Posted on 02/27/2014 6:43:38 AM PST by Gamecock
I keep hoping that the fascination with Sarah Young's bestseller Jesus Calling will fade away. If you are not familiar with Jesus Calling, it is a book of 365 daily devotions that the author claims are messages from Jesus spoken directly to her. In fact the book is written in the first person from Jesus. If this troubles you at all then you are not alone. If you have spoken up about it you have very likely encountered the wrath of well meaning brothers and sisters who no doubt wonder how in the world you could speak against such a sincere offering.
For the sake of clarity allow me to make a few things clear. First, I do not know Sara Young and therefore gladly assume that her motives are good. I do not believe that she wrote Jesus Calling to confuse anyone or cause division in the church. I believe that she believes Jesus speaks directly to her outside of the Bible.
Second, I have not spoken to Sara Young and do not plan on contacting her personally. She has not sinned against me. I point this out so that no one will misapply Matthew 18. Miss Young has written an enormous bestseller. Her books are read by millions of men and women around the world. Therefore it is appropriate for critiques to be offered publically. And since I believe Jesus Calling to be unhelpful, misleading, and even dangerous, it is my responsibility as a pastor to say so.
As I see it Sarah Young commits at least three errors in Jesus Calling:
1. She distorts the biblical doctrines of revelation and inspiration.
Miss Young claims a kind of direct revelation that even the apostles did not claim. While Paul gives evidence that he knew at times that what he was writing was by way of revelation he does not write with the claim of direct dictation from Jesus as Young does. That is why I am confused by what she writes in the introduction that her book is not inerrant as is the Bible. Follow me here. She claims that Jesus has given her the words she has written. She is, in her mind, quite literally quoting Jesus. Why in the world is her book, then, not inerrant or authoritative? Has she not claimed divine inspiration, indeed dictation? When does Jesus speak in a way that is errant and un-authoritative? This is a troubling and confused view of revelation and inspiration.
At a church where I previously served, an elder expressed concern to me that an adult Sunday School class was using Jesus Calling as "a supplement to the Bible." But if we believe Miss Young's claims we should not only use Jesus Calling as a supplement to our Bibles but as the next testament.
2. She undermines the sufficiency of Scripture.
In the introduction of Jesus Calling Miss Young states that while she had the Bible, she desired more. She desired a voice from God that was more direct, more immediate, more tailor made for her. Sadly, what she does not understand is that God does not promise us unmediated access. Indeed we have no unmediated access to God. God has given us his divinely appointed means of grace by which we hear him speak and experience his presence. The means of grace are the preaching of the Word and the Sacraments. It seems that Miss Young desires an experience of God (and encourages her readers to seek an experience of God) that is outside his promised means.
God is a speaking God to be sure. He has spoken and continues to speak to his people. In past days of redemptive history God spoke in various ways through the prophets and apostles (Heb 1:1-2). But the canon is now closed. We live in that privileged age of redemptive history where we possess God's completed and inscripturated Word. It is a living and active Word. It is an unerring and authoritative Word. It is also a sufficient Word not needing to be supplemented by extra-biblical voices, messages, revelations, or vague murmurings.
How about we try this: Once we fully exhaust the vast revelation of God given to us in the Scriptures we can then worry about finding additional messages from Jesus.
3. She misrepresents Jesus.
The Jesus of Jesus Calling does not sound like the Jesus of the Bible. His messages to Miss Young are largely therapeutic. The Jesus of Jesus Calling never commands. He never preaches God's holy law. It should be no surprise that Miss Young's Jesus sounds much like a 21st century American woman with 21st century western concerns. This is not meant as a slight against Young. Indeed, if I began writing messages from Jesus I imagine he would sound a lot like a balding middle-aged American man.
In this way Jesus Calling comes dangerously close to blasphemy. That is, admittedly, a serious charge. I thought about it and decided the charge was appropriate. After all, if Sarah Young is not receiving direct revelation from Jesus; if she is not quoting Jesus then she is putting words in his mouth. She is attributing to Jesus 365 days worth of messages that he never spoke. And that is a serious error. It is bad enough to put words in the mouths of a friend or stranger. It is bad enough to say, "My neighbor said so-and-so" when they said nothing of the kind. That is bearing false witness. It is, in a word, lying. It seems to me the offense is infinitely magnified if we put words in the mouth of our Lord. Is it not a serious matter to say, "Jesus said," when he most certainly did not?
No doubt Miss Young did not intend her book to be divisive. But it has become quite divisive. I know of many pastors and elders who have spoken about their concerns only to be met with sharp criticism as a result. These faithful men have been excoriated and accused of being unloving because they take seriously their calling to watch over the flock of God. Miss Young bears a level of responsibility in this. She has written a book that claims direct revelation from Jesus. The true believers therefore are understandably upset, angry, etc. when a pastor or elder criticizes these supposed words from our Lord. Paul makes it clear in Romans 16 that those who cause division within the church are not those who cling to sound doctrine but those who depart from it.
As I wrote above, I keep hoping the Jesus Calling phenomena will fade. But that does not seem to be happening. Indeed there are a variety of spin-off publications. Miss Young's messages from Jesus have become a big business. At the risk of sounding cynical, the good folks at Thomas Nelson have made a lot of money on Jesus Calling and its various spin-offs. They no doubt want the messages to keep coming. It is simple supply and demand. There is a demand among evangelicals for direct encounters with God, extra-biblical messages, and a Jesus who sounds like us. I will not try to discern the motives of Sarah Young. To do so would be a sin. But is there any doubt that the publishing company has a wonderful plan for Young's life? It is a rare thing for a book to sell as well as Jesus Calling. Every publishing house, particularly a Christian publishing house dreams of such success. It only makes sense for Thomas Nelson to want lightening to strike twice.
“Feeling is the language of the soul.” God
“Therefore something must supersede our feelings. That something must be values. But these values must be perceived as emanating from something higher than us; higher than our opinions, higher than our faculty of reason, and even higher than our conscience.
And that higher source is God.” Dennis Praeger
Good points, and well said.
I’d heard of this book, but it was represented to me as a “daily devotional” type book, with the gimmick that it was written in first person as though Jesus were speaking directly to the reader.
It sounded a bit odd...given what the Scriptures say about Jesus sending the Holy Spirit to guide the twelve into all truth, and that they would be his witnesses and would proclaim the gospel. But I had no idea the author of this book was making such an outrageous claim.
The record sales of the book are no surprise. The sayings of Jesus are sometimes hard to bear, and obedience to God requires of us more than many people are willing to give. When like those on Pentecost in Acts 2, we are “pricked in our hearts” by the Word of God, some will ask, “What must I do?”
For the rest, a book like this will distract and soothe the conscience.
This book is part of a fast growing number of Christians turning to contemplative mystical practices and it introduces occult/New Age channeling, spiritual dictation, creative visualization, meditation, divine alchemy, co-creation with God. The book is permeated with New Age terminology.
Here is a good example.....
In the August 23rd “devotion” found on page 246 in the original hardcover edition of Jesus Calling, Sarah Young’s “Jesus” states:"Remember the extreme measures I used with Abraham and Isaac. I took Isaac to the very point of death to free Abraham from son-worship. Both Abraham and Isaac suffered terribly because of the father’s undisciplined emotions. I detest idolatry, even in the form of parental love."
Abraham, like all of us, was not sinless, but Sarah Young and her “Jesus” have greatly misconstrued him. This biblical figure was not guilty of “undisciplined emotions,” “son-worship,” and “idolatry.” In what can only be described as extra biblical New Age revisionism, this account by Sarah Young’s “Jesus” is as bizarre as it is heretical.
I was given a copy, used it for a few days and then put it down. It just seemed too pat and not really scriptural. Now I know why.
Grudem's redefinition of NT prophecy has paved the way for all of this stuff.
It's a devotional.....not The Bible....not adding to or taking away from the Bible....although it points to scripture each day for guidance, it doesn't usurp the Word.
It's a daily devotional.....quite lovely....and I take it at that.
I've been reading it for several years now.....the same devotional.
Just a simple devotional.
I can't help what some people want to make it or what denouncements they make.
It's a devotional, for goodness sakes!...
Don't we have enough real demons in this world to contend with!!!!....instead of picking apart a little booklet that many find solace.
Having said that, there is much more to this verse, to this relationship of Isaac and Abraham in correlation to the fulfilling of Scripture, etc.
Disregard the little devotional if you want....but there are many battles we can and should fight right now, and I don't think this is one of them.
Agree with you. Every devotional book out there, even though it references scripture, can be picked apart and critiqued to some degree, if desired. That doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be read.
bfl
BTTT!
re: Every devotional book out there, even though it references scripture, can be picked apart and critiqued to some degree, if desired.
I agree with you there. The big difference however between the typical devotional book out there and this book is that the author of “Jesus Calling” claims that the very words that she has written are the very words of Jesus, Himself. That is no minor difference.
Excellent book! :-)
re: How about we try this: Once we fully exhaust the vast revelation of God given to us in the Scriptures we can then worry about finding additional messages from Jesus.
Excellent point. The amount of Biblical ignorance within the Church is overwhelming as it is. This is one of the reasons why cult groups so easily proselytize from Christian churches because so many Christians don’t really know the basic beliefs as taught in Scripture.
I agree with you, see POST #2 and you may find the real reason behind his criticisms. Her book is excellant.
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