A Book called Wholly Jesus

I was recently given a book called Wholly Jesus, written by someone named Mark Foreman. As I opened it up and browsed through its pages, alarm bells immediately began to ring. First of all, I noticed that in this book he quotes contemplative authors, like Dallas Willard and Morton Kelsey, the Episcopalian priest who said "You can find most of the New Age practices in the depth of Christianity.... I believe that the Holy One lives in every soul”(1). I also noticed that the author favorably quotes the 16th century Spanish mystic St. Teresa of Avila (for more about her, see Castles in the Sand). As I read more, I was quite surprised to see that, just like Sue Monk Kidd (2), Mr. Foreman thinks it’s okay to use the Hindu greeting Namaste (“I honor the god in you”) to others in recognition that they are made in the image of God.

But I suppose it's no wonder Mark Foreman is leaning towards contemplatives and mystics, because I also discovered he is an associate professor of spiritual formation at Bethel Seminary in San Diego. This seminary teaches practicing the presence of God, centering prayer, body prayer, and Lectio Divina.

Another thing that caught my eye as I skimmed through Wholly Jesus rang another warning bell. The introduction is written by Gabe Lyons, founder of the emerging Fermi Project. This is basically an ‘experiment’ in shifting the consciousness of the church by finding the good in our culture in order to reshape it through global awareness and environmentally sustainable practices.

Mr. Foreman's sons may be in the popular Christian band, Switchfoot, as noted on the front cover (they wrote the forewords), and this book may have lots of things written in it that sound very good, but so far, too many little warning bells indicate that this book probably belongs on my research shelf beside Foster and Nouwen, until further notice.

End Notes:
(1) A Time of Departing
(2) A Time of Departing

*Update October 17/09:

To see the contemplative leanings and promotions of this author's church click here. (Note: the author is also the pastor of this church.)