The Berean Call Podcast · Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon

Contemplative Spirituality Goes Mainstream? with Ray Yungen (Part 1)

April 4, 2026·23 min·2 clips

Why are evangelical elder statesmen like David Jeremiah and Chuck Swindoll promoting contemplative spirituality?

The episode opens with Tom McMahon framing the concern: contemplative spirituality has moved from fringe charismatic circles into mainstream evangelical Christianity, with respected figures including David Jeremiah and Chuck Swindoll now promoting it. Guest Ray Yungen, author of 'A Time of Departing' and contributor to the Lighthouse Trails blog, provides a definition rooted in the Latin 'contemplare' — meaning 'in the temple,' where professional mystics would commune mystically with the gods. The contemporary practice involves entering an altered state of consciousness, typically described as the alpha state, by clearing the mind of all thought. Yungen emphasizes that the defining feature of contemplative prayer is stopping all thinking about God — not meditating on Scripture or speaking to God, but achieving mental silence. McMahon connects this to the mantra practice in Hinduism and Buddhism: repeating a word for 20 minutes until meaning dissolves into sound. He argues Jesus explicitly condemned this in Matthew 6 as 'vain repetition as the heathen do,' and that repetition of any phrase — including 'Jesus is Lord' — becomes empty sound after sustained repetition. The hosts ask whether contemplative prayer is biblical and conclude it is not — there is no New Testament precedent for the technique. Yungen then addresses the source of the practice, tracing it to Gnostic and Hindu influences in Alexandria, Egypt, and to the Desert Fathers. He describes Saint Anthony entering altered states in caves and experiencing encounters that pro-contemplative sources themselves compare to Hindu yoga experiences. John Cassian systematized these practices and spread them through Catholic monasticism. Over subsequent centuries they became associated with mystics including Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Bernard of Clairvaux, and the anonymous medieval author of 'The Cloud of Unknowing.' McMahon notes these remained largely confined to monasteries and convents until the 1960s. Yungen argues for the supernatural reality of these encounters based on their universality across isolated cultures — Siberian shamanism, Pacific island tribes, South American indigenous practices — all using the same altered state of consciousness mechanism. He believes this consistency proves real spirit entities are involved. The hosts call the practice anti-biblical on this basis. McMahon reads verbatim from a pro-contemplative article by Jim Gall titled 'Be Still and Know,' which endorses centering prayer, references Catholic mystics, and describes the stated goal as a 'supernatural trance state initiated by the Holy Spirit' in which practitioners receive revelations and visions. McMahon argues this bypasses the Bible, preaching, and church fellowship. He also quotes a description from another contemplative source describing being led into heavenly rooms and becoming 'inebriated with God's presence,' and notes that theologian Karl Rahner claimed 'the Christian of the future will be a mystic, or won't exist at all.' The episode ends with the promise to continue the discussion next week, covering specific techniques including Lectio Divina.

As heard by us

A clear doctrinal critique of contemplative spirituality with a firm historical line.

Tom McMahon and Ray Youngin treat contemplative spirituality as a practice that has moved from the margins into evangelical respectability, including the emerging church and other circles that still claim biblical authority.

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Why you'd press play

Why contemplative spirituality keeps showing up in evangelical spaces.

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