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Is it a coincidence that within the last 20 years an ancient practice that
had been abandoned by the “Church” has once again been introduced within its
very walls that is impacting thousands? Why now is it being welcomed with
open arms with such great enthusiasm by an unsuspecting church populace?
This is another of many deceptions that have risen up within the body of
Christ to bring delusion upon those who do not love the truth of God’s word.
What affect will this ancient practice have upon we the believers in Christ?

I am reminded of a sci-fi movie I had seen recently where the main
characters discovered a device that has been buried in a field for centuries
and once it had been unearthed, the quest to find its purpose began in
earnest. Many experiments were done to determine what this device was all
about and once they thought that its purpose was known it was decided that
one or more of the group would take the risk and use the device hoping to
unveil its secrets.

At first everything goes well, many new and wonderful things are revealed,
opening up an unending source of knowledge for its users. After coming to
fully trust this device with many using it to gain knowledge and
enlightenment, strange things are beginning to occur around those who were
brave enough to have taken this journey themselves….but then the obvious.

As with most movie plots such as this one, it is very predictable as to the
eventual outcome. What they had originally thought about this device, hoping
that it was a good thing for all and would enlighten the people who used it,
the device was created for evil purposes, thus capturing the users in a
world of darkness and confusion, eventually leading to their destruction.

Across the country and throughout the nations a practice is being revived
within the church, which has been dormant for centuries. In effect, an
ancient tool has been “unearthed” or re-discovered and people have begun to
experiment in the practice of walking the labyrinth. This is a practice that
seems to bring a sense of spiritual well being for those participating in it
but in reality it has trapped and is snaring many in darkness because of the
labyrinth’s Occult origins.

According to Peter Corbett, in his article ‘Pathfinders, Walking Medieval
Labyrinths in a Modern World,’ “labyrinths predate Christianity by over a
millennium. The most famous labyrinth from ancient times was the Cretan one,
the supposed lair of the mythological Minotaur, which Theseus slew with the
aid of Ariadne and her spool of thread. Turf labyrinths still exist in
England, Germany and Scandinavia, and are thought to be linked with local
feminine deities and fertility rituals. The adoption of labyrinths into the
Christian Church is not very well documented, but they were used
traditionally as a site of pilgrimage. Early Christians took a vow to visit
the Holy City of Jerusalem at some point in their lives. During the Middle
Ages, as the Crusades made travel to Palestine unsafe, other means were
needed to honor that sacred commitment. Labyrinths were adopted by the Roman
Church to offer the congregation a way of fulfilling their sacred vows.
Christians made their pilgrimages to the cathedral cities of Chartres,
Rheims or Amiens, completing their physical and spiritual journeys in the
cathedral labyrinths.

Even though the labyrinth is a Western concept, it shares some similarities
with Asian monastic and spiritual practices. The patterns of the labyrinth
are similar in design and conception to the mandalas of South Asian
Buddhism, which are physical representations of the spiritual realm designed
to aid in meditation. Labyrinths blend their visual symbolism with the
process of walking, which is similar to the Japanese Zen practice of kinhin,
literally “walking meditation,” where all of the attention is focused on the
process of each step, one foot in front of the other, and the breath is
controlled and regulated. Both of these techniques are used in Buddhist
meditation, which combines the elements of calming and insight into the
single goal of samadhi, or “awareness.””

It was recently, in the early 90’s, when Jean Houston, one of the leading
New Age teachers (www.jeanhouston.org), introduced the Christian world again
to the use of this practice for seeking spiritual enlightenment through
walking the labyrinth. Jean Houston has been able to gain access within the
“church” because of her doctorate in the Philosophy of Religion even with
her apparent New Age Occultic teachings.

In one of her seminars in January, 1991, Jean Houston introduced the
experience to the Reverend Lauren Artress. In 1992, the Reverend Lauren
Artress brought the labyrinth to Grace Cathedral in an effort to bring
people back to their center and allow them to experience “Spirit” for
themselves. (www.gracecathedral.org/labyrinth/ and www.Veriditas.net)

Most of the practicing New Age occult world has known and still does, that
the introduction of the labyrinth prayer walk is a victory for their cause,
bringing the unsuspecting Christians into agreement with the overall plan of
the Aquarian Age, where those participating in this practice could be
captured or ensnared into the ways of Satan. (‘The Labyrinth: The Occult Has
Truly Gone Mainstream’ can be found at http://www.cephas-library.com/na/new_age_labyrinth.html
)

After researching the many websites on today’s use of the labyrinth, most
agree that the labyrinth is a tool or device created to bring one into a
higher spiritual realm through the use of meditation whether your are a
practicing Zen Buddhist, a Hindu, a Muslim, a New Age Occultist, a Satanist,
an atheist or even a “Christian.” My question now as it was at the beginning
of this article is what is this labyrinth all about and how will it affect
the believer in Christ?

If someone were to hand you an Ouija Board telling you that it had been
thoroughly redeemed and that other Christians were successfully using this
board to bring them to a greater experience of God, would you also begin to
entertain the thought of using this well known Occult method to seek God?
Would you then use this Occult device, knowing full well that this is a tool
or rather a gateway and portal to bring you into communication with “higher”
spiritual entities (demons and familiar spirits). The labyrinth is much the
same as the Ouija Board in its intent and purpose, to open one up to the
influences of the demons of darkness, to supposedly gain wisdom and
knowledge of the mysteries of life. Then why even begin to experiment or
experience the sacred walk of the labyrinth?

In Deuteronomy 12:1-14 and again in Exodus 34:10-17, God commands us clearly
not to participate in anything that has ever been used in pagan ritual for
worship or for any other use, for that matter. The labyrinth has been from
the very beginning a demonic temple, a Kundalini energy source, a tool of
divination, a gateway and a portal to communicating with other spirits and
was incorporated into the Roman Catholic experience at a time when there was
little understanding of the Bible and little or no discernment.

Throughout the ancient history of the labyrinth divination was used to find
the proper location based on many Occultic spiritual factors. Dowsers (those
who use divining rods) and geomancers (diviners) were used then (and are
still used today) to locate the earth energy center point for many of these
labyrinths and then the cathedrals were constructed around the labyrinth. If
one will study the use of these spiritual gateways (the same function as the
Ouija Board) throughout history, very little emphasis was given to its use
within the church. As the church gained a better understanding of the word
of God, the practice was discontinued. (Research in Geomancy, White Paper,
1990-1994, Jeremy Harte)

People are drawn to the labyrinth by the subtle seductions of the spirit
world trying to convince us that anyone can get to know “God” through some
kind of spiritual experience. If this were the case then we have all been
duped as Christians. If I knew that I could have a “God” experience just by
walking the labyrinth then all that God did through the sacrifice that Jesus
gave on the cross is really unnecessary to bring us into relationship with
the Father, I just have to have an “experience” and all will be well.

Many believe that the labyrinth is the beginning of a “spiritual journey”
opening up relationships with the ancient masters who will in turn offer the
knowledge and wisdom of the ages to all who will take the first step or “the
initiation” to enlightenment. Most Christians know or should know that the
ancient masters are really “familiar spirits” or seducing demons and the
initiation is a bonding with the powers of hell itself. Is this really a
walk to life or a deception that will lure us onto a path to death?

Carl Teichrib describes “the initiation” in his
article ‘Lucifer Rising: Occult Initiation,’ “Within the world of the New Age
and the occult, initiation is the principle key used in advancing the student of
mysticism along the path of occult learning. Practically all esoteric societies
employ initiation. Freemasonry, Rosicrucian orders, hermetic societies, spin-off
Masonic bodies such as the Shriners, Eastern Star, and the Order of DeMolay, all
use initiation as a means of bringing candidates into their organization. Once
inside the group, the society uses initiation as a way of advancing members into
higher degrees of “illumination.” Within each of these rites, mystical concepts
are passed down by means of symbol, myth, and legend woven throughout the
initiation experience. The candidate, for the most part, does not understand its
significance or meaning. Only as one climbs the ladder of ritual and esoteric
work does the member comprehend what the initiations really entail.”

Mike Oppenheimer of Let Us Reason Ministries, gives us additional insight from
his article ‘The Initiation’: “For one to be part of the world servers in the
New Age, they must first have an initiation. This does not come necessarily from
joining a specific group, but by ones own spiritual experience. The common
denominator for those who are enlightened is the experience of light. It does
not matter how one receives it. Whether it comes by meditation, or a spirit
guide or from their Astral traveling, as long as they have experienced it.”

As we walk the labyrinth we are in some cases knowingly or as with most people
we are unknowingly entering into a covenant agreement with the demonic being
initiated just by using the labyrinth as one innocently uses an Ouija Board
thinking they are just playing a game. We become joined with the powers of
darkness and we put ourselves at the mercy of the spirits who will lead us to
destruction.

In 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 and 7:1 we read:

     
“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have
righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common
with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?

     
“For we are the temple
of the living God; just as God said, ‘I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.’ Therefore,
‘COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,’ says the Lord.
“AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN;
and I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons
and daughters to Me,’ says the Lord Almighty.

     “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from
all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

We as Christians have become like moths attracted to the flame, continually
seduced to ever so slowly draw nearer and nearer until we finally are burned
up in a flash. We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:21 to “prove all things” or
“examine everything carefully” and to hold onto those things which are good.
We are also told in 1 John 4 “believe not every spirit, but test the spirits
to see whether they are from God.”

Why would you even take the chance that you might be taking a walk leading
to death?

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 You can contact Steve Muse at
smuse@erwm.com

Visit his website at
http://www.erwm.com/

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