False Salvation Basis: “The Church’s fixation on the death of Jesus as the universal saving act must end, and the place of the cross must be reimagined in Christian faith. Why? Because of the cult of suffering and the vindictive God behind it.” Alan Jones, “Reimagining Christianity”, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons, 2005, p. 132 “Alan Jones is a pioneer in reimagining a Christian faith that emerges from authentic spirituality. His work stimulates and encourages me deeply.” Brian McLaren, back cover Reimagining Christianity “The god whose moods alternate between graciousness and fierce anger…the god who extracts the last drop of blood from his Son so that his just anger, evoked by sin, may be appeased, is not the God revealed by and in Jesus Christ. And if he is not the God of Jesus, he does not exist.” Former Catholic Priest, Brennan Manning, “Above All”, Brentwood, TN: Integrity Publishers, 2003, p. 58-59 Flawed Christology: “Jesus almost certainly was not born of a virgin, did not think of himself as the Son of God, and did not see his purpose as dying for the sins of the world.” Marcus Borg, “The God We Never Knew”, New York, NY, Harper Collins, 1998, p. 25 “To think that the central meaning of Easter depends upon something spectacular happening to Jesus’ corpse misses the point of the Easter message and risks trivializing the story.” Marcus Borg, “Easter About Life, Not Death”, Washington Post / Newsweek “On Faith” Column, April 7th , 2004 available online at http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith “To link Easter primarily to our hope for an after life, as if our post-death existence depends upon God having transformed the corpse of Jesus, is to reduce the story to a politically-domesticated yearning for our survival beyond death.” Marcus Borg, “Easter About Life, Not Death”, Washington Post / Newsweek “On Faith” Column, April 7th , 2004 available online at http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith Brian McLaren said that he has “high regard” for Marcus Borg; Rob Bell references and praises Borg in his popular book “Velvet Elvis” “Marcus Borg is a key force in the emerging “new paradigm” of Christian faith.” Walter Brueggemann, Professor at Columbia Theological Seminary. He was one of the contributors of the Richard Foster’s heretical “Revovare Spiritual Formation Bible”. Brueggemann’s statement cited on United Theological Seminary website, http://www.united.edu/portrait/borg.shtml in reference to Marcus Borg’s book, “The Heart of Christianity Denouncing Others: “We have experienced two major sources of criticism during our transitions. The first is Christians from more traditional backgrounds…Not all of our traditional backgrounded Christians have been critical – just the ornery ones. Our second source of criticism is traditional church pastors. Again, not all traditional church pastors – just the meaner ones.” *Dan Southerland, “Transitioning: Leading Your Church Through change”, Zondervan, 2000, p. 116 *Rick Warren has used this work by Southerland to help them transition into his new paradigm “…Saballat is Nehemiah’s greatest critic and number one enemy. Let me put it plainer than that. Sanballat is a leader from hell…We all have some Sanballats in our churches. This is the guy who opposes whatever you propose…You cannot call this guy a leader from hell to his face – but you can call him a Sanballat.” Dan Southerland, “Transitioning: Leading Your Church Through change”, Zondervan, 2000, p. 116 There is a segment within pressing Christianity pressuring folks into embracing New Age spirituality: “In the wider ecumenism of this Spirit being opened for us today, we need to humble accept the learnings of particular eastern religions…What makes a particular practice Christian is not its source, but its intent…This is important to remember in the face of those Christians who would try to impoverish our spiritual resources by too narrowly defining them. If we view the human family as one in God’s Spirit, then historical cross-fertilization is not surprising…selective attention to Eastern practices can be of a great assistance to a fully embodied Christian life.” Tilden Edwards, “Living in the Presence”, Harper Collins, 1994, pp18-19 Dangerous Times Ahead “There is a material difference… between excepting some kind of apocalypse – from which only those who have achieved higher consciousness will emerge unscathed – and claiming to commit the apocalypse yourself. The former is a major theme in New Age thinking, the latter only appears in carefully selected extracts.” Rebecca Boren, “The Seattle Weekly”, Jan 7-13, 1987, p. 22 “When you combine that expectation of world destruction with reliance on direct revelation from spirit guides and add a philosophy that embraces “do your own thing” as a guiding principle, you are asking for trouble.” Rebecca Boren, “The Seattle Weekly”, Jan 7-13, 1987, p. 22 The Antichrist will be the supreme embodiment of man’s divinity “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.” 2 Thes 2:3 “who opposeth and exalted himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” 2 Thes 2:4 “Caesar is Lord!” Martyrdoms at Carthage: Perpetua (180 – 202 A.D.) and Felicitas martyred in the persecution at Carthage – refused to confess Caesar as Lord. Perpetua martyred at the age of 22 while holding her infant. See Neander, “Ecclesiastical History”, vol. i p. 109, (Clark’s ed.) “…others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:” Hebrews 11:35 Tribulation “the great one” will precede the second coming of Jesus Christ We have work to do in the meantime… - John Feakes August, 2008 |
| Last Updated on Saturday, 20 September 2008 14:47 |