The Christian Sentinel
Posted March 2, 2003
Multnomah Press: Covering up for False Teacher Brennan Manning
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By Jackie Alnor In 1991 I summarized the errors of Catholic mystic Brennan Manning's Ragamuffin Gospel in one paragraph: "Manning calls the gospel of Jesus Christ "folly" (p. 209); he teaches an eastern-type meditation (pp. 43, 205-206); he uses vulgarity (pp. 46, 137); he twists scripture (pp. 23, 173, 73, 28); he says that everyone, but the self-righteous (who are those that obey God), will go to heaven, even those who receive the mark of the beast enter in (pp. 17, 26, 29); he promotes worldliness (pp. 80, 94, 98); and he says that repentance is not a prerequisite for forgiveness (p. 73)." This was in an August letter to respected evangelical publisher Multnomah Press. I became involved in the case after The Ragamuffin Gospel found its way into the bookstore of the church I was attending at the time and had generated several complaints from bewildered readers. I was then officially asked to read it by the bookstore manager. Immediately in taking up the request I was appalled over the gross false teachings in the book, and was surprised that Multnomah -- or really any -- evangelical publishing house would have produced such drivel. I then showed it to the pastor, a good protective shepherd over his flock, and he immediately removed it from the store; he took his responsibility seriously. But what surprised me even more was the fact that Multnomah bent over backwards defending false doctrine, and instead attacked me personally for pointing out the obvious Manning errors! Here is an account of my experiences with Multnomah concerning this deceptive book: On August 22, 1991, I received a six-page reply from Steve Halliday on behalf of publisher John Van Diest. He berated me for not going to Brennan Manning first. "I am sorry if I have been harsh with you in this letter," he wrote. "I have not meant to be. But your letter called for a response. I believe it to be slanderous and mean-spirited and very wide of the mark. Brennan is no doubt wrong on some of the things he says. So am I. So are you. If you really believe what you have written and you are concerned for the integrity of the Christian church, I have a question for you. Have you obeyed Christ’s instructions in Matthew 18:15-17 and Paul’s directives in both Galatians 6:1 and 2 Timothy 2:24-26? Have you attempted to speak directly with Brennan? Until you do, I am forced to say that your letter dishonors God’s Word." "This is not a Matthew 18 situation," I wrote back. "Brennan Manning has not sinned against me personally. I am complying with Jude 3 and defending the faith that has been warped publicly. The whole entire church is the victim of this book. Check any commentary, Matthew 18 cannot be stretched to include the defense of sound doctrine." Halliday stood up for Manning's syncretistic spirituality. "You say Brennan says ‘we should listen to ideas from people of other religions and keep open-minded.’ To this he would plead guilty. But you somehow failed to quote what he wrote just a few sentences later: ‘Of course, the open mind does not accept everything indiscriminately . . . It does not absorb all propositions equally like a sponge; nor is it as soft.’ Perhaps you think it is?" To which I replied, "You say that Brennan pleads guilty to listening to ideas from people of other religions. To this I would ask, ‘Can a bad tree produce good fruit?’ Jesus is the one with the words of eternal life (Jn. 6:68). Why seek elsewhere for things pertaining to godliness? To suggest that other religions can contribute an iota to our spiritual growth is to deny the faith." On the topic of sanctification, Halliday said, "You say Brennan identifies himself as a smoker and someone who became an alcoholic after conversion. Both statements are true. Just as it is true that John Mark became a coward after his conversion (Acts 13:13) and Peter became a church-wrecking elitist after his conversion (Galatians 2:11-13) and a Corinthian church member became a fornicator after his conversion (1 Corinthians 5:1-13) and Euodia and Syntyche became quarrelsome after their conversion (Philippians 4:2) and some Thessalonian church members became vagrants after their conversion (2 Thessalonians 3:11) and Diotrophes became a gossip and a power-hungry autocrat after his conversion (3 John 9-10) and . . . but you get the idea. Becoming a Christian is no guarantee of living a life pleasing to the Lord. Brennan’s whole book is based on the assumption that he is a sinner in constant need of grace, and that he can become more like Christ by drawing on that grace. He knows that, this side of eternity, he will never be perfect. But he is striving toward the goal of the upward call in Christ Jesus." To which I responded, "In all the cases you cited of how people stumbled after conversion, in all cases they were reproved. Paul was critical of John Mark for his abandoning him (Acts 15:38-40) and openly critical of him. Jesus warned Peter that Satan was granted permission to sift him as wheat and Jesus said, ‘when once you have turned again (repented), strengthen your brothers’ (Luke 22-31-32). The Corinthian church member who became a fornicator was also rebuked and even thrown out of the fellowship (1 Cor. 5:13) . . . you get the idea. But by contrast, the Ragamuffin gospel teaches that ‘love’ will cover those things so the church should stop concentrating on works (p. 26), as if they count for nothing (See the book of James, I’ll show you my faith by my works, et. al.). The above examples show we are not to keep silent about such things! We are to reprove, rebuke and exhort according to the Bible (2 Tim. 4:2). Not only does Manning identify himself as having an alcohol problem, he also sings the praises of alcohol consumption by his statement, ‘While there is much we may have earned -- our degree and our salary, our home and garden, a Miller Lite and a good night’s sleep -- all this is possible only because we have been given so much . . .’ (p. 23) and ‘I say I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer’ (p. 22). Dangerous talk for an alcoholic and cheap grace for one who wants to justify his alcoholism!" On the topic of Christian meditation Halliday defends Manning’s teachings. "You accuse Brennan of teaching an ‘eastern-type meditation.’ But the sort of meditation he encourages there is Scripture-laden, content-rich, crammed full of a rich picture of the God who actively pursues his wayward people -- not at all the vacant, mind-emptying ‘meditating’ of which you accuse him." "Manning’s form of meditation (p. 206) is to repeat an eight-word mantra for 10 minutes, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing,’ while visualizing one’s idea of what Jesus might have looked like, which we can never do accurately," I responded. "He also says ‘Don’t try to feel anything, think anything, or do anything’ (p. 205 -- sounds pretty ‘vacant, mind-emptying’ to me). He adds, ‘Simply relax in the presence of the God you half believe in and ask for a touch of folly.’ And I add, this is hardly orthodox! This sounds more like the leaven from the inner healing/healing of the memories movement popularized by Agnes Sanford whose mentor Morton Kelsey is appealed to in Manning’s book. I can document that this has an occultic origin -- one of those things he must have picked up from ‘other religions.’" "You accuse Brennan of calling the gospel of Jesus Christ ‘folly,’" Halliday pointed out. "In a certain context, he does. In a certain context, so did the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)." "Using 1 Cor. 1:18-25 to defend Manning’s calling the gospel ‘folly’ is not honest," I responded. "Look at the context, the Gospel is only foolishness to ‘those who are perishing.’ Manning wants to be converted to the folly of the gospel. This is a different gospel once again." Continuing the debate, Halliday berates my defense of purity. "You accuse Brennan of vulgarity. And yet neither example you cite is included to titillate or appeal to the prurient interest. Rather, they are used to make clear what sin is and how to escape it. Would you also object to the best-selling writer who, in trying to get his audience to see themselves for who they really were wrote, ‘There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled’? If so, you must prepare to take the prophet Ezekiel to task, for that is what he wrote in Ezekiel 23:20-21." "Here’s an example of Brennan’s vulgarity you asked for," I responded.: "‘I go before the Lord. And he whispers, ‘"You ungrateful turd’" (p. 137). He attributes this statement to the God of the universe! The harsh language you cite from Ezekiel were difficult words God had for a disobedient people who refused to listen to Him. Are you putting Manning on par with the prophet Ezekiel? How far will you go to defend the indefensible? Another example of his vulgarity is on page 46. Does it edify the Body of Christ to read a detailed account of how the author learned to masturbate?" "You accuse Brennan of teaching that everyone will go to heaven," Halliday’s letter continues, "even those who receive the mark of the beast. But he does not say this. You do. He does teach that no one is outside the possibility of God’s love, unless they place themselves outside it." "You say that I’m the one who says Brennan teaches that those with the mark of the beast go to heaven, not Brennan," I responded. "Then what do you make of his own words on page 17: ‘And he (Christ) will say to us: ‘"Vile beings, you who are in the image of the beast and bear his mark, but come all the same, you as well."’ What else can I make of this?" I finished the defense of my analysis with these words: "I stand by my original critique, even more so as I examined your objections. I pray the god of this world has not blinded your eyes from seeing the truth and discerning the difference between his voice and the voice of the Shepherd." Since I obviously hit a brick wall with Multnomah Press, I sent copies of the correspondence to Joe Aldrich, the then president of Multnomah School of the Bible in Portland, Oregon. Below is my letter dated August 27, 1991, followed by his short response of September 23, 1991. Dear Mr. Aldrich: I have what is starting to become an ongoing feud with Multnomah’s publishing arm over a book called The Ragamuffin Gospel, written by a Catholic evangelist by the name of Brennan Manning. Could I petition your help in communicating with them the theological ramifications of this book? They won’t acknowledge any of the points I brought out and seem more interested in justifying their having published the book than in an honest examination of the problems with the teachings in the book. If you don’t have the time to read and evaluate it yourself, could you turn it over to your dean of theology or someone trustworthy who could do an honest appraisal? Purity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is at stake, as well as the untarnished reputation of Multnomah itself. I trust you’re a man of integrity and commitment to upholding the Bible against all attacks or you wouldn’t be in the position you’re in. That’s why I’m appealing to you if perhaps you could be influential in convincing Multnomah’s publishers to take a less defensive second look at the book in question. Enclosed are copies of the correspondence we’ve had to date. You can see the heated nature of them. I’m also having a theologian friend look at it too if he can spare the time. I think this is very important. Please write me back and let me know what, if anything, you can do for me. Sincerely, in Christ, Mrs. Jackie Alnor Joe C. Aldrich’s reply: Dear Mrs. Alnor: Thank you for taking time to write and express your concerns about The Ragamuffin Gospel. I especially appreciate your including the response by the editors at Multnomah Press. I am surprised at the length to which they did reply and the content of their response. I am not going to attempt to respond further because I think they handled the issue quite well. I would suggest you go back and read it again! We are all concerned for the preservation of truth. I think Brennan Manning has been misrepresented. May the Lord richly bless you as you serve Him. Because He cares, Joe C. Aldrich Postscript Since that time I have had no interaction with Halliday or Aldrich, despite the fact that many other watchmen have pointed out Manning's bizarre, occultic teachings. They never repented for their lack of stewardship and for defending the indefensible in helping to promote a dangerous false teacher. A website has recently come to our attention that exposes the infiltration of Eastern meditative practices into the church. One page on the site is devoted to exposing the false teachings of popular writer and speaker, Brennan Manning. To look at it go to http://www.lighthousetrails.com/manning.htm. The site, Lighthouse Trails Publishing Company, also carries the 1992 review I wrote on The Ragamuffin Gospel for the Christian Sentinel (http://www.cultlink.com/sentinel/ragmuffin.html). It also turned out that this episode was not the first time Aldrich has promoted false teachings. In these perilous times one must watch out for false teachers, even in the heart of evangelicalism. Please click on the following Aldrich links for more information, though we don't necessarily endorse all these sites: http://www.calvary-baptist.org/lifestyl.html (Aldrich’s promotion of a false gospel) http://www.catholic.org/cathcom/article.php?article_id=69 (Aldrich’s ecumenism with Catholicism) http://hometown.aol.com/delusionapostasy/myhomepage/cooking.html (Ashamed of the Gospel) http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/BookReviews/lifestyl.htm (Psychologizes the gospel)
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