Then if any one says to you, "Behold, here is the Christ," or "There He is," do not believe him. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. - Matthew 24:23-24
On April 25, 1982 people in over twenty major cities around the globe awoke to find an interesting and bold full page ad in their newspaper. It began by saying,
The world has had enough . . . of hunger, injustice, war. In answer to our call for help, as world teacher for all humanity, THE CHRIST IS NOW HERE.
The ad continued to answer in vague terms the following questions: How Will We Recognize Him?, Who Is The Christ?, What Is He Saying?, and When Will We See Him? Under the question, Who Is The Christ?, appeared the following explanation:
Throughout history, humanity's evolution has been guided by a group of enlightened men, the Master's of Wisdom. They have remained largely in the remote desert and mountain places of earth, working mainly through their disciples who live openly in the world. This message of the Christ's reappearance has been given primarily by such a disciple trained for his task for over 20 years. At the center of this "Spiritual Hierarchy" stands the World Teacher, Lord Maitreya known by Christians as the Christ. And as Christians await the Second Coming, so the Jews await the Messiah, the Buddhists the fifth Buddha, the Moslems the Iman Mahdi, and the Hindus await Krishna. These are all names for one individual.
What kind of ad could this be? And who would run such a thing? Didn't Jesus Himself warn us of the coming of false Christs and those who would promote them?
Well, this ad was sponsored by the Tara Foundation under the leadership of a man named Benjamin Creme. Creme and the Tara Foundation are part of what is known as the New Age movement, networks of individuals and organizations dedicated to ushering in the New Age, or Age of Aquarius.
This movement is now very well developed and has expressions in the arts, literature and music. Indeed, if you take a look in your local bookstore, you will find a large section devoted to New Age topics. It's goal is to infiltrate every sector of society and to bring enlightenment to all humanity. Unfortunately, the kind of enlightenment it brings is typified by the statement above, and other statements like it.
As Christians, we should become aware of the insidious threat of the New Age movement and how to combat its false teachings. Let's turn our attention to several important questions: What is the New Age movement? Why should we be concerned? And finally C What can we do about it? It is important that we learn to think Biblically about the New Age movement.
The New Age movement is a loose confederation of networks which share a common philosophical foundation. The New Age movement is a strange mixture of science and Eastern mysticism with a liberal splash of the occult. An emphasis on the idea that "all is one" or that everything that exists composes one essential reality can be found as a common belief. God is seen as an impersonal consciousness and power.
Within its ranks you will find a host of cultic organizations such as the Rajneesh cult, Transcendental Meditation, Eckankar, the Church Universal and Triumphant, the Divine Light Mission, the "Human Potential Movement" exemplified in Est (or The Forum), Silva Mind Control, Lifespring, Summit Workshops, and many others.
Many follow Eastern mystical leaders like Mahareeshi Mahesh Yoga, Baba Ram Dass, Sai Baba, and Guru Maharijih. Other names you find associated with New Age thinking are Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, the founder of Theosophy; Alice Bailey, follower of Theosophy and New Age prophetess; Fritjof Capra, quantum physicist and author of The Tao of Physics, Benjamin Creme, founder of the Tara Center and author of The Reappearance of the Christ and the Masters of Wisdom; Marilyn Ferguson, author of The Aquarian Conspiracy, a pro-New Age work; Matthew Fox, a controversial Catholic theologian who blends Catholic mysticism, pantheism, environmentalism and feminism; David Spangler, who gained fame when he took over the education program at the Findhorn community in Scotland and author of Revelation: The Birth of the New Age; George Trevelyan, a British leader of the New Age movement. More recognizable names include celebrities such as Shirley MacLaine, Merv Griffin, Linda Evans, John Denver, Philicia Rashad, and Sharon Gless.
Terms which are used and in most cases redefined are Age of Aquarius, Ascended Masters, Astral Body, Attunement, Aura, Avitar, Centering, Channeling, Consciousness Revolution, Cosmic Christ, Crystals, Confluent Education, Esoteric Christianity, Guided Imagery, Goddess, Globalism, Guru, Harmonic Convergence, Holism, Initiation, Inner/Higher Self, Interconnectedness, Karma, Mantra, Medium, Network, Paradigm Shift, The Plan, Planetary Citizens, Psychic Birth, Reincarnation, Self-realization, Spirit Guide, Synergy, Third Eye, and Visualization.
The New Age movement has at its heart a belief characterized as "monistic pantheism," meaning all is one and all is God. It believes in the divinity of all mankind, that we are separated from God only in our own consciousness, which needs to be altered though a variety of ways, including meditation, Yoga, chanting, drugs, visualization, and the like. Man will thus experience union with God. Belief in the law of karma is common, which means that whatever a person does, good or bad, will return in exact proportion in another existence. They must continue to return in new incarnations until the bad karma has been balanced by the good karma they accomplish. You can see the problem. There is no such thing as absolute truth. We all have values which must be clarified, and my truth may not be your truth. They promote a one-world government led by the enlightened. They see all religions as essentially saying the same thing, thus Hinduism is as true as Christianity. Jesus was just an avitar who attained a high level of attunement to the Cosmic Christ, thus enabling him to be a bodily vehicle for this Cosmic Christ for a period of three years. There is no such thing as sin and we are our own saviors.
Listen to David Spangler, in a book called Explorations: Emerging Aspects of the New Culture:
What is seeking to emerge is a body of people who are nourishers and who are quite literally what Jesus called "the salt of the earth," but consciously so,, spiritually so, accepting their divinity without becoming inflated by it, and acting within the sphere of their influence to draw that same divinity out of others. . . . These are givers of life, and they are forming the basis for the government of the future.
Along the lines of the unity of all religions, Matthew Fox writes in the book The Coming of the Cosmic Christ:
Deep ecumenism is the movement that will unleash the wisdom of all world religions: Hinduism and Buddhism, Islam and Judaism, Taoism and Shintoism, Christianity in all its forms, and native religions and goddess religions throughout the world. This unleashing of wisdom holds the last hope for the survival of the planet we call home.
The New Age movement is a wedding of a wide variety of mystical, quasi-scientific, human potential, religious and occult elements into one conglomeration of sensitivity, spirituality, and philosophical unity. And we have barely scratched the surface.
For those of us who hold a Biblical world view it should be obvious that we should be concerned, and for very good reason. What we are dealing with here is not a rigid cult of mindless robots who are totally dependant on their despotic leader to map out every move.
We are dealing with a philosophy which is in vogue in our culture, and which is being propagated in our public and private schools, colleges, universities, arts, cinema, television, music and government. Rather than being the salvation of our society, it is a subtle, but insidious cancer for Christianity and culture. It will not center us, but rather move us away from the center of our faith, Jesus Christ our Lord and God, and cause us to doubt the moral center of revealed truth, the Bible.
When on the one hand we have Nancy Reagan consulting an astrologer for scheduling advice for her husband, and on the other hand we have Hillary Clinton having imaginary talks with Eleanor Roosevelt in order to acclimate herself to the job of first lady, we are in serious trouble as a nation. We are building our hopes on sinking sand. That this would be accepted so casually is evidence that we see little wrong with this kind of behavior.
In the Bible such practices were condemned. They are viewed as dabbling with the devil, and indeed they do open us up to spiritual influences, most of which is demonic. These demonic hosts are called by the New Agers, "Spirit Guides," and are looked on as a positive force in our lives. They are in reality "seducing spirits" who are dedicated to our destruction.
The New Age distortion of the teachings essential to Christianity ought to concern us as well. God becomes an impersonal force. Jesus is simply an advanced avitar. Sin no longer exists. Salvation is by our cyclic rebirth through reincarnation whereby we work off the bad karma we accumulated in previous lives. The Scripture is not true where is says that "it is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment," because we die many times and just keep trying. We die and try, die and try. All humans are divine. The Bible is not the revealed truth, but only one truth. All religions are equal, and none is the true way. Christ's Second Coming is not the literal coming of the Jesus who lived on Earth 2000 years ago, but the coming of the Cosmic Christ in whatever form he takes. These teaching attack Christianity at its heart.
We should be concerned because our kids are being subjected to this kind of teaching. We should be concerned because we are being infiltrated by it in our churches. We should be concerned because too many people are biblically illiterate and have not had their minds trained through a systematic study of the Word to discern truth from error. We should be concerned because it all sounds so good and harmless. But when the devil comes he comes as an angel of light.
Is there anything we can do? Well, we certainly can't eliminate the New Age movement overnight, and neither can we be content to pretend like it either doesn't exist or doesn't matter. What we can do is to prepare ourselves and our children for its subtle deception.
We must have a clear definition of Jesus Christ. When Jesus gathered His disciples around Him and inquired what people were saying about Him, He made it a point to find our what or who the disciples thought He was. He asked, "Who do you say that I am?" He could just as well be emphasizing that question today to us. It is important who we believe Jesus is. Our definition of Jesus Christ needs to be one that is biblical, not some subjective fantasy based on sentimentality or popular thinking. If Jesus is not God the Son, the perfect sacrifice for our sins; the Savior of the world, who died on the Cross in our place bearing the punishment for our sins; if He did not rise from the dead and thereby prove He was who He said He was, then we are believing a fantasy, are still lost in our sins, and are without hope. But Jesus is all these things and more. He is "the way the truth and the life." He is the only way to God. He is the "only name given among men whereby we may be saved." No man comes to the Father but by Him.
We must have a thorough understanding of the Bible, God's revealed Word. It is important that we come to an understanding of the great doctrines of the Bible. Doctrines like the deity of Christ, the inspiration of Scripture, the sinfulness of humanity, the vicarious atonement of Christ, the efficacy of saving grace, and the certainty of judgement are topics which must be studied until you gain an understanding of what the Lord says about them. Only armed with what the true looks like can you tell the counterfeit.
We must understand that many people are simply deceived. They are not our enemy. They are not necessarily seeking to destroy Christianity (although there are some who have that agenda). We should therefore approach those following New Age teaching with compassion, sensitivity, and love, armed with the truth of God's Word, which, if accepted, can set them free. As we reach out to them in love and boldness, we may very well win them to Christ. Who knows how the Spirit has prepared their hearts during their search for truth. They are not without hope. After all, the god of this world (Satan) has always blinded the eyes of those who do not believe. Just as we had our eyes opened, so they may have theirs opened as well.
We must train our children to discern the truth. As parents, we must discuss the content of what our children see on the TV, hear on the radio, read in magazines, see at the movies, read in books, hear at school, and receive from their friends. God can enable them to develop a discerning mind and an obedient heart. Timothy was told by Paul not to let anyone despise his youth. Youth does not mean that a person cannot be used mightily of God. Josiah was used to turn God's people from idolatry back to the living God, and he was only a boy. David was a young man and didn't look like a king, yet God had His hand on him. We must not sell our kids short. They are certainly kids, and do immature things (like we don't). But they can surprise us if they allow God to take control. It doesn't surprise Him. He knew they could do anything with Him in charge. So we must give them all the support we can to become biblically secure.
We must stay alert and keep on our guard. The Bible exhorts us to stay alert, to gird our minds for action, and to reject false teaching. Unless we stay alert we will tend to ignore the impact the teaching of the New Age movement has on us. Slowly, we will be sucked into its spell, and the result will be confusion, doubt, and ultimately, despair. None of us can afford to let our guard down in light of the extent of the heresy of the New Age teaching.
We must become more educated on the New Age movement. There are a host of good books and tapes on the dangers of the New Age movement. Get them. Read them. Listen to them. One excellent book is Walter Martin's The New Age Cult. In it he not only provides an overview of the teaching of the movement, but he also provides a glossary of New Age terminology, a biographical list of New Age spokespeople, a list of New Age organizations and publications, and a recommended reading list of books on the New Age movement. As you explore the breadth of the movement, you will become more aware and prepared to deal with it in everyday life.
Jesus said that knowing the truth would set us free. The ultimate
truth is Jesus. If we know Him, the Jesus revealed in the Bible, then He will lead us into
all the truth.
Questions to Consider:
1. What have you seen and heard concerning the teachings of the New Age movement?
2. Why do you think the teaching of the New Age movement are dangerous?
3. How has the New Age movement infiltrated our culture and even our churches?
Copyright © 1997 J. David Hoke. This data file is the sole property of the copyright holder and may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file must contain the above copyright notice.
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