Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? - Religion (3) - Nairaland
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Which Of These Acts Are You Guilty Of While In The Church? / Ghanian Bishop Accuses TB Joshua and Chris Oyakhilome Of Practising Occultism / Ghanian Bishop Accuses TB Joshua And Chris Oyakhilome Of Practising Occultism (2) (3) (4)
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| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by basille(m): 11:23pm On Oct 19, 2014 |
shaggy007:The first statement of mysticism not believing in after life is quite false. Mystics (mostly occultist) believe in the afterlife, just not known as the term "afterlife" (some do call it afterlife though). They even use a popular scientific theory to support this – "energy is neither created nor destroyed." Hence, once you're dead your soul (spiritual energy) continues the spiritual travel to a higher plains or dimension, a higher world the normal human senses can't perceive. While your body (physical energy) disintegrates and returns to the earth. Thus energy is recycled. I am assuming the statement of not agreeing with Christian doctrines applies to you, cause quite a number of mystics believe and even combine both doctrines, ever heard of Max heindel? author of some notable mystical and occultic books. He was a Christian mystic and also a well known rosicrucian. |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by agabaI23(m): 11:29pm On Oct 19, 2014 |
Ukutsgp:A christian the way you know it! |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by WinsomeX: 11:59pm On Oct 19, 2014 |
I find the contributions by basile very informative. |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by Ukutsgp(m): 11:59pm On Oct 19, 2014 |
plaetton:my guy it is better u go and flush yourself up bc i dnt have ur tym. |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by sealteam66(m): 12:37am On Oct 20, 2014 |
I used to practice camelite mysticism (because I wanted to enter the religious life), which is a spirituality centered on the crucified Christ,then i could easily mortify my self(not now that I find it challenging to do spiritual things), fasting wasn't hard, can marathon fast if need be. During my NYSC years because of my fathers death, after encounter with a spiritan monk,and the priest in my PPA telling me to form a religious society, I stumbled upon Ascent of mount camel by St John of the Cross, I practised what was written there and i went into over drive, It was the best days of my life. I succeeded in starting the religious organization. Later I got the interior castle/mansion by saint theresa of avilla, unlike the ascent it doesn't give instructions but categories the mystical life. There is the way of perfection by St teresa of avila.I am currently reading dark night of the soul by St john of the cross. But from my understanding the way to God isn't pleasurable but if it way everybody will be on that road To me if you are a christain and your are having this feeling you may be called an not yet chosen. It is really not easy you have to practice obedience (to a spiritual l director), poverty and chastity, should any one be lacking you are on the wrong path, and do not thing that the devil doesn't work here, remember, what St Paul said(I cant remember were), He will transform himself into an angel of light to deceive Get Ascent of Mount camel and dark knight of the soul, and practise what is contained inside. you will get what you are looking for |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by WinsomeX: 2:14am On Oct 20, 2014 |
Colossians 2:18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind The above text is the reason for this thread titled "Are you guilty of practising mysticism?". I did not open the thread to find out about mystics; I opened the thread to show that mysticism is actually anti Christian and therefore Antichrist. I am glad however that many mystics have found the thread to espouse their theology. Those of you who find then inviting, may imbibe it to the detriment of your souls and to your eternal damnation. My concern for the thread is with my own constituency: the church. Particularly Pentecostals. I hope to show that they are in danger of delving into mysticism and that the so called results they obtain or the spirits they hear actually cab actually be of demonic origin. I base my premise on the word of God as quoted above in Colossians 2:18. Let us be reminded of the purpose of Paul writing to the Colossians. It was to warn them of a certain false gospel called Gnosticism. The Gnostics had various dimensions in which they operated: including, intellectualism, ritualism, mysticism and legalism. Paul addressed these issues in that order from Colossians 2: 8-23. In Colossians 2:18, he began to speak on mysticism. He enumerated the following as their stock in trade: 1. Voluntary humility and worshiping of angels. 2. Taking authority from visions. 3. Pride from a fleshly mind. 1. Worshipping of Angels: A group guilty of this practise in Christendom are Catholics and white garment churches. Make no mistake about it, these people have had tremendous experiences from these devotions and thus are enslaved to them. The reason why many of them hold to these practices is bc they have found solution to life challenges through them. So now they are enslaved. 2. Visions: Those guilty of these are mostly pentecostals. Some tell of Jesus appearing to them to teach doctrines not found in the bible. Some make trips to heaven and hell, returning to tell their stories in bestseller books and largely attended conferences. While I do not deny God can give visions, vision in themselves are not final authority. If whatever vision you have do not line up with scripture, may that vision perish with you. 3. The result in all of the two above is pride, and not faith or humility. First the individual that has these experiences puts on the toga of exclusivity. He is seen as special. He is proud; basing his pride on a fleshly thing, a vision rather than God's word. But God's word says the just will live by faith: Faith in Christ and a deep humility that resorts from being a debtor to God's grace in Christ. I said all of that to warn my Pentecostal friends against mysticism and to ask them to beware of delving into realms that are wholly dominated by demonic spirits. In this vain I would like to speak briefly on the following practices in such churches: 1. Speaking with tongues. 2. Hearing voices. 3. Fasting. 1. Tongues: My study of scriptures reveal that tongues is a valid gift of the Spirit. But I must of certainty agree with many who question the modern day practices of speaking with tongues, in the basis that much of those tongues cannot be interpreted and of necessity are gibberish. I believe that a valid gift of tongue which can still operate today, will come with interpretation or be a means to evangelize hitherto unreached nations for Jesus. I fear that much of tongue praying today is speaking gibberish into the air and Satan's wise way of denying the Christian an opportunity for rich communion with God. I sincerely believe that the tongue practise should be investigated more closely by Christians with the view to judging its scriptural foundation and if found faulty, the practice discarded. 2. Hearing voices: This is another mystical dimension of Pentecostalism that is worrisome. The phrase "God told me.." is so prevalent in these religious circles that one begins to wonder if God is talkative. Most of the epistles were written with apostolic authority and rarely do we find any of them saying God told them anything. Except Revelation that was a clear encounter with Christ. In the Old Testament, we see God appearing to the prophets in far in between periods. How this same God has suddenly developed a penchant for always talking is bewildering. John warned us that many spirits have gone into the world. Are these the spirit speaking to these people? Whatever any man says he heard from God, let us know that the bible is the final authority. If what a man hears does not line up with scripture, it is not God. If however another man claim he heard nothing but is doing the bible, follow that man. Let us be aware of all these God told me talk. Its the root of many extra biblical doctrines. 3. Fasting: a legitimate spiritual exercise when inspired by God. However, Lengthy fasting periods not directed by God can open up a man to new dimensions in the spirit realm. And anyone not properly grounded can have encounters with evil spirits that will forever influence with him negatively. The story is told of how Mohammed encountered an angel in a cave who gave him the Quran. It all started through a quest into mysticism. Many Pentecostals in the quest for anointing indulge in protracted fastings, the results are usually revelations that lead to extra biblical teachings. Let us beware. In conclusion, I remind us of MacArthur statement that I put at the OP: Mysticism may be defined as the pursuit of a deeper or higher subjective religious experience. It is the belief that spiritual reality is perceived apart from the human intellect and natural senses. It looks for truth internally, weighing feelings, intuition, and other internal sensations more heavily than objective, observable, external data. Mysticism ultimately derives its authority from a self-actualized, self authenticated light arising from within. This irrational and anti- intellectual approach is the antithesis of Christian theology. Biblical truths should be learnt via objective studies into scriptures. God's Spirit who authored it, is ever near to guide us into all truths. We do not need subjective experience or a certain word from the Lord to know biblical truth. They are open to us if we are studios and prayerful enough in our study. I do not deny the fact that God can reward such studious endeavors with certain subjective experiences but it will not be the norm. And even when they happen, they cannot supercede the authority of scripture and our duty is not to go looking for them. I still will like to hear the opinions of leading Pentecostals on this forum in this matter. I hope Bidam, who has written a bit on pentecostalism here, will honor the invitation; and Image123, along with others. Cheers. 2 Likes |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by basille(m): 3:31am On Oct 20, 2014 |
WinsomeX: I opened the thread to show that mysticism is actually anti Christian and therefore Antichrist. I am glad however that many mystics have found the thread to espouse their theology. Those of you who find then inviting, may imbibe it to the detriment of your souls and to your eternal damnation.Lmfao! |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by vooks: 5:35am On Oct 20, 2014 |
You are reading mysticism into Christianity to justify your misadventures. No different from Satanists who have perfected the art What is mysticism? The New Testament has no layers, all have equal access to God. We only had apostles because they were witnesses of the resurrection of Christ a fundamental tenet of the Christian Faith plaetton: 1 Like |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by vooks: 6:47am On Oct 20, 2014 |
Winsomex, I fully agree with this statement. Where it gets hazy is when mysticism is stretched to include biblical practices such as fasting and prayer and some spiritual gifts. That's why I earlier said that the acts of mysticism and the product MUST be subjected to the revealed Word of God. Personally, believers with subjective encounters such as 'revelation' take great offense when I charge them to subject these to scriptures. There is even a dichotomy; 'head knowledge' vs Rhema. Religions/sects such as LDS have been born out of failure to subject experiences to scriptures WinsomeX: |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by PastorKun(m): 7:12am On Oct 20, 2014 |
trustman: I am sorry I would have to decline sharing the details on this forum as I have too many haterz who would love to twist and use my testimony against me in future.  |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by PastorKun(m): 7:20am On Oct 20, 2014 |
WinsomeX: I never alluded that my experience was some sort of authority and I hardly ever share it with people. However if by the experience I encountered Christ "physically" it becomes a sort of personal authority for me in the reality of my christian beliefs. |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by WinsomeX: 10:45am On Oct 20, 2014 |
PastorKun: I agree. |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by WinsomeX: 4:45am On Oct 22, 2014 |
MYSTICISM differs from legalism in that the mysticism is based on subjective experiences, which you think will make you more "spiritual" than someone else who has not had that experience. Mysticism is so subjective that no one can prove or disprove it. Paul's main point in these first 2 chapters of "sound doctrine" is all you need is Christ. You don't need experiences outside of Jesus to make yourself complete. Don't misunderstand, we are not saying believers will never have legitimate supernatural experiences serving Christ, but just that those experiences arenot to become the focus of your spiritual life and you don't begin to depend on always having them to the point that when you don't experience them, you think you are not "spiritual" - Dr Wayne Barber. Quoted in www.preceptaustin.org commentary on Colossians 2:18. |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by sealteam66(m): 11:26am On Oct 22, 2014 |
There is so much to be said about mysticism, However, I will be speaking about it in the context approved by holy mother the church, mystics according to a film i watched ( passion of the saints) defined mystics as people whose relationship with God is extreme personal e.g. Padre Pio, in fact people who are speedily beatified as saints during their lifetime where called mystics...Not doubt 99% of what you have said is true, The labour on your part is unimaginable since you don't have access to works of notable saints(which has already said the idea you are conveying in your thread and more! , and published with the authoritative seal of the church Imprimatuer and Nihil obsat, so you laboured your self reinvent the wheel), I am very happy for this realization of yours. Let me explain mysticism is part of the unitive life, the life of a christian has three parts purgative, illuminative and unitive, However, souls most be proficient in states prior to that which it is in. That is how theologian and spiritual directors discern spirits, if you are a mystic you cant go against any operation and working of virtues, which is learnt in the purgative and illuminitive life. I am really impressed by your progress ( as a non catholic), if you were a catholic you would have being like Fr Mbaka You are running very fast, but if you want to fly get hold of works by saints of the catholic church that have undergone "excruciating" scrutiny (including "temporary" ban for decades only to be reversed) feed upon it, exhaust all of them, and maybe someday you can bring something, though conforming with catholic doctrince but novel! in itself OR, pray to be rid of all forms of non conformity and mental brakes this is hindrance in it self I will follow your thread, But it is only non grounded catholics and your fellow Christians you will dazzle God teach us his ways |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by Boss13: 8:29pm On Oct 22, 2014 |
shaggy007: If as a mystic you do not believe in the after life then I don't know what type of mysticism you practice. 1 Like |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by Nobody: 12:04am On Oct 26, 2014 |
When you use the word "mysticism" to describe a christian experience in the spiritual you have open a door way to other occultic beliefs and opinions. You can see they are littered all over your thread. And as for your so called speaking in tongues "prejudices" you can visit my thread and ask any thing you are confused about. |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by WinsomeX: 11:33am On Oct 26, 2014 |
Bidam: Thank you. You apparently have nothing to add to the thread. Farewell. |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by Boss13: 12:38pm On Oct 26, 2014 |
WinsomeX: Thank you winsomex for opening this thread. Do you know Moses was a mystic and Moses was elijah and Elijah was john the baptist. Also, there was Jesus the man and jesus the Christ. Jesus the man was a medium for Jesus the Christ and both were Mystics. Remember God is spirit and can only be served in spirit and in truth. So forget all this bible quoting, for the bible was interpreted and filled with interpretation errors. The Roman Catholic church is fully aware of this and little wonder you see the rituals performed in their services. In this materialistic world of ours, only the mystic can feel, see and experience the God consciousness. |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by SalC: 1:09pm On Oct 26, 2014 |
Boss13:Lol Smh |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by Boss13: 1:18pm On Oct 26, 2014 |
SalC: Things of the spirit are always amusing to the materialistic man on the physical plane. Funny enough, these are things he knows, for all knowledge cannot be denied. I used to wonder why the catholics honor Mary. I know better, for she was not just not an ordinary virgin woman but selected, preserved and trained for the coming of Christ Consciousness |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by benodic: 8:00pm On Oct 26, 2014 |
@ pastorkun Thanks for inviting me to comment on this thread, otherwise i wouldn't have bothered as the op made it clear that he didn't open this thread to learn about mysticism but rather to warn christians to stay away from it. To me mysticism is serious business and not something to abuse or toy with having been a christian mystic myself before i became an ECKist. What drives us to become mystics is a burning inner desire to go beyound the scriptures to have a more personal relationship with God that is outside the confining dictates of orthodox religious groups and the experiences you have you already know you can never share with others who are not of like mind because they will never understand. The mystic will remain a highly misunderstood person in a society that is becoming more and more outer directed, materialistic and depending on books for everything spiritual. i prefer reserving my comments for souls on the threshold, those who have started seeking beyound the books and those who are ready to know God for what It really is and not what a book told them that It is. I rest my case 1 Like |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by Nobody: 10:06pm On Oct 26, 2014 |
WinsomeX:You are welcome mr mystical.  |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by PastorKun(m): 6:14am On Oct 27, 2014 |
benodic: Thanx for honouring my invitation, can you shed more light on what it means to be a christian mystic? |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by benodic: 9:02am On Oct 27, 2014 |
@ pastorkun A christian mystic is one who has gotten rid of the sheep mentality and has started realizing his relationship with God. he no longers depend on his pastor for revelations from God or for interpretation of the Holy Scriptures. He has started realizing the deeper meaning of the teachings of Jesus Christ and has made contact with the Holy Spirit which has started leading him to all truth as promised by Jesus. he has also started realizing the great importance of love as the all and all, the beginning and the end of all scriptures. And he strives to serve life without judging but only giving out the love that flows through him to life. Need i say more? 1 Like |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by Boss13: 1:17pm On Oct 27, 2014 |
benodic: You have said all. However, you can add - how one can become a Christian mystic 1 Like |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by PastorKun(m): 2:18pm On Oct 27, 2014 |
benodic: Hmmmmmn very interesting, so why then did you leave Christianity to become an Eckist if as a christian you were able to make contact with the holy spirit? |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by WinsomeX: 4:38pm On Oct 27, 2014 |
. |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by BabaGnoni: 4:47pm On Oct 27, 2014 |
WinsomeX:^^^ that is nannymcphee improvising a quote and sticking my name to it, after picking up feelers put out by our friends designed to elicit the reactions of others - It was a rookie mistake on her part, which is why I didn't hold it against her nor take her up on it but just let it slide |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by WinsomeX: 5:15pm On Oct 27, 2014 |
BabaGnoni: Yes I know. Cheers. |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by benodic: 9:07pm On Oct 27, 2014 |
@ boss 13 to become a chrisian mystic, you have to start with seeking more revelations on what you read in the Bible from within through meditation. @ pastorkun i was led to ECKANKAR by the Holy Spirit, as the next step on my spiritual journey. The Holy Spirit which is also known as The ECK, in ECKANKAR. Is the repository of all truth, and it is not the prerogative of any religion and from it all religions have their origin as each collects a part of the truth from it. Each individual soul is allowed according to its level of consciousness to gradually unfold following any religion that is more in tune with its inner inclination and just like in a school system, when you are done with one level you are taken to the next level. So really all these fighting between religions are simply not necessary, that is why souls are encouraged to be inner directed because when you are able to make contact with the Holy spirit you will discover that there are really no dichotomies and that we are all one and the same. The only thing that differentiates us is our individual level of consciousness. The spiritual masters both past and present are all working harmoniously in the inner planes helping souls that are ready to realize the truth within themselves. This is the reason why becoming a mystic, which of course cuts across all religions is a very important first step in ones spiritual journey. |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by WinsomeX: 10:43pm On Oct 27, 2014 |
Benodic Indeed I opened the thread with the intention of gaining understanding with some pentecostals on this forum but since they are not interested, permit me tp rub minds with you. So the eckankar religion is pluralist? It seeks harmony btw all religion, I guess from your words. Jesus did not come to birth pluralism; many ways to God. He came to birth one way: THE way. I find your reference to inner inclination very interesting. Since you were once a christian mystic and now, eckist, do you have similarities in your practice of mysticism with Pentecostals? Please explain. Thanks. |
| Re: Are You Guilty Of Practising Mysticism? by Boss13: 9:32am On Oct 28, 2014 |
benodic: Ready Soul - This seems to be a difficult task. How I wish the spiritual masters can be more physical |
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