| The New Message from God | |
|---|---|
| Type | New religious movement |
| Scripture | Steps to Knowledge, The Allies of Humanity, The Greater Community, Secret of Heavens |
| Headquarters | Boulder, Colorado, United States |
| Founder | Marshall Vian Summers |
| Origin | 1992 |
| Official website | www |
The New Message from God is a new religious movement founded by Marshall Vian Summers. Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, the movement is based on a series of writings and recordings that Summers claims to have received as divine revelation from a spiritual source referred to as the "Angelic Assembly". [1]
The movement combines elements of spirituality, such as meditation and the cultivation of inner guidance (referred to as "Knowledge"), with ufological beliefs regarding extraterrestrial life and humanity's future in the "Greater Community" of the universe. [2]
Founder Marshall Vian Summers (b. Berkeley, California) was raised in a conservative Episcopalian family and worked as a special education teacher for the blind before reporting a "profound encounter" with the Angelic Assembly. [1] Summers described this as the beginning of a process of direct revelation that guided him to record teachings over several decades. [1] His son, Reed Summers, claims that the voice of the Angelic Assembly was audibly recorded during these encounters, asserting this preserves the 'Voice of Revelation' for the first time in history. [3] The first of these texts, Wisdom from The Greater Community, was published in 1990. [1]
Summers explicitly claims the title of "Messenger," asserting that he is part of a lineage of prophets that includes the Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad, sent to prepare humanity for a new era of global change and extraterrestrial contact. [4]
Summers later relocated to Boulder, Colorado, which serves as the headquarters for "The Society for the New Message from God," the organization responsible for preserving and disseminating the movement's texts and recordings. [5] The Society manages the "New Knowledge Library" and organizes global outreach efforts. [6]
The New Message from God presents a syncretic theology that integrates monotheism with a cosmology centered on extraterrestrial life. [2] While the movement acknowledges figures like Jesus and Buddha, it explicitly distinguishes itself from Christianity, asserting that it is a new revelation entirely. [3]
A central tenet of the movement is the concept of the "Greater Community," which refers to the vast universe of intelligent life. [7] Unlike many UFO religions that view extraterrestrials as messianic or benevolent saviors, the New Message teaches that the universe is a competitive environment. [8] The group claims that humanity is currently facing an "Intervention" by opportunistic extraterrestrial races seeking to exploit Earth's resources and undermine human sovereignty. [8]
This narrative is expounded in The Allies of Humanity, a series of texts Summers claims were transmitted to him by a group of ethical extraterrestrial observers who wish to warn humanity without directly interfering. [9]
The movement's soteriology centers on "Knowledge" (capitalized), described as a deeper spiritual intelligence within every individual that connects them to God. [10] The movement teaches a form of cosmic monotheism, asserting that "God is Knowledge" and is the creator of all life in the universe, transcending any single human religion. [11] Salvation is defined as the "reclamation of Knowledge," which allows individuals to fulfill their specific purpose in the physical world. [12]
In the Greater Community, Knowledge is the essence and substance of all religious experience... Knowledge is the part of your mind that is spiritual and permanent. It is the part of your mind that knows who you are and why you have come here.
— Marshall Vian Summers, Greater Community Spirituality [13]
The movement teaches that humanity is facing a converging set of global crises termed the "Great Waves of Change." These include environmental degradation, resource depletion, poverty, and the risk of conflict over diminishing resources. [14]
According to the New Message, these catastrophic events are not merely physical challenges but are evolutionary thresholds that require humanity to mature spiritually and unite. [15] The movement explicitly rejects "End Times" or Rapture theology, viewing these crises instead as a difficult but survivable transition into a new world reality. [3]
A distinctive feature of the New Message cosmology is the concept of the "mental environment." This is described as a non-physical but tangible realm of influence where thoughts and mental energies interact. [16]
Scholar Celetia Liang notes that in New Message theology, the mental environment is "a parallel environment to our physical one" where "minds have a palpable influence over all individuals regardless of their awareness." [16] The movement teaches that extraterrestrial forces (the "Intervention") utilize this environment to influence human leadership and pacify the public, relying on "human belief and acquiescence" rather than direct military force. [17] Students of the movement practice shielding their minds and developing "noetic" discernment to navigate this environment safely. [18]
The central spiritual practice of the movement is contained in the book Steps to Knowledge: The Book of Inner Knowing. The text is structured as a 365-day curriculum designed to teach students how to experience "Stillness" and access the spiritual intelligence known as "Knowledge". [19]
The book was the recipient of the Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Award for Spirituality in 2000. [20] In a professional review from 1999, Foreword Reviews described it as a "complete self-study spiritual program" comparable to A Course in Miracles , noting its "sense of urgency for living an inspired life." [19]
The curriculum focuses on self-inquiry and meditation, with lessons ranging from affirmation-style statements (e.g., "I am here to serve a greater purpose") to active practices of shielding one's mind from the "mental environment." [21]
Followers, referred to as "Students," participate in the "Worldwide Community." As of 2017, the movement's online "Free School" had approximately 2,900 registered students, with the total community estimated conservatively in the thousands. [22]
A local community exists in Boulder, where adherents gather for events such as "Tuesday Night Meditation," a weekly meeting involving meditation and the reading of revelations. [23] The community observes two primary annual holidays: the "Messenger's Vigil", which commemorates the birth of Marshall Vian Summers, and the "Steps Vigil", a twenty-day period marking the reception of the Steps to Knowledge text. [24]
The movement is organized legally under "The Society for the Greater Community Way of Knowledge", doing business as "The Society for the New Message from God". [25] Founded in 1992, it is a 501(c)(3) non-profit religious organization based in Boulder, Colorado. [25]
The Society is responsible for preserving the recordings and texts of the movement, translating them into other languages to reach an international audience, and organizing the "Worldwide Community" of adherents. [5] It operates the "New Knowledge Library," the publishing arm for Summers' written works and audio recordings. [5]
The movement's literary corpus is collectively referred to as "The One Book" and is organized into several volumes covering prophecy, spiritual practice, and the nature of the universe. The Society makes these texts available online. [26]
| Bibliography of Key Texts | |
|---|---|
| Collection | Titles |
| The Allies of Humanity |
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| Volume 1 |
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| Volume 2 |
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| Volume 3 |
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| Volume 4 |
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| Volume 5 |
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| Volume 6 |
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| Volume 7 |
|
Scholarship on the New Message from God is limited but growing within the field of New Religious Movements (NRM). Sociologist William Sims Bainbridge lists the group as a new religious movement established in the 1990s, questioning whether it constitutes a "significant movement" or a "mass media fad" driven by the publication of mystical books. [27]
The movement has also been categorized by scholars as a "contactee religion" within the broader context of UFO-related spiritual groups. [28]
In a 2019 master's thesis, scholar Celetia Ming Liang analyzed the movement as a case study of "lived religion." [29] Liang categorizes the group within the framework of American metaphysical religion, noting its focus on mental power and the correspondence between the material and spiritual worlds. [29] Liang argues that the group's "metaphysical hallmarks of correspondence and noetic power" distinguish it from other UFO religions that may focus more on physical contact or worship. [2]
The movement's texts have also been cited in educational research. A 2019 thesis from the Universidad San Pedro in Peru referenced Summers' Greater Community Spirituality (Espiritualidad de la Comunidad Mayor) in a study regarding values and religious education in secondary schools. [30]
In the broader metaphysical community, author Carrie L'Esperance has discussed Summers' work in her book Soul Breathing (2016), referencing his teachings on the "Greater Community" and the spiritual implications of extraterrestrial contact. [31]
The movement has received coverage from media outlets focusing on its extraterrestrial claims. In 2015, Vice published an interview with Reed Summers, the director of the movement, discussing the Allies of Humanity texts and the group's belief that an extraterrestrial "intervention" is currently taking place on Earth. [32] The following year, Summers appeared on The David Pakman Show to discuss the movement's theology and its distinction from traditional Christianity. [3]
In 2017, The Atlantic featured the movement in an article exploring the appeal of new religious movements. The article highlighted the experiences of adherents, such as David Drimmel, who described finding a "sense of connection" in the movement's teachings that they had not found elsewhere. The piece contextualized the New Message from God alongside other modern spiritual groups, examining the specific features that attract followers in the 21st century. [33]
Later that year, the Denver-based publication Westword covered the group's release of the book The Greater Community, discussing its claims regarding the spiritual significance of the Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017. [34]