For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4, NASB)

They’re Here; And Without The Authority Of The Bible, You’re Helpless To Stop Them

Apprising Ministries has been doing what we can to send you clear warning concerning the grave danger of kicking out Sola Scriptura in favor of highly subjective [i.e. feelings-oriented] Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism. And if you don’t think this is happening, then I admonish you to make the time to actually look at the links within Disciplines To Deception In Southern Baptist Convention. Because there you will see that this spurious CSM is now being taught by entire State Conventions (SC) of the Slowly Becoming Catholic.

I am not talking about individual churches, there it’s likely even worse in many cases, but SBC State Conventions themselves are openly using the Counter Reformation CSM of Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster. For a quick example, we point you to a source paper called Spiritual Disciplines: Pathway to Christian Maturity (SDPCM) from the Georgia Baptist Convention (SBC). You can find SDPCM e.g. under Discipleship Resources of the State Board of Missions of the Alabama Baptist Convention (SBC) right here.

It opens with a quote from Foster’s magnum opus of spurious spirituality, which Dr. Gary Gilley correctly called a virtual encyclopedia of theological error. Also in SDPCM we’re pointed to so-called “Brother” Lawrence as an example of proper spirituality for the Christian. The problem is that Nicholas Herman aka “Brother Lawrence” was a Roman Catholic mystic Carmelite monk who practiced the transcendental meditation-lite aka Contemplative/Centering Prayer (CCP) as practiced e.g. by the emotionally troubled nun Teresa of Avila.

My point is here this: Herman’s practice of CSM would keep him a slave within apostate Roman Catholicism; why possibly, would we want to hold him up as a good role model for Biblical spirituality? Also in the aforementioned SBC “resource” SDPCM we’re encouraged to participate in the spiritually bankrupt practice of Lectio Divina, which includes CCP and originated with the Roman Catholic Benedictine monastic order. But now we are only beginning to pay the price of years and years of “what does this verse mean to you” Bible studies.

And it was precisely this same kind of fickle foolishness within the antibiblical—and way too much time on my hands—monastic systems within the Roman Catholic Church that would one day lead them to their mystic “enlightenment” that Scripture could only rightly be interpreted by their particular neo-Gnostic class of special “holy men” allegedly chosen of God. That’s the fatal mistake which would eventually give birth to the treacherous teaching magisterium of the Church of Rome in the first place, and with it, finally result in the Protestant Reformation in the first place. 

It’s also important to note here that in SDPCM, we in the SBC, are actually introduced to the practice of Lectio Divina by “gay affirming” Tony Jones, who’s a leading theologian in the egregiously ecumenical Emerging Church aka Emergent Church—now morphing into Emergence Christianity (EC). One wonders what it’s going to take for people to notice the flags of deep crimson flapping directly in their faces. Just take a look in The New Christians With Christianity Worth Believing—No Sola Scriptura: Yes, Women Pastors And Queer Christians too where these spiritual practices have led Jones.

Those Who Make The Decision To Ignore History Will Only Find Themseles Repeating It

In A Gift For Outlaw Preachers Via John MacArthur I introduced you to self-proclaimed Outlaw Preachers, just one mutation down the rung from leaders in the pseudo-Christian EC such as Jones’ quasi-universal “pastor” Doug Pagitt and his friend Rob Bell, who’re now busy Turning God’s Grace Into An Idol. Here’s the scoop: AM has now reached a critical low in funding leaving me a matter of weeks should it not change. That’s the good news for my critics; the bad news is I have zero intention of compromising what I’ve felt led to say, so I have nothing to lose by being as forth-right as possible.

As one who’s been tracking this EC—as well as its many off-shoots—for a few years now, there’s also a central reason why I’ve lately been covering the issue of the affirmation within the EC of the deviant lifestyle of homosexuality practiced by GLBTQ people, and with it, so-called gay marriage. Here it is: Arguably one of the clearest examples in which to witness the kick-out of Sola Scripura in favor of what someone feels “God” says is demonstrated by these issues surrounding homosexuality. Truly, if you can’t see it here; I do feel sorry for you.

And the late Dr. Walter Martin, hardly a radical fundamentalist “hater,” was exactly right when he asked what really is there to discuss; if, you believe what the Bible says. And yet, here we are with entire State Conventions in the SBC—the largest pretending to be Protestant denomination in the country—at state levels openly embracing the CSM, which has been leading the visible church away from the final authority of God’s Word in favor of what someone “feels” existentially. This is usually expressed along the lines of, “I believe with all my heart God spoke [insert topic here] to me.”

I leave this, for now, with the following intertwining examples. Yesterday at CRN I put up L.A. Episcopal Leaders Nominate 2 Openly Gay, Lesbian Priests As Bishops with a picture that said: The whole world is watching; because it is. I also made the comment that mainstream evangelicalism is getting another peek at its own impending future; because it is. Well, the reason for this is rather simple; by circa the 1960s most mainline Protestant denominations had already opened themselves to CSM, and now just look at what’s happening within them.

Do you seriously think that it’s going to somehow be different this time with the mainstream Protestant denominations; if so, you really are a dreamer. In closing, the video below is Katharine Jefferts Schori, who heads the fools mentioned above wishing to install rebels against the Word of God as “bishops” in charge of obstensibly Christian churches. Sadly, ala Romans 1:32 Schori applauds them in her approval. Ok, then watch below as Schori uses her “feelings” as justification for saying Jews and Muslims are saved even if they do not claim Jesus as Savior:

So clearly, the other Abrahamic faiths have access to God the Father, without consciously going through Jesus. I also look around at people from other faith traditions; ah, and there’s some great examples out there like Mahatma Ghandi, or the Dalai Lama, ah, who—or Thich Nyat Hahn—who shows us what look like fruits of the Spirit. Who show us in their lives, what we see as godly behavior.

If I deny that person has some access to God—because of the evidence I see—I think I’m doing something pretty close to the sin against the Holy Spirit… I believe that the whole world has access to God. I just not too worried about the mechanism…because in some parts of Christianity, we have turned salvation into a work; that you have to say, “I claim Jesus as my Lord and Savior,” in order to be saved. That turns it into a work; it denies the possiblity of grace.

With my time now appearing very short; by mainstream evangelicalism embracing the EC with its CSM , and with its being bereft of leaders who will confront this head-on, I’ll say it plainly: Welcome to your worst nightmare…it’s only just beginning…

See also:

EMERGENCE CHRISTIANITY—A POSTLIBERAL CULT SLITHERS INTO EVANGELICALISM

THE GREATEST EXPERT ON THE SCRIPTURES AND HIS VIEW OF THE BIBLE

ROB BELL ABSOLUTELY WRONG ABOUT SCRIPTURE

PHYLLIS TICKLE AND THE EMERGING CHURCH: IT’S NOT IF SOLA SCRIPTURA ENDS BUT WHEN

RAY YUNGEN: INTERSPIRITUALITY AND EMERGENCE CHRISTIANITY

CHRISTIANITY 21: EMERGING VOICES OF A PSEUDO-CHRISTIAN FAITH

“QUEER INCLUSIVE PASTOR” NADIA BOLZ-WEBER ON PRAXIS