Foreword • 1
Editor’s Foreword: The “Counter-Initiation” Documented—a Traditionalist Perspective • 3
Author’s Introduction, with an Apologia • 5
The Argument, in Brief • 5
Apologia: Replies to a Skeptic’s Questions • 8
A Road Map for Readers • 14
The Intellectual Precursors of Today’s New Age Movement • 18
Present-Day New Age Supporters of the United Religions Initiative • 21
Globalist Politicians and Businessmen • 23
Acknowledgments • 28
Methods • 29
PART I: HONORING THE “SPIRIT OF THE AGE”: THE UNITED RELIGIONS INITIATIVE (URI)
Point : Counterpoint • 33
Chapter 1: One Anglican Bishop’s Dream • 35
Chapter 2: The Rise of the United Religions Initiative • 39
The Interfaith Movement of the 20th Century: Seed-bed of the URI • 39
Founding the URI: 1993–1996 • 44
Laying the Groundwork: 1997–1999 • 45
Establishing Global Presence: 2000–2002 • 47
The URI in 2004: “We Are Everywhere” • 53
URI’s Global Leadership: Diversity in Action • 55
URI Funding: Secular Foundations, Billionaires, and Theosophists • 57
“Appreciative Inquiry”: Molding Minds For A Post-Modern Religion • 63
Flexible Response: URI’s Changes in Strategy Since 1996 • 66
Chapter 3: The Ideals and the Practice of the URI • 69
The URI Charter • 69
Good Fruit: Works of Mercy by URI Cooperation Circles • 73
Africa • 73
Asia • 75
United States • 76
Seven Bad Fruit: URI Activists’ Cultural Radicalism • 76
Equivocation on Radical Islam • 77
Hospitality for a Convicted Rapist and Terrorism Suspect • 79
SIECUS and the Sexual Revolution • 82
The Dog That Did Not Bark: The “Gay Agenda” Goes Missing From The URI • 83
Huston Smith and “Entheogens”—Proposing Better Religion Through Chemistry • 84
Bishop Swing’s Condemnation of “Entheogens” • 86
Interfaith Indoctrination for Children • 87
“Peacebuilding” by Muzzling the Press in Zimbabwe • 89
Other Oddities: From Pseudo-Shamanism to the “Lowerarchy” • 90
Chapter 4: The URI’s Friends in High Places • 93
The United Nations • 93
The UN Environmental Program (UNEP) • 96
UNESCO • 97
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) • 98
Politicians: From the White House to the State House • 99
George Soros • 101
Movements for “Global Governance” • 102
The State of the World Forum • 102
The Earth Charter Movement • 104
Chapter 5: Among the Nations: The Non-Christian Supporters of the URI • 105
Traditional Religions and the URI • 105
Jews • 105
Muslims • 106
Non-Abrahamic Faiths • 107
The Interfaith Movement and the URI — “Unity in Diversity” in Practice • 109
New Religious Movements and the URI • 115
Sects and Cults • 115
The Unification Church • 115
The Strange Religion of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon • 116
The Unificationists’ Work with the URI • 124
Scientologists and the “New Cult Awareness Network” • 126
ISKCON—The “Hare Krishna” movement • 126
Wicca and the Goddess Movement • 127
The Benign Public Face of Wicca • 128
Transgressive Religion: From Polyamory to “Root-Based Sorcery” • 129
Theosophy and the New Age Movement • 131
The Lucis Trust: Followers of Alice A. Bailey • 132
Corinne McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson • 132
Robert Muller • 133
Barbara Marx Hubbard • 134
Neale Donald Walsch • 135
Spiritual Odds and Ends • 136
Chapter 6: A Divided Verdict — The Churches and the URI • 140
The Anglican Communion • 140
Mainstream Anglicanism • 140
New Age Anglicanism • 146
Lauren Artress and the Labyrinth Movement • 146
James Parks Morton and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine • 150
Matthew Fox and the “Techno Cosmic Mass” • 152
Other Protestants • 156
Latter-Day Saints • 157
Eastern Orthodoxy and the Oriental Orthodox Churches • 158
The Catholic Church • 158
Vatican Opposition • 158
Catholic Dissent—Standing With the United Religions • 160
The Archdiocese of San Francisco • 161
Catholics on the URI Global Council • 165
Other Catholic URI Leaders and Activists • 166
Chapter 7: Fourteen Reasons to Stand Against the United Religions Initiative • 175
[I] The URI Versus Christian Evangelism • 175
[II] Stigmatizing “Exclusive Religions” and Orthodoxy as “Fundamentalism” • 182
[III] Laying the Ground for a New Religion of the “Sacred Earth” • 188
Bishop Swing • 189
Other URI Leaders and Proponents • 191
The United Communities of Spirit • 197
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi: The Syncretic Language and Symbols of the URI • 198
Syncretism in Stone: Designing an Interfaith Temple • 201
The Implications of Religious Syncretism • 203
[IV] Fostering Dissent Within Traditional Religions • 205
[V] A “New Ethic” for the New World Order: Hans Küng’s Global Ethic • 206
[VI] Secular Millenarianism • 211
[VII] A Fanciful View of History • 214
[VIII] Religious Relativism • 215
[IX] Population Control • 217
[X] A Worldly, Utilitarian View of Religion • 222
[XI] The Political Agenda of the URI • 224
[XII] Feminism and the Ordination of Women • 226
[XIII] Promotion of the New Age Movement, Pantheism, and Theosophy • 227
[XIV] The United Religions Is Not Required by the Christian Call to Unity • 229
The Documents of Vatican II • 230
Papal Teachings Since Vatican II • 232
Chapter 8: Closing the Case Against the URI • 235
PART II: SERVANTS OF THE SHINING DARKNESS: THE ANTI-GOSPEL OF THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT
Point : Counterpoint • 239
Chapter 9: The New Age Movement: Frivolous in Appearance, Sinister in Substance • 246
Chapter 10: Helena Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society • 248
Mankind and Nature as “Gods” • 249
Sympathy for the Devil • 249
Inverting Christian Tradition • 251
Population Control—in 1888 • 252
Evolutionary Racism • 252
The Theosophical Swastika • 253
Dragon-Worship: The Religion of the Ancients—and of the Future • 255
Hatred for the Christian Churches • 256
The Worldwide Influence of Blavatsky and of Theosophy • 256
Chapter 11: Alice A. Bailey and the Lucis Trust • 259
Continuing Blavatsky’s Work • 260
Praising the Fallen Angels and Re-defining “666” • 260
Proclaiming Human Divinity and Denying Christ • 262
Population Control • 263
Astrological Racism • 264
Human Inequality in the New Age • 265
Anti-Semitism • 265
Equal-Opportunity Contempt for Traditional Religions • 269
The Coming New Religion • 270
Updating Freemasonry for the New Religion • 273
Dealing With “Reactionary Forces” • 274
Bailey’s New World Order: “A New Power of Sacrifice” • 274
World Wars and Atom Bombs: Engines of Human Evolution • 276
Praise for Communism: From Lenin to Mao • 279
Human Civilization: Destruction and Rebirth • 282
The End of the Theosophical Road: “The Center of Pure Darkness” • 283
Chapter 12: Present-Day Followers of Alice Bailey • 284
Pathways to Peace and its Theosophical Associates • 284
Corinne McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson • 285
Chapter 13: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin • 286
The Emerging “Common Soul of Humanity” • 287
The Bleak Eschatology of the “Omega Point” • 288
“Faith in Progress” • 288
Apologetics for Totalitarianism • 289
Balancing “Laissez Faire” with “Firmness” • 293
A Pragmatic, Evolutionary Case for Euthanasia and Eugenics • 294
Darwinian Racism • 296
World War II as a “Crisis of Birth” for Humanity • 299
Atom Bombs: Heralding the Coming of the “Spirit of the Earth” • 300
The Coming “Separation” of Reactionaries and Progressives • 301
“The Age of Nations Has Passed” • 302
Exalting “Planning” and Use of Man’s Power • 302
Evolutionary Utopia: “War in a Naturally Sublimated Form” • 303
The Vatican’s 1962 Warning Against Teilhard’s Works • 304
A Present-day Vatican “Compromise” With Teilhard? • 304
Chapter 14: Robert Muller • 306
Heterodox Theology and Cosmology • 306
Building a New World Order and Establishing “Proper Earth Government” • 308
The Fate of Opponents: “A Special Corral of the Universe” • 312
Muller’s Theosophical Connections • 313
Chapter 15: Barbara Marx Hubbard • 316
Inverted Theology: “We Are Gods!” • 316
New Morality, From the Womb to the Tomb • 319
The Coming “Selection” of Mankind • 320
Atom Bombs and “Conscious Evolution” • 323
The New Order: “The Next Stage of Individualism” • 324
Barbara Marx Hubbard and Theosophy • 324
A Well-Connected “Futurist” • 326
Chapter 16: Neale Donald Walsch • 327
Walsch’s Blob God, an Evolving “God” of Good and Evil • 327
Demoting Jesus to “Highly Evolved Being” • 328
Denying Death, Praising the “Cosmic Wheel” • 329
“Hitler Went To Heaven” • 330
A Relativist, Utilitarian “God” • 331
Libertine Theology • 332
Libertine Practice: Free Love, Communal Parenting, and Euthanasia • 333
The Judgments of Walsch’s Tolerant God • 336
Grains of Truth Amidst the New Age Sewage • 337
Overthrowing the Churches and Proclaiming the New Gospel • 339
The Apocalyptic Choice: Utopia or Doom • 341
Communism and World Government, as the Extraterrestrials Do It • 342
Walsch’s Heroes and Allies • 346
Neale Donald Walsch and Theosophy • 347
Chapter 17: The Inverted Spirituality and Politics of the New Age Movement • 348
PART III: LEVIATHAN RISING: THE GLOBALIST ALLIES OF THE URI
Point : Counterpoint • 355
The Coercive Utopians of the 21st Century • 358
Chapter 18: Mikhail Gorbachev, “Man With a Still-Unfulfilled Destiny” • 359
“The Socialist Idea is Inextinguishable” • 359
“Nature Is My God” • 361
Gorbachev’s Smallpox Hoard • 361
The “Last Remaining Global Leader”? • 362
Chapter 19: The State of the World Forum • 365
Aims: “Re-inventing the World” and “Global Governance” • 365
Out With Traditional Religions; In With the New Age • 366
“Progressive” Global Governance • 370
Implementing the “Population Plan” • 372
The Lighter Side of the Forum: Nude Marches, Tantric Sex, and Entheogens • 373
“Simple Living” for the Global Elite • 375
Post-modern Shamanism • 376
The Forum’s Elite Supporters • 378
Chapter 20: The Earth Charter • 380
The Earth Charter: a Velvet Glove • 384
The Green Cross Philosophy: The Earth Charter’s Iron Fist • 386
Chapter 21: Maurice Strong • 389
Chapter 22: The World Economic Forum • 393
Chapter 23: Are the New Age and Globalist Movements a Conspiracy? • 396
PART IV: IN CONCLUSION: FROM THE “ANTI-TRADITION” TO THE “COUNTER-TRADITION”
Point : Counterpoint • 401
Chapter 24: The Ascendancy of the “Anti-Tradition” • 404
Chapter 25: A Speculative Postscript: After the “Anti-Tradition,” the Final “Counter-Tradition”? • 409
An Advisory • 409
Abnormal Times • 409
The End of the Age?—Papal Warnings Against the Left • 410
An Apocalyptic Threat From the Right, as Well? • 413
The Two-Fold Threat: Lessons From History • 415
The Two-Fold Threat: Warnings From Scripture and Patristic Tradition • 417
A False Hope: the “Great King” of the West and a Future “Holy Pope” • 419
Religious Sectarianism: Laying the Foundation for the Final Deception • 421
Spiritual Vulnerability: the Fetishes of Authority and Obedience • 431
Outside the Church, Two Witnesses to the Dual Peril • 432
The Nihilist’s Dark Prophecies: Friedrich Nietzsche • 432
The Warnings of a Sufi Metaphysician, René Guénon • 436
What Is To Be Done? • 438
Sed Contra: Against Extreme-Right “Solutions” to the Crisis • 440
A Challenge: Is Orthodoxy Better Than Heresy? • 447
Appendix I: The URI Charter’s “Preamble, Purpose, and Principles” • 449
Appendix II: URI’s Global Leadership • 452
A Selective Bibliography • 455
Author’s Biography • 479
Index • 481