There is a movement going on inside the bowels of Christianity. It is a spiritual deception of great; a plague of biblical proportions, with far-reaching consequences that I fear is the Matthew reference that will “deceive, if possible, even the elect.” Satan attempted the first time to prevent the coming of Jesus, our Messiah, by trying to curse the bloodline through ancestral-sin, and when that didn’t work, he’s had to try to curse the spiritual bloodline through deceptive spirituality to try to prevent Christ from claiming that which he paid for.

I’m speaking about the contemplative spirituality movement, a.k.a the New Age movement, the emerging church, spiritual formation, the “silence”, the “stillness”, “ancient wisdom”, “spiritual disciplines”, a new kind of Christian, holistic spirituality, meditation- several guises that mean the same thing. In fact, Lighthouse Trails, an organization that exists to shed light into this spiritual deception, shares at least 32 names that this practice might otherwise be known- Lectio Devina, Yoga, Centering Prayer, Labyrinths, Breathing Prayer- the list goes on. Warning us about this coming deception, the book of Acts tells us, “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”

Touted by leading “evangelical” leaders, leaders of other religions, and secularists of all kinds, this Not-So-New Age deception is spreading like a wildfire in its attempts to rectify all religions and bring them under a unilateral doctrine, or interspirituality, teaching, both pantheism (God IS all things) and panentheism (God is IN all things), thus nullifying the necessity of the Cross.

The definition of “contemplative spirituality” is: “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.”- Lighthouse Trails

The definition of “spiritual formation” is: “A movement that has provided a platform ad a channel through which contemplative prayer is entering the church. Find spiritual formation being used, and in nearly every case, you will find contemplative spirituality. In fact, contemplative spirituality is the heartbeat of the spiritual formation movement.”- Lighthouse Trails

Finding its roots in Buddhism, Hinduism, and previous Gnostic religions, and garnering new enthusiasm throughout the Catholic Church, it has begun spreading through evangelical churches at an alarming rate. These “New Age” or emerging church pastors feel that Christianity as we know it just isn’t cutting it, so they cut it. In Brian McLaren’s book, ‘A New Kind of Christian’, as in so many other similar books, our sinful nature is deemphasized, any idea of Hell is cast away, therefore, negating the reason for which our Savior came.

To quote a postmodern pastor, who sums up this new theology quite well, “I do believe that 20 years from now, a large portion of the modern (evangelical) movement is going to wake up and go, “Where did everybody go?” This is the contemplative mantra- change or die. The old way of “doing Christianity” is not working. Corporate, Christian teachings of old- the Bible as the infallible, inerrant word of God- unchanging and undaunted by time, that there is, within man, a sin nature, and without the sacrifice of Christ, we would be eternally separated from God, and the locale for our rejection of and failure to believe in the sacrifice made at Calvary by a sin-less man, God in the flesh, the one and only Jesus the Christ, is that fiery get-away known as Hell. There is no escaping it if you are not declared righteous through the blood of Christ, “not by works lest no man should boast.”

Practitioners argue that “prayer as usual” is not good enough, nor will it allow you to experience the full power of this “god”, and encourage the seeker to simply “fill in the blank” when praying to their preferred spirit, kind of like an A.A meeting. This practice is known as “contemplative prayer” or “centering prayer.” One need only find a quiet spot where they can be alone and can begin this process. You begin by taking in deep, repetitive breaths, and begin reciting, or chanting a word or phrase that will help you in your “centering” attempts. We all can conjure up images of monks in traditional attire, high upon their mountains, eyes rolled back in their head, hands upright, meeting together just in front of their face as they repeat over and over, “Ohmmm, ohmmmmm.” This is the central teaching of this prayer practice. The Lord exhorts us in the book of Matthew, “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathens do.” Those who practice Lectio Devina read portions of their holy scripture, out loud, in a 4-part, repetitious manner- reading, reflecting, expressing, and resting, so as to fully experience their god. Realize that while it may sound innocent enough, it completely refutes the deity of God- the Lord of the Bible.

Often you will find “emergent” churches that emphasize missional and relational ministries, that use scripture more as a lovely poem and wonderful guideline for how to live out relative moral doctrine- be kind to others, the Golden Rule, help the poor, the orphans, and the widows, very important, yet surface area of scripture, while avoiding harsher, more polarizing themes of sexual immorality, homosexuality, abortion, and politics, and using stories and parables from scripture as illustration of an abstract point, and refusing to teach gospel truths- prophecy, sin, judgment, consequences, our need for a savior, the Trinity, and the eventual, and imminent return of Jesus Christ to judge the world and establish his Kingdom.

I have personally been amazed and shocked at the number of people associated with the contemplative movement. I have quickly learned that, many who I thought would never be involved, are really in deep. This is not just a fringe of religious fanatics incorporating these practices into their teaching, rather it is quite mainstream and is transforming the face of Christianity.

Representatives speaking out against this last-days apostasy addressed the New Age movement by saying that if we are really holding true to Truth, biblical guidelines and rules, God-driven morality, and staying faithful to Jesus, we, as the church, would not need to reinvent ourselves to “attract” people, rather the Holy Spirit would be able to do His best work in bringing in the people. Tell this to Rick Warren, author of ‘The Purpose-Driven Life’, who actually prayed in the name of “Isa”, the Muslim false “Jesus” at the inauguration, or to William P. Young, author of “The Shack”, which teaches, again that God is in, around, and through all things. Oprah is a leading proponent of this movement with her suggestions and courses through apostate books such as “The Secret”, “A New Earth”, and “A Course in Miracles,” which teaches that the crucified Jesus is nonsense because we have no sin from which to be redeemed. Another leading “false prophet” is Rob Bell, author of ‘Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith’ and creator of a largely popular series of films called “NOOMA”. As quoted in ‘The Eastern Mystique’, Rob Bell reveals, “We’re rediscovering Christianity as an Eastern religion, as a way of life.” This is the essence of this “doctrine of devils.” He sits at the feet of, gleans from, and oft quotes Ken Wilbur, who runs an extremely sexualized, New Age mysticism, voodoo website and ministry. Even more scary and troublesome are the amount of pastors and church leaders who are promoting this unknowingly, through book recommendations or through bible studies. Even the renowned The Navigators ministry has been infected.  Women’s devotional leader, Beth Moore, and popular author Max Lucado, came out in support of the Be Still DVD, which advocates for contemplative prayer and spirituality.

I’m sending out a S.O.S to all Christians! Scripture addresses this very topic in the book of Zephaniah when the Lord tells us He will “cut off from this place (the world)…those who bow down and worship the Lord and who also swear by Molech (represented by pagan religions).” This form of worship is known as “syncretism,” which is defined “as reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief, as in philosophy or religion.” And practitioners are promised in the Word of God that they will be swept away from the earth in God’s judgment! We are also warned that in the last days people will give heed to “seducing spirits” and “doctrines of devils”, again, “deceiving the elect.”  Beware of this yeast, which affects the whole bunch. “Be clever as snakes and as innocent as doves” while walking through these last days, wise and discerning, always testing the spirits to see if they are from the one and only God.

A very useful, important, and discerning website on this topic: www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com

A must-see video on the topic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z6jAXuSaYI&feature=related. It takes about an hour to watch, but is well worth the time.

Other discernment ministries: Apprising Ministries- www.apprising.org

                                                     Discerning the World- www.discerningtheworld.com

                                                     Dr. Gary Gilley