Edgar Cayce and the Association
for Research and Enlightenment
(from Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions, Harvest House, 1999)
INFO AT A GLANCE
Name: The Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE) was founded in 1931 to
preserve, research and disseminate the psychic work of Edgar Cayce.
Founder: Edgar Cayce (1877-1945).
Source of authority: The trance readings of Edgar Cayces alleged unconscious mind.
These are often claimed to have originated from the akashic records, purportedly a
storehouse of universal knowledge which many occultists cite as a source of inspiration.
Claim: The revelations of Edgar Cayce represent one of the most significant psychic phenomena
of our time.
Occult dynamics: Spiritistic revelations and various occult practices, e.g., astrology.
Key literature: The Circulating Files (only ARE members can obtain the nearly 400 topically
arranged transcripts of the Cayce Trance readings); the ARE Journal and Newsletter;
New Millennium Journal; Venture Inward magazines; A Search for God (2 Vols.); The
Edgar Cayce Library (topically organized volumes of the Cayce readings容.g., Vol. 6 is
The Early Christian Epoch); and the multi-volume Individual Reference File. These last
two are continually expanding.
Attitude toward Christianity: Rejecting.
Quote:
Q. How should we present the [Edgar Cayce] work to one in orthodox faith?
A. ... If they are satisfied in their own mire, or their own vomit, then do not disturb. (Edgar
Cayce Reading 254-87).
DOCTRINAL SUMMARY
God: A pantheistic, impersonal force.
Jesus: A man who attained Christ consciousness.
(The) Christ: A state of higher (occult) consciousness.
Trinity: Reinterpreted as e.g., Time, Space and Patience.
Man: Part of God.
Fall: The fall occurred in heaven, not on the earth, and man fell into matter, not sin. Matter
and spirit are opposed to one another. When preexisting spirits fell into matter they
lost their spiritual understanding and awareness of their divinity.
Sin: Error (e.g., not recognizing or appropriating ones deity). Sin is more a defect in
awareness than violation of a moral standard.
Salvation: Salvation is through knowledge, not faith, and involves the attainment of higher
consciousness and realization of ones divinity.
Satan: A symbol of evil.
Second coming: The subjective experience within each person of the internal coming of
the Christ
Bible: One of many holy books, interpreted symbolically.
Death: A spiritual advancement
Heaven and Hell: Inward states of consciousness or good or bad experiences in life.
John Ankerberg Discusses the Claims of Edgar Cayce and the Beliefs of the Association for Research and Enlightenment.
with
Guests: Harvey Human, Esther Griffith, Carol Sharp
Edgar Cayce (March 18, 1877 -- January 3, 1945) was an American some repute as having had psychic abilities. He is claimed to have demonstrated an ability to channel answers to questions on subjects such as health, astrology, reincarnation, and Atlantis while in a self-induced trance. Although Cayce lived before the emergence of the New Age movement, he remains a major influence on its teachings.
Cayce became an American celebrity towards the end of his life and the publicity given to his prophecies has overshadowed what to him were usually considered the more important parts of his work such as healing (the vast majority of his readings were given for people who were sick) and theology (Cayce being a lifelong, devout member of the Disciples of Christ). Skeptics challenge that Cayce demonstrated psychic abilities and conventional Christians also question his unorthodox answers on religious matters (such as reincarnation and Akashic records). He may have been the source for the idea that California would fall into the Pacific ocean (though he never said exactly this).
Today there are tens of thousands of Cayce students. Most are located in the United States and Canada, but Edgar Cayce Centers are now found in 25 other countries. The Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE), headquartered in Virginia Beach, is the major organization promoting interest in Cayce.
Runtime: 05:22
Added: December 27, 2009
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Views: 157
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Category: World Religions
