What other topics, or subjects do any of you see as being subtly brought into church? Anyone see meditation or things like that?
God Bless,
Will

Have you you heard of the "spiritual disciplines?" You will find them being (often subtly) brought into our churches. These disciplines, while not all bad in and of themselves, are based on the monastic practices of monks and the Catholic Church. The main promoter and source of information is Renovaré, the company began by Richard Foster to promote the disciplines.

Thanks Linda: That's a handy page. Suppose I should bookmark it.

Those disciplines, are they related to Loyola's spiritual exercises?

Good catch there Linda! I came across many..many SDA churches that have 'Spiritual Disciplines' as part of there services or teachings while searching online. The following site that I came across is renovare.org and they have the motto Bringing the Church to the churches, so definitely here is the root. Very interesting to see this.

God Bless,
Will

There is a lot of information regarding the spiritual disciplines on the internet. Yes, they are connected with The Spiritual Exercises of Ignasisus Loyola. That is one of the sources that they have used to develope the modern day version of the disciplines. One of the best sources I found for describing what these exercies are is found in a newsletter called Relections Monthly Newsletter in issues that were published in 1998 and in 1999. The September '98 issue answers the question "What are the disciplines?" Succeeding issues describe them in more detail. Some of these things in and of themselves are good. Things like fasting and prayer are definitely biblical.

The June '98 issue says this about the spiritual disciplines:

quote:

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A number of recent authors have called believers to savor the wealth of the spiritual disciplines that have informed Catholic and Orthodox spirituality for centuries but that have been largely overlooked by Protestants. These authors include Richard J. Foster (Celebration of Discipline, Freedom of Simplicity, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home), Dallas Willard (The Spirit of the Disciplines, The Divine Conspiracy), and Henri J. M. Nouwen (The Way of the Heart). These writers are united in their view of the spiritual disciplines as crucial means to the pursuit of God. They argue that the classical disciplines of the Christian faith are not optional, but essential practices for those who not only love Jesus, but want to become like Him. {underline added for emphasis}

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Here they state clearly the source of the disciplines and even go so far as to say they are mandatory. The Catholic system of salvation is a system of works, and the disciplines are part of that, now being brought into Adventism. They also open a door into the realm of spiritualsim.

OK...so who is bringing these disciplines into Adventism? How are they doing it? What verifiable evidence can you provide for this?

Hi David,
Currently this is being taught at Andrews University. Below is a quote:

quote:

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The time will be approachingwhen “every professor is a spiritual guide and every syllabus a confession of faith.”

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If you want to see what is currently being taught to future pastors then check out this link

God Bless,
Will

I find it difficult to believe that anyone can swallow what is being charged here re the big Jesuit thing and all these "disciplines" entering the church, whatever that means.

I checked out the link, and it is just as I suspected. They are not teaching this stuff as something they want us to believe and adopt. if you read carefully, all you will see is that they are teaching this as an adjunct to doctoral level courses, for the purpose of examining how different religious phenomena have shaped spirituality in society.

I quote from the "Desired Outcomes" of the course:

quote:

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Students will know, in broad terms, how Western Christianity has conceptualized the Christian life.

a. Key metaphors
b. Major movements
c. Classic devotional literature

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Once again; it looks like our watchmen on the wall are a bit sleepy.

Hi Stan,
This was a general search I did and not something specific, but there are already churches that are doing this so if:
A.) A rather large well known university is providing this as part of a curriculum.
B.) There are already SDA churches participating and actively promoting Spiritual Disciplines.

Are the identity specifics really that important when the 2 conditions listed above already do exist? This is interesting to say the least, and I am not familiar with what 'SPiritual Disciplines' are, so perhaps you can take a look into it. That's my 2¢

God Bless,
Will

I dont know what the diciplines you are talking about are, since they obviously derrive from Loyolas club, but when I hear the words spiritual diciplines, my assossiations go to 2 Peter 1:5-8(11).

Perhaps what you are talking about is something entierly different.

/Thomas