There is a rhythm to life. We find it in the ocean tides, in the rising and setting of the sun, in the beating of our hearts. And there is a rhythm of God—a rhythm that encompasses life, both the life we can readily see and the unseen life of the spirit. The rhythm of God beckons us, guides us, and dwells in us.

When we discover the rhythm of God, we find the heart of God, the dreams of God, the will of God. As those who are created in the image of God, we are endowed with this rhythm. We can find it, step into it, and live in it. This is the kingdom of God—to live in sync with the rhythm of God. (Doug Pagitt and Kathryn Prill, Body Prayer, 127)

If you’ve wondered why people like Dr. John MacArthur refer to Emergent Church spokesman Doug Pagitt as a universalist the above should help you see why. The Bible tells us that mankind, all human beings, are “created in the image of God.” It now appears that Pagitt and Prill are right in line with mystics of all stripes who believe that through Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism all human beings “can find [the rhythm of God], step into it, and live in it.”

And now as we think this quote through you’ll see that it is a universal statement which would be true of every single human being. This is because we are all “created in the image of God”; so if, “to live in sync with the rhythm of God” really is “the kingdom of God,” then according to Pagitt and Prill all of mankind would be capable of tapping into this inherent “rhythm of God”—whether they are in Christ or not—because as human beings they all “are endowed with this rhythm,” which supposedly “dwells in us.”

Serious problems with this kind of universal theology and especially when one considers the following from Pagitt and Prill. The prayer below appears to be a denial of the Bodily Resurrection of Christ and even seems to hint at a belief in some kind of quasi-reincarnation:

Jesus was not resurrected to what he was,
But was re-created into something new, the risen, glorified Christ.(Body Prayer, 52)

See also:

DOUG PAGITT: AFTER DEATH NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BELIEVER AND UNBELIEVER

DOUG PAGITT: THE EMERGENT CHURCH IS A CALL TO FRIENDSHIP WITH THE WORLD

DOUG PAGITT AND THE CULT OF THE EMERGENT CHURCH

UNDERSTANDING THE NEW SPIRITUALITY: GOD INDWELLS MANKIND