By Sarah H. Leslie
This is an abstract of a thesis.[1] This abstract represents a summary of four decades of prior published writings by this author and her associates known as the Iowa Research Group and Discernment Research Group. The thesis itself has already been written. The substance of this abstract can be found in published material referenced in these footnotes, and its documentation includes the embedded hyperlinks and footnotes which lead to other prior published writings and vast amounts of original source material. In other words, this abstract represents a rather unorthodox presentation of a thesis which has not necessarily been published in printed form in scholarly journals, nor in a book. But, rather, a substantive portion of this thesis and its accompanying documentation has been published previously online on the Internet, particularly on the scholarly research blog Herescope.
This abstract provides an overview of evolution as a cosmological and metaphysical paradigm that seamlessly unites science with spirituality in a manner that corrupts the truth. Evolution is more than an alternative to the creation story. Evolution is not just a scientific concept; it is a spiritual worldview.[2] This abstract is not by any means complete, nor exhaustive. This is simply a broad overview of the topic of spiritual evolution, particularly its mysticism and esoteric applications to postmodern life in both the culture at large and also the church.
The full scope of evolution posits that there is a state of perfection that can be achieved, a “telos” (goal, purpose) of creation that will ultimately culminate in created matter being reabsorbed back into the “Divine Whole,” with man becoming a “god” and attaining a higher plane of consciousness. Man as “divine substance” is a key tenet of this esoteric spirituality, teaching that having lost some of our “divine essence” while entering the material existence, we are now evolving upwards into a gradual reabsorption into the Divine, thus achieving divinity and perfection.[3] This idea has become integrated into both Judaism and Christianity through the Kabbalah and other Gnostic sources.[4] It claims that we are “co-creators” with God.[5] It corrupts the doctrine of the Fall in the Garden of Eden. It trivializes, bypasses or neglects the Cross of Christ (His shed blood for our sins, and His resurrection) and forges a new pathway for salvation in which man, through his own efforts (both spiritual and physical), must work towards a salvation that reunites him with “God” in eternal bliss.”[6] Thus the focus is not on man’s sin and our need for a Saviour, but on man’s spiritual quest for redemption. As such, the end goal does not anticipate Jesus’ 2nd coming, nor God’s day of judgment, but rather a paradisiac nirvana state.[7]
The history of esoteric evolution is rooted in the influence of the eastern religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Greek Humanism, etc.) on Jewish and Christian theology from hundreds of years prior to Christ to our modern era.[8] At various times in church history this influence would become more profound as various historical cultures interacted, or religions intermingled; and as one looks at history there is evidence of tides when this infusion of esoteric thought ebbed and flowed.[9] There is no one pivotal moment in church history, but rather significant nodules where a confluence is apparent. The extent to which some of these esoteric ideas – some stretching back thousands of years – have affected the modern-day evangelical doctrine is the topic of dispute, debate, and even denial.[10]
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| Charles Darwin |
Darwinism with its more “scientific” evolution merely provides evidence of an underlying theoretical, philosophical and theological foundation of eastern mysticism. This underlying foundation was already arising to prominence in European philosophy by the mid-1800s, and beginning to influence many of the academic disciplines.[11] Besides impacting economic theory (Marx and Engels), it also gave rise to psychology, sociology, anthropology and a host of other emerging sciences and pseudo-sciences.[12] It found a happy correspondence with the rise of occult mysticism, especially Theosophy.[13] Furthermore, this esoteric evolution was beginning to affect the theology of the Protestant churches – not only the origins of man and creation, but also its soteriology and eschatology.[14]
The French Jesuit anthropologist-philosopher-priest Teilhard de Chardin would become known as the “father” of the modern mystical evolution now known as the New Age Movement. Teilhard would propose that just as mankind had evolved from apes (Darwinism), that there would be an evolutionary leap and mankind would abruptly emerge as a higher order species with a higher consciousness, which he called Homo Noeticus (New Man).[15] Teilhard was careful to couch all of his words into a Christian-sounding terminology, and fuse the two worldviews together into a new eschatology in which man would achieve a level of a cosmic whole, a global mind, which Teilhard called the “Noosphere” (somewhat like a spiritual atmosphere, a psychic higher level). Teilhard also articulated the “Omega Point” that would be an ultimate convergence of matter and consciousness, an eschatological climax.[16]
Our fellow researcher Dr. Martin Erdmann argues, with much historical contextual support, that the concept of modern evolutionism, especially as it has altered Christian theology, can be traced back to Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Leibniz, influenced by the German mystic Jacob Boehme, worked on a quasi-scientific model that God’s creation was evolving to a higher state of perfection. German mysticism spread out from the original core group of mystical thinkers: Schelling, Fichte, Goethe, and most significantly Georg Hegel.[17] In his significant thesis titled Hegel and the Hermetic Tradition (2001), Glenn Magee argues that Hegel based his philosophy upon the tenets of occult Hermeticism, and strove to weave these doctrines into a Christian paradigm based on an evolutionary teleology.[18]
In the 1800s the Theosophists, Madame Blavatsky and her cohorts (Annie Besant, Alice Bailey, et al) began to articulate a “new age” on earth based on the evolutionary rise of mankind. They based their tenets on a combination of demonic transmissions and Hindu mysticism, foretelling a time in the near future when their secret “plan” for a new world order could become an open conspiracy.[19] In 1980 Marilyn Ferguson, in her book The Aquarian Conspiracy, officially launched this movement’s coming out party. Ferguson would spell out this plan in much detail, and describe its program of taking over the major organs of society, especially including science and education, for the furthering of mankind’s evolutionary path. Of note is that Ferguson emphasized a new mind, a new way of seeing and viewing reality, as necessary for this evolutionary leap.[20]
Also during the latter half of the 1800s others would begin working on organizing mankind into collectives. This implementation of esoteric evolution was structural and procedural, and there were many variations on this theme. Marxism with its emphasis on collectives is an obvious example. It was felt that by placing men into groups, cells, units (or whatever else they were called), that it would facilitate and expedite this evolution to a higher level of being.[21] As such, this evolutionary mysticism is utopian, viewing mankind as malleable and believing that the ends justify the means. But the utilitarian means often became totalitarian, and this is the dark underside of all evolutionary mysticism. The social engineers discovered that mankind can be forcibly coerced into small groups, communes, communities, tribes, work units, etc. in order to perform, even though man’s base nature interfered in this utopic dream.[22] These experts learned that operant conditioning, specifically as it was refined by B.F. Skinner, was an effective method of inducing man to change his behavior – rewarding compliance and penalizing those who could not or would not learn.[23]
The generic term for this collective evolution is known as General Systems Theory. Its goal of organizing mankind into structural units is ultimately for the purpose of facilitating a cosmic shift towards a unified Whole. A notable book detailing General Systems Theory as the means of human esoteric and structural evolution was authored by New Age leader Jeffrey S. Stamps, titled Holonomy: A Human Systems Theory (1980). Entire social systems could be reworked to facilitate conscious evolution, according to Stamps’ hierarchical models.[24] Barbara Marx Hubbard, noted New Age leader, also wrote prolifically on this topic of the evolution of consciousness of mankind, with a specific goal of creating an “Armageddon Alternative” to the biblical prophecy.[25] Here the teleological goal of esoteric evolution can be seen most clearly.
There were many other occultists, mystics, gurus and spiritual “visionaries” who influenced societies at the turn of the last century. The German history was articulated in Richard Noll’s two books about Carl Jung, The Jung Cult and its sequel, The Aryan Christ.[26] At the crux of these movements was man’s conscious evolution, which was re-cast in terms of spiritual enlightenment. Jung envisioned psychotherapy as a rite of initiation into the occult mysteries, thus facilitating the evolution of consciousness.[27] This then became a sub-theme of psychology throughout the 20th century. In order for man to achieve nirvana as a collective whole, he would need to be put through transformative exercises (spiritual, psychological and sociological).[28] These methods were based on achieving altered states of consciousness, whether through meditation (contemplation), or use of drugs, or even through intentional contact with the spirit world.[29]
By the 1960s with the advent of The Beatles rock group, and their foray into eastern mysticism with their own private guru, the popular culture would follow suit and begin to delve into these altered states of consciousness.[30] During this same time period Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow were seeking to recast psychology into a medium for the masses to become transformed and indoctrinated into new ways of thinking, feeling, seeing and behaving.[31] Thus began the “Self-Help” movement (also called the “Human Potential” movement”), which quickly became an official arm of the New Age movement.[32] At an alarming speed this movement entered into the evangelical church world during the 1980s and 1990s, and was quickly integrated into theology in a manner that taught that man was basically good but needed a bit of help from God.[33] Thus humanistic psychology became an efficient tool with which to begin the process to inculcate believers with the idea that they were on a progressive spiritual journey in which they could perfect themselves – and even the planet.[34]
The Stanford Research Institute (SRI) performed human experiments on mind and matter, advocating for Extrasensory Perception (ESP) as a way to further man along his spiritual development. At a key juncture in time, Willis Harman, a leading Theosophist at SRI, would positively impact evangelical Christian leaders at a series of two “Consultations on the Future” sponsored by the Billy Graham Association in the late 1970s.[35] It was at these two consultations that evangelical leaders heard about alternative future scenarios in which Jesus was not coming back to earth imminently. These churchmen were encouraged to “envision” new future scenarios in which mankind could perfect the earth and himself via science and philosophy, social change and “global mind change” (the title of a Willis Harman book).[36]
Much has been written about the rise of the postmodern neoevangelical movement but, to briefly summarize, the headquarters of the new eschatology would become Fuller Theological Seminary.[37] Here the professors began working arduously on creating new theologies that would incorporate in a new worldview where the church was seen to be evolving to greater perfection on earth. This included Dominionism (which was also being touted in other quarters of the Christian world) that taught that mankind must perfect itself and the planet before Jesus will return.[38] The U.S. Center for World Mission (headed by Ralph Winter, who was highly influenced by Willis Harman) began to reorganize the planet into “affinity” groups based on ethnicity (not language).[39] This is not an anomaly. All esoteric evolution contains an element of racial purity, either explicitly or implicitly insinuating that some are lower on the evolutionary scale.[40] Some have even devised assessments to ascertain “higher order” skills and abilities.[41]
Spiritual formation was a concept developed at Fuller by Roberta Hestenes[42] (Larry Crabb[43] and Richard Foster[44] would make further inroads into the popular evangelical culture). Spiritual formation represented a perfect mixture of mysticism (altered states of consciousness) along with physical structure/alignment (i.e., formation). It must be noted that practicing eastern mysticism, for example Yoga, requires both a physical and mental component.[45]
Peter Drucker, the well-known business leader and “guru,” began to become quite influential in the church at this time, helping to launch Leadership Network.[46] Based on the same networking hierarchical structure as detailed by Marilyn Ferguson in her description of how the New Age would operate, Leadership Network began to form new church group structures based on downline networking structures that were hierarchical in nature (not unlike multilevel marketing).[47] These structures provided a clear channel for indoctrination, ensuring that the “DNA” of the leader would be transmitted downline in uniformity.[48] It was felt that this homogeneous message would facilitate the emergence of a new church order in which there would be unity in purpose for the achievement of a collective harmonious whole. Notably, Peter Drucker grew up in a family that was part of the Vienna Circle, a group that was devoted to the furthering of a new societal order (Comtean Positivism).[49] Drucker believed that men in collective formation would emerge to a higher form of spirituality.[50] Drucker began envisioning this as the “concept of the corporation” (the title of his first book) – a collective business organism.[51] Drucker viewed the State (government) as the chief vehicle to facilitate this evolution, but only as it was merged with the Corporate (business) and the Private Sector (charities and the churches) to function together as a “3-legged stool.”[52] Drucker worked with key evangelical church leaders (Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, etc.) in the latter third of his life to develop the Mega-Church model as a quasi-corporate structure, broken down into manageable cells (small groups), that could best facilitate this paradigm shift.[53]
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| Bob Buford (source) |
It should be pointed out that the church, as it was reformed into this downline networking hierarchy, would begin to interlock with global State and Corporate entities in novel ways heretofore unknown in the history of mankind.[54] C. Peter Wagner, also from Fuller, would dedicate the last several decades of his life to forming a global network that he has called the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), headed by self-proclaimed “apostles” and “prophets” who claimed to have attained superior supernatural abilities. Several years ago Wagner’s NAR network began to boast that it would be in charge of 7 mountains (or “spheres”) to rule the earth, a clear reference to Dominionism.[55] Significantly, Wagner had incorporated into his theology some esoteric evolutionary doctrines from an obscure cult known as Latter Rain, which had been influenced by Gnosticism, that taught that the church could perfect herself on earth, take over the planet, implement judgment, and that by so doing men would become gods.[56]
Concurrently, the Emergent Church movement[57] was launched by Leadership Network in the late 1990s as an open attempt to facilitate a “quantum shift” in spirituality in the evangelical church world.[58] Leonard Sweet, one of the founders of this movement would even articulate this as a new “quantum spirituality” in a book with this title.[59] He would go on to further integrate the evolutionary ideals of the New Agers, including especially Teilhard de Chardin, recasting them in to a Christianized mold.[60] Leadership Network held a very significant 2000 conference called “Exploring Off the Map” in which leading New Agers such as Peter Senge (the guru of evolutionary mysticism) and other leaders served as keynote speakers.[61] Warren B. Smith, an evangelical author with a testimony of coming out of the New Age Movement, has written extensively about Sweet and this Emergent movement.[62] In fact, the word “emergent” is steeped in meaning in Teilhard’s evolutionary cosmogony.[63] Much more could be said about this topic.
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| Leonard Sweet |
It should also be pointed out that certain marketing methods, particularly those developed by sociologist Dr. Everett Rogers (“Diffusion of Innovation”) have lent themselves to the evolutionary worldview.[64] These principles are based on the esoteric and evolutionary science of Thomas Kuhn, author of the 1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Kuhn proposed that not only was man’s understanding of science evolving, but science itself (truth) was evolving. Kuhn proposed a model of a “paradigm shift” to explain the sometimes sudden shifts in mindsets and understandings of science.[65] This “paradigm shift” in mindset then became an active research project for many government social scientists, as well as psychologists and professional marketers.[66] This psycho-social marketing method became the standard tool for “missional” evangelization across the world.[67]
“Paradigm shifting” was heralded as the main method of societal transformation articulated by Marilyn Ferguson’s New Age book The Aquarian Conspiracy. And “paradigm shift” (or the less offensive term “transformation”) would become a rallying cry for some segments of the evangelical church world as well.[68] This was especially through the training of Leadership Network, which openly sought to transform the church away from denominations and doctrines. So notice – rather than repentance and confession of sin, and the transformation of the inner man, there was a substitute of a mind change, a new worldview, a new set of beliefs. Not true salvation.[69]
The Truth:
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to
be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the
earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the
sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not
willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of
corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know
that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until
now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits
of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the
adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope:
but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he
yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with
patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities:
for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit
itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of
the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to
the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to
them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to
the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and
whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he
also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for
us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered
him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all
things?”
(Romans 8:18-32)
(Romans 8:18-32)
Endnotes:
1. This author, Sarah Huling Leslie, holds a BS in Education and an MS in Counseling. This thesis was presented to a group of scholars at the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky in December 2013, along with related presentations by Warren B. Smith and the late Pastor Larry DeBruyn. Permission by the author was given to publish an earlier version of this abstract in Evangelical Times, March 2014: https://www.evangelical-times.org/21351/esoteric-evolution-an-overview-1/ and April 2014, https://www.evangelical-times.org/21202/esoteric-evolution-an-overview-2/; and in Verax Magazine (Vol. 1), Nov. 2016. A Dutch language version of the book by Dr. Edgar Andrews, What is Man, Adam, Alien, or Ape? (https://whatisman.org) may include this full article in accompanying documentation at http://www.uitgeverijmaatkamp.nl/boek/43/wat-is-de-mens/edgar-andrews/9789491706622 (Maatkamp Publishing, Netherlands). The documentation contained in these footnotes is not exhaustive; these are provided as examples. Much more could be added.
2. This is the primary thesis. Biological evolution is a change in inherited characteristics over generations. As proposed by Charles Darwin, it supplanted the biblical story of Creation. Thus, his scientific hypothesis entered the realm of mystical which had formerly been the domain of various world religious systems, most notably Buddhism and Hinduism which teach spiritual states that evolve to perfection (nirvana). It was the French Jesuit paleontologist/priest/philosopher Teilhard de Chardin who first attempted to merge evolution with Christianity at the turn of the last century. He is known as the “father of the New Age”, a movement which has attempted to inculcate society with certain tenets of eastern mysticism, especially evolution. See the June 27, 2014 overview article by Sarah H. Leslie titled “Evolution & the New Age Movement: How Eastern Mysticism Promulgated Evolution,” Herescope, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2014/06/evolution-new-age-movement.html. See also the historical overview by Dr. Martin Erdman, “Salvation Through Technology: Creating A Posthuman New Breed,” Herescope, April 23, 2011, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2011/04/salvation-through-technology.html. Also see Dr. Martin Erdmann, “The Spiritualization of Science, Technology, and Education in a One-World Society,” European Journal of Nanomedicine (2009 Vol. 2:31-38), re-published online: https://www.crossroad.to/articles2/forcing-change/11/spiritualization.htm; and referenced with an illustrative quotation from Willis Harman in “The Spiritualization of Science,” Herescope, May 20, 2009, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2009/05/spiritualization-of-science.html.
3. See the scholarly overview of Gnosticism in early Christianity by H.H. Milman, The History of Christianity (New York: Harper & Bros., 1844), pp. 422-424 especially. For an illustration of these points, see: “Mystical Experiences: A Substitute for True Spirituality,” Herescope, Sept. 29, 2015, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2015/09/mystical-experiences.html.
5. The idea of man being a co-creator along with God is not necessarily that man physically created the earth, but rather that man is now engaged along with God in furthering the evolutionary process that will transform the earth, including creating a new paradise (sometimes referred to as building the kingdom of God on earth). To grasp the theological similarities of evangelicals with New Age leaders, see the articles published on Herescope: “Prepare for the Future with Rick Joyner or Barbara Marx Hubbard?”, Oct. 21, 2005, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2005/10/prepare-for-future-with-rick-joyner-or.html; and “New Age and Latter Rain: Two Complementary Eschatologies,” Nov. 28, 2011, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-age-and-latter-rain.html.
6. The scholarly examination of these constructs by Pastor Larry DeBruyn, in his article “On Theosis, Or Divinization,” Herescope, Feb. 25, 2011, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2011/02/on-theosis-or-divinization.html, provides a solid theological refutation of this heresy. It must be noted that Old Testament prophets, particularly their warnings about idolatry and its consequences, are bypassed, allegorized or misapplied in this false redemptive scenario.
7. Spiritual evolution as taught in Hinduism and Buddhism assert that a final state of perfection, freedom and happiness can be achieved which liberates from karmic bondage. This is similar to a key tenet in the doctrines of Dominionism, regardless from which particular theological “camp” it appears to originate, which teaches that the kingdom of God can be built on earth with a corresponding utopic perfection. An overview of the evolutionary nature of this theology is published in “What Is Dominionism?” by Sarah H. Leslie, Discernment Newsletter (Vol. 21, No. 6, Nov./Dec. 2010, co-published on the Apprising Ministries website, Jan. 26, 2011, with accompanying documentation: http://apprising.org/2011/01/26/what-is-dominionism/.
8. Magee, Ibid., Milman, Ibid.
9. Magee, Ibid. Comprehensive historical research is also contained in H.H. Milman, The History of the Jews: From the Earliest Period Down to Modern Times, originally published in 1866 (London: John Murray). Paul Johnson’s more recent A History of the Jews (Harper Perennial, 1987) also provides a scholarly account of the history of Jewish mysticism, especially the Kabbalah in its many historical manifestations.
10. This fact is documented by Sarah H. Leslie in “Denying Dominionism,” Herescope, Aug. 26, 2011, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2011/08/denying-dominionism.html;and “Who Invented Dominionism? That is the Question,” Sept. 9, 2011, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2011/09/who-invented-dominionism.html.
11. Magee, Ibid. This historical research was also covered in-depth by Dr. Martin Erdmann in three unpublished manuscripts in the English language which are in the possession of this author: “Perfectionism and Postmillennialism,” “Perfectionism and Revivalism,” and “Perfectionism and Romanticism.”
12. A comprehensive history has been written by Dean Gotcher, The Dialectic & Praxis: Diaprax and the End of the Ages, (Vol. 1, No. 1, 1996), published by Institution for Authority Research at https://www.authorityresearch.com/Booklet/Diaprax.html. A research compendium is published on his website: http://www.authorityresearch.com. Mr. Gotcher is one of the leading authorities on the social scientists of the past two centuries—their ideologies, agendas and programs, and their influence on transforming society, culture, politics and Christianity.
13. A documented history of Theosophy giving rise to the modern-day New Age movement can be found in the article “Evolution & the New Age Movement,” Ibid. For original source material see Marilyn Ferguson’s landmark book launching the modern New Age movement: The Aquarian Conspiracy: Personal and Social Transformation in the 1980s (J.P Tarcher. 1980). For a Christian critical review of Ferguson’s thesis, see Constance Cumbey’s landmark book, The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow: The New Age Movement and Our Coming Age of Barbarism (Huntington House, 1983), and her sequel, A Planned Deception: The Staging of a New Age ‘Messiah’, (Pointe Pub., 1986).
15. French Jesuit priest, philosopher and paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Phenomenon of Man, 1947, republished in 2015 as part of The Great Library Collection (Amazon.com). Teilhard’s multiple later works expand on his themes. He was condemned by the Catholic church at the time for his errors and heresies.
16. This view was expounded upon and refined in Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Future of Man, 1959, republished in 2004 (Doubleday), Amazon.com.
17. Erdmann, unpublished papers, Ibid. “Mainstreaming Dominionism,” Ibid.
18. Magee, Ibid.
19. This history is documented in Cumbey, Ibid. Readers may be familiar with the term “conspiracy” from H.G. Wells’ 1928 book of this title, The Open Conspiracy: Blue Prints for a World Revolution (Doubleday). This was also the theme of Alice A. Bailey’s many books, particularly Externalisation of the Hierarchy, Lucis Trust (Lucifer Publishing Company), 1957.
20. The Aquarian Conspiracy, Ibid. The following two Herescope articles detail Ferguson’s “new mind” theology: “Emergent Mind Change,” April 25, 2008, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2008/04/emergent-mind-change.html; and “Body-Mind-Spirit: Changing Science, Changing Mind,” March 28, 2011, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2011/03/body-mind-spirit.html.
21. Roman Catholic Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner, in his seminal work The Shape of the Church to Come (English version, 1974), reconceived the church parish structure, which had been based on geography, into an alternative hierarchical structure. See Malachi Martin, The Jesuits (Simon & Schuster, 1988). Rahner was the architect of Vatican II, which began to deconstruct Catholic liturgy, theology and practice.
22. These points are exhaustively documented by Dean Gotcher, Ibid. His many articles published on https://www.authorityresearch.com/Articles/Articles.html detail the extensive corruption.
23. Gotcher, Ibid. The extent to which B.F. Skinner’s philosophy and methodology influenced the previous century, particularly public education in America, is covered in the massive tome by Charlotte T. Iserbyt, the deliberate dumbing down of america: A Chronological Paper Trail (Conscience Press, 1999), which was published by this author. Skinner was attempting to perfect human behavior through operant conditioning, expanded upon Ivan Pavlov’s classical conditioning thesis that human nature is motivated by both reward and punishment. Skinner’s methods are systematically applied not just to individuals, but institutionally and corporately in order to coerce compliance to church, state or corporate pre-determined outcomes.
24. Jeffrey S. Stamps, Holonomy: A Human Systems Theory (Intersystems, 1980). See also Ervin Laszlo, A Strategy for the Future: The Systems Approach to World Order (Braziller, 1974). For evidence of how these works influenced church and society, see articles published on Herescope: “Networking P.E.A.C.E. – Part 4: Networking for Global Governance,” Feb. 15, 2007 http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/02/networking-peace-part-4.html; Sarah H. Leslie, “The Cell Church,” June 24, 2015, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-cell-church.html; Sarah H. Leslie, “Quantum Metaphysics: A New Cosmology for the Church, Part 4,” Ibid.; and Discernment Research Group, “The ‘Visionpath’ Bus Route: The Road Most Traveled,” Oct. 23, 2014, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-visionpath-bus-route.html.
25. Barbara Marx Hubbard, The Revelation: A Message of Hope for the New Millennium (Nataraj Publishing, 1995). A critical review of Hubbard’s utopian “Armageddon Alternative” can be found in Warren B. Smith’s book Reinventing Jesus Christ: The New Gospel (Conscience Press, 2002), originally published by this author, now online in its entirety at https://www.spiritualresearchnetwork.org/f/reinventing-jesus-christ.pdf with published updates at http://www.spiritual-research-network.com/reinventing-jesus-christ-chapter-updates.html.
27. Jung’s mystical concepts were brought into the evangelical church world and incorporated into newly concocted doctrines. See, for example, two articles published on Herescope: “The History of the ‘New Breed’,” Feb. 7, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/02/history-of-new-breed.html, and “Geographical Heresies of the New Apostolic Reformation,” Feb. 17, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/02/geographical-heresies-of-new-apostolic.html. Jung’s esoteric influence on modern evangelicalism is illustrated by the 3-part article series “Resurrecting Pagan Rites,” originally published in The Christian Conscience, “Part 1: The Men’s Movement,” Dec. 1995 (Vol. 1, No. 11), “Part 2: The Sacred Prostitute,” Jan. 1996 (Vol. 2, No.1 ), and “Part 3: The New Gnostics,” Feb. 1996 (Vol. 2, No. 2), currently published online at http://www.discernment-ministries.org/Articles/ResurrectingPaganRites.pdf with accompanying sidebars. See “Resurrecting Pagan Rites,” Herescope, Dec. 6, 2010, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2010/12/resurrecting-pagan-rites.html.
28. This same agenda showed up in the evangelical church world. The term developed for this process is “Spiritual Formation.” See the two articles published on Herescope: “How Spiritual Formation became popularized,” Jan. 5, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/01/how-spiritual-formation-became.html, and “The ‘God’s Dream’ Scheme,” July 26, 2018, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-gods-dream-scheme.html. Note that the “God’s Dream” mystical motif is a prime example of Jung’s philosophy. Both this author and Warren B. Smith have written much on the topic of “God’s Dream.”
29. See the definitive article by Sarah H. Leslie and Larry DeBruyn, “Altered States: A Different Gate: The sober Christian in a spiritually inebriated age,” Herescope, April 28, 2011, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2011/04/altered-states-different-gate.html.
30. “Altered States,” Ibid. “Evolution & the New Age Movement,” Ibid. For a detailed discussion of this point see Gaylene Goodroad, “MAINSTREAMING MYSTIC MINDEDNESS,” Herescope, Nov. 23, 2013, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2015/11/mainstreaming-mystic-mindedness.html. Also see: Larry DeBruyn and Sarah H. Leslie, “Oprah Magazine: God’s ‘in’ Abortions?” Herescope, Sept. 23, 2017, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2017/09/oprah-magazine-gods-in-abortions.html.
31. This process of transformation is simply explained by the Discernment Research Group, “Are you in the throes of Transformation?” Herescope, March 9, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/03/are-you-in-throes-of-transformation.html. Gotcher, Ibid. Notice that although Rogers and Maslow referred to this as “humanistic” psychology, implying atheism or agnosticism, there was a mystical component. Their worldview required that one believe that man by his own efforts could “save” himself and achieve “self actualization.” There was no concept of original sin in their flawed view of the nature of man.
32. The Aquarian Conspiracy, Ibid. For a thorough discussion of this point see Sarah H. Leslie, “Carl Rogers—Father of the Emergent Culture,” Herescope, Sept. 15, 2009, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2009/09/carl-rogers.html.
33. Two examples are covered in the following articles on Herescope: “Bruce Wilkinson’s ‘morality lite’,” Jan. 11, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/01/bruce-wilkinsons-morality-lite.html, and “Barbara Marx Hubbard, Willis Harman and Metanoia,” Sept. 26, 2005, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2005/09/barbara-marx-hubbard-willis-harman-and.html. Note that Willis Harman, leading Theosophist at Stanford Research Institute, spoke to a prominent group of evangelical leaders in 1979. This was documented by the Discernment Research Group in a series of articles published on Herescope: “Willis Harman consults with evangelical leaders: circa 1979,” Sept. 20, 2005, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2005/09/willis-harman-consults-with.html; “Willis Harman proposed Gnostic "science" for the evangelical future,” Sept. 20, 2005, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2005/09/willis-harman-proposed-gnostic-science.html, “Why was a Theosophist teaching Christians about the future?” Sept. 21, 2005, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2005/09/why-was-theosophist-teaching.html; “Willis Harman speaks to evangelicals virtually unopposed,” Sept. 23, 2005, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2005/09/willis-harman-speaks-to-evangelicals.html; and “Leonard Sweet & Willis Harmon - Metanoia/Transformation,” Sept. 26, 2005, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2005/09/leonard-sweet-willis-harmon.html. Note: this author received training in psycho-social manipulation methods (including group “facilitation” methods) from a college professor who came out of Stanford Research Institute, who also taught this author a course on Teilhard de Chardin which was solely concerned with spiritual evolution.
34. This topic is very encompassing and to document it fully is beyond the scope of this paper. The history of assessment tools for the past 150 years ominously parallels and intertwines with topics discussed in this abstract. See Iserbyt, Ibid. See Lance J. Klass, The Leipzig Connection (Delphian Pr., 1988). See Philip S. Gang, Nina Meyerhof Lynn and Dorothy J. Maver, Conscious Education: The Bridge to Freedom (Dagaz Pr. Ltd., 1992). See the following articles on Herescope: “The Dopamine-Driven Church: Part 1: C’mon God, Light My Fire,” April 19, 2007, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/04/dopamine-driven-church.html; and “How to take the S.H.A.P.E.,” Sept. 26, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/09/how-to-take-shape.html. Note that Rick Warren’s S.H.A.P.E. test is a psychological assessment tool, based on the tenets of humanistic psychology, which was tied to the utopian vision of building the kingdom of God on earth (hence the term “peace,” or Rick Warren’s acronym “P.E.A.C.E.”). Other published articles on this topic include: “40 Days of S.H.A.P.E,” Sept. 22, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/09/40-days-of-shape.html; and “S.H.A.P.E. & the Sweet Spot,” Sept. 25, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/09/shape-sweet-spot.html. To understand the mechanics and flaws of utilizing a psychological worldview assessment, read Lynn & Sarah Leslie, “Peering into the PEERS,” originally published in May 1997 issue of The Christian Conscience (Vol. 3, No. 4, pp 6-21, currently posted at http://www.discernment-ministries.com/Articles/PeeringIntoThePeers.pdf.
35. See footnote 33. This fact can be documented in two books: Evangelicals Face the Future: Scenarios, Addresses, and Responses from the "Consultation on Future Evangelical Concerns" held in Atlanta, Georgia, December 14-17, 1977, edited by Donald Hoke (William Carey Library, 1978); and by the Billy Graham Center, An Evangelical Future: 1984 and Beyond (William Carey Library, 1979). Evangelicals began to adopt the idea that they could create “alternative future scenarios,” in particular alter biblical eschatology scenarios, a fact which is documented in the following articles on Herescope: “Prophecy Mongering,” May 23, 2013, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2013/05/prophecy-mongering.html; “Quantum Eschatology: Part 7: The Emerging Church—Circa 1970,” July 24, 2009, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2009/07/quantum-eschatology.html; and “The Rise of Apocalyptic Paganism in the Church: Bible Prophecy in Crisis,” March 7, 2013, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-rise-of-apocalyptic-paganism-in.html. Barbara Marx Hubbard’s “Armageddon Alternative” also posits that mankind via evolutionary perfection can alter the future, particularly the biblical warnings of an endtime judgment; for an examination and critique see Warren B. Smith’s Reinventing Jesus Christ, Ibid.
37. This fact is widely known. However, it is historically documented in the book by Paul Smith, New Evangelicalism: The New World Order (Calvary Publishing, 2011), which this author assisted in researching. For further reading, see Herescope: “Early Networks,” April 5, 2007, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/04/early-networks.html; “The Reinvention of Rick Warren,” Jan. 9, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/01/reinvention-of-rick-warren.html; “How Spiritual Formation became popularized,” Jan. 5, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/01/how-spiritual-formation-became.html; “‘Presence’ Eschatology: Part 2: The PASSION of the PRESENCE & the Purpose of the Passion,” Feb. 25, 2014, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2014/02/presence-eschatology.html. Also see the following articles by Pastor Ken Silva: “FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY BIRTHED CHURCH GROWTH MOVEMENT,” Apprising Ministries, July 10, 2010, http://apprising.org/2010/07/10/fuller-theological-seminary-birthed-church-growth-movement/; and “FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AND INERRANCY OF SCRIPTURE,” Apprising Ministries, Nov. 19, 2012, http://apprising.org/2012/11/19/fuller-theological-seminary-and-inerrancy-of-scripture/.
38. Sarah H. Leslie, “Dominionism and the Rise of Christian Imperialism” (Conscience Press, 2005). This was published into a booklet and distributed by Discernment Ministries, Inc., online at: https://www.crossroad.to/articles2/05/sarah-leslie/dominionism.htm. A key component of the theology of Dominionism is that man is a participant in a “co-evolution” with God and His “kingdom.” See, for example, “Becoming ‘Transformed Transforming Transformers’,” Herescope, March 16, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/03/becoming-transformed-transforming.html. “What Is Dominionism?” Ibid.
39. Factual information was obtained via a vast compilation of unpublished research on the U.S. Center for World Mission conducted by our late research associate, Nancy Flint. Discernment Ministries, Inc. published some of her research into a research binder, contact information at: http://www.discernment-ministries.com. Nancy Flint’s research was also incorporated into the book by Al Dager, The World Christian Movement (Pacific Data Resources, 2001). The following articles concerning Ralph Winter and his esoteric beliefs and transformative agenda have been published on Herescope: “The ‘Secret’ Mission: Part 3: The Doctrines of Dominionism,” July 18, 2007, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/07/secret-mission.html; “Tinker with Theology, Tinker with Man,” April 29, 2008, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2008/04/tinker-with-theology-tinker-with-man.html; “‘Radical Contextualization’: The Doctrines of Dominionism: Part 6,” July 30, 2007, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/07/radical-contextualization.html; and “Emerging Towards Convergence: Part 5,” Ibid.
42. “How Spiritual Formation became popularized,” Ibid.
43. See the following articles on Herescope: “Spiritual Direction or Séance?” Oct. 26, 2005, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2005/10/spiritual-direction-or-seance.html; “Leadership Network—Contemplative,” Jan. 19, 2007, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/01/leadership-network-contemplative.html. See also Dr. Orrel Steinkamp, “PANENTHEISM! WHAT IS THAT?” Apprising Ministries, May 17, 2012, http://apprising.org/2012/05/17/panentheism-what-is-that/.
44. Larry DeBruyn, “Who Goes There? Encountering voices in contemplative prayer,” Herescope, July 13, 2015, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2015/07/who-goes-there.html. Bob DeWaay, “RICHARD FOSTER—CELEBRATION OF DECEPTION,” Apprising Ministries, May 2, 2012, http://apprising.org/2012/05/02/richard-foster-celebration-of-deception/. Ken Silva, “THE CULT OF GURU RICHARD FOSTER,” Apprising Ministries, Aug. 12, 2008, http://apprising.org/2008/08/12/the-cult-of-guru-richard-foster-2/.
45. Gaylene Goodroad, My Life in the Way, E-Booklet, http://mylifeintheway.blogspot.com. Gaylene Goodroad, Mainstreaming the Mystic Force, E-Booklet, http://mylifeintheway.blogspot.com. The following articles on Herescope detail the intersection of Eastern spirituality and its evolutionary belief system with evangelical theology and practice: “My Life in ‘THE WAY’,” March 9, 2010, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2010/03/my-life-in-way.html; “Yoga and Harman’s Psychic ‘Science’,” Sept. 28, 2005, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2005/09/yoga-and-harmans-psychic-science.html; Larry DeBruyn, “YOGA: Posture to Apostasy: Can yogic practices be integrated with the Christian faith?”, Aug. 15, 2011, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2011/08/yoga-posture-to-apostasy.html; and “Christianizing the Force,” Part 5 of the article series by Gaylene Goodroad titled “MAINSTREAMING THE MYSTIC FORCE,” April 12, 2016, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2016/04/christianizing-force.html. Note: Gaylene Goodroad is an ex-martial arts practitioner, and in her writings she sheds considerable light on the history and philosophical tenets of Eastern mysticism and how these have become integrated into evangelical theology.
46. Paul Smith, Ibid. Bob Buford, Drucker & Me: What a Texas Entrepenuer Learned From the Father of Modern Management (Worthy Books, 2014). Buford’s book is the revisionist history of Drucker and Buford and their founding of their Leadership Network. Leadership Network would go on to start the Emergent/Emerging Church movement, the Neo (or New) Calvinists, and the megachurch networks such as Willow Creek, Saddleback, Mars Hill, etc. See also: Lynn D. Leslie, Sarah H. Leslie and Susan J. Conway, The Pied Pipers of Purpose: Part 1: Human Capital Systems and Church Performance (Conscience Press, 2004), published monograph, posted online at: https://www.crossroad.to/articles2/04/pied_pipers_of_purpose.htm. The Discernment Research Group has some firsthand knowledge and experience with Leadership Network. See especially these two articles published on Herescope: “Bob Buford and Leadership Network,” Dec. 19, 2005, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2005/12/bob-buford-and-leadership-network.html; “Bob Buford’s tributes to Peter Drucker,” Nov. 16, 2005, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2005/11/bob-bufords-tributes-to-peter-drucker.html.
47. “The Cell Church,” Ibid. This article contains graphic illustrations of the downline networking structure, including from the book Holonomy by Jeffrey Stamps (Ibid.); from page 195 of evangelical leader Ralph W. Neighbour’s Where Do We Go From Here? A Guidebook for the Cell Group Church (Touch, 1990); and by Eric Swanson of Leadership Network titled To Transform a City: Whole Church, Whole Gospel, Whole City (Zondervan, 2010), p. 11. A compendium of all of the articles Discernment Research on the topic of Dominionism can be accessed in the article “7 Mountain Politics and Theology,” Herescope, Feb.y 24, 2016, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2016/02/7-mountain-politics-and-theology.html.
48. “Spiritual DNA” is a term that is used to describe how the downline networking structure works effectually in mentoring leaders, planting and/or reforming churches, controlling the variables, and in monitoring, assessing and databanking performance-based results. See Herescope articles: “The Cell Church,” Ibid.; “Purpose-Driven Cows & DNA,” Oct. 27, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/10/purpose-driven-cows-dna.html; “Christian Imperialism: Update #3 Cell Model,” Dec. 28, 2005, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2005/12/christian-imperialism-update-3-cell.html; “The Troubles with Church Covenants,” Jan. 29, 2015, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-troubles-with-church-covenants.html; and “‘Under the Bus’ and ‘Off the Map’: The Out-of-Control Bus That Runs Over Sheep,” Sept. 18, 2014, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2014/09/under-bus-and-off-map.html. See also “Covenant-Driven: Ten Years and Counting…,” Herescope, June 13, 2015, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2015/06/covenant-driven.html, which contains links to an audio talk on this topic by Sarah H. Leslie at https://archive.org/details/PurposeDrivenModel.
50. An entire thesis could be built on this point. See Paul Smith, Ibid. Drucker held to a variety of esoteric spiritual beliefs. For example, The New York Times reported on Nov. 19, 2005, in an article by Peter Steinfels titled “A Man’s Spiritual Journey From Kierkegaard to General Motors,” (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/19/national/19beliefs.html?_r=1&oref=login), that “at age 19, Mr. Drucker came across the works of the theologian and philosopher Soren Kierkegaard - and was bowled over. He studied Danish in order to read Kierkegaard's yet-untranslated writings.” See articles published on Herescope regarding Drucker’s spiritual beliefs: “Peter Drucker & Confucianism,” Oct. 17, 2005, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2005/10/peter-drucker-confucianism.html; and “Peter Drucker: Early Futurist,” Oct. 7, 2005, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2005/10/peter-drucker-early-futurist.html, which cites an article by Harriet Rubin, “Peter’s Principles,” Inc. magazine, March 1, 1998, http://www.1099.com/c/ar/ia/petersprinciples.html.
52. The Pied Pipers of Purpose, Ibid. Paul Smith, Ibid. See also: “PSEUDO-MISSION: Rick Warren’s 3-legged Church,” Herescope, Aug. 4, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/08/pseudo-mission-rick-warrens-3-legged.html, which quotes Drucker from “EXPLORER...field notes for the emerging church, An e-publication of Leadership Network” (Number 23), November 6, 2000, “WISDOM FROM PETER DRUCKER...his four greatest lessons and going beyond the walls” originally posted at http://www.leadnet.org/epubarchive.asp?id=41&db=archive_explorer.
53. Paul Smith, Ibid. “The Pied Pipers of Purpose,” Ibid. “Dominionism and the Rise of Christian Imperialism,” Ibid. See Sarah H. Leslie, “The Global Day of Prayer,” Discernment Newsletter (Vol. 16, No. 3), May 2005, https://www.crossroad.to/articles2/05/sarah-leslie/global-prayer.htm, and its sequel, Part 2: “The Second Reformation,” Discernment Newsletter (Vol. 16, No. 4), July/August 2005, https://www.crossroad.to/articles2/05/sarah-leslie/second-reformation.htm. The Discernment Research Group has written extensively about Drucker’s 3-legged stool as it was being implemented in the churches. A sampling of Herescope articles documenting this include: “The Tyranny of 3-Legged Branding,” June 5, 2007, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/06/tyranny-of-3-legged-branding.html; “3-Legged ‘Health’ Care,” Feb. 20, 2011, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2011/02/3-legged-health-care.html; “When the 3 Legs Intertwine,” Jan. 11, 2007, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/01/when-3-legs-intertwine.html; “The RED 3-legged Stool,” Oct. 16, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/10/red-3-legged-stool.html; “Using Poverty to Build the Global 3-Legged Stool,” Dec. 11, 2008, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2008/12/using-poverty-to-build-global-3-legged.html; “When the 3 Legs Intertangle…,” Jan. 14, 2007, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/01/when-3-legs-intertangle.html.
54. See previous two footnotes.
55. This topic was written on extensively by the Discernment Research Group. See the comprehensive article “7 Mountain Politics and Theology,” Ibid. Limiting this footnote to only the early history, see the following Herescope articles: “Seven Apostolic Spheres,” June 25, 2007, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/06/seven-apostolic-spheres.html; “Neo-Kuyperian Spheres,” Jan. 28, 2007, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/06/neo-kuyperian-spheres.html; “Apostolic Spheres of Authority,” Jan. 28, 2007, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/03/apostolic-regions-spheres-of-authority.html; “The 7-M Mandate,” June 15, 2007, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/06/7-m-mandate.html; “How to ‘Conquer the 7 Spheres’,” Jan. 19, 2008, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2008/01/how-to-conquer-7-spheres.html; and “Kicking the Kingdom into High Gear,” July 15, 2008, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2008/07/kicking-kingdom-into-high-gear.html.
56. See previous footnote. See the comprehensive listing of articles in “7 Mountain Politics and Theology,” Ibid. To understand the evolutionary perfection eschatology, see the 6-part article Herescope series “The PASSION of the PRESENCE & the Purpose of the Passion” by Dr. Orrel Steinkamp and Sarah H. Leslie beginning at Part 1, Jan. 25, 2014, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-passion-of-presence.html; “‘Presence’ Eschatology: Part 2,” Feb. 25, 2014, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2014/02/presence-eschatology.html; “Bridal Eschatology: Part 3,” March 8, 2014, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2014/03/bridal-eschatology.html; “The Perfectly Obedient Bride: Part 4,” March 26, 2014, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-perfectly-obedient-bride.html; “The 2nd Coming of the ‘Presence’: Part 5,” April 12, 2014, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-2nd-coming-of-presence.html; and “The Battled Bride: Part 6,” April 22, 2014, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-battled-bride.html. For essential history see Jewel (van der Merwe) Grewe, Joel’s Army (booklet), 2006, currently posted online at http://www.discernment-ministries.org/JoelsArmy.pdf.
57. The history of the Emergent Church has been documented in a series of Herescope posts by the Discernment Research Group and Sarah H. Leslie titled “The Emerging Church—Circa 1970.” Part one of this title, May 1, 2009, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2009/05/emerging-church-circa-1970.html; “Early Experimental Emergents,” Part 2, May 7, 2009, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2009/05/early-experiential-emergents.html; “RETRO EMERGENT” Part 3, June 22, 2009, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2009/06/retro-emergent.html; “‘The New Thing’”, Part 4, July 6, 2009, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2009/07/new-thing.html; “Emerging Towards Convergence,” Part 5, Ibid.; “Envisioning Emergence,” Part 6, July 23, 2009, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2009/07/envisioning-emergence.html; “Quantum Eschatology,” Part 7, Ibid.; “Reinventing Clergy,” Part 8, Aug. 13, 2009, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2009/08/reinventing-clergy.html; and “Celebrating ‘Open’ Inclusiveness,” Part 9, Aug. 18, 2009, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2009/08/celebrating-open-inclusiveness.html.
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| Brian McLaren (TIME) |
58. Examples of esoteric evolution in Leadership Network’s Emergent movement can be seen in several articles published on Herescope concerning the teachings of Emergent Church leader Brian McLaren, who not only teaches New Age theology to evangelicals, but also has openly associated with pragmatic and esoteric globalists: “The Language of Dreams and Idols,” Sept. 12, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/09/language-of-dreams-and-idols.html; “Brian McLaren to speak at World Future Society,” March 24, 2008, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2008/03/brian-mclaren-to-speak-at-world-future.html; Larry DeBruyn, “THE COMING KINGDOM: Evolution or Revolution?”, Nov. 17, 2008, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2008/11/coming-kingdom.html; and Jeffrey Whittaker, “How ‘Everything Must Change’: Part 4: SAVED or DEPRAVED? A Pastor Reports on Brian McLaren’s ‘Everything Must Change’ Tour,” June 6, 2008, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2008/06/how-everything-must-change_06.html.
59. Leonard Sweet, Quantum Spirituality: A Postmodern Apologetic (Whaleprints for SpiritVenture Ministries, Inc., 1991, 1994), posted online: https://web.archive.org/web/20071202230633/http://www.leonardsweet.com/Quantum/quantum-ebook.pdf. An exhaustive critical review of Sweet in this context was published by Tamara Hartzell, In the Name of Purpose: Sacrificing Truth on the Altar of Unity (XLibris, 2007). “The Other Side of Emergent,” Ibid. A valuable compilation on Leonard Sweet’s teachings, titled “Leonard Sweet Quotes,” by Sandy Simpson, March 2010, is published by the Apologetics Coordination Team at the Deception in the Church website: http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/leonardsweetquotes.html. “Leonard Sweet & Willis Harmon—Metanoia/Transformation,” Ibid., and “Leonard Sweet & Willis Harman: ‘Spiritual Sciences’,” Ibid. See also Ken Silva, “Leonard Sweet, Frank Viola, and The Third Way,” Apprising Ministries, June 8, 2010, http://apprising.org/2010/06/08/leonard-sweet-frank-viola-and-the-third-way/. Warren B. Smith has also written extensively about Leonard Sweet’s controversial New Age beliefs.
60. “A Quantum Cosmic Christ,” Ibid.
61. Ibid. Peter Drucker and Bob Buford’s Leadership Network intentionally set up the Emergent Church movement as a marketing tool to shift the paradigm of the evangelical church towards New Age Spirituality. This fact was documented in a series of posts on Herescope: “Change Agents for Church Transformation,” Jan. 28, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/01/change-agents-for-church.html; “Leadership Network Spawns Emergent Church,” Jan. 19, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/01/leadership-network-spawns-emergent.html; “Leadership Network and the Terra Nova Project,” Jan. 20, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/01/leadership-network-and-terra-nova.html; “How Leadership network established Emergent,” Jan. 23, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/01/how-leadership-network-established.html; “Terra Nova Project—the vanguard for emergent postmodern evangelicalism,” Jan. 24, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/01/terra-nova-project-vanguard-for.html; “Shifting the Emergent Paradigm,” Jan. 25, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/01/shifting-emergent-paradigm.html; “The Leadership Network ‘Process’ of Innovation,” Jan. 27, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/01/leadership-network-process-of.html; and “Emerging: from Tradition to Transition to Transformation,” Jan. 31, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/01/emerging-from-tradition-to-transition.html.
62. Warren B. Smith, A "Wonderful" Deception: The Further New Age Implications of the Emerging Purpose Driven Movement (Mountain Stream Press, 2011). Smith’s personal testimony is published in his book The Light That Was Dark: From the New Age to Amazing Grace (Mountain Stream Press, 2006). Many of Smith’s other books, booklets, writings and presentations (some of which are on YouTube) document the evolutionary teachings, some of them quite controversial, of leading New Agers. See Smith’s prolific writings posted at https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com and https://www.spiritualresearchnetwork.org.
63. “Emerging Towards Convergence,” Ibid.
65. Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (University of Chicago Press, 1962). Kuhn has been cited by numerous New Age leaders as the source for their theology about a coming evolutionary New Age “paradigm shift.” Kuhn paradigm shift thesis has had a huge influence upon the church. See the following articles published on Herescope: “Shifting the Emergent Paradigm,” Ibid.; “Worldview & Vision: Part 1,” March 21, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/03/worldview-vision-part-1.html; and “Worldview & Vision: Part2: A Volatile Combination,” March 22, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/03/worldview-vision-part-2-volatile.html. See also the following article by Warren B. Smith detailing how Kuhn’s idea influenced leading New Agers: “The Great Heretical Idea: Oprah and Eckhart Do the New Age Shift,” Herescope, March 26, 2008, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2008/03/great-heretical-idea.html. An important article that ties much of this together is by Sarah H. Leslie, “Quantum Metaphysics: A New Cosmology for the Church, Part 4,” Herescope, July 30, 2013, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2013/07/quantum-metaphysics.html. This has also esoterically been referred to as a “quantum shift.” Larry DeBruyn reviewed the book The Physics of Heaven: Exploring God’s Mysteries of Sound, Light, Energy, Vibrations and Quantum Physics by Judy Franklin and Ellyn Davis (Double Portion Publishing, 2012), and his article illustrates this point: “Part 2: ‘The Power of the Zero-Point Field’,” Herescope, Sept. 13, 2014, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-power-of-zero-point-field.html.
66. Charlotte Iserbyt’s book the deliberate dumbing down of america (Ibid.), on page A-65–A-66, includes the following account: “For years education researchers have referred to the change agents’ bible: The Change Agent’s Guide by Ronald G. Havelock, Program Director, Center for Research on Utilization of Scientific Knowledge, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, portions of which were originally developed as part of Contract No. OEC-0-9-080603-4535(010) with the office of Education, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, under the title ‘Diffusion of Utilization Research to Knowledge Linkers in Education.’ The copyright is 1973 (Educational Technology Publications, Inc.: Englewood Cliffs, NJ), LC 72-87317. The Guide contains authentic case studies of how change agents manipulate their communities into accepting controversial curricula, methods, etc. Some freedom-loving education researchers have taken the course on how to bring about change and how to ‘identify resisters,’ etc. (themselves!). Ronald Havelock has strong connections to UNESCO (United Nations).” As an undergraduate this author was subjected to training in the method known as the “Delphi Technique” in which group consensus could be forged by strategies of subterfuge and manipulation. Quite obviously, this author not only repented but has publicly renounced and worked to expose this coercive methodology. Gotcher, Ibid.
67. See the previous two footnotes. Change agentry has been a key method used by evangelical leaders to modify church doctrine and practice across the globe. In the evolutionary spirituality evidenced by these transformed doctrines, the “ends justify the means,” referred to by Rick Warren as “whatever it takes.” In other words utilizing deception and manipulation is seen as justified for the greater cause of perfecting mankind to build the kingdom of God on earth. This point is explained in the article “The Second Reformation,” Ibid. See also the following Herescope articles: “Change Agents for Church Transformation,” Ibid.; “How small groups are ‘transformed’,” Jan. 26, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/01/how-small-groups-are-transformed.html; “Renaming Dominion: The Semantic Deceptions of Change Agentry,” Oct. 17, 2011, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2011/10/renaming-dominon.html; “C. Peter Wagner On Taking Dominion,” Nov. 3, 2005, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2005/11/c-peter-wagner-on-taking-dominion.html; “Networking Mission,” March 29, 2007, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/03/networking-mission.html; “Redeeming Cultures: The Doctrines of Dominionism: Part 5,” July 25, 2007, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/07/redeeming-cultures.html; and “‘Radical Contextualization’: The Doctrines of Dominionism: Part 6,” Ibid.
68. See the previous three endnotes. Also see the following articles published on Herescope: “The Aquarian Conspiracy in Medicine: The New Age Roots of Healthcare Reform,” March 20, 2013, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2011/03/aquarian-conspiracy-in-medicine.html; “‘Network of Networks’: Networking for Global Peace,” June 18, 2015, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2015/06/network-of-networks.html (this article contains important graphics); “Networking P.E.A.C.E.—Part 2: The Origins of Networking,” Feb. 9, 2007, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/02/networking-peace-part-2.html; “Networking P.E.A.C.E.—Part 3: The Occult Roots of Networking,” Feb. 13, 2007, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/02/networking-peace-part-3.html; “Networking P.E.A.C.E.—Part 4: Networking to Global Governance,” Feb. 15, 2007, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/02/networking-peace-part-4.html; and “Evolution & the New Age Movement,” Ibid. 69. Documenting this shift, Discernment Research Group published the following articles on Herescope: “The Apostolic Transformation Worldview,” March 20, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/03/apostolic-transformation-worldview.html; “Transformation: A Phony Sanctification,” April 1, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/04/transformation-phony-sanctification.html; and “The Trouble with Transformation: Can Evangelicals Have Their Cake and Eat it Too?”, Jan. 15, 2013, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-trouble-with-transformation.html. See also a seminal article by Lynn and Sarah Leslie, “What Is Transformation?” originally published at NewsWithViews, August 15, 2005, http://www.newswithviews.com/Leslie/sarah.htm but recently a new edition has been republished on Herescope, March 9, 2019, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2019/03/what-is-transformation.html. Perhaps the most important article published on Herescope illustrating the extent to which traditional global mission has been altered is “Rick Warren—Is He Scary?” Herescope, October 30, 2006, http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/10/rick-warren-is-he-scary.html.
A special thanks to Dr. Martin Erdmann for his guidance in preparing this Abstract. The late Pastor Larry DeBruyn, Gaylene Goodroad, Warren B. Smith and Susan Conway actively participated in this research.
Graphic exhibits are taken from the Evangelical Times publishing of this abstract, the public domain, and the author's files, unless otherwise noted.