Apples to Apples

Home sick all day today with an unknown stomach malaise that is thankfully clearing at this hour--I've had more than enough internet surfing to last me a LONG while!

One of the more entertaining articles I found came from my favorite Norwegian Christian attack dog, Berit Kjos. Here is the article from her site Crossroads and below it I have copied and pasted a related article on Johnny Appleseed that I wrote many moons ago for LisaLeland.com that you might find amusing given this first article. All I can say is, thank the Good Lord I found the truth of right division, on and on!

"You can become a Reiki master in three weekends." --Lisa Oz, wife of Dr. Mehmet Oz

Perhaps it is not surprising Dr. Mehmet Oz, a key teacher in Rick Warren's 52 week health-and-wellness Daniel Plan, has been influenced by occultist Emanuel Swedenborg. Although Swedenborg rejected the biblical Christ, and communed with familiar spirits, some of Swedenborg's admirers have been culturally significant figures. At this point in his career, Dr. Mehmet Oz certainly qualifies as such.

Those who have either appreciated or followed Swedenborg's theology have included Helen Keller, Johnny Appleseed, Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Carl Jung, Henry James Sr., the poet Robert Frost, and Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Swedenborg, who died in the 1700s, has been called the father of modern day spiritualism. It is likely Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson's bondage to the spirit world began with his introduction to Swedenborg's teachings. Despite erroneous claims he was a Christian, Wilson's spirituality was one of seances, familiar spirits, and the ouija board. [1]

Just like Dr. Mehmet Oz, Bill Wilson was introduced to the teachings of Swedenborg through his own wife. Early in their romantic relationship, Bill Wilson "learned that [his future wife's family] were all Swedenborgians, and the mystic aspect of the faith so fascinated them they vowed to explore it more deeply one day."[2]

In Pass It On (AA co-founder's official biography), Bill Wilson states, "The Ouija board began moving in earnest. What followed was the fairly usual experience-it was a strange melange of Aristotle, St. Francis, diverse archangels with odd names, deceased friends–some in purgatory and others doing nicely, thank you! . . . Then, the seemingly virtuous entities would elbow them out with messages of comfort, information, advice—and sometimes just sheer nonsense."[3] (Bold added.)

Swedenborg had power. This cannot be denied. It was stunning to learn Swedenborg had written of a spiritual "twelve steps" more than a century before Alcoholics Anonymous was birthed.[4] Did Wilson copy this term from Emanuel Swedenborg? I do not believe so. I believe that Wilson, having opened himself up to communication with unclean spirits, received his 12 Steps from the same source as had Swedenborg.

Emanuel Swedenborg experienced mystic dreams, trances, and meditation. He believed that he was visited by Christ, who informed him he was the human appointed to write the real meaning of the Bible. He believed he communicated with Moses, Luther, Mary, Aristotle, the apostle Paul, and many others.

Author Wilson Van Dusen notes, "Swedenborg used a fairly intense form [of meditation] in which he would focus on an idea of the exclusion of all else and his breathing would slow down. There have been whole books on the breathing aspect alone."[5] Swedenborg, writes Van Dusen, "thought highly" of meditation.[6]

We are in a time when spiritual terms have been given confusing meanings; when words such as "Salvation," are not necessarily presented as biblically intended. This is particularly true of the term, "meditation." Rick Warren's Daniel Plan, his association with Oz, Hyman, and Amen, may make comprehension of this even more murky.

The meditation used by Swedenborg and numerous New Age devotees, Buddhists, and Hindus, is not biblical meditation, which is essentially reading Scripture and "chewing" (reflecting and pondering) upon it. With biblical meditation, the brain is always active, and thinking.

But thinking is the enemy of the mystical meditator. As one mystic proponent put it:

"Do not reflect on the meaning of the word; thinking and reflecting must cease, as all mystical writers insist. Simply 'sound' the word silently, letting go of all feelings and thoughts." (Zen master, Willigis Jager, Contemplation, p. 31, cited in ATOD)

This is the Eastern meditation advocated by Rick Warren's Daniel Plan team members Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Mark Hyman, and Dr. Daniel Amen. This meditation, used by Swedenborg and others, involves stilling the mind, sometimes by focusing on a word or phrase to "the exclusion of all else," as Van Dusen puts it. By repeating the word or phrase over and over, a state of altered consciousness is reached. This is known as the silence .Historically, around the world, much has been experienced in this meditative silence. Spirit guides. Oneness. False "christs." "Kundalini effect" . . . and so forth.
Deception.

This is also often portrayed in scientific terms, and portrayed as beneficial, but is an invitation to the spirit realm. As others have pointed out, when the mind is stilled and void, something else may well fill that void.

There is a battle going on—between those who hold to the Word of God and those who promote the mysticism inherent in these meditative techniques.

Already the Body of Christ is infected with the "contemplative spirituality" of Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Gary Thomas, Keri Wyatt Kent and so many others. Contemplative prayer is simply saying a "Christian-ized" word or phrase to still the mind and enter the silence. It is virtually the same as Eastern or New Age meditation, yet it has gained acceptance due to its "Christianese" disguise.

Occultist Alice Bailey, who was informed by her spirit guides, said that the New Age "illumination" would indeed come to the world through the Christian church, and she instructed her followers to leave the outer shell of Christianity intact for the time being and change it from the inside. Is this not what is happening today! (Bailey, The Externalization of the Hierarchy, p. 510)

But now, it seems, we are "advancing" past the stage of disguising. Now, it seems, outright Eastern/New Age meditation is poised to enter the church. The realm of these spirits is the realm of deception that the Bible talks about. The Bible says that in the days before Christ’s return, the mystery of iniquity will prevail and deceive vast numbers. (See 2 Thessalonians 2:7 and Revelation 12:9.)

If all this is new to you, please take the time to research.
His people perish from lack of knowledge. (Hosea 4:6)

With Dr. Oz having been granted potential influence into the lives of thousands (potentially eventually millions) of Christians through Rick Warren's Daniel Plan, it is important to consider Lisa Oz as well—because people who seek out Dr. Oz's books will likely be exposed to his wife's work also. The couple have worked together on projects and public appearances. Lisa Oz serves as the reader for many of Dr. Oz's audio books.[7] And Dr. Oz does not hide his high estimation for his wife.
In her book, Lisa Oz acknowledges, "After my parents, the most influential [teacher] by far was and is Emanuel Swedenborg, an eighteenth century scientist and theologian who saw the Bible as a divinely inspired metaphor. ... His writings on the nature of God, humanity, and marriage not only shaped my views but ultimately shaped who I am. For this reason you will find his doctrine, widely and wildly interpreted, as the foundation for just about every chapter in this book."[8]

Lisa Oz is a Reiki master. This is an ancient system of occult energy, one that brings with it the risk of familiar spirits. [9] Lisa Oz states, "You can become a Reiki master in three weekends."[10]

Many people were exposed to Reiki for the first time when Dr. Oz featured it on his popular television show. In an interview, Mrs. Oz shared that she has used Reiki on her own children.[11] The point here is not that Swedenborg used Reiki—he did not—but, rather, that Swedenborgian doctrine is often a precursor that leads into New Age practices such as meditation and Reiki.

Of course, this makes sense, because Swedenborgianism itself can be defined as a New Age belief system. The New Age, after all, is really the Old Age, and familiar spirits for thousands of years have taken the openings offered through meditation. So it is with the increasingly popular Reiki.
In fact, consider this collective Reiki/meditative experience facilitated by Lisa Oz, which took place at a workshop she conducted along with her husband:

"She followed with a couple of similar exercises, then finished with what for me was the day's highlight: the hatsurei-ho meditation,[12] this time for hundreds. The energy in that cavernous room at the Javits Convention Center shifted palpably as Mrs. Oz led the crowd through progressive relaxation, envisioning a golden light all around, drawing the light inside and then breathing it back out into the space around us, adding our own energy with each exhalation. There was no need to explain what Reiki was—everyone felt it, even without touch."[13] (Bold added)
Lisa Oz then told the crowd, "Go in wellness, knowing you have brought light into the world."[14]

What is going on with Rick Warren? Does he believe he can bring in Oz, Hyman, and Amen, and simply share only their medical teachings? Stick to the brain, Daniel Amen. Just talk about the heart, Mehmet Oz. Is that what Pastor Warren intends? Because even if these doctors don't say anything about meditation, or Reiki, their resources are still available to all who have seen and heard them at Saddleback. Exposure to these practices therefore seems certain, all from authors highly praised by Rick Warren.

This decision to use these meditation gurus is no fluke. The list of Rick Warren's ill-advised spiritual decisions is too long to believe that. It goes hand in hand with he and his wife's admiration for mysticism advocate Henri Nouwen. It goes hand in hand with his promotion of Gary Thomas who tells readers to repeat a word for 20 minutes in Sacred Pathways (p. 185) and who points readers to tantric sex advocate Mary Ann McPherson Oliver in Sacred Marriage and who carries Adele Alberg Calhoun's book, Handbook on Spiritual Disciplines in his Resource Center even though the book is riddled with New Age/panentheist references.

It goes hand in hand with his own book, The Purpose Driven Life, where he tells over 30 million readers they can become "world-class Christian[s]" if they practice "breath prayers" (Day 38). It goes hand in hand with Rick Warren's first book, The Purpose Driven Church, where he tells readers that Richard Foster's spiritual formation movement is a "valid message" and a "wake up call" to "the body of Christ" (pp. 126-127). And it goes hand in hand with Rick Warren's connections with New Age sympathizers Leonard Sweet and Ken Blanchard. (paragraph notes)

No, Rick Warren's decision to use Oz, Amen, and Hyman is no fluke. But it sure is a spiritual trap for the Christian church.


Here is my article on poor Johnny Appleseed (who I actually had kind of a "crush" on in some weird Vincent van Gogh kind-of-a-way!:

I was nine years old when my family returned from being missionaries in the Amazon jungles of Ecuador, and after a year of camping out inside my grandmother's house in Akron, Ohio (I actually slept on the floor in a sleeping bag set up beside my grandmother's bed), we moved an hour-and-a-half away to a tiny farming/resort village called Loudonville.

Loudonville is popular statewide for its canoe liveries and campgrounds on both the Mohican and Blackfork rivers. It's also home to the Mohican State Forest and nearby Pleasant Hill Dam. Tons of campers fill the area each summer.

My summer jobs in high school included working at one of the liveries and at a custard ice cream stand in town. For two summers while attending Ohio State, I worked at both a water slide and Putt Putt golf course inside Wally Campgrounds (yes, just like in the Chevy Chase movie "Vacation," but its name precedes the classic comedy by at least two decades).

I spent all my free time during these summers cross-country cycling through the gorgeous rolling farm hills or woods that stretched for miles any direction you ventured outside Loudonville's city limits.

I preferred the back roads (and sometimes had to fight off unchained dogs with my attached bicycle pump), but would also ride country highways to destinations like Millersburg (known for its large Amish community), Mt. Vernon, Mansfield, Wooster, Butler and Mt. Gilead.

Whenever I rode up Route 60 (the road my family lived on) into Ashland, I'd pass a large fruit stand my mom always bought her cooking apples from every fall. The outdoor/indoor market was named for Johnny Appleseed, who was said to have spread the apple seeds and nurtured the young trees that led to the property's apple orchards.

Because Johnny Appleseed was known to have been all through the territory surrounding Loudonville, clearing trees and brush to spread seeds and plant orchards, I'd think about him now and then on my excursions—actually more often than I should admit!

I was fascinated by the guy's story. He was a true free spirit, roaming the earth barefoot in a tattered, patched coat with a Bible buttoned inside it, using his head to haul around the cast-iron stewpot he cooked in.

He loved children, animals and nature and befriended the Indians even as he helped settlers avoid them. Historical records even verify that in the War of 1812, he traveled 30 miles to summon American troops to Mansfield, Ohio, thus forestalling a raid by Native Americans who were allied with the British.

Johnny's real last name was Chapman and he was born in Leominster, Mass., in 1774. He left home at 23, heading westward into the wilderness with a simple dream to plant apple trees. All he brought with him was his stewpot, a hatchet, a flint and steel for making fire, a bag of cornmeal and a sack of apple seeds.

"He gave away his clothes to anyone who needed a coat or trousers or shoes," says the children's book I have on him, "The True Tale of Johnny Appleseed," written by Margaret Hodges. "Most of the time he wore no shoes. One man said that he saw Johnny breaking the ice in a creek with a bare foot.

"All along his path he planted apple seeds. If he was invited to spend the night in a cabin, he would not take a bed, but slept on the floor. He would not eat until he was sure that the children in the family were full. He loved honey but would never take it from a bee tree until he saw that the bees had enough honey to keep themselves alive during the winter. A strange man indeed!"

Johnny followed creeks and rivers westward using borrowed canoes, then crossed the wild Alleghenys on foot. When a record winter storm caught him unaware, he wrapped his feet with pieces of cloth torn from his coat and wove tree branches into makeshift snowshoes.

"As time went by, Johnny walked so long and so far that his feet grew almost as tough as an animal's paws," writes Hodges in her book. "In other ways, too, he came to be like an animal. He could curl up to sleep under a bush or in the hollow of a tree."

Of course, there were people who thought Johnny was nuts, walking about in no shoes, a ragged coat and stewpot hat, but the children always loved him and they were the ones to coin his famous name of Appleseed. He would read stories from the Bible to them and even would tear Bible prayer and devotional books apart, leaving sections in tree boughs during the summertime for children to find.

By the spring of 1845, Johnny had come as far west as Fort Wayne, Ind. and was staying with a family when news arrived that cattle had broken into one of his new orchards 15 miles away.

"The weather was cold and wet, but he set off at once and never stopped to rest on the long walk," writes Hodges. "'Cloudy. Snow showers,' an Indiana farmer wrote in his diary that day. The next day the weather report was, 'Snow showers all day.' When Johnny got back to his friends' house, they put him to bed with a high fever. During the March snows, Johnny Appleseed died, and his body returned to the earth that he had loved. By early April, winter was past. The weather report read, 'In the night thunder showers—then fair—first apple blossoms."