LECTIO DIVINA - Leading Sheep to a New Level of Consciousness

[Sing4Him]

Lectio Divina
by Brian Flynn
author of Running Against the Wind

The modern day contemplative prayer movement stems from the monastic period of Christianity (early middle ages), which was a time of experimentation and mystical practices. One of the practices, lectio divina, meaning sacred reading, involved taking a page of Scripture and reading it over and over again.

However, Friar Luke Dysinger, a present-day monk at Saint Andrews Abbey, describes lectio divina in a different way:

"Choose a text of the Scriptures ... Place yourself in a comfortable position and allow yourself to become silent. Some Christians focus for a few moments on their breathing; others have a beloved 'prayer word' or 'prayer phrase' they gently recite in order to become interiorly silent. For some the practice known as 'centering prayer' makes a good, brief introduction to lectio divina....

Then turn to the text and read it slowly, gently. Savor each portion of the reading, constantly listening for the 'still, small voice' of a word or phrase that somehow says, 'I am for you today ...'

Next take the word or phrase into yourself. Memorize it and slowly repeat it to yourself, allowing it to interact with your inner world of concerns, memories and ideas.

Learn to use words when words are helpful, and to let go of words when they no longer are necessary. Rejoice in the knowledge that God is with you in both words and silence, in spiritual activity and inner receptivity."1

This practice has become extremely popular in today's Christian youth organizations and programs. Youth Specialties, a world renowned Christian organization, instructs young people and youth workers to incorporate lectio divina into their prayer lives. In their magazine, Youth Worker Journal, they describe lectio divina this way:



"This is a fancy Latin term for 'sacred reading' and has also been called 'meditation on the Word.' Sacred reading is the practice of reading scripture slowly in a spirit of contemplation. The goal isn't exegesis or analysis, but allowing God to speak to us through the word. Christians often refer to the Bible as God's love letter to mankind, and when we take the time to read it as such, we are practicing sacred reading."2

The article then exhorts readers to:

"Take a short passage and repeat it over and over again aloud. With each repetition, remove extraneous words until you've broken the passage down to one thought. An obvious example is John 14:27, which could easily be broken down to the word 'peace.'"3

The concept of allowing God to speak through His Word is perfectly legitimate. I experience that when I read or meditate on the Bible. However, in the context of this article the purpose is not to contemplate the meaning of a Bible verse by thinking about it but is rather meant to gain an experience from it.

There is a difference between reading the Word and understanding its meaning versus a method of focusing on a single word to gain a mystical experience. Through Youth Specialties and many other youth-oriented organizations, our youth are being taught to treat the Bible as a meditative vehicle rather than a source of knowledge to further our understanding of God.

Youth Ministry & Spirituality Project (created by San Francisco Theological Seminary, in partnership with Youth Specialties and Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church) embraces the contemplative life and teaches children and teens the basics of lectio divina. Please note that the steps below, while giving no direct instruction to repeat a mantra in order to enter the silence, closely parallel those of contemplative meditators. Youth Ministry & Spirituality Project presents a softened and subtle description, which will make the unfamiliar reader unaware of what is really being introduced. In short, the young participant is being groomed so as to make future instruction on mystical meditation more palatable. Read these steps and see how frightfully clever they really are:

"Reading (lectio) - Slowly begin reading a biblical passage as if it were a long awaited love letter addressed to you. Approach it reverentially and expectantly, in a way that savors each word and phrase. Read the passage until you hear a word or phrase that touches you, resonates, attracts or even disturbs you.

"Reflecting (meditatio) - Ponder this word or phrase for a few minutes. Let it sink in slowly and deeply until you are resting in it. Listen for what the word or phrase is saying to you at this moment in your life, what it may be offering to you, what it may be demanding of you.

"Expressing (oratio) - When you feel ready, openly and honestly express to God the prayers that arise spontaneously within you from your experience of this word or phrase. These may be prayers of thanksgiving, petition, intercession, lament, or praise.

"Resting (contemplatio) - Allow yourself to simply rest silently with God for a time in the stillness of your heart remaining open to the quiet fullness of God's love and peace. This is like the silence of communion between the mother holding her sleeping infant child or between lovers whose communication with each other passes beyond words."4

Why is it necessary to do this at all? For two thousand years, since Christ�s ascension, His followers have been able to gain assurance of God's presence in their lives through the knowledge that He has risen and now dwells in their hearts. For the early church, there was no written word in wide circulation to "resonate," "attract"' or "disturb" them. Throughout the centuries, faithful believers focused on the Word [who] became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14) rather than trying to find assurance through a single written word circulating through their minds.

By taking passages of Scripture, which have an intended meaning, and breaking them down into smaller, separate segments, often for the purpose of chanting over and over, the true meaning of the passages are lost. Rather a form of occult mysticism is practiced—with the hope and intention of gaining a mystical experience that God never intended when He gave the inspired words to His servants. (From Running Against the Wind by Brian Flynn, pp. 133-137.)

Notes:
1.Saint Andrews Abbey
2. Mike Perschon, "Contemplative Prayer Practices" (Youth Worker Magazine)
3. Ibid.
4. Youth Ministry & Spirituality Project
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/lectiodivina.htm

[Sing4Him]

Feb-4-2008

Pope asks religious to teach laypeople to appreciate Bible

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Marking the feast of the Presentation of the Lord and the annual celebration of the World Day for Consecrated Life, Pope Benedict XVI asked members of religious orders to help laypeople draw closer to the Bible.

The pope said that, as the Catholic Church prepares for the October world Synod of Bishops on the Bible, consecrated men and women should help other members of the church learn to pray with the Bible and to draw direction for their lives from the Scriptures.

At the foundation of each religious order, there was a strong inspiration from the Gospel, the pope said Feb. 2, joining the religious in St. Peter's Basilica after they had celebrated Mass.

"The Holy Spirit draws some people to live the Gospel in a radical way and to translate it into a more generous form of discipleship," he said.

"Following Christ without compromise, as proposed by the Gospel, has been the ultimate and supreme rule in religious life throughout the centuries," the pope told the religious.

The pope asked the consecrated men and women to "nourish your day with prayer, meditation and listening to the word of God. You who have familiarity with the ancient practice of 'lectio divina' :tsk:tsk:tsk(praying with Scripture) should help the faithful appreciate it in their own daily lives."
Pope Benedict prayed people would learn to look at the good works performed by religious and realize that the word of God can have similar power in their own lives.

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0800655.htm

[Anddra]

Is Lectio Divina not a bit like the contemplative prayer practised by emergent churches?

[Hootmon]

Is Lectio Divina not a bit like the contemplative prayer practised by emergent churches?A VERY ANCIENT art, practiced at one time by all Christians, is the technique known as lectio divina - a slow, contemplative praying of the Scriptures which enables the Bible, the Word of God, to become a means of union with God. This ancient practice has been kept alive in the Christian monastic tradition, and is one of the precious treasures of Benedictine monastics and oblates. Together with the Liturgy and daily manual labor, time set aside in a special way for lectio divina enables us to discover in our daily life an underlying spiritual rhythm. Within this rhythm we discover an increasing ability to offer more of ourselves and our relationships to the Father, and to accept the embrace that God is continuously extending to us in the person of his Son Jesus Christ. http://www.valyermo.com/ld-art.html


In September 2005, Pope Benedict XVI stated:

"I would like in particular to recall and recommend the ancient tradition of Lectio divina: the diligent reading of Sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking, and in praying, responds to him with trusting openness of heart (cf. Dei Verbum, n. 25). If it is effectively promoted, this practice will bring to the Church - I am convinced of it - a new spiritual springtime."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lectio_divina

[Buzzardhut]

Lectio Divina (http://www.gotquestions.org/lectio-divina.html) is Latin for divine reading, spiritual reading, or "holy reading," and represents a method of prayer and scriptural reading intended to promote communion with God and to provide special spiritual insights. The principles of lectio divina were expressed around the year 220 AD and was practiced by Catholic monks, especially the monastic rules of Sts. Pachomius, Augustine, Basil, and Benedict.

The practice of lectio divina is currently very popular among Catholics and gnostics, and is gaining acceptance as an integral part of the devotional practices of the Emerging Church. Pope Benedict XVI said in a 2005 speech “I would like in particular to recall and recommend the ancient tradition of lectio divina: the diligent reading of Sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking, and in praying, responds to him with trusting openness of heart.” Lectio is also said to be adaptable for people of other faiths in reading their scripture—whether that be the Bhagavad Gita, the Torah, or the Koran. Non-Christians may simply make suitable modifications of the method to accommodate secular traditions. Further, the four principles of lectio divina can also be adapted to the four Jungian psychological principles of sensing, thinking, intuiting, and feeling.

The actual practice of lectio divina begins with a time of relaxation and making oneself comfortable and clearing the mind of mundane thoughts and cares. Some lectio practicers find it helpful to concentrate by beginning with deep and cleansing breaths and reciting a chosen phrase or word over and over to help free the mind. Then they begin with the four steps:

Lectio - Reading the Bible passage gently and slowly several times. The passage itself is not as important as the savoring of each portion of the reading, constantly listening for the "still, small voice" of a word or phrase that somehow speaks to the practicer.

Meditatio - Reflecting on the text of the passage, thinking about how it applies to one's own life. This is considered to be a very personal reading of the Scripture and application to one's own life.

Oratio – Responding to the passage by opening the heart to God. This is not primarily an intellectual exercise, but is thought to be more of the beginning of a conversation with God.

Contemplatio - Listening to God. This is a freeing oneself from one's own thoughts, both mundane and holy, and hearing God talk to us. Opening our mind, heart, and soul to the influence of God.

Naturally the connection between Bible reading and prayer is one to be encouraged; they should always go together. However, the dangers inherent in this kind of practice, and its astonishing similarity to transcendental meditation and other dangerous rituals, should be carefully considered. It has the potential to become, and often does become, a pursuit of mystical experience, where the goal is to empty and free the mind and empower oneself. The Christian, on the other hand, uses the Scriptures to pursue the knowledge of God, wisdom, and holiness through the objective meaning of the text with the aim of transforming the mind according to truth. God said His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6), not for lack of mystical, personal encounters with Him.

Those who take this supernatural approach to the text can disconnect it from its context and natural meaning and use it in a subjective, individualistic, experiential, even name-it-and-claim-it way for which it was never intended. Here is where lectio and gnosticism dovetail into one. Christian Gnosticism is the belief that one must have a "gnosis" (from Greek "Gnosko," to know) or mystical, inner knowledge obtained only after one has been properly initiated. Only a few can possess this mystical knowledge, limiting the number of those "in the know." Naturally, the idea of having inside information is very appealing and makes the “knower” feel important, special and unique in that he/she has a special experience with God that no one else has. The “knower” believes that the masses are not in possession of spiritual knowledge, and only the truly “enlightened” can experience God. Thus the reintroduction of contemplative, or centering, prayer—a meditative practice where the focus is on having a mystical experience with God—into the Church. Contemplative prayer is similar to the meditative exercises used in Eastern religions and New Age cults and has no basis whatsoever in the Bible, although the contemplative pray-ers do use the Bible as a starting point.

Further, the dangers inherent in opening our minds and listening for voices should be obvious. The contemplative pray-ers are so eager to hear something—anything—that they can lose the objectivity needed to discern between God’s voice, their own thoughts, and the infiltration of demons into their minds. Satan and his minions are always eager for inroads into the minds of the unsuspecting, and to open our minds in such ways is to invite disaster. We must never forget that Satan is ever on the prowl, seeking to devour our souls (1 Peter 5:8) and can appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), whispering and murmuring his lies into our open and willing minds.

Finally, the attack on the sufficiency of Scripture is a clear distinctive of lectio divina. Where the Bible claims to be all we need to live the Christian life (2 Timothy 3:16), lectio and its offshoots deny that. Those who practice “conversational” prayers, seeking a special revelation from God, are asking Him to bypass what He has already revealed to mankind, as though He would now renege on all His promises concerning His eternal Word. Psalm 19:7-14 contains the definitive statement about the sufficiency of Scripture. It is “perfect, reviving the soul;” it is “right, rejoicing the heart;” it is “pure, enlightening the eyes;” it is “true” and “righteous altogether;” and it is “more desirable than gold.” If God meant all that He said in this psalm, there is no need for additional revelation, and to ask Him for one is to deny what He has already revealed.

The Old and New Testaments are words from God to be studied, meditated upon, prayed over, and memorized for the knowledge and objective meaning they contain, and the authority from God they carry, and not for the mystical experience or feeling of personal power and inner peace they may stimulate. Sound knowledge comes first, then the lasting kind of experience and peace comes as a byproduct of knowing and communing with God rightly. As long as a person takes this view of the Bible and prayer, they are engaging in the same kind of meditation and prayer that Bible-believing followers of Christ have always commended.

[Anddra]

Thank you, guys. The links were helpful and confirming.

[ATYCLB]

Lectio Divina (http://www.gotquestions.org/lectio-divina.html) is Latin for divine reading, spiritual reading, or "holy reading," and represents a method of prayer and scriptural reading intended to promote communion with God and to provide special spiritual insights.

This seems to go far beyond the private interpretation of Scripture that Catholics criticize us for. :idunno

[Buzzardhut]

This seems to go far beyond the private interpretation of Scripture that Catholics criticize us for. :idunno
it's transcendent interpretation

[Sing4Him]

THOMAS KEATING ON CONTEMPLATIVE/CENTERING PRAYER


“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.” (Ezekiel 11:21)

Living Spiritual Teachers, Spiritual Masters, Roshis, and Yogis

What you are about to read below is the definition of Contemplative/Centering Prayer, or what is in reality transcendental meditation lightly sprayed with Christian terminology, from a man universally known as an authority of this neo-pagan practice. As a matter of fact, in his own book called The Sacred Way, which teaches about what Living Spiritual Teacher Richard Foster refers to spiritual “practices and disciplines,” Emergent Church theologian Tony Jones himself recommends a book called Open Mind, Open Heart (OMOH) by Thomas Keating. Jones informs us that Keating “writes a nice history of contemplative prayer in the first chapter and then goes on to teach the principles of Centering Prayer” (215). So you can see that for all intents and purposes these terms, contemplative and centering, are really interchangeable for the actual practice of this supposed “Christian” meditation.

On the back cover of OMOH itself we are told that Thomas Keating—another of these Living Spiritual Teachers—is “a Cistercian priest, (Trappist) monk and abbot.” Then we are further informed that this particular book has indeed been written “by an acknowledged modern spiritual master.” Men and women, here is another reason why I will often be a bit sarcastic when referring to these apostate practitioners of Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism such as Thomas Keating. You need to realize that terms like “spiritual master” actually come straight out of the very Eastern religions that these men insist they are not influenced by. And further we should understand that all of this has exactly zero place in the priesthood of all believers of the true Christian faith.

So since we have access, not only to a Living Spiritual Teacher, but my O my also a “modern Spiritual Master,” then let’s just see what Contemplative/Centering Prayer is according Guru Thomas Keating. Why after all, St. Benedict's Monastery, where Keating resides, tells us that he is quite adept at teaching this form of “Christian” transcendental meditation (TM) because he “has presented the Centering Prayer method and its related mystical theology to gatherings of non-Christians, Protestants, and Roman Catholics worldwide.” Keating now tells us that Contemplative/Centering Prayer:

is a process of inner transformation, a conversation initiated by God and leading, if we consent, to divine union. One’s way of seeing reality changes in the process. A restructuring of consciousness takes place which empowers one to perceive, relate and respond with increasing sensitivity to the divine presence in, through, and beyond everything that exists (4, emphasis mine).


A Neo-Pagan Process Of Inner Transformation

We may praise the Lord here for what is perhaps the most succinct and clear statement of nearly everything that I personally have been trying to help you see here at Apprising Ministries about the Gnostic neo-pagan mysticism that these fools who are claiming to be wise Spiritual Masters and Spiritual Directors call contemplative spirituality aka the New Spirituality. All along I have been saying that this so-called “Christian” mysticism is really just watered down TM for the Christian, :nod and this is precisely what Thomas Keating himself has just told you. And now you also know why Emergent Gurus like Richard Foster and his friend Spiritual Director Brian McLaren are forced to equivocate with words in order to cloud the real issues behind their theological agendas. :tsk

First you’ll notice above that Keating says Contemplative/Centering Prayer itself “is a process.” This tells us that we are going to have to “practice” it over some period of time before we will realize its deeper effects. This is the reason for the references by Roshi Foster, Tony Jones and others in the Emergent Church to these spiritual “disciplines” which must be practiced, and/or be mastered, as it were. And thus begins our decent back into first century Gnosticism where only the truly initiated—the enlightened—can possess the alleged “secret” knowledge (Greek: gnosis) concerning things spiritual. Among other places the Lord refutes this idea in 1 John 2:20 — But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. This forever does away with the patently false idea that there is a special class of “super” Christians who are the only ones privy to some secret spiritual knowledge.

Next Keating speaks of “a process of inner transformation.” From the “Glossary of Terms” in the back of his book here is Keating’s own definition of:

Transformation (transforming union)a—the stable conviction of the abiding presence of God rather than a particular experience or set of experiences; a restructuring of consciousness in which the divine reality is perceived to be present in oneself and all that is (147, emphasis his).


Now if you’re not careful you are going to end up wrestling with the serpent here so let me help you focus on the real issue. By definition transcendental meditation involves us in some kind of a “transcending”; or a going beyond perceived reality, which itself is in line with Gnosticism, in that the material world—the physical—is thought to be illusionary. And no matter how hard Keating, or any other Emergent Church leader, tries to verbally “tap-dance” this away, what he has just described is a form of transcendental meditation. But what these so-called “Christian” mystics will then try and do is to convince us the “inner transformation,” which is actually quite real, is somehow Christian because it supposedly has a different focus (or intent) than that of the meditation in Zen Buddhism or Hinduism.:tsk

However, the very clear and present spiritual danger for those who practice this type of mind altering mediation is that they simply have no way to actually verify whether they are indeed experiencing God; or rather as I contend, encountering demonic deception impersonating God. Regardless however, the point is that Keating himself, who is a recognized authority on Contemplative/Centering Prayer, is clearly telling us that a person’s “way of seeing reality changes in the process.” So if there are in fact “changes” in someone’s acuity, then this type of meditation has indeed caused them to “transcend” their prior perception of reality. And Centering Guru Keating has already explained to us that in contemplative spirituality there is a “restructuring of consciousness [which] takes place.”:ohno :fear

Transcendental Meditation To Unite The Global Family

In any event our Spiritual Master himself is admitting here to an “inner transformation,” which by his own words is a “transcending” of reality, or what Keating further refers to as “changes in the process,” of perceiving our world within those who practice contemplative spirituality/mysticism. And this is precisely the same thing that will also eventually happen to all those who practice classic TM as well. Study this out for yourself and you will quickly see the Yogis will also talk about a “restructuring of consciousness [which] takes place,” and one which they personally believe would lead to world peace if more people practiced transcendental meditation. In fact, Keating’s late friend Spiritual Master M. Basil Pennington himself has written:

In the course of the years, sitting in silent prayer, beyond where words can interfere, men and women of many diverse traditions have come together. In that deeper place a oneness is experienced that gives assurance and heart to our feeble ecumenical efforts and interreligious dialogues. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has said that if one percent of the people would meditate we will have peace. Jesus spoke of the leaven that will leaven the whole (Finding Grace at the Center: The Beginning of Centering Prayer, 10,11, emphasis mine).

Emergent “evangelical prophet” Tony Campolo echoes the same idea in his book Speaking My Mind when he conjectures:

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, which seem at odds with their own spiritual traditions but have much in common with each other. I do not know what to make of the Muslim mystics, especially those who have come to be known as the Sufis. What do they experience in their mystical experience? Could they have encountered the same God we do in our Christian mysticism? (149,150, emphasis mine):shocked

Maybe now you are able to see why these Emergent deceivers with their Gnostic neo-pagan contemplative spirituality so want to do away with “modernism” (specifically rational thought) and instead to foist upon the unsuspecting a “postmodern” philosophy of mystery and questioning ala Zen Buddhist koans. For this is the only way one could possibly reconcile the contradictions about who God is in the Qur’an as opposed to the Bible. By the way, for those who don’t know, a “koan” is a question that doesn’t necessarily have a logical answer, e.g. “In clapping both hands a sound is heard; what is the sound of one hand?” (Online source) And let us not forget that God also warns us in Colossians, which itself deals with the Gnostic invasion of the ancient Church — See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ (2:8, ESV).

Sometimes you will see me refer to Brian McLaren as a “Roshi wannabe.” A “roshi” is the term for a Zen “Master.” Again from years of study into the Emerging Church, and mystic spirituality which is the crucial element at its corrupted core, it is my conviction that many of these Living Spiritual Teachers and Spiritual Directors (try finding those terms in Scripture) in the Emergent Church would really rather be Roshis and Yogis themselves. Unhappy it seems with the historic orthodox Christian faith, and with being pastor-teachers, which both Richard Foster and McLaren have been, instead to suit their own desires, they [have] gather[ed] around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They [have] turn[ed] their ears away from the truth and [now] turn aside to myths (2 Timothy 4:3-4). And a huge myth is that the Christian needs to adopt pagan practices of Eastern religions to grow spiritually. :tsk

The Divine Spark Of Gnosticism Returns Again

Some will wonder why I am continually covering Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism. And say for very good reason—your youth. As I have already showed you in Emergent Wolves Enter Your Sheep Pens Through Youth Groups popular Emerging Church pastor Dan Kimball admits that your youth is among their Emergent targets:

The staff at one church in rural Oklahoma...fully believed they needed to start making changes in the way they worshipped in order to be in line with the emerging culture and emerging generations... These staff members were afraid, however, to try anything too radical. After all, they served in a very conservative Baptist church...
they started by slowly adding a few things to their youth meetings. They corporately read ancient creeds and prayers. The lit candles and had times of silent prayer. They allowed the youth to paint during a worship time. They practiced lectio divina or “sacred reading,” the ancient practice of prayerful meditation on Scripture. Not all at once, but little by little they added these elements of worship to their existing meetings...(emphasis mine)

Men and women, it is truly is exactly as Gary Gilley points out in his excellent online series Mysticism:

If the mystical practices that we have been describing were contained in some little corner of the Christian subculture we have spent far too much time addressing them. But unfortunately what was once in a corner has moved mainstream. More and more organizations, colleges, seminaries and authors are proclaiming the superiority of mystical Christianity. And the focus of all this attention seems to be directed toward the young. For example, in the late 1990s Youth Specialties, the highly influential youth ministry organization, and the San Francisco Theological Seminary teamed up to do a three-year test project to develop an approach to youth ministry which incorporates contemplative practices.
The project was funded by the Lilly Endowment Fund. Mike Yaconelli, co-founder of Youth Specialties, grew interested in contemplative prayer during a spiritually dry time of his life after reading a book by Henri Nouwen on the subject. Yaconelli and Youth Specialties have now incorporated contemplative prayer and mysticism in their annual pastor’s conferences and national youth conventions that reach over 100,000 youth workers each year. Each conference now offers courses on how to develop a contemplative youth ministry, pray the Lectio Divina (an ancient four-step form of contemplative prayer) and walk the prayer labyrinths. Christianity Today’s sister publication Christian Parenting recently published an article (Fall 2004) promoting the Lectio Divina for young people. (Online source)

And finally with the above in mind we look quickly at another example of the Gnosticism inherent in this so-called “Christian” mysticism currently metastasizing throughout The Ecumenical Church Of Deceit (ECoD) of postevangelcalism and postliberalism as a spiritual cancer. In OMOH Roshi Keating has told us that through Contemplative/Centering Prayer the “inner transformation” will lead us “to divine union,” which itself is the language of classic mystic spirituality. Then he explains this “restructuring of consciousness” enables a person to “respond with increasing sensitivity to the divine presence in, through, and beyond everything that exists.” And now we find ourselves right back in line with the first century Gnosticism that taught about “a divine spark” within every human being. For more on this particular doctrine of demons I refer the interested reader to my article The Emergent “ONE” and Understanding The New Spirituality: God Indwells Mankind.

In closing this for now, what I want to highlight here is Guru Keating’s statement “the divine presence”; this is thought to be God himself, “in, though, and beyond everything that exists.” This is pure panentheism; pan—all, en—in, theos—God, and, this is in and of itself a particularly heinous teaching. This is because—as I have stated elsewhere: If God is “in, through, and beyond everything that exists,” then God already indwells mankind, which now eradicates any need for regeneration—the new birth. And as if this isn’t horrible enough; again, if God’s “divine presence” is truly “in everything that exists,” then—because Satan himself exists—now even the Devil himself would also share in the divine nature. Which would then end up being the fulfillment of his brazen boast in Isaiah 14:14 — “I will make myself like the Most High.”
http://www.apprising.org/archives/2008/04/thomas_keating.html

[billiefan2000]

this is BTW the same Thomas Keating mentioned at

http://rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=42465


:tsk to First United Methodist Church of Omaha Nebraska for promoting this false teacher :tsk

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

THOMAS KEATING ON CONTEMPLATIVE/CENTERING PRAYER
“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.” (Ezekiel 11:21)

Living Spiritual Teachers, Spiritual Masters, Roshis, and Yogis

What you are about to read below is the definition of



Contemplative/Centering Prayer, or what is in reality transcendental meditation lightly sprayed with Christian terminology,



from a man universally known as an authority of this neo-pagan practice.


As a matter of fact, in his own book called The Sacred Way, which teaches about what Living Spiritual Teacher Richard Foster refers to spiritual “practices and disciplines,”



Emergent Church theologian Tony Jones himself


recommends a book called Open Mind, Open Heart (OMOH) by Thomas Keating.



Jones informs us that Keating “writes a nice history of contemplative prayer in the first chapter and then goes on to teach the principles of Centering Prayer” (215).



So you can see that for all intents and purposes these terms, contemplative and centering, are really interchangeable for the actual practice of this supposed “Christian” meditation.

On the back cover of OMOH itself we are told that Thomas Keating


—another of these Living Spiritual Teachers—is “a Cistercian priest,




(Trappist) monk and abbot.”


Then we are further informed that this particular book has indeed been written “by an acknowledged modern spiritual master.”



Men and women, here is another reason why I will often be a bit sarcastic when referring to these apostate practitioners of Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism such as Thomas Keating.


You need to realize that terms like “spiritual master” actually come straight out of the very Eastern religions that these men insist they are not influenced by.


And further we should understand that all of this has exactly zero place in the priesthood of all believers of the true Christian faith.

So since we have access, not only to a Living Spiritual Teacher, but my O my also a “modern Spiritual Master,” then let’s just see what


Contemplative/Centering Prayer is according Guru Thomas Keating.



Why after all, St. Benedict's Monastery, where Keating resides, tells us that he is quite adept at



teaching this form of “Christian” transcendental meditation (TM) because he “has presented the Centering Prayer method and its related mystical theology to gatherings of non-Christians,


Protestants, and Roman Catholics worldwide.”


Keating now tells us that Contemplative/Centering Prayer:

is a process of inner transformation, a conversation initiated by God and leading, if we consent, to divine union.



One’s way of seeing reality changes in the process. A restructuring of consciousness takes place which empowers one to perceive, relate and respond with increasing sensitivity to the divine presence in, through, and beyond everything that exists (4, emphasis mine).



A Neo-Pagan Process Of Inner Transformation



We may praise the Lord here for what is perhaps the most succinct and clear statement of nearly everything that I personally have been trying to help you see here at Apprising Ministries




about the Gnostic neo-pagan mysticism that these fools who are claiming to be wise Spiritual Masters and Spiritual Directors call contemplative spirituality aka the New Spirituality.




All along I have been saying that this so-called “Christian” mysticism is really just watered down TM for the Christian, and this is precisely what Thomas Keating himself has just told you.


And now you also know why Emergent Gurus like Richard Foster and his friend Spiritual Director Brian McLaren



are forced to equivocate with words in order to cloud the real issues behind their theological agendas.

First you’ll notice above that Keating says Contemplative/Centering Prayer itself “is a process.”





This tells us that we are going to have to “practice” it over some period of time before we will realize its deeper effects.


This is the reason for the references by Roshi Foster,

Tony Jones and others in the Emergent Church to these spiritual “disciplines” which must be practiced, and/or be mastered, as it were.



And thus begins our decent back into first century Gnosticism where only the truly initiated—the enlightened—can possess the alleged “secret” knowledge (Greek: gnosis) concerning things spiritual.

Among other places the Lord refutes this idea in 1 John 2:20 —



But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.


This forever does away with the patently false idea that there is a special class of “super” Christians


who are the only ones privy to some secret spiritual knowledge.




Next Keating speaks of “a process of inner transformation.” From the “Glossary of Terms” in the back of his book here is Keating’s own definition of:



Transformation (transforming union)a—the stable conviction of the abiding presence of God rather than a particular experience or set of experiences;



a restructuring of consciousness in which the divine reality is perceived to be present in oneself and all that is (147, emphasis his).



Now if you’re not careful you are going to end up wrestling with the serpent here so let me help you focus on the real issue.


By definition transcendental meditation involves us in some kind of a “transcending”;



or a going beyond perceived reality, which itself is in line with Gnosticism,


in that the material world—the physical—is thought to be illusionary.



And no matter how hard Keating, or any other Emergent Church leader,


tries to verbally “tap-dance” this away, what he has just described is a form of transcendental meditation.



But what these so-called “Christian” mystics will then try and do is to convince us the “inner transformation,” which is actually quite real,




is somehow Christian because it supposedly has a different focus (or intent) than that of the meditation in Zen Buddhism or Hinduism.

However, the very clear and present spiritual danger for those who practice this type of mind altering mediation is that they simply have no way to actually verify whether they are indeed experiencing God;



or rather as I contend, encountering demonic deception impersonating God. Regardless however, the point is that Keating himself,



who is a recognized authority on Contemplative/Centering Prayer, is clearly telling us that a person’s “way of seeing reality changes in the process.”



So if there are in fact “changes” in someone’s acuity, then this type of meditation has indeed caused them to “transcend” their prior perception of reality.


And Centering Guru Keating has already explained to us that in contemplative spirituality there is a “restructuring of consciousness [which] takes place.”

Transcendental Meditation To Unite The Global Family

In any event our Spiritual Master himself is admitting here to an “inner transformation,” which by his own words is a “transcending” of reality, or what Keating further refers to as “changes in the process,” of perceiving our world within those who practice contemplative spirituality/mysticism.




And this is precisely the same thing that will also eventually happen to all those who practice classic TM as well.


Study this out for yourself and you will quickly see the Yogis will also talk about a “restructuring of consciousness [which] takes place,” and one which they personally believe would lead to world peace if more people practiced transcendental meditation.



In fact, Keating’s late friend Spiritual Master M. Basil Penningtonhimself has written:

In the course of the years, sitting in silent prayer, beyond where words can interfere, men and women of many diverse traditions have come together.


In that deeper place a oneness is experienced that gives assurance and heart to our feeble ecumenical efforts and interreligious dialogues.



Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has said that if one percent of the people would meditate we will have peace.


Jesus spoke of the leaven that will leaven the whole


(Finding Grace at the Center: The Beginning of Centering Prayer, 10,11, emphasis mine).



Emergent “evangelical prophet” Tony Campolo


echoes the same idea in his book Speaking My Mind when he conjectures:

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, which seem at odds with their own spiritual traditions but have much in common with each other.


I do not know what to make of the Muslim mystics,

especially those who have come to be known as the Sufis.


What do they experience in their mystical experience?


Could they have encountered the same God we do in our Christian mysticism? (149,150, emphasis mine)



Maybe now you are able to see why these Emergent deceivers with their Gnostic neo-pagan contemplative spirituality so want to do away with “modernism” (specifically rational thought)


and instead to foist upon the unsuspecting a “postmodern” philosophy of mystery and questioning ala Zen Buddhist koans.


For this is the only way one could possibly reconcile the contradictions about who God is in the Qur’an as opposed to the Bible.



By the way, for those who don’t know, a “koan” is a question that doesn’t necessarily have a logical answer, e.g.



“In clapping both hands a sound is heard; what is the sound of one hand?”


(Online source)


And let us not forget that God also warns us in Colossians, which itself deals with the Gnostic invasion of the ancient Church —


See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ (2:8, ESV).

Sometimes you will see me refer to Brian McLaren as a “Roshi wannabe.”


A “roshi” is the term for a Zen “Master.”


Again from years of study into the Emerging Church



and mystic spirituality which is the crucial element at its corrupted core,


it is my conviction that many of these Living Spiritual Teachers and Spiritual Directors (try finding those terms in Scripture)



in the Emergent Church would really rather be Roshis and Yogis themselves.




Unhappy it seems with the historic orthodox Christian faith, and with being pastor-teachers, which both Richard Foster and McLaren have been,


instead to suit their own desires, they [have] gather[ed] around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They [have] turn[ed] their ears away from the truth and [now] turn aside to myths (2 Timothy 4:3-4).



And a major myth is that the Christian needs to adopt pagan practices of Eastern religions to grow spiritually.


As case in point consider the following from Mick Turner, “founder and pastor of LifeBrook Ministries” (Online source).




In his piece “The Contributions of Richard Foster” while praising The Celebration of Discipline by the Guru of Contemplation Turner tells us:



I number myself among those impacted by Foster’s book.


During my college years I moved away from my Methodist upbringing, initially pursuing the intense study of world religions.


I was especially enamored with Buddhism in general and Zen in particular. Immersing myself in Zen practice and study, I gave little thought to Christianity.



I learned much from my Zen involvement and I think I can safely say that my study of Buddhism, as well as other traditions,


actually helped me understand the faith of my upbringing at a much deeper level.




In the mid-70’s I experienced what was for me, an epiphany.



I discovered the Christian mystics of the Middle Ages.


I devoured the works of

Julian of Norwich

Walter Hilton

Richard Rolle


and most of the Rhineland mystics.



Of particular importance was the work of the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing.


In reading and studying this classic of English mysticism, I discovered Zen in Christian clothing.

(Online source, emphasis mine)
The Divine Spark Of Gnosticism Returns Again





Yet some will still wonder why I am continually covering Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism.


And say for very good reason—your youth.


As I have already showed you in Emergent Wolves Enter Your Sheep Pens Through Youth Groups



http://www.apprising.org/archives/2007/02/emergent_wolves.html

popular Emerging Church pastor Dan Kimball admits that your youth is among their Emergent targets:

http://www.apprising.org/archives/dan_kimball/index.html


The staff at one church in rural Oklahoma...


fully believed they needed to start making changes in the way they worshipped in order to be in line with the emerging culture and emerging generations...


These staff members were afraid, however, to try anything too radical.


After all, they served in a very conservative Baptist church...



they started by slowly adding a few things to their youth meetings. They corporately read ancient creeds and prayers.



The lit candles and had times of silent prayer.


They allowed the youth to paint during a worship time. They practiced lectio divina or “sacred reading,” the ancient practice of prayerful meditation on Scripture.


Not all at once, but little by little they added these elements of worship to their existing meetings...(emphasis mine)



Men and women,


it is truly is exactly as Gary Gilley points out in his excellent online series Mysticism:

If the mystical practices that we have been describing were contained in some little corner of the Christian subculture we have spent far too much time addressing them.


But unfortunately what was once in a corner has moved mainstream. More and more organizations, colleges, seminaries and authors are proclaiming the superiority of mystical Christianity.



And the focus of all this attention seems to be directed toward the young. For example, in the late 1990s Youth Specialties,


the highly influential youth ministry organization, and the San Francisco Theological Seminary teamed up to do a three-year test project to develop an approach to youth ministry which incorporates contemplative practices.



The project was funded by the Lilly Endowment Fund.


Mike Yaconelli co-founder of Youth Specialties, grew interested in contemplative prayer during a spiritually dry time of his life after reading a book by Henri Nouwen on the subject.


Yaconelli and Youth Specialties have now incorporated contemplative prayer and mysticism in their annual pastor’s conferences and national youth conventions that reach over 100,000 youth workers each year.


Each conference now offers courses on how to develop a contemplative youth ministry,


pray the Lectio Divina (an ancient four-step form of contemplative prayer) and walk the prayer labyrinths.


Christianity Today’s sister publication Christian Parenting recently published an article (Fall 2004) promoting the Lectio Divina for young people. (Online source)


http://www.svchapel.org/Resources/Articles/read_articles.asp?ID=108


And finally with the above in mind we look quickly at another example of the Gnosticism inherent in this so-called “Christian” mysticism currently metastasizing throughout The Ecumenical Church Of Deceit (ECoD) of postevangelcalism and postliberalism as a spiritual cancer.



In OMOH Roshi Keating has told us that through Contemplative/Centering Prayer the “inner transformation” will lead us “to divine union,” which itself is the language of classic mystic spirituality.



Then he explains this “restructuring of consciousness” enables a person to “respond with increasing sensitivity to the divine presence in, through, and beyond everything that exists.”



And now we find ourselves right back in line with the first century Gnosticism that taught about “a divine spark”


within every human being. For more on this particular doctrine of demons I refer the interested reader to my article


The Emergent “ONE” and Understanding The New Spirituality: God Indwells Mankind.


http://www.apprising.org/archives/2006/04/the_emergent_on.html

In closing this for now, what I want to highlight here is Guru Keating’s statement “the divine presence”; this is thought to be God himself, “in, though, and beyond everything that exists.”



This is pure panentheism; pan—all, en—in, theos—


God, and, this is in and of itself a particularly heinous teaching. This is because—as I have stated elsewhere:



If God is “in, through, and beyond everything that exists,” then God already indwells mankind, which now eradicates any need for regeneration—the new birth.


And as if this isn’t horrible enough; again, if God’s “divine presence” is truly “in everything that exists,” then—because Satan himself exists—



now even the Devil himself would also share in the divine nature. Which would then end up being the fulfillment of his brazen boast in


Isaiah 14:14 — “I will make myself like the Most High.”



http://www.apprising.org/archives/2008/04/thomas_keating.html