Warren Smith was deeply immersed into the New Age when after encountering his wife’s fears of the spirits who troubled her found a Christian book that exposed the antichrist spirit of the New Age. The bible soon began to read like the morning news paper tow Warren and God has called him to expose the doctrines of demons that has crept into the Church. In this video rally recording Warren discusses at length the Jesus of A Course of Miracles that was widely broadcast and taught by Marianne Williamson on Oprah’s Network. Warren also discusses the New Age philosophy that has been promoted by Robert Schuller and the various New Age roots of the movement.
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?… And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Genesis 3 The original lie.
Unmasking The Real New Age Christ is in The Church
VCY Rally: Warren Smith – Unmasking the Counterfeit Christ from VCY America TV on Vimeo.
Warren Smith came to the Waukesha Expo Center to speak at a VCY Rally on the topic of Unmasking the Counterfeit Christ.
By Warren B. Smith
Oprah Winfrey & A Course in Miracles
Oprah Winfrey will be letting out all the stops on her XM Satellite Radio program this coming year. Beginning January 1, 2008, “Oprah & Friends” will offer a year-long course on the New Age teachings of A Course in Miracles. 1 A lesson a day throughout the year will completely cover the 365 lessons from the Course in Miracles “Workbook.”
For example, Lesson #29 asks you to go through your day affirming that “God is in everything I see.”2 Lesson #61 tells each person to repeat the affirmation “I am the light of the world.”3 Lesson #70 teaches the student to say and believe “My salvation comes from me.”4
By the end of the year, “Oprah & Friends” listeners will have completed all of the lessons laid out in the Course in Miracles Workbook. Those who finish the Course will have a wholly redefined spiritual mindset—a New Age worldview that includes the belief that there is no sin, no evil, no devil, and that God is “in” everyone and everything. A Course in Miracles teaches its students to rethink everything they believe about God and life.The Course Workbook bluntly states: “This is a course in mind training”5 and is dedicated to “thought reversal.”6
Marianne Williamson & New Revelation
Teaching A Course in Miracles will be Oprah’s longtime friend and special XM Satellite Radio reporter Marianne Williamson—who also happens to be one of today’s premier New Age leaders. She and Conversations with God author Neale Donald Walsch co-founded the American Renaissance Alliance in 1997, that later became the Global Renaissance Alliance of New Age leaders, that changed its name again in 2005 to the Peace Alliance. This Peace Alliance seeks to usher in an era of global peace founded on the principles of a New Age/New Spirituality that they are now referring to as a “civil rights movement for the soul.”7 They all agree that the principles of this New Age/New Spirituality are clearly articulated in A Course in Miracles—which is fast becoming the New Age Bible. So what is A Course in Miracles and what does it teach?
A Course in Miracles is allegedly “new revelation” from “Jesus” to help humanity work through these troubled times. This “Jesus”—who bears no doctrinal resemblance to the Bible’s Jesus Christ—began delivering his channeled teachings in 1965 to a Columbia University Professor of Medical Psychology by the name of Helen Schucman.
Helen Schucman Channeled A Course in Miracles
One day Schucman heard an “inner voice” stating, “This is a course in miracles. Please take notes.”8 For seven years she diligently took spiritual dictation from this inner voice that described himself as “Jesus.” A Course in Miracles was quietly published in 1975 by the Foundation for Inner Peace. For many years “the Course” was an underground cult classic for New Age seekers who studied “the Course” individually, with friends, or in small study groups.
As a former New Age follower and devoted student of A Course in Miracles, I eventually discovered that the Course in Miracles was—in reality—the truth of the Bible turned upside down. Not having a true understanding of the Bible at the time of my involvement, I was led to believe that A Course in Miracles was “a gift from God” to help everyone understand the “real” meaning of the Bible and to help bring peace to the world. Little did I know that the New Age “Christ” and the New Age teachings of A Course in Miracles were everything the real Jesus Christ warned us to watch out for. In Matthew 24 Jesus warned about false teachers, false teachings and the false “Christs” who would pretend to be He.
The False Christ of “A Course in Miracles”
When I left the New Age “Christ” to follow the Bible’s Jesus Christ, I had come to understand that the “Jesus” of A Course in Miracles was a false “Christ,” and that his Course in Miracles was dangerously deceptive. Here are some quotes from the “Jesus” of A Course in Miracles:
“There is no sin; it has no consequence.” 9
A “slain Christ has no meaning.”10
“The journey to the cross should be the last ‘useless journey.”11
“Do not make the pathetic error of ‘clinging to the old rugged cross.’”12
“The Name of Jesus Christ as such is but a symbol… It is a symbol that is safely used as a replacement for the many names of all the gods to which you pray.”13
“God is in everything I see.”14
“The recognition of God is the recognition of yourself.”15
“The oneness of the Creator and the creation is your wholeness, your sanity and your limitless power.”16
“The Atonement is the final lesson he [man] need learn, for it teaches him that, never having sinned, he has no need of salvation.”17
Most Christians recognize that these teachings are the opposite of what the Bible teaches. In the Bible, Jesus Christ’s atoning death on the cross of Calvary was hardly a “useless journey.” His triumph on the cross provides salvation to all those who confess their sin, accept Him and follow Him as their Lord and Saviour. His victory on the cross rings throughout the New Testament. It has been gloriously sung about in beloved hymns through the ages and is at the heart of our Christian testimony.
A Slain Christ Has No Meaning!?
I found the Jesus of the Bible to be wholly believable as He taught God’s truth and warned about the spiritual deception that would come in His name. The “Jesus” of A Course in Miracles reveals himself to be an imposter when he blasphemes the true Jesus Christ by saying that a “slain Christ has no meaning” and that we are all “God” and that we are all
“Christ.” It was by reading the Bible’s true teachings of Jesus Christ that I came to understand how deceived I had been by A Course in Miracles and my other New Age teachings.
I was introduced to A Course in Miracles by Dr. Gerald Jampolsky’s book Love is Letting Go of Fear. Jampolsky declared in his easy-to-read book how the teachings of A Course in Miracles had changed his life. As an ambassador for A Course in Miracles over the years, Jampolsky has been featured not only in New Age circles but at least twice on Robert Schuller’s Hour of Power. While Schuller introduced Jampolsky and his “fabulous”18 Course in Miracles-based books to his worldwide television audience, it was Marianne Williamson’s appearance on a 1992Oprah Winfrey Show that really shook the rafters.
On that program, Oprah enthusiastically endorsed Williamson’s book, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles. Oprah told her television audience that Williamson’s book about A Course in Miracles was one of her favorite books, and that she had already bought a thousand copies and would be handing them out to everyone in her studio audience. Oprah’s endorsement skyrocketed Williamson’s book about A Course in Miracles to the top of the New York Times bestseller list. Ironically, all of this was happening after I had left the Course and the New Age. In fact, I was doing the final editing on my book The Light That Was Dark that warned about the dangers of the New Age—and in particular A Course in Miracles.
After being introduced to the world on Oprah, Marianne Williamson has continued to grow in popularity and, as previously mentioned, has become one of today’s foremost New Age leaders. Williamson credits Winfrey for bringing her book about A Course in Miracles before the world: “For that, my deepest thanks to Oprah Winfrey. Her enthusiasm and generosity have given the book, and me, an audience we would never otherwise have had.”19 In her 2004 book, The Gift of Change, Williamson wrote:
Twenty years ago, I saw the guidance of the Course as key to changing one’s personal life; today, I see its guidance as key to changing the world. More than anything else, I see how deeply the two are connected. 20
Thus the New Age teachings of A Course in Miracles are about to be taught by Marianne Williamson to millions of listeners on Oprah’s XM Satellite Radio program. Listeners are encouraged to buy A Course in Miracles for the year-long course. An audio version of A Course in Miracles recited by Richard (John Boy Walton) Thomas is also available on compact disc.
Popular author Wayne Dyer told his PBS television audience that the “brilliant writing” of A Course in Miracles would produce more peace in the world.21 Williamson’s New Age colleague, Neale Donald Walsch, said his “God” stated that “the era of the Single Saviour is over”22 and that he (“God”) was responsible for authoring the teachings of A Course in Miracles.23
Meanwhile, Gerald Jampolsky’s Course in Miracles-based book, Forgiveness, continues to be sold in Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral bookstore as Schuller prepares to host a January 17-19, 2008,“Rethink Conference” at his Crystal Cathedral.24
At this critical time in the history of the world, the New Gospel/New Spirituality is coming right at the world and the church with its New Age teachings and its New Age Peace Plan. But this New Age Peace Plan has at its deceptive core the bottom-line teaching from A Course in Miracles that “we are all one” because God is “in” everyone and everything. But the Bible is clear that we are not God (Ezekiel 28:2; Hosea 11:9). And per Galatians 3:26-28, our only oneness is in Jesus Christ—not in ourselves as “God” and “Christ.” What Oprah and Marianne Williamson and the world will learn one day is that humanity’s only real and lasting peace is with the true Jesus Christ who is described and quoted in the Holy Bible (Romans 5:1).
Oprah Winfrey’s misplaced faith in Marianne Williamson and the New Age teachings of A Course in Miracles is a sure sign of the times. But an even surer sign of the times is that most Christians are not taking heed to what is happening in the world and in the church. We are not contending for the faith as the Bible admonishes us to do (Jude 3).
It is time for all of our Purpose-Driven and Emerging church pastors to address the real issue of the day. Our true Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is being reinvented, redefined, and blasphemed right in front of our eyes and hardly anyone seems to notice or care. If we want the world to know who Jesus Christ is, we need to also warn them about who He is not. There is a false New Age “Christ” making huge inroads into the world and into the church. The Apostle Paul said that “it is a shame” we have to even talk about these things, but talk about them we must (Ephesians 5:12-16).
If people want to follow Oprah Winfrey and the New Age “Christ” of A Course in Miracles they certainly have that right. But let them be warned that the New Age “Christ” they are following is not the same Jesus Christ who is so clearly and authoritatively presented in the pages of the Bible.
Originally posted on Herescope on November 9, 2007
About Warren B Smith
Warren Smith Articles Here and book publishing arm of Warren B. Smith’s ministry. Warren has a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a M.S.W. from Tulane University. He is a free-lance writer and community social worker who was formerly involved in the New Age movement.
Warren has served as a program coordinator for people with special needs, directed several homeless programs, and has worked as a Hospice social worker in New Orleans and on the California coast. Warren has written extensively on the subject of spiritual deception and has spoken on radio, television, and at numerous seminars and conferences. His books include The Light That Was Dark: From the New Age to Amazing Grace, Deceived on Purpose: The New Age Implications of the Purpose-Driven Church, and A “Wonderful” Deception: The Further New Age Implications of the Emerging Purpose Driven Movement. His most recent book, False Christ Coming: Does Anybody Care?: What New Age Leaders Really Have in Store for America, the Church and the World was released in February 2011. Warren resides in Northern California with his wife Joy.
For more excellent resources on the New Age Spirituality flooding the Church see Warrens site. Click banner below or on every page to the right.
See also from CarolTv: http://www.carylmatrisciana.com/pdf/WarrenSmith/Oprah_and_Friends_to_Teach_Course_on_New_Age_Christ_%2011-9-07.pdf
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Endnotes:
1. http://marianne.com/book/index/htm
2. A Course in Miracles: Combined Volume (Glen Ellen, California: Foundation for Inner Peace, 1975), (Workbook), p. 45.
3. Ibid., p. 102.
4. Ibid., p. 119.
5. Ibid., (Text), p. 16.
6. Ibid., (Preface), p. ix.
7. Neale Donald Walsch, Tomorrow’s God: Our Greatest Spiritual Challenge (New York: Atria Books, Simon & Schuster, 2004), pp. 262-263.
8. Robert Skutch, Journey Without Distance: The Story behind “A Course in Miracles” (Berkeley, California: Celestial Arts, 1984), p. 54.
9. A Course in Miracles: Combined Volume, (Workbook), p. 183.
10. Ibid., (Text), p. 425.
11. Ibid., p. 52.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid., (Teachers Manual), p. 58.
14. Ibid., (Workbook), p. 45.
15. Ibid., (Text), p. 147.
16. Ibid., p. 125.
17. Ibid., p. 237.
18. http://www.hourofpower.org/interviews/interviews_detail.cfm?ArticleID=3079
19. Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles A Course in Miracles (New York: Harper Perennial, 1996), p. ix.
20. Marianne Williamson, The Gift Of Change: Spiritual Guidance for a Radically New Life(San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2004), p. 5.
21. Wayne Dyer, “There’s a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem,” Public Broadcasting System broadcast in 2001.
22. Neale Donald Walsch, The New Revelations: A Conversation with God (New York: Atria Books, 2002), p. 157.
23. Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: an uncommon dialogue, Book 1 (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1996), p. 90.
24. (http://www.rethinkconference.com) See also WorldNetDaily.com (10/30/07) “What is Robert Schuller ‘rethinking’?” by Joseph Farah and “Rethinking Robert Schuller” by Warren Smith. See also Herescope: ”Rethinking Culture” and”Rethinking and Reinventing (10/30/07)
Warren,
I hear your concerns, truly I do and I can see how things could seem this way. Of course you are entitled to your argument and as are other Christian brothers and sisters who share your view.
I would however ask you to consider that from a scholarly and historic perspective the Bible (including the New Testament) is reliably a selection of documents that were devised by human beings and their way of “writing history” is different from ours. They reliably wrote stories using source texts (usually previous Gospels) and had differing political agendas. The documents of the New Testament and their apocryphal sisters are an example of the highly divisive Christian community. Even at the start people could not agree on who Christ was. There is a prevailing belief now amongst evangelical movements that the Bible is literally the word of God and retelling of factual events. This is reliably untrue. That doesn’t mean to say that they are not fantastic stories of this man, Jesus of Nazareth seen through the eyes of those who would come centuries after and they could certainly be a sacrament for the divine.
For me the new age teachings of Neale Donald Walsh and Marriane Williamson et al are not half hearted attempts at a quick buck, they are highly intelligent, metaphysical writings that are philosophically rich and speak to both the needs of our times and what we have come to understand scientifically about the nature of healing and love.
To me Christ is very much present in such works. Whilst we know little about the historical Jesus we can fairly safely say that this was radical Jewish teacher who inverted the hierarchal systems of his day and made us review what life was all about. From examining what we can resurrect from our earliest Gospel (Q/Q+) we can assume that Jesus introduced the concept of a radical new Kingdom of God that was not about religious obedience, Torah observance but about understanding the compassionate way.
Whilst I do not believe Jesus was perfect as has been any man or woman who has walked the Earth (and no I do not think Jesus suffered and died for the needs of a God who was seeking a debt to be repaid, in fact despite it’s more beautiful interpretation I still see not much else that is more damaging for our world than the concept of original sin.) I believe that what we can see of the Gospels beyond the needs of an early Christian community asserting the authority of their faith is a man who taught of a radical new vision for the world, one of ‘oneness’. I believe like all the great prophets of his time he understood the nature of ultimate reality, that we live in each other, that what we do to another we do to ourselves.
This is what Neale and Marriane’s God’s are also seeking to teach. They are seeking to encourage greater love in the world, love of self, love of God, love of each other. They are inspiring us to believe in a God who loves unconditionally which is the true transforming power of the unconditional love of the Father in the story of the prodigal son.
We must now note that we have no evidence to what you support above. People might argue that the evidence is in the text but the only evidence we have is that reliably these documents were written by human beings who were seeking to teach their Christian communities and leave an imprint on the future of the Christian faith.
What we do have is our experience also, what we now understand about multiple religions and their value for humanity also, we have an understanding about the true nature of healing and growth and we have our own problems in this day and age like are we going to continue to sabotage our planet by waiting for the life to come or are we going to like Gandhi once said “see the God in our friend and neighbour” (in so many words).
Of course I do understand the Orthodox Christian position and it’s reasoning but be careful of putting down other people’s work that has come from their hearts. Who are we to say it has not come from the divine? Of course it might have come from the antichrist himself (if there is truly such a thing), anything is possible but I myself can think of nothing more beautiful than coming to know the Christ within and manifesting this in the world and I can see that the world would benefit abundantly from it.
My blessings to you and all who read this,
Chris.
Chris, We contacted Warren Smith on your behalf. We would be happy to arrange a free copy of “False Christ Coming”. If you would be “open-minded” enough to read it. If so, I would be glad to send him a copy. -Warren Smith
We will directly contact you via email also. Thanks for your comments. -Josh @ Amos37