Of course not – and neither is his chief apostle Oprah (but I’ve already covered that).
I’m taking a moment to interupt the conversation on reformed theology in the black community because I read an interesting article from Christianity Today magazine. The article took a closer look at the new-age warlock Tolle from a Christian perspective:
Popular spiritual author and Oprah favorite Eckhart Tolle quotes Jesus a lot. Is he a Christian?Tolle claims no specific religion and states that his teaching fits with the essence of all spiritual paths. While he quotes freely from Jesus, Buddha, and others, he focuses on the divinity in all beings. “How ‘spiritual’ you are has nothing to do with what you believe but everything to do with your state of consciousness,” he writes in A New Earth.
Click the title to read the article in it’s entirety. James Beverly (the writer) goes on to discuss that although Tolle may quote Christ’s words (even the Devil quoted scripture to Christ, remember Matthew 4:1-11?), he mixes Hinduism, Buddhism, and various tenets of New Age garbage. Come to think of it, maybe this is what attracted Oprah to him in the first place.
Anyway, Beverly closes the article with an interesting observation:
For Tolle, ascribing any unique significance to Jesus of Nazareth is ultimately wrong-headed. The Power of Now states: “Never personalize Christ. Don’t make Christ into a form identity. Avatars, divine mothers, enlightened masters, the very few that are real, are not special as persons.” In Tolle’s system, “Jesus” is little more than a cipher for “awakened consciousness.” The particular God-man Jesus and his saving acts in history are of no concern to Tolle. In fact, Jesus only becomes “the way” when the crucified, risen, and exalted Lord of history is put aside.
At least Tolle is playing his role well – what else would we expect from someone who can’t accept the Deity of Christ or that He is the Only Begotten Son of God the Father?
Whenever I read of the latest New Age philosophical garbage, I’m reminded of Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill – specifically addressing the “religious philosophers” of his day. Read Acts 17 for the full context, but take a look at the overarching statement:
Acts 17:22-23 (New American Standard Bible)
22 So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of (A)Athens, I observe that you are very (B)religious in all respects.
23 “For while I was passing through and examining the (C)objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD ‘ Therefore what (D)you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.
And Paul goes on to explain the consequences of mixing God with all other manner of “religion” and philosophy:
Acts 17:30-31 (New American Standard Bible)
30 “Therefore having (A)overlooked (B)the times of ignorance, God is (C)now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,
31 because He has fixed (D)a day in which (E)He will judge (F)the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has (G)appointed, having furnished proof to all men by (H)raising Him from the dead.”
Yet more evidence that every biblically sound Christian should avoid Oprah…and ANYBODY that she recommends.
I'm Speaking Truth... 
I have one question: “Sure Echkart quotes Jesus but which one?”
As a born again Christian, I love Eckhart Tolle. He speaks truth. AMEN!
‘…new age warlock…’ hilarious!
Dan – I understand your allegiance to Tolle, given that you are an author of new age material (I removed the link to your website) and he’s listed as a contributor an another site of yours as well.
There’s no need to try to convince you of otherwise, so the Lord’s will be done. I pray that you read your bible and use it as a guide to see how far off base Tolle and his ilk are, and how off base you are in your own writings.
Born-again Christians who have been saved, sanctified and Holy Ghost filled (yes, water baptized, too) by the LORD cannot mix the philosophies of men with the Good News of Christ Jesus. These are real Christians.
I usually don’t like speaking like this — some would say you’re being elitist or proud or some such nonsense.
No more sensitive talk, although I am always moved by love…for those who are truly ignorant.
1.There are true Christians, servants of the LIVING Christ Jesus; 2.there are ignorant unrepentant sinners; 3.and there are sons of Satan.
Numbers 1 and 3 are always trying to get Number 2’s attention.
Number 1 wants to explain how we may all have Eternal Life and why we should be concerned about attaining it.
Number 3 wants to desperately keep Number 2 from finding about attaining Eternal Life and does everything possible (lies, kills, destroys, does elaborate songs and dances, i.e., signs and wonders) to make sure Number 2 dies an unrepentant sinner.
Number 1s know where they are going and where Number 3s are going when this life is over; Number 3s know, too, and want to take as many Number 2s with them.
That mean Number 3s know what they are doing and plot carefully how they will carry out this plan, and Eckhart Tolle and Todd Bentley are absolutely definitely Number 3s…sons of Satan trying to gain as many souls to join them in the lake of eternal fire.
I forgot to mention, Speaking Truth, the LORD and GOD of us all builds up (Number 2s) and destroys (Number 3s) as HE sees fit. To GOD be the glory.
Excellent follow-up LaVrai…I couldn’t have said it better my self. To God be the glory!
Also, great comments over at Tim Luce’s pro-Bentley blog as well!
Amen to this post!!!
The problem that seems to be prevalent is the definition of a Christian. If it is someone who is good and religious then both of these characters (I’m using this word loosely) are Christians.
DT
ST,
Hope you had a good vacation with the fam’ bro…When I read your post on ET, it brought to mind a unique experience that I had earlier this year while I was away training with the Navy (and my family was at home). I think it would be best for me to relate it in story form. So, I’m going about my daily routine and I get a phone call. It’s from my honey. She says…
MyHoney: “Baby, have you heard about this new book that Oprah’s talking about called “A New Earth”? The author’s name is Eckhart Tolle.”
Me: (Just at the mention of the names, I’m cringing inside as I prepare to respond to my wife.) “Well, no baby I haven’t heard about this particular person, but if he’s involved with Oprah, it’s probably got something to do with some new age mumbo jumbo and self-actualization (images of Rhonda Byrne’s “Secret” and all of the “law of attraction” garbage floated through my head). Why do you ask?”
My Honey: “Well, I was just wondering if it is a book I should read or if it is useful or anything. I mean, he does talk about Jesus, and he uses some scripture too. You know what baby, since you like to read a lot (she was right) and you would see some things I wouldn’t see, would you mind reading this book for me and letting me know if it’s good or not?” Please?”
(Now, I have to pause parenthetically and say that at this time in my life I had zero interest in coming anywhere within a 15 mile radius of ET’s book for 2 reasons: One, I knew it would probably be a waste of time and two, I knew it would probably be a waste of time. Really, I felt it much more productive, reasonable, edifying and most importantly God-glorifying to primarily read scripture and books about scripture from Christ-centered and reputable men. And at this point, ET just didn’t seem to fit with Edwards, Calvin, Owen, Luther, Lewis, Piper, Sproul, McArthur, Mahaney, Anyibwile, Carter and Redmond, respectively. To this day, I still can’t figure out why I did what I did next. Maybe it was her smooth, sexy, pleading voice. Maybe it was the picture of her beautiful brown eyes and carmel-colored skin. Maybe it was envisioning that seductive smile or that too cute dimple. Maybe it was a combination of all that. Anyways, for reasons I know not, I said this…)
Me: “I’ll tell you what. I’ll read the book for you, compare it with scripture, and see if it lines up with the word (don’t ask me why I was even remotely willing to give ET the benefit of the doubt, but it’s amazing what a guy would do for his rib…moving on…)
MyHoney; “Thank you so much baby!!! I really appreciate you.” (She’s irresistable is all I can say…moving on….)
Me: “No problem. I’ll try to see if I can do it this weekend when I have some spare time.”
I will not lie to you. My first inclination was to see if any of my other brothers in the gospel and noted book reviewers, I call them the two Tims (Tim Challies and Timmy Brister) had already done the dirty work for me. Right then though, I got a “gentle nudging” (remember that ST???) from the Holy Spirit which reminded me that my wife did ask ME to review it for her. I was then convicted and challenged by the known responsibility that I have of protecting the spiritual welfare and doctrinal purity of my whole family (not just the kids, but MyHoney too) Then I thought to myself “that’s probably why she asked you. Duh.”) So, on a beautiful Saturday morning in which I would have preferred to do many other things (but knew better than to resist the Holy Spirit), I sauntered into my local bookstore and grabbed a copy of Mr. Tolle’s latest rendering. It certainly wasn’t hard to find, as there were displays of it all over the place. I think the store manager had just ordered a bunch more due to the high demand (thanks to Oprah’s book club recommendation I’m sure). Well, this means I’d never be able to use the excuse that there were no copies left 🙂
I grab the book, find a comfortable spot (because there’s no way I’m buying this garbage) and begin reading. What followed was appalling…
Chapter 1 – The Flowering of Human Conciousness.
From the onset, Tolle makes a false statement at the very beginning of the book when he totally undermines the creation account in Genesis. “Earth, 114 million years ago, one morning just after sunrise; the first flower ever to appear on the planet opens up to receive the rays of the sun” (pg 1). The first flower, 114 million years after the earth’s existence? Really? (“And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.” Genesis 1:9-13, ESV, Emphasis mine)
In fact, the whole first page supports the idea of evolution. Later in the second page, Tolle places Jesus on the same level as the buddha, monks, and zen masters as he expresses the development of the flowers as a species of plant life that only evolved after vegetation had been on the earth for millions of years already. Tolle also says that the human consciousness was developed by studying the flower and how it did not have to go through the passage of survival. He writes, “Once there is a certain degree of presence, of still and alert attention in human beings’ perceptions, they can sense the divine life essence, the one indwelling consciousness or spirit in every creature, every life form, recognize it as one with their own essence and so love it as themselves. Until this happens, however, most humans see only the outer forms, unaware of the inner essence, just as they are unaware of their own essence and identify only with their own physical and psychological form” (pg 4). This is an unbelievable statement. Tolle actually believes that we must have a certain degree of “presence” in order to sense the “divine life essence” and tap into something that is supposedly already in us. It’s now easy to see why pimps, charlatans, new-age hustlers and word of faith maniacs are able to take portions of scripture and twist it to make people believe anything they want. For example, Eckhart could try and take Luke 17:21 and make it justification for his above statements by quoting where Jesus says the “kingdom of God is within you” (KJV). And since nobody would check him on it (because they don’t study the scriptures), it would not be known that if you read a few verses down you will see that Jesus is referring to HIMSELF. Why is Tolle telling us to be more aware of our “inner selves” , when the scriptures tell us to deny ourselves and make no provisions for our flesh? (2 Corinthians 4:11, Galatians 5:16, 24) “This book is about you. It will change your state of consciousness or it will be meaningless” (pg. 7) I see. So instead of being saved from sin, death and hell, the whole point of this book (and life, according to Mr. Tolle), is to change our state of consciousness. If you haven’t yet figured out that this flies in the face of virtually the whole new testament, then you may be living in ET’s world. I’d suggest anyone who is in this situation to take the next thing smokin’ out of this cesspool. “An essential part of the awakening is the recognition of the unawakened you, the ego, as it thinks, speaks, acts as well as the rcognition of the collectively conditioned mental processes that perpetuate the unawakened state.” (pg 7) The thing that immediately entered into my mind was that although I can’t speak for anyone else, I’m trying to get as far away from the “unawakened me” as I can get. The bible boldly declares what “me” is capable of in Galatians 5:19-20, and quite frankly, I’m not trying to go there. “The light of consciousness is all that is necessary. You are that light.” (pg 8) “You do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you, and allowing hat goodness to emerge”. (pg 13) With these heretical statements, I quickly surmised that Eckhart was treading dangerously close (if not delving into) the age old heresy of Gnosticism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosticism
As already noted in the article, Tolle places enlightenment (Hinduism, Buddhism), end of suffering ((Buddhism) and salvation (Christianity) in the same capacity and calls them the same experience. But what I have to express in closing was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me.
“They realize that how spiritual you are has nothing to do with what you believe but everything to do with your state of consciousness” (pg 14).
Say what? I guess Jesus was just wasting His time when He said what he said here:
John 8:23-25
Or here:
John 3:14-16
Or here:
John 3:35-36
Or…well…you get the picture.
So, I grab my synopsis of the first chapter, and commence to share it with my wife.
Me: “This is what I got just by reading chapter one. If you want to, I can read the rest of the…”
MyHoney: “Whoa…No baby, it’s quite alright. That’s enough for me to forget about the guy. I didn’t know he was talking crazy stuff like that!!! It didn’t seem like it was that harmful, but I’m glad you took the time to sift through it for me. Thanks.”
Me: “No problem. Just don’t ever ask me to do anything like that again” (Just kidding!! I didn’t say that.)
The moral of the story? Folks, things are just not always as they seem. Remember, if I give you a glass of juice which contains only 1 small drop of poison, would you still drink the juice, thinking that since it’s probably only .01 percent poison that it won’t kill you? This is what folks like Eckhart, Oprah and many other New-Age WOF preachers and teachers are expecting you to do. Don’t fall for it. Not unless you just really, really love Oprah and want to get in her good graces so that you can get on her “My Favorite Things” show :)(smile ya’ll!!!!)
P.S. As much as I loathed reading just the portion of the book that I read, if anyone would like for me to read the rest of it (ughhhh), I’d be happy to do that and even post a review in PDF or word format, on one of two conditions. First, somebody’s gotta want it. Second, it would only be at the authorization of the humble brother that runs this blog to post it…
Solus Christus,
R4C
OK R4C,
The wife and kids are asleep, so I’m in the hotel laughing my head off at your comment. First, I thought I’d have to censor your descriptions of your wife, but since my honey makes me feel the same way (after 12 years of marriage and 2 kids), I figure it’d be good to let folks see how a REAL MAN loves his wife!
It MUST be love to make you even go near an ET “book”. 😆
You’ve already done your Christian duty by reviewing what you did, but if the Holy Spirit is leading you to review the
bookgarbage AND PDF it, then the Lord’s will be done.Go head, brother!!!
😆
Im sorry but eckhart-tolle is not spreading the fear and hatred I feel in this blog. How sad to think that if you not open minded you can become scared. You no nothing about him because you choose to not to know. You’re scared of something you do not understand
41 So why do you see the splinter in your brother’s eye, but not notice the log in your own eye?
oprah, is that you?
😆
No he isn’t! He’s full of the new age movement and mysticism. Stay away from him and his books. Get them out of your house! Oprah is a new ager as well.
I wish more black ministers would speak out on this issue, but unfortuanetly too many black professing Christians are too stuck on their blackness rather than their identity in Christ; thus missing a walk in the Spirit because they have not crucified their flesh,if they’re born again to begin with. Without discernment, they will follow Oprah, Barack, Will Smith, Della Reece, Dionne Warwick and a host of others all the way to destruction.
respond to the book the power of now by Eckhart Tolle:The message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed,but it is God power to us who are being saved.The real “power of now” is only from God.The power is the cross,and the “now” is the word that the Church emphasizes on it.The Holy past is present now with power through the Holy Spirit.I refer to the book the coin of the temple isbn 1425905773 which shows the power and the now in a real story.Comparing between the two books you will discover who is false and who is right,then each one will decide which way he will take:the way of the cross,or the way to hell.The DAY is near,do not waste time.
dayofwrath
I challenge Oprah if she dare to speak on TV about the “the secret and the power of now”of the coin of the temple.
dayofwrath