4/2 What does the New Age Philosophy teach?
In our previous post, we discussed the roots of the ‘New Age’ movement in the Western culture: Hindu, Buddhist, Mayan and Eastern religions replaced many of the Christian values of past generations. New Gurus appeared on the scene with ‘exciting, new’ ideas.
Then popular media, politations, teachers, holistic health and music added to the ‘dream’. The wave of ‘Flower children’ and ‘Free love’ swept in a whole new generation. Visualization, ecology movements and self-help groups formed the new thinking of self-actualization and ‘finding your inner god’.
A. THE FOLLOWING ARE THE MAJOR BELIEFS BEHIND THE NEW AGE PHILOSOPHY
The following material has been adapted from: “The New Age – Looking for the god within”, Christian Resource Series. All quotes are from this publication unless otherwise noted.
1. The Christian God does not exist
They believe that ‘Jesus was not and is not the only Christ, nor is He God.’ There have been many ‘Christs’ sent to enlighten mankind. Jesus of Nazareth was only one of such higher, more evolved beings.
2. ‘God’ is an impersonal, cosmic energy force.
This Force is all around us and in everything. The aim is to “……learn to reconnect with the ‘higher vibration’ that created higher life forms”. Since ‘all things are one’, god is in the air, water, food we eat, animals, everything is god.
3. Mankind has the potential to become ‘god’.
He consists of and is the creator of ‘the forces’ in his own life and destiny. Man already exercises the powers inherent in his divinity and only needs to awaken to this fact.’ The ‘god within’ is the guide to what is right and good.
Shirley MacLaine states: “Each soul is its own god. You must never worship anyone or anything other than yourself potential. To love self is to love god.” (Shirley Maclaine, ‘Dancing ni the Light’, page 358) Man should seek and accept spiritual instruction and direction directly from the higher spirit world around him.
The aim then is to ‘awaken the god in us’, “….the god who sleeps at the root of the human being”, according to Theodore Roszak, ‘Unfinished Animal’, page 225.
This directly matches the deception given by the Snake in the Garden of Eden: “For God know that when you ear of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be llike God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5
4. Your Mind creates our own reality.
Learning to control our mind brings us closer to being ‘god’. Peace and love are the ultimate realities, gained through learning to control our minds and emotions.
5. We have outgrown the Biblical concepts of sin.
Good and evil can eliminate as standards. Sin and evil do not exist. Ethical standards can be abandoned as experience is our guide for right and wrong. “Our experience of life validates the truth we know”, they teach.
“The tragedy of the human race was that we had forgotten we were each divine,” according to Shirley Maclaine, Out on a Limb, page 352. “….my own ‘out of body experience’ ….served to validate the answers to many questions – the surest knowledge being derived from experience.” (Shirley Maclaine, ‘It’s all in the Playing’, page 192)
6. All religions and religious teachings lead to the same evolved goal.
All are of equal merit, provided we are open to ‘all higher truth’. The ancient ‘wisdom’ of Babylon, Egypt and Greece – not the Bible – are the original basis of all truth and experience. “Truth is always relative, negotiable and built on experience. ”
This belief leads to the ‘One World Religion’, a goal common with the Humanists. A quick trip to any New Age bookstore will reveal that many of the hard-core New Age books are published by Lucis Trust.
At one time, the Lucis Trust office in New York was located at 866 United Nations Plaza and is a member of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations under a program called “World Goodwill”.
In an Alice Bailey’s book called ‘Education for a New Age’, she suggests that in the new age:
“World Citizenship should be the goal of the enlightened, with a world federation and a world brain.”
In other words, a One World Government, aka, a New World Order.
(Sources: http://www.jesus-is-savior.com and http://www.aquaac.org/about/about.html)
7. The goal of those who are ‘enlightened’ is to seek ‘higher consciousness’
The ‘seeker’ is encouraged to drop tradition beliefs rather than add to older views about religion and nationality. Using ‘spirit guides’ adds to the knowledge as “….they have existed as members of civilizations a hundred thousand years or so ahead of ours”.
“Meditation, breathing exercises, fasting are among the most common techniques for shifting brain function,” according to Marilyn Ferguson, ‘The Aquarian Conspiracy’, page 374.
Again, the experience is to valate the truth rather than any other goalpost, as these have to be removed to establish this new world order.
B. THE NEW AGE IN THE MUSIC BY THE BEATLES
Among the inflluences oif the New Age came the music and media industry. One of the most famous is that of the Beatles. How many of the New Age teachings can you find in this song made popular by the Beatles?
Here are the lyrics of ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon
(*) “Imagine there’s no heaven. It’s easy if you try.
No hell below us, Above us only sky.
Imagine all the people, living for today…
(*) Imagine there’s no countries. It isn’t hard to do.
(*) Nothing to kill or die for and no religion too.
Imagine all the people, Living life in peace.
You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one
(*) I hope someday you’ll join us and the world will be as one!
(*) Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can
(*) No need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man.
Imagine all the people sharing all the world.
You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one.
I hope someday you’ll join us and the world will live as one!!”
How easily it is to sing and belive the lyrics without thinking about the cost of ‘…all the world will be one….’. Unless this is achompished in the way of our Creator, the cause is lost before it begins.
C. IN CONCLUSION
The teachers of the New Age religion firmly believe that these teachings will conquer all obstacles in their paths. As mankind has accepted more and more the lies the serpent told Eve, “Do what thou wilt” philosophy has spread. “Become ruler over the self. Release your full potential and become god” is the heart of the belief system of the New Age.
As you become aware of the New Age teaching, you will find the seeds and roots of this philosophy in many areas. It has invaded the school system, the media and even some of the Christian levels of thinking.
In our next post, we shall see the most common pathways people following when getting involved with New Age thinking…and in the further depths, the Occult.
Join us then,
Susanne Fengler, Blog Author
www.hearinggod.mentorsnotebook.com/blog
Tags: 7 beliefs of the New Age
Filed under: Challenges to the Christian Faith
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