Are Christians aware of what John Mark Comer teaches in this book? If not, they need to be. Despite Comer’s avowal of not being an Open Theist, the god in this book is closer to Open Theism than to the true God of Scripture. Beware is the word for this book.
Dallas Willard (1935-2013) was a highly regarded pastor, professor, and Christian philosopher. His main influence has been on what I call Contemplative Spirituality. He partnered with Quaker […]
What is taught in the videos on prayer and solitude on John Mark Comer’s Practicing the Way Website? Read this article to get some thoughts on these two videos.
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.
These people, practices, and language related to Contemplative teachings are listed due to the increasing influence of the Contemplative Movement. Problems with this movement are multiple and have been addressed […]
So far, no biblical passage cited as support for these practices has held up under scrutiny. What God’s word does do is that it supremely sheds light on the misunderstanding or misuse of such passages.
Ezekiel had a “severe alteration of consciousness” when he had his vision in Ezekiel 8. This explains, according to Mackie, the alleged 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.” I do not think there is 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 God and the Bible. A forthcoming article will address this issue and attempt to explain why this is not compatible with Scripture.
Our reality, claims Mackie, is constructed from our experiences (starting around 50 min.) in which we develop “coping mechanisms” and so “what we experience as reality is a result of these shields we build up for years and years.” Whereas we take our dreams as fantasy and what happens during the day as reality, the biblical authors have “the opposite view,” asserts Mackie.