MARCH FOR JESUS: Commitment or Compromise?

By Rhea Fulmer, Teri Jeter, and Wanda Riner (Appeared in The Christian Conscience magazine in May 1995)

Is the March for Jesus, which is part of the AD 2000 network, an event that portrays the participants’ commitment to Jesus and His teachings or is it an event that promotes compromise of our Christian faith with those of other faiths? Is the March for Jesus a wholly Jesus Christ-centered movement and organization or a movement and organization with New Age connections, leading us toward a one-world religion that promotes a ‘Jesus’ that is whatever one perceives him to be? These are questions that we have had, have researched, and have answered to our satisfaction over the past several months.

The 1994 March for Jesus - "A Day to Change the World" was a huge success here in Florence, Alabama. It was the largest march in the state with an estimated crowd of between 10,000 - 12,000 people. We were all very involved in the organization of our local march: Rhea Fulmer was the Communications Coordinator and Media Spokesperson. She was in charge of all the publicity and advertising and made herself very visible on the radio, TV, and in the newspapers promoting the march. Her husband, Steve, was in charge of public relations and acted as spokesperson to the churches in the area, speaking and showing the March for Jesus video to all interested churches. The Fulmers also added a second phone line to their house which served as the March for Jesus information line and they were the distribution point for all the March for Jesus T-shirts, selling and delivering them from their home. Teri Jeter was the Administrative Coordinator in charge of the printing, word processing, correspondence, and direct mailing of all March for Jesus information to the churches in our three-state area (Alabama, north-eastern Mississippi, and south-central Tennessee). Wanda Riner was one of the three church coordinators whose responsibility was to contact various participating churches and their march representatives and provide information of march material to them.

Approximately two weeks after the March for Jesus, in mid-July, while we were still basking in the success of our endeavors on our Lord's behalf, we received some information, via a local researcher, from Stewardship Services, Banner Ministries, and Standard Ministries about March for Jesus that raised some very serious questions for us. Some of those questions were:

* Is the organization AD 2000, of which March for Jesus is a part, ultimately connected back to well-known New Ager Robert Muller [see sidebar below, "Who is Robert Muller?" for more information], author of New Genesis: Shaping A Global Spirituality? * Is AD 2000 somehow connected to the United Nations and their agenda for a One-World Religion?

* Why was the participation of other religious people such as Muslims, Islams, Hindus, Buddhists, Catholics, etc. encouraged in the March organization literature rather than discouraged?(1)

* How can people who don't believe in Jesus march in honor and worship of Jesus?

* What is the primary focus of March for Jesus?

These questions, and others we had, led us in our effort to be responsible, discerning Christians, to conduct our own research into the March for Jesus organization. What follows is some of the information we uncovered which raised enough doubts about this movement that we will not be participating in the organization of the March or in the March itself this year.

Our research consisted of prayerfully (and in God's Word) sifting through a stack of information we had acquired from various sources, including reading two of Jay Gary's books - The Countdown Has Begun: The Story of the Global Consultation on AD2000 and Beyond and The Star of 2000: Our Journey Toward Hope.

Mr. Jay Gary is the founder of the AD2000 Global Service Office and was the Midwest regional coordinator for the March for Jesus organization last year. He is also the founder of B.E.G.I.N. (Bimillennial Global Interaction Network) and Celebration 2000. Mr. Gary's latest book, The Star of 2000, was published following the 1994 March for Jesus and says this about the March:

"...the March for Jesus is becoming the world's biggest street party."(2) "More than anything else, these historic processions may keep our focus on Christ as we approach the bimillennial."(3)

Gary also states in this book,

"When it comes down to it, the bimillennial of 2000 is about Jesus. It will be a time to develop a new vision of Christ, and ask ourselves how we might measure up to that vision in the new century."(4)

Why do we need a "new vision" of Christ? Isn't the Jesus written about in the Bible enough? Here is Mr. Gary's conception of who Jesus is:

"No one has ever touched history like Jesus of Nazareth. People of practically every culture and background acknowledge Him as the greatest teacher, the greatest leader, the person who lived the most holy life. Indeed, there has never been anyone who could compare with Jesus Christ. He is unique among human beings."(5)

Notice that nothing is said here about the deity of Jesus. In fact, Mr. Gary devotes an entire chapter to Jesus' uniqueness, from a human standpoint, referring only to His deity in talking about the apostle Paul:

"After God made Jesus Lord and Messiah through the resurrection, it was impossible for Paul to consider Him just a man, limited to time and space."(6)

He ends the chapter with this statement:

"I believe we are about to witness a God-given awakening of interest in the person of Jesus as we move toward the year 2000."(7)

New Age Connections

While Robert Muller is not directly involved in the leadership of March for Jesus, he has a much more important role in a leadership position of the AD 2000 network. Mr. Gary is tied to Robert Muller and his New Age connections through the organization of B.E.G.I.N. (Bimillennial Global Interaction Network), a project which began in 1991 under AD2000. Mr. Gary named Dr. Muller as one of the three key people in the establishment of this network - the other two being Mr. Gary and Paul Guest of World Association for Celebrating the Year 2000.(8)

Jay Gary founded another project under this umbrella (AD 2000) known as Celebration 2000 in 1990. He wrote a letter to World Goodwill about Celebration 2000. World Goodwill is more than a New Age organization. It is an organization that is closely linked with the Lucis Trust [formerly the Lucifer Trust] and the Arcane school founded by Alice Bailey(9) [Bailey was a New Age prophetess and also founder of the Lucis Trust].(10) In his letter, Mr. Gary said,

"One common project we are developing is an ‘International Year of Thanksgiving’ in 2000, especially through the United Nations. Mr. Robert Muller has given leadership to this proposal."(11)

In fact, the Celebration 2000 Declaration states as one of its precepts, "...We urge the United Nations to issue a World Bimillennial Proclamation to: declare the year 2000 as an `International Year of Thanksgiving.’”(12) On the letterhead of Celebration 2000 it lists some programs it is involved in, one of them being "Public Praise Marches".(13)

In a recent World Goodwill newsletter (a New Age publication), there was an article by Mr. Gary plugging his organization and pet projects, the International Year of Thanksgiving in 2000 and B.E.G.I.N. which shares information on celebrating the upcoming planetary "year of jubilee".(14)

The 1994 March for Jesus brochure clearly states, "March for Jesus is part of the AD 2000 network of international ministries which are coordinating prayer on June 25, 1994, for global evangelization."(15)

Jay Gary spent three pages in his book, The Star of 2000, quoting from Robert Muller's novel, First Lady of the World, in talking about celebrating the year 2000 as a world Thanksgiving year. Here is a quote found in Mr. Gary's book from Mr. Muller's book (keep in mind this is a novel):

"The year 2000 was an incredible event. Ever since the UN General Assembly recommended to hold this world-wide celebration, ideas, visions, programs, projects, movements, institutions, awards and publicity campaigns for the year 2000 and the advent of the third millennium sprang up all over the world."(16)

"...All religions cooperated in an economic council for the year 2000. The Pope presented his views on a third, spiritual millennium to the 1994 UN General Assembly, during the International Year of the Family..."(17)

First Lady of the World was published in 1991. Here are some more quotes, directly taken from Mr. Muller's book:

"...I dream that all human beings of this Earth will become instruments of peace, thus fulfilling the cosmic function for which they were born and allowed to live for a few years on this beautiful planet. I dream that humanity will hold a world-wide celebration of the year 2000 and of our entry into the third millennium, preceded by unparalleled thinking, perception, inspiration, elevation, planning and love for the achievement of a peaceful and happy human society on Earth."(18)

"...When God created Adam, he saw that he had made a mistake with many shortcomings. So he started all over again and made the woman, adding the miracles of motherhood, love and beauty, as he did for his earlier creation, the Earth, which in all languages is a woman."(19)

Mr. Muller's book, The Birth of a Global Civilization, is also endorsed in the March-April 1992 B.E.G.l.N. newsletter:

"In his latest book Muller proposes that the UN proclaims the Year 2000 as an International Year of Thanksgiving, preceded by 'unprecedented thinking, action, and determination to solve our remaining problems in order to enter the third millennium with a clean slate.' He calls upon the UN to establish a Preparatory Committee which would stimulate and coordinate celebration 2000 preparations among the professions, institutions, media, business, citizen organizations, religion, and the arts.”(20)

That same issue of the B.E.G.I.N. newsletter also advertised the new-age book by John Nesbitt, Megatrends 2000, and heavily promoted the interfaith Parliament of the World's Religions, which drafted the "Global Ethic" - a manifesto for the transformation of mankind through common religious and social beliefs. Also featured in Jay Gary's newsletter, as a full-page spread, is a poem by Robert Muller which includes the lines:

"I dream that on 1 January 2000, the whole world will stand still in prayer, awe and gratitude for our beautiful heavenly Earth, and for the miracle of human life. I dream that (all peoples) from all beliefs and cultures will join their hands, hearts and minds in an unprecedented, universal bimillennial celebration of life....I dream that the third millennium will be declared and made Humanity's First Millennium of Peace."(21)

New Age Ecumenism

We are concerned with the willingness of Mr. Gary and the March for Jesus organization to tie themselves not only to New Age personalities and their religion, but to all religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. In John 17:20-23, which was used often last year in promoting the March, Jesus is talking about unity with believers, not with everyone no matter who or what they believe in. How can this March glorify Jesus when there are marchers who do not even believe in or worship Jesus as the Son of God or worship a Jesus other than the one we are taught about in the Bible to believe in? Second Corinthians 11: 3-4,13-15 states:

"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him... For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."

Second Corinthians 6: 14-17 states:

"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you."

Finally, Galatians 1: 8-10 states:

"But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again. If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I shouId not be the servant of Christ."

John MacArthur in his most recent book, Reckless Faith: When the Church Loses Its Will To Discern, discusses an important aspect of unity:

"Again, emphatically, none of this suggests that love and unity are unimportant. We must be loving. We must seek unity. We must reflect the long-suffering of God and the meekness of our Savior. But all of that must be built on a foundation of non-negotiable truth"(22) [emphisis added].

Our findings show a direct correlation between the hierarchy of the March for Jesus organization and Robert Muller, an avowed espouser of the New Age and One-World system. Even though on the surface the March appears to promote nothing but good, there are some aspects of the organization and leadership of the national March for Jesus that are very wrong. First Corinthians 5:6 and Galatians 5:9 state it quite simply: "...Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?" It is our responsibility as Christians to question things to see if they are of God (1 John 4:1: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world") and to expose wrongs (Ephesians 5:11: "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them").

Following our initial research of Mr. Gary's and Dr. Muller's connections, we received a copy of a memo from Jay Gary to Stewardship Services, Standard Ministries, and Banner Ministries in which he stated, "...In order to be clear on this matter, we no longer use Robert Muller's name as a reference, whether on our letterhead, or connected as an advisor.”(23) However, this fails to explain Mr. Gary's endorsements of Mr. Muller's books or his failure to retract Mr. Muller's quotes from his book and publications.

We have come to the conclusion that marching for Jesus does very little to evangelize effectively for Jesus. That can only be done by living a life that is exemplary and Christ-like. We feel we do not need to walk the streets to claim them for Jesus. They are already His! John MacArthur writes again in Reckless Faith:

"...another factor contributing to the decline of discernment in the contemporary church... is a preoccupation with image and influence. Many Christians have the misconception that to win the world to Christ we must first win the world's favor. If we can get the world to like us, they will embrace our Savior...The express design of this user-friendly philosophy is to make unconverted sinners feel comfortable with the Christian message. People won't come to hear the Gospel proclaimed? Give them something they want. Put on a show. Entertain them. Avoid sensitive subjects like sin and damnation. Accommodate their worldly desires and felt needs. Slip in the Gospel in small, diluted doses. The whole point is to make the church a place where non-Christians can enjoy themselves. The strategy is to tantalize non-Christians rather than confront their unbelief. That is altogether incompatible with sound doctrine. It is compromise with the world. James called it spiritual adultery (James 4:4). . . . In practical terms, the movement to accommodate the world has diminished Christians' confidence in

divinely revealed truth. If we can't trust the preaching of God's Word to convert the lost and build the church, how can we trust the Bible at all - even as a guide for our daily living?”(24)

This illustrates what the March for Jesus... is all about - winning others to Christ without the preaching of God's Holy Word. Gerald Coates, one of the founders of March for Jesus, stated:

"Our task is to make Jesus attractive and intelligible. Through words and deeds to build bridges of love because human beings are worth it, and in the hope that we might have the rich privilege of sharing our faith with them. In so doing, as people respond, the earth will fill up with reasonable people who have been given the ability to make peace rather than war, to be faithful rather than promiscuous, to bring heaven rather than hell into the world.”(25)

Territorial Salvation

The March for Jesus is an event that is publicized by its founders as a means of evangelizing the world and is, therefore, perceived by many who participate as straight evangelism. However, Tricia Tillen, in the 1993 Winter edition of Mainstream, a publication of Banner Ministries, asked about the focus of these Marches:

"Is it simply to save souls, to preach the gospel? NO. Several times throughout the book, March for Jesus, written by the four founders of the marches, it is explicitly denied that the aim is evangelism. The aim is to take the nations by spiritual warfare."(26)

Gerald Coates says in the book, March for Jesus:

"Marching for Jesus is a prophetic act which demonstrates that the meek shall inherit the earth. Each footstep on the march is an action which claims the ground and says - `This is God's world. We are claiming it for God’....Our marching says that we do not inherit the earth by buying it, nor by inheriting it from people, but by shifting the spiritual powers that have been allocated in the structures of the nations."(27)

As Tricia Tillin again states:

"The focus of the Jesus March is not so much the salvation of individual people, but territorial, geographic salvation!"(28)

Another founder of the Marches, Graham Kendrick, wrote in his book:

"...marches are not an evangelistic campaign. They may create a climate for evangelism, precipitate salvation for some and be followed with evangelistic initiatives. But in themselves they are God-ward activities which people are invited to witness, and if they are willing, they may be drawn to Christ."(29)

Relational Unity

The March for Jesus marches (and our local one stressed this above all else) are also designed to promote unity among all denominations.

Tricia Tillin states:

"The organizers believe Christ cannot come until there is full visible unity in the Church. Anyone who stands in the way is accused of destroying this unity - and that's also why doctrine is thrown out. Doctrine divides, they say - so let's ignore the scriptures and concentrate on love and unity."(30)

She quotes Gerald Coates as saying in March for Jesus:

“Doctrinal unity is important in terms of the foundations of our faith, but it seems everyone who comes together on doctrinal unity ends up splitting... Then there are those who strive for methodological unity - this nit-picking fundamentalist evangelical approach to scripture that asks questions like ‘where is marching in the Bible?’ Methods are important, but we are not primarily looking for methodological unity. We are primarily looking for relational unity - a display of love, unity and joy."(31)

We agree that Christ's doctrine does divide. Those of this world (or those who choose to follow "Christ" but on their own worldly terms) would naturally find Christ's doctrine as outlined in the Bible to be too restrictive or "nit-picking". Didn't Jesus predict division in the last days when he spoke in Luke 21:12-19:

"But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. And it shall turn to you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolk, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. But there shall not a hair of your head perish. In your patience possess ye your souls.”

What kind of love, unity and joy are they talking about if it is not backed up with Christ's doctrine - perhaps the world's "feel-good" type?

Which "Jesus"?

Take, for example, the fact that an ex-homosexual who repented of his sins, now a dedicated Christian and family man, was approached by the March organizers in Des Moines, Iowa, to be part of a reconciliation with homosexuals at this year's March. He was asked to publicly apologize on behalf of the church for treating them so terribly. No gospel. Nothing else. Just apologize. Needless to say, he has declined. Further, this "apology" showed no intention of

leading gays to Christ. It simply is a way to bring in the gays to the March. Last year, in this same city, the Moonies were invited to participate in the March for Jesus.(32) Is this the type of unity true Christians want? Sounds like compromise and trying to make the church friendly to the world to us.

Listen to what another founder of the March for Jesus, Roger Forster has said:

"God told us to march - our understanding of the theology of what we were doing came later."(33)

"We don't know how to engage totally the spiritual forces of darkness that are vested in the structures of society... We don't know what happens when we declare the victory of Jesus into the cosmos - what we do know is something happens."(34)

In other words, the idea for these Marches was based on subjective feelings. The founders admit that there is no New Testament scriptural basis for these Marches. However, that doesn't seem to matter to them. What does matter is that everyone feel good about the unity and agreement amongst the participants that the Marches promote. Everyone can give praise to their own `Jesus".

What we have learned from our experience regarding March for Jesus is that we don't need involvement in organizations or movements to worship, praise, or evangelize for Jesus. What we do need to do as Christians is to be more discerning and more in God's Word. We also need to spend more time and effort in instructing our families in the Word to insure their salvation. lf we keep God's Word in our heart, His light will shine in our lives and Jesus will truly shine for others.

Footnotes: 1. 1994 March for Jesus brochure. 2. Jay Gary, The Star of 2000, Our Journey Toward Hope, p. 112. 3. Ibid., p. 115. 4. Ibid., p. 36. 5. Ibid., p. 22. 6. Ibid., Chapter 2: “Unwrap History's Mystery,” p. 35. 7. Ibid., p. 36. 8. Fact sheet from AD2000 on Project name: B.E.G.I.N., under "Key People" heading. 9. Texxe Marrs, Book of New Age Cults & Religions, 1990, p. 334. 10. Texxe Marrs, Dark Secrets of the New Age, 1993, p. 169. 11. Cited in World Goodwill Newsletter, 1993, No. 3, p. 7. 12. "The Celebration 2000 Declaration" petition distributed by B.E.G.I.N. to present to the Secretary-General of the U..N. 13. From letter from Jay & Olgy Gary dated October 14, 1993 on Celebration 2000 letterhead.

14. World Goodwill Newsletter, 1993, No. 3, p. 7. 15. 1994 March for Jesus brochure. 16. Jay Gary Star of 2000, p. 90. 17. Ibid., p. 91. 18. Robert Muller, First Lady of the World, p. 21. 19. Ibid., p. 60. 20. "Bimillennial Research Report," March-April 1992. 21. Cited in Mainstream, Spring 1994 issue (publication of Banner Ministries), p. 7. 22. John MacArthur, Reckless Faith: When The Church Loses Its Will To Discern, p. 44. 23. Memo to Stewardship Services, Standard Ministries, Banner Ministries from Jay Gary dated 10/20/94. 24. John MacArthur, Reckless Faith, p. 52-54. 25. Gerald Coates, "Back To Basics" article, Christian Herald, May 1993, as cited in Mainstream, Spring 1994, p. 7. 26. Mainstream, Winter 1993, p. 3. 27. Gerald Coates, March for Jesus, p. 131. 28. Mainstream, Winter 1993, p. 4. 29. Graham Kendrick, Public Praise: Celebrating Jesus on the Streets of the World, "What A March Is Not," Point 5, p. 21. 30. Mainstream, Winter 1993, p. 5. 31. Gerald Coates, March for Jesus, p. 13. 32. Personal data from Sarah Leslie. 33. Roger Forster, March for Jesus, p. 131. 34. Ibid., p. 140.

Who Is Robert Muller?By Rhea Fulmer, Teri Jeter and Wanda Riner

Background

Robert Muller was born in Waimes, Belgium in 1923, and was raised in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France.(1) He received his doctorate in law and economics from the University of Strasbourg in France. In 1948, he won a summer internship at the United Nations following an essay he wrote on peace. From that time until his retirement in 1982, he worked at the United Nations in a variety of positions, includingPolitical Advisor to the U.N. forces in Cyprus, Director of the Budget, Director of the Office of the Secretary General, Secretary of the U.N. Economic & Social Council, and as Assistant Secretary General.(2) While at the U.N., Muller was the main idea person and trusted collaborator of three Secretary Generals. He has also been called the philosopher and prophet of hope of the United Nations. Muller is now in “active” retirement in Costa Rica where he resides and is Chancellor Emeritus of the University for Peace, a U.N. institution promoting global peace. In 1993, he received the Albert Schweitzer International Prize for the Humanities, and in 1994, he received the Eleanor Roosevelt Man of Vision Award.(3)

Mr. Muller is the author of the World Core Curriculum which was first implemented in The Robert Muller School in Arlington, Texas. This school "grew out of a desire to provide experiences which would enable the students to become true planetary citizens through a global approach to education.”(4) This curriculum is now embraced by more and more schools around the globe and earned him the 1989 UNESCO Education Peace Prize.(5) The Robert Muller School was fully accredited in 1985, and is now certified as a United Nations Associated School providing education for international cooperation and peace.(6)

Muller's Mentors

Muller has admitted that the demon spirit, "the Tibetan" (or Djwhal Khul), advised him on a core curriculum for the New Age, to be used in public and private schools to teach children "Global Education".(7) In the preface of the World Core Curriculum Manual it states:

“...The underlying philosophy upon which The Robert Muller School is based will be found in the teachings set forth in the books of Alice A. Bailey by the Tibetan teacher, Djwhal Khul...and the teachings of M. Morya as given in the Agni Yoga Series books.....”(8)

Evidently Mr. Muller is a follower of the demon Master Khul. He also confesses that his "Master" was U Thant, the Burmese Buddhist and one-world propagandist, who was his superior when Muller was Secretary General of the U.N. Muller explains his personal conversion to the New Age this way:

"I have never been a deeply religious person. I was raised in a good Catholic family, but for long in my life, I had never met anyone who inspired me to become a really spiritual person....At the age of 46, I became director of Secretary-General U Thant's office. Here, for the first time in my life, I met a person who inspired me, a man who was deeply religious....I studied Buddhism to know him better. We became great friends....Here, in the middle of my life, was the Master, the one who inspired me, someone I could imitate like a father....From the moment I became interested in the spiritual dimension of life, everything started to change....I studied the mystics....I was invited to participate in an East-West monastic encounter."(9)

The Goal of Global Godhood

Muller is also a follower of Teilhard de Chardin, the "patron saint" of the New Age, who wrote that man will progressively become more Christ-like until humanity reaches its ultimate goal: godhood, which he called the Omega Point.(10) Muller calls himself a Teilhardian and refers to the key turning points in his life during his 36 years at the United Nations as "my Teilhardian enlightenments". His speeches are also built around Teilhard's "philosophy of global evolution, of the noosphere, of metamorphosis, and of the birth of a collective brain to the human species."(11)

Robert Muller is co-founder of Planetary Citizens, a net-working group founded in 1974 to encourage all the citizens of the globe to force their nations into a One World Government and Planetary Consciousness by the year 2000.(12) In addition, he is a board member of the major New Age net-working group, Planetary Initiative for the World We Choose, which is inspired by Teilhard de Chardin's beliefs.(13)

Though Muller proclaims himself a Christian Catholic, he has said, "I am not so fanatical as not to respect other faiths. I would never fight with another religion about the superiority of mine."(14) When asked "What is the best religion?" Muller replied, “You have about five thousand religions on the planet. You'd be dead before you studied them all to decide which is the best."(l5) He claims that Christ would want us to unite all religions: “Worldwide spiritual ecumenism, expressed in new forms of religious cooperation and institutions would probably be closest to the heart of the resurrection of Christ."(16) He encourages an acceleration of the uniting of all religions sayingwe must recognize "the unity of their objectives in the diversity of their cults..." and "...Religions must actively cooperate to bring to unprecedented heights a better understanding of the mysteries of life and of our place in the universe. `My religion, right or wrong,' and `My nation, right or wrong', must he abandoned forever in the Planetary Age."(I7) To illustrate this belief, Muller embraces the Hindu andNew Age doctrine of successive reincarnations in this statement:

"O God, I know that I come from you, that I am part of you, that I will return to you, and that there will be no end to my rebirth in the eternal stream of your splendid creation."(18)

In his book, The New Genesis, he suggests that once the Kingdom of Man is set up under a World Government and after the One World Religion is established, "God" could go away forever, leaving man to be his own god and saying,

“Farewell, my grownup children. At long last you are on the right path, you have brought heaven down to earth....I will now leave you... for I have to turn my attention to other troubled and unfinished celestial bodies. I now pronounce you Planet of God.”(19)

Mr. Muller has also called for the publishing of a worldwide bible which would implement both the divine commandments of the Bible and "show how the United Nations is a modern biblical institution." He states that this should be done not only for the Christian, but "...all great religions or sacred books, such as the Koran, the Grant Sahib, etc."(20)

A New Genesis

Regarding the year 2000, Muller, in his book The New Genesis on page 186, calls for the New Age to be ushered in by the year 2000 and for the formation of a New Order which he calls "A Bimillennium Celebration of Life, the advent of an Era of Peace, a Golden Age, and the First Millennium of World Harmony and Human Happiness." He writes, "Yes, we must join our Hindu brethren and call henceforth our planet

'Brahma' or the Planet of God."(21)

The ideological base of the New Age political agenda is a unity of all religions, allowing various religions to exist with each viewed as teaching the same core truth: mankind is divine. This is what Muller had to say about the unity of religions:

"For the first time in history we have discovered that this is one planet on which we live. Now it remains for us to discover that we are also one human family and that we have to transcend all national, linguistic, cultural, racial and religious differences which have made our history. We have a chance to write a completely new history."(22) In an interview for The Center magazine in 1981, he stated,

"I have several proposals to help the world situation, but the main one would be to prepare for a world celebration of the bimillennium....I would like to see all leaders and men and women of good will begin to work toward the year 2000 now, so that from 2000 on we will have a clean slate for a new age and world....The next two decades should be devoted to unparalleled thinking, perception, inspiration, love, planning, and work for the achievement of a just and peaceful society on earth....I would like to see politicians begin to work on new values,methods, and political instruments to free the big powers from their present deadlock in nemesis...and to better administer this planet. Such aspirations and efforts would lift the sight of the people above their present anxieties and give them hope. We need to be shown new frontiers and summits. We need to have faith, for faith engenders progress, achievements, and sometimes even miracles. We need to believe above all that the human species has a reason to be, a task, and an ultimate fulfillment in the universe. I believe there are cosmic laws for which we ought to be looking. The billions of years of our planet's evolution and the millions of years of human evolution cannot have as their sole objective that the Soviet Union and the United States should annihilate all life on earth. There must be other reasons for all our travail. I believe that these other reasons are progressively to emerge."(23)

An Ecumenical Emerging Order

At the Conference in Search of the True Meaning of Peace held in Costa Rica on June 25-30, 1989, Robert Muller urged participants to work to bring in a One World Religion by the year 2000. Here is a portion of Muller's speech to the conference:

"We need a World or cosmic spirituality...religious leaders will get together to define before the end of this century the cosmic laws which are common to all their faiths....They should tell the politicians what the cosmic laws are, what God, or the gods, or the cosmos are expecting from humans. We must hope also that the Pope will come before the year 2000 to the United Nations, speak for all the religious and spiritualities on this planet and give the world the religious view of how the third millennium should be a spiritual millennium, a millennium which will see the integration and harmony of humanity...."(24)

Mr. Muller believes the U.N. has a role in the establishment of a global society. He states what is to come to those who oppose the establishment of his "utopia."

"... If I wanted to make a fortune I would leave the United Nations and start a new profession called ‘entity promotion’. It would go far beyond public relations and advertising. I would say to my customers, ‘You want to promote an entity? A race, a religion, an institution, a nation, a minority, a firm, an interest group, a product, a service - anything, you name it. I will tell you how to do it.’ Over the years, I have gathered two files on entity promotion. The first deals with every possible technique to prove that your entity is superior. You need a flag, ahymn, an education, a creed, a protocol, a language, famous persons, preferably even heroes and martyrs, etc. My second file deals with ways to diminish other entities. Lie about them, denigrate them, do not cease to repeat that they are bad, accuse them of anything and everything. The human species is still at the stage where this is the predominant game on the planet....We need entities....”(25)

CouId March for Jesus be one of his entities?

Footnotes

1. Robert Muller, First Lady of the World, "About the Author," 2nd edition, 1994, p. 207. 2. The Center Magazine, November/December 1981, "An Interview with Robert Muller: Toward A Global Politics," Michael Crandell, p. 7. 3. First Lady of the World, p. 207. 4. The Robert Muller School World Core Curriculum Manual, November 1986, "School History" section, p. 1. 5. First Lady of the World, p. 207. 6. World Core Curriculum Manual, "Preface." 7. Texxe Marrs, Dark Secrets of the New Age, 1993, p. 44. 8. World Core Curriculum Manual, "Preface." 9. Robert Muller, The New Genesis: Shaping A Global Spirituality, pp. 169-171. 10. James Bolen, "Teilhard de Chardin, 1881-1991," New Realities, Vol. IV, No. 1, 1981. 11. Holistic Life Magazine, Fall 1983, Robert Muller, op. cit., as cited in The Seduction of Christianity by Dave Hunt, 1985, p. 77. 12. Texxe Marrs, Dark Secrets of the New Age, 1993, p. 51. 13. Dave Hunt, The Seduction of Christianity, 1985, pp. 80-81. 14. Robert Muller, The New Genesis, p. xiii. 15. Ibid. 16. Ibid. 17. Ibid., p. 183. 18. Robert Muller, The New Genesis, p. 189. 19. Ibid. p. 191, as cited in Texxe Marrs, Dark Secrets of the New Age, 1993, p. 176. 20. Texxe Marrs, Dark Secrets of the New Age, 1993, p. 181. 21. Ibid., p. 46.

22. The Movement Newspaper, "U.N.'s Robert Muller to Speak at Universal Peace Conference," February 1983, p. 21 as cited in Walter Martin's The New Age Cult, 1989, p. 71. 23. The Center Magazine, p. 12. 24. Flashpoint Newsletter, Texxe Marrs, January 1990. 25. The Center Magazine, p. 10.