Excerpt from chapter three in: A Catholic Response
to the New Age Phenomenon by the Irish Theological Commission in 1994.
One of
the very disturbing aspects of trance channelling is the phenomenon of psychic
healing. In her book The Beautiful Side of Evil Johanna Michaelsen
testifies to have been involved as an aide to a person involved in psychic
healing. She claims to have witnessed astounding events, that could only be
called 'miracles' to the onlooker. This raises the question of false miracles,
or miracles coming from an evil source. Operations were carried out that amazed
medical doctors, both as to the methods used, and the results achieved. The
channelled spirit communicated with all those present and controlled the
operations. Because this type of activity is not new or uncommon today, one
must question the source. Do we accept healing at any price? Where is this
power coming from? If it is not from God, do you want to allow some alien force
to invade your personality?
Elliot
Miller claims that 'Psychic healing has rapidly become accepted as a valid form
of therapy in the medical world.' He says that a survey done in 1981 showed that
fifty-eight per cent of medical school faculty members wanted psychic phenomena
included in psychiatric training. Pranic healing has also become very popular,
even among Christians. This is based on the Hindu concept of 'prana' or
'universal life energy' which flows through the body. In a trance-like state
the practitioner becomes a channel of universal life energy for the patient,
who assimilates this energy.
Since the 1960s
western civilisation has experienced great unrest. Combined with progress in
the fields of science and technology, great material wealth on the personal
front, and unparalleled exploration of space, there is deep personal and social
unease. The modern person is often unhappy. None of our achievements have
produced what we most need, peace of mind, and peace among nations, combined
with justice for the individual and society. The modern utopia has produced
family and social disintegration on a vast scale. Modern means of communication
have had the effect of isolating the individual, who feels lost in a world that
has become a global village.
Secular humanism,
atheistic materialism, rationalism and religious scepticism, which were so
popular in the early part of this century, left a great void in the human
heart. Unfortunately, our secular society did not look to God to fill this
void. Instead, it turned to eastern religions in search of a new mysticism. The
result was a flood of gurus who came to teach the west how to meditate. They
introduced yoga, transcendental meditation, mantras and related teachings, but
without reference to Christ, the Church, or revealed truth. Many Christians
have participated in these exercises, even thinking they could 'Christianise'
them by using Christian language to explain what is essentially non-Christian,
for example the use of so-called 'Christian' mantras, and putting Christian
explanations on yoga or TM practices. But these gurus taught the only thing
they knew, which is Hinduism, and the Hindu Pantheon.
This movement
coincided with a new interest in psychology, not as a science, but as a tool to
help solve personal problems. Thus,
encounter groups and self-help groups became very popular. The tendency has
been to turn away from the teaching of the Church to this new psychology to
find answers to life's problems, and to overcome the sense of powerlessness
experienced by many in today's world. To a considerable extent the Church's
moral teaching has been put to one side, while people seek secular answers to
life.
The problems of
the past thirty years have seen the Peace Movement, the Environmental Movement,
the Holistic Health Movement, the Human Potential Movement, the Women's
Movement and many other movements arise in response to the problems that
confront the 'global village'. Included among them is the New Age Movement.
[End of quote]
Miracles? What type of miracles would be most
acceptable as coming from a benevolent source? Surely miracles of healing. But
someone might ask, is Satan really able to heal? Does he possess the
creative life force that only belongs to God Himself? The answer is No, he does not possess that
ability to re-create soundness of body. But the situation is not that simple.
Satan is cunning. We remember listening to a lecture given by Edgar Trout in
1968, in which he said, “Satan heal? Look at it this way. Here’s a woman with a
terrible neck condition. She feels throttled all the time, and finds it
difficult to eat. She goes to a healer who speaks a load of mumbo-jumbo over
her, and hey presto! She’s released. Of course she’s released. What she didn’t
realise was that it was simple for the Devil, or one of his minions to take
their hands off her neck. If you don’t believe what I’m saying, read in Luke 13
about the woman who was bent double. What did the Lord say? ‘Woman, you are
released from your infirmity’, and she was straightway able to stand up
straight. In verse 16 the Lord said quite clearly that the woman had been bound
by Satan for 18 years.”
In 1 Tim.4:1 Paul
said, “The Spirit speaks expressly that in the last times some shall depart
from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons,
speaking lies in hypocrisy.” Two
comments here. First of all, seducing spirits are seductive, in other words
they draw you away by enticement, by flattery, by promising something pleasant,
in the same way that a woman of the world draws a man into her net by sensual
spoken language and sexual body language. In the second place, if lies are
being spoken in hypocrisy, one must remember that the Greek word upo-crisis means
“play acting.” This is the other angle that Satan uses. He dresses up in the
sort of clothing you would expect on a man of good reputation, and who might
belong to a church, for example. Paul spoke about him appearing as “an angel of
light.”
Finally in this
chapter, in 1 Thess.5:3 Paul said, “When they say ‘Peace and safety’ then
sudden destruction comes upon them, as labour pains to a woman with child, and
they shall not escape.” When do people
“say” peace and safety? When does it become a “saying”? Surely by chanting the “Peace prayer.” Paul
was not referring to Jews who have always greeted each other with “Shalom”
(=peace). He was speaking about some special “saying”, some time when the
prayer is more by nature of a mantra, an invocation to the Ascended Masters,
the fallen angels.