Message Bible for Little Kids Instructs on Contemplative Meditation

Excerpts from Lighthousetrailsresearch.com Message Bible for Little Kids Instructs on Contemplative Meditation March 12, 2009 See What kind of message is The Message [by Eugene Peterson] Read an excerpt from this book in the box below

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This past
spring NavPress released My First
Message
by
Eugene Peterson. The book is meant
to be a child’s first Bible. A product
description of the book suggests that
the contemplative practice called
lectio divina is being utilized: It
states:

“My First Message:
A Devotional Bible for Kids
uses the time-tested
practice of lectio divina (or
“spiritual reading”), a simple but
powerful practice used by Christians
for centuries to deepen their
devotional lives. It is based on
four key elements: reading the
Bible, thinking about what is means,
praying in response to what is says,
and living out the truth.
(This
section is taken from the book – p.
5.)

Lectio divina is indeed powerful, as are other contemplative
practices, but it will not “deepen” the devotional lives of
children. On the contrary, it will introduce kids to a
spirituality that produce detrimental results on practitioners.

Friar Luke Dysinger, a present-day monk
at Saint Andrews Abbey, describes lectio divina this way:

“Choose
a text of the Scriptures … Place
yourself in a comfortable position
and allow yourself to become silent.
Some Christians focus for a few
moments on their breathing; others
have a beloved ‘prayer word’ or
‘prayer phrase’ they gently recite
in order to become interiorly
silent. For some the practice known
as ‘centering prayer‘ makes a
good, brief introduction to
lectio divina.…

“Then turn to the text and read it
slowly, gently. Savor each portion
of the reading, constantly listening
for the ‘still, small voice’ of a
word or phrase that somehow says, ‘I
am for you today …Next take the
word or phrase into yourself.
Memorize it and slowly repeat it to
yourself, allowing it to interact
with your inner world of concerns,
memories and ideas.

“Learn to use words when words are
helpful, and to let go of words when
they no longer are necessary.
Rejoice in the knowledge that God is
with you in both words and silence,
in spiritual activity and inner
receptivity.”

This
practice has become extremely popular in today’s Christian youth
organizations and programs.

Youth Specialties, a world renowned Christian organization,
instructs young people and youth workers to incorporate
lectio divina into their prayer lives. In their magazine,
Youth Worker Journal, they describe lectio divina
this way:

“This is
a fancy Latin term for ‘sacred
reading’ and has also been called
‘meditation on the Word.’ Sacred
reading is the practice of reading
scripture slowly in a spirit of
contemplation. The goal isn’t
exegesis or analysis, but allowing
God to speak to us through the word.
Christians often refer to the Bible
as God’s love letter to mankind, and
when we take the time to read it as
such, we are practicing sacred
reading.”

The article
then exhorts readers to:

“Take a
short passage and repeat it over
and over again aloud. With each
repetition, remove extraneous words
until you’ve broken the passage down
to one thought. An obvious example
is John 14:27, which could easily be
broken down to the word ‘peace.'”

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 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.

There is a difference between reading
the Word and understanding its meaning versus a method of
focusing on a single word to gain a mystical experience. In
light of NavPress’ PrayKids
magazine where contemplative prayer is
encouraged, it makes sense that they would publish Peterson’s
contemplative promoting Bible for kids, but it is tragic
to think of how many children could be drawn into a spiritual
camp that ultimately negates the gospel and takes practitioners
into what contemplative father Thomas Keating calls kundalini
(serpent power),3
a Hindu term for the deep trance state that meditators
experience. While Richard Foster himself admits that this type
of prayer can be very dangerous, (see

RAW,
p. 144) it is a mystery then why contemplatives would want to
teach this to children.

In the




PrayKids
magazine, NavPress says:

“Contemplative prayer is a form of
meditative prayer that focuses on
communing with God. Although
sometimes confused with its
Eastern (and non-Christian)
counterpart, true Christian
meditation has been practiced since
Bible times.”

Typically,
we have found that if something sounds eastern or mystical, it’s
because it is eastern or mystical.
Eugene Peterson‘s book
rings of the mystical, and we hope parents will avoid putting
their children in contact with it.

“And
whosoever shall offend one of these
little ones that believe in me, it
is better for him that a millstone
were hanged about his neck, and he
were cast into the sea.” Mark 9:42

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