The following quotes from Foster were in the first edition of his book, Celebration of Discipline, and were taken out in subsequent editions.[1]
Failing to test the spirits, Foster followed his Quaker training in silence and meditation to reach an altered state of consciousness in which he believes to have met Jesus personally.
Sound bizarre? It should, but Foster taught this same meditative technique, step-by-step, in the first edition of "Celebration of Discipline," with the promise that if you visualize and focus on Jesus, it will be more than an exercise of the mind, and that Christ will literally, actually "come to you":
"[I]n your imagination allow your spiritual body, shining with light, to rise out of your physical body. Look back so that you can see yourself lying in the grass and reassure your body that you will return momentarily ... Go deeper and deeper into outer space until there is nothing except the warm presence of the eternal Creator. Rest in His presence."
In this same volume Foster boldly declared, "let us embrace the New Age with abandon" (paraphrase-need to confirm source). Both of these statements have been carefully excised in later editions in order to disarm objections to these anti-biblical references.[2]
This is not Christian prayer.[3]
[1] Side-note: I am in the process of getting the first edition to see for myself. Update, 3-10-09: I have found this to be accurate.
[2] Dave Hunt and T.A. McMahon, “Christianity Today and Richard Foster,” found at the Berean Call (http://www.thebereancall.org/); the article is found at: http://www.thebereancall.org/node/7174 (last accessed 2-11-09).
[3] Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (New York, NY: Harper San Francisco, 1978), 26, 27:
As you enter the story, not as a passive observer but as an active participant, remember that since Jesus lives in the Eternal Now and is not bound by time, this event in the past is a living present-tense experience for Him. Hence, you can actually encounter the living Christ in the event, be addressed by His voice and be touched by His healing power. It can be more than an exercise of the imagination; it can be a genuine confrontation. Jesus Christ will actually come to you.... After awhile there is a deep yearning within to go into the upper regions beyond the clouds. In your imagination allow your spiritual body, shining with light, to rise out of your physical body. Look back so that you can see yourself lying in the grass and reassure your body that you will return momentarily. Imagine your spiritual self, alive and vibrant, rising up through the clouds and into the stratosphere. Observe your physical body, the knoll, and the forest shrink as you leave the earth. Go deeper and deeper into outer space until there is nothing except the warm presence of the eternal Creator.
