Mysticism-a Scourge of the Modern Church

In a recent copy of The Berean Call, T. A. McMahon titles his article “All mystical roads lead to Rome”. He then traces his own experiences as a Roman Catholic before conversion on to the evangelical church today, covering the ecumenical movement (and mentioning many names) and The Passion of the Christ movie. He does not mince words as he names more names in the Emergent and Seeker Sensitive movements by pointing out that Catholic mysticism is thoroughly subjective and experiential like its parent Eastern mysticism. “...the goal of mysticism is union with God, i.e., the merging of one's soul into God. This is an impossibility that reveals mysticism's pantheistic and panentheistic roots, that God is everything and is in everything. No, God is infinite and transcendent, absolutely separate from His finite creation.”

He then goes on to comment on such things as The Sacred Way, Centering (or contemplative) Prayer practiced by the popular Beth Moore, the Jesus Prayer, Lectio Divina, Ignatian Examen, Prayer Labyrinths, and occultism (that is, occultic practices of mysticism).

A member of my SS class brought in a brochure for a Catholic Taize Prayer Evening, to experience prayer in the style of Taize. Bill Keller appeared on a Fox News broadcast this past week to comment on the New Age mystical approach of America's most popular woman, Oprah Winfrey. He tried to present the basis of the gospel in Jesus alone by faith alone, but the Fox reporter was too busy defending Oprah to give him any leeway or to listen to him.

I received a prayer rug (made out of paper) from the St. Matthews Churches of Tulsa, OK a short time ago. Promising health and wealth, all I had to do was to enter into their prescribed repetitive prayers, put my offering in the envelope and mail it in. “Look into Jesus' Eyes you will see they are closed. But as you continue to look you will see His eyes opening and looking back into your eyes.” This is the height of mysticism.

Why does Mysticism exist?
Since the fall of man, man has attempted to connect himself to the “other” realm of reality: the Absolute, the Divine, the All. Rather than come humbly by faith to the Creator of man and all that is, he attempts to find that reality in his own terms and with his own power as was done in the garden of Eden. He knows there is a transcendent, unseen reality concurrent with this existence that is greater than his own existence and usually defines or has created the world in which he lives. Man seeks to create a harmony with his out-of-harmony world and the harmonious world of the other reality. The end result is a surrendered ego-less state in which, in the mind of the seeker, the external world synchronizes with the mystic's assumed true nature and purpose.
Characteristics of Mysticism
One aberrant output of the Emergent Church is a pilgrimage or the journey of mysticism. This is an awakening to the possibility that the world as it has been explained or taught to him may not be true (cf. Satan in the garden denying the reality of death and slandering the character of God). It brings a kind of self-awareness to one's imperfection, finiteness and unworthiness -what can be done? It is said to bring illumination -consciousness of the “other” reality and the gaining of a new world view and future. Another describes the dark night of the soul – a period of purging or suffering in which the seeker experiences confusion, helplessness, stagnation of the will and withdrawal from the Presence however it has been understood by the seeker. Finally, comes union with the divine, the absolute, the other. But, what “other”?

Mysticism in the church has a new vocabulary with new words, and new meaning to old and familiar words. Like some secret organizations, there can be rites of passage, from initiation through the deepest levels. And it does not neglect superstitious practices believed to invoke or appease the power (s) of the “other”.

Mysticism also includes purification practices, re-education into a new definition of reality; a new worldview – not a biblical worldview. And finally in this regard, we see the establishment of shamans or mystical leaders as those believed to be in union now with the “other” in such a way as to invoke its powers and declare its will and teachings, however bizarre.
All involve rituals, visual symbols, paranormal experiences, contemplative prayer techniques, meditations and mantras, and the ascetic. Indeed, all roads lead to Rome and practices from the Eastern cults developed over the centuries. Experience, not the Word, is the name of the game.