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BE
STILL DVD and Psalm 46:10:
Scripture Misused to Fit Contemplative Ideas
The
Be Still DVD
by Fox Home Entertainment was released in April, 2006.
See our complete research on this
DVD. For more information on this infomercial for contemplative
prayer, presented by top Christian leaders: Max Lucado, Beth Moore,
Richard Foster, Dallas Willard and others.
See
the official
Be Still DVD site,
and listen to the speakers.
Psalm
46:10:
Scripture Misused to Fit Contemplative Ideas
Many
are saying that Psalm 46:10 supports the practice of contemplative
prayer and the silence.
Is that true?
But
What Does Psalm 46:10 Really Mean?
"Be
still, and know that I am God . . ." (Ps. 46:10). Those promoting
contemplative or "listening" prayer point to this Scripture
for endorsement. Generally, contemplatives advocate quiet meditation
as a means to experience soul to soul communication with God.
Influential Christian leaders now encourage contemplation as
a way to obtain "God's guidance in everyday life." At face value,
Psalm 46 verse 10 appears to endorse this mystical way to pray."
Read Be Still: Some Thoughts on Psalms 46:10
by Pastor Larry DeBruyn
Question:
What does New Ager Deepak Chopra
have to say about Psalm 46:10?
In
an interview with Larry King,
Chopra discusses Psalm 46:10:
KING:
What's the first step toward knowing him [God], or her or it?
CHOPRA:
The first step is the ability to sit down quietly, close your
eyes and do nothing and listen to the silence within you. As
the Bible says, "Be still and know that I am God," which
literally means if you go in the gap within your thoughts, which
is the window to your soul, you start to eavesdrop on the cosmic
mind.
KING:
That's an Eastern concept. But how do you to that when so many
things get in the way?
CHOPRA:
You just have to sit down and take the time, and if you do it
on a regular basis, it becomes very profound. It's a learned
ability. I taught my children to do this when they were 4 years
of age. And they have been actually extraordinary children because
they were grounded and centered from age 4 onwards. See Entire
Interview based on Chopra's book, How to Know God.
Elijah's
Mt. Horeb experience, when he heard "a sound of sheer silence"
(1 Kings 19:12, NRSV), stimulated in the church a tradition of
desert spirituality which pursues solitude in order to experience
the divine. Practitioners of lectio divina (i.e., reading sacred
things) also desire such encounters. They say: "When we read the
Scriptures we should try to imitate the prophet Elijah. We should
allow ourselves to become women and men who are able to listen
for the still, small voice of God (I Kings 19:12); the 'faint
murmuring sound' which is God's word for us, God's voice touching
our hearts. This gentle listening is an 'atunement' to the presence
of God . . . ."[1] About Elijah's experience of hearing God's
"still small voice" (KJV, NKJV) questions arise. Does 1 Kings
19:20 endorse contemplative spirituality? Was the prophet's encounter
with God in the cave on Mt. Horeb/Sinai a mystical "atunement"?
Read
entire artice, A Still Small Voice
Be
Still ... Not Contemplative By Any Means
Pastor Joel Curry
Oak Park Church, Winona Lake, IN
"Psalm
46 deals with the choices we have before us in times of difficulty.
It is not a call for a contemplative life, but a challenge to
depend entirely on God, His sovereignty, His power, His love,
and His care.
"In
times of difficulty, one of my first impulses is to take matters
into my own hands—try to figure out what needs to be done
and then get busy and do it. There certainly are times God wants
us to get up act boldly and decisively to deal with difficulties,
within the guidelines of making good and righteous decisions,
of course. And there are also times when the right decision is
to stop trying to solve the problem and to sit down and let Him
do the work and determine the timing. Those often are the situations
where no matter how hard we try, all we can do is to make it worse.
Usually, that's when we have to admit our motivations are vengeance,
selfishness, reactions to anger, etc. Often, when it is the hardest
to be still and depend on Him, that's when we should do just that.
"Psalm 46:10 can be misunderstood and misinterpreted. The
Hebrew term translated 'be still' in many modern English translations
means to 'abandon, relax, stop striving.' It pictures a soldier
who puts down his weapons, stops fighting, and lets down his defenses,
because the danger has passed.
"Verse
10 is not calling on us to live a contemplative, passive life,
but to take a very active step of faith! God is so dependable
that it is as though the danger we still see has already passed,
because He has already solved the problem. The verse doesn't just
tell us to cease striving. It also tells us to know that He is
God. That includes the ideas of acknowledging that He is God:
that He is great above my understanding; that He is sovereign
and perfect in how He deals with me; that nothing escapes His
notice and nothing is beyond His ability." Pastor
Joel Curry Oak Park Church, Winona Lake, IN
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