For those who have eyes that see it will become clear that a major error of contemporary postevangelicalism’s Ecumenical Church Of Deceit (ECoD), corrupted as it is by the emerging neo-Gnostic mysticism of the Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism as taught by Living Spiritual Teacher Richard Foster, is an over-emphasis on the New Testament revelation of God.

They made [the LORD God] jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols. They sacrificed to demons, which are not God–gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your fathers did not fear. You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.

The LORD saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters. “I will hide my face from them,” he said, “and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful. They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. (Deuteronomy 32:16-21)

Contemplative Spirituality Creating The Mystic Mush god

The postmodern spiritual agnostics and “Red Letter Christians” who dominate the leadership of the postliberal cult of the Emergent Church are particularly guilty of this glaring mistake. In my view it’s really little wonder why they would create their mystic mush god; you see, the actual holy and just—as well as, loving and merciful—Yahweh Elohim, the LORD God, revealed in the Old Testament has a tendency to keep getting in the way of the heavily compromised and man-centered ECoD. And more specifically to this Apprising Ministries article, God also makes Himself an impenetrable roadblock to their pet doctrine of seeking so-called “common ground” with other religious “traditions.”

In fact this is the fatally flawed idea behind Doug Pagitt, Rob Bell, Dalai Lama and the Interspiritual Seeds of Compassion Event. But the opening text of this piece above is impeccably clear that these other “gods,” which are worshipped in these religious traditions, are not really gods at all; but rather, in actual fact, the Bible tells us they are demons. 1 Corinthians 10:20 plainly informs us— the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. Space does not allow a full apologetic here concerning the unchanging nature of God and the literal fact that the Bible also teaches that Christ Jesus of Nazareth is the LORD God of the Old Testament Himself in human form.

The truth is that this information is quite readily available elsewhere. My intention in this article is to once again focus attention on the sappy caricature of a god, which has now been developed by the spiritually spineless leadership within synergistic and semipelagian postevangelcialism. It can easily be traced to the disastrous effect of Norman Vincent Peale and his pallid protégé Robert Schuller, Satan’s own twin towers of sentimental selfishness masquerading as self-esteem, which has all but crippled the Christian Church in America with their psychobabble philoso-theology centered on the love of self (see—2 Timothy 3:2).

“Hey look, God Is Just Like Me!”

What has been happening is that postevangelicalism and its Emerging Church have been successful in creating a god who is just like us and even thinks like us. Well, how convenient for the leadership of the ECoD, now we can be friends with all the other religions and never have to endure any conflict with the world. They think: “After all, since I’d never want anyone to come into conflict with me and I want to be friends with everyone, why that’s how God must be.” A good example of 1 John 4:5 — They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.

So using carefully selected and completely reimagined teachings of Jesus, i.e. “the red letters,” which they happen to like postevangelical preachers have created the mystic mush god of ecumenicism who accepts whatever beliefs people have spiritually as legitimate, as long as they approach him/her sincerely. This is the “message” they have deceived themselves into seeing in the preaching of Jesus about the Kingdom of God. A good time to prayerfully consider the following from Holy Scripture — They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie (2 Thessalonians 2:10-11).

You should know that this is all directly related to the Gnostic neo-pagan mysticism that has once again come emerging from its satanic shadows in virtually the same forms as the ancient Church itself first encountered. For a more thorough examination I refer you to my article The Emergent “ONE”. The central issue we must deal with is known in Guru Richard Foster’s Quaker theology as the “Inner Light,” and in classic mysticism as “the divine spark.”

And it’s really not as far away from you as you may think. Consider the following language from The Power of Purpose Awards essay contest by the quasi-religious John Templeton Foundation. Of course with the concept of “purpose,” and ever the self-promoter, it’s little surprise that Purpose Driven Pope Rick Warren would be one of the judges (Online source) Warren says:

When I wrote The Purpose Driven Life I never imagined so many people would respond to its offer of hope and challenge. Using the book as a guide has enabled millions of people to discover the answer to life’s most important question: What am I here for? I ended the book by asking readers, “When will you write down your purpose on paper?” At that time I had no idea an essay contest about purpose would soon be established and provide the vehicle for exactly what I hoped for. Join me in celebrating this opportunity by writing an essay to share your message of purpose with us. (Online source)

Well, look carefully now at the belief system of the “us” with which the PDL Pope has aligned himself:

Purpose in Humanity
In day-to-day life, we encounter men and women who seem driven by something outside of themselves, whose commitment to their profession or volunteer activities, their community, or their cause seems to rise above the necessary, above the possible, above even the human. Indeed, we say that in such people we see “the divine spark.”

Many religious traditions, both Eastern and Western, subscribe to the idea that there is something of God’s presence in each of us. Even for the growing number of people who describe themselves as spiritual, but not necessarily religious, there is a certain attachment to this concept of the divine spark. It is the sense that our lives can be guided from within by something more important than our simple survival, something not merely intellectual either, something in our souls. (Online source, emphasis mine)

While mystics of various religious persuasions describe this idea of a supposed spark of the divine in mankind essentially it means the exactly same thing: God already dwells within every human being by way of creation. I also cover this patently false teaching further in Understanding the New Spirituality: God Indwells Mankind. However, once you understand this critical issue you will have reached “enlightenment” to understand why it is Emergent Guru Brian McLaren can have such a “generous orthodoxy.” This concept of an alleged “great underground river” of divinity inside of mankind is also found in the musings of mystic Meister Eckhart as well.

God’s Global Family Of Love

Undoubtedly as a Quaker himself Guru Foster is also well versed in the meandering mysticism of George Fox who started the Quakers. I have previously pointed out that Fox also taught about this “great underground river” mystics “feel” present within all men, although he called it the “Inner Light.” As a matter of fact in his book Streams Of Living Way (SLW) Foster discusses what we might call his own generous ecumenicism as he enlightens us through his vision of various religious faith traditions—allegedly flowing from Christ—coming together now in one mighty river of the Spirit.

Further, Ray Yungen points out in his own work A Time for Departing that in SLW:

Richard Foster emanates his hoped-for vision of an “all inclusive community” that he feels God is forming today. He sees this as “a great, new gathering of the people of God.”

On the surface this might sound noble and sanctifying, but a deeper examination will expose elements that line up more with Alice Bailey’s vision [of the New Age] than with Jesus Christ’s. Foster prophesies:

I see a Catholic monk from the hills of Kentucky standing alongside a Baptist evangelist from the streets of Los Angeles and together offering up a sacrifice of praise. I see a people.

The only place in “the hills of Kentucky” where Catholic monks live is the Gethsemane Abbey, a Trappist monastery. This also, coincidentally, was the home base of Thomas Merton (139).

What we are witnessing right now is an invasion of things taught by demons because the god of this age—the chief demon himself—is already on record having boasted: “I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14). And the most amazing thing is that right now Satan has impudently walked up into the inner sanctuary of the Church of Jesus Christ itself. And from its pulpits the enemy of men’s souls attacks the very heart of the Gospel itself by obliterating the need for man to believe he has to be regenerated; yet, cowardly evangelical leaders continue to say nothing.

Men and women, you must understand that if God already indwells mankind then there would be no need for anyone to be “born again,” which would make the mystics correct. And right now has come emerging evangelical so-called “Christian” mystics who are beginning to teach openly once again, all that mankind needs to do is begin practicing Contemplative/Centering Prayer (i.e. transcendental meditation in Christian terms) together; and then, through this neo-Gnostic mysticism he’ll come to the secret knowledge that we are actually already one big Global Family of God.

The problem with their mystical mythical “family of love” is that this fanciful idea is diametrically opposed to what the Bible teaches about mankind’s current relationship to God apart from Christ. In closing, I point you to the following truths from the Bible. George Fox once taught—and Quakers like Guru Foster still teach—an “Inner Light” (i.e. the Spirit of God/Christ) is supposedly already in every man. But this is easily refuted from the Words of Christ Jesus of Nazareth, Who just happens to be the Creator and the LORD God Himself in human flesh. While our Lord is preparing His Apostles for His departure from His planet He makes a statement quite germane to our current discussion:

“If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me will not obey My teaching. These Words you hear are not My Own; they belong to the Father Who sent Me.”

“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:23-26).

God Simply Does Not Dwell In All Of Mankind

Since God the Son is telling us here that God the Father will send God the Holy Spirit, it then becomes quite obvious that He had not yet been sent. So if the Holy Spirit had yet to be sent, and must be sent in Christ’s Name to those in Christ, we now also know that all men could not already have this alleged “Inner Light” of the Quakers. And this itself is further confirmed by what Christ Jesus of Nazareth teaches a little further on in John’s Gospel when the Master says of God the Holy Spirit — when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all Truth (John 16:13).

Did you catch this; when He comes then tells us that the Spirit had not yet come, and therefore He was not already present within all mankind. Let me also point out that elsewhere in John’s Gospel our Lord informs us of some other vital information about God the Holy Spirit. And what is more, Christ’s Words here forever douse any mystic idea concerning some so-called “divine spark” of alleged divinity within mankind when He says — The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. The words accept Him make it clear the unregenerate in “the world” do not have Him.

And so myopic mystics like George Fox and Guru Richard Foster have already struck out because they refused to pay attention to God’s infallible and inerrant Word in the Bible. However, of the true Christian believer regenerated through God’s grace alone; by faith alone, in Christ alone, the Master tells us in direct opposition to the unregenerate — But you know Him [the Holy Spirit], for He lives with you and will be in you (John 14:17). These truths from Holy Scripture also tell us in no uncertain terms exactly why interspiritual worship is actually impossible.

Again we have seen that the mystic teaching of an “Inner Light” and/or “the spark of the divine” within all men is roundly refuted by the Words of Holy Scripture. And the Bible very clearly tells us elsewhere as well, the only people who are actually worshipping God—no matter how sincere they may appear to be; no matter how much social activism they may be involved in, and not even how mystical/spiritual they might actually be—the only people who have any hope at all of pleasing God are those who have been regenerated i.e. born again in Christ.

Men and women, the absolute Truth is that all other human beings are dead spiritually, and as such they are in the flesh. And it is the job of the true Christian—as ambassadors of Christ (see—2 Corinthians 5:20)—to implore these people to be reconciled to God through Christ because there is simply no way around the fact that:

Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.

But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He Who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you (Romans 8:8-11, ESV).

I tell you in the Lord, if you truly love someone who is involved in another religious faith you are doing this person an eternal disservice if you withhold what the one true and living God—the awesome and awful LORD Almighty—has said about Jesus Christ of Nazareth — “And there is salvation in and through no one else, for there is no other Name under Heaven given among men by and in which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12, Amplified)