Chapter 10 — New Religious Movements

gnostic gospels

Collection of about fifty-two ancient texts based on the teachings of several spiritual leaders written from the second to fourth centuries but not included in the Christian canon (Bible); the writings emphasize secret knowledge and enlightenment, with the belief that salvation lies not in worshiping Jesus Christ, but in psychic or pneumatic souls learning to free themselves from the material world via a revelation; part of the New Testament Apocrypha, e.g., Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of the Lord, Gospel of Truth, Gospel of Judas.

anonymous Christianity

Concept introduced by Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner (1904-84) declaring that people who have never heard the gospel might be saved through Christ as they faithfully respond to their own religious traditions.

Twenty-Eight Fundamental Beliefs

Core set of theological beliefs held by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, understood as descriptors rather than prescriptors; they describe the official theological position of the church, but adherence to them is not a criterion for church membership; the Fundamental Beliefs cover doctrines of God, humankind, salvation, Christian life, the church, and end times.

Thirteen Articles of Faith

Creed composed by Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. as a concise listing of fundamental doctrines of Mormonism; Latter-Day Saint denominations consider these articles an authoritative statement of basic theology.

Theosophy

Divine wisdom; refers to systems of esoteric philosophy concerning direct knowledge of mysteries of being, nature, and God; the attempt to understand the mysteries of the universe and the bonds that unite the universe, human beings, and the divine.

Millerites

Followers of the teachings of William Miller who first shared his belief in the coming second advent of Jesus Christ (Adventism) in roughly the year 1843, based on Miller's study of the symbolic meaning of the prophecies of the biblical book of Daniel.

Theosophical Society

Formed in New York City (1875) by Helena Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge, and others, the society promoted occultism and the universal brotherhood of humanity through incorporation of Brahmanic and Buddhist teachings.

Church of Christ, Scientist (Christian Science)

Founded in 1879 in Boston by Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910), a church that seeks to "reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing"; nineteenth-century restorationist movement, along with Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists and Latter-Day Saints, that sought to restore the church; focus on physical healings and faith brought through Christian Science prayer; emphasizes absolute goodness and perfection of God, and that sin, disease, and death cannot be real; Eddy's "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," along with the Bible, are their scriptures.

Church of Scientology

Founded in 1953 in Camden, New Jersey, by popular author L. Ron Hubbard (1911-86), an organization devoted to the practice and promotion of the Scientology belief system, emphasizing self-knowledge as a means of realizing full spiritual potential; seeks to analyze mental aberrations and to offer means for overcoming them.

Eddy, Mary Baker (1821-1910)

Founder of Christian Science, a restorationist movement; author of the movement's "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," which focused on physical healing and miracles performed by Jesus.

docetism

From the Greek, "to seem"; Christian heresy and one of the earliest sectarian doctrines that affirmed that Jesus Christ did not have a real or natural body during his life on earth but only an apparent or phantom one; became more fully developed as an important doctrinal position of gnosticism, a religious dualist system of belief arising in the second century that held that matter was evil and the spirit good.

Rahner, Karl (1904-84)

German Jesuit theologian; one of the most influential Roman Catholic theologians of the twentieth century; known for his work in Christology and for his integration of an existential philosophy of personalism with Thomistic realism.

Troeltsch, Ernst (1865-1923)

German Protestant theologian, philosopher of religion and history who wrote "The Social Teachings of the Christian Churches" (1912); sought to understand the varied relationship between Christianity and culture, especially modernity; distinguished between church, sect, and mysticism as primary types of religious life, arguing that the church is more inclusive and achieves greater accommodation to other institutions.

Weber, Max (1864-1920)

German sociologist, philosopher, and political economist, who is considered one of the founders of the discipline of sociology; influenced social theory and social research and introduced the "rationalization thesis" and the "Protestant Ethic thesis"; Weber was a massive intellectual figure who had far-reaching impact across a vast array of academic disciplines.

Elohim

God of Israel in the Old Testament; the Hebrew word "God"; a plural form of majesty, employed in the Old Testament for the one and only God of Israel whose personal name was revealed to Moses as YHWH (Yahweh).

Watchtower

Illustrated religious magazine of the Jehovah's Witnesses printed monthly in 209 languages; the magazine was started by Charles Taze Russell to draw attention to what he believed were the last days and to draw attention to the kingdom of God, which he believed would replace earthly governments.

inclusivists

In Christian theology of religions, those more willing to admit revelatory truth outside Christianity, while stressing the centrality of biblical revelation; usually inclusivists recognize that truth may appear outside Christianity, but salvation remains only through Jesus Christ.

pluralists

In Christian theology of religions, those who give up the centrality of the biblical revelation and argue that all truth is truth, whether conveyed in the Bible or other religious traditions; religions possess different names, but the ultimate reference is the same; Christianity is just one way of attaining salvation, since there is a wide variety of salvific religious paths.

exclusivists

In Christian theology of religions, those who insist on the finality and uniqueness of the biblical revelation; deny the possibility of salvation and salvific revelation outside Christianity; assert that there is no overlap, in any way, between Christianity and other religions.

engrams

In Dianetics and Scientology, defined as mental images of a past experience that produce a negative emotional affect in an individual's life; a stimulus impression, mental trace.

thetan

In Scientology, a concept similar to soul or spirit; a term derived from the Greek letter theta, which in Scientology represents the source of life itself; Scientology asserts that it is the thetan that commands the body; Scientology describes thetan as a person—not a thing, but creator of things—the immortal spiritual being.

dhyani-chohan

In Theosophy, the Lord of meditation, the highest spiritual being; a general term for celestial beings beyond human evolution.

Moon, Hyung Jin (b. 1979)

International president of the Unification Church; he is the youngest son of Rev. Sun Myung Moon, who appointed Hyung Jin Moon to be the new leader of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.

Moon, Sun Myung (1920-2012)

Korean religious leader best known for founding the Unification Church and for his claim that he was a messiah; a media mogul and anti-Communist activist; Moon and his wife, Hak Ja Han, presided over mass wedding ceremonies uniting thousands of participants; he and his wife were referred to as the True Parents by members of the Unification Church, his family as the True Family, and his children as the True Children.

Divine Principle

Main theological text- book (1966) of the Unification Church; written by church founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon (1920-2012) and Moon's early disciple Hyo Won Eu (1914-70).

polygamy

Marriage that includes more than two partners; when a man is married to more than one wife at a time, the relationship is called polygyny; when a woman is married to more than one husband at a time, it is called polyandry.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Nineteenth-century Christian restorationist movement, similar to Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, and Christian Science, that sought to restore the Christian church along the lines of the apostolic early church; headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Latter-Day Saints church believes in an open canon and continuing revelation; sacred texts include the Bible, as corrected by Prophet Joseph Smith Jr., "Pearl of Great Price," Book of Mormon, and "Doctrine and Covenants;" also known as Mormons.

Armageddon

According to the book of Revelation, Armageddon will be the site of a battle during the "end of the world," interpreted either literally or symbolically; also used in a generic sense to refer to any "end of the world" scenario; in the New Testament, the place where the kings of the earth under demonic leadership will wage war on the forces of God at the end of history.

Miller, William (1782-1849)

American Baptist preacher from upstate New York who founded the restorationist movement of Adventism, which emphasizes the belief that the personal, visible return of Jesus Christ (e.g., second coming; "advent") is imminent; Miller was a farmer, deputy sheriff, justice of the peace, and chaplain in the infantry during the War of 1812; prophesied that the second advent of Jesus Christ would occur roughly in the year 1843.

Olcott, Colonel Henry Steel (1832-1907)

American military officer, journalist, lawyer, and cofounder and first president of the Theosophical Society; first well-known American to make a formal conversion to Buddhism; interpreted Buddhism through a Western perspective; wrote "Buddhist Catechism" (1881).

Hubbard, L. Ron (1911-86)

American pulp-fiction author and founder of the Church of Scientology; wrote science fiction and fantasy stories and developed a self-help system called Dianetics that became the foundation of the Church of Scientology.

Smith, Joseph, Jr. (1805-44)

American religious leader and founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints movement, a restorationist movement, the predominant branch being Mormonism; published the Book of Mormon, attracted thousands of followers; considered a prophet in a line of biblical prophets; led Latter- Day Saints until he was killed by an armed mob in Carthage, Illinois.

Young, Brigham (1801-77)

American religious leader, second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, who led his followers, the Mormon pioneers, in an exodus through a desert to Zion in the Wilderness, Salt Lake Valley, Utah, the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints.

Reorganized Church of the Latter-Day Saints

American-based international church that is part of the Latter-Day Saints movement; also known as Community of Christ.

Community of Christ

American-based international church, established in 1930, that is part of the Latter-Day Saints movement, a restorationist movement; formerly known as the Re-organized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; closest of the three branches of the Latter-Day Saints movement to mainline Protestantism, except for their belief in continuing prophetic revelation; headquarters in Independence, Missouri.

theocentric

Belief that God is the central aspect of human existence; in Christian theology of religions, recognizing God, by several names, as the center of the theological universe, rather than Christ (Christocentrism) or the Holy Spirit (Pneumocentricism).

Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health

Book by L. Ron Hubbard that set out self-improvement techniques (1950) based on Hubbard's description of the human mind; describes counseling ("auditing") techniques designed to rid one of engrams, mental images of past experience that produce negative emotional effects; the book was a major commercial success, yet met with major controversy because of its scientific invalidity.

White, Ellen G. (1827-1915)

Born and raised in Gorham, Maine, White was one of the founders of the Seventh- Day Adventist Church; she was considered a prophet and her restorationist writings and prophecies were central to that denomination's early growth; among Adventists, her writings hold a secondary role to the Bible; she wrote "Steps to Christ," "The Ministry of Healing," and several books concerning the Great Controversy theme held centrally by Adventists, the cosmic battle between Jesus Christ and Satan.

Yogi, Maharishi Mahesh (1918-2008)

Born in Madya Pradesh, India, and developed the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique; organized a movement to spread the teaching of TM throughout the world.

Newbigin, Lesslie (1909-98)

British theologian, missiologist, mission- ary, author who spent much of his life serving as a missionary in India; bishop of the Church of South India (CSI) and influential in ecumenism and mission studies; wrote several books, including "The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society."

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures

Central text of the Christian Science (1875) religion; written by Mary Baker Eddy and inspired by her personal experience of healing; argues a view of Christianity in which sin, disease, and death are not of God and are therefore not real, contending that by striving for a spiritual understanding of the world as God's perfect creation one can eliminate false beliefs and be healed.

Seventh-Day Adventist

Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday as the Sabbath day of worship and its emphasis on the imminent second coming (advent) of Jesus Christ; the denomination grew out of the Millerite movement as part of restorationism; emphasizes diet and health, holistic understanding of the person, promotion of religious liberty, and conservative principles; part of the larger Adventist movement.

Doctrine and Covenants

One of the four scriptures of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon- ism); contains the ongoing revelations from Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. to contemporary presidents of the Mormon church; new revelations received by the current Mormon president (prophet) are added to the Doctrine and Covenants.

Pearl of Great Price

One of the four scriptures of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons); contains selections from the Book of Mormon; portions of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible (JST); the Book of Abraham, which tells of the plurality of Gods; autobiographical statement of Prophet Joseph Smith Jr.; and Thirteen Articles of Faith, a concise listing of the fundamental doctrines of Mormonism.

universal brotherhood

One of the goals of the Theosophical Society, to form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity, without regard for race, creed, sex, caste, or color; to oppose bigotry in every form and to promote a feeling of brotherhood among all people and nations.

Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints

One of the largest fundamentalist organizations in the United States; practices polygamy; consists of roughly ten thousand members residing in small towns primarily in the United States and Canada; the disparate movement consists of various small communities led by a succession of men regarded as prophets who continue to receive revelations and advocate plural marriage.

Knitter, Paul (b. 1939)

Paul Tillich Professor of Theology, World Religions, and Culture at Union Theological Seminary in New York City; a Roman Catholic who, with former colleague John Hick, promotes religious pluralism.

Hick, John (1922-2012)

Philosopher of religion and theologian; strong advocate of religious pluralism; reinterpreted Christology metaphorically, arguing that Jesus Christ did not teach or believe that he was God incarnate; that Jesus was not literally God in the flesh, but was metaphorically the presence of God; stressed a theocentric, rather than Christocentric, view of religion.

Mormonism

Predominant religious tradition of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, founded by Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. in the 1820s in upstate New York; the term "Mormon" refers to the author of the Book of Mormon, considered by Mormons to be a Nephite, a member of one of the four main groups of settlers of the ancient Americas.

praeparatio evangelica

Preparation for the gospel; in Christian theology of religions, the view that religions are preparations for the gospel; that religions and systems of symbols can be fulfilled, completed only by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Besant, Annie (1847-1933)

Prominent British socialist, theosophist, writer, women's rights activist, supporter of Irish and Indian self-determination; member of the Theosophical Society; helped established the Central Hindu College in India (1898); elected president of the Indian National Congress (1917); promoter of theosophy until she died.

Russell, Charles Taze (1852-1916)

Prominent Christian restorationist minister from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, whose ideas led to the founding of the Jehovah's Witnesses; began publishing a monthly religious journal, Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence; among his beliefs, Russell agreed with the imminent second coming of Christ and maintained that there was a heavenly resurrection of 144,000 righteous, and that Christ had already returned invisibly in 1874.

new religious movements

Religious communities or ethical, spiritual, or philosophical groups of modern origin that occupy a peripheral place in a dominant religious culture; while they may share some elements of belief and practice with preexisting religions or denominations, they are separate from mainstream society; some use this expression rather than the pejorative term "cult."

cult

Ritual practice, from Latin, cultus (worship); a particular system of religious worship, especially with reference to its rituals and ceremonies; sociologically, a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols; currently, a pejorative term for a new religious movement or group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal.

Blavatsky, Madame Helena (1931-91)

Russian-German occultist who, with Henry Steel Olcott, established a research and publishing institute called the Theosophical Society, promoting the universal brotherhood of humanity without regard to race, creed, or color; sought to discover universal spiritual teachings throughout the world; wrote "The Secret Doctrine."

Book of Mormon

Sacred text of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; Mormons believe the book contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent (c. 2200 BCE-421 CE); a record written on golden plates discovered and translated by Prophet Joseph Smith Jr.

Logos spermatikos

Seed-bearing Word; used by Justin Martyr to assert that God had prepared a way to his final revelation in Jesus Christ through hints of truth found in classical philosophy.

atman

Self, soul; in Hinduism, the true self of an individual beyond identification with phenomena, the essence of an individual; in Buddhism, refers to self, ego, stressing the nonself teachings of the Lord Buddha (anatma); in Jainism, the soul, the principle of sentience and one of the tattvas (fundamental substances forming part of the universe).

Dianetics

Set of metaphysical ideas and practices about the relationship between the mind and the body, created by Scientologist L. Ron Hubbard and practiced by followers of Scientology; a pseudoscience of dividing the mind into three parts (conscious, subconscious, and somatic), with the goal of removing the "reactive mind" that prevents happiness; use of "auditing," with a series of questions, to attempt to rid one of painful past experiences that cause the "reactive mind."

mantra

Sound, syllable, word, or group of words considered capable of creating spiritual transformation; these can be ritual prayers or sounds that imitate, reflect, or respond to the divine; a sacred utterance considered to possess mystical or spiritual efficacy.

Transcendental Meditation

Specific form of mantra meditation (TM), introduced in India in the mid-1950s by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1918-2008); TM technique uses a sound or mantra, practiced for fifteen to twenty minutes twice daily with the aim of achieving relaxation and stress reduction.

Rutherford, Joseph (1869-1942)

Succeeded Charles Taze Russell as the second president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society and principle organizer of the Jehovah's Witnesses; born in Missouri, Rutherford emphasized that the Witnesses were the true chosen followers of God.

Barth, Karl (1886-1968)

Swiss Re- formed theologian, regarded as the greatest Protestant theologian and most prolific theologian of the twentieth century; writings include "Church Dogmatics," a thirteen-volume work, and "The Epistle to the Romans;" emphasized the paradoxical nature of divine truth.

Moroni

According to Mormons, an angel or resurrected being who appeared to Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. in 1823 to inform Smith that he had been chosen to restore God's church on earth; Moroni was the son of Mormon, the Nephite prophet for whom the Book of Mormon is named.

Jehovah's Witnesses

Millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from orthodox Christianity; founded by Charles Taze Russell in the late 1870s, with the formation of Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society; Jehovah's Witnesses reject the Trinity and do not observe holidays such as Christmas, Easter, and birthdays; leaders have predicted the end of the world several times.

primitivist movements

Movements based on the belief that Christianity should be restored along the lines of what is known about the apostolic early church, which primitivists see as the search for a purer and more ancient form of Christianity; appealing to the primitive church as a normative model; also referred to as restorationist or restorationism.

Judge, William Quan (1851-96)

Mystic, esotericist, occultist, and one of the founders of the original Theosophical Society.

Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity

New religious movement founded in South Korea (1954) by Rev. Sun Myung Moon; also known as Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, Unification Church, or Unificationism.

Unification Church

New religious movement founded in South Korea in 1954 by Rev. Sun Myung Moon; also known as Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, and Unificationism.

restoration movement

Nineteenth- century movement consisting of several churches that sought to restore the Christian church to a purer form, like the apostolic early church; to re-establish Christianity in its original form.

Christocentric

Theological position describing Jesus Christ as the central point of focus or theme around which all other theological positions are oriented.