Is The New Age New?
Like the cults, the New Age Movement uses terms and phrases that Christians are familiar and comfortable with. Yet, these terms are vastly different in meaning. This is why many Christians are deceived into thinking that the New Age is simply another appeal for world peace. The rise of some rather unusual groups over the past twenty years has caused the New Age Movement to become more appealing to some who would not have otherwise become involved with the movement.
The New Age Movement is in a class by itself. Unlike most formal religions, it has no holy text, central organization, headquarters, membership, formal clergy, geographic center, dogma, creed, etc. Their book publishers take the place of a central organization and their seminars, conventions, books and informal groups replace sermons and religious services.
The New Age Movement is a loosely structured network of individuals and organizations who share some similar beliefs and practices.
The Development Of The New Age
New Age teachings became popular during the 1970 ìs as a reaction against what some perceived as the failure of Christianity and the failure of Secular Humanism to provide spiritual and ethical guidance for the future. Its roots can be traced to many sources: Astrology, Channeling, Hinduism, Gnostic traditions, Spiritualism, Taoism, Theosophy, Wicca and other Neo-pagan traditions, etc. The movement started in England in the 1960ìs where many of these elements were well established. The New Age movement today is a strange mixture of science and Eastern mysticism with a liberal splash of the occult.
Like streams flowing into the ocean, the New Age Movement has been the receptacle of many streams of influence that have made it the massive body it is today.
• Nineteenth-century Transcendentalism –– The elevation of intuition over the senses as a means of finding "truth."
• The Inadequacy of Secular Humanism –– Secular humanism taught that humanity and human reason were all-sufficient. This human reason did not solve every problem, people craved something more –– something divine. The New Age movement met that need.
• The 1960’s Counterculture –– The 1960’s introduced an openness to new options and ideas. It also fostered anti-materialism, utopianism, an ecological outlook, a rejection of traditional morality, and an interest in the occult.
• Revival of the Occult –– Spiritism, astrology, etc.
• Influx of Eastern Ideas –– The flood of Eastern ideas and practices into North America paved the way for the emergence of New Age beliefs. Hindus and New Agers hold similar views of God, the world, humanity, and salvation.
Let’s focus more closely on the two major influences of the New Age Movement.
Its Link To Eastern Mysticism
Many New Agers follow Eastern mystical leaders like Mahareeshi Mahesh Yoga, Baba Ram Dass, Sai Baba, and Guru Maharijih. Other names associated with New Age thinking are Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, the founder of Theosophy; Alice Bailey, follower of Theosophy and New Age prophetess; 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; 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.
In reality, the New Age Movement isn’t new at all, but rather, its teachings which originated from Buddhism, Hinduism, Western occultism, and other religions have been neatly presented in a new container which have become very captivating to many people including some Christians.
One major influence that has molded the New Age Movement has been the Theosophical Society. As a movement, Theosophy ("God-wisdom") was founded in New York City in 1875 by a Russian woman named, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky ("HPB"). She is better known as Madame Blavatsky, an eccentric Russian woman, who is referred to as "a godmother of the New Age Movement." Upon arriving in New York in 1872, she began to "pave the way for contemporary Transcendental Meditation, Zen, Hare Krishnas; yoga and vegetarianism; karma and reincarnation; swamis, yogis and gurus" (Nina Easton, "Roots of the New Age," Los Angeles Times Magazine, September 6, 1987, p. 10).
Blavatsky greatly helped to popularize the mystical and religious teachings that have become the basis of the New Age Movement. After she died in 1891, Annie Besant moved into the leadership position in the Theosophical Society. It is quite evident that these and other eastern religions which heavily influenced the United States in the sixties and seventies had a tremendous impact upon the New Age Movement as we know it today.
Its Link To The Occult
Perhaps the strongest influence of all on the New Age Movement has come from the occult. While it might be called “New Age”, in practice it is actually “old occult.” The New Age can be traced to heretical movements, medieval philosophy, gnosticism, mysticism and paganism.
The New Age Movement is essentially a rebirth of ancient pagan and occult teachings. While the teachings are the same, the labels are new in order to successfully sell what seems to be new answers to age old questions.
Everything that is commonly associated with the New Age Movement today is in actuality a renewal of ancient occult practices that have been disguised and sold to an unaware society as science or medicine.
The New Age connection with occultism is oftentimes disguised and shrouded with terms that make its relationship to the occult unrecognizable. Don Rifkin, assistant manager of Samuel Weiser, New York City’s premier metaphysical and occult bookstore says this about the connection between the New Age and the occult:
"Basically the subject hasn’t changed but the marketing terms have. What people were terming ’occult’ in the 1950’s, or ’mind expansion’ in the 1960’s, has been termed ’New Age’ in the 1980’s."
Peggy Taylor, co-owner of Webster’s, a bookstore in Milwaukee, agrees with Rifkin’s evaluation.
"About five or so years ago most bookstores renamed their occult section New Age. It was a helpful term to allow mainstream people to start looking at what was thought as occult."
Because of the tremendous influence of Christianity within our civilization, the occult has been looked upon in the past as a practice that was stigmatized by witchcraft, shamanism, and mediums. In the last few decades, the New Age Movement has become a new breed of occultism and is rapidly gaining back the popularity it had centuries ago. Today there is a drastic change in attitude occurring towards the occult. What was once "hidden" or "secret" is now proudly practiced in public, is being widely accepted and is even considered respectable within our present day society. What was once considered to be on the fringe of influence in today’s society, the New Age Movement is now considered to be in the mainstream. In increasing numbers, middle class Americans are showing an interest in supernatural phenomena that blend eastern mysticism and western occult thinking into the New Age Movement.
The Influence Of The New Age on Our Society
The New Age Movement is now very well developed and has expressions in the arts, literature and music. Most bookstores now have 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.
Because the New Age movement is so diverse and encompasses a variety of people with distinctive interests, it is difficult to determine the exact number of New Agers.
In a 1993 article in the Los Angeles Times, New Ager Marilyn Ferguson said that “sociologists at UC Santa Barbara... estimate that as many as 12 million Americans could be considered active participants (in the New Age Movement), and another 30 million are avidly interested. If all these people were brought together in a church-like organization, it would be the third-largest religious denomination in America” (Los Angeles Times, February 16, 1993).
A study conducted from 1991 to 1995 shows that New Agers represent a steady 20% of the population, and are consistently the third largest religious group. The New Age movement has been called "the fastest growing alternative belief system in the country."
According to John Naisbitt & Patricia Aburdene in their book Megatrends 2000: Ten New Directions for the 1990’s. pg. 293 it states, "By head count, New Agers are a good, substantial lot, maybe 10 to 12 million. Some say they are even 20 million. They are still completely outnumbered by [born-again Christians]... If you are out to sell your products, why even bother with the New Agers? To begin with they are rich. Ninety-five percent of the readers of New Age Journal are college-educated, with average household incomes of $47,500. New Agers represent the most affluent, well-educated, successful segment of the baby boom. Furthermore, the influence on the culture as a whole extends beyond their numbers. This group, says John Garrett of SRI International’s Values and Lifestyle (VALS) Program, tends ’to set the trends in America.’ "
New Age theories and practices have found their way into every facet of our society imaginable; public schools, fashions, recreation centers, the military, politics, entertainment, bookstores, science, psychology, health care, ethics, politics, business, . One area of our culture after another is being touched, if not entirely devoured, by New Age philosophy.
• Health care –– New Agers have been strong proponents of holistic health care, focusing on the whole person and his or her surroundings. They also emphasize energy, not matter. They teach that we can unblock and redirect energy flow in the body as a means of healing through methods such as acupuncture, acupressure, therapeutic touch, and biofeedback and aroma therapies.
• Psychology –– The human potential movement is a natural outgrowth of the New Age worldview. We are taught that we are our own god, and we can create our own reality. "Empowerment" is the key, through affirmations (positive self-talk) and visualization (mental pictures of what we want to create).
• Ethics –– Because all is one, there are no moral wrongs and rights. Everything is relative. We all create our own destiny –– even victims of crime. When the acting teacher of Shirley MacLaine’s daughter was burned beyond recognition in a head-on collision, MacLaine wondered, "Why did she choose to die that way?"
• Politics –– A One World government is necessary to recognize the oneness of humanity. One New Age motto is "Think globally and act locally." Political agenda items include ecological conservation, nuclear disarmament, relieving overpopulation and starvation, transcending the masculine and feminine in society, and redistributing wealth on a global level.
• Education –– Many textbooks have removed references to Christianity, but include many New Age ideas including Eastern meditation, Indian spirituality, yoga, chanting, visualization, and values clarification (helping students discover their own values rather than the values of their parents or society).
• Business –– Business has embraced the human potential movement, to increase productivity, foster better employee relations, and bring greater sales. Seminars help participants create their own reality and realize their unlimited potential.
Another way we can see the impact the New Age Movement has had upon our society is by the high percentage of Americans that are involved in some aspect of the New Age Movement. Today, various research polls are consistently demonstrating that a significant shift has been occurring in the West, both in the beliefs and practices of the New Age world-view. For example:
• About 67 percent of American adults claim they have had a psychic experience such as E.S.P. (extrasensory perception).
• Approximately 30 million Americans (one in four, 25%) believe in reincarnation. A Gallup poll done around 1991 revealed that the belief in "reincarnation" is now accepted and professed by a surprising large portion (one-third) of church-going Christian teens http://a1.nu/christian/reincarnation.htm).
• In May of 1975, the first issue of Yoga Journal––all 10 pages and 300 copies of it––was born.
By 1990, as yoga began moving from the fringes to mainstream America, Yoga Journal’s circulation hit 55,000; by 1995, the magazine’s circulation reached 66,000.
In the fall of 1998, John Abbott, a former investment banker for Citicorp and an avid yoga practitioner, bought the magazine, and Kathryn Arnold joined as editor-in-chief. In January 2000, they redesigned and relaunched the magazine. Since their arrival, the circulation of the magazine has more than doubled, from 90,000 to 230,000, with a readership of 700,000.
Yoga has now fully entered mainstream America. Time magazine reports that 15 million people in the United States now practice yoga, of which we estimate 6 million are regular, dedicated practitioners (http://www.yogajournal.com/about_yjstory.cfm).
• Some 42 percent of American adults believe they have been in contact with someone who has died.
• 36% of Americans believe that astrology is scientific
The Teachings Of The New Age
New Age teachings are a mutation and conglomeration of everything from eastern mysticism to occult practices, from Christian theology to science. What was once considered to be extreme on the pendulum of religious practices, has now found its way into the mainstream of our religious culture. Today, New Age teachings are being accepted in global proportions.
A number of fundamental beliefs are held by many New Age followers.
What New Agers Believe About God
New Agers confuse the Creator with His creation and think that God is part of creation, not separate from it. They borrow from Eastern religions the belief in monism -- that "all is One" -- only one essence in the universe, everyone and everything being a part of that essence. Everything is a different form of that essence (energy, consciousness, power, love, force). But the belief in monism is really Hinduistic pantheism (all is God). New Agers view God as an impersonal life force, consciousness, or energy (M. Ferguson, Aquarian Conspiracy, p. 382; S. Gawain, Living In the Light, pp. 7-8) (e.g., the "Star Wars Force"), rather than a Person. They believe that every person and thing is "intertwined" with God. They claim every human has a divine spark within him and are part of the divine essence. The state of God is called by various terms among different New Age groups, i.e., God-consciousness, Universal Love, Self-Realization, the I AM, Higher Self, Brahman, Nirvana, etc.
New Agers believe 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.
At the very heart of this movement lies the idea that humans are living in an unbalanced state which prevents them from having a harmonious and direct relationship with God, nature, each other and themselves. Many different themes throughout the New Age Movement indicate this search for oneness, such as wholeness, spirituality, relationships, attunement, and universal brotherhood and sisterhood. This theme of oneness is at the very center of the New Age belief system.
What Does The Bible Say?
While the God of the New Age Movement is an impersonal force, the God of the Bible is a personal Being with whom we can establish a personal relationship. The Bible gives us much evidence of the personal nature of God. For instance:
• God HEARS
Exodus 2:24, “God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.” (NIV)
• God SEES
Genesis 1:4, “God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.” (NIV)
• God KNOWS
2 Timothy 2:19, “Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his...” (NIV)
• God COMMUNICATES
Exodus 3:13-14, “Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ’The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ’What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?" 14God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ’I am has sent me to you.’ " (NIV)
• God is distinct from CREATION
Hebrews 11:3, “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” (NIV)
• God is distinct from MAN
Ecclesiastes 5:2, “God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.” (NIV)
What New Agers Believe About Salvation
Since New Agers believe that man is already divine and perfect, his only real problem is ignorance of that fact. New Agers believe that man’s perception of finiteness is in reality an illusion (Ken Keyes, Jr., Handbook to Higher Consciousness, pp. 125-29).
New Age salvation is for man to become enlightened through experiential knowledge (gnosis). New Age groups offer various occultic techniques to enable individuals, and ultimately the world, to evolve into this oneness consciousness (James Redfield, The Celestine Prophecy: An Experimental Guide, pp. 243-60). These techniques may include altered states of consciousness (often transcendental meditation), yoga, crystals, channeling (spirit guides), psychics, past life therapy, acupuncture, etc.
In the process of "planetary transformation," becoming one with God and all that is, New Agers teach that individuals must first experience "personal transformation." This corresponds to the Christian doctrine of salvation or redemption.
While Christians proclaim the Gospel and insist upon faith in Jesus Christ as Savior for salvation, New Age teaching on personal transformation is packaged deceitfully under the guise of what seems to be harmless methods to improve health, creativity and relaxation, but, in actuality it is deeply rooted in Hinduism and occultism.
In order to achieve this personal transformation, New Agers first induce an altered state of consciousness ("ASC") through various means such as meditation, chanting, ecstatic dancing, sensory deprivation, hypnotism, internal visualization or even the act of sex. An altered state of consciousness is also referred to by New Agers as, "cosmic consciousness, God realization, self-realization, enlightenment, as well as illumination. Whatever the name, the aim is to lead the individual to consciously experience their own oneness with God. As a result, New Age salvation is based upon self-realization and experience instead of the Biblical basis for salvation; God’s grace and our faith in Jesus Christ.
Another important element that is involved in New Age salvation is their belief in reincarnation. Through the process of living many lives, New Agers believe that salvation can be achieved.
According to the eastern concept of reincarnation, also referred to as "transmigration," one may come back as any form of life. New Agers have successfully merged this ancient eastern teaching with modern western practices with the introduction of reincarnation therapy. This is based upon the assumption that our problems and troubles which we experience such as illness, joblessness, divorce, etc., are a direct result of our bad karma which was brought about by a wrong decision made in a past life. Through reincarnation therapy the individual is hypnotized and begins a regression into a past life to rehearse the karma and, thus, produce healing and a transformation.
What Does The Bible Say?
• Jesus taught that all people are SINNERS and need to REPENT
Luke 15:10, “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (NIV)
• Jesus taught that all people need to BELIEVE
John 6:40, “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (NIV)
John 3:18, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (NIV)
What New Agers Believe About Jesus Christ
New Agers believe that Jesus was a man who evolved spiritually to the state of "the Christ" being. "The Christ" is an actual state of ultimate essence. Everyone’s true being is "the Christ:" and each person’s goal is to come to that self-realization (A Course in Miracles, Vol. 3, pp. 83-4).
So to the New Ager, Jesus, the Christ, is one of many ascended masters - a way-shower, whose function is to awaken humanity and illumine the path. Many even reinvent the historical Jesus by claiming that He traveled to India and learned the New Age doctrines there during His "silent years" (Shirley MacLaine, Out on a Limb, pp. 233-34).
In all New Age bookstores and, even most secular bookstores, it is not uncommon to find such titles as, The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus or Elizabeth Clare Prophet’s book, The Lost Years of Jesus, which present the teaching that during the silent years of the life of Jesus, between 13 and 30 years of age, Jesus went to India and learned from the ancient Hindu swamis and then later brought these teachings back with Him to Israel. Most New Agers will admit that Jesus Christ is God. However, because they believe that all is God, they also teach that Jesus was no more God than anyone or anything else. The only difference between Jesus and the ordinary person, according to New Agers, is that He (Jesus) was conscious of His own divine potential which is inherent in every person.
In essence, New Agers only look to Jesus as an example, someone to become equal to, not to be worshiped or obeyed. By means of purging Himself of "bad karma," through many lives (reincarnation), New Agers believe that Jesus is just another one of the many "masters" or "avatars" which periodically appear upon the Earth.
What Does The Bible Say?
“Jesus” and “Christ” are the same person
• This can be seen in the BIRTH OF JESUS
Luke 2:11, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (NIV)
Jesus didn’t go East into India
• This can be seen in where He was RAISED
Luke 4:16, “He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.” (NIV)
Jesus was not “one of many” enlightened masters
• This can be seen in His UNIQUENESS
John 14:6, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (NIV)
Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (NIV)
Other New Age Beliefs Include:
• Man: Man is not sinful since his true essence is divine and perfect. The only difference between man and "God" is man’s ignorance of his unlimited potential. Man is divine. He creates his own reality. Absolute truth is replaced by relativistic, subjective experience.
• Reincarnation: After death, we are reborn and live another life as a human. This cycle repeats itself many times. This belief is similar to the concept of transmigration of the soul in Hinduism.
• Karma: 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. The good and bad deeds that we do adds and subtracts from our accumulated record, our karma. At the end of our life, we are rewarded or punished according to our karma by being reincarnated into either a painful or good new life. This belief is linked to that of reincarnation and is also derived from Hinduism.
• Auras: An Aura is believed to be an energy field radiated by the body. Invisible to most people. Those skilled in detecting and interpreting auras believe they can diagnose an individualìs state of mind, and their spiritual and physical health.
• Personal Transformation: A profoundly intense mystical experience will lead to the acceptance and use of New Age beliefs and practices. Guided imagery, hypnosis, meditation, and (sometimes) the use of hallucinogenic drugs are useful to bring about and enhance this transformation. New Agers hope to develop new potentials within themselves: the ability to heal oneself and others, psychic powers, a new understanding of the workings of the universe, etc. Later, when sufficient numbers of people have achieved these powers, a major spiritual, physical, psychological and cultural planet-wide transformation is expected.
• Universal Religion: Since all is God, then only one reality exists, and all religions are simply different paths to that ultimate reality. The universal religion can be visualized as a mountain, with many different spiritual paths to the summit. Some are hard; others easy. There is no one correct path. All paths eventually reach to the top. They anticipate that a new universal religion which contains elements of all current faiths will evolve and become generally accepted worldwide.
• New World Order: As the Age of Aquarius unfolds, a New Age will develop. This will be a utopia in which there is world government, and end to wars, disease, hunger, pollution, and poverty. Gender, racial, religious and other forms of discrimination will cease. Peopleìs allegiance to their race or nation will be replaced by a concern for the entire world and its people.
• Syncretism –– combining and synthesizing different and sometimes contradictory religious and philosophical teachings.
New Age Practices……
Many practices are common amongst New Agers. A typical practitioner is active in only a few areas:
• Channeling: A method similar to that used by Spiritists in which a spirit of a long dead individual is conjured up. However, while Spiritists generally believe that oneìs soul remains relatively unchanged after death, most channelers believe that the soul evolves to higher planes of existence. Channelers usually try to make contact with a single, spiritually evolved being. That beingìs consciousness is channeled through the medium and relays guidance and information to the group, through the use of the mediumìs voice.
• Crystals: Crystals are materials which has its molecules arranged in a specific, highly ordered internal pattern. Many common substances, from salt to sugar, from diamonds to quartz form crystals. They can be shaped so that they will vibrate at a specific frequency and are widely used in radio communications and computing devices. New Agers believe that crystals possess healing energy.
• Meditating: A process of blanking out the mind and releasing oneself from conscious thinking. This is often aided by repetitive chanting of a mantra, or focusing on an object.
• New Age Music: This is a gentle inspirational form of music involving the human voice, harp, lute, flute, etc. It is used as an aid in healing, massage therapy and general relaxation.
• Divination: The use of various techniques to foretell the future, including I Ching, Pendulum movements, Runes, Scrying, and Tarot Cards.
• Astrology: The belief that the orientation of the planets at the time of oneìs birth, and the location of that birth predicts the individualìs future and personality. Belief in astrology is common amongst New Agers, but definitely not limited to them.
• Holistic Health: This is a collection of healing techniques that have diverged from the traditional medical model. It attempts to cure disorders in mind, body and spirit and to promote wholeness and balance in the individual. Examples are acupuncture, crystal healing, homeopathy, iridology, massage, various meditation methods, polarity therapy, psychic healing, therapeutic touch, reflexology, etc.
