ORIGINAL LIE

You probably have seen the psychic Sylvia Browne on television. She has appeared many times-too many times-on the Montel Williams program, on Larry King Live and on Unsolved Mysteries. She makes an unfounded boast that she has helped police solve crimes. She is the author of a number of best-selling books: Adventures of a Psychic, The Other Side and Back, and Life on the Other Side. I have news for her and for you: She knows nothing about life on "the other side" unless she learned it from the Bible. The only one who knows about the other side is the one who came down from heaven and revealed in the word of God that heaven exists and what it will be like to be there.

Sylvia Browne's book, God, Creation, and Tools for Life (Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc., 2000), includes some of the most outlandish statements any human being could make. She severely criticizes dogma, meaning primarily biblical dogma, but her book is filled with dogma-foolish and unreasonable dogma-but dogma nevertheless. She claims that dogma is "manmade and filled with 'cannot, should not, better not; it is terrible if you do; it is awful. ...God is not the author of this" (p. 3). I do not wish to be unkind, but she arrogantly compares her views to those of Jesus Christ and of his apostles. In the words of Joshua, "as, for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Josh. 24:15).

There are many disturbing features of all of Sylvia Browne's books, but none more troubling than her contention that she is god. Am I misinterpreting her writings or does she really claim to be god? As they say on Fox News channel, I shall report and you decide. Please listen these statements from her book. "We are miniature gods.... We have always been part of God's lineage; therefore, we have God's genetics. We've always heard that we were made in the image of God, but when we say we are God, everybody is shocked" (p. 81). I really think she means "genes"-not genetics.

If Sylvia Browne were the only one who made such blasphemous statements, it would be serious enough. But many within the New Age movement and some not in the movement make such ridiculous claims. Dr. James Sire's book, The Universe Next Door (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1988), quotes David Spangler, the spiritual leader of the famous Findhorn community and a staunch New Ager, as affirming: "I AM the Life of a new heaven and a new earth. Others must draw upon Me and unite with Me to build its forms .... There is always only what I AM, but I have revealed Myself in new Life and New Light and new Truth ... .It is my function through this centre (that is, the Findhorn community) to demonstrate what I AM through the medium of group evolution" (p. 235). Does David Spangler believe he is replacing Jesus Christ as "the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6)?

I think my first encounter with a New Ager who believed she was god was Shirley MacLaine, the Hollywood dancer and actress. She has written several books on the New Age movement. In one of her books, It's All in the Playing (New York: Bantam Books, 1987), she boasts of having created everything. She insists: "I am my own universe. Did that mean that I had also created God and I had created life and death? .... Was that what was meant by the statement I AM THAT I AM? .... And to take responsibility for one's power would be the ultimate expression of what was called the God-force" (p. 192). Shirley MacLaine made a series of movies for television. In one of those movies, she stood up in a pool with her hands raised to heaven and said: "I AM THAT I AM. I AM GOD."

In her book, Dancing in the Light (New York: Bantam Books, 1985), Shirley MacLaine quotes Gary Zukav, author of The Dancing Wu Li Masters, as saying: "To dance with God, the creator of all things, is to dance with oneself." Shirley MacLaine affirms: It is awesome "to realize that we are part of God ...which is to say, total love and light" (p. 104). She also affirms: "I am God in happiness .I am God in stamina ... .I am God in coolness ... .I am God in strength, or I am God in light" (p. 112). One of Shirley MacLaine's gurus was a man named Kevin. Kevin told Vassy, one of Shirley MacLaine's sexual partners: "We are not under the law of God. We are as the law of God. We are God. We have to totally accept ourselves-to accept the laws of self which are divine. Then we become God. And God and self are one" (p. 247). There is much more of such absolute foolishness in Shirley MacLaine's books. Can you now understand some of the utter stupidity that comes from Hollywood? Many Hollywood directors, producers and actors are totally absorbed in the New Age movement. They have an agenda to promote their anti-scriptural and irrational ideas. To deny that fact is to be ignorant of what emanates from Hollywood.

But Hollywood is not the only place where such blasphemous ideas are entertained. Dr. M. Scott Peck, an American psychiatrist, has become one of the nation's premier writers on religious and psychological themes. His book, The Roads Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth (New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1976), promotes some of the New Age themes. The book became an almost instant bestseller and continues to sell well. Oddly enough, many so-called "Christian" bookstores promote Dr. Peck's book as if he were teaching Bible doctrine.

Dr. Peck was converted from atheism to faith in Christ, but his book unquestionably promotes some of the doctrines of the New Age movement, especially the idea that we are gods or may become gods. Dr. Peck states: "For no matter how we like to pussyfoot around it, all of us who postulate loving God and really think about it eventually come to a single terrifying idea: God wants us to become Himself (or Herself or Itself). We are growing toward godhood. God is the goal of evolution. It is God who is the source of the evolutionary force and God who is its destination" (pp. 269-270). Please contrast Dr. Peck's foolish observations with the writings of the great prophet Isaiah. "Thus says the Lord, the king of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god" (Isa. 44:6).

Dr. Peck further insists: "It is one thing to believe in a nice old God who will take good care of us from a lofty position of power which we ourselves could never begin to attain. It is quite another to believe in a God who has it in mind for us precisely that we should attain His position, His power, His wisdom, His identity" (p. 270). Please understand that I am not questioning Dr. Peck's sincerity. I assume he is sincere, but sincerity is not a test of truth. The very idea that lowly human beings could ever attain God's position, power, wisdom and identity is irrational and anti-scriptural. It is the very essence of blasphemy. The book of Genesis teaches plainly that we are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27). Paul says we are God's offspring (Acts 17:28), but we are not gods, not even little gods.

Did you know that the original lie involved Satan's promise that Eve would enjoy the prerogatives of God? God gave Adam and Eve permission to eat of the fruit of every tree in the garden of Eden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil-the tree in the midst of the garden. Satan asked Eve if God had forbidden her to eat of every tree in the garden. She explained: "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die:" Satan assured Eve: "You shall not surely die: for God knows that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:1-5). Satan wants human beings to believe they can be as gods. His promise to Eve was the original lie. His lie will be responsible for millions of people spending eternity in hell.

Almost certainly in every period of the history of the world people in various cultures and nations have claimed to believe they were gods. Some of the Roman emperors sought to convince their subjects they were gods. Tragically, if the people were unwilling to acknowledge the deity of the emperors, they were sometimes executed. In India and in other parts of the world, some people are honored as gods. Dr. David Jeremiah's book, Invasion of the Gods: The Seduction of New Age Spirituality (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1995), quotes the famous Indian guru Sai Baba as insisting: "You are the God of the universe. You are not a man, you are God." Dr. Jeremiah quotes a typical yoga meditation. "I am the light of lights; I am the sun; I am the real, real sun.... In me the whole world moves and has its being...I existed before the world began.... I permeate and pervade every atom.... Oh, how beautiful I am.... I am the universe ... everything is in me" (p. 35).

The sixth century B. C. prophet Ezekiel describes one of the leaders of his day as claiming to be deity. Ezekiel reports: "The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus says the Lord God: because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, I am God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet you are a man, and not God, though you set your heart as the heart of God" (Ezek. 28: 1-2). Any man who claims to be God is arrogant and will be brought down to hell. Although Nebuchadnezzar did not identify himself as God, his arrogance brought him to his knees (Dan. 4: 19-37).

The apostle Paul warned the Thessalonians about the coming of a leader who would boast of his deity. "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that you be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (2 Thess. 2: 1-4). There is great disagreement over the identity of the man of sin, but there should be no disagreement about his arrogance.

There have been other men and women who have claimed to be God. But let us turn now to examine how Satan's original lie has influenced the human family. Do you remember the confrontation between Christ and some of his fellow Jews? They claimed to be Abraham's children. Our Lord responded: "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But you seek to kill me, a man who has told the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. You do the deeds of your father" (John 8:39-41). They told Jesus that God was their Father. Jesus vigorously denied that God was their Father. He then said: "You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it" (John 8:41-44).

Satan invented the lie. When we lie, we are following Satan. Paul does not use the kind of language Jesus used in speaking to his fellow Jews, but he did command the Ephesians: "Wherefore put away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another" (Eph. 4:25). He gave similar instructions to the Colossians. "Lie not one to another, seeing you have put off the old man with his deeds" (Col. 3:9). The tense of the verb means: "Quit lying to one another." Who can forget these sobering words: "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Rev. 21:8)?

The church at Corinth had an incestuous man within its fellowship. He was sleeping with his father's wife. The church apparently had taken no steps to correct a situation that did not even exist among the Gentiles. Paul commanded the church: "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus" (1 Cor. 5: 1- 5). We do not know for sure, but it appears the church had followed Paul's inspired instructions. But the members had not welcomed the erring brother back into their fellowship. Paul told them that withdrawing from the brother was sufficient punishment. He urged them to receive the brother and to comfort him. He then exhorted the Corinthians: "Wherefore I beseech you that you would confirm your love toward him .... Lest Satan should get advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Cor. 2:6-8, 11).

Did not the apostle Peter warn his readers: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet. 5:8)? If we take the tenses of the verbs into consideration, the verse reads: The devil is constantly on the prowl always seeking whom he may devour. It is because of these truths that Peter urges men and women to be sober and vigilant. James admonished his readers: "Submit yourselves therefore unto God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (Jas. 4:7). When Satan tempts us to sin, we should remember the Lord's response to Satan's temptations-"it is written" (Mt. 4:4, 7, 10). Jesus repelled Satan by using God's inspired word.

Modernistic theologians deny the existence of an entity known as Satan. They do not necessarily deny the existence of evil, but they do not believe Satan has any bearing on evil. Probably nothing pleases Satan so much as men's being told he does not exist, that theologians invented him so they could control their followers. But of this truth there is not any doubt: Jesus Christ knew of Satan's existence and of his evil designs for the human family. Our Lord informed his disciples: "Then shall he (the Judge) say also into them on the left hand, Depart from me, you cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (Mt. 25:41). Please also remember that Jesus was the one who said to the Pharisees: "You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do" (John 8:44).

The apostle Paul knew how the Corinthians had lived before they obeyed the gospel. He asked them: "Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you" (l Cor. 6:9-10). Was Paul concerned that the Corinthians might return to their old way of life? Why do you suppose he wrote these words to the Corinthians: "Would to God you would bear with me in a little folly: and indeed bear with me. For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy: for I have espoused you unto one husband, that I might present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" (2 Cor. 11: 1-3)?

The Ephesians, like the Corinthians, had come from a pagan background. You can confirm that observation by reading two chapters in Ephesians--chapters 4 and 5. Paul knew the Ephesian Christians would need all the strength the Lord could supply to prevent their returning to their immoral lifestyle. He urged the Ephesians: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Eph. 6: 10-11). The word "wiles" is a translation of the Greek methodeias and comes into English in our word "methods" or "devices" the devil uses to lead men away from God.

One of the devil' s chief methods in modern times is to convince men and women that the Bible is not the word of God. He created doubt in Eve's mind when he asked her, "Did God actually say, You shall not eat of every tree in the garden" (Gen. 3: I)? In their book, If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2003), Philip Gulley and James Mulholland, two Quaker preachers, deny many of the fundamentals teachings of scripture. A few brief excerpts from Gulley and Mulholland's book should convince you that "Satan is alive and well on planet earth," to quote from Hal Lindsey's book by that title. They affirm: "The Holy One will never come in wrath. The Holy One always comes in love" (p. 75). "I don't believe in hell. I believe God will save every person" (p. 89). One more statement from these two unbelievers will have to suffice for today. "In focusing on the cross, Christianity has missed the point" (p. 138). If that were true, why did our Lord tell his disciples: "For the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Mt. 20:28)? Paul assured the Corinthians: "For the preaching of the cross is to them who perish foolishness: but unto us who are saved it is the power of God" (1 Cor. 1: 18). Without the cross, there is no Christianity. Anyone who denies the absolute necessity of the cross is bowing to the deceptions of Satan.

Winford Claiborne

The International Gospel Hour

P.O. Box 118

Fayetteville, TN 37334

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