Red Letter Christians (part 3)

Go to Part 1.....Go to part 2

The Root of RLC Theology

In parts 1 and 2, we caught a glimpse of the skewed theology that is promoted by Red Letter Christians. By the way, I want to point out that they don't seem to live up to their name. There are many "red letters" in the Bible that they seem to ignore. Maybe I will give examples in later posts. But for now I want to expose what I believe is the root of their ideology.

In an article at beliefnet.com entitled "Mystical Encounters for Christians," Tony Campolo stated, "When I sensed that believing in Jesus wasn't enough and yearned for more, I turned to older forms of prayer." First of all, believing in Jesus is enough if we are talking about salvation and sanctification. Scripture tells us to “...believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved...” (Acts 16:31), and “...by grace are ye saved through faith...” (Ephesians 2:8) And let us refer to some "red letters" to show that faith alone is necessary for salvation:

John 6:27-29 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. (28) Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? (29) Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

But Campolo is not referring to salvation. He means that simple faith is not enough for a mystical spiritual experience. In the opening paragraph, Campolo says that people "have an intense hunger for experiences that will nurture their souls." He states that they "have failed to discover much that offers them mystical encounters with transcendent spiritual powers," and they "long for experiences that could create the ecstasies of heart and mind..."

I have to ask why does he think it is necessary to have these experiences. It is true that a true Christian will desire to be closer to God. And it’s probable that most if not all Christians have felt very far from God at times. But our salvation is not based on our feelings. We are brought near to God through our faith in Christ and His finished work on the cross.

Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Nevertheless Campolo and others think they can draw close to God through mystical experiences. But mystical experiences don’t just happen to people. So how does he propose we go about having such an encounter. While announcing that a belief in Jesus was not enough for him, he stated the following:

"There was a yearning for something more, and I found that I was increasingly spiritually gratified as I adopted older ways of praying..."

By "older ways of praying," he means what is known as contemplative prayer which he calls "centering prayer." He says, "...in the morning I don't ask God for anything. Instead, I center down on Jesus." Notice how he describes the process:

"I've got to push everything out of mind save the name of Jesus. I say His name over and over again, for as long as fifteen minutes, until I find my soul suspended in what the ancient Celtic Christians called a 'thin place'--a state where the boundary between heaven and earth, divine and human, dissolves."

Before I go on, I have to stop and ask where do we find anything like what he is describing in the Bible? On the contrary there are "red letters" which oppose the practice of saying "His name over and over again..."

Matthew 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Today more than ever, a subjective mystical experience holds much more importance for most people than objective facts and knowledge. The apostle Paul anticipated just such an attitude.

2 Timothy 4:2-4 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. (3) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; (4) And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

We have to ask ourselves if we can trust an experience to give us truth. Experiences don’t always give us a proper view of reality. For example navy pilots must have special training to be able to take off from a carrier at night. This is because the force of the catapult that launches them off the deck pulls them backward in the cockpit. During the daytime, visual cues are enough to tell them which direction is up and which is down. However at night there is a danger of misinterpreting these directions because of the absence of visual cues. They can actually experience the sensation of lying on their backs, which in that situation makes them feel as though they are flying straight up. Without special training, the tendency is to try to level off which would actually cause them to crash into the ocean. The point is that our feelings can deceive us. They can skew the reality of the situation.

Contemplative Prayer

So what is this centering prayer really? You can learn much more about the dangers of contemplative prayer at Lighthouse Trails Research Project (very informative), but suffice it to say that it is not far removed from eastern style transcendental meditation (TM). Actually contemplative prayer is a misnomer. It does not resemble any of the prayers found in the Bible (2 Kings 6:17-18, Daniel 9:4-19, 2 Kings 19:15-19, John 17); contemplation suggests thinking about something, but contemplative prayer involves emptying one's mind of thought. Contemplative Outreach describes centering prayer as "a method of silent prayer that prepares us to receive the gift of contemplative prayer, prayer in which we experience God's presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself." Here are the guidelines they give for centering prayer:

1. Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within.
   
2. Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.
   
3. When engaged with your thoughts*, return ever-so gently to the sacred word.
4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a
   couple of minutes.

*thoughts include body sensations, feelings, images, and reflections

The truth is that these techniques are very similar to those used by practitioners of TM, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. Proponents of contemplative prayer would have us believe that these techniques are neutral and that if a Christian uses them they will encounter the true God. The reality, however, is that God has not sanctioned anything like this in the Bible. There is no way for a person who is practicing contemplative prayer to know if they are really meeting with God. These experiences are all extremely subjective, and from what I have heard and read, people who are engaging in these practices begin to be more open to ideas that are contrary to biblical Christianity. Matt Slick of Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry has written a brief article about centering prayer. In it he describes his former involvement in the occult before he was born again. He says that he used the same techniques to achieve an altered state of consciousness while attempting to contact the spirit realm. He's not the only one. There are scores of truly born-again Christians who describe similar experiences before they were delivered from the darkness of the occult.

There is much more that could be said, but the bottom line is that centering/contemplative prayer is unscriptural and dangerous. It is a subjective, sensual experience that is very likely to lead those who practice it into deception and possibly into contact with demonic spirits.

2 Corinthians 11:3-4 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (4) For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

2 Corinthians 11:14 ...for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.

Resources on contemplative prayer, the occult, etc.

1. "Contemporary Christian Divination" at CIC Minitries
2. "Contemplative Prayer or Terror?" at Understand the Times International
3. Contemplative Prayer at Lighthouse Trails Research Project
4. "Contemplative Prayer: Seducing Spirits and a Doctrine of Devils" at Kjos Ministries
5. "Out of India" at Caryl Productions