Mega Forces Page 18

  According to Foster, these new ideas must include the doctrine that the purpose of the universe is to become more intelligent and, likewise, the purpose of man is to become more intelligent. A religion with intelligent man at the pinnacle as God and Lord of all he surveys is a key principle of Foster’s proposed New World religion.

  More and more scientists follow Foster’s pattern in enthroning the universe itself—nature—as god. Physicist Heinz R. Pagels (The Cosmic Code), for example, supports religious conversions based on the new god of nature: “If there are those who claim a conversion experience through reading scripture, I would point out that the book of nature also has its converts…scientists have unleashed a new force in our social, political, and economic development—perhaps the major force. 5”

  Many scientists would have us believe that an intelligent universe created itself out of nothingness and that man’s mind power can reshape the world into any fashion it desires. But Albert Einstein, perhaps this century’s greatest scientist, professed otherwise. Einstein was a believer in a transcendent God. He often stated that the universe could not have been created without an observer. And as to the concept of a malleable, changeable universe, Einstein stated simply, “God does not play dice with the universe.”

  Just as objective science refutes the universe as its own creator, there is not one shred of evidence that our minds (thought) are part of a universal force field and that we can somehow tap into that field with only the exercise of our raw intelligence. An analogy is the existence of electromagnetic fields. Electrical signals are everywhere, but we need instruments (radio, TV, magnets, telephone) to bring them in. Gravity is also a force, but no way has been found to tap into it. Likewise, even if a unified force field of energy does exist, as well it might, there is no proof that our human minds are adequate of themselves to bring in and send signals.

  A NEW THEORY: EVOLUTION OF CONSCIOUSNESS

  Another cornerstone of the New Age world religion is a firm belief in the theory of evolution. But wait! Most scientists do not intend to continue the protracted debate about whether or not man descended from apes or monkeys. Most readily admit that Darwin’s theories are in sore need of revision. They subscribe to newer theories of evolution, in particular the theory of punctuated equillibria first articulated in the Soviet Union in the early 1970s.

  According to this theory, species can develop very quickly. It does not take millions of years of random selection for a new species such as man to evolve. Instead, an entirely new species can arise over a period of only tens of thousands of years. Adding to this new theory, New Agers believe that an evolutionary leap can occur spontaneously and instantaneously. This theory of spontaneous, super-rapid evolution has become known as transformational evolution.

  Surprisingly, this theory of transformational evolution seems to square with the biblical account of near-instantaneous creation as described in the Book of Genesis. However, New Age thought excludes the possible confirmation of Scripture. What concerns many secular teachers is the idea that modern man might be on the precipice of an incredible evolutionary leap. They suggest that man’s current state of development is a prelude to the next higher level of evolution, a level in which man’s mind vaults into a new, higher consciousness.

  This startling theory holds that as more human beings become more conscious and aware of their own divine nature and their latent powers within, a critical mass of energy will develop. This critical mass will break through the evolutionary threshold and a new cosmic consciousness will envelop the globe. Transformed into Superman, Homo sapiens will become a new species: literally a race of gods.

  In essence, man’s scientific destiny is to evolve into a higher order of consciousness. Enlightened man shall be the ruler of the universe and his own god. He shall unite with the universe and he and it shall become one.

  A CHALLENGE TO THE HOLY WORD

  The theory of transformational evolution is a direct challenge to the Word of God. It denies the Genesis account of creation and maintains that creation is a continuing process of nature. It alleges that all truth is relative and subject to evolutionary change, and it denies absolutes.

  Worse than these untruths, however, is the unholy claim that the end purpose of this continuing evolutionary and transformational process is the deification of man. Many people believe that a new, superhuman race of man-gods is just around the corner. This race of superintelligent beings will exalt the mind and be consistent with modern science and technology.

  When will this new race, already emerging, complete its evolutionary metamorphosis and spring into existence? Some writers claim that it will only come after the earth has been “cleansed” of those negative forces—such as fundamentalist Christianity—which today remain as obstacles to the new world order of science, technology, and religion.

  Charles Lumsden, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Toronto, believes that “the end of the twentieth century will be the Great Age of the Mind.” 6 Ruth Montgomery, known by her millions of readers as the Herald of the New Age, has said in her book Threshold to Tomorrow that “planet earth is currently on the cusp between the Piscean and Aquarian Ages.” Montgomery says that her inner spirit guides have confided to her that “we are indeed on the threshold of a New Age, which the guides say will be ushered in by a shift of the earth on its axis at the close of this century.” Once this New Age is ushered in, “The souls who helped to bring on the chaos of the present century will have passed into spirit to rethink their attitudes, and the new race will engage in peaceful pursuits and the uplifting of spirits.”

  Evidently, according to Montgomery, fundamentalist Christians and other “heretics” and troublemakers will simply be banished to another dimension where, she says, they can be taught the truths of the New Age by the spirits that inhabit that dimension and who have not yet been reincarnated. Richard Spangler, a prominent New Age leader and head of the Lucis Trust, has echoed Montgomery. He, too, has threatened that less enlightened, inferior men may have to be sent to another dimension, where they can be “more happy. 7”

  These bizarre statements by Montgomery, Spangler, and other New Age leaders suggest that, if the New Age juggernaut continues to steamroll toward world domination, an ominous age of persecution for Christians lies just ahead.

  Adolf Hitler made similar muddled statements in the 1930s—statements about how, once he had gained power, his Third Reich would solve the problems of a lesser and inferior species. The result was a network of concentration camps and the torturous deaths of 6 million Jews and tens of millions of other innocents. Christians would do well to be aware that the Church may find itself persecuted because Christians are perceived by the governing authorities as threats to the social order. This is already true in many Communist bloc countries, and we would be terribly naive to assume it could not happen in the U.S. or Western Europe.

  IS THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT REALLY A THREAT TO CHRISTIANS?

  Ardent New Agers see the Church as a backward institution that encourages men and women to remain in a state of lower consciousness. Christianity is the “heavy” in Western culture because, under Christian influence, man can only be an inferior species, a pale shadow of what he could be with the help of science. New Agers recognize that their plans to subvert and destroy biblical Christianity and replace it with an ideology based on supposed scientific laws and Eastern mysticism can best be achieved by a large number of separate organizations. Many of these organizations can be best described as cults. Some include the word church in their formal titles. But not all of these New Age organizations call themselves churches, nor are all New Agers affiliated with recognized cults. In fact, many New Agers vehemently object to outsiders’ characterizations of their efforts as religious in scope. They protest that their group exists only to promote radical change in a particular segment of society, such as medicine, law, education, or government.

  Some New Age groups contend their organizations are totally independent.
Indeed, a few even reject the New Age label, preferring such euphemisms as the Human Potential Movement, Consciousness Movement, Holistic Movement, Whole Earth, East/West, Unity, and so forth. Structurally, their claims of autonomy are accurate, for there is no one organizational hierarchy or any document or statement of belief that unites all such groups. Yet, considering the broad aims of the New Age movement and the characteristics common to the New Age religion, and philosophy, it is difficult to deny that most of the groups alleged to be autonomous are, in fact, integral components of an apparatus opposed to biblical Christianity.

  Although many New Agers derive great satisfaction in identifying their movement as a conspiracy, some groups considered to be New Age in thought or action do not fit the classical definition of being conspiratorial. They operate in the open, actively recruit new members, and mince no words in stating their vigorous opposition to Christian concepts and in announcing their aims and intentions.

  ULTIMATELY, THERE IS ATHEISM

  The New Age believer cannot bring himself to admit there must be a first cause, a grand Creator separate and apart from his magnificent creative efforts. Though he may continue to use the word God, the New Age believer is no more than an atheist in a new, more sophisticated form. New Age man, in order to lift himself up as a deity, finds it necessary to bring God down from his abode in the high places and make him into little more than a collection of inanimate material and endlessly active subatomic particles. By removing God from his throne, the New Ager believes man will become the powerful master of his own destiny, maker of his own dreams: God incarnate. He does not realize that with God all things are possible, but without God, Satan inevitably moves in to fill the gap. Seeking autonomy, man finds fetters. Seeking lordship, he becomes a slave.

  CHAPTER NOTES

  Preface

  1. Julian Huxley, Religion without Revelation (London: Max Parrish, 1959).

  Chapter 1: Who Needs God?

  1. V. Gordon Childe, Man Makes Himself (London: Pitman, 1936; revised 1941 and 1951; New York: New American Library, 1983).

  2. Elizabeth C. Hirschman. Quoted in “1984: Fact or Fiction?” New York University Business, Fall 1983/Winter 1984, p.45.

  3. See Texe Marrs, Dark Secrets of the New Age (Crossway/Good News Publishers, 1987), pp. 14, 198-201.

  4. Michael Saloman, Future Life (New York: Macmillan, 1983).

  Chapter 2: Man the Creator—Robotics and Bioengineering

  1. Neil Frude, The Intimate Machine: Close Encounters with Computers and Robots (New York: New American Library, 1983).

  2. Biochips and Biosensors: Technology Assessments, Business Opportunities, and Market Forecasts to 1995 and Beyond (Gorham, Maine: Gorham International, Inc., November 1984).

  3. Geoff Simons, Are Computers Alive? (Boston: Birkhauser, 1983).

  4. Robert Freitas, Jr., “Self-replicating Robots,” Omni, July 1983, p. 44.

  5. Texe W. Marrs and Wanda J. Marrs. Robotica: The Whole Universe Catalogue of Robots (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.: Stein and Day, 1987).

  6. Joseph Deken, Silico Sapiens: The Fundamentals and Future of Robotics (New York: Bantam, 1985).

  7. Joseph Weizenbaum, Computer Power and Human Reason (San Francisco: W. H. Freeman, 1976).

  8. G. Harry Stine, The Silicon Gods (New York: Dell, 1984). Also see David Ritchie, The Binary Brain: Artificial Intelligence in the Age of Electronics (Boston: Little, Brown, 1984).

  9. Arthur C. Clarke, Profiles of the Future (New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1984).

  10. Albert Rosenfeld, The Second Genesis: The Coming Control of Life (New York: Vintage, 1975).

  11. Deken, Silico Sapiens.

  12. Frank Tipler, quoted in “Perfect Timing: In a Universe of Ten Billion Galaxies, Why Did Intelligent Life Hit This Particular Planet?” New Age Journal, December 1985.

  13. Jean Rostrand, Can Man Be Modified? (New York: Basic Books, 1959).

  14. Kathleen Sullivan, “Technology of Butterflies,” Austin American-Statesman, October 14, 1985, p. D1.

  15. Texe Marrs, Dark Secrets of the New Age, pp. 119-135.

  16. Carl Sagan, quoted in U.S.A. Today, October 11, 1985.

  17. See Stuart Litvak and A. Wayne Senzee, Toward a New Brain: Evolution and the Human Mind (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1986). See especially pp. 194-202.

  18. Edward Cornish, “Deciding Our Own Evolution,” The Futurist, October 1985.

  19. Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene (New York: Oxford University Press, 1976), p. 215.

  Chapter 3: A Global Brain for Mankind—Computers

  1. Jacques Vallee, The Network Revolution (Berkeley, Calif.: And/Or Press, 1982).

  2. David Burnham, The Rise of the Computer State (New York: Random House, 1983).

  3. David Foster, The Intelligent Universe: A Cybernetic Philosophy (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1975), pp. 16-17. Foster’s theories possibly are built on the earlier ideas of Nikola Tesla, the genius who invented the alternating current electrical generating system. For example, see John J. O’Neill’s Prodigal Genius: The Life of Nikola Tesla (Hollywood, Calif.: Angriff Press), p. 251.

  4. Foster, Intelligent Universe, p. 98.

  5. H. D. Corvey and Neil McAlister, Computer Consciousness: Surviving the Automated 80s (Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1980), p. 7.

  6. A. E. Wilder Smith, The Creation of Life (Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1970; Master Books/CLP Publishers, 1981).

  Chapter 4: States of Chemical Bliss—Mind-altering Drugs

  1. Jonathan Glover, What Sort of People Should There Be? (New York: Penguin, 1984).

  2. V. I. Chernyshoy, quoted in John Barron, KGB Today: The Hidden Hand (Pleasantville, N. Y.: Reader’s Digest Press, 1974).

  3. Marilyn Ferguson, The Aquarian Compiracy: Personal and Social Transformation in the 1980s (Los Angeles: J. P. Tarcher, 1980), p. 89. Also see pp. 90-97.

  4. Ibid.

  5. Ibid, p. 375.

  Chapter 5: Tech Tools for the Antichrist—Systems of Surveillance and Control

  1. Senator William Cohen, quoted by David Burnham, “Computer ‘Dossiers’ Are Arousing Concern Over Privacy Invasion,” New York Times Service, June 11, 1984.

  2. Russell Targ and Keith Harary, The Mind Race (New York: Random House, 1984), p. 45.

  3. Glover, What Sort of People, p. 167.

  4. Stine, Silicon Gods, pp. 201-254.

  5. Julie Ann Miller, “Chips on the Old Block,” Science News, June 28, 1986, pp. 408-409.

  6. Stine, Silicon Gods, p. 216.

  Chapter 6: The Weapons and Warriors of Armageddon

  1. Billy Graham, Approaching Hoofbeats: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Waco, Tex.: Word, 1983).

  Chapter 7: The Horrible Prospect—Nuclear War

  1. William J. Koenig, Weapons of World War III (London: Bison Books, 1983).

  2. Albert Einstein, quoted in the foreword to Charles Hapgood, The Path of the Pole (Radnor, Penn.: Chilton, 1970).

  Chapter 8: Terror from the Heavens—Space and Air Warfare

  1. U.S. Air Force, Department of Defense, Report to the 98th Congress of the United States of America (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office).

  2. Allan Maurer, Lasers: The Light Wave of the Future (New York: Arco Publishing, 1982). Also, see Cliff Laurence, The Laser Book: A New Technology of Light (New York: Prentice-Hall, 1986).

  3. See Beam Defense: An Alternative to Nuclear Destruction (Fallbrook, Cal.: Aero Publishers, 1983). Authored by experts with the Fusion Energy Foundation, this book discusses a Soviet device that generates laser pulses of 300 billion watts, the downing of missiles in Soviet laser weapon tests, and new Soviet land-based laser systems capable of destroying or disabling aircraft and satellites.

  4. U.S. Air Force, Report.

  Chapter 9: Invisible Agents of Death—Chemical and Biological Warfare

  1. Sterling Seagrave, Yellow Rain: A Journey Through the Terror of Chemical Warfare (New York: M. Evans, 1981). Also see “Tiptoe Through the Toxins,” W
all Street Journal, December 1, 1982; Barry Wain, “Refugee Camp Doctor Claims UN Team Misunderstood Yellow Rain Controversy,” Wall Street Journal, October 15, 1982; and William Kucewicz, “Mycotoxins: The Scientific Battlefield,” Wall Street Journal, May 30, 1984. For a more recent report on the use of “liquid fire, yellow rain, and other outlawed munitions” by the Soviet Union against Afghanistan freedom fighters, see Daniel Dravot, “Weapons of Terror,” International Combat Arms, March 1985, p. 73.

  2. Jeremy Paxman and Robert Hams, A Higher Form of Killing: The Secret Story of Gas and Germ Warfare (New York: Hill & Wang, 1982).

  3. Soloman Snyder, quoted by Richard F. Hams, “Scientists Testing Revolutionary Drugs,” Scripps-Howard News Service, November 7, 1985.

  4. James Dunnigan, How to Make War (New York: William Morrow, 1982), pp. 266-286.

  Chapter 10: No Place to Hide—The War Below

  1. Donald Latham, quoted in Lance Gay, “Supercomputers to Make Warriors Better Informed, Deadlier,” Scripps-Howard News Service, November 17, 1982.

  2. Frank Verderame, quoted by Russell Mitchell, “Robot Soldiers Being Perfected,” Austin American-Statesman, June 25, 1984, p. E2.

  3. Frank Gavin, “Robots Go to War,” International Combat Arms, July 1985, pp. 14-23.

  4. In 1974, at a conference held by the respected Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), James Beal, an aerospace engineer and researcher with Martin-Marietta Corporation, described the potential impact of bioelectronic weapons as “staggering.” The space engineer also warned of Soviet advances in this field. Beale’s paper was entitled, “Field Effects, Known and Unknown, Associated with Living Systems.”