Proclaim 19
First she’s there; now she’s gone, or is she? New Age sympathizer Roma Downey was scheduled to speak at the National Religious Broadcaster’s 2019 convention, Proclaim 19. Sharing the docket with her are highly popular evangelical names like John MacArthur, Rick Warren, Greg Laurie, and Kirk Cameron. Lighthouse Trails reported on the story with the release of Greg Reid’s booklet, Butterfly Illusions (which unveils the strong New Age messages in Roma Downey’s new book, Box of Butterflies).
Shortly after the release of the booklet, Lighthouse Trails learned that Roma Downey’s name (along with her husband Mark Burnett) had been removed from the speakers list for Proclaim 19. Calls to the NRB office in Washington, DC by Lighthouse Trails editors provided no answers as to why Downey’s name was gone other than being told “it has not yet been decided” if she will be speaking there. As has been the “normal” protocol for Christian leaders when they get challenged, there is just dead silence from NRB as well as from the evangelical figures who are involved. But new information about Roma Downey’s beliefs will hopefully prompt NRB and Christian leaders to be responsible and do the right thing.
God “In” Everyone and Everything?
The crux of the New Age is not Ouija boards and Tarot cards but rather is the foundational belief that God is “in” everyone and “in” everything. It is the prevailing doctrine throughout all New Age teachings as well as the root of mystical meditation. To believe that God is in everyone and in everything is to ultimately reject the Cross (whether one realizes that or not). If God is in everyone, then there would have been no reason for Jesus Christ to go to the Cross as a substitute for humanity’s sins because we would already be divine and not need a Savior. That is why one prominent New Age leader quoted his “God” as saying, “the era of the Single Savior is over”1 (because we are all Saviors). It would stand to reason that Christian teachers and pastors who profess to know God’s Word and His ways would easily recognize the contrast between New Age spirituality and biblical Christianity. But in the case of Roma Downey and today’s Christian leaders, this is not so.
For many years now, Roma Downey has consistently and publicly shown herself to be strongly aligned with the New Age. Her long-time spiritual mentor was New Age/New Thought pastor and teacher Della Reese whom Downey considered to be a mother figure. Downey then attended and, in 2010, graduated from the University of Santa Monica (one of the most popular New Age schools in the world). And she favorably quotes the school’s New Age leader and founder, the late John-Roger2 (who claimed he was inhabited by the “mystical traveler consciousness”). Shortly after her graduation from USM, Downey came on the evangelical Christian scene (calling herself a devout Catholic), producing Bible-story movies and being wholeheartedly welcomed by numerous Christian celebrities (see some photo examples below) including Rick Warren, David Jeremiah, Greg Laurie, Samuel Rodriguez (she wrote the foreword to his 2017 book, Be Light), and Joel Osteen. And now, most recently, her open-armed welcome to speak at Proclaim 19 with John MacArthur, Rick Warren, Greg Laurie, and Kirk Cameron.
Christian Leaders Say Nothing
Until concern was issued by Lighthouse Trails and others, none of the men listed above had any apparent problem with being associated with Roma Downey. But do they even know or care about what she believes? Or have they just benefited from their association with her and ignored what she really stands for? (After all, she has gained the affection and following of millions and millions of people since her Touched by an Angel days—those associating with her would clearly glean from her substantial popularity.) On this point (i.e., the motives of the leaders), we can only speculate. But on the issue of Roma Downey’s New Age beliefs, we can know this for sure. For example, on two different interviews, one in 2012 (during the making of The Bible series) and one in April 2018, Downey stated that she believes God is “in” everyone and everything. (See videos below.) And as Greg Reid shows in his booklet Butterfly Illusions, Downey’s new book Box of Butterflies echoes this same message that God is in everyone by stating that separation is an illusion.3 Reid confronts Christian leaders (many of whom gave their hearty endorsements for Box of Butterflies) for not being more discerning and also for not correcting Roma Downey and her husband about their New Age beliefs and showing them that such beliefs are the antithesis of the message of the Bible and the Gospel, and the two absolutely cannot mix or be joined together. (We must interject here that recently Greg Reid had the opportunity to hand Roma Downey a copy of Warren B. Smith’s biography The Light That Was Dark: From the New Age to Amazing Grace—can Christian leaders say they have done even half that much to point Roma Downey in the right direction?)
In Warren Smith’s own booklet, Be Still and Know That You Are Not God (God is NOT in Everyone and Everything), Smith states:
Our Spiritual Adversary would have everyone believe that we are all “one” because God is “in” everyone and everything. Using every promotional means possible—including a creative and ingenious perversion of quantum physics—he is attempting to convince the world and the church that while Jesus was Christ, so is everyone. And while Jesus was God, so is everyone else. To underscore this heretical New Age doctrine of God and Christ “in” everyone, he would have us further believe that nothing of any significance happened on the Cross of Calvary. However, the Bible makes it very clear that something extremely wonderful and overwhelmingly significant did happen on the Cross of Calvary. For it was on that Cross that Jesus Christ died to save the world as He defeated sin (1 John 2:2), death (2 Timothy 1:10), and the Devil himself (Hebrews 2:14). As the one and only Christ, He is our Rock (1 Corinthians 10:1-4), He is our Foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11), and in every sense of the word He is the Saviour of the world (1 John 4:14).
The tragedy about this situation between Roma Downey and Christian leaders is that the leaders are using Roma Downey, Roma Downey is using the leaders, and our Adversary is using them both—and countless naïve and undiscerning Christians are buying into the whole thing.
Is Roma Downey going to be speaking at Proclaim 19? We don’t know. NRB is saying nothing about the removal of her name except the unofficial comment to Lighthouse Trails that “it has not yet been decided.” We urge NRB as well as John MacArthur, Greg Laurie, Kirk Cameron, and the other leaders to do the right thing—to speak the truth in love to Roma Downey about the dangers of her New Age beliefs that directly contradict the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Washington Post Interview – 2012
100 Huntley Street Interview – April 2018 (start at 1:30 min. mark) (100 Huntley Street is Canada’s equivalent to the 700 Club in the U.S.)
PHOTOS THAT SAY A THOUSAND WORDS:
Roma Downey with Mark Burnett and Mr. and Mrs. David Jeremiah (2015) (photo from David Jeremiah’s Twitter account; used in accordance with the US Fair Use Act for the purpose of education, critique, and review)
Greg Laurie (and his wife) with Roma Downey and Mark Burnett (2015) (low resolution photo from Greg Laurie’s Facebook; used in accordance with the U.S. Fair Use Act)
LOS ANGELES, CA. August 11, 2016: Della Reese & Mark Burnett & Roma Downey & Rick Warren at Hollywood Walk of Fame Star ceremony for actress Roma Downey. (photo from shutterstock, used with permission for editorial purposes only)
March 2018 – Calvary Chapel KWAVE Radio program Interview with Roma Downey promoting Box of Butterflies (photo from emergentwatch.com)
Endnote:
1. Neale Donald Walsch, The New Revelations: A Conversation with God (New York, NY: Atria Books, 2002), p. 157.
2. On Roma Downey’s August 4th 2011 Twitter.
3. To understand the “lie of separation” heresy, read Warren B. Smith’s booklet, Oneness vs. Separation Heresy “Now” in the Church
(Photo of butterflies from bigstockphoto.com; used with permission)
I happily watched “touched by an Angel”, for many years.
If you listen very carefully, they mention the father, they mention the Holy Spirit, they talk about angels, they talk about “GOD”, but not once did they ever mention the name of Jesus Christ. The only reason for our salvation and the only reason any of us will make it into heaven it’s because of him is giving us the greatest gift ever.
Believe in you think God is in everything is a sure-fire sign you are part of some of far Eastern/New age BS religion. Pray for her and her husband. They are being mightily deceived by Satan
I thought some “Touched by an Angel” episodes were spiritually “off.”
Tess & Monica (Reese & Downey) once convinced a man to accept his son’s gayness. When the son died of AIDS without even asking God’s forgiveness (since Tess stopped him!), he went with the angels as if ready for Heaven.
Monica once got a job at a strip club to help rescue a woman who had unwillingly become a stripper for lack of other options. When Monica realized what the job would require, she walked out. Tess got mad & said she should still be inside!
1 episode ended with a man deciding not to build over a pagan sacred ground.
Once, a couple was about to attempt suicide, & a death angel said, “D***, I hate these suicide missions!”
Monica opposed a female demon a few times. Though they were enemies, 1 of these episodes was called “Sympathy for the Devil.”
In the series finale, a man sang “When Mama Prayed.” We saw the devil in human form during the lyrics, “You almost felt sorry for the devil, cause Heaven knows he didn’t have a prayer.” It’s as if they wanted us to feel sorry for him.
Questionable imagery:
Ep. 1 began with a hissing snake. Not ’til the series finale did an angel oppose him.
Monica once drank hot sauce labeled with a demonic picture & name.
She once hit a baseball, which flew off as the series’ famous dove, as if she’d hit the dove.
Tess once crumpled a cigarette pack that became the dove & flew off. It’s odd the dove would come from things crushed/hit…
Jen,
If you read Greg Reid’s two booklets/articles documenting Roma Downey’s New Age affinities, it may help you to understand the concerns many of us have. We’d be happy to send you a free copy of each of those two booklets if you would like them. Just email us your mailing address to editors@lighthousetrails.com. We will keep your information confidential.
Hi there, . I agree.I never sensed anything heretical in Roma Downey, but I have sensed something “off” with Joel Osteen’s teachings. Sometimes people tend to split hairs over small matters (and as you said, “taking things out of context”), yet ignore the bigger matters. My mother was an evangelist for years, and always preached the power of the Cross, yet shortly before her passing, she said the Lord showed her His wonders in all creation, from plants and trees to people. She didn’t become pantheistic, or panentheistic, just appreciative of God’s majesty and glory in His creation.
I think you are taking her out of context. She never endorses the new age. She is a positive person, and tries to find the good in everyone. She says, “I see God in everyone.” How is that so heretical? I think you are jumping to conclusions. She chooses to see the Creator in his creation; she is not endorsing new age doctrine. You have not listened to anything else she has said. She and her husband took a big stand, with tons of criticism, trying to re-expose Americans to Christianity again.
You are making an accusation, with little or no evidence. This jumping to conclusions is what gives Christians a bad name. If you want to criticize someone, criticize Joel Osteen. He is the watered down guy.
Thank you for articles like these. They need to be spread everywhere to expose the lies and liars, to protect the body of Christ from this poison. I will share this and hope others will do the same to get the word out.
Why wonder what the men attending the NRB will do? They have already proven themselves apostates. Anyone who believes God is in everyone/everything doesn’t know their own heart or the sinfulness of mankind. They are obvioulsy deeply deceived.
When evangelicals and Catholics together came out 20 years ago main Christian leaders Across America endorsed Roman Catholicism. The same thing continues to happen today where the main Christian leadership across America will not confront false Doctrine. We continue to slide into apostasy. I believe these Christian leaders know but also know that it will cost them to speak out.
Have these endorsers read Box of Butterflies? There is no way that a true believer in Jesus Christ should approve of a book that favorably quotes idol-worshippers and New-agers and other authors who are not even born-again. Maybe the purpose is fame and fortune? Mystery!!
Also, I have noticed a big ‘amping up’ of this heresy all over lately, the ‘oneness’ and the ‘god in all’ pantheistic heresies, as well as the ‘unity’ heresy. I truly believe this is the big LIE that people will believe in the end over the truth of the cross, and you can’t have it both ways. The same lie coming full circle from the beginning from satan. But we ARE separate, God is separate from His creation, not only are we not ‘god,’ but the church is separate from the sinful world. Yet only we have been reconciled to God through the cross, the only way. Yet so many verses get twisted by satan for this deception. Thank you for this timely post! ( :