Danger Signs Of Emerging Church Revealed

It is apparent to me after reading countless books published by mainline publishers on the subject of the emerging church movement that there are two underlying common denominators.

First, it is apparent that the “new kind of Christian” that is being groomed by emergent teachings is being conditioned to accept, embrace and promote a “new mysticism” under the banner of spiritual formation. However, the so-called spiritual disciplines that are promoted as part of this spiritual formation are not new. They are the same methods and techniques that have seduced the masses since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden.

Second, the teachings and beliefs of Roman Catholic mystics who embraced eastern mysticism in the past are being reintroduced, and for many, are taking precedence over the Word of God. The onslaught of ideas promoted by these Roman Catholic mystics is staggering. Why is this so? Is it possible many are being seduced and don’t realize what is happening? Why can people not see the Roman Catholic connection? Have they been blinded?

For example, in a section of The Lost Virtue of Happiness: Discovering The Disciplines of The Good Life, Moreland and Issler provide tips for “developing ongoing prayer.” Here are some of the points they made:

• We recommend that you begin by saying the Jesus Prayer about three hundred times a day. [6]

• When you first awaken, say the Jesus Prayer twenty to thirty times. As you do, something will begin to happen to you. God will begin to slowly occupy the center of your attention. [7]

• Repetitive use of the Jesus Prayer while doing more focused things allows God to be on the boundaries of your mind and forms the habit of being gently in contact with him all day long. [8]

You don’t have to be Bible scholar to understand that repetitive prayers designed to get one into a state of consciousness in order to bring one closer to God, is not in the Word of God.

Further, Moreland and Issler attempt to justify their case for the practice of repetitive prayer in their book, claiming that such a “spiritual discipline” is biblically and historically valid. Encouraging the unsuspecting reader to be at ease, they say:

Now, before you role your eyes in disbelief, hang in there with me. Derived from Luke 18:38, the Jesus Prayer has had a powerful impact on people at various times in church history. [9] And while it comes in different forms, the wording we prefer is “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me!” If you take up the challenge, I think you’ll see some remarkable results. [10]

Then, attempting to add more convincing biblical grounds to place a seal of approval on such antibiblical practice to get closer to God, Moreland and Issler stated:

You may be thinking that repeating a prayer over and over again violates Jesus’ warning, “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition [do not keep on babbling, NIV] as the gentiles do, for they suppose they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:7, NASB). On the contrary, the use of repetitive prayer as a spiritual training exercise does not fall under this prohibition.  As New Testament scholar Don Carson said, Jesus is not forbidding all long prayers or all repetition. He himself prayed at length (Luke :12), repeated himself in prayer (Matt 26:14), and told a parable to show His disciples that “they should always pray and not give up” (Luke :12). His point is that His disciples should avoid meaningless, repetitive prayers offered under the misconception that mere length will make prayers efficacious. [11]

This apologetic, if it was written by J.P. Moreland who is a well known apologist, justifying mindless repetitive short word prayers verses long prayers is difficult for me to accept. This would mean that for centuries Christians who have spoken out against the very thing the authors are promoting were mindless fools. This is just too much to accept.

I have been to the country of Myanmar (formerly called Burma) twice. On both occasions I observed (and have video footage) of both Roman Catholics and Buddhists practicing the spiritual principle of repetitive prayer. By the way, in both cases they were chanting these prayers over and over again while they were counting beads. Yes, Roman Catholics and Buddhists both have a “rosary” technique to keep track of how many times they have chanted a prayer.

I have also taken the time to interview Roman Catholics and Buddhists in the country of Myanmar. I have asked them what they are doing and why they are doing this. Each time that I have asked this question I have been told the same thing. It is a way to concentrate and focus their thoughts and get in tune with the spirit world.

One of the main indicators that something has changed can be seen in the way the future is perceived. Rather than urgently proclaiming the gospel according to the Scriptures and believing the time to do so is short, the emphasis has now shifted. No longer are “signs of the times” significant. The battle cry is very different. A major emphasis among evangelicals is the idea that the world can be radically improved through social programs.

This concept, while on the surface may sound very good, has some serious biblical implications. According to the Scriptures, there will be no kingdom of God until the King arrives. All the human effort man can muster up will fall short of bringing utopia. In fact, according to the Scriptures, fallen man will lead us further down the road to a society of despair and lawlessness just like it was in the days of Noah.

Thus, this purpose-driven view of establishing global utopia may be a plan, but it is “driven” by humanistic reasoning and not led by the Holy Spirit. While it is of course good to do good unto others, all the goodness that we can do will not be good enough. Pastors and church leaders who get involved in such man-driven programs can usually be identified by certain characteristics:

• Sound biblical doctrine is dangerous and divisive, and the experiential (i.e.,mystical) is given a greater role than doctrine.

• Bible prophecy is no longer taught and is considered a waste of time

• Israel becomes less and less important and has no biblical significance

• Eventually the promises for Israel are applied to the church and not Israel (Replacement Theology).

• Bible study is replaced by studying someone’s book and his methods

• Church health is evaluated on the quantity of people who attend.

• The truth of God’s Word becomes less and less important

• God’s Word, especially concepts like hell, sin and repentance, is eventually downplayed so the unbeliever is not offended.

Source – Understandthetimes.org