“The Father has revealed to me that the Bible
contains great wisdom and power”, Muriel announced at the beginning of the new
series of discipleship training classes. With curiosity, I had noticed the
Bible on her lap as she sat at the front of our small group.
“He has directed me to start Bible study here
at the Lighted Way”, she continued. “In this class we are going to use the
Bible as our main reference book”.
I was surprised to hear Muriel's announcement.
I didn't think our New Age center would ever study the old Bible.
Muriel opened the large, leather-bound Bible. “I
am reading from the gospel of Mark”, she said. “In chapter eleven, verse
twenty-four, Jesus is speaking about faith and the power of prayer. He says,
'Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have
received it, and it will be yours.'”
Leaning down, Muriel placed the Bible on the
carpet beside her chair and then followed the scripture reading with a
dissertation on the verse quoted. She emphasized that, when one goes to the
Father in prayer with a certain request, it is important to believe that you
have already received what you are asking for.
“If, for example, you pray for a healing”, she
explained, “right after you have prayed, you need to believe that you have been
healed, even though the symptoms have not yet disappeared”.
I felt a little strange sitting in this first Bible-study
class. I had always been enthusiastic about studying Djwhal Khul's writings and
about Muriel's channelings of the masters. But for some reason I was hesitant
about getting involved with Bible teachings. Since joining the New Age
movement, I had regarded the Bible to be very much out of date.
After Muriel's talk, we did some group
meditation work and took turns praying to the “Father” that the work at the
Lighted Way would be blessed. We also offered prayers for our personal needs.
Jesus Christ Appears
and Performs a Healing
During a subsequent class at the Lighted Way,
Muriel excitedly told us about a wonderful experience that had recently
happened to her.
“While staying at the Brentwood Holiday Inn, I
was awakened in the middle of the night. To my amazement, a man stood right in
the middle of my hotel bedroom”.
Muriel opened her mouth wide and raised her
eyebrows, mimicking an expression of astonishment.
She continued: “I was shocked to see him
standing there in front of me. He was about six feet tall and had a dignified
bearing of great authority. He said to me, 'Get down on your knees!'
Muriel paused, as if to catch her breath. My
eyes were firmly glued on her. “He spoke again, very firmly, and said, 'Get
down on your knees. I am Jesus Christ, and I am going to heal you.' That is
exactly what he said. I was overwhelmed by the force of his presence”.
Muriel said she got out of bed and knelt down
in front of the mysterious stranger. She described the person who stood before
her.
“Jesus was very handsome. He had the decisive
quality of a powerful businessman or distinguished politician. Yet he had a
certain ease and charisma that was indicative of his divinity and great wisdom.
If people think that Jesus is a weedy weakling, they are going to be surprised”.
Even though I found Muriel's story amazing, I
had no doubts that the event had happened to her just as she described. Having
known Muriel for several years, I had developed a very trusting relationship
with her.
“He is power-r-r-ful”, she expressed
forcefully. “He touched my head with his hands. After blessing me, he walked
straight through the solid, locked door of my hotel room and disappeared into
the corridor”.
After the miraculous visit by “Jesus Christ” to
Muriel, the Lighted Way began to change considerably, taking on a much more
Christian atmosphere.
My entire philosophical orientation seemed to
be threatened by these new Bible teachings, and I began to feel uncomfortable.
However, I reasoned that Master Jesus was, after all, a senior master in the
Hierarchy; it was thus quite in order for us to study what he taught as
recorded in the Bible.
From the Bailey books, I recalled that Master
Jesus was responsible for the supervision of all Christianity. Respecting his
position as one of the great masters, I concluded that perhaps it would be
useful to become acquainted with his teachings. They could aptly supplement the
metaphysical knowledge I had learned from Djwhal Khul's dissertations.
In one Bible-study class, Muriel lectured on
the use of Jesus' name in prayer. Reading from the Bible, Muriel quoted the
words of Jesus. “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may
bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will
do it” (John 14:13, 14).
Muriel commented, “In this text from the Gospel
of John, Jesus tells his followers to ask for things in his name. The name of
Jesus is the greatest name in the universe, and it should always be invoked
when praying”.
She looked up at the class in seriousness. “When
you pray”, she said, “you should address your prayers to the Father, just as
Jesus had instructed his disciples when he gave them the example of the Lord's
Prayer. However, when you ask for things in prayer, ask for them in Jesus'
name. It is the most powerful name that can be used for invocation purposes”.
Muriel then told us that she had been
instructed by “the Father” to purchase a television and watch TV evangelists,
especially Kenneth Copeland and Kenneth Hagin. “I need to study their preaching
techniques. He says that, of Christian preachers, they are the nearest to the
New Age. The Father wants me to learn from them in order to enhance my own
ministry here at the Lighted Way”.
Muriel then urged us to begin watching these TV
evangelists as much as possible. Because I regarded television in general to be
polluted with evil junk, I had not owned a TV set in years and was thus
unacquainted with the preachers Muriel was discussing. But I decided to listen
to the recommended preachers on my car radio as often as I could.
Jesus Christ Appears
to a Guru
With the new emphasis on Jesus Christ at the
Lighted Way, an intriguing memory surfaced in my mind. I remembered a visit I
had made to a Sunday morning church service held by the Self Realization
Fellowship (SRF), a Los Angeles based Hindu organization.
The service was held in a beautiful chapel
located at the organization's Lake Shrine center, about three miles from the
site where I attended metaphysical classes at the Lighted Way. What impressed
me the most about the SRF chapel was the six large paintings on the front of
the altar depicting the historic gurus most closely connected with the
organization. One of the two center pictures was of Jesus Christ. At the time,
I wondered why this Hindu sect should so highly esteem Jesus Christ. However, I
had not investigated the matter. With the Lighted Way's emphasis now upon the
teachings of Jesus Christ, I was inspired to revisit the SRF chapel and ask the
monks questions regarding their relationship to Christianity.
Arriving early, I took a seat in the sanctuary.
Soon the chapel filled to capacity for the morning service, and an overflow
crowd began to congregate in the large garden, where they listened to the
service via loudspeakers. The program began with sacred songs. The “pastor”-
looking like some kind of monk - wore a traditional red Hindu gown. After a
short introduction to the sermon, there was a meditation, followed by the rest
of the sermon.
The sermon had a curious flavor - a blend of
Hindu and Christian teachings - although the Eastern teachings seemed to
predominate. The program closed with a prayer in which all the congregation
stood and held their arms straight up in the air.
I later questioned one of the senior monks - a
balding, flabby man wearing a red jacket styled like a physician's coat. It
appeared that the jacket was a uniform worn by monks of the sect.
“Do you believe in the devil?” I asked.
The monk produced a Bible and read several
passages to me. I was impressed with his detailed knowledge of the Scriptures.
We had an interesting discussion. He recommended I purchase Autobiography of a
Yogi written by Paramahansa Yogananda, the founder of the organization.
From the book, I learned that Yogananda had
been born in India and trained in a Hindu ashram for several years prior to his
emigration to America. Yogananda had been sent to the United States by his guru
to establish a monastery in the West for the dissemination of Hindu teachings
to Westerners. In response to a prophetic dream, Yogananda selected a mansion
in Los Angeles as the site for his monastic center.
Near the end of the book, I came across a
passage that answered my question about why SRF had such a high regard for
Jesus Christ.
“One of the happiest periods of my life was
spent in dictating, for Self Realization
Magazine, my interpretation of part of the New Testament. Fervently I implored
Christ to guide me in divining the true meaning of his words, many of which
have been grievously misunderstood for twenty centuries”.
I was impressed with Yogananda's enthusiasm for
the New Testament scriptures. I continued reading his narrative in earnest.
“One night while I was engaged in silent
prayer, my sitting room in the Encinitas hermitage became filled with an
opal-blue light. I beheld the radiant form of the blessed Lord Jesus. A young
man, he seemed, of about twenty-five, with a sparse beard and moustache; his
long black hair, parted in the middle, was haloed by a shimmering gold. His
eyes were eternally wondrous; as I gazed, they were infinitely changing. With
each divine transition in their expression, I intuitively understood the wisdom
conveyed. In his glorious gaze I felt the power that upholds the myriad worlds.
A Holy Grail appeared at his mouth; it came down to my lips and then returned
to Jesus. After a few moments he uttered beautiful words, so personal in their
nature that I keep them in my heart”.
In my thinking at the time, I began to
appreciate what appeared to be a wonderful connection between the various
religions of the world; Jesus had appeared to Hindus, such as Yogananda, as
well to Christians, such as Reverend Hagin. I perceived that all of the
different religions were really just part of an emerging divine wholeness, and
it was the goal of the New Age to integrate all these diversities of
theological thought into one harmonious religion.
The New Age ideal seemed a beautiful concept:
to have unity in diversity so as to reveal the fullness of God and produce a
society of loving understanding and mutual interdependence. This would be the
New Age of love, light, and joy - the kingdom of heaven on earth.
The Kenneth Copeland
Convention
Muriel seemed to mention Kenneth Copeland's
name almost every time we had a Bible-study class. From the radio broadcasts I
heard, this renowned evangelist from Fort Worth, Texas, certainly seemed a very
good preacher. However, I remained skeptical about Muriel's assertion that he
was inclining toward some of the rudimentary New Age ideas. His programs
sounded like 100 percent biblical preaching to me.
While listening to one of Copeland's radio
broadcasts, an announcement attracted my attention to an event called the West
Coast Believer's Voice of Victory Convention. It was to be held shortly in the
Anaheim Convention Center and would feature preaching by Copeland and his
leading staff members. I thought that it might be a good idea to attend this
event and hear Copeland in person. Perhaps I might discover something about
this preacher that I had failed to appreciate while listening to his radio
broadcasts.
“Have you registered, sir?” asked the uniformed
doorman as I entered the foyer of the convention center's main building. I
could already hear singing and shouts of hallelujah coming from inside the
arena.
I brushed past him saying, “No, but I am not
going to stay long. Thank you”.
I didn't want to be bothered with any
registration, for I did not plan to stay around long and be bored by some
old-fashioned Bible preacher. I was checking Copeland out, mostly in deference
to Muriel.
The huge indoor arena contained about 6,000
worshipers. Some of the people wept; others uttered unintelligible words which
I guessed must be the tongues. Some people prayed, some busily looked up Bible
texts, others munched on popcorn or gulped down soda drinks as if they were at
a baseball game. I had never seen anything like it.
Looking around the arena for a place to sit, I
noticed the upper-level rows were empty. “I better sit up there, away from
these noisy Christians”, I said to myself. “Otherwise some weird emotional
energy might rub off on me”. Djwhal Khul taught that emotional energy was not
good for someone on the metaphysical path.
Reaching my seat, I watched the proceedings as
a detached spectator. A man was singing from the platform. At the end of the
song, he started to speak. I realized that it was Kenneth Copeland himself and
admitted that he certainly was a gifted artist.
After a short reading from the Bible, Copeland
then proceeded with his sermon. He seemed to be an excellent speaker, but,
unfortunately, his subject matter was the same old Christian stuff I had heard
preached as a youth. He was talking about how to prevent the devil from
stealing the joy felt by the Christian.
I wondered why Muriel regarded him as
especially inspired by “God” and as having a level of consciousness that
inclined toward some of the New Age ideas. I certainly couldn't see it and
decided that Muriel was probably mistaken. But to be fair, I would listen a
little longer.
I sat waiting for some new, extrabiblical
information. I waited and waited. All I heard was old-fashioned sermonizing
with a lot of Bible texts thrown in. After half an hour, I was getting rather
bored.
I thought to myself, I am glad I came. Now I
have proved to myself that this evangelist is not to be taken seriously, after
all, even if Muriel is so impressed. In no way could this Bible pusher's
knowledge be compared with the vast and intricate metaphysical teachings of
Djwhal Khul. It seemed to me that Muriel herself had far more knowledge
concerning divine matters than even the most gifted Christian big shots.
Even though I became increasingly bored and
felt like walking out and going home, a strange force operating within me
seemed to prompt me to stay in my seat. So I sat there and tried to be
interested in what the man was saying.
Eventually the boredom became too much for me,
and I jumped out of my seat and walked down the flights of stairs. On my way
home I thought, “Well, that's the last of him. Back to my Alice Bailey books
and Muriel's commentaries on the Bible”.
In my morning meditation the next day, I
received a surprising direction. “Tonight, go back to the Kenneth Copeland
convention”, the inner voice of conscience advised.
“Hmmm”, I said to myself.
I decided to do what I was told. Perhaps the
masters wanted me to meet someone there; perhaps Copeland would teach me
something after all; perhaps I needed an additional dose of boredom to be
absolutely convinced once and for all that the big-time Bible preachers really
didn't know that much.
In the early evening, I returned to the
convention and sat in the same isolated location as before. Surprisingly, I
quite enjoyed the singing, even lifting up my hands at one point. Then Copeland
started preaching. I was disappointed again; he just preached more Bible stuff.
The more he rapped, the more bored I became.
Finally, I decided to meditate. Pulling myself
forward to the edge of the seat, I straightened my back and began the usual
occult visualizations, incantations, and invocations. After about twenty
minutes, I closed the meditation by visualizing “Christ energy” filling the
arena.
After the meditation, I was impressed to stay
until the end of the evening's program. Eventually Copeland finished, and I
returned home, convinced that this was my last visit.
This was not to be. The following morning in my
meditation, I was shocked to be told that I should again attend the convention
in the evening after work. I recalled the old proverb “Ours is not to question
why; ours is but to do or die”.
After work, I drove the thirty miles to the
convention and went straight to my “usual” seat.
As Copeland was preaching, suddenly something
he said riveted my attention. A chill ran up my spine as I involuntarily slid
to the edge of my seat to focus on his words.
I heard him describe how he had recently been
given a vision from God. I heard Copeland say that God had told him that Jesus
would soon begin to appear in a physical form in the churches. Jesus, perhaps
accompanied by his angels, would be seen walking down the aisles and then would
disappear. This would occur in several churches with increasing frequency.
The statement I heard was like dynamite in my
ears. Wow, I thought, this is interesting. Muriel had predicted exactly the
same thing. She had recently told us at the Lighted Way that we could expect
Jesus to appear during our church service.
In fact, I recalled that Muriel had also made a
very similar prediction about four years previously. On that occasion, the
prediction concerned the masters of the Hierarchy. The Hierarchy had informed Muriel
that certain senior masters, such as Saint Germain, Koot Hoomi, or Djwhal Khul,
would materialize themselves in a physical form and be seen in the Lighted Way,
perhaps sitting quietly for a few minutes in one of the seats during our Sunday
morning metaphysical church service.
The appearance of the masters was to be part of
the “externalization of the Hierarchy”. This is supposedly a process in which
the members of the Hierarchy appear in visual, physical form in the world in
order to promote the New Age teachings in a more dynamic manner than before.
As I sat at the convention, I concluded that
Muriel was correct in her assessment of Kenneth Copeland as a preacher inspired
by Master Jesus. It appeared he was at least expressing some New Age ideas. I recalled
that on an earlier radio broadcast, Ken Copeland claimed it was possible to
receive “revelation knowledge” directly from God through the power of the Holy
Spirit. It certainly appeared he had received special knowledge.
I started to get excited; perhaps the Hierarchy
really were working through some of the Christian evangelists, after all, just
as Muriel claimed. Feeling much more accommodating toward Christian believers,
I wondered whether other preachers were being directly influenced by the Hierarchy,
even if the preachers themselves were not consciously aware of the source of
their inspiration.
At the end of the meeting, I left the arena and
drove home along the freeway with the words and music from the final song
merrily playing in my mind:
Then sings my soul,
My Savior God to Thee,
How great Thou art,
