Mystical Deception Files:
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With a growing interest in New Age Spirituality and mysticism which is
commonplace to-day, a number of authors such as Richard Foster,
Herbert Benson, Marilyn Ferguson, Matthew Fox, and the late Thomas
Merton are suggesting that there are mystical disciplines or
techniques which cross religious barriers and traditions. Others say
doctrinal and other differences between the world religions have
served to divide people of faith but to-day many are rediscovering a
lost unitive mystical awareness which may provide the philosophical
foundations for global religious unity. The following quotes, notes,
and articles will examine this trend and hopefully will provide some
*****ment and needful discernment.
Marilyn Ferguson, in her book, "The Aquarian Conspiracy", commenting
on the New Age movement and links mentions some of these various
techniques or "intentional triggers of transformative experiences" as:
sensory isolation and sensory overload, biofeedback, meditation of
every description:Zen, Tibetan Buddist, chaotic, Transdental,
Christian, Kabbalist, kundalini, raja yoga, tantric yoga, etc.,
psychosysnthesis, a system that combines imagery and meditative
state, , chanting, mood-altering music, mind expanding drugs, esoteric
systems of religious mysticism and knowledge, guided imagery,
balancing and aligning"energies," hypnosis, body discipines...radical
seminars designed to obliterate former values, etc.
In the fall issue #8 (1984), of Common Ground Magazine in Vancouver,
B.C. in an article entitled "Religions of World, Unite!" the author
Collin Cole, urged followers of the world's religions to unite and
network to promote world peace and harmony..he mentioned many things
which divide and fragment world religions or faith groups, but added,
"However, all is not loss; there is good news. There are numerous
people within each of the distinct world faiths, some who have had
mystical or unitive experiences ...These people are open to new
perspectives and attitudes." He says, they: "attest to an inner unity
yet unseen, but with birth-pangs beginning to manifest in the world."
Sites on the internet on the subject of world mysticism such as
http://www.digiserve.com/mystic/
seems to sup****t this conviction. A
personal and well known example of this is Thomas Merton, a Trappist
Monk and Catholic Mystic who before he died saw no contradiction
between Zen and Christianity. He commended Hindu, Taoist, Buddhist,
and Islamic mystics as "those who had experienced...union with the God
of truth and love."* - Harvey D. Clayton, S.J.,"Christian Mysticism,
the future of a tradition" p.238-241.
Quoting Jacob Needleman (p.110), "Lost Christianity", a Bantam New Age
Book): "In the quarter of a century that Merton lived as Trappist monk
at Gethsemani, Kentucky, he delivered a tremendous body of written
work dealing wiht Christian mysticism, the contemplative
tradition,monasticism, and the Eastern religions, particularly Zen ,
which he felt had a crucial role to play in the West by revealing the
contemplative, mystical core of normal human life and therefore of the
Christian tradition as well . One of Merton's last essays, "The New
Conciousness," begins:
"Christian renewal has meant that Christians are now wide open to
Asian relgions, ready, in the words of Vatican II, to "acknowledge,
preserve and promote the spiritual and moral goods" found among them.*
But "it is not that simple." Merton proceeds to list the strong
activistic, secular and antimystical tendencies that militate against
the recovery of contemplative Christianity in the West. Zen, to Merton
is the best hope because it rejects all doctrinal dispute and offers
itself as something completely unclassifiable in familiar Western
theological, moral or philosophical terms. "The real drive of Buddism
is toward an enlightenment which is precisely a breakthrough into what
is beyond system, beyond cultural and social structures, and beyond
religious rite and belief...What this means then is that Zen is
outside all structure and forms." *(Zen and the Birds of Appetite.pp.
4-5).
Zen according to Merton, offers us the pure act of seeing, pure
consciousness. It is this , Merton writes, that is the real meaning of
knowledge in meditation and contemplation leading to salvation in
Christ."
"The deepest level of communication is not communication, but
communion . . . It is beyond words . . We are already one."
-Thomas Merton
"And in the last public utterance of his life, deliverend on the day
of his death in Bangkok, he said:
"And I believe that by openness to Buddism, to Hindusim, and to these
great Asian traditions, we stand a wonderful chance of learning more
about the potentialty of our own traditions, because they have gone,
from the natural point of view, so much deeper into this than we
have."" quote from the book, "Lost Christianity" by Jacob Needleman, p.
112.
Toward the end of his life, Merton developed an interest in Buddhist
and other Far Eastern approaches to mysticism and contemplation, and
their relation to Christian approaches. He was attending an
international conference on Christian and Buddhist monasticism in
Bangkok, Thailand, when he was accidentally electrocuted on 10
December 1968.
According to a website dedicated to Merton:
In 1968 a meeting occured in the Himalayas between the two most
influential monks of the 20th century, a meeting that would shape the
dialogue between the worlds of East and West a meeting between His
Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama and Thomas Merton. Shortly thereafter
Merton unexpectedly died prompting the Dalai Lama to commit the
remainder of his life to fulfilling Merton's wish of bringing the
worlds of East and West together in compassion. This commitment
resulted in the historic Gesthsemani Encounter in 1996 at the Abbey of
Gethsemani, home of the late Thomas Merton, attended by His Holiness
the Dalai Lama and world leaders of the Eastern and Western religious
traditions.
Why would some mystical experiences lead individuals in an e***enical
or interfaith direction? We will try to find answer to that question.
Many mystics also claim there is no ultimate distinction between God
and the experiencer. For instance:
(Quotations from Meister Eckhart)
I"t is the nature of the Holy Spirit that I should be consumed in him,
dissolved in him, and transformed wholly into love. Whoever is in love
and is wholly love, feels that God loves nobody other than themselves,
and they know of no one who loves or indeed of anyone but themselves.
"(p. 148)
"You should know (God) without image, unmediated and without likeness.
But if I am to know God without mediation in such a way, then "I" must
become "he", and "he" must become "I". More precisely I say: God must
become me and I must become God, so entirely one that "he" and this
"I" become one "is" and act in this "isness" as one, for this "he" and
this "I", that is God and the soul, are very fruitful." (p. 238) .
"The seed of God is in us. Pear seeds grow into pear trees, nut seeds
into nut trees, and God seeds into God."
(Quotations from The Upanishads)
As the rain on a mountain peak runs off the slopes on all sides, so
those who see only the seeming multiplicity of life run after things
on every side. As pure water poured into pure water becomes the very
same, so does the Self of the illumined man or woman, Nachiketa,
verily become one with the Godhead. (Katha Up. 1:14-15, p. 92)
The separate self dissolves in the sea of pure consciousness, infinite
and immortal. Separateness arises from identifying the Self with the
body, which is made up of the elements; when this physical
identification dissolves, there can be no more separte self. This is
what I want to tell you, beloved.
(Brihadaranyaka Up. Chapter 2, 4:12, p. 38)
Perhaps more than often the spirit encountered in the mystical state
is not the Holy Spirit of Truth which brings people into the Presence
of God but maybe "another spirit" which St. Paul warned the
Corinthians about. "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent
beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted
from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preaches
another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another
spirit, which you have not received, or another gospel, which you have
not accepted, you might well bear with him." (2 Corth. 11:3-4)
"I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the
most High." -Lucifer Isaiah 14:14
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come,
except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be
revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is called God, or that is wor****pped; so that he as God
sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember
ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And
now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth
will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked
be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth,
and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose
coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and
lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them
that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that
they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong
delusion, that they should believe a lie:s That they all might be
damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in
unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12
For many seeking mystical enlightenment, God is no longer the personal
infinite God who is transcendant yet immanent who has acts into human
history, reveled in the person of Christ and Holy Scripture, but often
becomes a pantheistic and monistic everythingness and onenesss that
embraces everything. A God that is totally One with a fallen humanity
and world would be both good and evil at the same time...this then
leads to ethical relativism or a bluring of truth and error.
Mysticism from the East or from Western traditions relies on
techniques such as repetitive prayers, repeating over and over a word
or phrase (mantras, which maybe names of diety), contemplations of
icons or images real or imagined, also involved are methods of
emptying the mind, extreme aceticsm and in some cultures the use of
hallucinagenic drugs. Through these and other methods the experiencer
may see light, encounter entities, hear voices, feel a state of
enlightment or bliss, unity with God, etc.
Buddhist call this
state Nirvana or Satori...New Age people call it at-one-ness,
etc...Christian and Muslim mystics perceive they have experienced some
kind of estatic union with God or encounters with saints or angels.
Are there other explanations which point out deceptive
possiblities. ..this is what we shall look at with the help of quotes
from mystics, scholars etc.
(Quotations from Ahmad Ibn `Ata'Allah) Sufi Mystic
The sign of the invocation's reaching the innermost Self is the
absence of the invoker from both the invocation and the Invoked. The
invocation of the Self is ecstacy and drowning in it. Amongst its
signs is that when you quit the invocation, it does not quit you. That
is the exaltation of the invocation in you that rouses you from
absence of mind to presence of mind. It's spiritual lights never
disappear... (pp. 47-48, 50)
.... the reality of the invocation is when the Invoked takes possession
of the heart, and He is One. Separation and multiplicity exist before
that for as long as the invoker is in the station of invoking with the
tongue or with the heart. (p. 117)
As for those who are firmly established and are at the end of the
path, invocation occupies their hearts at all times. (p. 100)
Let your invocation be the all-embracing Name, which is Allah, Allah,
Allah, or if you so wish, Huwa, Huwa, Huwa; and do not violate this
remembrance. Be careful lest your tongue pronounce it while other-than-
He is in your heart.
Let your heart be the one who utters, and your ear the one who is
attentive to this invocation until the 'speaker' emanates from your
Self (sirr).. When you feel the emergence of the Speaker within you
through the invocation, do not abandon the spiritual condition wherein
you find... yourself..(p. 108)
St. Teresa of Avila and Catholic Mysticism:
Quoting a short biography by Caroline T. Marshall on the life of St.
Teresa of Avila:
"After a prolonged sickness that almost led to her death, Teresa was
introduced to the Third Spiritual Primer, by Francisco de Osura, a
Franciscan. De Osura followed a tradition of Christian mysticsim that
had been deeply influenced by the Sufi mystics of Islam. In this
system emphasis is placed on prayer in which the wor****pper detaches
himself from everything except God. A sort of spiritual intutition
which is combined from memory, will, and understanding, enables the
supplicant to receive a direct experience of God, who then illumines
the soul with knowledge of Himself. De Osura's inspiration was to be
the foundation of Teresa's mystical and spiritual life."
Is it possible that there is spiritual deception in the origins of
Islam and other religions influenced by mysticism?
Of his Mohammad's life, Anderson relates:
There is evidence in a tradition which can scarcely have been
fabricated that Muhammad suffered in early life from fits. Be that as
it may, the adult Muhammad soon showed signs of a markedly religious
disposition. He would retire to caves for seclusion, and meditation;
he frequently practiced fasting; and he was prone to dreams...(p.54,
The World's Relegions, 1976.)
Alfred Guillaume states concerning Mohammed's call:
One night as he was asleep, the angel Gabriel came to him and said
"Recite!". He answered "What shall I recite?" The order was repeated
three times, while he felt continually increasing physical pressure,
until the angel said:
Recite in the name of thy Lord who created Man from blood coagulated.
Recite! Thy Lord is wondrous kind Whp by the pen has taught mankind
Things thy knew not (being blind).
When he woke these words seemed to be written on his heart ...Then the
thought came to him that he must be sha'ir or possessed, he who had
hated such people that he could not bear the sight of them; and he
could not tolerate the thought that his tribesmen would regard him as
one of them - as in fact they afterwards did. Thereupon he left the
place with the intentions of throwing himself over a precipice. But
while on his way he heard a voice from heaven hailing him as the
Apostle of God, and lifting up his eyes he saw a figure astride the
horizon which turned him from his purpose and keep him rooted to the
spot. And there he remained long after his anxious wife's messengers
had returned to re****t that they could not find him (Alfred Guillaume,
Islam, London: Penguin Books, 1954, pp.28,29)
Sir Norman Andersen discusses how Muhammad when he first thought he
was posssed by the demons, or Jinn, as they were called, but later
dismissed the idea:
"It seems, however, that Muhammad himself was at first doubtful of the
source of these revelations, fearing that he was possessed by one of
the Jinn, or spirits, as commonly believed to be the case with Arab
poets and soothsayers. But Khadijah (his wife) and others reassured
him, and he soon began to propound divine revelations with increasing
frequency..." (Anderson, op. cit. p.55).
These visions mark the start of Mohammed's prophetic call by Allah.
Mohammed received these visions during the following 22 years, until
his death in 632 A.D.
So is there further evidence that mystical techniques such as
meditation and mantras used to invoke the Divine can lead to
encounters with fallen entities posing as spirit guides, dead masters,
Hindu dieties, ET's, angels or a another Jesus. Are mystical methods
common place?
>From a website dealing with: Western Mystical Traditions
Sufism
Prayer, in the form of constant repetition of the various names for
the Divine, is the chief Sufi tool for such growth. This skill is
first developed with the help of a rosary but after time it can become
an integrated part of one's mental activities. So, regardless of one's
activities, silent prayer can take place. Further techniques include
fasting ( a 40 day retreat at some point is not uncommon ) and the use
of music and movement to induce blissful trance-like, God-intoxicated
states.
The help of a teacher at this stage is vital, for the end goal is not
merely a blissful experience but rather wisdom and communion with God.
To this end, the student is aided in resisting total identification
with the affects of trance--such as tears and intense love of God. By
experiencing these exalted states but creating a mental space between
them and one's awareness, gradually identification with the personal
ego ( the little "self" ) is transformed into direct spiritual
intuition of higher knowledge and being (the big "Self" ).
Mysticism - A definition from the Mystica Encyclopedia
http://www.themystica.org/mystica/articles/m/mysticism.html
This is a belief in or the pursuit in the unification with the One or
some other principle; the immediate consciousness of God; or the
direct experience of religious truth. Mysticism is nearly universal
and unites most religions in the quest for divinity. It can also be a
sense of mystical knowledge. Dionysius the Areopagite was the first to
introduce the concept "unknown knowing" to the Western World. In areas
of the occult and psychic it denotes an additional domain of esoteric
knowledge and paranormal communication. Even though it is thought that
just monks and ascetics can become mystics, mysticism usually touches
all people at least once in their lives.
The term "mysticism" comes from the classical Greco-Roman mystery
cults. Perhaps it came from myein meaning "to close the lips and eyes,
and refers to the sacred oath of the initiates, the mystes, to keep
secret about the inner workings of the religion." In Neo-platonism
"mysticism" came to be associated with secrecy of any kind. The term
mystica appeared in the Christian treatise, Mystica Theologia, of an
anonymous Syrian Neoplatonist monk of the late fifth or early sixth
century, who was known pseudonymously as Dionysius the Areopagite. In
this work mysticism was described as the secrecy of the mind.
(note: The book of Revelations gives warning in the 17th chapter of an
endtime emerging world system called Mystery Babylon ...mysticism as
pointed out may provide a unifing spirit for this interfaith political
and apostate spiritual World Order.)
Despite the various approaches to mysticism it seems to possess some
common characteristics. Such were the findings of the philosopher W.
T. Stace, who discovered seven common themes of mysticism when
studying Roman Catholic, Protestant, ancient classical, Hindu, and
American agnostic mystical experiences. They were (1) a unifying
vision and perception of the One by the senses and through many
objects; (2) the apprehension of the One as an inner life; (3) and
objective and true sense of reality; (4) feelings of satisfaction,
joy, and bliss; (5) a religious element that is a feeling of the holy
and sacred; (6) a paradoxical feeling; (7) and inexpressible feelings.
Christian Mysticism
Devotion, concentration ( through prayer ), and surrender play the key
roles in conventional Christian mystic practice. Such efforts
naturally lead one to a very pure and humble heart. Selfless serviceis
also a major part of this approach. Thus it is that this mystical
style has much in common with the Hindu paths of Bhakti and Karma
Yoga.
Eastern meditation techniques have only recently been discovered and
the acceptance is still fledgling. Nevertheless, many a Christian
mystic has achieved deep levels of communion with the Divine. And in
fact, the constant remembrance of a transpersonal level of being is
not unknown to this tradition.
Repetition of a prayer is analogous to recitation of a mantra ( which
is essentially, a short prayer ). The best known prayers and mantras
from all of the world's traditions are charged with a spiritual energy
and power well beyond the scope of ordinary words and phrases.
This charging effect occurs due to the fervent practice with these
prayers by countless humans throughout history. Two of the better
known Christian short prayers are the
Jesus Prayer from the Eastern Orthodox tradition:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me, a sinner.
and Hail Mary, from the Roman Catholic tradition:
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou
amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary,
mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
This prayer to Mary is repeated over and over as rosary beads are
counted during the Rosay.*
The following is from a website http://chrmysticaloutreach.com/mentor/
promoting Mystical comtemplation methods such as mantra-like
prayers...it is a question from someone having doubts about the
mystical path:
Question: Thank you so much for answering my e-mail so promptly. One
more question I would ask of you. Ever since this started in 1991, I
have felt as if I am now sharing my physical body with someone else. I
can actually feel it. Sometimes It feels like hands inside of me,
sometimes like a s****, sometimes like an animal or insect. It only
stops when I am asleep. It scares me so much that at times I think it
must be a demon or evil spirit. Other times I think it is part of the
dark night of the soul. Can you enlighten me on this matter. Thank
you,
Here is the answer:
Every single thing you have mentioned, over the years, I have felt.
Feel blessed not cursed or possessed. It is the Holy Spirit flowing
through your nervous system. It sometimes takes a long time to become
accustomed to the flowing of it. Have you ever gotten a spider web
caught in your face and your whole face feels creepy and tingly. It's
like that. Your nerves have a reaction to the sensation of the web
against your face. Same thing with the flowing of the Spirit. As the
Spirit opens up new path ways within you, you are going to feel
movements of energy throughout your nervous system exactly as you
describe. It is a good sign that the Spirit is continuing to work with
you. Be grateful whenever the Spirit works with you. It is a blessing.
Yours in the Spirit, even when it feels creepy, -lmr
Contrast this with what St. Paul says is the fruit of the Holy Spirit
in his letter to believers in Galatia:
Galatians Ch 5
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 19 Now
the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft,
hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the
which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that
they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such
there is no law.
It is clear that the fruit of the Spirit is not creepy and is not the
author of heresies and idolatry which clutters the mystical path we
have examined.
Another example:
Question: Why did the One ever separate into the Many? I can never
seem to come close to a satisfying explanation of why the fall. Why
the illusion of Maya (This is an Eastern term for illusionary nature
of the field of primordial matter in all manifest creation, including
the heavens, represented in the bible by Satan, the bejeweled angel)
though there is no question to me this is what's going on.
Answer: You are asking the ultimate question. What is the nature of
Divine Consciousness (God) and why does it do what it does. All of the
great mystics say that the answer can only be understood when directly
experienced. A relative answer would be that It does what It does
because this is Its' nature. Beyond this, there seems to be an innate
impulse in Divine Consciousness to manifest itself as each and all
that we know and more that we may never know. The only thing I can
suggest is that you allow the Holy Spirit to take you to the direct
experience of God as Self. It is the unity spoken of by the Christian
saints, the enlightenment of the Hindu, the bliss of the Sufi, the
nirvana of the Buddhist. lmr
Question : I just finished your wonderful lessons in contemplative
prayer, and it seems to me that your prayer method is yoga. I practice
Yoga as well as Catholicism, and to me there doesn't seem to be a
difference. However Catholics are suspicious of yogis and vice versa.
How do you reconcile the two?
Answer: There is really nothing of conflict to be reconciled. Yoga is
not a religion. It is a grouping of different methods to achieve unity
in God. (enlightenment) Anyone who is doing anything to find God is
practicing yoga whether they know it or want to admit it. There are
Christian yogis, Buddhist yogis, Hindu yogis etc. and none may call
themselves yogis at all. There is one eternal truth (Santana Dharma)
that those who call themselves yogis teach. But in truth there is only
one eternal truth that encomp***** everything and everyone no matter
what religion we look at this truth through. lmr
Also notice the same mystical theology from ex Dominican priest
Matthew Fox who is now an e***enical and interfaith Episcopalian
minister.
>From an interview with Matthew Fox.
"Catholicism, going back to its medieval mystical tradition has a rich
heritage of spirituality which it needs to recapture. But I am
interested in deep e***enism. I think that the deeper you go into your
own tradition in terms of spirituality, the closer you come to the
living waters of wisdom. In this image, God is a great underground
river. There are many wells into this river: there's Buddhism, Taosim,
Judaism, Sufism, the Goddess, Native traditions and Christianity.
To connect with the great river (of mysticism), we all need a path,
but when you get down there, there's only one river. What I'm doing is
connected with the East. I have a Hindu from India teaching Shakta
yoga in my program. We teach T'ai Chi and Aikido. We have Sufis,
Buddhists, Jews, Catholics and Protestants and witches. (laughter) So
the future of religion is interdenomination."
Now compare this answer to a quote from Jesus of Nazareth
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in
me. 2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I
would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto
myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4 And whither I go ye
know, and the way ye know. 5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not
whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6 Jesus saith unto
him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the
Father, but by me. (Gospel of John Ch 14: )
Christ is saying here that we must go to God through Him. Why is this?
The Gospels tell us we who are not holy cannot approach a God who is
Holy and pure on the bases of imperfect human effort or righteousness.
The Books of Romans and Galatians written by the inspiation of the
Holy Spirit clearly teaches this. However the Old Testament prophets
like Isaiah and David predicted that God would send a Messiah who
would be called Immanuel which means "God with us" who would lay his
life down to atone for the world. Those that hear and believe this
gospel would by grace inherit eternal life.
This is in stark contrast to the mystics who say any religious or
mystical path is ok. The mystical path sought by many depends on
gaining merit through prayers, fastings, chanting of names of God or
dieties, spiritual excercises or disciplines etc. Christ says this not
the way to approach God he states:
"I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold,
but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2
But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To
him the ****ter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth
his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4 And when he putteth
forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him:
for they know his voice. 5 And a stranger will they not follow, but
will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. 6 This
parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things
they were which he spake unto them.
7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I
am the door of the sheep. 8 All that ever came before me are thieves
and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door: by me
if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and
find pasture. 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill,
and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they
might have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good
shepherd giveth his life for the sheep".
12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the
sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and
fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The
hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the
sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of
mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I
lay down my life for the sheep.
The Holy Spirit is not spirit of fear and darkness but is the
Comforter and Spirit of Truth promised not to the world but to those
who have received the gospel (Good News) and now love Christ and
follow Him.
15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the
Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide
with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot
receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know
him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. - Jesus quoted in
the gospel of John.
Contrast this with:
- an address at Prestatyn (UK) in 1988, where Tony Campolo expressed
his "Jesus is in everyone" philosophy:
"One of the most startling discoveries of my life was the realization
that the Jesus that I love, the Jesus who died for me on Calvary, that
Jesus, is waiting, mystically and wonderfully, in every person I meet.
I find Jesus everywhere. The difference between a Christian and non-
Christian is not that Jesus isn't in the non-Christian--the difference
is that the Jesus who is within him is a Jesus to whom he will not
surrender his life. You say, 'Are you saying that Jesus is present in
everybody?' I am only telling you what it says in John 1:9; He is the
light that lighteth every man, every woman that cometh into the world.
The minute you start saying that God isn't in some people, you're on
the verge of Fascism. Why? Erich Fromm saw that. The minute you can
look at somebody and say God isn't in him -- he is only in Christians
-- that person is pure demon."
- From his book, Partly Right, Campolo states:
"We affirm our divinity by doing what is worthy of gods, and we affirm
our humanity by taking risks only available to mortals. God had to
become one of us before He could become heroic ... Robert Schuller
affirms our divinity, yet does not deny our humanity ... isn't that
what the gospel is? Isn't God's message to sinful humanity that He
sees in each of us a divine nature of such worth that He sacrificed
His own Son so that our divine potentialities might be realized? ...
The hymn writer who taught us to sing 'Amazing Grace' was all too
ready to call himself a 'wretch' ... Forgetting our divinity and over-
identifying with our [Freudian] anal humanity [Freud is responsible
for a host of maladies that plague our contem****ary society] ... Erich
Fromm, one of the most popular psychoanalysts of our time, recognized
the diabolical social consequences that can come about when a person
loses sight of his/her own divinity ..." [Fromm, author of the book "
Ye Shall Be As Gods"
Some may ask ...Isn't there a need for more tolerance and love between
faith groups? What is wrong exploring common ground or promoting world
pluralism in a world full of hate and war? After all did not Christ
call us to love everyone even our enemies?
Yes, the the commandement to love is the fullfillment of the moral
law.. love should guide our conversation and dealings with
others...But, love does not mean saying that truth does not matter or
cruellty or deception is ok...When we reduce God through mysticism and
pantheism to an impersonal ground of all being ...then truth or morals
eventually have no meaning ...even love has no meaning as the
impersonal Oneness is silent. All one is left with is the whispers of
fallen masquerading entities and doctrines of men and demons.
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some
shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and
doctrines of devils;" 1 Timothy 4:1
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of
love, and of a sound mind." -2 Timothy 1:7
":But when you pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for
they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not
therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have
need of, before ye ask him." Jesus -Mathew 6: 7-8 And there came one
of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me,
saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the
great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the
inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her
fornication.
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a
woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy,
having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked
with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her
hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE
GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with
the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with
great admiration.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell
thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her,
which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of
the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the
earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life
from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was,
and is not, and yet is.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven
mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the
other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short
space.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is
of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have
received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with
the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto
the beast.
14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome
them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are
with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. 15 And he saith unto
me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are
peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 16 And the ten
horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore,
and shall make her desolate and ****d, and shall eat her flesh, and
burn her with fire.
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree,
and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be
fulfilled. 18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city,
which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
( - Book of Revelations ch 17)
In conclusion:
Mysticism as described by many researchers is a human attempt to
achieve unity with God or the divine.
Techniques including hypnosis, autohypnosis, floatation tanks and
sensory deprivation, sleep deprivation, fasting, chanting, dancing,
breath control, ***ual rites, yoga, and meditation are used to produce
mystical experiences. Most are caused for spiritual and/or religious
reasons. - from the Mystica Encyclopedia on the net.
However the Bible clearly states as we have seen that human
disciplines, techniques etc. are not the appropriate way to approach
God, gain salvation, or to gain spiritual incite or power. Instead of
human effort God has provided another way -which is through the
atoning and finished work of His Son the Messiah who is the
sacrificial Lamb of God, who we may approach by faith and is based on
historical and and biblical revelation.
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would
have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and
receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how
can we know the way?
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me.
7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from
henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. (-from the Gospel of John
chapter 14.)
-Noah's Dove
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