The Impact of the 1960s Counter-Culture
 No
one would question the influence of cultic religions
in modern western culture. When Eastern religions found
a place of acceptance among the 15-30 year old crowd
in the 1960s they rushed to our shores in droves with
new philosophies that were eagerly accepted by America's
youngest and brightest minds. Though no adult over 30
was to be trusted in those days, yet just about any
long-haired, turban-topped, robe-wearing guru from the
Far East could gather a following of young people no
matter how unconventional and crazy his philosophy might
be. Even cultic religious leaders like Sun Myung Moon
found a virtual gold mine in American youth in those
days. Not only is this kind of influence still going
on today, but its rate of growth is increasing.
There is no doubt the current emphasis upon "tolerance"
has its roots in those days when "turning on, tuning
in and dropping out" was in vogue. Dr. Timothy Leary,
Harvard professor of psychology, was at the forefront of the
counter-culture. In an experiment known as the Good Friday
Experiment conducted at Boston University's Marsh Chapel on
April 20, 1962, Leary tested the mind-expanding effects of
psilocybin, the active chemical in certain mushrooms. That
was the beginning of the drug counter-culture among college
students-a counter-culture that had as its zenith the so-called
Summer of Love in 1967.
I was a teen in those days, and though we lived in a small
town with a small high school, we were not totally isolated
from the world at large. The messages that came seeping through
the partitions that separated rural America from everywhere
else were "try it-you'll like", "if it feels
good do it", "make love not war", etc. I spent
some time on the Boston Common in the summer of 1969, and
what was there was hardly less than mind-boggling to a small-town
boy. Moonies, Krishnas, hippies and about every far-out political
faction you can think of were there basking in the sun, smoking
rope and "loving" everybody. Everybody, that is,
except those who believed in fundamental Christianity. You
see, even back then Christians were not to be tolerated because
they were not inclusive enough. Any religion would do except
one that had uncompromising principles.
Today America is a huge melting pot of many things: philosophies,
politics, religions and economics to name just a few. And
the mantra today is much the same as it was 40 years ago.
Though it is no longer "turn on, tune in and drop out",
the same message is found in the modern demand for everyone
to be "tolerant" regarding everyone else's views,
no matter how perverted, debauched or harmful. Standards of
right-and-wrong are no longer deemed necessary much less appropriate.
Nothing anyone says can be offensive to anyone else. It is
true that offensive speech for the sake of simply being offensive
is not appropriate, but to say we cannot declare some conduct
or philosophy wrong because it is wrong is absurd! Rescuing
our nation and our culture from those forces and influences
that are demeaning and harmful requires us to call things
as they are. To call a pervert a pervert might be offensive,
but it should be offensive only to the pervert. To declare
that homosexuality, incest, bestiality, cheating and adultery
are wrong and harmful to the basic structure of society is
not conduct unbecoming Christians and citizens, but rather
is required speech. To say it is otherwise is idiocy!
So-called religious tolerance introduced by the counter-culture
of 40 years ago has opened numerous doors that many people
are living to regret they walked through. The cults have wrecked
untold numbers of lives and families, and there is no end
in sight. And, one of the little-known but growing religious
cultic philosophies in modern America is the belief in reincarnation.
Otherwise known as metempsychosis (Greek for change in soul),
cycle of birth and transmigration of the soul, this hellish
belief system is growing and claims some prominent people
as its adherents.
A Gallup pole taken in 2001 of Americans 18 years and older
indicates a full 25% of Americans believe in some form of
reincarnation. Twenty percent did not know if they believed
in it, 54% definitely did not and only 1% had no opinion.
Such notables who believed in reincarnation were Socrates,
Voltaire, Thomas Huxley, Mark Twain, Henry Ford and Peter
Sellers. Today the believers include Sylvester Stallone, John
Travolta, Loretta Lynn and Shirley MacLaine (see: Richard
Holmes The Reincarnation FAQ; www.geocites.com/richard_holmes).
Why is this cultic phenomenon so dangerous? Perhaps the major
reason is that many of its proponents declare that belief
in reincarnation is compatible with Christianity. They say
that Jesus did not preach against it, and that He might have
even endorsed it when He declared John the Baptist to be the
prophet Elijah (Matthew 11:14). How is that for taking a very
clear verse and twisting it out of its context to fit a cultic
philosophy?! If a Christian says that reincarnation is one
more of Satan's lies about eternity, the proponent of reincarnation
will often call into question the very existence of Satan.
Bible verses that clearly dispute reincarnation such as Hebrews
9:27 and Psalm 78:39 are simply brushed aside by arguing that
on closer examination such disbelief in reincarnation is often
the result of people reading such verses with false and preconceived
assumptions.
Reincarnation, a principle in the Hindu cult, not only disregards
Jesus as Deity, the very Son of God, but it reinforces the
horrible caste system in India. In that system there are socio/economic
levels ranging from the very rich to the miserably poor. The
desperately poor and diseased are not cared for because they
are seen as deserving of their filth and despair due to circumstances
and failures in their past lives. In Hinduism cruel fate governs
instead of a loving God. And to think that modern America,
politically and religiously, demands that this sort of thing
must be tolerated and afforded moral equivalency with Christianity
is a travesty of everything good and holy. Yet, universities
and even some seminaries are cranking out graduates each year
holding to this form of tommy-rot. What is the anti-dote?
A heavy dose of the gospel is the only thing that will dispel
and cure this religious, social and political monster that
is nourished by the modern mantra of "tolerance".
It seems that forty years ago only a few people could see
the disaster coming and these were mostly ignored. But, since
when should negative consequences always be the sole rule
for accepting or rejecting something. Being wrong in and of
itself is enough. Folks, let this one thought permeate our
minds: tolerance without godly principles to govern it is
an unbelievably destructive force with both temporal and eternal
consequences. DLM
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