Which meditation?

Recently when visiting my in-laws I was breezing through the latest copy of the CAA magazine on their table when something caught my eye. It was an article titled “Channelling Inner Calmness.” Centredness, mindfulness, meditation; these are all common place features in mainstream culture, even promoted in corporations and schools and the medical community as a means of dealing with stress, promoting wellness and becoming a better person.

What struck me is a) how what once was unacceptable in a Christian society is now acceptable in a post-Christian society and b) how duplicitous our culture is on the subject of religion.
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Our culture presents as being secular. CAA would never dream of running an article on the Lord’s Prayer and yet here they are running a religious article. Religious? Yes, religious.  Inner calmness, a meditative pose and getting zen (all found in the article) tip us off that this represents Eastern religion. While multi-faceted in itself, Eastern Religions portray an unknowable and impersonal deity. We can escape or become one with the Divine through Zen (a state of intuitive attentiveness), with the ultimate state of Nirvana (nothingness). Though the author of the article and other proponents would argue they’re just extracting the principle and not the religious practice, any Christian convert from Eastern religions will tell you that 

this is impossible; such practices are deeply rooted in Eastern religions. Such a lie is simply meant to ensnare the unsuspecting in an ultimately unhelpful and spiritually harmful exercise.

How did Western culture move from the Lord’s Prayer to Eastern Meditation? Two basic things: a) as many Christian churches became nominal and prayer became lifeless people sought for an alternative to meet a most basic human need, and b) during the 60s, and through the influence of groups such as the Beatles, the West was introduced to Eastern Transcendentalism, or the practice of meditation.[1] This fit very well with the reactive Hippy years.

Now meditation is now wrong, it just depends on how we define it. Eastern meditation involves “emptying” whereas Christian meditation involves “filling.” Both are aiming at peace but only one can achieve true and lasting peace. Christian filling produces a peace that comes from getting right with God through belief in the Gospel, a peace that comes from asking God to fill you with more of His Spirit, a peace that comes from seeking forgiveness, knowing Him, and bringing your deepest longings and needs before Him, a peace that comes from worshipping Him in thanksgiving. Christian meditation is the exact opposite of Eastern meditation. Likewise, when Scripture speaks of meditation, we think or ponder upon God’s character as revealed in His word; we meditate upon Scripture, its meaning and application (Josh 1:8).

In Lk 11 Jesus told the story of a person who had a demon cast from them, yet the troubling sequel of how, “finding the house swept and put in order,” that demon went and found seven of its nastiest friends and returned! (Lk 11:24–26). I’ve often likened this story to the ejection of nominal Christian in Canada and its replacement with many false religions more dangerous than the falseness of nominal Christianity. More specifically, if we meditate and let our mind “float,” “drift” and be open and free, what spiritual force are we opening ourselves up to be filled by (other than the living God)!

Rather than following the CAA article’s 5 steps, allow me to recommend 5 better and biblical steps:

1. Find a space free from distractions; yet with the knowledge you can even pray on a battlefield.
2. Fix your thoughts on the author and perfecter of your faith. Enter into His presence through the means of prayer and Scripture.
3. Ask Him to rid your mind of the distractions and cares of this world so that He will have your undivided attention and be able to grant you His peace.
4. Alternatively, pray with a brother or sister, attend a prayer meeting, or corporate prayer in worship; or pray the Lord’s Prayer or a passage of Scripture. These help us learn how to prayer if we struggle to do so alone.
5. Begin with a popcorn prayer and gradually build up to a life of prayer.

Which meditation?—Christian meditation and nothing less.


[1] Nigel Scotland, The Baker Pocket Guide to New Religions. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2006), 193.