The focus of this chapter is on a book by Alana Fairchild titled, Crystal Masters 333: Initiation with the divine power of heaven & earth, Blue Angel Publishing, 2014, and by going to her website, www.alanafairchild.com, it will be plain that she is fully qualified to present crystal healing. She is, however, different from many of those who identify healing with crystals. She connects with crystals via ascended masters. More on this later. 

On the back cover of Alana’s book is the following:

YOU HAVE WISE SPIRITUAL GUIDES FROM THE MYSTICAL WORLD OF CRYSTALS AND ASCENDED MASTERS. THEY ARE READY TO HELP YOU ON YOUR PATH OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH NOW.

Notice the phrase “Spiritual guides” above. Notice also the phrase “Ascended Masters.” These are very real entities, but they are demonic spirits who are under the authority and control of the prince of demons, Satan. Alana is bowing down to the “god of this world” who has blinded the minds of those who submit to these guides and masters (See 2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

On the inside cover of Alana’s book is the following:

SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE FROM THE CRYSTAL MASTERS

We, your guiding Ascended Masters, love you without condition

We help you remember and fulfill your divine life mission

We remind you to let go of your doubt and trust yourself completely

We help you remember that you, just like us, are divinity

By use of crystals one can be in touch with divine spiritual entities, and the 128 

reader must ask, what is the nature of these entities? Are they divine, angel like, highly evolved spirits, or something else? Our testimony is that they are demonic spirits pretending to be something divine and desirable. 

And how does it all work, you must ask? Supposedly, it is quite simple. All it takes is obtaining a crystal, trusting in the spiritual power flowing from it, placing it just so, and using your psychic intuition, along with meditation and mindfulness—you are now opened to receive spiritual beings, ascended masters, which are in reality evil spirits. 

We reach to you from within your own heart 

We are always with you, never apart 

We guide you to heal yourself and in doing so, the earth 

You are a sacred mid-wife, helping her rebirth 

Yes indeed, within you now, even at the core, one’s heart. And they will never leave you either. Sounds good? The only way they will leave is if someone who is a follower of Jesus, in the name and power of Jesus Christ, casts the demonic spirits out. 

We speak to you through signs, through intuition and dreams 

We call you to trust in what you feel, all is not as it seems 

We ask you to trust in the divine plan that is at play 

Surrender into it now, let the divine have its way 

The weird cacophony of the demons inside one’s body and brain distorts reality, but one is to trust in the divine plan. It can be said that demons are divine in that they are not human or animal or anything else that is tangible. Demons intend to crush and pervert human beings, since we are made in the image of God. 

It is your job to be all that you can possibly be  To live, to feel all that you feel, to know you are free 

Choose love over fear, we’ll help you if you ask. We are always supporting you in your divine life task. 

Sounds good? Makes sense? It does, but only if one has a relationship with the Lord Jesus, but such is not the case. Instead, it is a relationship with one or more demons. (However many there may be in a person, there is usually one head demon, the first one to enter into a person who had opened up to the demonic kingdom.) 

Over the course of four decades now, we have helped those who have unwittingly involved themselves in occultic/psychic processes and who have sought out deliverance from them. Very often, it is communicated to the one indwelt by demons that they will never leave and that no one can make them leave. This is a profound lie. We have found that, if a person begins to seek help, the demonic attacks pick up steam, since the demons know their time is now limited, and they want to derail the deliverance process. 

Fairchild writes that, to become an ascended master means to agree to be an initiate, and when that happens, one is no longer subject to “the karmic law of rebirth” (p. 11). So, rebirths no longer go on; rather, one exists in a spiritual dynamic able to help others become in tune with psychic therapies, among which are crystal healings. And one of the skills necessary to cultivate is being able to move into and out of altered states of consciousness. She says, “I had been doing it in my spiritual channelling and healing work” and the “healing” part was the use of crystals (p. 12). 

The “channelling” above was something Alana would do for hours at a time while she was writing her book. So, the material in it really comes to Alana via ascended masters. She writes, “It is channelling that has created most of this book, and so obviously I hold it in high esteem” (p. 16). 

Her experience is that not all who channel are in touch with true and mature ascended masters. To assure that she connects with only the purest, she prays, “I call upon the true Ascended Master who loves me unconditionally” (p. 16). 

Crystals and their cleansing 

“How do I work with the crystals?” is a short piece that is most relevant to what we hope to present in this chapter. The whole of it is that crystals have energy in them, and sometimes they need to be cleansed. She writes, “You can cleanse all crystals by visualizing a vibrant violet light, flecked with white” (p. 18). The cleansing removes that which is not pure in the crystal. That which is cleansed is negative energy. And one should not expose a crystal to water or sunlight. 

While cleansing a crystal one can say, “I call upon the beings of unconditional love who can assist with cleansing my crystal and transmuting negative energy into unconditional love. Through my own free will, so be it” (p. 18). 

Crystal Angels 

Every crystal has its own angel, Alana states, and may be called a nature spirit, an oversoul, or deva. “These crystal angels are the spirit, consciousness, wisdom and vibration of the entire crystal ‘species’” (p. 19). And these beings are called upon to perform healings. 

So then, when holding a crystal, one works with the energy of that particular crystal, its angel. And the practitioner calls upon the crystal angel for the healing. And it need not be that the actual crystal be present, since the angel of the crystal will be present. Alana writes, “Through connecting with the angel we can call on the healing energy of the crystal anyway” (p. 19). 

Energy healing is a term that describes working with crystals, it is all about energy, and the vibrations and energy of crystals can be the healing agent. This is the core of working with crystals, and each crystal has different energy. 

This is not dissimilar to Reiki, as it also has to do with moving energy and vibrations around, or releasing energy, or unblocking energy. 

The Crystals 

From page 23 to page 339, Alana describes one crystal after the other, 18 of them. Each section looks like these examples: 

ASCENDED MASTER LAO TZU (Eastern Wisdom) 

ZINCITE (power) 

INITIATION INTO BALANCE 

And 

BUDDHA (Compassion) 

PERIDOT (Increase) 

INITIATION OF THE BODHISATTRVA VOW 

And 

ASCENDED MASTER MOHER MARY (Protection) 

CELESTITE (Serenity) 

INITIATION OF TRUST 

The first line states the name of the personage—each one is identified with a figure in history or fantasy. The second line states the name of the crystal, here Zincite, Peridot, and Celestite. And the third line has to do with the need or act. 

Excerpts from Wikipedia 

Wikipedia, July 4, 2022 

Crystal healing is a pseudoscientific alternative-medicine practice that uses semiprecious stones and crystals such as quartz, agate, amethyst or opal. Adherents of the practice claim that these have healing powers, but there is no scientific basis for this claim. Practitioners of crystal healing believe they can 131 

boost low energy, prevent bad energy, release blocked energy, and transform a body’s aura. 

In one method, the practitioner places crystals on different parts of the body, often corresponding to chakras; or else the practitioner places crystals around the body in an attempt to construct an energy grid, which is purported to surround the client with healing energy. Scientific investigations have found no evidence that such “energy grids” actually exist, and there is no evidence that crystal healing has any greater effect upon the body than any other placebo. 

Where the practice is popular, it fosters commercial demand for crystals, which can result in environmental damage and exploitative child labor to mine the crystals. 

Origins 

In Plato’s account of Atlantis, crystal healing is also mentioned. According to Plato, the Atlanteans used crystals to read minds and transmit thoughts. The first historical documentation of crystals originated from the Ancient Sumerians (c. 4500 to c. 2000 BC). The Sumerians used crystals in their magical formulas. 

Writings dating back as far as 400 BC make observations about the powers different crystals were believed to emit. Often if a negative incident occurred, a specific stone would be used in an attempt to counteract the negative effect. This was done by wearing amulets or other talismans around the neck with specific stones. 

The origins of crystal healing is tied to Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, India, Ancient Greece, or Ancient Rome. 

Ancient Egyptians mined for crystals and used them to make jewelry. Crystals or gemstones were also used in practice, for their metaphysical properties. Specifically, they used crystals as aids for health and protection. They often would bury a lapis lazuli scarab with their deceased, with the belief that it would protect them in the afterlife. Additionally, in Ancient Egypt amulets were used to ensure the well-being of the individual. The amulet’s shape, decoration, inscription, color, material, or ritual performed with the amulet dictated its power. Amulets were worn or placed on the body, in the form of stones, piercings, rings, necklaces, or other jewelry. The Egyptians used amulets to benefit their afterlife, often representing an Egyptian deity and their specific powers. Amulets were also placed on mummies or in between the mummy’s bandages, with funerary pieces usually being larger than those worn by the living. In funeral practices they also used headrest amulets, these were full-size headrests placed in tombs to protect the dead, they also symbolized the deceased rising and being revived, and the sun rising between two hills, which 132 

symbolized resurrection and rebirth. 

The Ancient Greeks assigned a multitude of properties to crystals. The word ‘crystal’ is derived from the Greek word “krýstallos” which translates to “ice”. The Ancient Greeks believed that clear quartz crystals were a water that had frozen to the point where it would remain in its solid form. The word “amethyst” in Ancient Greek language means “not intoxicate.” Amethyst was worn as an amulet that they believed would aid hangovers or prevent intoxication. 

Precious stones have been thought of as objects that can aid in healing— in a practice known as lapidary medicine—by a variety of cultures. The Hopi Native Americans of Arizona use quartz crystals to assist in diagnosing illnesses. Both Pliny the Elder and Galen claimed that certain crystals had medicinal properties. In Europe, the belief in the healing powers of crystals (and in particular crystal amulets) persisted into the Middle Ages. The alleged medicinal properties of precious stones, as well as other powers they were believed to hold, were collected in texts known as lapidaries, which remained popular in Medieval and Early Modern Europe until the 17th century. 

Across cultures, different stones can symbolize or provide aide for different things. An example of this is rose quartz. In Egypt, it was believed rose quartz could prevent aging, but the Romans used rose quartz as a seal to signify ownership, while in the Middle Ages it was used in healing potions, today rose quartz is known as the “love stone” and is used to balance emotions and heal anger and disappointment. 

Introduction to the New Age movement 

New Age crystal healing ties to three cultures, British, Indian, and Native American. British culture has a Pagan history which has inspired many people who practice modern-day witchcraft. Indian culture uses crystal healing as a form of holistic healing and is written in the holy texts of Indian culture. 

New-age healing in the Western world has ties to the British, and more specifically paganism. While many people may not want to practice animal sacrifice, modern practices have simplified many ancient rituals and practices, making them more available and attractive to those in Western society. Western astrology is also used with crystals, and ties into modern paganism. Practitioners believe certain stones align with and share properties with certain planets. Using astrological birth charts someone may also use types of stones that are compatible with their star signs. 

In the Vedic texts of Hinduism, specifically the Garuda Purana and Graha-gocara, there is a lot of information about the importance of crystals in Indian culture. In these texts Hindu Demigods trick the Vedic demon Valla into attending a pretend sacrifice ritual and after allowing himself to be tied to a stake, Valla learns the demigods are not pretending and the Demigods 133 

dismember Valla, whose body parts turn into gem seeds which contain talismanic powers, made more powerful the purer the gem. Vedic crystal practices is still alive in modern India and are used by both the older and younger generations. 

Tibetan refugees practicing Buddhism used crystals in meditation as malas, or prayer beads and many other people in Indian culture still use crystal healing when modern medicine does not work or is unattainable. 

Native American culture and crystal healing have been passed down through generations through word of mouth, due to this many traditions and secrets have been lost due to the extinction of many indigenous languages. In native cultures there are two important principals when it comes to crystal healing, meditation, and respect. Meditation varies from person to person but usually includes good thoughts and a healthy mindset when handling crystals. In Native American culture crystals are considered an entity and you must show respect to the stones, you can also show respect to the crystals through respect of the Earth. In native traditions they can use the crystals by wearing them to benefit from healing vibrations, either one at a time or several but the stones should never touch, or tinctures can be made with the stone and water and then administered internally. 

Contemporary use 

New Age 

In the English-speaking world, crystal healing is heavily associated with the New Age spiritual movement: “the middle-class New Age healing activity par excellence”. In contrast with other forms of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), participants in crystal healing view the practice as “individuated”, that is dependent on extreme personalization and creative expression. Practitioners of crystal healing purport that certain physical properties such as shape, color, and markings, determine the ailments that a stone can heal; lists of such links are published in commonly distributed texts. Paradoxically, practitioners also “hold the view that crystals have no intrinsic qualities but that, instead, their quality changes according to both participants. After selecting the stones by color or their believed metaphysical qualities, they place them on parts of the body. Color selection and placement of stones are done according to concepts of grounding, chakras, or energy grids. 

Crystal healing today is often featured in jewelry and is used side by side with yoga, meditation, or mindfulness. Often people turn to crystal healing when they become dissatisfied with modern medicine and people are looking to revive cultural traditions from older generations. Today the use of crystal healing is typically used by middle and upper-class individuals because they have the time and resources to seek out this type of alternative medicine. More affluent people are also able to afford better quality crystals. 

Chapter 37 from Kent’s Memoirs of a Jesus Freak

Another spiritual leader also had many people fooled about the

real nature of his group besides David Berg and the Children of

God. It has been argued long and hard about which was more

damaging to the Jesus People Movement. My opinion is that the COG

caused the most damage, since the Jones’ business collapsed so completely

and was so utterly discredited, any trouble instigated by them

disappeared rather quickly. And it must be made clear, despite confusion

to the contrary—Jim Jones and The People’s Temple had absolutely

no connection with the JPM.

Jim Jones did not impact my ministry in Marin County until

1972, the year Church of the Open Door was established. We were

a non-denominational, charismatic church built on the ministry

foundation several of us had established in Marin’s towns. I became

aware of Jones from articles in the San Francisco Chronicle, since he

had involved himself in San Francisco politics, a very strange creature

during that period.

Jones began sending buses to our parking lot at Carpenter’s Hall

in San Rafael on Sunday mornings, in order to transport anyone wanting

to come to his services in San Francisco instead of ours. This tactic

revealed Jones’ arrogant and aggressive nature. At first, I did nothing

to stop this tactic, but after hearing reports of what was taking place

at the meetings, I decided to visit The People’s Temple myself and

attended at least two of their services.1

1 I later climbed on board the bus when it pulled into the parking lot and

literally threatened the driver with bodily harm if he ever showed up again. No bus

ever came back, and I am thankful for that to this day, without apology.

What I recount now may seem rather strange; however, many

other people witnessed what I experienced, and over an extended

period of time. Here is what happened: (1) Angel’s wings (or so it was

said) brushed over me; (2) My up-stretched hand was clasped as in

a handshake that could be felt but not seen; (3) I smelled a pleasant

aroma, which Jim Jones called “the sweet savor of the Lord,” wafting

through the air; and (4) Drops of oil fell on my Bible held open on my

lap. In addition, there was a young black girl from Oakland, maybe

aged thirteen, who stood in front of the congregation while the “stigmata”

appeared on her hands and ankles—the places where the

Roman soldiers pounded the nails into Jesus’ body—and blood, or so

it seemed, soaked through her dress at the point where the spear of

the Roman soldier pierced Jesus’ side.

After this I understood the attraction; there was a powerful

presence in Jim Jones’ meetings. Despite the spiritual nature of the

meetings, and the enthusiasm, the clapping, dancing, and exuberant

singing, I heard no gospel preached or Bible taught. Oddly, it was also

not the kind of service I would describe as either Pentecostal or charismatic.

After my visits to the People’s Temple, I addressed the San Rafael

Church and made it very clear that it was the devil at work in Jones’

services and definitely not the Spirit of God. The miracles, I declared,

were counterfeit, however real, and the whole purpose was to deceive

and confuse the faithful. I warned as sternly as I could that no one

should attend his services.

When the Jonestown tragedy in Guiana became known to the

world, and for some months after that, I officiated at funerals for some

of those who died at Jonestown. It was then that I was able to make

sense and be certain of what had happened: there was at work at The

People’s Temple the same force at work with David Moses Berg and

COG—a demonic power able to seduce and deceive through counterfeit

signs and wonders. I had felt that same power on the morning

when Ed Sweeney had to pull me away from being drawn into the

COG while listening to a member’s pitch. It was that same pull I had

experienced during the Kirtans at the Hare Krishna temple in 1967.

Now I had seen it at work at The People’s Temple.

A Failure to Discern

I learned a lesson: not all that is spiritual is of the Spirit of God.

Due to the charismatic orientation embraced by most of the Jesus

People, we were not able to grasp this. This failure was likely the

most damaging aspect of the JPM, contributing to its dark side. We

simply did not know that prophecy, healings, and miracles could be

of a devilish origin. I am still working through aspects of this in my

current spiritual walk. I don’t want to assign all signs and wonders to

the nether regions, because I think that during times of awakening,

there are exceptional Holy Spirit gifts given that authentically result

in glory to God. Let me be clear, however, that none of what I experienced

during the Hindu services, or encountered with the young

man on the porch of the former French Embassy in Atlanta, or saw

firsthand at the People’s Temple in San Francisco had anything to do

with the Spirit of God.

East of Eden is where the Creator sent Adam and Eve as a consequence of the breaking of one single commandment—not to eat the fruit of a tree found in the midst of the garden. Two specific trees were named: “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (see Genesis 2:9, 17) and “the tree of life” (see Genesis 2:9; 3:22, 24).

In Genesis chapter 3 is recorded what the Creator, about to become the Evictor, said to an unknown audience. In a manner akin to a stage play God said,

Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:22–24)

In our previous chapter we dealt with the problem of evil, and here in Genesis we encounter evil again. There are perhaps hundreds of passages in the Bible that beg this central question. Now, however, the focus is on the incredible, preposterous event where God threw His precious creation, even that made in His own image, out into a wilderness.

Prophetic?

The Book of Genesis initiates the story of God and His creation. The grand themes are presented in this book of beginnings then run throughout the rest of the Bible like threads in a woven tapestry, all the way to the last book, Revelation.

Created in the Creator’s image, evicted from a paradise, recreated and forgiven, then restored and returned to experience the heavenly Paradise—this is the story of Scripture.

Why the long journey? Must the creature go through the agony of the eviction from the garden? Did the Creator toss Adam and Eve out because of a single infraction?

The Trouble with Sin

In the Genesis account the problem was the breaking of a single commandment, the only one given. Adam and Eve did eat the forbidden fruit. They knew it, and God knew it. And then we find something utterly preposterous.

Something happened after they ate the fruit; Adam and Eve’s eyes were opened as never before. Yes, they then had more knowledge, but only the knowledge that sin brings. The result was guilt and fear.

They hid from God. Suddenly they realized they were naked and sewed some fig leaves together. When God came calling in the cool of the day, they did not respond or greet Him. Why so?

The thing about God is that He is holy, meaning, without sin. Sin is the breaking of the divine commands. God is wholly other; He alone is sinless. We are not so, and we all know it. Even the psychopath, whose conscience is not working as it should, knows something is amiss. Adam and Eve knew they had sinned and created a lie to hide behind. “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Blame shifting and excuses!

Would this have happened if there had been no presence of evil? Again, God must have known what would happen; yet He allowed that evil to invade the very paradise He made for the first humans.

And we are living with it still. Indeed, nothing has changed from that day to this. We wrestle with guilt, fear, loneliness, and are angry about all that has been lost. Perhaps the phrase “separation anxiety” expresses our inner conflict.

The Creator made us, so He must have known the terrible emotional and spiritual distress that would come to all of us. Yet we are told He is a loving God.

Being God, could He not have simply pardoned the guilty pair? Could He not have thrown the serpent out, even destroy the fallen angel? If we think too much on these issues it will not bode well with us. We then plunge further into the pit of snakes and are bitten innumerable times.  

I have a vague idea of what happened back at the beginning of the human race, and even have some understanding of why God had to take action. Too many of us over the centuries have come up with simplistic answers to the age-old mystery, none of which gave much comfort. Often the easy answers create more questions than they solve.

No Easy Answer

First, do we have it right? Can we trust the Genesis account? We must ask these questions, even if fear would prevent it, and there are reasons to fear. Others might think we are off track, disobedient, cultic, rebellious, liberal, making shipwreck of our faith, or have gone apostate. These immaturities must be rejected, and we must explore reality regardless of pressures not to If I only had the Genesis material, I would wonder. But all through Scripture, no character or author disputes it. The historians, the poets, the prophets, the apostles, Jesus’ enemies, and Jesus Himself all adhere to the biblical account we have in Genesis. The systematic theology springing out of the Scripture demands that the early account of creation and eviction forms the necessary glue that holds together everything following it.

If Genesis is not accurate, Jesus died for nothing. He died for a preposterous something, all right. He died because our personal sin has separated us from the Creator, and only by our Lord Jesus taking our sin upon Himself can we once again walk in Paradise with our Creator. It is that simple.  

 Sarah Young: Jesus Calling

The following is repeated from our own book, The Soul Journey: How Shamanism, Santeria, Wicca, and Charisma are Connected, in which we propose that the “connection” between these spiritual paths is actually the mediumistic practice of attaining a trance state and contacting spirits, be they supposed spirits of dead ancestors (shamanism and Santería), spirit quides (various occult renditions), lords and ladies of the Realm (Wicca), or even the supposed Jesus of Sarah Young’s series of books that started with Jesus Calling in 2004. 

******* 

Sarah Young practices “listening prayer,” in which she hears messages directly communicated from Jesus. She describes her technique in her bestselling book, Jesus Calling, which has sold over nine million copies in twenty-six languages (as of the end of 2013). This book was the fifth bestseller for the first half of 2013 for all books, not just Christian books. Through it all, the author maintains a low profile, partly due to physical disabilities, and thus she is relatively unknown. She has experienced chronic physical difficulties for many years and writes inspiringly of her loving connection with whom or what she thinks is Jesus giving her comforting and encouraging messages. 

It all began with Sarah wondering if she could receive messages during times of prayer. She hoped God would talk to her personally. And it began to happen. And yes, she believes that Jesus is really and actually speaking with her. She prays then listens, and He answers. This has been her experience for many years. 

As she hears, Sarah journals what she hears, and after a number of years she published some of what she heard. Readers and prayer groups are encouraged and comforted by the messages, and as sales of books demonstrate, she has a growing audience. Many thousands are now taking up the practice of listening prayer. 

The key question which must be asked is, who is speaking? Jesus or someone else? Is it possible there is clever counterfeiting here? 

Over the centuries Christians have thought that God does speak to them. Richard Foster, who champions contemplative prayer or meditative prayer, defends Young’s practice. He has modeled his own recommendations for deep meditation and contemplation on what Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, Ignatius Loyola, and many others practiced and experienced centuries ago. What Young does is the same as or quite similar to the exercises of these Christian mystics. 

Sarah Young describes her own custom as meditating on Scripture and then waiting quietly to hear a reply from Jesus. When Jesus speaks, she writes down what she heard or was placed on her heart. She insists that the words or messages are not revelatory in the sense of prophecy or fortune telling; the content of the messages is fairly ordinary and biblically based. The Bible plays a major role in Sarah’s life, and she firmly believes it is the inspired revelation of God; however, and this is a huge “however,” she wanted more than what the Bible offers. She indeed got more and has come to rely on these communications, the “encouraging directives from the Creator,” as she originally said before that phrase was removed from her 2013 edition. 

But there is a worrisome twist. When Young journals the words supposedly spoken by Jesus they are written in the first person with Jesus as the person speaking. She does not, for instance, write, “Jesus said,” but rather, “Focus on me.” Since she purports to write down whatever Jesus says, her readers must logically conclude that her journal is as authoritative as the Bible, almost a fifth Gospel. If this is not so, then Jesus Calling is pseudo-biblical, an imitation, albeit very clever, of a revelation from God. 

Young’s error is therefore serious and similar to that of the Course in Miracles, supposedly communicated by Jesus to Helen Schucman in the 1970s. Schucman’s Jesus dictated profoundly spiritual concepts to her, which she wrote down, and one of the most successful new age cults was born. Schucman’s Jesus bears little resemblance to the biblical Jesus, unlike Young’s Jesus, but could this make the counterfeit even more difficult to detect? 

Young’s book sales are phenomenal, and again I cannot help but be reminded of Helen Schucman and the Course in Miracles; however, Young’s book is far more biblically Christian than Schucman’s. The difference seems clear, and many Christians are tempted to embrace Young’s claim to hear the voice of Jesus. But it will not work. There is neither biblical precedent nor warrant for quieting oneself, praying, and then listening for Jesus to speak. Young’s techniques fit into the broad spectrum that is Charisma today, emboldening yet another dangerous counterfeit practice. 

The Jesus supposedly speaking to Sarah Young is very affirming and encouraging, but little else. The messages lack the doctrinal content of the real Jesus found in Scripture. Encouraging promises found in quotes supposedly from Jesus’ appeal to those who are easily dazzled by assurances of personal satisfaction and are therefore attracted to purveyors of the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. 

Nowhere in Scripture does God promise to speak individually to believers or answer prayer by speaking directly to the one praying. This is the critical point. What I discovered in my decades of ministry is that, if you want to hear things from God, you eventually will hear something. But the communication is not from God, however real and spiritual the communication might be. 

John 10:27 is quoted by proponents of Young’s book as proof that Jesus speaks directly to His ‘”sheep.” “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” To “hear” is to know Jesus as the Good Shepherd as distinct from a false shepherd or a wolf; the literal application of “hear” does not work here. It is the Holy Spirit who indwells the believer at conversion who “bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16). 

An instruction for believers to listen for the actual audible voice of Jesus, be it solely in the mind, is foreign to the New Testament writings. There is nothing in Scripture about praying then listening for a response. It is surprising that so many do not know this. Churches across the country have instituted prayer groups devoted to Young’s methods. Again, it illustrates the fascination with feelings and direct experiences rather than seeking to learn what the Word of God actually teaches. 

We are all hungry to know more of God, and little by little we do grow up into the fullness of the stature of Christ (see Ephesians 4:1-16). Following Jesus is a lifelong process and there are no shortcuts. Quick and easy methods of “going direct” to the source can be addictive and difficult to disengage from. Christians are yet sinners and living in a sinful world; we are pilgrims traveling the straight and narrow road that is often filled with pain and sorrow. God hears our prayers and does strengthen and comfort us, but He speaks to us through the Scripture. That is enough for us. We do not need more. Eve wanted more and she got it, but it brought disaster upon her and all of us. 

******* 

We strongly suggest acquiring Brenna E. Scott’s book, Christian Journaling or Psychic Channeling? A Critical Comparison of the Jesus Calling Series with Occult Training Literature. You will find in this book a brief history of how Sarah Young encountered a devotional book, God Calling, written in the 1930’s by two women who practiced waiting in God’s Presence in a mediumistic manner. Ms. Scott is quite thorough in her analysis of the contents of Sarah Young’s books. There is a foreword by Chris Lawson, and it is published by Brenna Scott Publishing, LLC, 2022.

Earlier movements

It was not until 1968 that I became acquainted with the Charismatic

Movement, mainly the Catholic version of it. I connected with the

Protestant Charismatic Movement a year later, at Holy Innocents

Episcopal Church in Corte Madera, a town in central Marin County.

Father Todd Ewald brought a fellow Episcopalian priest, Father Dennis

Bennett of Seattle, to preach and minister at Holy Innocents about

that time, and many of the Jesus People started attending. I recall an

elderly lady named Gert Bohanna who often ministered there as well.

Somewhere I have tape recording of a talk she made there. She must

have been in her seventies and was so interesting to hear. Every one

of us loved her.

The services were fairly charismatic but not wildly so, and while

there was healing and speaking in tongues, the main focus was on

preaching the Gospel and teaching the Bible. Wherever Jesus was

preached and the Bible taught, Jesus People would show up.

We soaked up instruction from the teachers and preachers of the

Charismatic Movement, especially from the Ft. Lauderdale Five, as

we called them—Bob Mumford, Charles Simpson, Derek Prince, Don

Basham, and Ern Baxter. These men were older than nearly all of us,

and were experienced, mature Christians. They produced dozens of

teaching tapes that we eagerly sought out and listened to for hours

and hours. If we heard that one of these men was to be preaching anywhere

near us, we made our way there. We also appreciated mainline

Pentecostals like Oral Roberts and Kathryn Kuhlman, but they didn’t

draw us as the Five did. Several other preachers and teachers also

caught our attention—names that escape me now.

Jesus People, like those of the Catholic Renewal or the Catholic

version of the Charismatic Movement, although influenced by charismatics

and Pentecostals, were nevertheless distinct from them, at

least in the earliest years. My guess for the origin and chronology of

the Charismatic and Catholic Renewal movements is that they preceded

the JPM. They may have been a part of the general awakening

that developed from various directions, but my experience tells me

they were not related.

In San Rafael, where I was living from late 1968 until 1985, there

was a Marist seminary, and one or two of their priests/monks visited

the Bible studies we conducted. They invited me to their masses, and

I occasionally participated in these. There was also in San Rafael a

Carmelite Monastery that offered a public prayer service that many

Jesus People and charismatics from a number of different churches

attended. Still, the JPM was different and distinct from the Catholic

Charismatic expression, though many people moved freely between

the two.

Our work in Marin centered on Bible studies and evangelistic

outreaches at the local high schools and the local community college,

College of Marin, which has two campuses, one in Ignacio and

the original and main campus in Kentfield. Eventually, we had a Bible

study in each school, and that often led to opening up yet another

Christian house. I signed so many leases and guaranteed so many utility

accounts during that period, it caused me some sleepless nights.

As stated earlier, we began then to open up Christian bookstores and

even a thrift shop.

On Sunday mornings, my family and I attended local Baptist

churches, mostly Southern Baptist-aligned and some American Baptist

churches as well. In every case we were warmly received and

encouraged. Although we were a para-church ministry that came

alongside churches and not leaders or pastors of a church, I felt it

important to be a part of a community of faith; evangelistic outreach

was not enough. Most of the time, we attended the First Baptist

Church of San Rafael on Lincoln Avenue, the Lucas Valley Community

Church in a northern suburb of San Rafael, or the First Baptist Church

of Novato.

Pressure to Begin a Church

Among our early leaders, from around 1970, were Mike Riley,

Roger Hoffman, and Bob Hymers. Roger and Bob had roots with

Southern Baptists, Mike had been with the United Brethren Church,

and all attended Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill

Valley, the school I graduated from in 1968.1

Mike, Roger, and Bob were much more used to regular church

involvement than the rest of our leaders. Nearly from the beginning

of our relationship they were pushing to start up a church. They had

a valid point, since the kids and some of their parents attended all

kinds of different churches, while the majority attended nowhere at

all. For more than a year, I resisted this move, thinking a para-church

ministry was the proper model for us.

Moishe Rosen of Jews for Jesus, who more than anyone else served

as a mentor to me during that period, encouraged us to remain a parachurch

ministry with a focus on street evangelism. I agreed fully, and

thus a wedge opened up between the others and me.

An Evening Gathering in Mill Valley

Mike, Roger, and Bob had assembled together a number of the

young people from our ministry for gatherings at the Dow home in

Mill Valley. I decided to attend to see what was happening. Bob, no

question one of the best preachers I have ever heard, anywhere, anytime,

could hold anyone listening in rapture for long periods. Bob,

whose full name is Robert Leslie Hymers, Jr., is a strong leader with

a lot of experience in churches, and he was bound and determined

to start a church, which he wanted named Church of the Open Door

after the famous church of the same name in Los Angeles.

Quickly, the house became too small to accommodate the crowd,

and a move was made to Scout Hall in Mill Valley on East Blithedale.

That place also filled up quickly, and I was left with a very large

dilemma. This was all being done despite my wanting to avoid becoming

a church. However, the leaders of our Christian House Ministries—

Mark Buckley, Kenny Sanders, Bruce Arnold, Blacky Smith, Geoff

Tachet, Bob Gaulden, Bob Burns, and others—conferred together and

recognized the church-like entity that had already developed. They

also decided to continue the existing model of street evangelism, high

school ministry, Christian houses, Christian bookstores, and so on.

A board of elders formed, I served as senior pastor, and we took

steps to incorporate. It did not take too long before Scout Hall was

not adequate, so we moved into Carpenter’s Hall on Lindaro Street in

central San Rafael and rented out some office space nearby on Jordan

Street. This was in 1972.

As could be expected, the Monday morning elders’ meetings were

stormy, to put it mildly. The egos, including mine, could not easily

be contained in the space in which we met, which was my office at

the Christian General Store, 2130 Fourth Street in San Rafael. After

around one year, Bob decided to go back to Los Angeles from whence

he had come and begin another church there. The original name of

his first church in downtown Los Angeles was the Fundamentalist

Tabernacle Baptist Church. Bob’s great preaching soon drew crowds,

and the church grew rapidly.

Bob’s leaving had an impact on me I did not recognize right away.

He was the only non-charismatic among us, not that we were “wildeyed,”

but we were tending more and more in that direction. The oars

were missing, and I was carried along on the current. It was not until

1978 that Dr. Lou Rambo, my major professor at San Francisco Theological

Seminary, forced me to make a critical analysis of what we

were doing and thinking.

In 1975, the Church of the Open Door had outgrown the space in

Carpenter’s Hall. On one single Sunday, we divided ourselves up and

started four additional churches. One was in Novato with Mark Buckley,

another in Petaluma with Kenny Sanders, one in San Francisco

with Bob Gaulden, and one in Pt. Reyes Station with Bruce Arnold.

At that point there were somewhere between 325 and 375 attending

the two Sunday mornings services in San Rafael. The Sunday following

the division into four churches the hall in San Rafael was full

again, although there should only have been about 125 in attendance.

My figures may be faulty, but that is how I remember things. We were

forced to continue two morning services, and the later service was

always packed wall to wall.

A final note on the founding of the Church of the Open Door in

San Rafael: The view of the church’s founding above is my own, and

I have discovered in the process of preparing these memoirs that my

account is only one among several. None of the versions vary enough

to cause any alarm, however. Perhaps a more agreed upon story may

evolve out of conversation around this book.

Chapter Three

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made” (Genesis 3:1).

The serpent, as we find elsewhere in the Bible, is Satan, an angel who rebelled against the Creator.[1] We also know him as the devil, the commander of demons. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth: “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). 

Satan is a creature, as were all the other angels. C.S. Lewis recognized this and wrote, “There is no uncreated being except God.”[2] And who created Satan? None other than the Creator God. How preposterous!

Satan has another name as well—Lucifer—which may be translated, “Day Star.” This information is from Isaiah, the prophet who wrote in the eighth century before the common era. Here is what he said:

How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven, above the stars of God I will set my throne on high, I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High. But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.” (Isaiah 14:12-15)

The striving for power, authority, and adulation on the part of a created being/angel is at the heart of human history; it moved from Adam and Eve to Cain and on down to us. This is a thoroughly biblical worldview.

Theodicy—The Problem of Evil

David Hume, the eighteenth-century Scottish philosopher, captured the core of the puzzle in Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. Attempting to define our impulse to question God on the matter of the presence of evil, Hume wrote: “He is willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then is he impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then is he malevolent. Is he both able and willing: whence then is evil?”

Questions

The questions could go on and on with no satisfying answer. The real question, however, is whether our questions require an answer. The Scripture, both the Hebrew and Greek portions, from Genesis to Revelation, make no attempt to confront the problem of evil; it merely assumes and acknowledges it with no explanations given. Evil is assumed, with its root cause being a creature who rebelled against the Creator at some unknown point, inside or outside of time. This knowledge does not deter human inquiry, however; we are stuck on the notion of evil being a problem needing a solution.

Is it possible that we humans are not capable of true understanding here? Might the Creator not intend for us to understand? Would it change things if He provided a solution? We would likely just continue on our way, making Satan either a friend or an enemy.

In a way, God has indeed given an answer to the problem of evil. As an answer to Hume, my view is that the Creator is both able and willing to subdue Lucifer. What’s more, He has already dealt a victorious and deadly blow to Satan. This is what the work of Christ is all about!

The Beautiful Devil

Satan desires to be worshipped and has franchised his corporation out across the globe. Some submit to him directly and knowingly; others do so indirectly. We know of straight-on Satanic worship and also of the occult arts, bundled together under the broad spectrum of spiritism, magic, and divination. His presence and abilities are enough to turn a hyper-materialist into a super-naturalist in a flash. Once one experiences a demonic presence, one is never the same again.

Beautiful is the Day Star, so very attractive and powerful. He has miracles, signs and wonders, and real raw power. He delights to anoint his priests and priestesses with dark and sensational gifts. He counts his converts by the billions.

Satan would claim the authorship of evil, but though he is malevolence itself, he is ultimately impotent.

The Work of Messiah[3] Jesus

Before the foundation of our world and the entire universe, the Creator God both foreknew and predestined the course of the history of the entirety of the creation, both on the micro and macro level.  If not, He is not God.

Slowly, and from our point of view, painfully slowly, He is allowing the entire script to be played out. This is revealed piece-meal in the Bible, with the first core prophetic revelation being stated directly in Genesis 3:15. This statement is part of a longer narrative from verses 14–19 and is what the Creator said to the creature, the serpent:

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

The “woman” is a type but always female. First came Eve, the prototype, then the nation Israel, then the remnant Israel, then finally the single woman, Mary, mother of Jesus called the Christ.

“Enmity” is stronger than the English word generally conveys and means warfare or deadly conflict. We see “he” refers to Satan, including his followers, those angels who sided with Lucifer in the cataclysmic rebellion.

“Your offspring,” the Creator says, and these are the followers and worshippers of Satan, knowingly or unknowingly, both demon and human. Quite an army!

“Her offspring” is in the singular, “he shall bruise.”

Her offspring deals a deadly head blow to “your offspring,” which offspring is capable only of dealing a bruise on the heel.

The “he” is the Messiah, the Christ, the One appointed by the Creator to undo all that the serpent brought upon the creation. This is the fundamental theme of all the Bible. The apostle John summed it up by saying: “The reason the son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:18b).

The work of Satan is to induce humans to hide from their Creator because of their guilt and shame, which is the natural effect of sin. His plan is to blind and possess those who follow him, so they might be with Him in eternal gloom and darkness. We all are rebels against God, whether we recognize it or not. Therefore, God acted to bring peace and freedom to His beloved creation.

This “plan of salvation” moved directly to the Roman cross on which Jesus was hung about AD 30 outside the walls of Jerusalem. As the old hymn so eloquently presents it, “Only His blood can wash away my sin” — the blood Jesus shed while on the cross.

Problem of Evil Solved? 

The problem of evil is not solved, not satisfactorily answered, merely understood to some degree. This must be enough for us this side of eternity.

Will the great question be answered when we are in the presence of God? I doubt it; any possible relevance will be negated. Joy will fill us to fullness.

---

[1] See Ezekiel 28:11–19; Revelation 12:7–10; and 20:1–3.

[2] The Screwtape Letters, p. vii.

[3] Messiah, from the Hebrew, meshiach, means the Anointed One, leading to the Greek, Christos.

Following are highlights from the book Opening to Channel: How to Connect With Your Guide. It is written by Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer, published by H. J. Kramer Inc, Tiburon, California, in 1987. Much, even most, of the material in the book has been channeled to the authors by their guide spirits Orin and DaBen. 

Channeling and mediumship are united. The medium channels: thus, mediums engage in channeling. A medium may be referred to as a psychic or a channel. And what is channeled comes from what are referred to as guides, spirit guides, animal guides, dead ancestors, and more. 

Then there is the term “trance channeling,” since channeling is done while in a trance, which is a passive or altered or shamanistic state of mind or consciousness. This state of mind is usually entered into by using various forms of meditation involving concentration, emptying the mind, deep breathing and relaxation, and waiting to be contacted by spirits. 

The stated purpose of the book under consideration is to teach the reader how to channel a guide. The authors say that one can “learn to channel a high-level guide or your higher self” (p. 10). And by means of channeling one can access “all the ideas, knowledge, and wisdom that is and ever will be known” (p. 13). 

Again, all of this hinges on the trance state. To enter this state, you must learn to concentrate, rid yourself of your own thinking, and be open or receptive to higher guidance. It is in the trance state that the higher energies are contacted. 

Once the guide is contacted, this entity becomes a friend “who is always there to love, encourage, and support you” (p. 14). This friend becomes a wise teacher, “one who comes from within rather than without” (p. 14). 

The book by Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer is an account of how two well-meaning people became indwelt by spirits, and we mean evil spirits or demons. This is a typical pattern; one we have often encountered. Many are anxious to tap into wisdom and acquire or access power and knowledge, and to be indwelt by these spirits is usually quite exhilarating. Make no mistake, it is very spiritual. It does not have to be religious, meaning, one does not have to engage with or be a member of a religious organization, whether Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, or other, although that is not prohibited. 

Here is how Orin and DaBen describe themselves to Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer: “We, Orin and DaBen, are beings of light. We exist in the higher dimensions, and our goal is to assist you in opening your channel to these dimensions so that you may evolve more rapidly” (p. 15). 

The above is not fantasy or the work of someone attempting to sell books; it is evangelical outreach of a diabolical sort. And it is incredibly deceptive, when all of a sudden one is aware of actual contact with spiritual entities. Few realize what has taken place. Here is something new and exciting, even something where some money could be made. The understanding that these spirit guides are unholy or demonic is rare. Deception and devotion come quickly. One would have to have a solid Biblical theology to recognize that he or she has been duped. 

These guides, by various means, can prove their incredible spiritual power by giving knowledge that would not be accessible by any other means. Revealing events and histories of those they possess and of others is enough to capture most. 

Orin and DaBen teach what channeling will or will not do for you. For one thing, a person will be able to make a difference in the world and will experience not as much depression, anxiety, or heaviness. And, high-level guides will “not take over or control you” (p. 16). 

Here is a huge deception, because, in fact the guides will take control little by little, and this is over a period of time and in a way that is almost imperceptible. It is little by little, but the dependence grows. 

Then Orin and DaBen say that “channeling will help you learn to love yourself more” (p. 17), by being free of normal prejudices, thus loving yourself more, especially as you follow your higher path. It will also greatly enhance creativity. 

Then Orin and DaBen describe what a person can use channeling for. “Some people’s guides assist them in counseling, teaching, therapy, healing, or bodywork” (p. 17). 

Here we grasp the heart of the incredibly rapid growth in the numbers of those who offer various forms of psychic therapies. The “Life Coach” is a new industry that is sweeping across America. Not all those who present themselves as life coaches use mediumistic or psychic means to do their work, but a growing number do. We are acquainted with a few who do not, but very many rely upon psychic means, using practices like Reiki, Akashic Records, tarot cards, and so on to do their “therapy.” And here is how it works: 

Jesus, while teaching His disciples, said to them something of incredible importance. “For where two or there are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:20). Even just two together and because of Jesus, in worship or prayer or fellowship, and He, by the power of the Holy Spirit, is actually present with them. 

It has long been known that Satan mimics the things of God. He is the great counterfeiter. The craft and power of the devil and his angels are great, as Martin Luther wrote in the hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” And for every gift of the Holy Spirit, as we find in Romans 12:3–8 and 1 Corinthians 12:4–11, there is a counterfeit or demonic gift. Those “gifts” coming from Satan are very convincing and often dramatic. 

Orin and DaBen state that asking for a guide is all one needs to do. “If you request a guide to assist you, one will begin to work with you” (p. 23). Supposedly, this will most often happen in a person’s dream state or even at unexpected moments. Engaging with tarot cards is another way to make a connection. In addition, using the Ouija board, seeking automatic writing, and deep meditation are also means of connecting with a guide. 

Chapter 2 is titled “Channeling in Trance,” and directions are provided on how to achieve the trance state. And it is the trance state that allows a person to connect with a guide. “Channeling involves the achievement of a slightly relaxed state where you can turn your attention inward and upward to receive messages from higher realms” (p. 27). Meditation practices can assist in achieving the trance state, but a relaxed state of internal focus also works. 

There are also states where the consciousness disappears all together, and those who reach such a state are called “unconscious channels.” The person now is not aware of the contact with the guides and will have little or no remembrance of it at all. The “conscious channel” will be able to recall some experiences of engaging with the guide spirits. It is said that most people fall somewhere between deep, unconscious trances and full alert states. Orin and DaBen suggest it is best to remain conscious while channeling. 

Sanaya experiences Orin as a very loving, wise, gentle being with a distinct presence. Duane says DaBen’s interaction with him can change greatly, but is a very radiant energy, loving and exacting. And DaBen has great knowledge. 

Chapter 3 is titled, “Who Are The Guides?” 

Orin and DaBen say that guides come from many places, so many that they seem to be infinite. Some guides have incarnated on the earth, others have not, and they come from dimensions outside the galaxy and stars, like from a fourth dimension. These are the Masters such as St. Germain, angels such as Michael and Raphael, guardian angels, and other extraterrestrial entities. Orin says he was incarnated once on earth and has long since evolved into pure light and spirit without a physical body. DaBen is also a being of light and has not incarnated. 

Guides pick people to indwell who have similar goals and purposes. Not all entities from the higher realms choose to be guides. 

Guides, in order to work with people, must be able to work with energy where their electromagnetic fields are at a very subtle and refined level (p. 36). 

Orin and DaBen say some guides will be known to those they work with, figures like Christ, Buddha, angels, American Indians, Chinese sages, East Indian masters, or one of the great masters like St. Germain. Some guides will appear as male or female, however, there is no actual polarity with guides. 

Orin and DaBen are not guides; they are demonic spirits. Without a Christian and biblical understanding, Orin and DaBen might get away with this lie. But those who are biblically grounded know better and have for ages. Yet, what these two evil spirits have to say will be readily accepted by many, especially when they learn how to focus, meditate, and attempt to connect with higher powers of energy. This is the devil’s playground, and it seems so exhilarating at first. Down the line, however, these spirits will present themselves as who they actually are, and this realization may prompt the person who has become indwelt by them to seek relief from the misery these minions of Satan bring. This is called deliverance ministry. 

Excerpts from Wikipedia 

Wikipedia, February 22, 2022 

Channeling 

A conduit, in esoterism, and spiritual discourse, is a specific object, person, location, or process (such as engaging in a séance or entering a trance or using psychedelic medicines) which allows a person to connect or communicate with a spiritual realm, metaphysical energy, or spiritual entity, or vice versa. The use of such a conduit may be entirely metaphoric or symbolic, or it may be earnestly believed to be functional. 

In the latter half of the 20th century, Western mediumship developed in two different ways. One type involves clairaudience, in which the medium claims to hear spirits and relay what they hear to their clients. The other is a form of channeling in which the channeler seemingly goes into a trance and purports to leave their body, allowing a spirit entity to borrow it and then speak through them. When in a trance the medium appears to enter into a cataleptic state, although modern channelers may not. Some channelers open their eyes when channeling and remain able to walk and behave normally. The rhythm and the intonation of the voice may also change completely. 

A notable channeler in the early 1900s was Rose Edith Kelly, wife of the English occultist and ceremonial magician Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), who allegedly channeled the voice of a non-physical entity named Aiwass during their honeymoon in Cairo, Egypt (1904). Others purport to channel spirits from “future dimensions”, ascended masters or, in the case of the trance mediums of the Brahma Kumaris, God. Another widely known channeler of this variety is J. Z. Knight, who claims to channel the spirit of Ramtha, a 30-thousand-year-old man. Other notable channels are Jane Roberts for Seth and Esther Hicks for Abraham. 

Mediumship 

Mediumship is the practice of purportedly mediating communication between “familiar spirits” or spirits of the dead and living human beings. Practitioners are known as “mediums” or “spirit mediums”. There are different types of mediumship or spirit channelling, including seánce tables, trance, and ouija. 

Mediumship gained popularity during the nineteenth century, when ouija boards were used by the upper classes as a source of entertainment. Investigations during this period revealed widespread fraud—with some practitioners employing techniques used by stage magicians—and the practice began to lose credibility. Fraud is still rife in the medium or psychic industry, with cases of deception and trickery being discovered to this day. 

Mediumship is associated with several religious belief systems such as Shamanism, Vodun, Spiritualism, Spiritism, Candomblé, Voodoo, Umbanda and some New Age groups. 

In Spiritism and Spiritualism the medium has the role of an intermediary between the world of the living and the world of spirit. Mediums claim that they can listen to and relay messages from spirits, or that they can allow a spirit to control their body and speak through it directly or by using automatic writing or drawing. 

Spiritualists classify types of mediumship into two main categories: “mental” and “physical”: 

• Mental mediums purportedly “tune in” to the spirit world by listening, sensing, or seeing spirits or symbols. 

• Physical mediums are believed to produce materialization of spirits, apports of objects, and other effects such as knocking, rapping, bellringing, etc., by using “ectoplasm” created from the cells of their bodies and those of séance attendees.

During seances, mediums are said to go into trances, varying from light to deep, that permit spirits to control their minds. 

Channeling can be seen as the modern form of the old mediumship, where the “channel” (or channeller) purportedly receives messages from a “teaching-spirit”, an “Ascended master”, from God, or from an angelic entity, but essentially through the filter of his own waking consciousness (or “Higher Self”). 

History 

Mediumship became quite popular in the 19th-century United States and the United Kingdom after the rise of Spiritualism as a religious movement. Modern Spiritualism is said to date from practices and lectures of the Fox sisters in New York State in 1848. The trance mediums Paschal Beverly Randolph and Emma Hardinge Britten were among the most celebrated lecturers and authors on the subject in the mid-19th century. Allan Kardec coined the term Spiritism around 1860. Kardec claimed that conversations with spirits by selected mediums were the basis of his The Spirits’ Book and later, his five-book collection, Spiritist Codification. 

Some scientists of the period who investigated Spiritualism also became converts. They included chemist Robert Hare, physicist William Crookes (1832–1919) and evolutionary biologist Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913). Nobel laureate Pierre Curie took a very serious scientific interest in the work of medium Eusapia Palladino. Other prominent adherents included journalist and pacifist William T. Stead (1849–1912) and physician and author Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930). 

After the exposure of the fraudulent use of stage magic tricks by physical mediums such as the Davenport Brothers and the Bangs Sisters, mediumship fell into disrepute. However, the religion and its beliefs continue in spite of this, with physical mediumship and seances falling out of practice and platform mediumship coming to the fore. 

In the late 1920s and early 1930s there were around one quarter of a million practicing Spiritualists and some two thousand Spiritualist societies in the UK in addition to flourishing microcultures of platform mediumship and ‘home circles.’ Spiritualism continues to be practiced, primarily through various denominational Spiritualist churches in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, over 340 Spiritualist churches and centres open their doors to the public and free demonstrations of mediumship are regularly performed.

Sometime in 1968, I began to keep a journal. I admit this was

after the news media discovered the Jesus Movement, and it

occurred to me that it might be important to chronicle things as

I saw them.

So I began to write it all down with a pencil and a cheap spiral

notebook. I went back mentally to the night I was driving home in the

rain from my job as a shoe salesman at J.C. Penny in Corte Madera.

The Scott McKenzie song about coming to San Francisco and wearing

a flower in your hair was playing on the radio. There it was, like the

time it seemed God directly and personally called me into the ministry,

that I heard, “Go to the hippies in San Francisco.” Okay, I said to

myself, and the very next night I headed in as instructed.

That night I met David Hoyt and my whole world changed. I had

thought I would be a pastor of a normal kind of church and do the

things that I had seen my pastor, Bob Lewis, do. I had no further ambition.

I never thought I would write a book or be a great preacher or

get involved in the wild and crazy things I did.1 I paid a high price, and

my family, eventually families, also paid a high price. If I had known

then what would transpire, I might have become a Jonah and tried to

run away from the commission God gave me.

My idea was to write down my experiences as they happened and

not wait a week or so when I might have more time. As best I could,

this was the program I followed. I shared with David what I was doing,

and there were times when we collaborated and jointly tried to recall

1 Turns out I did write a book or two and, yes, I have done some wild and

crazy things, but I never did become a great preacher, although I do my best every

Sunday morning.

I hoped that, at some point, the notes might be turned into a book.

I knew I was not much of a writer, but I had an interesting story, so

I started sending out letters to publishers about what I was writing

about. Much to my surprise I got a letter from Zondervan Publishing

House in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and it was, as far as I knew then, the

largest and most prestigious Christian publishing house in America.

A vice-president named Bob DeVries sent the letter. I sent a follow-

up letter to him asking what he wanted me to do, and his reply

was a request for the manuscript, which I immediately sent. Then I

waited. Within a few weeks, he flew out to the Bay Area to meet David

and me for lunch at the St. Francis Hotel by Union Square. Having

grown up in what sociologists of that era described as lower middle

class, I had never before eaten in, let alone seen, such a fancy restaurant.

Shocking to us was Mr. DeVries’ eagerness

for us to sign a contract, which we

were also eager to do. Bob DeVries was a

most pleasant and gracious man, probably

the most important person I had ever met.

He remained so throughout the adventure

with the story of the hippies.

We had entitled the book, Two Brothers

in Haight. Zondervan kept the title

but said the book had to be rewritten, so

they hired a professional, Norman Rohr,

who made a living ghost writing as well

as teaching writing. When he showed up

a couple of weeks later we talked about

the book and our story, so he could begin

reworking what we had done. After I read

his version, however, I called Bob and said

something like, “I don’t think so.”

Not giving up on us, they hired Ed Plowman to do the next rewrite.

I knew Ed, because he was a founding member of Evangelical Concerns

and pastor of the Presidio Baptist Church in San Francisco.

Things went much better with Ed’s version, and the book was placed

in line for printing.

The whole process dragged on considerably, and by the time I

received the galley proofs, David had long since moved from Walnut

Creek to Atlanta. I sent the galleys back and waited for the printed

version.

Halt !

But then it happened; David was swept up into the Children of

God. I was presented with a dilemma at that point. If the book came

out, I suspected the COG would make use of it in a way I couldn’t tolerate.

By that time I knew way too much about The Family and was

convinced the book should not be published.

I called Mr. DeVries and told him what had happened. I unloaded

my worries and, after calming down, said, “We cannot publish the

book.” He instantly agreed. The irony is that the printing job was

nearly complete, and the book would have been in the mail in less

than two weeks.

That book, two versions of it plus my own original manuscript,

sits amongst my archives of the Jesus People Movement. It might yet

see the light of day.

Sometime in 1968, I began to keep a journal. I admit this was

after the news media discovered the Jesus Movement, and it

occurred to me that it might be important to chronicle things as

I saw them.

So I began to write it all down with a pencil and a cheap spiral

notebook. I went back mentally to the night I was driving home in the

rain from my job as a shoe salesman at J.C. Penny in Corte Madera.

The Scott McKenzie song about coming to San Francisco and wearing

a flower in your hair was playing on the radio. There it was, like the

time it seemed God directly and personally called me into the ministry,

that I heard, “Go to the hippies in San Francisco.” Okay, I said to

myself, and the very next night I headed in as instructed.

That night I met David Hoyt and my whole world changed. I had

thought I would be a pastor of a normal kind of church and do the

things that I had seen my pastor, Bob Lewis, do. I had no further ambition.

I never thought I would write a book or be a great preacher or

get involved in the wild and crazy things I did. I paid a high price, and

my family, eventually families, also paid a high price. If I had known

then what would transpire, I might have become a Jonah and tried to

run away from the commission God gave me.

My idea was to write down my experiences as they happened and

not wait a week or so when I might have more time. As best I could,

this was the program I followed. I shared with David what I was doing,

and there were times when we collaborated and jointly tried to recall

1 Turns out I did write a book or two and, yes, I have done some wild and

crazy things, but I never did become a great preacher, although I do my best every

Sunday morning.

the events of the days that we spent together walking the streets of

the Haight Ashbury.

I hoped that, at some point, the notes might be turned into a book.

I knew I was not much of a writer, but I had an interesting story, so

I started sending out letters to publishers about what I was writing

about. Much to my surprise I got a letter from Zondervan Publishing

House in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and it was, as far as I knew then, the

largest and most prestigious Christian publishing house in America.

A vice-president named Bob DeVries sent the letter. I sent a follow-

up letter to him asking what he wanted me to do, and his reply

was a request for the manuscript, which I immediately sent. Then I

waited. Within a few weeks, he flew out to the Bay Area to meet David

and me for lunch at the St. Francis Hotel by Union Square. Having

grown up in what sociologists of that era described as lower middle

class, I had never before eaten in, let alone seen, such a fancy restaurant.

Shocking to us was Mr. DeVries’ eagerness

for us to sign a contract, which we

were also eager to do. Bob DeVries was a

most pleasant and gracious man, probably

the most important person I had ever met.

He remained so throughout the adventure

with the story of the hippies.

We had entitled the book, Two Brothers

in Haight. Zondervan kept the title

but said the book had to be rewritten, so

they hired a professional, Norman Rohr,

who made a living ghost writing as well

as teaching writing. When he showed up

a couple of weeks later we talked about

the book and our story, so he could begin

reworking what we had done. After I read

his version, however, I called Bob and said

something like, “I don’t think so.”

Not giving up on us, they hired Ed Plowman to do the next rewrite.

I knew Ed, because he was a founding member of Evangelical Concerns

and pastor of the Presidio Baptist Church in San Francisco.

Things went much better with Ed’s version, and the book was placed

in line for printing.

The whole process dragged on considerably, and by the time I

received the galley proofs, David had long since moved from Walnut

Creek to Atlanta. I sent the galleys back and waited for the printed

version.

Halt !

But then it happened; David was swept up into the Children of

God. I was presented with a dilemma at that point. If the book came

out, I suspected the COG would make use of it in a way I couldn’t tolerate.

By that time I knew way too much about The Family and was

convinced the book should not be published.

I called Mr. DeVries and told him what had happened. I unloaded

my worries and, after calming down, said, “We cannot publish the

book.” He instantly agreed. The irony is that the printing job was

nearly complete, and the book would have been in the mail in less

than two weeks.

That book, two versions of it plus my own original manuscript,

sits amongst my archives of the Jesus People Movement. It might yet

see the light of day.

Chapter 4 from The Preposterous God, very short

Chapter Two

The Created in the Image of the Creator

It is no wonder we are tempted to think of ourselves more highly than we ought. We are created in the very image of God. Image. What is this? When we look in a mirror, we certainly don’t see God, who does not look like we do; this is easily concluded.

What, then, does “created in the image of God” mean? We see from the biblical account that it took both the male and the female to express something of the nature of God: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).

But “image” has much more to it than mere physical attributes.

We note that none of the animals God created, as depicted in Genesis chapter two, had a personal relationship with their Creator. That ability or status was reserved for the humans, Adam and Eve. Their relationship with God was personal to the extent that God actually communicated directly with this first couple. We see this in Genesis 3:8-13 after they disobeyed His one commandment:

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Image therefore takes on the idea of the capacity to have fellowship with, to know and be known by, and to communicate with, the Creator. This idea may seem strange, even preposterous to us, yet it is at the heart of the ultimate intention of the Creator. There is a lot more to the story. Genesis, after all, means beginning.

God Incarnate

Is the garden appearance a case of God becoming incarnate—physically present? Christian thinkers have been divided on this issue for the last two thousand years. The passage quoted in Genesis 3 above seems to indicate that an actual, physical Being was present in the Garden (Paradise) and literally spoke with Adam and Eve.

While the writer of the passage might have taken literary license and conveyed a most complex event into a manner more easily understood, there are also other possibilities, yet the minimum clear statement is that we find the Creator in real and actual conversation with a man and a woman. The Creator never spoke to any of the animals we find listed in Genesis chapter two, verses 18 through 23. But with Adam and Eve He did.

A Lonely Creator?

It has been suggested that the Creator was lonely, which prompted Him to create humans in order to have someone with whom to communicate and have a relationship. Neither the living organisms nor the angels satisfied Him, so fellowship would depend upon a Creature somewhat like Himself, a creature made in His image. Perhaps fellowship with human beings was the ultimate intention of the Creator. Perhaps He put that same desire for fellowship with Him inside of each human being.

Image—we humans are made in the image of the Creator. Do you ever have a sense of this? Have you read the writings of poets, heard the music of great composers, seen the paintings and sculpture of artists, or watched the films of talented directors, and seen the deep longings that abide in the spirit of men and women? Have you found in those creations the sound of a cry to know the Creator of all? The Creator is not lonely, as He is complete in His Being. However, we humans have a deep inner loneliness that can only be assuaged by a relationship with Him.

A Different Reason

We may never know why we are created in His image, and we may not really need to know. But just maybe the answer is that He loves us.

I can hear it now—the retort that the Creator can’t possibly love His creation. After all, look at the world and see the suffering throughout history. We are born and we die, and in between is turmoil and strife, with our best hope being a painless death. If love is the reason, then why the evil loosed upon us?

The Creator’s love is preposterous to us, given what we see in the world.