Contemplative spirituality/mysticism (csm) of spiritual formation is reckless faith

[Sing4Him]

CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY/MYSTICISM (CSM) OF SPIRITUAL FORMATION IS RECKLESS FAITH

By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Sep 18, 2008 in AM Missives, Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism, New Spirituality, Spiritual Formation

They are full of superstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines and clasp hands with pagans. (Isaiah 2:6)

Selfish Subjectivity With Scripture Invites In Spurious Spirituality

Apprising Ministries wants you to know it’s simply beyond question that the vast majority of those in leadership within postevangelicalism and the Emerging Church hold to an existential [feelings-oriented]—and thereby highly subjective—neo-orthodox approach to Holy Scripture. And this is a major reason why the antibiblical teachings of someone like Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster would even have had a chance to sully the Body of Christ in the first place.

But in his oft-overlooked 1994 book Reckless Faith: When The Church Loses Its Will To Discern Dr. John MacArthur hits the target dead on as he shows you why this neo-orthodox centered on the self approach to the Bible is such a perfect fit for the neo-pietism of Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM) at the corrupt core of so-called Spiritual Formation.

As you should be able to see from what Dr. MacArthur will say below—rooted as it is in the question: “Did God really say?”—this self-ish approach to Scripture is actually a necessity for this neo-gnostic “Christian” mysticism aka CSM to flourish as it is right now in the American Christian Church:

Neo-orthodoxy is the term used to identify an existentialist variety of Christianity. Because it denies the essential objective basis of truth—the absolute truth and authority of Scripture—neo-orthodoxy must be understood as pseudo-Christianity. Its heyday came in the middle of the twentieth century with the writings of Karl Barth, Emil Brunner, Paul Tillich, and Reinhold Niebaur. Those men echoed the language and the thinking of [Soren] Kierkegaard, speaking of the primacy of “personal authenticity,” while downplaying or denying the significance of objective truth. Barth, the father of neo-orthodoxy, explicitly acknowledged his debt to Kierkegaard.

Neo-orthodoxy’s attitude toward Scripture is a microcosm of the entire existentialist philosophy: the Bible itself is not objectively the Word of God, but it becomes the Word of God when it speaks to me individually. In neo-orthodoxy, that same subjectivism is imposed on all the doctrines of historic Christianity. Familiar terms are used, but are redefined or employed in such a way that is purposely vague—not to convey objective meaning, but to communicate a subjective symbolism. After all, any “truth” theological terms convey is unique to the person who exercises faith. What the Bible means becomes unimportant, What it means to me is the relevant issue. All of this resoundingly echoes Kierkegaard’s concept of “truth that is true for me.”

Thus while neo-orthodox theologians often sound as if they affirming traditional beliefs, their actual system differs radically from the historic understanding of the Christian faith. By denying the objectivity of truth, they relegate all theology to the realm of subjective relativism. It is a theology perfectly suited for the age in which we live. And that is precisely why it is so deadly…

[Contemplative Spirituality aka] Mysticism is perfectly suited for religious existentialism; indeed, it is the inevitable consequence. The mystic disdains rational understanding and seeks truth instead through the feelings, the imagination, personal visions, inner voices, private illumination, of other purely subjective means. Objective truth becomes practically superfluous.

Mysticial experiences are therefore self-authenticating; that is, they are not subject to any form of objective verification. They are unique to the person who experiences them. Since they do not arise from or depend upon any rational process, they are invulnerable to any refutation by rational means… Mysticism is therefore antithetical to discernment. It is an extreme form of reckless faith. Mysticism is the great melting pot into which neo-orthodoxy, the charismatic movement, anti-intellectual evangelicals, and even some segments of Roman Catholicism have been synthesized.

It has produced movements like the Third Wave (a neo-charismatic movement with excessive emphasis on signs, wonders and personal prophesies); Renovaré (an organization that blends teachings from monasticism, ancient [Roman] Catholic mysticism, Eastern Religion, and other mystical traditions); the spiritual warfare movement (which seeks to engage demonic powers in direct confrontation); and the modern prophesy movement (which encourages believers to seek private, extrabiblical revelation directly from God).

The influx of mysticism has also opened evangelicalism to New-Age concepts like subliminal thought-control, inner healing, communication with angels, channeling, dream analysis, positive confession, and a host of other therapies and practices coming directly from occult and Eastern religions. The face of evangelicalism has changed so dramatically in the past twenty years that what is called evangelicalism today is beginning to resemble what used to be called neo-orthodoxy. If anything, some segments of contemporary evangelicalism are even more subjective in their approach to truth than neo-orthodoxy ever was. (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
http://apprising.org/

[His Bride]

I read this the other day and I really noted his calling it "pseudo Christianity."
It isn't the real thing and certainly won't save you! It's the broad path, the way that seems right to a man but leads to death, having a form of godliness but lacking its power.

And it is taking captive millions of people!

[m2pinggggggg]

I came across a web page from a sister Church the other day. This page http://oakhills.org/Docs/pursuing_SF_at_OHC_brochure.pdf
This Church is in the NABC ( Noth American Baptist Conference) Then I got some more info that Covenant churches and now this NABC Church is practicing this stuff

Spiritual Formation Forum


Spiritual Formation Forum: A Brief Reflective – Doreen L. Olson
May 17-20, 2006 in Long Beach, California
www.spiritualformationforum.org

Background
The Spiritual Formation Forum was created with a desire to engage many voices in effective interaction. From the website: The Spiritual Formation Forum (SFF) was formed in 1998 to facilitate collaboration among leaders in Christian Ministries worldwide who are committed to biblically defined and Holy Spirit energized spiritual formation within and through their ministries. To accomplish this purpose, SFF periodically holds national conferences and regional seminars to provide these leaders opportunities to build relationships and to interact with others that the Lord is using to stimulate spiritual formation in the Body of Christ.

Participants numbered nearly one thousand. “Building Spiritual Formation Communities” was this forum’s expressed focus. The ECC became a partnering sponsor of this event, and approximately thirty Covenanters from eight churches attended. As we gathered for lunch in the midst of this event, it was clear that we shared a passion for the development of transformational communities through which God might address the brokenness of this world. I was reminded of a statement in our newly refreshed Covenant Affirmations: “It is through transformed people that God transforms the world.”

Plenary speakers:
Larry Crabb, Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, Roberta Hestenes, Rudy and Juanita Rasmus, Alan Andrews, Dave Johnson

A few quotable quotes:
A missional focus can only be sustained by a formational foundation. – Larry Crabb

Spiritual formation is not something we go out after (as in going to a conference). It is a natural result of living with Jesus now in our daily life. – Dallas Willard

If we’re going to see spiritual transformation in our churches, we need to change the way we teach. We need to help people assess what is really true of themselves. We need to give practical tools to do that. – Dallas Willard

We’re too often like travel agents – handing out out glossy brochures for places we have not yet personally visited. – Judy Haugen, chairperson, Church of the Open Door, Minneapolis

What do you really want? It’s a serious question…because if you choose this spiritual formation stuff, it could get worse before it gets better. Really. – Dave Johnson, pastor, Church of the Open Door, Minneapolis

Any focus on Christian discipleship which consistently neglects the needs of the poor is a defective form of discipleship. Any spirituality that misses the poor is inadequate, deficient, and needs correction. – Roberta Hestenes

We don’t create spiritual formation communities. We don’t build spiritual formation communities. It’s a reality of the heart. It cannot be programmed by us. All we can do is provide the conditions that are right for God to do this creating/building. God is the only one who can purify the motives of the heart…but it is not without our cooperation. - Richard Foster

It’s not “are you saved or not”…”are you in or out”…but are you awake to God’s voice. – Dave Johnson

http://www.covchurch.org/formation/spiritual-formation-forum

What's creeping into many many Churches?:ohno

[m2pinggggggg]

I came across a web page from a sister Church the other day. This page http://oakhills.org/Docs/pursuing_SF_at_OHC_brochure.pdf
This Church is in the NABC ( Noth American Baptist Conference) Then I got some more info that Covenant churches and now this NABC Church is practicing this stuff

Spiritual Formation Forum


Spiritual Formation Forum: A Brief Reflective – Doreen L. Olson
May 17-20, 2006 in Long Beach, California
www.spiritualformationforum.org

Background
The Spiritual Formation Forum was created with a desire to engage many voices in effective interaction. From the website: The Spiritual Formation Forum (SFF) was formed in 1998 to facilitate collaboration among leaders in Christian Ministries worldwide who are committed to biblically defined and Holy Spirit energized spiritual formation within and through their ministries. To accomplish this purpose, SFF periodically holds national conferences and regional seminars to provide these leaders opportunities to build relationships and to interact with others that the Lord is using to stimulate spiritual formation in the Body of Christ.

Participants numbered nearly one thousand. “Building Spiritual Formation Communities” was this forum’s expressed focus. The ECC became a partnering sponsor of this event, and approximately thirty Covenanters from eight churches attended. As we gathered for lunch in the midst of this event, it was clear that we shared a passion for the development of transformational communities through which God might address the brokenness of this world. I was reminded of a statement in our newly refreshed Covenant Affirmations: “It is through transformed people that God transforms the world.”

Plenary speakers:
Larry Crabb, Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, Roberta Hestenes, Rudy and Juanita Rasmus, Alan Andrews, Dave Johnson

A few quotable quotes:
A missional focus can only be sustained by a formational foundation. – Larry Crabb

Spiritual formation is not something we go out after (as in going to a conference). It is a natural result of living with Jesus now in our daily life. – Dallas Willard

If we’re going to see spiritual transformation in our churches, we need to change the way we teach. We need to help people assess what is really true of themselves. We need to give practical tools to do that. – Dallas Willard

We’re too often like travel agents – handing out out glossy brochures for places we have not yet personally visited. – Judy Haugen, chairperson, Church of the Open Door, Minneapolis

What do you really want? It’s a serious question…because if you choose this spiritual formation stuff, it could get worse before it gets better. Really. – Dave Johnson, pastor, Church of the Open Door, Minneapolis

Any focus on Christian discipleship which consistently neglects the needs of the poor is a defective form of discipleship. Any spirituality that misses the poor is inadequate, deficient, and needs correction. – Roberta Hestenes

We don’t create spiritual formation communities. We don’t build spiritual formation communities. It’s a reality of the heart. It cannot be programmed by us. All we can do is provide the conditions that are right for God to do this creating/building. God is the only one who can purify the motives of the heart…but it is not without our cooperation. - Richard Foster

It’s not “are you saved or not”…”are you in or out”…but are you awake to God’s voice. – Dave Johnson

http://www.covchurch.org/formation/spiritual-formation-forum

What's creeping into many many Churches?:ohno

I just looked up some stuff on lighttrail:
The Avalanche of Spiritual Formation

"When I first began writing in the field in the late 70s and early 80s the term "Spiritual Formation" was hardly known, except for highly specialized references in relation to the Catholic orders. Today it is a rare person who has not heard the term. Seminary courses in Spiritual Formation proliferate like baby rabbits. Huge numbers are seeking to become certified as Spiritual Directors to answer the cry of multiplied thousands for spiritual direction."1 Richard Foster

What is spiritual formation and what is its premise? According to Roger Oakland, spiritual formation came upon the church like an unsuspecting avalanche:

A move away from the truth of God's Word to a mystical form of Christianity has infiltrated, to some degree, nearly all evangelical denominations. Few Bible teachers saw this avalanche coming. Now that it is underway, most do not realize it has even happened.

The best way to understand this process is to recall what happened during the Dark Ages when the Bible became the forbidden book. Until the Reformers translated the Bible into the language of the common people, the great masses were in darkness. When the light of God's Word became available, the Gospel was once again understood.

I believe history is repeating itself. As the Word of God becomes less and less important, the rise in mystical experiences escalates, and these experiences are presented to convince the unsuspecting that Christianity is about feeling, touching, smelling, and seeing God. The postmodern mindset is the perfect environment for fostering spiritual formation. This term suggests there are various ways and means to get closer to God and to emulate him. Thus the idea that if you do certain practices, you can be more like Jesus. Proponents of spiritual formation erroneously teach that anyone can practice these mystical rituals and find God within. Having a relationship with Jesus Christ is not a prerequisite. In a DVD called Be Still, which promotes contemplative prayer, Richard Foster said that contemplative prayer is for anyone and that by practicing it, one becomes "a portable sanctuary" for "the presence of God."2 Rather than having the indwelling of the person of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, spiritual formation through the spiritual disciplines supposedly transforms the seeker by entering an altered realm of consciousness.

The spiritual formation movement is widely promoted at colleges and seminaries as the latest and the greatest way to become a spiritual leader. It teaches people that this is how they can become more intimate with God and truly hear His voice. Even Christian leaders with longstanding reputations of teaching God's word seem to be succumbing. In so doing, many Christian leaders are frivolously playing with fire, and the result will be thousands, probably millions, getting burned.

It isn't going into the silence that transforms a person's life. It is in accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and allowing Him to change us, that transformation occurs. (Faith Undone, pp. 90-92)

Just how widespread is the spiritual formation movement. Well, as research analyst and author Ray Yungen points out, even Rick Warren is behind the movement:

In [Purpose Driven Church], Warren praises a number of parachurch movements he believes God has "raised up" to remedy a "neglected purpose" in Christianity. One of these he mentions is the spiritual formation movement, which promotes contemplative prayer through the "Spiritual Disciplines." Warren names Richard Foster and Dallas Willard as leaders of this movement.3

It is interesting that as far back as the early 90s Rick Warren connected Richard Foster to the spiritual formation movement. This is an accurate assessment on Warren's part (Warren's guilt doesn't lie in identifying Foster - it lies in calling the movement "vital" and "needed" and then promoting it ever since.)

To understand spiritual formation, all one needs to do is understand the spirituality of Richard Foster. Lighthouse Trails has documented his beliefs through A Time of Departing , and Faith Undone, as well as through numerous articles on the Lighthouse Trails Research site. In this particular article, let us turn to a small book Richard Foster wrote called Meditative Prayer. Foster says that the purpose of meditative prayer is to create a "spiritual space" or "inner sanctuary" through "specific meditation exercises" (p. 9). Foster references several mystics in the book who can point the way to these exercises: Madame Guyon, Teresa of Avila, Francis de Sales, Henri Nouwen, and Thomas Merton. Foster breaks the contemplative process down into three steps. He says:

The first step [into meditative prayer] is sometimes called "centering down." Others have used the term re-collection; that is, a re-collecting of ourselves until we are unified or whole. The idea is to let go of all competing distractions until we are truly centered, until we are truly present where we are.

Foster suggests that practicing visualization methods help us center down (p. 17). In the second step of meditation, Foster suggests that mystic Richard Rolle experienced "physical sensations" (see kundalini info) during meditation which perhaps we may or may not experience as well (p. 18). Step three of meditation, Foster says, is that of "listening" to God. Once the meditative exercises have been implemented and the "spiritual ecstasy" is reached, this entered realm is where the voice of God can be heard (p. 23). However, as any New Age meditator knows, this ecstatic state is an altered state of consciousness where everything is supposed to be unified and one with God. Foster acknowledges the interspiritual attribute linked to contemplative prayer when he states: "[Jesus] showed us God's yearning for the gathering of an all-inclusive community of loving persons" (p. 5). Foster defines more of what he means by "all-inclusive" in his book Streams of Living Water when he says this "all-inclusive community" includes everything from a "Catholic monk" to a "Baptist evangelist."4 In other writings, he says that contemplative prayer (and its results) are for everyone and anyone (see Be Still DVD).

Interestingly, Foster discusses the practice of lectio divina in his book, which is being heralded in many Christian settings as a Christian, biblical practice. People are persuaded to believe that repeating phrases and words of Scripture over and over again is a deeper way to know God. They believe that since it is Scripture being repeated (and not just any words), then this validates the practice and that this sacred reading is sacred because it is the Bible being used. But Foster himself proves that it has nothing to do with Scripture. It's the repetition that is effective, not the words. He states: "[L]ectio divina includes more than the Bible. There are the lives of the saints and the writings which have proceeded from their profound [mystical] experiences" (p. 25). Foster obliterates the supposed premise of lectio divina by saying this. That is because as a meditation proponent he knows that meditation has nothing to do with which words are repeated over and over; it is the repetition itself that puts one into an altered state. Thus whether you say Jesus, Abba, Buddha, or OM, it produces the same effect.

Just in case there is any doubt in the reader's mind, Richard Foster tells readers to study Thomas Merton for a deeper understanding of meditation, calling his book, Contemplative Prayer a "powerful analysis of the central nature of contemplative prayer."

Spiritual formation is contemplative spirituality, and it is sweeping quickly throughout Christianity today. If a college, a seminary, a church, or an organization (like Focus on the Family) wants spiritual formation, may they keep in mind, they will get eastern meditation and the occultic realms that accompany it.

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel. (Colossians 1:21-23)

As Roger Oakland states:

We are reconciled to God only through his "death" (the atonement for sin), and we are presented "holy and unblamable and unreproveable" when we belong to Him through rebirth. It has nothing to do with works, rituals, or mystical experiences. It is Christ's life in the converted believer that transforms him. (Faith Undone)

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/newsletter100807.htm#LETTER.BLOCK6:hat

[Sing4Him]

The Dangers of Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Disciplines

A Critique of Dallas Willard and The Spirit of the Disciplines


http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=60549

[Sing4Him]

Have you all see what is IN Biola??? This college is a dangerous place to send young people today. It is infitrated with Mystic/false teaching-- namely Spiritual Formation.

This is the JUNK that is taking over MANY once Biblically solid Colleges today.
It is also being taught in the Southern Baptist convention-- namely the North Carolina State Baptist Convention--SBC!

Student Concerned Over Biola's Contemplative/Emerging Focus
http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=58245&highlight=Biola

Biola students!! Look!
http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=58246&highlight=Biola

This article was a year ago!:

The Avalanche of Spiritual Formation
http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=33796&highlight=Biola

Just How Far Has Biola University Gone Into Contemplative
(Spiritual Formation)
http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=30999&highlight=Biola


I could post more.. :ohno:ohno

[m2pinggggggg]

Have you all see what is IN Biola??? This college is a dangerous place to send young people today. It is infitrated with Mystic/false teaching-- namely Spiritual Formation.

This is the JUNK that is taking over MANY once Biblically solid Colleges today.
It is also being taught in the Southern Baptist convention-- namely the North Carolina State Baptist Convention--SBC!

Student Concerned Over Biola's Contemplative/Emerging Focus
http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=58245&highlight=Biola

Biola students!! Look!
http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=58246&highlight=Biola

This article was a year ago!:

The Avalanche of Spiritual Formation
http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=33796&highlight=Biola

Just How Far Has Biola University Gone Into Contemplative
(Spiritual Formation)
http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=30999&highlight=Biola


I could post more.. :ohno:ohno

EYES W I D E OPEN! I'm Just amazed at the webs sites of Covenant(seeker, comtemplative), Presbyterian (Ancient Future woship), and Baptist (seeker, spiritual formation). The book of Warren is still running strong in too many
Churches. I know these days are in trouble now. Finding a true-believer Church is very hard. Praying for the right Church to go to.

[Sing4Him]

There's a GREAT new DVD coming out by Warren Smith that I just posted in Books about ALL Of this stuff.

Gotta get one!!

http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?p=806423#post806423

[Praise Warrior]

Thanks for this thread. I need to lead a Bible study for a ministry group whose campus minister uses the term "spiritual formation" loosely, and I've felt led to do one on Biblical Christian growth (and what is not so Biblical). This will be a great help.