Roger Oakland, one of the best analysts of this movement, and Bob DeWaay, reported a lot of startling information on air. I have made my own conclusions here. The emphasis goes well beyond the Bible to extra-biblical paraphernalia, extrasensory images, sounds, smells, silence, darkness, icons, statues, rosary beads for Protestants, Yoga, contemplative prayer--all for a FULL SENSORY IMMERSION in the divine. Why are these things even necessary when the "old time religion" did well preaching a solid gospel with no bells and whistles? Why do we have to encounter God with our "senses"? He lives within us--that's sufficient. He's a prayer away, hardly dependent on candles and incense and icons. Why do Protestants have to draw on Catholic and Orthodox practices to "get closer to God"?


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Why are these things even necessary when the "old time religion" did well preaching a solid gospel with no bells and whistles?

I think maybe the point is that the 'old time religion' is not cutting it at all. In fact, in Europe, churches are completely empty.

I live in Southern California, myself, so we don't have this kind of problem -we have many excellent churches. And, we had the 'Jesus' movement out here in the 1970s. It was very widespread and has touched millions here, It still is big. Calvary Chapel is the original home church, it's still a must visit for me as well as for many in So Cal.

BUT, I do wonder about some of the practices of the Roman Catholics, the Lutherans, incense, candles...

My daughter at one time had 'night terrors' and when I 'cleansed' her room, I went out and bought one of those Catholic Jesus candles. I still have it in her room.

Modern Evangelicalism, and the Calvary Chapel type hippie churches, especially have thrown out all these aids to focussing when doing devotional time.

Rosaries, yes of course forget it. Icons? no way. But people don't even try to develop a good devotional time with the Lord. They think that if they go to Bible Study once a week and church on Sunday, and if they are 'leaders' in the church, they're OK. And they're not. I know I wasn't safe from wandering off. If I had a fuller devotional life, a more rich prayer life, I would have been closer to God.

This reminds me of the Quaker movement in the late 1600s. And we all know that they had huge social impact in their time. They virtually wiped slavery out of the Western world.

I think, though, that there is a lot of danger in a new movement like this (and the Jesus movement in the '70s was also dangerous) and that we need to be engaged in it instead of calling it a work of the enemy.

A new movement is needed.