THE TEMPLETON PRIZE FOR "PROGRESS" IN RELIGION by Chris Pinto
Featured National Talk-Show Host at www.worldviewradio.com and featured speaker at the 2012 Branson Worldview Weekend, St. Paul, MN and Atlanta Worldview Weekends
The Templeton Prize established by New Age occultist, Sir John Templeton, has become a kind of "badge of apostasy" for those who support the ecumenical movement. In his book, Occult Invasion, Dave Hunt explains:

"We have already noted that one of the most anti-Christian men ever to be accepted as a Christian leader is wealthy money manager John Marks Templeton. He is so obviously an occultist that it is astounding that he could have 'crept in unawares,' yet he has. Templeton offers an annual religion prize larger than the Nobel Prize. He explains why:

'Evolution is accelerating … traditional Judaism and Christianity are losing their powers to inform the contemporary mind …. The main purpose of the Templeton Foundations is to encourage enthusiasm for accelerating discovery and progress in spiritual matters …. The next stage of human divine progress on the evolutionary scale needs … geniuses of the spirit … [who] can develop a body of knowledge about God that doesn't rely on ancient revelations or scripture [such as the Bible] … that is scientific … and is not disputed because of divisions between religions or churches or ancient scripture or liturgy …. To encourage progress of this kind, we have established the Templeton Foundation Prizes for Progress in Religion.' (Occult Invasion, by Dave Hunt, pgs. 531-535)

As shocking as this openly stated purpose is, the Templeton Prize has been accepted by such prominent evangelical leaders as Bill Bright (1996), Charles Colson (1993) and the Rev. Billy Graham (1982). Bill Bright accepted the prize at a Catholic Church in Rome, where he called for prayer and fasting for "a worldwide spiritual awakening …" Bright went on to say: "The prestigious Templeton Prize, to me, because of the nature of its objective, is greater than any other prize that could be given for any purpose." (Hunt, p. 535)

Meanwhile, Charles Colson when accepting the award said, "I salute Sir John for establishing this award and doing it in such a generous way …" The generosity Colson refers to is the million dollars (approximately) that comes with the prize. Later, Colson made his acceptance speech on Sept. 2, 1993, at the Parliament of World's Religions. To understand the significance of this, we should quickly review the Parliament's origin and purpose.

The Parliament of World's Religions claims to represent "the vast diversity of the world's religious, spiritual and cultural traditions as they converge …" The organization began on September 11, 1893 and could be described as an even greater assault on America than the 9-11 terrorist attacks that would occur on the same day more than a century later. The opening address was given by the Swami Vivekananda and is considered "the beginning of Western interest in Hinduism." Reportedly, his opening line was greeted with a three minute standing ovation from the audience of 7,000. His speech included some of the following statements:

"Sisters and Brothers of America …. I thank you in
name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions; and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects …. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration but we accept all religions as true ….
"I will quote to you brethren a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest childhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: 'As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.'" (Source: Parliament of World Religions, Wikipedia.org)