Part 7 -- Some of the practices of the emerging church


Sandra D Before I leave the emerging church movement, I want to put some of the practices they teach and follow here.



Contemplative Spirituality -- definition: 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).



Some terms used in the emerging movement -



Ancient Wisdom: The supposed laws of the Universe that, when mastered, enable one to control one's own reality—another word for metaphysics or occultism.



Alice Bailey: British-born occultist who wrote under the guidance of a familiar spirit and channeled nineteen books on the New Age. She also popularized the term.



Centering/Centering Prayer: Another term for meditation (going deep within your center). A type of meditation being promoted in many mainline churches under the guise of prayer



Creative Visualization: Imaging in the mind, during meditation, what you want to occur and then expecting it to happen. In simple terms, you are creating your own reality.



Desert Fathers: Mystics who first taught the practice of contemplative prayer.



Ecstasy: The hoped for outcome of contemplative prayer or mediation



The silence: Absence of normal thought.



Definition of Contemplative Spirituality: a belief system that uses ancient mystical practices to induce altered states of consciousness (the silence) and is often wrapped in Christian terminology; the premise of contemplative spirituality is pantheistic (God is all) and panentheistic (God is in all).

In the mid-seventies three monks wanted to bring contemplative prayer to Christianity. This is how they did it.»



"They invited to the abbey ecumenically oriented Catholic theologians, an Eastern Zen master, Joshu Roshi Sasaki, who offered week long retreats on Buddhist meditation, and a former Trappist, Paul Marechal, who taught transcendental meditation. The interaction between these Christian monks and practitioners of Eastern meditation helped distill the practice of Christian contemplative prayer into a form that could be easily practiced by a diverse array of "non-monastic" believers: priests, nuns, brothers and lay men and women." by Joseph G. Sandman (America Magazine 9/9/00)

For the whole story:

http://www.cuc.claremont.edu/interfth

/Centering\centering_prayer.htm



Also see a meeting that took place in 1977.



I will put more of these terms in the reply to this entry.

Sandra



Contemplative Prayer—A mystical prayer practice that leads one into the "silence" but in actuality leads away from God.



Definition of Contemplative Spirituality: a belief system that uses ancient mystical practices to induce altered states of consciousness (the silence) and is often wrapped in Christian terminology; the premise of contemplative spirituality is pantheistic (God is all) and panentheistic (God is in all).



od. od. Contemplative Prayer—A mystical prayer practice that leads one into the "silence" but in actuality leads away from God.