Leading Millions Astray through Contemplative Spirituality
(For several other
pages of research on Richard Foster's teachings, click here.)
His Own Words:
"Spend
some time this week listening to contemplative music designed to
quiet you, settle you, deepen you. (Compact discs and tapes from
the Taize Community, John Michael Talbot, and the Monks of Weston
Priory are especially helpful.)" From
Renovare's Perspective Newsletter
What
is the Taize Community?
"Taize is an ecumenical sung and silent participatory prayer
service designed to achieve a contemplative state through music, song
and silence."
NEWS
RELEASE!!
THE RENOVARE STUDY BIBLE Dallas
Willard's latest project? A Richard Foster Bible called the Renovare Study Bible, to
be released by Harper SF in 2004. The Renovare "Bible"
will focus on Foster's six disciplines (from his book Streams
of Living Waters), one of which is the contemplative practice.
Thomas Kelly is quoted in that book as saying:
"Deep within us all [all human beings] there is an amazing
inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center" Sample of the Renovare Study Bible
"You
and I may have strong opinions on double predestination, supralapsarianism,
and biblical inerrancy, but these should not be considered
evangelical essentials."
—Streams
of Living Water
Vaswig
was trained at Tilden Edward's Shalem Prayer Institute. Read
a few quotes from Tilden Edward's book, Spiritual Friend:
The
new ecumenism involved here is not between Christian and Christian,
but between Christians and the grace of other intuitively deep
religious traditions.(p. 172, 1980ed.)
"This
mystical stream [contemplative prayer] is the Western bridge to
Far Eastern spirituality."
And
yet in spite of quotes such as these that clearly illustrate a
universalist mentality ...read
more.
Contemplative Spirituality: A belief system that
uses ancient mystical practices to induce altered states of consciousness
(the silence) and is rooted in mysticism and the occult but often wrapped
in Christian terminology. The premise of contemplative spirituality
is pantheistic (God is all) and panentheistic (God is in all). Common
terms used for this movement are "spiritual formation," "the
silence," "the stillness," "ancient-wisdom,"
"spiritual disciplines," and many others.
"Nor
is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name [Jesus
Christ] under heaven
given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4: 12
