4 Minute Daily Devotions - Only One

1 John 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.

I was partly listening to an interesting conversation on local radio this morning. It was all to do with a Methodist minister who has decided to become a Muslim. She doesn’t have any problem with this, and feels that the two faiths can be simultaneously followed by the one person. It just makes me wonder what she is looking for, and why she couldn’t find all that she spiritually needed in Christ alone.

People can sincerely believe anything that they want to in this life, but that doesn’t mean that they are right. I know many people who devote themselves to all kinds of different beliefs, but I honestly think that they are totally wrong. The Methodist minister who is now a Muslim is trying to make both those faiths fit together, but in reality they are poles apart. Jesus is The Christ, the One, Truly Anointed, Messenger, Prophet, and Son of God. There is no other Savior than Him. Christianity was founded on this absolute principle of faith; so to suggest that Jesus can share half of our devotion with someone or something else is just so wrong. The First Christians would never have diminished their beliefs in this fashion. I think that the Methodist Muslim minister is absolutely mistaken. She is idolizing her own self-made religion.

As we head into Holy Week, we all need to focus upon the passion and suffering of Jesus. He alone went to the Cross; He alone died for our sins; and He alone is truly resurrected from the grave. In other words, Christ did everything on His own. Our salvation comes from Him; our hopes lie with Him; and our immortality abides with Him. To quote from one of my favorite movies, ‘Highlander,’ – “There can be only One.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You came into world two thousand years ago to show the true way of finding God. Over the centuries, billions of people have accepted you as their Lord and Savior. Today, we count ourselves truly blessed to be amongst that amazing number. Help us to keep You in our hearts as we commemorate Holy Week and celebrate Easter. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

A New Earth: Chapter Five

I find it difficult to continue to read this book - there are so many untruths about Christ and christianity that I can hardly go on.
(new Pages have been added)

Page 129 Tolle refers to the voice in his head again. I’m beginning to think this guy is schizoid. He also refers to karma on this page, which is a Buddhist/Hinduistic term. There is no such thing as karma in Christianity.

Page 130 Nothing of consequence.

Page 131 Tolle writes about ‘phonies.’ Is this a subliminal fear that Oprah has? Is she afraid of her work being ‘superficial?’

Tolle talks about modern people ‘always trying to get home, but never reach it.’ Perhaps if Tolle and his readers were to read John 14, they might suddenly find it!

Tolle writes about modern writers writing about the modern human dilemma, but never offering a solution. He doesn’t seem to understand that this comes about because most of them lacked faith.

Page 132 Tolle expresses emotions in a holistic sense. His material on this page could have been written from a manual of the Christian Scientists.

Page 133 Tolle refers to Gaia…the complex being that is planet earth. This is definitely New Age stuff.

Refers to primordial fear and anger…fight or flight…nothing new here.

Tolle suggest that emotion is the body’s respond to thought. An inward reaction to an outward circumstance.

Page 134 Tolle suggests that toxic energy in our system is built up through anxious thoughts. This is New Age hooey. There is no scientific evidence for any of this. Tolle is waffling here and wallowing in his own thoughts. Is he suffering from the same self-promulgated narcissism that he talks about through like his own suppositions and thoughts, rather than the ones he can actually prove?

Page 135 The voice in the head tells the story that the body believes…this is what he calls emotional storytelling. Is Tolle making a negative inference about the Church and its teaching?

“Life always lets you down”…is this a great part of Tolle’s personal reality?

He talks about self-esteem being low…is he empathizing with his women readers????

Page 136 Tolle lists a whole lot of negative qualities/experiences and claims that they all disrupt the energy flow through the body, heart, and immune system. Almost same kind of list of sins against the Spirit. Galatians.

All negative emotions equals unhappiness to Tolle. But is a lack of happiness really unhappiness?

Page 137 Love is a possessiveness and addiction that can turn to hatred…is Tolle reaching out to his readers who have bad relationships???? Clever, very clever…

There is not good without bad, no high without low. This is dualism, which is not Christian. God is good – He was when bad did not exist, and He will continue to be when bad ceases to exist.

States of Being positively emanate from love joy, peace…Tolle almost lists the fruits of the Spirit found in Galatians.

Page 138 We are a species that has lost its way…which is why Jesus came into the world – to show us the way back through Him.

Page 139 the present moment is where we find power…the experience of now. This is Buddhist teaching. In Christianity, the only real now is God…I AM WHO I AM. Tolle is once again displacing God for our own existential experience.

Relates story about two monks – Tanzan and Ekido. Old story…good point.

Page 140 memories become our emotional prisons. If we don’t let go of the past, our past won’t let go of us. Is Tolle talking about the past, or is he surreptitiously meaning ‘tradition?’

We hang on to our old emotions and they become our identity…which is why Christ invites us to come to Him…to liberate us from the past and find our new identity in Him.

Page 141 …nothing ever happened in the past etc….this is sophistry. He’s trying to sound clever, but as Ecclesiastes might say…it’s just vanity.

Tolle talks about children growing up with negative emotions…he’s linking to mothers who worry about their kids…clever reader prospecting here.

Page 142…nobody can go through childhood without suffering emotional pain. This is true.

Remnants of pain and negative emotion forms an energy field…this is Star Trekking again. Perhaps Tolle has accumulated most of his ideas through the imagination of Gene Roddenberry.

Page 143 … the collective pain-body is probably encoded within every human’s DNA…although it hasn’t been discovered yet….WOW! This is mythical, NEW AGE stuff…

Emotional pain-body is carried by every new born….is Tolle equating this with original sin??? Human pain…isn’t this what we Christians call separation or alienation from God?

People with pain bodies are better equipped to awaken spiritually…clever, Tolle, clever. He’s sympathizing with his readers.

Page 144…WOW! Tolle refers to Jesus as CHRIST. …with regard to His suffering…Tolle sees Christ as the archetypal human, embodying pain and the possibility of transcendence. In other words, Tolle is equating Christ’s pain with our own and nothing more. There’s no sacrifice for the world to redeem it for God.

Pain body is a semi-autonomous energy form…this is absolute baloney…talks about this needing to be fed…and vibrating at a certain frequency. This is some wild stuff, although some forms of Buddhism talk about vibrations drawing forth dark evil forces…

Page 145 The pain body is an addiction to unhappiness…misery loves company??

Pain body, negativity, and depression…is Tolle relating to a lot of women???

Page 146: Pain body feeds on thought energy…thoughts operate and vibrate at a higher frequency…there is no scientific evidence of this. This sounds like something from Reno:The Excutioner stories…

Page 147: A lot of this page is like an episode of Deep Space Nine where a character (Jake) is taken over by the MUSE.

Voice in head tells sad, anxious or angry stories about self, other people, and situations…This is schizoid…this makes me very wary about Tolle and his own mental stability.

Pain body devours negative thoughts…this is absolute garbage…

Page 148 Pain body – a psychic parasite….emotional vampirism.

Pain body pushes other people’s buttons…in other words, no responsibility…I can hear it now: It wasn’t me, it was my pain body that did it!

Tolle lays on a guilt trip for unstable parents when he writes about millions of children going through upheaval because of their parents’ agitated pain bodies…This guy piles on guilt like an old Irish priest, which is a method of gaining control. If Tolle can make his readers feel guilty, then he can also hold out the carrot of absolution, salvation, etc…

Page 149: Pain body is the reason for alcoholism and violence in men…The person who is talking and making promises, however, is not the entity that commits the violence…This is transference. Tolle is condoning violence by suggesting it is not a personal choice but an activation of the pain body…

People think they fall in love, but actually their pain-bodies compliment each other…Tolle must have had some bad relationship experiences. This sounds more like sour grapes to me.

Page 150: Pain bodies keep dormant and then jump into action when triggered….Tolle writes a stereotypical page about honeymoon arguments. This is not good psychology…this is pseudo-psychology…Tolle appears to blame all conflicts on pain bodies, instead of blaming it on people themselves.

Page 151: Pain body distorts reality with fear, hostility, and anger…blinded by emotions. All of a sudden the person you love has a different face…the pain-body has taken possession. Choose someone as your partner whose pain body is not excessively dense.???

The only excessively dense people are the ones who think this book will transform them.

(Still to be finalized)

A New Earth - Part 4

(Continuing a page by page critique of Tolle's book "A New Earth.")

This chapter is long and tedious - I'll post the critique in stages...honestly folks, there's only so much of this stuff that I can take in...

P85: Tolle refers to the ego as psychic energy – that will please some New Agers.
The ego does not seek the formless attention which is presence – Buddhism.

P86 Tolle writes about the fear of not being good enough. Paul would talk about this as falling short of God’s glory.

He also writes about the ego’s constant need of feeling superior – so why does this book attack and dismiss religion, especially the church?

P87 Eckhart writes about children wanting attention – he’s writing to his readership. Very clever. He’s identifying with their identity – which goes against what he is supposed to be proclaiming.

Talks about victimization which leads to complaining, being offended, and outraged. Somehow I get the feeling he is going to strap this one onto the Church.

P88 – Complainers feel they are being treated unfairly by life, fate, or God – this is interesting. Perhaps Tolle should have quoted some psalms of complaint, or verses from the Book of Job.

Talks about role play in relationships and how partnerships fail – this makes me wonder about Tolle’s failed relationships – is he making general observations, or is this coming from his own egoic experiences?

P89 Finishes with absurd argument about the Spanish form of “te quiero”, as opposed to “te amo”. True love is rare according to Tolle…in his life?

He suggests that Jesus saw the ultimate irrelevance of caste or social class – so how does this explain Jesus saying that soldiers should not complain about their pay, or how people should pay their taxes to Caesar, etc.

People are confused about who they are and how they fit in today’s world – this is true…but it always has been.

P90 Tolle rambles on about confusion and comes up with the idea that if we accept that we don’t know who we are, we will find peace – this is sophistry – it sounds mysterious and enlightened, but it’s really just a delusion. It kind of reminds me about a James Thurber story…

Tolle says our roles are unimportant and we should resist becoming identified with this – what about doctors, surgeons, paramedics, etc…what about Oprah? Talk show host?

P91 Don’t take ourselves seriously, if we want to be free of our roles. Which begs the question: if you are seriously ill, do you want a surgeon who is serious about his skills, or one that couldn’t care less?

Tolle insists that authentic human relationships can exist when we adopt role identities. Yes they can…doctor – patient, teacher – student; shopkeeper – customer…

Social archetypes…Tolle uses these to connect with his readers…which is another relationship…writer – readers!

P92 Playing roles leads to less spontaneity, light-heartedness, and joy – (Tolle is hitting upon the main heartfelt wishes of housewives…)

Talks about hippies as refusing to play stereotypical roles…but they became rebels…Talks about collective insanity of 1950s society…but wasn’t the hippie movement based upon insane collectives??? (Charles Manson…) Hippie movement degenerates because they had to feed their drug ridden habits…Eastern wisdom introduced by hippy culture…but it was mainly the Beatles who did that.

P93 We speak to people in different ways – Tolle suggests this is inauthentic….but most of the situations are perfectly natural. He suggests that we are playing roles, but he misses the point: we are communicating and sometimes deference to someone in authority is the only way to accomplish this.

P94 Tolle suggests that we are not relating to people when we play roles; here’ a key question: how is Tolle writing/relating to his readers???? Is it inauthentic?

A lot of what Tolle is teaching in the part of the chapter is borrowed from Martin Buber’s I-Thou theories.

He tells the tale of Kasan’s sweaty palms, in deference to his superiors. In the end though, Kasan still becomes master to his students…

P95 “Just Fine” – a lot of people live in denial with their unhappiness…true.

Tolle writes that unhappiness has nothing to do with who you are. This is absurd. Unhappiness has everything to do with how you feel, therefore it has everything to do with who you are at any given time.

P96 Separate yourself from unhappy thoughts – this is a bit like Tinkerbelle in Peter Pan.

Don’t seek happiness – if you do, you wont’ find it. This is Tolle’s opinion…What does he think about the Declaration of Independence…life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…

P97 Tolle writes about parents and their roles. He’s reaching out to mothers stuck in their role…this is very clever targeting.

Tolle cautions parents about being overbearing and controlling…this obstructs kids from exploring and finding out for themselves. But parenting is about setting safe boundaries, as well as ethical ones for our children.

P98 Role of parent can become compulsive and ruins relationship with child. This section makes me wonder if Tolle has ever been a parent. Is he speaking from theory or practice?

The ego motivates itself to enhance itself and look after its self interest. This used to be called ambition. Is Oprah not one of the most ambitious women in the world?

P99 Tolle writes about manipulative parents using guilt trips to get what they want. Did Tolle have a bad childhood?
Awareness is the greatest agent for change – but change for what?

He also suggests that egoic patterns miraculously dissolve when you don’t oppose them. What does he mean by miraculous?
P100 Tolle describes the generational conflict between parent & child. He writes about old thoughts and old ways…is he subtly using this as a continuing argument of breaking from the past?

A New Earth - Part 3

Continuing the page by page critique of Eckhart Tolle's book "A New Earth." Why Christians should be aware of the heretical implications of Tolle's message.

P 59: Tolle identifies the egoic mind with the inner voice we use for thinking and reading. Funny how this is a bad thing and yet it is absolutely necessary to read his book.

He tries to make thinking out to be something un-natural which possesses us, stopping us from being ‘aware.’ This unconsciousness (Jung) blocks out the true spiritual awareness. Hans Christian Andersen could have written a better plot.

P60: Tolle tries to separate ourselves from the I (ego) that we are. He insists that we are not the “I” that we refer to in the first person. This will dissolve any personal responsibility for mistakes that we make. If we are separate from the egoic “I,” then how can we be held accountable?

This egoic “I” is the source for us being opinionated – Tolle is doing 2 things here: he’s trying to diminish other opinions and secondly, he is expressing his own opinion! This gets crazier and crazier. Instead of “A New Earth”, he should have called his book, “A New Wonderland for Alice.”

Egos deep down are all the same – this echoes some Jungian psychology.

“Others are most other when I see them as my enemies” – Tolle has just dismissed his opposition in egoic terms…

P61: He quotes Christ’s lesson about the speck and log in the eye, equating Christ’s message with Tolle’s philosophy. Jesus is talking about hypocrisy, not opposition. (Matthew 7:3-5).

Tolle writes that name calling is the crudest form of labeling and the ego’s need to be right…and yet he is going to use this process when condemning religion, especially Christianity.

P62 Tolle gets it right when he talks about resentment – it does cause bitterness and offense.

Focusing on other’s faults only amplifies resentment – also true.

Tolle proscribe a ‘state of nonreaction’ to overcome dysfunction of resentment – Buddhist & Christian teaching.

P63: Nonreaction equals forgiveness in Tolle’s book – but forgiveness is a very proactive event. He sees it as a means of not reacting to the injury, insult, or offense. But that is being passive, not forgiving.

P64: Tolle urges his readers to try to catch the voice inside their heads and suddenly realize that you are not the voice. But you can no more separate the voice from self as you can the heart from the body. Is Tolle schizoid?? Also, by disassociating oneself from the “voice in the head” you once again avoid any responsibility for wrong thinking, wrong choices, and wrong deeds.

The old mind pattern is the ego…the new one is awareness.

P65: People can become addicted to resentment and anger as other are to a drug. This is absolutely true. Ask marriage guidance counselors…

Collective grievances can survive for centuries and fuel cycle of violence…this is true, but is Tolle going to use this against the institutionalized church?

Grievances contaminate other areas of life. Tolle is making some very good psychological points here.

P66: Tolle writes that Christ’s teaching to “Forgive your Enemies” is about undoing the egoic structure in the mind. This is bunkum! Jesus was relating to His culture and the hatred that His people espoused against the Gentiles, and in particular, the Roman occupiers of Judea.

P67: Tolle suggests that when we complain we are egoically implying that we are right and someone else is wrong – this is too general…usually we complain when something is wrong, not necessarily someone.

Being right makes us morally superior and highly judgmental. Tolle does not therefore seem to believe in boundaries, which makes his philosophy morally ambivalent or even amoral. He’s going to develop this argument of being morally superior against the boundaries and standards set by the Church.

P 68: ‘Ego takes everything personally.’ – Amen, so why do Tolle and Oprah get so defensive about their new earth philosophy? Why are their followers so visceral in their attacks?

The truth needs no defense – yet Tolle is not going to accept that Christ is the Truth.

P 69: ‘Only through awareness are you able to see’ – yet you need to think through to that awareness level. If it was all natural as Tolle suggests, you wouldn’t need a book to describe the process.

‘I am right and you are wrong is a dangerous thing in personal relationships’ – this may have been Tolle’s partnership experience, but a healthy marriage is willing to compromise and let each partner be right at different times.

Tolle is advocating his no boundaries, no absolutes again…calling right a mental dysfunction. He then starts to talk about moral relativism seen as a great evil by Christian teachings…but he never finishes the thought.

P70: Tolle begins to question, attack and diminish the Church. He talks about people being killed in the past – yet we’re more enlightened today. He talks about the truth being a story you had to believe in – he is calling the Gospel a story, rather than the word of God.

He suggests that we cannot find absolute truth in doctrines, ideologies, sets of rules or stories…in other words the Bible, ten commandments, the Gospels and teachings of the Church.

“All religions are equally false and equally true, depending how you use them” – this is universalism…in other words, anything goes.

P71: To believe in your religion as the truth is to use it to build up your ego and make yourself superior. He’s missed the point entirely. Believing in Christ’s words is to worship God faithfully.

There is one absolute truth according to Tolle, but it is not Jesus Christ.

The truth is inseparable from who you are. Yes, you are the truth. This is new Age narcissism. It points us away from Christ and puts ourselves in the place of God This is exactly why Christians should not embrace the teachings of this book.

Tolle even suggests that this is what Christ was teaching when He said “I am the way and the truth and the life.” He’s making Jesus conform to his philosophy. This truth is about the I Am within us all according to Tolle. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY WRONG!

Jesus was referring to the way in which people come to God. Again Tolle only half quotes the verse:

John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

It’s about the exclusivity of Christ being the True way to God, not an inner awareness of our own existence.

P72: Love is above the Law, etc…this is true. Quotes Augustine, who is referring to 1 John.

He writes about both sides believing to be in possession of the truth – which is egoic. But Tolle, Oprah, and their followers do this all of the time…not practicing what they preach.

P 73: Talks about religious and ideological conflicts inflicting suffering upon humanity, ‘even on children.’

Them and us mentality = insanity to Tolle. Normal equals insane on planet earth…this is Tolle’s opinion. (Did someone steal his candy when he was a baby????)

Sin is insanity, thus there is no accountability. John & Augustine however would agree, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8

P74: TYPICAL NEW AGE STATEMENT: our common divinity is rooted in the one Life – in other words, we are all gods.

Mission to eradicate evil – you are likely to turn into what you are fighting against…the story of Dune comes to mind again…Paul.

P75: Whatever you fight, you strengthen, and whatever you resist, persists. Psychology of addiction. Also echoes Paul’s own words - Romans 7:19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-this I keep on doing.

The war against – Tolle : I know that it is condemned to failure…Tolle applying his egoic mind…believe me, I know, etc…he going against his own philosophy again. Being judgmental before issue is experienced.

P 75/76: Tolle talks about diseases re-emerging and new ones evolving because of modern day medicine. He goes on to say that Homeopathy and Chinese medicine do not create new diseases…this is his opinion and not based upon facts at all.

Ego is a collective dysfunction, the insanity of the human mind. Once again, no responsibility for our actions. Tolle than states that “Nobody is wrong.” – this is moral relativism – so Hitler wasn’t wrong when he gassed 6 million Jews?? This is a dangerous, fascist type of philosophy that could go horribly wrong if adapted and adopted by our society – which is why the Church needs to counter it.

P77: Tolle talks about the enormous surge moving through during times of fear, anger or hostility. This is ego…but it is also adrenalin!

Can you feel something within you driving this fear or hostility?

P78: Presence will overcome ego and bring about peace. Awareness is the power concealed in the present moment. This is Buddhist teaching.

Ultimate purpose of human existence is to bring that awareness/presence into the world. This leaves it to us to take the initiative, instead of allowing God to usher in his presence and Kingdom. It also makes us the ones who bring salvation into the world, instead of Christ. THIS IS WHY THIS TEACHING IS HERETICAL.

P79: Tolle uses Jesus again to strengthen his argument. He quotes Christ’s saying “Deny Thyself,” but once again Tolle half quotes the statement. Tolle uses Christ’s words to deny ego and find awareness. Christ uses His own words to have people deny themselves and follow Him. It’s about sacrificial discipleship, not spiritual navel gazing.

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Tolle calls the essential beingness the “I Am that I Am” – this is blasphemy. Whether he intends it or not, Tolle is equating himself and devotees with God – this is the sacred name of God.

Exodus 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM : and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

Tolle writes about the phantom self that comes into existence when thought takes over. I think he is drinking to much kool aid and watching too many episodes of Star Trek here.

P80: Ego uses people to get what it wants – underlying emotion that governs ego is fear – the fear of being nobody, nonexistence and of death. I get the funny feeling that Tolle is going to use this line of argument against Church control.

“Only the truth of who you are, if realized, will set you free.” – This goes against Christ’s own statement, only the truth will set you free meaning Himself. (When talking to the Jews about His teaching)

John 8:31-32 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

P81: DANGER: ALL STRUCTURES ARE UNSTABLE - a sutra – Buddhist word for sacred lesson – but this is also anti-disestablishmentarianism

Tolle equates formlessness – NIRVANA – with Jesus’ teaching on eternal life. But this is what Christ Himself had to say: John 17:3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. Faith and devotion to God in Jesus Christ is the key to eternal life, not Tolle’s formlessness.

P82: Tolle talks about the egoic superiority that people feel when they pass on gossip. This is true.
P83: This page may contain why the book is so appealing to Oprah – the bane of being famous…people believe that through celebrities and famous personalities, they can become more than what they are. It’s called idolization in the Bible.

Famous people become more alienated from themselves and others – also become more unhappy and more dependent on their popularity – is Tolle speaking to Oprah here????

Calls Albert Einstein superhuman and humble…does Tolle idolize Einstein here…like everyone else, Einstein was quite conceited…and Einstein’s fame was based upon his thinking…seems like an unusual choice for Tolle to make, because his book seems to want to avoid thinking altogether.

P84: Genuine relationship – outward flow of open, alert attention with no wanting in between. Tolle is describing what Martin Buber called “I-Thou” relationship.

Egoic relationships are predominantly – wanting, thwarted wanting and indifference. Gluttony, lust and sloth – three of the seven deadly sins.

A New Earth - Part 2

A New Earth - Part 1

Oprah is pitching a new book called "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle. Her advocacy is causing millions of viewers to buy into Tolle's philosophy. He presents his ideas as a necessary spiritual transformation that will take place this century, whether we like it or not. He also uses the Bible and teachings of Jesus to validate his points.

But Tolle's book is not Christianity and in many ways, it opposes Christ's teaching, diminishes His divinity, and replaces God with our spiritual selves. Our church is studying the book on Monday nights and Sunday mornings. This blog will reflect the teaching that Tolle presents and how it differs from actual Christian beliefs. I hope that readers of the blog will use these page by page reflections as a means to teach their own people about this new movement.

Chapter One

Page 1: Tolle begins with his opinion about what happened on earth 114 million years ago. Obviously because he wasn’t there, this is just his fanciful opinion. This sets the tone for the whole book: he is making up his own reality about the world.

Tolle suggests that there was no perceiving consciousness to witness the flowering of the world: in other words, God was not there and doesn’t seem to exist for Tolle.

Page 2: Tolle writes that flowers were the first things that human beings were drawn and fascinated to, outside of themselves – but where did that facility to be fascinated originate? From the flowers? From human beings? Or endowed by the Creator in our DNA?

He also states that Jesus told us to contemplate the flowers and learn from them how to live. When Jesus taught His “Consider the Lilies” lesson, He was using it to express our dependency on the providence and mercy of God. The parable is not about us – it’s about God.

(Note: Tolle will often use Christ’s teachings to express his own opinions, and not those of Jesus Himself.)

Flowers lead us to an appreciation of our own inner beauty. This will be a common theme throughout the book. This is spiritual narcissism – the love of ourselves as the source of our spirituality. This seriously opposes our love, wonder, and fascination with God.

Page 3: Flowers are messengers from another realm…and fragrance comes from the realm of the spirit. This sounds like New Age stuff.

He widens the conventional accepted meaning of ‘enlightenment’ to incorporate his own ideas…and yet his teaching is unconventional.

Tolle: enlightenment brings about discontinuity with the old, helping us leap beyond the past into experiencing a new evolved level of Being and Self Awareness .

Christian teaching ( Calvin) would suggest that enlighten is the process by which we are over-awed with the wonder of God and attracted to Him. Tolle is substituting our own self-awareness in place of becoming truly aware of God.

Page 4: Tolle talks about One Life, One Consciousness. This is not original. This is more Jungian (Carl Jung) than Tollian.

Tolle emphasizes “Presence” – Hebrews would call this shekinah – the glory of God, the sacredness of His presence. Tolle believes that we recognize this Presence within us and love it as ourselves. Once again, God is being displaced in favor of narcissism.

Page 5: Mainly deals with enlightenment in a Buddhist way of thinking.

Tolle states that the Holy Spirit is preparing the ground for a planetary shift of consciousness. This is very serious because this is blasphemy. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to reveal Christ to the world, not to bring about an evolutionary consciousness.

Page 6: Tolle references Jesus as a great teacher and messenger. He will very rarely use the term Christ and never refer to Jesus as the Son of God.

Tolle also infers that Christ’s ministry was a failure because of the opposition to Him. His teachings did not transform many lives…and yet there are about 2 billion followers of Christ in today’s world.

Tolle describes his book as a ‘transformational device’ => he is trying to canonize his own text.

Reading the book will transform you….this is a frequent mantra in the book. Subliminal message and auto suggestion…also known as brainwashing.

Page 7: This book is about you. Tolle stroking the ego of his readers to gain their patronage and appreciation. Narcissism. In contrast, the Bible is not about you…it’s about God.

Tolle states that the book can only awaken those who are ready….this is the old Emperor’s New Clothes argument.

Begins to write about ego – becoming Freudian and will start to apply pseudo-psychology here.

Tolle states that the ego tricks the mind into identifying with it with no flexibility…this is going to morph into an argument against absolutes and Truth.

Page 8: Author suggests that when we triumph over ego, we become the light of consciousness – in other words, we are the light that we are looking for.

In contrast, Jesus would say that we are the Light of the world and that he is the Light we are looking for.

Tolle begins to reference religions as ancient…by implication, he is suggesting that they are outdated, instead of timelessly relevant.

He also begins to reference his idea that sin is a madness, a dysfunction of who we truly are.

Page 9: Equates sin with dysfunction => it is not a selfish choice.

He also interprets the NT Greek word “sin” as something that means missing the point of our human existence. This shows his shallowness of New Testament knowledge. The word for sin actually means to miss the mark – standard or expectation – that God has set for us. It’s not about our human existence; it’s about disappointing God.

Page 10: SIN = MADNESS…which will mean that we are not personally accountable for our sinful actions. This is New Age Narcissism.

Tolle begins the old argument that religion breeds violence and conflicts.

Page 11: Talks about the horrors of Stalin, Hitler and Pol Phot – Agreed. He also emphasizes the environmental wreckage of the planet that is brought about by our greed.

Page 12: Fear, greed, and the desire for power are the psychological forces that cause most conflicts. Tolle believes that they cause a misconception and distortion of our true human perception.

Dysfunction entirely replaces sin. Tolle suggests that we cannot get rid of this dysfunction without a shift in our consciousness. This means that there is no room for Christ as our Savior.

Page 13: We cannot be good by trying to be good; we can only do this by finding the good within ourselves.
This opposes Christ’s teaching: only God is good. For Tolle, there is no source of good outside of us…therefore Man replaces God.

Tolle: Good News – radical transformation of human consciousness. He is deliberately using the Gospel term to proclaim his own philosophy. This is in direct contrast to Christian teaching and promotes a false gospel.

Tolle suggests that Jesus called enlightenment ‘salvation.’ Tolle: salvation is truly understanding yourself….but for Christ salvation is the realization of needing to be rescued from God’s wrath and the process through Christ’s sacrifice in which it is done.

Page 14: Self-recognition is the greatest human achievement --- narcissism all over again.

Recognizing our insanity/dysfunction is the beginning of healing and transcendence….Jesus is kicked into the gutter and the Cross is absolutely useless.

Page 15: Tolle writes about the original teachings of religious leaders being changed through the generations and were not part of the original ministry. He is subtly attacking the veracity of the Gospels. He furthers expresses his own opinion that the unpopularity of the teachers’ teaching got them killed, which made others worship them as gods.

This is an attack on Christ’s ministry of atonement through sacrifice and His divinity as the Son of God.

Tolle also states that religions are more divisive than unifying – that’s an old argument which doesn’t hold water. Religions unify millions upon millions of people.

Tolle then expresses his rejection of some being right and others wrong. This is the modern non-absolutionists’ argument…there are no rights or wrongs…Goes against Gospel teaching.

Tolle suggests that Man made God in his image. Humanism. This is a direct attack on our Creator. He suggests that we have reduced the infinite and un-nameable to a mental idol. Christians, however, worship God as Christ’s Father.

Page 16: Tolle writes that the real message is the truth that lies within us…narcissism again. As opposed to Christ being The Truth.

Tolle references Gnosticism as a rediscovery of the real truth and intensification of the light. Obviously, he has not read the texts and is caught up in a false Da Vinci Code moment.

Gnosticism is emphasized as a true realization and inner transformation of self…and yet they rejected the physical self and believed that the body is bad.

Page 17: Tolle belabors the point that only a small minority had access to these truths because the Church oppressed and suppressed them. Obviously he hasn’t read the history of Gnosticism and its cultic practices.

Tolle extols the differences between spirituality and religion. This is what Christ also taught, BUT Jesus did not abandon His religion – He still went to synagogue to teach and to worship on the Sabbath.

Tolle suggests that our religious beliefs systems separate us from the spiritual dimensions within ourselves…Tolle is subtly enticing people away from God…our spiritual navels are more important that our relationship with God.

Page 18: Tolle writes about new spirituality movements arising out of the existing religious structures…for example, the New Emergent Church in Christianity.

Tolle describes the Western Church as the most mind dominated faith on the planet…he is going to equate this with egotism. He does not however, suggest that the Church’s domination saved civilization and actually engendered enlightenment.

Begins to state the old New Age argument that ancient Eastern wisdom is beginning to influence the West, as if the Eastern ways were better….but look at the state of most countries with Eastern wisdom…they are practically the poorest and most oppressed on earth! Did Eastern wisdom spawn documents like the Magna Carta or Declaration of Independence? Liberty and life are more valued in Western Church countries than in Eastern wisdom nations.

Tolle suggests that we let go of dogma in order to discover the true spiritual depth within ourselves…in other words experience spiritual narcissism over the teachings of the Church.

Page 19: Any opposition to Tolle new transformational conscious is called the ‘entrenchment of ego.’ He is stating that institutionalized religion is about idolizing the institution, but he has missed the point altogether. Religious institutions normally exist to serve God, not the believer.

Tolle writes that the collective ego will fight back…in other words, churches will oppose his philosophy.

They will be mentally closed to his ideas…no, we disagree with them. It comes down to this: whom do we trust? Tolle and Oprah, or Christ and God?

Tolle declares that religious institutions will disintegrate from within…but we’ve heard this all before – Voltaire & the French Revolution, as well as Soviet Communism (which lasted 100 years), but the Church still survives and thrives. Atheism & New Age keep declaring the death of God and the Church…but the fact is this: the Church is still growing worldwide.

Page 20: Tolle argues that through the process of evolution, species & life forms will either become extinct or rise above their limitations…to survive requires an evolutionary leap.

He writes about evolutionary processes…but these are physical changes, not spiritual ones.

Page 21: Tolle’s controversial statement about spiritually evolving or dying – This is fascism…submit or die…spiritual eugenics. He then claims that he is not promoting a new belief system…but that is precisely what he and Oprah are establishing.

Page 22: Tolle urges his readers not to take their identity from the old ways of consciousness. Yet Christians belong to Christ. Our spiritual identity is established in Him. Tolle is subtly arguing that we ditch Christ for ourselves.

Tolle then questions the reality of evil. It’s a matter of dysfunction and madness for him. If evil is not real according to Tolle, then Christ is the Savior of nothing and His death is meaningless.

Page 23: Tolle states that he took the title of his book from scriptural references…Isaiah 65:17 and Revelation 21:1. He argues that the new heaven and new earth represent his transformational consciousness as reflected in the physical realm. He believes that this is what Christ taught…that the new heaven and new earth are not places, but new transformational ideas.

However, both scriptures emphasize places…

Isaiah 65:17-18 "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy.

Revelation 21:1-2
21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

Tolle is falsely advocating his view as being the same as Christ’s.

He ends the chapter with a suggestion that human life and human consciousness are intrinsically one with the planet…but this is not what Genesis teaches.

Tolle suggestion is perhaps borrowed more from the movie “Excalibur,” when the secret of the Holy Grail is discovered…that Arthur and the Land are one.

Tertullian Revisited: Chapter 7: Modern Heresy is only paganism revisited.

Chapter 7: Heresy is paganism revisited.

The world is wise in its own eyes. It has always chosen to be blinded by its own reason and to shut out God. The world is man’s attempt to build for himself a Garden of Eden. If he can shut out God, he thinks he can be happy; but all that he will become is isolated and deluded – in other words, man’s Eden becomes a living hell.

Man uses his mind to sever himself from God. He concocts words and makes mighty manuscripts to rid himself of God’s penetrating presence. Sadly, he forgets that God is both the Original Spirit and the Progenitor of the Living Word. No matter how excellently man crafts his words and creates his ideas, he can never separate himself from the One, True and Living God, for man’s existence and thought is dependent upon the benevolent sovereignty and favor of God.

Each generation produces its unholy band of heretics. Today’s world is not protected from the foolish prognostications of false prophets and deluded philosophers. As each century passes, the attempts of universalists and atheists to attack the Church become more puerile, belligerent, and bellicose. They attempt to lure the masses away from Church by talking of the death of God, the decline of Christianity, and the irrelevance of Christ. But this is the mere buzzing of flies and biting of gnats. Their personal philosophies will not outlive them by more than a few decades. The Church, however, will grow stronger each day until the promised end of Time.

Rational modern and post-modern men are both the same: existentialists who dream that their own generation is the finest and most able to pull apart the Church. They do not believe that the soul can be eternal and that death extinguishes everything. Were they to admit to the immortality of their souls, they would have to accept that a Higher Being exists. Were they to accept a Higher Being, then they would have to admit that their own reasoning is limited. Thus they opt to believe that the soul dies, but they cannot say how it decays unless the soul is actually the mind, in which case it dies with the brain, but where and when does the soul begin or end, they do not know.

Heretics deal with the same questions that the Church provides answers: why is there evil in the world? Why is it permitted by God? Where did Man originate? What is His purpose? What is the meaning of Life?

Rather than accept the Church’s teaching on these matters, the heretic pursues his own answers. He does not ask for discernment, but expects enlightenment. He does not seek God’s guidance, but believes he is following a godly path. He rejects the wisdom of the Church and the ancient wisdom of God; instead he embraces popular myths, superstitions, and philosophies in order to be embraced by the world in return. In other words, the heretic is no prophet; he is a populist.

Heretics are stimulated by debate and seek to glorify words and phrases, ideas and opinions that enhance their reputations. Modern heretics of prosperity gospel reject humility gospel and squander their talents on gaining gain and making more. Any who confront them are treated as idiots and any who contest their sincerity are vehemently attacked. The Christian who stands up to these enemies of the Church may experience hatred and venom, especially from those heretics who abide within the Church.

Using sweet words and respected research, heretics maintain that their ideas and interpretations of scripture are the ones that current man should adopt. The past is treated as being non-essential and traditional history is meaningless. They seek to find the historical Christ, bleeding Him dry of His words and diminishing His ministry. They reinterpret scripture to fit their own lifestyle choices and brand Christ the Great Universalist, whose toleration and compassion knew no exclusivity. In other words, they reinvent the Gospel by becoming modern day Marcionites and Theological termites.

To the heretic, truth is no longer absolute and Christ’s words have no absolute meaning. Christ’s ministry is localized to those who believe Him in certain areas of the world. Salvation is found all over the earth in the purity of religious fervor. Whoever believes sincerely in what he or she sincerely believes is saved by their sincere desire to believe in their own god. This is not Gospel, for in Gospel Christ says “Believe in me and also in God.”

What is there that separates Christians from heretics? Both believe in truth: for the Christian, truth is found in Christ; for the heretic, truth is found inside himself.

Christianity is too simplistic for the heretic. He wants to rationalize, complicate, and complement his faith and uses his own mind to do so. He does not realize that he is idolizing his own insights, instead of Christ’s teachings.

The Church’s role is to remain true to Christ: all others goals are incidental.

To be possessed by Christ is to know His endearing and eternal love. To be possessed by heresy is to callously reject Christ’s embrace, and instead, to choose to be seduced by spiritual narcissism.

Our faith in Christ should be enough. If it isn’t, then we haven’t faith in Him, only in ourselves.

Tertullian Revisited: Chapter 6: Heresy is sinfully chosen over the will of Christ.

To reject a heretic is to disarm him of any credibility. The task of the Church is not only to neutralize the ideas and opinions of heretics, but also to enhance and edify orthodox beliefs. The unity of the Church across the centuries depends upon its ability to confront heresy and maintain the authority of Christ’s message at the same time. Too harsh a condemnation will result in people rooting for the underdog and taking up with heresy. Too much indifference and heresy will grow like a theological tumor on the body of Christ.

A person chooses to be heretical and accepts false teachings because of the power, esteem and assurance it gives him. The teachings of Christ are diminished and His sovereignty is questioned. A typical heretic will not be able to give Christ the proper respect and authority that He has. Christ’s sovereignty is denigrated by the heretic through not being able to express Christ’s absolute power of salvation. The heretic chooses to not believe that Christ is the Only Savior of the world, despite what the Bible reveals to us. Rather than accept the traditions of scripture and the historical authority of the Church, the heretic chooses to accept the false utterances of his teachers, or his own voice.

Heretics are therefore self-condemned because they individually choose to defy God’s Word and accept their own understanding. They allow the secular culture to mold their views and will not accept the unchangeable truths of the Gospel values. Heretics contend with the church and advocate on behalf of the world. They have forgotten once again that the Church is not empowered by their wishes, beliefs or ideas. The Church is established and rooted in the total word of God.

Our example comes from the words of the first disciples and apostles of the Church. They chose to simply accept Christ’s words and ways. Their devotion to Him after the resurrection was absolute. Their words are witnesses to who Christ was and what He still is today. Heretics put themselves above the witness of the disciples. They believe that their own life experiences are more relevant to their beliefs today. They refuse to accept the simple truth – that the first apostles expressed an absolute confidence in the message of the Gospel and pledged their total allegiance to Jesus Christ.

Any gospel which is contrary to the true Gospel is heresy. Religious Universalism, prosperity gospel, divine entitlement and pluralistic salvation are common heresies in the Church today. And remember, heresy exists in the Church, not outside of it!

The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to reveal to us the truth of Christ’s Gospel. When we spurn the Living Words of Christ and denigrate His sovereignty, we oppose the work of the Holy Spirit. Thus heresy is a direct confrontation with God. The Bride of Christ needs to appear before Christ as worthy and unblemished. The rooting out of heresy has to come from within the Church.