For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

Please Tell Me How Spiritual And Special I Am In My Sin

This might come as a bit of a shock to the Rip Van Winkles in nearly comatose American evangelicalism, but the more you invite Emerging Church Spiritual Guru Brian McLaren to teach at your functions, the more you give the media the very definite impression that Maharishi McLaren does speak for the American Christian Church.

Well, on second thought…considering the rampant apostasy in the Ecumenical Church of Deceit (ECoD) busy playing with their centered on the self “spiritual disciplines”…he actually does. As in the case of the text above, in its lust for unity at all cost$ and for increased number$, the ECoD has gathered for itself a whole hoard of semi-pelagian people-pleasing preachers.

O, and what an impressive array of human potential advocates we now have infecting the Church in America while they tickle its itching ears in telling them exactly what they already wanted to hear. Teachers of counterfeit Christianity such as Purpose Driven Pope Rick Warren, the Elvis of Emergent Rob Bell, whichever way the wind blows Dan Kimball, and lastly there’s “smile while you lie” Joel Osteen.

As an example why the Lord is removing/has removed lampstands from thousands of churches across this pagan nation our old friend Mike Clawson brings or our attention an article in the Washington Post (WP) featuring Roshi McLaren. You may remember that in A Conversation About the Emerging Church with Mike Clawson and Ken Silva I introduced Clawson to our readers.

Along with his wife Julie, Clawson is co-founder and co-pastor of the Emergent Church Via Christus Community Church and one who helped bring together the Midwest Emergent Gathering a while back, which featured Tony Jones, anti-theologian of the Emerging Church and his universalist pastor Doug Pagitt.

At his blog Clawson informs us, “The Washington Post just had an interview with Brian McLaren.” Not surprisingly Emerging Church co-pastor Clawson feels that Sensei McLaren “had a number of good responses” and that overall “Brian nailed it” (Online source). And this in contradistiction to immediate Emergent howls of profane protest whenever we in the Body of Christ dare to hint that Swami McLaren is a highly influential authority within the Emerging Church.

But sure enough the WP piece begins by telling readers:

Author Brian McLaren is among the most influential American religious thinkers of the last decade. His break with rigid orthodoxy and embrace of new worship styles is at the center of what is called the emerging church _ a movement that has gone viral. The emerging church reclaims ancient practices and prayers and creates new ones, while re-examining Scripture to learn how modern-day Christians should live.

Since no particular denomination is dominant in the view of McLaren and evangelical thinkers like him, their views have been embraced by a wide range of religious groups, including both conservative and liberal Protestants along with Roman Catholic congregations. (Online source)

Disciplines Of Deception Emerging Through Contemplative Mystisicism

Just drop the word “rigid” from before orthodoxy above and you’re in business. By the way, these “ancient practices” pushed by Kaisan McLaren, his friend Dallas Willard, and others in The Cult Of Guru Richard Foster, are alleged “spiritual disciplines”—more accurately stated as Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism—slithering into your churches under spurious Spiritual Formation: Just Say No.

Further deconstructing the idea of “re-examining Scripture,” make that: re-interpreting the Bible. In place of solid exegesis comes a highly subjective interpretation based on the “feelings” concerning what these Buddhist wannabes think they “hear” God say to them while in their “Christian” form of transcendental meditation sessions.

And as far as Guru McLaren’s double-speak, “I am [insert term here], and I am also not [insert same term here]” style of ear-itching, right now I feel that the Jesus he claims to follow is saying to him:

“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets… [You] are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to [you].” (Luke 6:26, 1 John 4:5).

For those who can handle the Truth let me tell you that Bob DeWaay already used the Bible to thoroughly demolish these disciplines in his scholarly article The Dangers of Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Disciplines. And in the Apprising Ministries piece Brian McLaren: Speaking for Satan I have already showed you the actual serpentine source behind Spiritual Director McLaren’s message of man-love from Holy Scripture.