Google Results for the Gospel

It's impossible to ignore how our lives have been impacted since the Internet revolutionized the way we communicate, the way we receive information, and generally the way we experience, and interact with, the world around us. Many churches, therefore, are taking their online presence more and more seriously, realizing that this is often their first point of contact with the outside world and a key way to engage their congregants. More attention is being given to the creation of well-designed church websites, dynamic Facebook pages, an engaging presence on Twitter, etc. And understandably so; for Christians to exhibit a "Luddite" type of resistance toward these technological advances would be to deny the reality of the Information Age and to disengage with the world—for if we aren't contributing to the information of this age, there are always going to be plenty of others who will be.

And that's the point isn't it? In an era dominated by a group of Internet-based applications that enable the creation and exchange of user-generated content, anyone and everyone can be heard. And any content holds the potential to go viral. In light of this, we need to speak the truth in love with a sense of urgency, for as the Apostle John points out, "this is the final hour" (1 John 2:18). Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov 18:21)—and the tongue, when given a virtual mouthpiece, now has more far-reaching impact that ever before. The power of the Internet can be harnessed to spread the Word of God across the world with never-before-seen speed and magnitude. Formerly unreached people groups are now being reached for Christ as a result of gospel-centered Web content. But, false teaching is being disseminated widely online too.

And so, in order to combat this, Christians should be focused on generating biblically sound, high-quality content that points people to Jesus. The more Christians engaged in saturating the Internet with the gospel message, the more Google searches will yield Christ-centered results.

Why is this so important? Because people all over the world are searching...When I look at the web stats for this blog, I am often surprised by how many people arrive at the site via a string of—what sometimes seem like random—search words...Here are a few I picked up today:

"convenient, carnal, committed, christ-like christian"

"selfism versus external salvation"

"institute for gnostic studies"

"christ consciousness flipping temple table"

"cotton candy gospel"

"disunity on a church team"

"effects and results of disunity in the church"

"grace isn't amazing if"

"how should i live"

I have no way of knowing if these people found what they were looking for when they arrived at this blog, but I know one thing for sure: they found gospel-centered content. I pray that the person who was searching for information on the Institute for Gnostic Studies found something of way more value: a personal relationship with the one true God. I pray that the person who was seeking an answer to "how should I live?" found the only way, the truth, and the life.

People are frantically searching for answers within a confusing galaxy of information, and so we need to shine the light of Christ more brightly than ever. We can do this online by sharing God's Word, which is living and active—sharper than a two-edged sword it cuts through all the confusion, right to the soul (Heb 4:12).

But what happens today when we Google-search for Jesus? Do we actually find Him? When I searched by "jesus" today, I got 52,400,000 results. The first result was a Wikipedia entry that gave an overview of various perspectives on Jesus including the Christian view, the Islamic view, the Jewish view, the Bahá'í view, and others. Confusing to say the least. The second result was a CNN.com op-ed titled, "Would Jesus OK same-sex marriage?" in which Jay Parini, a poet and novelist who teaches at Middlebury College in Vermont, concludes—in a round about way albeit—that He would. If one continues to scroll, however, Jesus.org ranks third. Thankfully, this website serves well to present the biblical truth about Christ. Needless to say, there is a mix of information out there, pointing up the need for Christians to continue to put out solid, truthful information about Jesus.

In this vein, the important role of apologetics in upholding the truth of God's Word cannot be underestimated. To simply tell people you believe the Bible because you have faith isn't enough when there are so many compelling lies widely propagated about who Jesus is and so many attacks launched against the credibility of the Bible. But these lies can be fully discredited. The Zeitgist movie, for example, that went viral claiming to prove the Messiah is a mythical figure, was presented in a persuasive way, consequently duping many people. But a closer look at the Zeitgist premise quickly reveals its arguments to be deeply flawed and a play on semantics. There are great resources online to bolster the biblical position. Be familiar with the facts. Visit The Poached Egg to equip yourself in defending the truth.

As Christians, we are urged to set forth the truth plainly—rejecting the use of deception, and the distortion of the Word of God (2 Cor 4:2). It is not our job to sell the gospel, to dress it up, to tweak or finesse it. It is not our job to join the chorus of self-promoting virtual voices out there. That is to arrogantly think God needs us to help Him out by peddling Christian goods and services. All we are asked to do is to set forth the truth plainly. We can then fully rely on the Holy Spirit to convict the hearts of those who hear it.

Join our mission to saturate the World Wide Web with Google results that point unequivocally to Christ by generating or sharing gospel-centered articles, biblical resources, and posts. This is one way we can live out the words of our Savior:

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." 

(Acts 1:8)

May the "Christ-force" be with you—Debunking the Jedi Jesus of the New Age

I've often been taken off guard when Christian friends or acquaintances have spoken highly of New Age books such as Eckard Tolle's widely acclaimed The Power of Now or Rhonda Byrne's bestselling The Secret. Oprah Winfrey-dubbed "spiritual gurus" such as these promote an insidious form of false teaching under the guise of a benign self-help ethos. Although these teachings mask a treacherous departure from the gospel of Jesus Christ and claim to hold the key to a new spiritual awakening, they are appealing to some Christians who are evidently sucked in by the self-esteemism, widespread popularity, and aggressive marketing of such books. Indeed, Tolle has sold more books than almost any other spiritual author. His #1 New York Times bestseller, The Power of Now, (translated into 33 languages) and his vastly popular follow-up, A New Earth, are frequently touted as two of the most influential spiritual books of our time.

The widespread influence of New Age teaching poses a very real, albeit inconspicuous, threat that the church should take seriously. Despite popular belief to the contrary, the multifaceted movement is still going strong, but less overtly now that many of its concepts have become more subtly ingrained into our collective consciousness. The movement is not relegated to a trippy-hippy, tie-dye clad fringe group, but has been embraced by mainstream culture thanks in large part to the army of celebrities that promote its teachings.

For example, there's been growing respect for, and adoption of, the practices and philosophies of Eastern religions among Christians. One example is Hatha Yoga, which involves poses and hand positions many of which are depictions of Hindu deities. The hand positions are traditionally called mudras and are thought to help manipulate and channel prana, a supposed divine force or breath of the universe.[1] The purpose of Hatha yoga is traditionally a spiritual practice designed to foster the realization that the true self, the Atman, is divine.[2] Many Christians who practice yoga, however, do not buy into the spiritual side of it, using it for the physical benefits of exercise, flexibility, and muscle-strengthening alone. But some argue that by dabbling in such practices, Christians are opening the door to ungodly spiritual influences. The meditation and relaxation practices in yoga that encourage the emptying of one’s mind, for example, is unbiblical in that contradicts our God-given ability to exercise reason and sound judgement. It also conflicts with Jesus' command to love God with all of our minds—which necessities a conscious mental state (Matt. 22:37; Luke 10:27). Furthermore, some hold that mindfulness and mind-emptying meditation hold the potential to open us up to demonic persuasion. Due to the popularity of yoga among a significant number of Christians, however, this is a touchy subject. The question becomes, can (or perhaps should) Christians safely practice yoga without compromising themselves spiritually? I will default to former New Ager turned Bible-believing Christian, Marcia Montenegro, in her article on this one.

While the strains of New Age thought that have seeped into our churches may not be immediately evident to us all, those who have been saved out of the New Age movement into Christianity are all too aware of the wolves in sheep's clothing that lurk around us. Two former New Agers who were miraculously saved into the Christian faith, sister bloggers Christine Pack and Cathy Mathews, have expressed their "concern over false teachings that we realized were coming into today's Church. Having both been saved OUT of the New Age and occultism, we were alarmed when we began to see some of the same things we did in the New Age creeping into the church...only now, these practices have been cleverly repackaged with Christian terminology, rendering them all the more deceptive."[3]

In his book, O God: A Dialogue on Truth and Oprah’s Spirituality, Josh McDowell demonstrates how Oprah uses words that might sound like they are based in Christianity, but her real message is radically different from the Christian faith. Likewise, many of Tolle’s ideas are derived from pre-existing, often ancient beliefs with Christian influences. As Montenegro further explains, “The New Age is always a blend of beliefs; intermingling strands from Eastern accepted wisdom, New Thought, Gnosticism, the occult, and even Christianity.”[4] Yet New Agers believe they are rescuing the enlightened parts of Christianity from centuries of male-imposed dogma and have rediscovered its truth through mystical interpretations of the Bible. And for the undiscerning Christian, their use of Christian terminology can be dangerously misleading.

And where is Jesus in all this? Unfortunately, right up front; the name of Jesus is misused frequently within New Age teaching. Many psychics, astrologers, etc. display crosses or pictures of Jesus on their walls. But the New Age Jesus is a Counterfeit Christ who represents an unapologetic departure from the "constraints" of biblical teaching. New Agers unabashedly claim to have freed Jesus from the shackles of religious dogma (i.e. biblical truth) and consequently, on closer inspection, he bears very little relation to the Son of God we know as Christians.

Indeed, the New Age Jesus is devoid of any salvific purpose, being presented an imparter of wisdom, rather than a savior from sins, despite the fact that Scripture clearly claim His purpose on Earth was to do just that (Matt 1:21; Luke 2:11; Luke 19:10; John 4:42; Acts 13:23; 1 Tim 1:15; 1 Tim 4:10; Titus 2:13; 1 John 4:14).

In fact, the New Age Jesus is generally believed to be a mere man who achieved a high level of spiritual enlightenment, which afforded him godlike attributes. He is esteemed as one of the “Masters,” along with Buddha, Krishna, and others, all of whom illuminate the path for humanity to spiritual enlightenment.

The New Age Jesus is disturbingly more Jedi than he is biblical. A widespread New Age belief is that Jesus is actually a separate being from a divine entity, which is often referred to as “the Christ.” Many prominent New Agers, like Tolle and Byrne, perceive “the Christ” as being impersonal, cosmic, and abstract in nature—in essence, a “Christ-force” or "Christ-consciousness." New Agers claim that this Christ-force took possession of the body of the man, Jesus, in order to guide humanity towards a process of spiritual evolution. “The Christ” is said to lie dormant within each person, waiting to be fully realized so that humanity as a whole may experience spiritual awakening.[5] As Andrew Harvey puts it in his virtual seminar, The Christ Path, "By seeing Jesus’s life with fresh eyes, we take him off the pedestal as an untouchable Savior and begin to see him as a way-shower for all of us to embody more of our innate divinity as we co-create a more just and compassionate world."[7] 

The Christ-force theory finds its origins in the Gnostic movement that begun in the second century AD, as a heretical sect of early Christianity. Basic Gnostic beliefs hold that humans are emanated from a Supreme Being and are divine spirits trapped inside physical bodies. In Gnosticism, salvation of the soul from the material world is achieved through the realization of gnōsis[8]—esoteric or intuitive knowledge of the truth—rather than the atoning death of a Christ figure. Some Gnostics identify Jesus as an embodiment of the Supreme Being who became incarnate in order to bring gnōsis to the earth. Others, like contemporary Gnostic Reverend Todd Ferrier, founder of The Order of the Cross, suggest that the word “Jesus” was merely a codeword assumed by a historical being. Most Gnostics believe that there has been more than one authentic Messiah, and that “the modern Christian claim that Jesus was the only Christ (or Messiah) is simply not tenable.”[9]

While the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus are central to the Christian faith, in Gnostic tradition the crucifixion is deemphasized (along with the Trinity and other inconvenient truths about Jesus). The Institute for Gnostic Studies states: 

For the Gnostic, pain and suffering are part of the fallen world’s condition…certainly Jesus suffered perhaps inasmuch that he had to take a fallen physical vessel as in the indignities of his crucifixion. However, there is no grace in suffering. The aim is to transcend matter, not wallow in its more painful aspects. The suffering and death of Jesus illustrated the reaction of the ignorant to the Gnosis, while his resurrection illustrated how death and matter could be overcome. It is irrelevant whether Jesus physically came back from the dead or not, since the Gnostics and Jesus have such contempt for matter, it seems highly unlikely that the resurrection had much to do with a re-enlivened corpse. It was an awakening to light, a Transfiguration rather than some ghastly re-animation.[10 emphasis added]

In Gnosticism, Jesus' role is not to die on the cross as ransom for our sins. Instead, “Jesus comes as a revealer, a bringer of Gnosis, an opener of doors, he works to shatter the prison that locks the true Self into the body and awaken the light which is hidden within the heart of man.”[11] The New Age Jesus paves the pathway for humanity to spiritual enlightenment. 

Another manifestation of the New Age Jesus is the astrological Jesus, aka the Piscean Avatar. Former astrologer, Montenegro, explains how in astrology, Christ has become the living symbol of the Piscean Age that spans from His birth to 2,000 years later. Montenegro states: “Since Jesus is considered a higher spiritual being, an Avatar, by many astrologers, he embodies the highest aspects of Pisces: universal love, compassion, sacrifice, intuition, servanthood, martyrdom, and spirituality.” Like the biblical Jesus, the astrological Jesus possesses character traits that set him apart from most men—yet this Counterfeit Christ is not unique in his deity. In keeping with New Ageism, “The astrological Jesus is still a New Age Jesus, or, in more contemporary terms, the Jesus of the new spirituality. Jesus is the man who realized Christ-consciousness, the innate divinity in all men.”[12]

And therein lies the rub. It's that old Satanic lie that we can attain personal godhood—the same lie that's been repeated over and over throughout history in Gnosticism, the Religion of Reason, Marxism, Mormonism, secular humanism, selfism, and the New Age movement—to name just a few—which all hinge on the belief in human perfectibility/deification though human effort. These false religions, spiritual awakenings, and philosophies each distract from—or attempt to completely negate—the human need for a supernatural Savior. (For more on this refer to our previous post on "A Brief History of Bad Ideas").

And so there is, in fact, nothing "new" about the New Age Jesus at all...He's been slithering around since the original fall of man in Genesis 3 when Satan tempted Adam and Eve with the lie that if they accessed secret knowledge or wisdom (Gnosticism), their eyes would be opened (enlightenment), and they wouldn't need to submit to the sovereign God anymore, for they themselves would be as God is. (Gen. 3:1-5). Satan knows exactly how to appeal to our innate desire for self-deification now—just as he did then.

Rather than flatly rejecting Jesus altogether based on the biblical claims about Him, then, New Agers have incorporated the figure of Christ into their occultist beliefs. And by using Christian vocabulary and loosely reappropriating Christian concepts, they have pulled the wool over the eyes of an alarming number of Christians. This strategy of deception is an age-old ploy of Satan: high-jacking God's truth by using partial truths to lure people in and ultimately to dupe them altogether. Remember that Satan “disguises himself as an angel of light” and “his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:3, 14-15). In the same way, the New Age Jesus masquerades as one who will lead us to our own inner light. 

For this reason, it is important for us as Christians to be aware of the erroneous ideas about Jesus that are propagated by the New Age movement—along with its books, its proponents, its self-esteem gurus, its practices and teachings—so we may escape its ungodly influence, and cling instead to God's Word on the authentic Son of God, who is the only way, the truth, and the life.

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[1] Although many Yoga classes do not use the correct Eastern terms when teaching Yoga, but instead talk about “breathing techniques” in place of pranayama and “center” for meditation, for example.

[2] Marcia  Montenegro, article: “Christian Yoga: An Oxymoron?” Christian Answers for the New Age.

[3] http://solasisters.blogspot.com/2010/02/about-us.html retrieved 2/14/13
[4] Marica Montenegro, Christian Answers for the New Age
[5] Hanegraaff, Hank, “The New Age Christ: What is the New Age view of Jesus?” article published by the Christian Research Institute
[7] Harvey, Andrew, A New Life Virtual Training: "The Christ Path, A 7-Week Journey to Awaken and Embody Christ-Consciousness" March, 2013
[8] Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge
[9] Institute for Gnostic Studies, online posting, June 2000.
[10] “The Gnostic Jesus” Institute for Gnostic Studies, online posting, June 2000.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Montengro, “The Piscean Avatar: The Jesus of Astrology,” Christian Answers for the New Age

The Counterfeit Christ

As Christians, we are commissioned to share the good news about Jesus with others (Acts 1:8). But who is this Jesus that we follow? There are, in fact, many different perspectives on who Jesus is that exist throughout the world—we may even encounter differing ideas among our friends or in our own neighborhoods. Our Muslim neighbors may revere Him as a great prophet. Our Mormon friends may proclaim Him to be their Savior. Agnostics may admire His moral teachings, but deny any certainty of His divinity. Spiritualists and New Agers may believe Him to be divine, but reject the uniqueness of His divinity. And Jehovah’s Witnesses may tell you He is an archangel. We may even find varying opinions about Jesus within the Christian community. Living in the DC-metro area, and having worked in the areas of international development and missions & outreach, I've been exposed to a diversity of opinion on who Christ is. And these conflicting opinions cannot all be right, (even if your pluralist Religion professor might have you believe so!).

Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?” (Matt 16:13-15). Our answer to this pivotal question will be the most important one we will ever give. The Bible tells us that knowing the true Christ is a matter of critical, life-and-death importance. This is because you cannot follow Him, without finding Him first.

The early church recognized that “an understanding of Jesus’ identity is essential to genuine Christianity and a prerequisite for experiencing salvation and enjoying a relationship with God.”[1] Indeed Jesus made this clear when he said to Thomas, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.” (John 16:6-7, emphasis added). But the fact is, many who use His name do not actually know the true Christ. Jesus said:

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matt 7:21-23).

To know Him and to do His will involves understanding the truth about who He is, what He did for us on the cross, and what His Word teaches.

But Jesus warned against false teaching and urged His followers to watch out that they are not deceived, for “many will come in My name” to lead people astray. (Luke 21:8; Mark 13:6). False teaching about Jesus poses a very real danger that will lead many down a fatal path of deception. Jesus gave a sobering reminder of how vigilant we should be: “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” (Matt 7:15-16).

Indeed, some "woolly" forms of false teaching use deceptively Jesus-friendly language, as is now becoming common in today's pluralistic—and increasingly heretical—culture. Furthermore, false teaching about Jesus gives rise to Counterfeit Christs who come not only the in form of false messiahs (such as contemporary Korean false messiah Sun Myung Moon), but also in the form of misleading concepts that distort people’s view of who Jesus really is. Take, for example, the Convenient Christ of the powerful celebrity-pastors that preach Word of Faith theology. The New Age Jesus is another insidious counterfeit that masquerades as the authentically Divine, and he even worms his way into our Christian communities undetected through various bestselling self-help books[2] and the popular Life-Class teachings of Oprah Winfrey. You might think the Jesus of Jihad would be a more obvious offender, until you realize that this treacherous counterfeit is cozied up to by an alarming number of evangelical missionaries in Muslim ministry like those practicing "C5" or "high-spectrum" contextualization or the "Jesus in the Qur'an" method. And within our prevailing culture of religious pluralism it is becoming more common to hear outlandish statements from prominent evangelical leaders like that made by former Fuller Seminary President, Richard Mouw, when he pronounce on CNN.com that the Counterfeit Christ of Mormonism is essentially one and the same as the biblical Jesus.[3]

The Counterfeit Christ is very real. And today, perhaps more than ever, he has alluring appeal...He may be more politically correct. He may fit comfortably within one’s preexisting worldview or religious background. He may provide a safeguard against fear and anxiety with the promise of health and prosperity. He may be a benignly loving, warm & fuzzy figure who let's us just "be who we are" without any need to pick up our cross and follow him. He may form the basis of a social structure that draws people together in a community that bears little resemblance to the true Body of Christ. Or He may even gracefully bow out when the mention of his name might be an inconvenient obstacle in interfaith relations as demonstrated by the Christian/Muslim Common Word movement (that, incidentally, has received widespread evangelical support [4] ).

Wherever the Counterfeit Christ can be found, there also exists a powerful, earthly motive drawing many to his feet.

This is, indeed, a warning to the elect, for in Jesus’ own words, “false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.” (Matt. 24:24). While those who are reconciled to God and are abiding in Him cannot be deceived by false Christs, it is possible for those who may consider themselves to be Christians, but are not yet fully reconciled to Him and abiding in Him, to be led astray. We know this because Paul warns that, “the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” (1 Tim 4:1). Paul also talks about the dreadful consequences of apostasy (Heb 6). As believers, we must have the courage to speak out against false teaching when necessary—even if we are accused of being "unloving" by doing so, for this is an act of love toward those who are being deceived.

To this end, we be should on guard against any teaching about Jesus that strays from, adds to, or distorts, Scripture. There are varying degrees of this. For example, in Jesus Calling—an enormously popular book among Christian women—Sarah Young reports words she claims to have received directly from Jesus. While she states up front that, unlike Scripture, these words are not inerrant, she nevertheless presents them as first-person speech from Jesus Himself. This is problematic. How does one know if the words she claims to have received are really from Jesus? When her book is compared to Scripture, her claim appears unfounded. Young's book doesn't contain many words that reflect the thrust of what Jesus actually preached during His earthly ministry and it's devoid of the main themes of Scripture. Her focus is on how much God delights in us, which is certainly true, but Scripture consistently points us to Christ, and not back to ourselves like Young's book unfortunately does. In Jesus Calling, there is nothing of God's pure holiness, His wrath against sin, man's inability to save himself, and his desperate need for a Savior. There's nothing of the cross, and no call for repentance...no gospel of salvation.[5] Isn't this the message Jesus consistently preached?

And why look elsewhere when every word of the Bible is the voice of Jesus? God's Word is sufficient (2 Tim 3:15-17). And we should not add to it (Rev 22:19). Why would Jesus speak additional words to one woman today and contradict Scripture? While we are guided by the Holy Spirit and can enjoy an interactive, communicative relationship with God through prayer, today, we do not hear additional words directly from God that mimic Scripture, as Young has claimed. God speaks to us through Scripture as revealed by the Holy Spirit. For the Bible tells us, “Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar." (Prov 30:5-6). This is a stern warning. Be on guard against extra-biblical writing that claims to be directly from the voice of God. Avoid books like these and stick to Scripture as the sole source of God's Word.

Two of the more extreme examples of extra-biblical writings about Jesus can be seen in the Book of Mormon and the Qur'an, both of which go further than distracting from the gospel. Instead, they respectively distort and deny it. Therefore, the Jesus of Mormonism, who is the spirit brother of Satan, who was purportedly married[6], and who is not part of the Trinity, is not the authentic Son of God, even though certain evangelicals, along with a whole host of religious pluralists, would like to believe so. Similarly, the Jesus of the Qur'an who was not crucified, who is not God, and who will come back in the end times to break the Cross, kill the Jews, and destroy all religions other than Islam, is certainly not the same Jesus. Therefore, missionaries in Islamic contexts, should not use the Qur'an to witness to Muslims—even though the The International Mission Board, a missionary-sending agency affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, has promoted the use of the Camel Method, which uses verses about Jesus from the Qur'an, rather than the Bible, to present the plan of salvation by relating it to the Islamic feast of sacrifice. These Quranic verses describe a deadly Counterfeit Christ and are not an introduction to the true Jesus.

As disciples of Jesus, we are commanded to abide in, and uphold, God's Word—not the impaired beliefs of false religions (whether there is a perceived "common ground" somewhere in there or not).

Another red flag is any teaching that attempts to define God by human rules and logic. Interestingly, all false religions/spiritual movements that lay false claim to Jesus, such as Mormonism, Islam, and the New Age movement, deny the biblical view of the Trinity. I have speculated that this is because the Trinity prevents us from creating our own fictitious god and forces us to live by faith in an infinite God who is beyond anything we can comprehend in human terms. False religions and philosophies are of this world (being, therefore, either man-made and/or of demonic origin), and are not products of divine revelation. Therefore, the Trinity cannot fit into their limited theology and must either be rejected outright (as in Mormonism or Islam), blurred (as in the work of former evangelical Congressman Mark Silanger [7] or in early Gnostic texts) or completely perverted (as in Buddhism[8], New Age thought, and other syncretistic beliefs). If you come across anyone questioning the Trinity, like TD Jakes has been known to do, be on guard. The doctrine of the Trinity is non-negotiable and fundamental to who Jesus is. It cannot be discarded without distorting one's view of the very essence of Christ's true identity.

But while the Trinity is a mystery of faith, the good news is that Jesus is not an elusive figure; He is accessible to anyone who truly seeks Him. We are told that we will find Him if we seek Him with all our heart and with all our soul (Deut 4:29). And we must seek to know Him better through studying the Word; Jesus said: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32, emphasis added). In his second epistle to Timothy, Paul wrote: “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (2 Tim 3:16). Scripture is the only dependable source of doctrine about Jesus; the doctrines and claims of other faiths, philosophies, or musings that might use His name, should not be trusted.

As Paul exhorts us, we must always be prepared to give an answer—with gentleness and respect—to anyone who asks us why our hope is in Christ (1 Peter 3:15). Our goal, then, is to grow in our knowledge of the one true God and to make Him known. In addition to upholding biblical truth, Faith Actually works to expose popular, and sometimes subtle, misconceptions about who Jesus really is, to identify Counterfeit Christs in common beliefs, and to help equip Christians to talk knowledgeably and truthfully with others about Jesus, our Savior and Lord.

Join with us to shatter the lies by proclaiming the perennial truth about Jesus Christ who is the SAME yesterday, today, and forever!

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[1] Andreas Kostenberger, Scott Kellum, Charles Quarles, The Cradle, the Cross and the Crown, Part II, chapter 3

[2] For example: The Power of Now by Ekart Tolle; The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. Both authors tout the theory of Christ consciousness

[3] My Take: This evangelical says Mormonism isn’t a cult,” Richard Mouw, CNN. Oct 9, 2011.

[4] A slew of evangelical leaders (Wheaton College President Duane Litfin, National Association of Evangelicals President Leith Anderson, Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren[3], and former Fuller Theological Seminary President Richard Mouw, to name a few) signed what was to become a controversial document produced by the Yale Center for Faith and Culture titled, “Loving God and Neighbor Together: A Christian Response to a Common Word Between Us and You.” The document was in response to an open letter in which 138 Muslim scholars, clerics, and intellectuals came together to declare that there is common ground between Christianity and Islam. The “Christian Response,” in agreement with the Muslim open letter states, “What is common between us lies not in something marginal nor in something merely important to each. It lies, rather, in something absolutely central to both: love of God and love of neighbor.” Essentially, then, the “Christian Response” refers to the love of one shared God. It treats the God of the Qur’an and the God of the Bible as the same and makes no mention of the fact that the love of God, as represented in the Bible, is expressed most significantly through Christ’s death and resurrection. Christ Himself is the central component of Christianity, but is completely omitted in the Common Word documents, while “common ground” is declared “absolutely central” in His place. Patrick De Leon illustrates well the difficulties with the Common Word movement: “If we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, must we not be true to ourselves? Must we reject our own faith and deny the very persons we are in order to live in harmony? Such a peace is false from the beginning, and we would question if it is even possible to last. Can a peace founded upon falsehood be lasting?”

[5] For more on this see Christine Pack's review of Jesus Calling: http://www.solasisters.com/2012/11/warning-about-popular-book-jesus-calling.html

[6] Journal of Discourses 2:82

[7] Former US Congressman, and self-described evangelical, Mark Silanger, in his recent book, A Deadly Misunderstanding, writes about his experiences seeking common ground between Islam and Christianity. In dialoguing with Muslim clerics and leaders in the Middle East, he found that the biggest “stumbling block” he encountered was “always about Jesus." This is not surprising; the pivotal nature of Christ's work on the Cross will always present an obstacle to those seeking common ground with other religions. But Silanjer, in his quest for compatibility, passes off this stumbling block [the biblical view of Jesus Christ] as a “diversion.” In his effort to promote love, peace, and friendship between neighbors, Silanjer ends up glossing over the Trinity, saying he respects the idea, but “nowhere is it to be found in the Bible” (an increasingly common argument that is thrown about today). Silanjer finds the “attributes of Deity—God, Holy Spirit, and Messiah” to exist in the Torah, the New Testament, and the Qur’an alike. He explains how he has “asked distinguished clerics, both Muslim and Christian, if they could explain to me the interaction of these three deified attributes, and after much bantering back and forth, in the end they all have given me the exact same answer: ‘Mark, it’s a mystery.’ So what are we all arguing about?” Silanjer’s implication that the Trinity holds little significance because it is a mystery, and his description of three “attributes” in place of three Persons in one God, shows a radical departure from biblical teaching. He marginalizes the Trinity, passing it off as a “theological red herring,” and implies that it should be by-passed as an inconvenient barrier to true peace and reconciliation. Silanjer exemplifies for us how seeking common ground between faiths can quickly end in theological syncretism if the end goal is friendship and compatibility above all.

[8] Some Buddhist traditions hold that Buddha is the Holy Spirit.

A Brief History of Bad Ideas

If you have ever studied philosophy, religion, or political thought, you will have noticed that the course of history is heavily impacted by ideas. At various points throughout history, either a revolutionary ideology, a political philosophy, a new religion, or a "spiritual awakening" has sprung up, each time claiming to hold the solution to the ever-pressing problem of the human condition. Ideas like these are powerful because they give people a sense of hope for a better future. They can shape culture and influence our collective consciousness, thus impacting society with great force. Such ideas can be expedient, bringing about societal change with short-term benefits. But tragically, many of them ultimately lead us away from God. For example, Gnosticism, the Religion of Reason, Marxism, Mormonism, secular humanism, selfism, and the New Age movement—to name just a few—all hinge on the belief in human perfectibility/deification though human effort (whether it is through the realization of an inner divinity, through self-actualization, through societal progress, or through works-based salvation). In this way, they each distract from—or attempt to completely negate—the human need for a supernatural Savior. 

In actuality, each of these false religions and philosophies veil man's deep-seated desire for self-autonomy in rebellion against his Creator. The fact is, there is usually simplicity on the other side of complexity. While the elaborate religions and mind-bending philosophies of men are widely lauded as "genius," "revolutionary," "ground-breaking," "eye-opening," or "spiritually enlightening," they all start out as they eventually end up: as a power-grab in direct opposition to the authority of God. They can be deceptive, however, because they can generate mass-appeal on an intellectual or emotional level, and they may contain enough partial truths to be convincing. But, each one—whether it has grains of truth or not—merely represents yet another chapter in the perpetual story of man's rebellious grasp for self-empowerment that has repeated itself over and over in every generation throughout history.

It is an old, old story—far older than the self-adulation that's rampant in our culture today...far older than Marx's claim that man created God, not the other way around...far older than the Gnosticism and the destructive greed sects that first infiltrated the early church. It is a story that began in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve made that first, fatal grasp for godhood themselves at Satan's beckoning. And it's a story that was pre-echoed by Satan himself in the prideful power-grab that led to his downfall, and the fall of his legions, from Paradise even before the world's creation. As Scripture tells us, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." (Prov 16:18). And it is when we are puffed up with conceit that we can fall into the condemnation of the devil (1 Tim 3:6). What easier way for Satan to wreak havoc in the world than to tempt man with the promise of his own godhood?

The default setting of the fallen human heart is self-worship. The heart is deceitful above all things because it is plagued by pride, an inherent tendency to love and serve oneself in God's place, which stems from the chronic heart-condition of Original Sin. Satan prays on this desire, tempting us into sin, which eventually leads to our separation from God. In James, we read that "each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." (Jam 1:14-15). And so, Man's lust for personal godhood perpetuates a ceaseless pattern of self-destructive human behavior, manifesting itself in many different forms...

...We devise elaborate philosophies that place the self at the center of all things. We pore over books that help the self and we seek out strategies to empower the self. We create religions that deify the self. We promote a culture that idolizes celebrities and worships humanity. And, perhaps worst of all, we try to squeeze God into a self-created box of our own cognitive construction. We tweak and remold the identity of Christ to fit neatly into our own self-generated worldview. We create counterfeit gods that are shaped by our cultural preferences, our preconceived religious convictions, our selfish needs and desires. There are countless examples of humanity's inexhaustible pursuit for self-autonomy—some of them are subtle, some more glaringly obvious—but the motive behind each is strikingly consistent. 

The Age of the Enlightenment in the eighteenth-century, for example, was revolutionary in that it emphasized reason over tradition and introduced the idea of human perfectibility in an era when great scientific advances and a new political order provided a compelling case for societal progress. Throwing off the long-held belief that society was in an unalterable process of decay, Enlightenment philosophers, like Voltaire, believed that this progress would inevitably lead humanity toward a perfected state, as articulated in 1795 by Condorcet in his Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind. For the Enlightenment thinkers, the need to seek salvation in a supernatural God was negated, if heaven was possible—indeed inevitable—here on earth. This marked a distinctive shift from the Christian belief system of the era, and an attempt to take back full control over human destiny from God. In essence, it represented a grasp for self-autonomy.

The Enlightenment, along with nineteenth-century "freethinking," gave root to secular humanism, which is highly influential in today's society, especially within academia, because it offers an intellectual, rational, and scientific approach to bettering society. As the Council on Secular Humanism puts it, "We are committed to the application of reason and science to the understanding of the universe and to the solving of human problems."[1] While Christians also use the tools of science, rationality, and intelligence, they do so primarily for God's glory. Secular humanists, on the other hand, view these things as tools for purely human ends. Furthermore, secular humanists "deplore efforts to denigrate human intelligence, to seek to explain the world in supernatural terms, and to look outside nature for salvation."[2]

In the nineteenth century, Karl Marx had already developed a materialist interpretation of history, holding that history is driven by economics and a man's identity is bound up in his labor. Marx envisioned an earthly utopia (while he vehemently denied that his ideas were utopian) in which people collectively own everything and all work together for the common good of mankind. But Marx’s theory necessitates a government that is free from corruption and elitism within its ranks. A brief look at history, however, will quickly reveal that our past is littered with examples of how power corrupts fallen mankind. A nation or government may kill the idea of God, but someone or something will take God’s place. That someone is most often an individual or group who begins to tyrannize over the population with coercion in an effort to maintain power at all costs. Lenin, Stalin, Mussolini, and Hitler are all twentieth-century examples of how absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Scripture is clear that humans are not perfectible in our own strength because we are intrinsically sinful as a result of Adam's Original Sin against God. We are born sinners and we are sinners by nature (Psa 51:5). And all people who are not in Christ are "sons of disobedience." (Eph 2:2) But man-made theories that tout a human means to a higher state of existence are always predicated on a rejection of the doctrine of Original Sin. This is because Original Sin necessitates the atoning sacrifice of a Savior and our dependence on God, thus presenting an inconvenient obstacle in the pursuit for self-autonomy.

Take, for example, the false religion of Mormonism. The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints (LDS) openly rejects the doctrine of Original Sin in its statement of faith: "We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression." Mormonism, the fastest growing religion in 26 American states[3], is known for its emphasis on family values and morality. At first glance, it may seem like a virtuous religion, but the fact is, Mormonism veils that same insidious motive: the desire for self-deification. 

It can be misleading when Mormons call Jesus their Savior and worship Him. But while the Mormon Jesus may be divine, his is a derived form of divinity, which is neither unique to him nor inherent in him. Milton R. Hunter, who served as a member of the LDS church’s First Council of the Seventy from 1945 until his death in 1975, wrote, “Jesus became a God and reached His great state of understanding through consistent effort and continuous obedience to all the Gospel truths and universal laws.”[4] In other words, Jesus achieved godhood through works, like the Heavenly Father had before him. And because divinity is earned, Mormonism holds that all men possess the potential for godhood. Indeed, the LDS tenet that men can become gods was famously coined in a couplet by fifth LDS President Lorenzo Snow who declared, “As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become.” In actuality, the ultimate goal of Mormonism is self-glory, not God's glory—whether this is openly admitted by the LDS Church or not. Mormonism goes even further than secular humanism in its goal to deify man; rather than denying God, it actually attempts to recreate Him in man's image.

Strikingly similar are the philosophies of the New Age, which have had far-reaching influence in today's society, having been promoted by heavy-hitting celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and a slew of NY Times bestselling authors. Like Mormonism, New Age philosophies incorporate the figure of Christ into their occultist beliefs, which can confuse undiscerning Christians. But a closer look quickly reveals that the New Age Jesus is presented as an imparter of wisdom rather than a savior from sins. Similar to the Mormon Jesus, the New Age Jesus is generally believed to be a mere man who achieved a high level of spiritual enlightenment, which afforded him godlike attributes. He is esteemed as one of the “Masters,” along with Buddha, Krishna, and others, all of whom illuminate the path for humanity to spiritual enlightenment. 

A widespread New Age belief is that Jesus is actually a separate being from a divine entity, which is often referred to as “the Christ.” Many New Agers perceive “the Christ” as being impersonal, cosmic, and abstract in nature—in essence, a “Christ-force.” New Agers claim that this Christ-force took possession of the body of the man, Jesus, in order to guide humanity towards a process of spiritual evolution. “The Christ” is said to lie dormant within each person, waiting to be fully realized so that humanity as a whole may experience spiritual awakening.[5] (The counterfeit christ of the New Age is apparently more Jedi than he is biblical!). As Andrew Harvey puts it in his virtual seminar, The Christ Path,  "By seeing Jesus’s life with fresh eyes, we take him off the pedestal as an untouchable Savior and begin to see him as a way-shower for all of us to embody more of our innate divinity as we co-create a more just and compassionate world."[6] 

The prevailing thrust of New Age thinking, then, culminates in shaping one's own destiny and finding one's inner truth as a means to achieving a spiritually enlightened state. But these theories are nothing new. The Christ-force concept finds its origins in the Gnostic movement that begun in the second century AD, as a heretical sect of early Christianity. Widely read New Age authors today, like Eckard Tolle, are heavily influenced by Gnosticism. Basic Gnostic beliefs hold that humans are emanated from a Supreme Being and are divine spirits trapped inside physical bodies. In Gnosticism, salvation of the soul from the material world is achieved through the realization of gnōsis [7]—esoteric or intuitive knowledge of the truth—rather than the atoning death of a Christ figure. In this sense, it is yet another self-autonomous religion. Some Gnostics identify Jesus as an embodiment of the Supreme Being who became incarnate in order to bring gnōsis to the earth. Others, like contemporary Gnostic Reverend Todd Ferrier, founder of The Order of the Cross, suggest that the word “Jesus” was merely a code-word assumed by a historical being. Most Gnostics believe that there has been more than one authentic Messiah, and that “The modern Christian claim that Jesus was the only Christ (or Messiah) is simply not tenable.”[8] And all this, of course, predictably paves the way toward self-deification. 

In keeping with the trend of human nature, today's popular culture is dominated by a narcissistic form of self-worship. From self-promoting humblebrags on Facebook to the endless stack of NY Times bestsellers that line our bookshelves each touting the same self-help ethos, our culture is all about Me. We are constantly told we need to "find ourselves" and look within ourselves for the answers. We are encouraged to embark on an exhausting pursuit of self-discovery in order to get in touch with our inner-truth and find our center. Teens are encouraged to "find out who they really are" and to explore their sexual orientation so that they can be “true to themselves.” To experience freedom, in this context, is to live an "authentic" life as the "real Me." This involves breaking free from the shackles of shame, self-loathing, and inhibition to embrace a new found pride in oneself. 

The real Me in today's secular culture doesn't need an external God. The real Me is God. And so, we are encouraged to serve the real Me first and foremost. As a result, it's become commonplace, even hackneyed, to make self-centered statements like, “I need to do what’s good for me.” The concept of loving oneself and putting oneself first is lauded on day-time TV as the harrowed housewife’s solution to her woes. Our youths strut around unabashedly announcing they are going to "do me" (put themselves first). The sense of self-entitlement our younger generations are growing up with stems from this also. It's not just talk-show psycho babble that spouts these cliches. This form of self-worship is an insipid product of the widespread "selfism" in our culture that is becoming so deeply ingrained in our collective subconscious that we can barely recognize it anymore. 

Selfism or self-actualization theories were first popularized in the 1960s and 1970s and underlie much of today’s psychotherapy[9]  helping to form the ideological basis—and justification—for the increasing self-absorption of our culture. Self-actualization is a term used in various theories of psychology—most famously in the work of Abraham Maslow and his influential “hierarchy of needs” pyramid[10]—usually to describe the process by which we can reach our full personal potential, and transform our lives. As Maslow puts it, “What a man can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualization…It  refers to the desire for self-fulfillment, namely, to the tendency for him to become actualized in what he is potentially. This tendency might be phrased as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming.”[11]

The idea that we should aspire to become more of what we are—in biblical terms: sinful; weak; lost—as opposed to being made new in Christ, represents a fundamental rejection of our need for God. This is the epitome of selfism, which is characterized by what Ray C. Stedman so accurately describes as, “godless chatter, profane babblings, talking endlessly about man, his abilities and his wisdom, but never recognizing God.”[12] The impact of such thinking has not been confined within an academic bubble or limited to prevailing theories of psychotherapy alone, but has laid the foundation for many social changes in our society (as ideas tend to do!)—including the growing cultural acceptance of homosexuality and the redefinition of the family structure.

It seems like the precursor to the destruction of our society. As Paul warned, in the last days, people will be lovers of themselves (2 Tim 3:2) and false teachers will worm their way into the homes of gullible women and gain control over them (2 Tim 3:6)—this verse reminds me of Oprah Winfrey appearing on gullible housewives' TVs across the country beckoning them to gain access to their self-truth! 

Billy Graham, in a 2012 open letter titled, “My Heart Aches for America" lamented the state of a nation in which “self-centered indulgence, pride and a lack of shame over sin are now emblems of the American lifestyle.” It is not surprising that in our increasingly self-centered culture, the word pride has taken on new meaning, often being construed as an admirable trait, and even being paraded with rainbows on banners in city streets. Yet as Christians we are taught to surrender to His sovereignty, to humble ourselves before Him, and to let go of our pride, acknowledging that we are lost without His grace. As Paul put it, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). 

Despite their differences, Marxism, Mormonism, Gnostism, self-actualization, the New Age movement, etc., are all based on the same power-hungry desire to elevate man above God. Founding LDS Prophet, Joseph Smith, may have claimed back in the 1800s to have received divine revelations enabling him to restore the truths lost to the corrupted Scriptures...New Age author Eckard Tolle may claim to have had a "spiritual awakening" brought on by a near-death experience enabling him to guide others toward path of spiritual enlightenment...And the Gnostics before them may have claimed to have found the path to salvation of the soul from the material world through the realization of gnōsis...But none of them really offer up anything new; these man-made ideologies and belief systems may appear in the individualistic form of self-worship or in the collectivistic form of humanity-worship, but they all amount to the same thing. They merely represent repetitive chapters in the same old story. 

And it's a story that is by no means exclusive to secular philosophies or false religions. Tragically, the tendency to wrestle with God for control is all too prevalent among His own people. The Old Testament is peppered with examples of God-anointed leaders who rebelled against Him. For example, Samson was a gifted leader of the Israelites for 20 years, but in the end he was arrogantly self-serving, letting himself be governed by his sexual desires rather than by God—a tragic story that culminated in his eventual suicide. Likewise, Saul, the first king of Israel, had great humility when first chosen by the prophet Samuel, but his pride later came into play and he disobeyed God's instructions, thinking he knew better. Eventually he also was driven to kill himself. Like them, King Solomon was a gifted leader, being profoundly wise, but he too faltered and disobeyed God's written Word; accumulating personal wealth, fame, and beautiful women became more important to him than building up his country. His desire for personal aggrandizement caused him to neglect God's will. Solomon's son suffered for it later, inheriting but a fragment of the Kingdom of Israel due to his father's failure. You would think Israel's great kings and leaders would have learned from the mistakes of their predecessors before them! But instead the pattern repeats itself.

Isn't this the same problem we often see in ourselves? How many times have we taken control back from God and rebelled against Him? How many times have we found ourselves going down a prideful path of self-destruction? How many times have we let self-ambition distract us from honoring God in the things we say and do? Sometimes, it seems like we will never learn. And history seems like it is doomed to repeat itself forever. 

But here's the actual truth: there is hope in Christ! Our lives don't have to conform to the patterns of this world. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can break the cycle of sin! We no longer have to live in the flesh and be governed by its deceitful desires because we have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us. So the life we are free to live now, we can live by faith in the Son of God (Gal 2:20).

It is a daily process involving daily surrender. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it." (Luke 9:23-24). It is when we deny ourselves, we are truly set free. The world will tell us that we are only free when we are "true to ourselves." The world will tell us living in obedience to God is to be enslaved. But the only true source of freedom is to be found in Christ, for "Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (Gal 5:1). Let's be encouraged, then, as those made new in Christ, to stand firm in our freedom, and to put off the old self with all it's deceitful desires of the flesh (Eph 4:22-24). 

We learn from Adam and Eve's fateful grasp for self-empowerment that pride is our worst, most insidious enemy. It leads us into rebellion against God and to be deceived that we know better than He, that we deserve more than He has given us. Whenever we feel pride creeping in, then, we should remind ourselves how far we fall short of God's holy standard "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Rom 3:23). And God warns us, "I will break down your stubborn pride." (Lev 26:19). When we find ourselves humbled though suffering trials, or after we fall, we can take heart that it is for our own good, remembering Jesus' own words: "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 14:11). 

The fallible self is a shaky foundation on which to base one’s life-meaning and purpose, and many who do so ultimately find themselves sinking in a quick-sand of sin (Matt. 7:24-27). Man-made ideas will not stand the test of time. Indeed, the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight (1 Cor 3:19). And as it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Let's stand firm then in God's truth, "for Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles." (1 Cor 1:19-25). 

If we find ourselves coming up against the lofty intelligence of a scholar, we shouldn't balk. We can have confidence that God's wisdom trumps anything a tenured Ivy-league professor has to say. Unbelievers that the world may deem to be "genius thinkers" or "spiritually enlightened gurus" will be revealed as frauds one day. Every knee will bow.

So, instead of building our lives on the quick-sand surface of a relativistic world, let's be encouraged in our resolution to build our lives on the ever-enduring, solid rock of absolute truth—The Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6).

---------------------------------
[1] Council for Secular Humanism, "Affirmations of Secular Humanism,"  https://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php/12 
[2] Ibid
[3] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/02/mormonism-fastest-growing-religion_n_1469566.html
[4] Milton Hunter, G.T.A., p. 51, (emphasis added)
[5] Hanegraaff, Hank, “The New Age Christ: What is the New Age view of Jesus?” article published by the Christian Research Institute
[6] Harvey, Andrew, A New Life Virtual Training: "The Christ Path, A 7-Week Journey to Awaken and Embody Christ-Consciousness" March, 2013
[7] Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge
[8] Institute for Gnostic Studies, online posting, June 2000.
[9] Vitz, Paul, Psychology as Religion: The Cult of Self-Worship, (1977, 1994, William Eerdmans Publishing), http://www.narth.com/docs/vitz.html
[10] Maslow, Abraham Harold, (1908—1970) was an American professor of psychology at Brandeis University, Brooklyn College, New School for Social Research and Columbia University who created Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
[11] Maslow, Abraham Harold, “A Theory of Human Motivation,” Psychological Review, (1943). p370-96.
[12] Ray C. Stedman, O MAN OF GOD! (http://www.pbc.org/dp/stedman/timothy/3781.html)