By Justin Edwards
This week we've discussed the New Age, contemplative spirituality and mysticism (CSM), and the vessels that each uses to become "one with god" - meditation. It was mentioned that CSM is the bridge to all religions as each has a mystical element that unites them as one - each seeks to tap into the "god within" or the "light within". This stands in blatant contradiction to the Word of God as Christ only dwells in those who are born again children of God. Jesus said in John 14:6,
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
And in John 3:3,
In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.
And Paul said in Romans 10:9-10,
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
You will not find this clear teaching from Scripture in the Emergent Church - that you must be born again, that Jesus is the only way to the Father in heaven, and that you must believe in His resurrection and confess His Lordship to receive eternal life. The fact is, within the frame of postmodern philosophy, the EC cannot take an absolute standing for truth.
The following information epitomizes where the EC is heading - if they are not already there. The material comes from the website of the World Community for Christian Meditation. This should serve as a primary example of the commonality meditation offers individuals of all religions and cultures - to be enlightened and become one with god - for god is all, and is in all. You will find no mention of faith in Jesus Christ through repentance. You will not find that Jesus is the only way. Rather, you will see that all religions are equal and all roads are the right road. For the sake of "peace and unity" they forfeit their soul.
This is what you can expect from a church headed down the Emergent road of destruction. The work on the cross is removed and all faiths are encouraged to unite for world peace and justice. The following should speak for itself:
The World Community for Christian Meditation
The Community is a kind of 'monastery without walls', a family of national communities and emerging communities in over a hundred countries....The World Community is ecumenical and serves a universal 'catholic' unity in its dialogue both with Christian churches and other faiths. We encourage and try to support the daily practice of meditation knowing its power to change hearts and so to transform our world....We contribute often to interfaith dialogue particularly, in recent years with Buddhists and Muslims.
Meditation, of course, is a Universal Tradition found in all the great religions. As such, it offers an important common ground for inter-religious dialog and a basis for peace in the world. Many Christians have been helped to recover contact with their own tradition of meditation, or contemplative prayer...Meditation helps people of all ages and cultures to find a simple, practical and meaningful way to awaken and deepen their spiritual life.
To understand the meaning of meditation we need to understand better what “contemplation” means. In ancient wisdom contemplation was seen as the goal of life, the good life. Contemplation is an essential and universal element of the human person and human life.
It is one that can be embraced and practiced by people today of all ages and walks of life. In this simple insight, [John Main] opened a way for the recovery of the contemplative dimension for Christians of all traditions, East and West, Catholic and Reformed. It also opens the windows on a wider and deeper meeting between the contemplative religions of Asia with Christianity.
From that perspective we can begin to see how a global spiritual consciousness can be developed to help us work for peace, fight for justice, identify with the oppressed, love our environment and heal our social institutions and economy.
Find a quiet place. Sit down with your back upright. Sit still.
Gently close your eyes and begin to recite your prayer-word, or mantra, silently, interiorly and lovingly throughout the time of your meditation...Do not think about the meaning of the word. Just give your attention to the sound of it throughout the time of your meditation, from the beginning to the end. Whenever distractions arise, simply return to your mantra. Meditate for 30 minutes each morning and each evening, every day of your life...Meditation is a way of pure prayer marked by silence, stillness, and simplicity.
What makes meditation different as a spiritual practice is that it is not practiced as a technique...As a discipline, we bring a dimension of faith and perseverance to meditation. Perhaps we have to practice for some time before we really understand what that faith means.
What makes meditation Christian is your Christian faith. It isn't the technique that makes it Christian -- or Buddhist or Hindu. It is the faith that you bring to it. That is why it is such a marvelous way for each person, whatever their faith, to fulfill their faith journey and personally verify the truths of their faith while, at the same time, sharing deeply a spiritual experience with people of other faiths. The terrible error is saying, "Well, I believe in my faith, and that means that somebody else's faith must be wrong." Logically, intellectually, that is where we get stuck. But at the level of the spirit, we experience unity, and unity is what meditation leads us to. This becomes quite a perceptible reality as you meditate in a group. You don't communicate through language or through the body when you meditate. But there is a deeper communication at work.
And that "deeper communication" is becoming one with all.
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