Maybe we should market millstones?

These are the days where everyone is trying to make a buck off Christianity.
Maybe we should start to market millstones with cute little fishies on them.

Matt 18:6 "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."

The practice of Lectio Divina, centering prayer and contemplative prayer is being taught to our children.
Read this new article in Christianity Today
http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2005/003/24.48.html
Remember when folk used to sacrifice their children to Moloch? Same thing here.
Am I over reacting?
No perhaps you are underreacting.
Lectio, contemplative and centering prayer is all the same deal. Don't let your youth pastor or any teacher try to persuade you different.
You need more information. Check it out for yourself. Don't just take my word for it. Test the spirits
The problem today is churches react after the fact when the ritual has already been taught.
Many churches have become firefighters instead of fire preventors.
When they should have obtained more information on what was being taught beforehand.
Besides even if you water down the practice you think that these kids won't go online and find out more information on what they are into?
If you think they will not you are probably being very naive.
Plus don't let the youth pastors and teachers play dumb either.
Many are operating on a lot more information than they will admit.
Why?
Because in a church that cares it will cost them their jobs and many youth pastors are well paid these days.

Again I want to quote Richard Foster who is into this occult ritual From his book "Prayer: Finding the Hearts true Home".
"At the outset I need to give a word of warning, a little like the warning labels on medicine bottles. Contemplative prayer is not for the novice. I do not say this for any other form of prayer. All are welcome, regardless of proficiency or expertise, to enter freely into adoration and meditation and intercession and a host of other approaches to prayer. But contemplation is different. While we are all equally precious in the eyes of God, we are not all equally ready to listen to "God's speech in his wondrous, terrible, gentle, loving, all embracing silence."
end quote.
And Foster also adds to say prayers of protection when you do this ritual.

Is this what we want a five year old child doing? Or any Christian of any age.

Let me add we should always ready to listen to God speak to us. And sometimes we need to be still and wait on the Lord. This does not mean however to practice a pagan ritual for a chance encounter with God.
All what we are teaching our children these days is based on a experience. I spent a lot of time in Word Faith churches and I can say with authority that if these folks were not having a experience they felt God was no longer there.
Is that what we want to teach children?
If you are not feeling something God is not there.
So when the feelings go away what then?
And I have not heard one word of discerning Gods voice from the enemies voice.
But of course demons won't pick on kids or try to speak to kids as Jesus?
Yea right.

These practices( Lectio etc..) are what they are don't buy into the lie that what is being taught is some sort of different or cleaned up version.
Bad root-bad tree.


Entering into the silence, emptying your mind all this comes from the roots which are in Hindu and Buddhist traditions, not Christian. That's where the monks got this from-the Alexandrian Gnostics who got it from the Hindus and Buddhists.
This practice went away after the Desert fathers around 325 AD and didn't make a comeback (because it was rejected) until the 15 century and St Benedict once again it was rejected and didn't make a comeback until the 60's with Thomas Merton and Thomas Keating.
Do a web search yourself and see if Im making this stuff up.

You need to see for yourself what is being taught to your children and you need have seen it yesterday.
Many of our churches have gotten so big that spiritual discernment has taken a back seat to keeping the numbers up.
Even if your church may object to the Emergent movement and occult practices Like Lectio it may slip them by because they are simply to busy to check out whats being taught.

You need to stay on your toes!
Teaching your kids to sit still and pray to God or read their Bibles is a wonderful thing.
We also need to do our jobs as parents and be there to answer any questions for them.
And for crying out loud don't buy your kids The Message Bible.
Buy a decent translation that doesnt pervert the word of God. Stay away from paraphrases.

Meanwhile how much do you think we could sell millstones on eBay?