Robert Muller envisioned a "new spiritual world order" when he made his presentation to the 1993 Parliament of World Religions (see previous post for citation). He hoped to "create a world spiritual civilization and synergy" by the year 2013. A few key predictions from his monograph are quoted below:
"*All conflicts of a religious origin or background were eliminated by the year 2003 . . . .
*Religions have all forgiven each other their past wars and misdeeds . . . .
*Religions are now refraining from criticizing and diminishing each other. Instead they validate each other to creat a world spiritual civilization and synergy.
*Alongside the Parliament of World Religions meeting every ten years and the World Spirituality Agency, a World Monastic Council has been established to bring together the richness of monastic practices and experiences from around the world.
*World-wide prayers and meditation are held each year on the International Day of Peace . . . .
*Meditation rooms or places of worship have been created in all world organizations, national Parliaments, government offices, professional sites, and businesses of the world.
*Spiritual education has been restored in all schools of the earth. Prayers and meditation are held at the beginning of each school day. Education of any religion is accompanied by a minimum of teaching of other religions and of the diversity of the world's faiths." (Framework for Preparation for the Year 2000, p. 27-28) [emphases added]
Note that Muller would have spirituality become integrated throughout governments, businesses and the private sector. Much of the Peter Drucker/Rick Warren plan for global expansion of the evangelical church fits this "3-legged stool" model of transformation/reformation. This communitarian model would bestow religious "rights" to people, but correspondingly prescribe "responsibilities." [See http://www.discernment-ministries.org/Purpose_Driven.pdf for more information on this point.]
Also note that Muller embraces many spiritual practices that are rapidly gaining ground in neo-evangelicalism -- meditation, monasticism (i.e., asceticism), globalized prayer activities, and refraining from criticizing.
Robert Muller & Education
Education is a key vehicle to implement Robert Muller's "vision" for a New Age. Muller is the author of the World Core Curriculum. This education curriculum served as a spiritual and political model, based on the metaphysical beliefs of Theosophy, for education reform in the United States and around the world. Muller's spiritual framework was particularly appealing to globalists and futurists, many of whom were the architects of the transformation of education. Charlotte Iserbyt, in her landmark book the deliberate dumbing down of america: A Chronological Paper Trail [Conscience Press, 1999 http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com], noted the significance of Muller's curriculum:
"The offices of Lucis Trust (formerly Lucifer Publishing) which were previosly located across from the United Nations Building in New York have offered for sale the Robert Muller World Core Curriculum (a New Age elementary education curriculum), written by Muller who served as the under secretary of the UN. The World Core Curriculum states that it is based on the teachings of Alice Bailey's spirit guide, the Tibetan teacher Djwhal Kjul. . . . It should be noted that the Robert Muller School is a member of the UNESCO Associated Schools Project, certified as a United Nations Associated School." (p. 54)
The World Core Curriculum rose to prominence in part due to the advocacy of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, an organization connected with the National Education Association (NEA) teachers union. Writing about a local school district's adoption of a global education curriculum model, Iserbyt observed,
"ASCD's involvement in this local school district's curriculum was a logical follow up to its involvement from the beginning in Robert Muller's World Core Curriculum, upon which District 4J's curriculum was based. According to an article entitled 'Educator Proposes a Global Core Curriculum' by Susan Hooper which appeared in the November 27, 1985 issue of Education Week, Gordon Cawelti, executive director of ASCD, in an address to educators from twelve Western nations and Japan, urged them to press for the development of a world core curriculum based on knowledge that will ensure 'peaceful and cooperative existence among the human species on this planet.' Education Week explained, 'Cawelti's world core curriculum would be based on . . . proposals put forth by Robert Muller, Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations, in his recent book New Genesis: Shaping a Global Spirituality.'" [emphasis added]
Robert Muller was a frequent speaker at ASCD conventions, as documented by Berit Kjos in Brave New Schools ( Harvest House, 1995 [see http://www.crossroad.to]). Muller's book New Genesis: Shaping a Global Spirituality defined global education in pure futurist New Age terminology:
"Global education must prepare our children for the coming of an interdependent, safe, propsperous, friendly, loving, happy planetary age as has been heralded by all great prophets. The real, the great period of human fulfillment on planet Earth is only now about to begin." (Published by World Happiness and Cooperation, 1982, p. 8.) [emphasis added]
The Truth:
Sadly, as one reads the list of "visions" of Robert Muller from the beginning of this post, the similarities to the "visions" of modern evangelical leaders and false prophets are readily apparent. This futurist "envisioning" talk may sound appealing to the intellect, but Scripture reminds us:
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever." (Psalm 111:10)
More tomorrow!