Following up from Charlotte Spirituality and Health Examiner Allen Bethea's article yesterday, Dr. Oz hosted British hypnotist Paul McKenna on his Dr. Oz Show Monday, which aired on Charlotte's WBTV. From Friday's announcement:
Hypnosis for weight loss with Paul McKenna - Hypnosis has profound powers that can help you. On Monday, Feb. 7, Dr. Oz is unlocking its powers to show viewers how to use hypnosis to combat overeating. With hypnotist Paul McKenna, Dr. Oz will explain how hypnosis works, whether anyone can be hypnotized and why it can help in losing weight.
Yes, this is the same Dr. Oz who hosted pantheist New Ager Deepak Chopra on his show a few weeks ago, and it's the same Dr. Oz who has been embraced, along with New Age Drs. Amen and Hyman, by Rick Warren of Saddleback Church to promote and implement Warren's so-called "Daniel Plan". What's more, and quite sadly and disturbing enough, this is the same Rick Warren who has been endorsed, promoted, praised, and welcomed as a biblical pastor who "at root...is theological and doctrinal and sound" by none other than Dr. John Piper (article here).
The question must be asked of Saddleback Church - is there any among you who has an ounce, no, a gram of discernment, to see that this Trojan Horse of New Age and mystical deception has entered your courts? Can you not see that your pastor, so-called "America's pastor", has opened this door of contemplative spirituality and Eastern meditative mysticism (CSM) into your church? Please, do yourself a favor - do your family a favor - and research what is happening here. Check out the three links above to see why your pastor is leading you down the path of ecumenical destruction. Unless he separates himself from the works of Belial, we have no choice but to believe he is of Belial. Years of Warren's pragmatic, moralistic, man-centered messages; flirtations with CSM; interfaith fellowship; and ecumenical compromise have led him and your church to this moment.
It is time for you to wakeup and smell the incense.
Under no circumstances should Christians ever be hypnotized, yet, Rick Warren has partnered with "America's Doctor" who promotes and endorses this mind-altering pagan practice (in addition to Eastern-style meditation and Reiki). Gotquestions provides an excellent breakdown for why hypnotism is problematic for Christians. The following is a summary of the points:
1) Through hypnosis, we transfer the ability to control ourselves to someone else, which is contrary to the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:21 that gives us self-control by His power.
2) We are to yield ourselves to God and He alone. It is His power alone, once we yield ourselves to His will, that helps us overcome sin (Romans 6:12-13). Hypnosis causes us to yield ourselves to someone else (or something else).
3) Hypnosis leads people into an altered state of consciousness, thus making the mind susceptible to outside influence, which may not be restricted to the hypnotist. Scripture tells us to be self-controlled and alert because Satan prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). We are not able to be watchful if our minds have been swept away by hypnosis.
4) Hypnosis, just like CSM and Eastern religious meditative practices (Hinduism and Buddhism), causes one to look at self, or their inner self, to find the solution. Taken to the extreme, which is where CSM always leads, it causes us to find the inner light within us, or the god within us, or that perfect state that is immune to sin within us. Essentially, this leads to the idea that God is within us all, regardless of whether one is a Christian (pantheism). Scripture, on the other hand, teaches us to look to Christ alone (Hebrews 12:2), for the answers do not lie within us (Romans 7:18) and our only solution is found in Christ (Romans 8:2).
5) As mentioned, hypnosis is shared by mystical and religious systems, including the occult, New Age transcendental meditation, Hindu (yoga) and Buddhist meditation, and contemplative spirituality. All of these are linked to spiritual darkness and the Christian must flee from such idol worship of self.
Even so, Rick Warren has yoked himself with this New Age practitioner, Dr. Oz.
The video from the Dr. Oz Show can be viewed on his website, however it should be viewed with extreme caution with the ability to distract your mind from the intended hypnosis. It is posted for informational purposes only, and one should pray before viewing. The transcript is provided below should you wish to skip the video:
Partial transcript beginning at the 2:55 mark:
"...as you relax my voice will go with you , and you might hear it in many different ways, and you don't even have to think about it, just let the focus sink deeper and deeper towards your own inner stillness, and you can notice words, and you can notice noticing words, and you can notice noticing your body can relax, and your mind can relax, and your mind has become very sensitive to my suggestions that help you most, your breathing carries on all by itself, your mind carries on all by itself, and you can watch it wonder away, your experience, your understanding, your awareness can just detach and slow down. Relax the muscles around your eyes again, relax your jaw, ease off the muscles in your neck, and let your shoulders drop, and with each out breath, let them drop a little more until all the tension is released, as you free your mind to concentrate on success, you build up the energy to take action. Every day you'll do something to move yourself toward your ideal weight, every day you'll take action, your unconscious mind will remind you you have the energy you need ready and waiting, you just stop to work and the energy will become available, you'll become more and more responsive to your situations and the people you work with, every day you'll understand more and more and respond more to the situations and the people around you, you'll become more flexible and adaptable so you can continue to work towards your ideal weight whatever happens around you. Everyday , your tenacity will increase, you can keep going, persevering, achieving, working, and pressing on so that every day you achieve something. And very soon, it will be time to awaken, and before you awaken, I'd like you to reinforce every positive thought you've ever had about yourself. And as you become awake, you can feel the wish to be active, you can find your self enjoying that. We all know we can day dream, we can all sleep, and we can all wake up, although we don't consciously know how we can wake up, yet we do, and you can awake now..."
This is nothing short of self-worshiping idolatry. It is focused on man and his inner self, instead of Jesus Christ and what He has done and will do in the life of the born again believer. Instead of looking to the Lord Jesus Christ and His transforming power, hypnosis looks to what man can do for himself (just like all forms of meditation). This, of course, lines up perfectly with Rick Warren's Pelagian, moralistic tendencies for behavior modification. Warren believes that one can just change the way they think in order to change their behavior and their life. Scripture, on the other hand, tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2), which is achieved by the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit through the objective reading of the Word of God and through prayer. What's more, McKenna seeks to open your mind to his influence, which he clearly states will help you the most. Sounds a lot like a certain garden serpent, yes?
To those who follow, support, endorse, and/or are taught under the ministry of Rick Warren, how much more evidence do you need? How much longer will you travel down this road of destruction, and how much longer will you expose your family to this pagan idolatry? How much longer will you, Charlotte purpose-driven pastor, continue to lead your flock into the darkness alongside Rick Warren? I call for you to repent and separate yourself from any and all associations with Rick Warren.
How much longer will you reject this warning?
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? - 2 Corinthians 6:14-15
Comments
Just a bunch of religious gobbly goop is all I am hearing here. Nothing is more ridiculous than someone who thinks he has all the answers to religion in my book. Not to say that there is not some point to what you said, just saying the Bible has many phrases to it that can swing one way or another. It is for the person to read and decipher for themselves in their mind what it means. Me personally, I have my beliefs, what they are has no value to anyone else as far as I am concerned. I believe it the way I believe it, I don't need some preacher to tell me it means this or some columnist to say it is like this or that. All that is, is someone trying to sell me on THEIR belief....which who ever said they knew what they were talking about either. There is no difference. I have my religious beliefs, but I also believe in what we have discovered through scientific fact. Those that cannot accept scientific fact really have a problem. These are the same people that will go to the doctor for a diagnosis and cure of their illness (which through science we have been able to discover the cures for) but yet won't believe the scientific facts that have been discovered that tell us how our own brains work and operate. Go figure...
Hi Anonymous, thanks for the comment. Do you consider yourself a good person? And if so, do you consider yourself good enough to go to heaven? Thanks, and I look forward to hearing back from you.
Certainly I do. I am married to a wonderful woman who has a whole different view of the Word than I do, she certainly is more into the Bible than I am. But myself, I have been around Christianity since I was a child. I pretty much gave up on the whole “one” religion thing once I stepped back and took a look at all the religions in the world. Where I don't endorse any particular religion in its self, I have my perception of what I believe in. Let's face it, there is nothing wrong with religion, it establishes belief and faith which I believe all people should have. But I don't agree with the fact that any one religion is better than another like some tend to think. It is religion and is taught to everyone based on the belief of another individual. A preacher for instance reads a sermon to the people of the church and then interprets it to those individuals based on the way he perceives it. Who says he is right? Is he to be believed because he wears that fancy outfit and is the head of his church? I don't think so. Religion has gotten so out of control because it has turned into too much of a business. That is why I stick to my values that you need to believe it for yourself. Not through the eyes of anyone else unless God or Jesus themselves came down and told it to you in person. Otherwise, it is no different than going to the Baptist Church, or the Christian Church, or the Methodist Church....everyone has a different format so to say in which they perceive the Word.
That is where my problem arises from..How can there be so many religions when there is one Bible...one true Bible? I can't see where the Bible was ever intended to branch out into several forms of religion. It has....because it has become a business. That is a shame. I think the Bible has the sense to invoke a sense of moral values upon mankind and should be "must read" for everyone. But to read it and use it as their tool for their personal growth as a person and to build their relationship with God. But that is my opinion. Many other people out there in other countries, worship different Gods and I think that is solely their right to do. I don't dog on them for their belief, that is not my right to do. They have their belief and I feel that is their choice to make.
But as I said, I also believe in science and what can be proven. Let's face it, there are questionable things in the Bible that can make you raise an eyebrow too. Just the mere thought or even putting the pieces together can raise questions even for someone like my wife who reads her Bible EVERY DAY!
Science however I feel is also a gift from God if you choose to look at it like that, God gave us knowledge to discover these paths and allow us to make discoveries into things that unlock the answers to a lot of seriously questionable things.
Like the brain for instance. The topic that kind of started your whole rant on the Dr. Oz show and hypnotherapy. There is nothing wrong with hypnotherapy dependent on what it is being used for. It is merely a suggestive thought to the subconscious mind. I like to think that I know a lot in this field with the subconscious mind and how it works. I have done a lot of studying on it myself and I have helped a lot of people as well. Not using hypnotherapy, but simply using the incorporation of positive thinking. For those that think that it is "snake oil" or simply is not possible, then they simply do not know about the brain and what science has discovered over the most recent years. The brain is a marvelous tool, it is not just something that sits in our skull to occupy space. The world today is full of negative things all around us.
Murders, car accidents, death, tragedy, and more. This is absorbed into the mind. Those that think it is not are truly the ignorant ones and need to pick up a book on the brain and do some reading. I certainly don't endorse every alternative New Age practice out on the market as being legit, but then again, there is also a lot of religion that in peoples minds are not legit either. I knew a gentleman once that I was building a church for when I was a contractor. I asked him about the church because he did not seem like the church preacher type to me and you know the answer I got? Churches are a tax free business. He was not building a church because he was in the market to help others through the word of God....he was building a church because it was profitable. That is what religion has become today and it is just a pity. That is why I choose to think for myself, believe what I believe in and it is not up to anyone else, not even my wife to detour me from my belief. It is not for anyone else to judge me but for God himself.
Do I feel I am a good person? Sure I do....but I do have flaws, I am not perfect, anyone who thinks they are is living in a serious state of denial. I have done things I am sorry for, I am sure I will probably do things again I will be sorry for one day. Life is a journey and it is a never ending learning experience. We are going to make mistakes in order to learn from them and to grow into a better person.
Do I feel that I am going to Heaven? Well I can only hope that when my day comes all of my questions and doubts are fulfilled and answered and I am found to be worthy. I try to live my life the best I can, and where I know there are millions of people that will tell me that this is not how the system works, without actually witnessing it themselves....they have nothing other than their own faith to go off of. I have yet to see anyone who has gotten a post card from Heaven so for now I have to go on the assumption that all people have to go by for proof is that they have faith and believe in it. That is great, I have nothing to say about that and support them whole heartedly. I have my beliefs and faith too, for that in which I believe in and for me, my belief does not overpower anyone else's belief in the provability factor. Just like their's don't overpower mine either in the same manner.
We all need to believe and have faith in something. I know that I certainly choose other options over others in the religion field but I still stand by my own belief that there is no right answer, none that can be proven anyways through religion of Christianity, Methodist, Catholic, or whichever. Everybody has their own choice to make, their own life to live, their own beliefs to establish, and their own faith to build. But because you know your scriptures, and have your own belief in what they mean does not make what you write any different from that of learning that you can reprogram the negativities out with hypnotherapy, positive thoughts, or affirmations. To think other...at least in my view....it is kind of hypocritical.
These are certainly my views and I thank you for your previous response. I am sure that what you feel as per what you wrote is your belief and that is certainly your choice and not for me to sway you one way or another. But I had to voice my opinion about it because well that is what the internet and blogging and such is all about. And also because I think it is merely a lack of knowledge that the general public has about the way our brain works that they feel they need to talk down on things like these alternative methods of healing. You know, I meet a lot of people that use a lot of different methods of healing like reiki, affirmations, hypnotherapy, and even EFT tapping like seen on Dr. Oz's show. They work for them, I have heard great results from many. Now even though I have heard great things, I don't necessarily do it for myself or would say I support it. Like EFT tapping...I have heard so many people that swear by it and how well it works....but you won't see me doing it. It has to do with the belief and if you have belief in its power to heal you, it can work. Similar to having faith in God to heal you, you can overcome ailments by having a strong belief in God will heal you. I watch the 700 club all the time and hear about these miracles all the time. I don't see them as miracles...I see them as belief.
A belief whether it is in God will heal them, or the fact that a person will walk again, or be cured from cancer all puts the subconscious into overdrive to achieve the result. This I believe. I have seen it with my own eyes many times. If a doctor tells someone that they have 30 days to live, that is extremely damaging to one's mind. However, if a persons belief is strong enough that they KNOW in their mind and their heart they will overcome the illness or the challenge no matter what that may be, then they certainly can achieve it.
Now I suppose that the 700 club can be considered by many as just another profit building tool, I know they do a lot of good, I believe in there stories, I like to hear the stories, and it does keep the positive level up more than the news media does. Though I don't necessarily have the same views as the 700 club all the time, that is fine. I don't disown it or talk bad about it without truly knowing anything about it. That is all I have to say about it. I wouldn't discredit one thing for another simply because of religion, I would do some homework and actually find out about it before just bashing it.
Sorry for all the lengthy posts......but.....you asked... : )
Well, you certainly like to write I will give you that. :)
Please don't take this to mean I am ignoring everything you wrote, but I'd like to stick to the heart of the matter and try to avoid rabbit trails as best as possible. So with that, you mentioned a few things that is more to the point of my questions, so I will highlight those then follow up:
In response to my first question of whether you consider yourself to be a good person, you said: "Certainly I do" and "sure I do....but I do have flaws, I am not perfect".
And in response to my second question, you said: "Do I feel that I am going to Heaven? Well I can only hope that when my day comes all of my questions and doubts are fulfilled and answered and I am found to be worthy. I try to live my life the best I can,"
...To sum up you position from what I gather, you believe you are a good person, but you admit to have flaws. Because you believe you are a good person, you are relying on your own righteousness to earn your way to heaven. However, you do not have any confidence that you will surely go to heaven, as this is only something you can only hope for based on your self-righteousness, which you hope will deem you to be found worthy to enter heaven's gates. Does that sound about right?
My friend, there is a way you can truly know whether or not you are a good person, and whether or not you will be found worthy to go to heaven. I invite you to go through this test with me by going through a brief series of questions. For the sake of brevity, if you could just answer these questions with yes or no, or in one sentence.
Let's get started with the first set of questions:
How many lies have you told? What do you call someone who tells lies?
Sorry Justin,
Not really interested in this. I have absolutely no issues with the way I live my life. I said I was not perfect and I acknowledge this myself. Frankly anyone who thinks they are perfect in every way and do no wrong is nothing short of a liar, we all have faults. I certainly don't need anyone to try and psychoanalyze me or anything like that or give me a pop quiz on whether I am going to make it to heaven or not. That is nobody's decision to make other than God himself in my book. Thanks anyways.
I'm sorry to hear that, Anon. You see, you are correct that nobody can make the decision whether you go to heaven but God. However, you do not seem to understand that none of us are worthy to go to heaven, because we all fall significantly short of the glory of God. What I wanted to share with you was how you, specifically, fall short of His glory, and because of that, are not worthy to go to heaven. The test would go like this: if you've lied, you are a liar. If you've stolen, you are a thief. If you've used God's name in vain, you are a blasphemer. If you've looked upon a woman with lust, Jesus says you've already committed adultery in your heart. And if you've ever hated someone, as much as called them a fool, then Jesus says you are a murderer at heart. This is not psychoanalyzing you. These are God's words revealed to us in Scripture. Therefore, if you are honest with yourself, you are a lying thief, a blasphemer, an adulterer at heart and a murderer at heart. If you died today and God judged you by His perfect standard of good, and He will, you would be found guilty, which means you would go to hell.
Anonymous, you must recognize this in yourself. God says there is none righteous, not one. That is, except His perfect Son Jesus Christ. He is the only person to ever walk the face of this earth having lived a perfectly righteous life. We, on the other hand, have all broken the laws of God, which means we have all sinned against God. We are an offense to His holiness...
...The consequences of our sin, therefore, is death and eternity in hell. But because God is rich in mercy, He has provided a way for you to escape the penalty of your sin. He has provided you a way to escape His own wrath, which is everlasting torment in the lake of fire. Because of His love and mercy, He sent His Son to die on a bloody cross. Because crimes must be punished in order for justice to be fulfilled, God poured out His wrath on His own Son, so that all who would believe in the Lord Jesus Christ would be saved from the consequence of their own sin. What Jesus did was this: He paid a debt He did not owe, because we have a debt we cannot pay.
You cannot earn your way to heaven, Anonymous. God considers your "good deeds" as filthy rags. The only way you will ever enter the presence of His goodness is by the covering of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. What He demands of you is to repent from your sin, repent from your self-righteousness, repent from you filthy rags, and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for your salvation. You must forsake your own will, your own control, and your own ambitions and lay them at the feet of the cross, thus giving God all of the control for your life. You must submit to His will, and surrender to the rule and reign of Jesus Christ in your life. Jesus said, if you do not forsake all you cannot be His disciple...
...So Anonymous, you can continue to worship the god you have created in your own image, which will certainly lead you to death, or you can submit your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, who will then cover you with the grace and mercy of almighty God, and you will be forever sealed and redeemed by the Holy Spirit, guaranteeing you as a co-heir with Christ to rule by His side for all eternity.
I believe pride is the most tragic sin. It is the very thing that caused Adam and Eve to first sin, and it is the very thing that keeps people from humbling themselves before God so that He can lift them up.
You must repent and believe the Gospel, Anonymous. You must read the Word of God, and obey it. Cry out to God for Him to reveal this to you, for He promises to reward those who diligently seek Him, and He also promises that all who come to Him, He will in no way cast out.
Our meeting was no coincidence, Anonymous. Today is the day of salvation. Do not harden your heart in rebellion against God. Listen to His words, turn to Him, and be healed. It's the only option you have for eternal life.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. - John 14:6
If you have about 10 minutes, please watch this: http://vodpod.com/watch/2625839-it-will-cost-you-everything-steve-lawson...
Once again.....more religious gobbly goop. This is fine for you if this is what you feel and think is correct as to the way "you" perceive it. But this is how you perceive it only. You have no "substantial proof" that the way "you" perceive this is correct now do you? Only what you have in your own belief. Which takes me back to what I said before....it is up to everyone to read it and come to their own conclusion. Unless an author of a book tells you exactly what he was envisioning in their writings, then it is completely left up to the imagination of the reader to draw their own conclusion of the story which may or may not be the same as that which the author intended. The way I feel about it is that there is no priest, reverend, minister, whatever that has the absolute truth and correct perception of the Bible and the writings within. Nobody in our world today can prove that God himself told them one on one what every passage in the Bible is about. It is left for one person to perceive and relay it to the people of the church in the way that he perceives it to be.....who ever said he/she knew what they were talking about? So at the end of it all, you end up with one church preaching one version, another church preaching another version, and so on, and so on. To me, it sounds like religion is the one confused. If you perceive things the way you stated, well that is your perception of it....and that is all. But your way of perceiving it is certainly not proven to be right!
Now frankly, I have much better things to do with my life than continue a pissing match with about the way you perceive your religion to be. I got my beliefs, and unless you have substantial concrete evidence to back your claims up, then there is nothing else to discuss. I am all for the Bible thumping if that is what makes you feel good and gives you some sort of confidence about yourself, but it is not for me. I live my life my way and I believe in things a lot differently than you, there is no reason to sit here and try and preach to one another. So good luck, farewell....peace out!
Anonymous, what is your definition of truth?
This man does not even have one idea based on facts. We all go into the altered state of hypnosis all the time every day. Like when we are driving down the freeway and we zone out: that's hypnosis. We are not under any one's control at that time and we still know what we want and what we believe - all that happens is we stop being logical. So if someone tells us something we want to believe (it's abreacted otherwise), instead of logically rejecting it, it just goes into our subcounscious mind and becomes a part of who we are. This guy is an alarmist who's lack of knowledge. This desire to sound the alarm will cause untold people to hold a belief that will deny them the ability to use this powerful gift. It's the only one where we really do have power. We don't give it up. Don't listen to him. I was tortured my entire childhood and carried all those traumas my whole life. When I finally found hypnotherapy and did some inner child work, for 3 days all those traumas vented out until I was free. And I was a completely different person afterward. Gone are the 10-12 hours of sleep at night and a nap in the afternoon. My body doesn't need me to sleep in order to try to vent those traumas any more. They've been vented and now I rarely need 8 hours sleep with no nap. I quit smoking in one hour. I learned to love myself. I now eat right and exercise. Through hypnosis I get to choose who I am. Do not listen to this man. He does not know what he is talking about!
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