I [have] argued that methods are not neutral: either humans can come to the true God by any means that they see fit or God restricts the means by which we can come to Him. This was proven by the fact that various forms of divination are forbidden where divination is defined as any technique used to gain secret information that God has not chosen to reveal.

If we could come by any means, then tarot cards, Ouija boards, crystal balls, psychic powers, etc. could all legitimately be used to contact God. Since certain techniques are forbidden, then the claim that humans can come to God by any means whatsoever is unbiblical. Therefore, we conclude that God has restricted the means of coming to Him and worshipping Him.

There are restrictions. The question is, “Who determines them?” The options are that individuals determine them for themselves, church traditions determine the restrictions, or the Scriptures determine the restrictions. I argue that if individuals determine the restrictions for themselves, there are no restrictions. A good example is Morton Kelsey, the most prolific writer among twentieth century Christian mystics. Kelsey, open to any religious practice that will help in the “inner journey,” writes, “The inner journey is as individual as our thumbprint. We need to guide others on their way and never impose our way upon them.”[1]

Many Christian mystics opt for the second option – church traditions. They find that mystics and their practices existed from the very early days of church history.[2] It is surprising that contemporary evangelicals sometimes cite Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions to justify their practices. But many do. They usually try to also find Biblical support, but such support cannot be found without twisting the Scriptures.

I believe that Scripture alone determines the valid means of coming to God. The Scripture reveals one obvious restriction: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me’” (John 14:6). The Bible not only reveals the only way to salvation, but it also provides the means of grace for living the Christian life. God does not leave this up to man’s ingenuity. He has not left us to sift through the religious practices of the cultures of the world in order to choose which ones to “Christianize.” Those who do are modern day Jeroboams who will not grant to God the right to tell them how God will be worshipped.
(Contemporary Christian Divination: The False Claims and Practices of Christian Mystics)

Pastor Bob DeWaay

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Endnotes:

[1] Morton Kelsey, The Other Side of Silence, (Paulist Press: Maywah, New Jersey, 1995), 75.
[2] For example, see Greg Boyd, Seeing is Believing; Experiencing Jesus through Imaginative Prayer; (Baker: Grand Rapids, 2004) 90 – 95 for a list of mystics throughout church history.

See also:

SOUTHERN BAPTIST SOUL SHAPING RETURN TO RELIGIOUS BONDAGE

DR. JOHN PIPER AND UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

DONALD WHITNEY AND SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES: SPIRITUALITY WITHOUT BOUNDARIES 

 SADDLEBACK CHURCH, RICK WARREN, AND SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES 

“CELEBRATION OF DISCIPLINE” BY RICHARD FOSTER AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THEOLOGICAL ERROR  

DALLAS WILLARD ENCOURAGES CONTEMPLATIVE/CENTERING PRAYER 

ROB BELL AND SHANE HIPPS TEACHING MYSTICISM