I recently attended the Celebrate Recovery Summit 2005 at Saddleback Church in Southern California. The primary purpose of the conference was to train new leaders who would return to their churches and inaugurate the Celebrate Recovery (CR) program. Saddleback’s pastor, Rick Warren, describes CR as “a biblical and balanced program to help people overcome their hurts, habits, and hang-ups…[that is] based on the actual words of Jesus rather than psychological theory [emphasis added].” 1

As a long-time critic of psychological counseling and 12-Steps therapies in the church (see The Seduction of Christianity and archived TBC newsletter articles and Q&As), I was pleased to have the opportunity to learn firsthand from those who are leading and/or participating in the program, to better understand what was intended in CR, and to see how it is implemented. What I learned right away was that the 3,000 or so in attendance had a tremendous zeal for the Lord and an unquestionable sincerity in desiring to help those who were struggling with habitual sin. This was my impression in all of my interactions—with individuals, in small groups, in workshop sessions, and in the general worship sessions. The CR Summit lasted three (eight- to nine-hour) days and covered nearly every aspect of Celebrate Recovery.

Nevertheless, other thoughts ran through my mind as I reviewed whether or not I had missed something significant in my previous criticisms of 12-Steps recovery therapies. Is Celebrate Recovery’s 12-Steps program truly different—that is, “biblical and balanced…rather than psychological”—as Rick Warren believes? Furthermore, is he simply naïve when he says in his “Road to Recovery” series of sermons, “In 1935 a couple of guys formulated, based upon the Scriptures, what are now known as the classic twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and used by hundreds of other recovery groups. Twenty million Americans are in a recovery group every week and there are 500,000 recovery groups. The basis is God’s Word [emphasis added].” Or is Celebrate Recovery another alarming example of a way that seems right to a man but one that is turning believers to ways and means other than the Bible to solve their sin-related problems? Let’s consider these questions in light of some A.A. and 12 Steps background information.

To begin with, 12-Steps programs are not just a Saddleback Church issue. Increasing numbers of evangelical churches are sponsoring Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) and Narcotics Anonymous (N.A.) meetings and/or creating their own self-help groups based upon A.A.’s 12-Steps principles. Bill Wilson, one of the founders of A.A., created the 12 Steps. Wilson was a habitual drunk who had two life-changing events that he claims helped him achieve sobriety: 1) he was (mis)informed by a doctor that his drinking habit was a disease and was therefore not his fault, and 2) he had an experience (which he viewed as spiritual enlightenment) that convinced him that only “a Power greater than” himself could keep him sober. Attempting to understand his mystical experience, he was led into spiritism, a form of divination condemned in the Scriptures. His official biography indicates that the content of the 12-Steps principles came to him “rapidly” through spirit communication. Certainly not from God.

Celebrate Recovery began 14 years ago at Saddleback and is used in more than 3,500 churches today, making it evangelical Christianity’s most prominent and widely exported 12-Steps church program. Warren considers CR to be “the center of living a purpose-driven life and building a purpose-driven church” and recently announced that Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship would begin implementing CR in every prison where the ministry is functioning.

Celebrate Recovery is a very complex methodology that attempts to bring biblical adjustments to the 12-Steps program originated by A.A. and utilized in numerous other “addiction” recovery programs. The complexity, however, applies to the setting up and implementation of the program as well as to the strict rules that govern its execution. Although there are many problems related to “making it work,” there is only space in this article to address some fundamental issues. Let’s begin with the implications regarding the name of the program.

Reflecting A.A.’s influence upon CR, the term “Recovery” is significant. All those in A.A. are “recovering” alcoholics, who, according to A.A., never completely recover. Recovery is a term that primarily denotes a process of physical healing. A.A. teaches that alcoholism is a disease for which there is no ultimate cure. Although CR rejects A.A.’s view of alcoholism as a disease and calls it sin, the title nevertheless promotes the A.A. concept in contradiction to what the Bible teaches. Sin is not something from which a believer is “in recovery.” Sin is confessed by the sinner and forgiven by God. The believer is cleansed of the sin right then. “I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin” (Ps 32:5 [2]).

At the 2005 Celebrate Recovery Summit, every speaker introduced himself or herself in the A.A. “recovery” mode, with this “Christianized” difference: “Hi, I’m so and so…and I’m a believer in Jesus Christ who struggles with issues of (alcohol, drug, codependency, sex, or whatever) addiction.” The audience then applauded to affirm the individual for overcoming the “denial” of his or her habitual sin. Not to confess some “addiction” or specific sin struggle raises suspicions of “being in denial.” Throughout the three-day conference, there was never a hint from any of the speakers that anything about A.A., 12 Steps, or CR might not be biblical. Moreover, where Celebrate Recovery programs were not available, those “in recovery” were encouraged to attend A.A. or N.A. meetings.

Rick Warren, on video, reassured the Summit attendees that CR was no man-made therapy. He insisted that CR was based upon the “actual words of Jesus Christ from the eight Beatitudes, which parallel the 12 Steps” and identified his own “Higher Power: His name is Jesus Christ.” I don’t find “Higher Power,” which is a misrepresentation of God, in the Bible. Nor can I fathom why a Bible-believing Christian would want to promote Bill Wilson’s concept and methodology. Why not simply rely on what the Bible teaches?

Is God’s way completely sufficient to set one free from so-called addictions? Did A.A.’s founders provide a more effective way? If so, what did the church do for the nearly 2,000 years prior to Bill Wilson’s “spiritually enlightened” way to recovery? Moreover, if Wilson’s method really works, why are some in the church trying to add Jesus as one’s Higher Power and the Beatitudes to it? On the other hand, if the effectiveness of the 12-Steps program is questionable at best and detrimental to the gospel and to a believer’s life and growth in Christ, why attempt to “Christianize” such a program? It is imperative that all believers ask themselves whether or not they truly believe that the Scriptures and the enablement of God’s Holy Spirit are sufficient for “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Pt 1:3 [3]). A rejection of this biblical teaching is the only possible justification for turning to ways the Bible condemns: “the counsel of the ungodly” (Ps 1:1 [4]) and “a way which seemeth right unto a man.”

How dependent is Celebrate Recovery upon (with minor modifications) A.A.’s 12 Steps? Completely! Those going through CR’s small group take from 12 to 16 months to complete the 12-Steps program. Many go through more than one small group and often become leaders in one while attending others. Without Bill Wilson’s principles, the CR program would be reduced to a handful of misapplied Bible verses. Tragically, the most obvious biblical problem with such an approach to overcoming habitual sins seems to be dismissed by all 12-Steps advocates: the Bible never offers a by-the-numbers self-help methodology for deliverance from sin or for living a sanctified life. God’s way involves obedience to His full counsel and maturity in Christ through the enablement of His Holy Spirit.

Warren’s CR program views the 12 Steps as generally compatible with Scripture yet seeks out verses that appear to biblically reinforce each step. In doing so, however, scriptural interpretations are forced upon concepts that either have no direct relationship to the Bible or that pervert the true interpretation of the scripture intended to support the particular step. CR’s attempt to use the Beatitudes as biblical principles for overcoming habitual sins, for example, is a serious distortion of the Word of God.

Search as you may, you’ll find no commentaries that even hint at such a use of the Beatitudes. Why? Simply because the Beatitudes all have to do with seeking the Kingdom of God and nothing to do with solving an individual’s so-called addictions. Again, why try to legitimize from Scripture Wilson’s “ungodly counsel” from “seducing spirits [bringing] doctrines of devils” (1 Tm 4:1)?

Consider, for example, the “Beatitudes-justified” first three steps: (1) We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors. That our lives had become unmanageable. “Happy are those who are spiritually poor.” (2) Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. “Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (3) Made a decision to turn our life and our will over to the care of God (modified from A.A.’s “God as we understood Him”). “Happy are the meek.” This is more than a misdirected attempt to sanctify (in Rick Warren’s words) Bill Wilson’s “biblically vague” 12 Steps.2 It both abuses the Scriptures and reinterprets Wilson.

In these foundational steps, Wilson is summarizing his beliefs based upon his experiences as a “recovering alcoholic.” He felt “powerless” because he believed alcoholism was an incurable disease that consequently made his life “unmanageable.” Since he couldn’t “cure” himself (although millions do without 12-Step or other therapies!), he put his faith in “a power greater than ourselves,” whom he called God, and “understood” Him by fabricating Him out of beliefs discovered in his study of different religions and religious experiences. That’s more than “biblically vague.” It’s a false religion.

So why would Celebrate Recovery or the multitudes of other Christianized 12-Steps groups try to reconcile the Word of God with Wilson’s definitely erroneous and demonically inspired methodology? The deluded response is: “Because it works!” But does it?

Pragmatism is the fuel that powers “the way that seems right” and governs much of what is being lauded in the church today. Not only is this unbiblical, but too often there is nothing beyond enthusiastic testimonials to support the claim that something actually works. The reality for the 12-Steps program of A.A. and N.A. is that there is no research evidence proving that they are more effective than other treatments. Furthermore, the most extensive studies related to “addictions” conclude that most drug and alcohol abusers recover without any psychotherapeutic treatment or self-help therapies.3

The many problems inherent within a Christianized 12-Steps program—and particularly???Celebrate???Recovery—are too numerous for this brief article. Yet, consider these observations: CR is highly promoted as completely biblical and not psychological, yet the key speakers for CR Summit 2005 were clinical psychologists Drs. John Townsend and Henry Cloud. Psychologist David Stoop, the editor of Life Recovery Bible (CR participants’ mandatory paraphrase Bible, polluted with psychotherapy commentary), is a favorite speaker at Saddleback’s CR Large Group meetings. The CR leadership manual advises, “Have Christian psychotherapists volunteer their time to help instruct and support your leaders.”4

CR’s entire program content is marbled with psychobabble such as this “solution” from its Adult Children of the Chemically Addicted group’s dogmas:“The solution is to become your own loving parent….You will recover the child within you, learning to accept and love yourself.”5 This is biblical?! Honoring the psychologically contrived “disorder” of codependency, CR’s Codependency and Christian Living group made this humanistic and biblically false statement: “Jesus taught….A love of self forms the basis for loving others.”6

A.A.’s 12-Steps methodology, along with its antibiblical psychotherapeutic concepts and practices permeates Celebrate Recovery, yet no one at the Summit with whom I spoke seemed concerned. CR’s small group meetings are the antithesis of the way the Bible instructs mature believers to help those young or struggling in the faith to grow. Pastors and elders can be small group leaders, but not for teaching purposes. No leader may biblically instruct or correct but may only affirm the “transparency” of the participant sharing his feelings. “Cross-talk,” or comments by others, are prohibited to allow the freest expression possible. Much of this “expression” reinforces psychotherapeutic myths. The two-hour meetings usually open with the spiritually anemic Serenity Prayer and the recitation of the 12 Steps. Leaders are drawn from those who have completed one or more 12-Step groups. Some leaders work through one “addiction” in a small group while leading another group. It’s not unusual for a leader to put in eight to ten hours in CR functions per week, every week. Serious Bible study and discipleship are not part of the Celebrate Recovery “biblical” emphasis.

Let no one think that presenting these critical concerns about Celebrate Recovery in any way lessens the biblical obligation (Gal 6 [5]) of the church to minister to those struggling with habitual sin. The issue is not whether we should minister, but how we should minister: man’s way or God’s way? Man’s way, or a mixture of biblical teaching and ungodly counsel, is contrary to God’s way. Man’s way leads to death. Applying Scripture to man’s way leads to a slower death, akin to what would result when pure water is added to a toxic drinking fountain. We desperately need to take heed to God’s admonition through the Prophet Jeremiah: “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water” (Jer 2:13 [6]). TBC

Endnotes

1. Celebrate Recovery Summit 2005 Handbook, 61.

2. Celebrate Recovery Senior Pastor Support Video, 2003.

3. The Harvard Mental Health Letter, Vol. 16, No. 12, 1-4; See also:

www.stats.org/issuerecord.jsp?issue=true&ID=8.

4. Celebrate, 31.

5. Ibid., 342.

6. Ibid., 350.

Audio version of this newsletter is here [6].

Source URL:
http://www.thebereancall.org/node/2568
 

Although there are far too many examples of apostasy influencing the church today to cite in this brief series of articles, there is one spurious trend that encompasses nearly all of what the above verses address. It’s called the Emerging Church Movement (ECM). The ECM is a development among evangelicals that appears to have some worthwhile goals: 1) It professes to speak to today’s culture about the relevancy of Christianity and the value of the gospel of Jesus Christ; and 2) It desires to keep young evangelicals continuing in the faith. The movement involves a number of churches (mostly non-denominational), some supportive ministries and parachurch organizations, and the support of a number of prominent evangelical leaders and authors.

The ECM has no official organization or leadership, although some of its adherents have “emerged” as recognized leaders and spokesmen. For many of those helping to promote the movement, their motivation to “try something different” grew out of the frustration of their own very limited success in evangelizing and discipling young people. Some of the leaders were in seeker-sensitive and purpose-driven churches, and they saw firsthand that their church-growth marketing schemes were not effective for drawing those in their late teens, 20s, and early 30s. The main fare of most consumer-driven churches features contemporary music with shallow, repetitive choruses, topical 30-minutes-or-less sermons (mostly psychology-based), a host of social programs to attract the lost (and the fleshly nature of Christians), and “Bible studies” that address everything but the Bible (see “Consumer Christianity I & II”, TBC, 2/05 [5] , 3/05 [5] ). For a surprising number of young adults, that was a spiritual turnoff.

In his book The Emerging Church (with contributions and endorsement by Rick Warren), Dan Kimball relates his own breakthrough in overcoming the frustrating experiences in trying to motivate the young people in the evangelical church where he was youth pastor. He tells about watching a concert on the youth-oriented MTV network late one night that was a candlelit, all-acoustic performance. Recognizing that MTV certainly knows its audience and the youth culture, he refashioned his church’s youth room into a subdued, “catacombish,” candlelit environment and had the worship band use acoustic guitars, forgoing their usual flashing light show and loud electric music. He was delighted by the reaction of one usually unresponsive teen who said, “I like this. This was really spiritual.”

That was an epiphany for Kimball. As he expanded the service with what he considered more “authentic Christian” elements and liturgy, it attracted hundreds, young and old alike. He is convinced he’s found what the church of today needs: “As the emerging church returns to a rawer and more vintage form of Christianity, we may see explosive growth much like the early church did.”

On the contrary, the “explosive growth” in the early church came from an approach that is almost nonexistent in the ECM. Peter’s confrontational address to the crowd on Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 is directly at odds with the modus operandi of the emergent leaders. In the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter’s preaching brought conviction of sin, repentance, and belief; 3,000 came to Christ that day. Kimball’s “vintage form of Christianity,” featuring rituals, ceremony, candles, incense, prayer stations, and images to create a spiritually experiential atmosphere for evangelicals is “vintage” only in the sense that it is an imitation of the later unbiblical Eastern Orthodox and medieval Roman Catholic liturgies. The early New Testament church knew nothing of this idolatrous and sense-oriented worship.

Ironically, emergent churches around the world, in their attempt to “reconstruct” the church, are passing each other like ships in the night. Kimball’s efforts at spiritual stimulation by introducing to young evangelicals the liturgical bells and smells of Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, and high-church Episcopal and Presbyterian rituals, stands in contradiction to some European cathedrals and churches going emergent. Europeans are trying to revive their congregations, deadened by centuries of imagery and ritual, by covering their gothic interiors with decorated drapery, exchanging the organ and traditional hymns for electric guitars and contemporary choruses, and adding throw pillows for comfortable seating to create a seeker-friendly environment. These churches are abandoning the very things that are “spiritually” alluring to American emergent evangelicals. Regarding both sensual approaches, Scripture tells us, “the flesh profiteth nothing.”

In reading the works of the ECM leaders, we would agree with many of their criticisms of current Christianity. There is plenty to oppose as apostasy and the abandonment of the Word increases in Christendom. The ECM’s corrections, however, rather than having restorative value for the church, are just as contrary to the Scriptures. Even worse, they go far beyond subtly “weaning evangelicals off the Word” to rendering the Bible and its doctrines as the enemy when it comes to drawing the world in general and, specifically, our postmodern culture, to the love of Jesus.

The Emergent Church Movement claims to desire—above all things—to show the love and life of Christ to a culture that is distrustful of the Christianity it perceives as oppressive and absolutist. We’re assured by ECM writers that “numbers of postmoderns are attracted to Jesus but detest His church” and can therefore be reached by the emerging church approach. It professes to be more amenable to the culture, more viable in its practice of Christianity, and truer to what Jesus had in mind for His church on earth.

Admirable—but let’s see how true it is to the Scriptures. As Isaiah exhorted, “To the law and to the testimony [i.e., God’s Word]: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” Isaiah 8:20 [6]).

First of all, one has to wonder what a postmodern—a person characterized chiefly by his or her general disdain for authority and absolutes, particularly those dealing with moral issues and religion—thinks about this “Jesus” to whom he or she is supposedly drawn. The critical question is “Jesus who?” Is it the biblical Jesus they like, the one who declared absolutely, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6 [7])? What about the authoritarian Jesus, who announced, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love” (John 15:10 [8])? His words weren’t referring only to the Ten Commandments but rather to every instruction He gave. Is that the Jesus a postmodern desires? What about the Jesus who gave mankind an ultimatum: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36 [9])?

The biblical Jesus certainly does not accommodate postmodernism, which is one more example of humanity’s rebellion against its Creator. The good news is that Jesus offers deliverance from the delusion of postmodernism, as well as all the other man-centered isms: “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31,32 [10]). The bad news is that the emerging church approach attempts to accommodate Jesus and the Scriptures (actually “another Jesus” and a corrupted and emasculated Word) to our postmodern culture.

Although some regard the Emerging Church Movement as nothing more than a passing spiritual fad among young evangelicals, its potential for shipwrecking the faith of our next generation (should the Lord not yet return for His saints) is staggering. Here are just a few of the faith-destroying beliefs as espoused in the writings of the emergent leaders. First of all, foundational to the ECM is the subversion of the Bible. It’s akin to Satan’s scheme to destabilize Eve’s trust in what God commanded: “Yea, hath God said…?” (Genesis 3:1 [11]). They give lip service to the importance of God’s Word while undermining its inerrancy, authority, and sufficiency.

Rob Bell writes in Velvet Elvis, following 22 pages of weakening the authority of the Bible (making statements such as “It is possible to make the Bible say whatever we want it to, isn’t it?” and “With God being so massive and awe-inspiring and full of truth, why is his book capable of so much confusion?”): “[L]et’s make a group decision to drop once and for all the Bible-as-owner’s-manual metaphor [i.e., God’s specific instructions for mankind]. It’s terrible. It really is….We have to embrace the Bible as the wild, uncensored, passionate account it is of experiencing the living God.”1 No! “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Pt 1:21 [12]).

His view, common to most emergent writers, is that the key to the authority of Scripture is one’s interpretation, and that is most authoritative when the interpretation takes place in a community and validated by a “group decision”: “Community, community, community. Together with others, wrestling and searching and engaging the Bible as a group of people hungry to know God in order to follow God.”2

Although we find thousands of times throughout the Bible clear, direct, and absolute commands prefaced by phrases such as “Thus saith the Lord” and “The word of the Lord came to me,” we’re now told that understanding and obedience to what God said are subject to a community’s interpretation. Consequently, ECM churches disdain preaching and authoritative teaching, yet they delight in discussion, causing some to dump the pulpit in favor of a dialogue-led Starbucks environment. As the goals of the community change, we’re told the interpretation may also change.

The claim that the ECM approach has not jettisoned sound doctrine is either a delusion or an outright deception. This becomes clear when one asks for a biblical position on an issue. Kristen Bell acknowledges in a Christianity Today emerging church article, “I grew up thinking that we figured out the Bible…that we knew what it means. Now I have no idea what most of it means, and yet I feel like life is big again—like life used to be black and white, and now it’s in color.”3 Brian McLaren, the most prominent of the emergent leaders, echoes Bell’s “doctrine” of avoidance regarding what the Bible says about homosexuality:

Perhaps we need a five-year moratorium on making [doctrinal] pronouncements. In the meantime, we’ll practice prayerful Christian dialogue, listening respectfully, disagreeing agreeably. When decisions need to be made, they’ll be admittedly provisional. We’ll keep our ears attuned to scholars in biblical studies, theology, ethics, psychology, genetics, sociology, and related fields. Then in five years, if we have clarity, we’ll speak; if not, we’ll set another five years for ongoing reflection.4
TBC has received numerous letters from parents and evangelical pastors who find their young people seeking out emergent churches for the “new” experiences, which they offer in abundance: religious art (primarily impressionistic images of “Jesus”), “biblical” films, rituals based upon Catholic/Orthodox liturgy, community, personal relationships, contemplative spirituality and mysticism (some include yoga), Bible dialogues, ecumenical interaction with “people of faith,” a social gospel, plans to save the planet, restore the kingdom, and so forth.

Regarding the seductive nature of such things, few evangelicals, young or old, have a defense. Too many function as biblical illiterates, meaning they know some things about the Bible and are capable of reading it but simply haven’t made any effort, outside of following along with their pastor’s teaching on Sundays. They are the spiritual con man’s delight.

Satan’s seduction of Eve began subtly, “Yea hath God said?” It was a confusion tactic, setting her up to believe his lie and reject what God had said: “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.” That was his punch line to destroy the human race. Eve fell for it; Adam went along.
One finds a strikingly similar approach in the writings of the ECM leaders in regard to destroying faith in the gospel: Brian McLaren leads with doubts about what God had said:

The church latched on to that old doctrine of original sin like a dog to a stick, and before you knew it, the whole gospel got twisted around it. Instead of being God’s big message of saving love for the whole world, the gospel became a little bit of secret information on how to solve the pesky legal problem of original sin.5

He says elsewhere, “I don’t think we’ve got the gospel right yet. What does it mean to be saved?…None of us have arrived at orthodoxy.”

British emergent leader and Zondervan author Steve Chalke delivers the punch line that unabashedly rejects the essential gospel belief that Christ paid the full penalty for the sins of mankind necessary to satisfy divine justice. Incredibly, he condemns that doctrine as a form of “cosmic child abuse” and a “twisted version of events morally dubious and a huge barrier to faith.”6 This is where these emergent pied pipers, wittingly or unwittingly, are seductively leading our youth.

Hopefully, the above will move you to prayer and action regarding the biblical strengthening of your own children and the youth in your fellowship. If you need more motivation (this brief article allowed me to give you only the tip of the “emerging” iceberg), see our TBC Extra page (p. with multiple emergent leaders’ quotes helpfully compiled in Roger Oakland’s latest book Faith Undone: The emerging church…a new reformation or an end-time deception? TBC

Endnotes

1. Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 044-45, 062-63.
2. Ibid., 053.
3. Andy Crouch, “The Emergent Mystique,” Christianity Today, November 2004, Vol 48, No 11, 36ff.
4. http://www.christianitytoday.com/leaders/newsletter/2006/cln60123.html [13] .
5. Brian McLaren, The Last Word and the Word After That (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005), 134.
6. Steve Chalke and Alan Mann, The Lost Message of Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003), 182-83.

Published on thebereancall.org (http://www.thebereancall.org)

But now Crouch must deal with the worst slur of 21st-century Christendom: his network, critics say, is soft on Islam.

The charge followed TBN’s recent decision to drop the half-hour Zola Levitt Presents from its broadcast schedule. Network officials told the show’s producers they were no longer interested in running the show after its longtime host, Zola Levitt, passed away this spring from lung cancer.  Levitt’s ministry says . . . “TBN, you see, is modifying its programming to be suitable for broadcast in Arab nations.” Zola Levitt Ministries offered no elaboration but added it would “join the good company of Hal Lindsey in dusting our feet.”

“Dusting” refers to Jesus’ admonition to his apostles: if people don’t want to hear the Good News, “when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet” (Mt 10:14).

But the inclusion of Lindsey . . . was intended to inflame evangelicals.  This January, Lindsey announced to followers that his “The International Intelligence Briefing” would no longer air on TBN after the network asked him to temper his statements on Islam. He cited no examples. TBN originally denied Lindsey’s claim, but network spokesperson John Casoria eventually retracted that statement, telling the conservative website  WorldNetDaily that TBN was concerned Lindsey “placed Arabs in a negative light.”

This isn’t the first time TBN has faced the charge that it coddles Muslims. In January 2002, Crouch published an open letter to disgruntled TBN programmers explaining his fire-and-brimstone-free approach to proselytizing among Muslims.

“Let’s be careful how we treat the Arabs and Islam,” Crouch wrote. “Let’s not slam Mohammed and Islam. Let’s reach out to them in love.” Similarly, TBN released a statement after canning Zola Levitt Presents that read, “As to TBN being accused of reaching out to the Muslim world with the love of God, TBN must plead guilty. When Jesus gave his disciples the Great Commission, he said, go into ‘ALL nations,’ not just the non-Muslim ones.”

(Arellano, Orange County Weekly, 9/14/06)

In order for the emerging church to succeed, the Bible has to be looked at through entirely different glasses, and Christianity needs to be open to a new type of faith. Brian McLaren calls this new faith a “generous orthodoxy.”1 While such an orthodoxy allows a smorgasbord of ideas to be proclaimed in the name of Christ, many of these ideas are actually forbidden and rejected by Scripture.

Pagitt believes that he is part of a cutting-edge response to the new postmodern world. It’s a response he and others see as completely unique, never having been tried before in the history of man. Pagitt states:

It seems to me that our post-industrial times require us to ask new questions-questions that people 100 years ago would have never thought of asking. Could it be that our answers will move us to re-imagine the way of Christianity in our world? Perhaps we as Christians today are not only to consider what it means to be a 21st century church, but also and perhaps more importantly-what it means to have a 21st century faith.2

Many people I meet at conferences who come from a wide variety of church backgrounds tell me the church they have been attending for years has radically changed. Their pastor no longer teaches the Bible. Instead, the Sunday morning service is a skit or a series of stories. The Bible seems to have become the forbidden book. While there are pastors who do still teach the Bible, they are becoming the exception rather than the rule.

Emergent leaders often say the message remains the same, but our methods must change if we are going to be relevant to our generation. The measure of success for many pastors today is how many are coming, rather than how many are listening and obeying what God has said in His Word. Let’s consider how Doug Pagitt uses the Bible in his own church. He states:

At Solomon’s Porch, sermons are not primarily about my extracting truth from the Bible to apply to people’s lives. In many ways the sermon is less a lecture or motivational speech than it is an act of poetry-of putting words around people’s experiences to allow them to find deeper connection in their lives… So our sermons are not lessons that precisely define belief so much as they are stories that welcome our hopes and ideas and participation.3

What Pagitt is describing is a contextual theology; that is, don’t use the Bible as a means of theology or measuring rod of truth and standards by which to live; and rather than have the Bible mold the Christian’s life, let the Christian’s life mold the Bible. That’s what Pagitt calls “putting words around people’s experiences.” As this idea is developed, emerging proponents have to move away from Bible teachings and draw into a dialectic approach. That way, instead of just one person preaching truth or teaching biblical doctrine, everyone can have a say and thus come to a consensus of what the Bible might be saying. Pagitt explains:

To move beyond this passive approach to faith, we’ve tried to create a community that’s more like a potluck: people eat and they also bring something for others. Our belief is built when all of us engage our hopes, dreams, ideas and understandings with the story of God as it unfolds through history and through us.4

You may not have heard the term before, but contextual theology is a prominent message from the emerging church. In his book, Models of Contextual Theology (1992), Stephen B. Bevans defines contextual theology as:

… a way of doing theology in which one takes into account: the spirit and message of the gospel; the tradition of the Christian people; the culture in which one is theologizing; and social change in that culture, whether brought about by western technological process or the grass-roots struggle for equality, justice and liberation.5

In other words, the Bible in, and of itself, is not free-standing-other factors (culture, ethnicity, history) must be taken into consideration, and with those factors, the message of the Bible must be adjusted to fit. As one writer puts it, “Contextual theology aims at the humanization of theology.”6 But two questions need to be asked. First, will the contextualizing of Scripture cause such a twisting of its truth that it no longer is the Word of God, and secondly, is Scripture ineffective without this contextualization? To the first, I give a resounding yes! And to the second, an absolute no. The Word of God, which is an inspired work of the living Creator, is far more than any human-inspired book and has been written in such a way that every human being, rich or poor, man or woman, intelligent or challenged will understand the meaning of the Gospel message if it is presented in their native language; and thanks to the tireless work of missionaries for centuries, the Gospel in native languages is becoming a reality in most cultures today.

Dean Flemming is a New Testament teacher at European Nazarene College in Germany and the author of Contextualization in the New Testament. In his book, he defends contextual theology:

Every church in every particular place and time must learn to do theology in a way that makes sense to its audience while challenging it at the deepest level. In fact, some of the most promising conversations about contextualization today (whether they are recognized as such or not) are coming from churches in the West that are discovering new ways of embodying the gospel for an emerging postmodern culture.7

These “churches in the West” Flemming considers “most promising” are the emerging churches. He would agree with Bevans’ model of theology, but he has an answer to the emerging church’s dilemma. He states:

Many sincere Christians are still suspicious that attempts to contextualize theology and Christian behavior will lead to the compromising of biblical truth … we must look to the New Testament for mentoring in the task of doing theology in our various settings.8

There’s good reason some Christians are suspicious. But it can seem harmless at first because Flemming suggests the answer is in the New Testament, which he believes should be used as a prototype or pattern rather than something for doctrine or theology. New Testament theology is always open for change, he says, but we can learn how to develop this change by studying New Testament stories and characters. The premise Flemming presents of contextualizing Scripture is that since cultures and societies are always changing, the Word must change with it and be conformed to these changes. But I would challenge this. The Bible says the Word is living, active, and powerful:

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

And if the Word is this powerful, then it is stable and eternal as well. God, in His magnificence, is the Author of Scripture, and He surpasses time, culture, and societies. Contextualizing says people and cultures change, and therefore God’s Word must change. But, on the contrary, it’s people who need to change to conform to Scripture. If we really believe that the Bible is God’s Word, this would be clear to see; but if we think to ourselves that the Word is not infallible, not inspired, then contextualization would be the obvious expectation.

While certain parts of the Bible may be read as poetry (as Pagitt suggests), for indeed the Bible is a beautifully written masterpiece, it is also a living mechanism that is not to be altered-rather it alters the reader’s heart and life. It is much more than putting words around people’s experiences as emergents suggest.

The Bible tells us God is always right; it is man who is so often wrong. When we rely upon human consensus, we will end up with man’s perspective and not God’s revelation. This is a dangerous way to develop one’s spiritual life-the results can lead to terrible deception.

Brian McLaren put it well when he admitted it isn’t just the way the message is presented that emerging church proponents want to change … it’s the message itself they are changing:

It has been fashionable among the innovative [emerging] pastors I know to say, “We’re not changing the message; we’re only changing the medium.” This claim is probably less than honest … in the new church we must realize how medium and message are intertwined. When we change the medium, the message that’s received is changed, however subtly, as well. We might as well get beyond our naivete or denial about this….9

While reaching today’s generation for the cause of Christ is something we as Christians should all desire, we must remember Jesus Christ challenged us to follow Him and be obedient to His Word. Scripture commands us to “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). But the emergents are leading followers in the opposite direction, teaching that the Word of God needs to be conformed to people and cultures instead of allowing it to conform lives through Jesus Christ…. reimagining Christianity allows a dangerous kind of freedom; like cutting the suspension ropes on a hot air balloon, the free fall may be exhilarating but the results catastrophic.(From Faith Undone (http://www.lighthousetrails.com/faithundone.htm), pp. 42-45.)

Click here for endnote references… http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/index.php?p=735&more=1&c=1

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/newsletter072307.htm

Founder/Founding date: As a movement rather than an organized group, there is no founder or founding date, per se.  The philosophical roots extend to Gnosticism.  E.W. Kenyon (1860-?) was perhaps the earliest modern exponent to blend the movement’s eastern mystical and New Age elements with Christian teaching.

Official Publications: None.  Two prominent publications are Kenneth Copeland’s “Believer’s Voice of Victory” and Kenneth Hagin’s “The Word of Faith” magazines.  There are scores of books, newsletters, pamphlets by various authors Hagin, Kenyon, Copeland, Capps, Price, etc.

Organizational Structure: Has no key universally acknowledged leader or central headquarters.  The teachers of the movement all have their own churches and followings.

Unique Terms: The God-kind of faith; the force of faith; the Anointing; spirit-man; spiritual death of Christ; born-again Jesus; authority of the believer.

Other Names: Word-of-Faith, Positive Confession, Faith-formula, Health & Wealth Gospel.
 
HISTORY

Born in 1860, E. W. Kenyon is generally recognized as the founding father of the modern Word-Faith Movement.  Beginning as a Methodist, he became quite ecumenical, associating with the Baptists.  Some of his work even resulted in the founding of a few Primitive Baptist Churches.  Late in life, Kenyon moved into Pentecostalism.  At the same time, he combined elements of the metaphysical cults, such as Christian Science, New Thought theology, and Unity School of Christianity (D.R. McConnell, A Different Gospel, pp.31-35).  “The doctrines of correct thinking and believing accompanied by positive confession, with the result of calling a sickness a symptom (denial of reality supported by a Gnostic dualism) are not found in Christian writings until after New Thought and its offspring had begun to develop them.  Therefore, it is not unreasonable to state that the doctrine originated and developed in these cults, and was later absorbed by Christians in their quest to develop a healing ministry” (H. Terris Neuman, An Analysis of the Sources of the Charismatic Teaching of Positive Confession, p. 43).

Though obviously not the movement’s originator, some have also called Kenneth Hagin the “grand-daddy of the faith teachers” (Sherry Andrews, “Kenneth Hagin < Keeping the Faith,” Charisma, October 1981, p. 24).  In a survey of readers of Charisma (a major Charismatic magazine) concerning those ministers that influence them the most, Kenneth Hagin was 3rd, ranked behind only TV evangelist Pat Robertson, and the heir apparent to the Word-Faith movement throne, Kenneth Copeland (Kenneth Hagin, Jr., Charisma, “Trend Toward the Faith Movement,” August 1985, pp. 67-70).

DOCTRINE – GOD
           
Word-Faith teachers claim that God operates by spiritual law and is obliged to obey the faith-filled commands and desires of believers.  He not only reveals prosperity teaching supernaturally to the Word-Faith teachers, but personally and verbally confirms their unique interpretations of Scripture (Copeland, Laws of Prosperity, pp. 60-62).

They say the Abrahamic Covenant is the basis for commanding God to do His part in the covenant.  Robert Tilton says, “we make our own promises to do our part, then we can tell God, on the authority of His word, what we would like Him to do.  That’s right, you can actually tell God what you would like His part in the Covenant to be” (God’s Miracle Plan for Man, p. 36). Kenneth Copeland says, “as a believer, you have a right to make commands in the name of Jesus.  Each time you stand on the Word, you are commanding God to a certain extent, because it is His Word” (Our Covenant with God, p. 32).  Copeland goes so far as to say that “God was the lesser party and Abraham was the greater” in the covenant between them (Copeland, Legal and Vital Aspects of Redemption, 1985, Audio Tape #01-0403).

The Faith teachers also make God into a big man.  Copeland says, “God is…a being that stands somewhere around 6′-2,” 6′-3,” that weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple of hundred pounds, little better, and has a hand span of nine inches across” (Spirit, Soul, and Body, 1985, Tape #01-0601).  Morris Cerillo, in an alleged out-of-body experience, describes God: “Suddenly, in front of this tremendous multitude of people, the glory of God appeared.  The form that I saw was about the height of a man 6 feet tall, maybe taller, and twice as broad as a human body, with no distinguishing features such as eyes, nose, or mouth” (The Miracle Book, pp. x-xi).

DOCTRINE – MAN

Word-Faith teachers say that not only is God a big man, but man is a little god.  Kenneth Hagin has asserted, “man…was created on terms of equality with God, and he could stand in God’s presence without any consciousness of inferiority…. He made us the same class of being that He is Himself…. He lived on terms equal with God…. The believer is called Christ, that’s who we are; we’re Christ” (Zoe: The God Kind of Life, pp. 35-36, 41).  “God’s reason for creating Adam was His desire to reproduce Himself…He was not a little like God.  He was not almost like God.  He was not subordinate to God even” (Copeland, Following the Faith of Abraham, 1989, Tape #01-3001).  He also proclaims, “You don’t have a God in you < you are one!” (Copeland, The Force of Love, 1987, Tape #02-0028).  Morris Cerillo says “the whole purpose of God was to reproduce Himself. …you’re not looking at Morris Cerillo, you’re looking at God, you’re looking at Jesus” (The End Time Manifestation of the Sons of God, Audio Tape 1, Sides 1 & 2).

DOCTRINE – CHRIST

The deity of Christ is compromised.  Kenneth Copeland, in relating what Christ supposedly told him, says, “don’t be disturbed when people accuse you of thinking you are God…the more you get to be like Me, the more they are going to think that way of you.  They crucified Me for claiming that I was God.  But I didn’t claim I was God.  I just claimed I walked with Him and that He was with Me” (Copeland, “Take Time to Pray,” Believer’s Voice of Victory, #15, 2 February 1987, p. 9).  “Jesus was on the earth just a man, not the son of God” (Frederick K.C. Price, Tape #RP 19, May 1993).  And Kenneth Hagin says, “You are as much the incarnation of God as Jesus Christ was” (The Word of Faith, December 1980, p. 14).

DOCTRINE – ATONEMENT
 
The very important doctrine of the atonement of Christ is distorted.  Frequently Word-Faith teachers unduly over-emphasize the spiritual death instead of the physical death of Christ.  “Physical death will not remove sins” (Hagin, The Name of Jesus, p. 29).  In other words, it took the spiritual death of Jesus to atone for sins.  “Do you think that the punishment of our sins was to die on the cross?  If that was the case, the two thieves could have paid our price.  No, the punishment was to go into hell itself and to serve time in hell separated from God” (K. C. Price, Ever Increasing Faith Messenger, June 1990, p. 7).

According to Word-Faith teachers, when Adam rebelled, or “committed high treason,” he not only betrayed God by turning over to Satan what God had given him, he also took on the nature of Satan.  So, to redeem mankind and creation from Satan’s legal control, Jesus, as the second Adam, had to die not only physically but spiritually.  This may be acceptable among some evangelicals.  But where it has led Word-Faith teachers is not.  They say Jesus not only bore our sins on Calvary, but also took on the actual nature of Satan himself.  “Just as Adam died spiritually, Jesus died spiritually.  The spiritual death He suffered caused His physical body to die…. When Jesus accepted the sin nature of Satan into His Spirit He cried ‘My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?’ He was separated from God… He was ushered into the bowels of hell” (Kenneth Copeland, Classic Redemption, p. 13; emphasis added).  “Spiritual death means having Satan’s nature” (Hagin, The Name of Jesus, p. 31).

Just a man on earth, and taking on the nature of Satan at the cross, Jesus becomes just a sinner in need of redemption.  At the resurrection Jesus is a born again man from the pit of hell.  “Jesus was born again in the pit of Hell….The Church started when Jesus was born again in the gates of Hell” (Charles Capps, Authority In Three Worlds, pp. 212 13).

OTHER DOCTRINES
    
1) Positive Confession: The Theology of the Spoken Word (Rhematology), or thought actualization, is commonly known as positive confession.  It stresses the inherent power of words and thoughts.  Each person predestines his own future by what he says verbally and by how well he uses spiritual laws.  As such, it is as if we live in a mechanistic universe instead of a personal one (see, Kenneth Copeland, Laws of Prosperity, p. 15; Charles Capps, The Tongue A Creative Force, pp. 117-118; Releasing the Ability of God, pp. 98-99, 101-104).

2) The Gospel of Health: Isaiah 53 is used to justify blanket coverage for the physical healing of every Christian who has enough faith.  “…it is the plan of our Father God in His great love and His great mercy that no believer should ever be sick, that every believer should live his life full span down here on earth and that every believer should finally just fall asleep in Jesus” (Hagin, Seven Things You Should Know About Divine Healing, p. 21).  Hagin also denies having a headache for forty-five years, labeling such as “simply symptoms rather than any indication of a headache” (In the Name of Jesus, p. 44).

3) The Gospel of Wealth: A central tenet of the prosperity gospel is that God wills the financial prosperity of every Christian.  If a believer lives in poverty, he/she is living outside God’s intended will.  “You must realize that it is God’s will for you to prosper” (Copeland, Laws of Prosperity, p. 51).
 
BIBLICAL RESPONSE

1) God is the unique, Sovereign of the Universe (1 Timothy 6:15).  God is pure spirit (John 4:24).  There is no biblical basis for teaching that God has His own body, as an essential part of His nature or being.  This would be more in line with Mormonism than orthodox Christianity.

2) Man is unique from the rest of Creation, but is not Divine.  He was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26, 27; 9:6), but bearing God’s image does not make him a “little god.”  By definition, God is an “uncreated” or self-existent Being.  Obviously, humans were created and therefore are not self-existent or divine; only God has a divine nature (Galatians 4:8; Isaiah 1:6-11, 43:10, 44:6; Ezekiel 28:2; Psalms 8:6-8).

3) Christ is Eternal, the Only Begotten Son, and the Only Incarnation of God (John 1:1, 2, 15; 1:14, 18; 3:16; 1 John 4:1).  In Him dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9).  By receiving the limitations of humanity (Philippians 2:6-7) Jesus forwent the exercise of some of His prerogatives as God.  But He did not cease to be God.  It is also impossible for the natures of God or man (Christ was both on earth) to cease being what they are.

4) The nature of the atonement had to do with Jesus’ physical death on the cross being the payment for sins (Hebrews 9:22).  Christ said, “It is finished” (John 19:30), which translates tetelistai meaning “paid for in full.”  Payment for our sins took place on the cross (Matt. 26:28; 1 Pet. 2:24; Col. 1:20-22; Heb. 10:10, 12, 14, 19 20). There was nothing more to pay beyond the cross (Heb. 10:18).

5) God is the only One who ever created reality by the power of His Word (Genesis 1:3).  He does not have or need “faith.”  Faith is depending on something outside ourselves.  If God depends upon something outside Himself, He is not Supreme and therefore not God.  Man, not God, is in need of faith.  The faith referenced in Mark 11:22 and Hebrews 11:3 is clearly “the faith which has God as its object,” not “the kind of faith that God has.”

6) The use of words for Positive Confession < One may help or hurt another by words of encouragement or condemnation, by telling the truth or misleading, etc.  But to treat words as if they were some “star wars” type weapon by which reality is manipulated or altered is not biblical, but occultic.
 
RESOURCES
           
A Different Gospel (Updated Edition) D.R. McConnell. Warns of the movement’s cultic nature in its doctrine of healing and its understanding of the atonement, and demonstrates how far the movement’s doctrine of prosperity is from Scripture’s true teaching. Chapter end-notes, Bibliography, 195 pages, softcover. $8.

Christianity in Crisis, Hank Hanegraaff.  Documents the antibiblical doctrines of the Word-Faith Movement and shows their systematic subversion of the historic Christian faith.  Appendices, Notes, Bibliography, Scripture and Subject indexes, 447 pages, hardcover. $17

Profile is a regular feature of the Watchman Expositor published by Watchman Fellowship, Inc. Readers are encouraged to begin their own religious research notebooks using these articles.  Back issues of Profile are made available at a nominal fee.  Resource items are subject to changes in availability and price.  Free subscriptions may be ordered from the subscription page.
          
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Agent — A person sending a telepathic message to another entity.  Telepathy is the art of conversing mentally.

Akashic Record — Indestructible records of every person’s every word, thought, or deed inscribed in the spiritual realms

Alpha — The physical body.

Alchemy — The scientific process by which base metals are transmuted into gold.  Divine Alchemy is the process by which base metals (human beings) are transmuted into gold (divine nature).
 
Alkaline Diet — Diet to neutrallise acidity.  The body’s ratio is 80% alkalinity and 20% acidity.  Alkaline diet generally refers to fruits and vegetables.  Naturopathy recommends a 100 gms fruits and 320 gms vegetables daily diet.
 
Animism — Anima means Soul and Animism is the conviction that inanimate things (such as plants) possess a soul or spirit.

Anthroposophy — Literally “Wisdom of Man,” attributed to the German mystic Rudolf Steiner.  It instructs that Truth is in every human being, even though hidden or often latent.
 
Ascended Masters — Refers to those who have reached the highest level of Cosmic Consciousness & have become guides of the spiritual evolution of mankind.

Ascension of Christ — Referred normally as the Ascension, it indicates the principle that man is divine and symbolises the rise of the Divine Consciousness in mankind, which is occurring now on a grand scale.

Astral — Astra means star and astral body is the etheric body which survives dealth.  The Astral body is connected to the physical body by a Silver Cord, an extended umbilical cord.  The Astral Universe is the subtle physical universe, most proximate to the physical universe.
 
Astral Body — The etheric body capable of projection from the physical body and which survives death.

Astral Flight — Flight of the Astral body from the physical body during trance, sleep or meditation.

Attunement –It is actually At-One-Ment, union with the Divine.  One attains a spiritual consciousness of Being through Meditation referred to variously as Unity Consciousness, Nirvana, Prajna, Samadhi, etc.  Various Consciousness techniques are used to cause this Union: Meditation; Guided imagery; Yoga; Hypnosis; Chanting of a Mantra; Ecstatic Dancing; Channeling of spirit guides; New Age music; and Positive Thinking or Alpha Mind techniques.

Aura — The Human Electro Magnetic Field – Radiated glow or halo surrounding living beings which can be photographed by Kirlian Photography.

Avatar — A manifestation of Divinity, of the Absolute and who initiates man into divine principles.  Such a one has progressed beyond the need to be reincarnated in another body as there is no further bad karma to work off.

Bhagavad Gita — The Science of the Absolute, the Upanishad sung by the Lord and the scripture on Yoga.

Biofeedback — A technique in which brain waves are monitored to bring normally unconscious, involuntary bodily functions under conscious, voluntary control.  Biofeedback can generate altered states of Consciousness.
 
Blood of Christ — The Life Energy of the Cosmic Christ, this blood flowed from the Cross into the spiritual realms from where the Christ intends to effect the spiritual evolution of mankind.

Bodhisattva — A being having attained Self Actualisation, voluntarily turns back from that state in order to aid humanity in evolving to Godhead.

Brahman – The Absolute, the Infinite.  Not an Absolute which is non-relative but an Absolute which takes all relativity in its embrace.

Brahma Jnana – Supreme Knowledge, a confluence of Relative, Absolute & Transcendental Knowledge.

Buddha — Literally The Awakened One, he who has risen from the normal three relative states of Consciousness to the Fourth – Transcendental Consciousness and the Fifth – Cosmic Consciousness.

Chakras — The seven Energy points on the body.  Tantra is the discipline which desribes the Seven Dynamoes of Cosmic Energy in the body.  The Root Chakra is at tha base of the spine and the Crown Chakra is on top of the skull.  Yoga and Meditation are practised through these invisible energy centers and the Kundalini, the coiled feminine serpentine energy, rises to the Crown Chakra and man attains Unity Consciousness.

1. The Root Chakra – Containing the Earth Principle – Muladhara
2. The Navel Chakra – Containing the Water Principle _ Manipura
3. The Solar Plexus Chakra – Containing the Fire Principle – Swadhishtana
4. The Heart Chakra – Containing the Air Principle – Anahata
5. The Throat Chakra – Containing the Ether Principle – Vishuddha
6. The Eyebrow Chakra – Containing the Mind Principle – Ajna
7. The Crown Chakra – The Thousand Petalled Lotus – Sahasrara

Chaos Theory – A mathematical theory advanced by Mendelbrot, which sees order in chaos.

Channeling — A New Age term for mediumship or spiritism.  With the intention of receiving supranormal information, the channeled yields control of his/her perceptual and cognitive capacities to a spiritual entity.
 
Clairaudience — Psychic ability to hear mentally without using the ears.

Clairvoyance — Psychic ability to see mentally without using the eyes, beyond ordinary time and space limits; also called “Second Sight.”

Consciousness Revolution — New Age exponents call for a Consciousness Revolution or a spiritual revolution with Life in rhythm with Natural Law.  The primary focus of this Unitive Consciousness is oneness with the Divine, with Nature, all mankind, the earth, and with the entire Universe.

Control — The Spirit that sends messages through a medium in trance.  Cosmic Christ — In Gnosticism and other mystic schools of thought, the Christ is considered to be a Universal Spirit or a Cosmic Force, guiding the spiritual evolution of mankind to the ultimate summit of Unity Consciousness.

Cosmic Consciousness — Literally meaning Universal Consciousness. Becoming one with the Universal Self or Cosmic Mind.

Cosmic Humanism — Cosmic Humanism views man as having unlimited mental potential due to his innate divinity which can make him rise to the level of the Divine. Quite antithetical to normative humanism which views Man as the measure of all things (that human conscience is the final Judge). 

Crystals — Possessing healing powers, crystals are recommended by New Age exponents for the restoration of Universal LIfe Energy in the human body.

Deja Vu — French for reliving again after another incarnation.  The doctrine of Metempsychosis or Transmigration of souls is related to this French expression.  The feeling that “I have experienced this event before” when we encounter an event for the first time.

Discarnate — The soul of a living creature who has died, travelling in the astral realms.  Downward Pull of the Mind.  The mind is pulled towards Subsconscient, viz, the Subconscious Mind.  Downward pull happening in the collective mind.  Socrates is poisoned.  Rimbaud flees to the Abyssinian desert.

Dowser — A sensitive who uses dowsing rods that points to hidden water, oil, buried money, lost articles, or people.  Spiritual dowsing is one of the legal domains of study and research in Russia.

Earth Logos — The Spiritual Being who is the ensouling Life of our Planet Earth and this system of philosophy is called Animism.  This mighty Being manifests as earth physically.

Energisation – Removing negative energy and imparting Positive Energy.  In Geo Biology, there are machines which effectuate this energisation like the Geopathic Stress Reverser.

Eros – Life Instinct, the opposite of Thanatos, the Death Instinct.

Esoteric — The opposite of Exoteric.  Meaning the inner.  The mystical.  The inner meaning of different mystic schools of thought as opposed to the outer intrepretations of different religions.  The outer, exoteric interpretations are often dualistic – that Man and God are different.  Esoteric meaning is that the Divine is resident in man, referred to as the Kingdom of Heaven, Self and the Divine Spark.

Esoteric Christianity — A mystical form of Christianity that sees its core truth as identical to the core truth of every other religion (i.e., man is divine).  This form of Christianity is same as Aldous Huxley’s Perennial Philosophy. 

ESP — Extrasensory perception encompassing paranormal abilities such as foreknowledge, & psychic abilities like telepathy, precognition, retrocognition, clairaudience & clairvoyance.

ESP Cards — A pack of twenty-five cards bearing five symbols, including stars, squares, circles, crosses, and waves.

Exoteric Christianity — Theology , a form of Christianity, identified with historic or orthodox Christianity that New Agers describe as being devoid of all spiritual authenticity.

Fall of Man — Refers to the Fall of Man’s Consciousness, which recognizes the existence of only the material realm.  The Christ is believed to have redeemed man in the sense that He enabled man to perceive the Spiritual Reality behind the material world, the Noumena behind the phenomena.

Free Masonry – A Western mystical school; builders in the Spirit.  A royal science and a noble art.  It originated from the Vedists of the East and was greatly influenced by Pythagorus.  Free Masonry intends to generate perfect Initiates.
 
Gaia — (Greek – Gaia – Goddess of the earth).  The Gaia Hypothesis was a scientific hypothesis formulated by James Lovelock whereby all living matter on the earth is a single living organism.  Humanity is considered the nervous system of the living earth in such a system.

Geobiology – The biology of the Earth; the theory that certain points of the earth have positive energy as well as negative energy.

Geopathic Stress – Negative energy of the earth which causes cancer and other ailments.

Geopathic Zone – A place full of Negative Energy.

Globalism — The doctrine that the world is a celestial family.with all as brothers and sisters and a New Age term referring to the need for a transformation of the world from the present nation state divisions into a global community.

Gnosticism — A mystical tradition going back to the second century which averrs that salvation comes through intuitive Gnosis (experiential knowledge of the Self) or knowledge of one’s innate divinity.

God — Universal Energy.  The sum total energy in the Universe is an absolute constant and cannot be created or destroyed.  The triune aspects of Being – Immanence, Transcendence and Cosmicity are symbolised by the Trinity, Son (Tat), Father (Sat) & the Holy Ghost (Om).

God Consciousness – A glorified state of Cosmic Consciousness that sees the finest Relative in everything, the 6th state of Consciousness in Transcendental Philosophy.

Gemology – The science of gems; often Astro Gemology, the science of gems as related to Astrology.

Graphology — The science and the analysis of handwriting. Character analysis and foretelling based on handwriting.

Great Invocation — A classic New Age prayer, invoking the Cosmic Christ on earth, whose presence will usher in an era of Unity Consciousness and Universal brotherhood.  This prayer has been translated into over 80 languages.
 
Group Guru — With Mass Incarnations of the Cosmic Christ happening on a planetary scale, this New Age terms refers to the same idea that the Cosmic Christ is incarnate in all of humanity and all mankind is a single Guru.
 
Guru — He who destroys the darkness of Ignorance.  Gu in Sanskrit means Darkness and Ru menas the destroyer.  The term means one who is enlightened and a bona fide Master.

Harmonic Convergence — The assembly of New Age meditators gathered at the same propitious astrological time in different locations to usher in World Peace and One-World government.

Holism — The doctrine which teaches the interrelatedness and interdependence of everything.  The principle that All Reality is organically One, the basis of Hinduism and Buddhism, now taught in all colleges and universities in America that followed Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.

Holistic Health — Holistic health gives priority to the Whole body and not the parts.  The body as an inter-related organism.  Following the doctrine that the Whole is more important than the parts, its goal is to treat the whole person (Body, Mind, and Self) as opposed to merely treating a particular sickness. (vide Sir William Osler “The patient who has the disease is more important than the disease of the patient”). Plato averred that the treatment of the parts should not be attempted without treatment of the entire body. Psycho-physical medicine in direct contrast to physical medicine.

Hologram — Basically a three-dimensional projection resulting from the interaction of laser beams, its image can be reproduced from any one of its many component parts.  According to New Age Philosophy, the entire Universe is one Divine Hologram and the Hologram is used to illustrate the oneness of all reality.

Homeopathy — A system of medicine based on the principle of “Similia Similibus Curanter ” (Like cures like) & developed by Samuel Hahnemann.

Human Potential Movement — Man uses only 5% of his mental potential and 100% mental potential can be unfolded by psychotechnologies.  A movement with roots in humanistic psychology that stresses man’s essential goodness and the ability of the mind to achieve 100% potential.

I Ching — A mysterious Chinese book, which shows the art of divination, This book is used heavily in Red China.

Inconscient – The Unconscious Mind. According to Freud, the most powerful element of the Mind.

Initiation — This term is generally used in reference to the expansion or transformation of a person’s consciousness.  Derived from the Latin “In ire” to go within.  An Initiate is one whose consciousness has been transformed so that he now perceives the Inner Essence, the noumena behind the phenomena.
 
Inner Self or Higher Self — Often referred to as the Overself, it refers to the inner divine nature possessed by human beings.  All people possess an inner Self, though man lives in ignorance of it.  Conscience is Vox Dei, the voice of this inner Self.

Integralism – The philosophy which integrates both Matter and Spirit.  Dialectical Integralism, propounded by the philosopher Aurobindo, which unifies Matter and Spirit as the obverse and the reverse of same coin of Being, and emphasises the omnipotence of the Mind-Overmind-Supermind Axis.

Integrator – He who integrates all religions; all philsophies; all civilizations; as they come from One Universal Source.

Interdependence or Interconnectedness — The Universe is the Whole and we are puny parts of that great Whole and all parts of the Universe are interrelated, interdependant and interconnected.  New Age terms used to illustrate the oneness and essential unity of everything in the universe.

Intelligence – Invisible Nature.  Nature is visible Intelligence.  Intelligence is invisible Nature.

Intuition – The Eye of Wisdom, the Third Eye.
 
Intuitive Reason – There are four faculties of the Intuitive Reason – Revealation (Ila), Inspiration (Saraswathi),

Intuition (Sarama) & Illumination.

Jesus — An Avatar who attained a high level of attunement to the Cosmic Christ.  This enabled him to become a bodily vehicle for the Christ and declare “I am divine, the Universal expresses through Me”.

Kabala (Cabbala, Qaballah) — Hebrew mystical lore, rich with mystical experiences of the followers of the Esoteric Kabala.

Karma — Literally meaning Action.  The Universal Law of Cause and Effect, the Law of Action & Reaction, the Law of Retributioin is this Grand Law of Causation.  Same as “What ye sow, ye shall reap” of the Bible.

Kirlian Photography –Invented by the Russian electronic engineer, Seymond Kirlian, a photographic process that measures living auras

Kundalini — The elemental serpentine energy of the human body which lies coiled at the base of the spine.  Often called as the Serpent Power (”The Serpent Power” by Sir John Woodroffe) in Tantra & Yoga and as the Golden Serpent in Reiki.

Levitation — Levity was the term coined by the German poet Goethe.  The opposite of gravitation.  While Newton thought how the apple fell, Goethe thought how the apple got up there.

Macrocosm — The Whole; the Universe

Magic Circle Ring — A psychic protective ring, drawn by occultists to protect them from other psychic attacks.
 
Mantra — A word or phrase that is to be chanted repetitively in an effort to empty the mind and attain Cosmic Consciousness.

Mass Incarnation — An incarnation of the Cosmic Force in all of humanity.  New Age exponents say that this incarnation is presently taking place on a massive planetary scale (referred to as the Ascension), like the incarnation of the Cosmic Christ in the body of Jesus 2,000 years ago.

Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Scale — The Transpersonal Psychology of Maslow lists a hierarchy of human needs.  The basic needs are physiological (food, clothing and shelter).  Next comes the Security Need which is Money.  Next comes Social & Esteem needs.  The final Need is Self Actualisation, the Knowledge and Realisation of the Self.

Medium — A psychically sensitive being whose body-mind-intellect-complex is used as a vehicle for communicating with etheric bodies.

Metaphysics — The science of the Self.  Beyond Physics.  Metaphysics was the study of Time, Space & Causality, the nature of the Universe and Cosmology.

Microcosm — Man. “Little man’s world”.  Man as microcosm, wherein he copies the structure of the great Universe.  Mind – A steady stream of thoughts.  In Freud Mind is omnipotent and is a clumsy interlude between Nature’s vast and precise subconscient action and the vaster and infallible superconscient action of the Godhead.

Monism — The mystic tie which connects not only all men into brotherhood but the elements of the Universe into Unity.  Reality as a Unified Whole.  The Unified Field is the only Reality (Einstein).  That Unified Field is the Brahman of the Indians and the Tao of the Chinese (Fritjof Capra).  Everything in the universe is made of the same Universal Substance (Universal Matter, Universal Energy or Universal Being). The Same, friend and foe are of the same Stuff ( Emerson ).

Naturopathy — The prophylactic aspect of Ayurveda, Vedic Holistic Medicine.  Nature as the Doctor.  The Elemental Five are the Five Doctors.  “Medicus Curata Natura Sanat” – The physician treats but it is Nature that heals.  Negative Energy – GeoBiology (a combination of Geology and Biology) points out that some areas of the Earth are infested with Negative Energy.

New Age Movement — An Organization of people, advanced in consciousness and committed to Universal Love, who are convinced the world has entered the Aquarian Age when World Government and World Peace will rule.  Among them may be found environmentalists, nuclear-freeze proponents, Marxist-socialist theoreticians, mind-control advocates & bona fide spiritual Masters.

Nirvana — Liberation from earthly sorrows; Universal Consciousness.

Numerology — The science & analysis of hidden or the vibrational nature of numbers, based on the Pythagorean Law of Vibration.  The mystery of the Universe was intercomprehensible to Pythagorus in the notion of the Number.

Om — A word symbolizing Brahman, the Absoulte Self. The three letters A U M representing the 3 relative states of Consciousness, waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep and the last note, the transcendental state.

One Worlders –Those who believe that World Government is the global solution.  Those who suggest the abolition of nations, working to hand over power to a single-world government which has the knowledge and expertise to create an ideal society.

Out-of-Body Experience — Referring to the experience when the astral body gets out of the physical during sleep or temporary death.

Overmind – A higher principle than Mind.  The Vijnana of the Upanishads.  The Rig Veda defines it as an ocean of stable lightnings or an Eye Extended in Heaven.

Pantheism — The doctine of the Immanence of the Divine, the principle that identifies the Divine with the Universe, every particle, tree, table, animal, and person being part of Him.  If Being is omnipresent, where is It?  The Universe is He in manifestation.  Everything is He.

Paradigm Shift — Refers to a shift in world perspectives.  The New Paradigm (new model or form) is Monistic (All is Unity), Pantheistic (All is Divine Substance) & Holistic (The Whole is divinley Real).

Paranormal — Above the normal.  Beyond or above normal human powers or senses.

Parapsychology — The art of Biopsychical research dealing with the energetic and developmental possibilities of living organisms.  Using scientific methods, paranormal phenomena is researched.

Percipient — The receipient; the person who receives telepathic messages.

Perennial Philosophy –Philosophia Perennis.  Coined by Aldous Huxley that sees all spiritual truth or experience as one and the same.  This philosophy proposes that even though the externals of the various religions may differ, the essence or core truth is the same in each.
 
Phase Transition – A term of Quantum Physics implying transition from Entropy (Disorder) to order.

Physiognomy – The Wisdom of the Face.  The art of character analysis based on the face.

Precession of the Equinoxes – The Vernal Equinoctial Point retrogrades thorough the Signs of the Zodiac.  The precession is 72 years per degree.  A Precessional Cycle, therefore, is 360 degrees * 72 years = 25920 years.

Plan, The — A phrase occurring often in the writings of the foundational apostle of the N A M, Alice Bailey, referring to certain preparations in the world for a New Age Movement and a New Age Redeemer.  These preparations are carried out by the Masters of the Hierarchy, a group of perfected beings who guide the spiritual evolution of people on earth.
 
Planetary Citizens — Divine Integrators.  A New Age group ready to integrate all and create a Universal Consciousness.
 
Planetization — Integrating the whole planet (the earth) into a unified whole.  The global solution advocated by New Age philosophers.  Bringing all under the umbrella of Universal Brotherhood and Universal Friendship.

Poltergeist — German word for a noisy, mischievous, destructive spirit (a demon).

Positive Energy – GeoBiology (a combination of Geology and Biology) points out that some areas of the Earth are infested with Positive Energy.

Prana – Universal Life Energy; same as Chi in Chinese, Pneuma in Greek and Qi in Japanese.

Prajnana – Experiential Knowledge of the Self, same as Gnosis of the Greeks.

Precognition — Advance knowledge of future events based on Intuition.

PSI — Term used in place of psychic or paraphysical; ESP.

Psychic Birth — The Second Birth or Birth in Spirit.  A quickening of Cosmic Consciousness and power.  This new consciousness is one that recognizes oneness with the Divine and the universe.

Psychic Energy — Universal Life Energy which has healing properties and which is heavily used in Reiki and Pranic Therapy.

Psychic Healer — A person who cures mental or physical illness from the Universal Life Energy emanating through the healer’s hands. (used in Pranic Therapy).

Psychotechnologies — Refers to the various approaches or systems aimed at deliberately altering one’s consciousness.

Quantum Medicine – Holistic Medicine (vide “Quantum Healing” by Dr Deepak Chopra). The Medicine which treats not only the parts but the entire body.

Reincarnation — The soul, the immortal spark of the Divine, undergoes a cyclical evolution and passes over from one body to another & the process continues till it achieves Self-Actualisation or Final Emancipation when it merges with the Infinite.

Retrocognition — Cognition of the past events learned via Intuition or psychic vision.

Right Brain Learning — Right Brain is Synthetic and Left Brain is Analytic.  The right hemisphere of the brain is the center of intuitive and creative thought & the left is rational and scientific.  New Agers have rightly pointed that this system of Right Brain Learning Techniques should be brought into the curriculum.  These techniques include Meditation, Yoga, and Guided imagery.

Rolfing — A therapeutic system, by which, energy blockages in the body are removed by the application of deep pressure or massage.

Sééance — A group of people who seeks communication with the dead, often relatives or dear ones or famous figures via a medium.

Second Coming of Christ — Related to the New Age concept of the Mass Incarnation.  The Second Coming is now occurring in the hearts and minds of people all over the earth as Divine Consciousness.  Also known as Ascension.

Self Actualisation — Actualisation of the Absolute Self; same as Unity Consciousness.

Self-Realization — Realization of the Absolute Self, which is the only Reality.  Another synonym for God-Realization and the same as Nirvana, Samdhi, Prajna, Unity Consciousness etc.  Same as Self Actualisation of Maslow in Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Scale.

Sensitive — Psychically sensitive.  A person who has paranormal powers.  A person who demonstrates ESP gifts such as foreknowledge, clairaudience, clairvoyance or precognition.

Shaman — A medicine man with psychic powers, who uses Hypnotherapy, Pranic Therapy, mantras etc to cure patients.  Solar Logos — The Soul of the Solar System.  The material solar system is simply a physical manifestation (or body) of this living Intelligence.

Spirit Control — A disembodied spirit who relays messages from dead people to the living through a spiritual medium.
 
Spiritual — That which is spiritual is natural in its ascent and cause; that which is natural is spiritual in its descent and being.

Spiritual Hierarchy of Masters — Spiritually evolved Masters, having already achieved Self-Actualisation, are now guiding the rest of humanity to this same Goal.

Spiritualist or Spiritist — Person who believes in the ability to contact departed souls through a medium.

Subject — Person used for experiments in ESP studies.
 
Subconscient – The Subconscious Mind.  The seat of all the negative elements in Man.  (Lust, greed, anger, jealousy, sloth, covetousness & gluttony).

Sujnana – Knowledge of the Absolute, Philosophic knowledge

Sufism — Islamic Mysticism or the Islamic Yoga. Union with the Divine.

Superconscient – The Superconscious Mind.  Our evolutionary future.  Above the conscious, the subconscious and the Unconscious.  The base of all life.

Supermind – The highest divine principle.  In Aurobindo philosophy the principle which connects the Upper and the Lower Hemispheres of the One Existence.  The lower Hemisphere is Life, Mind and Matter and the Upper, Being, Knowledge and Bliss or Existence, Consciousness and Beatitude.

Syncretism — The glorious attempt to combine or unify differing religious systems.  New Age exponents averr that all the world religions teach the same core truth: that all human beings possess an inner divinity and Religion is the manifestation of the divinity already in man.  All are brethren and all religions are so many radii of one circle, designed to lead man from the circumference and the surface of life to the One Central Light, the Self.

Synergy — A principle which states that the Whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Tantra — Derived from two Sanskrit terms “Thanothi” (to expand) and “Trayathe” (to liberate).  Tantra is a similar discipline like Yoga whose aim is Self-Actualisation.  The aim of Tantra is the Union of Knower, Knowledge and the Known.

Taoism — A Chinese system of Philosophy that views the universe as engaged in incessant motion and activity.  Same as Brahman of the Upanishads.  ‘Duration, then, eternally successive movement and change in Time is the sole Absolute’.  The universe is intrinsically dynamic & everything is in a state of continual flux This cosmic process is the Tao.  Tao is that which is formless, yet the mother of all forms, and that which is timeless, yet prior to all manifestations, and that which does nothing, yet leaves nothing undone.

Tarot Cards — A deck of 78 cards wherein the secrets of the Universe are symbolically depicted.

Telekinesis — The ability to move physical objects by Psychic Energy or by voluntary control ; same as Psychokinesis.

Telepathy — Communication between minds by ESP.

Thanatos – Death Instinct, the destructive urge in Man.  Equal to Thamas of Yogic Psychology.  Theosophy One of the forerunners of New Age thought, Theosophy was founded by Helena P. Blavatsky.  The term literally means Divine Wisdom.  The objectives of Theosophy are to (1) form a universal brotherhood; (2) do comparative study of world Religions, Science, and Philosophy; and (3) investigate the psychic and spiritual powers dormant in man.

Therapeutic Touch — The Touch of the Alternative Medicine Healer.  The Universal Life Energy is chanelled for the patient and then the patient is helped to assimilate this energy.

Third Eye — Symbolising Intuition, the Eye of Wisdom, the center of psychic vision.  Antinomic Reason is represented by our two eyes and the Third Eye symbolises the Eye of Wisdom.”  The Intuition, sees things by flashes, not as a whole.

Trance — A psychic state, a possession by Spirit.  This is akin to sleep.
 
Trance Channeler — The new term for trance medium.

Transformation — Both personal and planetary transformation, individual and collective, are advocated by New Age exponents.  By increasing Self-Actualisation, personal transformation takes place on an individual level and as more individuals are transformed, society, state and the world becomes transformed into a global brotherhood and world peace reigns supreme.

Transfiguration – Our human nature, due to divine yogic techniques, becomes transfigured into divine nature.  The divine Aurobindo spoke about the Transfiguring Hour or the Hour of God.

Transmutation – The Divine Transmutation of Man, which is the Ultimate principle of Mysticism. Human nature becomes transmuted into divine nature, which is the ultimate divine aim.

Transcendental Consciousness – The Fourth State of Consciousness, transcending the three relative states of Consciousness, referred to as Tureeya in Yoga.

UFO — Unidentified flying object; flying saucer.

Ultradien Healing Response — The human body everyday goes through a healing cycle (round about 90 minutes) and this is called the U H R.

Unity-in-Diversity Council — A New Age Meta-network of over 100 networks and groups rallying for global cooperation and interdependence, emphasising the Unity beneath the apparent diversity.
 
Upward Pull of the Mind – The Pull of the Mind towards the Superconscient or the Superconscious Mind.

Vedas — Scriptures which were never written and which were cognised in higher states of Consciousness.  Symbolically depicted as ‘Descendit e caelo’ or descended from Heaven.  What the Seers hear is only an infinitesimal portion of the Infinite Vedas!

Vedic Foods – Low acidity, low-cholesterol diet based on Naturopathy, the prophylactic aspect of Ayurveda.
 
Vijnana – Knowledge of the Relative, Scientific knowledge.

Visualization — Another term for Guided Imagery, visualization basically refers to the power of Mind over Matter.  Mind is omnipotent and can it bring changes in the material realm.  “Mind is a mediator Divinity/ Its powers can undo all Nature’s work” (Aurobindo).

World Goodwill — A New Age group that works for implementing The New Age World Plan.

Yantra – A masterpiece of Manifestation depicted in Silver, copper or gold plate.  A sacred syllable or Mantra is inscribed on a silver or gold plate.  Believed to have occult powers to ward off evil.

Yin/Yang — The male and female components of the Ultimate.  Chinese terms referring to the active and passive principles of the universe or rather Yin refers to the female or [inactive] negative force; Yang to the male or active force.  These two polar forces continually interplay with each other.  Briefly, it means that good and evil and right and wrong are actually the observe and the reverse of the coin of Life; they simply appear as opposites.  Transcend the Opposites or the dualities (seen and unseen, hot and cold, up and down, back and forth, day and night, high and low, etc.), and you can attain Perfection (Nirvana, Samadhi, Prajna, Unity Consciousness etc.).

Yoga — The Science of the Superconscient.  The scientia ultima or the Ultimate Science.  The method divine of becoming united with the Supreme Being, or with the Universal Self.

Yogi — The initiate in Yoga who strives for Unitive Consciousness, the Seventh State of Consciousness.

Zodiac — A belt of the Heavens 9 degrees away from the Ecliptic.  Referred by Dante as “the Oblique Line that beareth all planets”.  Like fishes swim in a pond, the planets swim in this 18 degree belt.  The Zodiac beginning from 0 degree Aries is Tropical and the Zodiac beginning from 0 degree Beta Arietis (Ashwini) is Sidereal.

My first introduction to Rick Warren’s book, “The Purpose-Driven Life,” was through input given to me by a missionary (a former Roman Catholic) who had been unsuccessfully witnessing to his Catholic relatives.  His Catholic brother and sister-in-law borrowed TPDL from him without his offering it to them.  He said it was the only time they were ever interested in any of his “Protestant” material.  They loved the book, although it did nothing to dissuade them from their Roman Catholicism.  I can only surmise that what they read reinforced their Catholic meritorious works orientation for salvation.  TPDL does stress “doing” and “submission” to the church (or Church, in their case).  The gospel presented in the book is not clearly at odds with the gospel of Rome, and therefore does not present a threat that Catholics would turn from their faith.  Some Roman Catholic Churches offer TPDL and related church-growth materials.

Generally speaking, The Purpose-Driven Life is a pastor’s dream.  Rick Warren issues exhortations that most pastors rarely challenge their congregations with, but with which most pastors would very much like to have their members comply.  Warren offers some teachings that are biblically sound when used in scriptural context.  Throughout the book, the reader will find many things to challenge him in his walk with the Lord.

On the other hand, there are also a number of teachings and other content found in the book that could easily lead the reader away from the truth of God’s Word.  My chief concern is that the undiscerning reader will buy into much of what Rick Warren presents that is unbiblical.  Given his worldwide influence, he is sowing much error among the sheep, in spite of (and possibly because of) the good content he presents.

Additionally, I had a sense of uneasiness that transcended the particular problems with the book.  I felt that I was being ushered into a developing program that has an agenda beyond just helping the Christian to grow in his relationship with the Lord or teaching the local church to glorify God and to bear fruit as it functions as a body in obedience to the Scriptures.  Many of Rick Warren’s church-growth developments are reminiscent of movements within the church during the latter part of the 20th century, e.g., the Latter Rain movement, Kingdom Now theology, Dominionism, and Christian Reconstructionism.  All of these promoted the religious humanistic idea that Christianity, through the application of biblical principles or signs and wonders, would transform the earth into a paradise and thereby convert the majority of its population to Christ.

Following are, in my opinion, some of the more troubling aspects of the book.  Bear with me if some of the things pointed out seem inconsequential.  Although I purposefully tried to avoid nit picking, nevertheless,some seeming “nits” are recorded because they reveal a tendency on Rick Warren’s [RW] part that indeed has critical consequences.   For instance, if it were a rare exception that RW misrepresented a Bible verse as a proof text for a concept he was teaching, it would be unfair to him to make an issue out of it.  However, he does that with great frequency throughout “The Purpose-Driven Life.”  Sadly, there are many other such “nits.”

In attempting to encourage the reader to complete the book in “40 days,” Rick Warren cites the significance of that time period in the Bible.  However, he takes liberties by imposing his own ideas on the Scriptures in order to support what he is saying.  Although his interpretations give the impression of being biblical, often they are not.  For example, he gives a list of individuals from the Bible who were questionably “transformed” through a 40-day experience.  That is an overstatement at best.  However, he also includes the temptation of Jesus, of which he says: “Jesus was empowered by 40 days in the wilderness.”  This is a definite misrepresentation in attempting to validate one of the book’s opening premises (pp. 9-10).

Although Rick Warren seems to the reader to be applying the Scriptures, his preference for paraphrase Bible versions throughout the book is definitely counterproductive to understanding the Word of God.  In addition, his encouragement to memorize Scripture verses (normally a good thing), when applied to the paraphrase verses he lists, is not a memorization of God’s Word at all, but rather someone’s subjective interpretation of the Scriptures.  That’s not good (p. 11).

On page 11 he also states, “Real spiritual growth is never an isolated, individualistic pursuit.  Maturity is produced through relationships and community.”  Although I don’t find that idea in the Bible, it is a concept related to General Systems Theory, a concept contary to a biblical worldview.

“The best way to explain God’s purpose for your life is to allow the Scripture to speak for itself ” (p. 11).  RW’s use of so many subjective paraphrase interpretations makes it impossible for “the Scripture to speak for itself.”  A Bible paraphrase is an individual’s interpretation of what he thinks God is saying.  Many examples follow. 

Page 13 presents a very obvious problem:  the “covenant” signing between the reader and Rick Warren serves as a contract committing the individual to reading the book.  This is unbiblical, absurd (i.e., what kind of covenant can you have with the author of a book?), and potentially spiritually harmful (what if the person breaks the covenant?).

Page 15 begins with a verse from Eugene Peterson’s paraphrased Bible version, The Message (Msg):  “A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree” (Proverbs 11:28).  Here (and throughout) Peterson seems more interested in poetic language than in accurately rendering God’s Word.  Read what the KJV actually says: “He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.”

This first chapter is tremendously puzzling.  Although Warren says the right things about man’s purpose being found only in God and not in himself, the drift in the rest of the book is definitely humanistic, or man-centered.  Another curious item is the Purpose-Driven website’s promotion of this book by mentioning numerous secular organizations that use it, such as the President’s staff, Coca Cola, WalMart, NASCAR, the Oakland Raiders football team, as well as schools, civic clubs, and prisons. Did these entities seriously consider the prescript in the first chapter that only God can reveal a person’s purpose?

Although RW says the book is “not about you” (p. 17), much of the focus is indeed about “you.”  He continually appeals to the reader’s self-interests.

Notice the serious distortion of God’s Word via The Message.  Romans 8:6: “Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life” (p. 18), versus the KJV: “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”  Rick says, “Every other path leads to a dead end,” using Peterson to reinforce his point.  It’s this kind of “management language” that reinforces the view on the part of many that TPDL is simply a “how to be successful in life” book.  “It is about becoming what God created you to be” (p. 19).

Page 19 also reveals a major humanistic distortion of Matthew 16:25 from The Message: “Self-help is no help at all.  Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self,” versus KJV: “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” “For my sake” is out; “Your true self ” is in.

Although RW attempts to point the reader to the Bible by calling it “our Owner’s Manual,” he actually points one to paraphrases, which give very subjective and distorted interpretations of God’s Word (p. 20).

RW tells us that God “has clearly revealed his five purposes for our lives through the Bible.”  Five? Are these what God has specifically declared? (p. 20).

In interviews, Rick has stated unequivocally that “The Purpose-Driven Life” is not a “how to” or “self-help” book.  Yet, it is loaded with all the kinds of things that are common to “self-help” books.  For example, each chapter concludes with a “Point to Ponder,” a “Verse to Remember,” and a “Question to Consider.”  Throughout the book he gives “how to” helps such as “keeping a journal,” “discovering your S.H.A.P.E,” “how to make God smile,” etc.  Why does RW deny that TPDL is a self-help book?

On page 20, we find another man-centered Message interpretation:  1 Corinthians 2:7: “God’s wisdom…goes deep into the interior of his purposes….  It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest–what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us,” versus the KJV: “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: [and verse 8] which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”  Where is “his best in us” to be found here? 

Peterson’s Bible “version” is incredibly humanistic throughout, and that, along with RW’s own humanistic overtures, heavily influences “The Purpose-Driven Life.”

RW states unequivocally: “To discover your purpose in life you must turn to God’s Word, not the world’s wisdom.  You must build your life on eternal truths, not pop psychology, success-motivation, or inspirational stories” (p. 20).  While that would bring a rousing “amen” to those who look to the Bible as their authority and sufficiency for living a life pleasing to God, RW hardly backs up what he says throughout the book.  In fact, numerous passages verge on doublespeak.  On page after page, one finds Bible verses used out of context, paraphrase versions that drastically alter what God’s Word actually says, psychotherapeutic concepts introduced throughout, success and self-oriented encouragements added continually, and contradictions (including the  ecommendation of “inspirational stories” over preaching) that are confusing at best, and deceptive at worst.

Chapter 2 is problematic throughout.  RW more than implies a fatalistic or Calvinistic emphasis on God sovereignly determining every detail of a person’s life (though I doubt RW is a Calvinist).  In this chapter, he seems to deny the reality of free will and the resulting consequences of sin, and he also seems to have God involved in the evil that pervades the world.  This is nothing less than a form of divine determinism, that is, that God causes everything to take place, including blessings and sin.

On page 23 he states, “God knew that those two individuals possessed exactly the right genetic makeup to create the custom ‘you’ he had in mind.  They had the DNA God wanted to make you….  Every plant and every animal was planned by God, and every person was designed with a purpose in mind.”  Such a statement would have to include Hitler, Stalin, Osama Bin Laden, etc.

The emphasis is on “you” and your “value” on page 24: “We are the focus of his love and the most valuable of all his creation.”  The Bible says, “God decided to give us life through the word of truth so we might be the most important of all things he made.”(James 1:18 New Century Version) However, the KJV says, “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”  Hardly a “valuable” or “most important” emphasis there.  Nevertheless, RW adds, “You were created as a special object of God’s love!”

On page 25, RW quotes a poem that reinforces both the self-orientation and divine determinism of TPDL.  It states, “You are who you are for a reason.  You’re part of an intricate plan.  You’re a precious and perfect unique design, Called God’s special woman or man….  You’re just what he wanted to make.  The parents you had were the ones he chose, And no matter how you may feel, They were custom-designed with God’s plan in mind, And they bear the Master’s seal.”  Following such logic then, this must include any rape or incestuous situation.

The “Verse to Remember” ending Chapter 2 is another example of forcing a verse to say something that it clearly does not: “I am your Creator.  You were in my care even before you were born” (Isaiah 44:2).  This verse, quoted from the Contemporary English Version is a poor translation at best; however, RW compounds the error by quoting it completely out of context.  It has nothing to do with God caring for a person before he was born.  Isaiah 44:2 has God addressing the nation of Israel: “Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen” (p. 26).

Chapter 3 opens with the very thing that RW says he rejects: “pop psychology.”  He acknowledges Freudian pseudo-scientific concepts (“unconscious belief”; “[people] unconsciously punish themselves”) and attempts to include Cain in this by explaining that “his guilt disconnected him from God’s presence.”  He then tries to use this to support the thesis of his book: “That describes most people today–wandering through life without a purpose” (p. 28).

In view of the promotions of TPDL by its publisher and Saddleback Community Church listing endorsements from numerous secular corporations and organizations that are using the book, I would be fascinated to learn what has attracted them to RW’s stated objective for the reader: “This forty-day journey will show you how to live a purpose-driven life–a life guided, controlled, and directed by God’s purposes.”  Is this really meaningful for the Coca-Cola Corporation and others?  No, not the spiritual aspects, but perhaps they are gleaning other things that they believe will make their companies more successful.

On page 30, RW erroneously places Isaiah and Job among those who have no purpose to their lives.

RW refers positively to Dr. Bernie Siegel, a New Ager who has a spirit guide and advocates occult visualization for healing (p. 31).  What’s the value of using reinforcing quotes from individuals who are questionable Christians or whose lives and beliefs reject the biblical gospel?  Yet Rick presents many such people throughout the book in support of his ideas.

Promoting the “Purpose” theme, RW quotes Isaiah 26:3 from Today’s English Version: “You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you.”  However, the verse has nothing to do with RW’s “purpose”: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” (p. 32). 

Warren also refers positively to Transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau and antichristian George Bernard Shaw (p. 32, 33).

On page 34, Rick Warren says, “God won’t ask about your religious background or doctrinal views. The only thing that will matter is, did you accept what Jesus did for you and did you learn to love and trust him?”  This is unfortunate, because it presents a low view of doctrine, the very thing that Paul told Timothy would lead to an apostate church—the unwillingness to “endure sound doctrine.”  Moreover, knowing what to “accept” regarding “what Jesus did” is clearly a matter of sound biblical “doctrine.”

It’s puzzling to read on page 48, “God is very blunt about the danger of living for the here and now and adopting the values, priorities, and lifestyles of the world around us.”  It’s puzzling because the church-growth methods he uses at Saddleback certainly seem to reflect “adopting the values, priorities, and lifestyles of the world around” the Saddleback community in order to attract the unchurched.

One wonders how a “me generation” reader will respond to RW saying, “God made ants to be ants, and he made you to be you.  St. Irenaeus said, ‘The glory of God is a human being fully alive!’” (p. 55).

On page 58, RW makes a “seeker friendly” attempt at presenting the gospel.  One never gets the essential truth necessary for salvation that humans are sinners under condemnation and face God’s wrath and separation from Him forever in the Lake of Fire.  There is no explanation of why it was necessary for Jesus to go to cross.  RW explains nothing about the cross that is related to divine justice and divine love.  Instead, he states that those who haven’t received the Gospel and are not in line with God’s purposes for them are “just existing.”  RW quotes John 3:36 from The Message: “Whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets in on everything, life complete and forever!” (p. 58).  This is an interpretation that makes an obvious appeal to the flesh.  Furthermore, it leaves out the “negative” remainder of the verse: “and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

Although the first sentence in Chapter 1 of TPDL stated, “It’s not about you,” the emphasis on “you” (the reader) has been apparent and now rears its head with a vengeance in Chapter 8: “…the moment you were born into the world, God was there as an unseen witness, smiling at your birth (p. 63).  …[W]hen you fully understand this truth, you will never again have a problem with feeling insignificant.  If you are that important to God, and heconsiders you valuable enough to keep with him for eternity, what greater significance could you have?” (p. 63).

This is the gospel of self-esteem that elevates mankind and diminishes God’s infinite love by implying that the object of His love must have value, worth, and significance.  No.  That’s a man-centered doctrine.  God is love. To love something or someone because of it’s value or inherent worth detracts from God’s perfect love by subjecting it to a value system: Therefore, God loves me because I’m worth it.  To the contrary, Jesus went to the cross for His enemies (Romans 5:10)—hardly an endeavor related to value, worth, and significance.

Another of RW’s church-growth marketing strategies is to attract the unchurched by offering various styles of worship music that appeal to them.  Yet on page 66 he writes, “[Worship] isn’t for our benefit!  We worship for God’s benefit.  When we worship, our goal is to bring pleasure to God, not ourselves.”

RW quotes Romans 12:1 from The Message: “take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.”  How does one make one’s “sleeping” an “offering”?  Beyond that rather odd addition by Peterson, a literal translation says “that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (KJV). 

TPDL often presents a view of God that has its origins in the mind of man, not the Scriptures (which certainly teach us about the unfathomable love of God).  It is both anthropomorphic and humanistic, describing God from a human point of view for the purpose of making man feel good about himself.  Does God “smile” on people?  No literal translation tells us as much.  Yet RW has found some versions to support his idea: “May the Lord smile on you…” (Numbers 6:25, New Living Translation– p. 69).  “Smile on me your servant; teach me the right way to live” (Psalm 119:135, The Message) (p. 69).  “The Bible says, “Noah was a pleasure to the Lord.”  (Genesis 6:8, Living Bible) RW adds, God said, “This guy brings me pleasure.  He makes me smile.  I’ll start over with his family” (p. 69).

RW tells us that there are “five acts of worship that make God smile” (p. 70).  Here we have another set of “how to” principles to support an erroneous concept.  He then states that “God smiles when we trust him completely,” adding (another idea not found in God’s Word, though he implies it is in Hebrews 11:7) that Noah pleased God “even when it didn’t make sense.”  RW then has his readers use their imagination with his help: “But Noah, when I look at you, I start smiling.  I’m pleased with your life, so I’m going to flood the world and start over with your family” (p. 70).  Noting that Noah obeyed with the principle of wholeheartedness,” RW comments, “It is no wonder God smiled on Noah.”

On page 74, Rick Warren quotes from the New Living Translation stating, “The Bible tells us, ‘the steps of the godly are directed by the Lord.  He delights in every detail of their lives’” (Psalm 37:23).  “He delights in every detail of their lives” is a humanistic addition to the Scriptures.

RW also seems to be encouraging the reader’s self-orientation and self-esteem: “You only bring [God] enjoyment by being you.  Anytime you reject any part of yourself, you are rejecting God’s wisdom and sovereignty in creating you” (p. 75).

On page 75, Warren says, “When you are sleeping, God gazes at you with love, because you were his idea.  He loves you as if you were the only person on earth.”  The focus on self is pushed to the point of perverting the gospel: “If you want to know how much you matter to God, look at Christ with his arms outstretched on the cross, saying, ‘I love you this much!  I’d rather die than live without you’”(p. 79).  More: “God wants to use your unique personality. Rather than its being diminished, surrendering enhances it” (p.80).

RW adds interpretations of Scripture that go beyond what the text says or implies.  Referring to Luke 5:5, which has nothing to do with the “sense” of what the Lord instructed the disciples to do, he writes, “Surrendered people obey God’s word, even if it doesn’t make sense.”  Moreover, he implies (the potentially dangerous idea) that the Lord would have the believer submit to the irrational.

Again, his commentary on Mark 14:36 using the New Living Translation does harm to the intent of Christ’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, and most particularly distorts the gospel itself.  “Jesus didn’t pray, ‘God, if you’re able to take away this pain, please do so.  He had already affirmed that God can do anything!  Instead he prayed, ‘God, if it is your best interest to remove this suffering, please do so’” (p. 81).  Literal translations use only the word “cup,” not adding “suffering.”  The former implies Christ’s impending separation from His Father; the latter, His physical sufferings, which many erroneously believe were payment for the sins of mankind.

Throughout TPDL, RW continually feeds the reader doublespeak (i.e., persuasive contradictions) in appealing ways.  For example, as we’ve pointed out, this book is “not about you” yet the focus is more often than not on “you.”  Warren talks about fully submitting to God, telling us to put Christ in the “driver’s seat of your life and take your hands off the steering wheel” while at the same time finding a verse that implies retaining autonomy for self: “I am ready for anything and equal to anything to him who infuses inner strength into me, that is, I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency” (Philippians 4:13 The Amplified Bible), (p. 83).

On page 84, RW quotes Bill Bright, who makes a contract with God: “from this day forward I am a slave of Christ.”  Again, one wonders how would corporations that RW tells us are using TPDL such as NASCAR or Coca Cola relate to that?

RW dabbles in Catholic contemplative prayer techniques, which border on the occult and Eastern meditation, quoting Catholic mystic Brother Lawrence and his book Practicing the Presence of God (p. 88). 

Furthering the problem of opening the door to the pantheism (“God is in everything”) of Eastern mysticism, RW quotes Ephesians 4:6 from The New Century Version: “He rules everything and is everywhere and is in everything” (p. 88).  The KJV reads: “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all [i.e., believers].”

RW presents prayer mantras verging on “vain repetitions”: “One way is to use ‘breath prayers’ throughout the day, as many Christians [actually Catholic mystics] have done for centuries.  You choose a brief sentence or a simple phrase that can be repeated to Jesus in one breath: ‘You are with me.’  ‘I receive your grace.’  ‘I’m depending on you.’  ‘I want to know you.’  ‘I want to know you.’  ‘I belong to you.’  ‘Help me trust you.’  Pray it as often as possible so it is rooted deep in your heart” (p. 89).

More references to promoters of contemplative mysticism: “You must train your mind to remember God….  Benedictine monks use the hourly chimes of a clock to remind them to pause and pray ‘the hourly prayer’” (p. 89).

On page 90, we have another example of doublespeak. After endorsing Catholic mysticism and contemplative meditation techniques, RW confuses the reader by giving a definition of biblical meditation (also on page 190), which is the antithesis of contemplative meditation.

We also see many instances where RW contradicts the good things that he says by what he does.  He tells the reader, “It is impossible to be God’s friend apart from knowing what he says.  You can’t love God unless you know him, and you can’t know him without knowing his Word” (p. 90).  However, he gives the reader versions that are clearly not “his Word.”  Moreover, the whole thrust of the Christian contemplative movement is to know God experientially, not through studying the Bible.

Page 94 begins with another self-esteem-encouraging paraphrase verse that adds a word not found in any literal translations: “God said to Moses, ‘All right.  Just as you say; this also I will do, for I know you well and you are special to me” (Exodus 33:17- The Message).  God doesn’t tell Moses that he is “special” to Him.  In the KJV, He tells Moses that he has found grace in His sight and that He knows him by name.

RW legitimizes for the reader the very “pop psychology” he has said we are to reject: “It is likely that you need to confess some hidden anger and resentment at God for certain areas of your life where you have felt cheated or disappointed.”  He seems to validate psychotherapy’s “we’re all victims” orientation: “People often blame God for hurts caused by others” (p. 94).  Throughout the book, RW often refers to “hurts,” which is the psychological counseling industry’s mantra for attracting clients, e.g., “your problems are not your fault, but rather stem from ‘hurts’ you’ve suffered.”  He refers to Christian pop psychologist William Backus, endorsing his Freudian “hidden rift with God” as the key to psychological and spiritual wellness.  He then gives credence to psychology’s discredited “ventilation” technique: “but releasing your resentment and revealing your feeling is the first stepto healing.”

RW has a penchant for picking verses from Bible versions that make them more acceptable to the flesh.  Compare his use of The Amplified Bible with what the KJV says regarding intimate fellowship with God in Philippians 3:10: “My determined purpose is that I may know Him–that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly.”  Now the KJV: “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.”  The verse of RW’s choice adds purpose” and drops “the fellowship of his sufferings.”

At the end of Chapter 12, RW is summing up his thesis of developing a friendship with God.  However, he cites a “supportive” verse (1 Timothy 6:21) from the Living Bible that couldn’t be further removed from what the text literally says: “Some of these people have missed the most important thing in life–they don’t know God.”  Paul is warning Timothy (and us) that for the sake of his life in the faith he needs to avoid the philosophies and pseudo-sciences of the world by which some have had their faith undermined.  It’s ironic that RW gives no thought in his book to the need for discernment, and thus no Scripture verses, yet when he does cite a “discernment” verse, he completely misapplies it (p. 99).

On page 101, RW says, “To ‘worship in truth’ means to worship God as he is truly revealed in the Bible.”  While we would agree, sadly, TPDL seems to be prohibiting that for its millions of readers.

For Rick Warren’s sake, one would like to think that more than one person wrote “The Purpose-Driven Life” because of the continual contradictions.  You’d hope that it’s the product of two or more people having communication problems.  If not, it raises the issue of either ignorance or integrity.  How can one write some very helpful biblical statements and then seemingly reverse himself on the next page?  For example, he states that “God-pleasing worship is…deeply doctrinal” (p. 102), then cites worship that is experiential, ritualistic, and methodological.  He rejects worship that “focus[es] on our feelings” yet cites favorably the feelings-oriented worship of “sensates,” “ascetics,” and “contemplatives” (p. 103).

RW validates any and all kinds of religious rituals, methods, and means of developing a closer relationship with God: “…Gary Thomas] discovered that Christians have used many different paths for 2,000 years to enjoy intimacy with God….  In his book Sacred Pathways, Gary identifies nine of the ways people draw near to God: Naturalists are most inspired to love God out-of-doors, in natural settings.  Sensates love God with their senses and appreciate beautiful worship services that involve their sight, taste, smell, and touch, not just their ears.  Traditionalists draw closer to God through rituals, liturgies, symbols, and unchanging structures.  Ascetics prefer to love God in solitude and simplicity. [Yet on page 130, RW contradicts this by stating that “The Bible knows nothing of solitary saints or spiritual hermits isolated from other believers and deprived of fellowship.”] Activists love God through confronting evil, battling injustice, and working to make the world a better place.  Caregivers love God by loving others and meeting their needs.  Enthusiasts love God through celebration.  Contemplatives love God through adoration.  Intellectuals love God by studying with their minds” (pp. 102, 103).

RW on various translations and paraphrases: “It is so much easier to offer clichés in worship instead of making the effort to honor God with fresh words and ways.  This is why I encourage you to read Scripture in different translations and paraphrases.  It will expand your expressions of worship” (p. 104).  In addition to the problems with paraphrases already noted, the use of such a Bible” makes it nearly impossible to be a “Berean” (Acts 17: 10-11) or to recognize sound doctrine.  Why?  Because it is not a literal translation of the meaning of the words from the Hebrew or Greek but rather an interpretation by an individual of what he believes God is saying.  Using The Message for example, you cannot read a verse and say, “This is what God’s Word says.” The best you can say is, “This is what Eugene Peterson says that God’s Word says.” In order to be a Berean (who searched the Scriptures daily to see if what the Apostle Paul was teaching them was true), one would have to have a literal translation of the Bible and compare it with what Peterson wrote.

RW says, “One thing worship costs us is our self-centeredness.  You cannot exalt God and yourself at the same time…you deliberately shift the focus off yourself.”  However, while that is true, it is also inconsistent with RW’s use of music that appeals to the lost in order to attract them to church, as well as his affinities for the humanistic, self-oriented verses and practices he lists in his book (p. 105).  On page 108, RW quotes two Roman Catholic Mystics, St. John of the Cross and priest Henri Nouwen.  Both represent the false gospel of Rome, advance mysticism, reject the authority of Scripture alone, and deny salvation by grace alone through faith alone, in which RW says he believes (p. 120, 121).  What then is the value for the reader in quoting them?

Moreover, after endorsing these Catholic mystics whose tradition advances the experiential with its emphasis on spiritual “intuition, emotions, and feelings,” on the next page RW writes, “The most common mistake Christians make in worship today is seeking an experience rather than seeking God.  They look for a feeling, and if it happens, they conclude that they have worshiped….  Faith, not feelings, pleases God” (pp. 109, 110).

On page 120, RW says, “Baptism doesn’t make you a member of God’s family; only faith in Christ does that….  The only biblical condition is that you believe.”  Although what he says is biblically true, nevertheless Purpose-Driven Life seminars for the purpose of growing churches are offered to and held at Roman Catholic Churches whose congregations must believe that Baptism is necessary for their salvation or be condemned to hell.  How does he reconcile that?  How do they?

RW admits to “our self-centered nature,” yet seems oblivious to the self-centered influences and even encouragements throughout his book (p. 123).

He pushes the biblical teaching on “relationship” to an extreme, making it more important than doctrine: “Why does God insist that we give special love and attention to other believers?  Why do they get priority in loving?  Because God wants his family to be known for its love more than anything else.  Jesus said our love for each other–not our doctrinal beliefs–is our greatest witness to the world” (p. 124).  Without biblical doctrinal beliefs, we can’t know how to live a life pleasing to God, and therefore our witness would be no different than any reasonably moral lost person.

RW says, “Relationships must have priority in your life above everything else….  God says relationships are what life is all about” (p. 124,125).  Jesus took another view of “relationships” in Luke 12:51-53.  His truth transcends temporal relationships (John 17:17).

RW quotes Mother Teresa favorably on page 125.  Why?  She also believed that Baptism and good works were necessary for her to be saved.

Chapter 17 continues emphasizing relationships, but in this chapter, RW stresses church membership and commitment.  “While your relationship to Christ is personal, God never intends it to be private.  In God’s family you are connected to every other believer, and we will belong to each other for eternity” (p. 130).  On page 132, RW writes, “The church is God’s agenda for the world.  Jesus said, “I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”  Time will tell, but there are subtle indications that RW’s church-growth program and Purpose-Driven agenda are moving in the direction of earlier “Christian” movements whose goals were to literally take over the world “for Christ,” from the charismatic “Kingdom/Dominion theology” to the non-charismatic,Reformation-related Christian Reconstructionists.

Page 137: “You become a Christian by committing yourself to Christ, but you become a church member by committing yourself to a specific group of believers.”  No.  The church is the Body of Christ, of which one becomes a member when he or she is born again.

RW exhorts believers to meet together in “small groups”: “This is where real community takes place, not in the big [church]Gatherings. If you think of your church as a ship, the small groups are the lifeboats attached to it.”  (p.139) While this can have much value, as he has indicated, there are also some caveats that he doesn’t mention.  Some of the down sides include the potential to more easily manipulate and transform the thinking of people within a small group environment, especially if it is not truly autonomous from the control of the church it’s connected with.  Good things such as relationships, accountability, community, etc., have the potential to become vehicles for manipulation when they influence people to compromise the truth of God’s Word for the sake of maintaining relationships or “for the welfare” of the community.

Once again, RW ventures into the psycho-babble realm with the victim-oriented view of dealing with emotional “hurts” and demonstrating “authenticity”: “Of course, being authentic requires both courage and humility.  It means facing our fear of exposure, rejection, and being hurt again.  Why would anyone take such a risk?  Because it is the only way to grow spiritually and be emotionally healthy” (p.140).

RW psychologizes James 5:16, looking to The Message for support: “Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed” (p. 140).  This has to do with becoming “transparent” by confiding your sins to others, not simply confessing your sin to the one against whom you have sinned.

Again RW endorses the psychological concepts of “authenticity” and “transparency.”  He promotes a “feelings” orientation: “Sympathy meets two fundamental human needs: the need to be understood and the need to have your feelings validated.  Every time you understand and affirm someone’s feelings, you build fellowship” (p. 141).  It’s very difficult to keep from accusing Rick of “doublespeak” throughout his book.  He declared earlier his rejection of “pop psychology” in favor of God’s Word–yet where in Scripture do you find “the need to have your feelings validated”?

Chapter 19 is all about developing “a healthy, robust community” (p. 145), a concept Eugene Peterson’s “The Message” manages to find in James 3:18: “You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other.”  Here’s the verse in the KJV: “And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.”  Nevertheless, RW emphasizes “cultivating community.”

The humanistic characteristics of The Message come through again (James 5:16): “No more lies, no more pretense.  Tell your neighbor the truth.  In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all.  When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself” (p. 147).  Compare this with James 5:16 in your Bible to see if it even hints at “we’re all connected” or “you end up lying to yourself.”

RW again promotes a covenant, this time “covenanting” mixed with psychological concepts: “If you are a member of a small group or class, I urge you to make a group covenant that includes the nine characteristics of biblical fellowship: We will share our true feelings (authenticity)…” (p. 151).

RW introduces the bogus psychological concept of ventilation as a biblical concept: “As David did with his psalms, use prayer to ventilate vertically” (p. 154).

RW offers instructions in ministering to others that have more to do with psychologist Carl Rogers than the Apostle Paul: “Focus on their feelings, not the facts.  Begin with sympathy, not solutions.  Don’t try to talk people out of how they feel at first.  Just listen and let them unload emotionally without being defensive.  Nod that you understand even when you disagree.  Feelings are not always true or logical” (p. 155).

Again, RW leans heavily upon the “The Message”, with its humanistic perversion of the Word: “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight.  That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family” (p. 157-158).  This is supposed to be Matthew 5:9, written in the KJV as: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”  No self-discovery here!

RW pushes relationship beyond the biblical teaching into the management (systems theory) concept for reconciliation, the end being compromising God’s truth: “Emphasize reconciliation, not resolution.  It is unrealistic to expect everyone to agree about everything.  Reconciliation focuses on the relationship, while resolution focuses on the problem.  When we focus on reconciliation, the problem loses significance and often becomes irrelevant” (p. 158).  How does this affect doctrinal differences related to the absolute truths of God’s Word?

RW presents unity almost militantly: “It is your job to protect the unity of your church” (p. 160).  “Nothing on earth is more valuable to God than his church.  He paid the highest price for it, and he wants it protected, especially from the devastating damage that is caused by division, conflict, and disharmony. If you are a part of God’s family, it is your responsibility to protect the unity where you fellowship.  You are commissioned by Jesus Christ to do everything possible to preserve the unity, protect the fellowship, and promote harmony in your church family and among all believers.  …But for unity’s sake we must never let differences divide us” (p. 161).  Again, how does that effect issues related to sound doctrine?

“Conflict is usually a sign that the focus has shifted to less important issues, things the Bible calls “disputable matters.”  Is it?  Or could it be a sign of concern over “important issues”?  “Longing for the ideal while criticizing the real is evidence of immaturity” (p. 162).  Is it?  Or could it be “evidence” of discernment?

RW on judging: “Whenever I judge another believer, four things instantly happen: I lose fellowship with God, I expose my own pride and insecurity, I set myself up to be judged by God, and I harm the fellowship of the church” (p. 164).  What of the many times the Apostle Paul judged other believers, including Peter (Galatians 2:14)? On page 165, “The Message” is the source of another psychological concept that is imposed upon the Scriptures: “If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him…” (Matthew 18:15).  Are we to go to every fellow believer who “hurts” our feelings?  This is the emotional swamp of self-oriented psychotherapy.

Again, RW expresses his militant exhortation to protect the unity of the church: “I challenge you to accept your responsibility to protect and promote the unity of your church” (p. 166).

“God blesses churches that are unified.  At Saddleback Church, every member signs a covenant that includes a promise to protect the unity of our fellowship” (p. 167).  Will God truly bless a church that requires a member to sign a covenant in contradiction to His Word?

RW reiterates: “Never forget that life is not about you!  You exist for God’s purposes, not vice versa” (p. 173).  It’s hard to take him seriously at this point, given all the humanistic ideas he has introduced.  As one more example, he quotes “The Message” on Romans 12:2 which says, “God brings out the best in you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”  That’s not even close to what the Scripture says!  KJV: “but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Although RW says he is leery of subjective experiences versus the objective Word of God, he nevertheless scorns reason as an “unreliable authority.”  He gives Billy Graham’s “Leap Of Faith” as an example to follow: “In the early years of his ministry, Billy Graham went through a time when he struggled with doubts about the accuracy and authority of the Bible.  One moonlit night he dropped to his knees in tears and told God that, in spite of confusing passages he didn’t understand, from that point on he would completely trust the Bible as the sole authority for his life and ministry” (p.187).

RW favorably quotes Roman Catholic visionary and mystic (published by evangelical companies!) Madame Guyon (p. 193).

God has a purpose behind every problem (p. 193).  Is he saying that God has a purpose behind every sin?

On page 206, RW encourages a psychotherapeutic problem-solving method that instructs a person who is dealing with temptation to analyze his situation: “How do I usually feel when I am most tempted?”  This procedure is not only contrary to Scripture (2 Timothy 2:22), but practically speaking, it encourages the mind to dwell on the source of the temptation.

RW promotes the idea of having someone to hold a believer accountable.  This method comes out of Christian psychology, not the Bible.  He attempts to support it by again quoting James 5:16: “Confess your faults one to another…” (p. 212).

RW advertises his own program (heavily influenced by psychotherapy) at Saddleback Church called Celebrate Recovery.  It’s a variation on the secular (completely unproven and erroneous, even occult) 12-Steps program of Alcoholics Anonymous: “At Saddleback Church we have seen the awesome power of this [psychological] principle to break the grip of seemingly hopeless addictions and persistent temptations through a program we developed called Celebrate Recovery….  Today the program is used in thousands of churches” (p. 213).

“Some problems are too ingrained, too habitual, and too big to solve on your own.  You need a small group or an accountability partner who will encourage you, support you, pray for you, love you unconditionally, and hold you accountable” (p. 213-214).  This is the “support group” approach of psychotherapy and is not supported by the Scriptures.  Read through the entire book of Psalms and see if there is any sin or problem too big for God to handle.  Did David have a support group?

RW: “There is power in God’s Word, and Satan fears it” (p. 215).  How does that square with Satan actually quoting Scripture and others using Scripture out of context for evil purposes?

Mother Teresa is again quoted: “Holy living consists in doing God’s work with a smile” (p. 231).  Sadly, Mother Teresa believed that “doing God’s work with a smile” would earn her salvation.

Pop psychology again spills onto the pages at the expense of Scriptures: “Jacob was insecure…Joseph was abused…Samson was codependent…David had an affair and all kinds of [dysfunctional] family problems, Elijah was suicidal, Jeremiah was depressed…Peter was impulsive…” (p. 233).

RW returns to his deterministic and humanistic concepts: “Each of us was uniquely designed, or ’shaped,’ to do certain things….  You are the way you are because you were made for a specific ministry….  You are a custom designed, one-of-a-kind, original masterpiece.  God deliberately shaped and formed you to serve him in a way that makes your ministry unique.  He carefully mixed the DNA cocktail that created you….  As Ethel Waters said, ‘God doesn’t make junk’ (pp. 234-235).

Chapter 30 introduces Rick Warren’s S.H.A.P.E., his main self-help tool for discovering one’s purpose in life.  The acrostic stands for Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experience (p. 236).  This is purely his own creation, and in numerous ways, which will be noted, is at odds with what the Scriptures teach.

RW says that believers are “commanded to discover and develop [their] spiritual gifts.  Have you taken the time to discover and develop your spiritual gifts? (p. 237).  Where in the Scriptures are we commanded to “discover” and “develop” our spiritual gifts? He gives no support verses.

Regarding “Heart” (i.e., a passion for something), RW writes: “God had a purpose in giving you these inborn interests.  Your emotional heartbeat is the second key to understanding your shape for service” (p. 238).  “Inborn interest” is a fascinating idea but without any factual basis.  Even so, RW presents it as though it was fact, and then raises it to a spiritual endeavor without the backing of Scripture.

On page 239, RW tells us that “The second characteristic of serving God from your heart is effectiveness.  Whenever you do what God wired you to love to do, you get good at it.  Passion drives perfection.”  Does God “wire” a person to “love” to do something?  Again, this is what RW believes, and it is necessary for the development of his S.H.A.P.E. thesis and for discovering one’s purpose; nevertheless, he gives no Scriptural proof.

Chapter 31 starts out with an implied proof text for the validity of RW’s S.H.A.P.E. theory: “You shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13 “The Message”).  No other Bible version that I could find uses the term “shaped.”  I doubt even Eugene Peterson had in mind the concept of S.H.A.P.E., but you never know.

Although Chapter 1 sets the premise that this book is against self-centeredness by opening with, “It’s not about you,” Chapter 31 opens with, “Only you can be you,” and then continues with a self-esteem-building appeal reinforcing the “A” for “Abilities” in RW’s S.H.A.P.E. thesis: “If you don’t make your unique contribution to the Body of Christ, it won’t be made” (p. 241).  “You are a bundle of incredible abilities, an amazing creation of God.  Part of the church’s responsibility is to identify and release your abilities for serving God” (p. 242).

RW pushes the “ability” part of his thesis from absurdity to the precipice of heresy: “All of our abilities come from God.  Even abilities used to sin are God-given; they are just being misused or abused.  The Bible says, “God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well” (Romans 12:6 New Living Translation).  Since your natural abilities are from God, they are just as important and as ‘spiritual’ as your spiritual gifts.  The only difference is that you were given them at birth” (p. 242).  Romans 12:6 doesn’t say, “your natural abilities are from God.”  The verse is referring to spiritual gifts: “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith” (KJV).  Moreover, no scripture tells us our “natural abilities are just as important and as ‘spiritual’ as [our] spiritual gifts.”

On page 242, RW states, “Part of the church’s responsibility is to identify and release your abilities for serving God.”  This is a major development at Saddleback and includes spiritual gifts assessments and personality profiling (both questionable evaluations at best), yet there is no biblical support for Rick’s statement.

RW claims, “God gives some people the ability to make a lot of money” (p. 243).  Although that may be true, he takes a verse out of context in attempting to prove his case.  He quotes Deuteronomy 8:18 from the NIV: “Remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”  But in context, God is speaking specifically to Israel: “But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.”  It is misleading to use this verse to say that the ability of some individuals to make money is God-given.

RW continues to contradict his “It’s not about you” premise: “You are the only person on earth who can use your abilities.  No one else can play your role, because they don’t have your unique shape that God has given you” (p. 243).

Here RW offers a solution to a spiritual problem with no biblical support: “To discover God’s will for your life, you should seriously examine what you are good at doing and what you’re not good at” (p. 243).  However, in Chapter 35 he seems to contradict himself: “God has never been impressed with strength or self-sufficiency.  In fact, he is drawn to people who are weak and admit it” (p. 273).

RW further expands his “Ability” concept: “God doesn’t waste abilities; he matches our calling and our capabilities.”  Warren lists “writing grant proposals” among God-given “special abilities” (p. 244).  Would that involve looking to the government or a secular endowment organization for funds to do God’s work?

Again, the humanistic, self-esteem-building approach emerges (in spite of the oft-repeated declaration that this book is “not about you”): “We don’t realize how truly unique each of us is….Your uniqueness is a scientific fact of life.  When God made you, he broke the mold.  There never has been, and never will be, anybody exactly like you” (p. 244, 245).

RW launches into the “Four Temperaments” (a concept rooted in the occult, and which even psychology rejects as bogus) and other personality theories.  He begins with a paragraph heading: “Using Your Personality” (p. 244).

Under this heading, RW continues with this theme: “God made introverts and extroverts….thinkers and feelers….  The Bible gives us plenty of proof that God uses all types of personalities.  Peter was sanguine.  Paul was a choleric.  Jeremiah was a Melancholy….  There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ temperament for ministry….  Your personality will affect how and where you use your spiritual gifts and abilities” (p. 245).  These mythical classifications and concepts are an obvious distortion of the Scriptures.

RW promotes the bogus personality concepts taught by others: “Today there are many books and tools that can help you understand your personality so you can determine how to use it for God” (p. 246).  He encourages the reader to contact Saddleback Community Church for “Discovering Your Shape for Ministry, which includes a Shape identification tool [including Spiritual gift assessments and ability inventories]” (“Notes” section, p. 332).  However, later on pages 250-251, he reverses himself: “Spiritual gift tests and ability inventories can have some value, but they are limited in their usefulness….  Many books get the discovery process backwards.”

RW seems to value past experiences (the “E” in S.H.A.P.E.) over the preaching and teaching of the Word, especially the “painful experiences: What problems, hurts, thorns, and trials have you learned from?….  If you really desire to be used by God, you must understand a powerful truth: The very experiences that you have resented or regretted most in life–the ones you’ve wanted to hide and forget–are the experiences God wants you to use to help others.  They are your ministry!” (pp. 246-247).  This is psychologizing the church.  RW seems to have no reservation in exploiting the Scripture to that end: “Paul understood this truth [of sharing one’s hurts and painful experiences], so he was honest about his bouts with depression….  If Paul had kept his experience of doubt and depression a secret, millions of people would never have benefited from it” (pp. 247-248).

RW quotes Aldous Huxley, the founder of the Human Potential Movement and a drug advocate (p. 248).

RW sums up his “gifts,” “abilities,” and “personality” concepts: “Using your shape (“how God has shaped you for service”) is the secret of both fruitfulness and fulfillment in ministry.  You will be most effective when you use your spiritual gifts and abilities in the area of your heart’s desire, and in a way that best expresses your personality and experiences” (p. 248).  This is Rick Warren’s conjecture, not the teaching of Scripture.

Again: “The best use of your life is to serve God out of your shape.  To do this you must discover your shape, learn to accept and enjoy it, and then develop it to its fullest potential” (p. 249).  No.  Rick Warren’s S.H.A.P.E. program is a mixed bag of the very things he denounced on page 20: “the world’s wisdom, pop psychology, success-motivation, and inspirational stories [of painful experiences]” along with distortions of the Scriptures, humanistic self-centered inducements, and myths paraded as truth.

Chapter 32 is all about “assessing your gifts and abilities”: “The best way to discover your gifts and abilities is to experiment with different areas of service” (p. 250).  “Am I more introverted or extroverted?” (p. 251).  RW’s concepts are built largely upon a mixture of false theological, philosophical, and psychological ideas of determinism: God has predetermined everything; everyone’s fate has been determined; a person’s characteristics are determined.  Common sense is enough to disprove such ideas.  True spiritual gifts excepted, how much of our talents, abilities, and personality characteristics are learned, developed, or even produced by sin?  One could make a strong case for nearly all of them being learned, developed, or sin related. People with physical handicaps can and do achieve far beyond their “inborn” limitations.  People “typed” as “introverts” or “extroverts” change.  Hundreds of examples could be given to refute the deterministic myths RW has been using to support his S.H.A.P.E. program.

Nevertheless, RW continues: “Since God knows what’s best for you, you should gratefully accept the way he has fashioned you….  Your shape was sovereignly determined by God for his purpose, so you shouldn’t resent it or reject it…. You should celebrate the shape God has given only to you” (p. 252).

RW promotes “Christian” psychology’s (particularly psychologist Henry Cloud’s) concept of “boundaries”: “We all have defined roles….  The word boundaries refers to the fact that God assigns each of us a field or sphere of service.  Your shape determines your specialty.  When we try to overextend our ministry reach beyond what God shaped us for, we experience stress” (p. 253).  As proof texts, RW turns to 2 Corinthians 10:13 in the New Living Translation and Hebrews 12:1 in the Living Bible: “Our goal is to stay within the boundaries of God’s plan for us”; “run with patience the particular race that God has set before us.”  Neither of these verses relate to Cloud’s erroneous concept of boundaries other than the terms (“boundary” and “particular race”) found only in those paraphrases that RW selected (p. 253).

Given his continual misuse and abuse of the Scriptures, it is grievously ironic to note that on page 256, RW quotes 2 Timothy 2:15 as a “Verse to Remember: ‘Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.’”

Another running irony verging on hypocrisy is RW’s acknowledgement of the world’s preoccupation with self which is subtly and quite often not-so-subtly fed to the reader throughout the pages of TPDL: “In our selfserving culture with its me-first mentality….I am, by nature, selfish.  I think most about me.  That’s why humility is a daily struggle…” [p. 257, 266].

On page 236, RW once again looks to Peterson’s humanistic “The Message” to “esteem” the reader: “When Christ…shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up too–the real you, the glorious you.  Meanwhile, be content with obscurity” (Colossians 3:4).

Again, the self-orientation of The Message (Galatians 5:26): “We will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives.  Each of us is an original” (p. 268).  Compare with the KJV: “Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”  I don’t find “each of us is an original.”

Psychology’s “self-image” myth is introduced as related to the life of Jesus.  We’re told that He served “from a secure self-image” and His task of washing His disciples’ feet “didn’t threaten his self-image” (p. 269).

Again, RW quotes Catholic priest and mystic Henri Nouwen as well as liberal “Christian” Albert Schweitzer (p. 269, 270).  I am perplexed as to why these individuals who reject the biblical gospel are given credibility, and am greatly perturbed over the possibility that many readers in search of truth might be encouraged to seek out their writings.

Whether or not RW is confused, he certainly confuses the reader.  He began the book by telling us that God has determined everything about us and that He has gifted us with talents, abilities, personality traits, and we’re to identify these and work out of our strengths: “Whenever you do what God wired you to love to do, you get good at it.  Passion drives perfection….  Whatever you’re good at, you should be doing for your church” (p. 239,244).  But now we are told, “God loves to use weak people….  God has never been impressed with strength or selfsufficiency….  Our strengths create competition, but our weaknesses create community” (pp. 272, 273, 278).

Again, turning to “pop psychology,” RW has the reader looking within or looking to “hurts” from the past.  He equates Paul’s thorn with an emotional weakness: “It may be an emotional limitation, such as a trauma scar, a hurtful memory, a personality quirk, or a hereditary disposition” (p. 273).  “Instead of living in denial or making excuses, take the time to identify your personal weaknesses.  You might make a list of them” (p. 274).  In opposition to dredging up the “emotional scars of the past,” the Apostle Paul wrote, “but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

More psycho-babble applied to the Scriptures: “Gideon’s weakness was low self-esteem and deep insecurities….  Other people are going to find healing in your wounds.  Your greatest life messages and your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurts” (p. 275).  And: “Ministry begins with vulnerability.  The more you let down your guard, take off your mask, and share your struggles, the more God will be able to use you….  When you reveal your failures, feelings, frustrations, and fears, you risk rejection….  Vulnerability is emotionally liberating….  Humility…is being honest about your weaknesses” (p. 276).  Still more: “Pretentiousness repels but authenticity attracts, and vulnerability is the pathway to intimacy” (p. 277).

RW quotes William James, the father of American psychology, favorably (p. 285).

RW implies that a person’s eternal destiny is dependent on us (or me as an individual): “There are people on this planet whom only you will be able to reach, because of where you live and what God has made you to be.  If just one person will be in heaven because of you, your life will have made a difference for eternity” (p. 285).  He offers no Scriptures to support the idea that what I do or fail to do determines a person’s eternal destiny.

RW seems to have a low view of prophecy for whatever reason: “When the disciples wanted to talk about prophecy, Jesus quickly switched the conversation to evangelism.  He wanted them to concentrate on their mission in the world.  He said in essence, ‘The details of my return are none of your business.’  What is your business is the mission I’ve given you.  Focus on that!’” (p. 285).  This is very troubling. First of all, in response to the disciples questioning Jesus about the signs of His coming, He did not “quickly switch the conversation” in Matthew Chapter 24.  He gave them (and us!) critical prophetic details and crucial warnings covering more than forty verses.  He began by telling them to “Take heed that no man deceive you.”  It is terribly disturbing therefore, that missing from this book, which will likely reach more Christians than any other book (other than the Bible) in the history of the church, is any teaching about the Second Coming and the religious deception about which Jesus Himself warned His disciples.  Furthermore, there is no teaching in the book that even hints at the need for discernment in these Last Days in which the Bible declares false teaching and apostasy will be rampant.  Again, it is troubling that one finds no mention of the “blessed hope,” Christ’s coming for His Church, His Bride.

RW declares throughout chapter 37 that one’s personal testimony is the most important element in witnessing: “This is the essence of witnessing–simply sharing your personal experiences regarding the Lord….  Actually, your personal testimony is more effective than a sermon…” (p. 290).  Not only does this do harm to the importance of preaching God’s Word and the necessity of teaching sound doctrine, RW contradicts his own foundational premise that we should “turn to God’s Word” and not to “inspirational stories” (p. 20).

In support of psychological “support groups” such as Saddleback’s own Celebrate Recovery, RW writes, “God gives some people a godly passion to champion a cause.  It’s often a problem they personally experienced such as abuse, addiction, infertility, depression…” (p. 293).

RW wants the reader to continue in “The Purpose-Driven Life”: “I strongly urge you to gather a small group of friends and form a Purpose-Driven Life Reading Group to review these chapters on a weekly basis” (p. 307).

Rick Warren is incredibly presumptuous at the conclusion of the book: “Now that you understand the purpose of life, it is your responsibility to carry the message to others….  In this book I have passed on to you what others taught me about the purpose of life; now it’s your duty to pass that on to others” (p. 309).  Sadly, much of what Rick has gleaned from others and presented in The Purpose-Driven Life is contrary to the very Bible he claims to promote.

A report on the Kansas City ‘Whitedove’ Conference, Oct 28-30, 2004.  (Main speakers: Bob Jones, Paul Keith Davis, Bobby Conner, John Paul Jackson – plus Jim Goll and others).

It is with great sadness that I make the following report.

I said last week that the ‘Whitedove’ conference in Kansas City this past weekend would be a pivotal one.  It certainly was pivotal for me personally.  I wish I could say that there was deep repentance – that the preaching was incredibly anointed and the crowd were on their faces crying before God.  I wish I could say that, but I can’t.  In fact, it seemed to me that the opposite was true.  The saddest thing of all is that many people probably came away from this conference saying how “wonderful” and “uplifting” it was (just as they always do).  But I have to tell you, I was grieved to the core by it.  Many parts of it I would even describe as spiritually “sick”.

Some people believe that the fall of Paul Cain into serious sin is some kind of aberration – just one individual’s problem. But I am convinced that the fall of Paul Cain (who was recognized worldwide as the ‘father’ of this movement) is a symptom of a much wider disease.  The whole movement is sick.  As I have stated in previous articles, the ‘Prophetic’ as we know it is really a “fallen” movement – since the early 1990’s.  But I always held out hope that it would somehow turn around and get back on track again.  In fact, I believed that this conference was a heaven-sent opportunity for that to happen.

However, after what I saw this weekend, I no longer believe this is possible.  The deception is now too deep.  This movement is being “given over to believe a lie” and I want no part of it.  I am cutting myself off, because I cannot afford the disease to spread into what we ourselves are doing.  Things have now gotten so bad that we have to separate ourselves – and to do so publicly.

As you know, I requested special prayer from you all last week that a true spirit of Repentance might prevail in this conference.  The reason I made this request was because God had woken me up at 6 am the previous Friday and given me a strong word about the conference.  (God only wakes me up like this quite rarely).

The word He gave me was that this must be a ‘repentance’ conference – that this was in essence the “last chance” for the Prophetic movement because it had become more and more corrupt – centered around money and ‘ear-tickling’ words, false prophecy and so-on.  This was a gathering of KEY prophets at a moment in time when the ‘father’ of the movement had just fallen.  It was God’s ideal moment for a truly “solemn assembly”.  (And yes – I did write and pass this word on – in person – to the three main leaders of the conference).

However, what actually eventuated at this event seemed to me to be more akin to a circus than a solemn assembly.  The music, the concert-style lighting, the stage dancers, the groaning tables stacked high with books and CD’s for sale, the ‘ear-tickling’, the hype, the $40.00 door fee (plus extra offerings taken each session) – and that’s just for starters.

What really bothered me about the weekend was the total lack of any truly ‘prophetic’ preaching.  There was some good stuff on Self-pity and Bitterness right near the start, but after that it was mostly downhill.  As always, there were plenty of anecdotes and tales of angelic visitations, etc.  There were Scriptures quoted and a few helpful insights.  But as far as a message that truly pierces and challenges and convicts – well, don’t go looking for that in THIS prophetic movement!  In fact, there were warnings AGAINST any message that might come across as even slightly “condemning”, and there was even one of those cute talks on the need for “loving oneself”, etc.

Today’s prophets seem to talk a lot ABOUT the ’sword of the Lord’ but never actually bring it to bear.  They bring no piercing word.  And thus the entire movement is open to great deception.  And instead of REPENTANCE, people are getting all kinds of counterfeit spiritual experiences.  There seems to be almost no discernment at all.

The ON-STAGE DANCING throughout this conference was a good example.  Now, I myself am a rock musician, but from the beginning these dance items had a rather ‘wild’ aspect to them that truly made me uncomfortable in my spirit.  There was even one that came across like a sensual ‘Harem’ dance.  Much of it really felt “off” – and almost anyone who sees the videos will tell you so.  Even the worship had a very “tribal” feel to it at times.  And by Day Three they were doing dance items with just loud voodoo-style drums only – and leaping around in a frenzied circle making weird cries to the super-amplified beat.  The feeling in the room was so oppressive and “pagan” during this, that I could hardly even bear to stay in there.  Then came one of the most shocking statements of the whole conference – from one of the main prophets.  He got up and said that people may feel uncomfortable with such obviously “pagan” type dancing, but that it was originally God’s type of dancing and we were just now ’stealing back’ what the pagans had stolen from God!

I have to admit, this was the last straw for me.  What could be more blatant?  What kind of ’spirits’ do they think are being transmitted to people who open themselves up to that music?  There is no discernment in this movement at all.

Now, I do not primarily blame the dancers.  They were young and possibly immature.  (They weren’t actually from ‘Whitedove’ itself).  Clearly, most of the blame lies with the main prophets who invited them in and openly endorsed and promoted what was happening the whole time.  They would get up and publicly acclaim these dance items, thus ensuring that the spirit of it would pervade the entire event.  And indeed it did – more and more.

Remember, most of the major “movers and shakers” of the Prophetic movement were at this conference, going along with this stuff.  I repeat what I said earlier: This movement demonstrates absolutely NO DISCERNMENT.  I urge everyone to GET OUT NOW, before even worse is brought in.  I believe this movement is RIGHT NOW being given over to deception by God – and it is going to get much worse.

Even the ’spiritual’ moments in this conference often had strong touches of “Charis-mania” excess about them.  And this was not the ‘harmless, silly’ kind of excess, either.  It was at a level where I believe demonic spirits of deception were clearly at work.  By the last session the audience was so hyped that they threw away all inhibition and leapt into the ‘pagan’ dancing themselves with wild abandon.  And one of the main prophets even got up and announced that there were angels in the room going around “blowing on peoples’ fingers” if only they would lift them up in the air.  That particular part sounds silly, but actually the whole thing by this stage had become awful beyond words.  Virtually every day I came home utterly grieved and depressed.  I had come to this conference with great expectancy and hope, thinking that the return of Bob Jones may bring a renewal of all that was originally good about this movement.  I literally came as a ‘friend’ and they turned me into an enemy in the space of three days.

Below are the SPECIFIC THINGS that God told me He has against this movement as a whole:

-The giving and receiving of “ear-tickling” words.
-The giving and receiving of money in expectation of prophecy.
-False words and false teaching.
-The lack of a true Repentance message.
-The spiritual ‘blindness’ that allows familiar spirits and spirits of divination to flourish.
-The failure of this movement to judge itself, meaning that God must judge it.
-The idolising of well-known prophets – placing them on a pedestal.
-And so on….

Well, obviously, with great sadness we must now totally cut ourselves off from today’s Prophetic Movement.  Any related links and articles will be removed from our web-site immediately.

-Excerpts from the new book Yoga and the Body of Christ by Dave Hunt

There is mounting controversy among Westerners involved in yoga as to how to practice it and the purpose behind it. Is it purely physical, or is something more involved-something spiritual? There are many proponents on both sides of this discussion. Much of the public, however, is not even aware of the issue. Nor can most of the disputants even agree to what is meant by “spiritual.” Clearly something nonphysical is involved. But what is it?

What is this “energy” to which Ken Harakuma (and others) are referring? Is this the ki, or chi, of martial arts, which has no physical explanation and clearly comes from the spirit world? Yet in spite of warnings backed with factual data about its dangers-and that it can even open the door to the occult-yoga continues to grow in popularity everywhere. What is behind the accelerating worldwide interest in yoga?

That non-Christians are engaging in yoga is not surprising. After all, it is being promoted in the West as purely physical stretching and breathing exercises beneficial for one’s health-even as a cure for cancer, with testimonials that supposedly back up that claim. That Christians, however, who say they follow Christ and His Word, would also jump on the bandwagon of Eastern mysticism is staggering.

Yoga was developed to escape this “unreal” world of time and sense and to reach moksha, the Hindu heaven-or to return to the “void” of the Buddhist. With its breathing exercises and limbering-up positions, yoga is promoted in the West for enhancing health and better living-but in the far East, where it originated, it is understood to be a way of dying. Yogis claim to possess the ability to survive on almost no oxygen and to remain motionless for hours, free of the “illusion” of this life. The physical aspects of yoga, however, which attract many Westerners, were, in fact, originally developed and practiced for spiritual goals.

The call went out to Hindus and yoga enthusiasts, “The New Age movement…has accepted the great ideas of the East…. Let us invade the American Campuses armed with the vision of Vedanta.” Few, if any, realized that the West had fallen victim to the largest and most successful missionary campaign in history.

Missionary campaign? Most Westerners find it difficult to think of these smiling, bowing, obsequious, and supposedly broadminded yogis, swamis, and lamas as missionaries determined to spread their mystic gospel. It comes as a great surprise that the largest missionary organization in the world is not Christian but Hindu-India’s Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). Of course, that’s acceptable to the media and the world-it is only Christian missionaries who are held in contempt and maligned.

Yes, Hindus have launched the largest missionary effort in history….In January 1979, at the VHP-sponsored second “World Congress on Hinduism” in Allahabad, India, attended by about 60,000 delegates from around the world, a speaker declared, “Our mission in the West has been crowned with fantastic success. Hinduism is becoming the dominant world religion, and the end of Christianity has come near.”

In a frank interview in Yoga Journal, Ken Wilbur, a yoga expert who is often called the “Einstein of consciousness,” warns that Eastern meditation, no matter how carefully practiced, involves “a whole series of deaths and rebirths…some very rough and frightening times.”

David Pursglove, therapist and transpersonal counselor for decades, warns that those involved in Eastern meditation can encounter “Frightening ESP and other parapsychological occurrences…out-of-body experiences…[encounters] with death and subsequent rebirth…awakening of the serpent power (Kundalini)…violent shaking and twisting….”

Among the few who honestly warn the public is Dr. Walt Larimore. He explains, “Yoga has spiritual roots…. [Therefore] one could argue that promoting it in schools violates the…so-called separation of church and state….” He warns that the “deeply religious practice” of yoga, with its roots in Eastern mysticism, may put kids in a position to be influenced by elements that are not at all healthy.

Yoga opens the door not to true enlightenment but to demonic seduction of mankind. And in spite of the literally hundreds of exposés by those who have experienced the evil firsthand and barely escaped, yoga is gaining adherents among Christians and is being practiced in a growing number of churches, including those that claim to be evangelical. Christian leaders have naïvely encouraged this deadly practice. Robert Schuller was one of the first to give it his endorsement….

No matter what the various schools and forms of yoga being practiced in the West, however, there is no mistaking that if one is interested in true yoga, one must be willing to have that terrifying Kundalini aroused. What is this serpentine power that allegedly lies coiled at the base of the spine?

The texts by ancient yogis warn that the “Kundalini serpent force” often manifests itself in frightening and destructive ways. Unfortunately, those texts are scarcely known to yoga enthusiasts today and are certainly not heeded by their instructors. Kundalini is the “enlightenment” that the practice of yoga is designed to “awaken.” One yoga enthusiast writes, “The cobra that opened its fan over Buddha’s head is the metaphor for the field of energy, which…emits out from the head during and after sustaining Kundalini….” [Another] writes, “When the Kundalini awakens, tremendous power is unleashed. The resulting expansion of consciousness affects every element of our being, from our biological functions to our personal relationships to our concept of reality to our influence in the world….Kundalini is Shakti, the Great Mother Goddess, the living energy that daily makes her vibrant presence known in my body and my psyche….If Kundalini is to be invoked, it must be with care and better still, with reverence and humility. We are treading sacred waters here. To plunge in recklessly is to risk self-annihilation.”

This entire discussion always brings us back to the most fundamental fact about yoga. No matter what physical benefit might be derived from the exercises themselves, yoga inevitably involves Eastern meditation. And Eastern meditation, unlike Western contemplation or reflection, accompanies an intentional dissociation from our conscious minds. This shutting down of the mind is, in fact, a total abdication of our God-given responsibility that Jesus declared is the first and great commandment: to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind (Deuteronomy 6:5-6, Matthew 22:37). Thus, we are violating one of the true God’s most basic commandments every time we give our minds over to the intentional “nothingness” of yoga and associated “relaxation techniques.”
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Modern shamans (who are as apt to wear suits as loin cloths) market seminars where everyday people can “encounter” their personal “power animal.” In public schools, children are encouraged to use their “imagination” and “dreams” for astral travel. Occult relaxation and visualization techniques are reinforced by literature such as the Harry Potter books and Scholastic’s “Animorphs” series, in which hero-children transform into creatures with special powers and abilities.

Fictionalized in popular games and movies, these techniques are based on ancient occult practices that, once widely banned, now flourish virtually unchecked. According to answers.com, “a familiar spirit…obeys a witch, conjurer, or other users of the supernatural, and serves and helps that person….If they look like ordinary animals, they can be used to spy….These spirits [also]…inspire artists and writers.”

Many new age writers and occult practitioners have been assisted or encouraged by animals they perceive as “familiars.” As Patrick Ryan, author of The Eagle’s Call: A Journey of Body, Mind, and Spirit recounts,

When I was writing this book…an eagle often circled the building in which I lived, visiting many times….When I was…doubting my direction, a coyote also came to visit….Across the street, it looked toward me as if encouraging me on….So, led by the spirit of coyote, eagle and the many other guides of the universe, I was able to complete this tale. Its primary message is about following the call of my body, mind and spirit.

Romans 1:18-32 gives a clear account of man’s “call of his body and mind”-a rejection of God in favor of nature worship: “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things” (Rom 1:22-23).

Perhaps in part due to the reverence of “animal spirits” by ancient pagan cultures, animals continue to play a significant symbolic role in our world today. School and professional sports teams adopt animal names such as the panthers, tigers, lions, bears, wolves, or eagles-based on popular significance of animal traits. Consumers even purchase “animal” car models and athletic shoes marketed for their perceived attributes of speed and power.

So, what’s the fuss? Is animal symbology inherently evil? No, even Scripture makes generous use of animals as symbols-from love poems in The Song of Songs to comforting analogies of the Lord: “hide me under the shadow of thy wings” (Ps 17:8b) et al.

Take the eagle, for example. Revered as a national symbol by various countries, Scripture makes several positive references to the eagle. One of the most popular verses cited for encouragement is “they shall mount up with wings like eagles…” (Is 40:31). Many are comforted by the eagle as a symbol of patriotism and American heritage (which is often equated with Christianity). Fewer though, take note of passages that portray the eagle in a negative light, or realize that the eagle doubles as a Masonic symbol of the phoenix, representing “rebirth through fire” in occult mythology.

In addition to its being an “unclean” animal, Scripture also contains a number of negative references to the eagle (”They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey” (Job 9:26). Obadiah even contains a reference to Edom as an eagle, apparently as a type of Lucifer: “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord” (Ob 1:3-4).

So why do the neo-prophets and apostles of today use the eagle as a symbol of choice? Many “prophetic” ministries associate eagles with tremendous natural vision and observable qualities of “rising above;” but like shamans and seers-ancient and modern-they err in assigning to eagles spiritual qualities. An occult website declares the eagle’s role is that of an “illuminating force” that rises on the east wind, whose gift is that of “seeing hidden spiritual truths” and “whose strength is by its connection to spirit guides.” The website advises: “One who flies with the Eagle has a responsibility…to operate from Higher Intent, to develop the latent abilities of Illumination, and then freely share this Illumination with Others.” In other words, a seer who channels the eagle is to “impart” this knowledge and “gifting” to others.

A number of prominent ministries use the eagle as a corporate symbol, and most of these do so quite innocently. But research into the testimony of a young prophetess associated with C. Peter Wagner’s self-titled New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) raises great concern. (The NAR, a blended resurrection of several modern heresies-kingom-dominionism, manifest sons of God, new breed, et al.-is spreading like wildfire through a growing number of charismatic and evangelical churches.) Here is just one example of cause for alarm:

Sharnael Wolverton…was called to the ministry at an early age….During [an]
incredible period of seeking intimacy with [God] she encountered many dreams,
visions, visitations and divine appointments leading to the birthing of Swiftfire Ministries….One divine appointment…was with Bob Jones, who introduced her to a golden eagle named “Swift.” “Swift is sent forth to those in order to carry the purposes of God swiftly.” Another encounter was with Patricia King of Extreme Prophetic, who had also been introduced to Swift.

This admission by a professing Christian “minister” is nothing short of astounding! Aside from this startling testimony, most followers of these seers (and even skeptics) would not think twice about the recurring “eagle” motif on the websites of Sharnael Wolverton (swiftfire.org), Bob Jones (bobjones.org/itinerary), and Patricia King (extremeprophetic.com). But with the knowledge that Bob Jones (a proven false prophet who was removed from ministry in 1991 for sexual misconduct) “introduced” at least two prominent neo-apostolic women to a demonic entity that manifests as an eagle (whom all three know as Swift) the “birds of a feather” mascots they share take on far greater significance.

Other “apostolic-prophetic” leaders who often teach with or promote Bob Jones also use the symbol of an eagle in their ministry logo: Paul Keith Davis, Rick Joyner, Bobby Conner, Cindy Jacobs, and others. Does this mean they also have the spirit of Swift to help them “carry out the purposes of God?” Not necessarily-but the connection between “eagle spirits,” shamans, and today’s neo-prophetic seers is unmistakable. This is the New Spirituality.

Though his mystical teaching remains unchanged, none of Jones’ co-ministers or spiritual offspring seem to mind that his misconduct involved giving private “hands-on” readings to young women-disrobed to “stand naked before the Lord”-or that he was rebuked for other occultish practices. Ironically, he is revered as a spiritual grandfather among today’s rising stars of the Third Wave (neo-apostolic) movement, promoted largely by the much-hyped pseudo-prophetic website, “The Elijah List.”

But, Jones is in good company. Many of his disciples, as well as the “apostles” and “prophets” who endorse or teach with him, claim to have met and talked with angels, with the Lord, and with saints of the past (the forbidden practice of necromancy); and, they all take great pride in teaching others how to have angelic encounters and “third heaven visions.”

Undoubtedly believing they are working divine signs and wonders, could they instead be “deceived and deceiving others” (2 Tim 3:13)? As God’s word declares, “There shall not be found among you any one…that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord” (Deut 18:10-11).

-Mark Dinsmore

www.thebereancall.org