A Time of Departing by Ray Yungen

A Time of Departing 2nd Edition
By Ray Yungen / Lighthouse Trails

Ancient mystical practices are being introduced into countless churches under the umbrella of the spiritual formation movement. Also known as contemplative spirituality, this belief system has roots in mysticism and the occult. A Time of Departing exposes the truth about the new spirituality that is entering the Christian church.

The Shack Author Denies Biblical Substitutionary Atonement

In a recent radio interview, The Shack author, Paul Young, told the interviewer he did not hold to the traditional view of the atonement in that he does not believe Jesus Christ bore the punishment (i.e., penalty) for man's sins when He died on the Cross (transcript).

He also stated, with regard to this topic: "I don't know if you're aware, but that's a huge debate that's going on in theology right now within the evangelical community." That debate, to which Young refers, is the new theology (or as we call it the new spirituality) that is entering Christianity through contemplative and emerging figures such as Brennan Manning, Brian McLaren, and Marcus Borg.

This "huge debate" states that a loving Father would never send His Son to a violent death on behalf of the sins of others. And while they do not deny that Jesus did physically die on a Cross, they insist that His death was not to be a substitutionary act wherein He was punished for our sins. Rather, they say, He was killed by man, not for man. And he was a perfect model of sacrificial servanthood. As Episcopal new spirituality author, Alan Jones, states, "Jesus' sacrifice was to appease an angry God. Penal substitution was the name of this vile doctrine" (Reimagining Christianity, p. 168).

Contemplative proponent Brennan Manning, quoting Catholic mystic William Shannon, says: "[T]he god who exacts the last drop of blood from his Son so that his just anger, evoked by sin, may be appeased . . . does not exist" (Above All, pp. 58-59). Mystic Marcus Borg has this exact same view. He is opposes the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement and sees the Cross as merely a metaphor for transformation in the mystical sense. 1 Brian McLaren shares this view (and indeed resonates with Borg) when he says that hell and the Cross are "false advertising for God." 2

The Shack, still at the top of the New York Times Best Seller list, is being heralded as one of the best Christian books ever. But as Lighthouse Trails and other concerned ministries have reported in a number of documented articles, The Shack is not a Christian book, and it should not be packaged, presented, and promoted as such.

While many who have read The Shack, tout that it has changed their lives, what these people do not understand is that the book appeals to people's senses; thus, the book is sensual. And because it makes people feel good, they assume (wrongly) that it must be from God. But The Shack is appealing to the carnal man and not the spiritual, and as the Bible warns, there is a "wisdom [that] descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish" (James 3: 15).

With this in mind, Lighthouse Trails has posted an article by free-lance writer, John Lanagan, who attended a large evangelical church meeting this past weekend in which The Shack author spoke. The church is presenting a series on The Shack and began the series by having Young address the congregation. It is not the intention of this report to single out this particular church but rather to warn believers of The Shack's interspiritual, panentheistic, and non-biblical theologies and the book's major impact on many many churches. Please click here to read this article.

Visualization: Part of the New Age Deception

By: Caryl Matrisciana

The current popularity of visualization techniques is largely due to a woman named Shakti Gawain. Her book, Creative Visualization, teaches that we can, in essence, create our own reality. Her teaching goes beyond the boundaries of a normal use of the imagination--it delves into the supernatural, mystical world where one can conjure up beings from the spirit realm and alter the course of the future. Gawain considers these spirit guides friends who can help us through life: "Many people who have established a relationship with their guide meet them every day in their meditation."1 But as do all New Age thinkers, Gawain believes that man shares divinity with God. "There is no separation between us and God,"2 she states. She calls this "our divine potential."3

How do visualization techniques line up with the Christian faith? The Bible says that the "blessed hope" of the church is the physical return of Jesus Christ to earth (Titus 2:13). But if we are longing for a mystical experience that will somehow bring Him into view now, we need to weigh our desires against biblical principles. God is not a shimmering puppet whom we can control with our own cleverly devised mental strings: He is a Spirit, a person separate from ourselves, and we must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

We must test all spirits, as the apostle John instructed. To the New Ager, God appears as light. The Bible warns that Satan comes as an angel of light (II Corinthians 11:14), but that Jesus is the real Light of the world. So what can we do to be sure that our "visions" and our "messages" are from the true God? "[E]very spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God" (I John 4:3). Jesus is God's only-begotten Son. He died on the Cross for our sins. He was raised from the dead on the third day. He is fully God and fully human. He is the Christ, not a bearer of the christ-consciousness.

Unfortunately, many Christians don't understand that there are other spiritual sources of power besides Jesus. For every true gift, there is a counterfeit, and many people are using the counterfeit power, often through visualization. This reminds me very much of my own former use of psychic powers. In fact, visualization or imaging is unrelated to anything I have ever learned from the Bible. Norman Vincent Peale described the technique in his book Positive Imaging:

As the years went by, I began using imaging techniques whenever I wanted to achieve a certain goal. In my second little church, located in Brooklyn, New York, attendance was low; in fact one day I found the sexton dragging one of the back pews out of the building. When I asked him why, he said he was going to chop it up for firewood. "No one sits in it anyway," he explained.

"Put it back," I told him grimly. "Somebody is going to sit in it!" I visualized that pew full, and all the other pews full, and the church filled to capacity. I held that image in my mind. I worked for it with every ounce of strength I had. I made it part of my innovative thinking. And the day came when the image became a reality. . . .

Perhaps the idea of the power of positive thinking was conveyed to me right then and there. But behind that idea, and in it, and beyond it was the concept of imaging-holding the image of yourself succeeding, visualizing it so vividly that when the desired success comes, it seems to be merely echoing a reality that has already existed in your mind.4

Norman Vincent Peale's positive thinking is nothing short of faith in faith. This has been substituted for faith in our God. And faith in our faith is nothing short of faith in ourselves: our wills, our desires, our minds, even our subconscious minds and illusions--in other words, our dreams....

In view of this, what should we be doing? The Bible gives us sound and sure instruction: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (II Timothy 2:15)

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Psalm 119:11)

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13)

And let us "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3). Satan is the mastermind behind New Age thinking, and his plan is to "deceiveth the whole world" (Revelation 12:9). He wants to change the minds of billions, to restructure, recondition, and reprogram them as rapidly as possible. And he is doing it successfully, unbeknownst to the masses. (from Out of India, chapter 13)

Notes:
1. Shakti Gawain, Creative Visualization (Novato, CA: Nataraj Publishing, 2002 edition), p. 97.
2. Ibid., p. 167.
3. Ibid.
4. Norman Vincent Peale, Positive Imaging (Ballantine Books, First Ballantine Books Trade Edition, 1996), pp. 28-29.