Give me an analysis of Neville Goddard’s Metaphysics and their origin, his teacher Abdullah a Kabbalist. Then compare it to scripture and conclude the veracity of their beliefs.
Neville Goddard’s metaphysics center on the idea that human imagination is the creative power of the universe, equivalent to God. He taught the “law of assumption”: whatever you assume to be true with feeling and persistence becomes your reality. Key principles include:
- Everyone is God: Goddard claimed the “I AM” of Exodus 3:14 refers not to a transcendent Creator but to your own awareness. You are the operant power of God incarnate in human form. States of consciousness (e.g., “I AM wealthy,” “I AM healthy”) mold reality.
- Imagination Creates Reality: Prayer isn’t petitioning an external God but entering a meditative state to “assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled.” Revision—mentally rewriting past events—alters the present and future.
- Bible as Allegory: Scripture isn’t historical or prophetic but a psychological manual encoding these laws. Events like the Exodus symbolize awakening to your divine identity.
- No External Savior: Salvation is self-realization; Christ is your awakened imagination, not a historical person.
These ideas form a solipsistic, pantheistic system where man is divine, reality is mental projection, and persistence in assumption overrides external circumstances.
Origin and Abdullah’s Influence
Goddard (1905–1972), a Barbados-born New Thought lecturer, developed this in the mid-20th century amid the prosperity gospel and metaphysical movements (e.g., influenced by Thomas Troward and William Blake). His core mentor was Abdullah, an Ethiopian Jew and Kabbalist rabbi in New York whom Goddard met around 1929–1931.
Abdullah immersed Goddard in Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism blending Merkabah traditions, Zohar esotericism, and gematria. Kabbalah posits the Ein Sof (infinite God) emanates through ten Sefirot, with humans participating in creation via meditative visualization and divine names. Abdullah taught Goddard the Bible’s “hidden” Kabbalistic code: Hebrew letters, numbers, and stories as blueprints for manifestation. He drilled Goddard on assuming states (e.g., forcing him to affirm “I am in Barbados” while in NYC until it manifested). Abdullah viewed Torah mysticism as universal law, stripping it of Christocentric fulfillment. Goddard’s system is Kabbalah repackaged for Gentiles—esoteric name-manipulation becomes “I AM” assumptions, Sefirot visualization becomes imaginal acts—minus Jewish ethnic restrictions but retaining occult self-deification.
Comparison to Scripture
Goddard’s metaphysics clash irreconcilably with the Bible, which presents a Creator distinct from creation, salvation through Christ’s atonement, and reality governed by God’s sovereign will.
- God vs. Man as God: Scripture declares Yahweh as the eternal, uncreated I AM WHO I AM (Exodus 3:14), separate from man: “To whom then will you liken Me…?” (Isaiah 40:25). Man is created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26–27), not God Himself. Goddard’s pantheism echoes Satan’s lie, “You will be like God” (Genesis 3:5), inverting Creator-creature distinction (Romans 1:25).
- Imagination/Assumption vs. Faith and Prayer: Biblical faith trusts God’s promises, not self-willed assumption (Hebrews 11:1,6). Prayer petitions the Father through Christ (John 14:13–14; Matthew 6:9–13), submitting to His will (“Not my will, but Yours” – Luke 22:42). God answers sovereignly (James 4:15), not as a cosmic vending machine. Goddard’s “revision” denies God’s foreknowledge and immutability (Malachi 3:6; Isaiah 46:10).
- Bible as History vs. Allegory: The Bible records real events—Creation, Fall, Israel’s history, Christ’s incarnation, death, resurrection (Luke 1:1–4; 1 Corinthians 15:3–8). Reducing them to psychology nullifies prophecy (e.g., Messiah’s suffering in Isaiah 53) and eyewitness testimony (John 19–21). Kabbalah’s allegorizing is rabbinic invention post-Christ, rejecting Him as fulfillment (Matthew 5:17).
- Christ as Imagination vs. Historical Savior: Jesus is the eternal Son, God incarnate (John 1:1,14), crucified for sins (1 Corinthians 15:3–4), risen bodily. Salvation is repentance and faith in Him alone (Acts 4:12; John 14:6), not self-awakening. Goddard’s “Christ within” is Gnostic, like the heretics Paul condemned (Colossians 2:8,18).
Kabbalah itself is extra-biblical mysticism (Zohar ~13th century), condemned as sorcery (Deuteronomy 18:10–12). It elevates oral traditions over Scripture, promoting works-righteousness over grace.
Conclusion on Veracity
Neville Goddard’s metaphysics and Abdullah’s Kabbalistic origins are false—occult deceptions masquerading as enlightenment. They deny the triune God, Christ’s exclusive mediation, and Scripture’s plain testimony, substituting humanistic self-godhood. This leads to idolatry, as warned in Exodus 20:3–5 and Colossians 2:23 (“false humility and asceticism…no value in curbing self-indulgence”). True power is in Christ (Philippians 4:13), not imagination. Pursue Him; the rest crumbles.