THE CONNECTION BETWEEN LGBTQ SOULFORCE, RICHARD ROHR, MYSTICAL PROPHETIC ART, AND OBAMA'S INCLUSIVENESS

Christian News Network, http://christiannews.net/2013/04/04/homosexual-activist-to-present-lion-of-judah-painting-to-obama-during-easter-prayer-breakfast/ has reported that Obama has received a framed painting of the Lion of Judah as a gift from a "prophetic artist", Latimer Bowen Ramsey, http://latimerramsey.com/. It was presented to Obama by the Reverend Doctor Cindi Love, Executive Director of Soulforce, http://www.soulforce.org/, and http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc3=&id=104474, at the annual Easter prayer breakfast, calling Obama the "Great Includer". 
Rev. Dr. Cindi Love http://www.revdrcindilove.com/, http://revcindilove.blogspot.com/, is a licensed professional minister ordained by Metropolitan Community Churches worldwide (gay affirming). She also holds standing in The Church of Uncommon Hope in San Francisco, CA.  She is Executive Director of Soulforce, a member of the United Nations Compass Coalition for LGBT Human Rights, member of the Human Rights Campaign Religion & Faith Council in Washington, D.C., one of eight Country & Thematic Specialists for Amnesty International and author of Would Jesus Discriminate?  The 21st Century Question.  Rev. Love was the Pastor in Residence for the HBO documentary film All Aboard by Rosie O'Donnell.  Rev. Love lives in Abilene, Texas with her legally married spouse, Sue Jennings.  They have two adult children.  She is also working for the Huffington Post and this is her biography there: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-dr-cindi-love/.

Ramsey delivered a letter of prayer to Obama http://latimerramsey.com/press/, wherein she states: "I am praying that---His Holy Spirit will be upon you and will be bubbling up and over our land and that all darkness will flee and nothing but His glory, love and truth will remain."
    In this video, Ramsey clearly shows her mystical side in word, music, and art, although her own sexual and spiritual preferences are as yet unknown, pending further research. However, based on her associations, Ramsey is either neutral about the gay lifestyle and/or she's sympathetic and affirming, as well as totally non-judgmental when it comes to our evil president. At least we can declare without hesitation that Obama is not worthy of such a gift, not worthy of another inappropriate title (like Andy Stanley's naming Obama "pastor-in-chief"). Ramsey is talking about and painting pictures of a stylized, mystical, effeminate distortion (as in: "Nostril to Nostril Close", http://latimerramsey.com/nostril-to-nostril-close/), of a Jesus of her own imagination, a Jesus who returns to unite believers and unbelievers, saints and sinners, Christians and pagans alike within a universalist one world religion. This is absolutely a blasphemy of the first order, since the real Jesus of the Bible will return like a roaring lion to destroy the evils these people call good, not the tame lion "just getting along" with the other animals. So, as Ramsey seeks to spread her false gospel to billions across the globe by using her iconic, so-called "prophetic" artwork, we will recognize it for what it is, another heresy that denies the true Jesus who will hold these to accountability.

    Brock Cravy, a professing Christian who operates the art gallery The White Buffalo, who arranged the presentation, likewise claimed that God had arranged the homosexual activist to present the painting to the White House.
     "Soulforce is a religious organization that promotes homosexuality nationwide. It was founded by Mel White, the former ghost writer for Billy Graham, Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell, who later came out as a homosexual. 
    Apprising indicates in http://apprising.org/2009/06/29/richard-rohr-letter-of-endorsement-for-soulforce/, that Soulforce was co-founded by two men, Mel White and Gary Nixon, who also happen to be “Christian” homosexual lovers:

 During the past six years, Mel White and his partner, Gary Nixon, have traveled across the country, speaking on university campuses, teaching the “soul force” principles of Gandhi and King, organizing people of faith…the Rev. Dr. Mel White was awarded the ACLU’s National Civil Liberties Award for his efforts to apply the “soul force” principles of Gandhi and King to the struggle for justice for sexual minorities.

Currently, Mel is writing a sequel to his best-selling autobiography, Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay And Christian In America… For 30 years, Dr. White had served the evangelical Christian community as a pastor, seminary professor, best-selling author, prize-winning filmmaker, communication consultant and ghost writer to its most famous and powerful leaders…

Mel and Gary met and fell in love fifteen years ago at All Saints Episcopal Church where Mel served on the vestry and Gary sang baritone in the Coventry Choir… Dr. White has dedicated his life to a ministry of change. “Until this nation accepts God’s gay and lesbian children as full members of the human family,” White explains, “we must go on telling that truth in love, whatever it might cost us.” (Online source)

Soulforce is also behind the youth tour “Equality Ride,” which visits Christian colleges and universities across the country to urge students to become open and accepting of the homosexual lifestyle." See: http://juicyecumenism.com/2013/04/03/evangelical-colleges-inching-toward-affirmation-of-homosexuality/.

Promo video about "Equality Ride": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7T5hskkKrs.
Soulforce is behind the "right to marry" for LGBTQ persons:

Soulforce did a "meditation mob" OM at the state capitol building in Austin, Texas, on Veterans Day, 2012, and this video is narrated by Cindi Love, who claims she was once a fundamentalist Christian whose "understanding has evolved":

Meditation Mob http://medmob.org/, has been organizing OM meditations all around the country, as in one of their events in 2011, also at the state capitol in Austin, Texas. Over 300 people joined in unison for a one hour silent meditation followed by a sound-bath of OMs that resonated throughout the capitol dome. The intention of the movement is to organize meditations open to all walks of life, all over the world, expanding peace on the planet by exposing the world to meditation, & accelerating our personal and planetary evolution:

Apprising, however, pointed out the connection between Richard Rohr, quasi-universalist, mystic Catholic Franciscan priest, and his endorsement of Soulforce here: http://apprising.org/2009/06/29/richard-rohr-letter-of-endorsement-for-soulforce/. 
Rohr is also quoted in full at: http://www.archives.soulforce.org/2000/10/08/fr-richard-rohrs-letter-of-endorsement/. Here is the full letter:

October 8, 2000

Brothers and Sisters of the Church:

What is more important than to follow Jesus? Is that not our final and fundamental authority for everything that we do, either as leadership or membership in the church?

Apart from understandable disagreements on specifics, details, how, when, and where, we all the know the WHAT. Jesus came to draw us all into union with God, whom he called his Father. How sad if the public image of our church continues to be a group of people that judge first, exclude easily, and use theological arguments to cover basic "political" stances of power, image, and management of constituency. These seem to be things that Jesus cared about very little, in fact, he flaunted them. This is clear in the Gospels which we all proclaim with joy.

At last we have a group of dedicated Christians who are willing to use disciplined and Christian means of nonviolent protest against its church’s failure to live the Gospel. Christians outside the mainstream did this in the abolitionist movement against slavery, in the civil rights movement against racism, and in the antiwar movement. Eventually, in each case, the church, like Peter running late to the tomb, acknowledged that these were indeed Gospel positions.

SOULFORCE must take the role of John the Beloved, who runs swiftly to the tomb, because that is what love always does. But both of us will find there the Risen Christ who always reigns and transforms human history, but never without our "let it be." Our gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered brothers and sisters have been left outside of his realm of grace for far too long. We can do so much better, and we will. I thank SOULFORCE for its courage, dedication, and proclamation of Christian nonviolence in the pursuit of justice and truth.

Yours in Christ Jesus,

Fr. Richard Rohr, O.F.M.

 committed to freedom for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people from religious and political oppression through relentless nonviolent resistance.

NAZARENE LEADERS DEPARTING FROM THE FAITH INTO CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUAL FORMATION AND DARWINISM

Prominent Nazarenes Reject     God’s Word And Promote           Ungodly Evolution Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful;  but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing  themselves to be wise, they became fools,  Rom 1:21-22 There has been a movement for quite some time now to serve up evolution as a viable  alternative for Christians as to how God created man.  That movement is trying to gain  momentum in the Nazarene denomination, as part of a “big tent” philosophy.  But if you  accept evolution, you also must accept certain ideas that come with it.  And in accepting  them, you have no choice but to reject what Holy Scripture has to say about it.  You  cannot believe in the Bible, and also believe in evolution.  It is an oxymoron. Believing in evolution means you must accept that, among other things: -Adam and Eve were not real historical figures as described in Genesis; -Jesus was not truthful when he talked about Adam and Eve in a historical context; -You reject God’s account in Genesis that He created everything in six days; -You reject the truthfulness of the genealogical account of the Lord in Matthew,  which includes Adam; -The account of the first 11 chapters of Genesis is only allegory; -You accept that death came into the world many years before any Adam and Eve,  contradicting Romans 5:12 and its explanation of how sin and death came into the  world; -You pick and choose what you want to believe, instead of accepting God’s historical  account at face value; -You choose to use your own intellect and human reasoning and philosophy to  validate the Bible, instead of letting the Bible validate itself; -You reject the inerrancy and reliability of Scripture as the sole and final written  authority for our faith and practice, and instead accept that the Bible has errors  and is written deceptively. We could list more things from the Bible that require someone to suspend belief in it,  when they say they adhere to “theistic evolution.”  These people in the end pick and  choose what they want to believe, to satisfy their intellectual snobbery and their  disbelief in God’s word.  What is not literal about the following account, as one example? Gen 2:7 "And Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and  to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul." They just cannot accept such accounts as fact.  They twist the word of God, and  insist that there is no way it could have happened that way, because “science”  disproves it.  Of course, we know how flawed science has been in the past, and  evolution is a prime example.  The entire concept of original sin falls apart if  Adam and Eve were not created by God as is said in Genesis. The fossil record actually shows an abrupt appearance of human life, and there  is no evidence whatsoever of gradual evolution.  And so, the evolutionists had  to come up with something called “Punctuated Equilibrium”  to explain away that  problem.  The fact is that Darwin’s theory (really a hypothesis) has been clearly  refuted many times by the evidence of science, yet the deniers continue to insist  on this fairy tale as being fact, when it is one of the biggest lies perpetrated on  humankind. The Leadership of The Evolution Movement In The Church Nazarenes Exploring Evolution is composed of a group of Nazarene theologians,  pastors and scientists.  Here are two of the more familiar people (to me) who are  on the leadership: Tom Oord: open theist and professor of theology and philosophy at Northwest  Nazarene, who rejected my biblical answer to him several years ago at a lecture  where he seemed to miss the point of Romans 5:12 and its explanation of sin  and death.  He is first on the list of leadership of this group, and that is no surprise.   He is probably the number one prime mover of this unbiblical agenda. Scott Daniels: pastor of Pasadena First Church and dean of Azuza Pacific University’s  School of Theology.  In 2009 at General Assembly, Rev. Daniels teamed up with  Jon Middendorf to hold a workshop where they promoted the emergent church,  and such mystics as Richard Foster and Thomas Merton.  Rev. Daniels has made  the ridiculous claim, against all evidence,  that not only is the emergent church  movement dead, but that he is not a part of it as well.  Others on this team include: Bob Branson, graduate of Southern Nazarene and  Nazarene Theological Seminary, who has written for several Sunday School  handbooks; Jennifer Chase, another product of Northwest Nazarene University  who specializes in biology; Kerry Fulcher from Point Loma Nazarene University,  another school that along with Northwest promotes emergent ideology and  contemplative mysticism; Mark Mann, also a teacher at Point Loma who is a  contributor to The BioLogos Forum, which heavily promotes theistic evolution;  Sherri Walker, another product of Northwest Nazarene; and Mark Winslow,  who teaches at Southern Nazarene and whose interests include  “understanding  how college students accommodate evolution and religious beliefs.” Then there are the various article contributors, which includes some from the  extremely liberal and emergent-embracing NazNet blog, an "unofficial" Nazarene  site for conversations amongst Nazarenes.  Most notable of these contributors is  Dr. Karl Giberson, formerly a science professor at Eastern Nazarene College,  author of the book Saving Darwin, and I cannot think of any other science teacher  who has caused more damage to students with his open theism and evolution  teaching.  The “toxic-ness” is compounded by the utter arrogance of this man,  who has been known to rip into the reputation and character of anyone who  dares to disagree with his ungodly teachings.  I do not hate him, but I do hate  what he has done, and continues to do.  Sadly, his colleague Dr. Randall Stephens  is carrying on the same philosophy to the detriment of more ENC students. Far From Loving And Humble The final paragraph of their statement describing this project says “In a loving,  constructive, and humble endeavor, the Nazarenes Exploring Evolution project seeks  to help the Church of the Nazarene consider how evolution can complement rather  than contradict Wesleyan-holiness theology.”  This is quite laughable, because it is  not believable, when you read the way some of these hold a disdain for those who  dare to believe God’s word instead of theirs!  In fact, in the words preceding that  statement, the less than charitable Dan Boone, president of Trevecca Nazarene  University, says this: "Will I engage a young generation in an open-minded biblical conversation that  welcomes scientific discovery, reasoned philosophy, and careful logic? Or will I  ignore all of these in favor of an interpretation of creation that is barely one hundred  years old and rooted in the fear of science?" This type of rhetoric is typical of Dr. Boone and others.  First, they elevate philosophy  and human reasoning to a level that is so important that man must turn to it first,  in order to then confirm what the Bible says.  Then he throws up a red herring, and  paints Bible believers as “fearful of science,” instead of just admitting that we vigorously  disagree with what these people promote.  This is the same old way they talk amongst themselves, congratulating themselves for their intellect, and parading their degrees in  front of us.  Just read their Leadership page and you will understand what I mean by  how much they are so impressed with themselves.  It is, to paraphrase a friend's  comment, more like a mutual admiration society. Follow The Money In funding evolution, it takes money to push forth anti-biblical views.  So, what group  or person is behind all this?  Enter the John Templeton Foundation.  And what does it  have to do with Nazarenes Exploring Evolution, you ask?  First, here is a quote from  one of John Templeton’s writings:  “No one should say that God can be reached by only one path” (The Humble Approach  pp. 46,55). Templeton writes in his book Discovering the Laws of Life: “[T]he basic  principles for leading a 'sublime life'... may be derived from any religious tradition,  Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and others, as well as Christian” (Discovering the Laws of Life pp. 6-7).  Source:  http://www.letusreason.org/Curren40.htm Then, there is the BioLogos Foundation, which was/is heavily funded by the John  Templeton Foundation. http://www.templeton.org/what-we-fund/grants/the-language-of-god-biologos- website-and-workshop And now, the connection. The Biologos Foundation has recently granted a significant  amount of money to Tom Oord to push forth John Templeton's philosophical (anti-biblical)  views further into the Nazarene denomination via a new website: http://biologos.org/ecf/grantees And now, enter: NAZARENES EXPLORING EVOLUTION  http://exploringevolution.com/ By the way, this word "exploring" is very deceptive.  They are not exploring evolution;  they are promoting it, plain and simple.  There is no other agenda. At his own blog, Dr. Oord introduces the birth of this new website: http://thomasjayoord.com/index.php/blog/archives/nazarenes_exploring_evolution/ #.USJt-_KneKI So, you just need to follow the money BEHIND these people and their projects to  understand how and why these philosophies are being implemented.  It takes money  and well networked groups to assault the basic tenets of scripture.  And as always,  the best place to start is with the youth in the schools.  This follows happily along  with the Brian McClaren philosophy of getting to the children and grandchildren first. Most parents have no idea how the foundations that they thought they have established  with their children will be under assault by a well-funded liberal machine. Here is another quote:  “Our vision is derived from the late Sir John Templeton's optimism about the possibility of  acquiring "new spiritual information" and from his commitment to rigorous scientific  research and related scholarship.” (end of quote) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Templeton_Foundation New spiritual information???  A new revelation from God?  Does not the Nazarene  denomination believe in the closed canon of Scripture, and that what God has revealed  in His word is our only authority, not some so-called new spiritual information? It's no coincidence that Answers In Genesis, run by Ken Ham, has come under attack  by groups that hate the biblical account of creation. This ministry serves to equip our  youth and to stand strong against the wiles of the devil who goes about like a roaring  lion seeking to devour and tear down the foundations of our faith.   http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/bios/.  Dr. Ham has been at the forefront  of fighting back and refuting Karl Giberson and others who are promoting the Bible  denying man’s religion called evolution, and he is not even a Nazarene.  The Real Force Behind The Movement In commenting on an article from Dr. Oord’s blog, a good friend and pastor described  it well: "Just reading this article by Oord – An Alternative Doctrine of Creation. It's interesting how he labels his own view of creation, "my alternative doctrine." That's  exactly what it is! These people have become their own god! It's the deception of the  fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. "You shall be as God", with your own  alternative doctrine." He is exactly right.  These people have been blinded to the truth, and satan is using them  for his ends. These people cannot see that if Adam and Eve were not literal, then we  could not have been born in sin, and the Lord Jesus died for nothing.  The message of  evolution opposes the message of the Bible.  You cannot believe in both. Every ungodly movement has its leader, sitting in the back unnoticed.  That leader is satan,  and he is using men and women like these to deceive countless Christians. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men,  after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.  Col. 2:8 For further reference: Articles by Ken Ham Refuting Karl Giberson and Others: Nazarene Professor Misrepresents-Again Is Jesus An Evolutionist? New Book By Nazarene Scholars Slams Biblical Creationists What Are Nazarene Students Being Taught? Why Not Edit The Bible? Exposing The Anointed (review of book by Goberson and Randall Stephens) It Is Not "Religion" Versus "Science" Same Old, Same Old Maligned By Ken Ham? What the Bible Says About the Origin of Death and Suffering (Answers in Genesis) Evolution of Darwin: His Life (video, Answers in Genesis) Manny Silva Stand For Truth Ministries "The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever."  Psalm 119:160 Blogging at www.reformednazarene.wordpress.com Podcasting at: http://standfortruthministries.podbean.com/ FaceBook group: Concerned Nazarenes FaceBook group: Concerned Christians Portuguese: http://nazarenoportugues.wordpress.com/ Spanish: http://nazarenoespanol.wordpress.com/ "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not  abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."  2 Corinthians 4:8-9 ------------------------------------------------------------- [Stand For Truth Ministries is a self-supporting ministry dedicated to fighting emergent church ideology  and other false teachings.  Your prayers are asked for more than anything else.] To donate to our ministry, send a check to: Stand For Truth P.O. Box 532 Somerset, MA  02726 (Donations are not tax-deductible; we are NOT a non-profit)

MUCH MORE ON ROHR, PLUS ENNEAGRAMS, KYTHING & NON-DUALITY THINKING

    We mentioned Richard Rohr, Catholic/Buddhist Franciscan mystic priest in a recent post. As with all contemplatives, there is so much more to be said, as they seek to undermine and destroy Biblical Christianity through an "unmediated" (without Jesus Christ) universalist syncretism, pointing to a one world church in which Jesus Christ is brought down in degradation to a level with pagan gods.

    Apprising does a thorough job of exposing just who Rohr is and his Catholic (almost Jesuit-like) anti-Reformation career. See:
http://apprising.org/2008/05/10/who-is-richard-rohr/.
Rohr believes that the future of the church is ecumenical:

and on the emerging church:

and again on the emerging church:

http://apprising.org/2009/05/13/richard-rohr-among-seducing-spirits-re-interpreting-the-message-of-the-genuine-christian-faith/.
Rohr teaches the "non-violent" Jesus, which he claims was lost since Constantine (313 AD):

http://apprising.org/2009/01/25/richard-rohr-roman-catholicism-and-christian-universalism/.
http://apprising.org/2009/01/25/richard-rohr-conversations-convergence-and-emergence-apostasy/.

Rohr promoting "spiritual practices" over beliefs (i.e., doctrine and dogmas):

http://apprising.org/2009/03/24/richard-rohr-four-phases-of-emergence-christianty/.
1) "Honest, broad, and ecumenical Jesus scholarship"
2) "Contemplative mind" which negates a "dualistic" mindset.
     See video here about "non-duality" (that bad form of Greek judgmentalism):

and also here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvg2DgjVgbE.
3) "Non-negotiables" that Christians firmly adhere to were never what Jesus taught or said. The "new kind of Reformation" is developing, which does not oppose the old reformations, but incorporates them. We can never be 100% right (paraphrased)
4) What are the new "community (fascist) structures" which abhor denominational structures.

http://apprising.org/2010/03/30/richard-rohr-and-the-emerging-church-as-the-third-way/.
http://apprising.org/2012/07/31/the-gospel-coalition-and-trevin-wax-now-recommending-richard-rohr/.
http://apprising.org/2012/08/02/influence-of-richard-rohr-on-rob-bell-and-his-love-wins-mythology/.
http://apprising.org/2010/09/23/priscilla-shirer-points-us-to-richard-rohr/.
http://apprising.org/2009/06/29/richard-rohr-letter-of-endorsement-for-soulforce/.

Rohr was a speaker at the 2012 Wild Goose Festival (Giant Emergent Fest), http://wildgoosefestival.org/wild-goose-west-announces-first-lineup.
and: http://galatiansfour.blogspot.com/2011/06/wild-goose-festgiant-emergent-fest.html.
______________________________________________________________
Way of Life stated in:
"THE EMERGING CHURCH, PAGANISM, CATHOLICISM, AND THE NEW AGE (Friday Church News Notes, March 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Richard Rohr and the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is hosting an emerging church conference for three days beginning March 20. Speakers include Brian McLaren, Phyllis Tickle, and Shane Claiborne. It is billed as “the first large gathering of Roman Catholic, Mainline Protestant, Evangelical, and other Christians seeking to explore this emergence and convergence together.” Rohr is a Franciscan priest who is heavily involved in contemplative mysticism and liberal “social-justice” works. He holds to a universalistic, panentheistic doctrine and believes that much in the Bible, such as the Garden of Eden, is mythical. Like Thomas Merton, Rohr integrates pagan contemplative practices with that of ancient Catholic “saints.” He has adapted such things as Buddhist koans and Hindu mantras. In January 2008 Rohr and his organization sponsored a conference called “Jesus and Buddha: Paths to Awakening.” The announcement said, “The teachings of both Jesus and Buddha call us to transformational honesty. They are both teaching us how to see, and how to see all the way through! They both knew that if you see God for yourself, you will see the Divine in all things.” Rohr says that his philosophy teaches “us to be both-and” and “keeps us from either-or.” It “keeps us from the false choice of liberal or conservative” and “allows us to enjoy both sides of things”; it “is far beyond my religion versus your religion” and “allows us to be both distinct and yet united.” In fact, this is the essence of Hinduism, the New Age, and the Emerging Church. Biblical Christianity, on the other hand, teaches us that there is truth and error, right and wrong, good and bad, God and the Devil, light and dark, that there is only one way of salvation and many false ways, and that men are either saved or lost. The end-time New Age Tower of Babel is being built before our very eyes."
________________________________________________________________

Mission America shows Rohr's homosexual friendly approach at: http://www.missionamerica.com/articletext.php?artnum=190, full text below:

Emergent Church Heresy Growing

PAGAN PRACTICES AND SEXUAL SIN EMBRACED

by Linda Harvey

The "Emergent" church needs to be on everyone's radar. Their ideas and approach are poison. This is NOT authentic, biblical Christianity, and it's becoming more evident all the time. Many of the leaders are truly "coming out of the closet" and unashamedly advocating heresy. The Emergent Church leaders are now collaborating with a pro-homosexual Catholic priest, Richard Rohr. He is on the docket at conferences with Brian McLaren, Shane Claiborne, Phyllis Tickle and others. Just a quick background: these "Emergent" leaders advocate pagan spirituality dressed in new clothes."Practices" not belief, "spiritual formation" and other approaches are unveiled as alternatively "progress" or a return to ancient church practices. But it's mystical "knowledge" (i.e., contact with some spirit) that is sought over faithful doctrine informed by Scripture. Contemplative prayer, seeking some "experience" of God, is an open door to deception, and is not the prayer model of Scripture, nor does God ever teach us that sensational experiences are the key to knowing Him. These are sensualists, not authentic believers. How did Jesus tell us to know Him? "...If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. Then you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31-32) "Spiritual formation" comes through authentic belief in Christ as Savior, repentance of sin, and embrace of all the truth He teaches. Failure to accept that, is failure to have the Holy Spirit enter your heart. It's that simple. The only "spiritual formation" that will then happen will be through demons. And it may seem like revelation and enlightenment. But it's a sham. Truth becomes really unimportant in the Emergent model.The message is that Christ is not necessarily the only way to salvation, and we need to reconsider homosexuality, and abortion,and not be hateful like the fundamentalists are.They engage in near-constant trash-talk about the "religious right," meaning those who want to expose this deception and remain biblically-faithful. Youth are gobbling this up, especially those with little biblical background, because it is packaged as a way to embrace worldly sexual sin and still believe one is a "christian." If you see any of this creeping or galloping into your your churches, beware. These are the doctrines of demons. Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest, talks about "practices" being the key--he advocates running away from doctrine--and there's a reason he avoids doctrine. His angle is not just the "social gospel," i.e., feeding the poor brings salvation, although he does talk about this. His web site really shows his main focus: "rites of passage" masculinity retreats for men, where they get in touch with themselves by blending male and female, the "yin" and "yang" of Eastern faiths. This gender synthesis experience is open to males as young as 16 and open to males without fathers.So you see where this is leading... http://male-spirituality.net/event/mens-rites-passage-rolling-ridge-fr-richard-rohr-ofm Rohr has a letter of endorsement on the web site of Soulforce, the homosexual religious group pressuring colleges and churches for manipulative "dialogue." Rohr writes: "Our gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered brothers and sisters have been left outside of his [Jesus'] realm of grace for far too long...." Not true. They exclude themselves because of their proud sin. Jesus is open to any of us who are repentant. These folks aren't. They want Jesus to change. Ancient sin, new packaging." _______________________________________________________________ Mennolite.wordpress.com reveals the effects of Rohr on Anabaptists: http://mennolite.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/richard-rohr-impacts-the-mark-centre/, in which the following quote from Rohr: In a recent video clip for a conference on Franciscan Mysticism: I Am That Which I Am Seeking, Rohr says that most of us believe things because our church told us to believe them, but there is something called The Univosity of Being (one voice)… “When you speak of God, when you speak of angels, when you speak of humans, when you speak of animals, when you speak of trees, when you speak of fish, when you speak of the earth, you are using the work Being univocally . That might seems like an abstract philosophical position but I hope you can see how that creates an inclusive universe where everything is sacred where you can’t divide the world into the sacred and profane anymore. It’s over, and yet, most Christians to this day, in what was called the mainline orthodoxy still, most Christians I meet, Catholic and Protestant, still have the world divided into the sacred and the profane.” -Richard Rohr, Franciscan Mysticism Conference preview http://secure.lenos.com/lenos/cac/FranciscanMysticism2012/ and: Rohr is also a promoter of the Cosmic Christ, whom he believes is the foundation for interfaith dialogue. He writes: “Only a truly cosmic Christ is adequate to the breadth of our problems and the depth of our hopes today….I personally do not believe that Jesus came to found a separate religion- as much as he came to present a universal message of vulnerability and foundational unity that is necessary for all religions, the human soul, and history itself to survive.” - July-Sept. 2002 Radical Grace, “A Cosmic Christ” by Richard Rohr. http://www.lospequenos.org/RohrDossier/Material/9.3%20Cosmic%20Christ.pdf and: http://galatiansfour.blogspot.com/2011/06/wild-goose-festgiant-emergent-fest.html  "The term “cosmic Christ” reminds us that everything and everyone belongs. We’re all unworthy but the mystery of the Incarnation means the divine indwelling is in all of us. We’re indeed the body of Christ. God’s hope for humanity is that one day we will all recognize that the divine dwelling place is all of creation. Christ comes again whenever we see that matter and spirit coexist. This truly deserves to be called good news." ________________________________________________________________________________________ Apostasy Alert has this startling revelation at: http://www.apostasyalert.org/REFLECTIONS/mystic.htm, wherein this: "Kything Prayer":     This is a way of calling up another person's spirit to enter you, so that you can use their energy and gifts for yourself. You can also let others "centre" into your spirit to call your spirit to them. You can do this with saints as well as others who are dead and it's all done in the name of Christian Prayer. Kything was popularized at the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a Catholic monastic retreat whose founder, Franciscan priest Richard Rohr(pictured at right) wrote a book called, "The Enneagram, A Christian Perspective." "The Enneagram is from Sufism," according to Catholic scholars, that "was developed by…an occultist and Sufi master" who "held the view that the universe is ‘a living and evolving structure administered by conscious beings’ and, that universe is also ‘an intelligent organism.’" Theolyn explains that communication with Nephalim is possible through kything: From http://www.theolyn.com/nephalim: "The Nephalim are recorded in ancient texts as being part-human, part-divine and, since 2009, I have been communicating with twelve of them using a new technique called kything. I describe this as three-dimensional channelling and I have discovered that the Nephalim are here to help us become like them — 100% human and 100% divine. You too can learn how to kythe with the Nephalim and realise your own potential as a complete person, fully embracing your divinity and your humanity." _________________________________________________________________ Rohr gives an occultic enneagram lesson here:

U.S. MILITARY IS BRIEFED THAT CHRISTIANITY IS NUMBER ONE THREAT

Soldiers in the U.S. military have been told in a training briefing, http://www.adfmedia.org/files/ExtremismPresentation.pdf, (page 24), that evangelical Christians are the No. 1 extremist threat to America – ahead of groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, KKK, Nation of Islam, al-Qaida, Hamas and others. See: http://www.wnd.com/2013/04/military-warned-evangelicals-no-1-threat/.

ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS INTERNATIONAL (ACSI) STILL PROMOTING CONTEMPLATIVE EASTERN MYSTICAL PRACTICES; THE INFLUENCE OF JAMES WILHOIT AND RUTH HALEY BARTON

Lighthouse Trails Research has been reporting since January 2008 that ACSI has been promoting Catholic/Buddhist contemplative eastern mysticism and spiritual formation to its member schools around the world, by giving books from mystic authors to them.
See: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=2084.
    In July of 2013, in Colorado Springs, ACSI will be presenting the “2013 ACSI Leadership Academy.” The theme at this year’s annual event is“Spiritual Formation: Christian Schools Matter”! The keynote speaker will be Dr. James C. Wilhoit, author of Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered, as pictured below: 

(a copy of this book will be mailed to every registrant). Each registrant will also receive one semester hour of graduate credit from George Fox University (one of the most contemplative colleges out there today).
    A second article was written by Lighthouse Trails Research in March, 2008:
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=1892.
    A third article was written by Lighthouse Trails Research in September, 2008:
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=1486.
    On March 29, 2013, Lighthouse received an e-mail from someone reporting that:  
    "I received a copy of an upcoming ACSI Leadership Academy that will be held this summer July 18-21. http://www.acsiglobal.org/events/acsi-leadership-academy. The title of the academy made my hair bristle: Spiritual Formation: Christian Schools Matter. The keynote speaker is none other than the infamous Dr. James C. Wilhoit. I have removed the flyer so no one will know about it. But I want to let my school administrator know that this is not something that would be beneficial, especially with the title of the conference."
    Quote from Lighthouse article: 
    "Regarding James Wilhoit’s book, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered (the book that ACSI will be giving out to members), the book is packed with references of and quotes by some of today’s most staunch and influential contemplative names: Dallas Willard (who wrote the foreword), Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Ruth Haley Barton (trained at the interspiritual Shalem Institute), David Benner, Kenneth Boa, Richard Foster, Emilie Griffin, Brother Lawrence, Henri Nouwen, Eugene Peterson (author of the Message Bible), Pete Scazzero, Klaus Issler, and Marjorie Thompson (Soul Feast). (Refer to our research site for information on these names.) The book is basically a primer on contemplative prayer and emerging spirituality and backs up the teachings of the names which it includes. Wilhoit is currently a professor of “Christian Formation” at Wheaton College."
    It should be noted that Wilhoit has published at least two other books that are troublesome because they also promote contemplative eastern mysticism and spiritual disciplines typical of Catholic and Buddhist monasteries.

and: http://jimwilhoit.com/discovering-lectio-divina.html:

_______________________________________________
 

  
    Ruth Haley Barton and her Transforming Center 
(see: http://www.thetransformingcenter.org/) 
Video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCKTa0EGEdE&list=UUbhNejtTjSPfsbJEmDDrq4g&index=4,
operate out of a Catholic convent in Wheaton, Illinois known as the Loretto Center (see: http://lorettocenter.org/), which has its own pagan labyrinth http://lorettocenter.org/labyrinth.html, and is run by the IBVM nuns. The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, founded in 1609, is an apostolic community of Catholic women present in 26 countries across six continents. We live our Ignatian (Saint Ignatius Loyola of the Jesuit priests) spirituality of "contemplatives in action" cherished by our founder, Mary Ward. 
    Barton led a Catholic Good Friday "Stations of the Cross" at the Loretto Chapel on March 29, 2013. See: http://www.transformingcenter.org/events/good-friday-service-2/.
    Barton has been trained at the Shalem Institute, http://www.shalem.org/, and contains contemplative articles by other of Shalem's affiliates here http://www.shalem.org/index.php/resources/publications/articles-written-by-shalem-staff. 
    Because Barton is mentioned above in Wilhoit's book, we would like to expand further on this one person's long term Catholic/Buddhist (eastern) contemplative/mystical influence over churches and Christians. This is not to imply that the others Wilhoit quotes in his book are any less dangerous to true Christianity because of their contemplative/mystical positions.
    Barton has had a long association with Shalem which recently had a "Contemplative Communion Good Friday Service". See: http://www.shalem.org/index.php/shalem-programs/contemplative-communion-service/22-groups/289-contemplative-communion-service?tmpl=component&print=1&page=.
    Lighthouse reports: "Shalem’s contemplative roots go back to its beginning. And when we say contemplative, we mean contemplative in its “purest” form, meaning interspiritual, universalistic, New Age/New Spirituality, and so forth. But the story from our vantage point (actually a two-fold story) is that first, mainstream Christianity (United Methodist, Episcopal, etc) has stepped over that line onto the New Age playing field, and second, largely because of one key figure who was trained at Shalem, the evangelical church is right behind them. 
    "Barton was trained at the Shalem Institute and later became the Associate Director of Spiritual Formation at Willow Creek. There, she teamed up with John Ortberg to create Willow Creek’s curriculum on Spiritual Formation. While Richard Foster was bringing contemplative prayer into the church through his 1978 classic Celebration of Discipline, Barton and Ortberg were bringing it in through a side door, the highly influential Willow Creek. Today, both Barton and Ortberg are actively doing their part in bringing about this paradigm shift to evangelical Christianity."
    If one would like to see what the evangelical church is becoming, one only needs to take a look at Ruth Haley Barton today. After she left Willow Creek, she went on to start her own organization, The Transforming Center. There, her program trains thousands of pastors and church leaders how to become contemplative."
    Barton's biography can be found at: http://www.shelfari.com/authors/a975772/Ruth-Haley-Barton/.
    In September 2008, Apprising reported in depth on Barton here: http://apprising.org/2008/09/17/who-is-ruth-haley-barton/, in which Ken Silva reports that Shalem was founded by Tilden Edwards, who in his book, "Spiritual Friend: Reclaiming the Gift of Spiritual Direction", Edwards enlightens us that his particular:
"mystical stream is the Western bridge to Far Eastern spirituality (and to that of Sufi Moslems and some Hassidic Jews in the West as well). The Zen warning not to confuse the pointing finger…for the moon to which it points is a saying that a Christian mystic easily understands. It is no accident that the most active frontier between Christian and Eastern religions today is between contemplative Christian monks and their Eastern equivalents. Some forms of Eastern meditation informally have been incorporated or adapted into the practice of many Christian monks, and increasingly by other Christians."
    As Ken Silva reported in this same article, Edwards admires and quotes both Catholic and Buddhist monks, and Barton follows suit. There is abundant evidence of this in their writings. 
Apprising also reported on Barton here: http://apprising.org/2008/10/22/pastor-ruth-haley-barton-on-her-national-pastors-retreats/, where she calls herself a "pastor" (pastrixes are not Christian), and talks about going into the Catholic "Great Silence" in this video:

    Power to Stand Ministries has already warned on December 20, 2012 about Barton's influence on Women of Grace http://www.wgusa.org/ here: http://powertostand.blogspot.com/2012/12/fgbc-concerns-pt-5-contemplative.html, and is very similar to our serious concerns about Barton.
    Sometimes Barton denies any "eastern emptying of the mind" as in this video, which contradicts all prior endorsements of both Catholic and Buddhist mystical practices and her own spiritual "practices" taught to others, and which certainly do involve such emptying into a "state of nothingness". In this video and much of her other media sources there is the emphasis on the "unmediated" (i.e., without Jesus Christ) access to God, which is totally un-Christian.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_5ZC8yzlao.
    Barton will be attending the Assembly of God "Believe" conference event in Orlando, Florida, August 5-9, 2013, along with Franklin Graham, Christine Caine of Hillsong, Australia, Judah Smith, and Joni Eareckson Tada, among many others. See: http://generalcouncil.ag.org/.
    Barton has studied the Enneagram with Russ Hudson of the Enneagram Institute https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/. 

Let Us Reason has a complete explanation of the Enneagram in their article "The Power of Personality":
http://www.letusreason.org/Current42.htm.

Christian Answers For the New Age (CANA) explains the occult mystical origins of the enneagram, and further links worth exploring: http://www.christiananswersforthenewage.org/Articles_Enneagram.html.

Apprising has an article http://apprising.org/2012/01/16/peter-scazzero-introducing-enneagrams-into-mainstream-evangelicalism/, showing the enneagram being used by Peter Scazzero of New Life Fellowship Church, Elmhurst, Queens, New York City http://newlifefellowship.org/, and Emotionally Healthy Spirituality http://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/. The same article shows that Scazzero is importing such into Bill Hybels' Willow Creek Association.

This video explains the enneagram which Lighthouse explains as 
occult ancient Sufi typology of nine personality types or primary roles. See: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=2298:

    Richard Rohr, contemplative Franciscan Catholic priest, also uses the enneagram:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq9nRszFcM8. This video shows Rohr's affiliation with Shalem:

Rohr gives an occultic enneagram lesson:

The merging of Jesus and Buddha is demonstrated at Rohr's website, https://cac.org/, as in
https://cac.org/store/cds/item/828-jesus-and-buddha-paths-to-awakening:

Jesus and Buddha: Paths to Awakening

Jesus and Buddha: Paths to Awakening

In January 2008 James Finley and Richard Rohr gave a conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Jesus and Buddha: Paths to Awakening. This recording contains the pre-conference and conference teachings.

The Four Noble Truths are the distilled essence of Buddhist teaching. In these talks, each is introduced and explored, with emphasis given to the presence of these truths at the heart of Jesus' call to awaken to God's presence in every detail of our lives.

Topics include:

• Receive and Reflect: Practicing Awareness—Richard Rohr
• Buddhism 101—James Finley
•  Jesus and Buddha—Richard Rohr
• A Deep Look at the First Two Noble Truths—James Finley
• The Ten Cords of Bondage—Richard Rohr
• The Four Limitless Qualities—Richard Rohr
• The Mind of Christ—Richard Rohr
• The Eight-Fold Path—James Finley
• Question & Answer Session—James Finley & Richard Rohr
• Chant and Gesture—Jim Reale
• Nirvana and Kingdom Consciousness—James Finley
• The Heart Sutra & Walking Meditation—James Finley
• Closing Prayer—Richard Rohr

    Barton would like church leaders to move away from secular business models to the mystical:

Barton drifts toward "solitude and silence": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_dH4NqeeQw.