By Dr. Douglas Groothuis
The following chapter, “The One in History,” was originally meant to be a chapter in my first book, Unmasking the New Age (InterVarsity Press, 1986). It gives a history of pantheism. “The One” is a reference to the idea that all is one divine reality (pantheistic monism or nondualism). However, the editor deemed it to be too detailed and too academic for the book. Thus, it was essentially replaced by a long quote from C. S. Lewis about the history of pantheism, which was taken from his book, Miracles. (Another chapter suffered the same fate. It was called, “The Decline of Western Humanism,” and was replaced by a long quote from Bertrand Russell. As of now, I don’t know where that document lies). “The One in History” only survived as a footnote, which mentioned it as an unpublished manuscript. Perhaps two intrepid souls since 1986 contacted me to ask for a copy of this lost chapter.
In the last year or so, I have been methodically going through and sorting my files. During this desultory process, “The One in History” was rediscovered. Since an academic friend of mine is working on a major critique of pantheistic spirituality in the West, I thought he might be interested in this material, so I sent it to him. I was moved when he remarked that he was surprised that something of this “substance” had not been published. Since it was written long ago on a typewriter, bringing it up to date with new research is beyond what I am prepared to do. However, upon the comment of my friend and in light of my original research, I offer “The One in History” to the public through my web page.
