The article by Marcia Montenegro, “Did They Go to Heaven? Red Flags on “After Death” Film from Angel Studios, is in the online Midwest Christian Outreach Journal.
The idea is that who you think you are is not actually who you are, but is a construct. This supposedly opens the way for one to be free and construct a “new you.” But this is a classic cult technique also found in New Age and other esoteric teachings. Keep in mind that Erhard, the founder of Landmark (originally est), had been involved in Scientology, one of the most quintessential cults in existence and masters at mind manipulation, as well as being influenced by Zen Buddhism.
Heiser avers that Gen. 1:26 means that man is made not only in God’s image but also in the image of the beings of the divine council. This is why, asserts Heiser, it says “Let us.” The “us” includes the spiritual heavenly residents who are also made in God’s image.
Heiser states in a footnote that the Israelites believed that the stars were “animate divine beings” (24), who are the beings of the divine council. This view is promoted in Bible Project videos Spiritual Beings and The Divine Council done with Dr. Heiser. In the video, Heiser states that the biblical authors see these stars as spiritual beings who are “images of God.” This links with Heiser’s teaching that man is made in the image of the Divine Council (52) because the gods of the Divine Council also are image-bearers of God.
This renders humans less than a unique creation, whereas scripture strongly emphasizes the unique status of man. It would also affect man’s relationship with God because it would denote that man has or should have some kind of relationship with the spiritual beings in heaven as we do with God.
Spirituality is a Package Deal It is crucial in understanding the New Age to know that it sees everything in a spiritual way, from a plastic container (“bad energy, low […]
This article is on the site of the Christian Research Journal which published it on Jan. 18, 2011
PRIOR TO READING THE BOOK, Emotionally Healtlhy Spirituality, I had been asked for a few years about the author, Peter Scazzero, former pastor of New Life Fellowship Church in Queens, […]
Why “naked” in the title? That is simple. When one removes the mystical language and the false data about the Enneagram, the book is left naked. That is, once this material is removed, there would be nothing left but blank pages. As it is, this book is an example of the dangers that come with the Enneagram I have been warning about: Contemplative Spirituality, Panentheism, and possibly Perennial Wisdom (see info & links on authors toward the end). This book is all of these dangers on steroids.
The original video of Tim Mackie’s talk at Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon, “Prayer and Paradise,” dated Oct. 7, 2022, was the basis for the first version of this article, […]
Marcia Montenegro is a former Certified professional astrologer, former teacher of astrology, former President of the Atlanta Astrological Society, and former Chairperson of the Atlanta Board of Astrology Examiners […]
I have known that many New Age-friendly programs fly under the radar in the schools by coming through as part of SEL (Social Emotional Learning). This allows practices like Mindfulness […]