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Friday, July 26, 2019

The New Ecstatic Religion of the Extraterrestrial God


Mr William Federer inadvertently reveals to us what may be in store in the near future:  a religious faith centered on encountering ‘God’ in outer space and/or on other planets in ways more powerful than we have experienced Him before:

[Astronaut Alan] Bean continued: “Jim would later say, ‘I was aware on the moon that thousands of people on Earth were praying for the success of our mission. The hours I spent on the moon were the most thrilling of my life. Not because I was there but because I could feel the presence of God. There were times I was filled with new challenges and help from God was immediate.'”

Alan Bean concluded: “Dave and Jim journeyed into space as test pilot astronauts and most of us returned the same way. But Jim changed outwardly. As he explained, ‘I returned determined to share with others that profound experience with God on the moon and lift man into his highest flight of life.'”

Astronaut James Irwin later became an evangelical minister. Of his experience of walking on the moon, he stated: “I felt the power of God as I’d never felt it before.”


Mr Federer often treats statements about religion by anyone from the States as though they came from the mouth of a holy and trustworthy source, but that does not mean we all must do likewise.  The statements by these astronauts are not innocent, harmless professions of personal piety.  As we said in the opening, this is could be the ‘wave of the future’ now that space tourism and exploration are being enthusiastically pursued.  From Montanism to the Pentecostal movement, heresies involving ecstatic religious experiences have troubled the Church.  We would not be at all surprised to see space-focused spiritual gurus joining those ranks.  Be on your guard, and use the tested weapons of the Orthodox Church to ward off these new demonic delusions:

In the town of Phrygia, central Asia Minor, about the year 160AD, a man named Montanus claimed to be “seized” by the Holy Spirit. He began to receive “special” messages, “speak in tongues,” “prophecy,” and so forth. Two women “prophetesses” soon join him: Priscilla and Maximillia.

According to a Charismatic/Emerging Church history scheme, about 300AD generally marks the point when the Church allegedly begins to enter a time of “darkness” (see part one of this series, The Charisma of the Age …https://inklesspen.blog/2019/06/25/the-charisma-of-the-age-an-orthodox-critique-of-the-charismatic-movement/ ). Montanus’ alleged experience of a new and special “anointing in the Holy Spirit” transpired when the Church, even according to Pentecostal-Charismatic (P/C) thought, was still generally “being led by the Spirit.” Thus, for a person subscribing to a modern Charismatic philosophy of history, this incident should bear at least some weight.

The History of the Early Church by Eusebius, one of the first and earliest histories of Christianity, gives these details –

“There is said to be a certain village called  Ardabau in that part of Mysia, which borders upon Phrygia. There first, they say, when Gratus was proconsul of  Asia,  a recent convert, Montanus by name, through his unquenchable desire for leadership, gave the adversary opportunity against him. And he became beside himself, and being suddenly in a sort of frenzy and ecstasy, he raved, and began to babble and utter strange things, prophesying in a manner contrary to the constant custom of the Church handed down by tradition from the beginning … Thus by artifice, or rather by such a system of wicked craft, the devil, devising destruction for the disobedient, and being unworthily honored by them, secretly excited and inflamed their understandings which had already become estranged from the true faith. And he stirred up besides two women, and filled them with the false spirit, so that they talked wildly and unreasonably and strangely, like the person already mentioned. And the spirit pronounced them blessed as they rejoiced and gloried in him, and puffed them up by the magnitude of his promises. But sometimes he rebuked them openly in a wise and faithful manner, that he might seem to be a reprover. But those of the Phrygians that were deceived were few in number … And the arrogant spirit taught them to revile the entire universal Church under heaven, because the spirit of false prophecy received neither honor from it nor entrance into it.”1

The Montanists also declared that they were ushering in “the age of the Holy Spirit,” and with it a supposed renewed focus on prophecy, speaking in tongues, miracles, and the other gifts of the Spirit. The modern Charismatic experience has at its foundation an almost identical claim. The Montanists asserted that to reject their message was “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.”

Let the reader take note of the canon – measuring rod – that the early Church used to discern that the Montanist experience was not consonant with the true Spirit of Christianity: The custom of the Church handed down from the beginning. Why was Montanus susceptible to this new spirit? He had arrogance – an unquenchable desire for leadership – and he allowed his own understanding … (to) become estranged from the true faith. Montanus inevitably used Scripture and a special claim of indwelling by the Holy Spirit to disregard the correcting rebuke of the Church in his time. With his unique “anointing” he was under no obligation to listen to “men.”

The Montanists also prophesied exclusively in the first person, something unheard of in the Old and New Testaments. It appears that Montanus would say, “I, the Holy Spirit, say to you …;” “I, the Lord ….” Whereas the Old and New Testament prophets all spoke in this manner, “Thus says the Lord …” (cf. Act. 21:11; Is. 8:1). They also fervently proclaimed the immediate return of Christ, even professing to know location and date. One author states, the Montanists, “Claiming to receive revelation directly from God that fulfilled and superseded the revelation given to the Apostles, Montanus emphasized direct, ecstatic, and highly emotional spiritual experiences for all believers … (they) did not claim to be messengers of God but rather claimed that God ‘possessed’ them and spoke directly through them.”2

A common claim of novel moves, which assert that they are of the Holy Spirit, is that they have the authority to superseded former Christian revelation with their new experiences. Frequently, the claim is made that the former revelation was dead, had lost its way, was only of “men,” and stood in need of renewal or to be abandoned completely. Even Eusebius states, they “revile(d) the entire universal Church under heaven.” New spirits must first deconstruct the Church, and the authority given Her by Christ the Lord, and assert that it is somehow faulty and or in darkness. This enables new claims to appear more credible.

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Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!

Anathema to the Union!

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