Cult Catalog

CATALOG OF THE CULTS

Ahmadiyya Movement - Founder: Hazat Mirza . "Jesus was not a partner in the Godhead, as was not Jacob. Both of them were beloved prophets of God" (True Christianity and How it Leads to Islam).

American Atheist Center - Founder: Madalyn Murray O'Hair . "There is no God, thus Jesus is not the Son of God."

Ananda Marga Yoga - Leader: Shrii Shrii Anandamurti . Jesus is considered God, but there is no Trinity. "Be constantly absorbed in the thought of God and you too will become God." (Baba's Grace-Discourses of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti).

Anthroposophical Society - Leader: Rudolf Steiner . "According to Steiner, Jesus of Nazareth was just an ordinary man until, at the age of thirty, he received the Christ-Essence during his baptism at the Jordan." (Spiritual Counterfeits Project in Berkeley, CA : Letter, Feb, 1977) Steiner was an occult medium who interpreted the Bible through clairvoyance.

Arica - Leader: Oscar Ichazo . "The point of Arica is enlightenment, man's transcending from the state of ego into what's known as the void. This is a state of consciousness ... It's not God. It's God Consciousness." Aricans blend physical exercise and meditation. God is formless, thus Christ cannot be God (Awakening Ways to Psycho-Spiritual Growth, C. William Henderson).

Assemblies of Yahweh - . "John 2:19) is sometimes presented as evidence that Yahshua is the Almighty, that He is co-equal with His Father, and that He had the power to resurrect Himself. This, of course, is a false, trinitarian concept" (The Sacred Name Broadcaster, Lincoln Frost). "We find the trinitarian doctrine to be foreign to the Inspired Scriptures." (Doctrine #5).

Baha'i World Faith - . Baha'i, an independent world religion based on "a unique revelation of God," traces its roots to an early division within Islam. God, called by different names, is one but unknowable. Christ was a "manifestation" of God and a way to God, but not the ONLY way to God.

Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship - Leader: Bawa Muhaiyaddeen . "God is a secret and a mystery, but man is also a mystery. Only God can see God. So if man is to see God, he must become God. Man becomes God, and God becomes man. It's no big deal," says Bawa. (Psychology, April,1976).

Black Muslim - Leader: Wallace D. Fard (Allah-God) and Elijah Poole (Elijah Muhammad - Fard's prophet) . Also called "The Nation of Islam." Elijah Muhammad said that Jesus was "only a prophet and not the equal of Moses and Muhammad, and His religion was Islam, not the Christianity of the Pope of Rome." (Pittsburgh Courier, 1959).

Buddhism (Hinayana Buddhism and Mahayanna Buddhism) - . "In Hinayana Buddhism there is no god as we conceive of God ... The followers of Mahayanna Buddhism tend to deify Buddha. Their idea of God; However, has no such comprehensive attributes as has the Christian God" (Religions in a changing World, Howard F. Vos) This eliminates the possibility of Jesus as a deity.

Cabala (Kabbalah) - . Cabala is a system of Jewish Mystical thought which originated in Southern France and Spain in the 12th and 13th centuries. The Cabala doctrine of deity recognizes only two deities - the hidden god, the infinite great divine Nothing; and the dynamic god of religious experience (Spiritual Counterfeits Project).

Center for Spiritual Awareness - Leader: Roy Eugene Davis . Also called: Christian Spiritual Alliance. Buddha, Sri Krishna, and Jesus were enlightened souls. "The second coming of Jesus is a fanciful hope. The awakening of individuals to the realization of their own Christ-nature is what will liberate man and transform society" (Darshan: The vision of Light, Roy E. Davis). Jesus was a man who reached Christ-consciousness and was on earth to share the truth of this consciousness.

Children of God - Leader: David Brandt Berg (Moses David) . Started as a fundamentalist counter-culture ministry, but degenerated into belief in the occult, reincarnation, and sexual permissiveness. The COG believes that Berg is the ONLY end-time prophet; that the COG IS the remnant church of the last days; that its authority is absolute; and in the use of blasphemy, profanity, vulgarity, and pornography. (Moody Monthly July/August 1977).

Christian Scientist - Founder: Mary Baker Eddy . Jesus was a mere man who demonstrated the Christ (i.e. a divine idea). It doesn't matter whether Christ ever existed, and His blood doesn't cleanse from sin. (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, The First of Christ Scientist and Miscellany, both by Mary baker Eddy).

Church of the Living Word - Leader: John Robert Stevens . Also called: THE WALK. "Jesus Christ came to participate in humanity and make the bridge of communication so that God could communicate himself into our very beings. What He is, we become" (The Word Became Flesh, a Living Word Publication). According to Stevens, this begins with contemporary revelations which make the the Living Word (Christ) to the World. Although some acknowledgement is made of the inspiration and authority of the Scripture, in practice the source of teaching is current revelation, not the Bible. Stevens considers himself God's chief intercessor.

Church Universal and Triumphant - Leader: Elizabeth Claire Prophet . Also called: Summit International or Summit Lighthouse. The Church Universal and Triumphant is a mixture of eastern religions, Theosophy, Christianity, and many other things. Elizabeth is recognized as one of the two witnesses of Revelation 11. Her late husband and founder, Mark, is considered a man that had the Christ Consciousness within him. He was one of many who achieved the "God self" witness.

Dhyana-Mandiram - Leader: Pandit Usharbudh . "God is essentially formless ... God may manifest Himself- Herself-Itself in any form, at any time, at any place, on any planet ... Jesus may be accepted as one of the many incarnations of God." (Hinduism: An Introduction, Pandit Usharbudh and Yorke Crompton).

Divine Light Mission - Leader: Guru Maharaj Ji . Guru Ji is the Living Perfect Master. Jesus was the Perfect Master of His time, but Ji has replaced Him. Ji claims the world needs the knowledge of Reality, and he claims to be the source of that knowledge and of peace in the world, according to David J. Hesselgrave, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

ECKANKAR - Leader: Sri Darwin Gross . ECKANKAR says it is the wellspring and essence of all religions, philosophies, and sacred doctrines. It claims to be the way to God- realization via the "ancient science of soul travel." ECKANKAR makes the biblical God into a demon who as creator is responsible for the evil in the world and defines Christ as "god as all men are god" ("Eck World News, December, 1978, page 13).

Findhorn Foundation University of Light - Leaders: Peter and Eileen Caddy . "The Devic (Deva is a being of light) would emphasize that man has to do one thing to reverse the trend of events on the planet: he has to recognize within himself the Divinity and wholeness of which he is a part" (The Magic of Findhorn, Paul Hawken). They separate Jesus and Christ and appear to be panthiestic. The group, a form of spiritism, became famous because the Findhorn community in Scotland has a producing garden near the Arctic Circle which is supposedly taken care of by plant spirits.

Freemasonry - . "... We tell the sincere Christian that Jesus of Nazareth was but a man like us" ("Morals and Dogmas" by Albert Pike in How to Respond to the Lodge).

Hare Krishna - Founder: Chaitanya Mahaprabhu . Also called: International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). To the Krishnaite, the world is not real; it's illusion. Salvation comes by chanting the name of their god, Hare Krishna, at least 1,728 times daily. They believe in the literal interpretation of the Hindu scriptures, but they also accept the Bible as one of the scriptures. They consider Jesus one of their gurus.

"I AM" MOVEMENT - Leader: Guy Ballard (Pen Name: Godfrey Ray King) . Jesus, a man, developed the I AM/GOD SELF within himself. This almighty I Am presence is a pure reservoir of energy stationed over the head which can be drawn on at will. Jesus is seen as one of the many Ascended Masters. They do not recognize the Trinity. This cult is an off-shoot of the Theosophical Society. Its modern form is called the Summit Lighthouse or Church Universal and Triumphant. However, the "I Am" movement still exists as an independent organization (The 'I Am' Discourses, Saint Germain Press).

Iglesia Ni Cristo - Leader: Felix Manalo . "We believe in Jesus Christ, but we do not believe that He is True God. We believe in only one true god, the god of creation. Jesus Christ is a great savior and was commissioned by God to be the savior." ("Research Center Bulletin," Far East Broadcasting).

Inner Peace Movement - Leader: Rev. Francisco Coll, DD . A form of spiritualism and spiritism combining ESP, astro- projection, psychic phenomena, etc., they introduce seven levels of consciousness. Christ consciousness is the highest. Jesus had reached Christ Consciousness and taught this while on earth. Jesus was a man. They separate Jesus and Christ. God is impersonal and spoken of as The All, The Cosmos, and The Universe (Every Wind of Doctrine, Hobart Freeman).

Integral Yoga Institute - Founder: Swami Satchidananda . "There are not many gods; there is only One. And that One has no name, no form, no place. (Thus Christ is not God.) He is everywhere - in actuality, neither he, nor she, nor it ... The two sides are positive and negative, light and shade. Evil is also God." says the Swami (The Youth Nappers, James C. Hefley).

Islam - . Christ was a prophet of Allah, but was superseded by Muhammad's teachings and authority.

Jainism - Founder: Mahavira . "Jainism begins by denying the existence of an external supreme being, creator, or Lord, who is the mainstay of the universe. (Thus, no Christ.) For these non-theistic humanist, there is no need to assume a First cause." (Religions in a Changing World, Howard F. Vos)

Jehovah's Witnesses - . Jesus is a created being, Michael, the first creation of Jehovah and the "Son of God."

Laymen's Home Missionary Movement - Leader: Raymond J. Jolly . Similar to the Jehovah's Witnesses, they deny the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. "John 4:24 - God is a Spirit. Luke 24:39 - A Spirit hath not flesh and bones ... In the first place, God directly tells us that Jesus is now a spirit being" (Epiphany Studies in the Scriptures). "Trinitarians have grossly mistranslated and miscapitalized this passage to read their trinitarianism into it, as they have done in other cases. The proper translation shows that Christ is not Jehovah ... He is Jehovah's appointed Savior for the world, not Jehovah Himself." (Epiphany Studies in the Scriptures- Series 1).

Liberal Catholic Church - Leaders: Charles W. Leadbeater and Vincent M. Matthews . "Obviously, God is not and cannot be a person. (Thus, no divine Christ.) The persons of the Holy Trinity are representatives or masks for the One God who is beyond individuality; is unlimited; eminent; and transcendent" (The One Existence, E.M. Matthews). The LCC is independent of the Roman Catholic Church and blends elements of theosophy and pantheism (These Also Believe, Charles Samuel Braden).

Megiddo Mission - Founder: Rev. L.T. Nichols . "Christ, Emmanuel, 'God with us,' is not the eternal God but the Son of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, but wholly human in his nature - Matthew 1:23, Hebrews 2:16,17 .. "(History of the Megiddo Mission, published by Megiddo Mission Church).

Mormons - Founder: Joseph Smith, Jr. . Also Called: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Jesus is a pre-existent spirit, also the Father, one of many gods. Christ was God-man, and men can be just like him (Mormon Doctrine, Bruce McConkie).

Nichiren Shoshu Soka Gakkai - . Soka Gakkai substitutes Gautama Buddha and Nichiren for the True God and replaces the Bible with the Lotus Sutra, a false scripture. Soka Gakkai translates to "Value Recreation Society" ("Views on Christ," John Weldon).

Peace Mission Movement - Leader: Father Divine (George Baker) . Baker distinguishes between Jesus and Christ. "I say B.J. not B.C. because it was before Jesus yet, in my opinion, it was not before Christ" (The New Day, September 1,1945). "Jesus, he (Baker) seems at times to regard as merely the temporal and physical embodiment of the Christ" (These Also Believe, Charles Samuel Braden). Baker has claimed to be God and the Holy Spirit. There are also references in Baker's writings to indicate that Jesus is God (Kingdom of the Cults, Walter Martin).

Psychiana - Leader: Frank B. Robinson . "At no time has God, nor will God, manifest Himself on this earth or anywhere as a person ... Jesus was no more than a human acting out the God-power" (They Have Found a Faith, Marcus Bach).

Radha Soami Society - Leader: Charan Singh . God is seen as attributeless, formless, and impersonal without personality and name, although they give "him" the qualities of love, grace, wisdom and power. The Society asserts that there are countless gods and goddesses, lords, rulers and governors in the universe (The World of Gurus, Vishal Mangalwadi), thus Jesus Christ is not Lord of Lords.

Rajneesh Meditation Centers - Leader: Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh . "But God (thus, Christ) is not a person. God is the process ... Existence is without cause ... In the beginning, there is no cause so in the end there can be no purpose" (Beyond and Beyond, Acharya Rajneesh).

Rosicrucianism - . Jesus was a reincarnated man, the highest luminary possible. The Christ spirit in Him was a manifestation of the cosmic Christ ("Rays from the Rose Cross," December, 1978).

Ruhani Satsang - Leader: Kirpal Singh . "Jesus Christ was essentially a man of the East, and his teachings are imbued with oriental mysticism. It is even speculated that he spent many of his early years in india and learned from the Yogins and Buddhist monks" (The Crown of Life, Kirpal Singh).

Sacred Mushroom of the Cross - Leader: John Allegro . Christ was a mushroom (Sacred Mushroom of the Cross, John Allegro).

Sanatana Dharma Foundation - Leader: Yogeshwar Muni . (Also called Kayavarohan). Jesus is a man who achieved a divine state through meditation. Sanatana Dharma is considered the eternal path to truth leading to fulfillment and divinity. "Thus men, for the first time on Earth, could achieve the God level not only in concept, but in physical manifestations as well" (Vishvamitra Newsletter).

Satanism - . The introduction to the satanic bible says, "What amuses us most is that you indicate that a mere command to Satan in Jesus' name is sufficient to dismiss him. The Prince of Darkness regards both God and Jesus Christ a figments of man's more infantile imagination, at least insofar as their supposed power is concerned. God is dead, and Christ was but a man" (Every Wind of Doctrine, Dr. Hobart Freeman).

Scientology - Founder: L. Ron Hubbard . Hubbard claims to have found the spiritual technology to dispense the one "true way" to man. It is a process working through levels of self-knowledge and knowledge of past lives to awaken the primordial deity within until a person is able to regain total godhood. Christ is a man "who achieved a 'state of clear' but not the higher state of 'Operating Thetan" ("Certainty" magazine, Vol 5, No 10).

Self-Realization Fellowship - Leader: Paramahansa Yogananda . Group also called "Yogoda Satsanga Society." Separates Jesus and Christ. Jesus was indwelt by the Christ Consciousness. "Let the omniscient Christ Consciousness come to Earth a second time and be born in you, even as it was manifested in the mind of Jesus" (Metaphysical Meditations, SRF Publishers).

Shintoism - . "Deity is spirit, without form, unknowable ... changeless, eternal, existing from the beginning of Heaven and Earth up to the present, unfathomable, infinite ..." (Source of Japanese Tradition, Vol 1, editor William Theodore De Bary).

Shree Guru Dev Siddha Yoga Ashram - Leader: Swami Muktananda Paramahansa . Also called: "Sidha Yoga Dham." This is a self realization group whose leader claims to be god. "This is the praise of the all- pervasive, formless, unmanifest, Absolute Being who manifest Himself in a thousand forms ... Above all, you will receive Divine Grace and finally realize your own divinity." Rejects God manifesting Himself in Jesus Christ (Songs of God, Guru, Self - Kabiraj).

Sikhism - Founder: Nanak . Sikhism developed an abstract and mystical monotheism. God is formless, sovereign, unknowable and absolute. However, a righteous person can call upon the grace of Sat Nam - God. If a person reaches salvation, which is by works, he absorbs into God. Rejects the idea that God revealed in the Person of Jesus Christ (Cults, World Religions and You, Kenneth Boa).

Sivananda Yoga Vedenta Centers - Leader: Swami Sivananda . Also called "International Sivananda Yoga Society." God (or Christ) is not a person or spirit, but Consciousness. He is sometimes reborn as a man, other times as an animal, plant, or even inanimate object. (The World of Gurus, Vishal Mangalwadi).

Spiritual Advancement of the Individual Foundation. - Leader: Sri Satya Sai Baba . Jesus Christ is seen as an "Avatar," a deity descended to earth in bodily form. Sai Baba is Jesus Christ who was returned. Man, according to Baba, is Atman - Self or God. Man is under an illusion so that he forgets that he is God. Baba also teaches that God is ultimately without attributes (The World of Gurus, Vishal Mangalwadi).

Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship - Founder: Arthur Ford and others . "There was no Christ 2,000 ago. There was a man 2,000 ago through whom the Annointed One was able to manifest. The man died, Christ lived, and as the Holy Spirit has been helping ... The Divine Mind or the Concept of God has within himself all the faculties or qualities of both male and female. There can be no creative expression, there can be no life without these two qualities. So God is neither man nor woman." Ford, a former Christian minister, made these comments during a seance March 18, 1965 (Unknown but Known, Arthur Ford).

Spiritualist - . Jesus was an outstanding Jewish medium (Kingdom of the Cults - Walter Martin).

Sri Chinmoy Centers - Leader: Sri Chinmoy . God is seen as Consciousness and Light. Realize the divinity within you. "It is not because of his (Jesus') miracles that he is worshipped, but because he brought down the eternal Consciousness, the infinite Consciousness" (Kundalini: The Mother Power, Sri Chinmoy).

Still Point Institute - Leader: Sujata . Christ is an evolutive god, a cosmic Christ. A heavy influence of Zen Buddhism negates the personal God (The Still Point, William Johnson).

Subud - Leader: Muhammad Subuh (Bapak) . God is a "Great Life Force that flows through everything and everyone. It is impersonal." (Thus no divine Christ.) God is felt through "latihan" which is an inner vibration. The objective in Subud is to become passive so that you can experience and feel latihan (New Gods in America, Peter Rowley).

Sufism - Leader: Pir-O-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan . God is an "Abstract Sound" which is the creative life principle in all of nature. "The goal of Sufism is union with God in this life." Because of its link with Islamic philosophy, it would not consider Jesus as God (Awakening Ways to Psycho- Spiritual Growth, C. William Henderson).

Swedenborgism - Founder: E. Swedenborg . A form of spiritism which also denies the person of the Holy Spirit. He is called an efficiency or sanctifying influence. "We ought to have faith in God the Savior Jesus Christ, because that is faith in the visible God in Whom is the Invisible; and faith in the visible God, Who is at once Man and God, who enters Man" (True Christian Religion, E. Swedenborg).

Taoism - Greatest philosopher: Chuang Tzu . "There is no personal Creator-God" (Cults, World Religions and You, Kenneth Boa).

Tarotology - . The most serious form of cartomancy (divination by cards). It has been linked with magic, numerology, astrology and other cults. For all the languages about God, Spirit and the Truth of God, the God and Truth of Tarot are in no way those of Jesus Christ. It is an idolatrous system (Dennis Hesslegrave, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School).

The Farm - Leader: Stephen . An eastern mysticism commune in Summertown, TN. Jesus, a teacher, was a good man indwelt with Christ Consciousness. "In the telepathic medium of the Holy Spirit, Christ consciousness, Buddha consciousness, call it what you will, exist all the time. ... You don't have to call it Jesus or Buddha or Krishna, it's 'the consciousness'" (Hey Beatnik! 1974).

The Foundation Church of the Millennium - leader: Father John . Denies the deity of Jesus Christ. It is an off-shoot of or the front for the Process Church of the Final Judgement (below) although they deny affiliation. They were both founded in September, 1966; began in Xtul, Mexico; listed their midwest address as 1529 N. Wells Street, Chicago, IL; and have both since moved.

The Holy Order of MANS - Leader: Earl Blighton . Holds the occult-eastern view that Jesus was a great teacher, but merely a man who attained an impersonal kind of "Christ Consciousness. " They separate Jesus and Christ. They believe all can attain Christ- Consciousness (Spiritual Counterfeit Project, Berkeley, CA).

The Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy. - Founder: Swami Rama . "In order to become true members of the Church of Christ, a person must know not who Jesus was, but what Christ is. Christ, Ishvara, is the very personal force pervading the universe that guides and illuminates every aspirant ... It is not an embodied person, but rather a force in which all individual beings are divine sparks ..."(Meditation in Christianity, Dr. Pandit Arya). Swami Rama has said, "Jesus Christ was perhaps the greatest of all Yogis."

The Process Church of the Final Judgement - Founder: Robert De Grimston . Jesus is a mere man. "The Processeans believe in three gods: Jehohvah, Lucifer, and Satan" (Sata's Devices, Kurt Koch).

The 3 HO Foundation - Leaders: Yogi Bhajan and Guru Ram Dass . The 3 HO means Happy, Health and Holy. "What is God? ... He is cosmic energy ... He is yin-yang; He is positive and negative. He is male, female ... When you say cosmic consciousness, you mean God ... You are God ... God is you. Man has never realized he is God ... God is a stick ... God is a cup ... God is a woman" (The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan, Bhajan).

Unification Church - Leader/Fonder: Sun Myung Moon . Moon states that God has dual qualities - spirit and energy. God is a personal being with consciousness, intelligence, love and purpose. Salvation can come only through the Messiah who achieves perfection, marries, and has perfect offspring. Christ, Moon says, was to do this, but He failed because he died before he could marry. Because He was resurrected, Moon says, Jesus did redeem man spiritually. The physical redemption of man will happen through a second Messiah, but not Christ. The implication is that Moon is the second Messiah. (Moody Monthly, July 1977).

The Way International - Leader: Victor Paul Wierwile . A very close counterfeit of Christianity. They believe in God, the Bible, Jesus Christ, salvation, and eternal life, but not the Trinity. Jesus is NOT God, and the Holy Spirit is a synonym for God (Jesus Christ is Not God, Victor Paul Wierwille).

Theosophist - . Christ took the body Jesus, a man, to become a teacher. Eventually all men become Christ.

Transcendental Meditation - Leader: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi . Also called "Spiritual Generation Movement," "Student's International Meditation Society," "TM." Maharishi says the reason for creation and individual life is the expansion of happiness. This is done by expanding one's consciousness through seven levels of consciousness. Jesus is considered an Enlightened One. Leaders have attempted to claim that TM is not a religion, but courts have ruled that it is, and the nature of its initiation rites prove that it is a Hindu derivative. (Meditations, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi).

Unitarians - . Jesus was a man who believed in One God, not the Trinity.

Unity School of Christianity - . Jesus was a perfect man, indwelt by the Christ Consciousness, present in every human being.

Vedanta Society - Founder: Swami Vivekananda . Also known as "Ramakrishna Order." "They (gods) are human beings with extraordinary, original powers and entrusted with a Divine commission. Being heirs of Divine power and glories, they form a class of their own. To this class belong the incarnations of God, like Christ, Krishna, Buddha, and Chaitanya and their devotees of the highest order" (Hindu View of Christ. Swami Akhilananda).

Witchcraft - . "Down through the centuries, many witches and sorcerers consider God and Satan as merely symbols of power, with no real existence as personalities" (Kingdom of Darkness, F.W. Thomas). Some witches may see Jesus as a wizard who was able to master natural and occult forces.

Worldwide Church of God - Leader: Hurbert W. Armstrong . Jesus is a part of the godhead (God is a family) and men can become like Jesus and part of the God family - Sons of God. They do not believe in a closed godhead (TRINITY). The Holy Spirit is not considered a person, but the Father and the Son work through it. (Derivate cult - International Church of God. Leader: Son of Herbert, George, was disowned by his father and started this group that believes the same, but claims that the Worldwide Church lost its authority when Herbert divorced his wife.)

Zen Buddhism - . "Since Zen does not affirm the existence of the living God, it is not only absolutely destitute of the special revelation of God in His Word, but is wholly alien to the God of revelation." says Lit-Sen- Chang (The Kingdom of the Cults, Walter Martin).

Zoroastrianism - Founder: Spitoma Zoroaster . This is one of the first monothesistic religions in the world, and adherents of this religion are thought to have been the originators of the Wise Men from the East who searched out Jesus when He was born. This cult doesn't recognize a personal God. Their god, Ahura Mazda, is impersonal and has no physical nature (Cults, World Religions and You, Kenneth Boa).

CULT CATALOG OF THE "OTHER" JESUS

Ahmadiyya Movement - Founder: Hazat Mirza. "Jesus was not a partner in the Godhead, as was not Jacob. Both of them were beloved prophets of God" (True Christianity and How it Leads to Islam).

American Atheist Center - Founder: Madalyn Murray O'Hair. "There is no God, thus Jesus is not the Son of God."

Ananda Marga Yoga - Leader: Shrii Shrii Anandamurti. Jesus is considered God, but there is no Trinity. "Be constantly absorbed in the thought of God and you too will become God." (Baba's Grace-Discourses of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti).

Anthroposophical Society - Leader: Rudolf Steiner. "According to Steiner, Jesus of Nazareth was just an ordinary man until, at the age of thirty, he received the Christ-Essence during his baptism at the Jordan" (Spiritual Counterfeits Project in Berkeley, CA : Letter, Feb, 1977) Steiner was an occult medium who interpreted the Bible through clairvoyance.

Arica - Leader: Oscar Ichazo. "The point of Arica is enlightenment, man's transcending from the state of ego into what's known as the void. This is a state of consciousness . . . Its not God. It's God Consciousness." Aricans blend physical exercise and m editation. God is formless, thus Christ cannot be God (Awakening Ways to Pyscho-Spiritual Growth, C. William Henderson).

Assemblies of Yahweh - "John 2:19) is sometimes presented as evidence that Yahshua is the Almighty, that He is co-equal with His Father, and that He had the power to resurrect Himself. This, of course, is a false, trinitarian concept" (The Sacred Name Br oadcaster, Lincoln Frost). "We find the trinitarian doctrine to be foreign to the Inspired Scriptures" (Doctrine #5).

Baha'i World Faith - Baha'i, an independent world religion based on "a unique revelation of God," traces its roots to an early division within Islam. God, called by different names, is one but unknowable. Christ was a "manifestation" of God and a way to God, but not the ONLY way to God.

Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship - Leader: Bawa Muhaiyaddeen. "God is a secret and a mystery, but man is also a mystery. Only God can see God. So if man is to see God, he must become God. Man becomes God, and God becomes man. Its no big deal," says Bawa (Psy chology, April,1976).

Black Muslim - Leader: Wallace D. Fard (Allah-God) and Elijah Poole (Elijah Muhammad - Fard's prophet). Also called "The Nation of Islam." Elijah Muhammad said that Jesus was "only a prophet and not the equal of Moses and Muhammad, and His religion was I slam, not the Christianity of the Pope of Rome" (Pittsburg Courier, 1959).

Buddhism (Hinayana Buddhism and Mahayanna Buddhism) - "In Hinayana Buddhism there is no god as we conceive of God . . . The followers of Mahayanna Buddhism tend to deify Buddha. Their idea of God; However, has no such comphrehensive attributes as has the Christian God" (Religions in a changing World, Howard F. Vos) This eliminates the possiblity of Jesus as a diety.

Cabala (Kabbalah) - Cabala is a system of Jewish Mystical thought which originated in Southern France and Spain in the 12th and 13th centuries. The Cabala doctrine of deity recognizes only two deities - the hidden god, the infinite great divine Nothing; and the dynamic god of religious experience (Spiritual Counterfeits Project).

Center for Spiritual Awareness - Leader: Roy Eugene Davis. Also called Christian Spiritual Alliance. Buddha, Sri Krishna, and Jesus were enlightened souls. "The second coming of Jesus is a fanciful hope. The awakening of individuals to the realization o f their own Christ-nature is what will liberate man and transform society" (Darshan The vision of Light, Roy E. Davis). Jesus was a man who reached Christ-consciousness and was on earth to share the truth of this consciousness.

Children of God - Leader: David Brandt Berg (Moses David). Started as a fundamentalist counter-culture ministry, but degenerated into belief in the occult, reincarnation, and sexual permissiveness. The COG believes that Berg is the ONLY end-time prophet; that the COG IS the remnant church of the last days; that its authority is absolute; and in the use of blasphemy, profanity, vulgarity, and pornography (Moody Monthly July/August 1977).

Christian Scientist - Founder: Mary Baker Eddy. Jesus was a mere man who demonstrated the Christ (i.e. a divine idea). It doesn't matter whether Christ ever existed, and His blood doesn't cleanse from sin (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, The Firts of Christ Scientist and Miscellany, both by Mary baker Eddy).

Church of the Living Word - Leader: John Robert Stevens. Also called THE WALK. "Jesus Christ came to participate in humanity and make the bridge of communication so that God could communicate himself into our very beings. What He is, we become" (The Word Became Flesh, a Living Word Publication). According to Stevens, this begins with contemporary revelations which make the the Living Word (Christ) to the World. Although some acknowledgement is made of the inspiration and authority of the Scripture, in p ractice the source of teaching is current revelation, not the Bible. Stevens considers himself God's chief intecessor.

Church Universal and Triumphant - Leader: Elizabeth Claire Prophet. Also called Summit International or Summit Lighthouse. The Church Universal and Triumphant is a mixture of eastern religions, Theospohy, Christianity, and many other things. Elizabeth is recognized as one of the two witnesses of Revelation 11. Her late husband and founder, Mark, is considered a man that had the Christ Consciousness within him. He was one of many who achieved the "God self" witness.

Dhyana-Mandiram - Leader: Pandit Usharbudh. "God is esentially formless . . God may manifest Himself-Herself-Itself in any form, at any time, at any place, on any planet . . . Jesus may be accepted as one of the many incarnations of God" (Hinduism An Introduction, Pandit Usharbudh and Yorke Crompton).

Divine Light Mission - Leader: Guru Maharaj Ji. Guru Ji is the Living Perfect Master. Jesus was the Perfect Master of His time, but Ji has replaced Him. Ji claims the world needs the knowledge of Reality, and he claims to be the source of that knowledge and of peace in the world, according to David J. Hesselgrave, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

ECKANKAR - Leader: Sri Darwin Gross. ECKANKAR says it is the wellspring and essence of all religions, philosophies, and sacred doctrines. It claims to be the way to God-realization via the "ancient science of soul travel." ECKANKAR makes the biblical God into a demon who as creator is responsible for the evil in the world and defines Christ as "god as all men are god" ("Eck World News, December, 1978, page 13).

Findhorn Foundation University of Light - Leaders: Peter and Eileen Caddy. "The Devic (Deva is a being of light) would emphasize that man has to do one thing to reverse the trend of events on the planet he has to recognize within himself the Divinity an d wholeness of which he is a part" (The Magic of Findhorn, Paul Hawken). They separate Jesus and Christ and appear to be panthiestic. The group, a form of spiritism, became famous because the Findhorn community in Scotland has a producing garden near the Artic Circle which is supposedly taken care of by plant spirits.

Freemasonry - ". . . We tell the sincere Christian that Jesus of Nazareth was but a man like us" ("Morals and Dogmas" by Albert Pike in How to Respond to the Lodge).

Hare Krishna - Founder: Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Also called International Sciety of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). To the Krishnaite, the world is not real; its illusion. Salvation comes by chanting the name of their god, Hare Krishna, at least 1,728 times daily. They believe in the literal interpretation of the Hindu scriptures, but they also accept the Bible as one of the scriptures. They consider Jesus one of their gurus.

"I AM" MOVEMENT - Leader: Guy Ballard (Pen Name Godfrey Ray King). Jesus, a man, developed the I AM/GOD SELF within himself. This almighty I Am presence is a pure reservoir of energy stationed over the head which can be drawn on at will. Jesus is seen a s one of the many Ascended Masters. They do not recognize the Trinity. This cult is an off-shoot of the Theosophical Society. It modern form is called the Summit Lighthouse or Church Universal and Triumphant. However, the "I Am" movement still exist as an independent organization (The 'I Am' Discourses, Saint Germain Press).

Iglesia Ni Cristo - Leader: Felix Manalo. "We believe in Jesus Christ, but we do not believe that He is True God. We believe in only one true god, the god of creation. Jesus Christ is a great savior and was commissioned by God to be the savior" ("Research Center Bulletin," Far East Broadcasting).

Inner Peace Movement - Leader: Rev. Francisco Coll, DD. A form of spiritualism and spiritism combining ESP, astro-projection, psychic phenomena,etc., they introduce seven levels of consciousness. Christ consciousness is the highest. Jesus had reached Chr ist Consciousness and taught this while on earth. Jesus was a man. They separate Jesus and Christ. God is impersonal and spoken of as The All, The Cosmos, and The Universe (Every Wind of Doctrine, Hobart Freeman).

Integral Yoga Institute - Founder: Swami Satchidananda. "There are not many gods; there is only One. And that One has no name, no form, no place. (Thus Christ is not God.) He is everywhere-in actuality, neither he, nor she, nor it. . . The two sides are positive and negative, light and shade. Evil is also God." says the Swami (The Youth Nappers, James C. Hefley).

Islam - Christ was a prophet of Allah, but was superseded by Muhammad's teachings and authority.

Jainism - Founder: Mahavira. "Jainism begins by denying the existance of an external supreme being, creator, or Lord, who is the mainstay of the universe. (Thus, no Christ.) For these non-theistic humanist, there is no need to assume a First cause" (Religions in a Changing World, Howard F. Vos)

Jehovah's Witnesses - Jesus is a created being, Michael, the first creation of Jehovah and the "Son of God."

Laymen's Home Missionary Movement - Leader: Raymond J. Jolly. Similar to the Jehovah's Witnesses, they deny the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. "John 4:24-God is a Spirit. Luke 24:39-A Spirit hath not flesh and bones . . . In the first place, God d irectly tells us that Jesus is now a spirit being" (Epiphany Studies in the Scriptures). "Trinitarians have grossly mistranslated and miscapitalized this passage to read their trinitarianism into it, as they have done in other cases. The proper translatio n shows that Christ is not Jehovah . . . He is Jehovah's appointed Savior for the world, not Jehovah Himself" (Epiphany Studies in the Scriptures-Series 1).

Liberal Catholic Church - Leaders: Charles W. Leadbeater and Vincent M. Matthews. "Obviously, God is not and cannot be a person. (Thus, no divine Christ.) The persons of the Holy Trinity are representatives or masks for the One God who is beyond individua lity; is unlimited; eminent; and transcendent" (The One Existance, E.M. Matthews). The LCC is independent of the Roman Catholic Church and blends elements of theosophy and pantheism (These Also Believe, Charles Samuel Braden).

Megiddo Mission - Founder: Rev. L.T. Nichols. "Christ, Emmanuel, 'God with us,' is not the eterenal God but the Son of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, but wholly human in his nature -Matthew 1:23, Hebrews 21:6,17 . . ."(History of the Megiddo Mission, published by Megiddo Mission Church).

Mormons-Founder: Joseph Smith, Jr. Also Called Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Jesus is a pre-existant spirit, also the Father, one of many gods. Christ was God-man, and men can be just like him (Mormon Doctrine, Bruce McConkie).

Nichiren Shoshu Soka Gakkai - Soka Gakkai substitutes Gautama Buddha and Nichiren for the True God and repleces the Bible with the Lotus Sutra, a false scripture. Soka Gakkai translates to "Value Recreation Society" ("Views on Christ," John Weldon).

Peace Mission Movement - Leader: Father Divine (George Baker). Baker distinguishes between Jesus and Christ. "I say B.J. not B.C. because it was before Jesus yet, in my opinion, it was not before Christ" (The New Day, September 1, 1945). "Jesus, he (Baker ) seems at times to regard as merely the temporal and physical embodiment of the Christ" (These Also Believe, Charles Samuel Braden). Baker has claimed to be God and the Holy Spirit. There are also references in Baker's writings to indicate that Jesus is God (Kingdom of the Cults, Walter Martin).

Psychiana - Leader: Frank B. Robinson. "At no time has God, nor will God, manifest Himself on this earth or anywhere as a person . . . Jesus was no more than a human acting out the God-power" (They Have Found a Faith, Marcus Bach).

Radha Soami Society - Leader: Charan Singh. God is seen as attributeless, formless, and impersonal without personality and name, although they give "him" the qualities of love, grace, wisdom and power. The Society asserts that there are countless gods and goddesses, lords, rulers and governors in the universe (The World of Gurus, Vishal Mangalwadi), thus Jesus Christ is not Lord of Lords.

Rajneesh Meditation Centers - Leader: Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. "But God (thus, Christ) is not a person. God is the process . . .Existance is without cause . . .In the beginning, there is no cause so in the end there can be no purpose" (Beyond and Beyond, A charya Rajneesh).

Rosicrucianism - Jesus was a reincarnated man, the highest luminary possible. The Christ spirit in Him was amanifestation of the cosmic Christ ("Rays from the Rose Cross," December, 1978).

Ruhani Satsang - Leader: Kirpal Singh. "Jesus Christ was essentially a man of the East, and his teachings are imbued with oriental mysticism. It is even speculated that he spent many of his early years in india and learned from the Yogins and Buddhist mon ks" (The Crown of Life, Kirpal Singh).

Sacred Mushroom of the Cross - Leader: John Allegro. Christ was a mushroom (Sacred Mushroom of the Cross, John Allegro).

Sanatana Dharma Foundation - Leader: Yogeshwar Muni. (also called Kayavarohan). Jesus is a man who achieved a divine state through meditation. Sanatana Dharma is considered the eternal path to truth leading to fulfillment and divinity. "Thus men, for the first time on Earth, could achieve the God level not only in concept, but in physical manifestations as well" (Vishvamitra Newsleter).

Satanism - The introduction to the satanic bible says, "What amuses us most is that you indicate that a mere command to Satan in Jesus' name is sufficient to dismiss him. The Prince of Darkness regards both God and Jesus Christ a figments of man's more in fantile imagination, at least insofar as their supposed power is concerned. God is dead, and Christ was but a man" (Every Wind of Doctrine, Dr. Hobart Freeman).

Scientology-Founder: L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard claims to have found the spiritual technology to dispense the one "true way" to man. It is a process working through levels of self-knowledge and knowledge of past lives to awaken the primordial diety within un til a person is able to regain total godhood. Christ is a man "who achieved a 'state of clear' but not the higher state of 'Operating Thetan" ("Certainty" magazine, Vol 5, No 10).

Self-Realization Fellowship - Leader: Paramahansa Yogananda. Group also called "Yogoda Satsanga Society." Separates Jesus and Christ. Jesus was indwelt by the Christ Consciousness. "Let the omniscient Christ Consciousness come to Earth a second time and be born in you, even as it was manifested in the mind of Jesus" (Metaphysical Meditations, SRF Publishers_.

Shintoism - "Diety is spirit, without form, unknowable . . . changeless, eternal, existing from the beginning of Heaven and Earth up to the present, unfathomable, infinite . . ." (Source of Japanese Tradition, Vol 1, editor William Theodore De Bary).

Shree Guru Dev Siddha Yoga Ashram - Leader: Swami Muktananda Paramahansa. Also called "Sidha Yoga Dham." This is a self realization group whose leader claims to be god. "This is the praise of the all-pervasive, formless, unmanifest, Absolute Being who ma nifest Himself in a thousand forms . . . Above all, you will receive Divine Grace and finally realize your own divinity." Rejects God manifesting Himself in Jesus Christ (Songs of God, Guru, Self - Kabiraj).

Sikhism - Founder: Nanak. Sikhism developed an abstract and mystical monotheism. God is formless, soverign, unknowable and absolute. However, a righteous person can call upon the grace of Sat Nam - God. If a person reaches salvation, which is by works, he absorbs into God. rejects the idea that God revealed in a Person of Jesus Christ (Cults, World Religions and You, Kenneth Boa).

Sivananda Yoga Vedenta Centers - Leader: Swami Sivananda. Also called "Internatioonal Sivananda Yoga Society." God (or Christ) is not a person or spirit, but Consciousness. He is sometimes reborn as a man, other times as an animal, plant, or even inanimat e object. (The World of Gurus, Vishal Mangalwadi).

Spiritual Advancement of the Individual Foundation. - Leader: Sri Satya Sai Baba. Jesus Christ is seen as an "Avatar," a diety descended to earth in bodily form. Sai Baba is Jesus Christ who was returned. Man, according to Baba, is Atman - Self or God. Ma n is under an illusion so that he forgets that he is God. Baba also teaches that God is ultimately without attributes (The World of Gurus, Vishal Mangalwadi).

Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship - Founder: Arthur Ford and others. "There was no Christ 2,000 ago. There was a man 2,000 ago through whom the Annointed One was able to manifest. The man died, Christ lived, and as the Holy Spirit has been helping . . . The Divine Mind or the Concept of God has within himself all the faculties or qualities of both male and female. There can be no creative expression, there can be no life without these two qualities. So God is neither man nor woman." Ford, a former Christian minister, made these comments during a seance March 18, 1965 (Unknown but Known, Arthur Ford).

Spiritualist - Jesus was an outstanding Jewish medium (Kingdom of the Cults - Wlater Martin).

Sri Chinmoy Centers - Leader: Sri Chinmoy. God is seen as Consciousness and Light. Realize the divinity within you. "It is not because of his (Jesus') miracles that he is worshipped, but because he brought down the eternal Consciousness, the infinite Cons ciousness" (Kundalini The Mother Power, Sri Chinmoy).

Still Point Institute - Leader: Sujata. Christ is an evolutive god, a cosmic Christ. A heavy influence of Zen Buddhism negates the personal God (The Still Point, William Johnson).

Subud - Leader: Muhammad Subuh (Bapak). God is a "Great Life Force that flows through everything and everyone. It is impersonal." (Thus no divine Christ.) God is felt through "latihan" which is an inner vibration. The objective is Subud is to become passi ve so that you can experience and feel latihan (New Gods in America, Peter Rowley).

Sufism - Leader: Pir-O-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan. God is an "Abstract Sound" which is the creative life principle in all of nature. "The goal of Sufism is union with God in this life." Because of its link with Islamic philosophy, it would not consider Je sus as God (Awakening Ways to Psycho-Spiritual Growth, C.William Henderson).

Swedenborgism - Founder: E. Swedenborg. A form of spiritism which also denies the person of the Holy Spirit. He is called an efficiency or sanctifying influence. "We ought to have faith in God the Savior Jesus Christ, because that is faith in the visible God in Whom is the Invisible; and faith in the visible God, Who is at once Man and God, who enters Man" (True Christian Religion, E. Swedenborg).

Taoism - Greatest philosopher Chuang Tzu. "There is no personal Creator-God" (Cults, World Religions and You, Kenneth Boa).

Tarotology - The most serious form of cartomancy (divination by cards). It has been linked with magic, numerology, astrology and other cults. For all the languages about God, Spirit and the Truth of Gpd, the God and Truth of Tarot are in no way those of Jesus Christ. It is an idolatrous system (Dennis Hesslegrave, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School).

The Farm - Leader: Stephen. An eastern mysticism commune in Summertown, TN. Jesus, a teacher, was a good man indwelt with Christ Consciousness. "In the telepathic medium of the Holy Spirit, Christ consciousness, Buddha consciousness, call it what you will, exist all the time. ... You don't have to call it Jesus or Buddha or Krishna, it's 'the consciousness'"(Hey Beatnik! 1974).

The Foundation Church of the Millenium -Leader: Father John. Denies the diety of Jesus Christ. It is an off-shoot of or the front for the Process Church of the Final Judgement (below) although they deny affiliation. They were both founded in September, 1966; began in Xtul, Mexico; listed their midwest address as 1529 N. Wells Street, Chicago, IL; and have both since moved.

The Holy Order of MANS - Leader: Earl Blighton. Holds the occult-eastern view that Jesus was a great teacher, but merely a man who attained an impersonal kind of "Christ Consciousness." They separate Jesus and Christ. They believe all can attain Christ-Co nsciousness (Spiritual Counterfeit Project, Berkeley, CA).

The Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy. - Founder: Swami Rama. "In order to become true members of the Church of Christ, a person must know not who Jesus was, but what Christ is. Christ, Ishvara, is the very personal force pe rvading the universe that guides and illuminates every aspirant. . . It is not an embodied person, but rather a force in which all individual beings are divine sparks. . ."(Meditation in Christianity, Dr. Pandit Arya). Swami Rama has said, "Jesus Christ w as perhaps the greatest of all Yogis."

The Process Church of the Final Judgement - Founder: Robert De Grimston. Jesus is a mere man. "The Processeans believe in three gods Jehohvah, Lucifer, and Satan" (Sata's Devices, Kurt Koch).

The 3 HO Foundation - Leaders: Yogi Bhajan and Guru Ram Dass. The 3 HO means Happy, Health and Holy. "What is God?... He is cosmic energy... He is yin-yang; He is positive an negative. He is male, female... When you say cosmic consciousness, you mean God... You are God... God is you. Man has never realized he is God... God is a stick... God is a cup.... God is a woman" (The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan, Bhajan).

Unification Church - Leader/Founder: Sun Myung Moon. Moon states that God has dual qualities - spirit and energy. God is a personal being with consciousness, intelligence, love and purpose. Salvation can come only through the Messiah who achieves perfectio n, marries, and has perfect offspring. Christ, Moon says, was to do this, but He failed because he died before he could marry. Because He was resurrected, Moon says, Jesus did redeem man spiritually. The physical redemption of man will happen through a se cond Messiah, but not Christ. The implication is that Moon is the second Messiah. (Moody Monthly, July 1977).

The Way International - Leader: Victor Paul Wierwile. A very close counterfeit of Christianity. They believe in God, the Bible, Jesus Christ, salvation, and eternal life, but not the Trinity. Jesus is NOT God, and the Holy Spirit is a synonym for God (Jes us Christ is Not God, Victor Paul Wierwille).

Theosophist - Christ took the body Jesus, a man, to become a teacher. Eventually all men become Christ.

Transcendental Meditation - Leader: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Also called "Spiritual Generation Movement," "Student's International Meditation Society," "TM." Maharishi says the reason for creation and individual life is the expansion of happiness. This is done by expanding one's consciousness through seven levels of consciousness. Jesus is considered an Enlightened One. Leaders have attempted to claim that TM is not a religion, but courts have ruled that it is, and the nature of its initiation rites prove that it is Hindu derivative. (Meditations, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi).

Unitarians - Jesus was a man who believed in One God, not the Trinity.

Unity School of Christianity - Jesus was a perfect man, indwelt by the Christ Consciousness, present in every human being.

Vedanta Society - Founder: Swami Vivekananda. Also known as "Ramakrishna Order." "They (gods) are human beings with extraordinary, original powers and entrusted with a Divine commission. Being heirs of Divine power and glories, they form a class of their own. To this class belong the incarnations of God, like Christ, Krishna, Buddha, and Chaitanya and their devotees of the highest order" (Hindu View of Christ. Swami Akhilananda).

Witchcraft - "Down through the centuries, many witches and sorcerers consider God and Satan as merely symbols of power, with no real existance as personalities" (Kingdom of Darkness, F.W. Thomas). Some witches may see Jesus as a wizard who was able to mas ter natural and occult forces.

Worldwide Church of God - Leader Hurbert W. Armstrong. Jesus is a part of the godhead (God is a family) and men can become like Jesus and part of the God family - Sons of God. They do not believe in a closed godhead (TRINITY). The Holy Spirit is not cons idered a person, but the Father and the Son work through it. (Derivate cult - International Church of God. Leader Son of Herbert, George, was disowned by his father and started this group that believes the same but claims that the Wordlwide Church lost its authority when Herbert divorced his wife.)

Zen Buddhism - "Since Zen does not affirm the existance of the living God, it is not only absolutely destitute of the special revelation of God in His Word, but is wholly alien to the God of revelation." says Lit-Sen-Chang (The Kingdom of the Cults, Walter Martin).

Zoroastrianism - Founder Spitoma Zoroaster. This is one of the first monothesistic religions in the world, and adherents of this religion are thought to have been the originators of the Wise Men from the East who searched out Jesus when He was born. This cult doesn't recognize a personal God. Their god, Ahura Mazda, is impersonal and has no physical nature (Cults, World Religions and You, Kenneth Boa).

Computers For Christ

NOTE - Those organizations not shown with references are on file with this ministry with substantial confirmation of the statements. The computer phone data service has many of them outlined in depth. SYSOP - Computers For Christ.

Computers For Christ - San Jose