Tal Brooke (born as Robert Taliaferro Brooke) is the chairperson of the Spiritual Counterfeits Project, a Christian countercult and apologetics organization. He is the author of several books concerning the phenomena of Indian gurus, New Age spirituality, and the occult. He is a former follower of Sathya Sai Baba who then became a Christian. The Christian countercult movement, also known as discernment ministries is the collective designation for many mostly unrelated ministries and individual Christians who oppose non-mainstream Christian and non-Christian religious groups, which they often call cults. ... Apologetics is the field of study concerned with the systematic defense of a position. ... References ^ Tirha, B. B. A Taste of Trascendence, (2002) p. ... New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ... The word occult comes from Latin occultus (hidden), referring to the knowledge of the secret or knowledge of the hidden and often meaning knowledge of the supernatural, as opposed to knowledge of the visible or knowledge of the measurable, usually referred to as science. ... The front cover of a biography of Sathya Sai Baba. ... As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ...

Biography

Brooke is the son of Edgar Duffield Brooke who was an American diplomat. He lived part of his childhood in Europe and the Middle East, and in the mid 1960s was enrolled as a student at the University of Virginia from which he graduated. In the 1980s he graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary. Website Virginia. ... The steeple of Alexander Hall Princeton Theological Seminary is one of the worlds leading institutions for graduate theological education and home of the largest theological library in the United States. ...

In his spiritual autobiography Lord of the Air Brooke recounts that he was attracted to the American counterculture of the 1960s with its emphasis on altered states of consciousness, alternate lifestyles, and exploration of East Asian religions. He experimented with the drug LSD and began reading books concerning various Hindu gurus such as Sri Ramakrishna, Ramana Maharshi, Sri Aurobindo, Paramahansa Yogananda and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. He then travelled to India in 1969 and in January 1970 encountered Sathya Sai Baba. In sociology, counterculture is a term used to describe a cultural group whose values and norms are at odds with those of the social mainstream, a cultural equivalent of a political opposition. ... The phrase altered state of consciousness was coined in the 1970s and describes induced changes in ones mental state, almost always temporary. ... D-lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly called hits, tabs, acid, LSD, or LSD-25, is a powerful semisynthetic psychedelic drug. ... Sri Thakur Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (February 18, 1836 - August 16, 1886) was a Bengali saint. ... Ramana Mahrishi as portrayed in a loving oil painting by Jayalakshmi Satyendra Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi (December 30, 1879 – April 14, 1950) was a great Hindu mystic of the Advaita Vedanta stream and is widely regarded as one of the greatest saints of Hinduism. ... Sri Aurobindo Sri Aurobindo (Bangla: শ্রী অরবিন্দ) (August 15, 1872–December 5, 1950) was an Indian nationalist, scholar, poet, Hindu mystic, evolutionary philosopher, yogi and guru. ... Paramhansa Yogananda Paramahansa Yogananda परमहंस योगानन्‍द (January 5, 1893 – March 7, 1952), was an Indian yogi and guru. ... Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Srivastava January 12, 1917) is the founder of the TM Movement. ...

Brooke recounts his experiences with Sai Baba, noting his personal charisma, his apparent ability to materialize objects, his teachings, and the practice of meditation. Brooke was impressed with Sai Baba that he became a disciple along with several other western-born devotees. He began to compose a work in praise of Sai Baba which he called The Amazing Advent. However the completed manuscript was never published. Meditation is the practice of focusing attention, often formalized into a specific routine. ... A Disciple (from the Latin discipulus, a pupil) is one who receives instruction from another; a scholar; a learner; especially, a follower who has learned to believe in the truth of the doctrine of his teacher, and implies that the pupil is under the discipline of, and understands, his teacher...

Brooke became disenchanted with Sai Baba and describes his misgivings. Part of those misgivings relate to private encounters that certain devotees, including Brooke, had with Sai Baba that involved sexual acts. Brooke talked about some of his misgivings with some other devotees, and his disenchantment with Sai Baba set in. These devotees also told him that Sathya Sai Baba could change in woman instantaneously and that a man had sexual intercourse with Sathya Sai Baba as if Sai Baba were a woman. He had spent approximately two years as a devotee. Shortly after this Brooke converted to Christianity through the assistance of missionaries in India.

He subsequently joined the Christian missionary organization Operation Mobilisation, and then studied theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. In the late 1980s he became the president of the Spiritual Counterfeits Project in Berkeley, California. He maintains an active career at the Spiritual Counterfeits Project as a speaker and writer, and as the editor of the ministry's journal and newsletter. A missionary is a propagator of religion, often an evangelist or other representative of a religious community who works among those outside of that community. ... Operation Mobilisation is an Evangelical Christian organisation founded by George Verwer to mobilise young people to live and share the Evangelical Gospel of Jesus. ... Theology is reasoned discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). It can also refer to the study of other religious topics. ... Berkeley is the name of several places, all eventually deriving from Berkeley Castle in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, UK, from whom the noble family of Berkeley derive their name, and for which several vessels of the British Royal Navy have been christened HMS Berkeley Castle. Any of the holders of several titles... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 402. ...

Writings

An abbreviated account of Brooke's spiritual conversion was published in England in 1976 as Lord of the Air. An expanded version was then released in India as Sai Baba, Lord of the Air. A revised edition of Lord of the Air was later released in 1990, and then another expanded edition was released in 1999 as Avatar of Night. According to an article by Brooke (A Message in a Bottle: A Visit with Jane Campion), aspects of his story became a source of inspiration for the novel (and then motion picture) Holy Smoke! by Anna and Jane Campion [1]. Holy Smoke! is a 1999 Australian film directed by Jane Campion. ...

Since his conversion to Christianity, Brooke has written several apologetics based books. The Other Side of Death was a critical evangelical response to the early writings of Raymond Moody on near-death experiences. His book Riders of the Cosmic Circuit involved a critical examination of Sai Baba, Swami Muktananda and Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. He has also been highly critical of New Age spirituality in various articles published in the SCP Journal and SCP Newsletter (both publications of the Spiritual Counterfeits Project), and in his book When The World Will Be As One. Raymond Moody (born June 30, 1944) is a parapsychologist. ... A near-death experience (NDE) is the perception reported by a person who nearly died or who was clinically dead and revived. ... Rajneesh Chandra Mohan Jain (December 11, 1931 - January 19, 1990), better known during the 1970s as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and later as Osho, was the founder and leader of a controversial India and the United States. ... New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ...

Controversies

Brooke has been a controversial figure in his writings that oppose New Age spirituality. Part of his interpretation of New Age is framed around a conspiracy theory. He regards New Age as a Satanic conspiracy through which people are spiritually seduced and they may even controlled by demons. He also interprets New Age as part of the human impulse for self-worship, and tries to chart those impulses in the context of late Twentieth century western culture. However, his advocacy of a conspiratorial interpretation of New Age differs from the standpoint that was taken by the staff of the Spiritual Counterfeits Project prior to his presidency such as in the SCP Newsletter (January-February 1984) and in the SCP book The New Age Rage (published in 1987). This proposed logo for a U.S. government agency was dropped due to fears that its pseudo-Masonic symbolism would provoke conspiracy theories. ... The demon Satan In folklore, mythology, and religion, a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as an evil spirit, but is also depicted to be good in some instances. ...

Brooke's controversial stance on conspiracy theory formed part of a brief news report by Robert Digitale in Christianity Today magazine in January 1990. Digitale speculated on the apparent shift in perspective at the Spiritual Counterfeits Project under Brooke's presidency and with changes in the personnel of the ministry's board of directors.

Other evangelical countercult apologists, such as Elliot Miller (Christian Research Institute) and Douglas Groothuis, have rejected the conspiracy interpretation of New Age as proferred by other apologists such as Dave Hunt and Constance Cumbey. Although Miller's and Groothuis' books were published prior to Brooke's When The World Will Be As One, many of the points Miller and Groothuis cite in objecting to conspiracy theories generally seem to apply to Brooke's argument. The Christian Research Institute (also popularly known as CRI) is one of the largest Evangelical Christian apologetics ministries of the world. ... Dave Hunt, born in 1926, is a Christian apologist, speaker, radio commentator and author. ... Constance Elizabeth Cumbey (born 29 February 1944) was born Constance Elizabeth Butler to a family of mixed European ancestry in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States, and raised as a Seventh Day Adventist. ...

Bibliography

• Lord of the Air (Herts: Lion Publishing, 1976).
• The Other Side of Death (Wheaton: Tyndale, 1979).
• Sai Baba, Lord of the Air (New Delhi: Vikas, 1979).
• "Pied Piper of Poona," Eternity (September 1981), pp. 14 & 18.
• Riders of the Cosmic Circuit (Tring: Lion/Sutherland: Albatross Books, 1986).
• and Chuck Smith, Harvest (Old Tappan: Chosen Books, 1987).
• When The World Will Be As One (Eugene: Harvest, 1989).
• Lord of the Air: Tales of a Modern Antichrist (Eugene: Harvest, 1990).
• ed., Virtual Gods (Eugene: Harvest, 1997).
• ed., The Conspiracy to Silence the Son of God (Eugene: Harvest, 1998).
• Avatar of Night (Berkeley: End Run Publishing, 1999).

Other Sources

• Brooks Alexander, "The Final Threat: Apocalypse, Conspiracy, and Biblical Faith," SCP Newsletter, 10/1 (January-February 1984), pp 1, 6-8, 11-12.
• Gregory S. Camp, Selling Fear; Conspiracy Theories and end-times paranoia (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997).
• Paul Coughlin, Secrets, Plots and Hidden Agendas (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1999).
• Robert Digitale, "Major Shift at Spiritual Counterfeits Project?" Christianity Today, (January 15, 1990), pp. 53-54.
• Douglas R. Groothuis, Unmasking the New Age (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1986).
• Massimo Introvigne, "Deprogramming Kate Winslet: A Review of Holy Smoke by Anna and Jane Campion," [2]
• Elliot Miller, A Crash Course on the New Age Movement (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989).
• SCP Staff, "The Final Threat: Cosmic Conspiracy and End Times Speculation," in The New Age Rage, Karen Hoyt and J. Isamu Yamamoto, eds. (Old Tappan: Fleming Revell, 1987), pp. 185-201.

External links

• Home page of Spiritual Counterfeits Projects
  • Tal Brooke on the SCP homepage
• Home Page of Tal Brooke's publishing company
• Short book review from the Christian Research Institute of Riders of the Cosmic Circuit