Gordon are you referring to the pressure to participate in activities, "religious" or otherwise?

Is there anything wrong with forming large prayer circles in church and praying together? Are there times when it isn't right?

I fail to see how the formation of prayer circles would draw us away from God, unless a foolish faith is started that our prayers are more likely answered by engaging in such activities. The only genuine positive effect would be in the projection of unity between members of the congregation. If such activities are deemed as sacrilegious, in the sanctuary, by God then it sould be done elsewhere. (I haven't studied on this topic, so I do not know.) Even good things, when mixed with slight amounts of error can become terrible works of evil.

I am still wondering what the false science is that was spoken of by Ellen White:

What is soon coming upon us? Seducing spirits are coming in. If God has ever spoken by me, you will before long hear of a wonderful science--a science of the devil. Its aim will be to make of no account God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. Some will exalt this false science, and through them Satan will seek to make void the law of God. Great miracles will be performed in the sight of men in behalf of this wonderful sciences.--Letter 48, 1907. {3SM 408.1}

If this false science makes void God's law, has an association with Pantheism as well as spiritualism, and helps usher in the Sunday law it must be some form of twisted study that unites physical laws of what is known (science), with spiritualy false beliefs in the unknown (spiritualism).

Hi Crater and all, I think maybe that's what Gordon is referring. I was curious to know so I google "spiritual formation" "prayer circle" and it looks like it is a typical tool from the spiritual formation method employed to get every one to join a group. I do know that "Mordecai" feeling when this was used at a campmeeting to get everyone in front to respond to the preaching. If you don't agree with it and stay in your seet then you feel that peer pressure of what others are thinking about you. Yes, I do see now how peer pressure in such context, could be a good tool to get people to submit in joining a group.

If you google those words above, you'll see quite a lot of hits. But here's a link to John Paul II using that method :

http://stjohnpaulpray.bravehost.com/

JOHN PAUL II ECUMENICAL PRAYER CIRCLE

I found this interesting poem in one of the "Spiritual Formation" training Centers which depicts the purpose and the idea behind "Circles of Prayers"

Community(the Title of Poem)

This vast, abundant earth is crying out like a wounded animal…
Listen! Can we hear the cries?
Life is pushing up through every opening in human consciousness she can find.

A great surge of Life howling to be saved.
I understand this morning amidst these towering trees and fragile flowers so magnificent they make my heart ache,
the prophetic voice cries out simply in agony,
overwhelmed by beauty, unconcerned about nuance or detail:

Wake up! Listen!
The strategists and statisticians, the armies of thinkers, movers and shakers need to fill in the blanks.

The prophet’s cry is simple:

Wake up! Precious life is dying!
I understand this morning why prophets are killed.
Their mission is not to craft the nuanced document to discern if the other who they face intends good or evil.

The prophet stands in the face of it all
with purity of vision, seeing how Life is meant to
be, hoping to awaken Life wherever it is, to heed the call.

We are at a moment when God speaks not through a lonely prophet
but pushing up through our bodies through the soul of community.

The call is to join hands
to form a circle of diversity
to reach out and gather in
to show in word and deed and action

Together we are the Life of the world!

---- End of Poem ----

Link : http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:Tm_Lz-8Ul9gJ:www.sdiworld.org/uploads/Uj/vC/UjvCmXqMXt01ZdvCw0B-aw/Connections-April-May-2006.pdf+prayer+circle+site:sdiworld.org&cd=13&hl=en&ct=clnk

JCS, great comments and questions. How will it bring in the NSL - that's the question.

"Interesting poem" Elle! It would fit right in the environmental movement! Though it appears spiritual in nature, I don't see that is of a Christian nature! (btw I'm not implying that you see it as Christian! )

This scripture came to mind when I read it. We are told "the earth shall wax old like a garment"!

"Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished."

I took a look at the magazine at the sight you gave. I don't know what a Spiritual Director is? The mag seemed very ecumenical, so I suppose a "Spiritual Director" could be an inclusive name used for leaders of a "spiritual / religious" leadership, verse priest, pastor, shaman, rabbi, enlightened master, . . . ?

Yes, I agree. BTW Good find about spiritualism in gardening and great UN & Environmental links. I did check some of them. Wow! I'm not much aware about all this UN and Environmental stuff since I don't read much about it. However, it seems to always pop up and seems to be quite a big World Wide effort.

When Gordon mention about the Prayer circle, I couldn't see anything wrong with it either, beside relating to a small one time experience. All look innocent and OK until you go and check it out a little deeper and start thinking about it versus what we know about what's coming ahead.

I'm no expert on this stuff either, but from the little I've google and from the Spiritual Formation discussion here on this forum, Spiritual Director International appears to be an International effort to link up any individual to a mentor trained from a recognized Spiritual Formation discipline. So therefore making anyone a Spiritual leader for their own community or church or family, or whatever.

I have an itch concerning "Spiritualism", being the Omega and what we're reading is happening all around with spiritual Formation even in our own Church. It must be the grand tool(Doctrine) they will use for the great deception and somehow will use it to convict and move the world in justifying the death decree describe in Rev 13.

But it got me thinking that the doctrine of "spiritualism" must be more than the tacktives used for "immortality of the soul" by evil angels pretending being people from the dead.

I'm really wondering these following questions. Q1 troubles me because I don't see much difference. So there's something quite subtle about Spiritualism that makes like a praying circle nothing wrong with it. However, it's more than what the surface meets the eye.

Q1. What's the difference between "spiritualism" and from having the "Spirit of God" living in us?

Q2. Could "spiritualism" be already intergrated in any other of our doctrines?

Q3. And How Spiritualism links up with the Sabbath or Sunday Observance?

Why is everyone caught off guard JCS? A thought came to my mind yesterday on the reason. Maybe it's because everyone (among Adventists) is expecting certain events have to happen before the final plagues, trumpets and seals are poured out, certain events such as the national Sunday law. What actually is about to happen next may be our witnessing great balls of fire fall on the earth and we'll exclaim, Wow! we knew that the judgments of God were going to fall be we didn't think it would be this soon.

Maybe we have it backwards. The trumpets seals and plagues are what brings on the Sunday laws not vice versa.

I agree Mark.