Robert Schuller
Robert Schuller (1926-2015) was raised a Calvinist and ordained a minister in the Reformed Churches of America. He grew to fame through building a mega-church in Orange Grove, California, with a crystal cathedral made extensively of glass (costing $300 million in 1961) and broadcasting his church services to millions of viewers throughout the world – called “Hour of Power” – which he hosted for some 40 years. He authored over 30 books, 6 of which were best sellers.
Schuller credits Norman Vincent Peale (see article below) as his mentor, and Peale’s influence upon Schuller’s theology is clearly evident.
Essentially, Schuller distorts Biblical truth, redefining core Christian teachings (as did Peale) including:
- Faith – appearing on Larry King Live in 1994, to promote his new book Achieve Your True Potential Through Power Thinking or Power Thoughts, Schuller said:
“Forty years ago in 1953, the seminal book was published, The Power of Positive Thinking [authored by Norman Vincent Peale]*. Twenty years later, a book was published [by Schuller], Move Ahead with Possibility Thinking, and now 20 years later in 1993, there’s a book Achieve Your True Potential Through Power Thinking or Power Thoughts. So it’s from positive thinking to possibility thinking, to power thinking, and each is a level. … Positive thinking says, ‘Hey. I am somebody. I can do it.’ Possibility thinking picks up on it and says, ‘Okay, how is it possible and how can we make it possible,’ and power thinking says, ‘Okay. I am. I can. It’s possible. Okay, let’s you and me do it. Let’s just make it happen.’… I sum up this in a sentence. Faith plus focus plus follow through equals achievement, and many people fail because they just don’t have the faith in themselves, and others have the faith in themselves, but they don’t focus.”
*The Power of Positive Thinking was published in October 1952 and continues to be Peale’s most widely read work. It was on the New York Times’ best-sellers list for 186 weeks, 48 of which were spent in the No. 1 non-fiction spot. The book sold more than 5 million copies worldwide — 2.5 million from 1952 to 1956— and was eventually translated into over 40 languages.
‘Faith’ therefore according to Schuller is in oneself. Biblical faith, is faith in God and in his Word:
Mark 11:22
“Have faith in God..”
Romans 10:17
“…faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”
Nowhere in the Bible does it say “Have faith in yourself” or even come close to presenting this concept. To the contrary, “faith in oneself” is a form of pride which the Bible condemns in no uncertain terms.
- Jesus – Schuller writes:
“Christ is the Ideal One, for he was Self-Esteem Incarnate” (Self-Esteem p.135).
Jesus the incarnate, is God in the flesh, not self-esteem in the flesh!
John 1:1, 14
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”
- Sin – Schuller writes:
“What do I mean by sin? Any human condition or act that robs God of glory by stripping one of his children of their right to divine dignity – Sin is any act or thought that robs myself or another human being of his or her self-esteem … I contend that his unfulfilled need for self-esteem underlies every act …over and over again that the core of man’s sin is not his depravity but a “lack of self-dignity” (Self Esteem pp. 14, 15)
According to the Bible we are by nature sinners and the acts of the sinful nature are self-evident:
Galatians 5:19-21
“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.”
Schuller stated:
“I don’t think anything has been done in the name of Christ that and under the banner of Christianity that has proven more destructive to human personality and, hence, counterproductive to the evangelism enterprise than the often crude, uncouth, and unchristian strategy of attempting to make people aware of their lost and sinful condition.” (Time, March 18, 1985)
To the contrary, it is only when a person acknowledges their sinful state and humbles themselves in sorrow and contrition, calling upon the mercy of God, can they be saved.
1 John 1:10
“If we claim we have not sinned , we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
2 Corinthians 7:10
“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation…”
Furthermore, the Bible tells us that our “righteousness is like filthy rags” before God (Isaiah 64:6), that we “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and, that “There is no one righteous, not even one…” Moreover, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1Timothy 1: 15), and Christ himself said that he came to call “sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32).
Schuller rejects the truth of the sinful state of man which he calls “error” (Self- Esteem p.162). If we do not acknowledge we are a sinner, then we do not need to repent, and we don’t require a Saviour who will rescue us from our sins. Schuller’s doctrine has no repentance and diametrically opposes the Scripture. Schuller turns Biblical truth on its head: “Sin is psychological self-abuse … The most serious sin is the one that causes me to say, ‘I am unworthy. I may have no claim to divine sonship if you examine me at my worst.’ For once a person believes he is an ‘unworthy sinner,’ it is doubtful if he can really honestly accept the saving grace God offers in Jesus Christ.” (Self-Esteem, p. 98)
- The gospel – Schuller writes:
“If the gospel of Jesus Christ can be proclaimed as a theology of self-esteem, imagine the health this could generate in society!” (Self-Esteem p. 47)
The true gospel of Jesus Christ is this:
1 Corinthians 15:1-4, 22
“…I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures … Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man….For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”
And Schuller stands, therefore, under condemnation:
Galatians 1:8-9
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!”
It is a most serious offense against God to alter his gospel, and replace it with another:
2 Thessalonians 1:7-10
“… when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.”
The “testimony” was the true gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel of Schuller is a false gospel and on judgement day all who have received his gospel, though they think they have ‘known’ God, will be revealed as blasphemers and enemies of God and the true gospel.
- To be born again – Schuller writes:
“To be born again means that we must be changed from a negative to a positive self-image-from inferiority to self-esteem, from fear to love, from doubt to trust. How can this happen? It happens through a meeting with the Ideal One. From my perspective I would expect such an Ideal One to ignore or reject me because of my own shortcomings. But if in fact the Ideal One receives me as his peer and treats me as an equal even though he knows who and what I am-the ill I’ve done, and the good I’ve failed to do-then something profoundly deep will happen at the core of my personality. I will be born again.” (Self Esteem p. 68)
Again, this is not the Bible’s definition of what it means to be born again. The Bible describes the new birth as a (supernatural) spiritual birth, the death of the old sin nature and the gift of a new righteous nature:
John 3:3-8
“… Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
John 1:12-13
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
Galatians 5:24-25
“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”
Romans 6:5-6
“For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”
2 Corinthians 5:17-18
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation ; the old has gone, the new has come!”
- Baptism in the Holy Spirit – Schuller writes:
“And I can feel the self-esteem rising all around me and within me, ‘Rivers of living water shall flow from the inmost being of anyone who believes in me’ (John 7:38). I’ll really feel good about myself” (Self-Esteem p. 80).
The “rivers of living water” that Jesus spoke of in John 7:38 described the supernatural experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, not mere human emotion of feeling “good about myself”:
John 7:37-39
“On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.“
- Hell – Schuller writes
“It is the loss of pride that naturally follows separation from God-the ultimate and unfailing source of our soul’s sense of self-respect- A person is in hell when he has lost his self-esteem.” (Self-Esteem pp. 14-15)
According to the Bible, hell is the place of eternal punishment those who have rejected Christ are sent to, after they have died and stood before the judgement seat of Christ.
To accept Schuller’s philosophy we have to set aside the Bible and embrace an entirely different theology; a theology which effectively promotes the supremacy of ‘self’. It is the worship of ‘self’, and another way to say “we are gods” without actually saying it. Not surprisingly, Schuller actively endorsed New Age leaders, for example, Gerald Jampolsky and Bernie Siegel. Warren Smith, a former New Ager who converted to Christianity, writes in his autobiography The Light That Was Dark: A Spiritual Journey:
“On Oct. 17, 2004, more than 20 years after his first appearance on the Hour of Power, New Age leader Gerald Jampolsky was once again Robert Schuller’s featured guest. … I was very familiar with Gerald Jampolsky. When I was exploring New Age teachings, he was the first one to introduce me to the New Age Christ and to the New Age/New Gospel teachings of A Course in Miracles. Widely reputed in New Age circles to be the closest thing to a New Age bible, A Course in Miracles taught me that ‘there is no sin,’ ‘a slain Christ has no meaning’ and ‘the recognition of God is the recognition of yourself.’ On this Hour of Power program, Schuller praised Jampolsky and recommended all of his ‘fabulous’ books–in spite of the fact that every one of them was based on the New Age teachings of A Course in Miracles. He also stated that Jampolsky’s latest book, Forgiveness, was available in the Crystal Cathedral bookstore.”
(In the late 1980’s, Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral church hosted workshops for A Course In Miracles. Only after much outcry from certain Christians did the Crystal Cathedral stop hosting the workshops.)
Robert Schuller referenced Bernie Siegel in his 1989 book titled Believe in the God who Believes in You (pp. 199-200). On his Hour of Power television program, Schuller praised Siegel as “one of the greatest doctors of the 20th Century.” Siegel, in turn, was one of the prominent front-page endorsers of Robert Schuller’s 1995 book Prayer: My Soul’s Adventure with God: A Spiritual Autobiography.
(Bernie Siegel has a spirit-guide named George. The very first time Siegel engaged in meditation, it was: “to find and meet an inner guide…I met George, a bearded, long-haired young man wearing an immaculate flowing white gown and skullcap … George was … an excellent advisor … he has been my invaluable companion ever since his first appearance.” (Love, Medicine and Miracles))
And, with his endorsement of New Age teaching, as could be expected, Schuller also promoted Eastern Meditation techniques:
“It is important to remember that meditation in any form is the harnessing, by human means, of God’s divine laws…. We are endowed with a great many powers and forces that we do not yet fully understand….A variety of approaches to meditation . . . is employed by many different religions as well as by various nonreligious mind-control systems. In all forms . . . TM, Zen Buddhism, or Yoga . . . the meditator endeavors to overcome the conscious mind …The most effective mantras employ the “M” sound. You can get the feel of it by repeating the words, “I am, I am,” many times over…. Transcendental Meditation or TM… is not a religion nor is it necessarily anti-Christian.” (Peace of Mind Through Possibility Thinking, 1977 pp. 131-32)
Schuller also promoted Emerging Church leaders including, Leonard Sweet – who spoke at Schuller’s “Faith Forward” Conference in 2007- and Erwin McManus and Dan Kimball – who were speakers at Schuller’s “Rethink” Conference in 2008.
Schuller was also an ecumenicalist. In 1992, Schuller launched a new organization called “Churches United in Global Mission” (CUGM), “to share positively the message of Jesus Christ… (in) a spirit of unity that is truly Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, evangelical and charismatic.” In 1987 during Pope John Paul II’s visit to Los Angeles, Schuller stated: “It’s time for Protestants to go to the shepherd [Pope] and say ‘what do we have to do to come home?”
Schuller also actively promoted the uniting of ‘Christian’ and Muslim religions. The offices of the organisation “Christians and Muslims for Peace” (CAMP) were located in Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral. CAMP’s objective was to find common ground between the world’s two largest religions in order to achieve world peace and justice. In his book My Journey Schuller writes:
“Standing before a crowd of devout Muslims with the Grand Mufti, I know that we’re all doing God’s work together. Standing on the edge of a new millennium, we’re laboring hand in hand to repair the breach … I met once more with the Grand Mufti, truly one of the great Christ-honoring leaders of faith… I’m dreaming a bold impossible dream: that positive-thinking believers in God will rise above the illusions that our sectarian religions have imposed on the world, and that leaders of the major faiths will rise above doctrinal idiosyncrasies, choosing not to focus on disagreements, but rather to transcend divisive dogmas to work together to bring peace and prosperity and hope to the world…” (pp. 501-502)
Schuller told Imam Alfred Mohammed of the Muslim American Society that “if he [Schuller] came back in 100 years and found his descendants Muslims, it wouldn’t bother him…”
Schuller ran an “Institute For Successful Church Leadership” at his church for decades and trained thousands of ministers in his principles of ‘church growth’. The Institute was developed specifically as an ecumenical forum for pastors, ministers, priests and lay leaders to share successful ministry ideas.
The impact of the Institute upon the church in America and throughout the world cannot be underestimated. In 1964, Schuller said in His Hour of Power broadcast:
“I see the results today of the Institute for Successful Church Leadership which we dared to launch 35 years ago and it is still going strong. Here ministers are inspired to believe in their dreams and to present the good news of the gospel in positive terms. And some of those students are well-known. Bill Hybels now pastors the largest church, I think, in the United States, the Willow Creek Community Church. Bill has often said that there probably would not be a Willow Creek Church if he hadn’t been able to come to our pastor’s institute here. I’m so proud of him. And there’s Rick Warren, a pastor who today is phenomenal. He came to our institute time after time. And in “Christianity Today,” his wife was quoted as saying, “When we came to that institute, we were blown away.” How God has blessed him. And today Rick Warren is blessing millions of people. There is also the world’s largest Methodist Church in Seoul, Korea. The list goes on; Bishop Blake from downtown Los Angeles. In the current issue of “Time Magazine,” there’s a picture of his church, where his parishioners include Denzel Washington, Magic Johnson, and other celebrities from that community.”
The following article on Norman Vincent Peale was written by “Let Us Reason” ministries – http://www.letusreason.org/Poptea2.htm
(As a matter of interest, President Donald Trump’s parents were members of Peale’s church. Trump grew up under the ministry of Peale, listening to his sermons. Peale conducted the wedding of Trump to his first wife. Trump regards Peale as “his Pastor” and “one of the greatest speakers”. Trump credits his survival in 1990 after bankruptcy to Peale’s positive thinking teachings. Trump’s super-positive persona and belief in oneself is pure Peale.)
Norman Vincent Peale
Norman Vincent Peale may not be a familiar name to many in the church but he is called by some as one of the greatest spiritual leaders of our time. This being true, one must wonder what spirituality they are speaking of.
He was called one of the best known Protestant ministers. Peale was the pastor the Marble Collegiate Church, a Reformed Church in America congregation in New York City, from the year 1932 to 1984. At the time of his retirement the church had 5,000 members, and tourists lined up around the block to hear Peale preach. Peale’s weekly radio program, “The Art of Living,” was broadcast on NBC for 54 years. His sermons were mailed to 750,000 people a month. His Guidepost Magazine continues its popularity today having a circulation of more than 4.5 million, the largest for any religious publication.
Norman Vincent Peale, was a 33-degree Mason. (He was a member of the Woodbridge Lodge in Brooklyn, grand chaplain of the Grand Lodge in N.Y., life member of the Crescent Shrine Temple in Trenton N.J. and past imperial grand chaplain of the Shrine.)…
(Peale) wrote a letter addressed (to) The Supreme Council 33º 1975, the then current Sovereign Grand Commander of Scottish Rite Masonry, offering praise for his morals and dogma. (He is listed) In the book … 10,000 Famous Freemasons (by Robert Denslow).
[Here is the full citation in Denslow’s 10,00 Famous Freemasons:
Norman Vincent Peale Protestant clergyman. b. May 31, 1898 in Bowersville, Ohio. Probably the best known Protestant minister in America. Graduate of Ohio Wesleyan U. in 1920; Boston U. in 1924; Syracuse U. in 1931; Duke U. in 1938. Ordained a Methodist Episcopal minister in 1922, he was pastor at Berkeley, R.I., and Brooklyn and Syracuse, N.Y., between 1922-32. Since 1932 he has been pastor of the Marble Collegiate Reformed Church, N.Y.C. He writes a regular question and answer feature for Look Magazine; is editor of Guideposts, an inspirational magazine; president of the National Temperance Society; a lecturer on public affairs and personal effectiveness; recipient of Freedom Foundation Award; among his books are the best sellers, A Guide to Confident Living and The Power of Positive Thinking. Member of Mid-wood Lodge No. 1062, Brooklyn, N.Y. he was grand chaplain of the Grand Lodge of N.Y., 1949-51. A 32° AASR (NJ) member in N.Y.C., life member of Crescent Shrine Temple, Trenton, N.J., and past imperial grand chaplain of the Shrine.]
… Peale wrote in the Masonic Magazine, stating, “Men of different religions meet in fellowship and brotherhood under the fatherhood of God.”
If anyone does not know what Masonry teaches it is anti Christ to the max. When one reaches the highest degrees they find that the God of the bible is the devil and Lucifer the light bearer is the real God. They also believe that good works will give them entrance to Gods kingdom they call the heavenly lodge.
Robert Schuller attributes Peale to having the greatest influence on his life as he was a disciple and mentor of his. Schuller calls Peale “the man who has impacted and influenced my thinking and my theology and my life more than any other living person …. “. (“The Plus Factor,” published excerpts from a Peale talk on Schuller’s “Hour of Power,’ copyrighted 1985 by Robert Schuller, p. 3.) It was Peale’s positive thinking that gave birth to Schuller’s ever popular secular possibility thinking. Schuller turned Peale’s, positive mind control into “Possibility Thinking,” “Possibility thinking makes miracles happen…. The greatest power in the world is the power of possibility thinking” (Schuller, Your Church, p. 85.).
Peale’s spirituality is not Christian but New Thought and are embraced among evangelicals who have not discerned its origin. Peale’s message was the power of the mind…. “Your unconscious mind… [has a] power that turns wishes into realities when the wishes are strong enough.” (Norman V. Peale Positive Imaging p.77)
In his Power of Positive Thinking we immediately find written believe in yourself, have faith in your abilities (p.1).
Peale has acknowledged that his theology of positive thinking came (from) Ernest Holmes, founder of New Age/Occultic Church of Religious Science (Ernest Holmes, The First Religious Scientist, James Reid, p. 14). The phrase “Positive Thinking” came originally from Charles Fillmore, but it was Peale who made it a cultural icon. (Of course Robert Schuller used it as well.)
Peale’s view of the universe has God as an “energy,” and of “prayer” as the scientific technique for releasing God-energy according to definite “laws.”
He believed,
“There is a powerful and mysterious force in human nature… a kind of mental engineering … a powerful new-old idea…. The concept is a form of mental activity called imaging …. It consists of vividly picturing, in your conscious mind, a desired goal or objective, and holding that image until it sinks into your unconscious mind, where it releases great untapped energies ….When the imaging concept is applied steadily and systematically, it solves problems, strengthens personalities, improves health, and greatly enhances the chances for success in any kind of endeavor. the ideas of imaging has been around for a long time and it has been implicit in all the speaking and writing I have done in the past.”
(Norman V. Peale Introduction Positive Imaging p.1 )
Peale’s spirituality was a blend of Christian Science and mind science teachings with a dash of Christian terminology: The world you live in is mental and not physical. Change your thought and you change everything. (Braden, Spirits, p. 387.) Your unconscious mind … [has a] power that turns wishes into realities when the wishes are strong enough. (Norman Vincent Peale, Positive Imaging p. 77, 1982)
Peale related that at one time he almost resigned from his pastorate as his teachings came under heavy criticism from fellow clergymen. His father, a Methodist minister, came to the rescue and persuaded him to continue saying, “You have evolved a new Christian emphasis out of a composite of Science of Mind, metaphysics, Christian Science, medical and psychological practice, Baptist Evangelism, Methodist witnessing, and solid Dutch Reformed Calvinism.” (Spirits in Rebellion, p.391). While his dad recognized what an eclectic mishmash he had he failed to recognize how this was a departure from the Christian faith.
In his book Power of Positive Thinking the teaching and theme is “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities!” (p. 1) The Bible states to have faith in God, abide in Christ, because apart from him we can do nothing (John: 17). Peale’s teaches the opposite, that we can do all things through “our mind,” not Christ. This is what the human potential movement (part of the New Age counterfeit) teaches. It is also has ties with the positive confession movement in the church.
In the book the Power of Positive Thinking, the advertisement reads
“There is a deep tendency in human nature ultimately to become precisely what you visualize yourself as being. If you see yourself as tense and nervous and frustrated, if that is your image of yourself, that assuredly is what you will be. If you see yourself as inferior in any way, and you hold that image in your conscious mind, it will presently by the process of intellectual osmosis sink into the unconscious, and you will be what you visualize.”
“If, on the contrary, you see yourself as organized, controlled, studious, a thinker, a worker, believing in your talent and ability and yourself, over a period of time, that is what you will become. Thoughts are things; look down on them rather than up Tune in to the infinite – tap into your powerful internal resources Draw unlimited energy for your body and mind.”
There are enough people in the mental hospitals that think of themselves as Napoleon or superman, does this mean they actually are. How many people walk around in a fantasy thinking they are something they are not.
“Who is God? Some theological being? He is so much greater than theology. God is vitality. God is life. God is energy. As you breathe God in, as you visualize His energy, you will be reenergized!”
(No More Stress or Tension, Plus: The Magazine of Positive Thinking, pp. 22-23, May, 1986)
Norman Vincent Peale’s understanding of God was “God is energy – breathe God in – visualize His energy”. How many in the faith movement have you heard the same philosophy echoed?
It was from man’s mind that Peale found that was in control of his universe. Prayer power is a manifestation of energy. “Just as there exist scientific techniques for the release of atomic energy, so are there scientific procedures for the release of spiritual energy through the mechanism of prayer… New and fresh spiritual techniques are being constantly discovered … experiment with prayer power.” (Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking, pp. 52-53, 1983.)
“Prayer … is a procedure by which spiritual power flows from God … releases forces and energies.. . and brings many other astounding results. As in any skill or science one must learn step by step the formula for opening the circuit and receiving this power, Any method through which you can stimulate the power of God to flow into your mind is legitimate … [any] scientific use of prayer …”
( Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking New Condensed Edition (Center for Positive Thinking, 1987), p. 17).
He actually taught “Positive thinking is just another term for faith.”
Peale, whose beliefs had more heresies and occult practices than the truth … has been praised by evangelical leaders. Even evangelist Billy Graham commended his books and magazines (which) are read by millions of evangelical Christians! Ignored for his heresies and left unexposed he has had a tremendous influence on the Church through his numerous disciples.
In 1984 Norman Vincent Peale was interviewed on the Phil Donahue program, (he) said, “It’s not necessary to be born again. You have your way to God; I have mine. I found eternal peace in a Shinto shrine …I’ve been to Shinto shrines, and God is everywhere:” Shocked by this, Phil Donahue responded, “But you’re a Christian minister; you’re supposed to tell me that Christ is the way and the truth and the life, aren’t you?” Peale replied, “Christ is one of the ways. God is everywhere.” (Christian News, May 12, 1997, 11.) Would anyone who holds to Christ being there Lord deny him in such a blatant manner? This is beyond question a horrible statement that rejects Christ’s Lordship. Donahue was shocked and rightly so, but the church was not. He received no backlash or correction for this. Peale was a universalist, believing that everyone is going to heaven as long as they believe in god, any god. That is not a Christian position.
Peale, was very much involved in the occult as he claimed to have been in touch with disincarnates (persons or beings that don’t have a body) on several occasions. One encounter, Peale wrote: “I was seated on the platform of a large auditorium …. Some ten thousand persons . . . were singing hymns …. Then I “saw” him, my father who had died long before at age eighty-five. He came striding down the aisle . . . about forty years old …. I was spellbound… [by] what I was “seeing.” The huge auditorium faded away. I was only with him. Getting closer, he smiled that great smile of his. He raised his arm in the old-time gesture …. I arose from the chair, advanced to the edge of the platform., reaching for him. Then he was gone, leaving me shaken, somewhat embarrassed by my actions, but happy at the same time ….
The bishop [on the platform] . . . when I told him of the incident… said, “Why shouldn’t we believe your father was here? He would like a meeting like this, wouldn’t he?” (Cited in Occult Invasion, Norman Vincent Peale, ‘When Loved Ones Leave Us,’ in Plus, The Magazine of Positive Thinking, pp. 6-8, March, 1985.)
Peale’s occult influence stretched out to others as he wrote on the inside cover of Bernie Siegel’s book, Love, Medicine, and Miracles, Peale writes, “In these pages is found a precious secret, that of health and well being”.
Siegel explains how he got his message and insights through guided meditation and an inner spirit guide (pp.18-20).
Siegel also promotes many New Age teachings and practices like meditation, hypnosis, and guided visualization ,Yoga and Kundalini (pp. 147-152).
Peale endorsed the book The Jesus Letters by Jane Palzere and Anna Brown. “What a wonderful gift to all of us from you is your book. You will bless many by this truly inspired book.” This was a book communicated through a process known as automatic writing by a spirit who called himself Jesus.
In The Magic Power of Your Mind by Natter Germain, Peale is cited 4 times in agreement with the books stated purpose: “[It] shows how you can harness ESP, hypnotism, telepathy, clairvoyance and auto- suggestion to achieve health, wealth and happiness beyond your dreams.”
It becomes increasingly obvious that Peale’s acceptance inside the Church was not a beneficial one. Peale’s legacy is still with us and for what its worth it is embraced more than exposed. We can trace the Church’s condition to the walls systematically chipped away by people’s teaching like these.
In 1993 Peale died on Christmas Eve. He certainly did not visualize this, nor think and see himself dead. But death came to him like anyone else. All his positive thinking was over in a moment and he was faced with an eternal reality that unfortunately no positive thinking could change.