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"Ushering in the One-World Religion"

By Wendy Griffith ("CBN News," December 27, 2002) 

The summit was endorsed by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan who said "the future of the world depends on women."

A one world government and a one world religion — it may just sound like fiction from the popular "Left Behind" novel series. But some Christians say this scenario may be closer than most people think.

Earlier this fall in Geneva, hundreds of spiritual and religious leaders met at the United Nations for a peace summit. And although all the major faiths were there, including some who claim to represent Christianity, it was clear that Jesus was not invited.

The event was actually the first ever UN summit of women religious leaders. Mournful cries could be heard emanating from one of the meetings as more than 500 women from more than 70 countries came to talk about ways to achieve world peace. Most were from "Eastern religions" — Buddhists, Taoists and Hindus.

And a woman named "Amma," who is known as the "hugging saint," came with her own band of followers. She claims to be able to impart "divine love and wisdom" in her hug. She said, "It's not only hugging but it is also imparting that spiritual principal into people, so to have them know who they are, so once you know that, peace will spontaneously happen."

Honorary Chair Shirley MacLaine, known for her adventures into New Age, did not show, but several celebrities did, including Linda Evans, Lindsay Wagner and Linda Gray of "Dallas" fame.

Gray said, "I was raised Catholic, I bless that base, I think if you have a strong religious base where, whatever it is, then you branch out from there, or expand on it."

The summit was endorsed by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan who said "the future of the world depends on women."

As the women gathered near the banks of beautiful Lake Geneva, Bawa Jain, one of the organizers and one of the few men present, said, "And behold the power of women, look at that, the rain stopped, (laughs) this is the power of women, a true demonstration here."

Bawa Jain then led the women in a chant for peace. "Say it with me three times, ‘No more violence, No more violence, No more violence,’" he said.

Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative, said, "The thunderclouds of war gather around us, the sky grows dark but it never does envelope us. In a few moments we will light a single candle, and from that candle many will receive the light and that light will shine in the darkness."

A participant named Hanna Strong said, "The only way we're ever going to have peace is by people being peaceful inside, no aggression, no hatred, we have to transform these negative emotions that are creating situations for war."

Although there was much talk about peace and how women can harness their "feminine energies" to bring peace to a hurting planet, there was no mention of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. Nor could we find any evangelical Christians either speaking at or attending this world religions summit.

Rev. Brown Campbell said, "That's not a purposeful intent. This is a meeting, of course, of people of all religions. And I think what we've all tried to do is to call on the common deity that everyone will say… I mean everyone here would say there is a God, this is not a group of Atheists, this is a group of people of faith, and for everyone there is a god-person by whatever name."

When asked whether evangelical Christians were not invited on purpose, Rev. Brown Campbell said, "No, no, no, not at all…the attempt to be broad scale means there are not too many of any, and this is a first effort, identifying people was not simple."

The Geneva summit was a direct outcome of the Millennium World Peace Summit of religious and spiritual leaders held at the United Nations in New York two years ago. At that gathering, honorary chair and CNN founder Ted Turner endeared himself to the crowd by promoting the New Age concept that there are many ways to heaven.

"The thing that disturbed me was that my religion, the Christian sect, was very intolerant, not of religious freedom, but we thought we were the only ones going to heaven," Turner said.

The belief that there are many ways to heaven was also part of the New Age gospel at the Geneva summit. Strong said, "I'm very close to the Buddhists, the Taoists, the native Americans and uh, peace to me is being one with the source." When asked if she was referring to God "the Creator," she said, "Well, I don't necessary call it Creator, but, it's one name."

Robert Maginnis, a former director of the Family Research Council, said of the summit, "Well, I can see the possibility that it's the globalization of world religion."

Maginnis says it appears the hidden agenda is to unite people under one religious umbrella so they will peacefully accept the UN's radical political goals. "I would submit that the United Nations is very anti-life, they are anti-faith, anti-family, they're anti-national sovereignty, but they are pro one-world government," he said.

Christian scholars say the Bible warns of a time when all the world will unite under a false global religious and political system. Maginnis says, it appears the UN could be taking the first steps in that direction.

"You're taking the Muslim community, the Christian community, the Hindus, the Confucians and all the many hundreds of religious groups, trying to identify key leaders, and you are basically trying to co-opt them into cooperating with you," he said.

Christians believe there is one way to heaven, because Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father except by me."

But Rev. Brown Campbell said, "For me, that is true, I mean for me the way to God the way to peace is through Jesus Christ, that's what I teach my children, that's what I teach my grandchildren, and I believe that very, very strongly. But I also believe that for others, there is a way that for them is true and precious, and I don't deny them that reality and I respect that."

Maginnis said, "The name of Jesus has power and that's why Satan doesn't like it, he doesn't want to hear it in the halls of the UN, whether it be in New York City or in Geneva. So when Ms. Campbell presents herself as a representative for Christians, where does the name Christian come from, it comes from Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior; and if you don't invoke His name in the context of world religion, then I think you've fallen far short and clearly you've done a disservice to Christianity because He is the center of our salvation."