According to the international Labyrinth Society it is "a single path or unicursal tool for personal, psychological and spiritual transformation. Labyrinths are thought to enhance right brain activity."
Don't be fooled! The labyrinth is just another way to perform contemplative or centering prayer in which all paths supposedly
lead to God.
"Within the world of the New Age and the occult, initiation is the principle key used in advancing the student of mysticism along the path of occult learning."
The Labyrinth: A Walk to Life or
A Walk to Death Steve Muse - Eastern Regional Watch
The Labyrinth Journey: Paradoxically, while the evangelical Christian community talks about "spiritual warfare" and "putting on the full amour of God," many of these same churches can be found embracing that which they claim to counter. In seeking relevancy, we have become dangerously "experiential" in nature, and old forms of mysticism are becoming center-pieces in "experiences of faith." The labyrinth prayer-walk, which follows a single winding path to a central location, is a case in point. Primarily jump-started by a UK-based Christian movement in alternative spiritual expressions and by an influential San Francisco cathedral, denominations around the world are embracing labyrinths as a viable part of the "spiritual journey." But are labyrinths part of the Christian encounter, as suggested by the third introductory quote above? Read entire article...Walking the Path to Fulfillment? By Carl Teichrib - September 2005 |
"Programs and practices rife with occult methodologies and techniques have been in the works at churches and youth ministries around the country: Taize, Lectio Divina, The Labyrinth (prayer walk), Renovare, guided imagery, Walk to Emmaus, Cursillo, Centering Prayer, Ignatian Awareness Examen, The Jesus Prayer, and The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, to name but a handful." Tom McMahon - The Berean Call
"Walking the labyrinth has become a popular spiritual exercise across the country and around the world. I first read of it in Leadership Magazine, a Christian publication and became a bit concerned; since looking into it further I'm definitely concerned."
Mike Oppenheimer of Let Us Reason Ministries
"Walking a Labyrinth is a personal meditative activity and can be understood as a path of contemplation or prayer for people in seeking the Divine or seeking peace without regard to any particular religious tradition."—The Hingham Journal, 9/04
Research Tools for Labyrinth (These are not Christian sites) |
"Is the labyrinth inherently New Age or can orthodox Christians embrace it as an acceptable tool for prayer and meditation? The labyrinth has its origins in ancient pagan rituals, most famously at Knossos in ancient Crete, where one was located in the basement of the famous palace where the man-eating Minotaur was said to roam. The mythic hero Theseus journeyed through the labyrinth to slay the creature, which had a human body and the head of a bull. Theseus’s double-headed ax was called a "labrys," hence the name. Other labyrinths in ancient cultures were tied to fertility rites and goddess worship." Maze Craze Labyrinths Latest Fad for Spiritual Seekers by Mark Tooley
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