New Age Spirituality, Essay Example

A Reflection of the Heretical Teachings of the Past

This paper will examine the New Age movement in light of a biblical worldview. Sorcery and magic has always been a part of civilization and has fascinated people throughout history. The Bible explicitly warns us of such evils. God tells us that His Word is true. As Christians, we must be aware of other types of spiritual practices than our own so that we can be prepared to defend our faith against them.

New Age spirituality has a pantheistic worldview(Clecak 1983). Adherents believe that God is within everything. They believe that a small piece of the substance of God is in every animate, and, in some cases, inanimate object. Therefore, adherents to New Age spirituality believe that God is One. They seem to be a peaceful group of people and promote such charitable activities like world peace and diversity.

Christians also believe that God is One, however, in a different way. God is One by means of three persons; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is called, in Christian terminology, the Holy Trinity. The Holy Trinity is composed of three distinct persons yet of one substance. This is a very complicated subject and nonbelievers have an even more difficult time understanding the Holy Trinity.

New Age adherents believe that God is in everything. He is in plants, the water, birds, dogs, cats, and even in the rocks(North 1976). Therefore, New Age spirituality in incompatible with the Christian faith and should be rebuked. If God is a living God, then He will not exist in an inanimate object such as a rock. The Bible says that God is the God of the living and not the dead. Therefore, the New Age doctrine that somehow God resides in a rock is silly.

The New Age movement also includes elements of witchcraft such as tarot card readings, necromancy, astrology, and other paranormal related practices. Sorcery is not condoned in the Bible. It is strictly prohibited. Samuel is rebuked by God in the Old Testament for practicing sorcery(North 1976). Jesus is often portrayed as a magician, in New Age circles. The adherents believe that Jesus was able to affect miracles by paranormal means. Therefore, Jesus is venerated as an angel among some adherents to New Age spirituality, along with leaders of the other world religions(Pagels 2004).

The New Age Movement, otherwise known as NAM, derives its roots from a variety of religious traditions that traditionally originate from eastern religions like Buddhism. According to New Age beliefs, there is no one particular sacred text and no supreme religious leader(North 1976). This is contradictory to the Christian belief in the Bible as the Word of God and as Jesus as the only way to paradise in the afterlife. Adherents of the New Age Movement believe that all spiritual paths lead to God. This is also contrary to Biblical teachings.

Another aspect of New Age spirituality is that adherents within the movement believe that Jesus is an angel rather than the Son of God, which is contrary to what the Bible teaches. Jesus is viewed as a savior in the same way as Buddha is viewed as the “way” to Nirvana. Jesus, according to New Age beliefs, is only one of many notable “teachers” of the great world religions(North 1976). Jesus is venerated, however, not in the way that Christians exalt him, as the only Son of God.

The Self-Help book section in the local bookstore is lined with books that have primary New Age concepts(Clecak 1983). Ophra Winfrey is a strong advocate of the New Age movement by endorsing such books as Eckert Tolle’s “A New Earth,” and the occult classic, “A Course in Miracles.” Millions have been made by authors and publishers of New Age propaganda that teaches that people can “help themselves” achieve spiritual abundance. The Bible teaches that Jesus is the only way to true happiness and that only the grace of God leads to heaven.

In the Bible, Jesus often talks about the “kingdom of heaven.” New Age adherents interpret this “kingdom of heaven” as a state of mind that can be achieved in one’s life here on the earthly realm(Clecak 1983). This teaching mirrors the Buddhist idea of how meditation can lead to the state of mind of Nirvana. The Bible teaches that the kingdom of heaven is in the afterlife, not here on the earthly realm of existence.

There are no Universal Truth claims in the teachings of the New Age Movement. All truth is subjective, according to NAM teachings(Clecak 1983). No particular religious text or religious leader is venerated although the teachings of Jesus are highly regarded. There is a certain disdain for the teachings of the Bible because the Bible is considered too rigid and doctrinal(North 1976). New Age adherents do not agree with most of the concepts in the Bible, and consider the Bible as just another sacred text, not as the Word of God.

Another basic tenant of the New Age Movement is that man is in control of his own destiny. NAM adherents believe that man is co-creator with God and can achieve oneness with God. The NAM encourages adherents to strive for godhood(North 1976). In other words, NAM adherents believe, like Lucifer, if they work hard enough, they can become like God. This is in stark contradiction to Biblical teachings.

The term “New Age” has its derivatives in the age called “Aquarius.” According to NAM beliefs, the age of Aquarius will usher in the unity of man with God(Clecak 1983). In this Aquarian age, there will be an amalgamation of all religions and all men will become gods. In this present age, according to NAM beliefs, man is separated from God not by sin but from lack of knowledge of his own godhood(Pagels 2004). The Bible teaches that man is separated by God from sin and that the only way to salvation is through acceptance of His Son, Jesus as Savior.

As was stated earlier, New Age adherents do not like the orthodox doctrinal structure of the Bible or Christianity. Adherents do, however, chose passages from the Bible out of context to suit their own purposes. For example, “ye are all gods” is often used to prove their theory that all men have the potential to become gods. Jesus makes this statement with reference to the Greeks, who at that time were practicing Paganism.

The New Age Movement claims that it is the most tolerant of all religious movements. The NAM does not consider itself a “religious” movement per se; rather it considers itself more of a “spiritual awakening,” akin to an esoteric type of Buddhism(North 1976). The word, “esoteric” refers to something that is hidden and is often used in occult terminology. New Age adherents claim secret knowledge to the world’s great truths.

The New Age Movement is not actually new at all. It has its roots in the ancient, heretical Gnostic teachings(Pagels 2004). These teachings became popular with the discovery of the Nag Hammadi texts in Egypt in 1945(Pagels 2004). The Gospel of Thomas was one of the extant manuscripts that were discovered. In it, Jesus is portrayed as a Jewish philosopher who disseminates esoteric teachings only to his closest disciples.

In the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus has a twin brother, Thomas to whom he tells secret teachings of the Kingdom of God. These secret teachings are only understandable to an enlightened few. Thomas, being the brother of Jesus, is given these secret teachings, but is warned by Jesus not to share them with others (Pagels 2004).

Many books have been written about the New Age; however, few recognize its roots with ancient Gnosticism. The similarities of the two belief systems are remarkable. The Gnostics, like the New Age adherents, believed that man could attain divinity through practice of mystical rituals. They also believed that only certain people could understand their teachings. With the discovery of the codices at Nag Hammadi, Egypt; historians are able to put together a working definition of Gnosticism.

Before the discovery, all that they knew aboutGnosticism was from the Christian texts denouncing the Gnostics and their teachings as heretical. Between 180 B.C.E. and 185 B.C.E., Irenaeus of Lyons composed “The So-Called Gnosis Unmasked and Overthrown” in which he wrote against the teachers and leaders of the Gnostic sects(Pagels 2004). It is clear that Irenaeus had knowledge of the Gnostic text otherwise he would have no basis on which to base his counter argument.

Up until the discovery at Nag Hammadi the only sources that we have for defining Gnosticism come from its adversaries in the orthodox Christian Church(Pagels 2004). These writings were from the early church fathers of the second, third, and fourth centuries. Church fathers such as Justin, Irenaeus, and Tertullian did everything to stop Gnosticism; it was perceived as a threat to the orthodox Christian Church. Irenaeus wrote, “Since they (The Gnostics) differ so widely among themselves both as respects doctrine and tradition, and since those of them who are recognized as being most modern make it their effort daily to invent some new opinion, and to bring out what no one ever before thought of, it is a difficult matter to describe all the opinions.” (Against the Heresies, 1.21.5).

Gnostics participated in the same rituals, but they understood everything in a deeper sense that was more mystical and symbolic in meaning. So to provide a description of Gnosticism, we can say that it was a religious philosophy that was in existence at the end of the first century up until the middle of the second century that was diverse in its views, some of them related to Christianity.

Gnostics believed that the world was composed of two realities, matter and spirit. They believed that these two worlds (the material world and the spiritual world) were diametrically opposed to one another. The world of matter was evil and the world of the spirit was good. Gnostics believe that they are entrapped in their physical bodies(Pagels 2004). They feel alienated from this world. This holds true to their belief system that within them is a spark of the divine and this deity is being held captive to their material form. The divine spark, however, does not exist in every human being, only in the elect few(Pagels 2004). Most human beings are just part of the material world and do not possess the divine spark. These human beings are destined right along with the animals to be destroyed with the other works of the corrupt creation.

The Gnostics believe that they are the elect few that will escape this material world because the divine spark within them can be liberated from their material body, and escape this evil material world(Pagels 2004). The divine spark or the spirit within can only be set free to go back to the divine realm by acquiring Gnosis (Greek for knowledge) necessary for salvation. As the scholar, G. Quispel wrote: “The world-spirit in exile must go through the Inferno of matter and the Purgatory of morals to arrive at the spiritual Paradise.”

Gnostics believed that the only way a person could be saved from this world was through a special kind of knowledge or “gnosis.” Thus derives the word Gnostic. Since they believed that they were part of a corrupt material world, salvation meant the realization of where one truly came. What was their purpose in this life?

These are questions that are still in the minds of modern spiritual seekers like members of the New Age Movement. Gnostics needed to know how they came to be imprisoned in this material realm and how to escape it. The knowledge or “gnosis” was saving. Knowledge of one’s true identity as part of the angelic realm or oneness with the true God was the way of salvation(Pagels 2004). However, this knowledge was only for the elect. Only certain people were able to obtain this knowledge.

We do not know what this knowledge was that the Gnostics attained because it was kept secret. There were certain stories or myths that different sects told for initiation purposes(Pagels 2004). The myths were to be interpreted esoterically. Included in the teachings regarding salvation were stories of how the gods required secret passwords in order for the initiate to pass through to the divine realm.

Basically, the concept of salvation meant that in order for a person to be saved they must know where they came from and where they were ultimately going. This kind of knowledge cannot come from the intellect as the intellect is part of this evil, material world(Pagels 2004). Saving knowledge must come from outside of this world. It must come from the divine realm or God.

Gnostics believed that a divine aeon must come down from the heavenly realm in order to impart this knowledge to the entrapped souls on this material realm. Many believed Yeshua, Jesus to be this divine being or the Redeemer (Pagels 2004). From our discussion of how the Gnostics viewed this earthly existence, the divine savior could not have come from this earth or any of its elements. This would mean that the savior could not be born, be made of flesh and blood, could not bleed, and could not die. According to the Gnostics, Christ was this divine redeemer.

There were two different views of the Christ. The first was the Christ who came from the heavenly realm and was not human. Christ, in this view, was not a real human being. He only appeared to be human. For these Gnostics, Christ looked like a human but actually was not(Pagels 2004).

In the above view, Jesus was a spiritual being imparting to his disciples the saving knowledge required for liberation. Then his disciples would impart the same knowledge to their followers. This knowledge was eventually committed to writing but was written in veiled language so that the profane (uninitiated) would not be able to access this liberating teaching.

The other view of Jesus was that he was a real flesh and blood man but not the equivalent of the divine Christ(Pagels 2004). The Christ only inhabited Jesus’ body temporarily. In this view, Jesus was a righteous man who was chosen to be the dwelling place of the divine Christ. The Christ came to inhabit the body of Jesus at his baptism in the form of a dove, empowering him to teach the gnosis necessary for salvation. Once this knowledge was delivered to his disciples the Christ left Jesus’ body(Pagels 2004). It was believed that this happened before Jesus’ death because the Christ could not experience suffering or death. Thus Jesus’ cry on the cross, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?” The Gnostics believed that after Jesus died, the Christ came to raise him from the dead. Jesus was then able to appear to his disciples and teach them the gnosis that would allow them to reach the heavenly realm and survive death.

The Gnostic belief systems reflect the beliefs of most adherents of the New Age Movement. The “New Age Movement” is nothing “new.” It is a non-biblical, heretical worldview. Great scholars and apologists in the past have refuted the teachings. Modern liberal scholars have embraced them.

The focus of this paper has been on the New Age Movement and how it contradicts the Biblical worldview. It would be remiss not to include the history and roots of the NAM. It is crucial to understand that there is nothing new about  the NAM heretical teachings. These teachings have been around since the time of Christ.

The recent discovery of the Gospel of Thomas in 1945, which was part of the Nag Hammadi library in Egypt has only revived these ancient heresies under a different name. Rather than being labeled, Gnosticism, the revised movement is now known as the New Age Movement or NAM. NAM is a heretical set of teachings that directly reflect the ancient teachings of Gnostic sects.

Man cannot reach salvation through charitable works, nor can man become a god. Man was created in God’s image. Lucifer made this mistake and was caste down from heaven. Christians must criticize the heretical teachings of the New Age Movement and instead seek salvation through Jesus Christ, the only Son of God.

Bibliography

Clecak, Peter. America’s Quest for the Ideal Self: Dissent and Fulfillment in the 60s and 70s. New York and London: Oxford University Press, 1983.

North, Gary. None Dare Call It Witchcraft. Los Angeles: Arlington House, 1976.

Pagels, Elaine. Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas. New York: Vintage, 2004.