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Index To All Six Sections
"You are My witnesses," declares the Lord, "And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. (Isaiah 43:10 NASB)
Evolutionary Godhood
is the first of two main doctrines that drives the New Age machine.
Perhaps the most common factor in New Age beliefs is that human beings, the Earth, and everything that grows and lives on it - in fact, the universe itself - are all part of one nonphysical primordial energy called "god". Therefore, everyone and everything in the universe can be identified with the Divine. In other words, god is immanent - present in every person and thing.
Ernest Holmes, founder of the worldwide Religious Science Movement wrote The Science of Mind, sometimes called as one of the greatest New Thought books ever written (See New Thought Below). In it he tells us that Divinity is hidden in the "Innermost Nature Of Man Himself"
There is an interesting myth in regard to the creating of man which may serve to point out this fact. It is said that when the gods decided to make man, and make him a Divine Being, they held a long discussion as to where would be the best place to hide his Divinity... it was finally agreed that the best place to hide man's Divinity would be in the innermost nature of man himself - this being the last place he would look to find it!... Of course, this is a fable, but how clearly it sets forth the reality of the case! The word is really in our own mouths, and every time we say "I am" we are repeating it; for "I am is the secret of nature and the emblem of Eternity. [11]
Note: During one of Robert Schuller's broadcasts in January of €˜94, he teared up while talking about the death of Norman Vincent Peale, who had died on Christmas eve the month before. During this broadcast Schuller talked about how Peale had been his inspiration and mentor and how he had started the positive thinking movement. In turn Peale credited his theology of positive thinking to Ernest Holmes. See Robert Schuller
In the prologue of his book Discover the Power Within You Eric Butterworth, considered a legend and spiritual icon in the Unity Movement, added to the legend saying that "Two thousand years ago a man named Jesus found it and shared its secret; but in the movement that sprang up in His name, the Divinity in Man has been the best kept secret of the ages." See Unity School of Christianity
Here is some of what popular New Age teacher and author, Neale Donald Walsch says in his trilogy - Conversations with God
"Do you want your life to truly "take off"? Then change your idea about it. About you. Think, speak, and act as the God You Are" (11a)
I have produced an environment in which you may choose to be God, rather than simply be told that you are God; in which you may experience Godhead as an act of creation, rather than a conceptualization; in which the little candle in the sun - the littlest soul-can know itself as the light. (11b)
All that is required is to know this. For you are the creator of your reality, and life can show up no other way for you than that way in which you think it will. You think it into being. This is the first step in creation. God the Father is thought. Your thought is the parent which gives birth to all things. (11c)
"You are already a God. You simply do not know it. Have I not said, "Ye are Gods"?" (11d)
"Trust God. Or if you wish, trust yourself, for Thou Art God." (11e)
Many New Agers further believe that although every individual is part of the divine, man's problems and difficulties stem from the fact that he is 'unenlightened', ie. he is completely unaware of his own divinity or has just not experienced it. Therefore, what he needs, perhaps more than anything else, is to raise his level of consciousness because the higher a person's level of consciousness and the more inner harmony they can achieve... the closer they are to enlightenment.
It is little wonder then, that the basic goal of most New Agers is to raise their level of consciousness by whatever methods appeals to, and works for, them.
This plays right into the hands of a large branch of the New Age movement that believes that the utopian age will only come about under the leadership and guidance of a world leader/teacher who can only make his appearance when conditions are right. That is - the consciousness or spirituality of humanity as a whole has been raised to a sufficient level
We Are All Christs
In a slight variation of vocabulary, many New Ager leaders teach that we are Christ, have a Christ nature, a Christ within, or a Christ essence, to demonstrate that we are divine.
In you, as in each human being, there is a dimension of consciousness far deeper than thought. It is the very essence of who you are. We may call it presence, awareness, the unconditioned consciousness. In the ancient teachings, it is the Christ within, or your Buddha nature." [12]
"Don't get attached to any one word. You can substitute 'Christ' for presence, if that is more meaningful to you. Christ is your God-essence or Self, as it is sometimes called in the East. The only difference between Christ and presence is that Christ refers to your indwelling divinity regardless of whether you are conscious of it or not, whereas presence means your awakened divinity or God-essence." [13]
At this point I have to interject with -
A Question (that I have asked before)
What makes people think they are unrealized gods? As far as I can see they are subject to the same foibles and failures as the rest of us, the same needs and desires, even the same diseases. I am reasonably sure they bleed the same color, and can be killed by the same well placed bullet that would fell the rest of us.
So what exactly is it that makes anyone a god?
Can they fly, read thoughts, travel to distant planets, create something out of nothing, lay an egg?
The words are all very well, but who can actually tell me what it is like to become one with God. Will I be able to think, feel etc. or do I simply cease to exist? The latter not being very appealing since I am a living breathing human being, who eats and sleeps, laughs and cries. Additionally, since there are a great many things I thoroughly enjoy... good food, summer rain, long walks etc. why in the world would a cessation of all desire be in the slightest bit appealing?
It is hard to escape from the gnawing suspicion that, provided it is wrapped up in unintelligible jargon/fancy phrases, any amount of horse manure can be passed on as 'truth’ and that no one can envision or describe ‘being god’ in any practical terms whatsoever.
I guess some of the appeal of New Age thinking is that it is "high on individual liberty and low on individual responsibility" [14], and certainly not a tenth as inconvenient and bothersome as Christianity. An impersonal god that doesn't make demands of us is vastly appealing. We can have our dose of "spirituality" from three to five in the afternoon and the rest of the time is ours. Our impersonal 'god' would not dream of cramping our style on a Saturday night.
Also See What Various Religions Tell Us About The Afterlife
New Thought
We know that a positive attitude is a key factor in effective stress management which is associated with many health benefits. This is not exactly what is touted by New Age proponents.
Because New Age spirituality seeks the attainment of the highest individual human potential it is, more often than not, strongly influenced by New Thought - the basis of most of the formulas for happy and successful living. Reduced to it's essentials, New Thought very simply teaches that your thoughts play a crucial role in the kind of life you experience.
Rather than focusing on the positive, practitioners endeavor to take control of the events in their lives through the power of positive thinking or by visualization. They use concentration and directed imagery to achieve particular goals, be they physical, psychological, spiritual, or a combination thereof.
For example, Henry Ford was reputed to have said "If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right". (Note: this quote has also been attributed to other people, including Norman Vincent Peale the father of positive thinking. See Norman Vincent Peale
In other words, the human mind has a the ability to transform negative situations into positive ones, or create therefore everyone can, without outside assistance, find happiness, and prosperity. See Visualization
Narcissistic Spiritual Entertainment..
The planet today is ridiculously out of balance... dedication to self being the hallmark of the current era.
Most of us are obsessed with our appearance and define ourselves by how we look, what we wear, and what we own rather than who we are. Owning or wearing recognized (and preferably expensive) name brands sends out a message of achievement and bolsters our egos and sense of self worth. This has led to an unending pursuit of material goods, especially those with perceived status-symbolism appeal .
Or we have become totally wrapped up in what we call "self improvement"... personal development, personal enlightenment, personal achievement, etc. In fact, the entire New Age belief system is extremely narcissistic and self centered. Everything revolves around "me".
Which makes me wonder how much of the current absorption with the 'spiritual' is also part of the never ending quest to find something new and stimulating that, however temporarily, takes us on diverting 'highs' that lift us from the commonplace, the mundane, and the boring.
It certainly helps that New Age topics are considered very much the 'in thing'. The more you can jabber on about Chakras, Aromatherapy, Energy Healing, Reflexology, Reiki, Visualization, the Gaia hypothesis, Tibetan singing bowls, the latest in Yoga trends (to say nothing of the latest yoga attire) etc. the more knowledgeable, informed, and 'spiritual' you appear to be. And who, in this day and age, doesn't want to be those things?.
We have apparently forgotten that, historically, those that pursued 'wisdom' and 'enlightenment', shunned materialism and financial gain. They were ascetics who usually retired from the world. We have taken the spirituality of other cultures and turned their ideology and practices into something trendy. This statement made by Kobutsu Malone hits the nail on the head...
There is no escape in the New Age, it is a mere product of the culture of materialism, a fantasy woven to cater to our neurotic obsession with ourselves and our personal angst. New Age is for those who have money, idle time and nothing better to do. Check it out -- How many poor people struggling to put food on their tables, living lives far more uncomfortable that our own are in the New Age stores seeking answers to their problems? [15]
With little regard to the deeper issues behind them, terms and practices that were previously both obscure and esoteric now roll off people's tongues, and find a prominent place in people's daily routines. For example, ads and online courses for awakening one's kundalini abound, but there seems to be little, if any, awareness of the extreme danger posed by doing so. Details
In our typically Western way, we are rushing in where angels fear to tread and this has played right into the hands of nefarious beings that are anything but benevolent.
A generation of "spiritual people" focused on themselves, and willing to trade their soul for whatever makes them happier and more successful is exactly what is necessary for the appearance of Antichrist
Or An Ancient Con
The rather wide spread belief in the "divinity of man" has it's origins in one or two sources... the sub continent of India and/or channeled works (straight from the horses mouth). For example, the following is said about Ralph Waldo Emerson, the forerunner of the New Thought Movement
When the "Bhagavad Gita" fell into his hands he experienced far greater pleasure than is known to the gold seeker, who suddenly after long and weary searching, comes upon a rich lode. The "Bhagavad Gita" appealed to Emerson with compelling power. In Emerson's writings the metaphysical thought of India, Greece, and modern transcendentalism were fused. [16]
While a mere drop in the ocean, several instances of the belief in the divinity of man, prevalent in and taught by Hinduism are in Footnote I
Repackaged with glossy new covers and modern terminology the teachings remain the same. Teachings which have reverberated up and down the corridors of time for centuries, always with the same bottom line ... You are God.
One or another variant of that ancient theme is not only a prominent feature of the New Age movement, but a common thread among many religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Mormonism etc. Either they teach that you will be god, will be as god, can get in touch with the divine, become one with the divine, recognize the divine within yourself, or some other slight variation.
These teachings considered "spiritual" in today's day and age are nothing but the ancient con... "ye shall be as gods", which Satan has been feeding man ever since he showed up with a snow job in the garden.
Nothing has changed in the last 6000 years... Satan still spouts the same line, and man still falls for it - hook, line, and sinker.
Note: The myriad of so called gods and goddesses worshipped in India are nothing but demonic beings. In many cases this should be quite evident by their faces and/or the statues that characterize them. For example, Kali the destroyer has a garland of skulls around her neck and drinks human blood. Similarly, although they are sometimes portrayed differently - Zeus, Amun-Ra, Demeter, and Isis, were simply the classical names attributed to specific fallen spirits.
In other words, Apollo was a real personality; Osiris was a genuine underworld fiend; Hecate actually lived, and still does!
See The New Age & Devil Worship
And Idol Worship... The Spirits Behind The Idols.
Continue on To Part III - Global Unity HERE
End Notes.
Unless Otherwise Stated, All URLs were accessed in February 2018.
[11] The Science of Mind, by Ernest Shurtleff Holmes [1926], at sacred-texts.com. http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/som/som10.htm. Also on Page 71 of the Complete and Unabridged paperback version of The Science of Mind. Wilder Publications (February 19, 2010).
[11a] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God. Book 1. Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (October 28, 2011) Page 76
[11b] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God. Book 1. Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (October 28, 2011) Pg 57
[11c] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: an uncommon dialogue, Book 1. Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (October 28, 2011) 1996, Pg. 52
[11d] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: an uncommon dialogue, Book 1 1996, Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (October 28, 2011) Pg. 202.
[11e] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue, Book 3, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1998; Pg. 350
[12] Eckhart Tolle, Stillness Speak. Publisher: New World Library (August 2003) Pg. 13. Emphasis Mine
[13] Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now. Publisher: Namaste Publishing (August 19, 2004) Pg. 104) Emphasis Mine
[14] Greg Koukl. Faith and Facts. Stand to Reason Ministries. http://www.str.org/articles/faith-and-facts#.U6w5tdLn9cY
[15] Narcissism and Spiritual Materialism: The New Age Legacy by Kobutsu Malone
http://www.engaged-zen.org/articles/Kobutsu-New_Age_Legacy.html
[16] Ralph Waldo Emerson. http://ralphwaldoemerson.wwwhubs.com/
Footnote I - Human "Divinity" in Hinduism:
From Sri Chinmoy, Indian spiritual teacher and philosopher who spent twenty years in spiritual practice at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in South India before emigrating to the U.S. in 1964... (Emphasis Added)
"...man has to learn that he has only one thing to do, and that is to discover and uncover. He has to discover the Divinity within, and uncover the veil of ignorance without. Likewise, man has only one thing to be: God. He has to be God the Infinite, God the Eternal and God the Immortal".
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who brought Transcendental Meditation (TM) to the West in 1959 appealed to Psalm 46:10 to support his teaching that "God-realization" is the answer to suffering
"Christ said, 'Be still and know that I am God.’ Be still and know that you are God and when you know that you are God you will begin to live Godhood, and living Godhood there is no reason to suffer.” [a]
Sathya Sai Baba says in Man's Divine Destiny that it is to remind man of the "grievous error" of failing to realize his own true nature, that the 18th chapter of the Gita (verse 61) declares.. [Emphasis Added]
"Easwarah-sarvabhoothaanam hriddeseh Arjuna thishtathi" (The Lord resides, oh Arjuna, in the heart region of all beings) and went on to adjure in the 62nd sloka: "Thamevasaranam gachcha sarvabhaavena Bhaarata" (Take refuge in Him alone with all thy heart, oh Bhaarata). This means that if the Lord dwells in the heart of all beings, He must be residing in Arjuna's heart also! Hence the injunction, "Thameva saranam gachcha" means: "Seek refuge in yourself". [b].
And from the introduction to the book Sri Swami Samarth Maharaj of Akkalkot by N.S. Karandikar
"Man is an aspect of god Himself in essence. Utilizing the faculty of discrimination man has to discover and become aware of his inner divinity; he has to manifest it in his thought into a superman and into the image of god himself". [c]
[a] Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Meditations of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (New York: Bantam, 1973) 178. As quoted in Be Still and Observe the Text by: Steve Bright. http://www.equip.org/article/be-still-and-observe-the-text/
[b] Man's Divine Destiny. www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume21/sss21-03.pdf
[c] Excerpt from N.S. Karandikar's Sri Swami Samarth Maharaj of Akkalkot. Paperback (Edition: 2007) Sterling Publishers
http://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/IDK654/ [PLACE IN TEXT]
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