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A TIME OF DEPARTING By Ray Yungen
How Ancient Mystical Practices are Uniting Christians with the
World's
Religions
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT A TIME OF DEPARTING
He [Yungen] discusses the New Age meditation practices, warns against
mystical silence in prayer, and notes that the repetition of a single
word in meditation violates the Lord's command, "When you pray, do
not
use vain repetitions, as the heathens do." (Matt. 6:7) A much-needed
warning against the non-Christian practices ... infiltrating
Christian
churches.=E2=80=94Stewart Custer, Bob Jones University
Is contemplative prayer really a vehicle to a closer walk with God? A
Time of Departing do***ents clearly that far from being such a
vehicle, contemplative prayer is more akin to a Trojan Horse. You may
be very surprised to read of who the prime pawns are in this
spiritually dangerous deception.
=E2=80=94CECIL ANDREWS, TAKE HEED MINISTRIES - Northern Ireland
Ray Yungen exposes, in a clear and do***ented manner, both Catholic
and Evangelical mysticism, which has affected mankind in its core
beliefs and values. I highly recommend this book to understand a
massive undetected plague facing us in our day.=E2=80=94RICHARD BENNETT
Former
Catholic Priest, Now Evangelist - BEREAN BEACON
After reading A Time of Departing one can only come to the conclusion
that contemplative prayer is one of the introductory gateways into
Eastern mysticism. While popular theologians are Christianizing
Eastern mysticism, the reality is Christianity is being spiritualized
into this realm. =E2=80=94GREG DESVOIGNES CHRISTIAN RESEARCH MINISTRIES
Gives keen insights into the subtle attacks on the gospel by agents
of
the master deceiver. Provides the discernment that the church needs
in
these days of widespread deception. Will help keep the reader's heart
from being led a stray from its pure devotion to Jesus Christ.=E2=80=94
EVANGELIST MIKE GENDRON
PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL.
A Time of Departing details, sadly, the true extent to which
deception
has entered the Christian church through the contemplative prayer
movement ... gives quotes and facts to reveal how so many
congregations have strayed wildly from biblical wor****p and prayer
guidelines, and how much more closely aligned they are becoming to
non-
Christian neopagan and Eastern religious practices. The revolution is
within the church, as Yungen shows. =E2=80=94LINDA HARVEY
Mission America
A well researched, valuable book ... a solid critique of meditative
and contemplative prayer and should alert others who may not be aware
of the dangers. Good insight into how universal this silence for
guidance and light can become=E2=80=94Ray has hit the nail right on the
hea=
d!
=E2=80=94WENDY HOWARD, DESPATCH MAGAZINE - Australia
Sadly many pastors are oblivious to the unbiblical concepts promoted
within their churches. A Time of Departing clearly shows how [New
Age]
spiritual deception is being introduced into the church. A must read
for all pastors and teachers who want to protect their churches from
deception.
=E2=80=94KEITH MACGREGOR, MACGREGOR MINISTRIES- B.C. Canada
As a former professional astrologer and New Age practitioner of Hindu
and Buddhist meditation, I recognize in the contemplative prayer
movement many of the same techniques and views I once had. This book
is crucial for understanding the infiltration of Eastern views in the
Church.
=E2=80=94MARCIA MONTENEGRO, CANA
(Christian Answers for the New Age)
Ray Yungen makes us aware that the New Age movement has not faded
into
oblivion but has found a new avenue of reception in the church ...
do***ents how mysticism is being accepted and practiced as prayer. A
great resource as well as a warning for discerning Christians.=E2=80=9C
=E2=80=94MIKE OPPENHEIMER
LET US REASON MINISTRIES
A very im****tant book. Panentheism has invaded the churches in a
variety of ways already, but the introduction of contemplative prayer
is sure to be a final nail to the coffin. Ray does a good job of
research and has applied excellent author****p and readability to A
Time of Departing. -
=E2=80=94SANDY SIMPSON, DECEPTION IN THE CHURCH
Author removes the covers from much that p***** for Christian
teaching
and exposes it as a dangerous deception. If you are seeking guidance
on knowing truth from error. A Time of Departing will not disappoint
you!=E2=80=94TRICIA TILLIN, BANNER MINISTRIES - UK
A great tool to create an awareness in young people ... Author points
out that Jesus has become a commodity used in almost all belief
systems to make them believable. The book is an im****tant addition to
educate people.=E2=80=94 GEORGE AND RITA WILLIAMS,
CEPHAS MINISTRY, INC
Well written, researched and do***ented. Provides a sobering overview
of how far the Christian church has been influenced by the deception
of the New Age movement. =E2=80=94ROGER OAKLAND, UNDERSTAND THE TIMES
The Christian Sentinel
April 2003 issue
=EF=BF=BCA Time of Departing
By Ray Yungen
Book Review by Jackie Alnor
=C3=A3 2003 Christian Sentinel
Twenty years ago there was a big outcry by watchmen in the church
about the growing New Age movement that got the attention of the
Christian community. Unfortunately, the "paradigm ****ft" of
consciousness that New Age promoters were foreseeing has actually
taken place. A Time of Departing gives an update of how those once
alien ideas have now become the norm.
Ray Yungen gives the church a much-needed reminder of the
insidiousness of the philosophy basic to the New Age that poses the
biggest threat to Christian orthodoxy -- panentheism, the idea that
"God is in everything and everything is in God" (pg. 35). This is
different from pantheism that sees God as an impersonal substance
that incor****ates all of creation. Yungen traces such ideas to the
Catholic mystics of the Middle Ages who introduced "contemplative
prayer" as a way to empty the mind and encounter God. This mystical
prayer has had a revival in the Catholic Church in recent years as
the New Age movement=E2=80=99s promotion of meditation has caught on. And
these concepts have infiltrated the evangelical church as leaders
close their eyes to the dangers.
The author points to two influential writers who have popularized
such ideas in the evangelical church, Richard Foster and Brennan
Manning. Both these men have written popular "Christian" books about
contemplative prayer, also called "centering prayer." And, both
quote the Catholic mystics such as Thomas Merton and Thomas Keating.
It is evident that the Roman Catholic Church is the bridge between
Christianity and the New Age movement.
Problems arise for Christians who use "contemplative prayer=E2=80=99 to
reach
God. Entering into a self-induced trance state is dangerous even
when it is attained by following seemingly biblical talk such as
"be
still and know that I am God." When Christian mystics enter what is
known as "The Silence" things can and do go wrong. Yungen quoted
one
author as re****ting, "Saint Anthony, one of the first desert
mystics, frequently encountered strange and sometimes terrifying
psychophysical forces while at prayer" (pg. 52). And St. Romain
"would feel =E2=80=98prickly sensations=E2=80=99 on the top of his head
a=
nd at
times
it would =E2=80=98fizzle with energy.=E2=80=99 This sensation would go on
=
for
days" (pg. 50).
Richard Foster in his book, Prayer: Finding the heart=E2=80=99s True
Home,
he speaks of the practice of "breath prayer," in which a Christian-
sounding word or phrase is repeated over and over again like a
mantra. Foster wrote that "Christian meditation is an attempt to
empty the mind in order to fill it" (pg. 72), but fill it with what?
This "breath prayer" idea has gained popularity in charismatic
circles that frequently sing of "breathing in Jesus" or variations
thereof.
Brennan Manning=E2=80=99s fans can get very offended when his books are
critiqued as I have found since placing my review of The Ragamuffin
Gospel on-line. After all, a major evangelical publisher publishes
his books and many Christian music artists recommend him (see my
review of this book and my correspondence with Multnomah Books).
"Just because a writer is emotionally stirring, sincere, and uses
Biblical language," warned Yungen, "does not necessarily mean he or
she advocates Biblical truths" (pg. 84). Too bad Manning=E2=80=99s
followe=
rs
can=E2=80=99t see this.
A Time of Departing is the perfect book to buy for someone who has
crossed the line away from biblical truth into New Age practices. It
is not uncommon today to run into people who claim to be Christians
yet go to their local YMCA or gym for Yoga lessons every week.
Recently I met a "pastor" whose job on the side is the New Age
medicine practice of reflexology. And I met an owner of a health
food store who has crosses and scriptures around her store yet
practices the occult art of iridology. Too many Christians today
are
oblivious to the contradictions of Christianity and these Eastern
practices. They need a wake-up call.
EXCERPTS FROM A TIME OF DEPARTING
>From Chapter One - The Invisible Denomination
What Exactly is Meditation?
The meditation most of us are familiar with involves a deep,
continuous thinking about something. But New Age meditation does just
the opposite. It involves ridding oneself of all thoughts in order to
still the mind by putting it in the equivalent of pause or neutral. A
comparison would be that of turning a fast-moving stream into a still
pond. When meditation is employed by damming the free flow of
thinking, it holds back active thought and causes a ****ft in
consciousness. This condition is not to be confused with daydreaming,
where the mind dwells on a subject. New Age meditation works as a
holding mechanism until the mind becomes thoughtless, empty and
silent.
The two most common methods used to induce this thoughtless state
are breathing exercises, where attention is focused on the breath,
and
a mantra, which is a repeated word or phrase. The basic process is to
focus and maintain concentration without thinking about what you are
focusing on. Repetition on the focused object is what triggers the
blank mind.
Since mantras are central to New Age meditation, it is im****tant
to understand a proper definition of the word. The translation from
Sanskrit is man, meaning to think, and tra, meaning to be liberated
from.14 Thus, the word literally means to escape from thought. By
repeating the mantra, either out loud or silently, the word or phrase
begins to lose any meaning it once had. The conscious thinking
process
is gradually tuned out until an altered state of consciousness is
achieved.
But this silence is not the final objective; its attainment is
only a means to an end. What that end entails was aptly described by
English artist Vanora Goodhart after she embarked on the practice of
zen meditation. She recounted:
[A] light began seeping through my closed eyelids, bright and
gentle at first, but growing more and more intense =EF=BF=BD there was a
great
power and strength in this Light =EF=BF=BD I felt I was being drawn
upwards
and in a great and wonderful rush of power that rose eventually to a
crescendo and bathed me through and through with glorious burning,
embracing Light.15
Such dynamic experiences as this are what New Age mysticism is
really all about - not just believing in some doctrine or a faith
that
is sup****ted by some creed but rather a close personal contact with a
powerful Presence. The renowned occultist Dion Fortune acknowledged:
"****fting the consciousness is the key to all occult training."16 In
other words, meditation is the gateway to the light Goodhart
experienced.
14. Swami Rama, Freedom From the Bondage of Karma, Himalayan
Institute, 1977, p.66
15. Louann Stah., A Most Surprising Song, Unity Books, Unity
Village, Missouri, 1992, pp.147-148
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