Monster Media 1994 #1/monster.zip/monster/RELIGION/CRJ0021A.ZIP/CRJ0021A.TXT

Text File | 1994-02-14 | 19KB | 430 lines

----------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 1993 by the Christian Research Institute.
----------------------------------------------------------------
COPYRIGHT/REPRODUCTION LIMITATIONS:
This data file is the sole property of the Christian Research
Institute.  It may not be altered or edited in any way.  It may
be reproduced only in its entirety for circulation as "freeware,"
without charge.  All reproductions of this data file must contain
the copyright notice (i.e., "Copyright 1993 by the Christian
Research Institute").  This data file may not be used without the
permission of the Christian Research Institute for resale or the
enhancement of any other product sold.  This includes all of its
content with the exception of a few brief quotations not to
exceed more than 500 words.

If you desire to reproduce less than 500 words of this data file
for resale or the enhancement of any other product for resale,
please give the following source credit:  Copyright 1993 by the
Christian Research Institute, P.O. Box 500-TC, San Juan Capistrano,
CA 92693.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

"Book Reviews" (a column from the Christian Research Journal,
Summer 1988, Volume 11, Number 1, page 29.)
    The Editor-in-Chief of the Christian Research Journal is Elliot
Miller.

-------------

*"God Calling"* by A. J. Russel, Ed. (Revell, 1972). Reviewed by
Edmund C. Gruss.


    _Christian Retailing's_ list of "Christian" best-selling books
in April 1988 included in the top five a book entitled _God
Calling._ Its prominence on the list testifies to the lack of
spiritual discernment in contemporary evangelical Christianity, for
_God Calling_ was written by the occult practice of automatic
writing. John Weldon, author and Christian expert on the occult,
remarked: "_God Calling_ is spiritistic literature; a demon makes
the ranks of evangelical best-sellers!" Weldon is not the only
Christian who has come to this conclusion.

    First published in the mid-1930s, _God Calling_ has long been
stocked by many Christian bookstores, where it has been a perpetual
best seller. The cover of the current paperback edition describes
it as "the inspiring classic" in which "Christ's words cut a daily
path of joy and peace through our troubled and confused world."


*THE ORIGINS OF "GOD CALLING"*

    One of the anonymous "two listeners" who received the messages
contained in _God Calling_ explained the listeners' background in
the book's introduction. In 1932 she received a copy of A.J.
Russell's book, _For Sinners Only._ She was so impressed with it
that she wrote down more than 100 names of people to whom she
wanted to send it:

     A few months later I read it again. It was then that
     there came a persistent desire to try to see whether I
     could get guidance such as A.J. Russell reported,
     through sharing a quiet time with the friend with whom
     I was then living. She was a deeply spiritual woman
     with unwavering faith in the goodness of God and a
     devout believer in prayer.... We sat down, pencils and
     paper in hand and waited.... My results were entirely
     negative.... But with my friend a very wonderful thing
     happened. From the first, beautiful messages were given
     to her by our Lord Himself, and every day from then
     these messages have never failed us.

    Russell, his book, and his form of "guidance" are significant
here. Louis Talbot stated that one "must examine writers such as
A.J. Russell" and his book _For Sinners Only_ to understand the
Oxford Group (which has been called Moral Rearmament since 1938)
and its teachings and that it "practically constituted a textbook
for the Group" (_The King's Business,_ Jan. 1962, p.14). In _The
Oxford Group_ Walter Clark listed Russell among the "journalistic
converts to the Oxford Group" (p. 19).

    In the January 1962 edition of _The King's Business,_ Talbot
wrote of the book:

     When Russell's _For Sinners Only_ was first published,
     it was denounced by churchmen as "deplorable" and
     "dangerous," but to me the worst thing about it was
     that it was not clear on the way of salvation....The
     atonement was scarcely mentioned (p. 14).

    The Oxford Group also practiced the guidance method advocated
by Russell and used by the listeners. When William Irvine surveyed
the opinions of other evangelical leaders on this method he found
them in one accord in their warnings against it (_Heresies
Exposed,_ third edition, p.49).  What was their concern? Pastor
Harold T. Commins, who had been a former member of the Oxford
Group, gave one response:

     Finally, their idea of "guidance" is false to the
     Scriptures....Sitting down with paper and pencil in
     hand and letting the mind go absolutely blank, and then
     writing down whatever flashes across the mind as God's
     orders for the day is beyond anything promised or
     sanctioned in Scripture. Indeed this "passivity" of
     mind is a very perilous condition to be in for it is
     precisely at such moments that Satan gains control and
     does his devilish work (pp. 50-51).

    Late in 1926 the Oxford Group's base of operations moved from
the United States to England. By 1935, their annual "House-party"
at Oxford University, which began in 1930, had 10,000 in attendance
(Clark, p.76). With the prominence of the Oxford Group in England
during the 1930s, one might conclude that the listeners, who lived
in England, were not only familiar with Russell and his book, but
also with the Oxford Group (with which he was associated) and its
teachings. This conclusion is verified in _God Calling_ where the
"Living Christ" (as he is called in the book) often uses the
terminology of the Oxford Group and promotes its philosophy (e.g.,
see the entry for Feb. 15).

    It would appear that even the book's title originated from the
Oxford Group. Walter Clark observes: "Expressions such as `God
calling'....can be found on nearly every page of the volume of his
[i.e., Oxford Group founder Frank Buchman's] collected speeches"
(p.108). We must also remember that Russell edited _God Calling_
for publication.

    With the connection of _God Calling_ to the Oxford Group firmly
established, one must conclude that the woman who was so impressed
by _For Sinners Only_ and the method of guidance presented in it,
although sincere, lacked discernment and an adequate knowledge of
Scripture.

    As for the Oxford Group/Moral Rearmament, a number of
evangelical writers have written on it, identifying it as a cult
(see, for examples, Spittler's _Cults and Isms,_ Van Baalan's _The
Chaos of Cults,_ Irvine's _Heresies Exposed,_ and Gaebelein's
_Buchmanism_).


*THE TEACHINGS OF "GOD CALLING"*

    What about the contents of _God Calling?_ Many have stated that
they have read it with benefit and some have made reference to its
ministry to them. How might these positive experiences be
explained?

    There is no denying that many statements in the book are
inspiring. Scripture is often quoted in _God Calling._ But cultic
literature often quotes Scripture. Reading Scripture wherever it
may be found and being blessed by it does not automatically
legitimize the publication in which it is included.

    An experienced administrator from a mission agency observed
after reading the book: "An evangelical reader can read his
understanding into the text and enjoy it. A Modernist or mystic (or
in some cases, even Muslim) can read his presuppositions into the
text and equally enjoy it. This is not an evangelical book except
as read with evangelical presuppositions."

    Tim Timmons's conclusion should also be noted: "The book is
full of good thoughts, but careful examination will show that many
of the concepts sound as though they originated from the angel of
light (II Cor. 11:14), rather than the Living Christ. This whole
experience is inconsistent with God's Word, that is, our only
reliable guide to examining this kind of activity" (_Chains of the
Spirit -- a Manual for Liberation,_ p.30).

    The following statements, made by one of the "two listeners,"
should cause a Christian reader concern: "We were being taught,
trained and encouraged day by day by HIM personally, when millions
of souls, far worthier, had to be content with guidance from the
Bible, sermons, their churches, books and other sources." "So to us
this book, which we believe has been guided by our Lord Himself, is
no ordinary book."

    If the above is accepted as true, the implications are immense:

1) Personal guidance is better than the Bible. 2) _God Calling_ has
more actual words of Christ than the Bible. 3) Extrabiblical
revelation is being received today. This is what the "Living
Christ" told the listeners: "Truly, I said to my disciples, 'I have
many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now.' But to
you, and the twos who gather to hear Me as you do, I can declare
those things now, that then I left unsaid" (p.69).

    As is often true in _God Calling,_ Christ in the above quote is
made to violate the meaning of His words in Scriptural context.
John 16:13 indicates that in Christ's absence further revelation of
truth would come _to_ the apostles _through_ the Holy Spirit:
"Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of Truth is come, _he_ will guide
_you_ into all truth...."

    The discerning Christian would question the spiritual source of
a book that employs such a cult-like misuse of Scripture. Space
permits only a few additional examples:

    * "When the Bible says,`God has purer eyes to behold evil,' it
means to impute evil in His people. He always sees the good in
people..."(p.50). This portion of Habakkuk 1:13 is clearly
understood when the rest of the verse is read: God's holiness
cannot regard evil with complacency or tolerate it.

    * "Remember now abideth these three, Faith, Hope and
Charity....Hope, which is confidence in yourself to succeed"
(p.110). Titus 1:2 explains that hope is not in self but in God,
who can be trusted to carry out His promises.

    * "I and my Father are one. One in desire to do good" (p.152).
The first sentence is a direct quote from John 10:30. It is
followed by an interpretation often given by cults in their
rejection of the deity of Christ.

    Then there are the statements attributed to Christ that do not
borrow from scripture:

    * "I need you more than you need me" (p.60).

    * "I await the commands of my children" (p.63).

    * "Looking to Me all your thoughts are God-inspired. Act on
them and you will be led on" (p.104).

    * "See Me in the dull, the uninteresting, the sinful, the
critical, the miserable" (p.111).

    * "I do not delay My second coming. My followers delay it"
(p.177).

    * "Remember this beautiful Earth on which you are was once only
a thought of Divine Mind" (p.201).

    * "Wherever the soul is, I am. Man has rarely understood this.
I am actually at the center of every man's being, but, distracted
with the things of the sense-life, he finds Me not" (p.55).

    * "Love is God. Give them love, and you give them God" (p.72).

    * "How often mortals rush to earthly friends who can serve them
in so limited a way, when the friends who are freed from the
limitations of humanity [i.e., the dead] can serve them so much
better, understand better, protect better, plan better, and even
plead better their cause with Me" (p.145).

    * "Yes! But remember the first hail must be that of the Magi in
the Bethlehem stable" (p.204).

   "Christ" slips up on this last one. Matthew 2:9-11 indicates
that the Magi arrived at Bethlehem a considerable time after Jesus
was born. Note that verse 11 mentions their being at the "house."
The Magi never did visit Jesus at the stable, but the shepherds did
(Luke 2:15-20).

    Much more could have been given to illustrate the errors and
problems in _God Calling._ One need not question the sincerity of
the "two listeners," but the method of guidance they employ is not
Christian. Automatic writing is never accepted in Scripture.
Indeed, it is a form of the mediumship which Scripture
unequivocally condemns (e.g., Deut. 18:10-12). The good thoughts
and inspiring statements attributed to Christ in _God Calling_
often are combined with faulty theology and the misinterpretation
of Scripture. True communications from the "Living Christ" would
not have these defects.

    -- Edmond C. Gruss (A longer version of this article was
originally published in The Discerner, April-June 1984.)

 ----------------

*"What Your Horoscope Doesn't Tell You"* by Charles Strohmer
(Tyndale House Publishers, 1988) Reviewed by Elliot Miller.

    Last spring, after former White House Chief of Staff Donald
Regan publicly revealed the longtime reliance of President and
Nancy Reagan on astrology, the focus of the national media turned
to this popular occult art. On ABC's "Night-line" Ted Koppel
moderated a debate between a professional astrologer and a
skeptical scientist. As usual, neither side could make a single
point with the opposition. An impassible gulf seemingly separates
the believers and unbelievers in astrology.

    Why is this? I have concluded that it is because both sides are
reenforced by disparate elements of truth. The skeptics' case
against astrology's claim to be scientific is irrefutable. But the
believers are not as irrational as the skeptics think -- astrology
often "works." It may not work with the precision necessary to
satisfy science, but in a personal context an astrologer's accuracy
can be impressive enough to satisfy even a critically-minded person
that _something_ more than mere coincidence is involved.

    Although a few Christian books have been written wholly or
partly to answer astrology, none to my knowledge has addressed this
crucial factor in astrology's longstanding popularity -- until now.
In _What Your Horoscope Doesn't Tell You,_ former astrologer
Charles Strohmer devotes three chapters to evaluating this
phenomenon.

    Based on his personal experience and subsequent research,
Strohmer proposes an explanation which has nothing to do with the
astrologer's horoscopic charts: "Adherents of this system --
without knowing it -- are banging on the door through which
communication is established with knowledgeable yet deceptive
spirit beings. Eventually that door opens. And that opening
produces an appalling development in the adherent's life. He or she
matures in the craft in a most unthought-of manner: as a spirit
medium" (p.51).

    _What Your Horoscope Doesn't Tell You_ is a good book to give
to acquaintances attracted to astrology. It is written directly to
them, in eminently readable language that is free of Christian
jargon and unencumbered by undefined technical terms.

    Chapter by chapter, Strohmer builds his case against astrology.
For instance, he argues that a central test of a belief system is
whether it is able to provide "authentic answers" to life's "big
questions." How can astrology's answers be authentic when it is
based on myth and deception (i.e., it falsely claims that the
planets exert specific influences on our lives, when historically
it is really Greek and Roman gods such as Jupiter, Mars, and Venus
who exert such influences)? In the concluding chapters the author
favorably applies the same test to the gospel.

    The book is not without its flaws. For example: in arguing that
the only possible explanation for why astrology "works" is evil
spirits, Strohmer overlooks the explanation that most occultists
would choose once astrology itself was proven spurious -- "psi," or
psychic ability.

    In spite of such weaknesses, _What Your Horoscope Doesn't Tell
You_ lucidly sets forth the case against astrology while making an
original contribution to Christian thought on the subject.


-------------

End of document, CRJ0021A.TXT (original CRI file name),
"Book Reviews"
release A, February 7, 1994
R. Poll, CRI

(A special note of thanks to Bob and Pat Hunter for their help
in the preparation of this ASCII file for BBS circulation.)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The Christian Research Journal is published quarterly by the
Christian Research Institute (CRI) -- founded in 1960 by the late
Dr. Walter R. Martin.  While CRI is concerned with and involved in
the general defense of the faith, our area of research
specialization is limited to elements within the modern religious
scene that compete with, assault, or undermine biblical
Christianity.  These include cults (that is, groups which deny
essential Christian doctrines such as the deity of Christ and the
Trinity); the occult, much of which has become focused in the
contemporary New Age movement; the major world religions; and
aberrant Christian teachings (that is, teachings which compromise
or confuse essential biblical truth).

Regular features of the Journal include "Newswatch," "F.Y.I"
(Relevant material in recent media), witnessing tips and book
reviews.


CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL RATES: (subject to change)
                         One Year     Two Years

California Residents    [ ] 17.24     [ ] 31.25
(state tax included)

U.S. Residents          [ ] 16.00     [ ] 29.00
(except California)

Canadian Residents      [ ] 30.00     [ ] 55.00
(in CANADIAN funds, payable to CRI's Canada headquarters at:
Post Office Box 3216, Station B, Calgary, Alberta, T2M 4L7)

Outside U.S. & Canada   [ ] 32.00     [ ] 58.00
(U.S. currency only)

Please make checks payable to CRI


To subscribe to the Christian Research Journal, please print this
coupon, fill in the necessary information and and mail it with
your payment to (Canadians please use above address):

    CRI, P.O. Box 500-TC, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92693-0500


[ ] Yes!  I want to subscribe to the Christian Research Journal.


Name:    ___________________________________________________


Address: ___________________________________________________


Address: ___________________________________________________


City, State, ZIP: __________________________________________


Country: _______________ Phone: ____________________________




YOURS FOR THE ASKING

Did you know that CRI has a wealth of information on various topics
that is yours for the asking?  In fact, a free subscription to the
Christian Research Newsletter is yours if you contact CRI and ask
for one saying that you found out about the offer from this
computer text file.  We offer a wide variety of articles and fact
sheets free of charge.  Write us today for information on these or
other topics.  Our first-rate research staff will do everything
possible to help you.

Christian Research Institute
P.O. Box 500-TC
San Juan Capistrano, CA  92693

[phone]

---------------
End of file.