Calling on the Name of Jesus

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Warren B Smith

By Warren B. Smith
Excerpted from The Light That Was Dark, pp. 129-132

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
—Romans 10:13

In the late evening hours, I was startled out of my sleep by an awful evil presence pressing in upon me. I bolted upright and in a horrified, broken voice called out, “Help me, God!”

Joy sprang out of bed in a flash and was immediately by my side. She knew exactly what was going on. Looking directly at me, she addressed the unseen presence, “In the name of Jesus Christ, leave Warren alone!”

And woosh! It was as if a huge weight had been removed from my throat. Whatever the presence was, it left as soon as Joy called on the name of Jesus. Continue reading →

Posted in Articles | Comments Off

Rick Warren: Prophecy is None of our Business?

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Warren B Smith

By Warren B. Smith
Excerpted from A Wonderful Deception, pp. 96-100

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
—Revelation 1:3

Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy.
—Micah 2:6

Rick Warren openly discourages readers of The Purpose Driven Life from studying prophecy. Taking unwarranted and unbiblical liberty in interpreting Acts 1:6-8, he states that Jesus told His disciples that the details of His return “are none of your business”—that they needed to focus on “fulfilling” their “mission” rather than “figuring out prophecy.” He writes:

When the disciples wanted to talk about prophecy, Jesus quickly switched the conversation to evangelism. He wanted them to concentrate on their mission in the world. He said in essence, “The details of my return are none of your business. What is your business is the mission I’ve given you. Focus on that! . . .”

If you want Jesus to come back sooner, focus on fulfilling your mission, not figuring out prophecy.1 (emphasis added)

Continue reading →

Posted in Articles | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Neale Donald Walsch and Conversations with God

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Warren B Smith

By Warren B. Smith
Excerpted from False Christ Coming: Does Anybody Care? pp. 35-40

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.—2 Timothy 4:3-4

IN 1992, Neale Donald Walsch, a disillusioned and distraught former radio talk show host, public relations professional, and longtime metaphysical seeker, sat down one night and wrote God an angry letter.1 He was amazed when “God” immediately answered his letter by speaking to him through an inner voice. That night, and in subsequent conversations, Walsch wrote down all of the dictated answers to his questions. The dictation continued for several years.2 Walsch’s Conversations with God: Book 1 was published in 1995 and became the first in a series of best-selling Conversations with God books. It seemed that in Walsch “God” had found yet another willing channel for his New Age/New Gospel teachings. Continue reading →

Posted in Articles | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Barbara Marx Hubbard: Her New Age Christ’s Selection Process

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Warren B Smith

By Warren B. Smith
Excerpted from False Christ Coming: Does Anybody Care?, pp. 25-30

They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
—John 16:2

SELF-described “futurist” and “conscious evolutionist” Barbara Marx Hubbard writes that in 1966 she heard an “inner voice” that came in response to a question she had asked aloud and directed to God—“What is our story? What in our age is comparable to the birth of Christ?” After asking the question she said she fell into a dreamlike state and was given an intense vision of the future.1

In the vision, Hubbard saw the earth from a distance. She was made to understand that the earth was a living body and that she was a cell in its body. Feeling her “ oneness” with the earth, she experienced its pain and confusion. When her vision abruptly fast-forwarded into the future, she could see the earth and its people were now surrounded by a radiant light. She watched as the whole planet was “aligned” in “a magnetic field of love” and lifted up by the brilliant light. Widespread healings took place as individuals experienced the merging of their own “inner light” with the bright light that was surrounding them. A tremendous “ force” emanating from the light sent powerful currents of joyful energy “rippling” through the body of humanity. The world celebrated as all the earth was “born again.” The pain and confusion were gone. Love had prevailed. Continue reading →

Posted in Articles | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

“Christian” New Age Sympathizer Leonard Sweet: (Part 1) Warren, Sweet, and Sweet’s “New Light” Heroes

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Warren B Smith

By Warren B. Smith
Excerpted from A “Wonderful” Deception, pp. 104-120.

Quantum spirituality bonds us to all creation as well as to other members of the human family. . . . This entails a radical doctrine of embodiment of God in the very substance of creation. . . . But a spirituality that is not in some way entheistic (whether pan- or trans-), that does not extend to the spirit-matter of the cosmos, is not Christian.1

—Leonard Sweet

Shortly after Deceived on Purpose was published, I came across a book titled Quantum Spirituality: A Postmodern Dialectic written by Rick Warren’s “Evangelical” colleague Leonard Sweet. Also, around the same time, I was given a cassette tape set of a presentation Sweet had done with Warren in 1995. Their recorded discussion is titled The Tides of Change and was packaged as part of an ongoing series called “Choice Voices for Church Leadership.” At the time this audio project took place, Sweet was a Christian author, Methodist minister, and the Dean of the Theological School at Drew University. According to information on the tape set, this presentation was about ministry on the emerging “new frontier.”2

Challenging pastors to make changes in their ministry to meet the emerging postmodern culture and the changing times, Sweet and Rick Warren present themselves not only as pastors but also as modern-day change agents. In their conversation together, Sweet enthusiastically remarked to Warren: “I think this is part of this New Spirituality that we are seeing birthed around us.”3 Continue reading →

Posted in Articles | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

“Christian” New Age Sympathizer Leonard Sweet: (Part 2) Sweet, Spangler, and Quantum Spirituality

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Warren B Smith

By Warren B. Smith
Excerpted from A “Wonderful” Deception, pp. 121-138.

If we want to possess a magical crystal for our New Age work, we need look no further than our own bodies and the cells that make them up.1

—David Spangler 1991

I am grateful to David Spangler for his help in formulating this “new cell” understanding of New Light leadership.2

—Leonard Sweet 1991

Leonard Sweet, in acknowledging Willis Harman, Matthew Fox, M. Scott Peck, and the others he refers to as “New Light leaders” in Quantum Spirituality, states:

I believe these are among the most creative religious leaders in America today. These are the ones carving out channels for new ideas to flow. In a way this book was written to guide myself through their channels and chart their progress. The book’s best ideas come from them.3

Speaking of spiritual “channels,” Sweet expresses his personal gratitude in Quantum Spirituality to channeler and veteran New Age leader, David Spangler. Spangler, in attempting to cast off the negative stereotype of a New Age channeler, would now more likely describe himself as a conscious intuitive.4 A pioneering spokesperson for the New Age, Spangler has written numerous books over the years that include Emergence: The Rebirth of the Sacred, Revelation: The Birth of a New Age, and Reimagination of the World: A Critique of the New Age, Science, and Popular Culture. His book Revelation: The Birth of a New Age is a compilation of channeled transmissions he received from his disembodied spirit-guide “John.” At one point in Revelation, Spangler documents what “John” prophesied about “the energies of the Cosmic Christ” and “Oneness”: Continue reading →

Posted in Articles | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

“Christian” New Age Sympathizer Leonard Sweet: (Part 3) Fractals, Chaos Theory, Quantum Spirituality, and The Shack

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Warren B Smith

By Warren B. Smith
Excerpted from A “Wonderful” Deception, pp. 139-161.

A fractal . . . something considered simple and orderly that is actually composed of repeated patterns no matter how magnified. A fractal is almost infinitely complex. I love fractals, so I put them everywhere.1
—Sarayu, The Shack

Fractals reveal a hidden “order” underlying all seemingly chaotic events. The fractals are intricate and beautiful. They repeat basic patterns, but with an infinity of variations and forms. The world-view emerging from this scientific research is new, and yet at the same time very very ancient.2
—The Sovereign Court and
Order of the Ancient Dragon

Shortly after writing the previous two chapters on Leonard Sweet and quantum spirituality, I spoke at a church in Southern California. I had been asked to speak at the two morning services and then again in the evening. In the second morning service, three women approached me and thanked me for warning about the New Age/New Spirituality and how it was working its way into the church. All three told me they formerly attended Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church, but they had become dissatisfied and left. They said it had been difficult to leave because so many of their friends still went to Saddleback. Continue reading →

Posted in Articles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

“Christian” New Age Sympathizer Leonard Sweet: (Part 4) Quantum Leap to a New Age/New Spirituality?

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Warren B Smith

By Warren B. Smith
Excerpted from “A Wonderful Deception”, pp. 163-182.

The coming together of the new biology and the new physics is providing the basic metaphors for this new global civilization that esteems and encourages whole-brain experiences, full-life expectations, personalized expressions, and a globalized consciousness.2

—Leonard Sweet
SoulTsunami

When we experience such a quantum of transformation, we may simultaneously feel that the whole of the New Age is happening right now, that we are on the verge of overnight transformation—the fabled quantum leap into a new state of being.3

—David Spangler
Reimagination of the World

Saddleback Civil Forum and “Flip-Flopping”

On August 16, 2008, Rick Warren hosted the Saddleback Civil Forum with presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. The Civil Forum was carried live on CNN and broadcast around the world. With Warren presiding, this venue was a distinct variation from the usual presidential debate format. During the event, Warren asked both men the same basic ten questions. One of these questions perhaps tells us more about Warren than either of the candidates answers did about them. Using slightly different wording, he asked both Barack Obama and John McCain to describe some position or belief they held ten years ago that they no longer hold today. He softened the question by stating that “sometimes flip-flopping is smart” because it’s based on “additional information” and “knowledge.” Warren said that changing one’s position can often be viewed in a positive way. “That’s not flip-flopping,” he said. “Sometimes that’s growing in wisdom.” Here is how Warren approached the two presidential candidates on this matter of changing one’s belief about something. Continue reading →

Posted in Articles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

“God’s Dream”: A Deceptive Scheme?

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Warren B Smith

By Warren B. Smith

 I am not fully forgiven until I allow God to write his new dream for my life on the blackboard of my mind . . . God has a great plan to redeem society. He needs me and wants to use me. 1 

            —Robert Schuller, 1982

THIS WEEKEND, I’ll begin a series of five messages on God’s dream to use you globally—to literally use YOU to help change the world! 2

            —Rick Warren, 2003

 I live inside God’s dream for me. . . . God can dream a bigger dream for you than you can dream for yourself. 3

            —Oprah Winfrey, 2006

So people interested in being a new kind of Christian will . . . want to find out how they can fit in with God’s dreams actually coming true down here more often. 4

            —Brian McLaren, 2007

“God’s Dream” is a term Robert Schuller adopted years ago and has popularized for more than thirty-five years. As previously mentioned, it appears that Rick Warren first encountered the Schuller concept of “God’s Dream” in 1974 as a twenty year-old. Six years before he started Saddleback Church, he read Schuller’s 1974 book Your Church Has Real Possibilities. 5  In the last chapter of his book, Schuller introduced the term “God’s Dream” in his exhortation and charge to budding young pastors. In the chapter titled “How You Can Dream Great Dreams” Schuller writes: Continue reading →

Posted in Articles | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Eugene Peterson’s Message: Part 1 (My 1994 Warning)

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Warren B Smith

By Warren B. Smith

 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
(2 Timothy 3:5)

I first became aware of Eugene Peterson’s “paraphrase” of the Bible in 1994 when I was doing a weekly segment on a syndicated radio show based on the East coast. The producer of the show entitled my weekly spot “Keeping Our Eye on the Enemy.” It was based on a scripture from the First Book of Peter where he warned:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. (I Peter 5:8)

From my perspective of having been involved in New Age teachings, I would comment on best-selling New Age books and other issues that had New Age implications for the Church. On one program I expressed concern about author Eugene Peterson’s new paraphrase of the Bible entitled The Message. Continue reading →

Posted in Articles | Tagged , , , | Comments Off