Allow me to introduce
to you the new Jesus. This isn't the Jesus Christ known to us from the pages of
the Holy Bible, rather, this Jesus is a new version cast into the arena of
international politics and global social change.
Wondering what I'm
talking about?
In the fall of 1999, I received a little book titled The Night Jesus Christ Returned To Earth, authored by Captain Tom A. Hudgens. In the late 1990's, while attending various conferences on international affairs, I had the opportunity of listening to Mr. Hudgens present his views on "world order" and global citizenship. At that time, Mr. Hudgens was President and CEO of the Association to Unite the Democracies - an organization dedicated to the advancement of global government by specifically working towards the unification of leading democratic countries - so his views carried a decidedly internationalist flavor. Not surprisingly, so too does the Jesus character of Hudgens' book.
In his
Forward, Hudgens writes, "In this book I have intentionally put words into
Jesus' mouth. Whether the words came directly to me from Him or that the words
are my own invention is debatable" [1]. Furthermore, Hudgens draws out a
challenge, "If what I have Jesus say in this book does not agree with what you
think He would say, I challenge you to write down what you think He would
endorse today" [2].
As a work of
fiction, the author portrays Jesus Christ as returning to Earth during the
Millennium Celebrations at Times Square in New York City. The year, 1999, is
only seconds away from closing.
"At the very moment that the white ball
should start its descent, a loud explosion scatters the ball into a million
pieces of confetti. In its place is Jesus Christ, descending and arriving at the
bottom for his triumphal return to Earth, not as described in the Book of
Revelation, but as He Himself had decided to make His entrance" [3].
At
this point in the book, Jesus explains why he appeared first in the United
States, and New York City more specifically:
1) America has the most
Christians,
2) The United Nations is headquartered in New York, and…
3)
The US is the "freest of all nations and the guarantor of freedom and human
rights" [4].
Jesus then asks "all citizens of the world to elect ten
disciples for me…" [5]. All of this is rather novel, especially given the fact
that the Jesus of the Bible always invited His disciples to follow Him - it was
not a matter of democracy, but of invitation and personal calling.
Hudgens then goes on to
describe what his version of Jesus "would endorse today."
1. A
stabilization of the United Nations and a call to global democracy [6].
2. A uniting of all democratic countries into a limited federal
republic; ie, a world government. In fact, this "Millennium Messiah" [my phrase]
makes numerous direct references to the Association to Unite the Democracies -
Hudgens' world government lobbying organization - it's agendas and ideas, and
it's importance in striving for a political, economic, and military unification
of like-minded nations [7].
3. That the European Union should become the
core group used to unite the democracies, and that other existing international
arrangements (such as NATO) be brought into the fold [8].
4. That "total
gun control" is necessary. In this regard, the National Rifle Association is
mentioned as a negative factor in America's political system [9].
5. A
calling to "sap the strength of the multinational corporations which are ruling
the world." Hudgens' Jesus explained that these multinational corporations are
"ruling the world" to the detriment of the poor [10]. [Author's note:
multinational corporations do exercise a considerable degree of power within
national economies, but an enhanced United Nations or some other centralist type
world government - which Hudgens suggests - would be akin to opening a Pandora's
Box of political and economic control over all peoples, be they rich, poor, or
middle class.]
6. A calling for population control and the necessity of
abortion in order to ensure the safety of the Earth's environment. Hudgens'
Jesus even tells us when life begins; "when the umbilical cord is severed."
Moreover, Jesus even goes so far as to tell his New York audience that, "I plan
to speak with the Pope about this matter" [11].
7. And, among other
things, Jesus brings religion into the picture by declaring, "Over time I
believe we can show that Christianity is compatible with all other religions. My
coming will help to solidify the religions" [12].
I understand that Mr.
Hudgens' name and organization are not recognized house-hold words. Few people
outside of World Federalist circles and global citizenship lobby groups will
have ever heard of either the individual or his association. And it's not that
his book The Night Jesus Christ Returned To Earth has been an influential
top-seller. Odds are, those who have the book are few and far-between.
So why bring
all of this up? Simply because these concepts represent a line of thinking found
within certain elements of the international community. And of this we need to
be aware.
Former United
Nations high-official, Robert Muller [not the FBI Robert Muller], readily preached and still advocates a new global order
which incorporates a politically internationalist New Age Jesus. In his 1982
book, New
Genesis: Shaping a Global Spirituality, Muller writes, "If Christ came
back to earth, his first visit would be to the United Nations to see if his
dream of human oneness and brotherhood had come true" [13].
In a section
of New Genesis titled "The Reappearance of Christ" [this chapter is a transcript
of a speech he gave at the Arcane School Conference, a New Age body directly
connected to Lucis Trust and the occult philosophies of Alice Bailey], Muller
spells out a lengthy yet revealing vision of "Christ" within a new world
paradigm.
"So everywhere I look - and I am not a theologian or a philosopher, I am just a United Nations official trying to make a little sense out of all this - everywhere I see the Christ's luminous messages. They are all still among us, they are coming again to the fore ever more potently. In the present global world they have to express themselves in the ecumenism of religions. The world's major religions in the end all want the same thing, even though they were born in different places and circumstances on this planet. What the world needs today is a convergence of the different religions in the search for and definition of the cosmic or divine laws which out to regulate our behavior on this planet. World-wide spiritual ecumenism, expressed in new forms of religious cooperation and institutions, would probably be closest to the heart of the resurrected Christ. I would wholeheartedly support the creation of an institutional arrangement in the UN or in UNESCO for a dialogue and cooperation between religions. There is a famous painting and poster which shows Christ knocking at the tall United Nations building, wanting to enter it. I often visualize in my mind another even more accurate painting: that of a United Nations which would be the body of Christ" [14].
Muller's vision didn't emerge from his own sense of spiritual understanding, it is the result of other peoples work - including the mystic Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (Muller devotes a chapter to Chardin in New Genesis) [15], and Alice Bailey, whose writings have heavily influenced the Robert Muller School program [16].
Chardin, a
highly controversial Catholic theologian, advocated the complete unification of
mankind, including,
1. The development of a common humanity-wide
consciousness [17].
2. A "new spiritual dimension" based on "universal
unification" [18], and the establishment of a universal human creed; "…a new
spirit for a new order" [19].
3. A complete economic, political, and
social planetary structure based on group thinking,
"...everything suggests that at the present time we are entering a peculiarly critical phase of super-humanisation. This is what I hope to persuade you of by drawing your atention to an altogether extraordinary and highly suggestive condition of the world round us, one which we all see and are subject to, but without paying attention to it, or at lease without understanding it: I mean the increasingly rapid growth in the human world of the forces of collectivisation.
The phenomenon calls for no detailed description. It takes the form of the all- encompassing ascent of the masses; the constant tightening of economic bonds; the spread of financial and intellectual associations; the totalisation of political regimes; the closer physical contact of individuals as well as nations; the increasing impossibility of being or acting or thinking alone - " [20] [italics in original].
4. Global unification
through supernatural powers; "Whether we wish it or not, Mankind is becoming
collectivised, totalised under the influence of psychic and spiritual forces on
a planetary scale" [21].
5. And an endorsement and longing for the United
Nations to flourish, even though it is still imperfect and will remain so until
complete social totalization is achieved [22].
Placing the capstone on
all of this is the ongoing and incomplete work of the New Age
Christ,
"And since Christ was born, and ceased to grow, and died,
everything has continued in motion because he has not yet attained the fullness
of his form. He has not gathered about Him the last folds of the garment of
flesh and love woven for him by his faithful. The mystical Christ has not
reached the peak of his growth...and it is the continuation of this engendering
that there lies the ultimate driving force behind all created activity...Christ
is the term of even the natural evolution of living beings" [23] [italics in
original].
Similar to Chardin, Alice Bailey - a leader in the early
Theosophical movement and founder of Lucifer Publishing Company, which later
morphed into Lucis Trust and has since spurred on a whole series of New Age
subsidiaries - taught that a transformed world was close at hand. And like
Chardin's "new spirit for a new order," Bailey writes in The Rays and The
Initiations, "Some day the minds of men - illuminated by the light of the soul -
will formulate the one universal religion, recognizable by all"
[24].
Expanding
this spiritual collective philosophy further, Bailey reveals that the new world
Christ will manifest himself physically, directing his will into the arena of
world politics, economics, and religion [25]. Even now, Bailey explains, the
apparent contradiction of national and international conflict is geared towards
this singular purpose - a "climax," a "point of tension" that "will eventually
prove to be the agent that will bring about a point of emergence" [26].
Muller,
Chardin, Bailey...each of these visionaries, and scores more, call out for a
restrucutred international political system, global economic change, and a
social transformation of the globe - all brought about by a New Age Messiah.
Which brings us full circle, coming face-to-face with Hudgens' Millennium Jesus
and Hudgens' challenge: what would Jesus endorse today?
Actually,
this isn't too hard to figure out. Hebrews 13:8 tells us that "Jesus Christ is
the same yesterday, today, and forever." Knowing this, it's fairly easy to
discern what Jesus Christ would endorse today; it's the same thing He endorsed
2000 years ago - an exclusive way to the Father (John 14:6) and that man is in
need of a Savior because man is a sinful creature (John
3:16-21).
But none of this bodes well in today's climate of global tolerance and
planetary correctness. Instead, a New Age Messiah is desired and anticipated,
one that is willing to embrace all religions and unite all nations.
Endnotes:
1. Captain Tom A. Hudgens, The Night Jesus
Christ Returned To Earth (Denver, CO: BILR Corporation, 1999, ISBN
0-937177-01-6), Forward.
2. Ibid., Forward.
3. Ibid., p.35.
4. Ibid.,
p.36.
5. Ibid., p.37.
6. Ibid., p.40.
7. Ibid., pp.41-43.
8.
Ibid., p.44.
9. Ibid., p.47.
10. Ibid., p.51.
11. Ibid., pp.52,
87.
12. Ibid., p.85.
13. Robert Muller, New Genesis: Shaping A Global
Spirituality (Anacortes, WA: World Happiness and Cooperation, 1993/1982,
ISBN 1-880455-04-8), p.19.
14. Ibid., pp.126-127.
15. Ibid.,
pp.159-168.
16. See Gary Kah's book, The New World Religion
(Noblesville, IN: Hope International Publishing, 1999, ISBN 0-9670098-0-4),
pp.162-184.
17. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Future of Man (New York, NY:
Harper & Row, 1959/1964), p.56.
18. Ibid., p.62.
19. Ibid.,
p.79.
20. Ibid., pp.117-118.
21. Ibid., p.201.
22. Ibid.,
pp.267-268.
23. Ibid., 320.
24. Alice Bailey, The Rays and The
Initiations (New York, NY: Lucis Publishing Company, 1960), p.594.
25.
Ibid., see Section Two, pp.556-661.
26. Ibid., p.623.
