Quote from Forum Archives on May 29, 2009, 4:59 am

Posted by: prophetic <prophetic@...>

The dangers of unbiblical "breathing exercises", mantra's, "centering"
and other Yoga/ New Age practices being introduced to the church
through what is called "Contemplative Prayer"...

SOME THOUGHTS on MYSTICISM
-by Eddie Hyatt.

In a recent church gathering a well-known evangelical pastor led
his congregation in a “breathing” exercise in which they were
exhorted to take “nice, big, deep breaths.” He went on to explain
that such breathing exercises, along with meditation, reflection,
and silence, have been central to the Christian tradition for thousands
of years. He then sought to buttress his argument by pointing out
that, “In Yoga, one of the central tenets of Yoga is your breath
needs to remain the same regardless of pose. And the Yoga
Masters say this is how it is when you follow Jesus and surrender to God.”[i]

Pastor Rob Bell is typical of many today who are looking to the
medieval mystics (and to Eastern forms of mysticism) in their
search for spiritual reality. But while many of the medieval mystics
can be admired for their passion and devotion, they cannot be
followed in many of their doctrines and experiences. Being loyal to
the medieval church and sharing in its lax (and sometimes hostile)
attitude toward Scripture, they often exhibit a glaring lack of
discernment and common sense. So while some of their experiences
are, no doubt, genuine, many are obviously psychic and some are
probably demonic.

Commenting on medieval mysticism and its neglect of Scripture,
Dr. Hans Kung, the most widely read Catholic theologian in the
world today, says,

These new revelations not only overshadowed the Bible and the
Gospel, but also Him whom the Gospel proclaims and to whom
the Bible bears witness. It is striking how rarely Christ appeared
in all these “revelations,” “apparitions,” and “wonders.” Catholics
who followed in the wake of every new “revelation,” which often
turned out to be fantasy or deceit, and indulged their desire for
sensation by looking for the latest reports of miracles—and yet
who had never once in their whole lives read the Scriptures from
cover to cover.[ii]

The Origins of Mysticism

Medieval mysticism arose in reaction to the lifeless, outward forms
of the medieval church. During the same period evangelical revival
groups also emerged for similar reasons. But whereas the revival
groups, such as the Waldenses and Albigneses, gave their loyalties
to the Scriptures, and looked there for models of faith and spirituality,
the mystics tended to give their allegiance to the pope and the
institutional church.[iii] This meant that the mystics were more
susceptible to non-Biblical approaches to spirituality and this
resulted in their adoption of many beliefs and practices that were
rooted in pagan, mystical thought, particularly Neoplatonism.

To READ MORE-
www.biblicalawakening.blogspot.com/

[i] www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/robbelltranscript.doc
[ii] Hans Kung, The Church (Garden City, NY: Image Books, 1976), 257-58.
[iii] See my book, 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity (Lake
Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2002) for a more thorough discussion
of this issue.