Everything Must Change by Brian McLaren

We have been accused of not reading the material that we do articles on ie Emergent Church leaders and authors etc..

Thats just not true everyone we used on our DVD does impeccable research and are all students of the Bible.

Here is a book review by Pastor Gary Gilley

Everything Must Change by Brian McLaren

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IS CHRISTIANITY ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS?

Many times in speaking with Emergent folk and those who are part of the great falling away they stress the importance of relationship over the stress on sound doctrine (the stress on sound doctrine is of course the biblical stance).
Here is a great article by my friend and brother in the Lord Paul Proctor.
By Paul Proctor
September 11, 2009
NewsWithViews.com

“Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” – Luke 6:26

It seems I am receiving a little extra email these days from troubled Christians who have had to give up a church, some friends and/or certain family members in order to remain faithful to God and His Word. I can tell you without hesitation that I certainly have – and on more than one occasion.

No one can lead you down the road of temptation quicker than a close friend, family member or fellow Christian. The downgrading of today’s “Church” along with society has clearly taken its toll on the brethren and is now driving many out the sanctuary doors to preserve their faith in Jesus Christ.

I heard Authority Research founder and director, Dean Gotcher, in a recent radio interview refer to the loneliness that results from the loss of such relationships as the taking up of one’s cross for Christ. When I respond to the heartbreaking email of readers who have had to leave their local church in obedience to God’s Word, I often reply with some empathetic encouragement and a link to a short piece written by A.W. Tozer titled: The Loneliness of the Christian.

For believers new to this column, I realize that the idea of sacrificing treasured relationships, even those we worship with, is probably a stark contrast to what you regularly receive from the pulpit of your local church and the lectern of your weekly Bible study class where most everything these days revolves around establishing, protecting, sustaining and maintaining relationships of all kinds, at all costs – a dangerous notion that is just not biblical.

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“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” – Amos 3:3

Simply put, it turns people into church worshippers who revere, embrace and obey the consensus of a congregation with a contrived unity rather than God worshippers who put His Word and Authority far and above the fellowship, opinions, theories, life experiences and personal tastes of well meaning Christians and clergy.

This Religion of Relationships has now all but taken over what is called “Christianity” and ought to be called what it really is: “Churchianity” – the worship of and faith in those who claim to be the “Body of Christ” – especially its leaders who treat their own counsel, conjecture, sermon stories and agendas as equal to or greater than the Word of God.

Those who embrace Churchianity will often respond to a rebuking scripture with: “Yeah, but…” as if to be able to trump it with some greater knowledge, wisdom, anecdote or seemingly contradicting verse from the Bible. This is the ugly arrogance of today’s humanistic spirituality and its self-serving, self-worshipping ways.

When listening to a fellow church member, teacher or preacher talk about the Christian life, how many times have you heard them cite that sacred slogan: “It’s all about relationships?”

Baloney!

It’s about repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and our loving obedience to His Word, whatever may come – a faithfulness that will cost you more relationships than it will ever garner you! Our first love and loyalty is to Him, not our fellow man. That doesn’t mean we don’t take up the towel to wash feet, serve others, sacrifice ourselves and love our neighbor – it simply means they don’t come first in our lives – Jesus Christ does. That’s why we call Him “Lord” and not the brethren.

But, when we place our hope and faith in the redeemed rather than the Redeemer and put the words of men over the Word of God, we become no better than new agers who believe that God is in everyone and in everything – worshipping the creation instead of the Creator and in doing so, make ourselves gods to be praised and exalted with reciprocating adulation and acclaim.

“They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.” – Psalm 12:2

If your Christianity isn’t costing you at least some friends and family, both inside and outside the church house, your hope and faith may have turned horizontal. If your Sunday gatherings have become flattery festivals where people are quoted and praised more than Jesus Christ, you might want to reconsider your church membership. If you have friends and family that hate God, but love you, it might be time to reexamine your witness for Christ and your commitment to Him.

“And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.” – Luke 21:16-17

Take a sober and discerning look around your church next Sunday and tell me what you see. If it’s all about relationships there, it may be time to hit the door and go find your cross.

“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” – Matthew 10:33-39

Related articles:

1. The Loneliness of the Christian
2. Authority Research
3. Are You A Church Worshipper?

© 2009 Paul Proctor – All Rights Reserved

In the trenches with Manny and friends.

To start this off lets here from someone wiser than me-John MacArthur and his very wise words.
“So what is truth? Here is a simple definition drawn from what the Bible teaches: truth is that which is consistent with the mind,will,character,glory, and being of God. Because the definition of truth flows from God, truth is theological. Truth is also ontological-which is a fancy way of saying that it is the way things really are. Reality is what it is because God declared it so and made it so. Therefore God is the author ,source,determiner,governer,arbitor,utimate standard, and final judge of all truth. The Old Testament refers to the Almighty as the “God of truth” (Deut 32:4;Psalm 31:5;Isaiah 65:16). When Jesus said of Himself,”I am…the truth John 14:6), He was thereby making a profound claim about His own deity. He was also making it clear that all truth must ultimately be defined in terms of God and His eternal glory.
Jesus also said that the written Word of God is truth. It is not merely nuggets of truth; it is pure,unchangable, and inviolable truth that (according to Jesus) “cannot be broken” (John 10:35). Praying to His heavenly Father of behalf of His disciples, He said this “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth”( John 17:17). Morever, the Word of God is eternal truth “which lives and abides forever” (Peter 1:23).
Of course there cannot be any discord or difference of opinion between the written Word of God (Scripture) and the incarnate Word of God (Jesus). In the first place, truth by definition cannot contradict itself. Second, Scripture is called “the word of Christ”"Colossians 3:16). It is His message., His self-expression. In other words, the truth of Christ and the truth of the Bible are of the very same character. They are in perfect agreement in every respect. Both are equally true. God has revealed Himself to humanity through scripture and through His Son. Both perfectly embody the essence of what truth is. end quote
(Excert from “The Truth War” by John MacArthur)
Two opposing views are never both true one has to be false.
There are false teachers and people who teach what is good and true.
The Bible throughout teaches about false teachers and false prophets the book of Jude is a good book to study about what the Bible teaches about false teachers.
What does all this have to do with me and Manny and our friends fighting in the trenches for the truth of Gods Word?
Well to set this up let me tell you why we fight.
We do not fight to try to convince the opposing side they are wrong and convince them we are right.
We always allow Gods Word to determine that.
A good reason to sometimes fight in the trenches is to expose falsehood the opposition teaches in front of  all those who have gathered around to observe the fight.
Face it many websites such as Naz Net and other facebook pages even the Church of the Nazarene facebook page are being used by the enemy as points of diaprax.
As Dean Gotcher points out, the success of diaprax depends on collaborative agreements of unity based on false standards. Diaprax by nature would reject the absolutes of the scriptures. We are seeing a lot of that in today’s church.
We see that going on all over the net.
Unity while forsaking the truth.

Again there can never be two opposing views that are both true.

One has to be true and one has to be false.

Both Manny and myself were declared by those who oppose us to not be false teachers.

here are their own words-

(Both these guys support the Emergent Church )

Bob Hunter stated”I want to stress that I do not believe Manny & Tim are false teachers”

Paul de Baufer stated” I agree that Manny and Tim are NOT heretics, nor are they false teachers.”

Therefore by our oppositions own statements what Manny and I are teaching is true and should be listened to.

And if you want to see what we are teaching of course go to our website as well as Concerned Nazarenes website.

Now with both Manny and myself we have always stated that you should be good Bereans and check everything we say against what scripture teaches. And if it doesn’t add up reject it totally. I have made this statement dozens of times as well about all my writing and articles as well as the DVD I helped produce.

I know myself , Manny and our friends will always point you toward Gods Word for truth and to check out to see if what we say is true.

The opposition has another view though to take you away from Gods Word.

Try this statement on for size.

This was from Bob Hunter and my reply was a follow up comment.

Bob Hunter wrote23 minutes ago

To all,

This constant goaded by the CNs to support everything with scripture is nothing but an invitation to engage in a combative theological debate using scripture out of context. Do take the bait. One only has to look the SBC to see how that is working out for them. When the Bible is used to prove who is right and wrong it becomes a device and not a source of formation in the lives of people it seeks to shape. 

Actually, it could be well stated and already has that perhaps many of us have a very high view of scripture in that we seek to use it for its intended purpose and not as a billy club. Bible wars? No thanks! Say NO to the CN invitation to fight each other with scripture. Horrible! unChristlike, unNazarene… (PS I feel Bob has a very low view of scripture since he seldom uses it-Tim)

Here was my follow-up comment

Tim-

We are not saying fight each other with scripture.
We are saying compare whats being taught,stated and shown on the DVD with Gods word.Acts 17: 10-12
“And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable woman which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.”
Folks who are you really going to believe people who point you toward the scriptures to see if what is being said is true.
Or troubled, disturbed individuals who point you away from Gods Word.
You decide.
Sincerely in Christ
Tim

I believe that Bob fears that people will find out that what Gods Words states does indeed agree with what we are teaching.

That in itself in bizarre since Bob has already stated he did not believe we are false teachers.

Why not let people decide for themselves .

Ask yourselves what is the big fear here among Emergent’s and their supporters of the  false doctrine they endorse and teach?

Our comments have now been removed from the Church of the Nazarene facebook page as well as Mannys posts.

Is the truth being suppressed here?

You decide.

There is a big fear out there among Emergent’s and the heresy they expose folks to.

And our movement continues to grow.

here is a email I received today-

Tim,

I trust that this email makes it way to you in that I pulled it from your Concerned Nazarenes web page.

First, let me say that the reason I am writing to you is to affirm you and your fellow Nazarenes who have boldly expressed your concerns regarding the emergent church movement and its present influence within the Wesleyan/Nazarene/Free Methodist family of churches and colleges.  In my judgment you are correct in your analysis and I can only hope your college leaders will listen to you.

Second, I wanted to let you know that I share you passion for confronting the errors of the emergent church and its affection for post-modern epistemology and ontology.  I personally have been speaking out and confronting my Wesleyan counterparts on these very same things.  In fact Oklahoma Wesleyan University has become known in the Wesleyan Church for its conservative stance on these matters and for our unapologetic commitment to the inerrancy of the Scriptures.

I just want you to know that I am here to partner with you, support you, and serve you should you find it helpful.

If you want to know more about what we are doing at Oklahoma Wesleyan University go to www.okwu.edu.

Blessings,

Everett Piper

President

Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Opposition to the heresy those like Brian Mclaren and Rob Bell and their followers teach continues to grow.

Which side of the fence are you on?

Scripture states-

2 Thess 2:3

³ Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first

Are you falling away or clinging to the truth we find in Jesus and His Word written and settled in scripture?

A Chat with Ray Yungen and Mike Oppenheimer

A chat we filmed back when we originally filmed our Concerned Nazarenes DVD.

This is the first time this has been seen publically.

Mike and Ray chat about contemplative prayer, its roots as well as the new age and the new spirituality as well as some bits about Rick Warren and Saddleback..

Enjoy-Tim

done

Entire Johanna Michaelsen Interview

This is the entire interview with Johanna Michaelsen from the Concerned Nazarenes/Concerned Christians DVD.

Its titled “The occult infiltration into today’s professing church.”

 

done

Thomas Merton Part 2

Quoting Jacob Needleman (p.110), Lost Christianity, (a Bantam New Age Book):
In the quarter of a century that Merton lived as Trappist monk at Gethsemani, Kentucky, he delivered a tremendous body of written work dealing with Christian mysticism, the contemplative tradition, monasticism, and the Eastern religions, particularly Zen, which he felt had a crucial role to play in the West by revealing the contemplative, mystical core of normal human life and therefore of the Christian tradition as well.

One of Merton’s last essays, “The New Consciousness,” begins, “Christian renewal has meant that Christians are now wide open to Asian religions, ready, in the words of Vatican II, to “acknowledge, preserve and promote the spiritual and moral goods” found among them.*

But “it is not that simple.” Merton proceeds to list the strong activistic, secular and anti-mystical tendencies that militate against the recovery of contemplative Christianity in the West. Zen, to Merton is the best hope because it rejects all doctrinal dispute and offers itself as something completely unclassifiable in familiar Western theological, moral or philosophical terms. “The real drive of Buddhism is toward an enlightenment which is precisely a breakthrough into what is beyond system, beyond cultural and social structures, and beyond religious rite and belief… What this means then is that Zen is outside all structure and forms.” *(Zen and the Birds of Appetite, pp. 4-5).

Zen according to Merton, offers us the pure act of seeing, pure consciousness. It is this, Merton writes, that is the real meaning of knowledge in meditation and contemplation leading to salvation in Christ.”

“The deepest level of communication is not communication, but communion .. . . It is beyond words . . We are already one.”

Thomas Merton

Below are additional quotes by Merton:

“And in the last public utterance of his life, delivered on the day of his death in Bangkok, he said: ‘And I believe that by openness to Buddhism, to Hinduism, and to these great Asian traditions, we stand a wonderful chance of learning more about the potentiality of our own traditions, because they have gone, from the natural point of view, so much deeper into this than we have.” quote from the book, Lost Christianity by Jacob Needleman, p.112.

Toward the end of his life, Merton developed an interest in Buddhist and other Far Eastern approaches to mysticism and contemplation, and their relation to Christian approaches. He was attending an international conference on Christian and Buddhist monasticism in Bangkok, Thailand, when he was accidentally electrocuted on 10 December 1968.

According to a website dedicated to Merton:
In 1968 a meeting occurred in the Himalayas between the two most influential monks of the 20th century, a meeting that would shape the dialogue between the worlds of East and West a meeting between His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama and Thomas Merton. Shortly thereafter Merton unexpectedly died prompting the Dalai Lama to commit the remainder of his life to fulfilling Merton’s wish of bringing the worlds of East and West together in compassion. This commitment resulted in the historic Gesthsemani Encounter in 1996 at the Abbey of Gethsemani, home of the late Thomas Merton, attended by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and world leaders of the Eastern and Western religious traditions.

Why would some mystical experiences lead individuals in an ecumenical interfaith direction?
That’s a question you need to ask yourselves as many enter the Emergent Church and its experiences.

Thomas Merton

Most if not all Emergent teachers and followers pull on Thomas Merton his writings and practices. As a former Catholic there were plenty of Merton books around my house which I read as well. 

Here is some information on Thomas Merton both quotes and a very good article by my sis in the Lord Jackie Alnor. The quotes and article say it all on who this false Emergent Movement follows.

As we have stated before Trevecca  Nazarene University went to a Spirtual Formation Retreat to Mertons old abbey in  Trappist Kentucky.

 

 

http://www.trevecca.edu/spiritualformation/retreat

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/index.php?p=1389&more=1&c=1

Dan Boone refers to Thomas Merton as a spiritual giant.

 

‘I’m deeply impregnated with Sufism.’” Thomas Merton, from The Springs of Contemplation, p. 266
atholic lay monk Wayne Teasdale says this of
Thomas Merton:
“Thomas Merton was perhaps the greatest popularizer of interspirituality. He opened the door for Christians to explore other traditions, notably Taoism (Chinese witchcraft), Hinduism and Buddhism.”
[Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World's Religions - Wayne Teasdale]
Thomas Merton said: 
“I see no contradiction between Buddhism and Christianity … I intend to become as good a Buddhist as I can.” 
(David Steindl-Rast, “Recollection of Thomas Merton’s Last Days in the West” (Monastic Studies, 7:10, 1969)

Here is the article by Jackie Alnor-

Thomas Merton: The Contemplative Dark Thread     By Jackie Alnor
Twenty-some years ago, my sister Janet and I signed up for a field trip sponsored by the Crystal Cathedral to a Vedanta monastery in the nearby Saddleback Mountains. At that time we were working together on a discernment newsletter called “The New Age Alert” and attended as part of our research. The field trip was being promoted as an educational adventure to examine the similarities and differences of two supposedly opposite extremes of religious expression. The tour guide was a lady who was a long-time member of Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral and she introduced herself as an aficionado of comparative religions.The day started with a guided tour of the Crystal Cathedral grounds after we all met up at the statue of Job in the courtyard. Then after the tour of the most decadent ostentatious so-called house of God on the planet (that’s another story altogether), we boarded buses that took us on a short jaunt to the nearby wilderness. A man with a shaved head, in a red robe, with a blank look on his face greeted us. He told us not to concern ourselves with the fact that we would be ignored by all the Vedanta monks because they are in silence.   The red-robed automatons kept at their work on the beautiful grounds of this gated cloister, without glancing in the direction of this group of mostly trendy Orange County housewives walking past. The blank stares on the faces of these men were a bit unnerving for Janet and me. They gave us the creeps, quite frankly. Their expressions remind me of the cult leader who led his thirty-nine followers to suicide to catch a ride on the Comet Hale-Bopp some ten years later. The “holy man” who was our guide to the grounds led us into a beautiful den with a fireplace and a large mahogany desk upon which a vase of freshly-cut flowers had been placed. The room was filled with books in built-in shelving and the furnishings looked like a blast from the past of a bygone era. We stood around in a circle as the monk gave us the history of the den. He told us that this was the retreat of a famous author named Aldous Huxley. Huxley had waited out World War II there as a place to get away from it all and as he tried unsuccessfully to establish a religious college there. “‘After seven years, he turned the property over to the Vedanta Society,” according to a published report in the July 15, 2006 issue of the New York Times. ”’They were trying to combine Eastern and Western philosophy and religion, but were ahead of their time,’’ said Swami Tadatmananda, 70, who leads the monastery.” The monk pointed to a book that was on a side-table that was next to me and said that it was one that Huxley wrote while he was there. I asked if I could pick it up and he nodded. I can’t recall the title, but the weirdest thing happened when I opened it. It was as if some evil spirit shot out of it and encircled the room. As it did, everyone’s stomachs rumbled loudly, one right after another, except for Janet’s and mine. Janet confirmed that she too could detect the swirling presence of this thing – it was felt, not actually seen. At that point all the Orange County housewives got uncomfortable because of their noisy tummies and we all made a hasty retreat out of that haunted den. At that time, I didn’t know who this Aldous Huxley guy was. However, his name would crop up from time to time in my investigations of the rising New Age Movement in the decade of the ‘80s. Many good Christian books were written exposing the dangers of new age influences in the church and by the decade of the ‘90s, born-again believers were pretty-much inoculated against eastern mysticism.     Huxley’s Influence on Thomas Merton But now in the decade of the 00s, the latest craze in the church today, known as the Emergent Church/Conversation, is bringing a revival of mysticism into Evangelicalism. These EC leaders write books quoting the very mystics like Huxley who in the past sought God in all the wrong places. These books point Christians to the mystical practice of what is called contemplative/centering prayer that was popularized by one of Huxley’s contemporaries, the late Thomas Merton. Merton was a Roman Catholic Trappist monk and a anti-war peace activist during the Vietnam war. He was a prolific writer who coined the term “centering prayer” to describe the style of mind-emptying meditation that seeks to empty oneself and lose oneself into the void he interchangeably calls “the life of the spirit” and Nirvana. He held to the belief that all religions had the same basic truth and Christianity could not lay claim to the whole counsel of God. This put him on shaky ground in his own religion that professes to be the “one true church.” One Merton biographer traces Merton’s affection for mysticism to Huxley. “”Merton’s attraction to Asia developed gradually. The first concrete evidence of it dates back to November 1937, when he had come under the influence of Aldous Huxley. Since the 1930s Huxley, formerly a skeptic, had been attracted to mysticism and investigated Christian as well as Hindu and Buddhist mysticism. His newly acquired mystical views found expression in Ends and Means (1937), which Merton read at the suggestion of Robert Lax…. Huxley not only aroused in Merton an interest in mysticism but also drew his attention to the resemblances in the experiences of eastern and western mystics. In particular, Huxley pointed out similarities in the views of the anonymous author of the Cloud of Unknowing and of Meister Eckhart with those of the Buddha and India’s foremost philosopher, Sankara.” [Thomas Merton and Asia: His Quest for Utopia, by Alexander Lipski -- ©1983, Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo, MI, page 5.] In Merton’s own words, he held this occultist in high esteem. From his own journal entry of November 27, 1941, Merton wrote, “I spent most of the afternoon writing a letter to Aldous Huxley and when I was finished I thought: ‘Who am I to be telling this guy about mysticism?’ I reflect that until I read his book, Ends and Means, four years ago, I had never even heard of the word mysticism. The part he played in my conversion, by that book, was very great. . . . Ends and Means taught me to respect mysticism. Maritain’s Art and Scholasticism was another important influence, and Blake’s poetry. . . . Anyway, what do I know to tell Huxley? I should have been asking him questions.” [The Secular Journal of Thomas Merton, ©1959, Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, New York, pp. 268-269]. The one thing these two men had in common was an interest in mysticism and the occult and both studied eastern religions to learn their techniques of crossing over to the other side, as it were. They opened many a door to evil spirits who gave them the mystical experiences they longed for. The Hindu holy men that they so admired are of the sort you might see on TV programs such as “Mysteries of the Unknown” – the guys sitting on beds of nails or piercing their cheeks with steel knives without feeling any pain. And Merton was so fascinated by these “holy men” that he even adopted the name “Rabbi Vedanta” as an alias. Several months before his death, he wrote to a friend in California, “There will come some mail for me there probably between now and 30th. This will include a mysterious and mystic package addressed to Rabbi Vedanta, care of you. Have no fear. ‘Tis only I under the beard.” [The Hidden Ground of Love: The Letters of Thomas Merton, edited by William H. Shannon, ©1985 Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, p. 243]. Merton’s friendship with Huxley spanned several decades, up until Huxley’s death on November 22, 1963, the same day that President Kennedy was assassinated and on the same day that C. S. Lewis died. As Merton’s interest in eastern philosophy grew, he would keep his friend Huxley up-to-date. In a letter dated November 27, 1958, Merton wrote to his friend taking issue with his observation that the use of psychedelics could be a shortcut to transcendental experiences. “May I add that I am interested in yoga and above all in Zen, which I find to be the finest example of a technique leading to the highest natural perfection of man’s contemplative liberty. You may argue that the use of a koan (a puzzle with no logical solution used in Zen Buddhism to develop intuitive thought) to dispose one for satori (a spiritual awakening sought in Zen, often coming suddenly) is not different from the use of a drug. I would like to submit that there is all the difference in the world, and perhaps we can speak more of this later. My dear Mr. Huxley, it is a joy to write to you of these things.” [Hidden Ground, p. 439.]     Sufi Mysticism By now you can see that Merton was a believer in all religions – he created his own syncretistic brand of religion while remaining under the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. He gave equal attention to the mystical traditions within Catholicism, Zen Buddhism, and Hinduism. But he was an equal-opportunity mystic who was drawn to the common thread of “Satan’s so-called deep secrets” found in all the world’s false religions, including his own. He even delved into the mystical branch of Islam and corresponded for many years with a Muslim Sufi cleric by the name of Abdul Aziz. In November, 1960, Aziz had requested that Merton send him one of his books called Seeds of Contemplation that he wrote in 1949, but Merton was too ashamed to send it to him. He apologized to his Sufi friend saying that it “contains many foolish statements…and reflects an altogether stupid ignorance of Sufism.” At that time Merton thought that true spirituality existed only in the Roman Catholic Church. But as he toyed with other religions, they soon got a grip on his mind and soul. In the same letter to Aziz dated November 17, 1960, Merton offered the Sufi information on whom he considered Catholicism’s number one mystic. He wrote, “I might also refer you to the life of St. John of the Cross… which has some interesting pages on the possible influence of Sufism in the mysticism of St. John of the Cross.” [Hidden Ground, p. 44.] Merton also made the claim that the Sufi mystics worship the same God as Christianity and all the religions. He wrote, “As one spiritual man to another, if I may so speak in all humility, I speak to you from my heart of our obligation to study the truth in deep prayer and meditation, and bear witness to the light that comes from the All-Holy God into this world of darkness where He is not known and not remembered. . . . May your work on the Sufi mystics make His Name known and remembered, and open the eyes of men to the light of His truth.” [Ibid, pp. 45-46]. Merton believed that the Sufi, Zen, and Vedanta monks all shared in the same light as he did – and I’m sure that is the case. After all, Satan comes as an angel of light and they all recognized that same “light” in one another. Merton even went so far as to redefine the feast of Pentecost to suit the sensitivities of this Sufi cleric. In a letter dated May 13, 1961, Merton wrote to Aziz, I will “keep you especially in mind on the feast of Pentecost, May 21st, in which we celebrate the descent of the Holy Ghost into the hearts and souls of men that they may be wise with the Spirit of God. It is the great feast of wisdom.” [Ibid. p. 49] Merton actually believed that these men who worshiped false gods were given some great wisdom by God and that Pentecost is a holy day to celebrate a feast of wisdom given to all men irregardless of what God one puts faith in. Merton confided in Aziz what he actually believed, knowing that his own church authorities would probably not approve if they knew just how far he took it. In his January 2, 1966 letter to the Sufi cleric, Merton revealed his heretical ideas of an impersonal God. “My prayer is then a kind of praise rising up out of the center of Nothing and Silence. If I am still present ‘myself’ this I recognize as an obstacle about which I can do nothing unless He Himself removes the obstacle. If He wills He can then make the Nothingness into a total clarity. If He does not will, then the Nothingness seems to itself to be an object and remains an obstacle. Such is my ordinary way of prayer, or meditation. It is not ‘thinking about’ anything, but a direct seeking of the Face of the Invisible, which cannot be found unless we become lost in Him who is Invisible. I do not ordinarily write about such things and I ask you therefore to be discreet about it. But I write this as a testimony of confidence and friendship. It will show you how much I appreciate the tradition of Sufism. . . . I am united with you in prayer during this month of Ramadan (Muslim holy day) and will remember you on the Night of Destiny.” [Ibid. p. 64.]     Another Way to Perfection   Merton was a prolific writer which was partly due to his isolation in a Trappist monastery in Kentucky where his fellow monks held to vows of silence. But Merton had a lot to say and he couldn’t share it with his fellow monks, so he corresponded with religious leaders, including his friend the Dali Lama, a man that many Buddhists believe to be an ascended master. Merton biographer Alexander Lipski wrote that “Merton argued that Zen meditation shatters the false self and restores us to our paradisical innocence which preceded the fall of man.” [Thomas Merton and Asia: His Quest for Utopia by Alexander Lipski -- ©1983, Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo, MI, page 29.] Can Zen Buddhism really restore mankind to the innocence that Adam and Eve enjoyed in the Garden of Eden? If that were possible, then such men could not die, because when Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, death entered into the human race. This claim is tantamount to saying that Zen meditation is the means for spiritual perfection and justification, totally stepping on the blood of Christ. Thomas Merton might have truly committed the unpardonable sin with this heretical belief. “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened…and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briars, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned” (Hebrews 6:4-8). “Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29). How many people today who have a fascination for the writings of Thomas Merton run the risk of following him into perdition?     Poet/Artist William Blake Merton’s philosophy in life can be seen clearly in his admiration of the poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827). Scripture did not enter into Merton’s search for experiencing the Divine; it was not sufficient for him. In fact, I have read all of his journals and can count on one hand the Bible verses he quoted. The Word of God did not factor into Merton’s life. He was basically a humanist who worshipped imagination and human reasoning. William Blake influenced Merton’s choice of Catholicism as the organizational structure in which to live out his brand of spiritualism. Merton biographer Raymond Bailey documented how this took place. “An important link in Merton’s thought is the work of his master’s thesis, written in 1938. It was a study of William Blake, whose ideas influenced both his theology and his poetry. . . . Tom said that it was through Blake that he had come to the Church and to Christ. The thesis was an exposition of Blake’s philosophy; indeed, it was an apologetic for the poet’s Christianity. ‘As mystic,’ Merton argued, ‘Blake belongs to the Christian tradition of the Augustinians and the Franciscans.’ Already Merton was cognizant of similarities between Christian and oriental mysticism. He called attention to Blake’s acquaintance with Hindu philosophy. He drew attention to ideas common to Blake and Meister Eckhart, in whose thought Merton was to develop a vital interest during the sixties. [Thomas Merton on Mysticismby Raymond Bailey, ©1974, Doubleday & Co., Inc, Garden City, NY, p. 44.] And yet both Blake and Eckhart were steeped in the occult and got their mysticism from Hindu sources. Eckhart’s ideas were considered heretical even by Catholic Church authorities because his teachings expressed a belief in pantheism. And Blake’s poetry is some of the darkest and most demonically inspired drivel one could read. Like attracts like, no doubt. Perhaps that is why the demonized lead singer of the 60s group, The Doors, Jim Morrison, named his group after one of Blake’s poems and chose dark sayings of Blake’s to use in one of his songs.     The Door’s Jim Morrison “Its name was taken from Aldous Huxley’s book on mescaline, The Doors of Perception, which quoted William Blake’s poem, “If the doors of perception were cleansed / All things would appear infinite.”  Morrison identified with Blake and “famously lived by an oft repeated quote from William Blake: ‘The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.’” “Morrison once confessed that ‘We’re more interested in the dark side of life, the evil thing, the night time.’”  The last two lines of a Blake poem were incorporated into The Doors 1967 song, “End of the Night.”     Every morn and every night Some to misery are born. Every morn and every night Some are born to sweet delight. Some are born to endless night A former girlfriend of Morrison’s gave some insights to his fascination with William Blake. In the late 60s, she used to go out to the desert with him to use peyote and see strange visions. Morrison had believed that the spirit of a dead Indian shaman inhabited his soul and he connected to the spirit out there in the desert. “We had visions in the desert,” she wrote of her and Morrison’s experiences in a book called “An Unholy Alliance.” “It is like William Blake; he would see visions like Blake did, angels in trees, he would see these, and so would I. And Jim showed me that this is what a poet does. A poet sees visions and records them.”  Merton recognized that Blake communed with angels, though he would not come right out and admit that they were fallen angels. Merton had written a Forward to a book about, of all things, wooden furniture made by the Shakers religious sect. He wrote, “The peculiar grace of a Shaker chair is due to the fact that it was made by someone capable of believing that an angel might come and sit on it. Indeed the Shakers believed their furniture was designed by angels – and Blake believed his ideas for poems and engraving came from heavenly spirits.” [Religion in Wood: A Book of Shaker Furniture by Edward & Faith Andrews, Introduction by Thomas Merton. ©1966 Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN, pg xiii].     Same Vocabulary; Warped Definitions Both men confused the gifts of the Holy Spirit for man’s natural talents and through the use of the imagination, they were exercising their gifts. Merton wrote in the Shaker book, ‘When imagination, art and science and all intellectual gifts, all gifts of the holy Ghost are looked upon as of no use, and only contention remains to man, then the Last Judgment begins … For Blake, as for the Shakers, creative imagination and religious vision were not merely static and contemplative. They were active and dynamic, and imaginative power that did not express itself in creative work could become highly dangerous.” [Ibid. pg. xiv] Besides getting Pentecost and the filling of the Holy Spirit wrong, Merton also distorted the meaning of the new birth. He accepted the false religious systems of the world and adopted their corruption of Christian doctrines. Merton wrote to a Sufi cleric in a letter dated March 22, 1968, “I also enclose a copy of something I wrote last fall ‘Rebirth and the New Man in Christianity,’ which will show that I was already in complete agreement with you. It may also give you some introduction to the idea of rebirth which is so important in Christianity – just as it is in Sufism.” [Hidden Ground, p. 42]. Merton admitted that venturing into the recesses of the mind via contemplative methods could be highly dangerous because it led to a dark and foreboding place. In a letter written to the abbot of a Cistercian monastery, Merton said, “My brother, perhaps in my solitude I have become as it were an explorer for you, a searcher in realms which you are not able to visit – except perhaps in the company of your psychiatrist. I have been summoned to explore a desert area of man’s heart in which explanations no longer suffice, and in which one learns that only experience counts. An arid, rocky, dark land of the soul, sometimes illuminated by strange fires which men fear and peopled by specters which men studiously avoid except in their nightmares.” [Hidden Ground, pp. 156-157.] When Merton said that “explanations no longer suffice,” he no doubt was referring to Bible doctrine that he didn’t see as sufficient. In that same letter he said that he distrusts the language of Christianity. And what are those “specters” and “strange fires” he says he encounters? When Merton could find no Bible teaching to endorse his experiences, he quit looking there for answers and turned to other religions. Some things never change. This perceived inadequacy of the Word of God drives many unregenerate professing Christians to other places for their reassurance. Merton is consistent in his descriptions of his spiritual path’s dark side. He wrote a fellow pacifist on February 13, 1967, telling him about his spiritual experimentation using tongue-in-cheek humor, but getting his message across quite clearly. He wrote, “I guess my head is so addled with Zen and Sufism that I have totally lapsed into inefficiency, and am rapidly becoming a backward nation if not a primitive race, a Bushman from the word go, muttering incantations to get the fleas out of my whiskers, a vanishing American who has fallen into the mythical East as into a deep dark hole.” [Hidden Ground, p. 299] From Eckhart to Blake to Huxley to Morrison and to Merton, the common denominator they all shared was a metaphysical experience, via Kundilini or psychedelic drugs that were a shortcut to the same dark place. And tragically Merton influenced so many young minds when he was alive and his influence continues to poison professing Christians to this day. People are unknowingly opening doors to the evil influences of demonic hosts.     Merton Continues to Corrupt One newspaper published an article about Merton in 1998. “Thirty years later, what Merton has given to his countless spiritual devotees has never stopped; through his books and books about him, Merton might exert more global influence than ever.” ["30 Years After His Death, Noted Monk Thomas Merton is Remembered," By Art Jester, Knight Ridder Newspapers, December 12, 1998.] Merton’s writings are quoted by today’s advocates of his contemplative prayer methodology that he derived from dark sources as already documented. Look in the notes of any modern book on prayer, and see if you find Merton quotes. This leaven of doctrines of devils has found its way into such popular “Evangelical” books as Richard Foster’s Celebration of Disciplineand Brennan Manning’s, Ragamuffin Gospel, books that grace the shelves of many church bookstores. Chuck Smith Jr., pastor of Capo Beach Calvary (though he’s no longer affiliated with Calvary Chapel, the movement founded by his father Chuck Smith Sr., but still retains the name), often quotes Merton in his own sermons, such as in his March 12th 2006 message, “It Is Enough.” In fact, a woman who attends Capo Beach Calvary wrote this writer an email on March 17, 2006 singing the praises of the men her pastor admires. “I also thoughtfully enjoy the writings of Thomas Merton, Brennan Manning (that great ragamuffin!) and of course the writings of Richard Foster! These men have something worth listening to. Blessings, B.” She seemed to get pleasure in rubbing my nose in the success of the apostasy. In fact, a common term used by Emerging Church leaders like Chuck Smith Jr. is the word “transformation.” This word is thrown around a lot by today’s contemplatives in a way to distort the Bible teaching of being transformed into the image of Christ. “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” Romans 8:29. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” Romans 12:2. Yet, here’s how Merton and contemplatives who emulate him see the use of the word transformation: “While considering certain external imitations of Zen unsuitable for westerners, Merton, to the end of his life, believed that the transformation of personal consciousness through Zen would bring about a more equitable, peaceful society.” [Utopia, pp. 35-36.] So it is through Zen meditation that Merton and his breed achieve this transformation of their consciousness that amounts to a new age paradigm shift right out of the confines of Christianity. Another Merton biographer described it this way: “This ancient Christian method, as it was taught and shared in this renewal, received a new packaging and a new name. The name given it was Centering Prayer, a name inspired by Father Louis’s (Merton’s real first name) teaching. In speaking about this kind of prayer, he would say things such as this: ‘The fact is, however, that if you descend into the depths of your own spirit…and arrive somewhere near the center of what you are, you are confronted with the inescapable truth, at the very root of your existence, you are in constant and immediate and inescapable contact with the infinite power of God.’ And like this: ‘A man cannot enter in to the deeper center of himself and pass through the center into God unless he is able to pass entirely out of himself and empty himself and give himself to other people in the purity of selfless love.’” [Thomas Merton Brother Monk: The Quest for True Freedom, by M. Basil Pennington, ©1987 Harper & Row, San Francisco, p. 160.] Another biblical sounding term Merton and other eastern contemplatives throw around is “incarnational.” Jesus was God incarnated in human flesh and this word is brandied about to sound biblical but the meaning of it changes to apply to those calling themselves Christians. Another biographer (seems Merton has an endless supply of them) put it this way: “For Merton conceives Christ as being at the center of the universe and hence, it is in Christ and only in him that the world can truly make sense. Because everything converges on Him, the person most closely related to Christ in contemplative prayer is, in Merton’s view, the person who is most deeply embedded in the world. For such a person is no longer limited by narrow provincial views (Bible views?) … Rather, detached from such superficiality because of his own closeness to Christ, he is …thus is able to find a truly incarnational involvement that will bring him into the deepest contact with reality.” [Merton’s Theology of Prayer by John J. Higgins SJ ©1971, Cistercian Publications, Spencer, MA, p. 125.] The “Christ” Merton speaks of is not Jesus Christ of the Gospels since Merton’s “Christ” is accessible to anyone in any religion at any time of their choosing. This Cosmic Christ is what the Bible refers to “another Christ.” Merton’s quest for the so-called undiluted reality of Zen was a liberation from all “structures, forms, and beliefs,” that brings one to the true transcendent self of Buddhism. In other words, Merton hated the very form of religion that held him in Catholicism, but was in bondage to the security he got from the Trappist Abbey of Gethsemani where he could live and write in isolation without having to think about how he might make an honest living. Merton’s tone with Catholic authorities was guarded, totally different from his openness with his eastern religious friends.     Merton Grovels Before Popes Two letters to two different popes were preserved and published. No hint of his eastern proclivities were revealed to either of them. In the November 10, 1958 letter to Pope John XXIII, Merton begins his letter with the words, “My dear Holy Father: This is one of you children who comes to kneel at your feet…” In this letter, Merton quotes scripture – something he rarely ever does. He wrote, “Humbly prostrating ourselves before Your Holiness, my novices and I beg you to grant us the favor of your Apostolic Blessing, so that we may be holy monks and deeply fervent priests, that we may unite in our hearts perfect contemplation and apostolic zeal and that Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the way, the truth and the life, may be known and loved by all. [The Hidden Ground of Love] And to Pope Paul VI, on July 26, 1963, after greeting the pope with “”Most Holy Father: Humbly prostrate at the feet of Your Holiness,” Merton wrote, “It will be my own devoted effort to help the novice to become true contemplative monks, men of God, totally devoted to the love and contemplation of Jesus Christ (one of the few times Jesus’ name is mentioned in his letters), and deeply concerned, at the same time, with all the interests of His Church in the troubled times in which we live.” [Ibid. p. 487.] Had Merton revealed what he was actually teaching the under-monks, the pope just might have stripped him of his hair shirt. Not long ago, a Catholic priest was excommunicated for promoting ideas of pantheism and the Cosmic Christ. His name was Matthew Fox and his main protagonist was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, better known today as Pope Benedict XVI. Another Merton biographer described just how far into error Merton went at the end of his life: “In his last years Merton became engrossed in the commonplaces of Eastern and Western mysticism. He was one of those for whom ‘ecumenical’ meant ‘worldwide or universal in extent and influence.’ His understanding of the unity of the world, a panentheistic God, and a cosmic Christ prohibited a narrowly defined humanity or limited theater of God’s action. The universality of the human quest for authentic being seemed to hold for him the potential for establishing a transcultural family of man.” [Merton on Mysticism, p. 15.]     Is the Monk Catholic? There was a part of Thomas Merton that remained very Catholic: his attraction to icons and statues. He saw them as doorways to his contemplative invisible inner world. And his devotion to the Queen of Heaven, the many faces of Mary drew him as well. And yet even in this, he found a way to connect these facets of Catholicism to Eastern religions. On September 12, 1959, he wrote to his friend Czeslaw Milosz, one of Merton’s Catholic spiritual guides who shared his attraction for Buddhism, a letter that revealed his devotion to Mary: “Christ loves in us, and the compassion of Our Lady keeps her prayer burning like a lamp in the depths of our being. That lamp does not waver. It is the light of the Holy Spirit, invisible, and kept alight by her love for us.” [Striving Towards Being: The Letters of Thomas Merton and Czeslaw Milosz, edited by Robert Faggen, ©1997, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, p. 53.] In a letter dated January 30, 1961, he also told his Muslim Sufi friend about their mutual attraction to Mary: “Mary is believed to have appeared at a village in Portugal called Fatima: but this name certainly derives from the time when the area was under the Moslems and the village must have been named after the daughter of the Prophet. Hence there is a mysterious joining of Christian and Moslem elements in this devotion to Our Lady of Fatima.” [Hidden Ground, p. 48.] Merton’s attraction to icons far exceeded most Roman Catholic tradition. On December 5, 1965 he wrote to his friend Marco Pallis, a student of Tibetan art, religion and culture and author of the book Peaks and Lamas who had sent him a gift of an expensive icon of the “virgin and child” a common Catholic view of Jesus as a child subordinate to His mother. With the icon, Pallis wrote Merton a note, “Here is a small token of my love: this ikon . . . Your karma evidently wished you to receive it…the Mother of God…four saints in attendance.’ Merton responded: “Where shall I begin? I have never received such a precious and magnificent gift from anyone in my life. I have no words to express how deeply moved I was to come face to face with this sacred and beautiful presence granted to me in the coming of the ikon to my most unworthy person. At first I could hardly believe it. And yet perhaps your intuition about my karma is right, since in a strange way the ikon of the Holy Mother came as a messenger at a precise moment when a message was needed, and her presence before me has been an incalculable aid in resolving a difficult problem. . . . Let me return to the holy ikon. Certainly it is a perfect act of timeless worship, a great help. I never tire of gazing at it. There is a spiritual presence and reality about it, a true spiritual ‘Thaboric’ light, which seems unaccountably to proceed from the Heart of the Virgin and Child as if they had One heart, and which goes out to the whole universe. It is unutterably splendid. And silent. It imposes a silence on the whole hermitage…I see how important it is to live in silence, in isolation, in unknowing. There is an enormous battle with illusion going on everywhere, and how should we not be in it ourselves?” [Hidden Ground, p. 473-474.] One Orthodox online dictionary defines “The Taboric Light” as “the light that surrounded Christ in the Transfiguration, the goal sought in contemplation by the hesychasts, was a theophany, or manifestation of God, through His uncreated energies.”  Merton tosses around terms like “Karma” and “Thaboric light” more than he ever quotes God’s revelation to man: the Bible. If any presence accompanied this icon, it surely wasn’t from God since He has forbidden the idolatry of religious idols such as this. Perhaps the Roman Catholic Church opened themselves up to such deceiving spirits by removing the second commandment out of their catechism.     Invisible, but not Forgotten It is remarkable that elements within the church today would point to dead heretics such as Merton as a source for any kind of spiritual truth. The man was truly demonized and corrupted many undiscerning souls who no doubt are with him in hell to this day. And that brings us to the details of the untimely death of Louis “Thomas” Merton. Here is a chronology of the events leading up to Merton’s demise in his own words: To Dorothy Day, July 25, 1968: “I have a big thing coming up. I am to go to Asia as peritus for a regional meeting of abbots and also to attend a meeting of leaders from non-Christian religions. I hope this may mean a deepening of understanding and a chance to enter more deeply into the mind of some of the Asian monastic traditions.” [Hidden Ground, p. 154.]   To W. H. Ferry, California friend, July 28, 1968: “No plans need be made for meeting people, except maybe a poet or two in SF, and I may stop at the Esalen Inst (a new age center to this day). In Big Sur as they are hoping I’ll give them a conference some time.” [Hidden Ground, p. 241.] Nov. 21, 1968 from Merton a month before he died: “I have been in India about a month & have met quite a few interesting people. Seen monasteries, temples, lamas, paintings, jungles – not to mention the arch-city of Calcutta. Quite an experience. I will be going on soon on Ceylon & Indonesia. Hope you are both well. It was good to see you in SF. Best, Tom Merton” [Striving Towards Being, p. 178.] To Richard S. Y. Chi, a Buddhist philosopher, Nov. 21, 1968: “I have been in India over a month, mostly in the Himalayas, and have had good conversations with the Dalai Lamaand with many others high in the Tibetan Buddhism – including some extraordinary mystics. . . . During my stay here I have added a bit to my knowledge of Madhyamika. (footnote: School of Mahayana Buddhism developed by Nagarjuna in the second century A.D. It stressed the notion of emptiness: ‘Everything is the void.’) I am eager to reread Shen Hui in the light of this study and look forward very much to seeing your book.” [Hidden Ground, p. 125.] On December 10, 1968 Merton was in Bangkok, Thailand preparing to gather with local Buddhist monks. He got into the shower that had a fan above blowing on him, and he reached up and accidentally touched it and was electrocuted. He was 53-years-old. He reached the place in the afterworld that fascinated him so much in life. I seriously doubt that it impressed him once he arrived with no way out. Both he and a fellow monk had had premonitions that he would not be coming back from Thailand alive. “By a strange coincidence, it has been noted that he concluded his last conference in Bangkok with the words:                                             ‘so I will disappear.’

Eric Barger and “Concerned Nazarenes” to confront Emergent Error in Orlando

Eric Barger and “Concerned Nazarenes” to confront Emergent Error in Orlando

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
- II Peter 2:1-3

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
- Romans 16:17-18

Just imagine if you awoke to realize that the church in which you had invested time, effort, finances, and trust, had slowly slipped into spiritual disrepair? What if it occurred to you that the trustworthiness that you believed would never change was gone and it had become clear that your denomination, yes, even your own local church, had adopted doctrines, practices and beliefs that were just not questionable but were now active and useful tools for the devil? What if you, like so many of our brothers and sisters across America and around the world, were faced with the agonizing decision of either turning your head to attempt ignoring reality, fleeing to a safer place to worship, or standing up to expose and resist error? My friend, these scenarios are exactly what many members of The Church of the Nazarene are facing today.

And what about the lost who may stumble into these Emergent-leaning churches unaware that what’s found inside in no way resembles the authentic, biblical Gospel of Jesus Christ? Who will vicariously speak up for them?

 

It’s for these reasons that I am flying to Orlando, Florida, this week to speak out against the Emergent Church during the international convention of The Church of the Nazarene.

The Emergent Church movement has infiltrated the Nazarene denomination to such an extent that one wonders if it can ever successfully be pulled back from liberalism’s chasm. Thankfully, there is a remnant, a growing band of resistors known as “Concerned Nazarenes,” who are standing strong against false teaching in their midst. Though I am not a Nazarene and I do not have a vested interest to merely “save” a denomination, I fully support these folks and their brave and unwavering stand for truth. Liberal and Emergent Nazarene intellectuals have relentlessly attempted to marginalize and demean these Bible-believing folks. I also share in the price that is being paid for exposing cultic beliefs, liberal theology, and the Emergent Church in The Church of the Nazarene. Because of my support of the Concerned Nazarenes’ cause, I have been demeaned and condescended to by liberal, Emergent defenders. I have had the validity of our ministry and longtime track record in apologetics marginalized and my words twisted – without ever receiving any sound Scriptural answers from the Emergents. I have even been called a “liar” by a PhD professor (from an increasingly liberal denominational university) who also pastors a Nazarene church! But regardless of what it might cost, if we don’t come alongside our fellow Christians who revere the Bible and who are battling for the life of their church, then we need to check our own apathy level and repent appropriately.

 

Though I have had several close friends in the denomination, before sixteen months ago I was unaware of just how far the Church of the Nazarene had descended into Emergent thinking. I have outlined the experience I had in attending Emergent leader Brian McLaren’s conference at Northwest Nazarene University. Frankly, I came away from the February, 2008, conference shocked and shaken at how this once-solid denomination was now not just toying with but had already fully accepted the Emergent darkness. Since then, we’ve discovered that blatant liberalism, open theism (which states that God does not know the future) and even evolution are being embraced and, yes, taught by professors in nearly every Nazarene University as well as in their Theological Seminary in Kansas City. To say that many of these intellectual educators do not believe the Bible to be infallible and inerrant is being overly generous! BUT LET ME BE CLEAR – THIS PROBLEM IS JUST NOT A NAZARENE PROBLEM!

Anything I bring out about what is happening in Nazarene circles could to varying extents surely be said about nearly every other denomination today. It is truly the “perilous times” the Apostle warned Timothy about. While many Christians relax, thinking everything is surely OK in their camp, the core values of the Christian faith are under assault by individuals who have become so enamored with their own intellect and human reasoning that they have silently abandoned belief in the Bible and have rejected the very heart of the Christian Gospel. Through the leadership of like-minded men the Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Lutheran and other great denominations were brought into spiritual apostasy 100-150 years ago. The once-great denominations were commandeered by denominational officials and seminary and university professors who abandoned the Bible and embraced blatant heresy – all the while cheering each other on in their errors. They are whom the late Dr. Walter Martin called “devils” and they are reproducing themselves in a new breed of pastor who – because of being mistrained by the aforementioned heretics – are either disenfranchising members who realize what is happening or helping to delude others who are yet clueless that all is not well in the pulpits.

This is Satan’s second go at destroying authentic, Bible-believing Christianity in the past 200 years. He is at this moment using the exact same methods that worked so successfully the first time:

- Convince selected “Christian” intellectuals (who think highly of how highly they think) that God’s word isn’t true or trustworthy;
- Give said intellectuals tenure to teach heretical ideas in seminaries and Christian colleges;
- Elect denominational leaders not willing to defend the entire Bible and the essential doctrines of the faith;
- Then churn out apostates with Bible school degrees to fill the pulpits and act as change agents for the “new” Christianity in the congregations.

Since this scenario worked so well when Satan set out to destroy the previous generation of evangelicals, why would he ever change it in our day? Obviously, he hasn’t. You see, in the end, the dilemma facing the Nazarenes is actually about the integrity of the Gospel. Will it be faithfully presented in our day and then passed intact to the next generation for them to execute the “Great Commission” and see lost souls redeemed?

So, for the sake of the seasoned saint and the unsaved alike, we have no choice but to preach prophetically and blow the trumpet of warning. This is why Take A Stand! Ministries exists! It is why I am going to Orlando and it is why I need your prayers and support as I go.

We are hoping to reach many, many Nazarene pastors and laypeople with the truth concerning the Emergent Church and liberal heresy that is encroaching daily upon their churches and universities. In doing so, I feel certain that we will be met with some stout, if not angry, opposition from conference attendees sympathetic to Emergent thinking. However, if we reached just ONE pastor through this effort, the cross country plane flight and the costs involved are worth it.

 

Above all, we are praying for a spirit of brokenness and repentance on behalf of the delegates in Orlando. The fact that three conservative general superintendants are ending their terms of leadership this week means that the election of new general superintendants could be the making or breaking point for the Nazarenes. Please join me in praying that godly, biblical thinkers will be tapped to lead and hopefully reform the Nazarenes, leading them out of the anti-biblical thinking that is inundating most of their schools and some of their pulpits.

A past president of a Nazarene university has personally encouraged us to pray, fast and believe that there will be widespread repentance during the international convention in Orlando. This individual and other biblical Nazarenes are aware of the onslaught of Open Theism and Emergent ideas infiltrating the denomination and educational institutions and is trusting God that the �gutting of the Bible� can be stopped. Current General Superintendant, Dr. James Diehl has also sternly warned about the perils of the Emergent Church. If you yet to see his powerful and anointed statements click here to see video clip. Praise the Lord!

Seminar on the Emergent Church in Orlando

I would urge all those who are interested in hearing the truth about the Emergent Church to make time to attend these important seminars. Tim Wirth/Concerned Nazarenes

Don’t miss this important seminar while in Orlando if you are going to be there for General Assembly!




Eric Barger – Author, evangelist, speaker and recognized nationally in the field of Christian Apologetics. His “TAKE A STAND!” Seminars have been presented from coast to coast since 1984. (Visit HYPERLINK “http://www.ericbarger.com” www.ericbarger.com for more)


Don’t miss this important seminar while in Orlando!

Residence Inn Orlando Convention Center
8800 Universal Blvd – Orlando, FL

June 25-27, 2008
10am and 3pm daily

For More Information Call: (214) 289-5244

(FREE ADMISSION – visit www.ericbarger.com for more)


Eric Barger – Author, evangelist, speaker and recognized nationally in the field of Christian Apologetics. His “TAKE A STAND!” Seminars have been presented from coast to coast since 1984. (Visit HYPERLINK “http://www.ericbarger.com” www.ericbarger.com for more)



Residence Inn Orlando Convention Center
8800 Universal Blvd – Orlando, FL

June 25-27, 2008
10am and 3pm daily

For More Information Call: (214) 289-5244

Preview of the New DVD

The DVD has now been released we are sending out some advance copies to some ministries who have requested the information because their churches or districts are combating the Emergent heresy.

This heresy is wide spread so even though some of this is Nazarene denomination specific it is a warning to the Body of Christ because it is deadly deception that has infected the Body of Christ as a whole.

If your church is combating this heresy and you would like a copy of the DVD to show your church please email me at nogoofyzone@hotmail.com. This DVD is free of charge all done out of love for the Body of Christ

We will also be handing out copies in Orlando next week.

here is the preview 

(the vocals are slightly out of  sync this is because of U tube it is not like that on the actual DVD)