Is Promise Keepers, the rapidly growing national ecumenical men's movement, too closely associated with the revival of modern Gnosticism?
Far from being a stuffy psychoanalytic method confined to hospital wards and therapist couches, Jungian ideas in recent years have found a welcome home in the New Age movement and the men's movement. Carl Jung's influence is also finding a comfortable niche in the fringes of evangelicalism, and may indeed become more widespread through the influence of Christian authors like Robert Hicks, organizations like Promise Keepers and publishing houses such as NavPress.
This raised the obvious question: how could the controversial, occultic, and pornographic Jungian material potentially become tolerated in Christianity? As we researched the answers to this question, we found a common core belief system, based on Gnosticism, the ancient heresy that men can become gods. As this heresy rears its ugly head once again in our generation, it is entirely conceivable that psycho-spiritual constructs of Carl Jung will find a comfortable resting place in certain segments of the American church.
According to Gnostic expert, Jewel van der Merwe, the Vineyard denomination is one of the chief perpetuators of Gnostic doctrines in the church today. This is an important fact. At the upper echelons of Promise Keepers, there is the potential for considerable influence from some well-known Vineyard leaders. Because the parachurch organization, Promise Keepers, is set up like a shadow denomination, with men situated in every local church, who report to Ambassadors, who report to the field staff at Promise Keepers headquarters (see diagram [Ambassador's Training Manual, p. 2, which shows the church point men linked to the PK Field Ministry Staff via the Ambassadors]), we have grave concerns that the gnostically-inspired spiritual ideologies of the leadership of Promise Keepers could readily be exported across the country, penetrating every denomination, and easily entering through the front door of unsuspecting local churches.
This article will review Promise Keepers' close association with selected aspects of modern Gnosticism. It will raise many important issues that need to be addressed regarding the scope, direction, motives and ultimate goals of this organization. We do not claim that Promise Keepers is Gnostic. Rather, we point out the difficult areas where the influence of Gnosticism could potentially propel the movement in a direction away from the simplicity of the Gospel.
In an excellent critical review of Promise Keepers in the "Dallas/Fort Worth Heritage" (June 1995) entitled "Promise Keepers: Growth and Caution," Chris Corbett chronicled the connection between Promise Keepers and the Vineyard movement, "home denomination of PK founder McCartney, PK President [Randy] Phillips, and board member James Ryle, who is also pastor to the first two." Corbett noted:
Promise Keeper founder Bill McCartney's pastor, James Ryle, who has been on the Board of PK, is a highly controversial figure [see sidebar, end of article]. His participation in the `Laughing Revival' was written up in a "Washington Post" article (11/18/95) about the Laughing Movement at the Pasadena Vineyard Christian Fellowship:
"Ryle makes sound effects, including some animal noises. He snaps his fingers, bangs the podium, paces and tells how God will appear here in suits of fire, oil, water. `You will feel! And the glory of the Lord will put you down!' ("A Rush of Ecstasy and Alarm," Carol McGraw)
The Vineyard movement has been closely associated with the signs and wonders means of evangelism. Founder John Wimber follows closely the doctrines of George Eldon Ladd who was a professor of Biblical Theology at Fuller Theological Serminary in Pasedena, California. Ladd introduced radically new ideas of the kingdom, redemption and Christian unity.
According to "The Doctrines of the Kingdom of God", by Carl Widrig (1995), "George Eldon Ladd, apparently under the influence of such men as [J.C.K] Hoffman [a German theologian (c. 1850)] and [C.H.] Dodd [an English theologian (c. 1930)], believed that Jesus' mission at His first coming was to mysteriously inaugurate the fulfillment of His `reign' in the lives of men, redeeming them from the powers of Satan by the power of the Holy Spirit of God and the works of power in the age to come, so that men may presently enter Jesus' kingdom to experience its blessings, a kingdom that has Jesus as its King, a Jesus who presently reigns in heaven on the throne of David over the people of God, the Church, the New Israel, who are on the offensive against the kingdom of Satan... Ladd's `gospel of the Kingdom' had a tendency to distract Ladd away from emphasizing the saving information of the gospel of Jesus' death on the cross."
Christian pastors and men who become involved in the Promise Keepers movement would do well to familiarize themselves with the doctrines of the Vineyard movement in order to discern its influence on PK.
David Hunt, in his two books, "The Seduction of Christianity" (1985) and "Beyond Seduction" (1987), first chronicled the influence of Carl Jung's ideas in the modern church. He wrote of Agnes Sanford whose visualization techniques are founded in shamanistic practices of the occult and who expressed pantheistic beliefs similar to those held by Carl Jung. Her ideas influenced a number of well-known Christian leaders such as Francis MacNutt, Barbara Shlemon, Tommy Tyson, Herman Riffler, Leanne Payne, John and Paula Sandford, Richard Foster, and Morton Kelsey. Morton T. Kelsey, according to Hunt, continues to bring the teachings of Carl Jung and Agnes Sanford to the church today, albeit cloaked in seductive Christian-sounding garb. According to Hunt, Kelsey "and Agnes's son `Jack' (John Sanford) went to Zurich, Switzerland, to study at the C.G. Jung Institute and returned thoroughgoing Jungians. Their numerous books since then have expanded upon Jung's teachings, dressing them up in Christian terms and passing them off to an unsuspecting church." (p. 208 "Beyond Seduction")
Why would these Christians be tempted by the ideas of Jung? The answer, we believe, lies in a common root belief system - Gnosticism. With the current rise of this old heresy in the Church, it is not surprising there is a concurrent rise in popularity of Jung's ideas. While Jung's beliefs may seem harmless at first, in fact even beneficial or therapeutic, there is a vast lurking darkness that threatens to overshadow the Gospel of Jesus Christ and replace it with mysticism.
No branch of the church is as susceptible to Jung's Gnostic views than the charismatic groups who have been immersed in the Gnostic doctrines of the Latter Rain Movement (also known as Joel's Army or Manifest Sons of God). Latter Rain is a rapidly growing heresy in the 1990s, gaining footholds in major Christian ministries and mission organizations around the world. According to Al Dager in his book "Vengeance is Ours"(Sword Publishers, 1990) much of modern charismatic Christianity has been influenced by the Gnostic doctrine that we can become gods:
Dager lists a number of prominent Christian public figures and leaders throughout his book who have been affected in some way by the new Gnosticism of the Manifest Sons of God cult. Among the many adherents include: Ken Copeland, Paul Crouch, John Wimber, Francis Frangipane, Rick Joyner, Earl Paulk, Mike Bickle, Paul Cain, and Pat Robertson.
Writer and researcher, Ed Tarkowski, in his 6-part series on the Laughing Phenomenon ("Christian Conscience", 2/95-8/95) also lists Rodney Howard-Brown of the Laughing Revival, James Ryle of Promise Keepers, and Jay Gary (AD 2000 and Celebration 2000). Significant to our discussion will be the interrelationships between leaders of Promise Keepers and the Vineyard movement, as well as the connection between Vineyard beliefs and the Gnosticism of Latter Rain.
The newly released book by Travers and Jewel van der Merwe, "Strange Fire: The Rise of Gnosticism in the Church" provides us a detailed explanation of the Gnostic heresy and how it has adapted to the modern church in various new perversions of doctrine.
Could Promise Keepers be adopting some of these `experiential' Gnostic beliefs and practices? Chris Corbett noted, in the "Heritage" article, that "given PK's emphasis on emotional highs and revelations, and their apparent disdain for precise theology, critics wonder where the next `vision' could take the movement - and how it could influence the lives of the Christian men being tethered to it through PK's growing arms." Unfortunately, Corbett found that "PK officials would not comment on the Vineyard..."
A key component of the Gnostic experience is the alteration of consciousness. Because the Gnostic is subjectively driven, the perception of God becomes something that hinges on feelings rather than faith. In order to improve upon the feelings, the use of additional mechanisms to create moods, especially the use of music, is frequently brought in. The van der Merwe's explain:
One of the latest additions to the Promise Keepers movement is a former rocker, Mike De'Vine, from 2 Live Crew, who will be writing rap music for Promise Keepers. According to a "Rocky Mountain News" article ("Ex-2-Live Crew member on a divine mission," Michael Noble, 1-26-96), "De'Vine believes he's on the cusp of breaking into the big time, and he's looking to Promise Keepers as a pulpit. He's already met with McCartney, who the rapper says is interested in having him come aboard to rap before stadiums full of men."
Rap music is an offshoot of soul, rhythm and blues, and rock according to Rev. Melvin Johnson in his book, "Junk Food in the Body of Christ" (Rainbow's End, 1995). Rap music is an `acceptable' alternative for Christian men who may not be comfortable with beating drums in the wilderness as the men's movement advocates. Rap music, like chanting or drumming, can be mesmerizing and has the potential to create an altered sense of consciousness. Unfortunately, this type of music has become very popular in the Christian community. Is it possible that the mass rallies of men accompanied by chants, yells, and now rap music, is designed to produce an altered state of consciousness in the name of "getting closer to God"?
Gnostics use sources other than the Bible for their inspiration. "The Gnostic believes it is wrong to use only the Bible to interpret the Bible. Besides the Bible, they believe there are additional inspired manuscripts and books on a par with the Bible and hearing the Voice of God apart from the Scriptures. A Rosicrucian writer neatly puts it: `In order to obtain a satisfactory comprehension of Bible teachings, it is essential to give careful consideration to its symbolic, allegorical and mystic elements. The student and interpreter must learn to consult the vast library of Legend, symbol and myth as faithfully and as accurately as he would resort to a Lexicon of Hebrew and Greek terms and radicals. These elements - symbolic, allegorical and mystic... are skillful devices for concealing yet half-revealing the deepest truth.'" ("Strange Fire", p. 92)
This use of myths, which as we have documented in Parts 1 and 2 of this article series, has been widely incorporated into the men's movement literature cited by Robert Hicks in "The Masculine Journey", the controversial book endorsed by Promise Keepers. There is a preponderance of evidence that the Vineyard movement relies on sources outside of Scripture to validate its beliefs. The belief that there are "new" truths or revelations from God is just one example.
Travers and Jewel van der Merwe devote an entire chapter in "Strange Fire" to the Gnostic concept of elitism. They note that to the Gnostic, only "the `elite' (the subjectively illuminated ones) can achieve godhood." (p. 39) This conveys the idea that only a select few will "get it", will enter the promised land (or the "inner courts"), will acquire hidden knowledge or secrets, or will move on to the next stage of maturity. Elitism focuses on special attributes or characteristics of man that make one part of a new race, a new breed, or a new order of special people. The elite believe they will experience perfection, attain a god-like status, or godhood on earth.
The corporate body of this elite group is assigned significance when a certain mass is reached. A disturbing corollary to elitism is the belief that enough people transformed into godhood will result in a changed society. Thus, Gnosticism can easily slide into social reform movements, or holy wars, to achieve its mystical, utopian aims. Essential to Gnosticism is a belief that one is part of an elite group, described as an "overcoming company" that is evolving, or "becoming more and more perfected so that they will be able to drive Satan from the world." (p. 40) Another corollary to elitism is the belief that Christ's return is dependent upon the actions of these perfected men, a subtle re-definition of the Great Commission. Here is one such example of this Latter Rain teaching from George Otis, who heads The Sentinel Group, from his book, "The Last of the Giants" (Chosen, 1991):
Otis' Sentinel Group will be headquartered in Ted Haggard's World Prayer Center in Colorado Springs along with C. Peter Wagner's Global Harvest Ministries and Christian Information Network. C. Peter Wagner, professor at Fuller Theological Seminary has been credited with mainstreaming John Wimber, Vineyard head. Many current charismatic activities and groups such Global Mapping, March for Jesus, AD 2000, etc. are closely aligned with the doctrine that the efforts of the church will bring in Christ.
The Gnostic belief that one can attain godhood can also be found in the Latter Rain belief that the church will become the literal incarnation of Jesus Christ on earth. Al Dager explains: "Whether Jesus will return at the beginning, during, or after the Millennium is open to conjecture. Some who have been infected by the Manifest Sons of God teachings even believe He will not return physically, but rather that Christ and the Church are becoming one in nature and essence, and that the Church, as the `on-going incarnation of God,' IS Christ on earth." (p. 70, "Vengeance Is Ours").
Although ideas like these are often cloaked in "spiritual-sounding" language when exported to Christianity, they are rooted in pure Gnosticism. These elitist Gnostic beliefs are rapidly gaining ground in many segments of the American evangelical and charismatic church, and are becoming mainstream through the activities and efforts of "credible" leaders. There is a subtle change of emphasis. No longer is the Church waiting on Christ's soon appearance, but they are anxiously awaiting a new "power" or "anointing" or "unity." Not only do these beliefs alter one's eschatological framework, but they can subtly erode the truth of the Gospel. As the van der Merwe's warn:
For an analysis of the influence these beliefs could have on Promise Keepers, we refer the reader to Ed Tarkowski's sidebar at the end.of this article.
With common Gnostic beliefs like the ones we have just delineated, it is not surprising that Jung's beliefs have already taken hold in many areas of the American church. Unless discernment is used, it is possible that his influence could expand considerably in the years to come.
Who is Carl Gustav Jung? The question is not an easy one to answer. The traditional history of Carl Jung, which has officially circulated for years, holds that he founded a psychoanalytical school during the early years of this century that somewhat paralleled and rivaled that of Sigmund Freud. However, in recent years documents from the past have been released which reveal more of Jung's character, his beliefs, and his involvement in the occult. We have chosen to review a controversial new book, "The Jung Cult: Origins of a Charismatic Movement" by Richard Noll (Princeton University Press, 1994), as the primary source of our discussion on Carl Jung. We review this particular book because it candidly explores Jung's fascination with the occult in a historical and cultural context.
Jung's Gnosticism is indisputable. Friend and foe alike have acknowledged Jung's belief that becoming one with god or finding the god within, i.e., self-deification, was an essential part of becoming whole, or attaining maturity in his psychological constructs. "Jung reenvisioned psychoanalysis as a way to achieve both personal and cultural renewal and rebirth." (Noll. p. 112)
Carl Jung's participation in the occult has been well-documented; however, Noll casts new light on Jung's life and beliefs. It is Noll's premise that Jung was setting up a system of redemption that challenged biblical Christianity with the intention of ultimately replacing it with a type of new religion:
An article in "The Quest" magazine, a New Age periodical, entitled "The New Religious Consciousness," by Joseph M. Felser (Summer 95) discussed the yearning of 18th century Romantics for a new religion to replace Christianity. Joseph Campbell, Carl Jung's chief promoter in America, is cited as having "argued that we are in a chaotic transitional period in which a new mythology, as the successor to all the great world religions, is being incubated." The article goes on to say that "...Campbell earnestly believed that such a new mythology would arise in due course, though he could not by his own theory say exactly what the new form would be."
While Noll's ultimate conclusions may be disputable, his book proves to be a valuable source of information about the culture that Jung was immersed in, which was the community of the German volk (folk, or common people) whose ideologies had become mainstream by the turn of the century. In the void left by the systematic dismemberment of Christian doctrines by German philosophers (Hegel, Nietzsche, etc.) there entered a host of new mythologies, ideologies and pagan philosophies during the latter half of the 1800s. One of the noteworthy movements was the Theosophical Society, a direct offshoot of ancient Gnosticism. It was founded by Madame Blavatsky, whose belief in a supreme Aryan race ultimately became a core tenet of the Third Reich. By the turn of the century the Theosophical Society was producing a great number of tracts, pamphlets and periodicals.
According to Noll, Jung was heavily influenced by a Theosophical scholar, G.R.S. Mead, who was Jung's "stepping-stone to higher things."
Carl Jung didn't just dabble in Gnosticism, however. It is the premise of Noll's book that Jung was totally taken in by the dark, occultic Theosophy, and fully incorporated it, along with other pagan belief systems, into his psychological theories. It is commonly known that Jung attended seances, had a spirit guide named Philemon, cast horoscopes, used I Ching divination methods and automatic writing, and participated in occult activities. However, the story of Jung's own personal rite of initiation into the occult is one that has been suppressed for most of this century.
Jung used the technique of active imagination to undergo a descent into what he called `The Land of the Dead' where he underwent a rite of initiation. As he descended into the underworld, he describes a series of events that culminate with him assuming the posture of the Crucifixion, and in which his face had taken on the appearance of a lion, which he recognized as the Mithraic Leontocephalus, a figure with the face of a man and lion, which Jung identifies as the god Aion, a Persian deity. Richard Noll analyzed this ritual:
"... it must be remembered that according to the scholarship of Jung's day Mithraism was a survival of ancient Zoroastrianism, thus giving it a direct link with the earliest Aryan homeland (Urheimat) and peoples. An initiation into the Mithraic mysteries was most importantly an initiation into the most ancient of Aryan mysteries....
"By indulging in such highly personal self-disclosure about his life in the 1925 seminars, Jung was modeling the way for his disciples to follow if they, too, wanted to be redeemed by initiation into mysteries that would give them the `certainty of immortality.' Jung had already been teaching his patients and disciples the practice of active imagination by 1916, and indeed it became a practical method for contacting a transcendent realm of the dead, ancestors or gods. By contacting and merging with the god within, true personality transformation would then follow." (Noll, p. 214-215)
This story about Jung's deification is relevant because of the renewed emphasis on the necessity of rites of initiation that originates in the recent Jungian-based men's movement, which we covered in Part 1. We discussed a similar rite of initiation for men which had been inaugurated by the Boulder Valley Vineyard Church, pastored by James Ryle of Promise Keepers. Clearly, this new push is not founded on any biblical principle, but rather is based on Gnostic ideas about one advancing through levels of spiritual maturity to attain perfection.
Jung's idea of descent is sometimes referred to as "deep". The van der Merwe's point out that "deep" is also a Gnostic term referring to levels of "deeper knowledge" or "levels" of spiritual insight (or maturity) that the Gnostic experiences. The men's movement frequently refers to the "deep" masculine; and in fact, one book quoted by Robert Hicks was entitled "To Be A Man: In Search of the Deep Masculine."
Significant to this discussion is Noll's premise that Jung, by going through this deification rite, was establishing the path for his followers to mimic. Jung's ideas about "individuation" gains new meaning as a form of spiritual liberation from the Judeo-Christian tradition. Noll points out that the intent was to break bonds "with one's family, one's society, even one's God."
Jung borrowed the technique of active imagination, which he utilized in his deification experience, directly from the spiritualists. Noll states that Jung resorted to "visionary practices already quite familiar to him from his involvement with spiritualism and from his knowledge of the claims of Blavatsky and the other initiated Theosophists that the ancestral past could be contacted directly through the imagination. Jung, however, reframes the practice to make it seem less occultist and more scientific..." (p. 178)
According to the Felser article in "The Quest", cited previously, "The belief that the dream, as the pure, unadulterated voice of Nature in us, cannot be manipulated by the ego, is a corollary of Jung's unyielding belief in the absolute autonomy of the unconscious." Although dream analysis is one of the hallmarks of Jungian analysis, Jung was not content with simple dream analysis; rather he encouraged "`the emergence of fantasies which are lying in readiness' in the unconscious." To do this, one must first abandon reason, a critical factor in all rites of initiation. "Jung claims that patients can be trained to do this by `first of all in systematic practice to eliminate critical attention, whereby a vacuum is produced in consciousness.' In essence, the techniques Jung then recommends are those that actively promote the dissociation of consciousness and therefore disrupt the so-called normal sense of continuity of self, identity, volition, and the processes of memory."(Noll, p. 229)
Noll further points out that Jung chose active imagination, "a technique by the spiritualist mediums", to interact with a voice he heard. "Jung is therefore admitting here that his psychotherapeutic technique of active imagination is based on the techniques of spiritualism. In this sense, too, Jung's method is akin to that of the volkisch groups who also borrowed the techniques of spiritualism in order to contact nature spirits, Teutonic ancestors, and the Germanic gods." (Noll, p. 203)
Modern Christians will recognize this technique, sometimes called "guided imagery." It has been popularized as a psycho-spiritual tool in the church by Jungian analyst Morton Kelsey according to author David Hunt, (p. 174, "Seduction of Christianity"). Hunt notes how pervasive these practices have become in the church:
"John Wimber's recommendation of authors such as Kelsey, Sanford, MacNutt, the Sandfords and the Linns is consistent with the growing reliance upon psychospiritual pseudoChristian techniques as necessary implementations to biblical Christianity in order to experience full deliverance and victory." (Ibid., p. 177)
Thus, as with all manifestations of Gnosticism, the path to knowledge and redemption is a mystical, inwardly-validated experience that is enhanced by the use of various occultic techniques. James Ryle's new book on dreams, called "A Dream Come True", with a foreward by Promise Keeper founder Bill McCartney, invites men to begin analyzing their dreams. He cites a variety of sources to back up his point, including non-believers. Ryle cites Tertullian's "Treatise of the Soul" and agrees:
Ryle concludes his book by inviting the reader to ask the Lord
for
a vision of Jesus: "God has given each one of us what I call
`vision
hunger' - an appetite for revelation from God, an inner
need for visual soul stimulation." (p. 228) Ryle "envisions"
a last days "army of seers", a group of people who "will
receive profound insight into the Scriptures in dreams and
visions."
(p. 229)
Is Ryle referring to Promise Keepers?
Mystical experiences, such as that described above, are personal, subjective, intuitive, and experiential. Inner mystic knowledge is a characteristic of Gnosticism. Even though they claim to use the Bible as the reference point for discernment, Christian mystics typically engage in an allegorical, symbolic, or hyper-spiritualized method of biblical interpretation.
The 1800s saw a marked rise in utopian experiments. Most were quick to rise and fall. The Bolsheviks tried a "god-building" movement, which was "a call for `scientific socialism' to be a religion with a god at its center who was human." (Noll, p. 54) Noll notes the Neitzschean fantasy "of the creation of a `New Man,' a `genius' in the New Order of a revitalized society... this same fantasy is one of the many mystical or prefascist sources of National Socialism." (p. 55)
It is Noll's thesis that Carl Jung created a select, elite group of spiritual initiates that would lead the rest of society to redemption. Jung was influenced by Eugen Diederichs who "called for just such a spiritual aristocracy to lead" post-war Germany. (p. 87) Diederichs also, believed that "being truly religious means being irrational" and that his calling as a publisher was to "push the irrationalist character of religion into the foreground" and assist in creating "a new mythos" or "mystique... for the spiritual reawakening of the Germanic peoples." Jung was also influenced by Count Hermann Keyserling and was a prominent lecturer at Keyserling's Schule der Weisheit (School of Wisdom) which taught yoga and other esoteric doctrines.
Was Jung a utopian? According to Noll, Jung hoped that through his methods of psychoanalysis that his
Noll concludes:
If this concept of a collective spiritual elite sounds vaguely familiar, it should. Noll makes the case that Jung's ideas about a corps of initiates originated from the same dark cesspool that gave rise to the ideas of an Aryan "master race" that were eventually used by National Socialism in Germany. Jung was closely associated all of his life with those "Germanic Europeans in search of their long-lost Teutonic spirituality and a return to a Golden Age of paganism [whose] `old dreams of a new Reich' were of a very similar Volksgemeinschaft (a mystical blood community of Volk) through a revolution led by an elite (spiritual and/or political) or, perhaps, a fuhrer." (p. 261)
Noll contends that Jung set out to replace 2000 years of Christianity with an "irresistible mass movement." (p. 188) Jung had a continual theme of "a millenarian religion of psycholanalysis... Jung... suggests to Freud that psychoanalysis should create an elite (in essence a Nietzschean new nobility), to protect itself against its critics and then to finally usher in a golden age on earth."
This idea of a golden age on earth is a common belief of those who are steeped in Gnosticism. This point is documented in Harold Bloom's "The American Religion" (Touchstone, 1992), in which he describes several Gnostic cults with millenarian beliefs. It is Bloom's contention that America's true religion is not Christianity, but a form of Gnosticism.
The Latter Rain movement holds to a form of utopianism and dominionism. Al Dager notes that the Charistmatic Dominionists "are convinced that supernatural manifestations of power will be instrumental in bringing about the visible Kingdom of God on earth,..." (p. 179, "Vengeance Is Ours") This Manifest Sons of God theology "envisions an immortal company of `overcomers' who will `put death under their feet' and rule the earth through supernatural power before Jesus returns." (p. 147) This translates into a belief that
PK Board member James Ryle reflects these beliefs when he says in his book, "Hippo in the Garden":
It remains to be seen how Promise Keepers will fit into the end-time revival scenario of those who hold to the Latter Rain eschatological beliefs. There are many indications that for some leaders, at least, Promise Keepers is seen as a significant fulfillment of the unity and fervor necessary to usher in "Christ the King" for the new millenium, as Ed Tarkowski's sidebar documents (see next page).
Jungian analysis was cloaked in secrecy for much of this century. Despite this, Jung's ideas played a major role in the revival of paganism since the 60s, including the New Age movement, wicca, the men's movement and others. The recent plethora of books and literature on Jungian psychology is one reason why "armchair psychologists" such as Robert Hicks can borrow Jungian concepts and incorporate them into their worldview. Noll concludes his book with the warning:
While it is not likely that the charismatic church will openly engage in Jung adulation or adoration, it is plausible that there may be considerably more carry-over in Jung's Gnostic ideology than we have seen previously. And, given the striking similarities in belief structures, it is foreseeable that Jungian beliefs could easily become assimilated into current Latter Rain beliefs. Even now the Jungian terms borrowed by Hicks are working themselves into Promise Keepers' vocabulary.
In "The Gnostic Empire Strikes Back", (P&R Publishing, 1992) author Peter Jones predicts that "there will be a move to open the church's canon for the inclusion of a certain number of ...ancient egalitarian `Christian' Gnostic documents. And then the struggle for orthodoxy will take on proportions of difficulty the church has rarely known." Jones concludes:
In a Grace Ministries tape, November 1988 called, "My Father's House," Kansas City Vineyard Pastor, Paul Cain, expresses this eschatological view:
In this talk, Cain defended himself that he wasn't denying the rapture, but spoke of Jesus coming again to indwell His Church as a corporate body where the whole body experiences Him all at the same time. This is Latter Rain doctrine. Allegorical Pentecost to the Latter Rain adherent is a coming of God to the individual - it is a personal experience. To them, the allegorical Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated when God comes to the entire Church and fills it with the manifest Glory of God. Cain told his audience,
Then he tells us how to follow through and act accordingly so this glory will be made real to the Church before Christ returns.
Is he saying dump your doctrine and your hope and go for this unbiblical experience? Tricia Tillin of Banner Ministries in England has noted these peculiar doctrines:
This doctrine, once declared a heresy, is finding a place in all denominations through the unity of charismatics with other faiths. Cain says out of this unity will come an army, Joel's Army, a Latter Rain belief based on the book of Joel:
Paul Cain claimed this was the plan of God for this generation - everybody - all denominations - because it is the plan of God for the `last of the last days.' On a Grace Ministries tape of a talk given by Cain some years ago in Missouri, he told his audience,
When enough pastors and other leaders are trained, for the Army of the Lord, he expects the greatest revival of all time to result. During his talk in Missouri, Cain described his vision for this endtime revival:
"All of the stadiums and all of the ballparks are filled with hundreds of thousands of people. They have hearses lined up, ambulances lined up. They have hundreds of stretcher cases and all that. And there are men standing there in the pulpit, there are women standing there that haven't had a change of raiment in three days, they haven't had a drink of water, they haven't had any food and they're preaching under the mighty power. `Why, did you see that last night on ABC? Did you see that man levitated? Did you see all those preachers levitated? Did you see that fixed pose? They stood there for 24 hours in a fixed pose, worshiping and praising God, and hundreds of thousands came by and fell on their face and nobody pushed them. And nobody shoved them. They fell under the power of God.' And everybody everywhere is crying, `Oh, this is God! Jesus is Lord!' It seems like the whole world is turning to God."
Recently, Cain spoke at Christ Chapel in Florence, Alabama, and shared a dream he'd received when he was 19 years old. Again, the emphasis was on huge numbers of people in stadiums:
In the Alabama meeting Cain connected his prediction of stadiums-full of soldiers in his Army of the Lord with the reality of stadiums-full of warriors in the Promise Keepers army. He said,
Cain was probably referring to the 70,000 to 100,000 pastors expected at the February Promise Keepers' meeting in Atlanta, but what if his words came true concerning the PK goal of filling a stadium in each of the fifty states in the year 2000? In a Promise Keepers gathering in the Detroit Silver Dome stadium in April 29, 1995, Promise Keeper founder Bill McCartney also spoke of a great army:
McCartney later continued,
Cain said we are on the threshold of God's glory possibly coming upon 100,000 pastors who want to be Promise Keepers. When you read this in conjunction with Latter Rain proponent Francis Frangipane's new book, "The Days of His Presence", there is reason for concern. Is Promise Keepers the catalyst for the anticipated Latter Rain "revival"? In a write-up on the book, Frangipane himself says,
March for Jesus drew 20,000,000 this year. Promise Keepers is currently drawing 750,000. That adds up to 20,750,000 Christians, and Frangipane is saying that this multitude will set the stage for revival because of reconciliation of racial issues and Christians ministering to one another in unity. Frangipane describes this next great awakening in his book:
"Prior to Jesus Christ's physical return, His living presence will companion the church in ever-increasing power. During this time the visible glory of the Lord will rise and appear upon God's people."
Notice this: God's visible glory will rise and appear on His people prior to Jesus' return. This is new revelation - it's Latter Rain teaching, and Frangipane says 20,750,000 members of Christ's body are being prepared to have the visible glory of God come on them! This prophetic word says that the Church will be glorified and changed to be like Christ Jesus our Lord - not when we see Him face to face, but when we reconcile our differences. This appears to be the goal of the ecumenical unity movement. Jesus can't come back until everybody agrees and gets along. Promise Keepers seems to be openly embracing this theology.
Paul Cain said, "You can look ... for the Glory of God to appear just as soon as our lives and everything are in order." What does it take to "get our lives and everything in order"? In the Fall 1993 PK magazine, "Men of Action," we read,
Notice that racial harmony is cleverly lumped together with demoninational unity as if they were equatable concepts. While there is nothing harmful with racial reconciliation, doctrinal unity is being forged at the expense of truth. The PK Ambassors training manual tells Ambassadors that they "must avoid negative political, doctrinal, and denominational remarks and discussion" in order to build this "relational bridge" of unity (p. 3).
Frangipane says we are on the verge of a manifestation of glory because of this "unity":
Both Promise Keepers and March for Jesus are dedicated to this type of unity. Frangipane's "new" revelation states that the first two phases of this restoration are underway - and are being fulfilled by PK and the MFJ. Promise Keepers and March for Jesus are ripe for a visitation by the Latter Rain spirit. Cain said so and so did Frangipane. What makes this unity dangerous is this:
Questions continue to arise about Promise Keepers and how closely linked the organization is with the doctrinal stance of the Vineyard movement. These issues are of concern particularly in light of the following comments by Promise Keepers' Board Member and Vineyard Pastor James Ryle, who is also Bill McCartney's pastor, during an interview with GQ writer Scott Raab ( Jan. 1996, p.129):
Here, Pastor Ryle is telling us, indisputably, Vineyard "spawned" Promise Keepers. It is very difficult to believe that Promise Keepers was propagated by Vineyard and yet remains unaffected by Vineyard's doctrinal views, some of which are quite questionable theologically.
For instance, Pastor Ryle believes his dreams and visions are prophetic revelations directly from God. In a sermon entitled "Sons of Thunder" he preached at his church, Boulder Valley Vineyard in Longmont, Colorado, July 1, 1990, he alleges that God is about to anoint Christian musicians with the same "anointing" that was originally given to the Beatles. He says God told him in a dream:
Obviously, the Beatles were anything but an instrument of God during the years they recorded and performed music together, as the lyrics to their songs attest. So, how does Ryle account for this? In the same sermon he says God told him:
Ryle goes on to say that God told him he lifted the Beatles anointing in 1970 and has held it in His hand since but that He is about to release it again in the church.
Then, there is the book Pastor Ryle wrote entitled "Hippo in the Garden" (Creation House 1993), which stems from yet another dream he had. He claims he heard the Lord tell him:
Apparently, Pastor Ryle did give a great deal of thought to it and reached the conclusion God was telling him He was going to return "the power of His prophetic word by His Holy Spirit into churches that no longer have any place for it." (p. 261) Pastor Ryle continues:
Ryle then quotes Acts 2:17-21 and says: "A vast prophetic movement inspired by the Holy Spirit within the church in the midst of the world resulting in an evangelistic ingathering - that is the `hippo in the garden.'" (p. 262)
A hippo happens to be a member of the same biological family as the pig. Given the situation with the Gadarene demons being cast into a herd of swine (Matthew 8:28-32), it seems highly unlikely God would liken Himself to a member of the pig family, does it not?
Last year, yet another book recounting hearing God through dreams and visions was released by Ryle, entitled "A Dream Come True: A Biblical Look at How God Speaks Through Dreams and Visions" (Creation House, 1995). Obviously, the "Word of God" is considerably far more spacious than Scripture. Rather, Ryle adds to it his own subjective personal revelations, visions, words of prophecy and dreams. Both of his books are replete with isolated Scripture passages wrested out of context and applied peculiarly. Ryle proclaims: "The Bible is not an end in itself, rather, it is the God-given means to an end." (Hippo in the Garden, p. 74)
What Ryle and others in the Vineyard organization are teaching is that God's written Word should be viewed through the lens of one's personal, spiritual experiences, dreams and visions as opposed to rightly asserting that one's personal, spiritual experiences, dreams and visions ought to be viewed through the lens of God's written Word. In so doing, he and the others have denigrated and relegated God's written Word, that more sure word of prophecy (2 Pet. 1:19) to the back seat while "fresh prophetic words" overtake the driver's seat and thus dictate the direction one ought to take in the practice of one's faith.
This serves to deny that "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."(2 Tim. 3:16-17) If God's written word is sufficient to equip the man of good for every good work, what need is there to rely heavily upon subjective impressions? To do so clearly denies that God's written Word is sufficient.
What, perhaps you are wondering, does all of this have to do with Promise Keepers? Since, as Ryle has told us, the Vineyard organization "spawned" the Promise Keepers movement and Ryle himself, until very recently, was a board member, is it not reasonable to assert that the movement itself is managed by men holding doctrinal views congruent with Ryle's? Bill McCartney has been pastored by Ryle throughout Promise Keepers' formative years and still is today.
If, as Ryle tells us, Vineyard did indeed "spawn" Promise Keepers, then the movement is likely to be equally as inundated with the same doctrinal convictions. This is an issue which is not likely to go away and some hard questions need to be asked and answered... and the Promise Keepers movement will be plagued by these issues until they are viably dealt with.
This is the third article in a multi-part series published in
the
February 1996 issue of The Christian Conscience.
Copyright
1996, Lynn and Sarah Leslie, publishers of The Christian
Conscience,
PO Box 17346, Des Moines, Iowa 50317, fax 515-262-9854.