The other day my daughter and son-in-law were driving on a road that winds through a mountain. Just as the road begins to curve uphill, there is a lot off to the right where people can park their cars while they spend a few hours hiking in the woods.
On this particular day, they saw something they had never seen before. A large tree had blown over onto a parked car in that lot and destroyed it. There were some hikers who would come back to a very unpleasant surprise.
Now, we know that that tree did not just topple over all of a sudden. There were many things that happened before that moment. Things that would weaken its roots. Things that would render it unhealthy and unable to withstand the pressures from outside itself. Things that would make it vulnerable to the wet, soft ground and the strong winds that would eventually come.
This is a great analogy for what’s been happening in churches, big and small. Churches found in the city and in the middle of nowhere and everywhere in between. Little by little, they have been invaded by false doctrine through the principles of mysticism, couched in terms that sound lovely and spiritual and, often, even biblical. Their roots of biblical faith have been eaten away until there are barely any left.
It’s been done so subtly and so gradually that most of us didn’t realize that the visible church, as a rule, was fatally wounded and ready to topple over until it was far too late. Many still don’t know and, to be frank, are really not interested in knowing. (I am not referring to the true Church, which is made up of God’s dear, redeemed children and comprises the remnant which can never be destroyed.)
Last week I shared my daughter’s post about Spiritual Formation and the danger it is to believers. Spiritual formation is simply one term for the mysticism (occultism) that has entered the church. It has also come in under terms like contemplative prayer, lectio divina, labyrinth, circles, dreams, visions, visualization, the “Presence”, meditation, the “silence”, and so many others.
It’s entered (and continues to enter) through books, movies, music, devotionals, sermons, and popular speakers. It can be a bit overwhelming now, although once we can see the paradigm, we realize that this has been going on for years and years. Honestly, I didn’t see it for a long, long time but once you see it you just can’t unsee it.
After the post was shared last week, a reader reached out to me about the Our Daily Bread devotional and her personal research into it (I’ll share more on that further down) and I wondered if it would be helpful to share just few ways I have seen this philosophy worm its way into our lives as believers. It’s so much more prevalent than any of us realize.
I am purposely keeping the following examples vague so as not to divulge any confidential information but I can assure you that these have all happened.
A reader reached out to me shortly after the post and told me she had been reading Our Daily Bread when one of the devotions raised a red flag. (This is that little book that so many Christians use for their devotions each day.) She decided to do some research and what she found was shocking. The author of this particular devotional (Will Collier) is not only way deep into spiritual formation but his wife is clearly new age. She asked if I would do some research and I, too, was shocked at what I found to be expressed clearly on their own websites. Our Daily Bread is in almost every solid church in our area. These devotions are changing the way people believe and think, little by little.
I decided to do some more digging on this popular devotional. Just who are all these authors who are feeding us spiritual bread? Here is what else I found—
-An author who has written a biography about author, Brennan Manning. Manning is one of the first to bring spiritual formation into our modern day church through his book Ragamuffin Gospel. This author also extols Eugene Peterson’s “Message” Bible, which is a new age version of the Bible and to be avoided at all costs.
-One author is a Spiritual Director, associated with the Coracle and with the London Centre of Spiritual Direction. Both websites are chock full of spiritual formation and occultic quotes and resources.
-Another author attends a “social justice church” that welcomes women pastors.
There were other concerns, as well. I didn’t research each author and, to be honest, some of the authors seemed okay. However, I researched enough to know that the devotional is deeply compromised and I would not personally choose to read it. These folks are brilliant at making things sound biblical. It is only when you step back and evaluate it against all of scripture, in context, and through the lens of traditional Christianity (as it’s been defined for the past two thousand years) that you can see the deadly transformation they are bringing in.
It was brought to our attention recently that a family we know has started attending a church we know little about. My husband decided to bring up their most recent live-streamed service. The sermon was on hearing God speak. It was poorly defended from scripture with one out-of-context passage and a very condescending attitude towards those who don’t believe God is still speaking (bless their sorry souls). Mysticism. Right there it was. If God isn’t speaking to you personally then you are a sorry soul. It’s experience that matters. The Word is important, but not as important as hearing from God personally. Yeah—make sure what you are hearing aligns with the Word but one has to wonder if this pastor honestly means this, since he is handling God’s Word so carelessly and clearly doesn’t care about hermeneutics at all.
Recently, I read a fiction book by Elizabeth Musser, an author I’ve read before (but probably with less discerning eyes, as I wasn’t very aware at that point yet). In this particular book, the characters had visions from and encounters with “Jesus”. These encounters were not questioned in any way and it was assumed that Jesus was the speaker. At this point, I was tempted to put it down but decided to continue for the very purpose to see how bad it would be. And it did get worse. At one point, one of her main characters received “peace with God” through an encounter, rather than through the genuine Gospel of scripture. And, while scripture was used and quoted in the book, the entire Gospel message was sidelined through these encounters with “Jesus”. These were the catalysts that brought change. The Bible and what it says had nothing to do with what brought true and lasting change in this dangerous book.
Fiction is really dangerous. Whether it be through reading or film, it tends to open up a Pandora’s box of false teaching in a palatable way. It’s a brilliant scheme really and for two reasons—first, most people just let their guards down when they are reading or watching something that they know is “just a story” and, second, because even if we know it’s false, we are always impacted at some level by what we read and watch. We can deny this but it’s true, nonetheless. And when it is labeled “Christian” it is teaching lessons that will affect how we think about God and what we think about His Word.
A church welcomes a special speaker who proceeds to lead the congregation in a visualization exercise in order to encourage them to get right with God. It is grossly unbiblical and purely occultic.
A church announces they are going to be studying a book about prayer in a small group study. When the book is researched, it is found to be full of spiritual formation and, in fact, will clearly teach their congregation to turn away from scripture and to turn towards mysticism.
These are just a few examples. I could give dozens and dozens of examples. I’m sure many of you could give examples, as well. It used to be subtle, but now it is not so subtle and it is literally everywhere.
So what to do? Here are a few suggestions…
First, there are a few things to look for as you seek to discern. Whether it be a sermon, a book, a show, or a song, what are they teaching you about Jesus? About sin? What emphasis are they placing on the Bible? What are they presenting as the way to be “close to God”? Is it through experience or is it through obedience to the Word? These are some questions that will help you discern.
Second, realize we aren’t changing the direction of the visible church overall. The ship has sailed. Most churches are fatally compromised and, while we can stand up in our particular church, do not expect any praise or glory if you do. Rather, expect to be ostracized, sidelined, and ignored. Ridicule and antagonism also might be part of the package. It’s just not an easy road to take and it mostly ends in disappointment and discouragement. It’s why this path is rarely chosen by any genuine believer. If you’ve experienced it, you realize you are spared a lot of heartache by keeping quiet. It’s a very sad state of affairs but this is where we find ourselves if we care about truth at all. If and when we choose to speak up, it’s so critically important that we do so with humility and love. Harshness and pride will make things so much worse.
Third, recognize that, while we can’t change the world, we can change our own lives and the lives of our families. We can be protecting our selves by, first, loving God and the truth He has given us in His Word more than we love anything else. And, in loving and knowing God’s Word, we can begin the process of eradicating compromised teachers and resources from our lives. We can be protecting our families by being careful of the resources we give to them and by the thought-provoking conversations we have with them.
Fourth, we can plant seeds. While it is true that most Christians just don’t want to hear the truth about how compromised Christianity is, there are some who do. Plant those seeds of truth as God gives you opportunity. Sprinkle those seeds in discussions about the Bible and about church. Toss them out during your family dinners and dinners out with friends. You never know what fruit they will bear. There will be a few who actually want to know. There will be a few who are thankful. It won’t be many, but there will be a few.
I have been saying we are in the last days for many years now. I still firmly believe this, although we cannot know how long the last days will last. But one of the main reasons I believe we are in the last days is because of this right here. Mysticism has completely hijacked biblical Christianity and most are not even aware.
So how do we make sure we are a tree that stands tall and strong and won’t be vulnerable to the false doctrine that eats away at our spiritual roots? How do we be sure to stay healthy spiritually so that we can withstand this storm of mysticism that is blowing fiercely all around us?
There is only one way and that is to stay close to the Lord through His Word and prayer, praying specifically for discernment and protection in the midst of this false Christianity that has touched every area of the world and swirls wildly around all of us. Study, submit to, and obey the Bible. Love the Lord by obeying His commands.
There is no new-fangled, easier way to be close to God through our personal experience. God’s Word can never be sidelined in the life of a thriving and growing believer. It is timeless and it has never changed and it will never change. The Bible is God’s very Word given to us and it will always be the key to living a victorious Christian life—no matter how many popular authors and celebrity preachers tell you otherwise!
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.
(Isaiah 40:8)
AMEN!