Celebration of Discipline: Can It Be Trusted?

Richard Foster's book, Celebration of Discipline, is not a book that can be trusted. After going through the sample reading of the Amazon Kindle version, These are some errors that I found. 

Why does Richard Foster feel the need to worship God in the way that false religions do? This is specifically forbidden by God in the verse at the beginning of this blog post, Deuteronomy 12:28-32. Leviticus 19:26 says, "Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times." God here is saying no magic. This is basically how mystics operate. 

Look at Isaiah 8:19-20: "And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."

As you will see, Foster used the writings of mystics in his book.These are people that God said we should not ask how they worship their false gods and then worship Him the same way. God has outlined how we should worship Him, and it is not the way that mystics point out. 

Look at this Scripture from Deuteronomy 12:28-32:

"28 Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God.  

29 When the Lord thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land; 

30 Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.  

31 Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God: for every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.  

32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it."

 The intro is by a man named Dr. Elton Trueblood. In the intro he states that the purpose is ecumenical. As Seventh-day Adventists, we should NOT join the ecumenical movement. Why? Because we are to be different. A peculiar people. 1 Peter 2:9 says this: "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;" This ecumenical movement says we should join in unity with other churches. 2 Corinthians 6:14 says, "what communion hath light with darkness?"

Catholicism says this about ecumenism, from catholicculture.org: "For Catholics, the word ecumenism refers to all of the activities and initiatives of the Church and her members to promote mutual understanding and, ultimately, unity among all Christians. Ecumenism is based on the unity and universality of the Church, which possesses all the goods given by God for salvation, and on the Church’s proper relationship with non-Catholic Christian bodies which share some of these goods, including baptism."

The Catholic church teaches that they have "all the goods given by God for salvation," and also that there is no salvation outside of the Catholic church. So why join the ecumenical movement? We should not join it nor even toy with the idea of it.

Foster says that as he prayed with his friend, Bill, they began experiencing a "sweet sinking into Deity," spoken of by Jeanne Guyon. Who is Jeanne Guyon? Notice what Albion College has to say about her:

She was a mystic. As Christians, we are to stay away from anything mystic or spiritualistic, basically anything with paganism in it. Leviticus 19:26, “Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.”

This "sinking into deity" idea is saying that God is a part of you. Look at what Guyon says in her writings: "The more peaceful your soul is, the more quickly it is able to move toward God, its center." So she believed that God is the center of your soul. She is saying that each person has God inside them, in a sense that each person has divinity within them. That's not what the Bible says. Isaiah 64:6 - "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." If we were divine, we wouldn't be sinful. And the Bible says we are sinful.

Notice what the Bible does say about God:

Isaiah 40:18 - "To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? "

Isaiah 40:25 - "To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One."

Isaiah 46:5 - "To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?"

Isaiah 46:9 - "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,"

Isaiah 55:8-9 - "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

1 Kings 22:19 - "And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left."

Psalm 2:4 - "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision."

Psalm 47:8 - "God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness."

Revelation 7:15 - "Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them."  

If we are not like God, and God is not like us, if God is righteous, and we are not, how can God be the center of our souls? God lives in Heaven, not in the center of our souls.



Biblical righteousness comes from God and Him alone. Foster says that there is something we can do to obtain righteousness from God. This very idea goes against the Bible. We cannot do anything to obtain righteousness because "we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." Isaiah 64:6.

We are made righteous or justified by God. Justified actually means "to declare innocent or guiltless; absolve; acquit" and to be "declared or made righteous in the sight of God." Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:" Ephesians 2:8-9 says this: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Foster says here we must do something to obtain righeousness and grace from God, when the Bible clearly states we can't do anything to obtain them. 

Acts 2:37-38, "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Peter said to obtain remission of sins, or to be made righteous, all we must do is repent, and believe in the name of Jesus. That's it. This paragraph shows that Foster disagrees with the Bible.