Category Archives: Cults and Heresies

Unity School of Christianity

Leave a reply

Charles and Myrtle Fillmore were seekers after spiritual truth. Unfortunately they kept looking in the wrong direction. Myrtle was chronically sick, that is until she came under the influence of Mary Baker Eddy’s teachings and Christian Science. The affirmation that all sickness is an illusion and the belief that “I am a child of God and therefore I do not inherit sickness” reputedly healed her of tuberculosis. After this experience, she convinced her husband, Charles, to also come into the Christian Science fold. Continue reading →

Snapshot: Swedenborgianism

Leave a reply

You may not have heard of Emmanuel Swedenborg, but in his lifetime and for quite some time afterwards he was a man of renown. He was an 18th century genius, likely on par with Leonardo da Vinci. He was born in Sweden in 1688, the son of a Lutheran pastor. Early in life he was noted for great achievements in math, science and engineering. In 1724 he was appointed to a prominent government position on the Swedish Board of Mines.

But then in 1743 things began to change. Swedenborg began to have strange dreams and visions. He believed that ancient sages and religious figures were appearing to him. He supposedly had conversations with Jesus, Moses and other biblical figures. He went on spiritual journeys to heaven and hell. Angels reportedly showed him great spiritual truths. He also developed psychic powers, especially clairvoyance. Out of these visions he developed a unique brand of religious philosophy. This included a prophecy that there was coming a new era of universal spiritual understanding, which he called the New Jerusalem. Continue reading →

Snapshot: Cayce and the A.R.E.

Leave a reply

He was known as the “Sleeping Prophet” because his “readings” were given while he was in a sleep-like trance. These readings at first mainly concerned health issues, but eventually they began to deal with theology, spiritual matters, past lives, and moral teaching. There were also sporadic prophecies of future events—such as the prediction that the lost Continent of Atlantis would arise from the ocean sometime in 1968 or 69. This demure, humble man from Kentucky would come to be hailed as one of the greatest psychics and “prophets” of the 20th century. His name was Edgar Cayce. Continue reading →

Group Snapshot: Black Muslims

Leave a reply

Okay, you might want to sit down for this one… Here is the origin of the races of mankind. The black race is the direct creation of God/Allah. All living black men are direct descendents of a godly tribe called Shabazz. But as time progressed things began to go awry. The first mishap occurred 50,000 years ago when a mad scientist caused all black people’s hair to become kinky, just to cause them trouble. Years later another scientist named Yakub (the biblical Jacob) began experimenting with the creation of other races of people. He first created brown people, then red, then yellow. His last, and lowest creation, was the race of white men. White men were devils and full of evil. This creation occurred in the year 4004 B.C. The white devils were destined to rule the year for 6000 years, and then the rightful rule of the black race would be restored. The end of the 6000 years occurred in 1914. Continue reading →

Snapshot: Spiritualism/Spiritism

Leave a reply

It all officially began in 1848 in a small town called Hydesville, New York. It was there that three sisters of the Fox family began to experience unusual things. They heard strange rappings, which the Fox sisters believed were the manifestations of a departed spirit. They called this spirit “Mr. Splitfoot,” and believed that it was the ghost of a man who had been murdered in the house. Soon neighbors heard about the ghostly encounters and came to see what was going on. Within a short time an entire movement was born. It was called Spiritualism and its main focus was on communication with the dead. Continue reading →