Discern before buying!

Discern…discerning…discernment. You hear these words tossed around in church and read them in the Bible. What does it mean to be discerning, and how does it apply to literature? If you are discerning, you are perceptive, have keen insight, and can detect subtleties. When spoken of in the Bible and the Church, it means that you can apply Godly-principles to what you are seeing, hearing, and reading. To be discerning in literature means that you do not blindly accept facts just because the book was written by an alleged biblical scholar. People who are new to Christianity or who have yet to develop a strong biblical foundation might be tempted to accept what they are reading or hearing as fact, especially if the author or lecturer is widely acclaimed as an expert.


Let’s use Remembering The Parables: Using The Art of Memory to Remember Jesus’ Parables as an example of what to look for when you are discerning whether or not the book is based on a solid biblical foundation. When I was approached to review the book, the only information I knew was the publisher, the authors’ names and a brief description. I’ll admit, I didn’t really check it out prior to saying I’d review it. So, if you found the book in your local bookstore, what would raise red flags?

First, the back cover quotes Giordano Bruno. Bruno was a Dominican Friar who left the order to lecture against basic church beliefs, to declare Christianity irrational, and to proclaim anyone who believed the Bible was illiterate. He was sentenced as a heretic and burned at the stake. What if you didn’t know all of this? If you are unfamiliar with the authors and people quoted on the back of the book, what should you look for?

Read the table of contents. If everything still looks ok, read the introduction. Read the first chapter. Turn to the back of the book and look at the names of the people who were quoted. Remembering the Parables relies heavily on Dominic O’Brien, a British memory champion who peddles his program online and promises his quantum memory system will provide you with a limitless memory (hence the god-like ability to know everything). The majority of the alleged experts, though claiming to have religious backgrounds, spent many years teaching religion at secular institutions. Several were members of the Jesus Seminar. Adolph Julicher, a German scholar of the late 1800’s—early 1900s, taught that the Gospel of Mark contained a hidden message and that Jesus was a historical figure who never claimed to be the Messiah.

By doing this, you would have found Remembering the Parables included the Gnostic gospel of Thomas. Gnosticism is one of the original heresies of the church. Alleged experts have declared that it precedes the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Gospel of Thomas is not accepted by the Catholic Church or by Protestant Denominations. The majority of biblical scholars have declared it a collection of sayings which are based on Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and which contains statements which cannot be attributable to Jesus. (apologeticsindex dot org has more information on the gospel of Thomas and the Jesus Seminar. Perform a site search by clicking on how to use and scrolling down toward the bottom of their page.) You would have also found that the book only included 30 parables that “experts” had agreed were valid. A book with a strong, biblical foundation would not question the legitimacy of any text contained within the Bible.

When in doubt, don’t purchase a book until you have had a chance to research the authors, quoted experts, and read some book reviews online.

Another Gnostic Train Wreck

We've all seen movies in which the protagonist is torn between listening to the cute little angel on his/her left shoulder vs. the demon on the right shoulder.  The cartoonish portrayal is complete with the golden halo and the li'l red devil complete with pitchfork.    A similar battle ensued in my head when I was approached to review Remembering The Parables:  Using The Art of Memory to remember Jesus' parables jointly co-authored by Susan Elliott and Gary Lee Entsminger.  I should have listened.....I should have researched it more.  Then again, perhaps not for it provides a valuable lesson. 

Remembering The Parables is one of several books, lately, whose authors or publishers have gleefully shipped a copy to me in exchange for a fair review.  While I'm sure they were also hoping the respective reviews would be glowing, these authors and publishers possess no degree of influence over the resulting review.  It is also one of several books whose author(s) embrace the modern-day version of Christianity that embraces New Age ideals, eastern mysticism, and secular humanistic thought.  Proudly relying on Dominic O'Brien and John Dominic Crossan as experts and a standard to emulate, the book is a theological disaster and one more in a line of many that relies heavily on the gospel of thomas.

For those unfamiliar with who these men are, Dominc O'Brien is a British mnemonist.  Billed as an 8-time world champion, he is able to remember an astounding amount of facts, numbers, etc.  He has developed a quantum memory system which he peddles online to unsuspecting sacrificial lambs who are interested in improving their own memories.  John Dominc Crossan was a professor emeritus at DePaul University--a private, secular school--with several books to his name.  One of his biggest achievements was his role in co-founding and running the Jesus Seminar.

Sounds harmless and impressive, right?   Sure, except for the fact that O'Brien's memory system is based on quantum memory (thought is matter; reality is what you perceive....think The Secret) and Crossan is a hero of the Christian Aetheist movement (a rejection of God, but the belief in following the teachings of Jesus who was not God but just a great man with a really cool idea of how to live a revolutionary life). 

O'Brien's Quantum Memory system promises a limitless ability to memorize data.  There will not be a limit on the amount of data that you will be able to memorize-therefore know-if you use his system.  Sounds as though he is promising you will become omniscient.   Eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil didn't really work out for Adam and Eve.  Trying to build a tower to Heaven didn't really work out in Babel. And, I'm sure studying quantum memory and buying into the new age ideology when applying it to religion is not going to work for a true follower of Jesus.

Crossan, Irish born, predominantly European educated, and ordained a priest from 1957--1969, was elevated to professor emeritus at DePaul University where he taught world religion.  Self-taughted as an expert on Christianity, and proclaiming to be a Christian, he dispelled belief in all doctrines of Christianity.  He taught that mankind explains the higher power through each culture's religious system, espoused Christianity was not the only way, and declared anything he found difficult to believe in as unfounded events that did not happen.  Indeed, Crossan declared the majority of Jesus' sayings in the New Testament as fiction.

The Gospel of Thomas....ah, where do I BEGIN with the problems associated with esteeming it as a legitimate gospel...the equivalent of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John?  Ah, yes, but it was validated by none other than John Dominic Crossan and the Jesus Seminar.  The Gospel of Thomas was one of 13 volumes found in 1945 at Nag Hammadi.  Most true, biblical scholars believe it was actually written in the second century in Syria and is a restatement of what was contained in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John along with its own ideology.  This contrasts with the view of the new-agey, christian aethists who date it older than the accepted gospels.

How on earth have these beliefs managed to infiltrate mainstream Christianity?  The Bible warns followers to beware.  Then the LORD said to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds." (Jeremiah 14:14).  In the New Testament, Jesus referred to them as "ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:25)

New Age beliefs are not actually new. They spring from the ancient heresy of gnosticism and espouse the "god within....know yourself and know the gods, heaven is not a place but is a state of mind" rhetoric.  Pray for discernment. Memorize scripture. Stay focused on Christ.
If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. (1 Timothy 6:3) These people, though they may proclaim they know Jesus, will not be known to Him in the end.