Around Town: Transform Conversations, Week of Prayer, Martyrs, Gramma . . .

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1. DECEIVERS EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW: CH. 1 – Jan Markell: Religionist Deceivers Rampant (Part 6) – When Left Isn’t Right

   By Jan Markell -October 17, 2019

   Part six of Jan Markell’s Chapter “Religionist Deceivers Rampant,” an exclusive preview of Terry James’s book “Deceivers: Exposing Evil Seducers & Their Last Days Deception.

   When Left Isn’t Right

   The rise of the religious left is simply stunning. Jim Wallis, Tony Campolo, Shane Claiborne, Lynne Hybels and many more, have convinced two generations that the social gospel is where it is at. It had its modern beginning in the late 1800s, which I referred to when I began this chapter.

   “It developed as a way to address the various conditions in society that caused suffering among the populace. The belief was, and is, that Christianity will attract followers when it demonstrates its love for mankind. This could be best accomplished by helping to alleviate the suffering of humanity caused by poverty, disease, oppressive work conditions, society’s injustices” and civil rights abuses.

   Along with this came the push for “social justice,” and that spotlight was turned on the so-called Palestinian people and their perceived plight. Denominations and churches then heavily turned away from support for Israel and God’s chosen people. Gone are the days when Israel could count on 100 percent evangelical support.

   Criticism was always couched in sentiment that Israel was an “occupier” with no thought given to all the verses about her God-given land.

   This, too, is end-time deception.

   To be honest, the more I learned about these strange theologies, the more I sensed my world was growing smaller and smaller. I just didn’t fit in hardly any of them. Was I just a theological prude who was a purist and a victim of a hyper-fundamentalist orientation when I was young? Or was I a Berean who looked at these theological aberrations and concluded they were a part of the great end-time falling away?

   Part 7
   Part 5

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2. Part five of Jan Markell’s Chapter “Religionist Deceivers Rampant,” an exclusive preview of Terry James’s book “Deceivers: Exposing Evil Seducers & Their Last Days Deception.”

   So Protestants Are Now Catholics?

   In more recent years, I began hearing about mystical Christianity. I learned that many churches, and most of them evangelical churches, were promoting labyrinths, icons, chanting, candles, centering prayer, and contemplative prayer. The latter is a distant relative of Buddhism, so I wondered how much stranger things could get. Protestants began taking on Catholic traditions. They were heralding ancient Catholic mystics. I guess we didn’t need the Reformation.

   Some just called this “the new spirituality,” even though they were tapping into practices that were very old – so old that it went back to the desert fathers and borrowed their practices. I could not believe what I was seeing and reading.

   These folks all talked about a new kind of meditation that sounded quite dangerous. It did not sound like true biblical meditation, but was more aligned with Zen. The Christian college from which I graduated years ago brought in a Buddhist to encourage the students to zone out and meditate, but not on the Bible!

   Men who didn’t have sound theology, such as Dallas Willard, Richard Foster and Thomas Merton, started being quoted in church pulpits. What was going on? The more I looked into these mystics, the more I trembled for the Church and the sheep who were going to be slaughtered and eaten by wolves. There was just no end to the last days’ deceptions.

   These mystics thought they could sanctify yoga and decided to call it “Christian yoga.” You can’t put a smiley face on millions of demons who are a part of the yoga experience, but these folks thought you could!

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