Jesus Calling Inspired by a Channeled New Age Book!

January 14th, 2014 | Author: Lighthouse Trails Editors

 

 

God Calling is a book of messages reputedly delivered by Jesus Christ to two women in England in the 1930s.(1) The women referred to themselves as “The Two Listeners,” and the messages they received from “Jesus” were conveyed through an occult process known as spiritual dictation. This is when a spiritual entity conveys information from the spirit world to willing people who act as “channels.”

The Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs published by Harvest House Christian Publishers describes God Calling as a channeled New Age book. It explains that channeling is a form of mediumship and that this practice is expressly forbidden in the Bible (Deuteronomy 18: 9-12).

In the Encyclopedia chapter on channeling, in a section titled “Impersonations and Denials of Christianity,” the reader is warned that God Calling is “replete with denials of biblical teaching.”(2)
Numerous examples are cited. However, in an interview with the the Christian Broadcasting Network, Sarah Young clearly states that her journey into receiving messages from “Jesus” began with her reading of God Calling:

My journey began with a book (God Calling) written in the 1930s by two women who practiced waiting in God’s Presence, writing the messages they received as they “listened.”(3) (parenthesis in original)

In her Introduction to the original 2004 copyrighted edition of Jesus Calling [still on the market today], Sarah Young writes that she was inspired to receive personal messages from “Jesus” after reading God Calling. She describes God Calling as “a treasure to me” and emphasizes that her journey began with this channeled New Age book:

During that same year [1992], I began reading God Calling, a devotional book written by two anonymous “listeners.” These women practiced waiting quietly in God’s Presence, pencils and paper in hand, recording the messages they received from Him . . . [T]his little paperback became a treasure to me. It dove-tailed remarkably well with my longing to live in Jesus’ Presence.
The following year I began to wonder if I, too, could receive messages during my times of communing with God . . . I knew that God communicated with me through the Bible, but I yearned for more. Increasingly,  I wanted to hear what God had to say to me personally on a given day. I decided to listen to God with pen in hand, writing down whatever I believed He was saying.(4) (emphasis added)

Because of Sarah Young’s endorsement, God Calling has resurfaced in Christian bookstores and is now a popular “Christian” book in its own right. It is grievous that as a longstanding Christian, Sarah Young did not discern God Calling for what it is—an occult/metaphysical book filled with false teachings and advocating a number of spiritually dangerous New Age practices like channeling and spiritual dictation. Instead, she began to channel her own messages from “Jesus”—many of them with serious New Age implications. Now Jesus Calling and God Calling—often sitting side by side in Christian bookstores and other retail outlets—are bringing meditation, channeling, spiritual dictation, and New Age terminology into the church. Both of them with messages similarly arranged as a Christian devotional.  
           

Notes:
1. Two Listeners; Edited by A.J. Russell, God Calling (Grand Rapids, MI: A Spire Book published by Jove Publications Inc., for Fleming H. Revell, 2005), p. 5.
2.  John Ankerberg & John Weldon, Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1996), pp. 80, 103-104.
3. Q&A with Sarah Young, Author Profile, The Christian Broadcasting Network (http:www.cbn.com/entertainment/books/JesusCallingQA.aspx).
4. Sarah Young, Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2004), pp. Xl-Xll
To understand more about Jesus Calling and God Calling, read “Another Jesus” Calling by Warren S. Smith.

Posted in Book/Film Reviews, Book/Music Excerpts, Contemplative Practices, Contemplative Spirituality, New Age movement, Spiritual Deception, The New (False) Spirituality | Tags: "another jesus" calling, channeling, deception, emerging church, god calling, jesus calling, mysticism, New Age, sarah young, thomas nelson, Warren B. Smith

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