Emergent Connections -- Beth Moore

Beth moore on the contemplative bandwagon

Beth Moore, a Southern Baptist who is influential with a broad spectrum of evangelical women, is also on the contemplative bandwagon. She joined Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, and other contemplatives on the Be Still DVD, which was published in April 2008 by Fox Home Entertainment. Shortly after it was released she issued a retraction of sorts, but she soon retracted her retraction. In a statement published on May 26, 2008, Moore’s Living Proof Ministries said: “We believe that once you view the Be Still video you will agree that there is no problem with its expression of Truth” (http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/bethmoorestatement.htm).

To the contrary, the very fact that it features Richard Foster and Dallas Willard are serious problems!

Lighthouse Trails issued the following discerning warning:

“In the DVD, there are countless enticements, references and comments that clearly show its affinity with contemplative spirituality. For instance, Richard Foster says that anyone can practice contemplative prayer and become a ‘portable sanctuary’ for God. This panentheistic view of God is very typical for contemplatives. ... The underlying theme of the Be Still DVD is that we cannot truly know God or be intimate with Him without contemplative prayer and the state of silence that it produces. While the DVD is vague and lacking in actual instruction on word or phrase repetition (which lies at the heart of contemplative prayer), it is really quite misleading. What they don’t tell you in the DVD is that this state of stillness or silence is, for the most part, achieved through some method such as mantra-like meditation. THE PURPOSE OF THE DVD, IN ESSENCE, IS NOT TO INSTRUCT YOU IN CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER BUT RATHER TO MAKE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY HUNGRY FOR IT. The DVD even promises that practicing the silence will heal your family problems. ... THIS PROJECT IS AN INFOMERCIAL FOR CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE, and because of the huge advertising campaign that Fox Home Entertainment has launched, contemplative prayer could be potentially introduced into millions of homes around the world.

“[On the DVD Moore says], ‘... if we are not still before Him [God], we will never truly know to the depths of the marrow of our bones that He is God. There’s got to be a stillness.’ ... [But is] it not true that as believers we come to Him by grace, boldly to His throne, and we call Him our friend? No stillness, no mantra, no breath prayer, no rituals. Our personal relationship with Him is based on His faithfulness and His love and His offer that we have access to Him through the blood of Jesus Christ, and not on the basis of entering an altered state of consciousness or state of bliss or ecstasy as some call it” (“Beth Moore Gives Thumbs Up to Be Still DVD,” http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/bethmoorethumbsup.htm).

In her book When Godly People Do Ungodly Things (2002), Moore recommends contemplative Roman Catholics Brother Lawrence and Brennan Manning.

Of Manning she says that his contribution to our generation “may be a gift without parallel” (p. 72) and calls Ragamuffin Gospel “one of the most remarkable books” (p. 290). She does not warn her readers that Manning never gives a clear testimony of salvation or a clear gospel in his writings, that he attends Mass regularly, that he believes it is wrong for churches to require that homosexuals repent before they can be members, that he promotes the use of mantras to create a thoughtless state of silent meditation, that he spent six months in isolation in a cave and spends eight days each year in silent retreat under the direction of a Dominican nun, that he promotes the dangerous practice of visualization, that he quotes very approvingly from New Agers such as Beatrice Bruteau (who says, “We have realized ourselves as the Self that says only I AM ... unlimited, absolute I AM”) and Matthew Fox (who says all religions lead to the same God), and that he believes in universal salvation, that everyone including Hitler will go to heaven. (For documentation see “A Biographical Catalog of Contemplative Mystics” in our new book Contemplative Mysticism: A Powerful Ecumenical Glue.)

More Here

 

Choosing Mystical Union Over the Cross

The goal to unify man through a shared mystical religious experience is becoming more crystal clear with every passing day. The Sufis of Islam have "Fana,"1 the Kabbalists (Jewish mystics) have "Amidah,"2 and the Buddhists and Hindus have TM. And now last but not least, the Christians have contemplative prayer. Through contemplative prayer, many evangelicals and post-modernists say we can join the shared universal experience.

Listen to a few comments by dedicated New Agers and mystics who affirm their belief that the mystical element unites all humanity:


A highest common factor [is] ... the metaphysic that recognizes a divine Reality ... [linking] every religious tradition.3-Aldous Huxley

I would like to explore what I call interspirituality: a crossing-over boundaries that mysticism makes possible and concrete.4-Wayne Teasdale

This mystical stream [contemplative prayer] is the Western bridge to Far Eastern spirituality.5-Tilden Edwards

It is with great sadness and dismay I tell you now that this New Age mindset has spilled over and is now invading Christendom. Evangelical author and speaker Tony Campolo, in his book Speaking My Mind, affirms this union:

[M]ysticism provides some hope for common ground between Christianity and Islam. Both religions have within their histories examples of ecstatic union with God, which seem at odds with their own spiritual traditions but have much in common with each other.6



Later he asks the question, "Could they [Islamic Sufis] have encountered the same God we do in our Christian mysticism?"7 With various examples, Campolo paints a picture of interspirituality through mysticism. Referring to Muslim and Christian mystics, he even tells us that the Christian mystics, such as St. John of the Cross, were enriched by the teachings of Sufi philosophers. In comparing St. Francis of Assisi with the founder of the Sufi movement, Campolo says:



Both men sensed a sacred presence in everything and claimed to have experienced a mystical union with God.8



The obvious implication of Campolo's statement is that God can be reached through mystical experiences, regardless of one's religion and beliefs. This is common thinking among contemplatives who often state that contemplative prayer does indeed provide a bridge to Divinity. The Bible makes it clear there can be no access to God except through Jesus Christ, but these writers negate this central claim in Jesus' proclamation by their promotion of mystical union with God for all religions.

More Here

 

That's all well and good, but, again, simply adopting some contemplative customs or practices does not equate to one adopting pagan practices (which is what the OP implies). What must be asked is which specific practice is Moore adopting, and is it, in and of itself, contrary to scripture?

Lutherans once removed all stained glass windows from their churches, because stained glass windows were deemed "too catholic". That idead seems ridiculous today, not to mention, unnecessary. Likewise, to simply dismiss a practice because "the contemplatives do it" is usually poor reason to dismiss a practice.

 

Let's see: 12 posts in two threads posted close together, both on the same topic. Yep, that qualifies as trolling, and might even possibly be spamming.

 

Spamming is categorically defined as posting identical (or similar) messages in multiple locations, which is why it might constitute spamming.

Nice try, but this obviously demonstrates that you're not familiar with common netiquette.

 

From what I've read here, this lady and her associates need to be avoided. Thank you both for this information!

 

For what it's worth, I'm not particularly a Beth Moore fan at all, and I personally avoid her, just not for the reasons of the OP.