Dear Dr. Dybdahl, You Most Likely Won't Know Who I Am So Let Me Introduce Myself to You

May 29, 2008

Dear Dr. Dybdahl,
You most likely won't know who I am so let me introduce myself to you. I am a Seventh-day Adventist pastor of two country churches here in southern Oregon. I was one of the founders of The Lord Our Righteousness movement that has been in the news lately (Wayne Bent's cult in New Mexico). My story is written out in a book Pacific Press published entitled Dark Light – the John Witcombe story.
In recent letters to Wayne Bent I am appealing to him to see how it was that he became so deeply immersed into New Age spiritualism.

I know these folk who are with him. I am largely responsible for bringing many of them out of the SDA Church and into this cult they are now in. Because of my involvement in these things I am perhaps more sensitive to things of a spiritualistic nature than I would be had I not had this experience. Recently, I saw the spiritualistic dangers of CranioSacral Therapy that some of my members in East Wenatchee were getting involved with and raised a note of caution. Because of the mystic overtones of the Spiritual Formation movement of the Emergent Church, I have over the past few years been gathering information on the impact of this movement on the SDA Church.
In my research on this topic of Spiritual Formation, I found your book relating to this issue in our ABC. I surely identify with your title, Hunger. Whether they know it or not, the whole world hungers for a close, personal relationship with God. Indeed, the increasing addictions of the world reveal false attempts to fill this hunger.

And though true of the world, it is peculiarly true of Seventh-day Adventists. Many of our people seek escape from our Laodicean condition, but in vain. As world conditions become ever more serious and as 1844 recedes ever further into a rather remote past, there is a growing sense of urgency for a vital, dynamic relationship with God that will prepare us for completion of His work in our hearts and in the world.
This is as it should be and it is well that we take advantage of this to lead our people into the intimate relationships that alone will prepare us to proclaim the loud cry in latter rain power. Yet, we must bear in mind the warnings accompanying Christ's response to His disciples' question, "what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?" His first words were, "Take heed that no man deceive you" (Mt 24:3-4).

I am concerned that the enemy is, by this very hunger to know God personally, seeking to blindfold and lead us, along with the world, into the final great deception that Jesus declared would, if possible, deceive the very elect.

As I thoughtfully read your book, I became somewhat uncomfortable with how it might impact your readers. In your attempt to provide help to our people, you may be unwittingly preparing them to become involved in the great counterfeit reformation that we have been told will precede the true revival and reformation. Spiritual Formation seems to be but one prong of a vast counterfeit system now being orchestrated to unite the whole world, not under Christ and His Spirit, but under His arch foe.

I am attaching a draft of a review I am putting together on the subject of Spiritual Formation.

I believe we share the same desire to see our people transformed by a personal relationship with Christ and that, if my views are valid, you would want to know the evidence I have found that indicts the Spiritual Formation movement.
Perhaps you have expected some in the church to take exception to your teaching; as any new idea is bound to be objected to by some. And often opposition is based on a narrow view and reading invalid conclusions into expressions. Because of my unique background and experience I may be more cognizant of these spiritualistic deceptions than the average person. I have spent several years considering these issues we are addressing and so I ask you to please read my review through thoughtfully and prayerfully. I will appreciate your thoughts on this including, if you have time, a critique of my attachedpaper.

Sincerely,

John Witcombe

June 2, 2008

Dear Pastor Witcombe,

I have received your letter and read your article. I also do not want people deceived by the new age movement and spiritualism. As I was preparing to respond to your material, I was given a first hand report about what had already been said publicly by you about my book. Because of that I do not feel it is proper for me to respond in writing, but am willing to talk personally with you on these matters. Let me know how that might happen.

May God help us resolve this in a way that gives Him glory.

Sincerely,

Jon Dybdahl

June 3, 2008

Dear Dr. Dybdahl,

Thank you for responding to my letter and your willingness to verbally dialog on the issues I bring up in my paper. I can see your heart in what you wrote. You do not want our members to be deceived and you desire to work through our differences in a way that gives glory to God. I too want that. I do see a weakness in myself in not wanting to personally confront people; however, it is my Christian duty to seek you out as a fellow church member and to communicate my concerns. Will you forgive me for not speaking to you sooner? I’ve known of your interest and involvement in Spiritual Formation for several years and I should have made contact with you long before now.

Having read your book, it was my belief that I was not bringing to your attention anything new that you had not already considered. I don’t believe there is any thing I can say that will adequately convey the concern I have over what you are bringing out in your book. I would just be repeating myself to tell you that I believe we are grasping the hand of spiritualism as was prophesied in GC 588 by accepting the spiritual disciplines as taught by the authors you recommend reading.

I have embraced deception and was instrumental in leading many astray. I sense how vulnerable I am to the sophistries of the enemy. I feel so out of place in calling you to turn away from this danger that you feel so passionately about. In your book you tell of the hunger you had, a lack you felt, and that you found in the writings Henri Nouwen that which transformed you. And so for me to speak against this, you must certainly find me - I don’t even know the word to use.

I found what you were looking for at 18 years of age when I too was unhappy with my Christianity. I was a freshman there at Walla Walla College and someone had the courage to tell me that what I had was not Christianity but a deception of the enemy. I could have resisted this person but God gave me grace to humble myself and agree that the reason my religious life was barren was because I was lost and needed to be born again. My life did change from that moment. I did find in Christ that which satisfied my soul.

If this dear person, who had the courage to tell me that I was not experiencing Christianity, though raised a Seventh-day Adventist, if this person had instead presented to me the spiritual disciplines of Spiritual Formation, being vulnerable, I could have embraced this. It would have no doubt satisfied my longing; but it would have been the enemy coming in garments of light to deceive me with a substitute experience.

My heart goes out to you and all those who are finding spirituality through this masterful deception that we were warned would come in the last days.

I would welcome your phone call. My number is 541-472-9443. I am usually home in the mornings but can arrange my schedule to accommodate yours.

Sincerely,

John Witcombe

(Dr Dybdahl called twice and we talked for 93 minutes the first time and 47 minutes the second time)

July 3, 2008

Dr. Dybdahl,

I was wondering if you would comment on what you wrote on page 52 of your book:

"A good example of a short prayer is the Jesus prayer. Popular in the Russian Orthodox tradition, it has spread widely in Christendom through the book The Way of a Pilgrim. The prayer is biblically based (see Luke 18:38) and says simply: 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' You can shorten it even more in various ways, such as 'Jesus, have mercy on me' or 'Have mercy on me.' The Orthodox tradition repeats the prayer, either out loud or in the heart, many, many times until eventually it moves from the head to be the constant melody of the heart, influencing all areas of life. Francis of Assisi reputedly prayed all night saying just 'Jesus, my Jesus.'"
I read from the book "The Way of a Pilgrim" the part about the Jesus prayer. You can read it here:
From my understanding of the Jesus Prayer it seems that this multiplied repetition of the name of Jesus would violate reverence to God. "Even in prayer its frequent or needless repetition should be avoided. 'Holy and reverend is His name.' Psalm 111:9. Angels, as they speak it, veil their faces. With what reverence should we, who are fallen and sinful, take it upon your lips!" Education, p. 243

From my investigation it appears that the Jesus Prayer as taught by "The Way of a Pilgrim" is comparable to the practice of dhikr (Muslims), nembutsu (Buddhists) and Japa (Hindus) and was used by the Hesychast as a means of self-hypnosis to achieve a mystical meditative state.

How do you see the Jesus Prayer being different from these pagan religious activities and thus a safe Christian practice that does not violate reverence to the name of God?

Thanks,

John

July 3, 2008

Dear John,

In brief response to your questions about the "Jesus Prayer" I suggest the following.

The first question has to do with repetition. I agree that we should not utter God's name without reverence or needlessly. The repetition referred to in your quote is trite and needlessly repetitive. The practice I suggest utters the name of Jesus with deep reverence and feeling like a child calling out in the night "mommy" over and over. I have a hard time seeing that as meaningless unless it is done thoughtlessly or with the belief that mere repetition is valuable. Jesus is our friend and delights to have his friends or children call out to him from their heart. Please note also that I specifically suggest this type of prayer for people who are sick, grief-stricken or in a special situation where it is hard to focus the mind on God in the midst of pain. This is by no means the only way one is to pray. It is in fact an option not a requirement. If it is not helpful forget it.

The second question has to do with the use of something similar by other religions. Again you need to be careful here. Your argument is like saying we shouldn't meet in a building and sing songs because Buddhists do it. Your own quote states clearly that the "Jesus Prayer" is a blanket covering many practices. Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus would not use the name of Jesus. Buddhists and Hindus would not be addressing a personal God in what they do. They would see their practice as a means of using a mantra or special words that have a magical power. What I suggest is a reaching out to Jesus who is a personal God and asking for his presence and using this to fix my mind on Him. This is a way to help me pray without ceasing as the Bible suggests we do. This is a world of difference. No Buddhist or Hindu or Muslim would want to use what I suggest and I would not want to use what they use. To me the difference is quite striking and obvious.

Again, it seems to me that you are focusing on labels and specific practices rather than broad concepts of truth. My whole belief system and world view is radically different from Eastern Religions and it affects everything I do.

Thanks for your question. May God guide you in your study.

Jon

July 4, 2008

Dear Dr. Dybdahl,

Thank you for your response to my letter. As I am currently reading about the life of Enoch I am reminded of just how much more is available in experiencing an intimate connection with God. Enoch’s face glowed; it radiated light as did Moses’ face when he talked to God. I, along with you, want what Enoch had. The burden I see you have to help our members draw closer to God encourages me to also seek after God.

You earlier told me that you wish you had not included in your book breath prayer, lectio divina and the list of authors recommended at the end of your book. I felt confident that, considering the matter further, in light of what I shared, you would also see thatthe Jesus Prayerwas not the path to a closer walk with God. My comments to your response are interspersed below:

Dear John,
In brief response to your questions about the “Jesus Prayer” I suggest the following.

That is indeed a good analogy of our cries to Jesus. But unless the mother has died or is nowhere present, the mother would indeed most certainly respond to a very few calls. Does Jesus do less?

I have a hard time seeing that as meaningless unless it is done thoughtlessly or with the belief that mere repetition is valuable.

If we believe that the “Jesus prayer” is actually addressing Jesus, do the repetitions not imply that He will be more readily encounteredbecause of these repetitions?

Jesus is our friend and delights to have his friends or children call out to him from their heart.

Indeed. And does He not delight in hearing the faintest cry? Or does achieving intimacy with God require multiplied repetitions such as the Jesus Prayer teaches?

Please note also that I specifically suggest this type of prayer for people who are sick, grief-stricken or in a special situation where it is hard to focus the mind on God in the midst of pain.

I can understand how this would have a numbing effect on the grief and/or pain. But is not Christian prayer communing with God as with a friend? How does constant repetition of a word or phrase reflect or facilitate a pattern of talking with Him and listening to His response?

This is by no means the only way one is to pray. It is in fact an option not a requirement. If it is not helpful forget it.

As a pastor, I am concerned with helping people understand what God is really like -- seeing that He has been so badly misrepresented by Satan through various agencies in this world. And it troubles me that this practice makes it appear that Jesus must be persuaded to allow us todraw near by many repetitions. It also troubles me to consider that earnest seekers will regard the altered state of consciousness resulting from this type of repetition as some kind of encounter with God.
Prayer, we are told,is talking with God as with a friend. We can naturally and easily lift our thoughts to Him in prayer any time during the day and during any sort of activity. And He hears. He also responds by suggesting thoughts to our minds -- whether it is in the street, the workplace, the supermarket or the home. The teaching of the "Jesus Prayer" and "breath prayer" are so foreign to the kind of prayer we find in Scripture and Spirit of Prophecy that I would have a difficult time integrating them into my belief system. And as a pastor, I am concerned with what concepts about God these may suggest to those who practice this kind of prayer.

But how can the method of addressing an impersonal God be adequate to commune with a personal God?Indeed, because we do address a personal God, the same practices do seem rather unsuitable. I would be most distressed if my own daughter would sit in front of me and simply repeat, “Daddy, save me” with each breath -- especially if she, in an altered state of consciousness, became completely unaware of my being present with her, as happens in such focused repetition, according to many testimonies.

They would see their practice as a means of using a mantra or special words that have a magical power. What I suggest is a reaching out to Jesus who is a personal God and asking for his presence and using this to fix my mind on Him.

What is personal about repetition?Does reaching out to Jesus who is a personal God require such repetition? If so, what does that say about Him?
As for focusing the mind, that does seem to make sense. However, the testimonies ofmany who promote this kind of prayerindicate that the repetition makes the actual words unimportant because the repetitions result in an “emptying” of the mind. (Indeed, many practitioners explicitly state that as its purpose.) If the mind is “empty,” is it really focused on Jesus?