New Age Cults and Religions Page 6

  Among the groups that fall in the Prosperity and Health category are Unity Church, Unitarianism, Christian Science, Church of Religious Science (Science of Mind), and New Thought.

  8. Astral/Galactic. The astral/galactic cult, religion, or organization is often seen by the general public as far out, zany, and bizarre. UFO societies are often a type of Astral/ Galactic cult. Their tales of mysterious abductions and strange, curious green men and other creatures from, say, Venus or the earth’s immediate planetary system, and their adventurous accounts of galactic and interplanetary encounters, extraterrestrial influences, and strange sightings of flying saucers and other advanced or weird UFO craft are sometimes reported in the media in sensationalist language.

  But many people involved in these groups are well-educated, rational, intelligent, and thoughtful. They are not the kooks they are often made out to be by the media. Moreover, careful study and examination of UFO groups reveals that there is a spiritual and religious doctrine that many of their leaders are intent on spreading to all of us. It is this spiritual and religious element that we will discuss later in Texe Marrs Book of New Age Cults and Religions when we get to the section on UFO Societies and Cults.

  Another group of New Age cults and organizations that fit into the Astral/Galactic type are those promising their followers and adherents experiences beyond-the-senses through astral or soul travel. Commonly called “out-of-body” experiences (OBE), it is the contention of such groups as Anthroposophy and Eckankar that man can learn techniques that will enable him to leave the limitations of the body and soar into the astral world—into heavenly dimensions and etheric realms of visionary worlds and utopias. Such out-of-body experiences are said to enable men and women to escape the bonds of earth and to communicate with the great, all-wise, all-knowing spirit entities who populate the other-worldly dimensions.

  For example, L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, once claimed that through soul or astral travel he was taken on a fantastic trip to “heaven.” There he gazed upon magnificent edifices and was able to observe breathtaking architectural wonders. The streets glistened and everything seemed to be spiffily immaculate. However, Hubbard claimed that on a subsequent trip to heaven, he found that the powers that controlled that realm had been painfully remiss in their responsibilities. Now there were potholes on the streets, things were generally unkempt, and the buildings were in a sad state of disrepair.

  9. Political/Economic. This type of New Age group or organization usually focuses on one or a handful of specific political, economic or social goals; for example, achieving world peace, cleaning up the environment, One World Government, One World Religion, ending world hunger, radical feminism, global democracy, rights and benefits for gays (homosexuals and lesbians), animal rights, vegetarianism, etc. Some groups also exist to further such financial aims as the establishment of a one world mercantile, or commercial, system free of trade barriers between nations.

  These groups often attempt to hide or otherwise conceal their spiritual and religious underpinning. Yet, when a trained analyst of cults studies carefully the publications, speeches, and public activities of these groups, the hidden spiritual and religious nature of their agenda often surfaces.

  For example, groups supporting radical feminism will very often promote goals similar to those of the Earth and Nature cults. Goddess worship and the end of patriarchal religion (fundamentalist Christianity, Judaism, and Islam being the prime examples) are ever-pressing agenda items for radical feminist groups. For another example, the New Age organization known as the Hunger Project, whose ostensible goal is to stamp out world hunger, has spent virtually none of its millions of dollars of income to feed the hungry around the world. Instead it is the contention of the Hunger Project that its money can best be used to promote the development of a “global consciousness.” The claim is that once this global consciousness is achieved, then people everywhere will share naturally and the hunger problem will be instantly dissolved.

  The Eclectic Nature of the Cults

  Few of the New Age cults, religions, and organizations fall strictly into one of the above categories. Most often, a group combines a number of methods, techniques, and teachings in an eclectic fashion. One example is the commonplace practice of necromancy, communication with the dead, with entities who are called “spirit guides” by the New Age. Groups who contact and follow the guidance of spirit guides include the Eastern Mystical, Mystery Teachings, Occultic, Astral/Galactic, and on occasion, the Deceptive Christian cults. Generally, however, from an examination of their espoused purposes, activities, and spiritual or social teachings, each of the cults and religious groups and organizations covered in this book can be classified into one or another of the nine types.

  In this book information is provided primarily on the first eight types. Regrettably, I did not have sufficient space to include detailed information on the Political/Economic groups and organizations, though I intend to do a future book exclusively exposing the work of these nefarious groups, many of which are employing literally hundreds of millions of dollars in an attempt to convert the world into a hodgepodge of New Age institutions, practices, and systems. Among the Political/Economic groups and social organizations which are not covered but certainly merit classification as New Age are the following: the Green Party; Sovereign Military Order of Malta; ACLU; Rockefeller Foundation; Carnegie Endowment; Bread For the World; Hunger Project; UNESCO; Aspen Institute; Better World Society; Club of Rome; Esalen Institute; Earth Celebrations 2000; The Council on Foreign Relations; the National Organization for Women (NOW); Planned Parenthood; and the Trilateral Commission.

  In addition, such political and economic philosophies as fascism and communism could well be included in the New Age political/economic category because of their fervent belief in secular humanism or, in the case of the fascists, this ideology’s poisonous spiritual and physical race doctrines. Communism, like the New Age religious sects, exalts the human being, and the communist ideology is extremely amenable to the notion of a Cosmic Intelligence devoid of individualistic personality. Meanwhile, the fascist tenet of the “Superman” with god-like qualities beyond good and evil—as proposed, for example, by German writer Friedrich Nietzsche—can be closely linked with the racial doctrines espoused by such New Age groups as the Lucis Trust, World Goodwill, the Tara Center, and others.

  It is important to realize that the goal of the New Age leadership is to establish influence in all areas of society—in education, entertainment, economics and finance, politics, law, medicine, and of course, in the religious field. This is why there are so many, varied types of New Age cults and organizations. The ultimate objective is to create a One World Religion, a One World Economy, and a One World Government. The way to achieve this is to permeate society and create a pervasive network of interlinking, though ostensibly independent organizations and groups.

  Chapter 8: Tactics and Techniques of Cults:

  Unhealthy and destructive cults share many of the following traits and characteristics

  They are headed by a charmingly hypnotic or dynamically charismatic leader.

  They use manipulation, fraud, and deception to recruit and hold members.

  They isolate and separate members from friends, family, or the constancy of outside contact to create a loss of reality and keep a person out of touch with the real world and with other, external sources of information.

  They induce a form of hypnosis in disciples, a state of altered consciousness or high suggestibility, through use of such techniques and exercises as vain repetitions or chanting, meditation, and visualization on mandalas or other occultic symbols.

  They demand that new recruits share intimacies and reveal hidden sins or secrets in their lives. Once confessed and in the open, the individual may be held in check by threats of having these secrets revealed; in addition, members frequently develop a sense of group consciousness and closeness because of their shared intimacies.

  Rejection
of traditional values. New members are encouraged to change their lifestyle, their career goals, their education, their preferred reading selections, and their ethical and religious belief systems. The cult insists on the imposition of new values or an entire new paradigm or worldview. True biblical Christianity absolutely must be abandoned by the cult member.

  Sleep and food deprivation. Vegetarianism produces an altered state of consciousness and may make a person vulnerable to demonic contacts and out-of-body experiences. Lack of sleep disorients an individual, slowing or diminishing rational thought processes. This may render a person open and susceptible to cult influences and allow the new value system to be imposed on the individual by the cult leadership. Over a long period of time food and sleep deprivation can have devastating effects on the individual. Occasionally a new dietary regime which includes untried and experimental herbs and natural substances has been known to create toxic poisons in the body and literally kill people.

  A feeling of chosenness or special calling is induced. The individual is made to feel special and superior. He is told that he is a “new being,” an initiate on the road to total happiness and bliss. Also, it may be revealed to the new initiate that he or she is one of the elect chosen to accept the new values and abandon the old. The person is made to feel a part of the “in crowd,” spiritually advanced, fully conscious, and cosmically superior to the ignorant, uncouth masses, especially the “jaded old fundamentalist Christians with their legalism and outmoded, old-fashioned morality and belief system.”

  Proselytizing is encouraged, even required, of the new recruit as well as veteran members. The New Age cults and religions are very evangelistic; most are determined to go out into the highways and byways and recruit new members for their spiritual and other causes.

  Total loyalty and obedience is demanded of members. Most cults have a particular guru or spiritual leader, whether dead or living, for whom members must continually express their love, affection, and highest veneration. He is constantly held out as superior and god-like, and pictured to be a supreme, holy and enlightened teacher.

  Peer and group pressure and love-bonding tactics are used. The individual is often showered with love and attention when she or he first joins the group. This tactic is designed to drive away doubts and reinforce the human yearning to belong and conform. It is a common practice among New Age cults for members to hug, touch, and flatter each other. New members usually receive a showering of attention. Also, the use of what appears to be amusing, childlike games, greetings, prayer chains, and similar tactics are often used to enhance the charm of the collective group and induce a spirit of cooperation, family togetherness, and, for militaristic groups, a common esprit d’corps.

  Self-esteem attacks are employed. If love-bonding does not work or produce the desired psychological result in the new recruit or member, the opposite tact may be used; that is, the person’s self-esteem may literally be attacked. He or she may become the subject of a vicious verbal assault. Cult leaders and other veteran members may accuse the individual of all kinds of heinous acts and thoughts, real or imagined. Regardless of the person’s pleadings and cries of repentance, he or she is cruelly badgered and made to feel lowly and a worm. Once the individual’s self-esteem is sufficiently destroyed and a feeling of worthlessness is induced, then, suddenly, the group changes its tactics and commences to love-bond, once again showering the individual with kind words, hugging, and touching. Bouts of alternating crying and hilarious laughing and sobbing may ensue. It may take alternate periods of love-bonding and esteem-attacking to wear down and mold the individual into a malleable and flexible tool easily manipulated by the cult.

  Mind Control is the Goal

  It is plain from reviewing the above list of tactics and techniques that mind control is a paramount goal of the cult. The person’s mind must be attacked so that he or she comes under the effective control of either the cult leader or the cult group. The collective is usually encouraged; this is why the New Age continually stresses that personal salvation is passé, that individual transformation has passed away along with other outmoded traditions of biblical Christianity. Instead, in the radiant New Age a group consciousness is encouraged. Group salvation is in vogue; the community is everything and the individual is simply a part of the community as a whole. His desires and wishes must be molded to conform to the needs of the “Community.” The good of all must be considered, members are told. The lie is that the individual will be most happy once he or she learns to tailor or subordinate the personality to fit the needs of the collective group.

  In the late 60s and early 70s, a number of cult groups were able to successfully separate young people from their family and friends, thereby creating an artificial environment in which cult tactics and techniques could more effectively be used to manipulate new recruits. Today, the cults and religious sects have become more sophisticated and more insidiously devious in their techniques and strategy. Study the list provided here of tactics and techniques of the cults described and you will find that most can be employed without the need to physically separate the individual for an extended period.

  Nowadays, most New Age cults and religions are able to exert group pressure, accomplish their love-bonding or self-esteem attacks, induce states of hypnosis, cause the individual to reject old values and take on a new worldview, and voluntarily agree to sleep and food deprivation, without complete physical isolation.

  Regular group meetings, visits at home by experienced group members, the constant practice by the person of such techniques as meditation, visualization, and chanting; and the requirement to read a voluminous amount of cult literature at home, all mean that the cults no longer need to sequester the individual away from the real world. The desired objectives are now most often achieved without brutal group pressure and harassment and without undue physical and mental coercion.

  Fraud, Deception, and Brainwashing

  When one uses the term brainwashing, an image of a prisoner of war being tortured in a secluded, grimy cell by enemy interrogation experts comes to mind. But as Stephen Hassan relates in his thought-provoking book, Combatting Cult Mind Control, “Today, many techniques of mind control exist that are far more sophisticated than the brainwashing techniques used in World War II and the Korean War.” Hassan explains that “Some involve covert forms of hypnosis, while others are implemented through the highly rigid, controlled social environment of the destructive cult.” Above all, he stresses, “It should be recognized that mind control is a very subtle process.”

  Hassan himself relates how a process of mind control was employed on him by the Moonies (the Reverend Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church) to the extent that he became practically a walking zombie. In a deluded mental and spiritual condition, Steve Hassan, an educated, articulate, and bright young man, fell under almost the complete control of his cult captors. He became a puppet without a string being attached. The process took only three days. Here is how Steve Hassan describes the results of the brainwashing that he experienced from this New Age cult:

  By the end of those three days, the Steve Hassan who had walked into the first workshop was gone, replaced by a new “Steve Hassan.” I was elated at the thought that I was “chosen” by God and that my life’s path was now on the only “true track.” I experienced a wide range of other feelings, too: I was shocked and honored that I had been singled out for leadership, scared at how much responsibility rested on my shoulders, and emotionally high on the thought that God was actively working to bring about the Garden of Eden. No more war, no more poverty, no more ecological destruction. Just love, truth, beauty, and goodness. Still, a muffled voice deep within was telling me to watch out ...

  Chapter 9: The Lure of Cults

  It is a misconception that the cults are only after our young people. True, cult recruiters and true believers do indeed scout college campuses and even the high schools searching for new souls. But today the New Age cults and religions find a much more att
ractive market for their wares among middle-aged and elderly people than they do among the youth population. This New Age penchant to grasp on to a more mature audience is causing untold suffering and casualties among older adults who should know better but who often fall under the sway of the cults during a particularly vulnerable moment in their lives.

  As I visit New Age bookstores around this nation and drop in on New Age groups and gatherings, I notice that it is the mature adult who, surprisingly, seems to be most receptive to the New Age philosophy. In my ministry, too, I have been startled at the number of phone calls from young, hurting men and women, especially teenagers but also people in their 208, who call and plead with us to help them rescue and extricate a parent entrapped in a New Age cult or religious group. You would be totally shocked to discover how many thousands of mothers in the 30-40s age bracket are abandoning husbands, children, and homes to strike out on some kind of a spiritual journey looking for their own Wizard of Oz. We have also had hurting husbands call and, in tears, relate the most heartbreaking accounts imaginable of wives leaving them for a guru, or insisting that an extramarital sexual affair is “okay” because other members of their New Age cult told them that the extramarital partner is a “soul twin,” a romantic liaison from a past life.