Christian Answers for the New Age

Part 4 of an interview I did as a guest of R C Sproul, Jr. on the podcast hosted by him and his wife, Lisa Sproul. We finish a discussion of the Enneagram.

https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=32567547&fbclid=IwY2xjawEp-uJleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHT32zkU1dALj6JyMnDzzmDauVz6Sb5a5Z8RTjpv7dWqVaKG9e-eKLDuryA_aem_HoXI4BfhXEcp_8LugDgw7A

JCE ep 8.14.24 Sacred Marriage, Marcia Montenegro IV; Kamilli Vanilli; Month of Sundays, A Hundred Fold; In the Beginning, Sarah and S***m; Prayer mWe conclude our conversation with former astrologer Marcia Montenegro. I argue the vice-president is just a puppet, look at Sarah and S***m, encourage prayer and more.

The interviews addressing some concerns about Michael Heiser's views such as the Divine Council view, the Enochian writings, Nephilim, the ANE filter for interpreting Scripture, Theosis, and others.
Please note that all of us in the video have been exposed to Heiser's teachings by reading his books, hearing him speak, watching his videos, etc. Dr. Cooper has several videos on YouTube responding to the Divine Council, his view of Nephilim, and other topics. The two theologians and 2 pastors interviewed have thought deeply about these issues and about Heiser's views, and I spent numerous hours reading and writing about "The Unseen Realm" and watching videos of Heiser, so it is false to say that we need to study Heiser more or that this was just a "hit" at Heiser. This was not personal about Heiser; it is a concerned critique of some of his main teachings.

From Doreen Virtue:
"Concerns about Michael Heiser’s teachings from Hebrew & Systematic Theology Professors and Pastors
https://youtu.be/X6ih2uBh0Is
I pray that God uses this video for His glory, and to point people to study His Word."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6ih2uBh0Is

Concerns about Michael Heiser’s teachings from Hebrew & Systematic Theology Professors and Pastors The late Michael Heiser’s controversial teachings about the divine council, Theosis, Genesis 1:26, Psalm 82, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, Enoch, Nephilim, gia...

‼️ The video got posted a bit early -- see the posted video pinned to this page. I don't want to post a link here since it would be better to have comments on it just on the video post itself.

If you are interested in watching a video discussion on Dr. Michael Heiser involving interviews with several people, this is the video for you! I will post it after it's posted by Doreen, probably in the early afternoon Eastern time. I will be recording a video interview at 1 pm ET so will post it after that. So don't look for it in the morning.

Send a message to learn more

From 2 years ago....to share, click on the Aug. 12, 2022 date on the post which will take you to original post.

A new page has been added to the CANA website listing some of the publications by Marcia

PUBLICATIONS BY AND ABOUT MARCIA MONTENEGRO (This list is not exhaustive)   Book, Richard Rohr and the Enneagram Secret, co-author with Don & Joy Veinot; Foreword by Dr. H. Wayne House (Book Baby, 2020) Go here [...]

ZEN DOES NOT = PEACE, SERENITY, HARMONY
by Marcia Montenegro

I am weary of seeing and hearing the word "Zen" equated with serenity or calmness as in "I was able to get very zen about it" or "With two children and a hectic job, a state of zen was seemingly impossible for Janet" or "His chilled, zen personality was especially helpful in stressful situations."

Zen, of course, refers to Zen Buddhism. So let's not leave out the Buddhist part!

Zen Buddhism is not about chilling out, calming down, or becoming less stressed. The goal of Zen Buddhism is to see reality as it is (from their viewpoint), which means it is empty, including yourself. That is, nothing exists except Buddha Nature/Buddha Mind/Buddha Self (Buddha Mind and Buddha Self being the Buddha nature that you are really part of).

Zen focuses on meditation and the purpose is to cultivate detachment from this reality, including the reality of your mind and self. Being present in the moment is the idea of letting go of thoughts and feelings so that you see that all that exists is the present, and eventually realize (through Mindfulness meditation) that reality and the self are mere constructs resulting from attachment.

The breathing is important because if you do the meditation as instructed, you start to notice that the breathing is (allegedly) happening independently of you and your thoughts are (allegedly) independent of you. The one noticing all this is not you but is the "witness."

From CANA article at https://tinyurl.com/mrxmduj5

There was a lot of talk about the "witness" in the New Age circles I was in, and I read about it all the time in the books about Zen Buddhism and meditation. I practiced Mindfulness meditation for 12 years after first practicing Tibetan Buddhist meditation and forms of New Age meditation prior to that.

Ken Wilber, a follower of Perennial Wisdom, and a friend of and influence on the Thomas Keating (co-founder of the modern Contemplative prayer movement) and on Richard Rohr, writes:

Quoted in CANA article

So there is nothing "chill" or peaceful about Zen. It is actually almost nihilistic. It is a dark belief, empty of hope or love. This can be said also about Buddhism in general, though other forms of Buddhism cover this darkness up better.

ZEN DOES = DETACHMENT, THE NO-SELF

It is quite a contrast to Christ, who laid down his life out of love (John 3:16) to pay the penatly for sins. Through faith in Christ, one has eternal life, that is life with God, the source of light, life, and love.

✝️ “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” John 5:24

✝️ “I am the bread of life.” John 6:48

✝️ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

CANA Articles
"Meditation and Mindfulness: Death, Breath, The Witness, and Living in the Present"
https://tinyurl.com/mrxmduj5

"Buddhism and Christianity: How Similar Are They?"
http://tinyurl.com/2nzuph7e

I am asked fairly often about this book -- in fact, I was asked about it earlier this week. So I am resharing.

BREATH BECOMING AN IDOL, With Comments on "Breath As Prayer" Book
by Marcia Montenegro

🔷 Rise in Breath Obsessions
I have grown increasingly disturbed by the rise of interest in "breathing" a certain way; a focus on breath in many areas; breath prayers; breathing that is based on Eastern meditation being done with Christian prayer or what is supposed to be Christian meditation but is actually a form of Eastern meditation; breathing being equated to God's name "Yahweh:" and other similar practices.

Breath and breathing certain ways are part of many non-Christian beliefs and practices such as

✅ Yoga
✅ Eastern religious meditation'
✅ Mindfulness as taught in the West
✅ New Age meditation
✅ Occult meditations
✅ Hypnosis
✅ So-called health improvement techniques
✅ Relaxation exercises
✅New Age "breath work"

🔷 Breath As Spiritual
Breath in the New Age and in many beliefs is viewed as spiritual and a way to control certain energies in the body. This is because breath is sacred and considered to be a source of power, spiritual cleansing, and/or as a godlike force. Chi (in Taoism) is a key component of Tai Chi, Feng Shui, and Aikido, and central to alternative "healing" methods such as acupuncture, Tapping/EFT, reflexology, Reiki, Qigong (Chi-gong), acupressure, cupping, and more. Prana, the "sacred breath of the universe" or "life force energy," is the basis of Pranayama, the breathing techniques of Yoga.

These practices reflect deifying creation and looking to nature rather than to the Creator God. Such breathing practices do not align with a biblical worldview; however, they have entered the church via Yoga, so-called Christian apps for relaxation, alternative "healing," and Contemplative practices.

🔷 New Christian Book on Breath Prayers
See attached image of the cover of a book from Thomas Nelson to be released 9/13/22, "Breath As Prayer: Calm Your Anxiety, Focus Your Mind, and Renew Your Soul." Not surprisingly, the Foreword is by Ann Voskamp.

This is the description on the Amazon (also CBD) page:

RESTORATION STUDY BIBLE WARNING
*The diagram is correct, see my comment at end*

This is a warning on the Restoration Study Bible put out by a group called YRM (Yahweh's Restoration Movement). This is a Hebrew Roots based cult which denies the Trinity and teaches that Jesus is a created being. So they are A***n heretics (like Jehovah Witnesses, The Way International, and other A***n cults - this is different from the cult of modalism, which is the view that instead of the Trinity, Jesus is God the Father and is the Holy Spirit).

The Bible appears to have a lot of study notes and may deceive people into thinking it is another good study Bible. But since it teaches against God's word, it should be avoided. This is a good article about it that also responds to YRM's anti-Trinity beliefs.

*By the way, the Trinity diagram is posted to illustrate the Trinity and is probably the most accurate illustration of the Trinity that we can come up with (nothing created can illustrate the Trinity completely since God is uncreated). It shows that while God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are all co-equally God, they are also not each other (God is not Jesus, Jesus is not the Holy Spirit, etc.).
https://theswordandthetrowel.wordpress.com/2015/12/07/responding-to-yahwehs-restoration-movement/?fbclid=IwY2xjawEiO4dleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHSPehN-rBX1pWK4chYOZv7s6Gyyac1R460ox_VK4svJxpla0HIdGfWK1rA_aem_fmrQvyxbyvNUJmsj1u4YtA

Yahweh’s Restoration Movement Cult and the Trinity Dr. Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, once wrote “False teachings emerge anew in every generation it seems, but inventing a new heresy is quite a challenge. Aft…

I just did this on May 2nd but someone asked me about the Dwell app, so I am reposting.

NEW AGE PSEUDOSCIENCE in healing never ends! There is a new one out now having to do with voiceprinting or voice mapping, which is a recording of the voice that supposedly reveals all your anxieties, fears, and issues. From that follows protocols to change all this and fix everything, based on a belief that your perceptions create your reality. I have been recently asked about this by more than one person.

One of these is called EVOX (also the ZYTO EVOX and may go under other names as well). Please do not believe these tools that offer no reason or scientific support or studies for them (and none of them have this nor could they).

See the screenshot where you can find "evox" as one of the many products or procedures offered. All of these are based on New Age pseudoscience. I have warned about several of them before -- bio-energy, quatum anything, flower essences, alleged toxins, and, of course, energy healing.

Healing is the biggest New Age area that has robbed people of money and health. It is destructive and evil. Please avoid.

See recent CANA article on vibrations & frequencies: https://shorturl.at/afqf7

CANA article on Life Force Energy
http://tinyurl.com/55xc3eva

From one year ago. This was to direct people to my article on L'Engle's book, "A Stone for a Pillow," at https://shorturl.at/opT03, which is about Jacob, but also gives L'Engles thoughts on other religions and on how Satan and the fallen angels should be redeemed. I cannot call her a Christian.

"When I walk my dog at night, the route on the way home takes me past a Buddhist temple with a terrace on which stands a huge statue of Saint Shinran Shonin, a Buddhist saint of the twelfth century. This particular statue was in Hiroshima when the bomb fell, and was sent by the Buddhists of that city to the Buddhists in New York as a symbol of forgiveness and hope. Each night as my dog and I walk by the great statue, the huge bulk of metal wearing a patina I have never seen on another statue, I say, 'Good night, Saint Shinran. Forgive us, and help us.'” A Stone for a Pillow

Sadly, this book is having even more influence now than ever. It is recommended and praised by many in the evangelical church even though what it teaches is not biblical.

Despite some innocuous-sounding motivational quotes, I consider Yoda to be a clever melding of a Zen Buddhist with a Taoist Sorcerer. This is something I recognized when I first saw the Star War movies as a New Ager. He has become an angel of light so he needs to be exposed.

CONTEMPLATIVES SUBVERTING THE GOSPEL
By Marcia Montenegro
I have already written on the fact that Scriptures are misused, taken out of context, and misapplied by Contemplatives trying to support their practices. I have yet to see any Scripture used correctly from a Contemplative source when promoting the Spiritual Disciplines.

It is not just the misuse of Scripture, but who the Contemplatives are influenced by and whom they recommend. Many recommend heretic Richard Rohr. Others recommend David G. Benner, about whom I have posted and written quite a bit.

🔳 Going from the Kettle Into the Fire
A Contemplative blogger took issue with another Contemplative, John Mark Comer (see CANA articles on Comer) and his book, “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.”

While it’s good that the blogger recognized serious issues with Comer’s book, he himself apparently has been deceived by David G. Benner, who is a very strong Contemplative (and Rohr associate). The blogger (a pastor) expresses concerns about Comer but then recommends Benner:

“But, if I could recommend one book as a prerequisite and supplement to Comer’s, it’d be Surrender to Love by David Benner. In it, he gets to the heart of the Christian life – the basis for all of its practices and lifestyle: Before any genuine transformation can take place, we must first truly encounter the God of love, and respond with surrender.” From blog at https://shorturl.at/5dkSV

If anything, Benner could be considered worse than Comer. Benner cannot get to “the heart of the Christian life” nor has Benner encountered the true God because Benner is a follower of Perennial Wisdom (like Rohr). Benner’s book, “The Surrender to Love,” is one of a trilogy published by IVP, the other two being “The Gift of Being Yourself,” and “Desiring God’s Will.”

“The Gift of Being Yourself” is popular on Christian campuses and recommended by Christian counselors. However, this book teaches Perennial ideas, but very subtly. The “Christ-self” or “Christ-in-me” that Benner writes about is not the biblical Christ. It is the Perennial Christ who has always been part of our “True Self.” If one reads the book knowing anything about Perennial Wisdom, it jumps out at you. But even without knowing about Perennial Wisdom, there are many red flags in the book, such as Benner quoting Rohr and recommending the Enneagram.

The CANA article on this book points out some troubling ideas:

“In chapter 4, Benner introduces the Enneagram as a wonderful tool to discover one’s main sin challenge and how to deal with it. He goes into some detail about it, even giving examples of biblical characters and what types they exemplify according to him. He draws from Rohr’s book on the Enneagram and even recommends The Wisdom of the Enneagram by New Agers Don Riso and Russ Hudson, founders of the New Age Enneagram Institute. This book by Riso and Hudson is a thoroughly New Age book.

Rohr’s beliefs and the Jungian view have already obscured Benner’s concept of self. By recommending the Enneagram, an invalid tool from the New Age, Benner muddies the waters even further. His embrace of this tool as a Jungian psychotherapist oddly matches the fact that New Age psychologists, who are mostly Jungian, developed the Enneagram when it came into their hands from its occult origins.
Benner quotes the late M. Basil Pennington, who wrote the Foreword to this book, stating that the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness are “best understood as his struggles with three major potential false selves.” (72) Pennington was one of the three co-founders of the modern Centering Prayer Movement along with the late Thomas Keating and William Menninger.” – From CANA article at http://tinyurl.com/29jk7fjk

How any Christian cannot be disturbed to read that the temptations in the wilderness were about Jesus struggling “with three major potential false selves” is mindboggling. For Benner, it is just another idea that comports with his Perennial Jesus, who is not a Savior. In Perennial Wisdom, nobody needs a Savior since we have always been part of God and with God (that is, our True Self always has).

If anyone has doubts about Benner being a follower of Perennial Wisdom, please see the CANA article on his very Perennial Wisdom loving book, "Living Wisdom" or check out his school for Perennial WIsdom in Canada, Cascadia Living Wisdom.

🔳 Unlearning
Even if some balk at some of Benner’s ideas or at Rohr’s teachings, as long as they can be convinced to do Contemplative practices, the chances are good that many will embrace these ideas, at least in part. This is because, as Rohr has said, Contemplative practices (such as the popular Spiritual Disciplines) are a process of “unlearning.” Like the Zen Buddhist/Taoist sorcerer Yoda in “Star Wars" (see image), Rohr knows that unlearning is the first step in subverting truth (for Rohr, it is subverting what is perceived as truth).

“We’ve got a lot of unlearning to do. And that’s why we teach contemplation, because contemplation is mostly unlearning.” – Richard Rohr in video, “Why Do We Misunderstand John 14:6?” (link to video in blog by Marcia Montenegro on Midwest Christian Outreach site at https://shorturl.at/zZO21).

So Rohr is not likely bothered by charges of being unbiblical because by now it is likely that at least half the evangelical churches are promoting and/or teaching Contemplative practices/Spiritual Formation/Spiritual Disciplines using materials from Peter Scazzero, Ruth Haley Barton, John Mark Comer, Pete Greig, Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Richard Rohr, and/or others. Therefore, churches following these teachings are already on the path to “unlearning.”
Unlearning does not mean forgetting. It is rather a process of viewing what one has learned in a different way. It casts the content in another light so that one thinks one has gained new insights. It puts another filter over the Bible and even over God.

🔳 The Process of Subversion
Keep in mind that Perennial Wisdom teaches that the way to realize the Perennial truth is through mysticism, which is what these contemplative practices are. And mysticism undermines and subverts the Gospel and God’s word. I have shown this repeatedly in my posts and articles so I am not going to argue that here. Just read some of the CANA articles, especially this one, “Spiritual Formation/Direction: A Path to Perennial Wisdom?” at https://shorturl.at/duJVc and “Spiritual Disciplines Revisited” at http://tinyurl.com/2m9mdets

If one plunges into the contemplative practices, the inner or inward contemplative “God” or “Jesus” will take precedence over the biblical God and Jesus, and the experiences will take priority over God’s word. The experiences become the filter rather than Scripture (and the interpretations of those experiences by the Contemplative teachers are another filter).

All of the contemplative teachings make a false dichotomy between the “dusty” or “dry” nature of God’s word and the supposed “rich” experiences gained by Contemplative practices, using veiled language or burying this thought in a book read by those already buying into it. I know how this works because this is how it works in the New Age: experience trumps everything, and if those experiences are not natural results from biblical living, they will undermine reason and objective truth.

🔳 The Soothing Seduction
Since Contemplative practices hold out intimacy with God, basking in God’s presence, and feeling God’s love as what one is missing through normative Bible reading, study, and prayer, many are taken in. After all, how can anyone be against wanting to be closer to God? Something must be wrong with the critics.

Criticizing Contemplative teachings is cast as legalistic and fearful. This is a clever way to put down criticism and since Contemplative teachings have twisted Scripture to appear to be supportive of these ideas, these teachings seems to be only good. It is the critics, as perceived by Contemplatives, who are misunderstanding or are limited by their narrow views.

But sound criticism based on using God’s word as the authority and the filter for these teachings causes the Contemplative teachings to collapse. The problem is that God's word as the authority is already undermined in many cases and only get lip service.

See articles on Perennial Wisdom, David G. Benner, Contemplative teachings, Spiritual Disciplines, and Richard Rohr by putting these words in the search box on the CANA site at christiananswersnewage.com

I am referencing this blog I wrote on Rohr in 2022 in a new post so I am resharing it:

Richard Rohr's Muddy Waters: Learning Rohr's Language Richard Rohr, a Franciscan friar, is "the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation and academic dean of the CAC's Living School" in Albuquerque, NM

MORE NEWS ON THE ENNEAGRAM DECEPTION
By Marcia Montenegro

The Enneagram just won’t quit. Someone emailed me a link to this book today. It is the latest book (2024) from “Your Enneagram Coach” Beth McCord, who is responsible for not only books and podcasts on the Enneagram, but who knows the origins and nature of it yet chooses to continue teaching it and certifying people in becoming “Enneagram coaches.” McCord learned the Enneagram from six New Age Enneagram teachers.

It is bad enough when adults use the Enneagram, but it is far worse when adults use it on children or teens.

🔳 The Title Is False
The title, "The Enneagram for Moms: See the True Colors of Yourself and Your Children as God Intends" is false because nothing about the Enneagram is “as God intends” since the Enneagram

1. Has zero validity
2. Was never a personality assessment tool; when it references the personality it is only so you can dismantle it as false and discover the true Divine or Perennial Self hidden within
3. Is an esoteric tool based on occult, Gnostic, and New Age teachings, including numerology, about uncovering this true Gnostic self

The Enneagram came into the church via two disciples and associates of heretic Richard “Universal Christ” Rohr, Suzanne Stabile (who was mentored by Rohr along with her Methodist minister husband) and Ian Cron, an Episcopal priest who supports the use of Mindfulness, “sacred places,” and did a seminar with New Age Enneagram teacher Beatrice Chestnut. Stabile and Cron wrote “The Road Back to You,” which passed the one million mark in sales in 2023.

🔳 The Book Description is False
“Discover motherhood through the Enneagram with Beth McCord and embrace God's vision for your family. 'The Enneagram for Moms' offers wisdom with practical tips to navigate motherhood's beauty and challenges. Unlock your potential as a mom with this essential resource. Find peace & purpose, celebrate your child's uniqueness, and celebrate God's design!”

One cannot do what is suggested in the description (“unlocking potential” or finding “peace & purpose”), nor is it “God’s design.” That last falsehood is probably the worst one. God has not hidden your child’s design in an esoteric false tool that springs from and is in tune with belief systems opposed to God (Gnosticism, New Age, and Perennial Wisdom).

Mothers (and maybe fathers) will read this book, lock their child into a number (or Type) and then view the child through that lens. In most cases, mothers will probably share this Type with the child who will then view him/herself through that filter, thus sealing him/herself into a false identity that actually helps to keep out any real truths about the self. It is like passing onto your child as truth that he or she is a Leo, Pisces, or Libra.

The Enneagram has as much validity as astrology, and works the same way as astrology, through confirmation bias, the Forer/Barnum Effect, self-validation, self-deception, and other factors. The Enneagram, as a tool based in anti-Christian beliefs, continues to damage in the church.

👍 To read more about the Enneagram, see the resource page for “Richard Rohr and the Enneagram Secret” at https://shorturl.at/fFRJg

👍 See Dr. Rhenn Cherry’s book, “Enneagram Theology: Is It Christian?”

👍 To check out reasons why the Enneagram has no validity as a personality assessment, search for sources by Christian psychologist Dr. Jay Medenwaldt

👍 Look at articles and programs on the Enneagram on the CANA website:
https://shorturl.at/8sLT3

There are also CANA articles answering popular defenses of the Enneagram:
"All Truth is God's Truth -- Misused"
"Quoting Pagan Poets and the Enneagram"
"'God Can Use/Redeem Anything' -- Is This True"

This post at https://shorturl.at/orgsM