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WHEN TRADITION BECOMES A PRISON (PART I)

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“ When Error Becomes Tradition ” By Akin Ojumu Ralph Waldo Emerson probably did not have Church folks in mind when, in his famous essay, Self-Reliance, he wrote: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds…” Emerson’s larger point concerned the folly of becoming enslaved to one’s previous opinions merely for the sake of appearing consistent. There is no virtue in stubbornly defending yesterday’s error after today’s evidence has exposed it. Yet few descriptions better capture the disposition of many contemporary church folks. When confronted with evidence that demolishes a long-held belief, rather than reconsider the belief, they double down on it. When sound biblical exegesis blows a cherished doctrine into smithereens, rather than abandon the doctrine, they barricade themselves behind tradition. They dig in their heels. They close their ears. They refuse to reconsider. And their final defense is often nothing more profound than: “That’s what we’ve always believed.” Or: “Th...
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A DISSECTION OF POJU OYEMADE’S TEACHING ON MEDITATION (PART III)

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“When Meditation Becomes Mental Programming” By Akin Ojumu In Part II, we examined several striking parallels between Poju Oyemade’s doctrine of meditation and the techniques associated with New Thought, Science of Mind, and related Mind Science systems. The similarities do not end with visualization and repeated confession. They extend to the treatment of sensory evidence, mental rehearsal, conditioning of consciousness, silence and relaxation, and even meditation as a means of accessing knowledge. And it is here that the contrast with biblical meditation becomes especially revealing. 6. Present Sensory Evidence Is Subordinated To Inner Consciousness Oyemade repeatedly teaches believers not to allow present circumstances to determine the mental picture they entertain. Instead, the believer is to replace the apparent condition with an inward image representing what he considers the spiritual truth of the situation. Once again, that has a close analogue in New Thought. Science of Mind r...
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A DISSECTION OF POJU OYEMADE’S TEACHING ON MEDITATION (PART II)

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“When “Biblical Meditation” Begins to Look Like Mind Science” By Akin Ojumu Meditation appears to be something of an obsession for Poju Oyemade. That fixation is best understood in light of his formative years under the influence of Olubi Johnson of Scripture Pasture—a preacher whose spirituality often bears more resemblance to transcendental metaphysics and Christianized mysticism than to historic biblical Christianity.  If Oyemade’s theology of meditation seems unusually mystical, the roots may well lie in the spiritual environment in which he was discipled. When Poju Oyemade’s teaching on meditation is placed side by side with New Thought, Science of Mind, and related Mind Science systems, some striking parallels begin to emerge—not merely in vocabulary, but in the actual mental mechanism being described. This does not mean that Oyemade uses precisely the same theological language as New Thought teachers. He does not. He speaks of God, Scripture, faith, prayer, revelation, and t...
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A DISSECTION OF POJU OYEMADE’S TEACHING ON MEDITATION (PART I)

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“Poju Oyemade Peeps and Mutters Like Spiritists and Wizards ” By Akin Ojumu Meditation is a subject near and dear to Poju Oyemade’s heart.  Over the years, he has devoted at least four distinct multi-part teaching series to the subject. The number becomes considerably larger when standalone sermons, conference messages, and other teachings on meditation are included. And he is still teaching it. Just this month, Oyemade commenced yet another series on meditation. This time, the focus is “The Practice of Meditation,” a series that presently contains at least two parts. What exactly does Poju Oyemade mean by meditation? That is the question this series will examine. MUTTERING UNTIL “LIGHT” BREAKS FORTH In a June 17, 2015 sermon titled “Unlocking the Power of Scriptures Through Meditation,” Oyemade taught that when God reveals the intended end of a matter, the believer should meditate on the relevant Scriptures and repeatedly “mutter” them until “light”—that is, insight or revelation—...
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THE MYTH OF THE THREE-COMPARTMENT CHRISTIAN (PART III)

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“The Spiritual Dangers of “Spirit Versus Soul” Theology” Watchman Nee’s rigid trichotomy system is fraught with serious problems—and those problems are far from merely academic. When this tripartite view of human nature is turned into a method of spiritual guidance, it can profoundly distort the way Christians think about reason, emotion, revelation, discernment, and obedience. The believer is taught to imagine the inner person as a three-storey spiritual building: 1. the body occupies the ground floor, 2. the soul lives somewhere in the middle, 3. and the spirit enjoys privileged access to the penthouse where God supposedly communicates directly. The soul becomes the suspicious department. The mind, emotions, personality, and will are all treated as potentially obstructive. The spirit, meanwhile, is presented as the superior internal faculty through which divine knowledge supposedly arrives. The result is a theology that encourages Christians to distrust their God-given faculties whil...
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