Paganism Makes a Big Comeback

Paganism Makes a Big Comeback

Writer Ronda Byrne has received lots of attention for her book, The Secret. Interviews on Ophra Winfrey and Larry King Live have sent her stock soaring. The author claims that she has discovered the mystical, spiritual key to all success and happiness.

She found her mysterious key in the ancient story of the Emerald Tablett. Legend has it that an unknown explorer found it a musty Egyptian tomb, clutched in the dead hand of one Hermes Trismegistus. On the magical stone it is alleged the following lines were engraved:

"True, without falsehood, certain and most true, that which is above is the same as that which is below, and that which is below is the same as that which is above, for the performance of miracles of the One Thing. And as all things are from the One, by the meditation of One, so all things have their birth from this One Thing by adaptation. The Sun is its Father, the Moon its Mother, the Wind carries it in its belly, its nurse is the Earth. This is the Father of all perfection, or consummation of the whole world. Its power is integrating, if it be turned into earth."

Of course no one has seen the magical stone. They have only heard the legend and seen it depicted by artists. No one knows just who discovered the stone. No one is certain of the wording, because there are numerous variations of the message that have been passed down over the ages. For postmoderns that really doesn't matter. They have rejected Christianity and any exciting substitute is eagerly embraced.

Ms. Byrne's book is selling like hotcakes and the story behind it will soon be made into a movie. Biblically illiterate postmoderns are swooning over "the secret" but those who know God's Word quickly see it as a revival of ancient paganism. The concept of the Sun as Father, the Moon as Mother and the Earth as the nurse are borrowed from the heathen nations of the Middle East. That was the fertility religion of the Canaanite nations who occupied the land when the Hebrews arrived. Baal was the sun god, Ashtoreth, the moon goddess. This corrupt system was so seductive that great numbers of the Israelites eventually embraced it, trying to meld it with their worship of Jehovah.

The concept of "that which is above is the same as that which is below, and that which is below is the same as that which is above" is derived from the ancient pagan belief of pantheism. The priests of pantheism express it, "All is God and God is all." They conceived of God as the spirit or mind of the universe and the creation as his body. This is still the basis of the Hindu religion of India. As one occultist expressed it, "The universe is the same as God, God is the same as man, man is the same as the cell.... Man is the counterpart of God on earth; as God is man's counterpart in heaven. Therefore, it is a statement of an ancient belief that man's actions on earth parallel the actions of God in heaven...." (An On-line Encyclopedia of the Occult, Mysticism, etc.). Pantheism is the underlying belief of the New Age religion that is so popular in our society...especially in the Hollywood set.

When God gave his law to the Hebrews he warned "There shall not be found with thee any one...that useth divination, one that practiseth augury, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a consulter with a familiar spirit , or a wizard, or a necromancer. For whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto Jehovah." (Deut. 18:10-11). Christians will continue to find their guidance for life in the pages of God's sacred book. In Jesus they have found the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). The glistening mysteries of "The Emerald Stone" have no appeal to them. "Let no man deceived you" (II Thess 2:3).

* Material for this article is gleaned from "A New Mask for An Ancient Secret" by Berit Kjos.

Sincerely,

Back -- or go -- Home