[BBC List] finding water with a stick?

[Mike Abendroth]

Contemporary Christian Divination 

by Bob DeWaay

 

"Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke,
exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when
they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled,
they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own
desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside
to myths." (2Timothy 4:2-4)

There was a king in Israel who decided that he could set up his own way of
coming to God. This king's story will provide a needed warning for those
today that do likewise.

The king was Jeroboam. Jeroboam received a prophecy that God was going to
tear 10 tribes away from Solomon and give them to him (1Kings 11:31) because
of the idolatry of Solomon (1Kings 11:33). Solomon then decided to put
Jeroboam to death, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt until Solomon died (1Kings
11:40). At Solomon's death the prophecy came true and Jeroboam became king
over the 10 northern tribes.

However, once God had made Jeroboam king, Jeroboam became concerned. He
reasoned: "If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord
at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, even
to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king
of Judah" (1Kings 12:27). So, being a pragmatist, he set up two convenient
houses of worship: Dan in the northern part of the realm and Bethel in the
southern. Then he made priests out of non-Levites and instituted his own
feast day, hoping to keep the people from going to Jerusalem as required by
Torah.

To further make the new way of worshipping God amenable to the people, he
placed a golden calf in each place of worship: "So the king consulted, and
made two golden calves, and he said to them, 'It is too much for you to go
up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the
land of Egypt'" (1King 12:28). His words reminded the people of Aaron's
words. C. F. Keil comments, "What Jeroboam meant to say by the words,
'Behold thy God,' etc., was, 'this is no new religion, but this was the form
of worship which our fathers used in the desert, with Aaron himself leading
the way.'"1 He did not mean that the calves literally brought them out, but
that they were representative of God who had brought them out. Keil goes on
to argue that rather than instituting an entirely different religion,
Jeroboam was altering the worship of God to suit his religious and political
needs. Says Keil, "The sin of which Jeroboam was guilty consisted in the
fact that he no longer allowed the people to go to the house of the Lord in
Jerusalem, but induced or compelled them to worship Jehovah before one or
the other of the calves which he had set up . . ."2

Jeroboam thought he could come to God anyway that he saw fit, that he could
institute his own version of worshipping God. Prophets of God spoke to him
(1Kings 11:31; 13:1; 14:7-10) and he was healed by God (1Kings 13:6), but in
the end he was judged as an evil doer (1Kings 14:10-14). Jeroboam saw no
need to follow the prescriptions of Torah concerning how Israel was to
worship God. How wrong he was!

I believe that God reveals the only means by which we can legitimately come
to Him. In this article we will examine the claims of contemporary Christian
mystics who assert that they have discovered methods to contact God, hear
His voice, and even see inner images of Jesus that come alive and speak:
methods borrowed from worldly sources and not found in the Bible. I will
claim that those who borrow practices from the pagans and try to use them as
means to come to God sin in the same manner Jeroboam sinned.

 


Can Man Decide How to Come to God?


In the previous issue of CIC, I argued that methods are not neutral: either
humans can come to the true God by any means that they see fit or God
restricts the means by which we can come to Him. This was proven by the fact
that various forms of divination are forbidden where divination is defined
as any technique used to gain secret information that God has not chosen to
reveal. If we could come by any means, then tarot cards, Ouija boards,
crystal balls, psychic powers, etc. could all legitimately be used to
contact God. Since certain techniques are forbidden, then the claim that
humans can come to God by any means whatsoever is unbiblical. Therefore, we
conclude that God has restricted the means of coming to Him and worshipping
Him.

There are restrictions. The question is, "Who determines them?" The options
are that individuals determine them for themselves, church traditions
determine the restrictions, or the Scriptures determine the restrictions. I
argue that if individuals determine the restrictions for themselves, there
are no restrictions. A good example is Morton Kelsey, the most prolific
writer among twentieth century Christian mystics. Kelsey, open to any
religious practice that will help in the "inner journey," writes, "The inner
journey is as individual as our thumbprint. We need to guide others on their
way and never impose our way upon them."3

Many Christian mystics opt for the second option - church traditions. They
find that mystics and their practices existed from the very early days of
church history.4 It is surprising that contemporary evangelicals sometimes
cite Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions to justify their practices.
But many do. They usually try to also find Biblical support, but such
support cannot be found without twisting the Scriptures.

I believe that Scripture alone determines the valid means of coming to God.
The Scripture reveals one obvious restriction: "Jesus said to him, 'I am the
way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through
Me'" (John 14:6). The Bible not only reveals the only way to salvation, but
it also provides the means of grace for living the Christian life. God does
not leave this up to man's ingenuity. He has not left us to sift through the
religious practices of the cultures of the world in order to choose which
ones to "Christianize." Those who do are modern day Jeroboams who will not
grant to God the right to tell them how God will be worshipped.

 


The Claims of Christian Mystics


In the past few weeks I have studied many books written by Christian mystics
between 1947 and 2004. Comparing their teachings, one to another, has led me
to conclude that these mystics differ little in their practices and their
use of the Bible. I will cite many of their works, explain their beliefs,
and show how what they practice flows from their basic beliefs.

 


The Kingdom "Within"


One common theme is that the kingdom of God is inside the individual. Agnes
Sanford was an early pioneer in bringing mysticism to twentieth century
evangelicals. Her book "The Healing Light" was originally published in 1947.
In it she said this about the kingdom of God: "'The kingdom of God is within
you,' said Jesus. And it is the indwelling light, the secret place of the
consciousness of the Most High that is the kingdom of Heaven in its present
manifestation on this earth."5 Sanford believed there were laws we needed to
learn to "turn on" so that we could release God's power and work miracles.
"Learning to live in the kingdom of Heaven," she goes on, "is learning to
turn on the light of God within."6 Since she does not explain the gospel in
Biblical terms, one is left with the impression that what she calls the
divine "force" is within each person to be tapped into if they only knew the
laws that govern that force.7

Another twentieth century mystic who taught of the kingdom within was Ruth
Carter Stapleton, the 1970's teacher of inner healing and sister of
President Jimmy Carter. She wrote, "The concentrated mind is more amazing.
It can become a vehicle for communicating with the core of our being which
Jesus called 'the kingdom of God within.'"8

Morton Kelsey also taught this: "What meditation does mean is a way for us
to unlock and open the door to the kingdom of heaven. Jesus began his
ministry by proclaiming that this holy kingdom was within us and among us."9

Jose Silva taught that the kingdom of God was within us and that we needed
to get into an alpha brain wave level and our right brain hemispheres to
unlock the powers of the kingdom of God.10 Silva is the founder of the Silva
Mind Control method that boasted 6 million followers in the 1980's, but
Silva is rarely confused with evangelicals.

Mystics latch onto the idea of the kingdom within because the idea gives a
compelling reason for a "journey inward." It dovetails nicely with the
thinking of people in a culture influenced by New Age ideas and post-modern
thought. Go deep inside of your self through an Eastern technique, and there
you will meet God, or so they think. But does the Bible teach that the
Kingdom of God is within human beings? The passage they are referencing is
Luke 17:20, 21: "Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the
kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, 'The kingdom of God is
not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!'
or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.'" The
phrase "the kingdom of God is within you" is found in the King James and the
NIV. I believe that the context favors the NASB translation. Jesus was not
telling His enemies, the Pharisees, that the kingdom was within them, but
that it was among them in the person of Jesus Christ. If they were going to
enter the kingdom, they would have to repent and turn to Christ for
salvation (see Mark 1:14, 15). There is nothing in this passage that would
suggest that if the Pharisees took an inward journey using meditative
techniques they would find God's kingdom!

 


Altered States of Consciousness


In 1980, the movie "Altered States" was released. It was about a man who
used hallucinatory mushrooms and an isolation chamber to achieve a
terrifying altered state of consciousness. The movie showed the dangers of
such a journey. Interestingly, many of the teachers of Christian mysticism
also warn of dangers that lurk for those who journey within. Kelsey, who
learned his version of Christian mysticism by integrating many diverse
religious practices with the depth psychology of Carl Jung,12 claimed that
below our rational consciousness lays a whole inner world where one meets
the "Other."13 The problem is that when people learn techniques to access
this inner realm beyond the conscious mind, they often meet horrible forces
of darkness. According to Kelsey, evil exists there that is both intrinsic
and extrinsic to the human psyche.14 Some who go on this journey do not have
a strong ego and a strong connection to the outer, material world, and
cannot get back.15

If it is so dangerous (as other Christian mystics besides Kelsey also
admit), why go there? The answer is that mystics think that God is to be
found within. The realm of the unconscious mind, demonic powers, Jesus
Christ and His kingdom, and any other spiritual reality is hidden from us
through normal means of knowing. Kelsey describes his beliefs:

There are various techniques for opening up the tight capsule of space and
time. Zen and Yoga, paying attention to dreams, prayer, contemplation,
meditation, and the use of biofeedback all can be helpful for some people in
reaching stillness and opening themselves to new experiences within. . . .
There is a real danger in much of Eastern thought and in our own scientific
probing into the mind, but is not because there is something dark and evil
lurking in either of them. The danger lies in the fact that Eastern ways of
prayer and scientific interest in altered states of consciousness do not go
far enough. The road stops once the relaxation, the peace and the
detachment, or the extrasensory perception is achieved, and then one is left
to wander.16

Kelsey thinks that those on the "inner journey" have to navigate the dangers
and press further inward until they meet God there and find wholeness.

Richard Foster also mentions the danger: "So that we may not be led astray,
however, we must understand that we are not engaging in some flippant work.
We are not calling on some cosmic bellhop. This is a serious and even
dangerous business."17

Many Christian mystics think the "kingdom within" is a realm to be explored
by spiritual pioneers who will brave the dangerous journey. Those who have
done so can become guides or "masters" to help the uninitiated on their
journey. Kelsey writes elsewhere, "Indeed I would suggest that everyone who
is serious about relating to the spiritual realm find himself a spiritual
director, if there were more men trained and experienced in this way."18

Richard Foster laments the lack of "living masters" and claims that people
are turning to Eastern meditation because the church has "abrogated the
field." 19 If Foster was right when he wrote that in 1978, he should be very
encouraged now because today the church is awash in mystical practices. Some
of the most popular Christian authors promote mystical practices from the
middle ages.20 We now have our own "living spiritual masters" who are
putting on seminars in a city near you.

The type of meditation that Christian mystics advocate requires a different
state of consciousness than normal, awake, thinking. That is why there is so
much interest in dreams among mystics. Sleeping is one time that all humans
are in a different state of consciousness. The alpha level of brain activity
happens when people are entering sleep and waking up. The theta level is a
where people go under deep hypnosis or deep meditation, and in the early
stages of sleep.21 Hypnosis and eastern meditative techniques purposely put
someone in an altered state of consciousness with the hope of learning
something about the unconscious or subconscious mind or contacting the world
of the spirits. Christian versions of it suggest that God can be contacted
by purposely entering an altered state of consciousness (though few like to
call it that).

Foster claims that what he often receives through meditation is guidance for
solving problems and living a better life, approvingly citing Kelsey to that
end.22 He points out that people who are not religious have other uses for
meditation:

It may have value in dropping our blood pressure or in relieving tension. It
may even provide us with meaningful insights by helping us get in touch with
our subconscious mind. But the idea of actual contact and communion with a
spiritual sphere of existence sounds unscientific and faintly reasonable. If
you feel that we live in a purely physical universe, you will view
meditation as a good way to obtain a consistent alpha brain-wave pattern.23

He goes on to say for those who live in a universe created by an infinite,
personal God, meditation is a communication between the "Lover and the one
beloved."24 Since the same techniques are being used, this means that when
the alpha level is achieved there we hear from God. Christian mystics
commune with God in an altered state of consciousness.

Morton Kelsey describes altered states of consciousness and the benefits of
them. He describes various versions of Eastern religion which enable the
"conscious mind to halt."25 Writes Kelsey, "In both Yoga and Zen meditation,
the activity of the brain changes. Alpha and sometimes theta waves are
produced, and in both of these the capacity of the mind changes."26 He says,
"[P]sychic gifts often depend on a state of relaxation like this. The most
gifted psychics often have to relax to the point where silence begins to
take over before they can tune in to these gifts."27 The following material
is Kelsey telling what sort of capacities can be gained by being in an
altered state of consciousness through Eastern forms of meditation:

A person may become open to telepathy and thus know what is going on in
other people's minds, to precognition, . . . to clairvoyance, . . . or to
psychokinesis (one's thoughts have some kind of direct effect upon physical
objects, including healing of humans beings). These capacities are often
found among Hindu gurus, Zen masters, or anyone who uses deep meditation, as
well as among Christian saints. They appear to be one of the results of
continued meditation. There is danger, of course, if people enter meditation
just to find these capacities.28

Kelsey is very frank about the fact that the actual practice is the same for
Christians or people from other religions, as well as the results. Kelsey
says, "Alpha waves are apparently induced in the brain."29 He even suggests
that rhythmical breathing that is taught in various meditative practices,
Christian and otherwise, may "go along with alpha and theta wave activity in
the brain."30

Kelsey, who has done more research and writing on this topic than any recent
Christian author, believes that any technique that works can be adopted by
Christians regardless of its source. He says, "When we are clear enough
about our own point of view, we can find help in the methods of Eastern
Christianity or in the ways of the Far East, perhaps by consulting the I
Ching or through mandala contemplation; we may even find help in the ways of
shamanism or Islam. If we are clear about where we stand and the direction
we must take, such methods may be useful in order to follow our own way to
the end."31 The end for Kelsey is described as follows: "Only as the whole
person is turned toward the meditative process does the experience of the
Divine expressed in Jesus Christ become a reality."32 My question is: how
does he know it is really Jesus Christ he is meeting through these
techniques? The assumption apparently is that if a Christian goes into an
altered state of consciousness using pagan techniques, the Christian will
meet Jesus there. Those of other religions evidently do not. This is a
dangerous assumption.

Kelsey may sound extreme, but consider this: he has a book published by an
evangelical publishing house, and in the 1970's was an author popular with
people in the Charismatic renewal. Richard Foster quoted him approvingly.
Greg Boyd in his recently published Seeing Is Believing also promotes a
version of mysticism and cites Kelsey approvingly. Boyd calls his own
practice "resting in Christ" and equates it with one of Kelsey's
practices.33 Other authors may be better at "sanitizing" Eastern mysticism
when they integrate it into their Christianity, but Kelsey is more honest
about where it comes from and more unabashed about explaining the various
issues about mystical practices. These practices do invoke an altered state
of consciousness involving gaining an alpha brain level similar to hypnosis.
Calling it "resting in Christ" or by any other name does not change the
nature of the practice.

We will now examine some of the techniques that Christian authors have
promoted to put people into the form of "altered" consciousness we have been
describing.

 


Techniques For the Journey Inward
Breathing Techniques


Most Christian mystics recommend connecting prayer to breathing (we showed
why earlier, because rhythmic breathing is helpful in achieving alpha level
brain-waves). Ruth Carter Stapleton recommends that a person sit upright and
erect in a chair.34 To enter meditation she has a breathing exercise: "At
last, seated or lying down, use your breath as an expression of inspiration.
. . . Breathe in deeply before meditation, repeating in your mind as you
breathe, 'I breathe in the Spirit,' and exhaling saying, 'I breathe out
love.'"35

Richard Foster has his own version of this:

Having seated yourself comfortably, slowly become conscious of your
breathing. This will help you get in touch with your body and indicate to
you the level of tension within. Inhale deeply, slowly tilting your head
back as far as it will go. Then exhale, allowing your head slowly to come
forward until your chin nearly rests on your chest. Do this for several
moments, praying inwardly something like this: 'Lord, I exhale my fear over
my geometry exam, I inhale your peace. I exhale my spiritual apathy, I
inhale Your light and life."36

Morton Kelsey suggested using the "Jesus prayer" ("Lord Jesus have mercy on
me") repetitively in conjunction with breathing, citing several medieval
sources.37 Kelsey summarizes, "The ancient Christian traditions of
hesychasm38 stressed the use of the Jesus prayer and an imageless sense of
God's presence as well as awareness of breathing. The essential element
linking these practices was the search for silence, for inward stillness."39

Agnes Sanford had a slightly different process, but still spoke about
breathing. Here is Sanford's technique:

In order to receive God's life in the body, we must first be able to forget
the body so that we can quiet the mind and concentrate the spiritual
energies of God. . . . Many people find it helpful to meditate with the feet
raised, resting upon a footstool or even upon another chair. . . . The one
who prays will discover the reason for this as he connects more and more
closely with the life of God. . . . He will notice as he relaxes that even
his breathing is altered, becoming slow, thin and light, as if to leave room
for the Spirit of God within.40

Sanford emphasizes immanence so much so that she scarcely distinguishes the
Creator from the created. She says,

Having quieted our nerves and minds by sitting in the most comfortable
position and by relaxing, let us now open our spirits to receive the
abundant life of God. How easy this becomes when we realize that God is not
a far-away sovereign, but is actually the medium in which we live - the very
breath of life! . . . For as we tune in our thought-vibrations to the
thought-vibrations of God, we expose ourselves, as it were, to His eternal
shining and so receive His image upon ourselves.41

This type of thinking takes away God's sovereign right to declare the terms
by which we must come to Him and makes Him a part of the universe to be
tapped into by those who know the secret. It strikes me that many of these
mystical techniques are like "conjuring up" God. God does not allow that!

 


Repeated Words and Phrases


As we saw in Kelsey's description of the Jesus prayer, breathing techniques
can be used in conjunction with a repeated phrase to enable the Christian
mystic to empty the mind and find "the silence." The repetition of a word or
phrase, over and over, as part of meditation became popular in this country
with the practice of Transcendental Meditation. TM uses the names of Hindu
deities, repeating a particular one (given to the devotee) over and over in
an attempt to silence the mind. Christian mystics who use similar techniques
try to dismiss the similarities. They often argue that Christians lost their
ability to enter the inner world of silence because of Western rationalism
(all of the mystical writers I read blame the West and rationalism for the
lack of Eastern practices in the church). Ruth Carter Stapleton writes:

The seldom-considered art of listening to God is learned as we bring
ourselves to the place of attentive silence. Because as human beings we need
silence, and because our noisy Christianity tends to ignore that need, into
that void has rushed a variety of Eastern meditative disciplines, the most
popular of which it Transcendental Meditation. There is no need to argue
against such discipline. What we need is to discover the authentic native
Christian expression of meditation which makes all other disciplines
unnecessary and inferior.42

The problem is that the Bible teaches no "discipline" to shut down the mind
in order to make contact with God. Stapleton goes on, "Silence intimidates
when it should bless. It is looked upon as a void, when it could and should
be considered a profound opportunity for communication with God."43 The
Bible never teaches that silence puts one in touch with God.

The techniques of Christian mystics differ little from those of Eastern
mystics. An example is Ruth Carter Stapleton. Stapleton claims that there is
a "sixth sense" by which we should be able to hear God's voice: "In the same
way we who have been unwilling, through ignorance, to live in the light of
silence have lost the ability to exercise that divinely bestowed sixth sense
which enables us to listen in meditation to the voiceless voice of God."44
This is not a neglected Biblical practice; the writers of Scripture knew
nothing of it. It is simply TM that uses a Christian phrase for the mantra.
After introducing the seating and breathing exercises mentioned earlier,
Stapleton gives the next step: "To achieve this concentration [earlier
called "silence"] select a single meaningful phrase such as, 'I am one with
God,' 'God is love' or just the word Jesus or God. With your eyes closed,
quietly and slowly, begin to repeat this phrase or word over and over in
your mind (not audibly). . . Make no effort to move beyond this repetition
because when you are ready, you will automatically flow into the
indescribable, indefinable state of mind we call meditation."45

The repeated phrase is designed to silence the mind and put the practitioner
into an altered state of consciousness. TM and "Christian" practices that
mimic it only differ in minor details. It has been shown that as far as
physiological responses go, the word or phrase used in this type of
meditation makes no difference.46 The research of Dr. Herbert Benson shows
that various techniques work: "These include repetitive prayers such as the
rosary as in the Catholic tradition, centering prayers in Protestant
religions and pre-davening prayers in Judaism. The specific method used
usually reflects the beliefs of the person eliciting the relaxation response
(Benson, 1984)."47

Do not be deceived. These methods are not taught in the Bible. They are
borrowed from the East and brought into Christianity by people who are
evidently not satisfied with the means of grace God has provided all
Christians. We are not lacking mystical capabilities because Western
rationalism robbed us of them; we lack them because God never gave them.
They are illicit means of divination.

 


Visualization and Imagination


The most recently published book that promotes a form of Christian mysticism
is written by Dr. Greg Boyd, the pastor of a large church in the St. Paul
metropolitan area. Dr. Boyd has published eleven books and is a well known
author. I know him to be a very kind and personable man who is passionate
about what he believes. However, I think that the practice he is promoting
in his latest book is dangerously in error. Therefore I have included a
section in this article that critiques the book Seeing is Believing.

Seeing is Believing promotes "cataphatic prayer,"48 a version of mysticism
that involves using mental images of the human imagination to supposedly
help a person experience God more profoundly. The following is a definition
of cataphatic prayer published in a Creighton University article:

Another form of prayer, called cataphatic, honors and reverences images and
feelings and goes through them to God. This form of prayer also has an
ancient and well-attested history in the world of religions. Any sort of
prayer that highlights the mediation of creation can be called cataphatic.
So, praying before icons or images of saints; the mediation of sacraments
and sacramentals; prayer out in creation - all these are cataphatic forms of
prayer.49

Boyd claims support for cataphatic prayer from a long list of people from
church history including some contemporary proponents: "Such notable authors
as Agnes Sanford, Morton Kelsey, David Seamands, and Richard Foster are
among these modern advocates of cataphatic spirituality."50

To prove the need for this type of practice Boyd cites this premise: "We
become what we imaginatively see."51 He argues, based on 2Corinthians 3:18,
that only believers can imaginatively "see" an image of Jesus in their
minds.52 He argues that this is something we have to learn to do. The
problem is that Boyd is importing ideas into the text that Paul never
discusses. There is nothing in 2Corinthians 3 and 4 that indicates that all
believers (Boyd admits that it is about all believers) have literally seen a
mental picture of the person of Jesus in their minds (or at least should
have such a mental image). In the context Paul was discussing the fact that
those who were not believing had hardened minds. There was a veil of
unbelief keeping them from seeing the truth of the gospel (see 2Corinthians
3:14-16). What they were not "seeing" because of the "veil" was the truth of
the gospel: "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are
perishing" (2Corinthians 4:3).

Boyd has done a category shift and uses the resulting confusion to promote
his visualization technique. "Seeing" in the context of the passage was to
believe the gospel and be converted. It was not creating a mental image of
Jesus in one's mind hoping thereby to become like that mental image. Peter
makes it clear that the issue in the New Testament is faith in the person
and work of Christ: "And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and
though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with
joy inexpressible and full of glory" (1Peter 1:8). In the same epistle from
which Boyd claims to find justification for his practice, Paul wrote this:
"for we walk by faith, not by sight" (2Corinthians 5:7). Rather than "Seeing
is Believing" (Boyd's title), the reality is "believing is seeing." This
type of "seeing" has nothing to do with images, mental or otherwise. It has
to do with the content of the gospel.

Where this goes in Greg Boyd's book is that through a process he learned, he
was able to go into a mental world that came alive. Jesus meets him in this
world and re-interprets his memories for the purpose of bringing healing.
Calling his technique, "resting in Christ," Boyd cites Morton Kelsey and
Richard Foster as proponents of imaginative meditation.53 He is right that
Foster and Kelsey teach a version of this. He is wrong to suggest that
"resting in Christ" as a Biblical concept has anything to do with having a
mental image of Jesus that comes alive and talks to you. This practice is
never taught in scripture and has nothing to do with any Biblical passage
about resting in Christ. This is another category error. It confuses people
who are unaware of the semantic slight of hand that is going on. Kelsey was
transparent about where he got his ideas, mainly from Carl Jung and Eastern
practices.

The actual practice of imaginative prayer is similar to what we discussed
before, but different in one key way. The Christian versions of TM had as a
goal the silencing of the mind to contact God and hear from God. The goal of
cataphatic prayer is to use an inner, mental image to "see Jesus." The
process involves quietness, setting a mental scene, solitude, and a sitting
position similar to those discussed earlier.54 Boyd calls this "finding
one's inner sanctuary." The desire is to experience Jesus "with all five
senses."55

Richard Foster recommends using one's imagination in a similar way. He makes
a very bold claim: "Hence, you can actually encounter the living Christ in
the event, be addressed by His voice and be touched by His healing power. It
can be more than an exercise of the imagination; it can be a genuine
confrontation. Jesus Christ will actually come to you."56 Boyd cites Foster
approvingly on this point.57 Dear Reader: Please do not misunderstand. This
is not about someone thinking about Jesus and perhaps imagining what He
might look like (whether or not that is a good idea is worth discussing but
it is not at issue here). This is about a technique that will put one in an
altered state of consciousness (whether they call it that or not) in which
an image of Jesus becomes the living Christ and the person experiences the
reality of this Christ who speaks to them. They are gaining information from
Christ (if it is really Him - a claim they cannot prove) beyond what is
written in the Bible. This information cannot be gained through normal means
of study or normal means of knowing. It is secret, spiritual information.
Therefore, it is forbidden (Deuteronomy 29:29).

In Boyd's case, he gains healing from a painful childhood memory of a
mean-spirited grandmother who had no present for him because he was a "bad
boy."58 Jesus comes to him in that little boy memory, tells him he is a
"good boy" and gives him a present.59 Ultimately, to complete the healing,
Jesus brings Boyd's departed grandmother to him and the grandmother makes
things right with Boyd, and then departs hand in hand with Jesus: "She and
Jesus joined hands and I watched them walk off into the distance."60 His
memory was "reworked" and he found healing. Not to begrudge a person his
emotional well being, this experience is problematic for several reasons.
How do we know this was the real Jesus who is changing a person's memories?
The Bible forbids talking to the dead, how then would Jesus create a chance
for a person to hear words from his departed grandmother? This is a means of
gaining un-revealed information that is not accessible by ordinary means of
knowing. This story fits the definition of divination.

Kelsey cites Carl Jung concerning the use of imagination in meditation: "'In
the same way,' Jung went on, 'when you concentrate on a mental picture, it
begins to stir, the image becomes enriched by details, it moves and
develops. Each time, naturally, you mistrust it and have the idea that you
have just made it up, that it is merely your own invention."61 Kelsey adds
his own comments:

It is usually not too difficult for most people to start the process by
concentrating on something graphic. The hard part comes in realizing that
something could move unexpectedly inside us without our conscious direction.
That is why it is so vital in developing imagination, meditation, or
contemplation to realize that our ego is not the only force operating within
us.62

I am not denying the reality of the experiences that Foster, Kelsey,
Stapleton, Boyd and others. I am not denying that the practices that invoked
the experiences "work" in the manner described by these authors. I am
denying that the techniques that are used are valid means of coming to God.
They are man-made ways that are not revealed in the Scriptures. There is no
assurance that this "force operating within us" as Kelsey calls it, is God.

 


Dream Interpretation


One theme common with contemporary Christian mystics is that dreams are to
be considered significant and that they are a way that the "Divine" as
Kelsey says, is trying to speak to us. As I said before, going to sleep and
waking up is one time all people enter the alpha brain wave level. It is in
this level where dreams can be remembered. Interpreting dreams is a way to
naturally gain information that comes to us in an altered state of
consciousness without resorting to techniques to put one's self in that
state. We simply write down our dreams and seek their meaning.

Again, Morton Kelsey was a leader in exploring this means of gaining
information from the spirit world. Kelsey relied on the research and
teaching of Carl Jung. According to Kelsey, Jung believed that the
unconscious mind thinks symbolically or metaphorically.63 Kelsey shares his
understanding of Jung's thinking: "The task of dream interpretation,
according to Jung, is that of learning a strange language with many nuances,
of learning to understand the symbolic communications of the unconscious -
the language of art, literature, mythology, and folklore. He saw no attempt
on the part of the unconscious to deceive or distort."64 Jung believed that
the unconscious is connected to a larger spiritual reality, a "collective
unconscious." Kelsey believed that the Hebrew prophets were tapping into the
"collective unconscious": "The images of Ezekiel, although little studied in
recent years, are well known in song and literature. They are genuine
productions of what depth psychology would call the collective unconscious,
something from beyond the conscious mind and often beyond the limits of
personal experience."65

Kelsey followed Jung to the belief that the "Other" as he says, can be found
in the unconscious which connects the individual to a spiritual reality.
Kelsey said about Jung's experiences and understanding of "depth
psychology": "From this fact came the certainty that reality, and frequently
the best of reality, is found in these depths. This is also reality that
demands a religious attitude from people, and it is found only when we allow
ourselves to be led by the thinking of the unconscious, symbolic thinking
that can be found in fantasy and dream and in myth and story."66 So
following the theories of Carl Jung who had a spirit guide named Philemon,67
contemporary mystics are looking for meaning from the world of the
unconscious mind (a concept not found in the Bible). Dreams are considered a
means of access to this world of symbol and myth.

It should be obvious that this Jungian understanding of dreams has nothing
to do with how God spoke to the prophets in the Old Testament. That God has
spoken in dreams as He has seen fit, does not prove that every dream is
meaningful or ought to be taken seriously. Also, the Bible knows nothing of
an art of dream interpretation that can be learned by serious students. God
interprets dreams as He sees fit as Daniel and Joseph experienced.

Christian mystics have more in common with occultists and New Age followers
than the Biblical authors. One contemporary "prophet" has a website where
one can sign up for so much money per month to have his or her dreams
interpreted.68 Richard Foster cites both Jung and Kelsey approvingly
concerning the language of images.69 Greg Boyd says this: "The place where
God usually interacts with his people is in their imagination. And whether
he does this while we are awake or while we are asleep, it comes to the same
thing."70 Boyd, like all of these mystic authors, blames Western assumptions
for the fact that most of us do not take our dreams seriously and recommends
Kelsey's book God, Dreams, and Revelations for further insights on dream
interpretation.71

 


Putting God in a Box?


I have debated people about these techniques many times. They often say,
"God can do anything and use anything, you are tying to put God in a box."
You probably have heard that argument. When I was doing my research on
divination for the previous issue of CIC, I thought about the "putting God
in a box" accusation. The Biblical record shows that it is God who purposely
limits the ways we can come to Him. If there is a "box" God made it. I think
a better analogy than a box, is a sheepfold. It is a Biblical analogy.

Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door
into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and
a robber" (John 10:1). The true sheep enter the sheepfold through the door,
Jesus Christ (John 10:7). He as the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the
sheep (John 10:11). He protects His sheep from the wolves, gives them
pasture, and abundant life (John 10:10-15). Being in the sheepfold may seem
restrictive compared to the adventures of exploring the bigger world out
there unencumbered by the guidance of the Shepherd. However the restrictions
are there to save our spiritual lives.

The restrictions God places on how and by what means we may legitimately
come to Him and receive spiritual truth are for our own good. The spirit
world that Christian mystics like Morton Kelsey want to explore is far more
complex than even Jung and Kelsey give it credit for being. The dangers of
deception are far more real. In fact, if we journey into the world of the
spirits by means other that what God has ordained, we will be deceived, not
may be deceived. The spirits who inhabit that world have been there for many
thousands of years practicing the art of deception. They willingly give
people whatever experience they would tend to think is from God. Jose Silva,
who is Catholic, when he went into his alpha level to gain guides received
Jesus and Mary.72 The spirits will give you what you would expect is from
God in your own context. They will provide any experience that serves their
deceptive purposes, including sending a spiritual "Jesus" (see 2Corinthians
11:4). The prohibitions on divination are there to protect us from these
malicious entities.

So we are not putting God in a box, God is putting us in a sheepfold if we
are willing to be there. The practices of "thinking outside the box" that
are so popular today are fatal when it comes to spirituality. God has not
left access to spiritual truth in the hands of innovative thinkers who like
pioneers blaze new trails. God has given access to Himself, once for all,
through Jesus Christ who is our heavenly High Priest. The truth is revealed
once for all in the Scriptures.

 


Conclusion


Jeroboam was an innovator when it came to the worship of Yahweh. He saw no
reason for the restrictions about how, when and where God would be
worshipped. He had cultural reasons for making the changes he did. The
people in the northern kingdom were very prosperous agriculturally. The
indigenous people had fertility gods that were concrete and vivid
representations of deity. There were also political issues in Jeroboam's
mind. Jerusalem was the headquarters of the Davidic kingdom and if the
people went to the pilgrim feasts there and sacrificed through the Levitical
priesthood, they may long to be reunited with the southern kingdom. So
Jeroboam "thought outside of the box." He became a spiritual pioneer who
came up with culturally acceptable ways to worship Yahweh. He made worship
convenient and relevant.

Jeroboam was not a pagan; he had many legitimate experiences with the true
God. Yahweh's prophets spoke to him. He was called by God to be king over
Israel. He was healed, not by Baal, but by God. There is no evidence he
really believed that the golden calves were God, he simply used them to
represent God to the people (in rebellion against the 10 commandments). He
saw the need for feasts and a priesthood; he just made up his own. He
mingled the worship of Yahweh with the practices of the pagans. Here is the
summary of Jeroboam's life: "And He will give up Israel on account of the
sins of Jeroboam, which he committed and with which he made Israel to sin"
(1Kings 14:16). God alone will determine the means by which people can come
to Him.

Those today who are evangelical Christians, who know God through the gospel,
yet dabble in the practices of the pagans, are spiritual "sons of Jeroboam."
They are, like Jeroboam, very creative in making Christianity relevant to
the current culture. The problem is not Western rationalism as the
contemporary mystics all claim. They are fighting an obsolete battle. The
prevailing culture in America is very much "spiritual." They claim the need
for mystical experience to fight against modernity when they are in a
post-modern culture that has embraced the East. The danger today is not that
people think that the material realm is all there is, it is that they think
they can contact the spiritual realm their own way. They are practicing
divination.

Next month we shall discuss means of grace. God has given us legitimate
means of coming to Him and communing with Him. None of these require an
altered state of consciousness.

 

Issue 83 - July/August 2004

 

  _____  





End Notes

1.	C. F. Keil, "I & II Kings" in Commentary on the Old Testament by C.
F. Keil and F. Delitzsch; Volume III (Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 1986) 198.
2.	Ibid. 199.
3.	Morton Kelsey, The Other Side of Silence, (Paulist Press: Maywah,
New Jersey, 1995) 75.
4.	For example, see Greg Boyd, Seeing is Believing; Experiencing Jesus
through Imaginative Prayer; (Baker: Grand Rapids, 2004) 90 - 95 for a list
of mystics throughout church history.
5.	Agnes Sanford, The Healing Light; (Charisma Books: Watchung, NJ,
1972 edition) 3. That Charisma books republished Sanford's 1947 book shows
how mysticism was infiltrating the church.
6.	Ibid.
7.	for her understanding of God as "energy" and a "force" and laws that
enable us to do miracles see ibid.; 1, 4, 15, and she says on page 17,
"Knowing then that we are part of God, that His life within us is an active
energy and that He works through the laws of our bodies, let us study to
adjust and conform ourselves to those laws."
8.	Ruth Carter Stapleton, The Experience of Inner Healing, (Word: Waco,
1977), 165.
9.	Kelsey, Silence; 11.
10.	Video Tape; The Silva Mind Control Method; The John Ankerberg Show
(Ankerberg Theological Research Institute: Chattanooga, 1986). This video
features a debate between Silva and Dave Hunt. I highly recommend it. The
issues they debate are even more pertinent today.
11.	Whether "within" or "in your midst" is the preferable translation is
often determined by one's eschatological views. Many wish to teach that
there never was or will be a visible manifestation of the Kingdom; but that
it only exists inside of people. However, those who favor "within" are not
considering the many other passages in Luke/Acts about the Kingdom. The
Kingdom is something people enter by faith, not something that enters them
(Luke 18:17); The Kingdom is something that has come near (Luke 10:9, 11);
some there will see the Kingdom (Luke 9:27); People will eat bread in the
Kingdom of God (Luke 13:29; 14:15); The Kingdom will be restored to Israel
(Acts 1:6, 7) and many other similar issues. None of these passages makes
sense if the kingdom is internal to humans. The Kingdom was present in the
person of Christ, so "in your midst" is the translation which fits
everything else we learn about the Kingdom in Luke/Acts.
12.	Morton Kelsey, Christo-Psychology; (Crossroad: New York, 1982) He
devoted this entire book to integrating Carl Jung's ideas with Christianity.
Jung taught the idea of a "collective unconscious" that could be assessed by
techniques like those espoused by Kelsey. Jung himself saw that there were
dangers involved with going there.
13.	Kelsey Silence, 12, 13.
14.	Ibid. 93.
15.	Kelsey describes psychosis where "over zealous" souls lose contact
with the outer world. Silence 94.
16.	Ibid. 154.
17.	Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, (Harper and Row: San
Francisco, 1978) 16
18.	Morton Kelsey, Encounter With God, (Bethany Fellowship: Minneapolis,
1972) 179.
19.	Foster, Celebration 14.
20.	For example see Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, (Zondervan:
Grand Rapids, 2002) 88, 89.
21.	This website describes altered states and recommends them for all
religious people, including Christians: http://www.plim.org/meditate.html ;
altered states are described here: http://www.plim.org/alteredstate97.html
22.	Foster, Celebration 17.
23.	Ibid.
24.	Ibid. 18.
25.	Kelsey Silence, 149.
26.	Ibid.
27.	Ibid.
28.	Ibid. 150.
29.	Ibid. 150.
30.	Ibid. 143.
31.	Ibid. 155.
32.	Ibid.
33.	Boyd, Seeing, 103.
34.	Stapleton Inner Healing 164.
35.	Ibid. 165.
36.	Foster, Discipline, 25.
37.	Kelsey, Silence, 144, 145.
38.	Here is a definition: "Hesychasts (hesychastes -- quietist) were
people, nearly all monks, who defended the theory that it is possible by an
elaborate system of asceticism, detachment from earthly cares, submission to
an approved master, prayer, especially perfect repose of body and will, to
see a mystic light; which is none other than the uncreated light of God."
>From the Catholic Encyclopedia online:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07301a.htm
39.	Kelsey, Silence 145.
40.	Sanford, Healing, 21.
41.	Ibid., 22.
42.	Stapleton, Inner Healing, 163.
43.	Ibid.
44.	Ibid.
45.	Ibid. 165, 166.
46.	See relaxation response therapy:
http://www.mind-body-medicine.com/relax.htm
47.	Ibid.
48.	Boyd, Seeing, 90-95.
49.	http://www.creighton.edu/~rocsj/liturgy/existentialism_part6.html
<http://www.creighton.edu/%7Erocsj/liturgy/existentialism_part6.html> ; from
"An Existential Approach to Liturgy"
50.	Boyd, Seeing, 94.
51.	Ibid.
52.	Ibid. 88.
53.	Ibid. 103.
54.	Ibid. 108.
55.	Ibid.
56.	Foster, Celebration, 26.
57.	Boyd, Seeing, 111.
58.	Ibid. 117.
59.	Ibid. 121, 122.
60.	Ibid. 125.
61.	Kelsey, Silence, 226, 227 citing C. G. Jung, Analytical Pscyhology.
62.	Ibid. 227.
63.	Morton Kelsey, God, Dreams, and Revelation; (Augsburg: Minneapolis,
1991) 172.
64.	Ibid.
65.	Ibid. 45.
66.	Ibid. 173.
67.	This website has Jung's depiction of Philemon:
http://www.crmspokane.org/Philemon.htm
68.	The man is John Paul Jackson this is the website:
http://www.streamsministries.com
69.	Foster, Celebration, 22, 23.
70.	Boyd, Seeing, 205.
71.	Ibid. 205, 206.
72.	Ankerberg, Silva; video tape.

 

 

Thanks.

 

For the King's honor,

 

Charis,

 

Mike Abendroth

 

 <http://www.bbcchurch.org> www.bbcchurch.org

 

Ephesians 3:21 auvtw/| h` do,xa evn th/| evkklhsi,a| 

 

2 Tim 1:2b  "Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Lord."

Thomas Watson, "[Jesus] alone is the Prince of Preachers.  He alone is the
best of expositors."

 

 

 

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