Nuggets from Occult Invasion—The Greening of Christianity

Mikhail Gorbachev, still President of the Soviet Union at the time, was of course one of the plenary speakers at the 1990 Global Forum in Moscow. In his speech, as an atheist, Gorbachev called mankind to reconciliation with nature rather than with the God who created nature. He said:

“Humanity is a part of the single and integral biosphere…ecologization of politics requires…molding a new contemporary attitude to Nature…returning to Man a sense of being a part of Nature. No moral improvement of society is possible without that.”

No longer President of Russia, Gorbachev is now more influential internationally than ever. His richly endowed Gorbachev Foundation USA has its offices in the Presidio (former U.S. military base) overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. A consultant on closing other U.S. military bases, Gorbachev is also president of the ecological watchdog, Green Cross International, a Global Forum offspring headquartered in the Hague.

Green cross? What right does Gorbachev or his organization have to turn the bloodstained cross, red with Christ’s blood shed for our sins, into something green! Yet this is exactly what is happening to the message of the cross through the environmental movement. The green movement is a humanistic attempt to restore the lost paradise of Eden without acknowledging that the problem is man’s rebellion against his Creator.

Yes, the pollution and wanton exploitation and destruction of the environment are foolish and wrong. But the folly and evil of worshipping Mother Earth and treating each species as sacred and having the same rights as humans is even more wrong—yet that is the philosophy being espoused by present world leaders. Nor is there any turning back of this tide.

At conferences on environmentalism one finds papers and speeches being delivered with such topics as “The Greening of a Great City” and “The Greening of the Church.” The former referred to “the role of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York.” The latter was described as “developing an environmentally informed theology, spirituality and ecological practice within the Christian Church.” Yes, the church has joined a Green movement and Christian leaders echo its philosophy.

Richard Foster, whom we will discuss in more detail in a later chapter, became a new guru to evangelicals with his 1978 bestseller Celebration of Discipline. It opened many Christians to the occult by instructing readers in occult techniques (including visualization of Christ). Foster advocated “centering down” through Eastern mystical techniques and meditating upon nature:

“After you have gained some proficiency in centering down, add a five- to ten-minute meditation on some aspect of the creation. Choose something in the created order: tree, planet, bird, leaf, cloud, and each day ponder it carefully and prayerfully…. We should not bypass this means of God’s grace….”