:: Friday, January 14, 2005 ::

A Time of Departing: How a universal spirituality is changing the face of Christianity. By Ray Yungen
Silverton: Lighthouse Trails, 2002, 173 pp., $12.95 softcover.

A Time of Departing warns Christians about the dangers of centering or contemplative prayer ("the silence") and the growing appeal that elements of Eastern mysticism and New Age thought hold for many evangelicals. While author Ray Yungen discusses obvious New Age influences in our culture like Scott Peck, Dr. Phil, Oprah Winfrey and the Chicken Soup series, the true significance of this book lies in Yungen's willingness to name popular figures such as Richard Foster and Brennan Manning, documenting their mystical approaches that owe much more to the Roman Catholic mystic Thomas Merton than to the Bible.

Undoubtedly the Roman Catholic theologian with the greatest influence in Protestant/evangelical circles recently has been the last Henri Nouwen. As Yungen reports, a survey of 3,400 American Protestant leaders a decade ago ranked him second only to Billy Graham. This despite Nouwen's enthusiasm for Hinduism and panentheism, and his assertion that his calling was to help everyone claim their own way to God, whether they know about Jesus or not.[1]

I recommend A Time of Departing for all who are concerned about the growing New Age influence in the Christian church. It's a quick read, but disturbing, and should incite all true believers into carefully examining the current trends and influences on our faith.

Visit the Lighthouse Trails web site.

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Footnotes

[1] Ray Yungen, A Time of Departing, (Silverton: Lighthouse Trails, 2002), 63.

:: Randy Brandt :: Comments :: ::