The New Age Movement: History, Beliefs, and Problems
History
The New Age Movement was beginning to formulate as far back as the early 19th century, but was especially influenced by the wedding of Hindu thought to western society in the late 19th century by the Theosophical Society, founded by Helena Blavatsky
The philosophy continued throughout the early and mid 20th century, especially through the writings of Alice Bailey. It began to grow exponentially during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s through authors, like James Redfield, and high profile conversions, like Shirley MacLaine.
Basic Beliefs
In one sense, the New Age Movement is misnamed, in that it is neither new nor a movement (at least not today). The New Age Movement (NAM) is not like a traditional religion in that it has no authoritative set of teaching, no hierarchy, no place of meeting, and no official membership. Therefore, it is difficult to pin down universal the NAM teaching. However, there are some general ideas that the vast majority of those involved with the NAM believe
Monism
Monism is the belief that all is one. Everything that exists is interrelated and interdependent. Thus, there is no real difference between God, man, a tree, and a bird. The differences we see are merely appearances but are not reality. Ultimately, good and evil are not separate opposing forces but are merely two necessary parts of the great whole. There are not many selves, but one Self.
Pantheism
Pantheism is the belief that all is god. If all is one, and god exists, then all must be god.
Since everything is god, then everything is ultimately perfect and divine. If all is god, then there can be no relationships and therefore no personality. God is merely an impersonal force.
Humanity is god.
Since all is one, and all is god, then man is god. Man is not merely perfect but is divine. Your problem is that you do not realize that you are truly god, and that all knowledge and power are within you, waiting to be unlocked.
Changing one’s consciousness
Though we are gods, most of us do not realize that we are gods. Thus, our problem is one of ignorance (not sin or guilt).
Varying techniques must be used to alter our state of consciousness so that see ourselves as we really are—gods! (This is called at-one-ment, or losing yourself and becoming one with god)
This change of consciousness can be brought about through many different activities, including unplanned events like playing sports or experiencing extra-terrestrial contact, or through disciplined practice in meditation, yoga, dancing, chanting, self-hypnosis, visualization, etc.
This new state of consciousness is vital for the world to change. We need only look within for the answer to the world’s problems
Once a person has accomplished this change of consciousness, he now has powers before not available to him, like the ability to levitate, ESP, telepathy, etc.
This change of consciousness is not available through the use of rational or intellectual means. It can only be experienced
Syncretistic religion
Since all is one, and all is god, then all the religions were ultimately talking about the same supreme being. Different religions may offer different paths, but their core is still about the god within.
Jesus Christ is not the unique God-man, but is merely one of many manifestations of God (avatars) throughout history
Since each person is god, each person can establish their own truth (“true for you, but not for me”). One of the greatest errors is to claim exclusivity in one’s religions
Evolutionary optimism
Man has been continually evolving throughout history, and is now poised to bring about a new age of peace on the world
“The term “New Age” itself is simply a reference to the end of the age of Pisces, the fish. In other words, it refers to the end of the age dominated by Christianity and the beginning of the Age of Aquarius, the water carrier, one of the signs of the Zodiac. That is what the term itself refers to when people use it…the age dominated by the Christian church, the age dominated by reason, is over and done with and we are now in a New Age where we are following our spiritual intuition rather than our rationality. That is fundamentally what people mean when they use the term “New Age.”” (Jerram Barrs http://worldwidefreeresources.com/upload/CC310_T_26.pdf)
A conspiracy?
Many people have tried to argue that those involved in the New Age Movement are secretly working together to establish their own world leader. However, there is no actual evidence for this belief, and the connections between different groups within the New Age movement seems overblown.
Problems
God
The Bible teaches that God is a personal being who is distinct from His creation
God remembers (Is 43:25), speaks (Gen 1:26), hears (Ex 2:24), sees (Gen 6:5), creates (Gen 1:1), knows (2 Tim 2:19), and has a will (1 Jn 2:17)
God is separate from His creation
“because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” (Rom 1:25)
Individuality
The Bible does not teach that individuals are not swallowed up in some overriding unity. Man does not become one with God, but is able to enter an eternal relationship with Him (Jn 17:3)
If there are no individuals, then who are you talking to all the time? People live their lives with the assumption that there are individuals.
Man
Man is not God, but has been created by Him (Gen 1)
The Bible teaches that man is basically evil, and needs Jesus Christ to save him
“The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Ge 6:5).
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Je 17:9).
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Eph 2:1-5).
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (Jn 3:36)
Salvation
Man’s problem is not ignorance, but guilt. Salvation is not becoming aware of one’s divinity, but gaining forgiveness and restoration from one’s alienation from God
The Bible teaches that man must look to God for answers. It is an outside focused religion, in which one’s happiness is found in serving God and others.
“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”(Mt 10:39)
“For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Tit 3:3-7)
Relativity
The worldview of the NAM is untenable, because no one lives as if truth were relative.
To believe that truth is relative means that Hitler was right to kill 6 million Jews, and that the terrorists were right to attack the World Trade Center
People recognize that truth only comes from God (Rom 1:19-21; 2:14-15)
Misplaced optimism
Christians are also looking forward to a “new age” but not one brought in by the efforts of man, but by the power of God and the return of Jesus Christ.
If our hope is in ourselves, we will be miserable. But if our hope is in God, we can find true joy.
“So you are the Creator and Redeemer of the world? Well, what a small world it must be! What a little heaven you must inhabit, with angels no bigger than butterflies! How sad it must be to be God, and an inadequate God! Is there really no life fuller and no love more marvelous than yours? And is it really in your small and painful pity that all flesh must put its faith? How much happier you would be, how much more of you there would be, if the hammer of a higher God could smash your small cosmos, scattering the stars like spangles, and leave you in the open, free like other men to look up as well as down! If you claim to be God yourself you do not have anyone above you to look up to; you can only look down on everybody else. That is the danger and the folly of this kind of thing. A modern proverb answers it well. “There are two things one should never forget: 1. There is only one God. 2. You ain’t Him!” (G.K. Chesterton)
[...] New Age Movement [...]