Spiritual Formation Creeping into the SDA Church?

[Daryl Fawcett]

As I couldn't find a previous thread on this in the General Discussion area, I am wondering if anybody here is aware of the fact that Spiritual Formation is creeping into the SDA Church?

[Murcielago]

As I couldn't find a previous thread on this in the General Discussion area, I am wondering if anybody here is aware of the fact that Spiritual Formation is creeping into the SDA Church?

What does that mean? I am not familiar with the term.

[Artiste]

As I couldn't find a previous thread on this in the General Discussion area, I am wondering if anybody here is aware of the fact that Spiritual Formation is creeping into the SDA Church?

Yes, I have seen quite a lot of discussion about it.  I believe the GC has put out some warnings against it.

[Daryl Fawcett]

ASI is definitely issuing warnings against it in the form of a copy of a book and the August 2012 issue of the Ministry Magazine.

Googling the words "Spiritual Formation" should bring up a lot of information.

[Daryl Fawcett]

I started a thread on this over at the Maritime forum on April 27, 2009.

It is presently 37 pages long over there.

I will try and share some things that were posted there over here.

[Daryl Fawcett]

Googling the words "Adventist Spiritual formation" will probably still result in interesting information.

[Artiste]

Thanks, Daryl, I just tried googling it.

I noticed some information about it from a Baptist seminarian who complained that he had to sit next to a class on Spiritual Formation, and they were spending their time chanting and studying the work of some Roman Catholic mystic, who he said was know to have homosexual tendencies.

[Daryl Fawcett]

Somebody posted this over at Maritime just over three years ago:

I found this interesting definition of spiritual formation:
"A perfectly legitimate, NT concept that has been artfully purloined to mean something very foreign to what the Protestant church has meant since the Reformation. As used in Emerging Movements, it refers to many modalities that are derived from Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. The key thought is that "God" resides in everyone and that "He" can be found in visualization as one sinks into the "silence" in contemplative meditation/prayers."

[Artiste]

Somebody posted this over at Maritime just over three years ago:

I found this interesting definition of spiritual formation:
"A perfectly legitimate, NT concept that has been artfully purloined to mean something very foreign to what the Protestant church has meant since the Reformation. As used in Emerging Movements, it refers to many modalities that are derived from Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. The key thought is that "God" resides in everyone and that "He" can be found in visualization as one sinks into the "silence" in contemplative meditation/prayers."

It sounds like typical mysticism...maybe a variation on the "Om Mantra".

[Daryl Fawcett]

Dr. Derek Morris was once deep into this about 20 some years ago, but discovered that this was a wrong path to be on and left that path, however, Dr. Jon Dybdahl has a book out that was in our ABC stores. The name of the book is "Hunger."

Here is a link to a critique of this book by one of our pastors. His name and email address is in this critique at the following link:

http://sdaomega.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/hunger-critique.pdf

[Johann]

As I couldn't find a previous thread on this in the General Discussion area, I am wondering if anybody here is aware of the fact that Spiritual Formation is creeping into the SDA Church?

I have heard about it in the Walla Walla area, but that was a few years ago.

[Artiste]

Dr. Derek Morris was once deep into this about 20 some years ago, but discovered that this was a wrong path to be on and left that path, however, Dr. Jon Dybdahl has a book out that was in our ABC stores. The name of the book is "Hunger."

Here is a link to a critique of this book by one of our pastors. His name and email address is in this critique at the following link:

http://sdaomega.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/hunger-critique.pdf

Jon Dybdahl having been a childhood friend of mine, I was curious as to whether he was involved in the subject.

[Daryl Fawcett]

Dr. Jon Dybdahl is a former president of WWU.

[Daryl Fawcett]

And yes, Dr. Jon Dybdahl was and may still be deeply involved in Spiritual Formation.

[Artiste]

Dr. Jon Dybdahl is a former president of WWU.

I saw him last year at Loma Linda...have to say that the subject of Spiritual Formation didn't come up.