Contemplative Spirituality is not the Mind of Christ

When Jesus Christ came to earth, even though He was previously in the form of and equal with God, He took on the form of a servant.  The Apostle Paul lays this out clearly in his letter to the church at Philippi. 

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11NKJV)

I do not know of a passage of Scripture that more clearly debunks the bizarre notion of a Christ Consciousness.  However, increasing numbers of professing Christians are succumbing to the idea as they read books, attend seminars and conferences, watch video, and engage in Contemplative Prayer that is being promoted by New Age mystics posing as Christians.  They call themselves Emergent Christians.  However, a Christians truly emerges when God calls him or her out of darkness and into His marvelous light.  The so-called Emergent ones are actually heading back into the darkness, if in fact they have ever emerged from the light. 

A key phrase in Philippians 2 is found in the 5^th verse, “Let this mind be in you…”  There is no mention of Contemplative Prayer here.  One must simply humble him or herself, and become obedient to God to the fullest extent.  The Contemplative mystics cannot harmonize this verse with what they promote.  They believe that one must sit in yoga position, place ones hands in salutation to the sun, and by counting ones breaths while chanting a mantra, enter an altered state of consciousness.  At that point they claim to reach a higher level of spirituality.  Their New Age counterparts claim that they are partaking of the Christ Consciousness.  Professing Christian and Contemplative mystic, Richard Foster, declares that one cannot obtain a necessary degree of spirituality without Contemplative Prayer.  Other ones, such as Ruth Haley Barton, set themselves up as Spiritual Directors (gurus), insisting that no one can possible achieved this degree of spirituality without their help.  By believing that one can reach a greater degree of spirituality by such unbiblical means, they reject the Holy Spirit who is the epitome of spirituality.  Obviously, the mind they are pursuing is not the mind of Christ. 

Aligning themselves with the New Age practitioners and promoters of Contemplative Spirituality, they cannot avoid the same heretical conclusions.  One such conclusion is that the false notion that God’s son, Jesus, was the first one to partake of the Christ Consciousness that we all have the opportunity to partake of.  God’s word declares otherwise.  However, Jesus did not come to be a Christ or a King; He was born the Christ, the only and true Messiah, and the King of kings and Lord of lords.  He did not spend His time on earth attempting to ascend to higher levels of spirituality.  He was born as the embodiment of true spirituality.  The day He was born, wise men came to worship Him. Simeon, a godly and devout men, saw him as a child and declared that He was the Lord’s Christ (Luke 2:25-32).  Obviously, there was not Contemplative Prayer involved in attaining this status or title.

What is actually occurring in Christianity is an attempt to humanize Christ and God, make them equal with individuals that claim to have risen above their fellow Christians by means of Contemplative Spirituality.  The spirituality that they are experiencing is actually from the realm of darkness.  In fact, New Age/Emergent leaders are actually promoting and practicing witchcraft.  It is witchcraft because it calls on means other than God to conjure up spirits and produce the supernatural.  The result is not only the submission of one’s soul to the satanic realm, but also to distract and defocus people from God to whom all power belongs.              

After realizing the depth and span of Contemplative Spirituality in Christianity, many concerned Christians have asked how it could occur.  It began when a plethora of heresies invaded and were assimilated in Christianity over several decades.   As a result, the invasion of Contemplative Spirituality was relatively easy.  New Age Contemplative Mystics masquerading as Christians did not find Christianity armed with truth and knowledge as a result of devotion to and intimacy with God.  Instead, they found a Christianity wallowing in selfishness, addicted to religious bondage, whose leaders are drunk on avarice and power.  They did not find a strong and stable Christianity, but one with many open belief systems and broken down defenses.  It was a Christianity prepared by heresies for the great and final deception and subsequent apostasy. 

One of the major heresies that set up Christianity for this invasion of New Age mysticism is the so-called Word of Faith Movement.  For decades they have present the idea of God as a supernatural, nervous, doting, servant, jumping into action the instant we speak a word of faith.  The WoF teaches that God can be manipulated, even controlled by His words.  They promote the idea that God gave us a mystical quality (faith) that allows us to speak objects into existence, to command money to come to us, and thus to live a life of luxury in perfect health and comfort. They misinterpret Matthew 28:18 to mean that all power in heaven and earth has been given to them instead of Christ.  The heretical conclusion is that God willingly abdicated His Lordship and made them lords over Him.  He gave them the power to command Him, and thus became their servant.

Another factor is the lack of resistance from Christian leaders on all levels.  Of the number of knowledgeable individuals that remain today, the majority has no motivation to resist.  Their income and position depends on the broken church.  Should they cry out against the invasion, they would be ostracized and excommunicated.  Many of them have never held a secular job.  The prospect of providing an income by secular work, of not having a title, a building to preach in, and the other benefits offered by the broken church, is terrifying to them.   So they fret, present feeble complaints, and hope things improve for the better.  Of course, decadence in Christianity never improved in the past because of timid people making timid protests.  The church in China and other nations have paid with their lives, with loss of limbs and other torture, with years in filthy prisons, to resist the invasion of evil.  Most American ministers will not offer one bold statement of protest when the church is being flooded and captured by the witchcraft of New Age mystics.  What a contrast!

Of course, the ones who choose passivity instead of opposition glibly rest their case on the old tired adage of accentuating the positives.  I had to work in a house once where that philosophy was obviously the rule.  I had to navigate from room to room by narrow trails that wound through a large and continuous pile of dirty clothing.  By observation, I realized the family frequently bought new clothes.  When they were too dirty to wear, they threw them on the pile. The carpeted path was matted with dirt and other unknown debris.  The kitchen sink was piled so high with dishes, pots, pans, skillets, and etc. that it could not be used.  The family had resorted to eating fast food rather than to clean the kitchen and cook a meal.  Fast food sacks and boxes were piled everywhere.  A quarter inch of grease coated the kitchen floor.  Roaches and other vermin were plentiful.  However, they seemed to be positive and happy.  As long as they could make it to the bathrooms, bedrooms, and had the area in front of the TV cleared, they were content to live in squalor.  During the week I worked the insurance claim on their house, it became obvious that they accentuated the positive while the negatives accentuated by reason of neglect and irresponsibility.  Obviously, negatives cannot be removed by simply ignoring them.  Even an antelope knows to run when a lion is spotted.    

Let me be perfectly honest here.  There has always been a great cost of true Christianity in times of apostasy.   Consequentially, it will cost individuals that oppose this present invasion of evil into Christianity.  However, true Christians believe that their lives are not their own, that they were bought with a price having been redeemed by the blood of Christ.  Therefore, they choose to obey Him unquestioningly no matter what the cost.  True Christians also believe that they are God’s servants, not vice versa.  When evil arrives at the door, no matter how well it is dressed, or how many people are willing to let it in, a true Christian will stand against it unashamed and unafraid no matter what the cost.  It is time for true Christians to lift up God’s standard, to speak the truth with boldness, and to oppose this massive and devastating invasion of evil.  When our example, Christ Jesus, was on this earth, He opposed the evil that had bound and oppressed the masses.  He was obedient unto death.  Are truly followers of Him when we are not even willing to pay by comparison the price of much smaller inconveniences?