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4/22

New Age

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Class Outline

I. History of New Ageism

II. Doctrinal Differences

III. Sharing the Gospel with New Agers

The anti-Christian movement which seeks to usher in the age of the anti-Christ where creation is worshiped, and man becomes one with creation.

Apologetic Videos

Walter Martin on New Age Movement Here [1]
Ravi Zacharias on The Gospel in Light of New Spirituality Here [2]
Constance Cumbey Author of “The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow” tells her story on how she discovered the New Age Movement Here [3]

New Age books

Secret Doctrine – vol. 1 Here [4] 2 Here
The Golden Test Here [5]

I. History of New Ageism

a. Roots of the Movement

Many Names of the Movement:[6]

Age of Aquarius
Brain Mind Movement
Holistic Movement
New Age Movement
New Consciousness Movement
The Networking Movement

Authors in the Movement:[7]

Shirley MacLaine
Alice Bailey
Madame Helena Blavatsky
Annie Besant
Moses Hull

Books in the Movement[8]

Secret Doctrine
The Plan
Anthroposophy

The New Age Is Not New At All

The concepts find their roots in many ancient sources:

Babylonian mystery rituals
- Elevate humans to godlike status
- Nature worship
- Occult practices
- Reincarnation
Hinduism
- Reincarnation
- Monism (all is one)
- Pantheism (all is god)
Buddhism
- Mind control
- Meditation
- Spiritual enlightenment
- Reincarnation
Taoism (pronounced “dow-ism”)
- All things are constantly changing (the process called Yin and Yang)
- Nothing is absolute, all is relative (including morals and ethics)
Gnosticism
- Esoteric knowledge – to ignite a divine spark and power within
Modern influence
- UFOs
- Extraterrestrial intelligence
- Psychokinesis (bending objects with the mind)

“The New Age Cult is a revival of ancient occultism. It holds historical ties to Sumerian, Indian, Egyptian, Chaldean, Babylonian, and Persian religious practices.”[9] (Kingdom of the Cults, 407)

The New Age Cult is a transplant of Hindu philosophy through the Theosophical Society founded by Madame Blavatsky
“Moreover, Esoteric philosophy reconciles all religions, strips every one of its outward, human garments, and shows the root of each to be identical with that of every other great religion. It proves the necessity of an absolute Divine Principle in nature. It denies Deity no more than it does the Sun. Esoteric philosophy has never rejected God in Nature, nor Deity as the absolute and abstract It only refuses to accept any of the gods of the so-called monotheistic religions, gods created by man in his own image and likeness, a blasphemous and sorry caricature of the Ever Unknowable.” H. P. BLAVATSKY, The Secret Doctrine Vol. 1 Introduction pg. XX

b. New Age Today

Literally today: Earth Day

Google Home Page:

Earth Day and the New Age Movement Here [10]

Summarized in video form Here [11]

My summary of the article:

Earth Day has become the modern celebration of Gaia
Earth Day was first inaugurated in 1970, Newsweek called the event “a bizarre nationwide rain dance.” (The idea for Earth Day goes back to 1962 and Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin.)
Helping to make this inaugural Earth Day a success, a special book of essays was compiled through Friends of the Earth and distributed nation-wide to teachers and professors. Titled, The Environmental Handbook: Prepared for the First National Environmental Teach-In, April 22, 1970
Now, almost forty years later, corporate sponsorships pay for community Earth Day events.

The basic logic behind earth day

Humans are exploiting the Earth
Because of this; Mother Earth is angry with humans and earth is dying and human existence on earth may soon come to an end
What can be done to save Mother Earth? According to the first Earth Day and The Environmental Handbook, we can start by placing the blame on Christianity and Western values, and then adopt pagan and radical socialist solutions.
This is the essence of Earth Day. It’s the embracing of massive religious and social changes – the sacrifice of our “orthodox Christian arrogance” so that Gaia can be healed and humanity saved. It’s the clarion call of One World.
Originally started as a movement to intentionally place Earth on a pedestal while “demonizing” Christianity, nationalism, and human populations – all focused on driving America’s youth to a pagan, socialist utopia

Quotes from the book:

“By destroying pagan animism, Christianity made it possible to exploit nature in a mood of indifference to the feelings of natural objects.” [p.20-21, Lynn White Jr.].
“No new set of basic values has been accepted in our society to displace those of Christianity. Hence we shall continue to have a worsening ecologic crisis until we reject the Christian axiom that nature has no reason for existence save to serve man.” [p.25, Lynn White Jr.].
“Both our present science and our present technology are so tinctured with orthodox Christian arrogance toward nature that no solution for our ecologic crisis can be expected from them alone. Since the roots of our trouble are so largely religious, the remedy must also be essentially religious, whether we call it that or not.” [p.26, Lynn White Jr.].

II. Doctrinal Differences

a. Primary

Lusifer is good and the anti-Christ is good and is coming soon and he his going to save the world to user in the Age of Aquarius (the New Age):

One world government
One world leader
One world religion

“19 Before the Vedic days the

world had many sacred books to

light the way; and when man needed

greater light the Vedas, the Avesta

and the books of Tao Great appeared

to show the way to greater

heights.

20 And in the proper place the

Hebrew Bible, with its Law, its

Prophets and its Psalms, appeared

for man’s enlightenment.

21 But years have passed and

men have need of greater light.

22 And now the Day Star from

on high begins to shine; and Jesus

is the flesh-made messenger to show

that light to men.

…

26 But in the ages yet to come,

man will attain to greater heights,

and lights still more intense will

come.

27 And then, at last, a mighty

master soul will come to earth to

light the way up to the throne of

perfect man.”[12]

The god of force

“enter fully into the god of force”- The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ: Anagoge of a Scribe [13]

Daniel 11:38[14]

But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. (KJV)

Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow

“However, Theosophical hatred of Christianity was so strong that even such a watered-down, hereticized version could not survive within the organization. A Theosophical Society brochure made clear the anti-Christian aims of that movement:

“.. . To oppose the materialism of science and every form of dogmatic theology, especially the Christian, which the Chiefs of the Society regard as particularly pernicious; to make known among Western nations the long-suppressed facts about Oriental religious philosophies, theirethics, chronology, esoterism (sic), symbolism; to counteract, as far as possible, the efforts of missionaries to delude the so-called Heathen’ and ‘Pagans’ as to the real origin and dogmas of Christianity and the practical effects of the latter upon public and private character in so-called Christian countries.”

As a matter of fact, it saw “unity” between all religions, except those monotheistic religions worshipping the Lord of Hosts:

“Esoteric Philosophy reconciles all nations, strips every one of its outward human garments, and shows the root of each to be identical with that of every other great religion. It proves the necessity of a Divine Absolute Principle in Nature. It denies Deity no more than it does the sun. Esoteric Philosophy has never rejected God in Nature, nor Deity as the absolute and abstract Ens. IT ONLY REFUSES TO ACCEPT ANY OF THE GODS OF THE SO-CALLED MONOTHEISTIC RELIGIONS, GODS CREATED BY MAN IN HIS OWN IMAGE AND LIKENESS, A BLASPHEMOUS AND SORRY ARICATURE OF THE EVER UNKNOWABLE.”

This is an attitude that continues to prevail throughout the New Age Movement. Everything is good except orthodox, monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.” (44-45)

“Moreover, Esoteric philosophy reconciles all religions, strips every one of its outward, human garments, and shows the root of each to be identical with that of every other great religion. It proves the necessity of an absolute Divine Principle in nature. It denies Deity no more than it does the Sun. Esoteric philosophy has never rejected God in Nature, nor Deity as the absolute and abstract Ens. It only refuses to accept any of the gods of the so-called monotheistic religions, gods created by man in his own image and likeness, a blasphemous and sorry caricature of the Ever Unknowable.”

P. BLAVATSKY, The Secret Doctrine Vol. 1 Introduction pg. XX

b. Secondary

How New Agers Define “God”

Difficult to define specific beliefs and practices

No formal organization
No authoritative text

General Principles which New Agers hold

Monism – All is One
Pantheism – All is God

Implications of these to principles

Not personal
Not creator
Not external to time
Not in control over nature

Shirley MacLaine

“I know that I exist, therefore, I AM. I know the god-source exists. Therefore, IT IS. Since I am apart of that force, then I AM that I AM.” – Dancing in the Light (420)

New Agers Find “Salvation” in Themselves

Salvation

Achieving a new “awareness” of one’s own divinity and oneness with all things
This state has many names:
- Cosmic consciousness
- God-consciousness
- God-realization
- Self-realization
- Enlightenment
- Illumination

Meditation – a “journey within” to accomplish this salvation

Enlightened people would include:

Buddha
Moses
Elijah
Jesus
Mohammed

All New Agers hold as dogma:

All truth is relative
There are no absolutes
You find “God” within yourself

Channeling – New Age Version of Contacting Spirits

Channeling previously to

Get info about the after life
Get in touch with dead loved ones

Channeling now in NAM

Centers on messages from a “higher source

Spirits which have been ‘channeled’:

Djwhal Khul, A Tibetan teacher by Alice Bailey
Ramtha, a 35,000-year-old warrior by J.Z. Knight
An unnamed spirit who wrote A Course in Miracles by Helen Schucman

Reincarnation – A Key Part of the New Age

Reincarnation

Almost always emphasized progressing upward toward final self-redemption
Thus, they have “all kinds of time to ‘get right’ as they progress toward some kind of self-induced salvation” (155)

Syncretism: All Religions Lead to the Same Place

Syncretism – The idea that all religions are one and they all lead to the same place

“there are many ways to God and heaven”
All religions have the same ultimate goal
Synchronicity will solve all of man kinds problems (poverty, war, etc.)

Synchronic goal of the Age of Aquarius:

One world government
One world leader
One world religion

III. Sharing the Gospel with New Agers

From The Kingdom of the Cults (426-

Christian Confrontation with New Agers

Prepare with prayer

Be patient

Communitcate love and genuine concern

Seek common ground

Define Terminology

Lead with questions (don’t teach)

Quote the Bible

Avoid Criticism

Commend (wherever possible)

Provide books and other good Christian media

Study the New Age Movement further

How to respond to New Age thinking:

“Christians must have a thorough understanding of their own faith” (159)
Present the truth:[15]
- Present the Personal Triune God
- Present Jesus and the only Christ
- Present the fallenness of man
- Present the final judgement of God
- Present a biblical view the Second Coming of Christ

When the responding the Christian’s claim “the Bible is the absolute truth”
- “That’s your reality, but it’s not mine.” – New Ager
- “In the end, only one reality will turn out to be real: Jesus Christ – the only way, the only absolute truth and the only source of life.” – Christian

Points of Agreement: