From the YouTube site, Doreen Virtue
Video-page link: https://www.youtube.com/@Doreen_Virtue/videos
Playlist-page link: https://www.youtube.com/@Doreen_Virtue/playlists
HIGHLIGHT POINTS [bracketed statements, emboldening and underscoring are mine]:
[The following points are mostly summary statements from the points I noted in listening to the video. My points lack connecting material…, so I do recommend listening. Points are to inform of contents.]
- Doreen Virtue (DV) critiquing a book by Joni Eareckson Tada (JET) titled: Practicing the Presence of Jesus. Her book is based on a book by the Roman Catholic (RC) monk, Brother Lawrence (BL) with a similar title
- JET and BL call people to practice mystical types of worship, and to ‘listen’ for messages from God / Jesus in their meditation
- DV noted that Dallas Jenkins (DJ) has introduced mystical practices into ‘The Chosen’
- DV, having been a New Age guru for many years, having written many books… easily sees that the type of meditation JET, BL and DJ are encouraging readers to practice is NOT biblical
- DV used a clip from one of her videos wherein she shows an interview on this topic. Pastor Chris, a former RC mystic, speaks to the above matters
- DV noted that she and Pastor Chris care for and respect JET’s testimony, faith…, but must warn Christians not to partake, as JET has erred in practicing such things
- DV noted that although JET listened to R C Sproul and called herself a reformed Christian, she began following the ways of BL because of her pain and need for something deeper
- DV show JET’s book cover shown, next to the cover of BL to compare them
- DV noted that Sarah Young went astray into mysticism after reading a book, God Calling; she later wrote ‘Jesus Calling’
- Sarah Young also encouraged readers to listen for the voice of Jesus and to practice contemplative meditation
- DV showed clips of Rick Warren and excerpts of his book, Purpose Driven Life. In the clips, Warren was praising the Pope and RC ways of worship; calling others to ecumenical such ecumenical thinking
- All of the above call Christians to still their minds and listen for Jesus speaking to them
- Pastor Chris noted that readers will naturally ask, ‘How?’
- There was a brief discussion about how to still the mind. RC teachers use Lectio Divina [explained below]; others use breath prayer; centering prayer…
- DV noted that all of the above methods are used like New Agers use ‘mantras,’ to still the mind that they might hear a message from God
- [The above ways of meditation, contemplation, prayer, veer from biblical prayer. Those look within after emptying the mind, seeking subjective experience, emotions…; biblical prayer looks to God via His word and fills the mind with that word, the objective truth of that word]
What is Lectio Divina? [from Wikipedia]
In Western Christianity, Lectio Divina (Latin for “Divine Reading”) is a traditional monastic practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God’s word.[1] In the view of one commentator, it does not treat Scripture as texts to be studied, but as the living word.[2]
Traditionally, Lectio Divina has four separate steps: read; meditate; pray; contemplate. First a passage of Scripture is read, then its meaning is reflected upon. This is followed by prayer and contemplation on the Word of God.[3]
The focus of Lectio Divina is not a theological analysis of biblical passages but viewing them with Christ as the key to their meaning. For example, given Jesus’ statement in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you”, an analytical approach would focus on the reason for the statement during the Last Supper, the biblical context, etc. In Lectio Divina, however, the practitioner “enters” and shares the peace of Christ rather than “dissecting” it.[4] In some Christian teachings, this form of meditative prayer is understood as leading to an increased knowledge of Christ.[5]
To read the rest of the article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lectio_Divina
What is Hindu Meditation (Transcendental Meditation…) and why is it NOT biblical? [from a post in this blog, linked]:
Who practices eastern meditation? (Eastern meditation is also known as transcendental meditation; TM; entering the silence; Hindu or yogic meditation….) Those of the New Spirituality (formerly New Agers); Reiki healers; Yogics; Wiccans; and now, Christians.
What is the goal of this meditation? Encountering the “higher self,”the deity within (one or more spirit guides).
For what reason would one want to encounter his higher self? Christian practitioners are seeking “fresh”, revelation from God, or “rhema” (In Christianity, rhema is used in Bible study to signify Jesus Christ’s utterances.[citation needed] from Wikipedia); Reiki healers seek these spirits to impart healing to their patients; yogics want to merge with God; Wiccans seek a deeper connection with the earth and blessedness. Some likely only seek mental refreshment; alleviation from stress; altered consciousness…but the truth is that this meditation opens up a channel to unknown spirit beings.
The steps practiced to enter the silence: 1. PURGATION: is emptying the mind or stopping the stream of thought by repetition of a word or phrase (mantra). 2. ILLUMINATION: acquiring truth via unknown spirit contacts and 3., UNION WITH GOD.
[Breath prayers, centering prayers…are like mantras, they are uttered with the intention of stilling the mind, to stop one’s thoughts; those who recommend them are moving practitioners towards eastern meditation. God gave us reason and imagination, both have their purposes in the functioning of our minds; a chief function of reason seems to be that of gatekeeper, especially regarding imagination. If we permit our imagination to dictate to our reason, then we invite evil into our minds as there is no accounting for where our unchecked imaginations might take us. Stephen Charnock, in his little treatise, Sinfulness and Cure of Thoughts, addressed this in the process of explaining the cure he proposed.]
Why is this meditation unbiblical? In the Bible, God divides knowledge into three categories: 1. general revelation (the created universe); 2. special revelation, (scripture); and 3, unrevealed secret knowledge belonging only to God (see Deuteronomy 29:29). “Divination” is a biblical term describing any process used to get unrevealed spiritual knowledge (see Deut. 18: 9-12, e.g.); “familiar spirits” are those entities encountered in divination or in eastern meditation (Lev. 19:31 e.g.).
God forbids divination. Those who use divination are opening themselves to evil because they cannot know what kinds of spirits they are encountering (Eph. 5: 1-21; 6: 10-18). Anyone familiar with the 4 gospel accounts of Christ’s earthly ministry has read about Christ casting demons out of people who had been possessed by them. If you are a Christian who is dabbling in eastern meditation, then please reread the gospel accounts of these exorcisms, and consider practicing biblical meditation instead. As God protects Christians from such beings if they stay within the boundaries set by scripture. There are videos on YouTube about people who practiced yoga and were possessed by evil spirits, check them out for yourself. I studied psychic phenomena in one of my philosophy classes, and I remember studying how people had been possessed via using a ouija board; I have read of possessions occurring via TM…please don’t think that it cannot happen to you.
What is biblical meditation? It is the filling of the mind with scripture to understand and apply it, as in, e.g.: Joshua 1:8 “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.” Also see Psalms 1 and 119; and 1 Tim. 4:15 e.g. (Sources: Faith at Risk 4 and 5, Twin city fellowship; A Time of Departing by Ray Yungen; Is That You Lord by Gary Gilley.)
Link to post in this blog:
CHRISTIAN YOGA / CHRISTIAN HOLY YOGA / YOGA IN THE CHURCH / EASTERN MEDITATION
https://sheeplywolves.com/eastern-meditation/
NARRATIVE AND LINKS FROM DOREEN VIRTUE’S YOUTUBE SITE:
Joni Eareckson Tada, Sid Roth, Rick Warren and “The Chosen” Director Dallas Jenkins all rave about the Roman Catholic monk named Brother Lawrence who taught contemplative prayer to “practice the presence of God.” This video explores who Brother Lawrence was, and why contemplative methods can open us up in spiritually dangerous ways.
With Pastor Chris Quintana of https://www.oldpaththeology.net and Shane Cox of the Facebook discernment group called The Chosen: Do Not Be Deceived.
This video was excerpted from this longer interview: New Age Mysticism & The Chosen / Brother Lawrence channeling / ecumenism / universalism • New Age Mysticism & The Chosen / Brot…
Related video: Why “Contemplative Prayer” is a dangerous new age mystical practice • Why “Contemplative Prayer” is a dange…
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