Contemplative Prayer - Sinister Perversion

“Lectio Divina”

The next major topic covered by the source document brought into question in this series[i] is “Lectio Divina.”[ii] Our anonymous author merely refers to lectio divina as “Bible Reading” in his heading of the subject and provides this as his opening statement:

“For many Christian leaders Bible reading and study has become the means to preparing a teaching or preaching assignment.”

This is probably truer than most would care to admit; and I am willing to say that it may possibly be true of some, even many, who would profess to embrace reformed theology and the doctrines of grace; many more than we, who are quite orthodox and reformed, would care to admit.

Although the author of this piece quotes Emergent leader, Tony Jones, and states that the origin of lectio divina occurred approximately 500 years after Christ, instituted by a monastic priest, Benedict, aka Saint Benedict,[iii] he does n0t give much of a definition for lectio divina. Then again, he did not have to because he cites the four phases of lectio divina in his paper (which we will look at one by one). Prior to explaining each one of the components, however, the author does provide an especially revealing paragraph: Read it all HERE

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Would You Want a ‘Generous’ Orthodontist?

Brian McLaren could comfortably wear the moniker Granddaddy of the Emergent Church, and not just because of his grey whiskers and genial disposition. His books are seminal, pioneering works, kinda like when Thomas Midgley (d. 1944) pioneered adding lead to gasoline and later, putting CFCs into all things aerosol. It was a generation before anyone realized that one man had bequeathed two of history’s most devastating contributions to environmental calamity, namely perforating our Ozone layer, and poisoning a civilization. Thanks Tom.

Similarly, Brian McLaren is deconstructing orthodoxy with all the vigor and verve of a punctured canister of bug-spray. McLaren’s bailiwick is ambiguity, which makes him a poster boy for all Postmodernist emergent types. The emergencia’s unorthodox angle on orthodoxy is “articulated,” as clearly as a slippery tongue can, in A Generous Orthodoxy. Here’s a tidbit of the movement’s signature obfuscation: “I have gone out of my way to be provocative, mischievous, and unclear, reflecting my belief that clarity is sometimes overrated, and that shock, obscurity, playfulness, and intrigue (carefully articulated) often stimulate more thought than clarity” (p. 27).   Keep Reading...

Bell’s Inferno

If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that religion is a means of gain (1 Timothy 6:3-5). Read it all HERE

Horton's Review of Bell's New Book (Updated in Seven Parts)

Here's Horton's review of Rob Bell's new book, Love Wins
Here's part one:  Bell's Hell (part one)
Here's part two:  Bell's Hell (part two)
Here's part three:  Bell's Hell (part three)
Here's part four:  Bell's Hell (part four)
Here's part five:  Bell's Hell (part five)
Here's part six:  Bell's Hell (part six)
Here's part seven:  Bell's Hell (part seven)

HT: Riddleblog

Colson Calls for Doctrinal Boot Camp: But Which Doctrine?

In 1994 Chuck Colson attempted to convince evangelicals that the decline of the culture was so precipitous that they needed to set aside the historic Protestant doctrine of justification in favor of an intentionally equivocal statement about how we are accepted by God. That statement was called “Evangelicals and Catholics Together.” That was seventeen years ago. Just three years ago, he was still defending ECT and again in 2009. Today, however, he seems to be taking a different approach. In an essay in Christianity Today posted today he calls evangelicals to consider a “doctrinal boot camp.”

He writes:

An aversion to doctrine caused some thoroughly orthodox young evangelicals to decline to sign the Manhattan Declaration (which defends human life, traditional marriage, and religious liberty), even though the document is rooted in Scripture. As one young evangelical explained to me, “We don’t like dogmatic statements that a lot of people have to sign.” What about the Nicene Creed or the Westminster Confession of Faith? Keep Reading>>>

Bible Illiteracy, Unbelief, and Goats in the Sheep Pen

The Dangers of Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Disciplines

The Emergent Church and the Gospel

In his book, Why We're Not Emergent, Kevin DeYoung says, "I am convinced that a major problem with the emerging church is that they refuse to have their cake and eat it too. The whole movement seems to be built on reductionistic, even modernistic, either-or categories. They pit information versus transformation, believing versus belonging, and propositions about Christ versus the person of Christ. The emerging church will be a helpful corrective against real, and sometimes perceived, abuses in evangelicalism when they discover the genius of the "and," and stop forcing us to accept half-truths." Read the rest HERE

How Emergent Was the Ancient Church?

See also The Emerging Church: Right and Wrong

The Emerging Church & Interspirituality

HT: Light House

See Also: Universal Spirituality: Changing the Face of Christianity with guest Ray Yungen

Who is Phyllis Tickle?

Yea Hath God Said?

Put On the New Self

Welcome to the Future of "Spirituality"

PHYLLIS TICKLE AND THE EMERGING CHURCH: IT’S NOT IF SOLA SCRIPTURA ENDS BUT WHEN

The Great Emergence: A Reformation Every 500 Years?

Quote of the Week

Phyllis Tickle Mentions “The Fact That All Religions Are The Same”

Eating God

About Phyllis Tickle - "Tickle is a founding member of The Canterbury Roundtable, and serves now, as she has in the past, on a number of advisory and corporate boards. A lay eucharistic minister and lector in the Episcopal Church, she is the mother of seven children and, with her physician-husband, makes her home on a small farm in Lucy, Tennessee."

CHRISTIANITY 21 AND ALLEGED INNOVATIVE VOICES IN THE FAITH: PHYLLIS TICKLE

Rob Bell invites heretical mystic woman to speak

EMMC Recorder

Faith Forum - Tickle’s appearance in Winnipeg is being organized by FaithForum, an organization dedicated to helping Canadian churches strengthen their worship, mission and service, with the support of: Booth College, Providence College, Canadian Mennonite University/Institute for
Th eology and the Church, Steinbach Bible College, Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference, Th e Salvation Army College for Officer Training, Synod of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario/The Presbyterian Church in Canada, The Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba, Diocese of Rupert’s Land/Anglican Church of Canada, Emerging Spirit/The United Church of Canada/The Conference of Manitoba and North Western Ontario/Winnipeg Presbytery, Hull’s Family Bookstore, Evangelical Mennonite Conference, Geez Magazine, Mennonite Church Manitoba, Salvation Army Prairie Division and ChristianWeek. [emphsis mine GRK]

Ecumenical Emergent Gathering

What's So Dangerous About the Emerging Church?

Eugoogly - Is Emergent Fizzling?

“Help, my Church is Going Emergent!”

Frustrating, Funny, Fascinating, and Frightening

Man's Spiritual Journey and the Three Legged Stool - Part 1 & 2

Man's Spiritual Journey and the Three Legged Stool - Part 2



Lighthouse Trails

New Age Terms

Re - Everything?

A few weeks ago I was recording some of the many thoughts that float through my mind everyday. On that particular day I was thinking about all the "re's" that we read about in books, blogs, and hear on the radio. We have Re-think Conference , Re-inventing Jesus , Re-imagining the Church , Re-Jesus , Re-structuring the Church, Re-write Church History, and the list could go on and on.

Then we have a bunch of words that end with "al". Missional, Attractional, Incarnational, Reformissional, and Conversational.

We have Contemplative Spirituality, Spiritual Mapping, Prayer Walking, Walking the Labyrinth, Centering Prayer, Lecto Devina and on and on and....

We have "Shift", and Everything Must Change .

When will all this Evangelical Doping stop? Why are we taking cues from men like N. T. Wright, Brian Mclaren, Rob Bell - and a host of other not so Orthodox people? Why are we fishing in a poisoned pond? Is the Word of God our only and final authority for faith and life?

We can spend the next 10 or 20 years discussing all these alternative ways of "doing Church" and we will just be going in circles. We already have a Book that tells us how to do Church. We have a host of Godly men who know, from a Scriptural vantage point, what it takes to BE the Church of Jesus Christ. We can go on and trash all the ministries that we don't agree with and we'll never get to the real "business" of the local Church - Eph. 4:10-16; II Timothy 4:1-5.

And one more thing about another "re": The only "re" that will work is a Holy Ghost "Re-Vival" - and God will do it, not men and their clever marketing strategies.

For your consideration:
Thirsty Theologian