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Spirit Channeling: Evaluating the Latest in New Age Spiritism
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Published January 1, 1988
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May 23, 2024
AN EVANGELICAL APOLOGIST REJECTS THE ‘CHANNELING’ CRAZE OF THE 80s/90s
Brooks Alexander is one of the founders of the Spiritual Counterfeits Project (SCP), "an evangelical ministry and think tank that studies new religions and spiritual movements." He retired from active participation in SCP in 1998.
He wrote in this 1988 booklet, “‘Bashar’ is an extraterrestrial. ‘Mafu’ is a highly evolved beinig from the seventh dimension… ‘Ramtha’ is a 35,000-year-old ascended master… ‘Lazaris’ is a disembodied personality with no incarnations… These are not characters from Superhero Comics or a ‘Star Trek’ episode. They are ‘entities.’ And these entities, with others like them, have helped to create a modern mass-mania---the so-called channeling craze.” (Pg. 5)
He continues, “these entities … are mainly interested in dispensing their philosophy of life to human beings; and so they operate through other humans... temporarily assuming control of the body during a trance state. People who subject themselves to such entrancement and control are called ‘channelers’ or simply ‘channels.’ … As one channel put is, ‘Channeling is a form of voluntary possession.’” (Pg. 6)
He recounts, “the current wave of channeled publications was set in motion by the late Jane Roberts. During the early 1970s, Roberts was channel for the entity ‘Seth,’ author of ‘Seth Speaks’ and numerous other books… The Seth books were a milestone because they were produced by Prentice-Hall, a respected general-market publisher. Earlier spirit scribes had mostly been printed by obscure specialty houses. When the Seth venture proved popular, more such writings began to appear from major publishers.” (Pg. 8)
He points out, “Pursuing channeled guidance can be expensive. And supplying it can be rewarding. A case in point is Lazaris, channeled by Jach Pursel… It costs $275 to partake of Lazaris’s wisdom at a weekend seminar. Between 600 and 800 people fill each session… Lazaris has a two-year waiting list for private consultations, at $93 per hour…[Pursel] hasn’t refused the sizeable income Lazaris makes: ‘You don’t have to have a miserable life to be spiritual. You don’t have to sacrifice everything for your spirituality. You can have everything---and be spiritual!’” (Pg. 11)
He records, “The origins of modern spiritism can be traced to the activities of the Fox sisters in upstate New York in 1849… The next wave of spiritism began in the 1870s, a decade that also saw the founding of the … Theosophical Society… It was during this period that the general interest in mediums and spirits sparked efforts to investigate the matter scientifically. The Dialectical Society was formed in London in 1869, and the Society for Psychical research at Cambridge in 1882.” (Pg. 12-13)
He states, “Many people assume they accept the Bible without having read it for themselves. Thus they are easily misled to believe that certain entities are the original New Testament figures returning to write a sequel to Scripture. Jesus himself is claimed as the source of ‘A Course in Miracles,’ a three-volume work that uses biblical terminology while actually distorting biblical doctrine.’ (Pg. 14)
He continues, “Public perception was brought to instant focus in January 1987, when ABC-TV aired Shirley MacLaine’s miniseries based on her own experience with channelers and entities. ‘Out On a Limb’ was a startling, prime-time testimonial to MacLaine’s occult conversion and her belief in spirit guides. Suddenly the subject intruded on our collective attention.” (Pg. 15)
He suggests, “What is the nature of channeled entities? … There seem to be four basic options: (1) the entitles are real and ae telling us the truth about themselves; (2) the entities are real and are lying to us; (3) the entities are a ‘dissociative reaction,’ a mental dysfunction unrecognized as such; (4) the entities are a conscious fraud for the purpose of gain. We can eliminate the first option because the entities’ claims are plainly at odds with the biblical view of reality… Thus, the full answer to our question could involve the second, third, and fourth options at various times and in various combinations. After all, deception and derangement are among the known tools of demonic activity.” (Pg. 16-17)
He notes, “The entities’ primary took is their teaching… In simple language, fans of channeling adopt the understanding of God and reality that the entities teach them… From ancient times, spiritism has consistently been the source of communications that embody the essence of occult philosophy: Death is unreal; all is One; we are Divine Beings and can control Reality with our powers of Mind… Today, that message is merchandised. Botho message and messenger are commodities… to be packaged, promoted and sold.” (Pg. 19-21)
He notes, “The Bible’s rejection of spiritism is stated early and often. For Moses and the prophets, concourse with spirits was a horror and an abomination…. The Old Testament unfailingly testifies that all idolatrous worship is demon worship and fellowship with unclean spirits.” (Pg. 23) He continues, “But can we apply the Bible’s attitudes to modern spirit contact?... The answer is yes… chiefly because of its effect on people. The teachings of spiritism tend to dull a person’s ability to comprehend God or respond to the gospel of salvation.” (Pg. 26-27)
He summarizes, “the Bible treats spiritism as more than an act of personal culpability. Spirit contact is a symptom that goes beyond the individual who practices it and becomes a sign of social decline… widespread spiritism represents the final stage of a long process of spiritual decay. It is the terminal phase of people’s flight from God. All sin provokes God’s judgment… It is no wonder, then, that spiritism provokes the rejection and judgment of God.” (Pg. 29-30)
He concludes, “We are returning to a spirituality that is natural to fallen humankind… The twilight is ending. Night is descending. And angels of light come dancing in the dark.” (Pg. 31)
Channeling is virtually DEAD, nowadays. (A few mediums still show up on TV, though.) But this concise booklet is still a useful resource for Christians researching this topic.
Brooks Alexander is one of the founders of the Spiritual Counterfeits Project (SCP), "an evangelical ministry and think tank that studies new religions and spiritual movements." He retired from active participation in SCP in 1998.
He wrote in this 1988 booklet, “‘Bashar’ is an extraterrestrial. ‘Mafu’ is a highly evolved beinig from the seventh dimension… ‘Ramtha’ is a 35,000-year-old ascended master… ‘Lazaris’ is a disembodied personality with no incarnations… These are not characters from Superhero Comics or a ‘Star Trek’ episode. They are ‘entities.’ And these entities, with others like them, have helped to create a modern mass-mania---the so-called channeling craze.” (Pg. 5)
He continues, “these entities … are mainly interested in dispensing their philosophy of life to human beings; and so they operate through other humans... temporarily assuming control of the body during a trance state. People who subject themselves to such entrancement and control are called ‘channelers’ or simply ‘channels.’ … As one channel put is, ‘Channeling is a form of voluntary possession.’” (Pg. 6)
He recounts, “the current wave of channeled publications was set in motion by the late Jane Roberts. During the early 1970s, Roberts was channel for the entity ‘Seth,’ author of ‘Seth Speaks’ and numerous other books… The Seth books were a milestone because they were produced by Prentice-Hall, a respected general-market publisher. Earlier spirit scribes had mostly been printed by obscure specialty houses. When the Seth venture proved popular, more such writings began to appear from major publishers.” (Pg. 8)
He points out, “Pursuing channeled guidance can be expensive. And supplying it can be rewarding. A case in point is Lazaris, channeled by Jach Pursel… It costs $275 to partake of Lazaris’s wisdom at a weekend seminar. Between 600 and 800 people fill each session… Lazaris has a two-year waiting list for private consultations, at $93 per hour…[Pursel] hasn’t refused the sizeable income Lazaris makes: ‘You don’t have to have a miserable life to be spiritual. You don’t have to sacrifice everything for your spirituality. You can have everything---and be spiritual!’” (Pg. 11)
He records, “The origins of modern spiritism can be traced to the activities of the Fox sisters in upstate New York in 1849… The next wave of spiritism began in the 1870s, a decade that also saw the founding of the … Theosophical Society… It was during this period that the general interest in mediums and spirits sparked efforts to investigate the matter scientifically. The Dialectical Society was formed in London in 1869, and the Society for Psychical research at Cambridge in 1882.” (Pg. 12-13)
He states, “Many people assume they accept the Bible without having read it for themselves. Thus they are easily misled to believe that certain entities are the original New Testament figures returning to write a sequel to Scripture. Jesus himself is claimed as the source of ‘A Course in Miracles,’ a three-volume work that uses biblical terminology while actually distorting biblical doctrine.’ (Pg. 14)
He continues, “Public perception was brought to instant focus in January 1987, when ABC-TV aired Shirley MacLaine’s miniseries based on her own experience with channelers and entities. ‘Out On a Limb’ was a startling, prime-time testimonial to MacLaine’s occult conversion and her belief in spirit guides. Suddenly the subject intruded on our collective attention.” (Pg. 15)
He suggests, “What is the nature of channeled entities? … There seem to be four basic options: (1) the entitles are real and ae telling us the truth about themselves; (2) the entities are real and are lying to us; (3) the entities are a ‘dissociative reaction,’ a mental dysfunction unrecognized as such; (4) the entities are a conscious fraud for the purpose of gain. We can eliminate the first option because the entities’ claims are plainly at odds with the biblical view of reality… Thus, the full answer to our question could involve the second, third, and fourth options at various times and in various combinations. After all, deception and derangement are among the known tools of demonic activity.” (Pg. 16-17)
He notes, “The entities’ primary took is their teaching… In simple language, fans of channeling adopt the understanding of God and reality that the entities teach them… From ancient times, spiritism has consistently been the source of communications that embody the essence of occult philosophy: Death is unreal; all is One; we are Divine Beings and can control Reality with our powers of Mind… Today, that message is merchandised. Botho message and messenger are commodities… to be packaged, promoted and sold.” (Pg. 19-21)
He notes, “The Bible’s rejection of spiritism is stated early and often. For Moses and the prophets, concourse with spirits was a horror and an abomination…. The Old Testament unfailingly testifies that all idolatrous worship is demon worship and fellowship with unclean spirits.” (Pg. 23) He continues, “But can we apply the Bible’s attitudes to modern spirit contact?... The answer is yes… chiefly because of its effect on people. The teachings of spiritism tend to dull a person’s ability to comprehend God or respond to the gospel of salvation.” (Pg. 26-27)
He summarizes, “the Bible treats spiritism as more than an act of personal culpability. Spirit contact is a symptom that goes beyond the individual who practices it and becomes a sign of social decline… widespread spiritism represents the final stage of a long process of spiritual decay. It is the terminal phase of people’s flight from God. All sin provokes God’s judgment… It is no wonder, then, that spiritism provokes the rejection and judgment of God.” (Pg. 29-30)
He concludes, “We are returning to a spirituality that is natural to fallen humankind… The twilight is ending. Night is descending. And angels of light come dancing in the dark.” (Pg. 31)
Channeling is virtually DEAD, nowadays. (A few mediums still show up on TV, though.) But this concise booklet is still a useful resource for Christians researching this topic.
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