The 19th Century: The Spawning Ground of the Cults and the Occult By Dr. Robert A. Morey

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The 19th Century: The Spawning Ground of the Cults and the Occult



By Dr. Robert A. Morey

Introduction
While secular humanism claims that history manifests only chaos, the
bible teaches that history manifests order. Thus if you look closely
at history, you will find that things do not happen willy nilly. There
is always a reason why things happens.

Why was the 19th century the spawning ground of the cults and the
occult? To answer this question we must understand what influenced
people at that time to leave Christianity and to embrace cultic and
occultic teachings.

As we do this, we will discover that the rise of the cults and the
occult did not happen in a vacuum but in the midst of a mega-shift in
western culture.

A mega-shift takes place when a culture is radically altered by new
advances in economics, politics, religion, information, war, etc. The
mega-shifts which took place in the 19th century created a situation
which was conducive to the rise of the cults and the occult.

The rise of the cults and the occult also happened because the
Christian Church was not aware that mega-shifts were taking place in
western culture. Because the Church was not aware of the mega-shifts
taking place all around it, it lost millions of people to the cults
and the occult.


1.The industrial revolution was a mega-shift. The population centers
moved from the farm to the city as society moved from an agricultural
economy to an industrial economy. The population mega-shift created
the cheap labor force needed for the factories.
2.This mega-shift was disastrous for the local church because people
moved either to the big cities or they emigrated to North America.
They no longer had the traditional ties to their local church.
3.Because of the new economic base, the small farm was no longer
needed. The new vast “single product” farms created famines which
forced mass migrations from Europe to North America. Famines in
Ireland, Italy, Germany, etc. , forced millions of people to
emigrate.
4.There was a mega-shift in philosophy and religion. The bible,
Christianity, and religion in general came under fierce attack by
secular thinkers . Religious liberalism joined secular scholars in
attacking the bible. Christianity was discredited in most
universities.
5.There was a mega-shift in information technology. With the invention
of the telegraph and the daily newspaper, news began to travel quickly
from country to country.
6.A mega-shift took place when the steam engine was invented. Not only
did steam run the new factories but millions of people could now
emigrate to America on huge steamships.
7.There was a mega-shift in politics as the reign of kings came to an
end and democracies began to flourish. Freedom of religion was allowed
in many countries for the first time.
8.There was a mega-shift in which the industrial/military complex
introduced new weapons of mass destruction. The 19th century had more
wars and battles than any century preceding it. Reports of these
battles were in the newspapers daily. The end time “wars and rumors of
war” seem to be fulfilled.
9.On Nov. 13, 1833 a spectacular meteor shower hit the earth. On that
one night over 200,000 brilliant shooting stars lit up the sky. People
thought that these were “signs in the sky.”
10.The dust from the eruptions of large volcanoes in 1815 and 1883
darkened daylight and turned the moon blood red . People began to
think that these were definitely “signs in the sky.”
11. The “end of the world” became a popular topic . Date setting
became the rage in religious circles .
12.False prophets stepped into this situation with the claim that they
alone knew the exact date for the end of the world and how best to
prepare for it.
13.The mega-shift in information technology meant that for the first
time a false prophet could cheaply print and distribute magazines and
books.
14.The mega-shift in politics created the necessary freedom of
religion which allowed false prophets to spread their teachings
worldwide.
15.The mega-shift in population centers gave them a “Churchless”
audience.
16.The grinding poverty, the abysmal ignorance, the savage wars, the
relentless crime, the filthy slums, the brutal factories, etc. , made
it appear that things could not get any worse. The end is near!

Conclusion
The rise of the cults and the occult in 19th century was due to the
mega-shifts and the natural phenomenon which together created a
perfect climate for false prophets to win converts .
Whether we like it or not, a mega-shift is taking place in our culture
today. Will the Christian Church arise to the occasion and deal with
the issues raised by this new mega-shift?

The timeline of 19th century false prophets
1763 Thomas Campbell (1763-1854)
1772 Charles Fourier (1772-1837)
1782 William Miller (1782-1848)
1788 Alexander Campbell (1888-1866)
1801 Brigham Young (1801-1877)
1802 Phineas Quimby (1802-1866)
1805 Joseph Smith (1805-1844)
1805 John Thomas (1805-1871)
1809 Albert Pike (1809-1891)
1819 Mirza Ali Muhammad (1819-1850)
1821 Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910)
1827 Ellen G. White (1827-1915)
1831 Madame Blavatsky (1831-1891)
1836 Margaret Fox
1839 Kate Fox
1845 Myrtle Fillmore (1845-1931)
1852 Charles T. Russell (1852-1916)
1854 Charles Fillmore (1852-1948)
1877 Edgar Cayce (1877-1945)
Etc.


http://www.faithdefenders.com/articles/cults/spawning-grounds.html