New Age Christianity

New Age Christianity

Vanity, Vanity

I thought in my heart,

“Come now, I will test you to find out what is spiritually good.”

I tried cheering myself with Holy laughter, and embraced the folly of being drunk in the spirit, my mind still guiding me with wisdom.

I undertook great projects: I built church buildings and sowed to reap in the vineyards of religion.

I attempted to apply the fruit of the Spirit and transferred reservoirs of spiritual power to help the church flourish.

I made myself a student of tradition and ritual and led others in the same way.

I amassed great spiritual experience and sacrificed family and friends to know my god.

I acquired titles and prestige among the religious.

I joined in with worshipers, with men and women singers, and a choir of prophetic intercessors.

I denied myself nothing my spiritual eyes could see; I refused my heart no spiritual power.

My heart took delight in all my Christian work, and this was the reward for all my labor.

Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve; everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his Christian neighbor and this too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Of all things most grievous to me, Jesus did not have to be present for any of this.

Can anybody tell me how to get back home?

New age philosophy attempts to either bring people into spiritual realms or invite spiritual realms into people. The desired result is to become enlightened and self-empowered. Yet at the foundation of this practice is a trust in humanities strength and creations many resources. Basically man’s goal here is to add spiritual meaning to all his natural endeavors.

Now we maybe able to sympathize; having once lost oneness with God in the garden left man empty and void of fellowship with God’s Spirit. In the beginning the glory of God encompassed around man and he found a suitable spiritual covering.

Could it be that the goal for natural man is still looking for a spiritual embrace; or maybe it’s an attempt to cover his spiritual nakedness?

The thought is not far from unreasonable. After all if we give thought to the relationship that once existed between God and man the Old Covenant provided some indications that the glory of God could manifest outwardly.

At one time this caused the very flesh of man to be empowered.

Elijah ran ahead of the chariot 1 Kings 18:46, Joshua defeating the giants Joshua 14:1–15, David’s 30 fighting men 2 Samuel 23:8–38, and Samson’s source of strength Judges 14,15.

Yet if such remarkable feats were never documented humanity would still crave what was once lost. The pervading goal for humanity then has been to embrace any and all things that fill the senses: enter the serpent.

A world empire was also born that day in the garden. As Adam and Eve stood before the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil the Serpent spoke about the advantages of partaking of its fruit.

Genesis 3:4-6 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

From that day forward humanity would measure success by what they see, think and feel. They would also come to rely upon the god of this world as a surrogate savior offering all things counterfeit. Within this union man would gain power and position within earthly kingdoms, and the Devil would receive worship every time humanity says “yes” to his own brand of fruit. But even here the man is thinking about that lost connection with the glory of God.

For this reason the Tower of Babel showed us an unrelenting drive in man to make something happen. However within a unity of misguided purpose they attempted to enter heaven on their own terms.

Man went to work and gathered to himself a gaggle of like minded individuals who started piling up rocks, earth, wood, and stubble in order to build a tower. Yet if there is an analogy to be realized, we can come to the conclusion that man is still propping up wood, hay and stubble in an attempt to satisfy a craving. Consider God’s early reply to such a delusion;