The Sneaky Spirituality That’s Duping Christians Today

From Richard Rohr, Pete Holmes, Billy Carson, and Aaron Abke, Christian mysticism is very popular. But what exactly is Christian "mysticism"?
Mysticism can be challenging to define, but at its core, it's about seeking a personal, spiritual connection with the divine. Is this concept entirely unbiblical? After all, don't we all desire a personal relationship with God? The answer isn't as straightforward as it might seem. It's not that simple. In this video, I share an interview that I did with my friend Greg Hyde from ‪@thinkingtoinfinity‬ where we delve into this topic. (Also, keep your eye out for the very hard-to-miss...uh, creative... way he fixed some tech issues.)
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[@donjoseph73]

If your running after experiences. Beware there are tons of entities that will oblige you.

[@devout_disciple]

The end of the honeymoon phase, not feeling loved by God, issue really hits home for me. I'm just now getting out of the phase where I'm ok with not feeling or hearing from the Lord all the time. For a while, I really thought I was doing something wrong. Plus, with all the little tests he does to strengthen our faith, has really pushed my relationship with him in a direction that is more loving of him and less about what he is or isn't doing for me. I'm so glad you touched on this. I nievely thought I was alone in this section of my journey.

[@valor101arise]

@@devout_disciple oh I so relate! I went thru a very very hard season a few years ago after years of having miraculous encounters on a regular. And it all stopped. And I went thru major physical pain due to life circumstances... I truly wanted to die. I questioned all y decisions. Was I disobeying God??? I think the confusion is the worst part. not feeling like you're on solid ground. Dear friend, you ARE LOVED!!! this is the truth because He gave himself for you and He is able to make you stand. Much love. Don't give up 🥰

[@devout_disciple]

@valor101arise thank you for your kind words, and likewise, I hope the Lord blesses you in miraculous ways. As we know, the path won't be easy, but more and more I'm trusting in him that I will not be forgotten and that he's always with me... loving and providing what I need and not necessarily what I think I need. I still struggle with finding my place somewhere between a monastic lifestyle and complete backsliding. Lol. However, the Lord is providing me the comfort of his finished work. I know it in my mind... but sometimes, my heart doesn't always follow. Take care.

[@joshuatrott193]

We all go through phases of emotional highs and excitement, to the desert

[@Iheartthegoodshepard]

It’s also important that how God makes us feel is based on His word. Not our circumstances or thoughts or feelings. We gotta walk in faith, thats where the long lasting love and joy is. Not saying it’s easy but we gotta take our emotions off a pedestal. (Speaking to myself here) may the Lord bless u and keep u❤

[@ellenchappell1574]

The “technical difficulties”…😂😂Awesome. At the church I left behind, those experiences are what made you mature and very popular with the leaders. Questions and testing the spirits not allowed.

[@valor101arise]

@@ellenchappell1574 so glad you're out. Have you found a good community of believers?

[@Mel-ky9zs]

Wow that's so dangerous and scary to think they would lead people astray like that

[@therunninghomeschoolmom3080]

Loved how the technical difficulties were handled.....especially the hand puppet! I watched this while cooking dinner, and my daughter came in asking "mom...what are you watching....and why are you watching a video with hand puppets?!". 😂

[@Vincenzo-wn1or]

The early church fathers were mystics

[@Seraphina-o4y]

I have a family member who is very into esoteric knowledge. She refused to have conversations with me about the Bible because “there’s so much more than that.” Her motivation is having to know more than everyone else. Having to be the special one. And she’s in her seventies. It’s very hard to converse with people who get into this stuff.

[@Womb_to_Tomb_Apologetics]

That's very sad. 😢 I'll pray for y'all. 🙏

[@mratliff1277]

Pray for Holy Spirit’s intervention. That’s what it took for me and I still dawdled along the way back to Jesus in my late 60’s. He was faithful and led me back along the wide road I was on to the narrow path. Continue to pray for her.

[@paulasingletary9874]

@@mratliff1277same here. 😳

[@terrypaul7706]

@@Womb_to_Tomb_Apologetics😂 the lady is speaking the truth and you blind unbelievers mock that? She doesn’t want to talk to the commenter about scripture because she’s throwing Perl’s to the swine, she’s telling the truth to the liars 😂

[@Womb_to_Tomb_Apologetics]

@@terrypaul7706 The phrase "pearls before swine" comes from the Bible. Matthew 7:6. 🤦‍♂️ Maybe Scripture isn't as useless as you think. 👀 You claim we are blind and mock, but your accusations are vacuous without evidence to back them up. 🤷‍♂️

[@auntblingsgratefullife4480]

Great interview! I love how Gregory handled the Technical Difficulties near the end. Blessings!

[@TheCountofToulouse]

The 'charismatic' churches are POLLUTED with this garbage. It's beyond irritating. There was one old lady that would RUIN entire worship services, going into some trance, screaming in "tongues", hijacking the entire service. I felt LITERAL oppression, heaviness and a weight on my chest. I felt guilty because I was uncomfortable and it set me on a journey to understand what the HELL was going on. Get a load of this, I live in a COLD climate and even though it was the middle of the winter, there were HUGE flies in the church, they'd be flying all around during the service and NO one could figure out where they were coming from. I'm not talking about a 'few' flies, either, the floor was littered with them and church members had to vacuum them up before people started showing up. They pushed the 'passion translation', Joyce Meyer, Sid Roth and all sorts of other sketchy stuff. I had to leave that place, it all felt off. Then, after praying a LOT about it, I woke up one morning and kept hearing the word "Jeremiah" over and over and I felt like I was supposed to read that book. Sure enough, at chapter 23, I read the answer. GOD worked that out to dispel confusion and I still thank him for that.

[@sjking1111]

Wow! Flies?! That sounds like a plague almost. Wonder if it was a warning from God.

[@cierrarachael9949]

Sounds like there was a literal dead body in that church.

[@mratliff1277]

Yep, and Baal-Zebub is the Lord of the Flies. Creepy!

[@Kimberlymichelle71]

That sounds absolutely demonic. I know a lady who's had many years of supernatural (demonic) activity and she told me an experience with flies😱

[@cierrarachael9949]

Don't discount the very *practical* indications of a decaying corpse - or any issue for that matter - in awe of spiritual symbolism, people.

[@annwhite8699]

Zero to Mike Winger 😂😂 I’m dying! 😂😂

[@FriendlyEvangelist]

Hahah lol 😂😂😂

[@mamamia5130]

I’m not sure how long I was listening in the background before turning around and realizing i was listening to a puppet. Then I couldn’t stop watching the puppet and now my ADD self has to go back to the part before the puppet. 😂😂😂 So creative, though. Lol.

[@thelostfountain1678]

Edits? Nailed it!

[@dkingison]

The puppets!!! Totally laughed outloud!! I think I scared the cat! She ran outside! 🤣😂😆(Thanks for all the great info, guys!)

[@hannahdeforest9148]

Thank you both so much for covering this subject. This is such a prevalent serious issue in the church. I have personally experienced living under Christian mystic theology without it being called that. I fell into it for a while and it harmed my faith walk. So grateful God has taken me on a journey to show me the truth. I am still trying to sift through so much. Also, the technical issues edits were hilarious!! 😂😅

[@megalopolis2015]

This is the best editing for an apologetic conversation I've ever seen. It took so much effort to focus on the topics with all of the creative choices in front of my face. Kudos to Greg and Melissa for this amazing, educational and highly entertaining talk. I'm checking Greg's channel out, for sure. I hope Ruslan and Mike Winger see this. LOL. 😂🎉❤

[@reneeconstantino5635]

This was perfect timing. Our LORD GOD is awesome. Thank you.

[@Namunyak96]

Thoroughly enjoyed this interview Melissa & Gregory!

[@reconciledHRT]

Yes, I had watched the interview when it dropped. I was like "Why haven't I known this guy before?" And the minute I saw the tech-issue editing, I slammed that Subscribe! 😂😂

[@megalopolis2015]

That's precisely what I'll be doing. He won me over quickly. 😂

[@Namunyak96]

Me too 😂😂😂

[@rachael2085]

What a rich and entertaining conversation. 😂😂😂

[@Womb_to_Tomb_Apologetics]

Just found this guy recently. He's worth subscribing to.

[@valor101arise]

In that world, if youre not "running after God" you're backsliding.

[@rosslander96]

Dare I say, "run, rather than walk" to God all the time. Chase Him, follow Him, walk with Him, beside Him, or behind Him. There is no need to be scrupulous about your relationship with God.

[@valor101arise]

@rosslander96 running after God in that New Thought context is not walking after Jesus. It's chasing an experience at conferences, hard core fasting,seeking visions and words and emotional experiences in energetic emotional worship....its beyond

[@rosslander96]

@@valor101arise well yeah, duh. What I'm saying is that there are mystical experiences that people can experience, but the nature of these experiences are revealed by their fruits; like do these experiences encourage virtue, or are they used as a tool to grow in stature, power, and knowledge? Blatant examples of mystical experiences that are from God are written explicitly in the scriptures, as well as mystical experiences that lead to destruction. It seems like it's based entirely on intention, rather than practice.

[@lisaking9056]

Faith 🙏✝️🙏✝️🙏✝️

[@lisaking9056]

Seek and ye shall find 🙏

[@dananema2074]

"wiggity wacked"made a couple of appearances! One of my new favorite words! Great interview Melissa! Looking forward to getting your new book and doing a deep dive!

[@Namunyak96]

😂 yes! I'm hijacking wiggity wack too 😂

[@FirstLast-rb4jv]

Great job on the video edit Greg!!! Thank-you Melissa for another great conversation/discussion!!!😊

[@lillyhyden3125]

Love this video ❤ so helpful .....and the editing was top notch lol😂

[@josephschiavone402]

Love you Guy's. Excellent discussion. So when your talking about Bethel, the 7 Mountain, and 5 fold min. What blows my mind is, and I've heard Johnson and Simmons speak, they claim to be giving you a new spiritual freedom, setting you free, yet what they really are doing is putting a heavy yoke on you. You have to achieve all these understandings. You have to achieve these 7 levels of glory etc. So while their telling you these things will bring you freedom, they are making the freedom by works !

[@cathyfourie3323]

So much to think about and take to heart. Technical difficulties have never been so awesome.❤😅❤

[@davidpaul9961]

51:12 I almost choked when the puppet appeared 😂

[@lungilezwane2501]

😂Struggling to focus on what he is saying😅

[@moirarussell1950]

@55:ish .. the many faces of GP 😂

[@MelissaDougherty]

When he showed that to me the first time, I absolutely lost it 😂

[@kurtnlisalewis]

Oh my goodness this guy is a brilliant editor! And his comparison at minuet 9 was excellent

[@AliciaGarciaWeb]

I recently did a full deep-dive into my ancestry (mother's side only, as she never told me who my father is). Anyway, I was super disheartened and depressed to see that over half of my family line were FreeMasons and Order of the Eastern Star/ Order of the Amaranth (going back to the time that they came to this country.) Almost all were Methodists as well (coincidence?). So yeah, feeling like I am descended from witches and warlocks right now. My son says, "Maybe you can be the one who breaks the generational curse?" I am such a pathetic sinner, and I feel little hope that GOD has chosen me(of all people) to be the potential redemptive arc in this story. Even more so, because I didn't become a Christian until I was in my 40s, so I am engaged in ecclesiastical catch-up, and am behind real Christians who came out the gate early on in their lives. Please pray that GOD's will be done in my life (however that plays out for me personally)--Thanks🙏

[@wendyw908]

I hope this encourages you: God says specifically in the Bible that He will not charge the son for the father's sins, and vice versa. Remember, you can't do anything in your own strength. Rather, you can do ALL things through CHRIST who strengthens you." Phil. 4:13. Chin up, my dear! Nothing is impossible with God!

[@wendyw908]

and yes, your son is 100% correct. You can be the one to break the generational curse. :)

[@mrscho]

Dear one. If you have placed your faith in the Jesus Christ of the Bible then you are a REAL Christian. Not because of anything you can do, have done, or will do but because of what Christ has done. It makes no difference who your earthly fathers were. It matters only whether you have been adopted by our perfect Heavenly Father. Look to Christ and find rest in your soul. His blood is enough. His payment was in full. No amount of Free Masonry in your ancestry can keep you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.

[@Lasuth82]

This video was great! Not only informative but made me laugh. Great editing!

[@thinkingtoinfinity]

Thanks so much for posting to this to your channel as well, and for your super cool rad awesome incredibleness. 🙏🏻

[@Namunyak96]

Excellent interview sir! Enjoyed it!

[@eastofmars6413]

Really thought I was having some sort of Deja vu while listening for the first 10 minutes. I had no idea what the technical difficulties were and got fairly confused because I was sure I heard this conversation before. Glad I got a little confused and you guys just talked me out of it. Plus I went to thinking to infinity to double check that I did see it before.

[@cherimagdelan9252]

His edit is fantastic. 😂

[@TruthAboveAll08]

Just STOP IT Melissa! You keep adding more channels to my sub list!! JK...God bless you for adding such helpful information of the dangers in the CHURCH in America in these times.

[@sarasegura7577]

Great conversation and information, great insights and resources, EXCELLENT editing!!!

[@rosslander96]

37:00 there are some extremely blatant references of mystical practices that are not condemned as demonic or even discouraged. When prophets have visions or biblical characters experience extraordinary miracles as a result of worship and prayer we can absolutely affirm that mysticism is part of Christianity, but not all mysticism is good. You can know the nature of mystical experiences by their fruits; do they encourage virtue? Do they bring people closer to God? Do they heal the soul? Do they reverberate divine truth? Those who claim to be Christian but deny that mystical experiences are possible are living a lie... and those who use mystical experiences to grow in stature or power or knowledge are leading down a bad path.

[@byrondickens]

Absolutely. The prophetic and revelatory visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel through Paul on his way to Damascus and John on the island of Patmos didn't come out of a vacuum.

[@bethtaylor9773]

Loooove the editing!! Puppet was great!

[@April-dt8pp]

I'm so glad to hear other parents taking their kids out individually 😊 I always did that with MY kids. Their dad never understood, but he was an only child so he always had both parents to himself

[@fromkaywithlove]

Thank you for this❤️ I appreciated this conversation

[@kathrynbush4038]

Good information. Also- hilarious editing!

[@suzannecarroll2388]

Great fun discussion

[@masteringfibromyalgia]

Love the puppet!😂

[@barbaragommerman9180]

This was great. I loved the puppet.

[@OldeSchoolGirl]

Subscribed after much prayer. My Lord is Jesus. The Son of God. He’s real. He is who He says He is. Thank you Melissa.

[@noself7889]

I agree, I have been a mystic for twenty years until recently I had a feeling I needed to stop my Buddhist and Taoist mysticism and return to Jesus. I am not a trinitarian nor will I ever be. I worship the father, through the son.

[@FriendlyEvangelist]

Wow that's great. Please repent from all of this demonic stuff and surrender your life to Jesus. He will hear you and HEAL YOU! Jesus love is way better than Taoism

[@noself7889]

@ 👍🙏

[@shannelmariano]

I love this edit so much!! lol 😂❤

[@tonyastairs8133]

This was so good. Thank you, Melissa & Gregory. I needed to hear this, helped me so much. Melissa, I really like true crime also, I like to see how they piece together the evidence and catch the bad guys, it is amazing how they do it. I stopped watching though bc I thought I was sinning by watching "bad" stuff. Maybe not though. I got into legalism bad for a while and was afraid everything I did may be grieving God or just not being a good Christian. Thank you both again for this episode!

[@LouisaWatt]

The seeker church I belonged to was busy pushing “spiritual formation” in small groups instead of bible studies. It was very works-based with a hefty side of mysticism.

[@darylgiffin3235]

Great discussion guys. So beneficial. Thank you. God bless.

[@rosslander96]

35:20 i would say that you cannot separate Christianity from mysticism, but there is mysticism that leads to heresy.

[@brooked2046]

Don't put God in a box, true, but don't take it outside the Bible either! Nothing we NEED is outside His word.

[@rosslander96]

Except for specific doctrine that makes or breaks the title of Christian like Trinitarian doctrines or ancient creeds (Apostle/Nicene) - which are not explicitly in the Bible. How else did heresies like Arianism get a massive following? Because there were Arian bishops who used scripture to prove their heretical teaching.

[@mbb--]

When you say "nothing we need is outside His word" you are coming really close to saying the Bible is God.

[@brooked2046]

​@mbb-- absolutely not, He gave us the Bible as His word and what more do we really need?

[@rosslander96]

@@brooked2046 it's far more than you and your Bible under a tree. The biggest heresies in Christiandom occurred because of that very mindset: "nobody can tell me how to live a life of faith and morals because my interpretation of Scripture is not only correct but infallibly protected by the Holy Spirit". In case you didn't know, Christ left us a Church before he ascended to be at the right hand of the Father.. not a rule book.

[@mbb--]

@@brooked2046 You need Him.

[@racqfitness7028]

The sad thing is I've been in churches where this is how new converts/ believers are discipled. Emotions, and all the things... there are plenty of times that I am in worship, and I'm just worshipping... I'm not warm, not fuzzy, just building a relationship with a sovereign God. What in the world has happened? It's not God if you're not quickening, speaking in tongues, etc.? 🤦🏾‍♀️

[@doommetaldarryl6689]

I'm listening while doing other things. I happened to look at the screen. The puppet made me question reality. Then I couldn't look away lol

[@johnmckinney8512]

I just wanted to tell you I don’t know what it is about you I think you are just so beautiful ❤❤. It’s so refreshing to hear you speak truth and to help teach others about Jesus . I envy your boldness to speak out and to be so intelligent to start your own channel to spread the Gospel. I personally thank you . Keep being your true self and speaking truth in an evil world. By the way did I tell you how Beautiful and Gorgeous you are 😉💕‼️

[@tinaw6111]

Oh, and these pastors now feel so enlightened, refreshed and alive that they are leading their congregations that way. It is pervasive here in fly-over country.

[@vaekkriinhart4347]

Coincidentally, 2 JWs just knocked on my door. Ugh. I didn't answer.

[@FriendlyEvangelist]

Oh boy I meet A LOT OF JWs in my evangelism outreaches ! They're everywhere where sports events are haha. I always challenge them to study their own cultist history and read the Bible which says Jesus WAS ALWAYS GOD.

[@jazminforbes209]

This sounds like the charismatic movement

[@Window4503]

It’s a Venn diagram with a large middle

[@k.popper2620]

Completely

[@ZachByrd-qj5qz]

“Dont put God in a box!” To which I reply “Well you’re putting him into a circus!”

[@Gerald-said]

26:59 1 kings 19: 11-13, God is peaceful and constantly speaking to us if we listen to God.

[@dorothyross9392]

I have had mystical experiences. There have been some powerful and wonderful Christian mystics. Read church history. I had powerful experiences then tried to find if other people were having these kinds of experiences. I love Jesus. I talk to him and sometimes he talks back.

[@garyrodriguez8414]

Stating at a condo on the beach there was a book to be shared of Catholic mystics, St. JOHN OF THE Cross, Teresa of Avilla and many more contained some interesting stories of their experiences with their faith in Christ. But one does not base one's life on experiences but on scripture, so discernment must be employed not to get off track.

[@devonm6187]

@@garyrodriguez8414 and yet scripture is full of mystical experiences with God. Having mystical experiences is totally biblical

[@acaseoffamily5248]

Amazing editing 😂😂😂

[@BECOMINGaMANofGod]

I really appreciate your balanced and insightful approach to all of this. Jesus says that we will recognize his voice so we know that he wants to communicate with us, but you are helping me clearly delineate how people get off the path by seeking these things. Or at least seeking the dopamine rush of these things.

[@midimusicforever]

Gotta be watchful!

[@evanbasnaw]

51:00 I can't keep it together. I'm trying to listen during work 😂

[@thetruedaoster8863]

51:12 AAAAGH!!! Gregory the Puppet wearing an Uncle Roger orange polo shirt!?!?!?

[@Honeybadger7]

Thank you for talking about this subject. It definitely is easy to fall into seeking an experience than seeking a relationship. And the trap is you think you are having a relationship because of the experience. Melissa would you please do a review on these two books. One is called "The Spiritual Guide" by Michael Molinos and the other is Jeanne Guyon Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ. Both Molinos and Guyon were contemporaries of the 1600's. The way they expressed experiencing God was to seek for Him for who He is not for what you could get from Him. Even though they never called themselves mystics they are regarded as mystics. I was wondering if you could review those books to if you would consider these to be actually true Christian Mystics. Thank you.

[@Priscilla_Bettis]

This was really interesting. Thanks to both of you ... or both of you plus puppet, LOL!

[@jojow8416]

Thank you both for this beautiful discussion. I am curious, you didn't touch on Easter mediation but it seems as though it is considered anti-Christian? Recently, I was about to join a meditation class but am hesitant due to my deep desire to walk with Christ. The most important choice I make every day as I awake is to decide to bring joy and love to all who I encounter and glorify the Lord. Your input is so very appreciated. Thank you for your time to draw more of our brothers and sisters to our Christianity. God Bless you both.

[@wmolders8160]

At around 25:52, Melissa, you say satirically that a man has to make a wife feel a certain way every single day or else she will not feel loved. However, this is what many women want and wives expect, and it leads to the 80% of divorces initiated by women. If they are not getting that validating feeling all the time, they are not prone to realize that the expectation is ridiculous as you say, but they are prone to say that their husband doesn't love them enough, or show that he loves them enough.

[@garyrodriguez8414]

The problem with this idea is as humans the more we get the more that gets to be normative and expected so now the level has to be exaggerated inorder to feel that it's no longer complacent. Like anything in life a little is not enough it has to grow. So that your never truely satisfied. You have to have more. It's called vanity and it's sinful Many people will manipulate their spouses, this form of manipulation to get your desires is considered witchcraft and is so detrimental to any kind of relationship and God abhors it. Paul preaches we are to be satisfied with the things we have. I have learned to be abased and abound, in all things to be satisfied. This is why we pray not to be tempted by our sinful fleshly nature, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, etc...

[@UnmanWeston]

AHHH the puppet. I'm dying. So funny!

[@UnmanWeston]

I love how Melissa doesn't miss a beat. It as if she never noticed the puppet transfiguration. Angry puppet is best puppet.

[@teresafrakes8506]

There's a large Unity church in Phoenix AZ that Melissa should check out

[@carlahardwick9908]

The last six minutes may be the deepest message I have ever heard from a puppet. 🤔

[@meganfoster8838]

"You already look like a 90s hipster", talking to a puppet...

[@TheCooloma2]

My fav was from 0 to Mike winger!

[@notimpressed100]

Charismania. Have you seen the online ads for "Christian" tarot cards? Crazy!

[@elissahyde1286]

54:02 Melissa you are savage! 😂

[@bdavi60]

Off topic. I like your shirt. nice color. I love tie dye 😊

[@debrajabs9523]

I love the puppet!!!😅😅😅

[@johncoyote7455]

It's a mixing bowl now Dogerty. Stay clear minded and alert my fair Lady.

[@jessicamarydubois4370]

The problem is that there are now 'Christians' teaching that the Bible is esoteric. I would love for you to cover this because lots of people are being tucked into these teachings. For example, they say that everywhere the Bible mentions 7, it is referring to the chakras, that when Jesus said 'let thine eye be single', he's talking about the pineal gland, the rainbow after the flood is the 7 chakras. Jesus's life and crucifixion and resurrection is all about the Sacred Secretion inside our own bodies. I know my Bible so I know all this is out of context but so many people are falling for it!

[@ralphjesperson]

This stuff is really great. Things I came to fully realize 15 years ago. It is so great that someone is saying this when this place is full of people pushing the fake and encouraging people to get a relationship with the Python spirit and call it as "The Holy Spirit."

[@matthewbrandon931]

Most of the Doctors of the Catholic Church were mystics. Being a mystic is not necessarily bad.

[@T.Truthtella-n8u]

They never sought to be mystics, and many were embarrassed by their mystical experiences and prayed to God to only allow it in private.

[@peterbuckley9731]

Agree with both of you - the mystical experience can never be bad as they are willed by God.

[@devonm6187]

Ill never understand why the church is against mysticism. So the church is against having a direct experience with God? Thats crazy to me. Ill continue to stay on the mystical path bc im much more closer to God than ive ever been. Praise God! Amen!!

[@terrypaul7706]

You do not know what mysticism is because you just called the church something outer .. you are the temple ( church) 😂, church means to assemble, the assemblage, not of random blind people in a building.. you assemble your thoughts and beliefs together within yourself! Then the word is spoken.. that word is the truth.. I AM declares to the congregation of thoughts and beliefs 😂

[@devonm6187]

@terrypaul7706 absolutely! The kingdom is within. My body is the temple. There's an outer church and an inner "church". None of this is just one thing. Same with the scriptures. There is the outer/literal meaning and the inner meaning. There's actually more than that but let's keep it simple. All levels/layers are valid and important. Mysticism is simply experiencing God.

[@halobeloved]

Great discussion guys! Genuine question, where is the line? The bible says that Gods sheep hear his voice. He gives me bible verses while i’m in prayer, is that considered mystic? I definitely think there’s a point where people take it too far, but i do think it’s natural to have experiences like that when we spend time with him because he’s with us constantly.

[@stephenbailey9969]

There is real mystery in the Christian gospel, which is why we are called to trust and not necessarily 'know' everything. But the mysticism movement came out of the 1960's and 70's when some mainline church seminarians went to the East and brought back a truckload of philosophy and meditation practices. They may use the words Christ, God, salvation, but the concepts aren't the same as one finds in scripture. This movement is attractive to the highly educated who think a dose of secret knowledge will get them closer to God. It is an elitist temptation, similar to that of the second century Gnostics. I guess the power of the Spirit being available to everyone free of charge isn't special enough for these folks.

[@susanfox6666]

Excellent!

[@jefflee6344]

Hello Melissa. I have to ask, what is up with the hand puppet? Kind of weird. I did buy your book though. Have not read it yet, but am very interested, so I will need to soon.

[@andrewmattiewalter]

This talk got me thinking about manichaeanism and mecellaneounism, how it wasn't as much about experiences but about the knowledge they received it, was very heady and it was spiritual snobbery to the extreme.

[@kevinvassago]

I met and had a conversation with Greg on reddit once. Great guy. Amazing video too. But I think it's natural for us to enjoy mystical experiences, that's what brought many of us to Christ. That's why I like the idea of spiritual lust. There's definitely a boundry

[@halobeloved]

what is ‘spiritual lust’

[@Marvin-987]

​@@halobeloved"Spiritual lust" as defined in this video, is the desire for more spiritual experiences and spiritual knowledge.

[@halobeloved]

@@Marvin-987 I see, thank you. In that case i’d say every believer has that, the Father draws us in. Hearing from the Lord is natural and happens really often when we spend time with him regularly in prayer in my experience, so i’m a little confused by this video

[@kevinvassago]

@halobeloved when we try to force spiritual experiences. I don't 100% agree that all Christian mysticism is bad, it's been a part of Christian history since the first century AD. I think it's natural for people who have a supernatural faith, like us, to want a supernatural experience. But going out of your way to constantly try and force those experiences to happen can turn into supernatural lust, especially when you start doing things like taking drugs or diving too far into new-age Christianity to create those experiences. Like everything in life, there are boundaries between healthy and unhealthy

[@Marvin-987]

@@halobeloved Melissa has a tendency of thinking that anything she sees as new age or new thought is bad. You can see that they're both so proudly confident that they said in this video that mystics cannot be right. If you find my comments under this video, you will see that I already proved them wrong. Mystics usually know and understand reality more than mere theologians or evangelicals.

[@JahtotheRod]

There's a whole slew of tremendous misunderstandings of the Contemplative path and mystical "experiences" happening here.

[@dorothyross9392]

I was not looking for the super natural. People seek Jesus in long or short but deep seeking if the Lord. He found me!

[@alicehanson2158]

On a scale of zero to Mike Winger 😂

[@normacorona8329]

The puppet - hilarious!

[@Souljer78]

Honest question... when you asked, "you seek out spiritual experiences, but you're not a mystic?" God is a spiritual God, He puts spiritual beings (angels) on assignments occassionally in the Word, we are instructed to worship Him in Spirit & in truth, the Bible is FULL of spiritual language, experiences & miracles... & some God says (OT) I will do [this miracle] & they will know I am the one true God. How would you not, as someone who loves Jesus & all He's done for you & commanded to love God with all your heart & soul... how can you NOT seek personal experiences, spiritual of course, with the Almighty Creator, Savior, Lover of your soul? Honestly... Are you throwing out the baby with the bath water? Is He a personal, living God, or just words on a page?

[@MichaelAndrews-uy1gl]

Where's chapter and verse from the Bible? Your opinion is very important to you, but how does scripture enter into this? Conversations are productive, but how about biblical references? Everything must be weighed against biblical doctrine, or it is fruitless.

[@UnconventionalMetal]

I used to listen to and read the author and life coach Dan Miller until I realized who he listened to, Eckart Tolle, Joel Osteen, etc. Who or what are the influences of the people that influence you.

[@Gerald-said]

22:41. So for the sake of managing egos you'd rather limit people's experience of God because God doesn't grant then the same gifts? Galatians 5: 22-23. Most 9f what you're condemning is biblical and because it doesn't fit your narrative you choose ignore it and misguide people. Luke 11: 52

[@dd3wc]

Ya … but it wasn’t Lambchops! 😂 Excellent talk … not really an interview. Read an interesting comment on a recent post … saying that YouVersion, which is the free Bible App I use, has New Thought intertwined in it. Are you familiar with the Bible App and what are your thoughts on that comment? Also, glad to have watched this VLOG … I’ll have to check his website out … Thinking to Infinity. Wes Huff has really opened the door to a lot of apologetics who I didn’t know existed. God bless! 🙏🙌✝️✡️♥️

[@carolsakaguchi3739]

I think people gravitate to signs and wonders is because people in the occult get results and since the Bible does have signs and wonders, these people are wondering why Christianity DOESNT have more of this. A long time ago I had an experience with the Holy Spirit but it’s pretty much just done one time. It didn’t make me think I was better than other Christians. I did read a book about Madam Guyon who is considered a mystic. It just seems to me that the people who are most submitted to Jesus as Lord tend to have the closest relationship.

[@jimmycrackcorn1553]

Know Christ, know your gifts, know your mission. Every believer is both King and Priest, no pastor ruling over you (a pastor’s job is to help you be successful it’s NOT about his success. He is simply one king among many operating in his gift.) No board or committee, denomination, council or any hierarchical structure governing over you denying your kingship in Christ . We are all Christians with spiritual gifts living interdependently on each other’s spiritual gifts in equality. Living in consensus each one of us as a piece of Gods puzzle. When you get your miracle or experience the only person you can give credit to is Jesus. No need to show off, or say look at me, your experience is personal your gift is corporate, it’s all about Jesus every thing points to Him. It’s how the Church conquered Rome. No selfish Mysticism we can only do what the Bible says we can do, simply be on mission with other believers, do your part.

[@mrscho]

Great conversation!

[@timothypierce6576]

Is this similar to when people say there is a secondary filling of the Holy Spirit than when we get saved?

[@FriendlyEvangelist]

No. That's completely different.