| Revision as of 17:49, 7 September 2004 editAndries (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers27,090 edits →Group controversy: Wusterwitz, Germany← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 04:04, 10 November 2024 edit undoMagnetic Chutney (talk | contribs)263 editsmNo edit summaryTags: Visual edit Mobile edit Mobile web edit | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{Short description|1976 book by Helen Schucman}} | |||
| '''A Course In Miracles''' or '''ACIM''' (pronounced "AY sim") is a ] teaching and thought system that was received as a ] during the 1960s and 1970s by ], an ] professor of ] at ] in ], and which has been transcribed into a book. Schucman believed that these messages came from ]. | |||
| {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}} | |||
| {{Infobox book | |||
| ACIM uses ] concepts and terminology suggesting that it is correcting, clarifying, or reinterpreting portions of the ]. ACIM further uses but redefines many Biblical concepts and terms. ACIM, however, differs in significant ways from traditional Christianity. | |||
| | name = ''A Course in Miracles'' | |||
| | image = ACIM3COVER.jpg | |||
| | caption = ''A Course in Miracles'', Combined Volume, Third Edition as published by the<br /> Foundation for Inner Peace | |||
| | author = There is no author attributed to ''ACIM'', although it was "scribed" by Helen Schucman | |||
| | editor = ], ], Kenneth Wapnick | |||
| | illustrator = | |||
| | cover_artist = | |||
| | country = United States | |||
| | subject = ] | |||
| | publisher = 1976 (New York: Viking: The Foundation for Inner Peace) <br /> 2007 (The Foundation for Inner Peace, 3rd ed.) | |||
| | media_type = Print (hardback and paperback) | |||
| | pages = 1333 | |||
| | isbn = 978-1-883360-24-5 | |||
| | oclc = 190860865 | |||
| | preceded_by = | |||
| | followed_by = | |||
| }} | |||
| {{Paranormal}} | |||
| {{New Age beliefs sidebar}} | |||
| {{NewThought}} | |||
| '''''A Course in Miracles''''' (also referred to as '''''ACIM''''') is a 1976 book by ]. The underlying premise is that the greatest "]" is the act of simply gaining a full "awareness of love's presence" in a person's life.<ref>''A Course in Miracles''. Foundation for Inner Peace. , p. 1. Retrieved December 29, 2017.</ref> Schucman said that the book had been dictated to her, word for word, via a process of "inner dictation" from ] ].<ref name="scribes">{{cite web|title=ACIM: About the Scribes|url=http://www.acim.org/Scribing/about_scribes.html|website=acim.org|publisher=Foundation for Inner Peace|access-date=December 29, 2017}}</ref><ref name="ACIMPrefaceHowItCame">{{cite book|author=Foundation for Inner Peace|title=A Course in Miracles: Combined Volume|date=1992|publisher=The Foundation|location=Glen Ellen, Calif.|isbn=0-9606388-9-X|pages=vii–viii|edition=2nd|url=https://www.acim.org/AboutACIM/how.html|access-date=December 29, 2017}}</ref> The book is considered to have borrowed from ] movement writings.<ref name="Newport" /><ref name="Carroll" /> | |||
| ==History== | |||
| The raw material for ACIM was received by Schucman between ] and ] by means of a dictation from an “inner voice,” which she transcribed in shorthand. She joined with ], another clinical psychology professor at Columbia, in producing the original set of ACIM notes, with Schucman reading each day’s shorthand notes to Thetford who typed them up. | |||
| ''ACIM'' has three sections: "Text", "Workbook for Students", and "Manual for Teachers". Written from 1965 to 1972, some distribution occurred via photocopies before the Foundation for Inner Peace published a hardcover edition in 1976.<ref name="Miller2011">{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=D. Patrick|title=Understanding A Course in Miracles: The History, Message, and Legacy of a Spiritual Path for Today|date=November 23, 2011|publisher=]|location=]|isbn=9780307807793|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ugFYKozgIgC|access-date=December 29, 2017}}</ref> The copyright and trademarks, which had been held by two foundations, were revoked in 2004<ref name="Miller2011"/> after lengthy litigation because the earliest versions had been circulated without a copyright notice.<ref name="Beverley2009">{{cite book |last=Beverley |first=James |title=Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions: A Comprehensive Introduction to the Religions of the World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ul0kFIxtMfkC&pg=PT397|access-date=December 29, 2017|date=May 19, 2009|publisher=]|isbn=9781418577469|pages=397–}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Recipient's Common Interest in Subject of Work Does Not Limit Publication|journal=]|year=2003|volume=67|issue=1645|pages=16–17|publisher=]}}</ref> | |||
| In addition to the substantive notes themselves, Schucman received messages from the inner voice that directed how the notes were to be processed and used. After the full set of notes, sometimes known as the Urtext, was received, Thetford edited those notes down by removing certain material identified as personal or ancillary, rearranging material, and adding chapter and section headings. This version was later further edited by Schucman in conjunction with ], who had joined the effort. These versions were variously circulated to interested people. | |||
| Throughout the 1980s, annual sales of the book steadily increased each year; the largest growth in sales occurred in 1992 after ] discussed the book on '']'',<ref name="Miller2011"/> with more than two million volumes sold.<ref name="Miller2011"/> The book has been called everything from "New Age psychobabble"<ref name="BoaBowman1997">{{cite book |last1=Boa |first1=Kenneth |last2=Bowman |first2=Robert M. |title=An Unchanging Faith in a Changing World: Understanding and Responding to Critical Issues that Christians Face Today|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hJuUtcoUOysC|access-date=September 28, 2014|year=1997|publisher=Oliver Nelson|isbn=9780785273523}}</ref> to "a Satanic seduction"<ref name="Miller2011"/> to "The New Age Bible".<ref>{{Cite web |first=Suzette|last=van IJssel|url=http://www.bemidjistate.edu/academics/publications/social_work_journal/issue09/articles/2_Immanent.htm |title=The Imminent Heaven: Spiritual Post-Metaphysics and Ethics in a Postmodern Era |access-date=September 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160621164247/http://www.bemidjistate.edu/academics/publications/social_work_journal/issue09/articles/2_Immanent.htm |archive-date=June 21, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> According to ], the psychiatrist and author ] was among the most effective promoters of ''ACIM''. Jampolsky's first book, ''Love is Letting Go of Fear'', based on the principles of ''ACIM'', was published in 1979 and, after being endorsed on ]'s show, sold over three million copies by 1990.<ref>Hammer (2021: p. 450)</ref> | |||
| ACIM was first published in ] by The Foundation for Inner Peace, or FIP, which obtained a copyright on it. An associated entity headed by Wapnick, The Foundation for A Course in Miracles, or FACIM, was established in 1983 as a teaching organization. A second edition including minor changes and adding numbering to all chapters, sections, paragraphs, and sentences was released in 1992. ACIM has been translated into several languages. Through contractual arrangement, ACIM was published and distributed between 1995 and 2000 by Penguin Books. | |||
| ==Origins== | |||
| Over a million copies of ACIM have been distributed since its release, and it has gained adherents worldwide. ACIM is not associated with any one centralized church or body, although FIP as the publisher and original copyright holder, and FACIM as an associated entity to which the copyright on ACIM was transferred in 1999, have been considered significant presences. A number of groups and organizations worldwide have emerged that study ACIM or are centered on or significantly influenced by it. Many of those meet in person or have an Internet presence. A number of seminars, tapes, and books have been developed that interpret, teach, or reflect the material in ACIM, perhaps the most widely known of which are the books by ]. | |||
| ''A Course in Miracles'' was written as a collaborative venture between Schucman and William ("Bill") Thetford. In 1958, Schucman began her professional career at ] in New York City as Thetford's research associate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://acim.org/Scribing/about_scribes.html|title=Helen Schucman's Career}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://acim.biz/a-course-in-miracles-book-acim/|title=A Course in Miracles Book ACIM Lessons Online and Text|work=ACIM Portal|access-date=December 25, 2017}}</ref> In 1965, at a time when their weekly office meetings had become so contentious that they both dreaded them, Thetford suggested to Schucman that "here must be another way".<ref name="Collaboration">{{cite book | title=Helen Schucman: Autobiography, in "Origins of A Course in Miracles" 3:27–28 |publisher=Foundation for Inner Peace Archives, Tiburon, CA)}}</ref> Schucman believed that this interaction acted as a stimulus, triggering a series of inner experiences that were understood by her as visions, dreams, and heightened imagery, along with an "inner voice" that she identified as Jesus (although the ''ACIM'' text itself never explicitly claims that the voice she hears speaking is that of Jesus).<ref name="Hammer 2021 p. 153"/><ref name="Clarke2004"/> She said that on October 21, 1965, an "inner voice" told her: "This is a Course in Miracles, please take notes." | |||
| Schucman said the writing made her very uncomfortable, though it never seriously occurred to her to stop.<ref>Skutch, Robert. ''Journey Without Distance: The Story Behind A Course in Miracles''. ], Berkeley, CA, 1984, p. 58.</ref> The next day, she explained the events of her "note-taking" to Thetford. To her surprise, Thetford encouraged her to continue the process. He also offered to assist her in typing out her notes as she read them to him. The process continued the next day and repeated regularly for many years. In 1972, the writing of the three main sections of ''ACIM'' was completed, with some additional minor writing coming after that point.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.miraclestudies.net/Scribe.html|title=The Scribe: Helen Schucman and A Course in Miracles©|website=www.miraclestudies.net}}</ref> | |||
| The groups and commentators that have studied ACIM have interpreted it in many different ways, and disputes have arisen over various interpretations and the use of the ACIM material. Litigation eventually resulted between various groups and the copyright holders. During this time, the Urtext and the earlier version of ACIM became available and began to be circulated on the Internet, and the dispute spread to them as well, with various groups debating which version was the best or most genuine. As a result of the litigation, a court in 2004 invalidated the copyright on at least one of the versions of ACIM. | |||
| ] | |||
| ==Structure== | |||
| ACIM comprises three parts. A 650-page '''Text''' contains the main theoretical underpinnings of its teachings. A 500-page '''Workbook for Students''' contains 365 self-study lessons in mind training, to be taken one per day. A 75-page '''Manual for Teachers''' contains concise questions and answers on various topics related to the ACIM teachings. In addition, two separate pamphlets, ''Psychotherapy: Purpose, Process and Practice'' and ''The Song of Prayer: Prayer, Forgiveness, Healing'', were also received by Schucman and published. | |||
| For copyright purposes, US courts determined that the author of the text was Schucman, not Jesus.<ref name="Joseph pp. 94–125"/> Kenneth Wapnick believed that Schucman did not channel Jesus, but was describing her "own mental experience of divine 'love{{'"}}.<ref name="Joseph pp. 94–125"/> | |||
| ==Main tenets== | |||
| ===Main purpose=== | |||
| The goal of ACIM is the reader’s recognition and experience of the ], which ACIM fosters by drawing a distinction between the invulnerability of true ] on one hand, consisting of ] and his creations, and the ] of anything that is not part of that reality on the other hand, such as the world we perceive, which ACIM declares to be ]. ACIM postulates that a person experiences the world of problems and death because of his mistaken belief that he has become separated from God. ACIM sets forth a ] system that explains this separation problem, and a ] approach for solving it. | |||
| ==Reception== | |||
| ===Cosmology of separation=== | |||
| Since it went on sale in 1976, the book has been translated into 27 languages.<ref name="translations">{{cite web | url = http://www.acim.org |title=ACIM Translations |publisher=Foundation for Inner Peace |access-date=August 10, 2021}}</ref> It is distributed globally, spawning a range of organized groups.<ref name="Cosgrove Cox Kuhling 2010 p. ">{{cite book | last=Bradby | first=Ruth | editor-last=Cosgrove |editor-first=Olivia |editor2-last=Cox |editor2-first=Laurence |editor3-last=Kuhling |editor3-first=Carmen | editor4-last=Mulholland | editor4-first=Peter | title=Ireland's New Religious Movements | publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing | year=2010 | isbn=978-1-4438-2615-0 | chapter=A course in miracles in Ireland | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vY0nBwAAQBAJ | access-date=21 January 2022 | pages=147–162}}</ref> | |||
| In ACIM’s ], God the Father and ] the Son are together in ] (a term ACIM capitalizes), unchanged and unchanging in timeless eternity, and forever ]. The Father and the Son share an almost complete identity, the main distinction between them being that God is Creator and First Cause who created the Son, while the Son was created but in turn also creates like the Father. Heaven is the domain only of knowledge and creation, and what the Father and the Son really are, are ideas. | |||
| Wapnick said that "if the Bible were considered literally true, then (from a Biblical literalist's viewpoint) the Course would have to be viewed as demonically inspired".<ref>Dean C. Halverson, "Seeing Yourself as Sinless", ''SCP Journal'' 7, no. 1 (1987): 23.</ref> He also said, "I often taught in the context of the Bible, even though it is obvious to serious students of ''A Course in Miracles'' that it and the Bible are fundamentally incompatible."<ref name="Joseph pp. 94–125"/> "''Course''-teachers Robert Perry, Greg Mackie, and Allen Watson" disagreed about that.<ref name="Joseph pp. 94–125"/> Though a friend of Schucman, Thetford, and Wapnick, Catholic priest ] criticized ''ACIM'' and related organizations. Finding some elements of ''ACIM'' to be "severe and potentially dangerous distortions of Christian theology", he wrote that it is "a good example of a false revelation"<ref>Groeschel, Benedict J., ''A Still Small Voice'' (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1993) p. 80</ref> and that it has "become a spiritual menace to many".<ref>Groeschel, Benedict J., ''A Still Small Voice'' (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1993) p. 82.</ref> The evangelical editor Elliot Miller says that Christian terminology employed in ''ACIM'' is "thoroughly redefined" to resemble ] teachings. Other Christian critics say that ''ACIM'' is "intensely anti-biblical" and incompatible with Christianity, blurring the distinction between creator and created and forcefully supporting an occult and New Age worldview.<ref name="Newport">{{cite book|last=Newport|first= John P. |title=The New Age movement and the biblical worldview: conflict and dialogue |url=https://archive.org/details/newagemovementbi00newp|url-access=registration|page=|quote=a course in miracles christian criticism.|year=1998|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-4430-9}}</ref> | |||
| ACIM claims that the problem the reader faces arose when a thought of separation came into the mind of the Son, which seemed to shatter into separate pieces, each piece a seemingly separate mind, although that seeming separation is merely illusion, and never really happened. ], however, is seemingly separate minds living and suffering here in the world. The only real purpose of the world, time, and earthly life is to return to the awareness of Heaven. | |||
| Olav Hammer locates ''A Course in Miracles'' in the tradition of channeled works from those of ] to ]'s<ref name="Hammer 2021 p. 153">{{cite book | last=Hammer | first=Olav | title=Claiming Knowledge: Strategies of Epistemology from Theosophy to the New Age | publisher=Brill | series=Numen Book Series | year=2021 | origyear=2004 | isbn=978-90-04-49399-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zpJOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA153 | access-date=21 January 2022 | page=153 | quote=''A Course in Miracles'' is said to have been channeled from a discarnate entity perceived as Jesus but never explicitly named as such in the ensuing text.}}</ref> and notes the close parallels between ] and the teachings of the Course.<ref>Hammer (2021: 444)</ref><!-- no source has been provided for this: Alternatively, it can be seen more broadly as part of the tradition of mystical literature described in ]' '']'' and ]'s '']''.--> Hammer called it "gnosticizing beliefs".<ref>Hammer (2021: 55)</ref> In "'Knowledge is Truth': A Course in Miracles as Neo-Gnostic Scripture" in ''Gnosis'': '']'', Simon J. Joseph outlines the relationship between the Course and ] thinking.<ref name="Joseph pp. 94–125">{{cite journal | last=Joseph | first=Simon J. | title='Knowledge is Truth': A Course in Miracles as Neo-Gnostic Scripture | journal=GNOSIS | publisher=Brill | volume=2 | issue=1 | date=22 March 2017 | issn=2451-8581 | doi=10.1163/2451859x-12340028 | pages=94–125}}</ref> Daren Kemp also considers ''ACIM'' neo-Gnostic and agrees with Hammer that it is a channeled text.<ref name="Clarke2004">{{cite book|editor-first=Peter|editor-last=Clarke|first=Daren|last=Kemp|chapter=A COURSE IN MIRACLES|title=Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DouBAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1|date=March 2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-49970-0|page=1}}</ref> The course has been viewed as a way that "integrates a psychological world view with a universal spiritual perspective" and linked to ].<ref name=ACIM>Miracles with Counselors, David Aldrich Osgood, University of Massachusetts Amherst (1991), Transpersonal Psychology and A Course in Miracles P.43 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5794&context=dissertations_1</ref> | |||
| ACIM further claims that the world of ] and ] that followed the separation is the domain of perception rather than knowledge, and both the world that seemingly separated minds perceive and the time which makes that perception possible are illusions. Other than ], ACIM states, all experiences that separated minds perceive in this world, including death, are similarly illusory. Put simply, for ACIM “there is no world.” | |||
| Joseph declared: {{blockquote|Consequently, new manuscript discoveries, lost gospels, and new “scriptural” revelations represent an effective way of subverting the traditional picture of early Christian origins and destabilizing traditional Christian authority by redefining the cultural boundaries of Christianity in contemporary culture. Since the Course’s redefinition of terms is so offensive to its critics, the Gospel narrative that the Course subverts and redefines is the suffering, death, and crucifixion of Jesus.<ref name="Joseph pp. 94–125"/>|Simon J. Joseph}} | |||
| ===Reunifying psychology of forgiveness and atonement=== | |||
| ACIM postulates that reclaiming the awareness of unity, which it terms “],” is the one viable solution to the only actual problem facing seemingly separated minds, the problem of believing they are separate from each other and from God. This awareness dawns through the process of ], making up an overall plan of ], two concepts that ACIM redefines from traditional Christianity. | |||
| Another dismissal of ACIM and claim for its subversiveness comes from some on the political left, who note that ], who encouraged and helped bring Schucman's work to press, was a ] operative and psychologist. In ], ] quotes a post asserting the CIA sought "to infiltrate and dilute the American left with New Age ideas and inwardly-focused, anti-rational religious movements".<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Heti| first1=Sheila |title=The New Age Bible| magazine=Harper's Magazine|date=September 2024 |page=48 |url=https://harpers.org/archive/2024/09/the-new-age-bible-sheila-heti-a-course-in-miracles/ | |||
| ACIM proposes forgiveness as the solution because, it explains, seemingly separated minds in the world feel ] and ] of God stemming from the mistaken belief that they have offended or attacked God by separating from Him. These minds close off from the awareness from love, and love’s absence is felt as fear. They instead engage in judgment against the illusory world and against others, allowing ] of the fear and guilt felt inside them outward onto seemingly external forces and actors. They believe that what is really coming from inside them is instead coming at them from outside, and so believe that problems are myriad, random, and unrelated, as opposed to there being only one problem, centered on belief in separation. These minds invariably become angry at these perceived external threats and attempt to attack them and defend against them, when in truth, ACIM claims, ] is never justified, ] has no foundation, and real strength lies only in ]. These minds are locked in a cycle of experiencing imagined victimization and seeking impotently for solutions outside themselves, which is not where the true problem is, inside themselves. The solution to all this, ACIM concludes, is atonement, achieved through forgiveness. | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| '']'' describes ''ACIM'' as "a minor industry" that is overly commercialized and characterizes it as "Christianity improved". ] wrote that the teachings are not original but culled from "various sources, east, and west". He adds that it has gained increased popularity as New Age spirituality writer Marianne Williamson promoted a variant.<ref name="Carroll">{{cite book|last=Carroll|first=Robert Todd |title=The skeptic's dictionary: a collection of strange beliefs, amusing deceptions, and dangerous delusions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6FPqDFx40vYC&q=skeptic+%22a+course+in+miracles&pg=PA84|year=2003|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|isbn=978-0-471-27242-7}}</ref> | |||
| Forgiveness in ACIM is not the letting go of actual slights and injuries inflicted by others, but is instead the recognition that others have not and indeed cannot harm or wrong the mind of the individual perceiver. This unorthodox outlook is possible, ACIM explains, because it is the mind of the perceiver, rather than anyone or anything else, who actually determines all the experiences that he will receive, and also because his mind is still as God created it, meaning that the events that seem to befall him in the world do not actually affect or change him in any real way. | |||
| ==Associated works== | |||
| ACIM takes its title from its notion that forgiveness and atonement are accomplished with, and accompanied by, ]s. ACIM defines a miracle more broadly than does traditional Christianity, as essentially being any change of a mind away from fear and separation and towards love and unity, although ACIM’s definition does include traditional miracles like those found in the Bible, such as ] and ]. | |||
| Two works have been described as extensions of ''A Course in Miracles'', Gary Renard's 2003 ''The Disappearance of the Universe'' and Marianne Williamson's '']'' published in 1992.<ref name="Miller2011"/><ref>].. ], 2010. p. 223.</ref><ref>]. . ], 2013. p. 223.</ref><ref>Coburn, Lorri. . ], 2011. p. 193.</ref> ''The Disappearance of the Universe'', published in 2003 by Fearless Books, was republished by ] in 2004.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wilson |first=Brandy |date=July 29, 2006 |title=Community of Faith: News from Houses of Worship: 'Disappearance of Universe' author to host workshop |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/1132C530A58FA578?p=WORLDNEWS |newspaper=] |access-date=August 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201143022/http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/1132C530A58FA578?p=WORLDNEWS |archive-date=December 1, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> '']'' reported that Renard's examination of ''A Course in Miracles'' influenced his book.<ref>{{cite news |last=Garrett |first=Lynn |date=March 7, 2005 |title='Disappearance' Appears Big Time |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20050307/28564-disappearance-appears-big-time.html |newspaper=] |access-date=August 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809091512/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20050307/28564-disappearance-appears-big-time.html |archive-date=August 9, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{portal|Books}} | |||
| == References == | |||
| ===Points of contrast with traditional Christianity=== | |||
| {{Reflist|30em}} | |||
| Because of its perspective on reality, separation, and forgiveness, ACIM does not accept ], ], or ]. ACIM defines sin as an ] act having real consequences and deserving ], which under its cosmology is impossible. It instead recognizes only ], defined as mental misconceptions having no real consequences and deserving only ]. Accordingly, all acts of others are to be ] either as expressions of love or calls for love, and nothing else. Death is both illusory and ] for ACIM, because of its position that only by salvation, and not by death, do separated minds cease to believe in the illusory world of separation and return to Heaven. Sacrifice is similarly impossible for ACIM because of the imperviousness and self-directing sovereignty of mind. ACIM thus rejects traditional Christianity’s notion of Jesus’s ] as a sacrificial proxy in payment for the sins of mankind, instead subordinating it to the lesson of the ] as a demonstration of the invulnerability of mind and love. | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| The ] of traditional Christianity is present in ACIM, but is explained differently. For ACIM, God the Father is quite literally all in all, an egoless, limitless, perfect, loving, quintessentially real Creator, of whom the highest truth may be stated simply as, “God is.” The Son, or Christ, is the aggregate or unity of all people or all living creatures, rather than being synonymous with Jesus only. The ] is relied on heavily as the innate and unbreakable link or connection between the seemingly separated minds and the unified mind of Christ and God. The Workbook’s purpose is to provide students with confirmatory experiences that connect each reader with the Holy Spirit as their own internal teacher; upon its conclusion after 365 days of daily lessons, the student is left in the internal teacher’s care for all further guidance. | |||
| <!--======================== {{No more links}} ============================ | |||
| | PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS IN ADDING MORE LINKS TO THIS ARTICLE. Misplaced Pages | | |||
| | is not a collection of links nor should it be used for advertising. | | |||
| | | | |||
| | Excessive or inappropriate links WILL BE DELETED. | | |||
| | See ] & ] for details. | | |||
| | | | |||
| | If there are already plentiful links, please propose additions or | | |||
| | replacements on this article's discussion page, or submit your link | | |||
| | to the relevant category at the Open Directory Project (dmoz.org) | | |||
| | and link back to that category using the {{dmoz}} template. | | |||
| ======================= {{No more links}} =============================--> | |||
| {{Sister project links | |||
| <!-- Configuration parameters. Do not leave empty; populate, or remove --> | |||
| |1= |collapsible= |display= |position= |style= | |||
| <!-- Specify "no" to exclude the corresponding project: --> | |||
| |wikt=no |c=no |commonscat=no |n=no |q=yes |s=yes |author=no |b=no |v=no | |||
| <!-- Specify "yes" to include the corresponding project: --> | |||
| |voy=no |d=no |m=no |mw=no |species=no |species_author=no | |||
| }} | |||
| * Editions in public domain: | |||
| ** <!-- - Published by Course in Miracles Society--> | |||
| ** – Published by Miracles in Action Press | |||
| ** – Published by Diamond Clear Vision | |||
| * – An open letter from ], investigative journalist on spirituality and cult | |||
| {{A Course in Miracles}} | |||
| The ] of ACIM differs significantly from ]. ACIM makes very few predictions regarding the future, other than to say that when the atonement is complete and all seemingly separated minds have recognized their unity as Christ, which process ACIM suggests will take millions of years, the purpose of the world will be over and so the world will end. The world will not be destroyed, but instead “will simply cease to seem to be.” | |||
| {{Books about new religious movements}} | |||
| {{Authority control}} | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Course In Miracles, A}} | |||
| ==Relation to other spiritual paths== | |||
| ] | |||
| ACIM professes ] that may be used to reach the same goals it pursues. ACIM describes its main benefit as saving time toward the eventual remembering of the unity of the seemingly separated parts of Christ, and cites ] as its special mode for doing so. Many students consider ACIM to have a ] orientation, and it has variously been compared to ], ], and ] Hinduism. Although ACIM contains passages that may be interpreted as supporting ], ACIM affirmatively refuses to take any stand on reincarnation. | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ===Relation to philosophical idealism, responsibility assumption, and the New Thought Movement=== | |||
| ] | |||
| ACIM displays a strong orientation toward ] and ] in its prescription that the mind and its thoughts control all physical outcomes in the world, even to the point of healing the sick and raising the dead. In this, ACIM shares the outlook of the ], including ] and ]. While ACIM itself might set little stock in other origins, commentators have noted a number of ACIM teachings suggest direct or indirect influence by or relation to Christian Science, including the metaphysical appeal to a perfect, absolute, divine reality outside of material existence; the Idealist idea of healing or resurrection through improved thought and understanding; the subordination of imperfection as illusory; the reformulation of atonement; the reformulation of the ]; and the emphasis on God's love and forgiveness rather than eternal ]. An Urtext passage that was not included in the published version calls Christian Science "clearly incomplete," but praises the formulation of Christian Science founder ] which notes that while ] of the metaphorical ] is mentioned in the Bible as being put to sleep, it is never mentioned that he ever woke up, a reinforcement of the illusory and dreamlike nature of the world. In this connection, it is notable that Thetford's parents were reportedly both Christian Scientists, though he himself minimalized this influence. | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ==Controversy and criticism== | |||
| ] | |||
| While less controversial than many new religious movements, ACIM has encountered controversy and criticism in several areas. | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ===External critical views=== | |||
| ] | |||
| ACIM has attracted attention in Christian ] and ] due to its use of Christian terminology and concepts. Citing the philosophical differences between ACIM and traditional Christian doctrine, such groups have usually labeled ACIM as a heretical Christian counterfeit and demonically inspired. A similar view was voiced in an Internet essay by an exponent of ], who viewed ACIM's de-emphasis of sin as specially benefiting, and therefore likely authored by, the Devil. Skeptical groups look askance at the material's origins in channeling allegedly emanating from Jesus. Author ] at one point made a statement to the effect that he "hated" ACIM, but such words may simply have been uttered in haste, as he later declined to elaborate on that statement when pressed by author D. Patrick Miller during research for the book, ''The Complete Story of the Course''. | |||
| ===Foolish or subversive doctrine=== | |||
| In common with other spiritual doctrines asserting that the world is illusion and that internal thought rather than external physical factors determine what befalls each observer, ACIM doctrines can be viewed as foolish or dangerous to the adherent. ACIM denies such obvious and self-evident commodities as physical laws, sickness, tragedy and death, which denial most all rational quarters would regard as ludicrous. Rationalists may fear, for example, that ACIM's premise that only defenselessness confers true strenth will lead adherents to harm through foolhardy strategies of utter pacificism in the face of aggression (see "]"). ACIM's doctrines may also be seen as subversive to the proper functioning of a rational society. ACIM advises adherents to not bother attempting to change the world, but instead simply to change their thinking ''about'' the world. The concern may accordingly arise that ACIM will breed "discerning zombies" who retire from the politics of the world rather than remaining active within it. ACIM's doctrines further run contra to certain core principles upon which societies have always been founded: ACIM would replace punishment with absolute forgiveness, and do away with the concepts of sin and guilt. The adept, according to ACIM, will never even see any attack or offense in the first place. It may easily be argued that human society as it has always been understood would crumble without retributive justice. | |||
| The impact of such doctrines appears limited, however, as very few ACIM adherents have taken these doctrines to heart in such a radical, literal way. ACIM has spawned a wide spectrum of interpretation from the radically literalist to the mildly allegorical, with popular ACIM proponents such as Marianne Williamson far more strongly aligned with the latter than the former. Current evidence does not suggest more than a small minority within the ACIM community adhere to literalist interpretations that would deny what is broadly known as "common sense" and attempt to apply ACIM doctrines to radical or subversive effect in the world. Further, there has been no compelling evidence to suggest that any of the few who do interpret ACIM radically have succeeded in producing any significant outcomes. This is perhaps not surprising, since "]" to be trod by any who would literally deny injustice, sickness and death in favor of miracles would be sharp and difficult indeed. | |||
| ===Group controversy=== | |||
| One group in particular, the New Christian Church of Full Endeavor, along with its teaching arm, Endeavor Academy, has generated pointed controversy both inside and outside the ACIM community. The group is headed by an American, Chuck Anderson, who is referred to by himself and his followers as "Master Teacher." The group has established ] in ] in the USA, ] in ], and ] in ]. These communities have come under criticism of ] behavior, including ] and psychological and physical abuse of members. Ex-members of the Australian community for a time published a newsletter entitled "Holy Smoke," detailing their claims of abuses occurring at that location. The larger ACIM community has hotly debated whether some of the more unorthodox doctrines of this group are in fact consonant with the teachings of ACIM. | |||
| ===Shallow or waning influence=== | |||
| In common with many other religious and spiritual groups, ACIM has generated a great deal of materialist by-product. Books, seminars, tapes and other merchandise have generated a substantial amount of revenue for popular ACIM proponents, with the accompanying charge that ACIM is actually "big business" driven by profit motive rather than any true spiritual insight. It may also be questioned whether ACIM has made any significant difference in the world: While personal testimonies from adherents are legion to the effect that ACIM has changed their lives and transformed them for the better, at the same time attacks, quarrels, and legal actions rage within the ACIM community, and there is little compelling evidence to suggest ACIM's influence has rendered its group of adherents substantially less aggressive or more peaceful than any other group, spiritual or otherwise. Further, it is unclear whether the large initial circulation of the ACIM text can be followed by sustained, long-term significance in the spiritual community. The original channeler of the ACIM material has died, and no centralized church has grown up around the material to perpetuate its doctrines. It has been suggested even by as prominent a proponent as ] that ACIM's influence is on the wane. | |||
| ==External references and links== | |||
| * Anonymous (1992). ''A Course in Miracles'' (2d ed.). Mill Valley: Foundation for Inner Peace. ISBN 0-9606388-8-1. | |||
| * Anonymous (1996). ''Supplements to A Course in Miracles''. New York: Viking Penguin. ISBN 0-670-86994-5. Contains the pamphlets, ''Psychotherapy: Purpose, Process and Practice'' and ''The Song of Prayer: Prayer, Forgiveness, Healing''. | |||
| * Miller, D. Patrick (1997). ''The Complete Story of the Course: The History, the People, and the Contoversies Behind A Course in Miracles''. Berkeley: Fearless Books. ISBN 0-9656809-0-8. Discusses the post-publication history of ACIM and various pertinent groups. | |||
| * Skutch, Robert (1996). ''Journey Without Distance: The Story Behind A Course in Miracles''. Mill Valley: Foundation for Inner Peace. ISBN 1-883360-02-1. Discusses the pre-publication history of ACIM. | |||
| * Wapnick, Kenneth (1999). ''Absence from Felicity: The Story of Helen Schucman and Her Scribing of A Course in Miracles'' (2d ed.). New York: Foundation for A Course in Miracles. ISBN 0-933291-08-6. Discusses Helen Schucman and the pre-publication history of ACIM. | |||
| * Williamson, Marianne (1996). ''A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles''. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0060927488. Widely-read adaptation of ACIM principles. | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Latest revision as of 04:04, 10 November 2024
1976 book by Helen Schucman
 A Course in Miracles, Combined Volume, Third Edition as published by theFoundation for Inner Peace | |
| Editor | Helen Schucman, Bill Thetford, Kenneth Wapnick |
|---|---|
| Author | There is no author attributed to ACIM, although it was "scribed" by Helen Schucman |
| Subject | Spiritual transformation |
| Publisher | 1976 (New York: Viking: The Foundation for Inner Peace) 2007 (The Foundation for Inner Peace, 3rd ed.) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
| Pages | 1333 |
| ISBN | 978-1-883360-24-5 |
| OCLC | 190860865 |
| New Age beliefs List of New Age topics |
|---|
 |
| Concepts |
| Spiritual practices |
| Doctrines |
A Course in Miracles (also referred to as ACIM) is a 1976 book by Helen Schucman. The underlying premise is that the greatest "miracle" is the act of simply gaining a full "awareness of love's presence" in a person's life. Schucman said that the book had been dictated to her, word for word, via a process of "inner dictation" from Jesus Christ. The book is considered to have borrowed from New Age movement writings.
ACIM has three sections: "Text", "Workbook for Students", and "Manual for Teachers". Written from 1965 to 1972, some distribution occurred via photocopies before the Foundation for Inner Peace published a hardcover edition in 1976. The copyright and trademarks, which had been held by two foundations, were revoked in 2004 after lengthy litigation because the earliest versions had been circulated without a copyright notice.
Throughout the 1980s, annual sales of the book steadily increased each year; the largest growth in sales occurred in 1992 after Marianne Williamson discussed the book on The Oprah Winfrey Show, with more than two million volumes sold. The book has been called everything from "New Age psychobabble" to "a Satanic seduction" to "The New Age Bible". According to Olav Hammer, the psychiatrist and author Gerald G. Jampolsky was among the most effective promoters of ACIM. Jampolsky's first book, Love is Letting Go of Fear, based on the principles of ACIM, was published in 1979 and, after being endorsed on Johnny Carson's show, sold over three million copies by 1990.
Origins
A Course in Miracles was written as a collaborative venture between Schucman and William ("Bill") Thetford. In 1958, Schucman began her professional career at Columbia–Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City as Thetford's research associate. In 1965, at a time when their weekly office meetings had become so contentious that they both dreaded them, Thetford suggested to Schucman that "here must be another way". Schucman believed that this interaction acted as a stimulus, triggering a series of inner experiences that were understood by her as visions, dreams, and heightened imagery, along with an "inner voice" that she identified as Jesus (although the ACIM text itself never explicitly claims that the voice she hears speaking is that of Jesus). She said that on October 21, 1965, an "inner voice" told her: "This is a Course in Miracles, please take notes."
Schucman said the writing made her very uncomfortable, though it never seriously occurred to her to stop. The next day, she explained the events of her "note-taking" to Thetford. To her surprise, Thetford encouraged her to continue the process. He also offered to assist her in typing out her notes as she read them to him. The process continued the next day and repeated regularly for many years. In 1972, the writing of the three main sections of ACIM was completed, with some additional minor writing coming after that point.
For copyright purposes, US courts determined that the author of the text was Schucman, not Jesus. Kenneth Wapnick believed that Schucman did not channel Jesus, but was describing her "own mental experience of divine 'love'".
Reception
Since it went on sale in 1976, the book has been translated into 27 languages. It is distributed globally, spawning a range of organized groups.
Wapnick said that "if the Bible were considered literally true, then (from a Biblical literalist's viewpoint) the Course would have to be viewed as demonically inspired". He also said, "I often taught in the context of the Bible, even though it is obvious to serious students of A Course in Miracles that it and the Bible are fundamentally incompatible." "Course-teachers Robert Perry, Greg Mackie, and Allen Watson" disagreed about that. Though a friend of Schucman, Thetford, and Wapnick, Catholic priest Benedict Groeschel criticized ACIM and related organizations. Finding some elements of ACIM to be "severe and potentially dangerous distortions of Christian theology", he wrote that it is "a good example of a false revelation" and that it has "become a spiritual menace to many". The evangelical editor Elliot Miller says that Christian terminology employed in ACIM is "thoroughly redefined" to resemble New Age teachings. Other Christian critics say that ACIM is "intensely anti-biblical" and incompatible with Christianity, blurring the distinction between creator and created and forcefully supporting an occult and New Age worldview.
Olav Hammer locates A Course in Miracles in the tradition of channeled works from those of Madam Blavatsky to Rudolf Steiner's and notes the close parallels between Christian Science and the teachings of the Course. Hammer called it "gnosticizing beliefs". In "'Knowledge is Truth': A Course in Miracles as Neo-Gnostic Scripture" in Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies, Simon J. Joseph outlines the relationship between the Course and Gnostic thinking. Daren Kemp also considers ACIM neo-Gnostic and agrees with Hammer that it is a channeled text. The course has been viewed as a way that "integrates a psychological world view with a universal spiritual perspective" and linked to transpersonal psychology.
Joseph declared:
Consequently, new manuscript discoveries, lost gospels, and new “scriptural” revelations represent an effective way of subverting the traditional picture of early Christian origins and destabilizing traditional Christian authority by redefining the cultural boundaries of Christianity in contemporary culture. Since the Course’s redefinition of terms is so offensive to its critics, the Gospel narrative that the Course subverts and redefines is the suffering, death, and crucifixion of Jesus.
— Simon J. Joseph
Another dismissal of ACIM and claim for its subversiveness comes from some on the political left, who note that William Thetford, who encouraged and helped bring Schucman's work to press, was a CIA operative and psychologist. In Harper's Magazine, Sheila Heti quotes a post asserting the CIA sought "to infiltrate and dilute the American left with New Age ideas and inwardly-focused, anti-rational religious movements".
The Skeptic's Dictionary describes ACIM as "a minor industry" that is overly commercialized and characterizes it as "Christianity improved". Robert T. Carroll wrote that the teachings are not original but culled from "various sources, east, and west". He adds that it has gained increased popularity as New Age spirituality writer Marianne Williamson promoted a variant.
Associated works
Two works have been described as extensions of A Course in Miracles, Gary Renard's 2003 The Disappearance of the Universe and Marianne Williamson's A Return to Love published in 1992. The Disappearance of the Universe, published in 2003 by Fearless Books, was republished by Hay House in 2004. Publishers Weekly reported that Renard's examination of A Course in Miracles influenced his book.
References
- A Course in Miracles. Foundation for Inner Peace. Introduction, p. 1. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
- "ACIM: About the Scribes". acim.org. Foundation for Inner Peace. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
- Foundation for Inner Peace (1992). A Course in Miracles: Combined Volume (2nd ed.). Glen Ellen, Calif.: The Foundation. pp. vii–viii. ISBN 0-9606388-9-X. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
- ^ Newport, John P. (1998). The New Age movement and the biblical worldview: conflict and dialogue. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 176. ISBN 978-0-8028-4430-9.
a course in miracles christian criticism.
- ^ Carroll, Robert Todd (2003). The skeptic's dictionary: a collection of strange beliefs, amusing deceptions, and dangerous delusions. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-27242-7.
- ^ Miller, D. Patrick (November 23, 2011). Understanding A Course in Miracles: The History, Message, and Legacy of a Spiritual Path for Today. Berkeley, CA: Celestial Arts. ISBN 9780307807793. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
- Beverley, James (May 19, 2009). Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions: A Comprehensive Introduction to the Religions of the World. Thomas Nelson Inc. pp. 397–. ISBN 9781418577469. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
- "Recipient's Common Interest in Subject of Work Does Not Limit Publication". Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal. 67 (1645). Bureau of National Affairs (BNA): 16–17. 2003.
- Boa, Kenneth; Bowman, Robert M. (1997). An Unchanging Faith in a Changing World: Understanding and Responding to Critical Issues that Christians Face Today. Oliver Nelson. ISBN 9780785273523. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- van IJssel, Suzette. "The Imminent Heaven: Spiritual Post-Metaphysics and Ethics in a Postmodern Era". Archived from the original on June 21, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- Hammer (2021: p. 450)
- "Helen Schucman's Career".
- "A Course in Miracles Book ACIM Lessons Online and Text". ACIM Portal. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
- Helen Schucman: Autobiography, in "Origins of A Course in Miracles" 3:27–28. Foundation for Inner Peace Archives, Tiburon, CA).
- ^ Hammer, Olav (2021) . Claiming Knowledge: Strategies of Epistemology from Theosophy to the New Age. Numen Book Series. Brill. p. 153. ISBN 978-90-04-49399-5. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
A Course in Miracles is said to have been channeled from a discarnate entity perceived as Jesus but never explicitly named as such in the ensuing text.
- ^ Kemp, Daren (March 2004). "A COURSE IN MIRACLES". In Clarke, Peter (ed.). Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements. Routledge. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-134-49970-0.
- Skutch, Robert. Journey Without Distance: The Story Behind A Course in Miracles. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA, 1984, p. 58.
- "The Scribe: Helen Schucman and A Course in Miracles©". www.miraclestudies.net.
- ^ Joseph, Simon J. (March 22, 2017). "'Knowledge is Truth': A Course in Miracles as Neo-Gnostic Scripture". GNOSIS. 2 (1). Brill: 94–125. doi:10.1163/2451859x-12340028. ISSN 2451-8581.
- "ACIM Translations". Foundation for Inner Peace. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
- Bradby, Ruth (2010). "A course in miracles in Ireland". In Cosgrove, Olivia; Cox, Laurence; Kuhling, Carmen; Mulholland, Peter (eds.). Ireland's New Religious Movements. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 147–162. ISBN 978-1-4438-2615-0. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
- Dean C. Halverson, "Seeing Yourself as Sinless", SCP Journal 7, no. 1 (1987): 23.
- Groeschel, Benedict J., A Still Small Voice (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1993) p. 80
- Groeschel, Benedict J., A Still Small Voice (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1993) p. 82.
- Hammer (2021: 444)
- Hammer (2021: 55)
- Miracles with Counselors, David Aldrich Osgood, University of Massachusetts Amherst (1991), Transpersonal Psychology and A Course in Miracles P.43 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5794&context=dissertations_1
- Heti, Sheila (September 2024). "The New Age Bible". Harper's Magazine. p. 48.
- Butler-Bowdon, Tom.50 Spiritual Classics: Timeless Wisdom From 50 Great Books of Inner Discovery, Enlightenment and Purpose. Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2010. p. 223.
- Butler-Bowdon, Tom. The Literature of Possibility. Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2013. p. 223.
- Coburn, Lorri. Breaking Free: How Forgiveness and A Course in Miracles Can Set You Free. Balboa Press, 2011. p. 193.
- Wilson, Brandy (July 29, 2006). "Community of Faith: News from Houses of Worship: 'Disappearance of Universe' author to host workshop". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
- Garrett, Lynn (March 7, 2005). "'Disappearance' Appears Big Time". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
External links
- Editions in public domain:
- Urtext Edition – Published by Miracles in Action Press
- Sparkly Edition – Published by Diamond Clear Vision
- Why A Course in Miracles Is Not Good For You, or Those You Love – An open letter from Matthew Remski, investigative journalist on spirituality and cult
| A Course in Miracles | |
|---|---|
| Books | |
| Movement supporters | |
| Critics | |
| Related articles | |