Other Isms

Nearly thirty years ago, while at college and as a new Christian, I came in contact with a clandestine Gnostic cult. After some investigation, I found the local group were adherents to -- The Urantia Book. During the early '90s, while briefly attending a local mega-church, I was surprised to find Urantia devotees sitting in the pews of this "evangelical" body! Since the church did not emphasis sound doctrine and the flock lacked discernment, the Urantia wolves were stealing sheep right out from underneath the leaders' noses. In the shadow of contemporary Hollywood movies like: Contact, Phenomenon, etc., the Urantia Movement continues to grow. What is the Urantia and what do they believe? Check out the following links: URANTIA and Urantia : The Great Cult Mystery.

Given the emphasis on extra-biblical revelations, is it possible that this group could soon join hands with other Gnostic-influenced groups such as the Vineyard, Faith-Word, and Kingdom Now, etc?

Dan S, 20 Jul 1997

I have just finished reading A Woman Rides the Beast, by Dave Hunt and found it invaluable in opening my eyes to the vast corruption within the Roman Catholic religion. I appreciate that the book is largely an exposé of the historical works and influence of Catholicism which gives us an understanding of its likely relation to the images of Revelation 17 but doesn't venture into grand speculations about the course or nature of future events.

As one who was raised and nurtured in non-Roman Catholic religious traditions (Methodism through high-school then various flavors of dispensationalism to the present) my understanding of Catholic doctrine was sketchy. In recent years I had come to realize that, though Catholics and Evangelicals use much of the same terminology (such as grace, justification, etc.), the meanings and application of these terms often vary greatly. Still, I was not fully aware of just how thoroughly Catholic tradition has succeeded in invalidating the entire work of Christ for the Catholic adherent.

It is nearly incomprehensible to me how such a work as ECT could come to fruition if Evangelical leaders would only dig beneath the surface toward understanding the teachings of Catholicism on such matters as transubstantiation, the progressive nature of salvation and, truly, any other Catholic doctrine. It appears to me that Catholic teaching has so corrupted God's truth that not a single Catholic doctrine, save that of the Trinity, would stand up to Biblical scrutiny. In light of this I wonder how such studied Biblical scholars of the Protestant and Evangelical traditions could be swept into the current of ecumenism that makes ECT a possibility.

What is the source of the deceptive power that has them in its grip? As my husband and I discussed this phenomenon, and a possible answer, we hit upon an issue that seems rarely addressed in this context and may shed some light on this mystery. We wonder to what extent the unchecked influence of women-wives and mothers-has played a role in creating spiritually emasculated men who are vulnerable to the siren call of "unity at any cost". Has the nature of genuine love been redefined by the sentimentalism of "silly women" (based upon the notion that nearly all conflict is unspiritual) and are these men, having imbibed the unmitigated influence of their matriarchal mothers and wives, now promoting this unbiblical, so-called love?

If one looks closely, it becomes evident that much of the course of religious history has been steered by the subtle (or not-so-subtle) influence of the women behind the scenes and the men who will not stand up to deceptions that are embraced by women. It's the Garden all over again: The woman is deceived by the Serpent and she bites; then she draws her husband into following her path. He is not deceived in the sense that she is-he knows better, or should-but (perhaps in the interest of domestic tranquility and the preservation of their sexual relationship) he bites anyway in willful disobedience to revealed truth. Devastation follows. In this context one has reason to wonder about some of the motivating factors behind the work of Charles Colson--whose wife is Catholic.

Now, the influence of women is certainly not the whole story in answer to the question, nor can the problem be pinned solely on matters of gender role inversion. But it does appear that these issues have had a greater effect than is generally recognized.

I just want to point out that, although all of the names I have read in association with the ECT documents are the names of men, women can't afford to indulge or comfort themselves with the notion that they are without blame in the matter. The attitudes they display and the manner in which they behave behind the scenes may have more of a deleterious effect than they care to see or admit. It's not just the mistresses of Popes and Bishops who will bear the burden of the feminine role in the downfall of the men and institutions they claim to love. Though today's women may be delighted to see the "unity" which arises from the efforts of their men in preaching a weakened, feminized gospel, I wonder to whom they will turn when it all crashes down around them; when they and their children become the victims of the tyrannical Universal Church they unwittingly helped to establish.

Unfortunately, I feel that the ministries of men such as James Dobson and Gary Smalley have contributed to the contemporary imbalance of idolizing women and the values they most strongly advocate. They appear to be leaders who have developed an unhealthy need of female adulation--falling short of the velvet steel character of the Lord Jesus, and while strong in many respects, they are impotent to provide protection from widespread doctrinal error so common today.

Though we do not advocate his answer as the solution to the problem of emasculated men, we have found Hardenbrook & Somerville's MISSING FROM ACTION, Conciliar Press, insightful.

Perhaps this sheds some additional light on another facet of the mystery of the Woman who rides the Beast.

Diane, 28 Aug 1999

Other Isms

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