The video of this post is from the YouTube site, Good Fight Ministries
Title of video: Contemplative Prayer, Mysticism & Kundalini
The following 7-minute trailer is on the topic of The Submerging Church, a reference to what is happening in the Emergent Church.
Contemplative prayer and transcendental meditation are chiefly considered, as these are the main ways church members are being led astray via their involvement in UN-biblical eastern meditation.
Pastor Joe Schimmel was a former New Ager before he was born again at age 18.
Video description at YouTube:
This short video sample is from Chapter 6 and Chapter 8 of our video, The Submerging Church. It goes into how the Emergent Church are bringing the Contemplative Prayer, Mysticism and New Age practices into the church.
Highlight points are below video:
Contents below highlights: 1, explanation of the unbiblical nature of TM 2, Links to Good Fight Ministries Playlists
HIGHLIGHTS [bracketed statements; emboldening and underscoring are mine]:
- The video opens with a mentioning of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who brought transcendental (TM) meditation to the west, via the influence of the Beach Boys and the Beatles
- Rick Warren is shown affiliating with Dr. Daniel Amen who encouraged him to teach meditation
- Pastor Joe Schimmel explains that TM has often led to demon possession
- Reiki Japanese healing is an occult laying on of hands
- [See below video, an explanation of the unbiblical nature of TM, including an explanation of how mantras lead one into false worship]
- The Emergent Church leaders are encouraging the ‘experiencing’ of God via TM
- Mantras that utilize Bible words are still ungodly because these words are taken from their context and they are also used inappropriately
- 1 Thessalonians 5:21 but test everything; hold fast what is good
- 1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world
- Rob Bell shown leading his congregants into eastern meditation via a breathing exercise: from his sermon, Theology of Breathing, May, 29th, 2005
- Mantras: encouraged by Emergent leaders despite what Jesus says against such mindless utterances
- Matthew 6:7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words
- Pastor Joe S. explains biblical meditation via the following points / questions:
- What is God saying to me? [while or after reading scripture]
- What is Your will Father?
- How do I please You and glorify You?
- Pray / talk to the Father about His word
- Ask for the strength to obey
- Christian meditation encourages a joyous encounter with God
- As opposed to using a biblical word or phrase to acquire some kind of spiritual effect and thereby doing what Jesus warned against, while opening oneself up to demonic influence
Excerpt from a post in this blog that explains TM and what the Bible says against it:
CHRISTIAN YOGA / CHRISTIAN HOLY YOGA / YOGA IN THE CHURCH / EASTERN MEDITATION
https://sheeplywolves.com/eastern-meditation/
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.)
[The post from which the above excerpt came also has a 13-minute video from John MacArthur’s Strange Fire Conference about Kundalini spirit possession of yoga and TM practitioners.]
Link to GF Ministries video page: https://www.youtube.com/@goodfightministries/videos
Link to GF Ministries Playlists: https://www.youtube.com/@goodfightministries/playlists
Link to 6 video excerpts on The Submerging Church: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5B27D976AC9F0AE9
Visit http://www.thesubmergingchurch.com for more information.