Attitudinal Therapy-A Course in Miracles
| By: Dr. John Ankerberg, Dr. John Weldon; ©1999 |
| A brief “At A Glance” look at these two “New Age” related practices, and their dangers. |
Contents
Info At A Glance
Description
A Course in Miracles/Attitudinal Therapy is the alleged regulation or maintenance of physical, mental, and/or spiritual “health” by learning “proper” mental attitudes. For example, A Course in Miracles is a daily, one-year New Age occult devotional, allegedly revealed by Jesus Christ Himself who claims He will personally, divinely inspire readers to “complete the atonement.” The main purpose here is to help readers live daily “miracles,” i. e., to experience daily spiritual growth toward the restructuring of one’s perceptions about one’s self and the world. This involves revising one’s worldview into conformity with a New Age, Hindu belief, and the simultaneous unlearning and undermining of the “evil” beliefs of orthodox Christianity.
Founder
The examples cited in [The Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs] were received through spiritistic revelations by the late atheistic psychologist Helen Schucman and the late well-known channeler Jane Roberts.
How does it claim to work?
Because the spirit, mind, and body are interrelated, “proper” mental attitudes may influence the entire person toward desired spiritual, psychological, and/or physical goals.
Scientific evaluation
The claims of New Age Attitudinal Therapy have never been demonstrated.
Examples of occult potential
Adopting New Age philosophy; altered states of consciousness; encountering spiritistic revelations and contacts.
Major problem
Mental attitudes are gradually restructured to harmonize with a New Age/ spiritistic worldview.
Biblical/Christian evaluation
The forms of Attitudinal Therapy examined in [The Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs] are from medium Jane Roberts’ The Nature of Personal Reality, and the three-volume text, A Course in Miracles. These materials comprise occult revelations, and were produced by means that the Bible forbids. (Deuteronomy 18:9-12). Cultivating occult or unbiblical attitudes toward life is not in harmony with scriptural purposes but is spiritually dangerous.
For example, the Bible teaches the opposite of what the Course teaches on almost every subject. To illustrate, Scripture teaches, “All are not workers of miracles, are they? All do not have gifts of healings, do they?” (1 Corinthians 12:29-30, NASB). But the Course teaches that everyone is a worker of miracles and a spiritual healer. However, the basic purpose of these “miracles” is to unlearn orthodox Christianity, especially the belief in Christ’s atonement for sin. When Course users “participate in the atonement” they learn they are not separate from God, but one essence with Him. The introduction and chapter 1 of Course declare, “This is A Course in Miracles. It is a required course….Miracles are everyone’s right….Each day should be devoted to miracles….Miracles rearrange perception….Miracles enable you to heal the sick and raise the dead because you made sickness and death yourself, and can therefore abolish both….This places you under the atonement principle where perception is healed. Until this has occurred, knowledge of the Divine Order is impossible….When the Atonement has been completed…every member of the family of God [all humanity] must return [into God]….A sense of separation from God is the only lack you really need to correct….This is a course in mind training” (pages 1-13)
Potential dangers
The adopting of occult philosophy and practice in the guise of physical, mental, and spiritual enlightenment or health, leading to physical, psychological or spiritual problems.
