FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH DELAWARE OUTREACH "TEA PARTY": THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ALICE IN WONDERLAND~DENIAL RUNS DEEP HERE DESPITE THE MORAL CESSPOOL IN AMERICA

150 YEARS OF OCCULT MAGIC, MYSTICISM AND FANTASY THINKING PAVED THE WAY FOR C.S. LEWIS & J.R. TOLKIEN'S HERESIES;
NOW FOR CHURCH GROWTH?
HIDING CHILD ABUSE

FROM: http://adventofdeception.com/movie-review-alice-in-wonderland/
"Tim Burtons twist with the movie Alice in Wonderland (2010) reveals dynamic context concerning occult symbolism, numerology, the dualities between the darkness and the light, and the so-called final battle."
FROM: http://forum.davidicke.com/showthread.php?t=133696

"Considering the themes of dissociation/confusion and many other psychological/MK aspects involved in child abuse that are present in Alice in Wonderland... it really isn't brain surgery to figure out what's going on here! Anyone expecting some kind of definitive proof either way is kidding themselves, there's a reason why those pages from his diary went missing, why Alice's mother tore up all the letters from Dodgson to Alice, and I am sure most of Dodgson's more explicit photographs and drawings of naked little girls have been kept successfully buried."
FROM: http://www.examiner.com/article/alice-wonderland-and-the-occult
"There has also been much written about the adventures of Alice, but very little on its Occult leanings and those of its creator, Lewis Carroll (real name Charles Dodgson). This is shocking considering 'Alice in Wonderland' is one of the most mystical and surreal works in all of literature. Beyond its impact on modern culture and art, the book has influenced the Occult (Aleister Crowley required that his magicians read both ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘Through a Looking Glass’). It is documented that Carroll was a member of the Society for Psychical Research, an organization founded by Anglican clergyman for the study of spiritualism, ESP, clairvoyance and all type of paranormal activity (members of its American branch included William and Henry James). In ‘The Annotated Alice’, Martin Gardner states that Carroll was a strong proponent of ESP and Psychokinesis. Lastly, Carroll is reported to have owned a large collection of books on the Occult. Even the greatest Gnostic Gospel of recent times, 'The Matrix', alludes to ‘Alice in Wonderland’. This solely happens when Morpheus (the god of dreams) teaches Neo (the Gnostic Jesus) that he must not only wake up from all false realities but also confront them."

Other artists and thinkers close to the time of Lewis Carroll who were members of Occult organizations:

Frank Baum ('The Wizard of Oz'): The Theosophical Society
Oscar Wilde: The Hermetical Order of the Golden Dawn.
TS Elliott: The Theosophical Society.
William Butler Yeats: The Hermetical Order of the Golden Dawn.
Bram Stoker: The Hermetical Order of the Golden Dawn.
DH Lawrence: The Theosophical Society.
Ian Flemming: The OTO…once said that James Bond was a 'Manichaean'.
Pablo Picasso: Secret Kabbalist group in Verona.
Kahlil Gibran: The Theosophical Society.
Jack London: The Theosophical Society.
CG Jung: Society for Psychical Research.
Henry Miller: The Theosophical Society.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Freemason.
Kurt Vonnegut: The Theosophical Society.
Mark Twain: Freemason.
Elvis Presley: The Theosophical Society (just had to put that one in there!).

DENIAL 

IS A "WONDERFUL THING"

"IT JUST HAPPENED"

FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE

AUGUST 15, 2015

ALICE IN WONDERLAND TEA 

& ALLEGED COMMUNITY OUTREACH 

TO MEN, WOMEN, BOYS & GIRLS?

NO OFFENSIVE SERMONS HERE ABOUT ABORTION, GAY MARRIAGE, SOCIALISM 

SEE: http://www.fbcwilmington.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/8-2-15_bulletin.pdf

TEA PARTY: Don't be late!!! Our “Alice In Wonderland” Tea Party on 

August 15 at 12 PM is rapidly approaching. Invitations are available for 

you to hand out to your friends, neighbors and relatives. This is going 

to be a fun day for old and young. Activities are planned for the 

children, so why not bring a car load of kids from your neighborhood? 

This will be an excellent outreach for your community. Lots of help is 

needed, both the day of the event and also beforehand. One way you 

can help is: Each child will go home with a book. Inside each book will 

be a personal message and the church contact information. Help is 

needed in purchasing books for all ages and also writing messages. 

FOR MEN AND BOYS TOO? ARE YOU KIDDING?

A PEDOPHILE IS NO MODEL FOR CHILDREN

“Imagination is the only weapon 

in the war against reality"

Lewis Carroll- Alice in Wonderland

“imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise.” 
― Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

“We're all mad here. Im mad. You're mad” 

“Have I gone mad? I'm afraid so. 
You're entirely Bonkers. 
But I will tell you a secret, 
All the best people are.” 
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

A TWISTED GOSPEL IS A FALSE ONE

YOU TOO CAN IMAGINE THAT YOU ARE SINLESS

WILL CHILDREN & THEIR PARENTS FIND THE TRUE GOSPEL MESSAGE IN WONDERLAND ALLEGORIES, OR FIND THIS TEA TO BE STUPID, INSULTING, AND FILLED WITH "MAD" RIDDLES?

SEE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland

"Chapter Seven – A Mad Tea-Party: Alice becomes a guest at a "mad" tea party along with the March Hare, the Hatter, and a very tired Dormouse who falls asleep frequently, only to be violently woken up moments later by the March Hare and the Hatter. The characters give Alice many riddles and stories, including the famous 'Why is a raven like a writing desk?'. The Hatter reveals that they have tea all day because Time has punished him by eternally standing still at 6 pm (tea time). Alice becomes insulted and tired of being bombarded with riddles and she leaves claiming that it was the stupidest tea party that she had ever been to."

_____________________________________________________

Wonderful World of Denial:

SEE: http://drsanity.blogspot.com/2005/11/in-denial.html

EXCERPT:

"Denial is an attempt to reject unacceptable feelings, needs, thoughts, wishes--or even a painful external reality that alters the perception of ourselves. This psychological defense mechanism protects us temporarily from:

-Knowledge (things we don’t want to know)
-Insight or awareness that threatens our self-esteem; or our mental or physical health; or our security (things we don't want to think about)
-Unacceptable feelings (things we don’t want to feel)"

UNLESS, PERHAPS, IT'S A LESSON FOR BAPTISTS 

WHO DON'T FIND SIN IN GLUTTONY & EXCUSE IT:

Eating and devouring: (ALSO FROM WIKIPEDIA):

"Carina Garland notes how the world is "expressed via representations of food and appetite", naming Alice's frequent desire for consumption (of both food and words), her 'Curious Appetites'. Often, the idea of eating coincides to make gruesome images. After the riddle "Why is a raven like a writing-desk?", the Hatter claims that Alice might as well say, "I see what I eat…I eat what I see" and so the riddle's solution, put forward by Boe Birns, could be that "A raven eats worms; a writing desk is worm-eaten"; this idea of food encapsulates idea of life feeding on life, for the worm is being eaten and then becomes the eater  – a horrific image of mortality.

Nina Auerbach discusses how the novel revolves around eating and drinking which "motivates much of her [Alice's] behaviour", for the story is essentially about things "entering and leaving her mouth" The animals of Wonderland are of particular interest, for Alice's relation to them shifts constantly because, as Lovell-Smith states, Alice's changes in size continually reposition her in the food chain, serving as a way to make her acutely aware of the 'eat or be eaten' attitude that permeates Wonderland."

_______________________________________________________________

LEWIS CARROLL, PEN NAME 

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll, was an English writer, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon, and photographer (of nude little girls).

Discussion of Dodgson's sexuality:

Referring to Carroll as "the Victorian era's most famous (or infamous) girl lover", academic, Catherine Robson writes that:

For those who wish to map the contours of the don's desires, both his public, and more especially his voluminous private, writings provide acres and acres of relevant territory. Letter after letter, journal upon journal, dedicatory poem and book inscription bear witness to Carroll's ceaseless pursuit of juvenile feminine company. ... Is it innocent? Is it sexual?

Some late twentieth century biographers have suggested that Dodgson's interest in children had an erotic element, including Morton N. Cohen in his Lewis Carroll: A Biography (1995), Donald Thomas in his Lewis Carroll: A Portrait with Background (1995), and Michael Bakewell in his Lewis Carroll: A Biography (1996). Cohen, in particular, claims Dodgson's "sexual energies sought unconventional outlets", and further writes:

We cannot know to what extent sexual urges lay behind Charles's preference for drawing and photographing children in the nude. He contended the preference was entirely aesthetic. But given his emotional attachment to children as well as his aesthetic appreciation of their forms, his assertion that his interest was strictly artistic is naïve. He probably felt more than he dared acknowledge, even to himself.

Cohen goes on to note that Dodgson "apparently convinced many of his friends that his attachment to the nude female child form was free of any eroticism", but adds that "later generations look beneath the surface" (p. 229). He and other biographers argue that Dodgson may have wanted to marry the 11-year-old Alice Liddell, and that this was the cause of the unexplained "break" with the family in June 1863, an event for which other explanations are offered. Biographers Derek Hudson and Roger Lancelyn Green (Green also having edited Dodgson's diaries and papers) stop short of identifying Dodgson as a paedophile, but concur that he had a passion for small female children and next to no interest in the adult world.

Several other writers and scholars have challenged the evidential basis for Cohen's and others' views about this interest of Dodgson. Lebailly has endeavoured to set Dodgson's child-photography within the "Victorian Child Cult", which perceived child-nudity as essentially an expression of innocence. Lebailly claims that studies of child nudes were mainstream and fashionable in Dodgson's time, and that most photographers—including Oscar Gustave Rejlander and Julia Margaret Cameron—made them as a matter of course. Lebailly continues that child nudes even appeared on Victorian Christmas cards, implying a very different social and aesthetic assessment of such material. Lebailly concludes that it has been an error of Dodgson's biographers to view his child-photography with 20th- or 21st-century eyes, and to have presented it as some form of personal idiosyncrasy, when it was in fact a response to a prevalent aesthetic and philosophical movement of the time.

Leach's reappraisal of Dodgson focused in particular on his controversial sexuality. She argues that the allegations of paedophilia rose initially from a misunderstanding of Victorian morals, as well as the mistaken idea—fostered by Dodgson's various biographers—that he had no interest in adult women. She termed the traditional image of Dodgson "the Carroll Myth". She drew attention to the large amounts of evidence in his diaries and letters that he was also keenly interested in adult women, married and single, and enjoyed several scandalous (by the social standards of his time) relationships with them. She also pointed to the fact that many of those he described as "child-friends" were girls in their late teens and even twenties. She argues that suggestions of paedophilia evolved only many years after his death, when his well-meaning family had suppressed all evidence of his relationships with women in an effort to preserve his reputation, thus giving a false impression of a man interested only in little girls. Similarly, Leach traces the dubious claim that many of Carroll's female friendships ended when the girls reached the age of fourteen to a 1932 biography by Langford Reed.

In addition to the biographical works that have discussed Dodgson's sexuality, there are modern artistic interpretations of his life and work that do so as well, in particular, Dennis Potter in his play Alice and his screenplay for the motion picture Dreamchild, and Robert Wilson in his film Alice.

______________________________________________________________

SOME PHOTOS OF GIRLS ATTRIBUTED TO DODGSON (CARROLL) FROM THE 1800s:

CARROLL AND ALICE LIDDELL

BEGGAR MAID:

Alice Liddell and Lewis Carroll by Inga-Karin Eriksson

Was Lewis Carroll a perv?

SEE: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1142/was-lewis-carroll-a-perv; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

October 6, 1995

Dear Cecil:

What's the Straight Dope on Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, known to millions as Lewis Carroll, and his unusual interest in prepubescent girls? Was he a … well … you know? What can you tell us about his relationship with Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Alice in Wonderland? And what was going on with those photographs he took, anyway? Does Newt Gingrich know about this?

— Paul H. Henry, Lawrence, Kansas

Cecil replies:

If you're asking whether Lewis Carroll was a … well … Republican, I confess I don't know. He was shy, eccentric, and seemingly incapable of having a mature relationship with a woman, but that can't be said of all members of the GOP. Newt sure wasn't shy.

But perhaps what you're asking is whether Dodgson was a deve. His interest in little girls was such that he probably wouldn't be the first guy you'd think of to put in charge of your daughter's Brownie troop, but for the most part he seems to have been harmless. A lifelong bachelor with a stammer, he was uncomfortable among adults and could relax only with little girls, who were amused by his stories and games.

Dodgson's biggest crush was on Alice Liddell, daughter of a dean at Oxford, where the author of "Jabberwocky" taught mathematics. Dodgson saw her often over a ten year period but drifted away after she reached puberty — a typical pattern for him. Some believe he asked her parents for permission to marry her and was rebuffed, but that seems out of character, like a proposal from Mister Rogers. Whatever his intentions, on the surface he was always the proper Victorian gent.

Then again, we do have those nude photographs. An enthusiastic amateur photographer, Dodgson took thousands of pictures, many of them portraits of his little friends. Everybody was clothed at first, but in the late 1870s, when Dodgson was in his mid 40s, he tried to shoot some of the girls in the buff — not an easy thing to arrange. He did a few nude studies of young female models and went prospecting among the families of his friends and acquaintances.

In 1879 Dodgson sent several curious letters, republished a while back inHarper's, to the family of Andrew Mayhew, an Oxford colleague. He asked permission to take nude photographs of the three Mayhew daughters, ages 6, 11, and 13, with no other adults present. When the parents nixed the idea of no chaperone, Dodgson lost interest. He did succeed in doing nudes of other girls, but usually by agreeing to let their moms hover nearby.

In 1880 Dodgson gave up photography forever. Too much heat? Nobody knows, although around the same time he got flak for kissing one of his girl friends. At any rate the nude photos and plates were returned to the families of the subjects or destroyed on his death. It was long thought that none survived.

But then four turned up. For this we can thank Morton Cohen, who unearthed the photos and published them in his Lewis Carroll: A Biography(1995). One is of a little girl named Evelyn Hatch in a pose that, were Evelyn older or Cecil weirder, would be seductive. As it is I can imagine Evelyn's parents thinking: that Rev. Dodgson, he is one amusing fellow. But he'd better keep his mitts to himself.

— Cecil Adams

___________________________________________________________

THE SECRET WORLD OF LEWIS CARROLL

BAPTISTS WINKING AT PEDOPHILIA JUST LIKE THE VATICAN?

Accused Vatican ambassador fails to turn up 

for child sex abuse trial

               

SEE: http://www.smh.com.au/world/accused-vatican-ambassador-fails-to-turn-up-for-child-sex-abuse-trial-20150712-giad1z.html;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

Rome: The Vatican's first child sex abuse trial opened on Saturday - and closed after six minutes when the defendant failed to turn up.

Jozef Wesolowski, 66, the Holy See's former ambassador to the Dominican Republic, was supposed to appear before a tribunal within the walls of the Vatican to face charges of paying underage boys for sexual acts in the Caribbean country.

However, the former archbishop was taken to hospital hours before the hearing was due to start, with Vatican officials saying he was in intensive care for an "unexpected" but unspecified illness, probably related to heart problems and stress.

The opening hearing in the trial went ahead anyway, but was swiftly adjourned, with lawyers saying the trial would resume at a later date after Wesolowski has recovered.


The landmark trial is emblematic of Pope Francis' determination to show zero tolerance towards sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic clergy.

Wesolowski served as the Vatican's nuncio, or ambassador, to the Dominican Republic from 2008 to 2013, during which time he allegedly paid shoeshine boys to perform sexual acts after picking them up along the beachfront in Santo Domingo, the capitol.

Wesolowski was defrocked by a Church court in June last year.

If found guilty, he could face up to seven years in jail, with the sentence likely to be served in an Italian prison, given that the Vatican has very limited detention facilities.

His case is one of the most damaging to hit the Catholic Church since the clerical sex abuse scandal first erupted in the US more than a decade ago.

___________________________________________________




Jozef Wesolowski-Child Porn Collector:

SEE: http://www.globalindonesianvoices.com/16111/paedophilia-scandal-former-vatican-ambassador-jozef-wesolowski-collected-hundreds-of-thousands-child-porns/




MORE than 100,000 child porn videos and photos have been found on the computer of former Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski who was arrested at the Vatican earlier this week. The Il Corriere della Sera newspaper reported that some of the horrors deceives found on the computer included around 160 videos showing teenage boys forced to perform sexual acts on themselves and on adults and more than 86,000 pornographic photos which were methodically archived in several category-based folders.

Investigators said that at least another 45,000 pictures were deleted, while another supply of material was found on a laptop Wesolowski used during his trips abroad.

SEE: http://www.news.com.au/world/archbishop-jozef-wesolowski-stored-over-100000-child-porn-videos/story-fndir2ev-1227073931974

SEE MORE FROM THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER:

http://ncronline.org/person/jozef-wesolowski

INTACT FETUSES "JUST A MATTER OF LINE ITEMS" FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD~CLAIM THEY PREVENT ABORTIONS?

INTACT FETUSES 

"JUST A MATTER OF LINE ITEMS" 

FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD

Published on Aug 4, 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

#PPSellsBabyParts “INTACT FETAL CADAVERS” AT 20-WEEKS “JUST A MATTER OF LINE ITEMS” AT PLANNED PARENTHOOD TX MEGA-CENTER: ABORTION DOCS CAN “MAKE IT HAPPEN”
Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast Director of Research Says Department Contributes Significantly to Bottom Line, Has History of Selling Aborted Fetal Tissue, Suggests “Splitting the Specimens into Different Shipments” to Hide Profit in 5th Undercover Video

Contact: David Daleiden, media@centerformedicalprogress.org, 949.734.0859

HOUSTON, Aug. 4--The fifth undercover video in the controversy over Planned Parenthood’s sale of aborted baby parts shows the Director of Research for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, Melissa Farrell, advertising the Texas Planned Parenthood branch’s track record of fetal tissue sales, including its ability to deliver fully intact fetuses.

In the video, actors posing as representatives from a human biologics company meet with Farrell at the abortion-clinic headquarters of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast in Houston to discuss a potential partnership to harvest fetal organs.

“Where we probably have an edge over other organizations, our organization has been doing research for many many years,” explains Farrell. When researchers need a specific part from the aborted fetus, Farrell says, “We bake that into our contract, and our protocol, that we follow this, so we deviate from our standard in order to do that.”

Asked specifically if this means Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast can change abortion procedures to supply intact fetal specimens, Farrell affirms, “Some of our doctors in the past have projects and they’re collecting the specimens, so they do it in a way that they get the best specimens, so I know it can happen.”

The investigators ask Farrell how she will frame a contract in which they pay a higher price for higher quality fetal body parts, and she replies, “We can work it out in the context of--obviously, the procedure itself is more complicated,” suggesting that “without having you cover the procedural cost” and paying for the abortion, the higher specimen price could be framed as “additional time, cost, administrative burden.”

Farrell finally summarizes her affiliate’s approach to fetal tissue payments: “If we alter our process, and we are able to obtain intact fetal cadavers, we can make it part of the budget that any dissections are this, and splitting the specimens into different shipments is this. It’s all just a matter of line items.”

The sale or purchase of human fetal tissue is a federal felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to $500,000 (42 U.S.C. 289g-2). Federal law also requires that no alteration in the timing or method of abortion be done for the purposes of fetal tissue collection (42 U.S.C. 289g-1).

Farrell also indicates to the investigators over lunch that the specimen sales from her department contribute significantly to Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast’s overall finances: “I think everyone realizes, especially because my department contributes so much to the bottom line of our organization here, you know we’re one of the largest affiliates, our Research Department is the largest in the United States. Larger than any the other affiliates’ combined.” In a Texas Senate hearing on July 29, former Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast clinic director Abby Johnson estimated that the affiliate had previously made up to $120,000 per month off of aborted fetal tissue.

The video is the fifth by The Center for Medical Progress documenting Planned Parenthood’s sale of aborted fetal parts. Project Lead David Daleiden notes: “This is now the fifth member of Planned Parenthood leadership discussing payments for aborted baby parts without any connection to actual costs of so-called tissue ‘donation.’ Planned Parenthood’s system-wide conspiracy to evade the law and make money off of aborted fetal tissue is now undeniable.” Daleiden continues, “Anyone who watches these videos knows that Planned Parenthood is engaged in barbaric practices and human rights abuses that must end. There is no reason for an organization that uses illegal abortion methods to sell baby parts and commit such atrocities against humanity to still receive over $500 million each year from taxpayers.”

###

See the video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egGUE...

Tweet: #PPSellsBabyParts

For more information on the Human Capital project, visit centerformedicalprogress.org.
The Center for Medical Progress is a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to monitoring and reporting on medical ethics and advances.

_____________________________________________________________

David Daleiden on CNN: Time for Planned Parenthood to Back Up Talking Points
With Evidence
PROFITS; NOT JUST COST OFFSETS FOR COLLECTION & DELIVERY OF BABY PARTS

What You Don't Know About Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood Claims That It
"PREVENTS" Abortions

EVERY Abortion Argument DESTROYED in 10 minutes!

GAVIN SEIM'S PLEA

The Difference Between Murder And Abortion Is 3 Inches

Part 2 Supplement TX FULL FOOTAGE: Intact Fetuses "Just a Matter of Line Items" for PP

LECTIO DIVINA: A DANGEROUS CATHOLIC MYSTICAL PRACTICE THAT LEADS TO HERESIES, OCCULT, AND UNIVERSALISM

BETH MOORE & JOHN PIPER "OPEN TO NEW REVELATION" 

VIA LECTIO DIVINA

TODD FRIEL EXPOSES ABOVE AT PASSION 2012

LECTIO DIVINA

What it is, What it is not, 

and Should Christians Practice it?

SEE: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=17722;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

There’s a lot of talk about it today; umpteen books are published and more are on the way about lectio divina; and an increasing number of evangelical/Protestant figures are writing about it, endorsing it, and teaching it. Some people think lectio divina simply means to read a passage of Scripture slowly (or “praying the Scriptures”) then ponder or think on that Scripture. That can be a part of it. But if you ask mystics or contemplatives what it really entails (And who would know better than they?), they will tell you that lectio divina (pronounced lex-ee-o di-veen-a) always includes taking a passage of Scripture (or other writings), reading it slowly, and repeating it as you work your way down to where you have just a word or small phrase from the passage that you are “meditating” on (repeating over and over). Basically, you are coming up with a mantra-like word or phrase that has been extracted from a passage of Scripture, which, according to contemplatives, if repeated for several minutes, will help you get rid of thoughts and distractions, so then, they say, you can hear the voice of God and feel His presence (going into the silence).

There are said to be four steps in lectio divina. These four steps are:

Reading (lectio)—Slowly begin reading a biblical passage as if it were a long awaited love letter addressed to you. Approach it reverentially and expectantly, in a way that savors each word and phrase. Read the passage until you hear a word or phrase that touches you, resonates, attracts, or even disturbs you.

Reflecting (meditatio)—Ponder this word or phrase for a few minutes. Let it sink in slowly and deeply until you are resting in it. Listen for what the word or phrase is saying to you at this moment in your life, what it may be offering to you, what it may be demanding of you.

Expressing (oratio)—If you are a praying person, when you are ready, openly and honestly express to God the prayers that arise spontaneously within you from your experience of this word or phrase. These may be prayers of thanksgiving, petition, intercession, lament, or praise. If prayer is not part of your journey you could write down the thoughts that have come your way.

Resting (contemplatio)—Allow yourself to simply rest silently for a time in the stillness of your heart remaining open to the quiet fullness of God’s love and peace. This is like the silence of communion between the mother holding her sleeping infant child or between lovers whose communication with each other passes beyond words.1

Catholic priest and contemplative mysticism pioneer Thomas Keating explains what lectio divina is not in an article he has written titled “The Classical Monastic Practice of Lectio Divina.” He explains that lectio divina is not traditional Bible study, not reading the Scriptures for understanding and edification, and not praying the Scriptures (though praying the Scriptures can be a form of lectio divina when a word or phrase is taken from the Scriptures to focus on for the purpose of going into “God’s presence”).2 Keating says that lectio divina is an introduction into the more intense practices—contemplative prayer and centering prayer.

While some people think lectio divina is just reading Scripture slowly (and what’s wrong with that), it is the focusing on and repeating a word or small phrase to facilitate going into the “silence” that is the real danger. There is certainly nothing wrong with reading Scripture carefully and thoughtfully. Thoughtfully, we say. In eastern-style meditation (and in contemplative prayer) thoughts are the enemy. Eastern-style mystic Anthony De Mello describes this problem with thoughts in his book Sadhana: A Way to God:

To silence the mind is an extremely difficult task. How hard it is to keep the mind from thinking, thinking, thinking, forever thinking, forever producing thoughts in a never ending stream. Our Hindu masters in India have a saying: one thorn is removed by another. By this they mean that you will be wise to use one thought to rid yourself of all the other thoughts that crowd into your mind. One thought, one image, one phrase or sentence or word that your mind can be made to fasten on.3

Spiritual director Jan Johnson in her book, When the Soul Listens: Finding Rest and Direction in Contemplative Prayer also believes that thoughts get in the way, and the mind must be stilled:

Contemplative prayer, in its simplest form, is a prayer in which you still your thoughts and emotions and focus on God Himself. This puts you in a better state to be aware of God’s presence, and it makes you better able to hear God’s voice, correcting, guiding, and directing you.4

Mark Yaconelli, author of Contemplative Youth Ministry: Practicing the Presence of Jesus, has this to say about lectio divina. Keep in mind that Yaconelli’s materials are used in evangelical/Protestant settings (e.g., colleges, seminaries, youth groups):

In order to practice lectio divina, select a time and place that is peaceful and in which you may be alert and prayer fully attentive. Dispose yourself for prayer in whatever way is natural for you. This may be a spoken prayer to God to open you more fully to the Spirit, a gentle relaxation process that focuses on breathing, singing or chanting, or simply a few minutes of silence to empty yourself of thoughts, images, and emotions.5

Research analyst Ray Yungen explains this silence that contemplative mystics seek:

When [Richard] Foster speaks of the silence, he does not mean external silence. In his book, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, Foster recommends the practice of breath prayer6—picking a single word or short phrase and repeating it in conjunction with the breath. This is classic contemplative mysticism. . . . In Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, [Foster] ties in a quote by one mystic who advised, “You must bind the mind with one thought”7 . . . I once related Foster’s breath prayer method to a former New Age devotee who is now a Christian. She affirmed this connection when she remarked with astonishment, “That’s what I did when I was into ashtanga yoga!”8

With lectio divina, the word or phrase one repeats eventually can lose its meaning, and this repetitive sound can start to put the practitioner into an altered mind state. Yungen tells us that:

Keeping the mind riveted on only one thought is unnatural and adverse to true reflection and prayer. Simple logic tells us the repeating of words has no rational value. For instance, if someone called you on the phone and just said your name or one phrase over and over, would that be something you found edifying? Of course not; you would hang up on him or her. Why would God feel otherwise? And if God’s presence is lacking, what is this presence that appears as light during meditation and infuses a counterfeit sense of divinity within?9

Yungen exhorts believers that: “the goal of prayer should not be to bind the mind with a word or phrase in order to induce a mystical trance but rather to use the mind to glory in the grace of God. This was the apostle Paul’s counsel to the various churches: ‘Study to shew thyself approved’ (2 Tim. 2:15) and ‘we pray always’ (2 Thessalonians 1:11) as in talking to God with both heart and mind.”10

In order to help those you care about stay clear of contemplative spirituality and spiritual deception, it is important for you to understand how lectio divina plays a significant role in leading people toward full blown meditative practices. And we propose that this “presence” that is reached during the “silent” altered states of consciousness from saying a word or phrase over and over (or focusing on the breath or an object) is not God’s presence. God has instructed us in the Bible not to perform “special kinds of process[es]” or “formula[s],”11 as Thomas Keating calls lectio divina, to induce mystical experiences (see Deuteronomy 18:9-11); thus, we believe ample warning about lectio divina is warranted.

In conclusion, lectio divina is a bridge to eastern-style meditation. If indeed, this is true, then it will lead Christians away from the message of the Cross and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and thus Christians should not practice lectio divina. Do you know where practices such as lectio divina took Thomas Keating in his spirituality? When you read the statement by him below, you can see the answer to this:

We should not hesitate to take the fruit of the age-old wisdom of the East and “capture” it for Christ. Indeed, those of us who are in ministry should make the necessary effort to acquaint ourselves with as many of these Eastern techniques as possible.

Many Christians who take their prayer life seriously have been greatly helped by Yoga, Zen, TM and similar practices, especially where they have been initiated by reliable teachers and have a solidly developed Christian faith to find inner form and meaning to the resulting experiences.12

Notes:

1. Taken from: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/lectiodivina.htm.
2. Thomas Keating, “The Classical Monastic Practice of Lectio Divina” (http://web.archive.org/web/20120201174238/http://www.crossroadshikers.org/LectioDevina.htm).
3. Anthony de Mello, Sadhana: A Way to God (St. Louis, the Institute of Jesuit Resources, 1978), p. 28.
4. Jan Johnson, When the Soul Listens (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1999), p. 16.
5. Mark Yaconelli, http://web.archive.org/web/20080724110254/http://www.ymsp.org/resources/practices/lectio_divina.html.
6. Richard Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home (San Francisco, CA: Harper, 1992), p. 122.
7. Ibid., p. 124.
8. Ray Yungen, A Time of Departing (Eureka, MT: Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2006), p. 75.
9. Ibid., p. 76.
10. Ibid., p. 75.
11. Keating, “The Classical Monastic Practice of Lectio Divina,” op. cit.
12. M. Basil Pennington, Thomas Keating, Thomas E. Clarke, Finding Grace at the Center (Petersham, MA: St. Bede’s Pub., 1978), pp. 5-6.

To order copies of LECTIO DIVINA-What it is, What it is not, and Should Christians Practice it? in booklet form, click here.

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LECTIO DIVINA

by David Cloud of Way of Life

http://www.wayoflife.org/index_files/lectio_divina.html;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

The following is from Contemplative Mysticism: A Powerful Ecumenical Bond. ISBN 978-1-58318-113-3. Contemplative mysticism, which originated with Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox monasticism, is permeating every branch of Christianity today, including the Southern Baptist Convention. In this book we document the fact that Catholic mysticism leads inevitably to a broadminded ecumenical philosophy and to capitulation to heresies. For many, this path has led to interfaith dialogue, Buddhism, Hinduism, universalism, pantheism, panentheism, even goddess theology. One chapter is dedicated to exposing the heresies of Richard Foster: “Evangelicalism’s Mystical Spark Plug.” We describe major contemplative practices, such as centering prayer, visualizing prayer, the Jesus Prayer, lectio divina, and the labyrinth. We look at the history of Roman Catholic monasticism which birthed contemplative prayer, and we examine the errors of contemplative mysticism. In the “Biographical Catalog of Contemplative Mystics” we look at the lives and beliefs of 60 of the major figures in the contemplative movement, including Francis of Assisi, Ignatius of Loyola, John of the Cross, Brennan Manning, Thomas Merton, Teresa of Avila, Richard Foster, and Dallas Willard. The book contains an extensive index. 482 pages, available in print and eBook editions from Way of Life Literature__________
The term “lectio divina” is Latin and means divine or sacred reading. It is a Catholic monastic method of reading the Scripture in a mystical way. 

At first glance lectio divina (pronounced lex-ee-o di-veen-a) might not sound very different from a traditional devotional approach that involves reading and meditating on Scripture in communion with the Holy Spirit. Where it differs is as follows:First, lectio divina does not refer to “meditation” in a Scriptural sense. 
Proponents of lectio divina point to passages of Scripture that refer to “meditation” (e.g., Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2), and the uninformed reader would be led to believe that they are describing a Scriptural practice. In fact, they are describing something very different. 

Consider a description of lectio divina. The practitioner is taught to begin with deep breathing exercises and repetition of a “prayer word” to enter into a contemplative state. This refers to a mantra. The goal is to “become interiorly silent” (Luke Dysinger, “Accepting the Embrace of God: The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina,” Valyermo Benedictine, Spring 1990). Having prepared himself, the practitioner reads a portion of Scripture slowly and repeatedly, three or four times. Choosing a word or phrase that particularly “speaks to him,” he slowly repeats it, allowing it to interact with his “inner world of concerns, memories and ideas.” Next, he converses with God about the text. Finally, he rests in silence before God in thoughtless mysticism. 

Catholic priest Luke Dysinger says, “Once again we practice SILENCE, LETTING GO OF OUR OWN WORDS; this time simply enjoying the experience of being in the presence of God.” 

Notice how Thomas Merton describes the meditation performed in lectio divina and other Catholic contemplative practices:“Meditation is ... a series of interior activities which prepare us for union with God” (Spiritual Direction and Meditation, 1960, p. 54). 

“Meditation is more than mere practical thinking” (p. 55).
“... the fruitful silence in which WORDS LOSE THEIR POWER AND CONCEPTS ESCAPE OUR GRASP is perhaps the perfection of meditation” (p. 57).
“More often than not, we can be content to simply rest, and float peacefully with the deep current of love, doing nothing of ourselves, but allowing the Holy Spirit to act in the secret depths of our soul” (pp. 101, 102).
Richard Foster, who has had a far-reaching influence on evangelicalism’s contemplative practices, quotes Catholic mystic Madame Guyon as follows: “Once you sense the Lord’s presence, THE CONTENT OF WHAT YOU READ IS NO LONGER IMPORTANT. The scripture has served its purpose; it has quieted your mind; it has brought you to him. ... You should always remember that YOU ARE NOT THERE TO GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT YOU HAVE READ; rather you are reading to turn your mind from the outward things to the deep parts of your being. YOU ARE NOT THERE TO LEARN OR TO READ, BUT YOU ARE THERE TO EXPERIENCE THE PRESENCE OF YOUR LORD!” (Devotional Classics). 
Thelma Hall’s book on lectio divina is entitled Too Deep for Words. This describes the ultimate objective of the mystical practice. 

Mike Pershon of Youth Specialities says lectio divina should take the practitioner to a different level of consciousness (www.cellofpeace.com/refl_lectio.htm). 

Robert Webber, late Wheaton College professor, confirms the transcendental aspect oflectio divina:“The goal of Lectio Divina is union with God through a meditative and contemplative praying of Scripture. ... All such attempts at verbalizing the experience necessarily fail to express the reality for the simple reason that CONTEMPLATION TRANSCENDS THE THINKING AND REASONING of meditation ... Contemplatio shifts praying the Scripture into a new language (SILENCE). This silence does not ask us to do anything, it is a call to being. Thomas Merton says, ‘THE BEST WAY TO PRAY IS: STOP’” (The Divine Embrace: Recovering the Passionate Spiritual Life, 2006, pp. 209, 210). 
John Michael Talbot says that lectio divina must move the practitioner “into a Reality BEYOND IMAGE AND FORM” (Come to the Quiet, p. 49). He says, “If God grants it, allow the reality of the sacred text to pass over to pure spiritual intuition in his Spirit,” and, “... allow yourself to pass over into contemplation BEYOND WORDS” (pp. 53, 62).

Mark Yaconelli, who speaks in evangelical settings, describes lectio divina as follows: “In order to practice lectio divina, select a time and place that is peaceful and in which you may be alert and prayer fully attentive. Dispose yourself for prayer in whatever way is natural for you. This may be a spoken prayer to God to open you more fully to the Spirit, a gentle relaxation process that focuses on breathing, singing or chanting, or simply a few minutes of SILENCE TO EMPTY YOURSELF OF THOUGHTS, IMAGES, AND EMOTIONS” (see archived web page HERE).
It is obvious that meditation and prayer, after the lectio divina fashion, is far removed from simply contemplating on the Scripture before the Lord, seeking better understanding of it, talking with God about it, and applying it to one’s life by the wisdom and power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Second, lectio divina associates the practitioner with centuries-old heresy. 
Lectio divina was invented by the heretic Origen in the third century and was adopted as a Roman Catholic practice in the Dark Ages. Origen is a dangerous man to follow. Among other heresies, he denied the infallible inspiration of Scripture and the literal history of the early chapters of Genesis, taught baptismal regeneration and universal salvation, and believed that Jesus is a created being. 

The practice of lectio divina was incorporated into the rules of Rome’s dark monasticism. It was systematized into four steps in the 12th century by Guido II, a Carthusian monk, in “The Ladder of Four Rungs” or “The Monk’s Ladder.” The four steps are reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation, which are supposed to be the means by which one “can climb from earth to heaven” and learn “heavenly secrets.”

Thus, lectio divina is intimately associated with Roman Catholicism and its false gospel. Modern lectio divina gurus such as Thomas Merton and Thomas Keating follow in the footsteps of ancient Catholic heretics by intertwining this practice with the heresies of Rome. Merton, for example, associates lectio divina with the Mass (which he describes as a “living and supremely efficacious re-presentation of Christ’s sacrifice”), baptismal regeneration, meriting union with God, prayers to Mary, and salvation through works (Spiritual Direction and Meditation, pp. 62, 71, 72, 74, 108). 

Bible believers have maintained rich devotional practices throughout the church age without resorting to something invented by heretics and developed in the bosom of the Harlot Church. Third, lectio divina is typically used as a means of receiving personal revelation and mystical experiences beyond the words of Scripture. 

Youth Specialties’ Youth Worker Journal says of lectio divina, “THE GOAL ISN’T EXEGESIS OR ANALYSIS, but allowing God to speak to us through the word” (quoted from Brian Flynn, “Lectio Divina--Sacred Divination”). 

This refers to a mystical knowing and a transcendental revelation that supposedly exists beyond conscious thought.

Brian Flynn makes an important observation: “The concept of allowing God to speak through His Word is perfectly legitimate. I experience that when I read or meditate on the Bible. However, in the context of this [Youth Specialties’] article the purpose is not to contemplate the meaning of a Bible verse by thinking about it but is rather meant to gain an experience from it.”
Thomas Keating says: “The early monks ... would sit with that sentence or phrase ... just listening, repeating slowly the same short text over and over again. This receptive disposition enabled the Holy Spirit to expand their capacity to listen” (“The Classical Monastic Practice of Lectio Divina”). 

The danger of the lectio divina method is illustrated by the fact that its practitioners are taught heresy by this means. This is evident in that Catholic mystic saints have been confirmed in their heresies by this practice for the space of more than a millennium.

Consider a revelation that Basil Pennington said he received through lectio divina. He said that he chose Christ’s words “I am the way” from John 14:6 and repeated them during his meditation and throughout the day. At the end of the day when he was tired and wasn’t looking forward to singing evening prayers at the monastery he says the Lord spoke to him and said, “Oh yes, you are the way,” so he “went and sang Vespers and had a great time” (interview with Mary Nurrie Stearns published on the Personal Transformation website, www.personaltransformation.com, - [mentioned page no longer exists]). 

Note that “the Lord” allegedly took the declaration that Christ is the way and applied it to Pennington, instructing him that he, too, is the way, which is rank heresy. 

We believe strongly in studying Scripture and seeking God’s illumination of it, but this is done through a process of interpretive Bible study and active contemplation (e.g., Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1-3; 2 Timothy 2:15), rather than through a mystical process that seeks to go beyond the Bible’s words and is intimately associated with heresy. 

Former psychic Brian Flynn warns:“By taking passages of Scripture, which have an intended meaning, and breaking them down into smaller, separate segments, often for the purpose of chanting over and over, the true meaning of the passages is lost. Rather a form of occult mysticism is practiced--with the hope and intention of gaining a mystical experience that God never intended when He gave the inspired words to His servants” (Running against the Wind, p. 136).
Fourth, the traditional practice of lectio divina involves the search for a “deeper” meaning of Scripture. 
This refers to Origen’s spiritualized meaning that is beyond the literal. Origen claimed that the Scripture has four levels of meaning. He spoke of the letter and the spirit, the exterior and the interior. While acknowledging a historical, literal meaning, he emphasized the “allegorical” sense. He likened the literal meaning of Scripture to water, whereas the deeper allegorical meaning is the wine. Following Origen, Gregory the Great interpreted the “wheel within the wheel” of Ezekiel 1:16 to mean that the allegorical meaning is hidden within the literal meaning of Scripture. This error leaves the interpretation of Scripture up to the imagination of the reader, because if the Bible does not mean what it says when interpreted by the normal-literal method, then we cannot know for certain what it does mean. This is one of the foundational errors of Roman monasticism, and it is being adopted today by evangelicals. 

Thomas Keating says: “By ‘ruminating’ I mean sitting with a sentence, phrase or even one word that emerges from the text, allowing the Spirit to expand our listening capacity and to OPEN US TO ITS DEEPER MEANING; in other words, TO PENETRATE THE SPIRITUAL SENSE of a scripture passage” (“The Classical Monastic Practice of Lectio Divina”). 

It is obvious that this “deeper meaning” carries one beyond the true meaning of Scripture, since it is a practice that is loved by Roman Catholics. For centuries Catholic monks and nuns have “meditated” on the Scripture via the method of lectio divina, but they have never come to the knowledge of the truth! It has only confirmed them in their commitment to Rome’s heresies. Fifth, the practice of lectio divina does not include a strong warning about the potential for spiritual delusion and the danger of receiving “doctrines of devils.” 
Catholic priest Luke Dysinger says, “Rejoice in the knowledge that God is with you in both words and silence, in spiritual activity and inner receptivity” (“Accepting the Embrace of God: The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina”). 

If Dysinger, who is a modern monk, would practice biblical devotion in true communion with the Spirit of truth he would recognize that Romanism is heresy and would flee from it, but he is practicing contemplative practices from a position of unregeneracy and spiritual blindness and unknowing openness to deception. 

Brian Flynn gives an important warning about this practice when he says: “I was having a discussion over lunch with a pastor who taught Lectio Divina at a local seminary, and he attempted to defend the practice. He stated that in the process of reading a page of scripture over and over again a word will ‘jump out’ at you. He said that the Holy Spirit chooses this word for you. However, how do I know that this concept is true? First, there is no reference to Lectio Divina in the Bible. Secondly, how do I know what this word is supposed to mean to me? If it were ‘love’, does that mean I should concentrate on love for self, God, the world, sister, mother, brother? There is no way of knowing other than using my own imagination or desire. ... BY USING THIS PRACTICE, WE ARE TURNING THE BIBLE INTO A MYSTICAL DEVICE FOR PERSONAL REVELATIONS RATHER THAN A SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE. By taking passages of Scripture, which have an intended meaning, and breaking them down into smaller, separate segments, often for the purpose of chanting over and over, the true meaning of the passages is lost” (“Lectio Divina--Sacred Divination”). 
Sixth, the practice of lectio divina is contrary to the Bible’s instruction about Scripture study. 
The New Testament does not instruct the believer to sit in silence before God or to put himself into a contemplative-receptive state. It does not instruct us to use the Scripture to try to “experience God.” It instructs us to study as a workman (2 Timothy 2:15). This is an active process rather than a passive one. In the proper practice of Bible study, the mind is fully in gear; the spirit is aggressively seeking God’s wisdom and is wary of deception; one is prayerful, seeking divine help. The wise Bible student knows that it is dangerous to isolate Scripture, so he carefully analyzes the context and compares Scripture with Scripture. He does not depend upon his own intuitions about the meaning of Scripture exclusively but consults trusted men of God and carefully uses godly dictionaries and commentaries. Lectio Divina is not an innocent means of meditating upon Scripture. It is an unscriptural practice that has the power to draw the practitioner into fellowship with demons.

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JOHN MACARTHUR INTERVIEWED

JOE SCHIMMEL EXPOSES

RICHARD BENNETT, EX CATHOLIC PRIEST