'Jesus Calling' Inspired by an Occult/New Age Book
Warren B. Smith
PART ONE: GOD CALLING
God Calling is a channeled book that was delivered through an occult process known as spiritual dictation. As previously mentioned, I had this book on my bookshelf with all my other New Age/metaphysical books when I was involved in the New Age movement many years ago.
GOD CALLING IS a collection of messages presented in the form of a daily devotional. The messages were channeled through two women and could just as easily have been titled Jesus Calling because they were said to be dictated by Jesus Himself. The “Introduction” to God Calling states:
Not one woman but two have written this book; and they seek no praise. They have elected to remain anonymous and to be called “Two Listeners.” But the claim which they make is an astonishing one, that their message has been given to them, to-day, here in England, by The Living Christ Himself.1
A promotion on the front page of God Calling describes the book as “a mine of spiritual treasures.” And Sarah Young states in the “Introduction” to Jesus Calling that God Calling “became a treasure to me” and inspired her to see if she, too, could receive messages from Jesus.2 In an online interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Sarah Young also stated:
My journey began with a devotional book (God Calling) written in the 1930s by two women who practiced waiting in God’s Presence, writing the messages they received as they “listened.”3
This book that inspired Sarah Young is addressed in the Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs—a Christian work published in 1996 by Harvest House Publishers. The encyclopedia contains a thirty-four page chapter that warns about channeling. It explains that channeling is a form of mediumship and “is a practice forbidden (Deuteronomy 18:9- 12).”4 This Scripture specifically warns that “a consulter with familiar spirits” is an abomination unto the Lord. Also in this encyclopedia, under the heading titled “Impersonations and Denials of Christianity,” God Calling is cited as an example of a channeled New Age book “replete with denials of biblical teaching”5 as it “subtly encourages psychic development and spiritistic inspiration under the guise of Christ’s personal guidance . . . and often misinterprets Scripture.”6
God Calling is an example of what occult practitioners refer to as spiritual dictation. This is when a spiritual entity conveys information from the spirit world to a willing “channel” or “listener.” The channel usually speaks or writes what the spirit dictates. Many New Age teachings have been delivered in this way. In God Calling, “Jesus” told the Two Listeners:
You do well to remember your friends in the Unseen.7
I cannot bless a life that does not act as a channel.8
Be channels both of you.9
And while also seeming to denounce the practice of mediumship, “Jesus” told the Two Listeners to be mediums:
No man should ever be a medium for any spirit, other than Mine.10
This kind of New Age/metaphysical language is found throughout God Calling and its follow-up book God at Eventide: Companion Volume to God Calling.
PART TWO: JESUS CALLING
Sarah Young’s journey to writing Jesus Calling started with God Calling—a channeled New Age book delivered through the occult process of spiritual dictation. The fact that she called this book “a treasure” should give any discerning Christian reason to immediately question the authenticity of her book and her “Jesus.”
IN THE “INTRODUCTION” to Jesus Calling, Sarah Young wrote about her involvement with God Calling:
During that same year I began reading God Calling, a devotional book written by two anonymous “listeners.” These women practiced waiting quietly in God’s Presence, pencils and paper in hand, recording the messages they received from Him. The messages are written in first person, with “I” designating God. While I was living in Japan, someone had mailed this book to me from the U.S. I had not read it at that time, but I had held onto the book through two international moves. Six or seven years later, this little paperback became a treasure to me. It dove-tailed remarkably well with my longing to live in Jesus’ Presence.
The following year, I began to wonder if I, too, could receive messages during my times of communing with God. I had been writing in prayer journals for years, but that was one-way communication: I did all the talking. I knew that God communicated with me through the Bible, but I yearned for more. Increasingly, I wanted to hear what God had to say to me personally on a given day. I decided to listen to God with pen in hand, writing down whatever I believed He was saying.1 (emphasis added)
For a Christian not to recognize God Calling as an occult/New Age book but, rather, to describe it as “a treasure to me” should raise some serious red flags. This brings to mind Jesus’ words in Matthew:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:21)
It is grievous that, as a longstanding Christian, Sarah Young did not see God Calling for what it is—an occult/metaphysical book advocating a number of spiritually dangerous New Age practices and concepts. Now Jesus Calling and God Calling are bringing meditation, channeling, and spiritual dictation into the Christian church, both with messages similarly arranged as a devotional.
* Excerpted from “Another Jesus”Calling How Sarah Young’s False Christ is Deceiving the Church by Warren B. Smith
ENDNOTES
PART ONE: GOD CALLING
1. Two Listeners; Edited by A. J. Russell, God Calling (Grand Rapids, MI: A Spire Book published by Jove Publications Inc., for Fleming H. Revell, 2005), p. 5.
2. Sarah Young, Jesus Calling, op. cit., pp. XI-XII.
3. Q & A with Sarah Young, Author Profile, The Christian Broadcasting Network (http://www.cbn.com/entertainment/books/JesusCallingQA.aspx).
4. John Ankerberg & John Weldon, Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1996), p. 80.
5. Ibid., p. 103.
6. Ibid., p. 104.
7. Two Listeners, God Calling, op. cit., p. 145. 8. Ibid., p. 29.
9. Ibid., p. 17.
10. Ibid., p. 53.
PART TWO: JESUS CALLING
1. Sarah Young, Jesus Calling, op. cit., pp. XI-XII.
ENDNOTES
PART ONE: GOD CALLING
1. Two Listeners; Edited by A. J. Russell, God Calling (Grand Rapids, MI: A Spire Book published by Jove Publications Inc., for Fleming H. Revell, 2005), p. 5.
2. Sarah Young, Jesus Calling, op. cit., pp. XI-XII.
3. Q & A with Sarah Young, Author Profile, The Christian Broadcasting Network (http://www.cbn.com/entertainment/books/JesusCallingQA.aspx).
4. John Ankerberg & John Weldon, Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1996), p. 80.
5. Ibid., p. 103.
6. Ibid., p. 104.
7. Two Listeners, God Calling, op. cit., p. 145. 8. Ibid., p. 29.
9. Ibid., p. 17.
10. Ibid., p. 53.
PART TWO: JESUS CALLING
1. Sarah Young, Jesus Calling, op. cit., pp. XI-XII.