About "A Course In Miracles ©"
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A channeled, three-volume book that claims the world, sin and sickness are just illusions. This New Age belief system uses Christian terminology, but among the stated purposes of its publisher, the Foundation for A Course In Miracles ®, is "correcting the errors of Christianity..."
The Course is said to have been "dictated" to atheistic psychologist Helen Shucman by "an inaudible voice," who, she claimed, later identified himself as "Jesus". The Bible, however, emphatically forbids the practice of spiritism (see Deuteronomy 18:9-12 ) - which is exactly what Ms. Shucman was engaged in.
Recently, an unedited, earlier version has been discovered - with a number of key differences between it and Mr. Shucman's final version. The earlier version is available at several Internet sites, further frustrating the copyright claims made by the Foundation for A Course In Miracles.
Not surprisingly, the Course promotes anti-biblical teachings and practices. (See these quotes from the Course, compiled by Eric Pement).
For instance, John Weldon points out:
In Course philosophy, biblical words undergo drastic changes of purpose. Often, the new meanings are the opposite of their biblical meaning. For example, "atonement" no longer refers to Jesus Christ's substitutionary death on the cross for sin. In biblical teaching, the atonement is based on the fact that man's sinfulness separates him from God. Before man can be reconciled to God, there must be a divine judgment of sin. Christ sacrificed His own life on the cross -- He was judged in our place -- to accomplish this.
(...)
But in the Course, the word "atonement" means that exact opposite: that one is not, and never has been, separated from God. ... For the Course, the term "atonement" refers to correcting the belief that men are separate from God, which is presumed to be a false belief.
Watchman Fellowship described the Course's new age teachings as follows:
ACIM defines sin as a lack of love and since love is all there is, sin in the sight of the Holy Spirit is a mistake to be corrected rather than an evil to be punished. ACIM attempts to deal with sin by saying that the world is not real and that there is no reality behind separation and guilt. Death is an illusion and Jesus' death on the cross was not to pay for sin but to show that sin and death had no effect on him. Salvation is the result of overcoming the illusion of sin, death, sickness fear and pain and is accomplished through forgiveness and undoing the belief in the reality of separation and guilt. ACIM promotes acknowledging Christ in all "brothers" and recognizing His Presence in man.
Nevertheless, some Christians - not skilled at discerning the difference between heresy and orthodoxy - have enthousiastically endorsed the Course. SCP researcher Robert Burroughs notes:
It has also found a ready and expanding audience within the Christian Church, which is not surprising either. Biblical illiteracy is rampant and commitment to orthodoxy less than vigorous and sometimes conciously absent. Those conditions are aggravated by the very nature of the Course writings. Couched in biblical terminology and allegedly dictated by Jesus Christ, they easily confuse and seem designed specifically for that purpose
Tabitha K's ACIM page Includes links to sites that host, or have available for downloading, the unedited version of "A Course in Miracles".
It has been discovered that a pre-copyright edition of ''A Course in Miracles'' exists, and that this month (January, 2000), this public domain work has been widely circulated on the internet through web pages, newsgroups, and email. This is being referred to as the “Hugh Lynn Cayce version” (HLC) because it was presented to Mr. Cayce, both when it was being scribed and also upon completion, as well as approximately 300 other people.
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Quatable Quotes From "A Course In Miracles" Compiled by Christian apologist Eric Pement to demonstrate the Course's Un-Biblical teaching.
As always, Apologetics Index's standard disclaimer applies to this material.
The material presented here is in accordance with international copyright and trademark laws.
The ideas represented herein are the personal interpretation and understanding of the author(s) and are not endorsed by the copyright holder of A Course in Miracles ©.
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