From: Subject: The New Age Implications of the Purpose-Driven Church Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2006 22:30:53 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.cephas-library.com/purposedriven/purposedriven_na_implications_of_the_purpose_driven_church.html X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1106 The New Age Implications of the Purpose-Driven = Church

 

 Deceived on=20 Purpose

 

The New Age Implications of the = Purpose-Driven=20 Church

 

Chapter 5 - Enter Robert Schuller

 

by Warren Smith=20
Conscience Press, Ravenna, Ohio, 2004=20
Distributed solely by Discernment Ministries, P.O. Box 254, = High=20 Bridge, NJ 08829=960254=20
Phone: 903=96567=966423 Website:=20 http://www.discernment-ministries.com

"'Our very survival' as a species depends on hope. And without = hope we=20 will lose the faith that we can cope.=94 1 Robert Schuller = (quoting author=20 Ren=E9 Dub=F3s) Self-Esteem: The New Reformation, 1982

"Hope is as essential to your life as air and water. You need = hope to=20 cope." 2 Rick Warren, The Purpose-Driven Life, 2002

I knew I was being spiritually led when I was in the New Age. I = just=20 didn=92t know that I was being led by a deceptive spirit world. I = didn=92t=20 even know that there was a deceptive spirit world or that there = were such=20 things as deceptive spirits. I didn=92t realize that deceptive = spirits could=20 present themselves as =93God=94 and =93Jesus=94 and the =93Holy = Spirit.=94 I didn=92t=20 know that the Bible warns about these deceptive spirits and tells = us to=20 test the spirits to make sure that we are not being deceived by = =93another=20 Jesus,=94 =93another spirit,=94 and =93another gospel=94 (1 John = 4:1; 2 Corinthians=20 11:3-4).

 

Years ago, as previously mentioned, I had a number of seemingly = =93meant=20 to be=94 supernatural experiences that made me believe that my New = Age=20 teachings were from God and that I was on the right path. I had no = idea=20 there was a Deceiver and that I was being spiritually deceived. It = all=20 started with what seemed to be an innocent psychic reading. Trying = to=20 please a woman I had just met, I agreed to see a friend of a = friend of=20 hers who was a traveling psychic from Canada. Somewhat skeptical = going=20 into the reading, I was amazed at how much the psychic seemed to = know=20 about me. Over the course of the reading she was describing things = that I=20 had never shared with anyone. This gave her credibility in my eyes = and set=20 me up for what happened later in our session.

 

In The Light that was Dark, I described what happened: It was = toward=20 the end of the reading that I first noticed the whirling sensation = over my=20 head. I tried to ignore it, but it wouldn=92t go away. It was a = strange but=20 not unpleasant feeling that seemed to flutter and vibrate and even = tingle=20 above me. I was startled when Bonnie picked up on it. =93Are you = aware that=20 there is a ball of light over your head?=94

 

I was dumbfounded. A ball of light? Is that what I was feeling? = This=20 was getting a little wild.

 

I told Bonnie that I had been feeling something over my head = but didn=92t=20 know what it was. She said it again. =93It=92s a ball of = light.=94

 

For a moment I tried to understand what a ball of light was = doing over=20 my head. Then I asked the obvious. =93Why is there a ball of light = over my=20 head?=94 =93You are being shown that you have a lot of help on the = other=20 side,=94 she said matter-of-factly.

 

=93What do you mean by =91the other side=92?=94

 

=93The spirit world,=94 was her quick reply. =93Family and = loved ones who=20 have passed away, as well as angels and other spirits who for = whatever=20 reasons are sympathetic to your life. They are making themselves = known to=20 you. They are reaching out to you and letting you know that they = are=20 available if you want their help.=94 Bonnie was smiling; she = seemed pleased=20 by this show of support.

 

I was intrigued that there was a spirit world and flattered by = its=20 interest in me. I asked Bonnie to elaborate. =93Those on the other = side know=20 what you are going through. Although they are making themselves = known to=20 you, they will not involve themselves in your life without your=20 permission. If you want their help you will have to = ask=85.=943

 

I sat back in my chair trying to comprehend it. How amazing, I = thought,=20 that we can reach out to the spirit world. A spiritual dimension = is really=20 out there, willing and able to help us. I knew in that moment that = I=20 wanted its help. I understood that the ball of light had come at a = perfect=20 time=97in the reading and in my life. It had given me a much = needed sense of=20 validation. I felt better about myself knowing that somewhere out = there in=20 the universe I was really cared for. Suddenly I didn=92t feel = alone. As far=20 as I was concerned, the ball of light had been an act of = compassion, and I=20 was grateful.4

 

I go on to describe in my book how later that same day I prayed = and=20 asked all those on =93the other side=94 to come into my life. = Shortly after=20 that, my life took off like a rocket ship into the New Age, as = what I=20 thought were =93meant to be=94 experiences from God started = streaming into my=20 life. I did not understand that I had just unwittingly involved = myself=20 with a deceptive spirit world that is fully described and warned = about in=20 the Bible. It wasn=92t until five years later, that I came to = understand=20 what happens when you involve yourself with spiritual leadings = that are=20 not from God, but from his spiritual Adversary.

 

Many New Age leaders today describe similar supernatural = experiences=20 that initiated, or further reinforced, their involvement in the = deceptive=20 teachings of the New Age. In his book Love is Letting Go of Fear,=20 psychiatrist Gerald Jampolsky describes how, during a difficult = time in=20 his life in 1975, he was given a copy of A Course in Miracles. One = day=20 while reading the Course, he heard an =93inner voice=94 telling = him,=20 =93Physician, heal thyself: this is your way home.=945

 

Supernaturally impressed by the inner voice and by what he was = reading,=20 Jampolsky became an almost immediate convert to the =93God=94 and = =93Christ=94 of=20 A Course in Miracles. He has been a prominent A Course in Miracles = proponent and New Age leader ever since. In 1979, his bestselling = book=20 about A Course in Miracles, entitled Love Is Letting Go of Fear, = was=20 published. It was this Jampolsky book that led me to A Course in = Miracles=20 and prompted me to go even more deeply into the teachings of the = New=20 Age.

 

New age leader Marianne Williamson claims that a number of = years ago,=20 after a =93nervous breakdown=94 and in the midst of her study of A = Course in=20 Miracles, she met =93Jesus.=94 One night she said she felt the = presence of=20 =93Jesus=94 by her bed. =93I was not normal and I knew it,=94 she = said. Not=20 understanding the deceptive spirit world and the importance of = testing the=20 spirits, she started talking to the presence that she assumed was = the real=20 Jesus:

=93So I said to Jesus, =91Look, if you can give me back my = life, if you can=20 restore me somehow, then I will do whatever you want me to do for = the rest=20 of my life.=92 Like people make a pact with the devil, I made a = pact with=20 Jesus.=946

Williamson=92s career skyrocketed after her book A Return to = Love:=20 Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles was = enthusiastically=20 endorsed by Oprah Winfrey on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Williamson = has been=20 an internationally recognized New Age/new gospel leader ever = since.

 

She and Neale Donald Walsch co-founded The Global Renaissance=20 Alliance=97which includes many prominent New Age leaders=97to = further the New=20 Age teachings that would soon be alternately described as the = =93New=20 Spirituality.=94 The =93Jesus=94 that Williamson follows is the = false New Age=20 =93Jesus=94 of A Course in Miracles, not the real Jesus of the = Bible.

 

New Age/new gospel leader Neale Donald Walsch was a = disillusioned and=20 depressed former radio talk show host, public relations = professional, and=20 longtime metaphysical seeker 7 when he sat down one night and = wrote God an=20 angry letter.8 He was shocked when =93God=94 seemed to answer his = letter by=20 speaking directly to him through an inner voice.

 

That evening, and in future =93conversations,=94 Walsch = transcribed all of=20 the dictated answers to his questions. These conversations were = published=20 in 1995 as Walsch=92s Conversations with God: Book 1. The book was = the first=20 in a series of bestselling Conversations with God books. He is one = of the=20 most visible and outspoken New Age leaders today as he directly = challenges=20 everyone to accept the =93new gospel=94 of the =93New = Spirituality,=94 that =93We=20 are all One.=94

 

With supernatural experiences seeming to validate so many of us = at=20 critical times in our lives, most of us did not doubt the seeming = =93truth=94=20 of our experiences. But we didn=92t know about the Bible=92s = warning to =93try=94=20 the spirits to make sure they weren=92t deceptive spirits = delivering false=20 teachings. Many other New Age leaders, and countless numbers of = day to day=20 people like myself, were propelled into the New Age by similar = encounters=20 with the spirit world.

 

Bernie Siegel

 

In June of 1978, a Connecticut physician named Bernie Siegel = attended a=20 workshop that would completely change his life, including the way = he=20 practiced medicine. As a result of a spiritual experience in this=20 workshop=97a guided visualization=97 he would eventually become a = bestselling=20 author and New Age leader. In his book Love, Medicine & = Miracles, he=20 describes this guided visualization:

"In June 1978, my practice of medicine changed as a result of = an=20 unexpected experience I had at a teaching seminar. Oncologist O. = Carl=20 Simonton and psychologist Stephanie Matthews (then his wife) gave = a=20 workshop=97Psychological Factors, Stress, and Cancer=97at the = Elmcrest=20 Institute in Portland, Connecticut=85."9

 

"The Simontons taught us how to meditate. At one point they led = us in a=20 directed meditation to find and meet an inner guide. I approached = this=20 exercise with all the skepticism one expects from a mechanistic = doctor.=20 Still, I sat down, closed my eyes, and followed directions. I = didn=92t=20 believe it would work, but if it did I expected to see Jesus or = Moses. Who=20 else would dare appear inside a surgeon=92s head? Instead I met = George, a=20 bearded, long-haired young man wearing an immaculate flowing white = gown=20 and a skullcap. It was an incredible awakening for me, because I = hadn=92t=20 expected anything to happen=85.

 

"George was spontaneous, aware of my feelings, and an excellent = adviser. He gave me honest answers, some of which I didn=92t like = at=20 first=85.

 

"All I know is that he has been my invaluable companion ever = since his=20 first appearance. My life is much easier now, because he does the = hard=20 work.10

Since that initial spiritual encounter, Siegel has become a = leading New=20 Age author and spokesperson. Providing =93hope=94 by fusing modern = day=20 medicine with New Age teachings and practices, Siegel has = introduced New=20 Age concepts into the professional medical community and to cancer = patients everywhere. In Friendship with God, Neale Donald Walsch = writes=20 that Bernie Siegel was the =93first celebrity endorsement=94 he = received for=20 his first book Conversations with God: Book 1. Walsch said that = =93it helped=20 book buyers, who might have been skittish about a previously = unpublished=20 author, see the value of what I had produced.=9411

 

Today, Siegel continues to influence countless numbers of = people in his=20 role as a New Age leader. In his books and workshops he encourages = people=20 to do guided meditations and visualizations=97just as he once = did=97to=20 initiate contact with their own personal spirit guides. Siegel = openly=20 endorses the teachings of A Course in Miracles, and currently = serves on=20 the Board of Advisors of Jerry Jampolsky=92s A Course in = Miracles-based=20 Attitudinal Healing Center in Northern California.

 

Why Siegel?

 

I describe Bernie Siegel at length because I was about to = discover that=20 Rick Warren suddenly and inexplicably made reference to Bernie = Siegel in=20 Chapter Three of The Purpose-Driven Life. He used Siegel=92s name = in=20 conjunction with remarks he was making about people who have = =93hope=94 and a=20 =93deep sense of life purpose.=94 The reference follows Rick = Warren=92s strange=20 characterization of Isaiah and Job as two men who exemplified life = =93without purpose=94 and life =93without God.=94

 

The reader is given no explanation as to who Bernie Siegel is = and,=20 therefore, has no idea that Rick Warren was using the remark of a = New Age=20 leader to reference the importance of having =93hope=94 and = =93purpose=94 in their=20 life. Particularly for someone like myself, who came out of the = New Age,=20 it was extremely bizarre to see Rick Warren=92s remarks linking = hope with=20 the New Age leader Bernie Siegel rather than with Isaiah and Job. = His=20 skewed comments were very misleading. Rick Warren wrote:

"Without God, life has no purpose, and without purpose, life = has no=20 meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance or hope. In the = Bible,=20 many different people expressed this hopelessness. Isaiah = complained, =93I=20 have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and = for=20 nothing.=94 Job said, 'My life drags by=97day after hopeless = day=94 and =93I give=20 up; I am tired of living. Leave me alone. My life makes no sense.' = The=20 greatest tragedy is not death, but life without purpose.

 

"Hope is as essential to your life as air and water. You need = hope to=20 cope. Dr. Bernie Siegel found he could predict which of his cancer = patients would go into remission by asking, =93Do you want to live = to be one=20 hundred?=94 Those with a deep sense of life purpose answered yes = and were=20 the ones most likely to survive. Hope comes from having a = purpose."13

Isaiah and Job without purpose?

 

After quoting the situational complaints of Isaiah and Job, = Rick Warren=20 stated, as quoted above, =93The greatest tragedy is not death, but = life=20 without purpose.=94 In reality, Isaiah=92s =93complaining=94 had = nothing to do=20 with =93a life without purpose=94 or being =93without God.=94 = Rather, it had to do=20 with the fact that Isaiah was finding the prophetic role that God = had=20 assigned to him to be very discouraging. He was trying to warn the = people=20 that their religious leaders were leading them astray.

"=85O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and = destroy the=20 way of thy paths. (Isaiah 3:12)

Isaiah was trying to tell the people they were being deceived, = but it=20 seemed that no one was listening. Isaiah was not =93without = purpose.=94 He was=20 just deeply frustrated with Israel=92s leaders and the people who = were=20 blindly following them. Using a New International Version Bible, = Rick=20 Warren chose to quote only half of Isaiah 49:4 in trying to make = his case=20 that Isaiah was a man =93without purpose=94 and =93without God.=94 = =85=93I have=20 labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for=20 nothing.=9414

 

The whole NIV verse paints a completely different picture. But = I said,=20 =93I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain = and for=20 nothing. Yet what is due me is in the Lord=92s hand, and my reward = is with=20 my God.=9415 [Emphasis added]

 

The King James Version makes Isaiah=92s sense of purpose and = faith in God=20 even clearer in this same passage.

"Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength = for=20 nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgement is with the Lord, and = my work=20 with my God." [Emphasis added]

Matthew Henry, a respected Bible commentator (whom Rick Warren = cites in=20 Chapter Four), wrote this about Isaiah=92s =93complaint=94 in = Isaiah 49:4:

"He comforts himself under this discouragement with this = consideration,=20 that it was the cause of God in which he was engaged and the call = of God=20 that engaged him in it: Yet surely my judgement is with the Lord, = who is=20 the Judge of all, and my work with my God, whose servant I am. His = comfort=20 is, and it may be the comfort of all faithful ministers, when they = see=20 little success of their labours. That, however it be, it is a = righteous=20 cause that they are pleading. They are with God, and for God; they = are on=20 his side, and workers together with him=85. The unbelief of men = gives them=20 no cause to suspect the truth of their doctrine."16

Matthew Henry rightly points out that Isaiah was anything but=20 purposeless. He may have been discouraged that no one seemed to be = listening to him, but he never lost his sense of purpose or his = faith in=20 God. The same is true of God=92s servant Job, whose despair and = temporary=20 discouragement in the midst of great loss had nothing to do with = his=20 overall commitment and devotion to God.

 

The hope and purpose of Robert Schuller

 

Rick Warren could have wonderfully introduced hope and purpose = through=20 the godly lives of Isaiah and Job. Yet he chose to use them as = examples of=20 men who were without hope, purpose or God in their lives. Instead, = he used=20 a New Age leader to preface his remarks about having a true hope = that=20 comes from having a =93deep sense of purpose.=94 Looking again at = what he=20 wrote:

"Hope is as essential to your life as air and water. You need = hope to=20 cope. Dr. Bernie Siegel found he could predict which of his cancer = patients would go into remission by asking, 'Do you want to live = to be one=20 hundred?' Those with a deep sense of life purpose answered yes and = were=20 the ones most likely to survive. Hope comes from having a = purpose."17

As I read this whole section in The Purpose-Driven Life, I kept = asking=20 myself: why would Rick Warren want to introduce his readers=97even = indirectly=97to a New Age leader like Bernie Siegel? Why would he = preface=20 his whole discussion about the importance of having =93hope=94 and = a =93deep=20 sense of life purpose=94 by referring to a man whose own hope and = purpose=20 are so totally invested in the false teachings of the New Age? A=20 believer=92s true hope is not based on perceptions of longevity or = the false=20 hopes of this world. It is based only in the person of Jesus = Christ. He is=20 our hope (1 Timothy 1:1).

 

What helped to finally clarify the matter for me was my = discovery that=20 much of Rick Warren=92s seemingly spontaneous discussion about = hope and=20 purpose=97even his reference to Bernie Siegel=97could be found in = the writings=20 and teachings of Robert Schuller.

 

I became aware of Schuller=92s influence while searching the = Internet in=20 an attempt to understand why Rick Warren might be citing Bernie = Siegel in=20 reference to =93hope.=94 I discovered an Hour of Power sermon in = which Robert=20 Schuller referenced Bernie Siegel in regards to this same issue of = =93hope.=94=20 After describing Bernie Siegel as =93one of the greatest doctors = of the 20th=20 Century,=94 Schuller stated:

"Dr. Siegel said that he=92s been accused of building false = hope and he=20 likes to tell people that the only false hope is giving them no=20 hope."18

I was not that surprised that Robert Schuller would use a New = Age=20 leader to make a sermon point about hope. But why would Rick = Warren?=20 Bernie Siegel=92s New Age hope is a false hope=97and no hope at = all. Was it=20 Schuller=92s obvious high regard for Bernie Siegel, and Rick = Warren=92s high=20 regard for Robert Schuller, that prompted Rick Warren to make this = reference to Siegel in The Purpose-Driven Life?

 

Hoping and coping back in 1982

 

My sense that Rick Warren and Robert Schuller=92s references to = Bernie=20 Siegel were more than coincidence was later confirmed, when I was=20 researching some of Robert Schuller=92s previous writings, and = reading=20 through his 1982 book Self-Esteem: The New Reformation. As I read = along in=20 this book, I suddenly stumbled upon some Schuller material = regarding =93hope=20 and purpose=94 that sounded just like Rick Warren. Schuller was = citing=20 sociobiologist Ren=E9 Dub=F3s=92 book Celebration of Life as the = source of his=20 remarks: In his 1982 book Self-Esteem: The New Reformation, = Schuller=20 wrote:

"'Our very survival' as a species depends on hope. And without = hope we=20 will lose the faith that we can cope.=9419

Twenty years later, in his 2002 book The Purpose-Driven Life, = Rick=20 Warren, making no reference to Schuller or Dub=F3s, wrote:

"Hope is as essential to your life as air and water. You need = hope to=20 cope."20

It seemed that in The Purpose-Driven Life, Rick Warren had = combined the=20 Schuller reference to Bernie Siegel with other material that = Schuller had=20 written back in 1982. He even turned the words =93hope=94 and = =93cope=94 into a=20 =93hope to cope=94 rhyme, worthy of the man he was so obviously = emulating.=20 49

 

But the use of Schuller material didn=92t stop there. Right = after the=20 unattributed =93hope to cope=94 reference, Rick Warren introduced = =93hope=94 and=20 =93purpose=94 to his millions of readers by citing Jeremiah = 29:11=97one of=20 Robert Schuller=92s signature Scriptures. Warren wrote:

"If you have felt hopeless, hold on! Wonderful changes are = going to=20 happen in your life as you begin to live it on purpose. God says, = 'I know=20 what I am planning for you.... =91I have good plans for you, not = plans to=20 hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.=92=9421

Sixteen years before Rick Warren=92s The Purpose-Driven Life, = Robert=20 Schuller had also introduced =93hope=94 and =93purpose=94 by = citing Jeremiah=20 29:11. In his 1986 book Be Happy You are Loved, Schuller had = written:

 

=93For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are = plans for=20 good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.=94 (Jer. = 29:11=20 TLB)

 

This Bible verse says plainly that God has a plan and a dream = and it=20 includes you. You were born for a purpose.22 Apparently, Robert = Schuller=20 had been talking about =93purpose=94 for years. In Self-Esteem: = The New=20 Reformation, Schuller had introduced =93purpose=94 in relation to = what he=20 described as =93God=92s dream=94 for our life.

"God chooses us to serve his purpose. =93You did not choose me, = but I=20 chose you.=94 Our self-esteem is rooted in our divine call. = God=92s dream for=20 our life and work gives purpose and pride to our life=85.

 

"God=92s plan and purpose calls for us to succeed and not to = fail."=20 23

In his first televised sermon to Russia on December 25, 1989, = Schuller=20 began his telecast by citing Jeremiah 29:11 to preface his remarks = about=20 having hope and purpose. He concluded his sermon by referring back = to=20 Jeremiah 29:11 and using that specific Scripture as a call for = peace=20 between the two countries.24 Schuller described the importance of = Jeremiah=20 29:11 in his own life in the introduction to his 1977 book Daily = Power=20 Thoughts.

"In preparing this book, my dream is to help you enjoy the = beautiful=20 possibilities God has available for you. A very important = scripture in my=20 life is Jeremiah 29:11."25

Siegel=92s endorsement of Schuller=92s book

 

But Rick Warren was not the only one who seemed to be impressed = with=20 the writings and teachings of Robert Schuller. I was soon to find = out that=20 Bernie Siegel had personally endorsed Robert Schuller=92s 1995 = book Prayer:=20 My Soul=92s Adventure With God. This endorsement appeared on the = opening=20 page of Schuller=92s book:

"This is a beautiful book of value to all people=85. Robert = Schuller=92s=20 newest book reaches beyond religion and information to what we all = need=97spirituality, inspiration, and understanding. Read it and = live a life=20 with meaning."26

Later, as I was forced to read more of Schuller=92s books=97 = because of his=20 obvious spiritual influence on Rick Warren=97 I found that = Schuller had=20 recommended guided meditations and visualizations 27 not unlike = the kind=20 that linked Bernie Siegel up with his spirit guide, George. It was = no=20 wonder that Schuller and Siegel expressed mutual affection for one = another=92s work.

 

As a brand new Christian, I had been horrified years ago to = find what=20 amounted to be a New Age book, written by a pastor, prominently = displayed=20 on the shelf of a local Christian bookstore. The book was filled = with=20 everything I had just left behind in the New Age. Cloaked in = Christian=20 language, it encouraged the reader to use guided visualization = (now often=20 called =93vision casting=94) and other metaphysical techniques to = gain=20 whatever it was they wanted. Pastors were encouraged to = =93visualize and=20 dream bigger churches=94 or =93a new mission field=94 or whatever = else they=20 thought would improve their church and ministry.28

 

The introduction to the book was written by Robert Schuller. In = his=20 endorsement of the book, which included these New Age = visualization=20 techniques, Schuller had written:

"Don=92t try to understand it. Just start to enjoy it! It=92s = true. It=20 works. I tried it."29

I remember warning the bookstore owner that this book, with = Schuller=92s=20 extremely undiscerning endorsement, could expose countless numbers = of=20 pastors and believers to a deceptive spirit world that was only = too happy=20 to masquerade behind the labels of =93God=94 and =93Jesus=94 and = the =93Holy=20 Spirit.=94 She immediately removed the book from the shelf. This = was one of=20 my first clues that Robert Schuller=92s lack of spiritual = discernment could=20 prove to be a possible danger to those who trusted in his = ministry.

 

But Bernie Siegel wasn=92t the only New Age leader praising one = of=20 Schuller=92s books. Neale Donald Walsch, the current point man for = the New=20 Age and the New Spirituality, had also gone way out of his way to = praise=20 Robert Schuller and to positively cite one of Schuller=92s books. = In his=20 2002 book The New Revelations: A Conversation with God, Walsch and = his=20 =93God=94 used Schuller to help make their case for a world peace = based on the=20 =93self-esteem=94 principles of a New Spirituality. Walsch = favorably quoted=20 Schuller=92s call for a new =93theology of self-esteem=94 and the = need for a=20 =93new reformation=94 within the Church.30

 

The Schuller book that they had praised and were quoting from,=20 Self-Esteem: The New Reformation, was the same book that Rick = Warren=20 seemed to have drawn so heavily from in referencing his remarks = about=20 =93hope=94 and =93purpose=94 to Bernie Siegel. Under the = circumstances, it seemed=20 like a good time to take a closer look at the New Spirituality = that Walsch=20 and his =93God=94 were proposing, and how they were convinced that = Robert=20 Schuller could help them achieve their purpose.

=

----------------------------------------------------------------------= ----------

Posted with author's permission.

Copyright =A9 2004 by Warren Smith. All rights reserved. No = part of this=20 book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing = from the=20 author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in = critical=20 articles or reviews.

Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of = the=20 Bible. ISBN: 0-9667071=963=963

Cover design by Vernon Rousseau. Graphic design by Colin A. = Leslie

Printed in the United States of America. The author and = publisher=20 receive no profits from this book. Distributed solely by = Discernment=20 Ministries, P.O. Box 254, High Bridge, NJ 08829=960254.

 

Phone: 903=96567=966423. Website: http://www.discernment-mi= nistries.com/

Individual copies $12.00 each plus $3.00 shipping and = handling.

You may also order Reinventing Jesus Christ: The New Gospel by = Warren=20 Smith Individual copies $7.00 each, plus $1.50 (shipping &=20 handling)
Audio book on CD, $15.00 each, plus $5.00 (shipping = &=20 handling)

=

----------------------------------------------------------------------= ----------

Endnotes
1. Robert H. Schuller, = Self-Esteem: The=20 New Reformation (Waco, Texas:
Word Books, 1982), p. = 19.=20
2. Rick Warren, The Purpose-Driven Life, p. = 31.=20
3. Warren Smith, The Light that was Dark, p. = 16=9617.=20
4. Ibid., p. 17.=20
5. Gerald G. Jampolsky, Love Is Letting Go = of Fear=20 (Millbrae, Calif.: Celestial
Arts, 1979), p. 2.=20
6. Elena Oumano, Marianne Williamson: Her = Life, Her=20 Message, Her
Miracles (New York: St. Martin=92s Press: St. = Martin=92s=20 Paperbacks, 1992),
p. 91=9692.=20
7. Neale Donald Walsch, Friendship with God, = p.=20 280=96283.=20
8. Walsch, Conversations with God: Book 1, = p.=20 1=962.=20
9. Bernie Siegel. Love, Medicine & = Miracles (New=20 York: Harper Collins
Publishers: HarperPerennial, 1998), p.=20 18.=20
10. Ibid., p. 19=9620.=20
11. Walsch, Friendship with God, p. = 335=96336.=20
12.=20 = (http://www.localcommunities.org/servlet/lc_ProcServ/dbpage=3D
page&am= p;GID=3D01004011550947263615155189&PG=3D01004011550953336137033205).<= /FONT>=20
13. Warren, The Purpose-Driven Life, p. = 30=9631.=20
14. Ibid., p. 30.=20
15. Holy Bible, New International Version = (Grand=20 Rapids, Mich.:
Zonderan Corporation, 1973 (1984), p. = 1006.=20
16. Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry=92s = Commentary On The=20 Whole Bible
(Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1991), = p.=20 1172.=20
17. Warren, The Purpose-Driven Life, p. = 31.=20
18. Hour of Power. Program #1572. = =93Principles for=20 Powerful, Prosperous
Living=97Part IX=94 by Robert H. = Schuller,=20 = (http://www.hourofpower.org/
booklets/archives/pppl_1563-1573/1572.htm= l),=20 p. 3. Also see, Robert
H. Schuller, Believe In The God Who = Believes=20 In You (Nashville, Tenn.:
Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1989), p.=20 246=96247.=20
19. Schuller, Self-Esteem: The New = Reformation, p.=20 19.=20
20. Warren, The Purpose-Driven Life, p. = 31.=20
21. Ibid.=20
22. Robert H. Schuller, Be Happy You Are = Loved=20 (Nashville, Tennessee:
Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986), p. = 65.=20
23. Schuller, Self-Esteem: The New = Reformation, p.=20 120.=20
24. Robert H. Schuller, My Journey: From an = Iowa Farm=20 to a Cathedral of
Dreams (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, = 2001),=20 p. 439=96440.=20
25. Robert H. Schuller, Daily Power Thoughts = (New=20 York: Jove Books,
Berkeley Publishing Group, 1977, 1983),=20 Introduction Page.=20
26. Robert H. Schuller, Prayer: My Soul=92s = Adventure=20 With God: A Spiritual
Autobiography (Nashville, Tennessee: = Thomas=20 Nelson, Inc., 1995),
Opening Page.=20
27. Robert H. Schuller, Peace Of Mind = Through=20 Possibility Thinking (Old
Tappan, N.J.: Jove Publications, = Inc.,=20 1977), p. 137=96142.=20
28. Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho, The Fourth = Dimension: The Key=20 to Putting Your
Faith to Work For a Successful Life (S. = Plainfield,=20 New Jersey: Bridge Publishing,
Inc., 1979), p. 44.=20
29. Ibid., Foreward by Robert = Schuller.=20
30. Neale Donald Walsch, The New = Revelations: A=20 Conversation with God,
p. 281.
=

http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/04/smith-deceived_on_purpose-5.htm&n= bsp;

BACK