New Blog

Good bye old blog. I've gone to browner pastures. I'll be over at the little brown blog from now on.

Wrapping Up the Old

I'm back! It's been a long break, and I've been working on a new blog. The good news is that it's almost ready. Books and Things has been a wonderful learning experience for me, and so I want to move on to a new blog as this one has gotten very large, and besides, beige is boring me. I've switched all my blogs over to the new blogger, which is wonderful and has many new options, but I will leave this one up as it contains lots of research.

Here are what my 20 most covered topics were (some of them surprised me):

(Click on them to bring them up)

contemplative spirituality(89)
Israel(70)
edifying(62)
Rick Warren(60)
(Purpose Driven)
emergent church(57)
discernment(43)
books(43)
Catholicism(42)
prophecy(42)
interesting things(36)
Mennonites(35)
Jewish stuff(34)
labyrinths(33)
spirituality(29)
New Age (28)
post-modernism(28)
prayer (28)
deception(22)
Scazzero(22)
Bible translations(19)
interfaith(19)


Next: The new blog will be posted shortly...

----
Update: Blogs stats, six months later, June, 2007:
This blog is still being read...
Average # visits per day for this blog: 10
Hits per day: 13
Readers are from:
56% United States
21% Canada
9% UK
7% Australia
Click HERE to see blogs that link here.

Is there is something you are searching for but can't find on this blog? Just type the topic or name into the box in the upper left hand corner of this blog and click on search blog. Keep in mind that the older this blog gets, the greater amount of links will have been changed and won't work. If so, I encourage you to research on your own.

Experiment

...Meanwhile, back in the basement lab, the mad scientists conducted experiments on the youth of the post-modern church era, injecting them with the DNA of Celtic monks...as their parents drove their SUV's to work to pay for their mortgages, unaware of the post-modern mutant mystical army about to emerge on the horizon from the monastic mist...

~~~~~

Sound far off? Not really. Pete Creig, author of Red Moon Rising, says(here) that his organziation has been "targeting the high places in youth culture, has prayed continuously since September 1999 and is even establishing modern day monasteries based on the example of the ancient Celts."

The time has come when we have to be very careful when people talk about prayer. No longer does it mean submitting your requests and supplications to the will of God to the post-modern generation. Just because someone says they are praying, doesn't mean they are serving the Lord. For example, the back of Red Moon Rising by Peter Creig says this...

Pete Creig is the founder of 24-7 Prayer, an interdenominational prayer movement. Pete also serves Cultural Shift, a network of those experimenting with church in the emerging culture.

Does that sound rather benign? Well look again. Something about the second sentence just doesn't sound right. Especially if you break it down...like this...

Pete also serves (works for, is a servant for, assists, meets the requirements of, fights for, gives homage and obedience to),
Cultural Shift, a network (not Jesus?)
of those experimenting with (testing to find out whether the theory or idea is correct to gain a new experience of)
church (the Bride of Christ)
in the emerging culture.

This sounds more like the description on the back of a science fiction book...where the shifty mad scientists have kidnapped and are experimenting on the hero's fiance in the basement boiler room. I think Mr. Creig and the Cultural Shift network have the Bride of Christ confused with THIS! I wonder if they know how the story ends: And when the kidnappers fell asleep during their 24-7 watch, the Hero came by the cover of night and rescued his beloved fiance. And they lived happily ever after. The End.

And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
-Matthew 25 (Parable of the Virgins)

Moral of the story? These 24-7 boiler rooms and things may look kind of cool and inviting and post-modern. But there is way more to labyrinths and contemplative spirituality than meets the eye. So if someone invites you to a boiler room...don't be a guinea pig. Tell them you smell a rat, and run the other way.

If you want to look into what's behind Red Moon Rising, see here.

Boiler Rooms - UPDATED!!

There's this really weird thing going on called Boiler Rooms. It's all part of the 24-7 Prayer USA thing, and it's contemplative spirituality with a twist. A brief browsing of the website and it's links shows a return to monasticism with a post-modern modern twist. I would say it's going to twist a lot of youth alright. This is the ministry of Pete Greig, author of Red Moon Rising, and the disturbing thing is that he is partnering with Salvation Army and YWAM to make "modern day monasteries based on the example of the ancient Celts."

The idea of 24-7 prayer comes from Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians (sometimes known as the Bohemian Brethren), a religious movement known for the great 'Holy Spirit revival' of prophecies, tongues, visions and healings way back in the 1700's that caused them to pray non-stop for 100 years.

You can read more about 24-7 Prayer here.

By the way, I noticed that the Salvation Army in Vancouver is part of this(on the left, here), as well as these Canadian partners. (Here is a picture from the 24-7 'urban monastery' in Ontario). There seems to be no end to the Christian youth organizations that have been inflitrated with modern monastic mysticism.

UPDATE: March 27, '07
Today I am adding a promotional video of a boiler room on godtube. See it here. After watching this, I asked myself, now what could be wrong with that? Youth on fire, seeking the Lord, desiring His presence? But then I got to thinking...hmmm...now, what have they accomplished by doing this? It's very cool and inviting...but what good is it? Did it start a revival? Were souls saved? Did it equip the church to go out and spread the gospel? Edify? Convict? Who am I to say, but it looks like it is a whole lot of making a space to make you feel like you have had an experience with God...

At a glance, it looks okay, and surely God can use anything to draw Christians closer to Him. But just knowing what is behind it all changes the way you see it. Well...that's my meandering update...

Awake or Asleep?

Today we read alot about awakening.
-A third awakening and new reformation.
-Awakening to the aids crisis...saving dying bodies instead of dying souls, while ignoring dying babies.
-Awakening to seeing signs and wonders and fire and manifestations.
-Awakening to the real you.
-Awakening of men.
-Awakening of children.
-Awakening the mind for New Age global conciousness...

There are over 23 million results for the word awakening on google. Here are just a few of them:

Bush sees a Third Awakening
http://www.cephas-library.com/nwo_bushs_third_awakening.html

P.E.A.C.E. Plan awakening
http://www.pastors.com/article.asp?ArtID=9915

Randy Clark’s Global Awakening
http://www.globalawakening.com/

Awaken Humanity by Erwin McManus
http://awakenhumanity.org/

Promise Keepers Awakening
http://www.promisekeepers.org/2005%20Awakening/Tools.aspx

New Age spiritual awakening
http://www.experiencefestival.com/spiritual_awakening

Awakening the mind
http://www.awakeningmind.org/index.php

Awakening global conciousness

Indigo Awakening (new age, indigo children)
http://www.indigoworldawakening.com/

So in light of all this awakening, would you say the North American church is awake? Or is it asleep in the light? Some say that all these "awakenings" occurring at the same time are about to come together in one big "Divine Convergence".

Have we been hearing so much about what our purpose is, that we have forgotten why the church is here?

~~~~~~~

For a real treat and a heavy dose of conviction, I recommend watching Keith Green singing...
Asleep in the Light
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHamV1pfMJU&eurl=

Coexistence Soup

“My friends, the coming century will most surely witness either a coalition or a collision between Islam and Christianity. It is imperative, therefore, that through common ground and mutual respect, we find avenues of opportunity to work together for the common good of not only our nation, but the world.
True believers in God must learn to come together as partners in peace; we must move our society and our world from combatibility to compatibility; from intolerance to tolerance, seeking justice, mercy and compassion for all.” -Robert Schuller, Hour of Power, 2003


“… every single person who calls himself a follower of Jesus Christ - I don't care if you call yourself a Catholic or Protestant, a Muslim or a Jew - every follower of Jesus Christ must fight fear with faith. I can tell you, believe it or not, in all those faiths there are people who follow Jesus Christ.
The churches, the synagogues, the positive believers in the mosques - the houses of faith who believe in God Almighty from the Old Testament and the Father of Jesus Christ - are the institutions that create the weapon against spiritual warfare. " -Robert Schuller, 2001

So let's see if he's right. Is this century beginning to see "positive believers in the mosques" coming together as "partners of peace" through tolerance for all?

Hmmm...well, there's the Catholics and the Muslims coming together here…

The "common ground"? They say that Mary holds Christians and Muslims in “conversation”… here.

And did you know that the Christian Muslim dialogue group wants to keep Christmas from going secualr in England(here)? Guess they found some common ground in that too.

I'm sure there are plenty of pots of peace partner soup all over the world, like here…

“an American Roman Catholic priest and nun joined the Palestinian communal sit-ins in late November. The Michigan-based “peace activists” claimed they were “sent by God to help protect innocent Palestinian lives.” They were warmly welcomed by Baroud’s(Hamas Kassam rocket commander) brother Ahmed, who escorted them inside for their internationally televised vigil. “It is wrong for Israel to bomb people’s homes, and so we are here in solidarity,” said Father Peter Dougherty, apparently unfazed by the fact that Baroud’s chosen occupation is to direct Palestinian rocket attacks upon Israeli civilian homes and schools—without any advance notice that they are about to come crashing down.”
-David Dolan

I don't know about you, but this luke warm peace-soup is making me sick.

Infection Convention 2007

Have you read the Lighthouse blog’s warning that Zondervan’s Pastor’s Convention 2007 may be harmful to your church’s health?

One of the alarming things about it is all the retreats offered on the 2007 National Pastor’s convention website. Now these are ecumenical, contemplative retreats that pastors will be going to. Instead of being edified and refreshed by the Word of God and inspired to return to their flocks to teach them about their walk with Jesus, they will be learning how to contemplate Ignatius style. Then they will bring this infection back to spread to their sheep!

If you look real close on this Zondervan retreat page, you may notice that one of those centers is Capistrano Ranch, and it belongs to the Crystal Cathedral. At the bottom of the Capistrano Ranch website, if you click on Crystal Cathedral, the page you get is this, where you'll see a little blurb called Breathing a Prayer to God. This article explains how to do breath prayers (palms open, breathing, meditation, desert fathers, Brennan Manning…(blah blah blah, yadayadayada, heard it all before, I know, same old thing…as mentioned in my earlier research here).

Funny how these things always go back to the same moguls…

Zondervan...owned by Murdoch.
Ranch....by Schuller.

By the way, here are some strange quotes and things actually said by Robert Schuller himself.

If you know of a pastor who is signed up for this infection convention, please take him out for coffee and talk to him about these things before it's too late! You may just be that life saving anti-biotic injection his church needs fight off a deadly infection.

Cutting Edge says...

Last week a Cutting Edge News Alert was forwarded to me with these headlines:

Pastor Rick Warren -- founder of the "Purpose Driven Church" Movement -- revealed that he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)! This revelation means that Rick Warren has admitted to being Illuminati!!

This News Alert quotes Joseph Farah’s November 20th article called "Megapastor Rick Warren's Damascus Road Experience":

"WASHINGTON – Rick Warren, the superstar mega-church pastor and bestselling author of 'The Purpose Driven Life', had a Damascus Road experience last week – and like Saul of Tarsus, one of the after-effects appears to be blindness. Warren went to Syria and could find no persecution of Christians. He could find no persecution of Jews. He could find no evidence of extremism. He could find no evidence of the sponsorship of terrorism ... But that's not the story Warren is telling – at least not in the official press releases he is sending out from Rwanda in response to my confrontations with him last week in which I accused him of betraying his own country in a hostile foreign land and of being a propaganda tool of the Islamo-fascist regime in Damascus."
"In fact, after I called him out last week in my column, Warren e-mailed me claiming to have been misquoted by the official Syrian news agency ... 'Joseph, why didn't you contact me first and discover the fact that I said nothing of the sort?' he pleaded ... 'He let me know he is a close friend of President Bush 'and many, if not most, of the generals at the Pentagon'.''
"He also told me he did not tape anything while in Syria, 'because it was a courtesy call, like I do in every country'. Warren explained that he had also counseled with the National Security Council and the White House, as well as the State Department, before his little courtesy call ... 'In fact', Warren added, 'as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Oxford Analytica, I might know as much about the Middle East as you'.''

Here’s what Cutting Edge goes on to say:

“Did you catch what Rick Warren just revealed about himself? Listen again:
"... as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations ..."
Rick Warren has just admitted to being a member of THE Illuminist institution which controls the American political machine -- from the White House to the Congress to the Supreme Court! Rick Warren is leading his church because he is a member of the CFR, and has been taking orders from them for a very long time, undoubtedly from the very beginning, which is why the "Purpose Driven Church" has simply exploded in wealth and in sheer growth in the past 25 years!”

Cutting Edge has been pointing out for some time that Rick Warren has admitted meeting with Illuminist banker, Peter Drucker, at least once per year. They propose that this is why the PDL movement has so much money…they are funded by the CFR.

They also point out that Rick Warren uses "The Message” Version of Colossians 1:16, which repeats two of the most important New Age/Satanic words…"above and below".

Colossians 1:16 - "For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible ... everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him". -The Message Version

Colossians 1:16 - "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: "-- King James Version

Cutting Edge explains the meaning of this term:

* New Age adherents believe that this means that "the transcendent God beyond the physical universe and the Immanent God within ourselves are one" (Smith, p. 27). Of course, this is Hinduism, a key element in the New World Order.
* Satanists believe this term means several things:
1) That God and the Devil are equal, but opposite, supernatural beings. Satanists further believe that, while God gained a temporary victory in the Garden of Eden, forces of the Illuminati will defeat Jesus at the Battle of Armageddon, and then will storm the gates of Heaven to throw God off His throne.
2) That Illumined Men are to attempt to recreate on earth what already exists in Heaven.

The Cutting Edge article concludes that it should come as no surprise to hear Rick Warren's statement that he is a member of the CFR, as that simply answers so many questions discerning Christians have had for a long time about the "Purpose Driven Church" and it’s fruit.

“You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” (Matthew 7:16-20)

Cutting Edge Sources:

Outcome-Based Religion: Apostasy, Purpose, and the Paradigm Shift - by Mac Dominick, Cutting Edge Ministries - Chapter 13

Deceived On Purpose: The New Age Implications of the Purpose-Driven Church, by Warren Smith, p. 27



Disclaimer: While Cutting Edge certainly is on the edge when it comes to some fascinating conspiracy theories and current research, I don’t agree with everything on their website.

Dot to Dot

Yesterday I recommended a website called In Plain Site that lists all of Rick Warren's connections. It's great, but they are missing two. They forgot to mention that Warren has forged ties with Bono, joining him in the mega social gospel. Another connection they forgot is Rupert Murdoch, who owns a lot of companies, including Zondervan (Publisher of PDL).

Murdoch is very supportive of Rick Warren. Dave Hunt mentions that:

“Zondervan is now owned by Fox News and Rupert Murdoch, twice knighted by the past pope and a member of the Pontifical Order of St. Gregory the Great. He has consistently made TV shows aimed at destroying the family and pursues his godless ambitions through a vast empire, of which “Christian publishing” has become one part. Murdoch published The Purpose-Driven Life, and Rick Warren has claimed to be his pastor.” -thebereancall.org

What? Knighted by the pope? There’s some funny stuff that goes on when you’re at the top...

"The title of knight bestowed in the Catholic Church suffers a similar debasement when unworthy candidates are chosen. Consider the knighthood granted a few years ago to the non-Catholic media mogul Rupert Murdoch. After he donated $10 million to the building of the Los Angeles Cathedral, the Pope made him a member of the Pontifical Order of St. Gregory the Great in January 1998. This knighthood, the highest lay honor bestowed on behalf of the Pope, is given to persons of “unblemished character” who have promoted the interests of the Catholic Church and the Holy See. Even some of the media publicly admitted the irony of the act, as headlines announced “Some May Call it Blood Money,” “Arise, Sir Rupert, Papal Knight.” "-traditioninaction.org

Interesting? There’s another article on that here. It might be interesting to note that Rupert Murdoch is also on this list:
http://www.illuminati-news.com/famous-freemasons.htm

Keeping all this in mind, isn’t it curious that Murdoch’s Fox News is so interested in helping to spread the deception by airing specials and interviews promoting Rick Warren?

Now the dots to join, for the reader who has understanding and wants to look further, are the teachers and mentors of Rick Warren: Schuller, Peale, Drucker, Murdoch, and their influence. If you look hard enough, and start to join all the dots, you will soon see the big picture. (Before I post more on that I need to do some more research.)

For more Rick Warren connections go here:
http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/warrenquotes.html
For the latest updates on Purpose Driven go here:
http://www.crossroad.to/News/Church/purpose-driven.html

Related:

More info @ Living Journey, here.

Renovare

"The Renovaré Spiritual Formation Bible, touted as “THE BIBLE AS IT WAS INTENDED TO BE” in a two-thirds-page ad in Christianity Today (Jul ’05), next to the masthead declaring that Billy Graham was the founder and J.I. Packer one of the Executive Editors. In its notes, 50 “biblical scholars” declare that the first 11 chapters of Genesis, foundational to the entire Bible, came from “Near Eastern religious narrative and mythology [and] were reshaped with monotheistic intent”!
…Some of the worst heretics and practitioners of the occult, while claiming to be Christians, have gotten together in what they call the Chrysostom Society. It began with Richard Foster(of Renovare), Calvin Miller, and Karen Mains, joined later by Eugene Peterson. “They felt it was really important to just get together, write together, and believe in each other as practitioners of a craft to the glory of God.” It is a “craft,” all right. "
-Dave Hunt, A Call To Repentance
(Links added by me)

Dave Hunt does not mince his words, does he?

Why Can't They Say The "I" Word?

There is a word, a name actually, that apparently some Christians today can't bring themselves to say. You'd think it was a bad name, but in fact, God says it's his favourite. In fact, it's the apple of His eye. What's the name?

ISRAEL

Dave Hunt on anti-Semitism:

"It is shocking how many Christian organizations oppose Israel. We have exposed Bob Finley, Christian Aid Mission’s founder, with anti-Semitic revision of history, lies against Israel—even blaming her for Muslim terrorism and exonerating Islamic murderers of Israeli women and children. (See Q&A Jan ’03.) The Mennonite Central Committee, having worked in “Palestine” for more than 50 years, has nothing good to say about Israel, whom it condemns for its “occupation” of Palestine and for its “58-year-old denial of fundamental rights for nearly seven million Palestinian refugees”—a false accusation.
World Vision (WV) is one of the largest Christian relief and development organizations in the world, with a budget of $1 billion. WV helps “Palestinians” but not Israel, for whom it has nothing but criticism. Nearly 3,000 of its 22,500 staff don’t even pretend to be Christians. Many are Muslims. WV says, “They share our values.” "
-Dave Hunt, The Berean Call

Okay, just for the record, the Bible calls it the land of Israel. So what's with the Palestinian people? Well did you know that Arab refugees from Israel only began calling themselves "Palestinians" in 1967? You can read more about these things here:

Palestinian Arabs

Don’t Believe the Lies

Arabs in the Holy Land

The Chosen People

Fan What Flame?

Now this could get messy, but it's been bothering me for a while now. It's time to lay it on the table. There is another contemplative book out there called Fan the Flame, written by Rob Des Cotes.

The description of this book at amazon.com says:

“In the tradition of Christian contemplatives and mystics from the early centuries to the present, Rob Des Cotes brings fresh insights to many familiar biblical passages, applying them to prayer and to the transforming work of spiritual direction. The numerous images and creative metaphors of the spiritual journey found in these concise and thought-provoking meditations are both contemporary while deeply rooted in the classics of Catholic, Orthodox and Reformation contemplative traditions. Rob Des Cotes is a spiritual director and pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He teaches Contemplative Traditions at Trinity Western University, as well as courses on spirituality and the arts at Carey Theological College and Columbia Bible College. Rob also directs Imago Dei (MB), a network of faith communities that encourages the practice of prayer and a transforming relationship with God.”

Inside Fan the Flame are writings from the usual contemplatives and mystics such as the Desert Fathers, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Meister Eckhart, and contemporary writers such as James Houston and Ronald Rolheiser.

The network of faith communities that author Rob Des Cotes directs is called Imago Dei, a house fellowship that meets in various locations around B.C. Their website is filled with contemplative spirituality such as centering prayer, visualization, meditational writings of Theresa Avila and Jean Guyon, events like the Practice of Prayer (a 3 week introduction to contemplative prayer), and Lectio Divina writings by Evelyn Underhill, Henri Nouwen, Madame Guyon and Brother Lawrence(here), etc. etc.

If you've been following along on this blog, this might all sound like boring repetition to you. You are right. These contemplative books and communities and things are all into the same old Desert Fathers, Brother Roger and Taize, Iona, Northumbria...blah blah blah. But hang on. It gets worse. In fact, it's hard to believe...

On their links list (bottom left here), Imago Dei, which is affiliated with the BCMB Conference(see here), promotes SDI (Spiritual Directors International). Here's why that is not a good thing...in fact, it's a very disturbing thing...

What is SDI? Well, I'm glad you asked! Read on...

SDI is a world-wide ecumenical membership organization of Christian spiritual directors and the people who train them. It was begun in 1989 at Mercy Center in Burlingame, California. In the ensuing years, the community has become one of many nations and faiths.

Now read that wording very carefully. Does it say that the people who train the spiritual directors are Christians? If you browse the SDI website, you will see that they recommend and promote books by everyone and anyone who is supposedly spiritual, including Joyce Rupp(nun aka Sophia goddess worshipper), Sue Monk Kidd, Alan Jones, Marcus Borg, Marjorie Thompson, and Tilden Edwards, to name just a few.

SDI's list of spiritual direction retreats here in Canada include more than a few that are well known for their interspiritual and New Age practices. Speaking of New Agey, next year’s Spiritual Directors International event in Vancouver B.C. is called Coming Home to the Cosmos where you can learn from Brian Swimme about your evolving human conciousness. How's that for being far out there? Be sure to bring your Spock costume and prepare to be beamed up.

Besides other New Agey and interspiritual things on the SDI website are some of the people on their review panel of Presence: International Journal of Spiritual Direction. Included on that list are Joyce Rupp and Lauren Artress(of Grace Cathedral labyrinth revival fame).

So what is really going on here? Interspirituality? Labyrinths? Goddess Sophia? New Age spirituality? Saints who levitated and desert monks who experienced Kundalini fire symptoms? Interfaith retreats? WHAT IS THIS, CHRISTIAN WITCHCRAFT? Is it any wonder my own MB church leaders gave us a Joyce Rupp printout to meditate on at a silent women's retreat? And they wonder why we left? Can I make this any clearer? Maybe someone should be asking the nice people in the BC Mennonite Brethren Conference and Imago Dei community if they know that they are affiliating themselves with New Age interspirituality and the powers of darkness? Ding dong...hullo! Wakey wakey, anybody home there? Maybe they're too busy chanting Taize prayers by the candle lit icons or doing the Daily Office. Perhaps another question to ask them would be this...what kind of flames are being fanned by the book Fan the Flame?

Okay, it got a little messy. But sometimes you have to see the mess before you know what needs to be cleaned up.

Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 2 Cor. 6:14

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. 1 Corinthians 10:21

Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;
for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.
But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.
For this reason it says,
"Awake, sleeper,
And arise from the dead,
And Christ will shine on you."
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,
making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Ephesians 5:11-17

Breathe In, Breathe Out

What happens when a pastor has an ‘experience’ with the Trappist monks? Peter Scazzero's experience launched him into...

“…a journey over the next two years to visit a variety of Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox monastic communities to learn more. From Taize, France, to the Northumbrian community in England to the monks of New Skete in upstate New York…(we)participated in all kinds of variations of the Daily Office."
(pg.158, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality)

This is the Daily Office taken from his book, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality:

Centering(pg160-162, EHS)
“Scripture commands us: “Be still and know that I am God”…I often spend five minutes centering down so I can let go of my tensions, distractions, and sensations and begin resting in the love of God. …
-Be attentive and open
-Sit still
-Sit straight
-Breath slowly, deeply
-Close your eyes or lower them to the ground
When you find your mind wandering, let your breathing bring you back. As you breathe in, as God to fill you with the Holy Spirit. As you breathe out, exhale all that is sinful, false, and not of him.”

Oh my, I'm having a deja vu Rob Bell moment here. Now tell me, can we breathe in God? Can we breathe out sin? Something is not right with this teaching. Isn’t it odd that Zen, Yoga, Vipassana, Prana, Buddhist, and Self-realization meditation use these same steps?

Yoga breathing:
# Sit on a chair or if you prefer, cross-legged on the floor. Sit straight. Unless your spine is erect, some of the benefits of the breathing exercises will be lost.
# Breathe deeply and slowly, without strain.
… While doing deep breathing the spine should be kept straight, so as not to impair the free flow of the life-force, or prana.
-holisticonline.com

Then there’s Zen meditation that also teaches breathing methods of Zen monks who just “be still and know”. (-meditationiseasy.com)

The following is from THE WAY TO PRACTISE VIPASSANA MEDITATION:
(http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/pandita3.htm)

1. Which place is best for meditation?

The Buddha suggested that either a forest place under a tree or any other very quiet place is best for meditation.

2. How should the meditator sit?

He said the meditator should sit quietly and peacefully with legs crossed.

3. How should those with back trouble sit?

If sitting with crossed legs proves to be too difficult, other sitting postures may be used. For those with back trouble a chair is quite acceptable. In any case, sit with your back erect, at a right angle to the ground, but not too stiff.

4. Yogi, why should you sit straight?

The reason for sitting straight is not difficult to see. An arched or crooked back will soon bring pain. Furthermore, the physical effort to remain upright without additional support energizes the meditation practice.

5. Why is it important to choose a position?

It is true that to achieve peace of mind, we must make sure our body is at peace. So it is important to choose a position that will be comfortable for a long period of time.

6. After sitting down, what should you do?

Close your eyes. Now place your attention at the belly, at the abdomen. Breathe normally, not forcing your breathing, neither slowing it down nor hastening it, just a natural breath.

7. What will you become aware of as you breathe in and breathe out?

You will become aware of certain sensations as you breathe in and the abdomen rises, as you breathe out and the abdomen falls.

11. When the mind wanders off and you start to think of something, what should you do?

At this time, watch the mind! Be aware that you are thinking.
---

So tell me, is the Daily Office of centering prayer any different than these meditation methods? Oh, come on, you might say, it’s the intent that matters, not the methods. We can learn from the different streams of spirituality, right? The answer is no. You can find out why by reading Practicing Contemplative -- Does Intent Justify the Method?

Oh, and one more thing...
Here are some basic meditations questions answered from a guruji:

Question: We have seen many people sitting with closed eyes. Is this meditation? Then what is meditation?

Guruji: When you close your eyes and sit still, then your mind gets dragged from the outer world to your inner self. Once in your inner world, the thoughts reduce and slowly by practice, you reach a thoughtless state. This thoughtless state is meditation. Only the awareness that “I am living today, now and here” remains. This is meditation. But we cannot say that all those who sit with closed eyes do meditation. Only those people who live in their day to day life with non-attachment can attain this state.

Question: Would you please tell us something about the appropriate sitting posture, place and time for doing meditation?

Guruji: A meditator should sit erect so that the spinal chord will be straight and perpendicular.

EHS Part 2

So someone has written another book about contemplative prayer...so what? Only a small handful of people who would want to buy a book like Emotionally Healthy Spirituality will actually read it, right? Wrong! This book and it's author are very influential, as you will see.

(Since I am going to be mentioning the author, Peter Scazzero, a lot in this post, I’ll just save some typing time by calling him Mr. S)...

Let's begin with Warren Bird, the co-author of Mr. S’s first book, The Emotionally Healthy Church. Mr. Bird researches cutting edge churches and co-authors other books with new paradigm concepts about transforming, emerging, shifting, church growth, and leadership trends. His website says here that “Pete Scazzero has received widespread recognition for building a multi-racial, multi-cultural church with more than 55 nations represented in Queens, New York, one of America's most ethnically diverse neighborhoods.”

Keeping in mind that Mr. S has unfortunately become deeply involved in contemplative spirituality (see previous post), it's important to understand what else he has been spreading with this recognition. So let's take a brief look at a few of his speaking engagements in the last couple of years to see how influential he is...

Back in September of 2004 he taught 165 pastors and ministers at an Assemblies of God pastor’s convention that...
“You must drink from the contemplative tradition of silence, solitude, Sabbath and spiritual direction.” (see here)

In May of 2005 he was a speaker at the very emergent Youth Specialites National Pastors and Emergent Convention (see here). Also that year he was being recommended by the PAOC (Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada), see PDF here.

In June of 2005 he spoke at the Fire & Reign renewal conference and Baptist General Conference annual meeting in Denver, Colorado (see here).

That same month, according to CCN (Clergy Care Net, a ministry based out of Focus on the Family, Canada), which promotes the Scazzeros (here), there were two Pastor Spouse Gatherings hosted by FOTF in Western Canada (see picture here). Those who attended the events got a “free continental breakfast, an update from Focus on the Family and the Clergy Care Network, a free gift package for each couple, and a message from our very special guest speaker Peter Scazzero.” (-Clergy Care Network, here)
By the way, the Focus on the Family on-line book store sells the Emotionally Healthy Church workbook (here) and the Emotionally Healthy Spirituality book (here).

In February of this year Mr. S spoke at the National Pastor’s Convention with some very controversial emergent church leaders(see here). In July Mr. S spoke at Mars Hill in Michigan, promoting the Daily Office and spiritual disciplines(see here). By the way, Mars Hill promotes his book along with many other contemplative and emerging church authors(here).

Mr. S also had a speaking slot with the other CCN (Church Communication Network) programming schedule on the Emotionally Healthy Church this September, and again this November on contemplative spirituality. CCN programming is piped in to over 2500 churches via satellite.

This October(2-4), according to the current issue of the EFCA Zipline, Mr. S spoke at the Evangelical Free Church of America Western Pastors'/Leaders' Retreat at Embassy Suites at Mandalay Beach, see here.

This November 6-9 Mr. S spoke at the Christian and Missionary Alliance Western Canadian District's 2006 Prayer Retreat in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Unfortunately, since I posted them last week, the links have disappeared from both websites, but I found another one here.

Then there’s the Ethos conference coming up at the end of this month where Mr. S will be speaking with emerging church leader Erwin McManus. It may be interesting for some to note that the ministry resources for the Midwest Baptist Churches promote both Mr. S and Mr. McManus(PDF here).

It isn't surprising that Mr. S is promoted on alot of emergent church and contemplative websites, like Kairos, for instance. You can even study Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (here) on this on-line Master of Arts program from George Fox Seminary(which is heavily into spiritual formation).

Wow! Mr. S and his books are showing up everywhere! And I've probably only scratched the surface. The EHS book is even recommended for youth pastors here. His influence seems to be throughout North America to as far away as Prague in the Czech Republic. I even saw his EHC book for sale in Chinese, which fascinated me as it is pictured beside a Richard Foster book, also in Chinese.(Don’t ask me which one, it’s all Chinese to me!)

What has recently surprised me the most is that coming up next spring, Mr. S will be speaking to the pastors and wives of the BC Mennonite Brethren Conference (here)in Harrison Hot Springs, B.C., Canada. On second thought, nothing surprises me anymore. Seems like everybody is going contemplative these days.

So as you can see, this is not just another contemplative book that is sitting in the silence on the prayer shelf waiting to be bought by wanna-be-mystics. It's author has been a sought after speaker at many conferences, retreats, and seminars, teaching and influencing clergy, pastors, leaders, and lay people of every denomination and in many languages that the missing link and healthiest form of spirituality is contemplative spirituality.

What crazy books and things people are getting themselves into these days! Before you know it, everyone will be going to things like this to practice the presence of God.

EHS Part 1

I recently picked up my copy of the newest book by Peter Scazzero from the Christian book store. As I suspected, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality is a very contemplative book…

Throughout the book are quotes from the following:

Dallas Willard

Meister Eckhart

St. Teresa of Avila

Kieran Kavanaugh, editor of John of the Cross

Thomas Merton (Trappist monk and interspiritualist)

Parker Palmer(who is listed on the inter-spiritual Living Spiritual Teachers Project)

Daniel Goleman (scientist who studies Buddhist meditation)

Richard Foster

Daniel Wolpert

Brennan Manning

Ignatius’s teachings

Thomas H. Green

M. Scott Peck

Bowen family systems theories

The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Benedict Ward

Karl Barth

Basil Pennington

Dan Allender (AAAC) and
Larry Crab (Papa Prayer)

Tony Jones, Sacred Way

Phyllis Tickle

Henri Nouwen

Brother Lawrence

Catherine Doherty

Carlo Carretto

Eugene Peterson

Tilden Edwards

This book also contains teaching on Lectio Divina, the Daily Office, silence and centering down (pg 160-163), using James Finley’s guidelines. (James Finley was a Trappist monk who joined the Gethsemene Abbey in Kentucky where one of his novice masters was Brother Louis, better known outside the monastery as Thomas Merton.)

Here is Finley’s outline of practicing the Daily Office:

-Be attentive and open
-Sit still
-Sit straight
-Breath slowly, deeply
-Close your eyes or lower them to the ground



Scazzero then says to repeat a prayer or let your breathing bring you back if you find your mind wandering during this exercise. He also says this is a call to mindfulness (by the way, daily practice and mindfulness are terms used in Buddhism, see here).


A quick read of this book reveals much of the same information as in the first book(Emotionally Healthy Church), combining psychology and emotional health. The difference in this one is that the ancient practices of contemplative monks and mystics are strongly introduced by the author who says (on page 46) that the missing piece in Christianity today is the combination of emotional health and contemplative spirituality.

Besides being packed with contemplative practices, I find a powerless gospel in this book. Real problems with the wrong solution. More do’s…Rules of Life, Advent, Lent, prayers, stopping and centering at certain intervals each day… without the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s so sad that a nice pastor like this can go through so much, be so sincere, and still not find truth in the treasure of God’s Word.

As in the first book, there is once again more about ‘knowing yourself’, and ‘becoming your authentic self’. On page 81-82 the author states that Judas betrayed Jesus for “being true to himself”, and that “Jesus was not selfless. He did not live as if only other people counted. He knew his value and worth….Jesus was 100 percent true to himself”…

Now wait a minute...the Bible says that although Jesus existed in the form of God, He “did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himslef by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Phil 2:7,8) Now that sounds pretty selfless to me.

Okay, in a nutshell…this book heavily promotes enough contemplative practices and interspiritual teachers and mystics to ring a Buddhist monastery bell. There are far too many things in this book that do not bring glory to Jesus Christ, who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6

We are not brought near to the Father by Zen, mindfulness meditation or breathing methods, “but now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13

---

Next…so what? It’s just a book…right? Stay tuned to find out how wide spread the influence of this book’s author is.

1938 Today

This is good...

It's 1938 and Iran is Germany...watch and listen to this clip of Benjamin Netanyahu here:
http://www.jerusalemonline.com/ujc.asp

Deja vu.

Wake up.

Another Bible

The other day I read about another new Bible translation. German scholars unveil the "politically correct" Bible that supposedly corrects some ‘divisive’ old teachings. In this one, God is father and mother. You can check that out here: http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=47556

Books

You’ve heard that you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, but can you judge a person by his books? Do you know that a good way to find out about someone is to look at their book shelves? When I research a ministry or Christian website I don’t know about, the first thing I do is check the resources/books page. If I don’t know much about a book I’ll pick it up and browse through the bibliography to see what books the author reads to get his information from. Personal libraries speak volumes about a person. That’s why I found this thing about books so interesting. If you like books, you will too:

By Our Books Shall We Be Known by Tim Challies

Real Mega Church

This is so refreshing. I just read an article by Warren Smith who has just returned from a trip to Asia with Gospel for Asia. In this day when mega churches and rich T.V. preachers make you sick, here is one mega church that will make you smile.

The Unborn Jesus

Have you ever heard of a group that worships The Unborn Jesus? There is even an Unborn World Alliance that is dedicated to honoring the Unborn Christ Child.

You can actually pray a rosary or the ring the bells at the Unborn Jesus Virtual Chapel which is an Unborn Jesus Eucharist Adoration group.

And you’ve heard of Stations of the Cross? Well now there are Stations of the Womb!

One good thing I must say about Catholics is that they take a strong stand against abortion. This is one of the goals of those who adore the unborn Jesus, but I don’t think you need to worship a picture of an embryo in a monstrance to promote abstinence, adoption and forgiveness. Christians might think this is all a little silly (especially this animation), and I don’t mean to mock the Catholics, but the sad thing is that the system behind Catholicism has some very unbiblical teachings.

Mike Gendron, who has a ministry to Catholics, was a practising Roman Catholic for over 30 years and welcomes them to his website. You can find his many answers to questions about Catholicism here: http://www.pro-gospel.org/

Black Book

I got a little forward in the mail today about a book that might be in your public library. It’s called The Little Black Book for Girlz, and is produced by an organization in Toronto, Canada called St. Stephen's Community House.

It is designed for teenage girls, could soon be used in schools, and is very offensive.
One opponent reports:
"It puts forward terrible pornographic statements, wrongful statements that 80 per cent of our country is bisexual.
It shouldn't be taught to our children." -cnews.canoe.ca

Keep your eyes open and make sure it doesn’t end up in your school or library. Be aware.

*There is more information about this here:
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/sep/06091901.html

*For a full text of the book and how to take action, go here:
http://www.canadianvalues.ca/news.aspx?aid=226

Brennan Manning

For those wondering about the Ragamuffin Gospel and other books by Brennan Manning, here is some information:

A Review of Brennan Manning's
The Signature of Jesus
http://www.faithalone.org/journal/1997ii/Caddock.html

BRENNAN MANNING AND CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/manning.htm

The False Ragamuffin Gospel
http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/11/false-ragamuffin-gospel.html

Bad Counsel

Contemplative Spirituality: A belief system that uses ancient mystical practices to induce altered states of consciousness (the silence) and is rooted in mysticism and the occult but is often wrapped in Christian terminology. The premise of contemplative spirituality is pantheistic (God is all) and panentheistic (God is in all). -Lighthouse Trails Research

It’s a very sad thing when someone who sincerely wants to serve the Lord listens to people instead of totally depending on God. If the person giving advice is walking on the wrong path, much damage can be done. I believe this is what is happening to many Christian leaders today. They are seeking wrong counsel. In their desire to hear from God, they go to silent retreats and spiritual directors who teach them methods of contemplative spirituality that all sound very nice and spiritual. Once they have started on the pathway of listening to this subtle deception, they get farther from the truth, and soon end up in strange places. This is why very nice, sincere pastors and church leaders end up at Jesuit retreat centers and monasteries, learn from spiritual directors, and then bring these new methods home to teach their sheep. Many of these contemplative pastors are even going further, leaving the purity and simplicity of the gospel and joining hands with false teachers.

It appears that this is exactly what has happened to the author of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality(see previous post). During a vulnerable time, this pastor listened to the counsel of man(see here) who was heavily influenced by Ignatius retreats and New Age mysticism.

Today Mr. Scazzero not only teaches this contemplative spirituality as a result of following bad counsel, but is now involved with the emerging church, and is going to be speaking at one such conference at the end of this month.

It’s called the Ethos conference, and is presented by Awaken, a project of well known emerging church leader Erwin McManus. You can see the speaker list here.

What is ETHOS and Awaken?

Let’s let Erwin McManus answer that:

“ETHOS is what happens when many individuals make autonomous choices that create a unified movement. ETHOS moves us when nothing else will and like nothing else will. ETHOS can be described as a tribal emotion. Like emotions fire us up, ETHOS is the tribal fire. ETHOS is the fuel of our caring and the fire of our passions. Join us in New York for this unique and transformational experience that will ignite and fuel your passion for the movement of Christ around the world!”

Erwin is the pastor of Mosaic, and also “the catalyst behind Awaken, a collaboration of dreamers committed to creating environments that expand imagination and unleash creativity. Convinced that the world is changed by dreamers and visionaries, Awaken serves the purpose of history by maximizing the divine potential in every human being.”

If you take a few minutes to read over McManus’s writings, he may have some legitimate points about cultural differences and brokenness, and he too seems like a very nice person. He may even be helping a lot of people. My purpose for writing about these things is not to bad mouth anyone. These question must be asked once again:

-Does the teaching of these men come from the Word of God?
-Are they pointing others to Jesus through the simplicity of the gospel and relying on the power of the Holy Spirit?
-Or are they using a bunch of words and methods and practices and psychology from the world?
-When Christian organizations don’t consult God for discernment and allow others to teach and influence their sheep, what does that tell us about the organization?
-What does this tell us about the sheep?

Come on sheep, wake up and smell the hirelings! It’s time to say no to the ear tickling books and things that are all about you, like silent retreats and men who say find your divine potential and follow your true self.

Get into the inspired Word of God. Follow the true Shepherd. Know Him!

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;I will counsel you with My eye upon you." Psalm 32:8

Wrong Way

It’s very unfortunate and sad that the Western Canadian District of the Christian Missionary Alliance is getting involved in a kind of spirituality that will lead many more down the contemplative path. First of all, on their links page (above NCD and Willowcreek), is Sonlife, a huge promoter of Youth Specialties(which is also heavily involved in contemplative spirituality, as shown here).

But the most recent thing that indicates the direction the CMA has taken is the prayer retreat that is happening right now in Banff, Alberta. Why is this alarming? Because it is also listed on the speaking itinerary list for Peter Scazzero's on his new website (here). (For some reason they think Banff is in Ontario but we will forgive them.)
*UPDATE: November 16: This listing has just been removed from the EHS website.

So what is the problem with Peter Scazzero speaking on emotional spiritual health at CMA's prayer retreat? Well, Mr. Scazzero has written a brand new book called Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. (You may remember last fall after researching his other book, The Emotionally Healthy Church, I concluded(here) that it was pretty much spiritually unhealthy.)

Now he has a new website, a ministry of his church, which is devoted to the contemplative concepts in his new book. It leans very heavily into contemplative spirituality, as the Daily Office guidelines on the EHS website reveal(here).

In fact, the following is directly from these guidelines:

“An office is a time to stop, slow down, center, and pause to be with Jesus…
-Notice the silence at the beginning and conclusion of each Office. Consider being silent for 30-45 seconds between the readings/prayers also. When silent, seek to sit still and straight. Breathe slowly, naturally and deeply. Close your eyes, remaining present, open and awake. Don’t Hurry! When you are alone, if God leads you to pause at a certain phrase or verse, stay with that. Less can be more. “

The Daily office guide also includes all the “be still” verses(Ps. 4:4, 37:7 and 46:10) favored by contemplatives for 2-5 minute silence and centering prayers, morning, midday and evening.

Now this is blatantly a spirituality that is not for Christians. If you are not sure about some of these terms, you will find them listed here.

As far as centering prayer goes, Ray Yungen(author of A Time of Departing) says that it’s just another term for contemplative meditation (going deep within your center) that is being promoted in many mainline churches under the guise of prayer.

Another red flag to beware of is the list of books on the EHS website(here) by contemplative authors.

Now don’t get me wrong. Mr. Scazerro is a very nice, very sincere man. But he has passed the WRONG WAY sign and is on the contemplative path that does not lead to the truth. The sad thing is that so many are following him on that trail, even the Western Canadian Missionary Alliance. This week at their retreat they have been learning about prayer alright. But exactly what kind of prayer methods are they learning? See how far reaching this is?

AND...just when you think things are bad, it gets worse...stay tuned.

Genesis for Kids

Yesterday as I was going over It all Begins with Genesis with my daughter, which is Answers in Genesis curriculum, I began to realize while we were on chapter 6(we do one a week) that a lot of this material looked very familiar. So I dug through my stack of old Precept Bible Study binders and found the one on Genesis that I had taken a few years back. As I compared notes, I was amazed to realize that here my twelve year old was learning about Genesis in the exact way I learned the Inductive Studying method in Precept classes. Same questions, same methods. Just more kid-friendly and not quite as complicated.

Now this is the kind of thing children should be learning in church so they will be equipped to give an answer to the unbiblical views they are bombarded with in our world. I’m glad that my child will be more than a few light years ahead of me in that department. I didn’t clue in to proper Bible studying methods til I was 37. I recommend this material very highly to all parents out there, whether you homeschool or not. What a valuable tool to give them!

Dr. Dino

This was just too much of an interesting thing to not blog...

Some folks love him, some folks despise him. I've even been to see him in person and am quite fond of the guy, inspite of his redneck jokes. Well, this is all news to me. Kent Hovind, Dr. Dino, has been tried and found guilty by jury of tax evasion! Particularly interesting are the comments below the Pensacola News article here.

So are there any Hovind fans out there? What do you think?

Vanishingly Small

The probability of God, while not zero, is vanishingly small.

So thinks Richard Dawkins, the leading light of the New Atheism movement. -wired.com

I feel sorry for Mr. Dawkins. He doesn’t believe that God knit him together in his mother’s womb, and holds together the laws of this universe. Including the perfect amount of gravity and air pressure on this marble to keep him from imploding or exploding. Not to mention that blazing inferno we call the sun being just the right distance from earth to keep Mr. Dawkins from becoming a piece of extra crisp bacon. What this leading light of New Atheism does not realize is that our merciful God is allowing him to breath until he's had every chance to see the Light. Now who is vanishingly small here?

“It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in” Isa 40:22

"Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:" Isa 42:5

By the way, there is a good article about Richard Dawkins and the "new atheists" at Answers in Genesis. The article starts out like this:
"Standing in the pulpit of the First Parish Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Richard Dawkins introduced his “sermon” this way..."
Read the rest here:
http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2006/1102dawkins.asp

Reinventing Jesus Christ

Do you know what the New Gospel, the Peace Plan, the New Age Spirituality and the reinvented Christ all have in common?

I just discovered that you can read a book that explains it all (and much more) on the internet. It’s called Reinventing Jesus Christ: The New Gospel by Warren Smith and you can read it here:
http://www.reinventingjesuschrist.com/

What I really like about this on-line book is the updates for each chapter, so it is VERY current. I’ve just browsed through the update for Chapter 7 and it will leave your hair standing up. The update for Chapter 10 talks about “God’s Dream”, which I found extremely interesting as the church we used to attend spent a whole year talking about that.

I’ve read another book by Warren Smith called Deceived on Purpose which was excellent, and probably one of the more thorough books I've read that reveals what is behind the Purpose Driven movement. Warren Smith is a Christian with a New Age background and has written extensively on the subject of spiritual deception.

DNA

What’s with all this talk about the church and DNA?

First there was Natural Church Development and their biotic principles and biotic books which sound more like Science text books than books about the church. By the way, NCD is promoted by Willow Creek here in Canada:
http://www.ncdcanada.com/resources.asp

One NCD consultant says this about the church and DNA:
“As both a cell church consultant and NCD coach I have found the Natural Church Planting concepts to be tremendously helpful in assisting cell church planters incorporate the principles into the very DNA of their plant rather than waiting until a later date to discover what they should have focused their energies from the start.”
-Les Brickman, NCD Consultant, Church Planter and Professor Regent University

Now you hear DNA church and even business talk everywhere. There’s even Purpose Driven cows, Rick Warren, and emerging church DNA. You can read about that here:
http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/10/purpose-driven-cows-dna.html

So has church become a science? Are we supposed to analyze the church? Or accept by faith this mystery called the church? When we boil it down to a science, are we denying the power of the Holy Spirit? And would these church growth experts suffer for the biotic principles of church DNA? Is Christ being proclaimed in all this biotic lingo? I wonder what Paul would say about all this…he seemed to understand the mystery without all the DNA church talk…

Colossians 1
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions.

25 Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,

26 that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints,

27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

28 We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.

29 For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.

The Call

Here are two reviews on another book in your local Christian book store called “The Call”(sequel to The Final Quest) by Rick Joyner:
http://www.pfo.org/r-joyner.htm
http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/thecall.html
Rick Joyner works closely with Todd Bentley of Freshfire Ministries (see here).

Dutch Bible

Here’s a Bible translation I missed last week. This controversial new Bible published in Holland cuts out difficult gospel passages, like certain "naive" statements of Jesus about money. Read more here:
http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s06100124.htm

Genesis 5

In the book of Genesis in the 5th chapter there is a little list of begats that you might have skimmed over. Well don't do that. These things that seem boring to us are certainly not boring to God, who always puts them there for a reason. Every name has a meaning that tells a story. In fact, it is said that the whole Bible is right there...look at the meanings of those names:

Adam...Man
Seth...appointed
Enosh...mortal
Kenan...sorrow/lament
Mahalel...the blessed God
Jared...shall come down
Enoch...teaching
Methuselah...His death shall bring
Lamech...lament/the despairing
Noah...comfort

If you read the meanings from top to bottom, you can see the story they make from beginning to end. Think about it. These guys were all born before the flood. In fact, Noah would have been able to talk to them all except for Adam and Seth(and Enoch who was taken at the young age of 365). Lamech and Methuselah died just before the flood, leaving Noah as the last righteous man on the earth who knew first hand how it all began. God planned it all from the beginning. How amazing is that?

Remember the former things long past,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like Me,
Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things which have not been done,
Saying, 'My purpose will be established,
And I will accomplish all My good pleasure';
Calling a bird of prey from the east,
The man of My purpose from a far country
Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.
I have planned it, surely I will do it.

Isaiah 46:9-11

Book of Revelation

Looking for some study aids on the last book of the Bible?

Here's a Commentary on the book of Revelation:
http://www.bibleguidance.co.za/Librarylists/Bookschaplist/Thedaychaplist.htm

An exposition on Revelation:
http://www.bibleguidance.co.za/Librarylists/Bookschaplist/Thehourchaplist.htm

Sketch of the book of Revelation:
http://www.bibleguidance.co.za/Bookimages/Revelimageeng.jpg

Interesting modern Tower of Babylon sketch:
http://www.bibleguidance.co.za/Bookimages/Towerimageeng.jpg

Halloween

Every year Halloween amazes me. I am amazed that I can walk into a big box store in August and see Halloween decorations. I am amazed at those tacky blow up floaty monsters and things people will actually pay money for and have lit up in their yard for the entire month of October(or notice how attractive they look during the day when they're deflated on the roof?). I am amazed at the lengths people have recently gone to in order to make Halloween decor less tacky and more classy. I am amazed that all year long people sweep and vacuum cobwebs from their homes, but in October they buy huge fake ones to spread over their doorways. But most of all I guess I am amazed at the costumes parents put on their precious little children, and the effort some moms put into sewing them.

As Christians, we know that this is a controversial subject. Many struggle over whether to participate or not to participate in this day. I guess they don't want their kids to feel "left out" of all the "fun".

Well here are a few very helpful resources for those who are stuck in that broken record mode:

http://www.khouse.org/topical_bible_study/halloween/
http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/halloween.html
http://www.annieshomepage.com/annieshalloweenpage.html
http://www.biblestudyguide.org/articles/halloween.htm
http://www.heartofwisdom.com/newsletter/V1/article6516.htm

No “Christian alternative” to Halloween you say? How about this novel idea that will really freak out the neighbours…learn and celebrate the holidays ordained by God: http://biblicalholidays.com/

Interesting note: I don't endorse this one but they do have a very interesting view on Christians and Halloween(under Halloween and North America): http://www.religioustolerance.org/hallo_cu.htm
Now who's not tolerant?

Just Another Christian Book?

She says she has a deep abiding faith in God.
She’s a sought after speaker from the Women of Faith conference lineup.
She’s written a book published by Thomas Nelson Publishers called Inside My Heart- Choosing to Live with Passion and Purpose(#1 New York Times Best Seller). She’s promoted by Crystal Cathedral.

Her name is Robin McGraw, wife of Dr. Phil of Oprah fame. And her book is in the Christian book store in my city. It even made the front page of their glossy flyer, right beside Philip Yancey. Makes me wonder...

Interestingly enough, today the foot work has been done for me. I just came across an interesting blog that has already done the research on the McGraws:
http://www.arcapologetics.org/blog/2005/10/robin-mcgraw-and-women-of-faith.html
http://www.arcapologetics.org/blog/2005/10/discerning-dr-phil.html

Mrs. McGraw seems like a very nice person. She likes to help people. Does she spread the good news of the gospel and share the hope of Jesus? Apparently not. Only God knows what’s inside her heart, but here’s where we have to ask that silly question once again. What’s a nice book like this doing in a Christian book store? Is this just another “Christian” self-help book?

About Those Books

ABOUT THOSE BOOKS

I have read lots of books that I thought were good at the time, but looking back, they have faded from my memory. After many years I’ve learned that there are lots of Christian books out there. Books by people that I now see were incomplete at best and incorrect at worst. A book might help us in the short term, but in the long run the best way to learn how to have a deep relationship with God is through His Word, which has stood the test of time. You won't necessarily find that in a book (unless it’s God’s book – the Bible).

For example, there are lots of books about what our purpose is, but there is only one way to live a life that fulfills our purpose for being on earth, and that is to worship and love God, and live for Him. Today, so many people are trying to find THEIR purpose on earth, and find THEIR passion or gift. While God has good plans for us, the thing is - we must pursue HIM with passion, not OUR purposes or OUR gifts and OUR passions, as some books are saying.

Some popular books claim that you will be changed after reading them in a certain number of days, or after a certain number of steps. That is more than a bit presumptuous. God works on his time schedule, not ours. He can change a life in a day or a week, but most often it takes a year, or years, and sometimes a lifetime.

Books will blow away like pages in the wind, but God’s word will last forever. So many of today’s books have an infrequent mention of the important things emphasized in the Bible, like the holiness of God, sin, the cross, our human flesh and old nature, God’s commands, His sovereignty, and even absolute truth. In their place, other concepts are substituted that won’t interfere with a ‘good self image.’ If there is more focus on things that leave you with a warm, fuzzy, feel-good message, emphasizing YOU, or what God can do for YOU, then that book won’t help you in the long run.

By the way, regarding the title of one popular book about finding your purpose, well, it’s been said that cattle are driven and sheep are led. Jesus referred to us as His sheep, and sheep are led by the Shepherd.

Bottom line
–YOU DON’T NEED A BOOK TO FIND YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE –
FIND IT IN CHRIST

"Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day." Psalm 25:5

[Source: a compilation of advice paraphrased and borrowed from various miscellaneous sources]

East of Eden

Richard Bennett, a former Roman Catholic priest, has just come out with a new book that is not just about the errors of Catholicism. It sounds like a timely book for today as we are hearing about Protestants and Catholics finding common ground, and accepting eachother's diversity.

The book is called East of Eden, and you can find out more about it here:
http://www.bereanbeacon.org/

Perspective

To a bug...a dark hiding place in a big rock.
To a bird...a great find of dried up papyrus pieces for nest stuffing.
To a shepherd...a pretty steep climb to a secret place.
To us...one of the caves where priceless ancient treasures lay for centuries, the Dead Sea Scrolls...proof of the accuracy and integrity of the Bible.
To God...just one of His hidden 'hard copy' files He let us find.

And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. Isaiah 45:3

Balance

I have begun to realize that the topic of Bible translations is more controversial than I ever imagined! There are certainly enough KJV only websites, but there are just as many websites refuting the KJV only camp that have some good points(like moriel.org).

Now, here’s a thought…if we had a page of the original 1611 authorized version in our possession, could we even read it today?

This week I have come across so many interesting links about the research on the different Bible versions. There's biblediscernment.com, and bible-researcher.com, and then there's lots of resources one can buy in favour of the KJV, like these at swrc.com.

Who can take it all in? Who can you trust? I noticed one author who seemed quite knowledgeable whose name is Dean Burgon. There is even a Dean Burgon Society website where I read an interesting article called Which Bible will you trust? But then I found a link to an article called: WHY DEAN BURGON WOULD NOT JOIN The Dean Burgon Society!

Okay, that's when my head started to spin. One thing I began to notice is a shortage on balanced approaches. Search long enough and you will soon be dizzy. With so many opinions on so many translations, no wonder people are confused.

The most objective information on the KJV I could find was on wikipedia(here). I also came across some interesting things, like MODERN VERSIONS AND ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS, a Bible version comparison chart, an NIV user test, a list of Bible verses the NIV deleted, and a some info on the NIV translators.

Now here is where we come to Westcott and Hort and THE WESTCOTT AND HORT ONLY CONTROVERSY. Is it true that the Legacy of Westcott & Hort was THE NINETEENTH CENTURY OCCULT REVIVAL? There is no doubt they were members of The Ghostly Guild, and that quotes from their own mouths reveal what they really believed.

All this is rather shocking, so you truly must ask yourself, if men like these were involved in the translation, how much influence did they have? Is the KJV more accurately translated?

How do we put this all together? It’s almost like playing a trivia game where there is a huge jackpot at stake. Well the jackpot is the TRUTH. And as the questions get bigger and the answers are harder to find, what do we do with the information overload?

Well I had nearly formed my opinion when I thought I’d check out one more person I trust…so I found the on-line booklet put together by the elders of John MacArthur’s church called The Biblical Position on The KJV Controversy which seems to be one of the more intelligent things I’ve read on this issue. According to that, I’d already chosen my position. After all my browsing of trivia, and after prayer and consideration, I have come to a final conclusion. I know it’s only been a little more than a week since I began pondering these things more deeply, but I still believe that the best approach to studying God’s word is to have a balance. That would look like a parallel Bible, a KJV, an NASB, a Hebrew/Greek concordance, some good commentaries, some Jewish roots sources, some trusted teachers, and most important of all, lots of help from the One who teaches all who are Christians, the Holy Spirit. There are not two camps of Christians, we are either in the saved camp, or the unsaved camp. And we are all grafted in to the olive tree, and partakers of the promise. Therefore, I am going to have to call myself a "balanced eclectic".

And that’s my final answer.

Last Quotes

The King James Bible is the most poetic and beautiful version to read, of that there is no doubt. It is a classic and loved by many.

Here are a few quotes from people who would agree...

"Shakespeare aside, there's no comparable writing in the language, as has been observed by wiser men than I." - Charlton Heston

"... the rhetoric of the King James Version has the aspect not of a stumbling block but rather of a bulwark..." - Amy Clampitt(poet)

"The scholars who produced this masterpiece are mostly unknown and unremembered. But they forged an enduring link, literary and religious, between the English-speaking people of the world." - Sir Winston Churchill

More KJV Debate

“...with all the difficulties we face in our often hostile culture, we should not erect walls between Christians on the basis of Bible versions” -inplainsite.org(The Debate Over the King James Version)

“The issue is not that the NIV differs in places from the KJV...but whether or not the NIV or the KJV accurately reflect the Greek text.” -inplainsite.org(Will The Real Bible Please Stand Up?

Also on this website:
Bible Controversies
Is Your Modern Translation Corrupt?

Jewish Bible

And speaking of Jewish scribes and scrolls and things...what about the Jewish Bible, called the Tanakh…and what about the Complete Jewish Bible?

This is how the first three verses of the book of Revelation go in that one:

“This is the Revelation of Yeshua the Messiah, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel to his servant, Yochanan, who testified to God’s word, and of the testimony of Yeshua the Messiah, about everything that he saw.
Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it, for the time is at hand.” Rev. 1-3 (Complete Jewish Bible)

Isn’t that lovely? I like it.

You can read the whole thing on-line here:
http://ebible.org/bible/hnv/

So the uneducated question of the day is this...
Since the Jewish people were the ones who copied and kept the scriptures...should all our Bible versions measure up to the 1611 KJV? Or should all the English versions including the KJV measure up to the Jewish version?

Quote #3

"The translators of the King James Version had over 5,000 manuscripts available to them, but they leaned most heavily on the major Byzantine manuscripts, particularly Textus Receptus…

Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort were Anglican churchmen who had contempt for the Textus Receptus and began a work in 1853 that resulted, after 28 years, in a Greek New Testament based on the earlier Alexandrian manuscripts.

Both men were strongly influenced by Origen and others who denied the deity of Jesus Christ and embraced the prevalent Gnostic heresies of the period. There are over 3,000 contradictions in the four gospels alone between these manuscripts. They deviated from the traditional Greek text in 8,413 places.

They conspired to influence the committee that produced The New Testament in the Original Greek (1881 revision), and, thus, their work has been a major influence in most modern translations, dethroning the Textus Receptus.

Detractors of the traditional King James Version regard the Westcott and Hort as a more academically acceptable literary source for guidance than the venerated Textus Receptus. They argue that the disputed passages were added later as scribal errors or amendments.

Defenders of the Textus Receptus attack Westcott and Hort (and the Alexandrian manuscripts) as having expurgated these many passages, noting that these disputed passages underscore the deity of Christ, His atonement, His resurrection, and other key doctrines. They note that Alexandria was a major headquarters for the Gnostics, heretical sects that had begun to emerge even while John was still alive.

(It is also evident that Westcott and Hort were not believers and opposed taking the Bible literally concerning the Atonement, Salvation, etc. If you read their personal writings you wouldn't dream of letting them lead your Sunday School class!)"

-Chuck Missler
Additions or Deletions? -The Last 12 Verses of Mark
(http://www.khouse.org/articles/2000/201/)

Can God Preserve a Book?

Here's a few interesting things I dug up...

The Ancient Scroll of Isaiah is a beautiful testimony to the scribes’ meticulous attention to detail in copying Scripture down through the centuries. This complete book was found untouched and overlooked by birds who like to use scrolls for nesting material. God has miraculously preserved this 2,000-year-old scroll of Isaiah, which matches the copies that today’s English Bible’s are translated from. Today it is displayed in The Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem.

You can read about it here.

Here's another tidbit:
“Dramatically, when the Bible manuscripts are compared to other ancient writings, they stand alone as the best-preserved literary works of all antiquity….
…of the approximately 20,000 lines that make up the entire New Testament, only 40 lines are in question. These 40 lines represent one quarter of one percent of the entire text and do not in any way affect the teaching and doctrine of the New Testament. I again compared this with Homer's Iliad. Of the approximately 15,600 lines that make up Homer's classic, 764 lines are in question. These 764 lines represent over 5% of the entire text, and yet nobody seems to question the general integrity of that ancient work.”
-taken from Bible Manuscripts at All About The Journey

Quote #2

"We believe that in spite of certain so-called “archaic” words and in spite of what some have called “difficult English” for today’s contemporary generation, the King James Bible (as well as the New King James Version) is based on solid manuscript evidence, and that most modern English versions are based on manuscript evidence that varies greatly from the King James tradition.

We are not saying that the King James Bible is the ONLY English Bible that should be used. We are in favor of “updating” the English of the King James whenever possible as long as the manuscript evidence is not altered or ignored. We do not possess any so-called “original autographs,” but the manuscript evidence that we do have is greater than any other piece of literature in the history before the invention of the printing press. May the Lord use these simple facts to guide us all in getting the Word of God into the language of the people of this world!"

- David Hocking

Also by David Hocking: Is the Bible Really Inspired?

Don't Say Those Words!!!

"Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." " John 3:3

As I browsed through a 'testimonial booklet' the other day from a local (large)church I noticed on the inside back cover a DO’s and DON’Ts list for writing your testimony. The first point on the don’ts list nearly blew my mind. It said that there were several words that you should not include in your testimony. Among these off-limits words were "sin", "repentance", "conviction", "saved" and "born-again". The reason was that people from unchurched backgrounds would not know what these Christian clichés meant.

Well I guess there are few more verses and words we’d better cross out of our politically incorrect Bibles then, because today’s culture is apparently too stupid to understand them. I know this is supposedly just a 'seeker friendly' tactic, but what do you think all the 'seekers' would say if they knew that this church thought they were incapable of understanding these forbidden words? Where on earth would this idea come from?

Hmmm...something smells like sulphur. Can you say "hell"? Oops, I said the forbidden "H" word.

Bible Bashing?

Speaking of the Bible, seems the infamous Bible Answer Man has gone over the edge as of late. It's going from bad to worse. At first I tried to overlook it, but I think this man is doing more damage than good. It's time for us to take notice when an influential supposed Bible Answer Man turns into the Bible Basher-Man.

Quote #1

I am going to post a series of quotes from individuals regarding the Bible versions they use. Today's post in this series contains quotes by two very different Warrens...


"Read scripture from a newer translation. With all the wonderful translations and paraphrases available today, there is no legitimate reason for complicating the Good News with four-hundred-year-old English. Using the King James Versions creates an unnecessary cultural barrier....Clarity is more important than poetry." -Rick Warren(The Purpose Driven Church, pg. 297)


"No "legitimate reason" to read the King James Bible? I remember reading that and being amazed. How could he possibly teach something that was so untrue? The King James Bible had not "complicated" the "Good News" for my wife and I when we were lost in the New Age--it had provided much needed clarity by exposing the deceptiveness of our New Age teachings....God had used the King James Bible in a mighty way to reveal the truth. It had pulled us out of the New Age and put us on solid ground. Its straightfoward warnings and teachings were clear and true. If we had been dependent on The Message, or some of the other Bible versions that Rick Warren uses, we might still be in the New Age today. It was the clarity and preciision of our King James Bible that had exposed the deception behind our New Age teachings. And it is the clarity and precision of our King James Bible that continues to expose these same New Age teachings that are creeping into the Church today. I just thank God no one put something like The Message in my hands when I was in the New Age." -Warren Smith (Deceived on Purpose: The New Age Implications of the Purpose-Driven Church, pg. 39, 40)

This was the verse from the KJV that opened the eyes of Warren Smith:
"For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." Matthew 24:5

Which Version

The modern versions of the Bible have been changed without a doubt. This is a fact and not some new theory that someone dreamed up for the sake of controversy. But does this mean we should not use any of them at all? Take my Bible for instance. It’s the NASB study Bible which I bought about 7 years ago after hearing Kay Arthur promote it on the radio. This is the Bible that I used for many Precepts Bible studies. It is marked, highlighted and underlined. Through studying and memorizing portions of it, I have grown in the Lord and come to know who He is. It was God, through his word (in this case the NASB) who changed my life. Yet, as I learned last week, there are definitely words missing in my Bible. Does this make it invalid?

It makes me wonder about the two sides of this ongoing debate. Is God’s word so powerful that no matter who tries to take it apart, it will remain to the end? Even if you were in the remotest jungle without a Bible, His word would still endure forever, because He said it would. The name of Jesus should not be omitted from these translations, but in many verses it is. But He will not disappear. And if someone is saved by reading an NIV, isn’t it because of God’s power? Can’t He save anyone He chooses? Can Satan foil God’s plan to save one soul? Of course not.

On the other hand, I realize that it is very important that if you want to know the truth and grow in the knowledge of the Lord, you must have the closest translation to the original. Look at all the times the disciples and Jesus himself quoted scripture word for word. So why is it we all have to have different translations? It has caused major divisions and arguments and is even reason for skeptics to criticize the accuracy of the Bible. There seems to be extreme positions in either camp, when all who are saved are part of the body of Christ. Why wouldn’t the devil want to make a mess this way? Some even say the new translations are part of the deception that will prepare the way for the anti-Christ by leading many into the acceptance of the one world church through new age teachings.

These are all interesting points, and so many thoughts were mulling about in my head as I read the many excellent comments on last Thursday's post called God's Book. I am always fascinated by the interest that some subjects generate, but this time I am a little overwhelmed. Firstly, there are some really smart people reading my blog. Secondly, I am simply not qualified to handle this subject. I respect God’s word too much to lightly make a few uneducated posts on such a serious thing as what has been done to His book, especially since I wasn’t there to observe any of it. It must require years of study and much prayer to get this all straight, and since I am just a little nobody, I will leave the expertise to the experts. BUT...as the subject continues to fascinate me, what I am going to do over the next little while is post some excerpts and tidbits from other people’s research. Then you can decide for yourself which version you want to stick with.

All I want to know is God's version, and I think I have a pretty good idea of His plan of redemption for mankind. But if He has preserved His Holy Word down through time, and if Jesus Himself said that each jot and tittle are important, then isn't it only logical that there has to be one version that is the most trustworthy?

"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Matthew 5:18

Sukkot

Today is the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles, time for dwelling in temporary homes, called booths or tabernacles. I couldn't let the day pass without mentioning it.
But for now, I must go and paint the window trims for my temporary dwelling. I'd love to talk about it but I will be busy for the rest of the day, so make sure to read up on this beautiful Jewish fall feast...

http://biblicalholidays.com/tabernacles.htm
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/holiday5.html
http://www.cofac.org/tabernacles.html

More SHAPE!

You know, I am really quite disgusted at the moment. The main Christian book store in my own city has just sent me a HUGE sale flyer in the mail. In it is a HUGE ad for the ‘empowering’ new S.H.A.P.E. book by Erik Rees (foreward by Rick Warren and companion follow-up to The Purpose Driven Life).

Our Christian book stores are in terribly bad SHAPE to actually advertise these unbiblical books and things! Once again I am reminded that when we walk into a 'Christian' book store these days, we need to have our discernment antennas WAY up.

* I have already posted about this shape business here and here.
Read the Lighthouse blog’s report on the book here.

One God

Today is Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. In Bible times, it was the day that the high priest would enter the holy of holies to make atonement for the nation and make a sacrifice. It’s not a day of feasting, but a day of fasting and repenting. As Christians this can be a significant time for us to remember that Jesus is our High Priest who made His sacrifice of atonement once and for all.

Meanwhile, it’s also the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims who believe that it was during the month of Ramadan(Sept. 24 - Oct. 24) that Allah revealed the first verses of the Koran. It’s also a period of fasting and prayer.

So what came first, Yom Kippur or Ramadan? Who borrowed what from whom? If you picked the second one, you can read about that here if you are interested. As Christians, we know which holiday is about the one true God, although some leaders who claim to follow the Christian God seem to be confused about which God to honour...

“I send greetings to the many Muslims observing Ramadan in America and around the world.…According to Islamic teachings, this month represents when God delivered His word to the prophet Muhammad in the form of the Qur'an…Ramadan and the upcoming holiday seasons are a good time to remember the common values that bind us together. Our society is enriched by our Muslim citizens whose commitment to faith reminds us of the gift of religious freedom in our country.” – President Bush
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/ramadan/2006/)

"In holiday greetings, President Bush said Jewish observance of Yom Kippur makes the world a more peaceful place." -Jerusalem Post

"Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday encouraged Christians and Muslims in Iraq to continue their centuries-old brotherly ties as he prayed for peace and harmony in that violence-wracked country." -Jerusalem Post

Wait a minute here! Continue their brotherly ties(i.e. hatred)? Common values? The world is peaceful? I know, I know, its all about diplomacy and keeping the peace and all. Wouldn't want to upset them or anything. While Muslims make no bones about which god they serve, the truth is, there is only one way, and one God, and unfortunately, the compromising “Christian” leaders of today have not been reading what He says:

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Ex. 20:3
“And in all [things] that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.” Ex. 23:13
“And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.” Jer. 25:6
“But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods.” Jer. 44:5
"And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them." 2 Kings 17:15

Prayer Room

Well wadda ya know? Here's an interesting thing. What with all the ecumenical stuff going on lately, and the Muslim population growth in Europe, it's really no surprise that the head of the Church of England respects other faiths too. Enough to build a Muslim prayer room in her castle. Read about it here.

New Contemplative Book

Last fall I did a review on a book called The Emotionally Healthy Church. In fact, that book was the reason I started this blog, as the things I discovered in it blew me away and I had to say something, somehow, somewhere. So I guess you could say I was purpose driven(joke?). At the time, I could only find nice reviews on the book, although it reeked of psychology, New Age, and contemplative spirituality. During my research and digging, I discovered that the author, Peter Scazzero, was (at the time) in the process of writing a new book which was not going to be quite as subtle as the first one in regards to contemplative spirituality.

The months passed and I forgot about this next book until I had a new comment lastnight on an old post(thanks for the reminder 'anonymous'). So I did a quick search and here it is…Peter Scazzero’s new book that came out this summer which he has called Emotionally Healthy Spirituality - by Integrity Publishers.

About his book, Scazzero comments, "The combination of emotional healthy and contemplative spirituality addresses what I believe to be the missing piece in contemporary Christianity"

This September Mr. Scazzero is starting a series on Emotionally Healthy Spirituality at his church, New Life Fellowship. (www.newlifefellowship.org)

By the way, this church also offers the Purpose Driven S.H.A.P.E. course(here), and recommends several other contemplative books(here).
New Life Fellowship is also Willow Creek member.

Christianizing Hindu Yoga...What Next?

This spring the president of a local Bible College wrote…"We profit and learn from many traditions, which represent various streams of spirituality." This was in response to Christians who were concerned about widespread trends sneaking into the church, and particularly their denomination, that had roots in Eastern religions and Catholicism. I wrote him and asked if this attitude was any different from 'Christianizing' a Ouija board. His response indicated that he was not too pleased with me.

Well I am not alone. Here is a new article from Christian Worldview Network on Christian yoga that has a good point:
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/secure/cwnetwork/print.php?&ArticleID=1055

Dangerous Books

Do you believe that Contemplative Spirituality is a great, subtle lie? Do you know that reading the wrong books can lead you down a dangerous path?

Cassandrah Batya grew up in church but got interested in “spiritual books written by famous scientists, mathematicians, Christian writers, religious professors, monks, rabbis, renowned Christian and Jewish scholars, and mystics”. Read the fascinating story about where this led and how she came to know the truth here:

http://achristianjourney.blogs.com/achristianjourney/2005/05/the_great_subtl.html#more

Evolution a Religion-Darwin

As Charles Darwin neared the end of his life he is said to have “refuted the deceptive theory of evolution” and return to his faith in the Bible. While reading the book of Hebrews, a witness said “he placed his fingers on certain passages he commented on them. I made some allusion to the strong opinions expressed by many on the history of the Creation, and their treatment of the earlier chapters of the book of Genesis. He seemed distressed, his fingers twitched nervously and a look of agony came over his face as he said,
“I was a young man with unformed ideas. I threw out queries, suggestions, wondering all the time about everything. To my astonishment the ideas took like wild-fire. People made a religion of them.” “
---Death-bed Experiences(from www.bibleguidance)

Air Polution

What next? I gets worse all the time. According to the context that this outrageous quote of the week is taken from, Christians who believe the Word of God and await the Lord's return are polluting the air...

"The Religious Right has polluted the air. The name ‘Jesus’ and the word ‘Christianity’ are associated with something judgmental, hostile, hypocritical, angry, negative, defensive, anti-homosexual, etc. Many of our churches, even though they feel they represent the truth, actually are upholding something that is distorted and false."-Brian McLaren

You can read more about it here: http://etherzone.com/2006/meek090706.shtml

Dying Testimonies Of Saved And Unsaved

I just thought I'd post something different for a change. Here are a few last words...

"I SHALL SOON BE A DEAD MAN, AND MY SOUL WILL BE IN HELL."

A minister, while traveling one day, was overtaken by a thunderstorm and took refuge in what was called a tavern. His attention was soon directed towards a man who seemed to be trying to entertain himself and others by using profanity in its lowest degree. He claimed to be an atheist, and blasphemed the name of God with unusual recklessness.

Finally, while the storm was raging wildly, he said to those around him, "There is no God, and to prove to you that I am right about it, I will go out there on that little hill and dare Him to strike me with His lightning." To the horror of that little company he went, and looking up toward heaven, his lips moved, and he brought his fists together with the appearance of doing what he said he would, though his voice could not be heard above the roar of the storm. In a short time he came back, saying as he did so, "You can see for yourselves that there is no God. If there were, He would have killed me while daring Him to do so." But God moves in a mysterious way, and his awful sin did not go long unpunished.

He took a chair and was quiet for some time. He had uttered his last oath, and when he again spoke it was in subdued tones, as follows, "There is a God, and He is going to teach me that He can take my life with a smaller instrument than a shaft of lightning. Soon after I came in here, a little insect lit upon my hand and stung it. It commenced to pain me and soon affected my arm and is fast doing its fatal work. The pain is almost unendurable, and I shall soon be a dead man, and my soul will be in hell. Yes, there is a God."

And so he died, in awful agony of body and mind, and his soul passed into the great beyond.

"Surely the fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." -- Reported for this book by Mary E. Jenks, of McBain, Michigan



"THIS IS HELL ENOUGH! THE DEVILS ARE DRAGGING ME DOWN."

There was a young man in Georgia who was constantly warned by his parents and others to turn from his wickedness, profanity and gambling, but he would not taste their advice, and became a miserable wreck of humanity.

He was taken ill, and during his sickness he would exclaim, "Oh, drive these devils away with their chains, they will drag my soul down to hell before I die! Oh, brother and sister, take warning! Don't come to this hell. This is hell enough! The devils are dragging me down!" And as he cried mightily, "Don't come to this hell of woe, this hell, this hell!" his soul departed to everlasting ruin and perdition.

Young people, take warning from this awful experience and repent before it is too late. -- Written for this work by N. M. Nelms. of Kopperl, Texas.



"O, LORD, MY STRENGTH AND MY REDEEMER."

Mrs. Win. Barnes' conversion was brought about shortly after the death of her little girl. She lives in Buffalo, N. Y. Before her daughter died she was not a Christian, but since the death of her little girl, four years ago, she has been leading a godly life and traveling in the way to heaven.

The following is recorded as related by Mrs. Barnes: My little daughter May, when but eight years old, was taken ill with scarlet fever, and died four days later. During her short sickness she was such a patient little sufferer, and when asked if she was suffering, she would say there didn't anything hurt her, but she did not want to stay with us any longer -- she wanted to go to heaven, and kept repeating this all through the long night. Not long after this she repeated the Lord's prayer, and then thanked us for all that we had done for her, and told us not to worry about her. Then she looked up and said, "I thank Thee, dear Jesus. Dear Jesus, I thank Thee," and then sang some beautiful songs.

Just before she died she raised her eyes toward heaven and said, "O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." Then, with a peaceful look on her face, she raised herself, and with a glad expression she said "Oh," and saw something which our eyes could not see, and thus passed away.

She had a Bible and three other books given her for constant attendance at her Sunday-school, where she had been a scholar for four years.

Dear reader, I think this message is for you just as much as it is for me. The Bible says, "A little child shall lead them." -- Written for this work by Kate H. Booth, of Buffalo, .N. Y.



THOMAS HUDSON, MARTYR

When the flames were rising about him, he slipped from under the chain which held his body to the stake, and, falling on his knees amidst the burning pile, his spirit wrestled with God. The martyr arose and exclaimed, "Now, I thank God, I am strong, and care not what man can do to me!"


Read more last words here.
Now here are my last words for the week...have a good weekend.

Amazing Israel

If I seem to be going on about Israel quite abit, that's because it's kind of important. I haven't gotten off my topic of books and things because God's Book deals alot with these very things.

Yesterday as I was keeping an eye on Israel, I found some wonderful things that fascinated me so much I had to share them. Israel really is an amazing place...

Awesome maps and virtual tours, you really have to see this to believe it, it's amazing:
http://www.eyeonisrael.com/

Beautiful virtual tours, this is very cool:
http://www.cityofdavid.org.il/index.html

The view from above:
http://geology.com/world/israel-satellite-image.shtml

Get the right perspective...how big is this place that all eyes are fixed upon:
http://www.science.co.il/Arab-Israeli-conflict.asp


So let's continue to support, watch and pray for Israel, the apple of God's eye.
*10:30 am UPDATE: Especially in the light of an update I just received from David Dolan who reports that "all are aware of Sheik Nasrallah’s televised claim on Sunday night that he has “surprises” up his sleeve for Israel, with some speculating he may even possess some chemical weapons, possibly acquired from Saddam’s Iraq".

Live from Israel

Need to know the latest? Don't know where Haifa is? Want to see a map? This is amazing...live 24/7 news from Israel on the web:
http://www.infolive.tv/

God's Times

I read an interesting thing this morning on my Moriel News Alert…

The fast of 17th of Tammuz that was on July 13, 2006, started Thursday morning and ended at nightfall. This fast begins a time of mourning leading up to the 9th of Av or Tisha B'Av which falls this year on August 3rd, the day that both the first and second temple were destroyed.

What else happened during this time in history? Here are just a few things:
-Noah sending out the first dove to see if the Flood waters had receded (2100 BCE)
-Moses descended Mount Sinai on this day and, broke the Ten Commandments
-In the First Temple Era, the priests in the First Temple stopped the daily due to the shortage of sheep during the Babylonian siege
-the next year (586 BCE), the walls of Jerusalem were breached after many months of siege by Nebuchadnezzar.
-Titus and Rome breached the walls of Jerusalem (70 CE)

(If you find this interesting, you can read more about it here)

God has obviously set times and days throughout history for certain events to happen. So, in light of that, isn’t it interesting that war has broken out in Israel at this same time?

God’s Chosen People?

Now there's a whole lot of things I don't know much about. Like the politics behind the situation in the Middle East right now, but I do know one thing. Israel is God's chosen people. Why? For starters, much of the book God wrote focuses on the history and future of Israel. Some say that God has replaced Israel with the church, and they are no longer his special people. But there is absolutely no evidence in the Bible that God has rejected the Jewish people. In fact, it was the nation of Israel who would reject their Messiah, but that was all part of the plan so that we could be grafted in to the promise. Without God’s people that he chose out of the world beginning with Abraham, we would be toast. "Salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:22).

Another thing I know is that God made an unconditional promise to Abraham that He would make his descendants a great nation and bless all people through them (Genesis 12:1-3). When God makes an unconditional promise, it is up to Him to keep it, and He never breaks His promises. From the beginning God intended to use Israel to bless everyone by bringing the Messiah through them to be the saviour for the whole world.
"It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations
So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth." Isaiah 49:6

The Bible says that God will never break His covenant with Jacob, Isaac and Abraham, and He is certainly not done with the 'apple of His eye' yet.
“For thus says the LORD of hosts, "After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye.” Zech 2:8

The thing is, one only need study the covenants of God to understand that He has indeed chosen Israel for his purposes.

And one more thing...none of this is my opinion. It's in the Bible. And if you want to disagree with the Bible, that's up to you. Want to understand what is going on in Israel? Read the Word of God to find out Israel has a special place in God's plan. All of His promises will be fulfilled, and maybe sooner than you think.

Psalm 121

1I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
2My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.
3He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7The LORD will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
8The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.

Urgent! Pray for the Peace of Israel!

I felt compelled to interupt my weekend break to blog for Israel. Please take some time this weekend to pray for the Peace of Israel, and ask your church leaders to do the same.

Don’t just listen to what CNN, the EU, or the CBC tell you. Here is one good news source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/headlines.php3
and of course here: http://www.watch.org/

A friend who has many connections sent me some e-mails this morning from her friends in Israel. One of them reports that “over 1,000 katyusha rockets have been fired by Hezbollah into the northern sector of Israel… Over 150 Israelis have been injured, more than 10 seriously. At least four civilians have been killed…”

Here are just a few prayer requests from Israel:
Pray for the soldiers, many of them only 19, like the one who was kidnapped.
Pray for the protection of the civilians.
Ask God to send His angels to foil and frustrate any satanic Hezbollah terror plots around the world.

Okay, after reading these e-mails, I was most disturbed and tried to imagine what it would be like to endure what they are going through…

Just imagine …

You are a young mother with a baby in a stroller ushering your toddler into a stuffy bomb shelter for the night that hasn’t been used in decades…no windows, no beds, no toilets, no running water…just four 12x12 walls, one glaring lightbulb, and some neighbor women with teenaged kids from your apartment huddled in the corner. They are usually laughing, but not tonight. One reminds you of your baby brother who just joined the army on his nineteenth birthday. Outside you hear the whump whump of the Hezbollah rockets they call Katyusha…nervous, scared,… is that your heart pounding or a Katyusha…Whump whump… you can hear the drone of F-16’s above as they head north and you know your husband is in one of them…all the men in your family have been called in to help…they are the reserves.

Your toddler cries, the floor is hard. But you are thankful the ancient plug in is keeping a fan blowing.

Meanwhile some of the older residents have opted to stay in their apartments to watch the news…only to find that channel after channel show only repeats and re-runs of old news with boring commentators! Some of these brave ones have vowed to never enter another bomb shelter again…they know too well about hiding…they are survivors of the holocaust that their attackers say never happened. Like the elderly couple in the two story apartment window across the street who have just extinguished two Shabbat candles on their elegantly set table. Now they watch the fires glowing in the nearby distance and wonder if they will see the rocket in the dark before it hits. A tear runs down the man’s weathered cheek, but his face is strong and resolved.

Whump. Whump. The Katyusha lullaby ends the evening prayer. Will they sleep tonight? Will tomorrow night be better? They hope so, the funerals will be tomorrow during the night…


Psalm 91
1He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!"
3For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the deadly pestilence.
4He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
5You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
6Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
7A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you.
8You will only look on with your eyes
And see the recompense of the wicked.
9For you have made the LORD, my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place.
10No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.
11For He will give His angels charge concerning you,
To guard you in all your ways.
12They will bear you up in their hands,
That you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13You will tread upon the lion and cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.
14"Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
15"He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16"With a long life I will satisfy him
And let him see My salvation."

Emerging Forward or Backward?

This is just in...a brand new article. Is the emerging church leading back to Rome? Those two words don't really go together, do they? Emerging backward? Well that's what's happening...Protestants who are experimenting with the eucharist are converting back to Catholicism. This is a must read here: http://www.pro-gospel.org/01/ea-036.php

Will the Real Mary Please Stand Up?

She has many different names and disguises…

The Queen of Heaven...

Queen of all...

Our Lady Guadalupe...

Our Lady Fatima...

Our Lady of Good Health...



She has friends in high places...
and secret connections.

She magically transports herself from heaven and appears now and then to her devoted worshippers and gives them special messages.

But are these messages consistent with what the Bible says?

Babylonian Moon?

First of all, let’s look at THIS.

It’s called the Monstrance, and it holds the eucharist wafer. It’s a sundial, with sunrays, the middle is round(like the moon?), and quite often on the top is a crown. It's an interesting fact that the sun and moon represent Babylonian gods.(Incidentally, Islam also has the sun and moon gods.) Could there be connection between Pagan sun worship and this eucharist monstrance?

Speaking of the sun and moon, many times you will see paintings or statues of Mary wearing a crown, or standing on a snake and what looks like the horns of a crescent moon(like at the bottom of this page). It’s interesting that the horns of a waxing crescent moon also have something to do with the astronomy of Babylon.

We'll get into this more tomorrow...

Joel's Army

This weekend in our city Joel's army is marching.
According to the Bible, is Joel's army a good thing or a bad thing?

Soaking Music

I recently discovered an unusual thing. Soaking music.
You can even buy a 'Catch the Fire Soaking Kit' here for 45 dollars.

The interesting thing is, it's not only Christians who are doing this spiritual soaking, but you can read the following link and find what the Christian soakers are saying about their practise:
http://www.living-light.net/soaking_prayer.htm

By the way, Todd Bentley has a soaking CD here. This is the decription:
"Is your life astonishing, filled with prophetic visions and encounters with the Lord? Are you a sign and a wonder? In a vision, Todd saw the Glory Cloud of Revelation--the cloud of Isaiah 11:1, 2 and Revelation 4:5 come upon the church body. Also in the same vision, the Lord showed him an old Punjabi saint by the name of Sundar Singh, who lived in India and evangelized throughout the world over a hundred years ago. The Holy Spirit spoke to Todd about a new release of prophetic revelation coming. In the first part of this prophetic teaching article, Todd teaches about the river of revelation available to every believer and the need for a life wholly dedicated, consecrated, and devoted to the Lord. Part 2 will examine the significance of Sundar Singh in Todd's vision, as an example of the extraordinary relationship God wants us to have with Him, a life of devotion, humility, daily discipline, contemplative prayer, and daily soaking in, and seeking of God's manifest presence. This style of Christian living will see us through the most violent shaking or trying times."

Hmmm...funny how contemplative prayer always shows up everywhere...

For more on soaking prayer, read last month's post about soaking here, and what Lighthouse Trails has to say about it here.

Megashift Bride to Be

Oh my…James Rutz of Megashift has a blog…
See for yourself his 'child bride' here.
By the way, there's a good post on Herescope about James Rutz here:
http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/06/clear-eyed-christ-centered-worldview.html

Sucked Up?

Lastnight as I was driving I turned on a Christian radio station and happened to hear a very interesting interview.
This man said he had been taken into heaven, and how he got 'sucked up' like a vacuum and found himself in a huge stadium. He’s not sure if he was in his body or out of his body, but he was in a huge football field where an army was playing, and the players were angels and demons. And he said God told him that He wants to release or unleash angels of healing but he is waiting for us…waiting for the church to work. He said there’s going to be lots of miracles everywhere and an army of Christians, and we need to make room for the anointing.
He also mentioned William Branham and some other names in charismatic circles that I didn’t recognize.

I was quite shocked as I know people who are involved in this man's ministry. The things he was saying in this interview strangely reminded me of James Rutz of Megashift who also talks about the unleashing of angels and miracles and armies of Christians and Rick Joyner. (Find out more about Megashift here: here)

This man being interviewed was Todd Bentley of Fresh Fire ministries, and I heard it here.

By the way, Todd Bentley is involved with Rick Joyner as well.

You know, it’s great to see people around the world coming to know the Lord through Fresh Fire ministries, but if the Bible tells us to examine everything, then we must examine everything. Tod Bentley may have been "sucked up", but we don't have to be sucked in.

Global Schools

What does the UN have to do with our kids?

Well, alot. We raise our kids to learn a biblical worldview(hopefully), bring them to church where they learn the truth(hopefully), and then our schools take them the rest of the time. For six hours a day, ten months a year. That's a lot of time. So what are they being taught there? It ain't just the three R's anymore. Now look at this and see what you think. This year the sixth grade students in our school district were being taught out of this text book:

Outlooks 6 - Global Citizens
Publication date: April 2000
DESCRIPTION
Global Views, Global Actions - part of the Outlooks Program
Chapter 2
The United Nations and You

The United Nations is an important link between countries in the global village. Because the UN is responsible for the Convention on the Right of the Child, it is especially important to young people. In this section, you can learn more about this organization.

Joining The Club
The UN is like a big club of countries. Countries who join the club agree to work towards certain goals. The main purpose of the UN is to prevent wars. The UN believes the best way to do this is to work towards three goals:
-to make sure that the basic human rights of all people are respected
-to help people from different cultures understand one another
-to work together to solve global problems such as poverty and environmental destruction
The Un believes that if all people were treated fairly and the earth’s resources were share equally, then people would have few reasons to fight.

(Picture of symbol)...
The symbol for the United Nations is the world seen from the North Pole. This is surrounded by olive branches, and ancient Greek symbol for peace. Why do you think the world is shown from the top?

(picture of UN building)...
The headquarters for the UN is in New York City in the United States. Although this site is in the US, the land is an international zone that is owned by all member countries. The UN also has offices in countries around the world.

The Rules
Members of the UN are expected to follow certain rules. In the UN Charter, these rules are written in legal language. If they were written for a kid’s club, though, they might look something like this:
-treat everyone as an equal
-work towards the goals
-no fighting
-no bullying
-once the club agrees to do something, help to make it happen
-don’t interfere with the private matters of club members

Think For Yourself
In a group, read the list of rules for member of the UN. Discuss...

Try This
Write the 3 goals of the UN in your own words. Give on example of how UNICEF works towards each goal. Then think of one thing you could do in your own life to work towards each goal...

Kids In Action
Some of the money for UNICEF’S projects comes from governments. Some comes from donations from individuals. Each Halloween Canadian young people raise approximately $4 million for UNICEF when they go trick-or-treating!

pg. 28 Think for Yourself
In a group, decide on the even most important rights from the Convention on the Rights of the child. List them in order, beginning with the most important.
You might find that people have different perspectives on this issue. If you can’t agree on all seven right, make more than one list. One list can show what you agree on, the other lists can show different ways people think the rights should be listed.

How to...Discuss Different Perspectives
Your perspective is the way you look at things. It includes what you know and your opinions. It’s another word for point of view. When people have different perspectives, a discussion can quickly turn into an argument!
When people discuss, they listen to the ideas of others and may learn more about the topic. When people argue, they usually listen only to themselves and don’t learn anything new. Here’s how to have a good discussion.
-Give everyone a chance to speak.
-Listen to what other people say and try to understand their ideas. Find out
the reasons they have for their opinions.
-Don’t make up your mind too quickly. If an idea seems interesting, ask for
more information.
-Express your own ideas and opinions. Give reasons for what you think.
-Look for a compromise-an idea that combines more than one perspective.
Picture:
Piece of cake(caption: Only cake!)beside a sandwich(caption: Only sandwiches!)
Below them, arrows point from cake and sandwich to:
Plate with cake and sandwich(caption: Some of each!)


Now am I mistaken or do I smell a Hegelian dialectic processed rat? Do we want our children writing essays on the universal peace making of the New Age United Nations? So what do you do about it? There are a few resources here, and there's always home school.

Tunnel Tour

This is a very cool thing. I'm sure this Western Wall Tunnel Tour would be a cool place to go on a hot summer day:
http://www.aish.com/seminars/tunnelTours/default.asp

By the way, continue to pray for the peace of Israel as organized terror increases.

Would They Believe?

Now even the world is getting into this story, and asking if Noah's ark has been found:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2133311&page=1
But even if it is Noahs ark, will men believe? Didn’t Jesus say that even if a man rises from the dead, people would not be persuaded? (Luke 16)

All About Mary

Here is that little article that Faith told me about(boldface emphasis mine):

Date: 2006-06-29

Mary a Meeting Point of Cultures, Says Muslim

Encourages Pilgrimages to Marian Shrines

ROME, JUNE 29, 2006 (Zenit.org).- An Egyptian Muslim and deputy director of a prominent Italian newspaper suggested that Mary could be the figure who brings Christians and Muslims together.

Magdi Allam of Il Corriere della Sera spoke to ZENIT about the appeal he launched in the pages of the national daily newspaper to Muslims living in Italy to visit the Marian shrines in their host country.

The journalist said that he is convinced that the Virgin Mary is a meeting point between Christians and Muslims.

"Mary is a figure present in the Koran, which dedicates an entire sura [chapter ed.n.] to her and mentions her some thirty times. In Muslim countries there are Marian shrines that are the object of veneration and pilgrimage by Christian and Muslim faithful," he said.

"Therefore, I believe that if this happens in Muslim countries, why can't it happen in a Christian country, especially in a historical phase in which we need to define symbols, values and figures that unite religions, spiritualities and cultures?" he asked.

In Allam's opinion, "the Marian pilgrimage of Loreto -- Italy's National Shrine -- could represent a moment of meeting and spiritual gathering between Muslims and Catholics, around Mary, a religious figure that is venerated by both religions."

Vittorio Messori, author of book-interviews with Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Benedict XVI), also wrote in Il Corriere della Sera on June 15 in support of Allam.

He said that the dialogue between Christians and Muslims "can begin afresh from Mary."

http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=917


Now, could Mary be the missing link? We've got the Catholics veneration of Mary, emergent Catholic wannabees, emerging environmentalism(mother earth worship), world leaders saying we all pray to the same God, ecumenical prayer breakfasts and interfaith this and that, and now the Muslims and Mary...hmmm...

But this is nothing new, in fact, it's old as the hills of Babylon...stay tuned for some old news...next week...

Visions of Mary

...and while we're on that topic...you know all those apparitions and visions of Mary lately...well, she seems to be saying some pretty wierd things...

In another message, Mary told the seers: “Tell this priest, tell everyone, that it is you who are divided on earth. The Muslims and the Orthodox, for the same reason as Catholics, are equal before my Son and I. You are all my children.”[23] Mary’s message of peace and unity is one that a distressed and perplexed world craves.
http://www.understandthetimes.org/queenofall.shtml

How many are going to receive these messages instead of receiving the love of the truth ?

Rome Emerging?

"I think the real story is both evangelicals and the mainline learning from Catholics." – Brian McLaren

“The emerging church is not shy about raiding the storehouses of the Roman Catholics, the Orthodox and the Anglicans for richer liturgies as well as prayer beads, icons, spiritual direction, lectio divina and a deeper sacramentality. The return to ancient faith and practice is increasingly seen as a way forward in churches polarized by worship wars and theological intransigence.Thus, emerging churches often characterize themselves as "ancient-future," “
http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=3093

Then there’s Nicky Gumbel and the Pope and Catholic Alpha...and Rick Warren on Catholicism(#37) and Purpose Driven Catholics.

Oh brother.

BUT...that's NOTHING!!! We haven’t even gotten to the real problem yet…
You see, it's who Rome's friends are...and it’s when these two religions kiss that there is a problem.

Hmmmm…something is wrong with this picture.

So...what’s really emerging? An ecumenical beast...who is going to make what the Catholics and Protestants have done to eachother look like a picnic in the park.

Ode to Weddings

I've seen alot of wedding photos this month...I love weddings...since June is the month of weddings, I thought this would be kind of a nice thing to think on...

Wedding charts:

http://www.ldolphin.org/wedding.html

http://www.ldolphin.org/risk/table.html

Purpose-gogues?

Have you heard about Purpose Driven synagogues?

(The review to that little speech to the Jewish people one week later is HERE.)

I guess Rick Warren’s way to salvation doesn't need Jesus(read #32 here).

If we don't need to mention the name of Jesus, why did the Paul go to the synagogues and try to get the Jewish people to believe that Jesus was the Messiah? Why did the disciples keep getting beaten and thrown in jail when they wouldn't stop talking about Jesus? They could have just gone the Rick Warren route and avoided all the trouble. They could have just talked about God and not mention 'that name'.

For Rick Warren not to mention the name of Jesus to the Jews is insane! He missed an incredible opportunity to show them from the scriptures that Jesus was who He said He was...the Messiah whom they missed. And for what? To help them get more numbers come to their "worship centers"?

"But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile" Rom 2:10

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
Rom 1:16

The Walking Wounded

Have you read these yet? The walking wounded are speaking out...read Voices from the Ruins Part 2 and Part 3

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7: 13, 14

“You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.” 1 John 4:1-5

Facts

I’m driven to put some more facts here on purpose:

* Number of churches that participated in a live simulcast of the book's launch in 2002: 1,500
* Number of copies sold since then: 20,000,000
* Number of copies donated to the Pentagon in September 2003: 40,000
* Number of languages in which The Purpose-Driven Life is licensed for publishing: 58
* Weeks spent on the New York Times bestseller list: over 100
* Number of churches that have done “40 Days of Purpose” study groups: 20,000
* Number of denominations represented by those churches: 80
* Attendance at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in Orange County, CA, each weekend: 20,000
* Total number of individuals on Saddleback Church's rolls: 80,000
* Government institutions that have conducted “40 Days of Purpose” study groups: U.S. Congress, U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and the U.S. Naval Academy
* Sports leagues that have held “40 Days of Purpose” study groups: National Football League (Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots), Major League Baseball (Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals), NASCAR, and the Professional Golfers' Association
(from: http://www.wie.org/j29/purpose-driven.asp)


Now these facts and statistics all sound very nice, but the fact is, Jesus said, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.
If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.
Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master ' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.” (John 15: 18-21)

When we choose Jesus, the fact is, we are to expect persecution, not popularity.

When Men Speak Well Of You

The Weekly Standard - “… clearly among the two or three most influential Americans working from the west coast.”

The Economist - “Rick Warren is arguably the most influential pastor in America.”

The Times (London) - “Business and political leaders across America are turning to Rick Warren for guidance.”

Forbes - “Were it a business, Saddleback Church would be compared with Dell, Google or Starbucks.”

ABC News - “The Purpose Driven Life is the epicenter of a spiritual shockwave taking root across America in unlikely places like offices and university campuses. It has become a movement.”

TIME - “Movie stars and political leaders aren't the only ones turning to Rick Warren for spiritual guidance. Millions of people – from NFL and LPGA players to corporate executives to high school students to prison inmates – meet regularly to discuss The Purpose Driven Life.”

"Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”
Luke 6:26

Noahs' Ark

Stephen Hawking recently said an interesting thing...that the survival of the human species depends on its ability to find new homes elsewhere in the universe. He figures that humans could have a permanent moon base in 20 years and a colony on Mars in 40 years and says...

"We won't find anywhere as nice as Earth unless we go to another star system..."
(http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060613/D8I7ADB81.html)

Now, I know Stephen Hawking is supposed to be super intelligent, but doesn’t it seem like the more educated a person gets, the more biased they become? They will almost say anything to promote their cause. Like this, for example: Hawking vs. Pope

Stephen Hawking is even going to write a children's book about the universe, aimed at the same age group as Harry Potter books. Oh goody goody…more brainwashing and fairytales for the kiddies…

Of course, Hawking is not the only intelligent person who believes in fairtytales, there are serious scientists talking about building a ‘Noah’s Ark’ on the moon incase life on earth is wiped out. See here:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3635972.stm

Those who study Bible prophecy however, believe that the real Noahs’ Ark was a type of rescue that points to the rapture of the church. We won’t be saved from God’s wrath by some spaced out base on a floating moon rock. Our only hope is by being ‘based’ on the solid rock, Jesus Christ.

And speaking of Noah’s Ark…have they actually found it? Read June 19th article called "This Is The Ark" here:
http://watch.org/showart.php3?idx=79950&rtn=/index.html&showsubj=1&mcat=1

Is this really the ark? See brand new pictures here:
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/secure/cwnetwork/article.php?&ArticleID=813

Graham Bell?

This is worrisome…Rob Bell, the next Billy Graham? Read about it here:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-nooma04.html

On the other hand, here’s what Lighthouse Trails has to say about that:
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/billygraham.htm

Church Planting

Do you want to plant a church that is an adrenaline pumped organic amoeba? Do you want a cutting edge congregation that will be left behind during the tribulation to witness the exciting time of Jacob’s trouble? Want to see how far your radical youth can go before accepting the mark of the beast?
Then, these materials are perfect for your new church plant! The easy part is that you don’t even need to read an archaic offensive Bible. Did you notice it’s not even on the list? If you want to start a New Age Contemplative Purpose Driven Pagan Emerging re-imagined open church or synagogue in your community, check out PD Planting, today! Don't wait. Get in the action now! And remember our slogan, 'It's almost time to be left behind'!
(sign up now today and get a free ticket to the Daniel and Revelation book burning bonfire summer family campout)

PD Planting website: http://www.pdplanting.com/free-resources/web-links/


(I can write my own satire too, you know. It's a free country...so far.)

Christian Reiki?

Can unholiness be transferred? Should you just let anyone on any “prayer team” lay hands on you or prophecy over you?

Remember the scapegoat? The uncleanness of Israel was transferred to it by the laying on of hands (Lev. 16:21-26). And what about all those instructions in Numbers and Leviticus about what the Israelites could and could not touch?

Regarding the laying on of hands today, we certainly need God’s wisdom, considering Paul’s warning to “Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure” (1 Tim. 5:22). Should you lay hands on someone you don’t know? Should you let just anyone lay hands on you? And if the person doing the praying is not ‘right with God’, can unholiness be transferred? With all the strange manifestations of the ‘spirit’ that we see today, we need to be very careful before we submit to the person who prays over us, making sure we know where they get their spiritual authority from. There are even some who claim to be Christian Reiki masters, healing with the powers of “the force” (energy, chi or prana).

Can we expect God’s protection if we hastily allow just anyone to lay hands on us? If you are not so sure, take a look at these (scary) things and then decide:

Holy laughter sound byte: HERE

Manifestation chart: HERE

For more sound bytes and video clips, go HERE

The 23rd Channel

I came accross this interesting little thing on a website I have since lost the link to. I liked it because I unplugged that square box in our living room from that hole in the wall nearly 3 years ago and haven't missed it. This is called The 23rd Channel from the Book of Second Delusions. Enjoy...

The TV set is my shepherd. My spiritual growth shall want.
It maketh me to sit down and do nothing for its name's sake because it requireth all my spare time.
It keepeth me from doing my duty as a Christian because it presenteth me with so many good shows that I must see.
It restoreth my knowledge of the things of the world and keepeth me from the study of God's Word.
It leadeth me in the paths of failing to attend the evening services and doing nothing in the kingdom of God.
Yes, though I live to be one hundred, I shall keep on viewing my TV as long as it shall work, for it is my closest companion. Its sounds and pictures comfort me.
It presenteth entertainment before me and keepeth me from doing important things with my family.
It filleth my head with ideas that differ from those set forth in the Word of God.
Surely no good things will come of my life, because my TV offereth me no good time to do the will of God; thus I will dwell in spiritual poverty all the days of my life.

Balanced Alpha Review

Once in a while you come accross a balanced biblical review of the latest popular book or thing that is going through the church. This is one of those...a balanced Alpha course review by one church - HERE (3 cheers for Australia!)

Fun?

"Imagine being with Jesus. What fun it would have been!"

"Think what fun it would have been to go to a party with Jesus."

"(A) party...This is a picture of the Christian life...Don't miss out on the party."

"[The} early Christians...had fun together."

- Nicky Gumbel

from - The Powers Behind the Alpha Course

Fun? Party? Give me a break...what kind of Christianity is Alpha talking about?

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." Galatians 2:20

"And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it." Luke 9:23,24