Preview of future post about t.v show "Lost"

So, I have been on a blogging break due to the insane busyness in my life right now. Next week is looking to be much, much less busy so I hope to get a couple of posts up next week. I want to give you a short preview of something I have been researching only in the past 2 days really that I will be blogging about shortly (hopefully next week).

Have any of you out there heard of the t.v. show called Lost? Well I hadn't paid any attention to it until the past two weeks when I discovered that, sadly, instead of going to your Bible to learn about God's character, some church groups are using this show (which is sprinkled with profane language, blasphemy, violence, and some inappropriate sexual scenes) to try to learn about God. (there is even a book about the "biblical" messages one can pick out from this show). Well, I have watched one and a half episodes of this show, plus a "learn all you need to know about the show in 8 minutes 15 seconds" clip, and have researched a bit about it.

Well, there is no doubt about it-there definitely is a lot of "spirituality" in this television drama full of symbolism, significant names, equations, and puzzles. The question is...what kind of spirituality is it? Some things I have discovered and researched will hopefully help shed some light on the problems with the spirituality in this show.

Until then I ask that, if you think of it, could you remember me in prayer as I have a very important interview coming up this weekend? It has to do with my future post-secondary education.

And, in the meantimes, let's turn off "Lost", which angers God with its blasphemy-using His holy name as a curse word-and, instead, let's open our Bibles to discover everything we need to know about who God is.

Blogging Break

I plan on taking a bit of a break from blogging due to a large amount of schoolwork that I have to do in the next couple of weeks.We do have some time "off" this week from school, but it really is just time for us to try to catch up on some school work. So my blogs may be few and far between for the next few weeks, but I do plan on continuing them when I have some free time.

Until then, I must get back to my research, reading, essay-writing, and studying. If you think of it, any prayers offered up to our Father would be appreciated.

-pray for strength, patience, and endurance-my husband and I are very busy with school right now
-prayer about some fairly major decisions we will have to make in the very near future
-pray that we would trust that God will provide this summer

Rick Warren, Tony Blair, Global Religion & World Economic Forum

I recently watched the 75 minute Davos world economic forum clip from the "faith and modernization" discussion chaired by Tony Blair. This was a panel of Muslim, Jewish, "Christian", and Catholic leaders discussing faith in a modern world. Rick Warren was the representative for "Christianity". This was, indeed, a preview to the coming global religion.
Most of the talk was about "tolerance", "peace" (in the global sense), common ground, and interfaith dialogue.

Rick Warren took the opportunity to talk about how "successful" his "network" has been. He also stated that the future of the world was "religious pluralism" and that all faiths were needed to contribute to fighting the "5 Global Giants". RW also mentioned that he has met with Secretary General of the UN (Ban Ki-Moon), and in the clip RW admitted that he is a member of the USA's Council on Foreign Relations. Until watching this forum in its entirety I did not realize how politically and economically influential this guy is!

For anyone willing to take the time, it is definitely worth it to watch this forum. If you don't want to watch the entire thing, I would highly recommend watching the first 10 minutes of the video to get a good idea of what this forum is all about. And then, watch RW's speech which is from about the 40-50 minute mark. And, lastly if you have time, watch the last 15 minutes of the video with questions and comments.

You can watch the video of the forum here.

By the way, I found it very interesting that Tony Blair was the "host" of this forum. Here are some things about Tony Blair:

*Recently appointed Senior Advisor at JP Morgan Bank in the USA (paid $5 million/year)

*Is a Middle East peace envoy and represents Russia, USA, UN, and the EU

*And, is working hard at achieving a peace agreement

*Recently converted to Roman Catholicism

*Is a potential candidate for the EU Presidency (if the position comes with "real power")

*Is launching his own interfaith group (this is mentioned by Rick Warren in the Davos video clip also, but I can't remember at which part-maybe at the end of the clip when RW responds to questions)

Read a commentary about this Davos video clip here. It explains where this is all heading-------to a global religion.

***Just a side note---I'm not saying Tony Blair is the Antichrist. I just see how the many things going on politically and religiously are preparing people to receive the Antichrist, whenever and whoever that will be.****

Here are a few passages describing the Antichrist, who will be the king of the "north", will confirm a covenant, end daily sacrifices, and then eventually declare himself to be god. Let's remember that we may very well be closer to these prophecies being fulfilled than we realize. Of course, the fulfillment of prophecy is often only recognized after it has been fulfilled, but we still need to study prophecy and ask the Lord God to help us understand. By the way, I am not saying that Tony Blair is the Antichrist; I'm just saying that the world stage is being prepared for the Antichrist. Who he is, and when he will be revealed, I do not know.

27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.” (Daniel 9:27)


21 And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue. 22 With the force^[h] of a flood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people. 24 He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time.
25 “He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South with a great army. And the king of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against him. 26 Yes, those who eat of the portion of his delicacies shall destroy him; his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain. 27 Both these kings’ hearts shall be bent on evil, and they shall speak lies at the same table; but it shall not prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time. 28 While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant; so he shall do damage and return to his own land.

The Northern King’s Blasphemies

29 “At the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south; but it shall not be like the former or the latter. 30 For ships from Cyprus^[i] shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage.
“So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 And forces^[j] shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. 32 Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. 33 And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. 34 Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue. 35 And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.
36 “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. 37 He shall regard neither the God^[k] of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. 38 But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. 39 Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain. (Daniel 11:21-39)

MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) Promoting Contemplative/New Age Book

I actually just bumped across an article from Lighthousetrails Research that mentioned something about the MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) organization promoting some contemplative/New Age/mystical books. This caught my attention because I know of one church that has a "MOPS" program and I actually had no idea that MOPS was an actual organization. This post is just for a reminder that we need to always be aware of what books are being used for resources in programs, organizations, or conferences, and to examine books closely before we promote them as a resource for programs such as MOPS.

President of MOPS, Elisa Morgen, recently endorsed a book by author Keri Wyatt Kent called Listen: Finding God in the Story of Your Life. Wyatt's books are also available for purchase from the MOPS website . Wyatt's book Listen: Finding God in the Story of Your Life can be purchased from the MOPShop as well as Gary Thomas' book Sacred Pathways, in which he teaches mantra meditation.

Here is an excerpt from the Lighthousetrails Research Article about Wyatt's book Listen: Finding God in the Story of Your Life. Click here to read the entire article.

*** In March 2006, it came to our attention that MOPS was part of CCN (Church Communication Network), a network of Christian ministries that promotes contemplative spirituality. However, and perhaps even more disturbing, MOPS is promoting (and selling) books that are pro- contemplative. The book that stands out among the others is Breathe. The author, Keri Wyatt Kent, is a writer for Willow Creek Community Church and often speaks on spiritual formation. Her upcoming book, Listen: Finding God in the Story of Your Life, teaches readers to "listen" to God through "spiritual practices," including the practice of silence. The author quotes extensively throughout the book both contemplatives and New Agers, including Henri Nouwen, M.Scott Peck, Sue Monk Kidd, Anne Lamott, Julia Cameron, Rick Warren, Richard Foster, Ruth Haley Barton, and Eugene Peterson (read A Time of Departing for more on the New Age and/or contemplative connections to these mentioned authors).

As with many contemplatives, Kent said (in her book) that she didn't really get a lot out of the Bible until she started practicing contemplative methods such as Lectio Divina: "When I was introduced to the ancient practice, Lectio Divina, everything changed" (p. 151). Kent encourages the use of breath prayers and quotes contemplative Jan Johnson to help build her case for this practice.***

***on the back cover of Listen: Finding God in the Story of Your Life sits an endorsement by Elisa Morgan, president of MOPS, which reads: "Keri offers insightful and practical help for all of us who are "hearing impaired" in our spirits. Ah ... what a relief!" ***

And here is an excerpt from Gary Thomas' book Sacred Pathways, also sold on MOPShop website. This is also from Lighthousetrails Research.

*** As we have shown in the past, Gary Thomas is an advocate for mantra meditation. In his book, Sacred Pathways, he states:

It is particularly difficult to describe this type of prayer in writing, as it is best taught in person. In general however, centering prayer works like this: Choose a word (Jesus or Father, for example) as a focus for contemplative prayer. Repeat the word silently in your mind for a set amount of time (say, twenty minutes) until your heart seems to be repeating the word by itself, just as naturally and involuntarily as breathing.(p. 185)***


So, for all you MOPS groups out there, make sure you are aware of their promotion of this New Age material, warn your MOPS moms about it, and even maybe consider not being associated with an organization that promotes some of these books and authors.

A History Lecture Titled "The Social Gospel" (it's true!!)

Last week, one of my history lectures at the university was actually titled "The Social Gospel". Strange, isn't it? Well let me tell ya, I paid extra-close attention to this lecture, and was it ever interesting. My history professor (and no, this is not a religious history class or anything like that), who I am not sure is a Christian or not, actually said on the first slide what "The Social Gospel's key goal was--"Building the Kingdom of God on Earth". (and she mentioned that this idea is contrary to believing the Kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, which was the main prior belief).

This lecture was about social reformers in early 20th century and how "the church" was a big part of this, and because they felt that they were no longer relevant in society, they decided to change the way to do church in an attempt to become more relevant. My professor actually said that it was ironic because in an attempt to be relevant, they essentially became irrelevant because they weren't really the church anymore, but merely social activists!! (Bingo!) She said that many people simply left the church altogether because it became nothing different from a political social movement.

She said that the Social Gospel was "watered-down theology" (bingo again!!).

One very interesting thing that she mentioned was that Charles Darwin was a major protagonist for the Social Gospel. I am not quite sure why she mentioned him, but I think it was partly because of his idea of evolution, and that the Social Gospel people believe that you can "fix" society through social reform and (maybe this can happen through some type of evolution (???)). Another reason why Darwin was listed as a protagonist of the Social Gospel is because he represented a major shift that happened---"seeking answers not in theology, but in science and sociology." (Which is what people who held to the Social Gospel did as well). "Change the World" ideology was also shared between Darwin and Social Gospel-ers.

We also did a case study of J.S. Woodsworth who was a Methodist minister and quickly embraced the social gospel. Eventually, he left the church and became "radicalized" and became a Labour member (same party that later became CCF and then NDP)in the House of Commons. This commonly happened---social gospel-ers left the church completely, became radical socialists, and rejected orthodox Christian teachings.

Here was one point in the conclusion of the lecture:

"Creating the Kingdom of God on Earth was the result of a crisis about the role of Christianity and the Church in "modern" life.

So....changing theology in an attempt to be "modern"...

Hmmm....sound familiar anybody?

A MUST READ....A FORMER CATHOLIC SPEAKS ABOUT "EVANGELICAL MYSTICISM"

I have just read such a great article! The article is written by a former practicing Roman Catholic who exposes the false religion of Roman Catholicism and how the emerging church and many evangelicals are uniting with Rome through Catholic mysticism.

He includes some quotes of the Canons from the Council of Trent that are anti-biblical and demonstrate how Roman Catholicism is not true biblical Christianity.

In this article, the author T.A. McMahon also explains some Catholic mystical terms and their dangers. Some of the unbiblical practices explained are the following:

Lectio Divina, the Jesus Prayer, Ignatian Examen, Labyrinth Prayer, Stations of the Cross, and the Centering Prayer (many of these, by the way, the MB Biblical Seminary in Fresno is teaching)

I highly recommend reading this brief article. Here are its final quotes:

"As a former Catholic, it's hard for me to fathom the evangelical church buying into the religious occultism of Roman Catholicism. It makes no sense. Visit any country where that religion is taken seriously. What becomes obvious is a people who are in the bondage of superstition. On the other hand, I shouldn't be surprised. Apostasy is growing rapidly, the religion of the Antichrist is taking shape, and mysticism, whether it's the Catholic variety, the Sufism of Islam, yoga and the gurus of Eastern mysticism, the Shamanism of native religions, or otherwise, is a common yet powerful magnet that draws all religions together.

We need to be watchmen on the wall as we see this evil invading the church, warning especially-should our Lord delay His return-our next generation of believers. They are the clear targets of this mystical seduction."

**for more info about the false teaching of Roman Catholicism, read this article about how Mennonites are embracing its teaching at For the Author**

Hindus, Christians, & Communion....the Eucharist, the Pope

I just received an update from Understand the Times ministry about some things that have been in the news over the past couple of weeks. I highly recommended going to understandthetimes.org to sign up to receive updates about what is happening in the world. I want to share a couple news items this email notice brought to my attention. All bold is my own emphasis.

Hindus and "Christians" Worship Together (but who are they worshiping???)
"Hindu nun Pravrajika Saradeshaprana, dressed in a saffron robe, blew into a conch shell three times, calling to worship Hindu and Episcopal religious leaders who joined Saturday to celebrate an Indian Rite Mass at St. John's Cathedral near downtown. The rare joint service included chants from the Temple Bhajan Band of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and a moving rendition of "Bless the Lord, O My Soul" sung by the St. John's choir."

"All were invited to Holy Communion, after the Episcopal celebrant elevated a tray of consecrated Indian bread, and deacons raised wine-filled chalices. In respect to Hindu tradition, a tray of flowers was also presented. Christians and Hindus lined up for communion, but since Orthodox Hindus shun alcohol, they consumed only the bread."

Pope Calls for All Christians to Celebrate the Eucharist

"Prayer, conversion of heart, the reinforcement of the bonds of communion, form the essence of this spiritual movement that we hope will soon lead the disciples of Christ to celebrate the Eucharist together, the manifestation of their full unity," he (the Pope) added.

More Eucharistic Talk

"He (the cardinal) called the initiative "a testimony to the liberating force" that comes from the Eucharist and allows Christians "to live in the world with eyes enlightened by hope and compassion." "

....Now for some clarification

What is the Eucharist?

In the teaching of the Catholic Church, the Eucharist is one of the seven sacraments, and is commonly referred to as "the Blessed Sacrament". The Institution of the Eucharist is one of the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary. The Eucharist is a commemoration, or, in Greek, anamnesis [2] of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ (called the Paschal Mystery), understood in the fullest sense that it has in Biblical tradition. In other words, it is a memorial which does not just bring to mind the event celebrated, but also makes it truly present. The Eucharist is therefore understood to be not simply a representation of Christ's presence, or a remembrance of his Passion and Death, but an actual participation in the Sacrifice of Christ, the manifestation in the present, of an event that occurred once for all in time. The Eucharist makes present that one sacrifice, not a different sacrifice. The priest and victim of the sacrifice are one and the same; the only difference is in the manner in which it is offered—the Church teaches that the Mass is the sacrifice at Calvary made present in an unbloody manner.

The bread is changed in the Eucharist into Jesus' body, but, because Jesus, risen from the dead, is living, not only his body is present, but Jesus as a whole, body and blood, soul and divinity. The same holds for the wine changed into his blood.

The Catholic Church accordingly believes that through transubstantiation Christ is really, truly and substantially present under the remaining appearances of bread and wine, and that the transformation remains as long as the appearances remain. For this reason the consecrated elements are preserved, generally in a church tabernacle, for giving holy communion to the sick and dying, and also for the secondary, but still highly prized, purpose of adoring Christ present in the Eucharist.

What is Eucharistic Adoration?

"Exposition of the Eucharist is the display of the consecrated host on an altar in a Monstrance. The rites involving exposition of the Blessed Sacrament are the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and Eucharistic adoration.Consecrated hosts are kept in a tabernacle after Mass, so that the Blessed Sacrament can be brought to the sick and dying outside the time of Mass. This makes possible also the practice of Eucharistic adoration, worship of Christ present in the Eucharist, whether the sacrament remains enclosed in the tabernacle or is exposed to view in a monstrance."

Hopefully through this information, you will be able to tell that the Catholic celebration of the Eucharist and Eucharistic adoration are not the same as participating in communion that Jesus taught Christians to do in remembrance of Him. Roman Catholicism teaches that the bread and wine, once consecrated, become truly and substantially Jesus' presence so much that Catholics may actually worship the bread in the monstrance because they believe it is actually Jesus. This is nothing less than idolatry and the Pope has said many times said that the Eucharist will one day unite all "Christians". This is the Eucharistic Jesus (another Jesus). This is not the Jesus of the Bible whom they claim is "present" in the monstrance.