Christian Answers for the New Age

Note: There is a CANA article on the misuse of Bible passages to support the alleged practice of silence. This article addresses the misuse of certain passages to claim that Jesus “practiced solitude” and that therefore, so should Christians, in order to be more like Jesus, to hear God, and to have deep intimacy with God.

The “Solitude” Texts

The passages below are from pastor, psychologist, contemplative, and Enneagram teacher Bill Gaultiere of Soul Shepherding (his ministry provides retreats, spiritual direction certificate programs, counseling, and coaching “to help leaders prevent burnout and cultivate intimacy with Jesus”). I did several Facebook posts on Gaultiere a few years ago, which apparently caused him to publicly complain about the “doctrine police.” I have seen these same passages from Tim Mackie, Renovare (Richard Foster), John Mark Comer, Ruth Haley Barton, and other contemplatives.

• • Matthew 14:13: Upon hearing that John the Baptist had been killed, “Jesus withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.”

“Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by Himself; and when the crowds heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.” 

• • Matthew 14:23 (also Mark 6:46): After feeding the 5,000, “he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.”

• • Mark 1:35: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
  • Luke 4:42: “At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The crowds were looking for him…”
  • Luke 5:16: “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”
  • Luke 6:12: Before choosing his twelve apostles, “Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”

After presenting these texts, Gaultiere writes:

“Many Bible students miss the importance of Jesus’ solitude and silence. Every pastor, ministry leader, and caregiver — any disciple of Jesus! — needs to learn from Jesus’ example of intimacy with God. I don’t want to miss this! So I went back to the Gospel of Mark and did a Bible study on Jesus’ solitude and silence.

Continually Jesus withdrew from people, daily life activities, and the demands of his ministry to be alone with the Father and pray. Jesus’ solitude and silence is a major theme in the Gospels. His ongoing, intimate relationship with his Abba was the source of his compassion, wisdom, and power that we see on every page of the Gospels.”

My response is to ask this: isn’t it normal that Jesus, who was usually with his disciples and often surrounded by crowds – who were sometimes making demands, “pressing” in on Jesus, sometimes testing him (from the Pharisees and scribes),  – would need to get away for a while? This is a normal need. Jesus, although the Son of God, was also fully human and therefore got tired, hungry, and thirsty. He needed breaks from his intense ministry.

Is taking a break to rest or pray the “practice of solitude?” It appears to be more the case that Jesus went off to be alone to pray (and in some cases, to rest as well). In fact, most commentators that I looked at remark on the fact that Jesus was setting an example for prayer, which is what we see Jesus doing frequently:

“Thereby He both had a space of time for rest and prayer, and sharpened the desires of men for Him.” (Check out commentaries at Bible Hub)

Tim Mackie and Solitude

In a video talk, “Solitude and Community,” part of the “Spiritual Symmetry” series, Tim Mackie cites the Luke 6 text about Jesus going to pray on a mountain the night prior to announcing his choice of 12 disciples. This text is one of Mackie’s major cornerstones to support the practice of solitude (he cites others often used for solitude as well). He spends quite a bit of time on it but he is making an incorrect conclusion.

That Jesus would pray prior to choosing the disciples is another normal activity that demonstrates Jesus’ prayer life and his submission to God while on earth, not a supposed “practice of solitude.” Being alone to pray is a normal way to pray, unless one is in a group prayer.

Being alone helps one focus and prevents distractions. It is common sense, not a contemplative practice. (Earlier in the video, Mackie recommends Dallas Willard’s Spirit of the Disciplines; it seems clear from this video and others that Mackie, like John Mark Comer, had embraced Willard’s contemplative teachings; Mackie also had come under the influence of Thomas Keating, who, like his colleague heretic Richard Rohr, was an adherent of Perennial Wisdom).

What does the Practice of Solitude Mean?

It might be helpful to point out that the practice of solitude does not mean merely being alone, and the practice of silence and stillness is not just being quiet, or being in a quiet place (the practices of solitude and silence have nothing to do with what some call “quiet time”). Since Contemplative practices are based on mysticism from early mystics and monks as well as on some Eastern meditative concepts, the practice of solitude entails much more. This practice is usually linked with the practices of silence and stillness, so Contemplatives will often speak of all three together or link at least one with another one.

John Mark Comer, in his video on the practices of prayer and solitude (see CANA article), quotes Eastern Orthodox mystic and Bishop, Kallistos Ware, as saying:

“Stillness is a state of inner tranquility, or mental quietude and concentration. Not simply silence, but an attitude of listening to God and openness to God.” (From video)

The Bible does not teach such a practice. Psalm 46:10 (“Be still and know that I am God” in the King James) is consistently misused to endorse being still (and also to practice solitude and silence; see CANA article on Psalm 46:10). In truth, we “listen” to God by reading and studying Scripture. God has provided a rich revelation to those who want to learn about him and live the Christian life.

The stillness and solitude taught by these contemplatives are mystical states. Comer states that the first “dimension” of solitude and silence is exterior silence, where one withdraws from outside noises. The “second dimension is interior silence, where you attempt….<snip>…to quiet all of the thoughts and worries and emotions and rumblings of the heart inside you.”

This allegedly leads to a state of stillness (which is where the quote from Ware comes in). Comer then quotes another mystic:

“And most of the great ones of the way of Jesus down through history would all say that solitude is one of the most important of all the practices of Jesus. Henri Nouwen once said, ‘Without solitude, it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life. We do not take the spiritual life seriously if we do not set aside some time to be with God and listen to him.’”

One naturally wonders who are these “great ones of the way of Jesus” that Comer so confidently refers to. Based on who he quotes in his book, Practicing the Way , these would be the mystics.

Comer agrees with Roman Catholic monk and mystic Henri Nouwen that without this alleged practice of solitude, we cannot live “a spiritual life.” My question is: If this were so important to live the spiritual life, why did Jesus not teach it and why is it not taught in the letters to the churches? (Some defenders of these practices state that it is not in the Bible because the early Christians were already doing these practices; but this is an argument from silence and there is no evidence for such a claim).

Comer’s Misuse of Scripture

What follows are claims from Scripture by Comer:

“But Jesus went into solitude all the time. Do we really think we can live without what Jesus considered essential? And Jesus’ invitation was, ‘Come and follow me.’ Another way to translate that is, ‘Come and follow my way of life.’”

Comer concludes that Jesus practiced solitude, based on how Comer and other Contemplatives define it. Comer asserts that Jesus considered this solitude “essential” and that we are to do it as well in order to “follow Jesus” (actually this was what Jesus said to his disciples as he was calling them to literally follow him), which Comer interprets as following Jesus’ “way of life.” That is quite a leap. Comer starts off with a wrong assumption about solitude and builds a house of cards on it, reaching a conclusion that topples in the light of Scripture.

Comer quotes Ruth Haley Barton (who wrote Invitation to Silence and Solitude, see CANA two-part article on this book and her Sacred Rhythms book here and here) who wrote that the practice of solitude is the “adventure of spiritual transformation in the deepest places of our being.”

So the practice of solitude is all inward, and it supposedly bring spiritual transformation. Yet Scripture does not teach this, so God apparently left out what all the mystics are now filling in for him. This “inner” work and solitude is gnostic and esoteric, two of the main features of mysticism and contemplative teachings (the other one is ineffable, see CANA articles on mysticism), but which are traits radically opposite to Scripture.

Scripture Misuse

None of the Scriptures at the beginning of this article tell us that Jesus had a practice of solitude (just as there are no texts that teach the practices of silence or stillness). This is because such “practices” did not exist before the Desert Fathers and the monastic practices set up by Benedict of Nursia in the 6^th century and later by Ignatius in the 16^th century.

Gaultiere quotes Mark 10:32

“’They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid.’ (Mark 10:32.)

and then he comments:

 Apparently Jesus kept silent for most of the 22-mile hike.”

What in the text indicates that Jesus “kept silent” for most of this journey? This is a headscratcher. In fact, this text and the related texts directly contradict Gaultiere. The biblical accounts depict Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem as a highly vocal and public period filled with active teaching, performing miracles, and conversing with his disciples and crowds. Yet Gaultiere is audacious enough to assert this completely false claim.

Contemplatives are very bold in their misuse of Scripture and misinterpretations, additions to the text, and wrong applications. They have no shame at all in doing so. They either truly do not know how to read the Bible correctly, or are so besotted with mysticism that they are uncaring about or blinded to what God’s word is saying.

What is the Harm?

So even if these practices are not in Scripture, where is the harm?

These teachings claim that the practices of solitude (and silence, stillness, fasting, Sabbath-ing, etc.) will bring one close to God, and many claim it is how we hear God. In fact, most contemplatives claim that you cannot have true intimacy with God without doing these practices and imply that hearing God this way is superior to Scripture. Others, like Comer, claim that this is how a Christian follows Jesus and if not doing the practices, one will not be truly following Jesus.

These teachings attempt (even unwittingly) to supplant God’s word and the Holy Spirit as a means of sanctification. These practices are experience-based. Having experiences is powerful and addictive. They make people feel spiritual,  and doing things to feel spiritual is another addiction. Addictions draw people away from the truth of God’s word and can offer deceptive intimacy and experiences.

There is another principle at work: Whenever widespread teachings in the church about God or Jesus have no scriptural support and, additionally, are based on misusing God’s word, something from the enemy is at work. This should not be ignored, yet more are speaking in favor of these teachings or actively promoting them than those who question or critique them. I think it is truly a crisis in the church.

Questions to Ask

1). Why look to the mystics (most of whom were Roman Catholic) on sanctification if they have a theology that denies salvation by faith alone? If someone does not get salvation right, then why trust them on sanctification?

2). All mystics I have examined (past and current) also seem to ignore God’s wrath on sin or at least minimize it (in some cases they deny that it is in effect since the cross, and embrace a Christian universalism). If they cannot get God’s nature or the atonement right, why should one look to them for practices to have more intimacy with God?

3). If these practices cannot be supported in Scripture (and CANA articles demonstrate that this is the case), then this means Scripture is not sufficient for knowing God or for living the Christian life.

These questions point to an unavoidable conclusion: the teachings of the contemplatives are untrustworthy and not based on sound biblical teaching.

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