New Age Cults and Religions

by Texe Marrs

  The New Age movement was Randall Baer’s entire life and his consuming passion for 15 years. From the time he was a teenager he hungrily immersed himself in New Age occultism. By the age of 30, an uncanny sequence of dramatic events had propelled the brilliant Randall Baer into a meteoric rise to international renown as an expert in “crystal powers” and New Age religion. Randall Baer’s work was featured on T.V.’s 20/20. He was able to write his own ticket on the national lecture circuit. As a famous star on the New Age scene, he was riding high.

  But one day, unexpectedly, a dark and hideous force entered Randall Baer’s life. Overpowered, he was sucked into an incredible vortex of unimaginable evil and blackness. In desperation Randall cried out, “Jesus, help me!” And from that moment, Randall Baer’s life changed. Totally.

  Saved from doom only by the grace of God, his testimonial book, Inside The New Age Nightmare, is Randall Baer’s revealing exposé of what the New Age really stands for. Here is the New Age in all its deception and hidden brutality, including the scheme to usher in an occult “Messiah.”

  Shockingly, just days before his book was to be released, Randall Baer was found dead. The police report states only that his car veered mysteriously off a 300 foot cliff in Colorado into the rocky valley below. Who killed Randall Baer? We do not know for sure if his death was accidental or by evil design. We do know that if he had lived, he would have been a powerful spokesman for true Christianity and a witness against the New Age deception.

  Chapter 52: THE MONROE INSTITUTE

  Robert A. Monroe was a media executive who in 1958 began having out-of-body experiences, “traveling to locales far removed from the physical and spiritual realities of life.” He recorded his experiences in his bestselling book, Journeys Out of the Body, and a follow-up book, Far Journeys. These books catapulted him to New Age fame and enabled him to found the Monroe Institute in Faber, Virginia.

  The Monroe Institute offers “a system of planned self-evolution—the extraordinary capacity to transform one’s consciousness.” One of its programs is called “The Gateway Program.” This is a series of taped exercises which progressively move the individual from deep relaxation to the ultimate thresholds of consciousness, using the techniques of deep meditation. This course and others are offered through in-home course work or at the Institute itself.

  The Monroe Institute puts out the most glossy and slick publications and advertisements imaginable to lure and attract its audience. Its board of advisors includes an impressive array of engineers, biochemists, physicists, educators, psychologists, and medical doctors. All of these lend an aura of scientific respectability to the Monroe Institute. However, as I noted in the section on the Institute of Noetic Sciences, there is absolutely not one shred of scientific evidence that the techniques employed by such groups as the Monroe Institute are valid and scientific.

  Chapter 53: MONTESSORI

  It’s called the “Montessori Method,” after its founder, the late Italian educator Dr. Maria Montessori. It’s in place across America and even the world as a curriculum for public and private school classrooms. Even some church schools and Sunday school programs have adopted the Montessori Method. Few realize the deep occultic roots of Maria Montessori and her Method.

  Some of the awful truth about Montessori was revealed in my book, Ravaged By the New Age. Not every school which requires students to fulfill the Montessori curriculum embraces all of the tenets of the Montessori program. Nevertheless, my research indicates that the occultic underpinnings and foundations of the Montessori curriculum are so subtly hidden and so insidiously woven into her writings and techniques that even the most experienced and seasoned Christian educator often can be misled into thinking that the Montessori Method and curriculum are harmless.

  However, a look at Montessori herself and the official Montessori curriculum that is promoted by some of the Montessori groups should enlighten any reasonable investigator as to the dubious nature of Montessori. It’s all there in the official Montessori curriculum: the Mother Goddess, Earth and nature worship, occult symbols, New Age fantasy tales of Atlantis and Lemuria, Hindu psychology, the Nazi Aryan super race theory, Egyptian mythologies, the Cosmic Plan, the “perfect human” lie, the Universal Oneness theme.

  Maria Montessori: The New Age-Nazi Connection

  Who was this Maria Montessori, whose education methods and thinly veiled religious beliefs are being promoted today in over 3,000 public school districts across the U.S.A.? Even some of her staunchest supporters admit that she and Fascist Italy’s Benito Mussolini worked closely together in the 1920s and 1930s to bring her teachings to bear throughout Italy. Indeed, dictator Mussolini was at one time the President of the Montessori Society of Italy!

  Montessori’s fame then spread to Nazi Germany where the Montessori Method found favor with Adolf Hitler’s education overlords. Montessori was a great friend of the occultic group, Theosophy. In India, she lived and worked with Theosophy leaders, who also published a number of her works. Hindu leader Gandhi praised her work and her “method.” Her system of “Cosmic Education” was especially pleasing to the Hindus and Theosophy.

  Today, the Montessori Method of “positive education” is taught at the New Age commune of Elizabeth Clare Prophet, head of the cultic Church Universal and Triumphant. Indeed, Prophet, who believes that her spirit guide, Count Saint Germain, is superior to Jesus, has founded a group called Montessori International. Thousands of Montessori schools have sprung up across the U.S.A. and the world, many begun by ardent New Agers and occultists, others by sincere but misguided educators.

  Montessori to Bring in World Peace and “A New Type of Man”

  The North American Montessori Teachers Association (NAMTA), in affiliation with the Montessori Association International, glowingly describes the influence of Maria Montessori on the new educational method being prescribed today for so many thousands of schools. This method can help to bring in world peace, they claim because, as Montessori herself stated, it will result in “A new type of man, a better humanity.” It will also, NAMTA comments, help man succeed in the “global task” of “reconstruction.” In a recent NAMTA Journal, the educators stated:

  Maria Montessori, along with many other enlightened thinkers of our time, foresaw nothing less than the emergence of a new human culture. This new culture, a global, planetized humanity, would be based on a new consciousness of the unity and interdependence of all being, the interconnectedness of all forms of energy and matter. It is the culture of the present paradigm shift, by which we are beginning to align ourselves to educate the human potential for conscious cooperation with the evolution of life on the planet.

  The above statement parrots the typical New Age line with all its talk about “new human culture;” “global, planetized humanity,” “new consciousness,” “unity,” “interdependence of all forms,” “energy,” “paradigm shift,” “human potential,” “conscious cooperation,” and “evolution.”

  NAMTA recognizes the New Age religious doctrine of reincarnation—also a principal, guiding belief of their founder, Maria Montessori. The organization encourages teachers and educators to help the “incarnating” child find “her” own place in the cosmos and to adopt the New Age idea of a divine earth. NAMTA also calls on teachers to fulfill the “vision” of founder Montessori:

  Our task as Montessori educators has a new dimension. A first goal has always been to help the child find her own place in the cosmos, which includes incarnating and being humanized by the micro-culture. In addition, we must aid the child to transcend the micro-culture and to incarnate the globalized/planetized culture without which we as a species will not survive.

  Our Montessori legacy is a rich one, for it contains both the vision and the means to implement it. At every developmental level, from toddlerhood on, we teach the needs of people. Cosmic Education is a daily experience as children and adults from many cultural and language groups come together. Within that diversity, we offer a curricul
um based on cooperation, interdependence, and respect for all forms of life. We offer a curriculum that honors individual and group differences while emphasizing our essential connectedness to each other and to the Earth. In Maria Montessori’s time, hers was a futurist vision. In ours, it is the vision of now.

  In a recent edition of Holistic Education Review was an article entitled “Montessori and Spiritual Education.” The author quoted Maria Montessori from her book, Education For a New World: “The world was not created for us to enjoy, but we are created to evolve the cosmos.” In other words, Montessori believed strongly that man was a part of the cosmos and that all is God. Montessori was, after all, a Theosophist.

  Montessori taught that within each child there is already a perfectly developed adult human being. This was because of her understanding of the Hindu/Theosophy concept of reincarnation. It was Montessori’s contention that a method could be employed in which the spirit of the adult inside the child, derived from a previous incarnation, could develop its latent wisdom received from its many ancient lives. Thus, whenever an educator or a teacher tells me they believe strongly in the Montessori Method, my response has to be: Why do you endorse the most hardcore of occultic concepts?

  Some mistakenly believe that they can take only the best of Montessori and discard what is not good. But consider this analogy: Once a capsule of cyanide has been placed in a glass of lemonade, who can remove each and every molecule of the poison? No, the entire glass of lemonade must be dumped down the sink and the glass must be sterilized if it is to be a safe vessel in the future. Likewise, the Montessori Method contains hidden spiritual poisons and toxins which can prove fatal to children.

  Chapter 54: MORAL REARMAMENT (MRA)

  Moral Rearmament was founded by an American, Frank Buchman, around 1922 as the Oxford Group. In 1938 the name was changed to Moral Rearmament, or MRA. Buchman’s Oxford Group received worldwide renown during the 30s until the world’s press, including Time and Newsweek magazines, reported on a speech in which Buchman praised Adolf Hitler and the Nazis for their campaign against the Jews in Germany. Said Buchman, “I thank God for Adolf Hitler.” It was also revealed that Buchman traveled to Germany on a secret mission to meet with Heinrich Himmler, head of the Nazi concentration camps.

  Neither Buchman’s original Oxford Group or today’s Moral Rearmament is exclusively Christian. One can be a Hindu, a Moslem, or a Buddhist and be a member. Indeed, founder Buchman is known to have traveled to India where it is believed he worked with Hindu initiates to set up chapters of the Oxford Group. MRA has no churches and no pastors. It is not a denomination, but a worldwide spiritual fellowship. Buchman taught that a man could begin quietly each day with pen and paper and write down the impressions and instructions from “God,” whomever that may be for the individual. This was called Quiet Time. Soon, however, reports began to circulate that at Oxford Group chapters in the United States, Great Britain, and elsewhere, people were getting together for Quiet Time parties in which “spooks,” or spirits encouraged them to do some quite unorthodox things, including sexual acts outside of marriage. This further weakened the credibility of Buchman’s fellowship.

  In his excellent book, More Understanding Alternative Medicine, Englishman Roy Livesey, a well-respected Christian author, tells of his attendance at a Moral Rearmament conference. At the conference were speakers and participants from all the world’s religions, but, as Livesey observed, the prevailing message at the MRA conference was that no one should “fall into the trap and seek only one God.” Nor, said Livesey, was there any recognition among the participants that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, the Life.

  Chapter 55: MORMONS (LDS)

  The Mormon Church—officially the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS)—was founded in the 1830s by American Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith was a Mason and an occultist. It is known that he worked an occultic Jupiter (the Roman god) talisman which he called his “Masonic Jewel.” He carried it with him always and it was on his person when he died. Historians of Mormonism have noted that Smith’s entire family was deeply involved in the occult. Joseph Smith himself was arrested in 1826 for an occult practice called “glass looking.” Smith had claimed that for a fee he could find buried treasure by simply looking through his magical “Peepstone.” The authorities were not amused.

  Because of founder Smith’s occultism, the entire Mormon faith is thoroughly immersed in disguised satanism and heretical false teachings. For example, here are just a few of the teachings of the Mormon Church: (1) Jesus was married to the sisters of Lazarus and to Mary Magdalene; (2) He converted water to wine at his own wedding; (3) Jesus was begotten in the flesh sexually by God, who is also a fleshly being; (4) Jesus’ wives and children were present at his crucifixion; (5) Jesus is the brother of Satan and he became Savior only after His salvation was approved by a vote of the Council of the gods; (6) Men who are Mormons and who follow the Mormon teachings, becoming initiated into a higher state, become gods of their own planets. As gods they may have millions of wives and enjoy endless sex; (7) God Himself was once simply an exalted man. God is not an eternal being. Instead, He worked Himself up to Godhood; (8) Salvation is not possible except through the prophet of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith; (9) There is a Mother in heaven as well as a Father; (10) The Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible are flawed, imperfect, and inferior to the works of Joseph Smith, which include The Book of Mormon, called “another Testament of Jesus Christ,” and Pearl of Great Price.

  And More Occult Heresies

  After reviewing the above list of Mormon heresies, turn to pages 46 through 48 of this book and examine the chart “New Age vs. True Christianity: A Contrast.” You will discover that the Mormon Church is totally a part of the New Age religion and movement. Of course, the most grievous error of the Mormons is the denial of Jesus Christ. Not only does the Mormon doctrine deny the virgin birth of Jesus, but Mormons insist that Jesus is not unique from other men. Also, it is taught that Jesus’ death on the cross did not atone for our sins. Furthermore, Mormonism teaches that all men are potential gods. The Mormon credo is: “As man is, God once was: As God is, man may become.”

  It would take me hundreds of pages to describe all of the false doctrines and weird teachings of the Mormon Church. Isn’t it amazing, then, that many confused and unknowing Christian pastors and ministry leaders are misled into believing that the Mormon Church is simply another Christian denomination?

  New Temple Rituals: Adapting to New Age Unity

  Not only are the Mormon rituals and doctrines classic New Age, but the Mormon hierarchy has begun to update its temple rituals and teachings to become more acceptable to society as a whole and to the New Age movement and the emerging one world, unified religion in particular. For example, recently the church dropped its requirement that women must, in the temple ritual, pledge to obey their husbands. The Mormons also eliminated the part of their temple ritual in which a character portraying a non-Mormon “preacher” was paid by Satan to spread false doctrines.

  The emerging theme in the Mormon Church today is that salvation through Mormonism is not exclusive. It is clear that the new changes, combined with the bedrock doctrines of Mormonism, bring this heretical church fully into agreement with the overall theology of the New Age Religion. Since the Mormon Church has at least 5,500,000 members worldwide and possibly as many as 8 million, the revisions and new changes in church doctrine and practice are highly significant. If the Mormon Church, at some future moment in time, throws its weight completely behind the New Age, a momentum could be created in which a One World Religion could almost instantly become a reality.

  For more information about Mormonism and its satanic character and nature, I recommend the book The God Makers by Ed Decker and Dave Hunt. Another excellent book on Mormonism is Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner, two former Mormons who are now Christians. Also, interested individuals may contact one of the following ministries:

 
; Ed Decker,

  Saints Alive in Jesus,

  P.O. Box 1076,

  Issaquah, WA 98027

  John Smith,

  Utah Missions,

  P.O. Box 348,

  Marlow, OK 73055

  Chapter 56: MOVEMENT OF SPIRITUAL INNER AWARENESS (MSIA)

  It has been called “the Cadillac of cults.” Its followers claim that its founder and head is the embodiment of “John the Beloved” and that he has been endowed with a Christ-like power known as the “Mystical Traveler Consciousness.” The Los Angeles Times, in an exposé of this cult group (August 14, 1988), called it an “international New Age empire.” The leader of this cult: John-Roger. His cult: the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, or MSIA (pronounced “Messiah”).

  In 1963 MSIA’s John-Roger was known as Roger Hinkins, and he was an English teacher at Rosemead High School in California. Then he underwent a kidney stone operation in a Los Angeles hospital. In a freak accident, possibly caused by a sedative overdose, Hinkins went into a nine-day coma.

  “When I woke up nine days later,” he said, “there was another being in me and he called himself John... When I opened my eyes, I remember my mother sitting there saying, ‘Who are you?’ And the voice said, ‘I am John.’ And she said, ‘Is Roger there?’ He said,‘ Yes, he is in here too.’”

  Thus, Roger Hinkins became John-Roger, a man in a physical body possessed by a spirit known as John the Beloved.