Yoga, Mysticism & Moody Bible Institute

Moody Bible Institute Responds to Lighthouse
Trails

“…Moody’s response states they
agree that according to our definition of contemplative
spirituality, it is wrong. Our definition states:

 “A belief system that
uses ancient mystical practices to induce altered states of
consciousness (the silence) and is rooted in mysticism and
the occult but often wrapped in Christian terminology; the
premise of contemplative spirituality is pantheistic (God is
all) and panentheistic (God is in all).”

The email states that MBI does
not endorse this type of spirituality. They say that although
they use books by contemplative authors in their courses, it
does not necessarily mean they adhere to the teachings of these
authors. They say they are using these books to possibly discuss
the errors of these books and authors. But this defense is
contrary to evidence in their ministries and on their web sites
that show they are promoting these authors and their teachings
in a favorable fashion.

The following (in red) is an excerpt from our 2006 article
titled “Moody Bible Institute – Whatever Happened?”

Midday Connection, a ministry
of Moody Bible Institute, is featuring an author (and a
guest on their show) who promotes contemplative
spirituality, Keri Wyatt Kent. Wyatt Kent is a writer for
Willow Creek Community Church and often speaks on spiritual
formation. Her recent book, Listen: Finding God in the
Story of Your Life (published by the
emerging/contemplative promoting publisher, Jossey-Bass),
teaches readers to “listen” to God through “spiritual
practices,” including the practice of silence. The author
quotes extensively throughout the book both contemplatives
and New Agers, including Henri Nouwen, M.Scott Peck, Sue
Monk Kidd, Anne Lamott, Julia Cameron, Rick Warren, Richard
Foster, Ruth Haley Barton, and Eugene Peterson.

When Midday Connection (MBI ministry) was recently asked
about their obvious promotion of Wyatt Kent and of
contemplative spirituality, they stated that they were
committed to spiritual formation and named “solid guests”
like Larry Crabb and Dallas Willard who were teaching people
“spiritual disciplines.” They said they were just
“re-stating some old truths in new ways.” …

In 1987, Moody Monthly wrote an endorsement for Sue Monk
Kidd‘s book, God’s Joyful Surprise. In this book,
one of Monk Kidd’s earlier books, she unfolds her journey
into contemplative spirituality, largely from reading
Thomas Merton and other contemplative authors. Once a
conservative Southern Baptist Sunday School teacher, today
she promotes neo-paganism and goddess worship. …

So the real question is, is the
spirituality of “Christian” contemplatives (those named in this
article) truly Christian, biblical spirituality, or is it no
different than eastern spirituality that is taught in Hinduism
and other religions which premise is based on pantheism (God is
all) and panentheism (God is in all)? If the latter is true,
then MBI and its students are heading for serious detriment….

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North Carolina Baptist Convention
welcomes
Yoga Emergent Guru Doug Pagitt

The Baptist State Convention of
North Carolina will be sponsoring a conference this fall
featuring yoga proponent and emerging church leader Doug Pagitt.
The Wired2Grow event will take place on October 16th in
Burlington, North Carolina….

Pagitt is the pastor of Solomon’s
Porch in Minnesota where yoga classes are often held. In the
December 3rd 2005 issue of the Twin Cities Pioneer Press, it
stated: “Christian yoga has been gaining a devout following, and
Twin Cities pastor Doug Pagitt has endorsed the practice in his
new book, Body Prayer: The Posture of Intimacy with God.”
A PBS news story


(see video) on the
emerging church featured Doug Pagitt. The video also showed yoga
classes taking place at the 2005 Emergent Convention in which
Pagitt was a speaker. In one segment of the video (25 second
mark), there was an Egyptian god symbol above a sanctuary stage
(25 second mark) of a church. Currently, on the Solomon Church
website is advertised the Women’s Yoga and Prayer class….

Pagitt, like most emerging church
leaders, resonates with mysticism (such as yoga and
contemplative prayer) and is sympathetic towards Catholicism. In
Roger Oakland’s book,



Faith Undone, he
quotes Pagitt. Pagitt states:

“During a recent Life
Development Forum we offered a session on Christian
practices. In one of the four weeks we introduced the act of
making the sign of the cross on ourselves. This gesture has
become a very powerful experience for me. It is rich with
meaning and history and is such a simple way to proclaim and
pray my faith with my body. I hold the fingers on my right
hand in the shape of a cross, my index finger lying over the
top of my outstretched thumb. I use the Eastern Orthodox
pattern of touching first head, then heart, then right lung
followed by left. Others in the group follow the Roman
Catholic practice with left before right.” (Faith
Undone, p.
51) ….

While many Christians think that
yoga is ok if it is just practiced as a physical exercise
omitting the spiritual aspects, even Hindu yoga masters say that
you cannot separate the two. In one article titled “There
is No Christian Yoga”
by Hindu Yogi Baba Prem, Vedavisharada, CYI, C.ay, C.va, he
states:

It was quite astonishing to
see on the flyer ‘Christian Yoga! This Thursday night….’ I
could feel the wheels spinning in my brain. ‘Christian
Yoga,’ I thought. Now while Christians can practice yoga, I
am not aware of any Christian teachings about yoga. Yoga is
not a Judeo/Christian word! It is … certainly not a part
of protestant teachings. It is not found within the King
James Version of the bible. It is a Hindu word, or more
correctly a Sanskrit word from the Vedic civilization. So
how did we get ‘Christian Yoga’?

In an email Lighthouse Trails
received from a professor at the Classical Yoga Hindu Academy,
he stated:

Is Yoga a religion that
denies Jesus Christ? Yes. Just as Christianity denies the
Hindu MahaDevas such as Siva, Vishnu, Durga and Krishna, to
name a few, Hinduism and its many Yogas have nothing to do
with God and Jesus (though we do respect that others believe
in this way). As Hindus who live the Yogic lifestyle, we
appreciate when others understand that all of Yoga is all
about the Hindu religion. Modern so-called ‘yoga’ is
dishonest to Hindus and to all non-Hindus such as the
Christians.

In a DVD titled




Yoga Uncoiled by
Caryl Productions, she explains that Yoga is not mere exercise.
The postures themselves are specifically designed to worship the
gods of Hinduism. For anyone who thinks that Yoga exercises
(postures) are valid and safe, please get a copy of Dave Hunt’s
book, Yoga and the Body of Christ and Caryl Matrisciana’s DVD.
You will not only have a deeper understanding of the true nature
of Yoga, but you will also see how dangerous it is to the
spiritual welfare of the believer.

Unfortunately, Pagitt’s role in the North Carolina Baptist event
is not the only indication that the North Carolina organization
is heading into the contemplative/emergent camp. In their



Spiritual Formation
department, they include Marjorie Thompson’s book Soul Feast.
In a recent book review, Thompson is quoted from her book as
saying:

Some Christians find that
“mindfulness meditation,” a traditional Buddhist practice,
helps them live their Christian discipleship more
faithfully…. The practice of contemplative prayer might
give a Christian ground for constructive dialogue with a
meditating Buddhist. (from Prologue of Soul Feast)…

BSCNC is also advertising the
North Carolina Five-Day Academy for Spiritual Formation. A look
at the retreat’s brochure reveals influence by Catholic priest
and mystic


Thomas Merton, who
said he wanted to be the best Buddhist he could be and who
compared dropping LSD to practicing contemplative prayer…

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Emergence 2007 Speaker Karen Ward on
the Atonement

The Emergence 2007 conference,
called a “unique weekend conversation,” will take place October
19-20 in Austin, Texas. One of this year’s speakers is Karen
Ward, an emerging church leader. Ward is Abess of Apostles
Church in Washington state and is one of the authors for a book
called Listening to the Beliefs of the Emerging Churches. In
Faith Undone, Roger Oakland discusses Ward and some things she
says in this book (which will be featured at the Emergence 2007
event):

Emergent leader Karen Ward asks
the question, “Is there an ’emerging’ theology of the
atonement?” She answers, “I think not.” Calling it “the mystery
we’re in,” she refers to the atonement as “at-one-ment,” which
occultist and New Age prophet Alice Bailey refers to as our (all
humanity) oneness and equality with God. Ward explains her
views:

We are being moved, as
a community, beyond theories about atonement, to
enter into atonement itself, or at-one-ment
— the new reality and new relationship of oneness
with God which Christ incarnated (in life, cross, and
resurrection) and into which we are all invited “for all
time.” (Faith
Undone, p.
220)

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