A Grand Design Made to Order
Part II: Shariah Islamic Law
Professor of Intercultural Studies at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. J. Ray Tallman, contends rightly that “the obvious can be ignored no longer: Islam is in search of world dominance.” Consistent with their theology and worldview, Islamists purpose to impose a code of laws and rules to govern all citizens of their world community whether forged by consent or conquest.
This code said to govern dar-al-Islam (the Islamic world order) comprises, not a single book, but instead various compilations of precedents found within the Qur’an and Sunnah of the Prophet. Shariah Islamic law is deemed the rightful path to an allegorical water hole in the desert.
In 1776 Grand Patriot of the Jacobin Society Adam Weishaupt formulated a dandy scheme to grasp control by fomenting crisis (whether natural or engineered) and, then, offering a viable “fix.” Keeping in mind Weishaupt’s so-called Law of Fives, consider the sly camel who gradually achieves total dominance by entering, overcoming, and then occupying a targeted place of refuge, his master’s tent.
Once the Arab falls for the dromedary’s clever ruse, he’s ousted from his own tent. Within the context of his new reality, the exiled master faces new rules imposed upon him—rules with promise to show him the way (purportedly, to the nearest oasis). This, of course, illustrates how the Islamic “presence principle” operates.
New Landlord; New Terms for Tenancy
If the camel’s former master is an unbeliever, he’s relegated to the ranks of the hated dar-al-bughd. If instead he’s a Zionist/Jew or Crusader/Christian, then the evicted believer is protected under the so-called Pact of Umar. As a dhimmi (a conquered Jew or Christian living under Islamic law), he is allowed to exist. However, Muslims remain his superiors, and he is subject to poll and land taxes; only by paying the jizya is he exempt from military duty.
For the good of the community, Shariah law strips individuals, as our banished Arab, of many God-given rights. For instance, no one may testify against a Muslim in any court of law, no matter the crime. Non-Islamic religious symbols are disallowed, and “the conquered” may not build new churches or synagogues. Nor may they construct their own houses higher than those of Muslim neighbors. Forget keeping up with the Al-Jones!
When imposed, Shariah Islamic law is not optional; and social implications for an Islamic nation are profound. Westerners should note that there is no Arabic word for “democracy.” Moreover, other than Israel, there are no functioning democracies in the Middle East.
Women especially are vulnerable to Islamic social restrictions. Called “toys” by the Prophet, child virgins can be forced by their fathers to wed; and marriages in general are typically arranged. Sex is the man’s right, not the woman’s.
The Prophet said “I was shown the Hell-fire, and the majority of the dwellers were women who were ungrateful [to their husbands].”² Hence, the Qur’an admonishes men to beat their wives if they fail to obey. To a Western woman, it’s understandable why a Muslim wife might willingly send her husband to war—even martyrdom—and, if that doesn’t work, find a way—any way—to divorce him honorably.
Proclaiming Peace; Delivering Destruction
Without doubt Islam is the largest non-Christian religion in the world. It’s believed that some fifteen percent of the world’s in excess of a billion Muslims sympathize with extremism. A spokesperson for the military wing of HAMAS in Gaza admits: “Our people love death.” Furthermore, he adds, “our goal is to die for the sake of God; and if we live, we want to humiliate Jews and trample on their necks.”³
So much for a kinder, gentler Islam.
Be sure, when Muslims are in the majority, and their enemy is judged to be weak, the Medina Approach endorses war-mongering to impose the non-democratic cultural imperialism of an Islamic republic. Accordingly, threat of global terrorism has drastically changed America’s structure of government to include a Department of Homeland Security, and formerly free-as-the-wind-blows Americans willingly surrender rights and comforts once taken for granted. Frequent flyers attest to it.
Political Correctness: An Unlikely Ally
One of Islam’s most distinguished theologians Al-Ghazzali (1058-1111) once wrote: “Know that a lie is not wrong in itself. If a lie is the only way of obtaining a good result, it is permissible. We must lie when truth leads to unpleasant results.”
Because expediency dictates the essence of truth, Muslims are known for releasing inaccurate statistics with highly exaggerated numbers. Within Islam, relative truth parallels absolute truth. The Qur’an is considered the sole book of divine absolute truth; however, freedom of religion is by no means absolute. Rather, it’s an example of relative truth.
Upon visiting an Iranian mosque in Tehran, I was reminded of just how welcoming Islam is to the purportedly protected dhimmi. A banner prominently posted over the mosque’s door read: “Christians are not welcome. They will be losers in the after world.” Just a year later, I rearranged my itinerary to skip Algiers when its local newspaper announced that every American should be shot on the spot! Thanks, but no thanks.
A Matter of Opinion—But Whose?
Perhaps surprisingly, Muslim readers are free to interpret the Qur’an as they wish. To them, falsehoods are not lies—just differing perspectives. Speaking of which, political correctness—i.e., viewpoint discrimination—requires acknowledgement that Islam is a kind religion, one of peace and charity, even though some eighty percent of all Imams (spiritual leaders) in the United State sanction the Wahabi movement.
Yet no Christmas carols, prayers, or Bible reading are allowed, but as part of their seventh-grade curriculum, Excelsior Elementary School in Byron, California, ran a three-week course in which students assumed Islamic names, recited Muslim prayers, and memorized Surras (verses) from the Qur’an.
Forget Lent, but require kids to fast for a day during the ninth month of the Muslim lunar year (Ramadan)? C’mon, folks. Get a grip.
To Harm or Not to Harm—That is the Question
Called the Mecca Approach, a conciliatory stance is sanctioned in Islam, but this applies primarily when Muslims perceive themselves to be in the minority. A popular Arab saying goes like this: “When your enemy is strong, kiss his hand and pray that it will be broken some day.” The takiya right allows a Muslim to “fake peace” when one is proven to be weak.
Islamic Doctrine of Abrogation
Muslims speak of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in terms of a three-camel caravan by which Judaism goes just so far in truth, then camps. Christianity picks up from there by introducing greater truth, but Islam alone reaches the final destination. Here’s the bottom line: The Islamic Doctrine of Abrogation elevates revelation given later over and above earlier revelation. Hence, Islam’s revelatory truth naturally exceeds that of its predecessors.
Keep in mind that Qu’ran verses were written in two different cities at two different periods of time. Whereas the first ninety-two (written in Mecca) advocated non-harm to People of the Book, the last twenty-four (written in Medina) sanction harm to non-Muslims. In accordance with the Doctrine of Abrogation, this latter revelation effectively abrogates the earlier conciliatory one in favor of non-harm.6
Shed Blood a Given
In a CFR journal Foreign Affairs (August 1975), Arthur Schlesinger Jr. linked “harm” to the New World Order which, he demanded, won’t be achieved “without paying for it in blood.” In a speech delivered at the session on Humanism and Islam at the IHEU World Congress 2002, Azam Kamguian openly testified of his own shed blood at the hands of brutal Islamists; and he is by no means alone.
From AD 33 to Y2K fully nine million Christians have been murdered by Muslims. Since 1979, a hundred thousand men, women, and children were executed in Iran—all in the name of Allah. Two million Christians were killed in the Sudan genocide alone. Add to that the same number of Armenians in Turkey, and we’re talking lots of bloodshed. Today, about 160,000 Christians die yearly for their convictions.
Pretty is as pretty does. Politically-correct characterizations to the contrary cannot negate this truth. Dressing an attack bull in a pink tutu in no way alters the nature of the beast.
1. Dr. William Wagner, How Islam Plans to Change the World (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2004), 9.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. http://www.lamblion.com.
5. Steven Emerson, American Jihad (New York: Free Press, 2002), 160.
6. Wagner, How Islam Plans to Change the World, 67, 70-71.
7. David Barrett, George T. Kurian, and Todd M. Johnston, World Christian Encyclopedia (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), 1:11.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
King of the Mountain
A Grand Design Made to Order
Part I: King of the Mountain
In our age of constant crisis, world citizens yearn for “global security,” peace, and harmony that transnational federal government alone is said to offer. But the one-world agenda is by no means new. Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome all gave it a whirl under the likes of Nimrod, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon (among others).
Throughout history, each tyrant touted his own designer brand of global governance; each fell short of the prize. In less than a year, for example, Hitler and his henchmen effectively enslaved and dominated most of Europe, but in the end failed to accomplish the thousand-year Third Reich.
A presently emerging New World Order inspires endless speculation as to its source, nature, timeline, and ultimate fate. Though dubious conspiracy theories abound in the tradition of long-debunked Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, naysayers agree nonetheless that globalism defines twenty-first century reality. Activists call for local action on behalf of the global community.
While illuminists herald a planetary shift to a new age of elevated consciousness, and bio-regionalists advance the cause of “planethood,” internationalists labor to birth a Novus Ordo Seclorum (“New Secular World Order of the Ages”). The Bible prophesies yet another future world rule distinguished by an universal religion, economic dominance, and some sort of self-ruling republic known popularly as “democratic trans-nationalism” or globalism.
The true “Mother of all Dictators,” known as the Antichrist (one who stands against and in place of the Messiah), will assume its headship, but thankfully not for long. Once the time is up for this would-be “king of the mountain,” Christians anticipate (and can expect) a millennial rule and reign under Jesus Christ Himself. Theirs promises to be a theocratic world order reflective of the Garden of Eden.
In contrast, Wahabi Muslims seek one-world dominance under Shariah Islamic law. Osama bin Laden is a self-proclaimed adherent of Wahabism, representing a sort of revivalist mega-fundamentalism on steroids, if you will.¹
Globalism by Definition
In brief, globalism is a collectivist, one-world state that supplants biblical belief with alleged enlightenment, pluralism, and world law. Globalists peddle their wares with undeliverable promise of an emerging egalitarian utopia that John Lennon himself could “only imagine.”
Cosmic citizens join dreamers, as Lennon, in visualizing a brotherhood of man living as one and therefore finding nothing to kill and die for (especially not religion).² Smitten by the bug of “political cosmopolitanism,” global citizens willingly pledge allegiance, not to their nation-state of origin or residence, but rather to the world community at large and the euphonious vision it represents.
In the name of justice, globalization speaks specifically to redistribution of the world’s wealth but, then, concentrates that wealth—and power—into the hands of few. Head honchos are strategically postured to manage the world’s huddled masses—all “yearning to breathe free,” but instead destined to burdensome constraints of international law.
At stake for all are national sovereignty (exchanged for “harmonization”), personal liberties (exchanged for Earth servitude), and freedom to self-govern (exchanged for global law).
Those destined to steer the movement are identified by some as the Eastern Liberal Establishment of Insiders. The Bible alludes to them as veritable “kings without kingdoms.”³ Globalism’s proverbial brain resides within the elitist ranks of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), offshoots from which wield three arms of power—namely, economic, spiritual, and political. Change agents who “help make” foreign policy compatible with global goals are CFR media members undergirded by inner-circle academia.
Order out of Chaos
In 1776 Grand Patriot of the Jacobin Society Adam Weishaupt founded the clandestine Order of the Illuminati. His Law of Fives was a dandy scheme to grasp control by fomenting crisis (whether natural or engineered) and, then, to offer a viable “fix.”
In implementing this Machiavellian agenda, any crisis suffices—environmental catastrophe, water shortages, genetically altered foods, new diseases, nuclear attack, terrorism, biological warfare, an imploding social system, a failing education system, even aliens from outer space if need be!
It goes like this: Introducing chaos spawns discord for which new laws are required. In the midst of confusion, a dictatorial figure conveniently emerges—first, to explain the problem; then, to micromanage it. Ensuing frustration and alienation induce many to escape into fantasy and addiction, and emotionally detached dupes are easier to control. The result? Order out of chaos—simple as that.
The Grand Design of Islamists
By way of example, the Wahabist movement and chaos go hand-in-hand. Begun by an East Saudi Arabian Muslim scholar of the seventh century, the revivalist Wahabi movement is extremist in its orthodoxy and decidedly militant in action.
By uniting Muslim nations under the leadership of a Wahabist coalition, the faithful purpose to forcibly expel the West from the Middle East and, thus, “liberate” Palestine from America, the Great Satan, and the Lesser Satan Israel. Next, in order to elevate to the status of divine mandate both the spirituality and culture of seventh-century Arabia, Islamic Law must dwarf and eventually supplant the dominant biblical world order and ethic.
Forged by intimidation and, at times, violence, this Grand Design for world dominance lends itself handily to the Law of Fives. Accordingly, those committed to Weishaupt’s plan have lassoed this effort for their own opportunistic use. Once having served the one-world agenda, Wahabists eventually will be hog-tied and defanged by Weishaupt’s ilk; but for now their efforts create sufficient chaos to demand draconian control.
The Wahabi Goal
In short, the Wahabist’s goal is to establish a global community of all those who affirm Islam (an ummah). A successor to Muhammad’s temporal (not spiritual) authority (a single Caliph) is slated to govern the expected one-world theocracy.
To this end, a key strategy is “presence,” as understood by the so-called camel story: While on a journey, a camel convinces his master to allow his head to enter the warm tent in order for him to rest better. The master concedes and gradually allows the camel’s neck and two feet—finally, his entire body—to find refuge in the tent. Once having assumed full occupancy, the camel then evicts his master from out of what’s now become the camel’s tent.
Complete dominance is secured merely by entering, overcoming, and occupying a targeted place of refuge. With this strategy in mind, increasing numbers of elaborate, expensive mosques are being built all over the world—even if they remain unattended. By 2004, there were over 1,200 mosques and seven million Muslims in the United States alone; and (to borrow a phrase from Frazier) the camel has not left the building! 6
Jihad by Design
In a statement to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1950, James Warburg (CFR) insisted: “We shall have world government, whether or not you like it, by conquest or consent.” Muslim sentiments exactly.
By definition jihad is the word for struggle. The “greater jihad” refers to warfare against sin and contending for the faith; the “lesser jihad” references holy war by intimidation, threat and/or physical damage. The latter applies today.
Da’wah is a “call” or “invitation” to embrace Islam. Despite Muslim missions and physical presence, infidels may still refuse to bow the knee to Allah. In the absence of consent, conquest follows. For a reason, since 1983 four key Islamic nations (Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Egypt) have been numbered among the nine largest purchasers of arms. Communities of non-Muslims or unbelievers (dar-al-kuffer) fear terrorism—again, for a reason—and thereby can be coerced into the ranks of “the faithful.”
A Study in Fear
Moroccan scholar Fatema Mernissi explains the centrality of fear within Islam. Modern Muslims fear Allah and his Imams, the foreign West, democracy, freedom of thought, and individualism. They also fear the past, present, and future.
What’s not to fear? After all, the fire of Hell is said to be seventy degrees hotter than earthly fire; and escaping it depends on the whim of Allah. Unfortunately, Allah himself is by nature more relative than absolute. In fact, he is outright arbitrary with respect to salvation of his creation. In the words of Caesar Farah, “Allah may vary his ordinances at pleasure, prescribing one set of laws for the Jews, another for the Christians, and still another for Muslims.” 9
Keep in mind, too, that Islam is a religion that labels one an apostate merely for turning pages of the Qur’an with licked fingers. (It follows that the late Colonel Sander’s chances of being greeted at the portal of heaven by seventy-two virgins were far from finger-licking good!)
1. Dr. William Wagner, How Islam Plans to Change the World (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2004), 36.
2. http://www.lyrics007.com/John%20Lennon%20Lyrics/Imagine%20Lyrics.htm.
3. Revelation 17:12-13.
4. Tom Horn, How to Overcome the Most Frightening Issues You will Face This Century (Crane, Missouri: Defender Books, 2009), 79-110.
5. Ted Flynn. Hope of the Wicked: The Master Plan to Rule the World (Herndon, VA: MaxKol Communications, Inc., 2000), 256.
6. Wagner, How Islam Plans to Change the World, 39-59.
7. http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote/james_warburg_quote_bc08.
8. Fatema Mernissi, Islam and Democracy (Cambridge, Mass.” Perseus, 2002), 44.
9. Wagner, How Islam Plans to Change the World, 123.
Part I: King of the Mountain
In our age of constant crisis, world citizens yearn for “global security,” peace, and harmony that transnational federal government alone is said to offer. But the one-world agenda is by no means new. Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome all gave it a whirl under the likes of Nimrod, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon (among others).
Throughout history, each tyrant touted his own designer brand of global governance; each fell short of the prize. In less than a year, for example, Hitler and his henchmen effectively enslaved and dominated most of Europe, but in the end failed to accomplish the thousand-year Third Reich.
A presently emerging New World Order inspires endless speculation as to its source, nature, timeline, and ultimate fate. Though dubious conspiracy theories abound in the tradition of long-debunked Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, naysayers agree nonetheless that globalism defines twenty-first century reality. Activists call for local action on behalf of the global community.
While illuminists herald a planetary shift to a new age of elevated consciousness, and bio-regionalists advance the cause of “planethood,” internationalists labor to birth a Novus Ordo Seclorum (“New Secular World Order of the Ages”). The Bible prophesies yet another future world rule distinguished by an universal religion, economic dominance, and some sort of self-ruling republic known popularly as “democratic trans-nationalism” or globalism.
The true “Mother of all Dictators,” known as the Antichrist (one who stands against and in place of the Messiah), will assume its headship, but thankfully not for long. Once the time is up for this would-be “king of the mountain,” Christians anticipate (and can expect) a millennial rule and reign under Jesus Christ Himself. Theirs promises to be a theocratic world order reflective of the Garden of Eden.
In contrast, Wahabi Muslims seek one-world dominance under Shariah Islamic law. Osama bin Laden is a self-proclaimed adherent of Wahabism, representing a sort of revivalist mega-fundamentalism on steroids, if you will.¹
Globalism by Definition
In brief, globalism is a collectivist, one-world state that supplants biblical belief with alleged enlightenment, pluralism, and world law. Globalists peddle their wares with undeliverable promise of an emerging egalitarian utopia that John Lennon himself could “only imagine.”
Cosmic citizens join dreamers, as Lennon, in visualizing a brotherhood of man living as one and therefore finding nothing to kill and die for (especially not religion).² Smitten by the bug of “political cosmopolitanism,” global citizens willingly pledge allegiance, not to their nation-state of origin or residence, but rather to the world community at large and the euphonious vision it represents.
In the name of justice, globalization speaks specifically to redistribution of the world’s wealth but, then, concentrates that wealth—and power—into the hands of few. Head honchos are strategically postured to manage the world’s huddled masses—all “yearning to breathe free,” but instead destined to burdensome constraints of international law.
At stake for all are national sovereignty (exchanged for “harmonization”), personal liberties (exchanged for Earth servitude), and freedom to self-govern (exchanged for global law).
Those destined to steer the movement are identified by some as the Eastern Liberal Establishment of Insiders. The Bible alludes to them as veritable “kings without kingdoms.”³ Globalism’s proverbial brain resides within the elitist ranks of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), offshoots from which wield three arms of power—namely, economic, spiritual, and political. Change agents who “help make” foreign policy compatible with global goals are CFR media members undergirded by inner-circle academia.
Order out of Chaos
In 1776 Grand Patriot of the Jacobin Society Adam Weishaupt founded the clandestine Order of the Illuminati. His Law of Fives was a dandy scheme to grasp control by fomenting crisis (whether natural or engineered) and, then, to offer a viable “fix.”
In implementing this Machiavellian agenda, any crisis suffices—environmental catastrophe, water shortages, genetically altered foods, new diseases, nuclear attack, terrorism, biological warfare, an imploding social system, a failing education system, even aliens from outer space if need be!
It goes like this: Introducing chaos spawns discord for which new laws are required. In the midst of confusion, a dictatorial figure conveniently emerges—first, to explain the problem; then, to micromanage it. Ensuing frustration and alienation induce many to escape into fantasy and addiction, and emotionally detached dupes are easier to control. The result? Order out of chaos—simple as that.
The Grand Design of Islamists
By way of example, the Wahabist movement and chaos go hand-in-hand. Begun by an East Saudi Arabian Muslim scholar of the seventh century, the revivalist Wahabi movement is extremist in its orthodoxy and decidedly militant in action.
By uniting Muslim nations under the leadership of a Wahabist coalition, the faithful purpose to forcibly expel the West from the Middle East and, thus, “liberate” Palestine from America, the Great Satan, and the Lesser Satan Israel. Next, in order to elevate to the status of divine mandate both the spirituality and culture of seventh-century Arabia, Islamic Law must dwarf and eventually supplant the dominant biblical world order and ethic.
Forged by intimidation and, at times, violence, this Grand Design for world dominance lends itself handily to the Law of Fives. Accordingly, those committed to Weishaupt’s plan have lassoed this effort for their own opportunistic use. Once having served the one-world agenda, Wahabists eventually will be hog-tied and defanged by Weishaupt’s ilk; but for now their efforts create sufficient chaos to demand draconian control.
The Wahabi Goal
In short, the Wahabist’s goal is to establish a global community of all those who affirm Islam (an ummah). A successor to Muhammad’s temporal (not spiritual) authority (a single Caliph) is slated to govern the expected one-world theocracy.
To this end, a key strategy is “presence,” as understood by the so-called camel story: While on a journey, a camel convinces his master to allow his head to enter the warm tent in order for him to rest better. The master concedes and gradually allows the camel’s neck and two feet—finally, his entire body—to find refuge in the tent. Once having assumed full occupancy, the camel then evicts his master from out of what’s now become the camel’s tent.
Complete dominance is secured merely by entering, overcoming, and occupying a targeted place of refuge. With this strategy in mind, increasing numbers of elaborate, expensive mosques are being built all over the world—even if they remain unattended. By 2004, there were over 1,200 mosques and seven million Muslims in the United States alone; and (to borrow a phrase from Frazier) the camel has not left the building! 6
Jihad by Design
In a statement to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1950, James Warburg (CFR) insisted: “We shall have world government, whether or not you like it, by conquest or consent.” Muslim sentiments exactly.
By definition jihad is the word for struggle. The “greater jihad” refers to warfare against sin and contending for the faith; the “lesser jihad” references holy war by intimidation, threat and/or physical damage. The latter applies today.
Da’wah is a “call” or “invitation” to embrace Islam. Despite Muslim missions and physical presence, infidels may still refuse to bow the knee to Allah. In the absence of consent, conquest follows. For a reason, since 1983 four key Islamic nations (Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Egypt) have been numbered among the nine largest purchasers of arms. Communities of non-Muslims or unbelievers (dar-al-kuffer) fear terrorism—again, for a reason—and thereby can be coerced into the ranks of “the faithful.”
A Study in Fear
Moroccan scholar Fatema Mernissi explains the centrality of fear within Islam. Modern Muslims fear Allah and his Imams, the foreign West, democracy, freedom of thought, and individualism. They also fear the past, present, and future.
What’s not to fear? After all, the fire of Hell is said to be seventy degrees hotter than earthly fire; and escaping it depends on the whim of Allah. Unfortunately, Allah himself is by nature more relative than absolute. In fact, he is outright arbitrary with respect to salvation of his creation. In the words of Caesar Farah, “Allah may vary his ordinances at pleasure, prescribing one set of laws for the Jews, another for the Christians, and still another for Muslims.” 9
Keep in mind, too, that Islam is a religion that labels one an apostate merely for turning pages of the Qur’an with licked fingers. (It follows that the late Colonel Sander’s chances of being greeted at the portal of heaven by seventy-two virgins were far from finger-licking good!)
1. Dr. William Wagner, How Islam Plans to Change the World (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2004), 36.
2. http://www.lyrics007.com/John%20Lennon%20Lyrics/Imagine%20Lyrics.htm.
3. Revelation 17:12-13.
4. Tom Horn, How to Overcome the Most Frightening Issues You will Face This Century (Crane, Missouri: Defender Books, 2009), 79-110.
5. Ted Flynn. Hope of the Wicked: The Master Plan to Rule the World (Herndon, VA: MaxKol Communications, Inc., 2000), 256.
6. Wagner, How Islam Plans to Change the World, 39-59.
7. http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote/james_warburg_quote_bc08.
8. Fatema Mernissi, Islam and Democracy (Cambridge, Mass.” Perseus, 2002), 44.
9. Wagner, How Islam Plans to Change the World, 123.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Truth or Lie?
New Spirituality; Old Lie
Part 5: Truth or Lie?
To rest secure in these perilous times presupposes firm grounding in God’s truth as opposed to any counterfeit of it. In order to discern accurately between truth and a credible counterfeit, one first must know “the real thing” inside-out, top-to-bottom. For a Christian, this is accomplished through lifelong, Holy Spirit-directed study of God’s Word.
With the plumb line in hand, Christians must seek God’s will and remain in it as best they can. Morally, they must set and keep godly standards. Mentally, they must work at being fully informed and engaged, but never lose sight of Jesus. The Bible warns even Christians that, if not wary, they too are subject to deception.
A recent Gallup survey showed a surge in American spirituality, but many embrace a smorgasbord kind of religion made to suit the individual. Unfortunately, some 88% of America’s teens are un-churched and consequently unable to differentiate between Bible truth and New Thought lies.
• The Hook: Inner Knowing
Modern counterparts of the ancient mysteries share these in common: secrecy, degrees of initiation and targeted self-actualization. Above all, neo-Gnostics value knowledge. To achieve so-called inner knowing, one must resist unconsciousness and be awakened to the possibility of being no longer terrestrial, but celestial—i.e., no longer a Christian, but a Christ.
A practice forbidden by scripture, auto-suggestion or “enchantment” (hypnosis) is commonly employed by New Age practitioners. Hypnosis is an artificially induced state of relaxation in which suggestibility is heightened and past-life regression allows subjects to travel back to their “past lives.”
An adept is qualified to be master over less accomplished esoterics pursuing the same goal; his is a higher state of consciousness. For mystics, transcending the mundane to attain heightened consciousness is a coveted state; however, knowledge that elevates humanity to “he who is God over all” counterfeits God’s more excellent plan that believers partake of the divine nature on His terms.
• The Core Concept: Pantheism
Patron saint of New Thought, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a French Jesuit paleontologist and philosopher who effectively blended Christianity with pantheism. His trendy, neo-Gnostic error embraces a sophisticated mix of blended heresies springing from Hinduism, Buddhism, Greek philosophy and ancient mystery religions of the Mediterranean.
The holistic movement involves evolution into greater wholes (body, mind, spirit), its goal being the balance of forces in the universe (pantheism). The New Age mystic wrongly perceives God to be no more or less than the sum total of all that exists. At the base of all is pantheism, proclaiming all life to be God, or part of God.
In anthropology, animism is the concept of spirits residing in all natural phenomena and objects. Rooted in pantheism, animism is linked to ancestor and Nature (Gaia) worship. A glorified garden plot in Northern Scotland, the Findhorn Community claims interdependent alliance among nature, Devas (etheric archetypes for creation) and Man.
• The Goal: Self-god
Self-esteem has become the unremitting mantra of mystics and secularists alike. Whereas secular humanists express their religious emotions in “a heightened sense of personal life,” cosmic humanists journey inward in search of “the higher self.” Becoming a “transformed partaker of the Divine Nature” communicates something altogether different to a New Age mystic than to a Bible-believing follower of Jesus Christ.
With intuitive insight into the nature of the divine, archetypal images (ideal forms) are highly evolved humans who have mastered esoteric philosophy by becoming one with god; hence, one with the universe. Known as the hierarchy, wise men (also called Ascended Masters of Wisdom and the Elder Brothers) claim to have evolved through successive cycles of reincarnation in reaching a state of divinity.
The Bible commands us to love others as we love ourselves. Nevertheless, counterfeit self-love, even to the point of pantheistic self-deification, is outright blasphemy. In the face of God Almighty, the Eugenic (meaning “well born”) Manifesto declares “We are interested in competing with Jesus Christ and Buddha for the destiny of man… It is now time for you to meet God. Here is god: that god is you” (James L. Hart. Eugenic Manifesto, Prometheus Press, 1997, pp. 1 and 32).
• The Process: Mystical Darwinism
The Greek root of “esoteric” means “private or confidential.” Such knowledge is not intended for, or understood by, the general public. Although sacred secrets are revealed at the highest, inner level exclusively, the process of mystical evolution holds promise for humanity to awaken to it. Presumably multiple reincarnations (called transmigration) with upward mobility provide the modern mystic opportunities needed to ascend.
Centering techniques—i.e., Transcendental Meditation—are means by which higher states of consciousness are attained. A climactic “peak experience” (Omega Point) is accomplished through a variety of centering techniques.
Global transformation (known by some as Planetary Luciferic Initiation) is the mass quantum leap to so-called enlightenment, promising to usher in a new age of group-consciousness, that of Aquarius. This misguided New Age notion is promoted to the public through eco-occultists as David Spangler; authors as Paul Hawken (The Magic of Findhorn); and New Age mystics as Amory Lovins, fellow of the druid-like Lindisfarne Association.
• The Trap: Convincing Counterfeits
The coming new age, the Ecozoic Age, is one which will transcend God, says misguided Gaia spokesperson Father Thomas Berry. True, Christians anticipate a golden era of unprecedented opportunity, peace and worldwide collaboration when Christ rules and reigns in the Millennium. To the undiscerning, the right use of energy among intuitive friends united by earth stewardship, sustainability, collectivism and illumination sounds like the real deal; but it isn’t.
Summary
Forewarned and forearmed with Bible truth, godly men and women embrace authentic wisdom from above. Their hope is not directed toward self-god released from within. Even when culture inundates them with syncretistic spirituality, Bible-honoring believers “buy the truth and sell it not.” In assessing the worth of any belief system, one principle prevails: Let God be true and every opposing man (or spirit) a liar.² This, they live by.
1. Proverbs 23:23.
2. Romans 3:4.
Part 5: Truth or Lie?
To rest secure in these perilous times presupposes firm grounding in God’s truth as opposed to any counterfeit of it. In order to discern accurately between truth and a credible counterfeit, one first must know “the real thing” inside-out, top-to-bottom. For a Christian, this is accomplished through lifelong, Holy Spirit-directed study of God’s Word.
With the plumb line in hand, Christians must seek God’s will and remain in it as best they can. Morally, they must set and keep godly standards. Mentally, they must work at being fully informed and engaged, but never lose sight of Jesus. The Bible warns even Christians that, if not wary, they too are subject to deception.
A recent Gallup survey showed a surge in American spirituality, but many embrace a smorgasbord kind of religion made to suit the individual. Unfortunately, some 88% of America’s teens are un-churched and consequently unable to differentiate between Bible truth and New Thought lies.
• The Hook: Inner Knowing
Modern counterparts of the ancient mysteries share these in common: secrecy, degrees of initiation and targeted self-actualization. Above all, neo-Gnostics value knowledge. To achieve so-called inner knowing, one must resist unconsciousness and be awakened to the possibility of being no longer terrestrial, but celestial—i.e., no longer a Christian, but a Christ.
A practice forbidden by scripture, auto-suggestion or “enchantment” (hypnosis) is commonly employed by New Age practitioners. Hypnosis is an artificially induced state of relaxation in which suggestibility is heightened and past-life regression allows subjects to travel back to their “past lives.”
An adept is qualified to be master over less accomplished esoterics pursuing the same goal; his is a higher state of consciousness. For mystics, transcending the mundane to attain heightened consciousness is a coveted state; however, knowledge that elevates humanity to “he who is God over all” counterfeits God’s more excellent plan that believers partake of the divine nature on His terms.
• The Core Concept: Pantheism
Patron saint of New Thought, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a French Jesuit paleontologist and philosopher who effectively blended Christianity with pantheism. His trendy, neo-Gnostic error embraces a sophisticated mix of blended heresies springing from Hinduism, Buddhism, Greek philosophy and ancient mystery religions of the Mediterranean.
The holistic movement involves evolution into greater wholes (body, mind, spirit), its goal being the balance of forces in the universe (pantheism). The New Age mystic wrongly perceives God to be no more or less than the sum total of all that exists. At the base of all is pantheism, proclaiming all life to be God, or part of God.
In anthropology, animism is the concept of spirits residing in all natural phenomena and objects. Rooted in pantheism, animism is linked to ancestor and Nature (Gaia) worship. A glorified garden plot in Northern Scotland, the Findhorn Community claims interdependent alliance among nature, Devas (etheric archetypes for creation) and Man.
• The Goal: Self-god
Self-esteem has become the unremitting mantra of mystics and secularists alike. Whereas secular humanists express their religious emotions in “a heightened sense of personal life,” cosmic humanists journey inward in search of “the higher self.” Becoming a “transformed partaker of the Divine Nature” communicates something altogether different to a New Age mystic than to a Bible-believing follower of Jesus Christ.
With intuitive insight into the nature of the divine, archetypal images (ideal forms) are highly evolved humans who have mastered esoteric philosophy by becoming one with god; hence, one with the universe. Known as the hierarchy, wise men (also called Ascended Masters of Wisdom and the Elder Brothers) claim to have evolved through successive cycles of reincarnation in reaching a state of divinity.
The Bible commands us to love others as we love ourselves. Nevertheless, counterfeit self-love, even to the point of pantheistic self-deification, is outright blasphemy. In the face of God Almighty, the Eugenic (meaning “well born”) Manifesto declares “We are interested in competing with Jesus Christ and Buddha for the destiny of man… It is now time for you to meet God. Here is god: that god is you” (James L. Hart. Eugenic Manifesto, Prometheus Press, 1997, pp. 1 and 32).
• The Process: Mystical Darwinism
The Greek root of “esoteric” means “private or confidential.” Such knowledge is not intended for, or understood by, the general public. Although sacred secrets are revealed at the highest, inner level exclusively, the process of mystical evolution holds promise for humanity to awaken to it. Presumably multiple reincarnations (called transmigration) with upward mobility provide the modern mystic opportunities needed to ascend.
Centering techniques—i.e., Transcendental Meditation—are means by which higher states of consciousness are attained. A climactic “peak experience” (Omega Point) is accomplished through a variety of centering techniques.
Global transformation (known by some as Planetary Luciferic Initiation) is the mass quantum leap to so-called enlightenment, promising to usher in a new age of group-consciousness, that of Aquarius. This misguided New Age notion is promoted to the public through eco-occultists as David Spangler; authors as Paul Hawken (The Magic of Findhorn); and New Age mystics as Amory Lovins, fellow of the druid-like Lindisfarne Association.
• The Trap: Convincing Counterfeits
The coming new age, the Ecozoic Age, is one which will transcend God, says misguided Gaia spokesperson Father Thomas Berry. True, Christians anticipate a golden era of unprecedented opportunity, peace and worldwide collaboration when Christ rules and reigns in the Millennium. To the undiscerning, the right use of energy among intuitive friends united by earth stewardship, sustainability, collectivism and illumination sounds like the real deal; but it isn’t.
Summary
Forewarned and forearmed with Bible truth, godly men and women embrace authentic wisdom from above. Their hope is not directed toward self-god released from within. Even when culture inundates them with syncretistic spirituality, Bible-honoring believers “buy the truth and sell it not.” In assessing the worth of any belief system, one principle prevails: Let God be true and every opposing man (or spirit) a liar.² This, they live by.
1. Proverbs 23:23.
2. Romans 3:4.
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