Tradition and Wisdom This is from the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation website: “Shalem is grounded in Christian contemplative spirituality and, at the same time, draws on the wisdom […]
What can we say to the claims made by Contemplative proponents? Are their arguments sound and biblical?
Comer’s theme in this book is that Christians must pursue the “practices of Jesus,” or the “Way of Jesus,” which are the spiritual disciplines. However, there is no evidence that the spiritual disciplines as taught by Comer and others are taught in Scripture, nor are meditation and prayer modeled in Scripture anything like what is taught by Contemplatives.
The author is a former practitioner of Hindu, Tibetan Buddhist, and Zen meditation for 14 years Mindfulness is Ubiquitous There is no way to avoid the incessant promotions of […]
The idea is that who you think you are is not actually who you are, but is a construct. This supposedly opens the way for one to be free and construct a “new you.” But this is a classic cult technique also found in New Age and other esoteric teachings. Keep in mind that Erhard, the founder of Landmark (originally est), had been involved in Scientology, one of the most quintessential cults in existence and masters at mind manipulation, as well as being influenced by Zen Buddhism.
Ezekiel allegedly had a “severe alteration of consciousness” when he had his vision in Ezekiel 8. This explains, according to Mackie, the different views of reality Ezekiel and other biblical characters had, and their other “states of consciousness” (starting around 49 min.). This did not need to be spelled out to anyone when the Bible was written, claims Mackie, because they all “took it for granted.” There is no evidence for this in the text; furthermore, I think that seeking such states as well as the belief in “different levels of reality” is contra the Bible, and against God’s character. A subsequent article expanding on this topic and attempting to explain why this is not compatible with Scripture is found in the article, “States of Mind and Reality: Why It Matters…Tim Mackie’s Paradise Talk as an example.”
I have known that many New Age-friendly programs fly under the radar in the schools by coming through as part of SEL (Social Emotional Learning). This allows practices like Mindfulness […]
The Idol of Breath Breath and breathing have become a focus in our culture due to the invasion of alternative healing, the intense focus on health, and the influence of […]
ASTROLOGY Q. In Matthew, Chapter 2, weren’t the Magi who came to see Jesus astrologers? Does this mean astrology is okay? What was the star of Bethlehem? The Magi […]
[Note: This is an evaluation of spiritual perspectives in the movie, not a summary of the plot or a critique of the acting. Further evaluation of spiritual views in previous […]