(1) THE AGENDA OF CHANNELING: TWO THEMES

(a) The first theme that pervades the channeling sources in question can be summed up thus: There is no good and evil polarity.  4 quotes will suffice:  

(i) "Sin does not exist (ACIM 3:81)."
(ii) "Ultimately, there is no difference between right and wrong. . .There is no such thing as evil (Ramtha--quoted from Mahr's book, pp. 60, 241)."
(iii) "Engage widening your belief systems; for there is no right and wrong, and there is no good and evil (Elias, Session 94)."
(iv) "All existence was blessed and...evil did not exist in it. . .The devil idea is merely the mass projection of certain fears. . .Good and evil effects are basically illusions.  In your terms, all acts, regardless of their seeming nature, are part of the greater good (from "Seth Speaks"  13, 139, 342).

The second agenda theme that pervades these sources can be expressed thus: the claim that Jesus suffered and died for us on a cross is a lying travesty.  I will offer 7 quotes and provide commentary where it is needed.

(i) "{Divine] forgiveness is an illusion (ACIM 3:79),"
(ii) [Jesus:] "Do not make the pathetic error of clinging to the old rugged cross. . .This is not the Gospel...I intended to offer you (ACIM 1:47)."

Contrast this with just 2 of the many examples of Jesus' mission statements in our Gospels:

"The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many
(Mark 10:45)."  

"Then he [Jesus] took a loaf of bread...He broke it and gave it to them, saying,`This is my body, which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.'  And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, `This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood (Luke 22:20).'"

The Jesus of ACIM not only contradicts the Jesus of history; he also once confuses what Paul did with what the earthly Jesus did! Notice too how the Jesus of ACIM contradicts Jesus' claims to a unique messianic identity:

(iii) "Christ waits for your acceptance of Him AS YOURSELF (ACIM 1:187)."  "Is [Jesus] the Christ?  O yes, ALONG WITH YOU (1:83)."

Then compare this with the Ramtha entity's claims:

(iv) "The Christian God is "an idiotic deity. . .You are God...We are equal with God and Christ."

The Koran's portait of Jesus is allegedly the product of dictation from Allah, but it is in fact largely the product of allusions drawn from several apocryphal infancy Gospels written between the late 2nd and 5th centuries.  These Gospels are obviously legendary in character and far too late to contain any historically valuable material.  The Koran, Elias, and Seth even deny that Jesus died by crucifixion.

(v) "I [Allah] will cause you [Jesus] to die a natural death. . . They did not slay Him, nor did they compass his death upon the cross, but he was made to appear to them like one crucified to death
(Koran 3:55f.; 1;158)."

(vi) In Elias Session 282 Vivien observes, "I understand that he [Jesus] did not die in the crucifixion, but did he go to India after that?"  In reply, Elias claims that Jesus moved to Macedonia and died there at age 51, apparently of natural causes.  On this point, Elias agrees with the Koran.

In Seth's claims to prior incarnations, he can be proven wrong whereever he can be checked.  Seth echoes the claims of the Koran and Elias that Jesus never died by crucifixion.  But Seth's account is closer to that of 2nd century Gnostic tradition:

(vii) "He [Jesus] had no intention of dying in this manner...There was a conspiracy in which Judas played a role. . .The man chosen was drugged--hence the necessity of helping him carry the cross (see Luke 23)--and he was told that he was the Christ.  his physical presence was no longer necessary, and was even an embarrassment under the circumstances.  He simply willed himself out of it ("Seth Speaks"  266, 368)."  

In the Gospels, of course, crucifixion is a self-conscious part of Jesus' mission.  Jesus is subject to savage torture that weakens Him to the point where he needs Simon of Cyrene's help in carrying His cross (Mark 15).  Seth's account is merely an implausible variation of a universally discredited 2nd century Gnostic legend.  Irenaeus express the legend thus in Against Heresies 1.24.4:  

"Simon of Cyrene was compelled to carry His cross for Him.   and this Simon was transformed through ignorance and error.  Jesus, however, took the form of Simon, and stood by laughing at them since He could not be held and was invisible to all."

This absurd legend was created to allow Gnostics to reconcile their Middle  Platonic belief that God transcended human emotions and could not suffer.  On this view, Jesus, a divine being, could not have been crucified.  

Our earliest Gospel, Mark, identifies "Alexander and Rufus" as Simon's two sons because these men were prominent figures in the early church and could verify Mark's account.  In fact, one of these sons, Rufus, shows up in Rome and is celebrated by Paul (Romans 15:13).  Mark wrote his Gospel at Rome where he could verify his account by talking to this son of Simon of Cyrene.  Paul even says that Rufus's mother, Simon's wife, had been like a mother to him as well.

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That is enough right there to know that these writings are definitely not coming from God or sources of spiritual truth.  There is overwhelming historical evidence for the death-by-crucifixion of Jesus.  Absolutely overwhelming and undeniable.

Freebird

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Does Raphael's new "conventional Christian" faith include the idea that God tortures people forever in a burning hell?  That's what most conventional Christians believe, contrary to the original Greek New Testament.

If Raphael adheres to this doctrine of conventional Christianity, is it possible that he has simply traded non-Christian demons for "Christian" ones?  I do not know, but I simply raise the question for consideration.  There is much within normal standard Christianity that is blasphemous against God, making God seem like a monster.

Not that I am promoting mediumship or channeling either.  I am not.

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Does anybody have an explanation for why evil spirits would want to help people and do good deeds like this?  Just wondering, because it doesn't make sense to me.  Jesus said we are supposed to "know them by their fruits."  He said, "every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit." (Matthew 7:17).  Healing people of sickness certainly sounds like good fruit to me.  We have to trust Jesus's method of discernment, or else who can we trust?

We also must remember that the ONLY sin mentioned in the Bible that cannot be forgiven "either in this age or the age to come" is the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which Jesus defined in his discussion with the Pharisees as accusing someone of doing good works with the power of Satan.  So, if we erroneously decide that a particular being is doing good works through satanic powers, when in fact it is coming from God, then we are unforgiven even in the next age, which the Bible says is 1000 years (the millennial reign of Christ on earth).

I don't want to take that risk; does anyone else?  Therefore, I have decided not to be too quick about attributing good works to the work of the devil -- because what if I'm wrong in such attribution?  They said the same thing about Jesus too, remember?

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So here we have the purported case of demons from hell who came to earth to miraculously heal 200+ people of sicknesses including brain tumors, replacement of vertebrae, and lung transplants.  Plenty of good fruits there.  I ask again, can we trust Jesus when he said we will know them by their fruits?  If not, then can we trust any spiritual statements in the Bible at all? -- or are we to live our lives in constant terror, wondering whether anything in the Bible or any response we get to prayer or any vision we or our pastor has or whatever else, could in fact be incorrect or even, God forbid, a trick of the devil?

It is stuff like this that drives people away from spirituality and into atheism.  Make no mistake about it.  It is when a person decides there is no way to know what the truth is, because anything could be a trick of the devil, even something that seems good such as miraculous healing of brain tumors, that they are prone to reject God and the afterlife entirely and embrace the philosophy of materialism and scientism.

There are plenty of Christians out there who believe all near-death experiences are coming from Satan too, even the ones where people encounter God and Jesus.  They argue that Satan implanted false memories in the person's brain that they met Jesus when in fact they met Satan disguised as an angel of light.  They argue that NDEs are a trick designed specifically to lead people into eternal damnation, because they will start believing some incorrect religious doctrines due to the NDE, and this will send their soul to hell.

You see where this all leads?  It leads towards a total inability to trust anything of a spiritual nature, which I don't think is a good thing.

I guess I'm just venting some of my frustrations with all this business about "tricks of the devil disguised as Light."  We hear about this so often.  Yes, maybe it really happens, but when you start to think about its implications, it basically nullifies any ability to trust in God.  At least that's what it does to me.

I am in a discussion group where we were discussing NDEs and somebody recently posted that any NDE in which a person sees Jesus with long hair means it's actually Satan, because Jesus (supposedly) did not wear his hair long.  This was a real argument somebody made.  But the fact is, nobody knows how Jesus wore his hair!  And even if he appears to somebody with the "wrong" hairstyle, does that really prove anything about his authenticity?

Well, enough of my rambling.  But you see where speculation about tricks of the devil can lead?  It's a never ending slippery slope towards cynicism, atheism and despair, IMHO.

Freebird

Hi Dora,

Thanks for the breath of fresh air here. 
So good to see you here. 

Much Love,
Mairlyn   

Freebird, you raise 8 profound issues for which I am grateful.  Your issues take my post in a direction it needs to go.   Here are my responses:

(1) Belief in reincarnation is no evidence that a spiritual message or messenger is evil.
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I reject reincarnation for many evidential reasons, but I remain open to the possibility of being wrong on this point.  I agree; belief in reincarnation is not in itself evil and is not part of the hidden agenda of channeling under discussion.  My post only discusses reincarnation to flesh out the connection between modern channeling by the Seth and Elias entities and 2nd century Gnostic channeling which presumes that Seth and Elias are exalted entities in control of specific astral planes.

(2) Reincarnation is a common belief among many ancient Jews, and arguably Jesus affirms its truth with his statement that John the Baptist is Elijah.
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Would you be willing to consult relevant posts on Robert Bruce's website "Astralpulse.com" under the topical section "Judaism and Early Christianity?"  A moderator (Beth) created a post that defends your viewpoint in detail ("Reincarnation in Judaism and Christianity").  I rebut all her historical claims in a post (by "Berserk") entitled "Reincarnation in the Bible and the Early Church?"  I argue that reincarnation cannot be found in the Bible, the Palestinian Judaism of late antiquity, or the early church (aoart from 2nd century Gnosticism). 
After several months,  neither Beth nor her supporters have challenged any of my points.  So I'd appreciate your feedback.

(3) Does Raphael's new "conventional Christian" faith include the idea that God tortures people forever in a burning hell?  That's what most conventional Christians believe, contrary to the original Greek New Testament.
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I'm not sure about the theological details of Raphael's Christian commitment.  But you will not find anyone more passionate in his agreement with your last point.  Jesus, Paul, Revelation, and 2nd century Christian apocalyptic literature all teach  that God's love never permanently abandons anyone after death.  If you remain in a hellish plane, that's because you refuse to recognize that your confinement is based on the principle like attracts like.  Even in hellish planes, anyone who resolves to change their core values can be "retrieved" and rehabilitated in preparation for a more satisfying existence in the higher heavens.  I lay out the basics of my case in a post entitled "A Fresh Look at Heaven" in the same section of the "Astralpulse" site as my post on reincarnation.   I'd love to get your reaction.

(4) If entities can pretend to do good when in fact they are evil, then how can we be sure that anything supposedly revealed was really coming from the Holy Spirit?
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The New Testament answer?  Through the gift of spiritual discernment exercised in the context of the corporate body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:10; 14:29).   And how is this gift developed?  Two basic forms of divine inspiration are distinguished in Scripture--prophetic and wisdom inspiration.   Prophetic inspiration is activated by meditation on the question: do outward appearances reflect inner beauty and transformation in this case?  Inspired wisdom (not to be simply reduced to common sense) is prayerfully acquired by learning in the school of hard knocks.

But now let me stress the obvious: for a Christian the ultimate test of the gift of discernment is the question of whether an alleged revelation contradicts the central message of Jesus and the Gospel.   This question is is not always easy to answer.  The Bible is not an inerrant book and the message of Jesus and the Gospel can be perverted or misunderstood.  Discernment presumes that one has applied the biblical principles of prayer and meditation and that one has humbly allowed the corporate body of Christ to test one's insights.  But first one must find a compatible church where the atmosphere is electric with the presence of God and an overpowering spirit of love.  Sadly, of the 5 churches I've pastored, only one qualifies under this criterion.  I witnessed spectular miracles while pastoring that United Methodist church. 

(5) For example, if you pray to Jesus and you hear a voice answering you, is there a chance it is not really Jesus, but a demon?
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As a medium, Johanna Michaelsen conjured Jesus as her spirit guide through Silva Mind Control techniques.  Negative psychic experiences soon taught her that this conjured Jesus was not what he seemed.  She soon realized that her attempt to manipulate Jesus created the problem.   Ancient magic can be distinguished from true spirituality in this way: magic assumes that if its rituals are properly performed, the divine contact sought must ordinarily manifest itself.  But neither Jesus nor God jump merely because we crack our whip!

Jesus is allegedly Helen Schucman's channeling source for ACIM.  The materials conflict with the historical jesus' teachings, but I'm not sure their source is actually demonic.  Nor am I prepared to claim that the Seth and Elias entities are demonic.  But their lurking agendas and historical errors demonstrate to my satisfaction that their materials conflict with truly divine revelation.

(6) Would a good God really create a universe in which humans are constantly exposed to spiritual trickery from powerful evil entities?
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Great question!  My answer must be philosophical and hence speculative.  God doesn't want robots.  To God the value of our free will is a function of the strength of our inclination to make choices that alienate us from Him.  This insight is the basis of the mystery of spiritual warfare.  Only God knows how strong this contrary inclination needs to be to maximize the value of our freely offered love.

Why didn't God create a world without pain, suffering, and hardship?  Because without these, there would be no pain-dependent virtues.   Courage requires danger and risk.  Compassion requires suffering.  Generosity requires want.  Patience requires frustration and nerve-wracking delays.  And who are we to say that a moral order would be better off without courage, compassion, generosity, and patience in God's eyes?

But, you say, why is pain so unfairly distributed?  Well, suppose pain were fairly distributed on the basis of merit.  No one would have any incentive to make selfish or evil choices because they would then pay the penalty.  Suppose instead that pain was evenly distributed.  Then no one would have a strong incentive to choose evil since it would make no difference in terms of pain avoidance.  In our world, choosing the good often involves great sacrifice (e.g. our troops in Iraq) and hence unfairly high amounts of risk and pain.  When pain is unfairly distributed, the inclination to make self-
serving choices is greater and so the value of freely offered love greatly increases.  Besides, if pain were fairly or evenly distributed, then God's existence would be most strongly confirmed.  We would worship and serve God more out of a sense fear and self-serving duty than out of love groping after God in the darkness of spiritual ambiguity. 

A Russian parable eloquently illustates this point.
An eccentric king wanted to get married.  So he disguised himself as a peasant and wandered the countryside searching for the right girl.  His troubles began when he thought he'd found her.
Her father wanted his daughter to live a good life with a financially secure husband.  He saw little in this peasant to command his respect.  But the peasant king was determined.  He worked as a farm hand for minimal wages and continued to woo both father and daughter.  Finally, his charms won both over and Dad agreed to the marriage. 

In making the marriage arrangements, the king was then forced to disclose his true identity.   Dad was incensed: "Why didn't you make your true majesty immediately apparent?  I would have deemed it a privilege to grant you my dauhter's hand."  The king replied, "Yes, and you would have been too intimidated to make a free decision.  You would have approved out of being overwhelmed by my rank and resources.  I wanted a family to love me for my character masked by poverty to make its core stand out in sharp relief.  So it is with the hiddenness of the courting God in this world.   

(7) Does anybody have an explanation for why evil spirits would want to help people and do good deeds like this (miraculous healiings)?
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Jesus concedes the ability of evil people apparently to perform a variety of miracles: "Many will say to me on that day,  `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in our name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?  And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you.  Away from me, you evildoers (Matthew 7:22-23)!"

Why evil spirits help people can partly be explained in terms of the psychodynamics of evil analyzed by psychiatrist Scott Peck.  In "People of the Lie," Peck associates evil with "malignant narcissism."  He identifies several characteristics of this personality disorder from his analysis of the common denominators of individual evil, group evil (e.g the MyLai massacre), and the evil manfested by the  demonic in possession cases.  All the identified characteristics of evil are biblically sound, though Peck fails to demonstrate this fact.  One of these characteristics is "a pronounced concern with a public image and self-image of respectability,"  a trait that might explain why evil might at times seem helpful and altruistic--not out of love, but as part of the seduction process.  The long-range goal of evil is to compete with divine blessings in an effort to seduce people away from loving and serving God the right way.  This seduction might bond souls to lower spiritual planes or hells on the basis of affinities subtly developed between the evil entity and its human victims.  This insight is confirmed by Swedenborg's astral travels. 

Another psychodynamic is an intellectual deviousness that cleverly blends truth with error.  This implies that channeling, even when evil, would nevertheless include valuable information about the afterlife, information that might engender deceptive "resonance" with the victim.  Evil only employs the truth to set up a spiritually harmful lie.  This fact injects urgency into Roger's question about the hidden agendas of channeling.

(8) Can we trust Jesus when he said we will know them by their fruits?
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Yes, but to grasp His point, one must understand the whole verse: "You will know them by their fruits.  Grapes are not gathered from thorns, nor figs from thistles, are they (Matthew 7:16)?"  Native to Palestine is a certain thorn (a buckthorn) with small black berries that closely resemble little grapes.  There is also a thistle with a flower which, at least from a distance, might easily be mistaken for a fig.  The point is that, apart from close scrutiny, the genuine and the spurious are hard to distinguish in the spiritual realm.  Jesus makes the same point more clearly  in a widely circulated saying from early oral tradition: "Be wise money-
changers.  Keep the good (coins) and get rid of the bad (the counterfeit)."  Ancient money-changers had to examine each coin closely to detect subtle variations that might betray a counterfeit status.

Don-

Thank you so much for your insights on this subject.  It is greatly refreshing to be intellectually challenged, and you do so in a loving way that makes it even more valuable.

A couple of questions/comments.  Could you elaborate on the miracles you mention at the UMC?  Also your explanation of the consequences of a world without pain is beautiful.

The use of the truth in order to mislead by sources that may be nefarious in nature is right on target.  Yes, the writings of ACIM and Elias/Seth can sound spiritually profound and uplifiting.  Heck, what do we expect, that they will come across sounding like Satan?  Deceit is a tremendously strong trait among those who wish to mislead.

I'm not saying these sources are evil, I have no idea, but they DO seem to have a common theme (call it agenda) which is to promote a lack of acountability for our actions.  This is especially true with ACIM.  And when you think it through, that kind of message is very enticing and seductive.  It can easily convince at least some folks that the narrow path Jesus speaks of is really as wide as an 8 lane interstate with no violations no matter how irresponsible we might drive.

Those who seem to think that evil is an old fashioned concept would do well to read Scott Peck and Malachi Martin.

Thanks so much for your post!