The title of this book is not *New Age Cults and Religions.* Rather, it is *Texe Marrs Book of New Age Cults and Religions.* The author thought you should know that. It reads like a mini-encyclopedia. Marrs is not a sophisticated thinker by any stretch, but to his credit, he is bold and willing to connect the dots (whether they are there or not). I enjoyed it.
He does a good job in showing while there are thousands of New Age movements, they all roughly hover around Hindu pantheism (with Gnostic and Tibetan Buddhist elements thrown in). Indeed, there are repeating themes throughout the book. One is the “Maritrea” figure (I have no clue on the actual spelling). There is even overlap between M. and the Jehovah’s Witness.
The book, while informative, is often lurid. Some of the more revealing:
*Joseph Smith was a Freemason.
*The Lucis Trust is involved in the highest levels of American government and business (circa 1990).
*We can place Alice Bailey and Swami Vivekananda as leading early pioneers.
*Almost all New Age religions preach One World Government. That’s not too concerning until we see some at the top of world governments (Lucis Trust –> United Nations).
Criticisms:
~Marrs’s dispensationalism is usually under control, but every now and then it breaks look–as when he equates Moon-ism with Dominion Theology (326).
~He comes close to guilt-by-association regarding rejecting modern-day Israel. Be careful you don’t align with Armstrong’s Church of God (337)
I am the King's Man 
Do you know more about Joseph Smith’s role in freemasonry? Or where to find more? Or was that fact all that you and/or Marr know?
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Fritz Springmeier documents it as well. He spent a decade or more in the LDS community, witnessing to them and doing research.
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