Lectio Divina

[Because I removed several of my old blogs a few months ago, many of the articles from those blogs were also removed. One very popular article, which received several pings and trackbacks, was one I had written in May 2007 titled, “Lectio Divina.” Because I was asked recently concerning lectio divina, I wanted to repost this article. There are a few changes in the article, noted in [brackets] for removed links, changes of status, &etc. THIS ARTICLE IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT OF LECTIO DIVINA, BUT RATHER A WARNING AGAINST AN UNBIBLICAL, PAGAN PRACTICE.]

Although the heading for a recent ZENIT article was titled, “Scripture Is Central to Ecumenism, Says Pope,” it would have been more accurate to give it this title:

Lectio Divina is Central to Ecumenism, Says Pope

Two paragraphs later, Zenit News Service explains in the Pope’s own words what he means by “listening to the word of God.”

The Holy Father suggested that to proceed on the path to Christian unity it is necessary to "listen together to the word of God; to practice ‘lectio divina’ of the Bible," and to "allow oneself to be surprised by the novelty, which never grows old and is never exhausted, of the word of God.

The article is a very short one and you can read it for yourself by CLICKING HERE or going to

http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phmtl?sid=101878

So? What's the big deal?


Wikipedia defines lectio divina in this way:Well, to answer that we have to define two things. First we have to define ecumenism. Second, we have to define lectio divina.

In a narrower and more common sense, ecumenism refers to the movement towards co-operating among Christians. For some people, ecumenism is based on the idea that there should be a single Christian Church, but normally it refers to Christians of different denominations working together.

Further reading in Wikipedia, under “Contemporary developments,” you will read this in the last paragraph of that subheading:

Organizations such as the World Council of Churches, the National Council of Churches USA, Churches Uniting in Christ, and Christian Churches Together continue to encourage ecumenical cooperation among Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, and, at times, Roman Catholics.

With regard to Christian Churches Together (CCT), check out this link to Christian Research Net to read what Bishop Blaire has to say about the ultimate goal of the Roman Catholic Church and the role of CCT as an “interim process” to reach that goal. You can also read all about it on the CCT website by CLICKING HERE. The quote from the CCT news article said:

Bishop Blaire emphasized that for the Catholic Church the ultimate goal of ecumenism is the full, visible unity of all Christian churches in the one apostolic faith.

In an article entitled, "The Alignment of New Evangelicals with Apostasy", Richard Bennet, president and founder of Berean Beacon, and a former Catholic Priest himself, provides excellent insights into this ecumenical apostasy that has invaded the church in these last days.

Now, how is lectio divina used to perpetuate this ecumenism?

Once again, Wikipedia is informative enough to tell us all about lectio divina:

Lectio Divina is Latin for divine reading, spiritual reading, or “holy reading,” and represents a method of prayer and scriptural reading intended to promote communion with God and to provide special spritual insights. It is a way of praying with Scripture that calls one to study, ponder, listen and, finally pray from God's Word.

Although Wikipedia goes on to explain the method of lectio divina, allow me to give you a sample of the method that comes right from the website of the very Protestant denomination I am presently serving in, the Evangelical Covenant Church of America (ECC) [As this article is a reposting of the original article written in May 2007, I am no longer serving as a licensed minister with the Evangelical Covenant Church of America]. What is most shocking about this is that the ECC is promoting this form of prayer as “spiritual discipline” within their “Spiritual Formation” Department.

READING: lectio (read)

Gently read the Scriptures aloud to yourself slowly savoring and repeating the part of the text that speaks to the depths of your heart. Listen to the Word ‘with the ear of your heart,’ and be willing to linger on portions of the text that seem to speak to you in a special way.

Through repetition, gently allow the text to percolate into your memory. Be willing to set the printed text aside to listen quietly to the Word which you have taken into your heart.

MEDITATION: meditatio (reflect)

Lovingly and slowly repeat the text you have internalized....

I can go on but that gives you the general idea. You can read the entire text in PDF by CLICKING HERE or going to ___ [The links to the Evangelical Covenant Church, http://www.covchurch.org/, which promoted Lectio Divina under their Spiritual Formation ministry, and presented lectio divina in a pdf document called "Habits of the Heart," has been removed from the ECC website and does not appear searchable on their search engine at the time of this reposting].

One can easily see that this method of prayer makes no bones about repeating text, directly violating the Lord's will as Jesus condemns this sort of tom foolery as pagan:

"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking" (Matthew 6:7).

That our Lord tells us that vain repetition is particularly pagan should be good enough for us to shun this method. Nevertheless, if you would like further insights regarding how contemplative prayer, such as lectio divina, is used in New Age mysticsm, check out this article by Brian Flynn, author of Running Against the Wind and director and founder of One Truth Ministries. CLICK HERE to read Brian's article entitled, “Christians Should Dump Contemplative Prayer” or go to
http://www.onetruthministries.com/cp_article.html.

Lectio Divina is heavily promoted by several leaders within the Emergent Church Movement, and endorsed by Rick Warren, founder and pastor of the Purpose Driven Movement.

What’s the danger in lectio divina and how could it possibly tie us into a movement that unites us with the Romish church under the pope in Vatican City?

When we practice such methods of prayer, vainly repeating Scripture, lighting votive candles, wearing prayer shawls, or taking certain prayerful steps in order to get into the “presence” of God, we have actually denied the grace of God...

...and blasphemed the Cross of Jesus Christ.

For further reading, check out this article:

"Contemporary Christian Divination" by Bob DeWaay

Teach Us to Pray (Coming Soon)

Lord, Teach Us to Pray will soon be available as a printed publication… a traditional paperback book. This 96-page book will be available for only $7.77 through CreateSpace.com, a division of Amazon.com. Click on the book cover to the left or CLICK HERE to see how you can order the book when it becomes available... or you can check it out on the Lord, Teach Us to Pray weblog by CLICKING HERE.

The Sovereign Work of God

“The wind bloweth where it listeth…” (John 3:8).

“So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:7).

On Thursday evening, August 20th, I had very good reason to repent before God (and repent, I did). I attended a pastor’s fellowship held in Pulaski, Tennessee for the Sovereign Grace Baptist churches in the region (we have them about every other month), and I was telling a brother during our lunch break how God had ministered in our village of Scammon Bay, Alaska by my merely preaching Christ, and Him crucified. When I got home to Anniston that night after a three-hour drive, I wept before my God and Savior as I realized how full of myself I must have sounded; how full of filthy flesh I must have appeared to others, and especially before my Master; how pitifully prideful and haughty I must have been… to imply by my zeal and to suggest in my speech that God saved souls in bush Alaska because I had the wherewithal not to stoop to programs, methods, and gimmicks, but instead preached Christ, and Him crucified.

Now, we should preach Christ, and Him crucified. We should teach sound doctrine and make clear presentations rooted in good, God-glorifying Biblical truth. We should study carefully to plow straight furrows with the Word of God unto the hearing of all those souls that would receive the Lord’s truth. Yet, it is a sin to think that because I did so, God is obligated to add to the church, grow the flock, or do any other “amazing” thing. That we have the privilege to preach His Son incarnate, crucified, risen, ascended, and coming again is an honor and privilege that none of us deserves, and yet, are allowed to do so by God’s amazing grace. In fact, it is also by His incredible mercy that we have that privilege because we are merely pathetic beings after all, wretched beings made a little lower than the angels, and our handling of the glory of His infinite truth is weak and feeble at best, for “…not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called” (1 Corinthians 1:26).

We should also pray. We should earnestly seek the blessed favor of our Lord so that we may be nourished by His presence, encouraged by His abounding grace, strengthened by His enduring mercy, and uplifted by His infinite love. Yet, it is sheer folly to think that because I prayed earnestly that He would bring revival because I prayed so diligently; that I worshipped Him so earnestly; that the sincerity of my supplications, the piety of my petitions, or the thoroughness of my thanksgivings placed our sovereign and almighty God under any kind of obligation to act or respond apart from the counsel of His own will and blessedness of His good pleasure.

We should endeavor to be obedient to God’s Word and walk according to all the graces He lavishes upon us; yet, our zeal should not be without knowledge, and specifically, knowledge of just who it is we worship and serve.

We should ever keep in mind that it is all God’s work; it is His church; it is His glory; and what a blessed privilege it is to submit to His eternal will, plans, and purposes.

It is not in how much we labor for the Lord or in what specific way we labor before Him that marks our Christianity; but it is in our trust in Him and our faithfulness to Him in whatever He calls us to do, according to the truth of His Word.

Pastors: whether you minister to a small handful of souls on Sunday or several thousand souls throughout the week, you are responsible for the care, feeding, and nurture of every single one of them before God. What a tremendous responsibility for the care of just one soul! Lean upon Christ by the power of His Spirit and the Word of His truth. It requires the same spiritual power for few or many and we must trust the Lord implicitly for the results in either case. Faithfulness in the one instance is no different than faithfulness in the other.

Saints: in whatever you are called, and wherever He has placed you, rejoice that it is by God’s grace that you are there. Take comfort in the truth that He is in control of every circumstance for He is a sovereign God; and that He is working out every detail of your life, and of those around you, in order to conform you to the image of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.