Evangelical Resources on Mysticism

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Articles
3. Books
   • Critiques of Mysticism
   • Charismatic Spirituality
   • True Spirituality
   • Pro-Mysticism Literature
4. Websites
5. Video
6. Observations
   • The Role of Emotions in Spirituality
   • A Proper Attitude in Prayer
   • The Holy Spirit: Mystical Force or Comforter?
7. Doxology: The Heart of Worship
8. Conclusion

Introduction

"I am traveling down a long, straight path. There is nothing particularly compelling about it, other than the fact that it leads where I am heading. It seems to stretch forever, the same gray colors seem to blend into a drabness and boredom with no hope of change in sight.

"Suddenly I come to a split in the road. The same road continues straight into the distance, as gray and boring as ever. But curving to the left, I see something awe inspiring. The path is illuminated by a powerful golden light, and every rock and tree seem to crackle with life and a happiness that is unfathomable.

"Suddenly, I am reminded of Robert Frost's poem about the road less traveled. I look toward the spectacle of beauty before me, and then back at the doldrums of the old gray road, some dead leaves blowing in the wind. To the left is something fresh and wonderful; straight ahead is dreariness. The new road, with its curves and light, is very attractive.

"But I don't know the road; I don't know where it leads. It may take me miles out of the way of my destination. It would be a wondrous delight, at least it seems so from here. There really is no way to tell where a road will take you when you first start down it...

Such is the lure of mysticism. Wanderers throughout the mists of time have come this way before and stood perplexed by the choice. The promise of Higher Spirituality is inspiring, alluring many a traveler. But the road seemingly less traveled, the road of beauty, curves far away from where they really want to be.

Mysticism exists in a myriad of forms. Within Christianity, it is seen in Roman Catholic teachings, the 20th century Pentecostal and Charismatic traditions, and in the Quakers. In the great three monotheistic religions, it is seen in the practices of the Gnostic Christians, the Sufi Muslims, and the Kabalistic Jews. Outside of monotheism, mysticism expresses itself in the Western New Age movement, as well as the Eastern Buddhism and Hinduism, Yoga, and Native American spirituality.

The draw of the esoteric is powerful: an ecstatic spiritual experience connecting with the Ultimate in Divine Reality! But the alternative is equally possible and equally frightening: finding that esoterism is the ultimate in spiritual and mental bondage. Escaping the illusion of life becomes escaping everything in life that has any meaning. The rejection of the exoteric spiritual experience is the heart of esoterism.

Spirituality is like flying an aircraft. It is very easy to take off, but landing safely requires thousands of hours of training and skill. True spirituality must not merely take us to the highest heights of spiritual experience, but must bring us back safely to reality.

If you have comments, issues, or concerns, please email me directly: michaelh@ductape.net

Articles

• Christian Mysticism: The True and the False
  [ http://withchrist.org/mysticism.htm ]

• Arthur L. Johnson, "The Antidote of Mysticism"
  [ http://withchrist.org/johnsonDr.htm ]

  A chapter excerpted from Faith Misguided, Exposing the Dangers of Mysticism.

• Ron Rhodes, "Esotericism and Biblical Interpretation"
  [ http://home.earthlink.net/~ronrhodes/Esotericism.html

• Marcia Montenegro, "Meditation and Psalm 46:10"
  [ http://cana.userworld.com/cana_Meditation_Psalm.html ]

  "Much confusion today comes from various meanings of the word "meditation." When we are exhorted to meditate on God's word, it means to ponder, to deeply reflect, and to contemplate the meaning of a passage. The word translated as "meditation" in several verses in the Psalms means to meditate in the sense of reflecting upon. In fact, the New Living Translation uses the word "thought" for "meditation" in several of these passages, such as in Ps. 19:14: "May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you." We are to seek to understand God's word with our minds, not to empty the mind, or to bypass the mind for a merging with God.

  "Ps. 46:10, far from endorsing a mystical meditative state, is stating to the hearers that they should be in awe of God as the Sovereign Ruler. How ironic that God's words in this verse are misused to support mystical meditation techniques when the verse itself is a rebuke to pay attention to God's might!"

• T. A. McMahon, "Contemplation Techniques for Youth"
  [ http://www.bereanpublishers.co.nz/Deception_in_the_Church/contemplation_techniques_for_you.htm ]

  This article focuses on how meditative techniques, unfortunately mistaken for Christian spirituality, are being taught to Christian youth.

  "Suppose you were introduced to a promotion promising a direct line of communication with the Creator of the universe.

  "Let's say you're initially skeptical, but you also find the idea appealing. After all, who wouldn't want to be able to hear from and speak with God as though He were on one's cell phone? As you listen to the deal being pitched and peruse some of the literature, you realize that the key to this is the use of a ouija board. You push the literature aside and head for the exit.

  "Virtually every evangelical Christian would quickly reject the proposal, especially if he were aware that a ouija board is an instrument of divination, a device for contacting spirit entities, which the Bible explicitly condemns (Dt. 18:10). The basic problem with divination is that, even though the diviner is sincerely attempting to contact God, the entities with which one ends up communicating are demons (posing as Jesus, God, angels, departed loved ones, aliens, gods, etc.).

  "Discernment regarding the above example is for the most part, as my kids would say, "a no brainer! " However, that's rarely the case in today's spiritual marketplace. In particular, the "new and improved' or "revived" ways of communicating with God promoted among evangelicals are highly deceptive and very seductive. God has given His Word and His Holy Spirit to help ifs discern what is of Him and what is not. It's particularly disturbing that a lethal portion of the "what is not" has entered the arena of our evangelical youth. Under the guise of "spiritual exercises that invite direct experiences with God," and with the assurance that they are "classical forms of biblical meditation," growing numbers of our "church" kids are being led unwittingly into the occult."

• Alan Morrison, "The Evangelical Attraction to Mysticism"
  [ http://www.bereanbeacon.org/EvangelicalAttraction.html ]

  This article discusses in detail the development of Roman Catholic mysticism followed by the reactions of Reformers against it.

  "We say again that the Reformation was a gigantic NO! to Catholic mysticism. But that did not stop it working vigorously, as we know."

  The article then turns to the history of the Pietist Movement, followed of course by a discussion of John Wesley's mystical legacy. Bringing the discussion to present, this is followed by the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. Finally, the article devotes its last section to thirteen reasons why mysticism is not compatible with true Evangelical Christianity:

  1. It confuses the Imago Dei (the Image of God) with the Essentia Dei (Essence of God)
  2. It undermines the need for a structured local church
  3. It intrudes into forbidden areas of spiritual life
  4. It creates a breed of "Christian" superbeings
  5. It is intensely synergistic
  6. It renders void the need for forensic justification
  7. It denies the substitutionary atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ
  8. It undermines the need for the Incarnation
  9. It pretends that it is selfless but it is in fact an example of the ultimate in self-centeredness
  10. It bases its assurance on extreme subjectivism
  11. It inevitably leads to false ecumenism
  12. It inexorably moves towards interfaithism
  13. It is a manifestation of the original satanic lie at the beginning of human history

• John Caddock, "What is Contemplative Spirituality and Why is It Dangerous? A Review of Brennan Manning's The Signature of Jesus
  Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society, Autumn 1997 - Volume 10:19
  [ http://www.faithalone.org/journal/1997ii/Caddock.html ]

  This article discusses the influence of Roman Catholic mysticism upon Evangelical Christianity, particularly in the popular works of Brennan Manning:

  "Some Roman Catholics began to advocate the new theology which Francis Schaeffer warned of in his classic The God Who is There. Schaeffer pointed to Hans Küng and Karl Rahner (both influential in shaping Manning's views) and Tielhard de Chardin as the leading progressive thinkers who were following in the path of Heidegger, the existentialist philosopher. To the new theology, language is always a matter of personal interpretation and therefore the language of the Bible can be used as a vehicle fo continuous existential experiences. A given verse a thousands of different interpretations as each person has an encounter with God." ...

  "Schaeffer predicted that the new theology would lead to mysticism. Karl Rahner showed the truth in Schaeffer's prediction when he wrote "The Christian of the future will be a mystic or he or she will not exist at all...By mysticism we mean a genuine experience of God emerging from the very heart of our existence." But Schaeffer had a different definition of mysticism than Rahner's: "Mysticism is nothing more than a faith contrary to rationality, deprived of content and incapable of communication. You can bear witness to it but you cannot discuss it." ...

  "Manning speaks much of God's grace and love but these precious biblical concepts are actually replaced by vague notions of wholeness through an eastern religious meditation technique, Centering Prayer. Many of the contemplatives assert that this constitutes the spiritual journey and is the same process as integrating the conscious with the unconscious as described by Jungian psychotherapy. Throughout the course of this book some of the most crucial biblical truths, such as sin and forgiveness, are reinterpreted in the light of therapy. The irony is that a clear biblical gospel, if believed to be true, will produce assurance that has truly profound psychological benefits. There is no place for centering prayer in discipleship. Meditation is to be on God's Word, not on nothingness.

  "Contemplative spirituality is dangerous. Christian leaders should warn their people about it. Those who are interested in a comprehensive biblical understanding of true biblical spirituality and of the gospel of Jesus Christ should be warned that Manning is traveling on a wholly other path."

• Donald S. Whitney, "Doctrine and Devotion: A Reunion Devoutly to be Desired"
  [ http://www.spiritualdisciplines.org/devotion.html ]

  "I was the guest preacher for a few days at a church on the West Coast recently, and the pastor took me sightseeing. Our longest stop on this warm autumn day was the bookstore of one of the largest and best-known evangelical seminaries in the country. Since we didn't have the luxury of half-a-day or more to browse, I headed straight for the section on spirituality and Christian living (I teach the courses in this field at the seminary where I'm a professor). I was delighted to find eight entire bookcases devoted to the subject. Shelf by shelf, however, my delight evaporated into disbelief, then discouragement. Seven of the eight bookcases were crammed with volumes dubiously connected with biblical and evangelical Christianity. Most were written by scholars or churchmen with impressive academic credentials, but who would not sincerely subscribe to one of the established confessions of faith found in historic Christian orthodoxy. These books championed things such as the pursuit of mystical experiences, adopting New Age meditation methods, blending Buddhist thought and devotion with Christianity, incorporating Native American spirituality into the church, harmonizing karma with the Bible, and to one degree or another, showing sympathy with Hinduism, shamanism, paganism, and eco-spirituality. The lesson: errors in theology tend to breed errors in spirituality." ...

  "It is one thing for evangelicals to be aware of mystical spirituality and, where it is consistent with Scripture, to appreciate its strengths. It is another to embrace it without realizing that it can never be fully separated from the family of beliefs that produced it. As Arthur L. Johnson, author of Faith Misguided: Exposing the Dangers of Mysticism explained, "To adopt mysticism as a legitimate way of approaching God is to reject the basis of the Protestant Reformation and the basis of evangelicalism."

• Donald S. Whitney, "Defining the Boundaries of Evangelical Spirituality"
  A Paper Presented on November 15, 2001 at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society
  [ http://www.spiritualdisciplines.org/def.html ]

  "The boundaries of Evangelical spirituality are the written self-revelation of God. Thus Evangelicals should also recognize that the boundaries of their spirituality specifically include the biblical doctrines of sola scriptura and sola fide."

• Peter Jones, Tal Brooke, "The Essence of Paganism"
  SCP Journal, Volume 26:2-26:3.

  This article describes clearly the difference between esoteric and exoteric revelation:

  "Pagan religion and biblical orthodoxy ultimately represent the only two possible major religious configurations, namely, the esoteric and the exoteric, the god within or the God without. To be sure, there are multitudinous variations. The many religious expressions confusedly mix elements of both in different doses and mind-numbering computations. However these two represent the pure, mutually exclusive forms. They express the two world views that have given rise to the classic theological distinction known as the "Antithesis"." ...

  "Just as you cannot mix oil and water, so you cannot mix paganism and Christianity, esotericism and exotericism. The God of the Bible cannot be both the God of the Bible and, at the same time, a card-carrying member of the pagan pantheon."

• John F. MacArthur, Jr. "How do Spiritual Gifts Operate?" [ http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/CHAOS7.HTM ]

• Daniel Wallace, "The Uneasy Conscience of a Non-Charismatic Evangelical"
  [ http://www.bible.org/docs/soapbox/estsw.htm ]

• Daniel Wallace, "Charismata and the Authority of Personal Experience"
  [ http://www.bible.org/docs/soapbox/personal.htm ]

• Daniel Wallace, "Two Views on the "Sign Gifts": Continuity Vs. Discontinuity"
  [ http://www.bible.org/docs/soapbox/continu.htm ]

• Daniel Wallace, "Hebrews 2:3-4 and the Sign Gifts"
  [ http://www.bible.org/docs/soapbox/heb2-3-4.htm ]

• Non-Christian Materials Promoted on Pro-Family Website
  [ http://www.religionnewsblog.com/6620-Non-Christian_Materials_Promoted_on_Pro-Family_Website.html ]

• Marcia Montenegro, "Out of Your Mind: Meditation and Visualization"
  [ http://cana.userworld.com/cana_meditation.html ]

Books

Critiques of Mysticism

• Ray Yungen, A Time of Departing
  Lighthouse Trails, 2002. ISBN 0-9721512-0-6

  Available for purchase online here:
  [ http://www.lighthousetrails.com/books.htm ]

  A review online:
  [ http://cultlink.com/sentinel/departing.htm ]

• Arthur Johnson, Faith Misguided
  Moody Press, 1988. ISBN 0-8024-5643-X

  This book is difficult to find as it is out of print, however it is one of the best critiques of mysticism available. Of particular interest, chapter six deals significantly with the mysticism of Watchman Nee, followed by a chapter discussing the rise of the Charismatic movement and its mysticism. The last chapter deals with the more subtle entry points into mysticism that Evangelicals are often drawn to.

• Peter Jones, Spirit Wars: Pagan Revival in America
  WinePress Publishing, 1997. ISBN 1-883893-74-7

• Peter Jones, Gospel Truth / Pagan Lies
  WinePress Publishing, 1997. ISBN 1-57921-208-5

• Peter Jones, Pagans in the Pews
  Regal, 2001. ISBN 0-8307-2798-1

• Brian Flynn, Running Against the Wind
  Lighthouse Trails, 2005.

  Available for purchase online here:
  [ http://www.lighthousetrails.com/runningagainstthewind.htm ]

• Gordon H. Clark, Faith and Saving Faith
  The Trinity Foundation, 1983.

• Garry Friesen, Decision Making & The Will of God
  Multnomah, 1980. ISBN 1-57673-321-1

• Dave Hunt, T. A. McMahon. The Seduction of Christianity
  Harvest House, 1985. ISBN 0-89081-441-4

• Ranald Macaulay, Jerram Barrs. Being Human.
  Intervarsity, 1978. ISBN 0-8308-1502-3

  In addition to other strengths of this work, Jerram Barrs has an excellent treatment of the various issues surrounding Platonistic spirituality.

• Dana Roberts, Understanding Watchman Nee
  Haven Books, 1980. ISBN 0-88270-489-3

  This book explores the details of Watchman Nee's thought and theology, and in particular his view of the soul and spirit and its impact upon Nee's view of spirituality.

• John Warwick Montgomery, Principalities and Powers
  Bethany House, 1975. ISBN 087123470X

• Donald G. Bloesch, The Crisis of Piety
  Eerdmans, 1968. ISBN 0-939443-05-8

  This work is a bit old, but it makes some powerful observations. Of particular interest is Chapter 7, which discusses, in Bloesch's words, the "two types of spirituality," "mystical" and "evangelical." The disctinctions and observations he draws out are profound and worthy of thought. This said, I have found Bloesch's description of true spirituality unsatisfying.

• Alister E. McGrath, Spirituality in an Age of Change
  Zondervan, 1994. ISBN 0-310-42921-8

• D.D. Martin, "Mysticism," in Walter A. Elwell, ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
  Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984, p744.

• Donald S. Whitney, "The Unity of Doctrine and Devotion" in John Armstrong, ed., The Compromised Church
  1998.

• Donald G. Bloesch, "Is Spirituality Enough?" in John H. Armstrong, ed., Roman Catholicism
  Chicago: Moody, 1994, p158. ISBN 0-8024-7169-2

Charismatic Spirituality

• John F. MacArthur, Jr. The Charismatics
  Zondervan, 1978. ISBN 0-310-28491-0

• John F. MacArthur, Jr. Charismatic Chaos
  Zondervan, 1992. ISBN 0-310-57572-9

True Spirituality

• Francis A. Schaeffer, True Spirituality
  Tyndale House, 1971. ISBN 8423-7351-9

• Ranald Macaulay, Jerram Barrs. Being Human.
  Intervarsity, 1978. ISBN 0-8308-1502-3

  This book is listed above critiquing Mysticism; however it does an excellent job of then explaining what Christian spirituality truly is.

• John Piper, A Godward Life
  Multnomah, 1997. ISBN 1-57673-183-9

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
  Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-684-81500-1

• Os Guiness, The Call
  Word, 2003. 0-8499-4437-6

Pro-Mysticism Literature

It would be difficult in so short a space to maintain a comprehensive list of authors that promote mystical techniques. However, I will list here some common ones:

Secular Philosophers

• William James
  The late nineteenth and early twentieth century philosopher William James focused much of his attention in the real of philosophy on Pragmatism, Religion, and Psychology. Specifically, his books The Varieties of Religious Experience and The Will to Believe look at religion as a benefitial and pragmatic means for the mind to conceptualize the world. However, much of his view of religion is based around experieintial and subjective elements common among various world religions (including some forms of Christianity), thus arguing for the mystical as pragmatic. James' influence was pervasive in early 20th century liberal Christian theology, in part due to his denial of the absolute nature of truth.
• Carl Jung
  A famous psychologist and proponent of mystical experience, Carl Jung is probably best known among mystics for his archtypical view of religion.
• Joseph Campbell
  Joseph Campbell is known for his Myth, as well as his PBS Series. His views are a syncretistic view of religion which minimizes the differences between religions. Many of his ideas are borrowed from Carl Jung. In turn, he worked fairly closely with George Lucas in conceptualizing both spiritual ideas and universal plot elements for the Star Wars franchise.

Roman Catholic Mystic Authors

• Ignatius of Loyola
  Well known as the founder of the Jesuits and hero of the Counter-Reformation, Ignatius' spiritual writing have found popularity in many generations of Roman Catholics. However, the disciplines he recommends are extremely mystical, reflecting in many ways the direction his life was to take after he recieved his first "vision" calling him to a new purpose in life.
• St. Teresa of Avila
  A Carmelite nun, Teresa's increasingly ecstatic visions of Christ's passion led her to reform her order and create a more primitive Carmelite. In 1567 she garnered the support of St. John of the Cross, who proceeded to reform the male side of the Carmelite order. Amoung her mystical writings include Way of Perfection and Interior Castle, representing some of the most important developments in the history of Christian mysticism.
• St. John of the Cross
  At the age of 18, Juan de Yepes y Alvarez began studying with the Jesuits and entered the Carmelite Order in 1563. Four years later he was ordained and met St. Teresa of Avila, and led a movement within the Carmelite order that led to his arrest and imprisonment before the rights of the movement were recognized. He is known mostly for his deeply mystical writings, of which his Dark Night of the Soul is probably the most well known.
• Thomas Merton
  A Trappist monk and Roman Catholic Priest in the United States, Thomas Merton's (1915-1968) spirituality was influenced by St. John of the Cross, and in turn has influenced a number of spiritual writers in the late twentieth century.
• Hans Küng
• Karl Rahner
• Madame Guyon
  A 17th century French Catholic mystic
• Pierre Tielhard de Chardin
  A French Jesuit palentologist who wrote numerous books, including his best known The Phenomena of Man. A progressive Roman Catholic theologian, he was very deeply influenced by the existential philsophy of Heidegger.
• Henri J. M. Nouwen
  Tries to draw from the spiritual experience of the Desert Fathers to show a path to Christian spirituality. Unfortunately, the Desert Fathers were often very wrong in their assessment of the nature of the Christian faith, much less in the nature of Christian Spirituality. We can easily be fooled into accepting their spirituality uncritically due to their antiquity: since they are "early" Christians, the logic is that they are closer to the apostolic spirituality of the early Church and therefore have much to speak to us. However, other much more orthodox Christians remain silent in this treatment, which leaves us lacking the perspective of the most dynamic and counter-cultural Christians.

"Evangelical" Mystic Authors

• Joyce Huggett
• William Law
• George Fox
  Founder of the Quakers
• Watchman Nee
  Watchman Nee recieved great popularity in Evangelical circles when the story of his church-planting efforts in mainland China and subsequent imprisonment by the Communists reached the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. Several of his books, such as The Release of the Spirit and The Spiritual Man have been considered "classics" of Christian literature; however Watchman Nee's thought has numerous mystical elements that are unorthodox.
• M. Scott Peck
  A widely acclaimed Psychologist, his book The Road Less Traveled represented a revolution in Psychological thought as it took seriously and even embraced the role of religion in the mental life. While he professes to be an Evangelical, many of his views on God and the mind are suspect and have been widely criticized for their mystical and pantheistic qualities.
• Richard Foster
  The author of Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster's work places emphasis on mystical aspects of faith. The first edition of Celebration of Discipline came under a great deal of criticism; the second edition is toned down in many respects. The book itself found popularity with an audience wider than traditional Christianity in part due to these problems.
• Brennan Manning
  An ordained Franciscan priest, is probably best known for his book The Ragamuffin Gospel, but has written much more in The Signature of Jesus detailing his spiritual experience.

Please note that in listing these authors, I am not trying to be offensive. But just because an author is popular does not mean he is practicing true spirituality. Some people are offended when I tell them that one of their favorite spiritual authors is following a deeply anti-Christian and worldly philosophy. However, I consider the writings of these authors dangerous to the formation of a truly spiritual life, and indeed would highly discourage reading them devotionally. We must be careful never to set an author up so high that his writings become a spiritual idol seperating us for the pure spiritual Truth of God's Word.

Websites

• SpiritualDisciplines.Org
  [ http://www.spiritualdisciplines.org/ ]

  Donald S. Whitney's website focusing on Spiritual Disciplines in a non-mystical way. Plenty of resources available online.

• Christian Witness to a Pagan Planet
  [ http://www.spirit-wars.com/ ]

• Spiritual Counterfeits Project
  [ http://www.scp-inc.org/ ]

• Christian Answers for the New Age
  [ http://cana.userworld.com/ ]

• Lighthouse Trails Publishing Company
  [ http://www.lighthousetrails.com/ ]

  Contemplative Spirituality comes to Modern Day Christianity
  [ http://www.lighthousetrails.com/contemplativespirituality.htm ]

• Lighthouse Trails Research Project
  [ http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/ ]

• The Mission of Truth
  [ http://www.themissionoftruth.org/ ]

• One Truth Ministries
  [ http://www.thenowage.org/ ]

Video

• Faith at Risk
  [ http://www.thenowage.org/videos.htm ]

  Video clips of the DVD are available online in Windows Media and Real Media formats.

Observations

• The Role of Emotions in Spirituality

  In Faith Misguided, author notes that emotionalism is often seen as spirituality. Permit me to summarize his discussion here. Rejecting mysticism does not mean that emotions must be rejected. In fact, scripture repeatedly urges us toward emotional expressions of our faith: to be filled with joy, to rejoice, and give thanks. We were created to experience and feel emotion as a gift from our Creator. What we need to recognize in our fallen state is that there is a proper place for emotion in our lives, and an improper one when we use emotion in ways that God never intended for them to be used.

  First, we have to recognize emotions for what they are: a response to something happening in our mind. What we feel is directly related to what we are thinking about. For example, if we think about Christmastime with family, for most people they will experience warm feelings as they reminisce. But if we think about someone who cut us off on the highway, we'll feel anger as we focus on the situation. Whatever we focus our attention upon will determine what we feel and to what degree we will feel it. So, while we cannot control our emotions and what we feel directly, we can choose to focus on certain things that cause us to feel certain ways. While they are a gift from God, emotions become mystical when we begin to do something improper with them.

  How do Christians use emotion improperly? Some common errors are:

  • Using feelings as a means for gaining knowledge: Sometimes people improperly think they can recieve some "special knowledge" of God through their emotions, or that they can learn something about Him by listening to what their feelings are telling them. Emotions and feelings can be deceptive, however. They are not a sense that acts upon the world, but a God-given response in our soul.

  • Using feelings as a test for truth: Sometimes people believe that if they feel good about something, then it is true. If they feel certain emotions about God - joy, happiness, peace, ecstacy - then they know that God exists and is reassuring them in their heart. Many Christians believe this because so much emphasis in sharing the gospel of Christ is placed on one's conversion experience. They believe that they know He lives because they feel Him in their heart.

    One problem is that emotions are self-affirming and cannot be shown to be false. In other words, rightness and wrongness isn't determined by any objective means, but only by how we feel about it. If we rely on "positive" feelings to show us something is true, and "negative" feelings to show something is wrong, what happens when we are wrong? For instance, a common slogan in American culture goes "If it feels good, do it!" Whether we're talking about human sexuality or human spirituality, this means for determining the rightness of wrongness of something inevitably comes down to if it feels good, not about whether or not it is good or true. There are many things that are actually true, but that we have negative feelings about.

    Another result of this is the individual who uses emotion as a test for truth retains a very weak faith that can be swayed as simply as one's emotions can be manipulated. What is to happen to this person when the emotions aren't there? Will their faith collapse? Suppose an individual in another religion talks about his experiential relationship with God. Will this person's faith be seriously weakened by the encounter because he can't distinguish between what makes his experience true and the other person's false? Clearly, an emotional understanding of faith and spirituality is a weak foundation for one to build their life upon.

  • Seeing feelings as reality itself: By relying strongly on intuition, we can feel that in some way we are connecting with the divine reality, as if we were "touching reality" through an inner sense. Our sensations, emotions, intuition and feelings seem to become more real than reality itself. Christians begin to believe that what happens in their "spirit" is the true reality and the true divine work of Christ, over and against living in the hard and often dreary world we find ourselves in. Living a Christian life in an unbelieving world and taking part in the suffering of Christ through daily sacrifice is replaced by a desire for residing in a sensual reality.

  This is not to say that a Christian should deny emotion. Certainly emotions are a gift from God and an integral part of being human. Emotions become a dangerous mysticism when they are used as the means to aquiring and testing truth. Simply put, we cannot rely upon emotions as a source of knowledge or a test for truth.

  When mankind fell by sin in the garden of Eden, all of his person fell - not just the mind, or the will, or emotions. Since Jesus Christ died on the cross, our old selves have been put to death and we are to live in newness of life by subjecting ourselves to His will. This means the whole of our being is being redeemed, not just the emotions. To view the mind or will as fallen and unredeemable is to mistakenly assume that God is only interested in redeeming part of man. Jesus Christ died to redeem all of man - his mind, will, and emotions - not merely part of man. Some Christians have accepted a view of the work of Christ as bringing us an emotional redemption, and certainly that is part of the picture. But the whole picture is that the person would be a unified whole; that his mind, will, and emotion would all be subject to Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:29)

  When Jesus Christ saves us, we don't become mere mechanisms. We still have a responsibility to manage our minds, wills, and bodies. Before we were slaves to sin, and were slaves to our passions, as Paul notes in Romans. But in Jesus Christ, we are freed to be a unified whole with a singular purpose.

  When people fear losing their close personal relationship with God, they tend to make three errors, each of which violates Biblical teaching.

  • Wrongly identifying relationship with emotion: Emotion is just one component of human personality; nothing more. It is by no means a reliable guage of the closeness or strength of a relationship.

    Put another way, emotion is not the same as relationship. It is possible to have strong emotions about another person, and yet not have a relationship. Likewise, a relationship is not dependendent on the presence of emotion. Brothers are still brothers, whether they like each other or not. Married couples often go through times when the emotions they feel for each other are weaker than at other times, but this doesn't change the comittment that they have for each other.

  • Becoming so enamored with emotion that we will not allow anything to threaten specific feelings: The emotional experience becomes so important to an individual, that he or she is unwilling to let anything interfere with the emotions they feel. Subjective emotions become more important than trusting clear statements in scripture. When experiencing emotions become more important than seeking truth, the individual has crossed the line into mysticism.

  • Believing emotion is an infallible test of their relationship with God. Emotions become more important than facts. We begin to cling to emotions in love embrace. As a result, the significance of the Christian life becomes totally bound up with feelings, so that for the Christian caught in this trap, all that really matters is how he feels. Sensuality is an inordinate concern for and with the senses, and in this case, with inner "senses" or feelings. Sensuality in all forms concemned in scripture.

  Problems arise from giving improper importance to subjective states, urges, and impressions. Christians may often try to rely on a spiritual intuition, but intuition is often wrong. Feelings can be good and desireable in proper perspective. Proper function is not to provide information or to test truth. Not wrong to feel an intimate closeness to God, but it is wrong to base confidence of such a relationship solely on our feelings.

Doxology: The Heart of Worship

© Matt Redman

When the music fades,
All is stripped away, and I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless your heart

I'll bring you more than a song
For a song in itself is not what you have required.
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear;
You're looking into my heart.

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about you
All about you Jesus.
I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it
When it's all about you,
All about you Jesus.

King of endless worth
No one could express
How much you deserve.
Though I'm weak and poor
All I have is yours, every single breath.

I'll bring you more than a song
For a song in itself is not what you have required.
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear;
You're looking into my heart.

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about you
All about you Jesus.
I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it
When it's all about you,
All about you Jesus.

Conclusion

"There may still be some who, failing to grasp how close the relationship between God and His children is, will feel cheated if they do not have some subjective experience they can identify as the work of the Spirit. This yearning for the emotional element is likely the result of a history of mystically influenced teaching. It can not be justified on scriptural ground. Tragically, this desire for feelings is also a strong temptation to mysticism itself."

Arthur Johnson, Faith Misguided, p.148