What do Ann Voskamp, Beth Moore and Sarah Young have in Common?

All three women have succumbed to the wiles of our enemy, the devil—leading masses away from sound doctrine and luring them to follow and practice panentheism, western mystiscm (e.g., lectio divina), extra-biblical revelations and viewing our holy relationship with God Almighty in a sexual manner.

Though I will speak clearly and firmly as I ought about all three women and the dangerous effects of their writing, speaking and teaching of God's holy Word, I will refrain from making any unnecessary personal attacks for as far as I know, all three women are my sisters in Christ.

The purpose of this article is not to demonize any of these sisters, but to carefully and lovingly warn and exhort them and other women to be more diligent in studying the Word, seeking wisdom and biblical teaching from their husbands (if they're Christians), submit to their husbands' headships whether or not they are Christians (1 Cor 7:13-16, 2 Peter 3:1-2) and imitate the faith of those who are singularly faithful to God and His Word—with no deviation or imaginations (Heb 13:7, 2 Tim 1:13-14, 2 Cor 10:4-6).   Continue at Sunny Shell

Jesus Calling

The Daily Beast has picked up on the publishing sensation that is Jesus Calling, a book which Todd Pruitt actually made me read for a forthcoming MoS podcast.  That is ten dollars and two hours of my life which are gone forever.  Am I a better person, though?  I somehow doubt it.

The book is an odd mix of mysticism, sentimentality, and highly flawed theology. Tim Keller's wife, Kathy, did a quite superb review of the book back in 2012 which, given Jesus Calling's continuing popularity, is well worth reading.

The whole phenomenon raises tangentially one of the cultural problems which seems to be emerging amidst the current popular evangelical market for books written by women.   I consider that market in itself to be a good thing. No man could have written Wuthering Heights, after all, and what's true for literature might well prove true for theology.  Indeed, various genres of theological writing seem on the whole to have been enriched by women's voices. It is interesting, however, that critiquing such literature seems to be becoming increasingly hard and subject to vehement reaction.  Witness the response to Tim Challies' comments on Ann Voskamp from a while back, or the author's own preemptive publicity on Jesus Feminist which ruled any future criticism as unfair and hateful.  And who in this age wants to be seen to be beating up on women?   Continue at Carl Trueman

Is Deception Calling? A review of Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

Just the other day I posted that Christians should be wary of God “experiences.” Although there are many prominent promoters of practices that claim to be ways to hear directly from God (other than by reading the Bible), it is my fear that these are really paths toward self-deception or worse.

As a follow up I’d like to share my thoughts about a book whose author purports to have received messages from God (which she turned into a bestselling book).

A couple months ago I was given a devotional book called Jesus Calling, and although I never read devotionals I began to examine the book. What I found shocked me. The author, Sarah Young, claims to have received revelations from Jesus through dialogue journaling (something she learned from two “listeners” who wrote another book called God Calling. I’ll get to that in a minute). Her book is even written as if Jesus is speaking those messages directly to the reader, which I personally think borders (or crosses into) blasphemy.

Alarm bells began to clang in my head. 

Young writes that a year after reading that book, God Calling, “I began to wonder if I, too, could receive messages during my times of communing with God. I had been writing in prayer journals for years, but that was one-way communication: I did all the talking. I knew that God communicated with me through the Bible, but I yearned for more…”   Continue at Julia

The Boundaries of Evangelicalism

As I survey the contemporary church, one of my gravest concerns is the power and prevalence of mysticism. It appears in pulpits, books, and conversation. It is at the heart of Sarah Young’s bestselling Jesus Calling, it is in all the much-loved books by John Eldredge, it fills the pages of so many books on spiritual disciplines or spiritual formation, it is almost everywhere you look. Language that was once considered the distinguishing language of mysticism is now commonly used by Evangelicals.

Mysticism was once regarded as an alternative to Evangelical Christianity. You were Evangelical or you were a mystic, you heeded the doctrine of the Reformation and understood it to faithfully describe the doctrine laid out in Scripture or you heeded the doctrine of mysticism. Today, though, mysticism has wormed its way inside Evangelicalism so that the two have become integrated and almost inseparable. In an age of syncretism we fail to spot the contradiction and opposition.

Several years ago Donald Whitney attempted to define the boundaries of Evangelical spirituality--the boundaries of how we may rightly live out our Christian faith. His paper has been very helpful to me as I’ve thought this through.   Continue at Tim Challies

Jesus Calling

Although it came out in 2004, Sarah Young’s devotional has seen a steady increase in popularity over the last two years. Published by Thomas Nelson, Jesus Calling has to be one of the more popular devotionals today. While Challies reviewed it last year, I had not given it much thought until recently, when the radio station I listen to started reading excerpts from it every morning. I was understandably startled to hear Jesus speaking directly to me, through my speakers, on a daily basis.

If you are not familiar with it, Jesus Calling is a collection of transcribed messages that were given verbatim from Jesus to Sarah. As such, they are all in the first person from Jesus’ perspective. Here is a typical example (from the day I wrote this review):

(July 8) “When you seek my face, put aside thoughts of everything else. I am above all, as well as in all; your communion with me transcends both time and circumstances. Be prepared to be blessed bountifully by my Presence, for I am a God of unlimited abundance. Open wide you heart and mind to receive more and more of Me. When your Joy in me meets my Joy in you, there are fireworks of heavenly ecstasy. This is eternal life here and now: a tiny foretaste of what waits you in the life to come.”

Most of the book is relatively harmless, content wise. There are some minor issues where I would object to the actual content of the devotionals, but generally the book is so generic and positive that it stays out of serious theological ditches.   Continue at Jesse Johnson

Jesus Calling

"One night I found myself leaving the warmth of our cozy chalet to walk alone in the snowy mountains. I went into a deeply wooded area, feeling vulnerable and awed by cold, moonlit beauty. The air was crisp and dry, piercing to inhale. Suddenly I felt as if a warm mist enveloped me. I became aware of a lovely Presence, and my involuntary response was to whisper, ‘Sweet Jesus .’ This utterance was totally uncharacteristic of me, and I was shocked to hear myself speaking so tenderly to Jesus. As I pondered this brief communication, I realized it was the response of a converted heart; at that moment I knew I belonged to Him. This was far more than the intellectual answers for which I’d been searching. This was a relationship with the Creator of the universe." Read the whole review HERE