|
The New Age
The New Age Movement - Roots, Expansion & Diversification, Goals, and Dangers
The New Age - a multi-cultural spiritual and consciousness raising movement that has its roots in the occult, is anything but new. Over the last several decades (unnoticed by all but a very few) New Age beliefs have gradually gathered momentum over the face of the earth. Blended with mind/body self-help, much of its teaching is now appealing to the mainstream consumer who is interested in becoming not only more spiritually aware, but healthier and more successful as well. However, it has a very dark side. It is fueled by unholy forces that oppose both God and man and shepherded by humans outside the church who have no comprehension of the dark forces they deal with and, of course, by an 'evil and adulterous generation' inside the church who so easily ignore the warnings from the God they profess to serve.
Beware! The New Age Movement Is More Than Self-Indulgent Silliness
Many Christians view the New Age movement as merely self-indulgent silliness. Unfortunately, there's far more to the movement than astrology, crystals, weird workshops, and psychobabble. Many New Age spiritual leaders have a firmly entrenched anti-Christian worldvie and believe that the Fall was really man's ascent into knowledge, assisted by Lucifer - whom they hail as the bringer of light and wisdom. These New Age teachers expect an imminent, apocalyptic transformation that will lead humanity into the New Age. By acts of men or by an act of "spirit," earth will be cleansed of those who refuse to evolve. Traditional morality and traditional families will disappear. Orthodox religions - especially Christianity and Judaism - are considered "separative" and "obsolete"; in the New Age, they too will vanish.
New Age and Devil Worship
The mystical forces of the New Age movement are genuine (and willing to protect their territory!), and that much of what is currently published under the guise of New Age “enlightenment”, is nothing less than Old Age doctrines of nefarious invisible hosts.
The Players
Organizations
Alice Bailey and The Lucis Trust Alice Bailey, under the guidance of an ectoplasmic apparition from hell, who called himself Djwhal Khul ("The Tibetan"), wrote some 24 books and founded the Lucis Trust (formerly Lucifer Publishing Co.) which enjoys "Consultative Status" with the United Nations and has not only spawned several other organization… the Arcane School, Triangles, World Goodwill, Lucis Publishing, Lucis Productions, Lucis Trust Libraries, the New Group of World Servers, but also maintain the UN meditation room. And the purpose of these groups? At their core ALL of them exist for one purpose ..in their words “the helping of the Great Ones and the rendering to Them of that intelligent assistance which will make their plans for humanity materialize”. A plan that is centered around making conditions suitable (By occult meditation and reciting of the Great Invocation) for what they call “The Reappearance of The Christ. Except that this Christ has nothing to do with Jesus Christ of the Bible.
Benjamin Creme and The Maitreya In 1959, Benjamin Creme was contacted by one of the Masters of Wisdom, (a group of perfected individuals who are supposedly the custodians of the Divine Plan for this planet). He was told, among other things, that Maitreya, the World Teacher - the Master of all the Masters, would return in about 20 years and that he (Creme) would have a role to play in the event if he chose to accept his role. While more than 20 years have passed and certain aspects of Benjamin Crème’s endless and tireless promotion of the Maitreya seem derived from a B Grade science fiction movie, one can not entirely dismiss all of his claims, many of which are based in a monstrous evil long ago foretold by Scripture, and little understood by those claiming a wonderful New Age is about to dawn.
The Global Alliance: In recent years there has been an explosion of individuals and organizations (both large and small) who are actively working towards creating the conditions necessary for the Reappearance of the Christ or The Maitreya, by means of occult mediation, the Great Invocation etc. However perhaps an even more dominant theme, common to thousands of organizations, is the cry for “peace”. However, the problem here is NOT their motives (regarding their peace mission), but their methods... They seek peace by shaking hands with the devil, looking to a messiah (world teacher) to teach them how to live and to bring harmony to the planet. This escalation of people working towards ‘peace’ in under the tutelage of a world teacher is one of the most telling signs of the End Times.
The United Nations: The question we need to ask is regardless of all the hype by assorted New Age leaders, Alice Bailey, the AAC etc. is whether the UN has any ties to the occult. Is the UN actually part and parcel of the whole ‘return of the World Teacher and his cronies (the ascended masters), peace and safety scenario? To answer that question we need to turn our attention to a very interesting organization - The Aquarian Age Community.
New Thought
While the majority of people may be unable to define New Thought, hundreds of thousands are increasingly becoming influenced by it, since it is the cornerstone for most of the formulas for happy and successful living. Reduced it to it’s essentials, New Thought very simply believes that your thoughts play a crucial role in the kind of life you experience. It is unlikely that many Christians are aware of the common roots of some popular beliefs in the church, and the New Thought beliefs without. From Clement Stone’s Positive Mental Attitude to Robert Schuller’s Possibility Thinking and Oral Roberts’ seed-faith principles, they all stem from common sources and pretty much say the same thing.
The Prosperity Gospel and The Word of Faith Movement The Prosperity Doctrine is the belief subscribed to by millions of Christians that God wants believers to be prosperous, healthy and happy in this life. This doctrine stems from human greed combined with a self-serving interpretation of certain Scriptural passages. The best thing that can be said about this doctrine is that it is not rooted in the occult. However, the Word-Faith movement, that has taken this belief to an entirely new level, is an entirely different matter. Word of Faith teachers do not refer to faith as a person's belief in - and reliance on - the power of God, but teach that the words themselves have creative "power" thus what a person believes and says determines his future.
Unity School of Christianity The ultimate goal of those who follow Unity teaching is to recognize their "oneness" with the "Force," thereby realizing their true self... the God-Self. The god of Unity is an adaptation of Hindu belief regarding the divine. God is a part of His creation. God is in all things. Unity honors the universal truths in all religions and respects each individual’s right to choose a spiritual path believing that the spirit of God lives within each person; therefore, all people are inherently good. and that we create our life experiences through our way of thinking.
Individuals
Oprah Winfrey Every aspect of Winfrey’s empire has the noble aim of helping women become inspired and improve themselves. Unfortunately, this mission has taken her — and by default, the nation — on a spiritual trek through the questionable theology of the New Age. [Section]
Norman Vincent Peale: Peale was a 33rd degree Mason who rejected the Christian doctrine of sin, the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ, and justification by faith alone in the merits of Christ. Although he used Christian terminology and rhetoric, in a sense his theology had little to do with Christianity, because it had little to do with sin and redemption. Although he may never have heard of the fourth-century heresy called Pelagianism, he was a thorough Pelagian -- that is, someone who believes that human nature is essentially good and that human beings are saved by developing their inner potential.
Robert Schuller: is the epitome of the wolf that Paul spoke about in Acts 20:29-30. Called an extraordinary minister by New Age leaser New Age leader Neale Donald Walsch, what Schuller believes about the Bible is actually a redefined, twisted view of it. His repentance is not Bible repentance; his new birth is not Bible regeneration; his Jesus and his salvation is not that of the Bible. Robert Schuller has, by promoting New Agers and their doctrines, done his part to lead the church further and further away from Biblical doctrine down some very dark paths.
John Marks Templeton: Norman Vincent Peale called Templeton “The greatest layman of the Christian church in our time” while Robert Schuller introduced him to the church in 1986. Although (unbelievably) Templeton was a lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church and a trustee on the board of Princeton Theological Seminary he took a broad view of spirituality and ethics. Influenced by the Unity School of Christianity (below), a movement that espouses a shared divinity between God and humanity, Templeton claimed that truth is relative, Christianity is no longer relevant today as it was in Christ’s day and the heart of true religion is the willingness to see truths in other religions
The Books
A Course In Miracles: The Course uses Christian terminology and its followers believe it to be the revelation of Jesus... But is it?
A Return To Love As I read A Return to Love, I could understand why people are attracted to it. It's upbeat, optimistic, and nonjudgmental. Williamson bases much of her thought on A Course in Miracles — a channeled metaphysical work. Additionally Williamson is not able to apply her belief system consistently to the everyday world with which we are all familiar.
The Secret Occultist Manly P. Hall probably said it best.. “Though the demonism of the Middle Ages seems to have disappeared, there is abundant evidence that in many forms of modern thought - especially the so-called "prosperity" psychology, "willpower-building" metaphysics, and systems of "high-pressure" salesmanship - black magic has merely passed through a metamorphosis, and although its name be changed its nature remains the same”.
Chicken Soup for the Soul So why are some Christians critical of these books? If there is something so un-Christian about them, why are so many Christians reading and enjoying them? These are good questions that deserve answers. As is the case with many books dealing with infusing spirituality into the workplace, the books of Jack Canfield contain a great deal of common-sense. Nonetheless, Christians should be aware that the books also are steeped in a spirituality that is opposed to biblical Christianity.
Also See
Witnessing to New Agers
Christians are called to proclaim the true gospel of Jesus Christ to New Agers by developing appropriate evangelistic strategies. This article will make some suggestions along these lines. But first it will be helpful to summarize the New Age world view. (Biblical references which are helpful in refuting these ideas also follow).
Related Sections
Political/Spiritual Alliance
The New Interfaith Agenda, The Earth Charter’s Unholy Ark, Men Who Run The World, The European Union.. Fulfillment of Ancient Prophecy? One World Religion, and more.
The Occult
The number of Christians ignorantly involved in paranormal practices is very alarming. Section includes Yoga, Channeling, Astrology, Visualization, Kundalini, Reincarnation, Halloween and more
Contemplative Spirituality
Contemplative Prayer is not only unsupported by Scripture, but the methods used by 'Christian' mystics to achieve a "higher realm of consciousness", and the experience once they do, is is exactly the same as Buddhist meditators, Hindus, New Agers, Shamans, Witches etc. However, since it is certain that, regardless of personal belief, something does transpire during mystical experiences, the question that springs to mind is what can explain this phenomena.
Alternative Medicine
Alternative medicine remains a controversial issue. Do these medicines actually work? Do these alternative therapies embrace an Eastern religious system? Should Christians be involved with alternative treatments? How do we evaluate an unconventional practice?
|
