MB Herald Promoting Error
This month as Mennonite Brethren church members across Canada open their magazine from the Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, they will be reading once again about the promotion of contemplative spirituality for teens (in the Cross Currents section):
Spiritual Formation:
“By introducing young people to the rich experiences of the saints of old (the mystics, contemplatives, Desert Fathers) and contemporary authors such as Gary Thomas, teens can discover there are many ways to develop intimacy with Jesus, including spending time in nature, practicing solitude, or even being an activist.”
-Ropewalk: 7 strands for creating leaders
What is wrong with that? To begin with, Gary Thomas, in his book Sacred Pathways, lists different ways people can draw near to God through centering prayer:
“It is particularly difficult to describe this type of prayer in writing, as it is best taught in person. In general however, centering prayer works like this: Choose a word (Jesus or Father, for example) as a focus for contemplative prayer. Repeat the word silently in your mind for a set amount of time (say, twenty minutes) until your heart seems to be repeating the word by itself, just as naturally and involuntarily as breathing” Gary Thomas (p. 152 ATOD, 2nd ed.).
Ray Yungen also says in A Time of Departing that there’s no difference between this and Eastern-style meditation…
“In essence, Sacred Pathways is a manual for mantra meditation…” (p. 152 ATOD)
You can read more about Gary Thomas’ books HERE.
As for the saints of old, mystics, contemplatives, and Desert Fathers that the MB Herald article recommends to young people, these are all ancient roots of today’s so called enlightened spirituality. (See Christian Mystics of the Past.)
Coming back to the Cross Currents section of this same October issue of the MB Herald, readers will be encouraged to read three books by N. T. Wright in an article called Scholar with sway: N.T. Wright (here). One book in particular that this full page article recommends is Simply Christian, even though there are some troublesome problems with error in this book. For example, a Book Review of Simply Christian by 9Marks concludes:
“N.T. Wright’s Simply Christian is the product of a thoughtful, articulate scholar who is seeking to give the church a tool to communicate Christianity to an unbelieving world. But if the theological and apologetic vision of this book becomes the normative pattern for the church, the results will be grievous for the advance of Christ’s kingdom to the ends of the earth.”
For a further look into the theology of N. T. Wright, see here:
The New Perspective of N. T. Wright on the Doctrine of Justification
David H. Linden, an elder of Bethel URC in Calgary, AB Canada
http://www.grebeweb.com/linden/ntw_just_aug2.html
In conclusion, there are many good things in this issue of the MB Herald, however, if this magazine is indeed a reflection of MB values and theology, it is sadly becoming more apparent every month that error is continuing to creep into the Mennonite Conference.
ROM Index: HIGH
I don’t know Gary Thomas, but I do know centering prayer. I can assure you that this is not eastern meditation. The point of eastern mediation is to make your mind empty, to think of nothing. Centering prayer is actually about focusing your thoughts, your intent, your heart and mind on the Father. Not all people will find this helpful, but some will. I myself have found it helpful to meditate on short passages of Scripture in a centering fashion, or to pray the Lord’s Prayer slowly and to do so over and over.
Many Anabaptist will find this an odd way to pray, that does not mean that it is evil or part of some eastern religious tradition. Now that is not to say that some people have not attempted to import eastern mystery traditions into western Christianity. I have not read N.T. Wright’s book that you mention, but I am generally familiar with his work and I don’t find him to be a heretical sort. Though, many considered Anabaptist to be heretics just a few hundred years ago, and in truth many hard core reformed people still do.
For what it is worth, the first time I read any of the desert fathers and mothers, and early Christian authors I had a difficult time with their use of language and imagery, since then I have come to value their insights and witness. If you get a chance try reading John Cassian, he is well worth some effort.
Peace,
Kevin
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Kevin,
Are we instructed anywhere in the Bible, or given the example by Jesus or his disciples, to do the Centering prayer Method as prescribed by Father Thomas Keating? Odd is not an adequate word to describe this unbiblical method. Here is the method for those who don’t know:
http://www.thecentering.org/centering_method.html
Another question to ask is this…why it is that Thomas Keating, the orignator of centering prayer and one of the foremost teachers of ‘contemplative Christianity’, is often a featured guest of Buddhist/New Age/thinker Ken Wilber?
See here:
http://in.integralinstitute.org/
Take a look around and see if this lines up with God’s Word.
St. John Cassian was one of the desert fathers and is a saint in the Roman Catholic church. It is the belief of Roll Over Menno that it is more profitable to read the ancient writings of the apostles and prophets of Israel.
Thank you for your comment.
By the way, you can also join or view comments on this thread at Rapture Ready here:
http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=18032
(This ‘RR’ thread doesn’t seem to be going anywhere but we’ll just leave it here anyways.)
In comment #3, it looks like a “Roll Over Menno” has written: “Are we instructed anywhere in the Bible, or given the example by Jesus or his disciples, to do the Centering prayer Method as prescribed by Father Thomas Keating?”
First, I am not a Mennonite, so you may discount what I have to say because you apparently already know what is “right and wrong” in Christianity, although that must be tempered with the fact that you are looking through Mennonite glasses at Christianity.
Just some thoughts…
Are we instructed anywhere in the Bible, or given the example by Jesus or his disciples to have church buildings?
Are we instructed anywhere in the Bible, or given the example by Jesus or his disciples to have “religious police” who have all the correct answers?
Are we instructed anywhere in the Bible, or given the example by Jesus or his disciples to read the Bible in such a wooden way that we argue over minutia and remain fragmented in our lives?
Are we instructed anywhere in the Bible, or given the example by Jesus or his disciples to…, well the list could get really big.
This kind of argument is just, pardon the expression, a simply stupid argument. Of course, those who monitor comments may not let this comment through to net-light. But, that will only prove the point, that this is a site who relics that there is only one way to think and any opposition is not tolerated, especially from a non-Mennonite. If this little piece does see the light of day on this site, I trust that folks that read it will think about how silly it is to be the “watch dogs” of dogma when there are poor people in one’s neighborhood that need attention, when there are folks from all over the world who are coming to our neighbors that open vivid opportunities to do mission work, when there are “dead churches in homes and church buildings and denominations” that need reviving or burial, when there are moderns and postmoderns that need to have an EPIC gospel presented to them without the Western, and even worse, a narrow minded take on what the gospel is.
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