My son recently posted to his Xanga site some things about what I would consider to be basic truths that are easily discernible in the Bible, and how they seem to relate to one rather well known figure in our time. The figure is none other than Mother Teresa. All he did was to post some quotes from her such as:
"We never try to convert those who receive [aid from Missionaries of Charity] to Christianity but in our work we bear witness to the love of God's presence and if Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, or agnostics become for this better men -- simply better -- we will be satisfied. It matters to the individual what church he belongs to. If that individual thinks and believes that this is the only way to God for her or him, this is the way God comes into their life -- his life. If he does not know any other way and if he has no doubt so that he does not need to search then this is his way to salvation."
She also said, "I love all religions. ... If people become better Hindus, better Muslims, better Buddhists by our acts of love, then there is something else growing there." [On another occasion, she again demonstrated her false gospel that 'there are many ways to God': "All is God -- Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, etc., all have access to the same God."
(All is God? Sounds like pantheism to me.)
And then he asked how this jibes with John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. It was amazing the amount of venom that came from people he thought were his friends.
It would seem that Mother Teresa held to a universalist view concerning our eternal salvation, while Jesus from the quote above in John 14:6 would seem not to hold to such a view. How do you reconcile these two statements? Can you really get to heaven just because you have faith in whatever you want to have faith in? Was Jesus just blowing smoke when he said he was the only way to the Father? If a non-Christian can get to heaven their own way, then why did Jesus die on the cross?
I know that the subject of Mother Teresa is supposed to be "holy ground", but I see some real problems here. Indeed it does not matter who does not believe Christ is the only way to the Father no matter how many good works they have done. Click here to learn more about the supposed good works Mother Teresa did.
My problem is not even as much with Mother Teresa as it is with the mindset of society in general. The postmodern way of thinking seems to say that there are many truths. That truth is what you want it to be. We as a society are steeped in moral relativism. We have been taught from early on that what is true for you may not be true for me. And since there are no absolutes, then even the teachings of Christ have been called into question by some "evangelical" church leaders. They want to expand what it means to be orthodox. (I guess 2000 years of biblical teaching and learning just couldn't get it right for these guys.) So now we have guys like Brian McLaren trying to create a different orthodoxy.
Sorry, but I'll take the old orthodoxy anytime. When I see video footage taken at Mr. McLarens church and there is a symbol of Ra, the Egyptian sun god over the front of the auditorium, it gives me reason for pause. It is a strange perversion to call yourself Christian, and hold to pagan symbols as part of your worship. What they are worshiping is not the god of the Bible.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Emergent Church
Someone I know recently read the book "A Generous Orthodoxy" by Brian McLaren. He was really excited about the book. He started talking about this whole Emergent Church movement, and how it was going to change the way people did church. I have not as of this writing read the book myself. But it sparked my interest in what is being call the Emergent Church because I began to hear about the Emergent Church or Postmodern movement from other sources as well. That is when I began check out what others were saying about the Postmodern movement. I can honestly say I approached this issue with an open mind and heart. I had no preconceived notions about it, because I knew nothing about it.
I am no expert by any means. But I have discovered some things that have caused me concern about what is happening with this movement. One such thing that has bothered me is the mindset that doesn't want to give all authority to the Bible for all people. On his website, Brian McLaren was asked a question regarding the inerrancy of the Bible. Mr. McLaren's response was "I believe the Bible is uniquely authoritative for Christians." http://www.anewkindofchristian.com/archives/000406.html What about the Bible being authoritative for non-Christians? I sent an email to Brian McLaren and asked him what he meant by this statement, I never received an answer.
I also found an article about the Emergent Church by PBS, it included video of worship at the church Brian McLaren pastors, Cedar Ridge Community Church. There is a video link on the website that shows some of the worship as it occurs. If you look carefully at the video, 25 seconds into it, you see a large winged symbol over the platform/altar area of the sanctuary. I researched the symbol it looks unusually similar to the symbol used for the Egyptian sun god Ra! Click on the PBS link above to see the video. Click here to see what I found on the web about the symbol that appears in their sanctuary.
If you are interested here is a link to a book review of "A Generous Orthodoxy"
I am no expert by any means. But I have discovered some things that have caused me concern about what is happening with this movement. One such thing that has bothered me is the mindset that doesn't want to give all authority to the Bible for all people. On his website, Brian McLaren was asked a question regarding the inerrancy of the Bible. Mr. McLaren's response was "I believe the Bible is uniquely authoritative for Christians." http://www.anewkindofchristian.com/archives/000406.html What about the Bible being authoritative for non-Christians? I sent an email to Brian McLaren and asked him what he meant by this statement, I never received an answer.
I also found an article about the Emergent Church by PBS, it included video of worship at the church Brian McLaren pastors, Cedar Ridge Community Church. There is a video link on the website that shows some of the worship as it occurs. If you look carefully at the video, 25 seconds into it, you see a large winged symbol over the platform/altar area of the sanctuary. I researched the symbol it looks unusually similar to the symbol used for the Egyptian sun god Ra! Click on the PBS link above to see the video. Click here to see what I found on the web about the symbol that appears in their sanctuary.
If you are interested here is a link to a book review of "A Generous Orthodoxy"
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Contemplative Prayer part 2
I have decided to read Ray Yungens book again "A Time Of Departing" because there are things that really need to be brought out into the open about what is happening in the Christian community. It seems that there is nowadays a practice that is becoming more and more common in evangelical circles, non-evangelical (such as Episcopal, Methodist etc..) and has become common in the Catholic church as well. I am speaking of contemplative or breath prayer. The following is an excerpt from Ray Yungens book.
In the early Middle Ages, there lived a group of hermits in the wilderness areas of the Middle East. They were known to history as the desert fathers. They dwelt in small isolated communities for the purpose of devoting their lives completely to God without distraction.The contemplative movement traces its roots back to these monks. They were the first ones who first promoted the mantra as a prayer tool. One meditation scholar made this connection when he said:
The meditation practices and rules for living of these earliest Christian monks
bear strong similarity to those of their Hindu and Buddhist renunciate brethren
several kingdoms to the East....the meditative techniques they adopted for finding
their God suggest either a borrowing from the East or a spontaneous rediscovery.
The desert fathers believed as long as the desire for God was sincere - anything could be utilized to reach God. If a method worked for Hindus to reach their gods, then Christian mantras could be used to reach Jesus. Do you see the reasoning here? Non-Christian sources as avenues to spiritual growth, are perfectly legitimate in the Christian life, and if Christians only practice their Christianity based on the Bible, they will impoverish their spirituality. This was the thinking of the desert fathers. So now as a result we now have contemplative prayer. Please take heart to what Jesus Christ expressly warned His disciples in Matthew 6:7:"And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions, as the heathen do." It should be apparent that mantra meditation or sacred word prayer qualifies as "vain repetition" and clearly fits an accurate description of the point Jesus was making here.
**end excerpt**
Many Christians will say that there is a difference between Eastern and Christian mysticism. On the surface this seems logical. What really makes a practice Christian? The answer is simple, did Jesus sanction it? A Christian is a pupil of Christ. That means you follow the teachings of Christ. Nowhere in scripture does Jesus teach this method of prayer. And I don't think that our Lord is one to hold any good thing out from us. If this is supposedly such a great way to commune with the Father, then why didn't Jesus outline this methodology instead of the prayer he gave in Matthew chapter six? The answer is that contemplative prayer is not Biblical in nature. God does not leave it up to well meaning people to invent their own Christianity. He has set before us certain models for our approach to the throne. Your intent has nothing to do with it. Just look at the story of Cain and Able. Cain thought he could please God in the way he wanted to, but God was very displeased when Cain wanted to bring a cleaner, less gross sacrifice to Him.
It is my prayer that God will be glorified in the manner that He should be glorified. That our approach to the throne will be done properly and reverently. After all, He is the king of the universe. You don't make up your own method of going before the throne. The approach that contemplative prayer takes, doesn't even lead into the throne room. It leads someplace else.
In the early Middle Ages, there lived a group of hermits in the wilderness areas of the Middle East. They were known to history as the desert fathers. They dwelt in small isolated communities for the purpose of devoting their lives completely to God without distraction.The contemplative movement traces its roots back to these monks. They were the first ones who first promoted the mantra as a prayer tool. One meditation scholar made this connection when he said:
The meditation practices and rules for living of these earliest Christian monks
bear strong similarity to those of their Hindu and Buddhist renunciate brethren
several kingdoms to the East....the meditative techniques they adopted for finding
their God suggest either a borrowing from the East or a spontaneous rediscovery.
The desert fathers believed as long as the desire for God was sincere - anything could be utilized to reach God. If a method worked for Hindus to reach their gods, then Christian mantras could be used to reach Jesus. Do you see the reasoning here? Non-Christian sources as avenues to spiritual growth, are perfectly legitimate in the Christian life, and if Christians only practice their Christianity based on the Bible, they will impoverish their spirituality. This was the thinking of the desert fathers. So now as a result we now have contemplative prayer. Please take heart to what Jesus Christ expressly warned His disciples in Matthew 6:7:"And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions, as the heathen do." It should be apparent that mantra meditation or sacred word prayer qualifies as "vain repetition" and clearly fits an accurate description of the point Jesus was making here.
**end excerpt**
Many Christians will say that there is a difference between Eastern and Christian mysticism. On the surface this seems logical. What really makes a practice Christian? The answer is simple, did Jesus sanction it? A Christian is a pupil of Christ. That means you follow the teachings of Christ. Nowhere in scripture does Jesus teach this method of prayer. And I don't think that our Lord is one to hold any good thing out from us. If this is supposedly such a great way to commune with the Father, then why didn't Jesus outline this methodology instead of the prayer he gave in Matthew chapter six? The answer is that contemplative prayer is not Biblical in nature. God does not leave it up to well meaning people to invent their own Christianity. He has set before us certain models for our approach to the throne. Your intent has nothing to do with it. Just look at the story of Cain and Able. Cain thought he could please God in the way he wanted to, but God was very displeased when Cain wanted to bring a cleaner, less gross sacrifice to Him.
It is my prayer that God will be glorified in the manner that He should be glorified. That our approach to the throne will be done properly and reverently. After all, He is the king of the universe. You don't make up your own method of going before the throne. The approach that contemplative prayer takes, doesn't even lead into the throne room. It leads someplace else.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Contemplative Prayer
I have been reading some rather disturbing things about the contemplative prayer movement in the church. Many Christians are practicing this prayer methodology and it is growing by leaps and bounds in popularity. The Catholic church in particular seems to relish in the pursuit of of this practice. Indeed the Pope himself has advocated that even the laity should pray using these methods. It is started by emptying your mind by repeating a single word over and over again til nothing is there. This is referred to by many as the "silence". Many will say that the Christian version of this prayer method does not have its roots in eastern thought. It is very strange though that the methodology and end result are very similar whether the practitioner is Christian, Buddhist, Islamic, Jewish, Hindu, or any other religion. The person praying in this manner often ends up in an altered state of consciousness. Why then is this practice so bad? There are three main reasons-
There are many respected so called Christian authors out there who advocate this prayer method. People like Bill Hybles of Willow Creek Community Church, Rick Warren of Saddleback Church and author of the best seller Forty Days of Purpose. There is a best selling Christian book out there called Celebration of Discipline that advocates contemplative or breath prayer as it is sometimes called. Here is an excerpt from the book that you see at the top of this post that I am currently reading. This account is from one Ron Comer, pastor of Eastside Christian Fellowship in Salem Oregon, when he read the book Celebration of Discipline.
One day I decided to lock myself in my office and not come out until I knew I had met God. I took from my shelf a book by Richard Foster called Celebration of Discipline. I had briefly read it years before but did not give much attention to its practical application. Now, as I began to read, I was intrigued by the freshness of Foster's approach. It seemed so freeing to come before God and just empty me of myself. I knew God could not fill me if self was in the way.
I laid the book on the floor and got on my knees. I began to step through Foster's teachings of how to come before God. I emptied my mind of all thought and began to repeat sacred words that brought praise to God. I found myself repeating the same words over and over. After a period of about two hours, I began to feel a release from all my cares. As contrary as it seems, my body began to feel an energy that was both exciting and relaxing. My mind was at peace and my spirit open to any experience God would share with me. I began to slip into a euphoric, mystical state. Suddenly, I was struck by five powerful words that penetrated every sense of my existence. The words were firm but loving. My inner spirit had never heard such clarity. The five words were, "This is not from Me!"
Immediately upon hearing these words I began to grieve at all I was doing, and I repented - feeling polluted and foolish. I quickly realized I had not been enjoying God but had opened my mind and heart to a seducing spirit. God ended this episode by confirming in my spirit I needed to stay alert and discerning for deceptive spirits that were amazingly good at emulating the Spirit of God and masquerading as angels of light.
Is this the kind of prayer the church really wants to involve itself in? I vote no.
- It is not found in the Bible.
- It correlates with occult methods (i.e., mantra, vain repetition).
- It is sympathetic with Eastern mystical perceptions (God in everything; all is One-Pantheism).
There are many respected so called Christian authors out there who advocate this prayer method. People like Bill Hybles of Willow Creek Community Church, Rick Warren of Saddleback Church and author of the best seller Forty Days of Purpose. There is a best selling Christian book out there called Celebration of Discipline that advocates contemplative or breath prayer as it is sometimes called. Here is an excerpt from the book that you see at the top of this post that I am currently reading. This account is from one Ron Comer, pastor of Eastside Christian Fellowship in Salem Oregon, when he read the book Celebration of Discipline.
One day I decided to lock myself in my office and not come out until I knew I had met God. I took from my shelf a book by Richard Foster called Celebration of Discipline. I had briefly read it years before but did not give much attention to its practical application. Now, as I began to read, I was intrigued by the freshness of Foster's approach. It seemed so freeing to come before God and just empty me of myself. I knew God could not fill me if self was in the way.
I laid the book on the floor and got on my knees. I began to step through Foster's teachings of how to come before God. I emptied my mind of all thought and began to repeat sacred words that brought praise to God. I found myself repeating the same words over and over. After a period of about two hours, I began to feel a release from all my cares. As contrary as it seems, my body began to feel an energy that was both exciting and relaxing. My mind was at peace and my spirit open to any experience God would share with me. I began to slip into a euphoric, mystical state. Suddenly, I was struck by five powerful words that penetrated every sense of my existence. The words were firm but loving. My inner spirit had never heard such clarity. The five words were, "This is not from Me!"
Immediately upon hearing these words I began to grieve at all I was doing, and I repented - feeling polluted and foolish. I quickly realized I had not been enjoying God but had opened my mind and heart to a seducing spirit. God ended this episode by confirming in my spirit I needed to stay alert and discerning for deceptive spirits that were amazingly good at emulating the Spirit of God and masquerading as angels of light.
Is this the kind of prayer the church really wants to involve itself in? I vote no.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)