A Smorgasbord of Counterfeits-E. Campbell

According to the woman in this video, Jesus’ purpose for coming to the earth was not to die on the cross; his real purpose was to teach us how to feel god. She says he came to earth “to show us the Christ-consciousness that he had and that that Christ-consciousness abides with all of us;” in other words, Jesus came to show us how to commune or live in sync with this “Energy” or “Light,” which is god. According to the woman in this video, all religions are the same and lead to the same destination. Not surprisingly, then, this woman claims, “There couldn’t possibly be just one way [to god];” in this way, she denies the central claim of Jesus Christ to be the only way to the Father (John 14:6). According to this prominent woman, true religion is about feeling god not believing in Him; she says, “God is a feeling experience not a believing experience.” Here and elsewhere in the video this woman emphasizes personal religious experience as a way to get to god or “the Light,” as she sometimes calls it.  

            The gospel presented in this video is a smorgasbord of the counterfeit gospels described in Trevin Wax’s book Counterfeit Gospels: Rediscovering the good news in a world of false hope. The message of the woman in this video resembles the therapeutic gospel because she denies the true reason for Christ’s death on the cross. Instead of recognizing Christ’s true purpose for coming to earth to live a perfect life, die to pay for sinner’s debt, and rise again to be able to give new life to all those who believe in Him, she falsely claims that Christ came to bring a new awareness that we can be like Him and commune with god by meditating. Her claim, nevertheless, is erroneous because Christ did not come to establish another eastern religion entrenched in meditation; He came to seek and to save that which was lost—to offer His life as a perfect sacrifice to save us, sinners (Luke 19:10; Eph. 5:2). Even though this woman claims to be a Christian; her Christianity is counterfeit because she has distorted the central truths of the gospel by combining Christianity with eastern religions. Her syncretism of Christianity and eastern religion is brought to light in the video when one of this woman’s favorite spiritual leaders directs her and the audience in a time of meditation. As a therapeutic gospel, this woman’s gospel may be more palatable than Paul’s gospel, but it is not the true gospel.

This woman’s view also falls into the category of the judgmentless gospel because she claims that all paths lead to heaven, thereby, claiming that everyone will be saved in the end. Clearly, her postmodern view goes against Biblical doctrine because the Bible teaches that only those who have saving faith in Jesus will go to Heaven (Acts 16:31). While this woman claims that those with genuine faith, no matter the object of their faith, will be saved if they live a good life, the Bible provides a different picture; Romans 10:9 says that those who believe in the Lord Jesus will be saved. The Bible also teaches that those who do not put their trust in Christ will not be saved; in fact, even those who have never heard of Jesus before will not be saved (Rom. 1:18-22). This is why Jesus said He is the only way to the Father. This woman’s gospel is counterfeit because she contradicts Christ’s claim to exclusivity.

Finally, her version of the gospel is also a churchless gospel because it emphasizes the individual to the total exclusion of any sort of church. The Bible makes it clear that the church is supposed to be a pivotal part of every believer’s life, for the church is Christ’s body, and, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we can and should encourage one another in the faith, correct one another in love when necessary, and teach one another how to live in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. Leaving the church out of the picture opens the door to the enemy, who is seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Isolation from a body of believers makes it easier to create your own “truth.” Unfortunately this woman has chosen to shun the Christian church and create her own religion, and in so doing, lead countless trusting men and women astray.