“In est [Erhard Seminars Training] training…you are God…Therefore you cannot look to any supreme being for any special treatment, goodness, or reward.” (Est, Four Days to Make Your Life Work, by William Greene p. 131)
Est was sold to Erhard’s brother and made more palatable as the Landmark Forum.
See: Landmark Forum and Scientology
"The final drive of the weekend is heavily steeped in Zen. All we have is the now. We are only responsible for ourselves. Life is meaningless…"
James Sundquist sent us his research in concision for this archive on the author and speaker, Richard Foster. This is another topic for Christians, as Richard Foster is a very popular Christian author, featured in many church book parlors. Why the concern? We are called in the Bible, to "examine all things carefully" in light of Scripture, not popular fads within nominial Christianity. The following compilation exposes teachings from Foster and affiliations which contradict what the Bible teaches in the light of God’s Word. (For more information augmenting the teachings of Richard Foster as extra-biblical at best, please peruse the "Contemplative Prayer" category in this archive of Articles.)
We have a facet of apologetics to Christians entitled "LTW in Church". This category would certainly fit that facet of ministry, as many Christians (including myself) have been blessed by Bible studies by Beth Moore. No doubt, she has a gift for teaching. However, her biblical discernment has been questioned in recent years due to her circuitous endorsement of contemplative prayer. The following research links explain.
William P. Young’s fictional novel "The Shack is still the #1 NY Times Bestseller, 36 weeks running, over 6 million in print."[http://windblownmedia.com/]
However, THE SHACK is filled with New Age teaching, and pagan occult ideas that undermine the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (Click here to see our SRN ‘The Shack’ archive page.)
Deep Concern For Those Being Influenced By The Shack
This book is being used by many Christians as an evangelism tool and of late we have heard that it is being used as a Bible Study tool for a local church nearby.
Sadly, several Calvary Chapel ministers [have endorsed], and many, many more in other fellowships and denominations, are not speaking out against this false teaching, and many are willing to carry the book in their bookstores. Some churches are even allowing William P. Young, the author, to come speak at their churches.
From a biblical perspective as well as a former Calvary Pastor myself, I believe most Calvary Pastors would caution against endorsing or promoting this book, let alone using it to ‘teach us about God and Jesus’. I caution people regularly about this book and the false Gospel and occult teachings that it conveys.
To note, ‘Papa‘, the rolereversal female illustration for God the Father, is actually…. "Papa: The Goddess of Nature and the Hawaiian Goddess of the Divine Feminine and Magnetism"
ARTICLES AND BOOK REVIEWS EXPOSING PAGAN, NEW AGE AND OCCULT TEACHINGS IN THE SHACK
William P. Young’s fictional novel "The Shack is still the #1 NY Times Bestseller, 36 weeks running, over 6 million in print."[http://windblownmedia.com/]
However, THE SHACK is filled with New Age teaching, and pagan occult ideas that undermine the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (Click here to see our SRN ‘The Shack’ archive page.)
Deep Concern For Those Being Influenced By The Shack
This book is being used by many Christians as an evangelism tool and of late we have heard that it is being used as a Bible Study tool for a local church nearby.
Sadly, several Calvary Chapel ministers [have endorsed], and many, many more in other fellowships and denominations, are not speaking out against this false teaching, and many are willing to carry the book in their bookstores. Some churches are even allowing William P. Young, the author, to come speak at their churches.
From a biblical perspective as well as a former Calvary Pastor myself, I believe most Calvary Pastors would caution against endorsing or promoting this book, let alone using it to ‘teach us about God and Jesus’. I caution people regularly about this book and the false Gospel and occult teachings that it conveys.
To note, ‘Papa‘, the rolereversal female illustration for God the Father, is actually…. "Papa: The Goddess of Nature and the Hawaiian Goddess of the Divine Feminine and Magnetism"…
As we have seen in previous posts, Redeemer Church in New York city, with Tim Keller as pastor, has prayer resources that endorse the Catholic mystics and their way of doing prayer. The church web site even has the book Sacred Companions by David Benner listed on the bottom of the page that gives the instructions on how to practice Lectio Divina. Those methods are said to bring a person to a more intimate experience with God. Yet, there is no such teaching in God’s Word for us to do those things. Much of what passes as Spiritual Formation that includes the Catholic mystics and their methods are things taken from Eastern religions and the occult. Spiritual Formation is ecumenical in that all the religions of the world practice different forms of mysticism and meditation. God forbids us to have anything to do with the occult and He forbids us to copy the world’s false religions.
Acts 29 Network is part of the Emerging Church. Mark Driscoll, who is the pastor of Mars Hill church is also the president of Acts 29 and Scott Thomas is the director. On the surface, there are many good things about Acts 29 Network, but there are many concerns also. The Network has a reputation for being culturally liberal. God’s Word tells us that Christians are in this world, but to not be of it. We are to be holy and set apart for the LORD and to have lives that are very different than the world. We are not to be a copy of what is happening in the culture of the world since the world lies in darkness. Many of the churches under the Acts 29 Network are pro contemplative prayer, pro Catholic mystics, and pro spiritual formation. Village Church with Matt Chandler as the pastor is an example of such a church. It is also part of the Acts 29 Network.
In 1874, a Baptist minister named Robert Lowry penned one of the most stirring hymns to ever exalt the resurrection of Jesus Christ–"Low in the Grave He Lay." Notice how these verses contrast the impotence of death and suffering with the resurrection power of Christ:
Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior;
Waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!
Vainly they watch His bed, Jesus my Savior;
Vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!
Death cannot keep its Prey, Jesus my Savior;
He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!
These verses were compiled by my mother, Claudette Litz, and (though she did not want any attention for this) she took the list to people in nursing homes as an outreach to them today. She said it was really sweet offering these people, in the three nursing homes where she visits monthly in the Knoxville, TN, area, to show love to the residents, read them the Bible and tell them about Jesus. I can’t thank God enough for a mother like mine.
The main focus of Christianity is Jesus Christ, while in Islam the main focus is Allah and the revelation given by Mohammad, the Quran. Though Jesus, called Isa, is part of the Quran, his role is one of being just a prophet, not the Son of God; he is one of many messengers or apostles. Mohammad is the "seal of the prophets". The Jesus of the Bible and Jesus of Islam are two distinct persons, though they seem similar. For some this might sound like an odd statement, but lets examine why its not. Since both Islam and Christianity accept Jesus as an actual person who lived, the person Jesus would have distinct aspects of his life. Since there was only one Jesus, contradictions between the Jesus of Islam and the Jesus of the Bible cannot be reconciled, since some of these contradictions are diametrically opposed to each other. The chart below illustrates some of these obvious differences, which clearly cannot be reconciled. Jesus cannot be the "Son of God" and not be the "Son of God". He could not die on the cross, and not die on the cross.
