The Root of Inner Healing
Would you listen to someone as a Bible believing Christian who subscribed to such things as universalism, pantheism, New Age and New Thought practices? As a Christian, would you accept counsel from a minister who had attended seances or reportedly had demons cast out? What if a minister held to the belief of visualizing Jesus as a spirit guide in order to be healed or that astral travel was an acceptable practice? Your answer to these questions as a Christian would be no. All of these things would hopefully be indicators that you should seek Godly and mature Biblical counsel. Yet these beliefs and practices were held by the pioneer of inner healing, Agnes Sanford. Those who are contemplating inner healing or who have participated in it in some form (inner healing, SOZO, Theophostic prayer) need to know the root of inner healing.
We need to know about Agnes Sanford and the basis of her teaching. This has become a more popular mode of healing and deliverance in Charismatic circles, and the truth is her teaching is not rooted in Scripture or in the God of the Bible.
Now before you get upset with me for saying anything disparaging about inner healing, I hope that you will hear me out and do your own research and your own testing in accordance with Scripture. I took the time last year to read two of Sanford’s books, one of which was her most well known, The Healing Light. I tested what she said against Scripture, and the findings were disturbing. It led me to a few conclusions. First, many Christians do not understand what spiritual healing really means because the Word of God and the finished work on the cross has been misunderstood or diminished. Second, many have adopted superstitious and occult beliefs without realizing it. Lastly, and I do not say this lightly, another Christ has been presented in these practices. Using the name of Christ does not guarantee one to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. We must be aware of the root of inner healing. If the root system is bad, the fruit will bear that affliction.
Though Agnes professed to be a Christian, her practices ran contrary to teachings of the Bible, and she was heavily influenced by Carl Jung, a psychologist who taught about the healing of the collective unconscious, held to occult practices, and who had his own personal “spirit guide” named Philemon. Agnes held to the belief that God was a force and that there was great power in visualization. She spoke in her books of being ill due to negative vibrations while healing others through positive vibrations.
The core teaching of inner healing is the healing of memories. Agnes believed that salvation and healing can only come through uprooting negative memories buried in the subconscious, and these memories are said to dictate our behavior. There is a focus on being wronged by others rather than taking personal responsibility for actions and sinful behavior. The practice of visualization is used to recreate a past event. Jesus is brought in as a spirit guide to sanctify the memory, forgive the person, and create a new memory that is affirmed by the visualized Jesus. These practices in and of themselves should be problematic for any believer in Christ Jesus.
In some of her books, Agnes took issue with the blood of Jesus Christ as well being conscious of her own sin. In her book The Healing Light, she stated, “Let us tell Him (Jesus) that we do not really understand the need for Calvary and ask Him to help us understand it.” Her lack of understanding of sin and for the Savior is evident in her misuse of atonement as at-one-ment. This is the belief that we achieve harmony with God and essentially become God. She is quoted as saying, “Our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane undertook the great work that we call the atonement- the at-one-ment which reunited man with God. He literally lowered His thought-vibrations to the thought-vibrations of humanity and received into Himself man’s thoughts of sin and sickness, pain and death.”
Her experience took precedence over theology, which she expressed in several of her writings. John Sandford, a minister who credited Agnes as the pioneer of inner healing, stated in a documented conversation that he exorcised demons from Agnes while she was in ministry. She believed in the pre-existence of the soul, and she noted in her books that we are all children of God. When ministering to a man with a broken bone who was not born again, she counseled him on how to be healed saying, “Ask that something come into you. Just say, “Whoever you are, whatever you are, come into me now and help nature in my body to mend this bone and do it quick.””
Her belief in pantheism is noted throughout her body of work. One example occurred in her recollection of being near a snake while outdoors. She spoke of being conscious of her oneness with God and with the snake. She also made a distinction between Jesus and the Christ, “Think of the Christ only as the spirit of God that abides in all of us and of Jesus only as the first demonstrator of that spirit.” Though she attended a few seances as a professing Christian, Agnes referred to Jesus as “the only departed person we should deliberately contact.” Let us take note of something here: Jesus Christ is resurrected. He is not departed.
She spoke of Peter utilizing levitation to walk on water, and she stated in her book The Healing Gifts of the Spirit that, “We can enter into the accumulated thought vibrations of the ages, and feel the feelings and think the thoughts of someone who lived long ago…this connection can reach back through time and forward through time and can make rapport with the thinking of someone who lived long ago or of someone who has not yet come upon this earth.” She even posed the question in this train of thought of wondering if we could send our prayers back in time, alluding it as essential to inner healing.
There are great concerns with all of these beliefs mentioned. The roots of inner healing are certainly cloaked in darkness, and we need to test these against Scripture. When we do so, we will be set free by the truth, and this is the truth. Our moral choices determine our actions and responsibility falls on us. This is supported by Ezekiel 18:19-20, a passage among many that helps us to understand our personal responsibility for sins and transgressions. We are unable to repent for another person’s sins. Scripture makes it clear that we will give an account for our own actions before the judgment seat of Christ, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10). We will not stand before the Lord to give an account for our ancestors’ actions, our nation’s actions, or for anyone else’s actions.
There is no biblical precedence that any prophet or apostle in the Bible dealt with inner healing in their personal lives nor taught this as necessary in the life of believers. This is supported by Philippians 3:13-14, 2 Timothy 4:7-8, and 2 Corinthians 5:17. We forgive others because the Lord has forgiven us. We do not need to forgive God, and He does not apologize to us. God is incapable of sin or committing trespasses. We are to ask God to forgive us of sin and trespasses that are ultimately against Him (Colossians 3:13). Jesus Christ doesn’t need our permission to do anything. He is God. He commands our obedience. He is the only Mediator between God and man. We are not to participate in visualizing Jesus or in beliefs mentioned here that run contrary to Scripture.
It is impossible to completely cover all of the concerns and to address every word and teaching that Agnes stated running contrary to Biblical Christianity. These are but a handful of examples that should bring concerns to light about the practice of inner healing.
Trust in the finished work on the cross at Calvary, the atonement for your sins so that you could be reconciled to the Father and clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Repent of your sins, and trust in the Lord to sanctify you daily. Seek Godly and Biblical counsel, and stay in the written Word of God. You and I are going to face struggles and difficulties in life, but we are to cast our cares upon the Lord while trusting that what Jesus Christ did on the cross is sufficient to make us spiritually whole.
For further reading concerning this topic, I encourage you to read Abusing Memory: The Healing Theology of Agnes Sanford.
8 thoughts on “The Root of Inner Healing”
Excellent post about Agnes and her roots. Your opening paragraph triggered for me others whom we were wrongfully taught to follow. They as well were adherents of New Thought spirituality. The late 1800’s were flooded with the false foundation which became Word of Faith, NAR, Charismatic, Emergent/Progressive “Christianity.”
There are two dominant streams which flowed from Phineas Quimby’s New Thought spirituality: Mary Baker Eddy (Christian Science) and E. W. Kenyon. One leg of this false Jesus spirituality is all of the Christian Science lineage of teachers and adherents.
The other leg was from Kenyon to Kenneth Hagin to the “modern faith movement” pool of Oral Roberts, Kenneth Copeland, R.H. Browne, and the thousands of ministers who called Hagin “Dad Hagin.”
Left leg, right leg same body of the same devil masquerading as a minister of light.
The same false light…lucifer…”illuminated” so many and deceived them into becoming his ministers of “light.”
Since the 1800’s the name of the “movement” has morphed and changed, but it is luciferian at the root.
All of the “next,” “shift,” “new paradigm,” “new sound,” “fresh word,” etc. all the sifting sand of the false having not been found on solid ground of The Rock of our salvation.
Luke 11:35 Jesus speaking…”Take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.” He graciously warned us!
Thank you for all of the posts and podcasts which continue to shine the light of the True Word on all of the dark places. The darkness is gross darkness in these final hours.
I pray many come to the True Light and the Real Jesus.
Amen!
Absolute truth Wendy! Jesus saved me out of the occult and new age. Practices of much healing in the church as been and is based on occult principles clothed in error of the Scriptures. People will say oh but I feel so peaceful or oh but my heart is light now and I am not hurting etc. The deception is acute and 2Corinthians 11: 14 and 15 is Truth!!! Lord have mercy!
Rachel,
I came out of WoF, but fortunately had a good foundation of sound doctrine. I slipped into the false as they so line upon line built the false doctrine as they eased away from solid Hermeneutics. “Topical” studies removed so much from context that they could teach and preach anything as “truth.”
Sadly, so many think New Age went away after Shirley Maclaine became a laughing stock by saying, “I am god.”
Truth is, as you are witness of (and survivor of)…the snake only changes his skin, not his nature.
The church is full of folks realizing our “little g” status; we are in the God-class of beings, etc.
Same trick as in the garden of Eden…you shall be like God.
And as you pointed out, they “feel” something or “experience” something.
All soul realm. The playground of our enemy!
When we are open to or are seeking in the natural/experiential realm, the enemy is more than willing to oblige and walk right in!!
So grateful how God is using you to help others rightly divide His Word.
Thank you!
My family has fallen prey to this. I know what you are saying is true. Any spiritual practice outside of the word of God is idolatry and witchcraft. My family is strong and rooted in faith. Blood bought believers. I’m praying for their eyes to be opened. There is only one Lord, one gospel, one Deliverer. Jesus Christ the righteous! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you Dawn. Following your detox journey thro’ your blogs is refreshing, encouraging and very helpful, for many, my self included. God bless!
Thankfully I never heard of Agnes nor read her books or practice any of those practices when praying for people to be healed and whole in Christ. Inner Healing for me does not mean any of those things – it means taking our sins shame sufferings to Jesus – that the finished work at the Cross makes us whole and free … I remember your Live on this. I use the term inner healing but my definition is different than what many are doing – so much also crosses new age occult like stuff. Thanks for sharing!
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