Most of the book, Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools, by Tyler Staton, is not about Contemplative practices. Staton uses what is often called the Lord’s Prayer as a template to discuss his experiences and insights for each section of the prayer. Since this particular prayer or prayer in general is not a topic I am addressing, I only evaluate select areas of the book at the beginning that fall into the Contemplative category. The material addressed here is found in the Preface by Tim Mackie, the Introduction, and the first three chapters.
I did skim the book and read several parts of it. Many things Staton writes are insightful and helpful, although there are some theological points I question and some with which I disagree, but since they are not related to the Contemplative topic so I do not discuss them. This article covers only troubling areas of the book dealing with Contemplative issues. Because I am not writing about the entire book, I chose not to use an image of the book cover for this article.
Tyler Staton is the pastor of Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon, the church founded by John Mark Comer, a popular Contemplative teacher. After Comer stepped down in 2021 to devote himself to his Practicing the Way endeavor, Staton became pastor.
The Title
The title of the book itself, Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools, raises questions. If it were written by a Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox author, then the word “monks” would make sense. But in what world should non-Catholics or non-Orthodox Christians aspire to pray like monks? I have no desire to model my prayers on the prayers of monks due mainly to vast differences in theology. (I am not saying that all prayers from monks are unbiblical).
However, the title does give a clue to the Contemplative influence on Staton. The Contemplative movement, or Contemplative spirituality, is mysticism. Mysticism is not compatible with Scripture because it seeks spiritual experiences through certain methods; involves actions to elicit experiences that supposedly bring one closer to God or allow one to hear from God; and seeks to disengage the mind. Moreover, mystical teachings downgrade the authority of Scripture. I have demonstrated this in over 15 articles on this website so I will not discuss that here.
As for “living like fools,” that is not a biblically based concept either. God often denounces foolishness or being a fool, especially in the book of Proverbs.
A Troubling Foreword
This book begins with a disturbing Foreword by Tim Mackie who favorably quotes and recommends the dubious figure of Father Thomas Keating, a Trappist monk (d. 2018) who was a co-founder of the modern Centering Prayer Movement . The quote from Keating is about a mystical “Presence.” Makie closes with this thought:
“My hope is that you will come to experience prayer and the presence of God in the way Thomas Keating describes it”(xiii).
My very firm hope is the opposite. It is worthwhile to explain more about Keating because his influence on Mackie and other Contemplatives is key. Keating, who is often quoted by heretic Richard Rohr and who did programs with Rohr such as this one promoting “nondualism,” has views compatible with Perennial Wisdom, which is Rohr’s belief. One article on Keating states:
“Coming as he did from the Christian tradition, Father Keating drew on the overlooked insights of great spiritual masters of that tradition—the consciousness genius of the anonymous 14th-century author of The Cloud of Unknowing, the remarkable simplicity of the spiritual path of St. Thérèse of Lisieux and the transcendent unifying vision of the 13th-century monk Meister Eckhart, to name a few.
But because he saw through the false certainty that can warp all religions, he believed this path to God was open to Buddhists, Jews, other Christians and people of all religions or none at all—to anyone who sought the source and experience of unconditional love.”
That Mackie, who is teaching hundreds of thousands of Christians about the Bible and theology via his Bible Project and individual classes, has been deceived and deeply influenced by Keating is of immense concern, to put it mildly.
Prayer as Boring or Dangerous
Staton declares that prayer is in decline because even Christians find it “boring or obligatory or confusing” or all three of those. He offers no basis for this and prior to this, has referred to Gallup research reporting that nearly half the population admits to praying daily. So Staton’s plunge into the book begins with a straw man, or at least an unfounded claim.
But prayer “is the dangerous pilgrimage I’m on,” declares Staton (5), and is “not for the faint of heart” (6), comparing prayer to the “arduous” walk of the Camino de Santiago, a famed Roman Catholic pilgrimage walked in Spain (I have been to the church of St. James where this pilgrimage ends).
Biblical prayer is never dangerous. God working through that prayer may bring challenges to the petitioner, but if one has trust in God when praying, then one need have no anxiety. It comes down to knowing the character of God and the fact prayer is demonstrated and often commanded in the Bible. Prayer is actually a privilege and a solace.
Most Christians, claims Staton, are only “knee-deep” in the water rather than swimming “in the depths of the divine intimacy of Jesus won for us.” This book, announces Staton, is “an invitation into the deep end of the pool.”
This introduction repeats the themes harped on by Contemplative teachers:
Christians practicing normative, biblical prayer are missing out on deeper intimacy with God because they are unaware of the supposed rich heritage from previous Christians (Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox mystics) and/or those from non-Christian traditions, as well as the practices of modern and contemporary mystics (Quakers and others from many beliefs). Without being synchronized with these teachings and practices, the Christian is adrift in a shallow sea and missing out on a deeper relationship with God. Regular Bible reading and study and prayer are insufficient.
— So goes the Contemplative propaganda, and it is working well.
Stillness
The third chapter begins with a misuse of Scripture, Psalm 46:10, the famed “Be still and know that I am God” (translated differently in other versions, such as “Cease striving” in the NAS). Staton takes this stillness as connected to a literal stillness for mediation, although that is not the meaning at all.
The enemy of being able to pray and being close to God is the busyness of life, asserts Staton. He quotes Dallas Willard, “you must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life,” (used by John Mark Comer as a title of one of his books). He also quotes Richard Foster, whom he calls a “modern sage,” who said that the devil “majors in three things: noise, hurry, and crowds.” A third quote is from mystic and Buddhism fan Thomas Merton (d. 1968) who said that the spiritual disease of our time is “efficiency” (38).
Staton looks at the Latin term for the word “still,” which he states is “vacate,” the word “vacation” comes from. I have no idea if this is true but it is irrelevant, because it is the Hebrew word that should be examined, not the Latin one, and the best meaning is to let go and “stop striving” or “stop fighting.” In context of the Psalm, it is about not striving against God but recognizing that he is in charge.
One has to wonder why Staton would look at the Latin word when he knows that the original language of the Psalms is Hebrew. This reckless misuse of Scripture and shoddy hermeneutics is the norm for Contemplatives when trying to use the Bible to support their teachings.
Staton sums up this verse this way:
“Stillness is the quiet space where God migrates from the periphery back to the center, and prayer pours forth life that God has at the center” (44).
On the contrary, God is not migrating anywhere because he is everywhere, and is at the center of every place since he cannot be contained or confined. Being still will not cause God to be closer to anyone nor cause anyone to be closer to God.
Quoting Roman Catholic priest and mystic Henri Nouwen, Staton writes that
“Solitude is the furnace of transformation”
and
“Without solitude, we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self” (45).
Solitude, one of the premier spiritual disciplines of Contemplative practices, is promoted by all Contemplatives, and is usually paired with the alleged practices of silence and stillness (none of which are taught in Scripture; I have looked at every verse and passage referenced for these as well as looking up all the passages with words translated as still, stillness, silent, silence). Many CANA articles discuss the misuse of Scripture by Contemplatives.
Later, Staton writes that God is “working” in stillness and silent prayer to
“break our attachments to the world so that we can truly love the world”
and “break” attachments to “people who feed our egos” so that “we can truly see…and love them.” In this way, “stillness is profoundly missional” (49). Whether this is true or not is not the issue. The issue is that nowhere does the Bible talk about God doing this or anything like it in stillness, silence and/or solitude, as asserted by Staton.
Rather, the Bible teaches that a Christian is close to God first and foremost through faith in Christ, then grows closer through increasing his knowledge of God by reading and studying Scripture, through regular prayer, and through God honoring worship. God has provided all the necessary means and information for being close to him. Stillness is not one of them, nor are silence and solitude.*
Staton offers a practice at the end of each chapter. This one advises the reader to sit with palms open and facing up, closing the eyes, breathing in deeply and exhaling three times, praying something simple, which he calls a “breath prayer.” Then he advises to “be quiet and wait.”
Nothing even remotely this is demonstrated or taught in the Bible. However, doing this would make most people feel spiritual, as though they are doing something godly. This is the deception of Contemplative practices. Though not prescribed in Scripture, they have the patina of spirituality and are hard to resist for anyone who was not taught well, or who does not know or understand or dismisses the treasure of what God offers through his word and the prayers given in the Bible.
Closing Remarks
I did not read the entire book; however, due to the troubling material I did find, and due to other teachings of Staton I have examined by listening to and watching podcasts, sermons, and interviews, I cannot recommend anything written by Staton. I cannot trust his theology or the theology of any Contemplative teacher.
- Silence and solitude as used by Contemplative teachers does not refer to silent prayer, quiet time, quiet contemplation of God or of the Bible, or praying alone. Silence and stillness are presented as mystical ways to experience God through the Contemplative practices.
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