Rev. Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries has written a really good article about Richard Foster and how he is connected with the Emergent Church movement and the Contemplative\/Centering Prayer that is now being taught to future pastors in many seminars and Bible colleges. Below are a few excerpts from this article but read the entire article there is much good information here. But while your at it don’t stop at this article on Richard Foster. Apprising Ministries www.apprising.org has many well documented articles on the emergent\/emerging church heresies which are leading institutional “Christianity” into latter day apostasy. It is this emerging harlot woman that will ride the Beast Antichrist into power in these last days.<\/p>\n
All leaders in Christianity need to be able to discuss these issues because people in your congregations are buying their popular books and they are being heavily influenced by these emerging Gnostic teachers. In the final analysis, these doctrines are repackaged “New Age” thinking. They all dance around a pluralist all-ways to God paganism even if they happen to mention the name of Jesus.<\/p>\n
2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n WHO IS RICHARD FOSTER?<\/strong><\/p>\n WHO IS RICHARD FOSTER?<\/p>\n Due to the importance of this topic of Contemplative\/Centering Prayer, which is the primary source for a reemergence of Gnostic neo-pagan \u201cChristian\u201d mysticism in new evangelicalism, I began this series as quickly as I could. I am asking the interested reader to please keep an eye out for this work to be ongoing to cover various mystics who are influential in the new spirituality that is now infecting the evangelical community of our Lord\u2019s Church. Let me also point out that each of these pieces will continue to be expanded as well when new information is forthcoming.<\/p>\n We will begin now with Richard Foster who is arguably the leading proponent of this so-called contemplative spirituality rooted in Rome. Undoubtedly however, he is certainly its most recognized teacher. Foster is also very highly respected in the marred and mystical Emergent Church as evidenced in an article in Christianity Today called \u201cThe Emergent Mystique.\u201d None other than Brian McLaren, the prominent theologian in \u201cEmergent, the emerging church network that he and several other church planters and pastors lead,\u201d points to \u201cDallas Willard and Richard Foster, with their emphasis on spiritual disciplines, as key mentors for the emerging church.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I cover Teresa of Avila in more depth elsewhere, but here you can clearly see that her mystic musings have undoubtedly impacted Foster. In fact in COD he includes this troubled Roman Catholic nun among \u201cthe great writers of the devotional life,\u201d which he says goes \u201cfrom St. Augustine to St. Francis, from John Calvin to John Wesley, from Teresa of Avila to Juliana of Norwich\u201d (5, emphasis mine). You might make note here that the highly ecumenical Foster is undoubtedly influenced in his own aberrant mystic views by the apostate Church of Rome and in opposition to the theology of the Reformers the Guru of Contemplation obviously considers the Roman Catholic Church a part of the true Body of Christ.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This now brings us to another critical issue that has not been thoroughly explored in the study of this invasion of contemplative spirituality into the evangelical camp. The fact is that Guru Foster is himself a Quaker, or a member of The Religious Society of Friends, as they are also known. Therefore if someone wants to better understand how Foster\u2019s own teachings about this supposed \u201cinward life\u201d were themselves shaped then it becomes necessary to have a working background of the theology inherent in this group he has been raised within. As a matter of fact Quakerinfo.com enlightens us that Richard Foster is \u201c[p]erhaps the best known Quaker in the world today.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This idea in Quaker theology that every man has this alleged \u201cInner Light\u201d is further corroborated in GREAT RELIGIONS of the World which tells us that Fox \u201cinsisted that the \u2018light of Christ\u2019 glimmered in all men\u201d (375, emphasis mine) We\u2019ll be coming back to this \u201cinner light\u201d that is supposed to glimmer \u201cin every human heart,\u201d but first, in his classic two volume set A History Of Christianity (AHOC) the great historian Kenneth Scott Latourette adds a bit more background information about the person through whom the Quakers originated:<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And here we have uncovered the reason why so many professing Christians today can believe that all religions should be friends now and seek our common ground as we work together to usher in \u201cthe kingdom\u201d of God\u2019s Global Peace. Take an honest look at the warped and toxic theology of men like Richard Foster, Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, Alan Jones, Steve Chalke and even the Pied Piper of Purpose Driven Rick Warren\u2013all men involved to one degree or another in the practice of contemplative spirituality. You see no bold stance on their part that the only way any human being anywhere upon God\u2019s planet can ever be saved from an eternity of conscious torment in a literal place our Creator called Hell is personal faith in Jesus Christ of Nazareth and His vicarious penal substitutionary atonement on the Cross. In fact, you will see quite the contrary.<\/p>\n