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If you have a hearty appetite for Sovereign Grace teaching, messages from the 2007 and 2008 Sovereign Grace Bible Conference in Lexington, KY are now available for download here. Some of the speakers include Jim McClarty of GCA, Dr. Stephen Wellum of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and many other great local preachers.
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“We who are born from above testify to the change that God has wrought in our hearts. Perhaps the best time for you to tell someone what has taken place in your life is when that person comes to you and says, ‘What has happened to you? I have known you before and after. You are different, Tell me about it.’ This is the best opportunity to tell someone about Christ. If they don’t see a difference, all the talking in the world is meaningless.”
-Paris Reidhead
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…and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
(2 Timothy 4:4, NASB)
The Historical And Mythical Jesus Of Marcus Borg
We begin by reminding the reader that in his book Velvet Elvis (VE) emerging church pastor/communicator Rob Bell recommends via footnote [Endnotes: 1; 57] The Heart of Christianity (HC) by “Progressive [read: postliberal] Christian” Marcus Borg. You should also know that in HC Borg goes through the very same mythological pre-Easter vs. post-Easter version(s) of his “Jesus” as shown in the previous Apprising Ministries piece Marcus Borg vs. Jesus.
The point here being that this book HC is a treatise arguing for an “emerging paradigm,” which is actually a postliberal theology and yet Rob Bell recommends it without qualification to his readers. He doesn’t even say something along the lines of: “I don’t agree with Marcus Borg’s wrong views about Who Jesus Christ is, etc.” In fact in VE, Bell’s own hypothetical argument concerning the Virgin Birth and how even if it wasn’t true it wouldn’t affect the Christian faith is actually of the same kind Borg himself would use in his “historical, metaphorical and sacramental” approach to Scripture.
In other words, liberal—and postliberal—theology really couldn’t care less whether things like that were real and/or are true because regardless they are simply following the religious “tradition” to the Sacred which they feel is right for them. And prior to explaining why he follows the path of the “Christian” tradition Borg informs us in his superior erudition that in the end what religion one chooses really doesn’t even matter to God:
When a Christian seeker asked the Dalai Lama whether she should become a Buddhist, his response, which I paraphrase, was: “No, become more deeply Christian; live more deeply into your own tradition.” Huston Smith makes the same point with the metaphor of digging a well: if what you’re looking for is water, better to dig one well sixty feet deep than to dig six wells ten feet deep. By living more deeply into our own tradition as a sacrament of the sacred, we become more centered in the one to whom the tradition points and in whom we live and move and have our being.
A Christian is one who does this within the framework of the Christian tradition, just as a Jew is one who does this within the framework of the Jewish tradition, a Muslim, within the framework of the Muslim tradition, and so forth. And I cannot believe that God cares which one of these we are. All are paths of relationship and transformation. (223)
Perhaps this also sheds further light concerning The Seeds of Compassion Event: Rob Bell, Doug Pagitt with Dalai Lama. Both times in VE where Bell refers his readers to Borg there is no mention that it is Borg’s ideas from which he is drawing. Our concern in this piece is footnote 1, prior to which Bell writes:
Often the person with spiritual convictions is seen as close-minded and others are seen as open-minded. What is fascinating to me is that at the center of the Christian faith is the assumption that this life is not all there is. That there is more to life than the material. That existence is not limited to what we can see, touch, measure and observe and see with our eyes is real. One of the central assertions of the Christian worldview is that there is “more” [1]. (019)
Sending Young Lambs Out To The Progressive Wolves
As I mentioned before Bell just has the footnote with no further explanation. Then when we go to the Endnotes here is what we will read: “1 Marcus Borg explains this idea extremely well in his book The Heart of Christianity (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2003).” Really; is there no better apologist Bell can think of to discuss this idea of the spiritual vs. the material world than a Jesus Seminar Fellow who denies virtually everything taught by the historic, orthodox Christian Church and one who’s also a leading teacher of the universal new spirituality?
Men and women, I think the time has now arrived where you ought to seriously ask yourself why. Is there an agenda here by Bell? After all, in Rob Bell In A Nutshell: Contemplative Mysticism I showed you Bell himself promotes Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism. In closing for now, Bell also doesn’t even say where it is in HC that Borg “explains this idea extremely well.” As a pastor myself, especially considering that a lot of Bell’s readers are supposedly “seekers” and undoubtedly many are young, I say this is a very grievous error on Bell’s part in sending innocent lambs over to a wolf like Marcus Borg with no guidance whatsoever through his pseudo-spiritual neo-Gnostic mumbo jumbo.
Well, maybe the following is what Bell is referring to concerning Borg’s “idea,” which he allegedly “explains” so “extremely well”. In chapter 6 of HC, “God–The Heart of Reality”, Borg appears to be discussing what Bell is talking about above in VE concerning the two worldviews; one holding to a material world only, while the other holding to the idea there is a spiritual world i.e. “more.” Under the heading “Two Kinds of Worldviews” Borg tells us:
at a very foundational level, there are two primary kinds: religious worldviews and nonreligious worldviews. In a religious worldview, there is, to use William James’s term again [from 61], a “More.” In addition to the visible world of our ordinary experience and as disclosed by science, there is a “More,” a nonmaterial layer or level of reality, an extra dimension of reality.
This view is shared by all the enduring religions of the world. To echo language from the contemporary historian of religion Huston Smith, this conviction was until recently the “human unanimity.” “The More” has been named in various ways: God, Spirit, the sacred, Yahweh, the Tao, Allah, Brahman, Atman, and so forth. In a nonreligious worldview, there is no “More.” There is only “this”—the space-time world of matter and energy and whatever other natural forces lie behind or beyond it. (63, emphasis his)
While the above, in and of itself, does contain some factual information I still wonder why emerging church pastor Rob Bell is reading a heretic like Marcus Borg to help him understand these issues. For here in Borg is a man who clearly denies that Jesus is the Creator God in human flesh—thereby grossly insulting the “Jesus” Rob says he loves. And, as I said previously, why would he then risk sending his own lambs to a wolf like Marcus Borg—at all—let alone with no warning whatsoever.
Because as we read earlier from HC in his myth about how one comes to know this generic “More” god Borg unequivocally denies that the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is the only way into a saving relationship with the one true and living LORD God Almighty:
A Christian is one who does this [follow the right personal path to the Sacred] within the framework of the Christian tradition, just as a Jew is one who does this within the framework of the Muslim tradition, and so forth. And I cannot believe that God cares which one of these we are. All are paths of relationship and transformation. (223)
But that is simply not Christian theology, nor is what is about to follow below:
Dr. Marcus Borg—Christianity as a way
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In this excellent piece at the blog of Midwest Christian Outreach pastor G. Richard Fisher completely dismantles the false front of tolerance which Emergent Church Swami Brian McLaren has erected for himself. In setting up a very revealing quote from McLaren’s latest book Finding Our Way Again on so-called Spiritual Formation straight out of The Cult Of Guru Richard Foster Fisher begins:
Brian McLaren presents himself as all embracing as far as religions are concerned. In his latest book, Finding Our Way Again, his major premise is that we can go back to the middle ages and extract all the various mystical practices from Roman Catholicism (which are now being euphemistically termed “contemplative”) and throw them all together in a subjective stew in any manner and proportion that suits our spiritual fancy and come out just fine. If only he had gone back a little further and connected with the Apostles! The dark ages have nothing to offer us but dead traditions however there is life in God’s Word.
One thing that is very obvious in all of McLaren’s writings is that he is not as really all embracing as he pretends to be. No way. He selectively embraces. There is one bogey man that seems to always stand in his way… (Online source)
You can read Fisher’s article in its entirety here.
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In this excellent piece at the blog of Midwest Christian Outreach pastor G. Richard Fisher completely dismantles the false front of tolerance which Emergent Church Swami Brian McLaren has erected for himself. In setting up a very revealing quote from McLaren’s latest book Finding Our Way Again on so-called Spiritual Formation straight out of The Cult Of Guru Richard Foster Fisher begins:
Brian McLaren presents himself as all embracing as far as religions are concerned. In his latest book, Finding Our Way Again, his major premise is that we can go back to the middle ages and extract all the various mystical practices from Roman Catholicism (which are now being euphemistically termed “contemplative”) and throw them all together in a subjective stew in any manner and proportion that suits our spiritual fancy and come out just fine. If only he had gone back a little further and connected with the Apostles! The dark ages have nothing to offer us but dead traditions however there is life in God’s Word.
One thing that is very obvious in all of McLaren’s writings is that he is not as really all embracing as he pretends to be. No way. He selectively embraces. There is one bogey man that seems to always stand in his way…
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According to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ in John 15 the mark of Christian authenticity is abiding or remaining in Him. This is not simply a continual profession of faith, but a remaining faithful to Christ in our orthodox Christian faith. According to Paul, it is a two-fold action of departing from the faith and giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. The Apostle John called the Christian leaders who do this antichrists.
(click here to read this post)
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These You Tube clips are segments of open-air preaching at Lindley Park in Greensboro, NC on Sunday evening, 8-24-08. I have been preaching open-air on and off for about 8 years, but my preaching has never been video taped and subsequently placed on You Tube for the benefit of others.
There is much open-air preaching out there that really should not be called “preaching” because it is doctrinally aberrant and in many cases, downright hateful in its presentation. It is my hope that Christian preachers of the Reformed persuasion will watch videos like this and be encouraged to find a place to regularly preach the gospel of grace in an open-air fashion for the glory of God and the expansion of the Kingdom.
You cannot see it on the videos because of the position of the camera, but there were many people walking right in front of me. In the first two segments, we had a small crowd of about 10 people standing around and curiously listening to the preaching. We even had a sweet woman and her grandchildren come up to hug my neck for preaching the gospel! However, we had no hecklers. All in all, hundreds of people heard the gospel. We will let God do with it what He will (Romans 9:16, 18).
P.S. I want to send out a special thanks to a dear brother who took the time to endure the heat to film these segments.
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Here is the link to listen to the entire program and/or download the mp3:
http://www.crosstalkamerica.com/shows/2008/07/the_shack_in_light_of_the_bibl.php
Host: Ingrid Schlueter
Guest: Larry DeBruyn
Pastor Larry DeBruyn is the pastor of Franklin Road Baptist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. He’s the author of the book: Church on the Rise: Why I’m Not a Purpose Driven Pastor.
Ingrid began this edition of Crosstalk by mentioning a popular book entitled, The Shack, by William Young. She encouraged listeners to call if they had heard of the book, and the phone lines filled rapidly. Callers gave various brief testimonies, proving how word-of-mouth promotion is causing many to become aware of this book.
According to Pastor DeBruyn, Young is the child of missionary parents in New Guinea. While he was an MK, he was abused by the very tribal people his parents were trying to reach; abuse which is said to have continued while he was in missionary school. Being an allegory, Pastor DeBruyn believes The Shack is an attempt by Young to work out some of his reservations about God and some of the things that happened to him.
The problem with this book is the counterfeit trinity that it presents. The representations of each individual in this allegorical trinity have serious defects. Pastor DeBruyn explains these defects from the Bible with great simplicity and clarity, proving that The Shack, regardless of its high-profile endorsements, is best avoided.
More Information
http://www.herescope.com
Author: LaneCh
Keywords: William Young the shack ingrid Schlueter Larry DeBruyn crosstalk america vcy
Added: August 26, 2008
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Pastors Attacked, Believers Killed, Churches Destroyed in Anti-Christian Rampage
CARROLLTON, Texas, Aug. 26 /Christian Newswire/ — Reports of more than 75 separate attacks on Gospel for Asia-related work in Orissa have resulted in the deaths of at least six local believers since radical mobs went on a rampage after the murder of a leading anti-Christian activist.
Saturday night, Swami Laxamanananda Saraswati, a top leader of the VHP (World Hindu Council), was killed in an attack by 20 men suspected of being Maoist rebels. The Maoists had earlier warned the swami to leave the area. The attack, which included gunfire and a hand grenade, also killed four other people.
GFA President Dr. K.P. Yohannan strongly condemned the gruesome killing of Swami Laxamanananda and demanded that those who were guilty should be punished.
Because the swami was a leading opponent of Christian work in India, his followers in the ultra- fundamentalist VHP have used his murder to incite hundreds of their followers to go on a rampage of death and destruction across several districts in India’s Orissa state.
According to the latest reports, at least six Christians who attended GFA-related churches have been killed.
The latest detailed reports list more than 15 GFA- related church buildings destroyed and at least 110 church members’ homes burned to the ground. Other Christian groups have also suffered, with many deaths reported and attacks on ministers and missionaries being widespread. There are even reports of Catholic nuns being gang raped and murdered by the extremists.
“We are also deeply shocked and anguished to hear of the atrocities and violence meted out to the innocent Christians and churches in Orissa as a backlash of the sorrowful event,” Dr. Yohannan said, “and we are praying for an immediate halt to the violence.”
Dozens of pastors and their families have been attacked by roving mobs, and many have fled with their congregations into the surrounding forests. Some children and their parents have been in hiding, without food or water, since the rioting began on Sunday.
One GFA Bible college is under police protection, while a GFA Bridge of Hope children’s center was closed when a mob threatened to attack. They threatened to kidnap one of the workers, so the staff and 120 children left the area. It is not known what has happened to the center property.
“What is most disturbing is that these attacks seem to be well organized and orchestrated,” Dr. Yohannan said. “We have reports that the VHP have actually held strategy meetings in order to plan and coordinate this campaign of violence against peaceful Christian families and churches.”
Pamphlets have been printed and widely distributed accusing the Christians of the swami’s murder, even though most authorities indicate it was most likely Maoist rebels who were responsible.
“We thank God that the government officials are protecting our Bible college campus and trying to protect our people,” K.P. added. “That is a true blessing.” But as the violence has increased, many fear the government’s actions are not enough.
Reports note that the mobs are using firebombs to attack homes and churches, and there is little evidence of police or other government intervention.
There are more than 295 GFA-related churches in Orissa. GFA has dozens of missionaries in the state, and the people have been very receptive to the message of Christ’s love for them.
“But the fundamentalist groups have always opposed us,” noted one GFA worker, “and now there is great tension prevailing, and Christians are running away for their lives.”
“My heart goes out to the missionaries and believers,” Dr. Yohannan said. “We must pray with all earnestness for the suffering church in Orissa at this time.”
Those who wish to help meet the needs of the suffering believers in Orissa may give to GFA’s Persecution Relief Fund at http://www.gfa.org/persecution-donate.
Gospel for Asia is an evangelical mission organization based in Carrollton involved in sharing the love of Jesus across South Asia.
Christian Newswire
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Father of Mercies, Hear me for Jesus’ sake. I am sinful even in my closest walk with thee; it is of thy mercy I died not long ago; Thy grace has given me in the cross by which thou hast reconciled thyself to me and me to thee, drawing me by thy great love, reckoning me as innocent in Christ though guilty in myself.
Giver of all graces, I look to thee for strength to maintain them in me, for it is hard to practise what I believe. Strengthen me against temptations. My heart is an unexhausted fountain of sin, a river of corruption since childhood days, flowing on in every pattern of behaviour; Thou hast disarmed me of the means in which I trusted, and I have no strength but in thee.
Thou alone canst hold back my evil ways, but without thy grace to sustain me I fall. Satan’s darts quickly inflame me, and the shield that should quench them easily drops from my hand: Empower me against his wiles and assaults. Keep me sensible of my weakness, and of my dependence upon thy strength. Let every trial teach me more of thy peace, more of thy love.
Thy Holy Spirit is given to increase thy graces, and I cannot preserve or improve them unless he works continually in me. May he confirm my trust in thy promised help, and let me walk humbly in dependence upon thee, for Jesus’ sake.
- The Valley of Vision
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Christian Research Net contributor Dustin Segers, pastor of the Shepherd’s Fellowship and member of the board of directors for Apprising Ministries, does some open air preaching at a local music in the park series:
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This month we are hosting the Western Slope Seminar on Biblical Evangelism with the theme, “What Is The Gospel?”. Why now and why this topic?
There is a great deal of so-called evangelism going on today that bears little or no resemblance to the Gospel of the Bible. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s many of the main-line denominations embraced a diminished view of the authority and veracity of the Bible in favor of a more inclusive and socially conscious appoach. Unity became more important than doctrine and, as a result, those groups began a long downhill slide to the point that now the Bible is ignored and morality is decided by prevailing culture. Sad to say, much of Evangelicalism is following this same “down-grade” that Spurgeon warned against. Pick up any popular Christian periodical today and you will see a great deal about various “community outreaches”, “social justice” and “transforming societies”. You will see less and less about the bold proclamation of the Gospel, a Gospel that tells men that they are dead in trespasses and sins. A Gospel that calls them to new life by the power of God will be based upon the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the miraculous calling of God through the preaching of the Word.
For too long we have tried to “market” the Gospel by targeting various affinity groups or demographic populations. We are commanded to “preach the Gospel to every creature”. Many of our church members have been lulled to sleep into thinking that if we give liberally to missions, we have obeyed His command. It is time for church members to repent of disobedience to Christ’s command and begin proclaiming the Gospel to our neighbors. It is time for pastors and leaders to repent of the watered-down Gospel we’ve been preaching and to return to the doctrine of our fore-fathers, men like Whitefield, Spurgeon and Mell. I am so encouraged by the movement of God taking place through groups like “Together for the Gospel”. I believe that God has laid upon our hearts the need and has provided the means to call men of God to a “Muster of the Faith”. Pray for our churches and leaders that we will be open to this call for revival.
There’s still room, just go to the above link and sign up, don’t worry about deadlines, just come!
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In Part One of this series Apprising Ministries showed you that the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSCNC) of the Southern Baptist Convention isn’t even attempting to hide its open embrace of corrupt Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM) and its Contemplative/Centering Prayer (CCP), which flowered in the antibiblical monastic traditions of apostate Roman Catholicism, i.e. no longer Christian.
With an able assist from ordained Southern Baptist minister Dallas Willard currently The Cult of Guru Richard Foster is conditioning more and more mainstream evangelical pastors, leaders, and ministers (think frog in the kettle) through spurious Spiritual Formation (SF) courses in college and/or seminary to see this CSM as a viable approach to God. And AM reminds you that primary among the textbooks used in these SF classes, not only in SBC seminaries but in most evangelical schools, are works by Willard and his associate Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic “Roshi” Richard Foster from which their so-called “spiritual disciplines” largely culled from heretical Roman Catholic and Quaker mystics is then taught.
But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD.
Dr. Wendy Edwards “Not” Recommends Spiritual Director Jan Johnson
Specific now to BSCNC once again would be “Spiritual Formation Coach” Dr. Wendy Edwards of the Office of Prayer for Evangelization & Spiritual Awakening, Baptist State Convention of North Carolina and her SpiritLines Newsletters (SLN). In the November 2007 SLN SF Coach Edwards shares with us about “Christian Meditation.” Under “Christian Meditation Helps” we are pointed to some of the following books “for informational purposes only. This is not an exhaustive or recommended list”:
Edwards, Tilden. Living in the Presence: Spiritual Exercises to Open Our Lives to the Awareness of God. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1995.
Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1978, 1988.
Guyon, Jeanne. Experiencing God through Prayer. New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House Publishers, 1984.
Johnson, Jan. When the Soul Listens: Finding Rest and Direction in Contemplative Prayer. Colorado Springs, Colorado: NavPress, 1999.
Stepping around decidedly dubious sources of errant information like Tilden Edwards of the Shalem Institute For Spiritual Formation, Roshi Richard Foster and Jeanne Guyon for now, I wish to focus our attention here on Jan Johnson. I begin by telling you that fellow SBC minister Dallas Willard happens to be the General Editor of the Spiritual Formation Line published by NavPress, a “line [that] is designed to contribute to this renewed vision of Christian spiritual formation.”
One may wonder, so what? Well, one of the books in this series would be When The Soul Listens: Finding Rest And Direction In Contemplative Prayer (WtSL) by “retreat speaker” Jan Johnson recommended…oops, make that “not” recommended, by SF Guru Edwards under “Christian Meditation Resources” that she wants you to be aware of in the issue of SLN referenced above, but *ahem* is not recommending.
So I guess whether or not this is a recommendation by our SF Coach would, as another prominent Southern Baptist has said, depend upon what the meaning of the word is…um, is. Anyway, Jan Johnson tells us that she, ah—is, “a writer, speaker and spiritual director in southern California.” And interestingly enough under “Teaching” at her Website we read Johnson’s been “lectio divina instructor for Dallas Willard’s Fuller Seminary class: Spirituality and Ministry.”
Among her writings she lists Dallas Willard’s Study Guide to the Divine Conspiracy. And Johnson also recommends that:
For more in-depth information and exercises, take a look at my book Savoring God’s Word, which explains both lectio divina and Ignatian style meditation in detail. (Online source)
O, and another SBC outlet also “not” recommending Jan Johnson’s WtSL is Lifeway Christian Stores. There Southern Baptists may purchase this book in which:
Jan Johnson encourages readers to get away from the formulas and ten-step plans to discover true contemplative prayer. Readers will discover that listening to God and learning to interact with Him through prayer is the real answer to a deeper relationship with Him… ‘When The Soul Listens’ offers a clear path to a fulfilling connection with God. (Online source)
Entering The Spiritual Twilight Zone In The Silence Of “Christian” Meditation
In WtSL Johnson gives us the following instruction about the meditation of CCP:
The two primary tools of the contemplative way are the spiritual disciplines of silence and solitude… Madame Jeanne Guyon, a sought-after counselor and author of the seventeenth-century classic Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ, wrote that two kinds of people keep silent:
The first is one who has nothing to say, and the other is one who has too much to say. In the case of the deeper encounter with the Lord, the latter is true. Silence is produced from [abundant life in God], not from lack. This silence is rich, full and alive!
… Both silence and solitude require discipline at first, but then they become enjoyable and refreshing… Thomas Kelly assures us. It is not an arduous task, but “nothing more than turning our heart toward God and receiving in turn His love.” (79, 80, 81)
Next Johnson goes on to speculate, “In solitary silence, we encounter the love of God,” but then she quotes universalist Roman Catholic mystic Henri Nouwen to caution us that if we really want God to touch us, “It requires a lot of inner solitude and silence” (82), i.e. so-called “Christian” meditation. She also wants us to know in WtSL that, “Silence and solitude are the outward, physical manifestations of the inward surrender of the heart.” Johnson explains that in CCP aka meditation:
We relinquish talking, analyzing, and enjoying the company of others in order to attend only to God. This relinquishment is crucial. “We have all heard this holy Whisper at times,” wrote Thomas Kelly, a Quaker college professor… “[But w]e have not surrendered all else, to attend to it alone.” (83)
As a matter of fact we note below that Southern Baptist SF Roshi Edwards herself has apparently heard it and has now relinquished herself to this deception as well. In the March 2007 “Silence” edition of SLN Edwards regurgitates the same ol’ CSM mantra of mindless mystic meditation as she also *wink* not recommends Nouwen:
The spiritual practice of silence has proven helpful to spiritual seekers throughout history in seeking genuine experiences of God’s presence. Yet we all know that wholeheartedly engaging silence is quite a challenge… Quieting the inner noise, putting aside all the thoughts, concerns, fears, needs, and problems that fill our minds takes intentionality and effort. It does not come easy for most of us. That is why silence observance is referred to as discipline. We have to discipline ourselves in order to be still and hear God.
I’ve come to appreciate numerous resources that have helped me develop a desire for silence and learn to engage and even enjoy being silent in God’s presence. I’ve come to crave personal silent moments alone with God as well as silent moments shared with spiritual friends in small groups and silent moments amidst worship. A few of these helpful tools are listed as follows…
Nouwen, Henri J. M. The Way of The Heart. New York, NY: The Seabury Press, 1981. (Online source)
By the way, for more on the messed-up mystic Madame Jeanne Guyon mentioned a couple of times earlier in this piece I will refer you to The Mindless Mysticism of Madame Guyon by Personal Freedom Outreach. And in closing this for now let me briefly enlighten you concerning Thomas R. Kelly, yet another spiritually corrupt Quaker mystic. Johnson’s quotes of Kelly come from his A Testament of Devotion. You may also wish to know that Guru Edwards herself also, um, not recommends AToD in the December 2007 SLN under “Spiritual Formation Resources.”
However, on page 3 of my copy of AToD let point out to you that mystic Kelly shares the heretical Quaker doctrine that God is already dwells within all mankind. But this teaching itself is actually a mythical musing of classic mysticism often referred to as “the divine spark” or “a spark of the divine.”
In fact Kelly himself begins by quoting a veritable superstar of mysticism:
Meister Eckhart wrote: “As thou art in church or cell, that same frame of mind carry into the world, into its turmoil and its fitfulness” Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctu [sic] of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice,…the Light within,… It is the Shekinah of the soul, the Presence in the midst. Here is the slumbering Christ, stirring to be awakened to become the soul we clothe in earthly form and action. And He is within us all.
But casting these mythical mystic musings back to Hell where they belong, I now proclaim to you, no; “He” is not. Since I cover in detail this blasphemous idea in Understanding the New Spirituality: God Indwells Mankind here I will simply remind you that it is written:
Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. (Romans 8:8-9)
Yet amazingly men and women, it is exactly this kind of neopagan nonsense that SBC women like Dr. Wendy Edwards and SBC men like Dallas Willard are introducing into the Southern Baptist Convention—and to the Body of Christ at large—under the covert cover of spiritual formation. But don’t be fooled because this SF skubalon is really just Eastern religious teachings repacked for careless Christians in the West.
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In the Apprising Ministries article Origin of Contemplative/Centering Prayer I point you to Emergent Church anti-theologian Tony Jones who introduces you to John Cassian, who is the father of the man-centered compromise which has come to be known as semi-pelagianism:
Like the Jesus Prayer, Centering Prayer grew out of the reflections and writings of the Desert Fathers. John Cassian (c.360-c.430) came from the West and made a pilgrimage to the desert to learn the ways of contemplative prayer … Cassian was deeply influenced by his time in the desert, and he wrote his book The Conferences about his conversations with the Desert Fathers to acquaint Western Christians with their teachings.
With this in mind concerning John Cassian we read in a piece over at the excellent website Monergism.com:
John Cassian was a contemporary of St. Augustine in Gaul (modern France). A Semi-Pelagian monk and founder of many monasteries, he wrote The Institutes and Conferences and slightly modified Pelagius’s teachings. “The Semi-Pelagian doctrine taught by John Cassian (d. 440) admits that divine grace (assistance) is necessary to enable a sinner to return unto God and live, yet holds that, from the nature of the human will, man may first spontaneously, of himself, desire and attempt to choose and obey God. They deny the necessity of prevenient but admit the necessity of cooperative grace and conceive regeneration as the product of this cooperative grace”… ( Online source)
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In the Apprising Ministries article Origin of Contemplative/Centering Prayer I point you to Emergent Church anti-theologian Tony Jones who introduces you to John Cassian, who is the father of the man-centered compromise which has come to be known as semi-pelagianism:
Like the Jesus Prayer, Centering Prayer grew out of the reflections and writings of the Desert Fathers. John Cassian (c.360-c.430) came from the West and made a pilgrimage to the desert to learn the ways of contemplative prayer … Cassian was deeply influenced by his time in the desert, and he wrote his book The Conferences about his conversations with the Desert Fathers to acquaint Western Christians with their teachings.
With this in mind concerning John Cassian we read in a piece over at Monergism.com:
John Cassian was a contemporary of St. Augustine in Gaul (modern France). A Semi-Pelagian monk and founder of many monasteries, he wrote The Institutes and Conferences and slightly modified Pelagius’s teachings. “The Semi-Pelagian doctrine taught by John Cassian (d. 440) admits that divine grace (assistance) is necessary to enable a sinner to return unto God and live, yet holds that, from the nature of the human will, man may first spontaneously, of himself, desire and attempt to choose and obey God. They deny the necessity of prevenient but admit the necessity of cooperative grace and conceive regeneration as the product of this cooperative grace”…
Click the post title to be taken to the source.
Unfortunately the answer to that question will be tied up in the “Yea, hath God said” (see–Genesis 3:2) nebulous relativism of so-called “postmodernism” where words magically morph into whatever one wants them to mean. And as with Emerging icon Rob Bell a main reason why Emerging Church pastor Dan Kimball is actually quite dangerous to the historic orthodox Christ faith is that he is such a well-liked Emergent teacher who is assumed to be orthodox.
But in this post from Apprising Ministries I point out the truth is that Kimball is especially harmful to this faith which was once for all delivered to the saints because he is also heavily involved with–and intimately connected to–leaders within the postliberal cult of the Emergent Church.
