In Reply to: Re: "I did it my way"... posted by Farmer on February 03, 2010 at 13:08:50:
Farmer:
I checked, just to make sure, and, yes, I had already read that string, starting with MG's 01/05/10 post. I re-read it. Cool.
I enjoy reading your "bio"; too. You came to Christ in much the same way as I did, experiencing the purposeful deception of the spirits who were the source of false "illumination" both Jesus and Paul warned the world about in Scripture. But, if people choose cultural arrogance over the truth, only the consequences remain.
My current pastor (for over 30 years now, and he's my age, and I trust him--it took that long to earn my trust) began his search in his late teens, after not finding anything in the Catholic Church, just like I did, with Transcendental Meditation--a "Westernized" and cleaned up version of classical Hinduism.
The "Beatles guru" came to the West, failed and then got a degree in Marketing (in addition to his earlier Western degree in Physics), and then returned to the West with a repackaged version of classical Hinduism, and he pretended there were THOUSANDS of mantras--there were 16, and they were assigned according to age, and were the NAMES of "Devas", or "Devata" (Hindu).
These are/were, of course, demons, and chanting there names endlessly invoked/s their presence, and eventual total demonization of the devotee.
The other types of Yoga (5 other kinds) I personally experienced were even worse--darshan/satsang prostrate before various gurus (means "light AND darkness" in Sanskrit, by the way) mantras, tantras, yantras--they ALL invoked spirits; like it or not; folks.
Even the seemingly benign "asanas" of hatha ("physical") yoga "yoked" you (that's what yoga MEANS) to the public invocation of demons. "Assuming the position(s)" show God, His angels, the worl and all the demons whsoe side you are on, and whose wisodm you are seeking, just like in the Garden of Eden.
And, after a while, one sufficiently empowered by them could give demonstrations of their presence and recruit people, as I did, on the NTSU campus, in '70 and '71.
That is, until a real Christian rebuked the spirit out of me, and the power stopped--like the girl in the book of Acts.
In another recent post, you pointed out that:
"...it's not possible...IMO...to prove to people the existence of God...neither can the non-existence be proven to me or others...I am convinced, He reveals Himself, His way to people in His time...no man can come to Jesus, except he is drawn somehow by the father...in these ages...but may be one can prepare some ground, by showing the limitations of arguments, causing some "frustration", which is needed to yearn for
God....the "satisfied"...with their logic/arguments...He sends empty away".
I couldn't agree more. Imannuel Kant, Isaac Newton (who BOTH posited an infinite universe created by an infinite God, versus one with any kind of center, including a "Big Bang" one) and others took your point of view.
But the unavailabilty of sufficient data to disprove God's existence, the remarkable amount of data indicating intelligent design including the near-infinite complexity of RNA/DNA language complexity and Behe's "balck box" complexities, the existence of "Delta G" in any and every physical/chemical reaction (loss of energy and physical integrity) deos NOT make the atheists the "smaartest guy in the room" any more--they never were, actually--they were just filibustering and propagandizing, without proof or sound logic, much less actually provable solid science.
Anyway, "one plants, and oanother waters, but God gives the increase". And it usually NOT the "rush job" we considered "witnessing" in TF.
It's really BEING Jesus' witness, and He did nothing BUT what He literally "saw the Father doing". That's much easier, and more calmly and lvongly done; isn't it? :-)
OT2