"My salvation comes
from me. It cannot come from anywhere else." ... Within me is the world's
salvation and my own." (Workbook, Lesson 70, p120)
During an October 1994 lecture on "Discernment" given at Holy Cross Church, Rumson, N.J., Fr. Groeschel stated that he believed that Helen Shucman's experience with the channeled "spirit" was possibly a true diabolic manifestation.
Analysis and presentation by Edward
R. Hryczyk
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The
text of the book "A Course in Miracles" is the product of seven years
of trance spirit channeling of a Mrs. Helen Schucman. The spirit that channeled
a "new gospel" to Mrs. Schucman claimed to be Jesus Christ. The
"spirit" made contact with her to correct errors in Sacred Scripture,
and the teachings of the Church. The "spirit" that channeled through
Mrs. Schucman wrote that Sacred Scripture was in error in teaching us that sin
separates us from God, and that Jesus Christ did not die on the cross for our
sins. The book "A Course in Miracles" contains a Text (the
dictation's of Mrs. Schucman), a Student Workbook, and an Instructors Manual
(1).
Mrs. Schucman, a Columbia University
professor and psychologist, was an acquaintance of Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel,
C.F.R. (seen on EWTN). Fr. Groeschel gave a eulogy at her funeral. Fr.
Groeschel wrote (2), "This woman who had written so eloquently that
suffering really did not exist spent the last two years of her life in the
blackest psychotic depression I have ever witnessed." Fr. Groeschel is a
holy, practical, wise, no nonsense priest, and psychologist. During an October
1994 lecture on "Discernment" given at Holy Cross Church, Rumson,
N.J., Fr. Groeschel stated that he believed that Helen Shucman's experience
with the channeled "spirit" was possibly a true diabolic
manifestation. Fr. Groeschel's experience as a psychologist and priest included
being called upon by his Bishop to investigate reported diabolic manifestations
in his New York City diocese. In the lecture Fr. Groeschel described one
experience ‹ called as an exorcist ‹ where he witnessed objects unexplainably
being thrown about a room. At the end of a lengthy discussion he attributed
that particular experience to paranormal manifestations ‹ but not diabolic in
nature (3). Fr. Groeschel is not easily inclined to attribute any experience to
the diabolic. The possible diabolic origin in the spirit channeling of Helen
Schucman was one exception given by Fr. Groeschel. Fr. Groeschel's suspicions
find support in Sacred Scripture. Helen Schucman's "channeled spirit"
denies that our Lord Jesus Christ came to the earth in the flesh. An abstract
of "the Course" can be written based solely on two lines of the
"spirit" channeled writings. Chapter 8, Section VII, paragraph 7,
page 152 states:
"The Bible says, "The Word (or
thought) was made flesh." Strictly speaking this is impossible, since it
seems to involve the translation of one order or reality into another."
Contrast the "spirits"
channeled words to the inspired words of St. John (1 John 4:1-3):
" Beloved, do not believe every
spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false
prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God:
every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit
of anti-christ, of which you heard that it was coming, and now it is in the
world already."
To further stress the assertion to a
"student" of "the Course" that Jesus Christ was but an
illusion the accompanying Manual For Teachers, page 87, Clarification of Terms,
Section 5, "Jesus-Christ", paragraph 2 states: " The name of
Jesus is the name of one who was a man but saw the face of Christ in all his
brothers and remembered God. So he became identified with Christ, a man no
longer, but one with God. The man was an illusion, for he seemed to be a
separate being, walking by himself, within a body that appeared to hold his
self from Self, as illusions do."
The "channeled spirit" was not
from God.
On page 186 of the Text the
"spirit" writes, "I do not bring God's message with deception,
and you will learn that you always receive as much as you accept."
One does find truth in the writings of
"the Course." The following quote would be humorous if it were not
for the sad ending of Mrs. Schucman's life, and the influence "the
Course" has had on thousands of individuals. Chapter 9, Section IV, paragraph
8, of the Text, page 170 states: "Anyone who elects a totally insane guide
must be totally insane himself." Chapter 25, Section VII, paragraph 8, of
the Text, page 533, again states: "It would be madness to entrust
salvation to the insane."
The writing style of "the
Course" is very confusing ‹ but at the same time in some way intellectual
and emotionally seductive. The writings may start with a beautiful, seemingly
inspired truth and than will slowly drift to confusion ‹ logically ending up
with conclusions that are contrary to Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the
Church.
The course is "Gnostic" in
teaching and practice. The writings deny the reality of physical creation (4).
The course acknowledges the need for a novice student to receive training in
"the Course" by a teacher that has already received some
enlightenment by studying "the Course." A separate teacher's guide
forms part of "the Course." As with all "New Age"
teachings, seminars are provided ‹ for a fee ‹ to help the individual advance
in spirituality.
Some of the beliefs, as written in
"the Course" are:
a.
REALITY: Reality is illusory.
(1.) From Manual, page 85, "The
world you see is an illusion of a world. God did not create it, for what He
creates must be eternal as Himself" (Manual, p85).
(2.) "And therefore all your sins
have been forgiven because they carried no effects at all. And so they were but
dreams" (Manual, p87).
(3.) "Forgiveness through the Holy
Spirit lies in looking beyond error from the beginning, and thus keeping it
unreal for you" (Text, p169).
b.
CREATION/TRINITY: The writings teach that God and His creation are one.
(1.) "There is no separation of God
and His creation." (Text, p147)
(2.) "If you are part of one you
must be part of the other, because they are one. The Holy Trinity is holy
because It is One. If you exclude yourself from this union, you are perceiving
the Holy Trinity as separated" (Text, p146).
(3.) "Creation is your will because
it is His" (Text, p196).
c.
JESUS CHRIST'S ORIGIN: The writings state that Jesus Christ was created (made
not begotten).
(1.)"God would not have us be alone
because He does not will to be alone. That is why He created His Son, and gave
him the power to create with Him" (Text, p150).
d.
SALVATION: We do not need a savior. Salvation is nothing more than right
mindedness. We are the source of our own salvation.
(1.) "Never forget that the Sonship
is your salvation, for the Sonship is your Self. As God's creation It is yours,
and belonging to you It is His. Your Self does not need salvation, but your
mind needs to learn what salvation is." (Text, p200).
(2.) "My holiness is my
salvation." (Workbook, Lesson 58, p97)
(3.) "My salvation comes from me.
It cannot come from anywhere else." ..."My salvation cannot come from
any of these things. My salvation comes from me and only me."....."My
salvation comes from me. Nothing outside of me can hold me back. Within me is
the world's salvation and my own." (Workbook, Lesson 70, p120)
(4.) "Whenever two Sons of God
meet, they are given another chance at salvation." (Text, P142)
(5.) "We cannot be separated. Whom
God has joined cannot be separated, and God has joined all His Sons with
Himself." (Text, p150)
(6.) "Yet all loss comes only from
misunderstanding. Loss of any kind is impossible." (Text, p152)
(7.) "He will teach you how to see
yourself without condemnation, by learning how to look on everything without
it. Condemnation will then not be real to you, and all your errors will be
forgiven." (Text, p168)
e.
GOD: God is your identity, you will be like God.
(1.) " The recognition of God is
the recognition of yourself. There is no separation of God and his
creation." (Text, p147)
(2.) "God's Name is holy, but no
holier than yours. To call upon his Name is but to call upon your own."
(Workbook, p342)
(3.) "My decision cannot overcome
yours, because yours is as powerful as mine. If it were not so the Sons of God
would be unequal." (Text, p145)
(4.) "Our creations are as holy as
we are, and we are the Sons of God Himself, as holy as He is." (Text,
p150)
(5.) "God Himself is incomplete
without me." (Text, p177)
(6.) "God is not jealous of the
gods you make, but you are." (Text,p186)
f.
SELF: We are sinless and are like God.
(1.) "My true Identity is so
secure, so lofty, sinless, glorious, and great, wholly beneficent and free from
guilt, that Heaven looks to It to give it light." (Workbook, Lesson 225,
p403)
(2.) "You do not know yourself,
because you do not know your Creator. You do not know your creations because
you do not know your brothers, who created them with you.... He is the
co-creator with God and you." (Text, p137)
(3.) "Glory to God in the highest,
and to you because He has so willed it." (Text, p141)
(4.) "What God and His Sons create
is eternal, and this only is their joy." (Text, p148)
(5.) "God does not contradict
Himself, and His Sons, who are like Him, cannot contradict themselves or Him.
Yet their thought is so powerful that they can even imprison the mind of God's
Son." (Text, p149)
(6.) "God gave you the function to
create in eternity." (Text, p168)
g.
LAST JUDGMENT: Have no fear of God's Judgment
(1.) "Do not fear the Last
Judgment, but welcome it and do not wait, for the ego's time is
"borrowed" from your eternity."..... "The Second Coming is
the awareness of reality, not its return." (Text, p170)
In dealing with individuals who teach
and follow "the Course" one must realize that they probably believe
they are truly seeking God in their studies of "the Course." Those
trying to follow the teachings would consciously reject all evil.
Unfortunately, their beliefs are "Gnostic" and they probably consider
a Catholic's devotion to the Faith , given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ, as
unenlightened medieval superstition to be rejected by all in this enlightened
"new age." The teaching's in "the Course" are particularly
attractive to individuals who have fallen away from the faith and find
themselves seeking something to fill their spiritual void.
Reading Sacred Scripture is nourishment
for the soul, since the words have been inspired by the Holy Spirit. Taking the
words of "the Course" into one's heart will lead to a slow spiritual
death. It is a book to be avoided at all costs. Unfortunately celebrities such
has John Denver have been taken in by the book and have spread its influence.
NOTES:
(1) The quotations are taken from
"The Course in Miracles", published by the Foundation for Inner
Peace, P.O. Box 1104, Glen Ellen, CA 95442, second edition, second printing,
August 1992.
(2) Page 79 of, "A Still, Small
Voice, A Practical Guide On Reported Revelations", by Fr. Benedict J.
Groeschel, C.F.R., Ignatius Press 1993
(3) For an good discussion of the
para-normal see Fr. Groeschel's video series "Religious Experiences",
distributed by the Daughter's of Saint Paul.
(4) The Spiritual Counterfeits Project, SPC Journal, Vol 7,
No 1, 1987 analyzes the teaching found in "the Course" in an article
by Dean C. Halverson, "A Course in Miracles, Seeing Yourself as Sinless."
The SPC claims to be a non-denominational evangelical Christian organization;
the organization has demonstrated an anti-Catholic bias in its recent
publications.