Greetings once again!
Amidst working through more emails, we have received some very encouraging letters and also some very sad ones too. Periodically people will share their own stories about how their churches are embracing contemplative spirituallity, New Age mystical techniques, yoga, etc.
People also share about how their church leadership frowns upon them as they ask why the church is not teaching the Bible, but instead Rick Warren's book.
We have recently posted more articles regarding these dangers of these things at our SRN Blog and our Contemplative Emerging Church deception Blog.
These two articles below help to shed a bit of light on what Bible believers are up against nowadays!
pseudodidaskaloi' - The Cut & Paste Hermeneutics Of Rick Warren
by Jacob Prasch, Moriel Ministries, 12/14/06
BIBLE BUTCHERY - How To Make God’s Word Say Whatever You Like And Ignore What God Said It Actually Says - The Cut & Paste Hermeneutics Of Rick Warren and The Gnostic Interpretation Of The Parables By Brian Maclaren & Peter Tsukahirawww.moriel.org/articles/discernment/church_issues/pseudodidaskaloi.htmemerging church
How to Know When the Emerging Church Shows Signs of Emerging in Your Church
http://www.understandthetimes.org/commentary/c54.shtml
I have also received correspondence from Christian who have gotten into alternative therapies, new age healing, and Kundalini [yoga] arousal, contemplative meditation, etc. Although these people are Christians, their lives have been dramatically affected by occult influences. This ought not to be.
Sadly, many leaders in churches nowadays are "doing church" by integrating Gnostic mysticism and ancient rituals into church services. These include but are not limited to utilizing mantras, praying with crystals, centering prayer, visiaulizing Jesus [which one?], incense, candles, venerating images and icons, walking labyrinths, etc.
A simple reading of Jeremaih chapter 7 and 8 reveals what our Holy God thinks about mixing pagan religious practices with the worship of the One true God - Jehovah - Jesus Christ!
Beware friends, New Age Gnosticicm and Ancient Mysticism re-labeled for Christians is not of the God of Holy Scripture! We understand that post-modern leaders want to reach out to poeple, but this is Christian chicanery - artful subterfuge, Trojan Horsism, masquerading as "true worship".