Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1 1988 Page 106
for himself if the concepts of the Anthony typology are deep enough to cut through universal
human tendencies to play God and exploit others.
Rather than follow through with an examination of the remaining specifics of Spiritual Choices, I
would like to comment on some of the major strengths and weaknesses of the book as a whole.
Several aspects of Spiritual Choices are particularly helpful. First, the book helps us to think about
religious groups in a contextual way. The guidance that is given to a spiritual seeker is made in
terms of what his/her goal must be: spiritual realization, however one wishes to define this.
Therefore, no matter how salutary the effects of a group may be to the one who participates in it,
it should be assessed on the basis of whether it meets its basic obligation: to provide a path for
the seeker which will not fall short. A group that fails in this basic area should be eschewed by the
true disciple. This contextual view has much to say about religious groups that advertise
themselves by appealing to a person‘s curiosity, desire for material success, health, or emotional
well-being. Jacob Needleman comments, ―Frankly, I would prefer a religion that out-and-out says,
―You‘re going to get a lot of money and sex from this religion‖ to one that says, ―You‘re going to
get transformation‖ and is really trying to get money and sex out of it without even knowing it
themselves.‖ This observation points to matters of deception and self-deception at the deepest
level and highlights the deceptive aspect of counterfeit groups in a comprehensive way.
Second, the book contains a good deal of helpful historical and cultural analysis. America has
passed through great upheaval in the last 25 years, and the authors do a good job of explaining
how these changes have affected the religious landscape. They also analyze how our culture
breeds confusion concerning true spiritual transformation. They offer some valuable insights into
the problem of individualism in the spiritual quest, and they devote time to discussing how
rationalism and ―reductionism‖ have affected our appreciation of the balance between objectivism
and subjectivism in relation to discernment and knowing. Basically their argument is that we are
still recovering a balance from a primarily objective world view that has been overthrown by the
counterculture subjectivity of the sixties. The task is now to produce a new synthesis of the two in
our present pluralistic society.
Third, it was helpful to have a book written with sensitivity toward spiritual issues. One of the
goals of the editors of this work was to counter the tendency toward reductionism in analysis of
spiritual groups and experiences. Materialistic viewpoints are simply inadequate to deal with
spiritual issues, even when they have effects in the physical-psychological world. It is obvious
that the writers have successfully brought their years of spiritual pilgrimage to this book. Those
who are also involved in a spiritual search or pilgrimage will appreciate their sensitivity.
Finally, the discussion concerning the role of authority in spiritual groups was comprehensive. The
approaches were not only general and theoretical, but specific and practical. In the interviews,
both Ram Dass and Claudio Naranjo talked about their misuse of authority. Werner Erhard‘s
response to this issue is equally interesting, if less candid. Some of the essayists attempt to
construct models of spiritual authority that have existed in various religious traditions for some
time. There are specific treatments of authority issues such as sexual relations between master
and disciple, testing of a master‘s claim to spiritual realization, and making distinctions between
submission and subjection. For those concerned with abusive religious groups, this aspect may be
the most relevant.
In some respects Spiritual Choices is itself a psychospiritual supermarket. One can sample a
variety of pathways that exist within the present religious milieu. The interviews and essays also
offer a variety of viewpoints on the subject of the spiritual search. Yet the way one responds to
the work as a whole depends on one‘s own assumptions. What is really the essence of spiritual
transformation? In the closing interview at the end of the book, Jacob Needleman comments,
―Transformation means everything in man is transformed, is put into a new order, and for that,
you have to be sensitive to the total environment of man, the inner as well as the outer.‖ What
then, is the nature of the transformation one sees in the NRMS? St. Francis of Assisi, who is
for himself if the concepts of the Anthony typology are deep enough to cut through universal
human tendencies to play God and exploit others.
Rather than follow through with an examination of the remaining specifics of Spiritual Choices, I
would like to comment on some of the major strengths and weaknesses of the book as a whole.
Several aspects of Spiritual Choices are particularly helpful. First, the book helps us to think about
religious groups in a contextual way. The guidance that is given to a spiritual seeker is made in
terms of what his/her goal must be: spiritual realization, however one wishes to define this.
Therefore, no matter how salutary the effects of a group may be to the one who participates in it,
it should be assessed on the basis of whether it meets its basic obligation: to provide a path for
the seeker which will not fall short. A group that fails in this basic area should be eschewed by the
true disciple. This contextual view has much to say about religious groups that advertise
themselves by appealing to a person‘s curiosity, desire for material success, health, or emotional
well-being. Jacob Needleman comments, ―Frankly, I would prefer a religion that out-and-out says,
―You‘re going to get a lot of money and sex from this religion‖ to one that says, ―You‘re going to
get transformation‖ and is really trying to get money and sex out of it without even knowing it
themselves.‖ This observation points to matters of deception and self-deception at the deepest
level and highlights the deceptive aspect of counterfeit groups in a comprehensive way.
Second, the book contains a good deal of helpful historical and cultural analysis. America has
passed through great upheaval in the last 25 years, and the authors do a good job of explaining
how these changes have affected the religious landscape. They also analyze how our culture
breeds confusion concerning true spiritual transformation. They offer some valuable insights into
the problem of individualism in the spiritual quest, and they devote time to discussing how
rationalism and ―reductionism‖ have affected our appreciation of the balance between objectivism
and subjectivism in relation to discernment and knowing. Basically their argument is that we are
still recovering a balance from a primarily objective world view that has been overthrown by the
counterculture subjectivity of the sixties. The task is now to produce a new synthesis of the two in
our present pluralistic society.
Third, it was helpful to have a book written with sensitivity toward spiritual issues. One of the
goals of the editors of this work was to counter the tendency toward reductionism in analysis of
spiritual groups and experiences. Materialistic viewpoints are simply inadequate to deal with
spiritual issues, even when they have effects in the physical-psychological world. It is obvious
that the writers have successfully brought their years of spiritual pilgrimage to this book. Those
who are also involved in a spiritual search or pilgrimage will appreciate their sensitivity.
Finally, the discussion concerning the role of authority in spiritual groups was comprehensive. The
approaches were not only general and theoretical, but specific and practical. In the interviews,
both Ram Dass and Claudio Naranjo talked about their misuse of authority. Werner Erhard‘s
response to this issue is equally interesting, if less candid. Some of the essayists attempt to
construct models of spiritual authority that have existed in various religious traditions for some
time. There are specific treatments of authority issues such as sexual relations between master
and disciple, testing of a master‘s claim to spiritual realization, and making distinctions between
submission and subjection. For those concerned with abusive religious groups, this aspect may be
the most relevant.
In some respects Spiritual Choices is itself a psychospiritual supermarket. One can sample a
variety of pathways that exist within the present religious milieu. The interviews and essays also
offer a variety of viewpoints on the subject of the spiritual search. Yet the way one responds to
the work as a whole depends on one‘s own assumptions. What is really the essence of spiritual
transformation? In the closing interview at the end of the book, Jacob Needleman comments,
―Transformation means everything in man is transformed, is put into a new order, and for that,
you have to be sensitive to the total environment of man, the inner as well as the outer.‖ What
then, is the nature of the transformation one sees in the NRMS? St. Francis of Assisi, who is
