Lectio Divina is not a harmless Bible reading practice. Here’s why
By Elizabeth Prata
You are at risk. Every minute. IF you are in Christ, that is.
Satan seeks those whom he may devour. He does not rest. He got Peter, didn’t he? Peter had been with the Lord day and night for three years. Seen all the healings, miracles, heard all the lessons. Peter knew Jesus was the Christ. (Matthew 16:16). Yet when the moment of highest pressure came, Peter denied Jesus. Succumbing to his/our corrupt nature, he opted for self preservation.
Satan is subtle (Genesis 3:1), relentless (1 Peter 5:8), bold (Matthew 4), has an evil, prideful agenda (Isaiah 14:13), deceitful (Ephesians 6:11) and more.
Satan masquerades as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14). A masquerade is someone dressing as someone else, in costume and with a mask so as to hide their true self.
HOW does satan deceive? By promoting error and undermining. Matthew Henry says,
They would be as industrious and as generous in promoting error as the apostles were in preaching truth; they would endeavour as much to undermine the kingdom of Christ as the apostles did to establish it.
By promoting error and undermining.
Satan’s subtlety and his masquerade means that something that’s deadly will be hidden as something good, religious, even. The error won’t look like error. It’s hidden behind a mask, remember? But it hides its true nature behind the mask, and will eventually damage you.
One example of his subtle evil is when he inserted Lectio Divina (LD) into the true church. LD is a Roman Catholic/Mystical practice, so it comes from the false church. It is a practice that on its surface, seems good, holy, proper. But satan masquerades, remember. LD only has a veneer of goodness to it. Take the mask off and you can see its true nature.
Many people these days refuse to look beyond the mask. Ephesians 6:11 says to
Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
Satan has schemes. Many people these days also refuse to even put ON their armor, never mind look into these things to see IF there is a mask and if so, to see what is lurking behind it.
LD arose over ten years ago and immediately became popular when Francis Chan, Beth Moore, Louis Giglio, Lecrae (I think), and John Piper taught 16000 impressionable youths at the Passion Conference a version of how to do it. The lesson became seeds of false doctrine that the youths returned to their churches to plant. This is both error and undermining, satan’s tactics.
The panel stood on stage before the youths and one by one went through what seems to be a modification of the full LD process, and all the while, a 30 foot high billboard behind them was emblazoned not once but twice with the mantra, “Jesus, speak to us”. Asking Jesus to speak outside his word is error, and it underme the sufficiency of scripture.
Does God still give revelation?
Beth Moore, for example, read a passage from the Bible, and then urged the youths to “be still and ask Jesus to speak his word to us.”
No. The audience had just heard Jesus speak His word. (Hebrews 1:1-2). She had JUST read His word to them. Jesus IS the Word. (John 1:1). The prayer should not be, ‘Jesus speak your word to us’, but ‘Holy Spirit illuminate the word to us.’
What is the biblical doctrine of illumination?
Though these kind of practices are fads negatively impacting the global church, and some fade quickly, LD is still kicking around. I saw women on Twitter defend Lectio Divina this week. One defender said:
Here. Here is where we get these ideas. Brad Klassen explains what Lectio Divina is and why we should stay away from practicing it.
The Bible and Lectio Divina: A Helpful Tool or a Dangerous Practice?
It’s a good article, just a 10-minute read. Klassen proposes 4 reasons why Lectio Divina is harmful to your walk with Christ.
Lectio Divina is dangerous due to-
-Its historical origin and development
-Its alienation of the human writer
-Its eisegesis
-Its subjectivity
After explaining the 4 reasons, Klassen concludes,
While more reasons [not to do LD] could be listed, these suffice. Lectio divina—the “sacred reading” of the Bible—is not just one more instrument that the Christian can add to his spiritual toolbox to better read the Word of God. Inherent to its practice are elements that lead the reader away from the meaning of the text and toward the reader’s own subjective intuition.
I encourage you to read his article.
Satan is subtle. You need to be wary of a fad that enters the church and is almost eagerly accepted, even if it seems to be everywhere, even by people on stages you might look up to. Your faith needs to remain as pure as possible. So, put on the armor, look behind the mask, and pray for illumination.
Further Resources
Discernment review: The mystical practice of Lectio Divina
