August 2, 2008 Posted by Roger Overton Guess who said:
“Classical theology has erred in its insistence that theology be 'God-centered,' not 'man-centered'.”
Remember, no cheating 😉
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August 1, 2008 Posted by Roger Overton | This interview is part of a two week blog tour on Gum, Geckos and God by James Spiegel. You can find out more about the tour on the book's website. OVERTON: In your preface you explain that, “Without realizing it, my kids have tutored me on how to integrate faith and learning in ways I could never have imagined.” What are some of the things your children have taught you? |
SPIEGEL: In
relating to my kids, I have learned that parenting demands a deeper level of
wisdom than anything else I have ever done. The situations and conflicts one
has to deal with force a parent to draw upon every resource one has. This has
taught me to be more intentional about doing so. Children assume their parents
are experts on anything, so they pose questions about every conceivable
subject. This boundless curiosity has renewed my own curiosity about the
world. My kids have also taught me to pay more attention to the details of the
natural world and to appreciate its wonders. I have long understood that God is
a cosmic artist, and my kids have only reinforced this
perspective.
OVERTON: You claim that “great ideas should not just inhabit
classrooms; they should permeate our lives.” Can you give us an example of how
you've demonstrated this to your children?
SPIEGEL: One of the
“great ideas” is the sovereignty of God, and this is something we stress to our
kids, both in good and bad times. We remind our kids of the ways God has
blessed us and thank Him together for his grace to us. We also acknowledge to
our kids that God is in control when painful events happen in our lives, and we
stress to them the truth of Romans 8:28-that God will use even these things to
bring about greater good and glorify himself. Another great idea is the concept
of the world as a work of divine art, and my wife, Amy, and I constantly teach
our kids to see the world as such when we discuss lots of different subjects,
especially history and science. Thirdly, the concept of moral goodness is one
of the great ideas. As applied to people, this can be analyzed in terms of
different virtues (e.g., self-control, patience, kindness, generosity, justice,
courage, humility, etc.) Amy and I frequently describe people in such terms for
our children in order to help build their moral awareness and the richness of
their moral vocabulary.
OVERTON: Throughout the book you recount some excellent
examples of turning seemingly ordinary events into teaching opportunities for
your children, but it seems like this approach would also be useful beyond
parenting. How might we translate your examples into our interactions with
family and friends?
SPIEGEL: In Gum, Geckos, and God I draw moral lessons
from everything from pearl formation to gecko molting. These are not only
examples of divine creativity but they also have secondary moral meanings which
we can apply to our lives. (Jesus' agricultural metaphors and parables are, of
course, the best examples of this method.) Pointing out such things to fellow
adults can be very edifying, because it reinforces the importance of godly
living while reminding us of God's artistic brilliance.
OVERTON: While
discussing “Who Gets to Go to Heaven?” you talk about implicit faith: “the
disposition to trust God, as demonstrated in one's earnestly following God as
much as one can, relative to one's understanding of him.” You go to explain that
some who have never heard the Gospel preached have this sort of faith and,
“While it may typically be such that those who are saved by God do come to have
explicit faith, it doesn't follow that it always works this way.” How do you
understand Romans 10:14-17, which seems to indicate hearing the Gospel preached
is a necessary component of being saved?
SPIEGEL: I made this
point in order to avoid the implication that, say, all infants who die go to
hell. Also, the saints in the O.T. never heard of Jesus but they had implicit
faith in him in the sense that if they had heard the gospel, they would have
embraced Christ. I am open to the possibility that today there are some who
have never heard of Christ whom God could nonetheless save in spite of this.
However, I do think that they would need some sort of special revelation-a
communiqué from God of some kind, such as through a vision, miracle, or
spiritual illumination. As for the Romans 10:14-17 passage, this certainly
underscores the need for proclaiming the gospel message to people. I affirm
this mandate wholeheartedly, but our efforts here as fallen people are always
flawed and limited, and today millions still have not heard the message. It is
inconceivable to me that God would restrict his own efforts to save the lost to
what human beings can accomplish. In biblical history, God's calling on people
has often transcended human preaching, from Moses and the burning bush to Paul
on the road to Damascus. Those were very dramatic divine revelations, of
course. But I think God may sometimes use more subtle means to bring to himself
people who have never heard the gospel.
OVERTON: Perhaps one of the more
controversial points in your book is when you explain that you and your wife,
Amy, openly discuss “mature” topics with your children, such as death and
sexuality. You proposed that “If a kid is mature enough to ask as substantive
question, we figure they are mature enough to handle a truthful response.”
Understanding your children are still young, how have you noticed this approach
affecting your children?
SPIEGEL: So far the effect has been
very positive. As is documented in Gum, Geckos, and God, we have had many
conversations about death with our kids, and in nearly every case we use this as
a context to reinforce our belief in Christ and our hope for heaven.
Consequently, our kids are more inclined to think of this world in light of the
next world, which is the proper biblical perspective. As for sex, we haven't
discussed this beyond the basic issue of where babies come from, which is a
question that our sons Bailey (8) and Sam (5) have both asked. So we've
explained this to them, and their curiosity has been satisfied. However, we
have avoided any discussion of sinful sexual behavior. Thankfully, they haven't
had any questions pertaining to this, so we see no reason to pollute their minds
with any of that. Of course, they'll eventually hear about such things-perhaps
earlier rather than later, given our culture-and then we'll discuss this with
them, noting how people rebel against God's plan in the area of sexuality as
well. But, of course, the most important way to teach one's kids about God's
design in this area is to model faithfulness with one's spouse.
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July 25, 2008 Posted by David N I've recently joined a new group blog, the purpose of which is to consider various arguments for different views of church authority. More specifically, my coauthors and I will be looking closely at Orthodox (and Catholic) arguments against Sola Scriptura. Obviously attempts will be made at refuting these arguments, but the primary goal of this blog is to foster communication between Protestant and Orthodox Christians, and to work towards an increasingly charitable and transparent dialog between the two. This blog is called “By Whose Authority?” and it can be found here.
Posted in David's Posts, Main Page, Poetry/Scripture/Liturgy/Etc., Theology 2 Comments »
July 21, 2008 Posted by Roger Overton James Spiegel, author of Gum, Geckos, and God, is going on a book blog tour beginning today. The blog tour features 13 blogs and 15 bloggers on 12 posting dates.
Below is the schedule for this blog tour:
July 21 – Spunky Homeschool
July 22 – Beauty from the Heart
July 23 – At a Hen’s Pace
July 24 – A Holy Experience
July 25 – Family Voice
July 28 – Ted Wins
July 29 – In a Mirror Dimly
July 30 – Oversight of Souls
July 31 – Christians in Context
August 1 – The A-Team Blog
August 4 – Embarking
August 5 – Challies.com
Check out www.gumgeckosandgod.com for more details on the Gum, Geckos, and God by James Spiegel.
James and his wife have also started blogging at http://wisdomandfollyblog.com.
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July 18, 2008 Posted by Roger Overton
This is the third in a series of videos on Eckhart Tolle and Oprah and their New Age cult put together by Richard Abanes. You can see the others here. I do recommend the book we just were talking about in my interview with Abanes… A New Earth, An Old Deception: Awakening to the Dangers of Eckhart Tolle's #1 Bestseller.
The U.S. Senate has decided that it's losing too much money (our money, by the way) feeding itself, so it's privatizing its restaurants. Priceless quote: “And the Senate that knows it can't even run a restaurant will soon vote to have the government run health care.”
There's a new apologetics radio show called “In the Public Square.” It's hosted by John Snyder, formerly of apologetics.com. It's podcasted and worth checking out.
Those in the So. Cal. area this weekend will want to check out a one-day conference this Saturday the 19th: “Crucial Issues for Christians.” It's free at First Southern Baptist Church of Downey from 1pm to 8pm. RSVP is required at 800-922-4748. Here's the schedule:
1:00 PM—2:00 PM – Doug Eaton—Postmodernism and the Emergent Church
2:30 PM—3:30 PM – Lindsay Brooks—Aesthetics and the Christian
4:00 PM—5:00PM – Christopher Neiswonger – The New Atheism
5:00 PM—6:30 PM – Dinner Break -A light Dinner will be served.
6:30 PM—8:00 PM – Donald McConnell – The Sanctity of Life
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July 17, 2008 Posted by Roger Overton | Hinduism teaches reincarnation. Does Tolle teach that as well, or does he have some other view of the afterlife?
|
In other words, he really doesn't know what is going to happen to people. The
best afterlife that Tolle can offer is either: (a) absorption into an
impersonal, universal energy force; or (b) transformation into some kind of
“form” that Tolle cannot even predict beyond just some sort of
absorption/transformation of their life essence into some kind of metaphysical
energy field that fills the cosmos. As he put it: “Transformed to-either
to join with the source, or to go through further experiences, experiences of
awakening” (I see this as one of those hints at possible reincarnation).
God, on the other hand, has promised an infinitely better destiny to those who
accept his gift of salvation made available through Jesus Christ, who said,
“I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he
who believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). “Everyone who
calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom. 10:13), said Paul, who
also revealed that God “wants all men to be saved and to come to a
knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). Consequently, our responsibility as
Christians is to share truth with those still lost and dying in darkness (2
Cor. 4:3-6), in desperate need of hope and help: “Blessed is he whose help
is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (Ps. 146:5).
We've looked a lot at how
Tolle's teachings differ from Christianity, but not all of his followers are
(or claim to be) Christians. How do you think we can best approach Tolle's
non-Christian followers with the gospel?
There are a few good
witnessing approaches to one can take when speaking to followers of
Tolle.
First, pointing out the
way Tolle often contradicts himself might be a good route to
traverse. For example, he claims:“Many ‘religious’ people . . . equate truth
with thought, and as they are completely identified with thought (their
mind), they claim to be in the sole possession of the truth in
an unconscious attempt to protect their identity.” At the same time,
however, it is none other than Tolle who has claimed, “There is only
one absolute Truth, and all other truths emanate from it. When you find
that Truth, your actions will be in alignment with it.” Isn’t Tolle
being “identified with thought”? Isn’t he just being “religious”? Isn’t he
merely trying to protect his identity? Asking such questions could open up a
doorway to discussing consistency of thought and belief — which is what we
have in Christ.
Second, discussing the nature of truth and
how we can know truth might also be a worthwhile tactic. To do so, one
must bring up Tolle's test for truth — in other words, how he knows what he
knows. His Truth, he maintains, can only be found by intuition, internal
knowing, and emotion, as the following quote shows:
Something from within—not
from our conditioned mind
but from the deeper level of unconditioned
consciousness—
responds immediately. Often all that is
needed to evoke this
response is to listen to one statement of
Truth and imme-
diately there’s a response. Because we all
carry the Truth
within us as our essence, we recognize it
immediately.
This is a tenuous position to take—i.e., that
truth can be validated by a subjective response (in other words, a
feeling). It is reminiscent of the “burning in the bosom” sensation cited
by Mormons as divine proof of the Book of Mormon (BOM).7 According to
Mormons, the sensation comes to those who, in faith, ask God to give them
the “burning” if the BOM is true. Once they receive this feeling, the
issue is settled. But can a feeling adequately measure truth? What if one
person’s feeling conflicts with another person’s feeling? Which is
true? So far, we already have at least two opposing feelings.
Devout Mormons would never accept Tolle’s teachings, while Tolle’s
devotees would say that Mormons do not have his Truth. After that, we have
Muslims, who often say that they, too, feel their faith is true. And what
about my own feelings that tell me Tolle’s views, Mormonism, and Islam are
all false, but Christianity is true
Clearly, feelings are not a very reliable
standard by which to measure truth. They are vulnerable to all sorts of
factors that might taint them: a confused state of mind, emotional
attachments, doctrinal preconditioning, adrenaline in the brain due to
over-stimulation, even lack of food and/or sleep. More important,
scripture nowhere describes feelings as a reliable truth detector. In
fact, the Bible tells us that the heart, the seat of emotion, is “deceitful
above all things” (Jer. 17:9). Nevertheless, Tolle confidently relies
on nothing but his feelings, going so far as to forcefully attack any reliance
on the mind or thinking in one’s search for truth. The doctrinal results
that spring from this kind of non-thinking are not only unbiblical,
but befuddling, illogical, and self-contradictory. This is very different
than the linear, logical, consistent approach Christianity offers to our basis
of faith, which is rooted in scripture.
Finally, the issue of absolute evil can be
raised. Tolle teaches that absolute evil does not really exist! It is all an
illusion — i.e., our minds have become so attached to the illusory forms we
see, that we only think the things we label as evil, truly are evil in an
absolute sense. A drive-by shooting on some inner-city street that takes
the life of an innocent child—not evil. The kidnapping and torture of
Americans in the Middle East—not evil. Sexual
abuse perpetrated by a pedophile—not evil. The Nazi Holocaust—not evil.
Our perceptions of these things as evil are just that—mere perceptions.
Most unbelievers would be very hard-pressed to accept that such things are not
truly evil. But we as Christians must help them see the such a flaw in Tolle's
teachings. If we can do that, then we have opened the door to discuss such
biblical issues as true good and true evil, sin and it's consequences, and
forgiveness, which raises the topics of Jesus and the cross.
Ultimately, however, only scripture and God’s
Spirit will open the spiritual eyes of someone like Tolle (and his
followers). For it is the Holy Spirit who really leads someone to
repentance (Luke 12:12; John 16:8; Acts 4:8–12; 7:51; 1 Thess. 1:5; 4:7–8),
telling them not to “harden” their hearts (Heb. 3:8). And we also have the
assurance that scripture is “living and active. Sharper than any double-edged
sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow;
it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). The
answer, therefore, is to pray and follow the Spirit’s lead in sharing
biblical truth.
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July 16, 2008 Posted by Roger Overton | Is there such a thing as sin in Tolle's worldview?
There is no such thing as the Christian concept of “sin” in Tolle's |
We must remember that Tolle usually cares very little about interpreting
anything in context, and cares even less about things like a verse’s
historical/cultural backdrop, grammar, or the meaning of the original language
words used in the New and Old Testaments. He views such things as
obstacles to understanding the Bible through enlightenment or one's own inner
realized truth. Yet here we have him suddenly appealing to the Greek word for
“sin” to prove his point! This is the height of inconsistency. Why not pay
attention to the Greek everywhere else in the New Testament? Answering that
question, of course, takes no guesswork. Basically, Tolle mentioned the Greek
because the definition of the Greek word for sin (hamartano) happens to
be a definition that he is able to bend to his own uses.
Concerning the definition Tolle quotes (i.e., “miss the mark, as an archer who
misses the target”), that is a correct literal translation of hamartano. But
the obvious question is: What is the mark/ target being missed? At this point,
Tolle suddenly has a serious problem. He can no longer appeal to either the
original languages or the actual translated text because nothing in the Bible
indicates that the “mark” or the “target” is “the point of human existence.”
Predictably, Tolle’s references to the Greek stop immediately. There is no
mention of any Bible verses. And he quotes no New Testament writers—or even
Jesus. Instead, he conveniently flips back into using his esoteric system of
biblical interpretation. Contrary to Tolle, scripture indicates that the “mark”
or the “target” that is missed when we sin (hamartano) is God’s righteous,
holy, perfect, just, complete law of conduct that is consistent with his own
divine will and ways. That is why we all sin (hamartano, miss the mark). No one
can measure up to God’s standard of righteousness. No one can reach God’s
perfection. “For all have sinned and fall short [miss the mark] of the glory of
God” (Rom. 3:23).
Most troubling is how Tolle not only ignores/rejects the concept of
“sin.” But he also goes so far to dismiss the true existence of
absolute evil in general! Things like absolute good and absolute evil to Tolle
are nothing but mere illusions — i.e., our minds only think something is
either evil or good based on our over-attachments to the illusions of form that
we see. Put another way, A drive-by shooting on some inner-city street that
takes the life of an innocent child—not evil. The kidnapping and torture of
Americans in the Middle East—not evil. Sexual
abuse perpetrated by a pedophile—not evil. The Nazi Holocaust—not evil. The
“Truth,” according to Tolle’s paradigm, is that our deceived minds have grown so
attached to illusory forms that we mistakenly think the evil we see is
real—i.e., evil, wrong, and sinful.
But the Bible nowhere speaks of good/bad or evil/righteousness as only an
illusion. Both good and evil are discussed in scripture as absolute realities
that have consequences in this life and in the afterlife. In fact, the prophet
Amos cried out to Israel,
“Seek good, not evil, that you may live. . . . Hate evil, love good” (Amos
5:14–15; cf. Rom.
12:9). Jesus also had many things to say on the nature of good and evil,
clearly believing that both were quite real (Mark 3:4; John 5:29). He even
categorized some people as evil and some people as good (Matt. 5:45; 12:34–35).
One of the quotes from Tolle says, “To me, Jesus
stands for humanity.” Given his pantheistic worldview, what is humanity to
him?
All of us, and everything around us, is nothing but one big illusion, says
Tolle! The only Reality is the underlying divine Life-Essence that permeates
all that is. This Life-Essence is “God.” According to Tolle, we must
look past the illusion of forms we see, and by doing so, transcend those
illusions so that we can grasp who we really are. Once we grasp who we are,
Tolle says we will be able to disconnect our minds from those illusions —
i.e., the fountain of all pain, suffering, worry, and trauma.
Without a biblical understanding of sin, does Tolle teach any sort of
salvation?
Tolle not only redefines “salvation” in a non-Christian sense, but
actually has the audacity to say that his definition of it is the real
definition of it intended by Jesus/the Bible. He defines it as personal
enlightenment, or the realization of one's own divinity — i.e., salvation
marks a shift in consciousness. He has said this very plainly: “In Hindu
teachings (and sometimes in Buddhism also), this transformation [of human
consciousness] is called enlightenment. In the teachings of Jesus, it is
salvation.”
But this is not what the Bible teaches when it comes to salvation. The New
Testament Greek word translated as “salvation” (sōtēria) means
“deliverance, preservation” (i.e., from any kind of danger). Its root
words, saos and sōzō, “add the notion of wholeness, soundness, health,
giving 'salvation' a medical connotation.” The word salvation clearly
paints an idea of someone being rescued and/or healed. Jesus, in fact,
described himself as a “physician” (Mark 2:17 KJV).
Healed from what? Rescued from what? These questions are answered in simple
terms throughout scripture. We are healed of the disease of sin that afflicts
our soul (Ps. 41:4; James 5:16; 1 Peter 2:24), and we are rescued/delivered
from the effects of that sin-i.e., eternal death, separation from God (Matt.
8:11-12; 10:28; 13:42, 50; 25:46; Luke 13:24-28; 2 Thess. 1:6-10; Heb.
10:26-27; Rev. 20:11-15). “Salvation” through Christ brings the
opposite of eternal death, which is eternal life-i.e., everlasting life with
God, in his presence throughout eternity. As Jesus boldly promised: “I am
the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he
dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (John
11:25-26).
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July 15, 2008 Posted by Roger Overton | What does Tolle think of Jesus?
Tolle, like other New Agers, portrays Jesus as a mere man; just another avatar |
 |
Oprah Winfrey put it most succinctly during a special April 9, 2008, edition of
The Oprah Winfrey Show, which featured Tolle’s fans praising his teachings. She
brazenly declared: “I thought Jesus came, died on the cross. That Jesus’
being here was about his death and dying on the cross, when it really was about
him coming to show us how to do it. How to be. To show us the Christ Consciousness
that he had, and that that consciousness abides with all of us.”
Bear in mind that this is the same Oprah who continues to publicly claim she's
a Christian and believes in Jesus Christ. Well, forgive me if I use
uncharacteristically blunt words at this point, but it must be said: Oprah is
not a Christian, nor does she believe in the Jesus of the Bible. By the
teachings/beliefs she espouses make her a classic New Ager who exalts a
different Jesus, a different spirit, and a different gospel (2 Cor. 11:3–4). I
wish that both she and Tolle would, for the sake of truth, just stop claiming
that Tolle's teachings are compatible with Christianity. They're not compatible
with the Christian faith. The only way he and Oprah are making it SEEM compatible
is by twisting and perverting scripture to say whatever Tolle wants it to say
in contradiction to the context and language of the Bible verses he always
quotes. What he and Oprah are doing is deceptive, in my opinion—perhaps not
deliberately, but deceptive nevertheless. They might be sincere, but they are
sincerely wrong, and they are leading many people down a dead-end path of false
spirituality.
In his view, why did Jesus die on the cross and does
it mean anything positive for us today?
Tolle actually doesn't say very much about why Jesus ended up dying on
the cross. But from the precious little that Tolle does say, he seems to feel
the cross was a defeat which occurred at the hands of the reactionary, violent,
religious, and unenlightened. There is no sense at all in Tolle's teachings
that the cross was, in reality, the essence of Christ's mission, which is what
scripture consistently teaches (see Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:33–34, 45; 12:1–11;
Luke 13:33; John 12:24-27; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Tim. 1:15).
To Tolle, the cross is at best “a strange dualistic symbol.” As he
says, “To me, Jesus stands for humanity. So this man is nailed to the
torture instrument, totally helpless, in deep suffering. At that point comes
total surrender to what is. ‘Not my will, but thy will be done.’”
Tolle then goes on to explain that ultimately, however, “the symbolic
significance of the cross is changed from being a torture instrument to a
symbol of the divine” because “[t]he very suffering that comes with
being here in this physical realm—because eventually some form of suffering
comes to everybody–can become an opening into that which we call the
divine.”
We again see Tolle perverting scripture in order to make it say what he wants
it to say. Christ's death on the cross in this view, is nothing a but a tragic
event used to picture humanity (i.e., Jesus) nailed to the instrument of
suffering that we all face in life (i.e., the cross), which is something we all
must simply surrender to because it usually cannot be avoided for fought. This
is hardly the Christian view.
In itself, this perspective is not very shocking when taken in light of Tolle's
New Age mindset. But what is indeed somewhat surprising is how both he and
Oprah are seriously trying to push this resoundingly heretical view into a
Christian mold. First, by Tolle quoting so much scripture to support his views.
Second, by Oprah relentlessly calling herself a “Christian” and
assuring faithful fans that what Tolle is saying is completely compatible with
Christianity.
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July 14, 2008 Posted by Roger Overton This is the first part of a four part interview concluding this Thursday.
| Eckhart Tolle claims that what he is teaching is neutral to his religion. Yet many people are flocking to him as though he's a religious teacher. Is his message religious and how does it compare to Christianity?
First, people must realize that Tolle is a master of double-speak and |
Second, when it comes to Christianity, he paints it as one of the worst
examples of spirituality/faith when it is out of control and based on illusion,
lies, and dangerous ideas. As he puts it, “The history of Christianity is, of
course, a prime example of how the belief that you are in sole possession of the
truth, that is to say, right, can corrupt your actions and behavior to the
point of insanity.” This is the same worn-out slander that has used against
Christianity for centuries — i.e., bring up all the horrific things done under
the guise of Christianity (e.g., witch hunts, Crusades, etc.) and blame the
actual faith itself, rather than the people who merely used the faith to
further their own evil and wickedness.
Third, it should be understood that Tolle's “religion” is not really
a “religion” per se, but rather an eclectic mix of doctrinal views
taken from all over the religious landscape. This reflects the way people are
choosing their spirituality today — i.e., a little bit of this a little bit of
that. And it doesn't really seem to matter if the various things they are
choosing are intellectually consistent or logical. In other words, of a certain
idea “feels” good, then they'll take it and just throw it into their
personal spirituality stew. This is why Tolle, I believe, uses so many quotes
from the Bible — it sounds awfully spiritually and uplifting. Unfortunately,
the words contained in his select passages are rendered meaningless by him
because he perverts them utterly via radically New Age misinterpretations
of them based on his own internal, subjective “knowledge” of what
those verses supposedly REALLY mean — always contrary, by the way, to their
context and language. In this way he utterly reshapes/redefines every Christian
doctrine around what HE believes about God, Jesus, eternal life, salvation, the
cross, the “new” haven and earth mentioned in Revelation, the term
“Christ,” and the mission of Jesus.
What is the basic
message he's teaching?
His basic religious message is: You can escape suffering and live happy,
fulfilled, and purposeful if you know who you REALLY are. And who are you?
Supposedly, you and everyone else, and everything else, is “God”
(which he defines as the Life Force, Power, One, Reality, or Essence of all
that exists). This impersonal, cosmic, metaphysical stuff is what we need to
recognize as our TRUE self, underlying the illusion of forms we see. Such a
view is nothing but pantheism, which has been taught in Hinduism for centuries.
It's one of the foundational teachings of the classic New Age Movement. It's
all very, very old stuff. But with a new twist, thanks in part, to Oprah, who
has become, as one person said it, the Queen of the New Age Gurus.
What is it that people find so appealing about Tolle's
message?
Tolle is a likable guy, first of all. He's not intimidating in the least—i.e.,
he comes off as very calm, kind-hearted, gentle, witty, caring, sincere,
non-judgmental, and non-combative. There's a lot to be said for personality!
This is enough to get most people to believe just about anyone, be they a
used-car salesman, a politician, or an entertainer.
And then you have Oprah, who has been identified by Forbes as the most
influential/powerful celebrity in the world. So, for a lot of people (fans,
fellow celebrities, Hollywood movers and
shakers), whatever Oprah says is golden. Whatever she says is true must be
true. Add a few more celebrity endorsements into the mix and you've got untold
millions looking to Eckhart Tolle because he is being backed by celebrities.
As for his actual message, it is crafted extraordinarily well for our era of
self, self, self. It's all about the self — me, me, me. What can YOU achieve,
by YOUR efforts, to make YOU happier, by getting what YOU want, through
understanding YOUR power, and knowing YOUR real identity, which is “God”
(as Tolle defines him from a pantheistic perspective). The bottom line is
simple—i.e., escape your suffering, obtain what you want, live a good life.
This is the same foundational teaching that has infected certain segments of
the Christian community. The only difference is that in Tolle's teachings, each
person is supposed to look inwardly to their own self as “God.” The
Christian version doesn't go quite that far, but instead, holds on to an
external God while we are painted more us more like little gods who can, by
virtue of our faith, make the big God give us what we want.
Christianity, contrary to Tolle’s assertion, does not teach it is possible to
“end” suffering. Such an idea is nowhere to be found in Christ’s sermons (or
anywhere in the Bible). In fact, the very opposite is taught in scripture—i.e.,
followers of Jesus will experience all kinds of suffering for myriad reasons.
History has repeatedly born out the accuracy of this teaching with frightening
clarity. Christian suffering began almost immediately after Jesus ascended to
heaven (Acts 1:10–12). But believers in Christ always recalled Master's
promise: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matt. 5:4).
The Christian’s hope, in other words, is not to escape suffering, but to endure
it with the strength, guidance, and comfort of God that is made available to us
through the Holy Spirit, who is variously called the Counselor, Helper, or
Comforter (John 14:16). The answer for Christians who live in a world rife with
suffering is to look to, and lean on, God, “who comforts the downcast” (2 Cor.
7:6). It molds us, shapes us, and conforms us to the image of Christ. This is
not a real popular message. In fact, it seems that few people these days (even
in the Christian church, especially in America) are willing to accept what
Jesus said in John 16:33: “In this world you will have trouble. But take
heart! I have overcome the world.”
Posted in Interviews, Main Page, Religion (General), Roger's Posts No Comments »
July 9, 2008 Posted by Roger Overton Our friends Rob Sivulka and Aaron Shafovaloff have posted a classic video of the original “Bible Answer Man” Walter Martin on You Tube. It features an introduction by Ed Decker and a lecture from Martin on Mormonism that's over an hour long from 1985 in Brigham City, UT.
Posted in Main Page, Mormonism, Roger's Posts No Comments »
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