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Embraced by the Light of Deception
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Probe Ministries
Embraced by the Light of Deception
Russ Wise
The Popularity of Betty Eadie's Book
A growing number of Christians are embracing the light of Betty
Eadie, the author of Embraced by the Light. Ms.
Eadie's book, along with several other new-age bestsellers, are
influencing the Christian church in a negative way.
The bestseller, Embraced by the Light, is one that needs to
be dealt with. It has been on the New York Times Bestseller List
for over a year now and has sold more than two million copies thus
far.
Betty Eadie is a woman on a mission and her mission is to introduce
the "Jesus" she met in her near-death experience to as many people
as she can. She has been on a variety of national television
programs and hundreds of local programs. According to her publicist
she has spoken in a significant number of churches, and Christians
make up a large portion of those who purchase the book. That is
scary.
Ms. Eadie has become somewhat of a guru for many. When she was in
Dallas in February, 1994, the Dallas Morning News carried a
lead story expressing the adoration of her new-found followers. One
woman said that Ms. Eadie gave her a kind of inner peace and that
without it she would have lost her mind. Another woman said that
she cried all the way through the book the first time she read it.
A man said that the book validated a lot of things he had believed
and that he now looks at things differently.
According to the Dallas Morning News article the book's
greatest appeal "stems from the description of eternal life, a
comforting notion for people who have survived a loved one or for
those pondering their own fate."
The popularity of Betty Eadie and her book Embraced by the
Light in Christians' lives raises some important questions for
us to ask ourselves. Why is her message so readily accepted by
Christians? How has the church failed in its mission, thereby
creating an atmosphere where such heresy could flourish?
Ms. Eadie says that she was shown in the spirit world that we were
with God in the beginning and that we helped him to create the
earth. She tells us that Eve's "initiative" made it possible for
mankind to have children, that sin is not our true nature, and that
we are inherently divine.
She continues by saying that we are all God's children and that we
are here on earth to learn the lessons we need for our own
spiritual evolution. Our key lesson is to remember our divinity and
return to heaven. Eadie embraces the idea that all religions and
faiths are equal in God's sight and that they are essential in our
development. Likewise, spirits from the other side will also help
us learn the lessons of life and aid in our progress.
Ms. Eadie says that death is a spiritual "rebirth" as we simply
make a "transition" to another state of being. There will be no
judgement day and we will judge ourselves regarding our spiritual
evolution.
Mormonism and Magic
She also teaches that we choose the illnesses that we would suffer
and that some would choose the illness that would end their lives.
She further teaches that hell is not forever and that because of
"love," in the end, all will be saved.
Before we can fully understand Ms. Eadie's world view and theology
it is important for us to recognize that she is a Mormon and has
been exposed to new age paganism. She has, in fact, been a member
in good standing of the Mormon Church for the past fifteen years or
more.
Betty Eadie's background is a mixture of native American Indian
spirituality, Catholicism, and Mormonism. Her mother was a full-
blooded Sioux Indian and as a young child Betty attended a Catholic
boarding school.
This spiritual syncretism helps us recognize the source of her
close encounter with "the Light." As we take a closer look at her
new-found belief system we are able to not only see Mormon ideas
but beliefs that are found in the occult.
On page 57 of her book Betty tells the reader, "within our universe
are both positive and negative energies, and both types of energies
are essential to creation and growth. These energies have
intelligence--they do our will. They are willing servants."
You may remember "The Force" of Star Wars and its "light"
and "dark" side. The Force was both "good" and "evil". One simply
chose which side of "The Force" one wanted to utilize for his
evolutionary development. There was no "right" or "wrong" choice;
it was a matter of personal preference.
The Force is similar to "magic." In the occult world magic has a
"good" side and an "evil" side. It is also considered to have a
"light" side and a "dark" side.
Magic is an attempt by man to gain equality with God. To become a
part of the creative process. God spoke the universe into existence
by His word. The magician, sorcerer, or witch attempts to speak
things into existence by words based on their occult knowledge.
The Christian desires to obey the will of God, not to force God
to do his bidding. This is the essential difference between occult
practice, magic, and Christianity.
Another example of Ms. Eadie's new age belief is the account of her
being in a garden while she had her out-of-body experience (OBE).
She saw a rose and was struck by its beauty and as she looked at it
she felt that she had become "one" with it. She states on page 81
of her book, "I felt God in the plant, in me, his love pouring into
us. We were all one!"
"At-one-ment" or the interconnectedness of all things is a primary
tenet of new age thought and philosophy. Betty Eadie, through her
OBE, experienced the greatest deception Lucifer plays on humanity--
that we are a part of the divine, that we are indeed deity. The
idea that we are divine beings opens our understanding that we have
all that we need "within" us to progress toward our full potential
as a god or goddess.
Our "looking" or "going" within is an attempt to discover our inner
allies and gain "deep" learning so we further evolve mentally and
spiritually. These allies or inner teachers, helpers, or guides are
available to all of us, according to the new age mystics.
This inner teacher is also known as the "Higher Self" or the "True
Self" and is in constant battle with our cognitive or conscious
self. The focus of knowledge is transferred from the objective and
cognitive to the subjective and intuitive or experiential. It is
my contention that the greatest danger Betty Eadie
represents for the Christian is that Truth is based on or in
experience rather than the Word of God.
Betty Eadie's View of Jesus
Ms. Eadie believes that the "Jesus" she met during her OBE was the
"real" word of God and not a book that has been corrupted over the
millennia. Perhaps some of the most disturbing aspects of her book
is what is left out rather than the deception within.
Betty Eadie never mentions the crucifixion or the atonement for
sin. In her worldview they simply are not needed. According to her
belief we are at-one with God. Likewise, she never mentions the
cross of Christ; evidently her "Jesus" is too positive to mention
something as negative as the cross or the need of redemption.
There is no mention of evil or victory over sin. There is no
resurrection. Ms. Eadie is almost evangelistic in her declaration
that "all religions upon the earth are necessary because there are
people who need what they teach. People in one religion may not
have a complete understanding of the Lord's gospel and never will
have while in that religion." (see Gal. 1:8 and 2 Cor. 11:13 along
with Matt. 24:24)
Eadie continues by saying "as an individual raises his level of
understanding about God and his own eternal progress, he might feel
disconnected with the teachings of his present church and seek a
different philosophy or religion to fill that void. When this
occurs he has reached another level of understanding and will long
for further truth and knowledge."
She says, "Having received this knowledge, I knew that we have no
right to criticize any church or religion in any way. They are all
precious and important in his sight."
Another concern of Ms. Eadie's is her unbiblical teaching regarding
the person of Jesus. On page 44 of her book Ms. Eadie recounts her
meeting the Jesus of her out-of-body-experience:
I understood that he was the Son of God, though he himself was also
a God, and that he had chosen from before the creation of the world
to be our Savior.
Ms. Eadie's statement regarding the person of Jesus is legitimate
with the exception of one word that causes us to think of how the
Jehovah Witnesses translate John 1:1. The article "a" becomes very
important when it precedes "God." However, for Ms. Eadie the use of
the article "a" indicates that she views Jesus as another distinct
deity rather than the second person of a triune god--thereby
exposing her Mormon understanding of the trinity. The Mormons
believe in three separate beings who are each divine rather than
three persons comprising one God as the Bible indicates.
The Bible is explicit in its affirmation of the Trinity.
Deuteronomy 6:4 is clear in its declaration of one God. Elsewhere
in Scripture we see God the Father (Matthew 6:9), God the Son (John
1:1), and God the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4) as three distinct
Persons who are equal in every aspect of their being.
In John 10:30 Jesus says that He is one with the Father, thereby
leaving no doubt of their oneness regarding their essence and that
they are not two separate beings or gods as Ms. Eadie would have us
believe. Ms. Eadie refers to "the Spirit of God," although she does
not mention the Holy Spirit as the third Person of the Trinity by
name. The Bible, likewise, is clear regarding the stature of the
Holy Spirit. In John 14:26 the Holy Spirit is seen as the enabler
in helping God's people understand divine truth.
Betty Eadie's view of Jesus comes into focus once Biblical light is
shed upon it. It becomes perfectly clear that she does not hold a
trinitarian view of God. Deception of New Age Religion
The unsettling message that Betty Eadie offers in her book is that
we are not sinners needing redemption, but that we are spiritual
beings who have lost our way. We have forgotten our divinity.
Spiritual growth is a progressive process toward self-realization
and at-one-ment.
The new-age world view of Betty Eadie is evident:
All is One
All is God
Man is God
All is changing
Man is changing
All is relative
Self is the Judge
The gospel is unnecessary
Ms. Eadie sounds like Shirley MacLaine, the popular new age
entertainer and author, when she says that her prior existence "had
been purposely blocked from me by a `veil' of forgetfulness at my
birth." Ms. MacLaine had previously made the same statement in her
popular book Out on a Limb.
In other words, we were with our heavenly Father in the spirit
world and eventually came to the point where we were spiritually
dry and realized that the only way to get beyond our dryness was to
jump start our spirituality. Thereby, we chose to leave our
heavenly home and incarnate on this earth where we might further
develop our spiritual essence and advance our possibilities in the
spirit world.
Ms. Eadie states that prior to our leaving our spiritual home and
incarnating in this world we perfected a plan for growth before we
took on this physical shell. She says on page 47 of her book that
"the Father explained that coming to earth for a time would further
our spiritual growth. Each spirit who was to come to earth assisted
in planning the conditions on earth, including the laws of
mortality which would govern us."
In the spirit world Ms. Eadie was told "that we had all desired to
come here, that we had actually chosen many of our weaknesses and
dificult situations in our lives so that we could grow." She
continues by saying, "to my surprise I saw that most of us had
selected the illnesses we would suffer, and for some, the illness
that would end our lives . . . we were very willing, even anxious,
as spirits to accept all of our ailments, illnesses, and accidents
here to help better ourselves spiritually."
According to Betty Eadie we are basically good. On page 49 of her
book Ms. Eadie says "that sin is not our true nature. Spiritually,
we are at various degrees of light--which is knowledge--and because
of our divine spiritual nature we are filled with the desire to do
good." She continues by saying "that there is a vital, dynamic link
between the spirit world and mortality, and that we need the
spirits on the other side for our progression."
In the above statement Ms. Eadie is allowing her god's eclectic
world view show. The idea that man is basically "good" is commonly
held in the field of humanistic psychology rather than in Christian
Scripture. The Bible indicates that man is in need of redemption
and forgiveness. Her belief that we, in the mortal world, are in
need of the spirits from the other side to aid us in our spiritual
progression is taken directly from her Mormon background. We find
this teaching in the Doctrine and Covenants (128:15), one of the
Standard Works of the Mormon Church.
The Biblical indication is that in the last days many will be
deceived. The gospel writer of Matthew seems to agree. Not only
will unbelievers be deceived but also those who have trusted Jesus
for their salvation may be equally deceived. The Scripture says,
"For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great
signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect."
The problem that many have in our day is that they seek "signs" and
"wonders" rather than Jesus. Experience has become their teacher
rather than the Word. Our response is simply, Jesus--the only
begotten Son of God. There is salvation in no other. Our hope is
not in our experiences, but in a person.
Testing the Book by The Bible
Betty Eadie exposes more of her Mormon world view with her belief
in a pre-mortal existence. When Ms. Eadie first speaks of "Jesus"
in her book she said "I knew that I had known him from the
beginning, from long before my earth life, because my spirit
remembered him." Another example of her "new found" belief in a
pre-existence was when "Jesus" allowed her to recall her feelings
when creation occurred. She says that "all people as spirits in the
pre-mortal world took part in the creation of the earth."
Ms. Eadie offers another example. She relates an experience during
her heavenly visitation where she "traveled to many other worlds-
earths like our own but more glorious, and always filled with
loving, intelligent people." She continues by saying, "I knew that
I had been to these places before." She had an experience that she
could not deny.
Some have said that a man with an argument is always at the mercy
of a man with an experience. A growing problem in our society is
the willingness to accept one's experience over the protestation of
the facts. As Christians we need to be careful that we do not fall
into this trap. Our responsibility is to consider the Word of God
and allow it to validate the experience or not. We must be
extremely careful not to allow our or anyone else's experience to
mold our belief system.
Another example of Ms. Eadie's pre-mortal experience was an
encounter with those in the spirit world. She said, "I saw again
the spirits who had not yet come to earth, and I saw some of them
hovering over people in mortality. I saw one male spirit trying to
get a mortal man and woman together on earth--his future parents."
(I had a brief moment of deja vu and thought of Marty McFly
in Back to the Future).
A growing number of Christians are accepting Ms. Eadie's account of
the after-life, and the church is allowing her beliefs to take root
by their lack of biblical teaching. The Bible is very clear
regarding the individual's moment of existence (Psalm 139:13-16).
Nowhere in Scripture does our Lord offer a possibility that we pre-
existed with Him in the spirit world. The burden of proof is on the
one with the experience and not the objective Word of God.
What can we learn from Betty Eadie and her near-death experience?
First and foremost is that near-death experiences tend to alter
one's world view. Raymond Moody in his book The Light Beyond
offers evidence for such a concern. He states that those who
experience a near-death episode
...emerge with an appreciation of religion that is
different from the narrowly defined one established by most
churches. They come to realize through this experience that
religion is not a matter of one 'right' group versus several
'wrong' groups. People who undergo an NDE come out of it saying
that religion concerns your ability to love--not doctrine and
denominations. In short, they think that God is a much more
magnanimous being than they previously thought, and that
denominations don't count.
This idea, that doctrine is of no importance but we should only be
concerned about love, is parallel to the teachings found in the New
Age world view. Ms. Eadie is in agreement with Dr. Moody's
statement that "love" is our ultimate goal and that religion is
simply a vehicle to get us to the party. It makes little or no
difference whether we get there in a Ford or a Chevrolet. As warm
and cozy as this idea sounds, it does not take into account the
words of our Lord in John 14:6: "I am the way, the truth, and the
life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Jesus was very
clear that He wasn't offering one of many ways, but that He was
The Way and The Truth. He was very confident that
salvation was found in no other.
© 1995 Probe Ministries
About the Author
Russ Wise has been an observer of the occult and cults (both
Eastern and Western) for over 20 years. Russ seeks to create an awareness of
these non-biblical teachings in the Christian community, thereby helping to prevent
Christians from falling victim to these deceptions. He is a former associate speaker
with Probe Ministries and resides in Richardson, Texas, with his wife, Wendy.
What is Probe?
Probe Ministries is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to reclaim the
primacy of Christian thought and values in Western culture through media,
education, and literature. In seeking to accomplish this mission, Probe provides
perspective on the integration of the academic disciplines and historic
Christianity.
In addition, Probe acts as a clearing house, communicating the results of
its research to the church and society at large.
Further information about Probe's materials and ministry may be obtained by
writing to:
Probe Ministries
1900 Firman Drive, Suite 100
Richardson, TX 75081
(972) 480-0240 FAX (972) 644-9664
info@probe.org
www.probe.org
Copyright (C) 1996-2008 Probe Ministries
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Leadership U. All rights reserved.
Updated: 14 July 2002
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