The Desert Fathers - Borrowing From the East

by Ray Yungen
Catholic priest and contemplative advocate William Shannon in his book, Seeds of Peace, explained the human dilemma as being the following:

This forgetfulness, of our oneness with God, is not just a personal experience, it is the corporate experience of humanity. Indeed, this is one way to understanding original sin. We are in God, but we don't seem to know it. We are in paradise, but we don't realize it.1

Shannon's viewpoint defines the basic underlying worldview of the contemplative prayer movement as a whole. One can find similar quotations in practically every book written by contemplative authors. A Hindu guru or a Zen Buddhist master would offer the same explanation. This conclusion becomes completely logical when tracing the roots of contemplative prayer. Let us look at the beginnings of this practice.
In the early Middle Ages, there lived a group of hermits in the wilderness areas of the Middle East. They are known to history as the Desert Fathers. They dwelt in small isolated communities for the purpose of devoting their lives completely to God without distraction. The contemplative movement traces its roots back to these monks who promoted the mantra as a prayer tool. One meditation scholar made this connection when he said:

The meditation practices and rules for living of these earliest Christian monks bear strong similarity to those of their Hindu and Buddhist renunciate brethren several kingdoms to the East ... the meditative techniques they adopted for finding their God suggest either a borrowing from the East or a spontaneous rediscovery.2

Many of the Desert Fathers, in their zeal, were simply seeking God through trial and error. A leading contemplative prayer teacher candidly acknowledged the haphazard way the Desert Fathers acquired their practices:

It was a time of great experimentation with spiritual methods. Many different kinds of disciplines were tried, some of which are too harsh or extreme for people today. Many different methods of prayer were created and explored by them.3

Attempting to reach God through occult mystical practices will guarantee disaster. The Desert Fathers of Egypt were located in a particularly dangerous locale at that time to be groping around for innovative approaches to God, because as one theologian pointed out:

[D]evelopment of Christian meditative disciplines should have begun in Egypt because much of the intellectual, philosophical, and theological basis of the practice of meditation in Christianity also comes out of the theology of Hellenic and Roman Egypt. This is significant because it was in Alexandria that Christian theology had the most contact with the various Gnostic speculations which, according to many scholars, have their roots in the East, possibly in India.4

Consequently, the Desert Fathers believed as long as the desire for God was sincere--anything could be utilized to reach God. If a method worked for the Hindus to reach their gods, then Christian mantras could be used to reach Jesus. A current practitioner and promoter of the Desert Fathers' mystical prayer still echoes the logical formulations of his mystical ancestors:

In the wider ecumenism of the Spirit being opened for us today, we need to humbly accept the learnings of particular Eastern religions ... What makes a particular practice Christian is not its source, but its intent ... this is important to remember in the face of those Christians who would try to impoverish our spiritual resources by too narrowly defining them. If we view the human family as one in God's spirit, then this historical cross-fertilization is not surprising ... selective attention to Eastern spiritual practices can be of great assistance to a fully embodied Christian life.5

Do you catch the reasoning here? Non-Christian sources, as avenues to spiritual growth, are perfectly legitimate in the Christian life, and if Christians only practice their Christianity based on the Bible, they will actually impoverish their spirituality. This was the thinking of the Desert Fathers. So as a result, we now have contemplative prayer. Jesus addressed this when he warned His disciples: "And when you pray, do not
use vain repetitions, as the heathen do." (Matthew 6:7)
It should be apparent that mantra meditation or sacred word prayer qualifies as "vain repetition" and clearly fits an accurate description of the point Jesus was making. Yet in spite of this, trusted evangelical Christians have often pronounced that Christian mysticism is different from other forms of mysticism (such as Eastern or occult) because it is focused on Jesus Christ.
This logic may sound credible on the surface, but Christians must ask themselves a very simple and fundamental question: What really makes a practice Christian? The answer is obvious--does the New Testament sanction it? Hasn't Christ taught us, through His Word, to pray in faith in His name and according to His will? Did He leave something out? Would Jesus hold out on His true followers? Never!
Understanding this truth, God has declared in His Word that He does not leave it up to earnest, yet sinful people, to reinvent their own Christianity. When Christians ignore God's instructions in following Him they end up learning the way of the heathen. Israel did this countless times. It is just human nature.
The account of Cain and Abel is a classic biblical example of spiritual infidelity. Both of Adam's sons wanted to please God, but Cain decided he would experiment with his own method of being devout. Cain must have reasoned to himself: "Perhaps God would like fruit or grain better than a dead animal. It's not as gross. It's less smelly. Hey, I think I will try it!"
As you know, God was not the least bit impressed by Cain's attempt to create his own approach to pleasing God. The Lord made it clear to Cain that God's favor would be upon him if he did what is right, not just what was intended for God or God-focused.
In many ways, the Desert Fathers were like Cain--eager to please but not willing to listen to the instruction of the Lord and do what was right. One cannot fault them for their devotion, but one certainly can fault them for their lack of discernment.
Notes:
1. William Shannon, Seeds of Peace, p. 66.
2. Daniel Goleman, The Meditative Mind 1988, p.53.
3. Ken Kaisch, Finding God, p.191.
4. Father William Teska, Meditation in Christianity , p.65.
5. Tilden Edwards, Living in the Presence , Acknowledgement page.

Vulnerability - The Dread of Exposure

Daring to be vulnerable is risky and allows for failure so it takes courage.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat” Theodore Roosevelt "Man in the Arena" Speech given April 23, 1910

Sadly so many of us pursue certainty and control when real freedom, joy and a sense of purpose become realized in being vulnerable through trusting God. Facing vulnerability is giving up the need for certainty and control. When we embrace the risk of failure by being vulnerable life can be obscure and uncertain as we lean not on our own understanding. How we accept vulnerability determines wether or not we live a life of maturing transformation or one of stagnate isolation. When our choices become a management lifestyle engaging vulnerability dies.

A controlling person that evades vulnerability seeks a predetermined environment by;

Keeping the unexpected at a controlled and safe distance.

Always have a planned exit strategy from exposed vulnerability.

Seeks certainty through probing questions before venturing into vulnerability.

In my experiences of vulnerability and unsureness I stumbled and fell and will again, but during the process and it is a process I have learned in my vulnerability (weakness) I am strong through Christ. Life’s knocks can teach us to hone our avoidance skills to vulnerability or we can chose to grow through exposure of them. My decision to trust God did not stem from self-confidence or some achieved level of knowledge but rather from allowing myself to become vulnerable believing God would be true to His word; faith. At each exposure God proved reliable. The validity of leaning not on my own understanding and control proved at least to me to accept, greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world”

The quote all men die but not all men really live” is really describing vulnerability but some of us avoid any scenario that might produce anxiety relating to vulnerability. Yet we too often lose sight of the fact that vulnerability is also the birthplace of joy, creativity and authenticity. Stepping into vulnerability is a choice we consciously chose or run from. It is a process. Though being vulnerable by trusting God is difficult yet how rewarding to hear the words, well done good and faithful servant”

I feel what we need is a “spiritual awakening” an awakening to how God views us and what He says of us as we step into vulnerability rather than fearing the risk which so often define us. Take the risk and step out, step into vulnerability, trust that God will be there as He say’s He will. In so doing experience the exhilaration of life; never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat”

~ Michael Smith

A LESSON on LISTENING by David Wilkerson

God had to teach Elijah a lesson on listening so He took him to
the top of Mr. Horeb and gave him an illustrated sermon.

"And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.
And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent
the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but
the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake;
but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake
a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still
small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped
his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in
of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said,
What doest thou here, Elijah?" (1 Kings 19:11-13).

When that wind began to howl, I think Elijah thought, "It´s about
time, Lord. Blow Jezebel right off her throne and throw her and
her sinner friends to the winds. Blow them all away!" But God was
not in the wind!

Suddenly, there was a great earthquake and Elijah said, "That
ought to scare them good. God will get even. He will shake them
right out of their shoes." But God was not in the earthquake.

After the earthquake, a fire! The heavens were aglow with white-
hot flames! Elijah said in his heart, "Lord, they didn´t accept the
fire that fell on the altar so burn them out! Burn out wicked Ahab!
Fry Jezebel. Cause your fire to consume the wicked." But God
was not in the fire!

"And after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah
heard it that he wrapped his face in his mantle" (verses 12 and 13).

Can you imagine this? A prophet who was not afraid of a hurricane
or an earthquake or heavenly fireworks is frightened by a still small
voice! Elijah covered his head with his coat. Why? Had not this
prophet talked to God many times? Was he not a great man of
prayer? Hadn´t God used him mightily? Yes! But Elijah was a
stranger to the still small voice! When he finally allowed that voice
to speak-alone, quiet, away from all the power displays-he got
the most specific directions in all his ministry.

"Go to the wilderness of Damascus; anoint Hazael king over Syria;
anoint Jehu king over Israel; and anoint Elisha to be the prophet
to follow you" (see 1 Kings 19:15-16).

How many busy children of God today have never had the voice
come to them? They are busy witnessing-doing good-praying
for a spiritual awakening-fasting. So intense-so dedicated. Yet,
they have heard everything but the voice of the Lord.

-Source-

http://sermons.worldchallenge.org/en/node/24387

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