Christian Journaling or Psychic Channeling?

By Brenna E. Scott

Book Review by Pamela Frost

In her provocatively titled book, Christian Journaling or Psychic Channeling? (CJPC), author Brenna E. Scott provides a detailed analysis of the messages Sarah Young believed she was receiving from Jesus, which she compiled in the devotional book Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence. Young had reverently recorded these messages, word for word, in her prayer journal. This began a process of listening and recording messages from “Jesus” that resulted in a series of devotional books for both adults and kids. Since more than 45 million copies of Jesus Callinghave been sold, purporting to contain the very words of “Jesus,” it is imperative that we understand the true nature of the spirituality behind these books. What had inspired Sarah Young to sit with pen in hand as she listened expectantly for extra-biblical revelations directly from the mystical “Presence” of “Jesus”? Are the books valid examples of Christian journaling to be followed or are they introducing occult New Age techniques of psychic channeling to unsuspecting readers? These are the important questions that Brenna Scott answers for us in Christian Journaling or Psychic Channeling?. This review will look at a few key aspects of Brenna Scott’s well-documented book that, on their own, would be enough to convince readers that the Jesus Calling series of devotional books align more closely with occult psychic channeling than anything truly Christian. 

A Word About the New Age

The term “New Age” arose in the late 1960s to describe the expectation of an imminent astrological shift from the age of Pisces, deemed the Christian era, into the New Age of Aquarius, the era of nature worship. It represents the worship exchange Paul warns against in Romans 1:25: “who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” (NKJV). Dr. Peter Jones explains this exchange in terms of Oneism (all is one; there is no divine authority outside of creation, which is worshipped) or Twoism (all is two; we worship the Creator who is distinct from creation). The New Age wasn’t introducing something new but reviving the occult practices of the ancient pagan religions that have always worshipped creation (Oneism) and therefore have been hostile toward the God of the Bible. According to the New Age paradigm, now widely and appropriately called “Neo-paganism,” the cosmos, and everything in it, is divine. Therefore, humanity doesn’t need redemption from sin, but rather, psychic awakening to universal consciousness, attained with the aid of spirit guides, angels, the deceased, and ascended masters. Neo-paganism denies the authority and sufficiency of the Bible while seeking secret knowledge (gnosis) from the forbidden spirit realm. It is important to understand this when evaluating the spirituality underlying Jesus Calling. 

Spiritual Lineage of Jesus Calling

In CJPC Brenna Scott traces the spiritual lineage of Jesus Calling back to God Calling, the devotional book that inspired Sarah Young to listen for personal messages from God. God Calling was written in the 1930s by two women who recorded messages they believed were superior to the Bible because they came directly from the “Living Christ.” 

“…[we] could hardly realize that we were being taught, trained and encouraged… by HIM personally, when millions of souls… had to be content with guidance from the Bible.”

Having sought spiritual revelations beyond the boundaries of the Bible, the women were actually serving as mediums while channeling messages from deceiving spirits. They had exchanged the truth of God’s Word for the lie of occult spiritualism.

CJPC gives specific examples of the occult, Neo-pagan worldview behind God Calling, documenting themes and practices that are forbidden in the Bible such as universalism (all is divine), spiritualism (contacting spirits), mysticism (messages received through meditative practices), and necromancy (contacting spirits masquerading as the deceased).

Nonetheless, Sarah Young patterned her spiritual quest after God Calling. Brenna Scott writes, 

“Like the women of God Calling, Sarah Young looked for divine revelation beyond the Bible: ‘I knew that God communicated with me through the Bible, but I yearned for more.’ She apparently learned how to receive and record her own personal messages from a spirit she calls ‘Jesus’ and is now training others to do the same through her many devotionals.” 

CJPC reveals that Sarah Young not only followed in the footsteps of God Calling but considered the book “a treasure to me.” Had she also crossed into the realm of occult spirituality by transgressing the boundary of God’s Word?

The Research Project

Having been “uneasy that [Jesus Calling] was written as if Jesus were the author,” Brenna Scott began searching for “a consistent bottom-line message” conveyed throughout the Jesus Calling series of devotional books. Recognizing disturbing, unbiblical, occult patterns of thought in the books, she devoted eight years to uncovering their true spiritual nature. In this process, she distilled 50 steps used by occultists to channel messages from spirit guides and created a side-by-side, visual comparison in Chapter V where quotations from occultists appear on the left-hand pages and quotations from God Calling and the Jesus Calling series appear on the right-hand pages. The comparisons are visually striking, demonstrating the remarkable consistency of wording, themes, and occult practices that are common to all. 

In fact, the graphic comparisons make it easy to spot several occult terms that are introduced to readers by the “Jesus” of the Jesus Calling series. Terms such as “fifth dimension” and “radio” appear only in the versions for kids, while “Light-bearers” appears in versions for adults and kids. Not only are these terms unbiblical but they have specific occult meaning. The term “fifth dimension” refers to a higher state of universal consciousness in which one experiences the interconnectedness of everything within a divine cosmos. The term “radio” refers to attuning one’s own frequencies to align with those of the supernatural realm in preparation to contact spirit guides. The term “Light-bearers” refers to those who carry the “light” of Lucifer who appears as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). Such terms reflect Oneist spiritual concepts that are antithetical to the Bible and certainly do not come from the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Brenna Scott’s meticulous research reveals an alarming similarity between the messages from Sarah Young’s “Jesus” and those of occult channelers and mediums. She concludes, “These comparisons suggest not only that Young’s writings are similar to occult teachings, but that they are occult teachings cloaked in Christian language.”

Conclusion

In conclusion, Christian Journaling or Psychic Channeling? dramatically unmasks many Christian-sounding ideas set forth in Jesus Calling by comparing them to what Scripture really says and means in context. While always very respectful of the person of Sarah Young, Brenna Scott compares the messages of Jesus Calling to the occult messages of channelers in a way that reveals the compromised, unbiblical nature of Young’s books. Christians would do well to heed Ms. Scott’s diligent, forthright analysis. Her work is an excellent, biblical resource for Christians who might otherwise be deceived by the lure of Jesus Calling, or those who have known something was amiss but struggled to understand why. It is with tremendous thanks for Brenna Scott’s deep, meticulous research, documentation, and explanation that this reviewer highly recommends Christian Journaling or Psychic Channeling?.

Christian Journaling of Psychic Channeling is available for free download and best viewed on Firefox in “even spreads” format:

Recommended Resources:

Stolen Identity: The conspiracy to Reinvent Jesus by Dr. Peter Jones

The Other Worldview: Exposing Christianity’s Greatest Threat by Dr. Peter Jones