Attacks on Christianityfrom the 1960 and 1970s

Attacks on Christianityfrom the 1960 and 1970s

• Christianity is under attack today from many forces on many fronts

• We are commanded to “go ye therefore and teach all nations” (Matt. 28:19-20, KJV)

• We are to put on the whole “armor of God”• If you are engaged in spiritual warfare, you must

know your enemy and be prepared for battle• The church of Jesus Christ is under assault and

many people merely sit in the pews and seats and never do anything, virtually “denying” Christ almost as badly as Peter did and more than 3 times

The “God is Dead” Movement

• Late 1960s attack on the Church and the US beginning with the “God is dead” movement• The concept of “God is dead” originally came

from German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche who spoke in his parable of “The Madman” who is searching for God. Nietzsche is quoted from his work, The Gay Science:

• He accused all people of being murderers of God, in saying “’Wither is God?’ he cried; ‘I will tell you. We have killed him – you and I. All of us are his murderers…”

• He also said “Gods, too, decompose. God is dead. He remains dead. And we have killed him”

Even “Christians” Pushed the “God is Dead” Movement

• Time Magazine came out with an article about a new movement even in supposed “Christian” circles and churches in October 22, 1965.• Thomas J.J. Altizer, 38, Associate Professor of

Religion from at Emory University in Atlanta, a “Methodist” school, said “We must recognize that the death of God is a historical event: God has died in our time, in our history, in our existence.”

“Is God Dead?”

• Time Magazineput the following cover story and cover in their April 8, 1996 issue saying “Is God Dead?”

• Later on in time, the counter-culture movement taught that God is dead and took God out of the schools, public life

• We are paying the price for it now

Attack with Drugs on Youth

• Time, in the September 26, 1969 issue, talked about drugs and the young who were using marijuana, heroin and major hallucinogens such as LSD

• LSD especially was pushed by Harvard professor Timothy Leary to students and others; he said:

“My advice to people today is as follows: If you take the game of life seriously, if you take your nervous system seriously, if you take your sense organs seriously, if you take the energy process seriously, you must turn on, tune in, and drop out.“

Timothy Leary and Drugs/Religion

• On September 19, 1966, Leary tried unsuccessfully to main legal status for LSD by creating a new religion called the “League for Spiritual Discovery”

• Another group related but not started by Leary was the Brotherhood of Eternal Love that said smoking “marijuana” and “acid” (LSD) were sacraments of their church; they started a distribution network and especially created the legendary “Orange Sunshine” (LSD)

• He published a pamphlet in 1967 called “Start Your Own Religion” to encourage people to do so

Timothy Leary and Drugs/Religion

• About the group, the Brotherhood of Eternal Love, Leary said the following:

“The whole concept of the Brotherhood of Eternal Love is like a bogeyman invented by the narcs. The brotherhood was about eight surfer kids from Southern California, Laguna Beach, who took the LSD, and they practiced the religion of the worship of nature, and they’d go into the mountains. But they were not bigshots at all. None of them ever drove anything better than a VM bus. They were just in it for the spiritual thrill.”

Timothy Leary and Drugs/Religion

• On January 14, 1967, Leary spoke at the “Human Be-In”, 30,000 “hippies” gathering at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco

• Leary wrote an essay called “The Seven Tongues of God” that claimed the human mind and nervous system consisted of seven circuits that produce seven levels of consciousness, but then was expanded to an eight circuit.

• Leary said that to get to the top four circuits, or “gears” you need to do yoga or LSD

• His ideas in part were developed with a Hindu “holy man” or “guru” (similar to gnostic teacher)

Albert Hoffman – Inventor of LSD

• On his 100th birthday, Albert Hoffman met at a conference entitled “LSD: Problem Child and Wonder Drug” at an International Symposium

• Hoffman said at his birthday, “SD wanted to tell me something. It gave me an inner joy, an open mindedness, a gratefulness open eyes and an internal sensitivity for the miracles of creation.”

• He also said, “When you study natural science and the miracles of creation, if you don’t turn into a mystic, you are not a natural scientist.”

Attacks through Music/Drug Culture on Christianity

• Jimi Hendrix first album was “Are You Experienced?”

• Acid rock guitarist Hendrix, was originally part of a group called “The Doors” in honor of Aldous Huxley’s essay “The Doors of Perception” that said that mescalin and lysergic acid were “drugs with unique distinction” that were to be exploited for their ‘supernaturally brilliant’ visionary experience

• In “Voodoo Chile”, the lyrics of the song say: “He (an eagle) took me past to the outskirts of infinity, and when he brought me back, he gave me a Venus witch’s ring and he said fly on, fly on, because I’m in a voodoo chile . . .”

Aldous Huxley Influence on Drug Counter-Culture

• Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World and was the grandson of Thomas Henry Huxley who was called “Darwin’s bulldog”

• Huxley was to appear on the sleeve of the Beatle’s “Sergeant Pepper” Album

• Aldous Huxley who associated with Hollywood movie stars, said, “All gods are homemade, and it is we who pull their strings, and so, give them the power to pull ours.”

• Huxley was pushed the usage of drugs and LSD as part of his “religion”

Jimi Hendrix and OthersDied from Drug Overdose

• Hendrix burned his guitar after a concert and said ”it was like a sacrifice. . . You sacrifice the things you love”

• Famous acid rockers Brian Jones, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison all died at age 27

• They died within months of each other• All of them including Jimi Hendrix died of drug

overdose, leading to a rash of major music and entertainment stars since then dying from drugs

• Jimi Hendrix second album, Bold asLove, displays Jimi as two Vedic godswith the multiple hands of Durga andhis band as avatars of Vishnu

The Beatles, Drugs andEastern Religions

• More attacks came from the movement towards Eastern religions, especially as pushed by the Beatles and other rock groups.

• John Lennon offered his infamous opinion that Christianity was dying and that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus”

• The Beatles encouraged the seeking of gurus (similar to the gnostic teachers), Transcendental Meditation (opened mind to evil spirits), and Eastern philosophies, even mocking Jesus Christ

The Beatles, Drugs andEastern Religions

• The Beatles opening pushed drugs including in many of their songs• Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was “LSD”• Bridge over Troubled Waters talks about

“silver girl” – street slang for a drug needle• Strawberry Fields Forever is about a drug trip• With a Little Help from My Friends – “I get high

with a little help from my friends”• Hey Jude is street slang for heroin – “the

minute you let it under your skin, then you begin to make it feel better”

• The Beatles studied TM in 1968 with a guru in India

Aleister Crowley

• Aleister Crowley was a British occult writer and drug experimenter• At his wife’s instruction he performed an

invocation to the Egyptian god Horus (child of Isis and Osiris) on March 20, 1904 that he said he did with “great success”

• A “god” told him that a new magical Aeon had begun and that Crowley would serve as its prophet

• One of his precepts from “Thelema” was the sovereignty of will: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law”

• Before WW II he said, “before Hitler was, I am”

Aleister Crowley and Rock Music

• Aleister Crowley was a major influence on many bands including:• Jim Morrison – Members of the Doors pose

with a bust of Aleister Crowley• The Beatles – his photo is on the cover of the

Sergeant Pepper album cover • Ozzie Osborne – song lyrics to “Mr. Crowley –

You fooled all the people with magic, you waited on Satan’s call”

• Rolling Stones• Led Zepellin – their song “Stairway to Heaven”

was about a Satanic occult ritual service• And many, many others including Iron Maiden,

David Bowie, Sting, Daryl Hall, Marilyn Manson

Timothy Leary and Aleister Crowley

• Timothy Leary aid about Aleister Crowley:• “I’ve been an admirer of Aleister Crowley. I

think that I’m carrying on much of the work that he started over a hundred years ago. … He was in favor of finding yourself, and ‘Do what thou whilt shall be the whole of the law’ under love. It was a very powerful statement. I’m sorry he isn’t around now to appreciate the glories he started” (Late Night America, Public Broadcasting Network)

Origins of the “Peace” Signwith a Broken Cross

• Neronic cross based on Peter’s crucifixion by Nero upside down; also called “the broken cross”

• Used by Nazis on German death notices• One former witch said that the broken cross “is

an ancient and powerful symbol of the Antichrist. During the dark ages it was used in Druid Witchcraft and by Satanists of all sorts”

• Anton LaVey used the peace symbol as the backdrop for his altar

• The outer circle represents earth (waste and void in Gen. 1:2) and the inner circle represents witches/crows feet, designating “God” reaches down which blasphemes the Holy Spirit

Attack on Public Schools

• Attacks in the public schools• Teaching of evolution as a fact

in the early 1970s rather than as a theory

• No references to creation• Not allowing God or Jesus to

be spoken in public schools due to the “separation of church and state”; Time Magazine cover, Dec. 9, 1991

• No singing of Christmas carols or talking about what Christmas means

Separation of Church and State

• Separation of church and state is NOT in the Constitution• Thomas Jefferson who was NOT a signer of the

Constitution wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptist Church in Connecticut

• The concern was over there being only one denomination controlling the US government

• However due to the fact that the first amendment of the Bill of Rights protects freedom of religion and freedom from religious oppression, there is a movement to remove all Christian symbols from work, from the public square and from government buildings, especially led by the ACLU

The Attacks in the 60s and 70s Affect Us Today

• Many people still are influenced by the “religion” established in the late 1960s by Leary, Huxley and various rock and movie stars

• The religion teaches the “Me” generation that other how we feel is important rather than being selfless and thinking of others

• The focus is on obtaining higher levels of drug-induced states which ultimately destroys your mind instead of “expanding your mind”

What can we do against the attacks on the church?

• Share your faith with others• Support Christian organizations that are fighting

for our rights as Christians against the forces that want to take Christianity out of the public square, out of schools, and out of government

• Voice your beliefs to many others• Exercise your right to vote for issues based on

your faith in God and on principles in the Bible• Write and call your elected officials and others to

let them know where you stand• Be aware of issues in the world and in your

community today and take a stand for Jesus