Glenn Beck | Universalist and New Age Mormon

By Justin Edwards

There can be no more gray area. No more doubts. No more apologizing. It is clear - Glenn Beck is not a Christian. In his own words, he denies essentials of the faith and teaches idolatry.

As if the many articles that have come out since last summer that have shown how Glenn Beck is  deceiving even the evangelical community were not enough, the following article from Brannon Howse of Worldview Weekend should put all doubts to rest. If you are still able to apologize for Beck after reading this, then I don't know what else to offer you.

Glenn Beck has elevated himself to a false prophet. He is a wolf in sheep's clothing and is deceived and deceiving (2 Timothy 3:13). His message is clear and it is the same demonic message of the New Age, pantheism, and panentheism. By his own words, He denies that Jesus is the only path to God. He is preaching another gospel, and potentially leading thousands to the slaughter. Glenn Beck needs our prayer as do those who continue to fall for his lies, Christians and non-Christians alike.

So what do you think? After reading Brannon's article, what are your thoughts on the direction Glenn Beck has been going and the continuing apologetic from evangelical circles giving him a pass for the sake of patriotic idolatry? Please post your comments below.

All red emphasis has been added.

Glenn Beck's New Book Reveals He Embraces New Age Theology, Is a Knowledgeable Mormon, and a Universalist

By Brannon Howse

In August of 2010, I predicted on my national radio program that it was only a matter of time before Glenn Beck would release a distinctively religious book that would promote his New Age Mormonism and universalism. I sensed that Glenn was setting himself up to be the politically conservative alternative to Oprah. His new book, "7 Wonders That Will Change Your Life", could have been written by Oprah for sure.

Many self-professing Christians cannot see what Beck is up to but there are those in the unsaved world that seem to be exhibiting more worldview understanding than some in the Christian community. The Business Insider published an article on January 4, 2011 entitled, Glenn Beck's New Year's Plan Sounds A Lot Like Oprah's New Network.

Last week (second week of January 2011) Beck released his latest book entitled The Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life. The book is co-authored by psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow.

Beck's new book is nothing less than the promotion of universalism, postmodernism, and pagan spirituality, also known as the New Age Movement.

I tried to warn America's pastors and Christian leaders in early August of 2010, not to unite with Glenn Beck in his spiritual rally that sought to unite all faiths and look to one God. I gave these Christian leaders plenty of evidence that Glenn Beck was a practicing Mormon that was also embracing New Age paganism.

Some of these Christian leaders said that Beck was a "new Christian", "a baby Christian", "new brother", a "little lamb", or "very close to becoming a Christian." If they think Glenn Beck meets the Biblical descriptions of a Christian then they have no clue what the book of I John says are the Biblical hallmarks of a true follower of Jesus Christ.

A friend of mine even e-mailed a mega pastor that was publically supporting Glenn Beck's 8-28 rally to ask him to be careful about embracing Beck and his black robe regiment because of some of the false theology Glenn was espousing. The pastor replied:

Glenn Beck is a new brother and he is learning and growing and coming to the light day by day as he is being discipled by [name of Christian leader removed]. There was once a day when you and I were in the same place he is now. Be careful that you don't place a yoke on a little lamb rather than an ox.

Would this pastor say Oprah Winfrey is a Christian?

According to Christian Post, another Mega Church pastor said:

I have interviewed persons who have talked specifically with Glenn about his personal salvation  persons extremely well known in Christianity  and they have affirmed (using language evangelicals understand), 'Glenn is saved' He understands receiving Christ as savior.

How confusing to the unsaved world and to baby Christians it must be to have Christian leaders make this claim about being a Christian in light of Beck's latest book. Many now believe what Beck is promoting in his book is Christianity because Pastors and Christian leaders have announced that "Glenn is saved." I have had teenagers e-mail me and come up to me at our conferences and express how confused they are by what Christian leaders have said about Beck being saved when they have heard Beck promote New Age heresy.

In light of Beck's religious and spiritual proclamations in his new book, this would be the week for the Christian leaders and pastors that embraced Beck on the national stage, and proclaimed Beck's salvation, to release a press release and post a statement on their website that they disagree with Beck's pagan spirituality and that indeed Beck is not demonstrating theology and doctrine consist with what the Bible says are the hallmarks of a Christian. These Christian leaders need to apologize for leading people to believe that Beck was a Christian or to believe that Beck held and promoted religious views that were compatible with Biblical Christianity. Dr. Erwin Lutzer, of the historic Moody Church in Chicago, correctly declared in August of 2010 on my radio program that any pastor or Christian leader involved in Beck's rally would be involved in heresy. I agree 100% with that statement.

In his new book Beck and Dr. Ablow promote psychologist Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, New Age authors Robert Pirsig and James Redfied, Buddha, Buddhist teacher Sogyal Rinpoche, Gandhi, The Bible and the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas. Sadly, Glenn is confused and all Christians should pray that he will come to salvation in the Jesus of the Bible through faith and repentance.

On page 56 Beck says he read A Course in Miracles by Helen Schucman which is the Bible of the New Age Movement. I wrote an entire chapter in my book Grave Influence on Helen Schucman and the demon she channeled that helped her write the book.

I have several friends who were Mormons for many years before accepting the Jesus Christ of the Bible as their Lord and Savior through faith and repentance. Tracy was a Mormon for 26 years and e-mailed me to explain why many Mormons are open to New Age Spirituality:

It's not surprising how easy it is for many LDS to get involved in occult practices based on the "power of the priesthood." For example, energy healing (chakras), cloud-busting, and other mind-power things. My LDS friends and I were always interested in books like The Magic of Believing, Embraced by the Light, and other New Agey kinds of books. I remember seeing Star Wars when I was Mormon and how many of us in the ward (LDS congregation) were comparing The Force to the priesthood power.

Since we believed we were on the godhood track, using the phrase "I AM" in the context Glenn uses it, fits in neatly with the power of the priesthood through which worlds are created (according to Mormon doctrine). In fact, Mormonism teaches that God did NOT create the universe exnihlo, because God can only manipulate and arrange existing matter; he cannot create it. Thus we see, from the LDS perspective, we too can become I AM, through the divine nature within us.

On page 79 Beck and Dr. Ablow promote transcendental meditation and Eastern Mysticism. On 85 we read, "As you commit to unlocking and bringing forth the truth inside you, don't be afraid to pray for help. Don't be reticent to sit with yourself in silence and meditate. Connect with the miracle of spirit, of God, that has lived inside you from long before you were born."

Christian mediation is not about "bringing forth the truth inside of you" nor is it about contacting God that has "lived inside you from long before you were born." This is not Biblical and any Christian that thinks otherwise is either a false convert or is Biblically illiterate. Click here to hear a short video clip by Dr. Ron Carlson on the dangers of New Age meditation.

On page 132 Beck and Ablow proclaim, "Pray to whatever higher power you believe in Praying that God or Nature or the Cosmos or your own internal, immeasurable reservoir of spirit allows you the courage and faith to find and then face the truth"

In several places readers are told it really does not matter what religion or religious leader they follow. On page 157 Beck writes, "Finding what worked for me made all the difference. Finding what works for you will do the same."

On page 74 the reader is instructed "Just be sure you visit with a minister or therapist from a religion or healing discipline you actually have affinity for, or suspect you might."

On page 236, reincarnation is promoted through the writings of Robert Pirsig's book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, "the 'spirit' of Chris or the 'ghost' of Chris, then you can say without further translation that the spirit or ghost of Chris is looking for a new body to enter."

Beck is a very committed and knowledgeable Mormon:

I have had several Christians tell me that Beck does not really know much about the Mormon faith. That is not what Beck writes in his new book.

"I questioned everything I could think to question about the faith. I went over my doubts again and again with the church bishop. I read everything there was to read on their website and every word of Mormon Doctrine I went to anti-Mormon literature for hints, but I found most of it to be unfair or just plain wrong. I tried every trick I could think of to find a contradiction. The problem was that I couldn't. Mormonism seemed to explain the world and my place in it better than any other faith I had looked at." (Page 149-150)

Beck does not believe in Hell, original sin or that Jesus in the only way:

"Latter-day Saints do not believe that your chances ever cease, even with death. They end only with the full understanding and denial of truth by your own exercise of real free will. And even then there is no 'lake of fire.' (Page 149)

"As Keith likes to say, 'There's no original sin left in the world. Everyone's just recycling pain now.' "(Page 154.)

"There is no infant delivered evil, out of the womb. There never has been. Not even one Charles Manson was not born evil. Ted Bundy wasn't. The BTK killer wasn't. Hitler wasn't." (Page 162)

The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. (Romans 3:23) The Bible says that even babies are born with a sin nature and that we are all conceived in sin. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. (Psalm 51:5)

"People are inherently good." (Page 165).

The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9, The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Beck's book uses the phrase "Your truth" or "your true path" or "my truth" at least 23 times. Here are a few examples:

"It is never too late to embrace your truth." (Page 124)

"What is your truth whispering?" (Page 130)

"Use compassion to stay on the path to your own truth (Page 161)

"...determination to unearth and embrace my truth." (Page 215)

"The fact that I am always attempting to honor my truth (Page 216)

"There is only your truth." (Page 220)

"You must use courage and faith to empty the hard drive of your soul and then fill it with your truth." (Page 288)

Beck's book promotes the New Age that God dwells within all:

"The third chapter of Exodus helped me start to understand how crucial it was that my focus be on finding God not just in the seas or the cosmos, but in myself." (Page 57)

If God is everything and everywhere and inside everyone, then I figured He had to be inside me, too (Page 58)

This is the promotion of pantheism and panentheism.

"Divine power is still inside you." (Page 71)

"Reach out to people to steady them and enrich them and reflect back to them the light that comes from God inside them. (Page 283)

"You won't doubt your ability to achieve what you want to achieve in this life because you won't doubt that God is not only by your side, but inside you." (Page 254)

Beck's book promotes the New Age idea that you need to tap into a positive energy for a successful and happy life: (Ten times). Some examples include:

"You have a polestar inside you. It is connected with all the energy in the universe. When you begin to follow that star you align yourself with immeasurable, inexplicable forces that will actually help you manifest your best intentions." (Page 79)

"The current energy that flows in your favor when you stop denying what you have lived through and how it has shaped you and how you must change is the immeasurable force that you can tap into to dramatically improve your existence." (Page 113)

"you will elicit the same positive energy from others. When you stop pretending to be just fine and start admitting that you have struggled, just as we all have, then spiritual energy will fill you." (Page 117)

I wrote this article because I want discerning Christians to have the information they need to refute unbiblical teaching. I want Christians to be watchmen who warn their Christian family and friends about the spiritual deception of people like Glenn Beck, Oprah Winfrey, and a host of other individuals that are promoting another Jesus and another gospel.

Christians also need to be ready to explain to their unsaved family and friends why Glenn Beck's worldview will not lead them to God as their savior but as their judge. Nowhere in Beck's new book does he mention the Biblical gospel. What Glenn is promoting is the same lie promoted by Satan in Genesis 3:1-5. I am fearful that the spiritual poison Beck is promoting is not seven wonders that will change your life but in fact, lies that will condemn the souls of millions for eternity.

Distributed by www.worldviewweekend.com 

To read more about Glenn Beck and his role in the "I AM" trend of deception, please see "I AM" Movie Blasphemes I AM.

"I AM" Movie Blasphemes I AM

By Justin Edwards

And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?   And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am (Christ); and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. - Luke 21:7-8

Humanity has stepped to a new low and it's right on time with everything else that is pointing to the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Tom Shadyac, who previously directed "Liar, Liar", "Bruce Almighty", and "Ace Ventura", has taken on a new venture "to discover how he as an individual, and we as a race, can improve the way we live" (source). In doing so, he has attributed the divine title for God, the Great I AM, to the title of his movie to be released in February 2011. Seemingly unapologetic for doing so, Shadyac has capitalized all letters in the title of the movie as if to put any doubts to rest.

The trailer for "I AM" (view below) clearly shows us the intention of this movie to draw worship for the creation rather than the Creator. Visuals of creation and worshiping false gods (Islam and Buddhism), focusing on man, and claiming "we are more interconnected with each other at a fundamental level than people realize or previous thought" stamp the movie with a pantheistic agenda. The very premise of the movie is that "we might have it all wrong" and calls the audience to

Forget what you know...and wake up...to the miracle...of who we really are.

After a biking accident that faced Shadyac with near-death, he set sail on a journey to find out what's wrong with our world and to discover what we can do about it (obviously, the Bible is not his source). In asking "today's most significant minds", Shadyac interviews various people claiming that

"Science has discovered elements that undermine everything we've been told about how we work and how the world works."

"The truth of who we are is that we are because we belong."

"The basis of nature is cooperation and democracy - it's in our DNA."

"We're just at the point where technology and this narrative are beginning to come together."

"The science shows us that we are all connected."

"Very deep connections at a very deep level."

"This is the most profound discovery in all of physics."

"What we do at the individual level really does affect the global environment."

"We're really geared at a primordial level to feel what another feels."

"It's like we are born to be our brothers keeper - it's the way that we're wired."

"This is the emerging story - we are far grandeur than we've been told."

"I AM." (emphases added)

I can't help but think of Avatar and its deceptive strategies to mainstream pantheism and panentheism  when viewing the trailer. The "I AM" movie seems to want to show how we are all connected at a spiritual level, which would actually be in line with New Age thought and the likes of Leonard Sweet's Quantum Spirituality. Nevertheless, with such focus on self and the human race's natural interconnection, the clear agenda of this movie is at root a spiritual one, as the trailer closes with these words:

The shift is about to hit the fan in February 2011. (emphasis original)

Think this film is an isolated incident? The movie is merely part of a growing trend to deem man, not God, as "I AM". In 2010, Brannon Howse of Worldview Weekend discussed Oprah and Glenn Beck's assertions that we are "I AM" ( read here and listen here). And just this morning, I received an email from Brannon on this very topic of "I AM" regarding Glenn Beck. In his 1/5/11 article titled Glenn Beck and Oprah Winfrey Launch New Age Programming for 2011, Brannon writes,

Many Christians continue to defend Beck despite the fact he is becoming more and more blatant in his New Age preaching. I expect Beck will continue to gather around him a huge audience that is looking for a spiritual experience that tickles the ears.

On his TV program on January 4, 2011 Glenn unveiled what he calls the "E4 Experiences" that he will be promoting for 2011. Part of the theme he will be promoting is nothing short of New Age heresy and blasphemy. Beck proclaimed:

Over the next 12 months, all Mercury divisions, radio, television, books, digital and stage will focus on what I call The E4 Solution. The four Es consist of: Enlightenment, Education, Empowerment and Entrepreneurship. We will challenge ourselves and those who choose to chart this course with us, to find what we as individuals really believe, challenge what we think we know and dig deep to find out what we are each capable of.

The "E4 Experiences" include Enlightenment, Education, Empowerment and Entrepreneurship. The two that are the most disturbing were described by Beck on a giant poster that included the following wording. Enlightenment: God "I AM That I Am" Miracles, faith and Divine Providence. Empowerment: Yes I AM! Yes I Can!

On the January 4 program Beck preached:

I choose to ReFound this amazing nation by rediscovering within myself, and my own circle of influence, the principles and ethics that defined American exceptionalism.

So Glenn thinks the answers for America's spiritual, moral, political, economic, and cultural problems can be found by "rediscovering within myself" some kind of New Age enlightenment or that man is really the "I AM"? (emphases added)

Do you see the trend too? This blasphemy is coming from the liberal left and the conservative right. The complete articles and audio from Brannon Howse are must-reads to really grasp what is going on here. The attempts by man to steal glory away from God are getting more bold by the day, and I can only imagine how close we really are to the Lord's return in light of this. Romans 1:18-32 speaks to this idolatry, and those who continue in this way are storing up the righteous judgment of God for themselves (Romans 2:5). May those reading this article who may fall into this category turn to the One True God and be healed.

Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. - Romans 1:22-25

What is the New Age?

By Justin Edwards

The following list from CANA (Christian Answers for the New Age) gives definitions to the "isms" of the New Age, which will be important to understand as we discuss the reality of this movement within the church. Other important terms to understand are pantheism and panentheism and I have included these below.

Pantheism: The view that God is everything and everyone and that everyone and everything is God. Pantheism is similar to polytheism (the belief in many gods), but goes beyond polytheism to teach that everything is God. A tree is God, a rock is God, an animal is God, the sky is God, the sun is God, you are God, etc. Pantheism is the supposition behind many cults and false religions (e.g., Hinduism and Buddhism to an extent, the various unity and unification cults, and “mother nature” worshippers).

Panentheism: This view is essentially a combination of theism (God is the supreme being) and pantheism (God is everything). While pantheism says that God and the universe are coextensive, panentheism claims the God is greater than the universe and that the universe is contained within God. Panentheism holds that God is the “supreme effect” of the universe. God is everything in the universe, but God also is greater the universe. Events and changes in the universe effect and change God. As the universe grows and learns, God also increases in knowledge and being.

The New Age borrows from and synthesizes many views:

Humanism - Man is inherently good.

Relativism - There is no absolute reality or moral standard.

Subjectivism - There is no absolute, objective external truth. Truth is based on personal experience and perception.

Pluralism - All spiritual beliefs are equally valid.

Adaptations of Eastern Religions:

Hinduism - All is one; one is all (monism). God is an impersonal force, part of the universe, and/or beyond knowing. Material reality is an illusion and is inferior to spiritual reality. Reincarnation: the soul returns to another body after death. Spiritual growth is the constant process of evolving.

Buddhism - Suffering is caused by desire. Detachment from desire is practiced to end suffering. The self/identity does not exist. Spiritual insight is gained through meditation techniques such as centering and mindfulness.

Taoism - One reality, the Tao, is split in opposite forces. These opposite forces are yin and yang. There is a life force, chi (or qi, ki). Health and spiritual growth come from balancing the chi (basis for most alternative healing).

Postmodernism - Man is good; there is no objective truth; there are no absolutes and no authority.

Occultism and Paganism - The earth/nature is exalted as the source and sustainer of life. There is one divine force or life force linking people, nature and the universe. Access to and manipulation of this force is possible. Divination techniques such as astrology, numerology, spell casting, tarot cards, and psychic techniques are usually practiced. Rituals are performed according to seasons and moon phases in the belief that this harmonizes one with nature.