A
perfect example of what Ray Yungen calls the "creeping"
effect. Little by little, in subtle and not so subtle ways, we
are being conditioned to believe that all paths lead to God. The
origin of such heresy ... it began with Lucifer who said "I
will be like the most High."
On Yoga: "[Y]oga
is really just about stretching and slowing down. Sure, yoga,
I suppose, could focus on Hindi or Buddhist gods or something
- but it can also focus on Christ. We received a couple stomping-mad
complaints about the yoga at the National Pastors Convention,
saying 'putting your body in those positions invites Hindi
gods to enter your body.' I'm sorry - this just sounds like
heresy to me. If we don't believe Hindi gods actually exist,
then why are we concerned about them entering our bodies?"—A
response to the charge that YS is embracing eastern religion by Mark Oestreicher
On Eastern
Religion: "Christianity
IS an eastern religion. It has all its roots in the East!
It's a bit baffling to me that people lose sight of this,
and insist on creating a false separation between eastern
religions and (apparently) western Christianity.—A
response to the charge that YS is embracing eastern religion by Mark Oestreicher
On Contemplative Prayer: "If
a Buddhist is using a breathing exercise to bring some peace
to her life, well, bless her. But that should have no bearing
on whether or not I choose to focus on my God-created breath."—A
response to the charge that YS is embracing eastern religion by Mark Oestreicher
"On
saying words over and over again:
well that sure is taken out of context. It's not like we would
suggest someone grab any word ('Tree!' 'Towel!' 'Beer!') and
chant it over and over again-which is her implication. There
is a wonderful spiritual practice, however, of repeating a
phrase from the Bible and seeing what God reveals to you about
it (or about Him, or about you). It's prayer: not a chant.—A
response to the charge that YS is embracing eastern religion by Mark Oestreicher
Also
see Youth Specialties Featured Book: The Sacred Way by Tony Jones
Labyrinths,
centering prayer, icons, stations of the cross, the sign of
the cross,the Jesus Prayer
Youth
Specialties Recommends a book by Maggie & Duffy Robbins
.... Enjoy
the Silence. But did you know that Maggie was trained at
the pro-contemplative, pro Eastern mediation, Kairos
School of Spiritual Formation?
A
supplemental reading list for Kairos School includes the following
authors: David
Steindl-Rast, Thomas Keating and
Morton Kelsey, all of whom are interspiritual contemplatives.
An excerpt:
"I built myself a prayer room—a tiny sanctuary in a basement
closet filled with books on spiritual disciplines, contemplative
prayer, and Christian mysticism. In that space I lit candles,
burned incense, hung rosaries, and listened to tapes of Benedictine
monks. I meditated for hours on
words, images, and sounds. I reached the point of being able to
achieve alpha brain patterns..."
Youth
Specialties Goes All Out For Contemplative Prayer
Youth
Specialties magazine Youth Worker,
in this
month's issue (November 2004)— Yes they are promoting mantra-style meditation.Youth
Specialties is a growing leader in discipleship training for youth
workers and youth pastors. YS also sponsors the well attended National
Pastor's Convention.
But
did you know that Youth Specialties promotes and teaches contemplative
prayer and the silence?
In the May 2003 Youth Specialties Update, they suggest their
readers go to this web site - ALTERNATIVE
WORSHIP.
See
What Is Being Promoted Meditations,
incantations, chants, guided
fantasies, incense,
holding stones*
"It's
Sunday just after 5 P.M. in the youth room. Seven adults are
sitting around a 'Christ-candle' in the youth room. There
is no talking, no laughter. For 10 minutes, the only noise
is the sound of their breathing ... now it's 7 p.m. ... one
hour into the night's youth group gathering. There are 18
seniorhighers and five adults sitting in a candlelit sanctuary.
A gold cross stands on a table . They're chanting the 'Jesus
Prayer', an ancient meditative practice." (taken from the July/August 1999 issue of Group
Magazine - a leading resource magazine for Christian
youth leaders)
Click
here to Read an
Excerpt of A Time of Departing as Ray Yungen
discusses Youth Specialties.
The truth
about the emerging church ... what the others don't tell you. Faith
Undone. Find out
what really lies beneath the surface in the movement that is bringing apostasy into the church at an alarming speed.
The modern
day contemplative prayer movement that has now infiltrated churches and
organizations everywhere. If your pastor has a copy of Celebration
of Discipline by Richard Foster sitting
on his book shelf, then you need to read this book.
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 often wrapped
in Christian terminology. The premise of contemplative spirituality
is pantheistic (God is all) and panentheistic (God is in all). Common
terms used for this movement are "spiritual formation," "the
silence," "the stillness," "ancient-wisdom,"
"spiritual disciplines," and many others.
"Nor
is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name [Jesus
Christ] under heaven
given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4: 12
