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New Age
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Gnosticism
The coming religion of Europe
"In turbulent times, in times of great change, people
head for the two extremes: fundamentalism and
personal, spiritual experience
John Naisbitt
New Age Beliefs
1.
All humanity—indeed all life, everything in the
universe—is spiritually interconnected,
participating in the same energy. “God” is one
name for this energy.
2.
3.
Spiritual beings (e.g. angels, ascended masters,
elementals, ghosts, and/or space aliens) exist,
and will guide us, if we open ourselves to their
guidance.
The human mind has deep levels and vast
powers, which are capable even of overriding
physical reality. “You create your own reality.”
New Age Beliefs Continued:
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Nevertheless, this is subject to certain spiritual
laws, such as the principle of cause and effect
(karma).
The individual has a purpose here on earth, in
the present surroundings, because there is a
lesson to learn. The most important lesson is
love.
Death is not the end. There is only life in
different forms. What some refer to as an
afterlife does not punish us but teaches us,
perhaps through the mechanisms of
reincarnation or near-death experiences
New Age Beliefs Continued
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9.
Science and spirituality are ultimately
harmonious. New discoveries in science
(evolution, quantum mechanics), rightly
understood, point to spiritual principles.
It shares with many major world religions the
idea that Intuition or "divine guidance" is a
more appropriate guide than rationalism,
skepticism, or the scientific method. Western
science wrongly neglects such things as
parapsychology, meditation, and holistic health.
There exists a mystical core within all religions,
Eastern and Western. Dogma and religious
identity are not so important.
New Age Beliefs Continued
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The Bible is considered by some, but not all, to be a wise
and holy book. Many important truths are found in the
Bible, or are referred to only very obliquely. Some say
that Jesus was an Essene, or that he traveled to India in
his youth to study Eastern religions. Others say that
Jesus was a later avatar of Buddha.
Feminine forms of spirituality, including feminine images
of the divine, such as the female Aeon Sophia in
Gnosticism, are viewed as having been subordinated,
masked, or obliterated by patriarchal movements that
were widely practiced when sacred teachings were first
committed to writing. A renaissance of the feminine is
particularly appropriate at this time.
Ancient civilizations such as Atlantis may truly have
existed, leaving behind certain relics and monuments
(the Great Pyramid, Stonehenge) whose true nature has
not been discovered by mainstream historians.
New Age Beliefs Continued
There are no coincidences. Everything around
you has spiritual meaning, and spiritual lessons
to teach you. You are meant to be here, and
are always exactly where you need to be to
learn from what confronts you.
14. The mind has hidden powers and abilities, which
have a spiritual significance. Dreams and
psychic experiences are ways in which our souls
express themselves. Meditation, yoga, t'ai chi,
and other Eastern practices are valuable and
worthwhile.
15. The food you eat has an effect on your mind as
well as your body. It is generally preferable to
eat fresh organic vegetarian food.
13.
New Age Beliefs Continued
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Ultimately every interpersonal relationship has
the potential to be a helpful experience in terms
of our own growth.
We learn about ourselves through our
relationships with other people by getting to
see what we need to work on ourselves and
what strengths we bring to the other party in
order to help them in their life.
All our relationships are destined to be repeated
until they are healed, if necessary over many
lifetimes.
As Souls seeking wholeness, our goal is
eventually to learn to love everyone we come in
contact with
New Age Blending of Truth
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New Age is syncretic in nature and has roots as a
counter-cultural phenomenon. Thus New Age
adherents tend to emphasize a relativist
approach to truth, often referring to the Vedic
statement of "one truth, but many paths.
New Agers believe they do not contradict
traditional belief systems, but rather some of
them say that they are concerned with the
ultimate truths contained within those systems,
separating these truths from false tradition and
dogma.
New Age: Forces Power
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Forces. It is commonly held that there exist certain forces,
independent of spiritual beings or agencies, and also
distinct from forces as defined by science (e.g., gravitation,
electro-magnetism, etc.). These forces are elemental in
nature; and are held to operate in an automatic fashion as
part of the natural order (for example, the force which
causes seeds to sprout, grow, and bloom).
Power. The "forces", and everything else, are energized by
a mystical power that exists in varying degrees in all things.
Power is transferable, through physical contact, sensory
perception, or mere proximity. Power may be accumulated
or depleted in a person or object through a variety of
mechanisms, including fate and esoteric practices. This
power is held to be physically observable as "auras" and
"psi energy"; and when encountered in great concentration,
may even be dangerous.
New Age: Energy and Spirit
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Energy. In some belief systems, "forces" and "power" may
seem to merge; e.g., in the concept of "vital force" that
exists in so many traditional belief systems, and finds its
expression in New Age concepts such as the alleged
"energies" in Therapeutic Touch and Reiki, and ideas of
flowing streams of power in Earth, like "leylines" in Britain
and Europe and earth energies addressed in the Chinese
geomantic system of feng shui. The New Age use of the
word "energy" should obviously not be confused with the
scientific one.
Spirit. All beings (particularly sentient beings) are
accompanied by a specific, intentional "energy" which
corresponds to their consciousness, but is in some way
independent of their corporeal existence. This energy
typically is more primary than the physical entity, in the
sense that it remains in some form after the physical death
of that being.
New Age: Health and Cosmic Goal
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Holism. A coherent, interconnected cosmos. Everything in
the cosmos is actually or potentially interconnected, as if by
invisible threads, not only in space but also across time.
Further, it is held that every thing and every event that has
happened, is happening, or will happen leaves a detectable
record of itself in the cosmic "medium" such as the Akashic
Records or the morphogenic field.
Cosmic goal. There is typically a belief that all entities are
(willingly or unwillingly) cooperating in some cosmic goal of
achieving a "higher" or more complete coherence with a
cosmic "consciousness" (or some other goal state of
"goodness"), often described as an evolutionary process or
simply to learn. This underlying cosmic goal gives direction
Create your own reality
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Some New Age writers have taken the belief that
You create your own reality and applied it to
disease with the conclusion that illnesses have a
metaphysical origin and can be treated by a deep
evaluation of long held negative emotional and
spiritual attitudes. This has a parallel in the
Christian notion that "it is done unto you as you
believe." Notably, Louise Hay has published books
containing lists of diseases and the associated
negative belief, accompanied by the correcting
positive belief. A cure may be sought by
repeating the correcting positive affirmation. This
approach has its origins in Christian Science
Crystal Healing
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Crystal healers claim that every living organism
has a "vibrational energy system," which includes
chakras, subtle bodies and meridians. By using
the appropriate crystals one can allegedly "tune"
an energy system or rebalance energies, thus
improving well-being.
Channeling
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Research of articles by channellers has shown
they allegedly have channelled ascended masters
like Buddha, Jesus, or St. Germain.; people that
have passed away; angels; higher dimensional
beings; and extra-terrestrials of a spiritual or
more evolved nature. Channelling is a popular
source of revealed teachings in some New Age
groups.
two types of channelling using the
spoken word
. Conscious voice channelling and trance
channelling. Conscious voice channelling is when
the channeller calms their mind down and
connects to the energy of the source being
channeled. The source uses the vocabulary of the
channeller to speak through them.
A trance channeller through meditation has their
consciousness leave their body and the source
consciousness enters it. Observers will notice the
channeller's voice change when the transition is
complete.
Channeling Defined
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The divine, inspired words (or energy) of God as
imparted to Humans by Humans.
The above definition is what channelling actually
IS. That means that not only were most of the
sacred scriptures of the planet (all religions)
channelled originally, but also much artwork and
music too! It is absolutely commonplace, but like
so many other re-emerging processes in the New
Age, it has a stigma about it that is strange. God
did not write the Bible... Humans did, while
divinely inspired. by Lee Carol
Man is God
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Man is the central figure in the NAM. He is
viewed as divine, and progressing toward a kind
of godhood, or “Christ-Consciousness
Many NAM divisions are pantheistic – they
believe God is in everything, and everything
together makes up God. Therefore, as a part of
nature, man is part of God.
Man Evolving
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Many New Age practices are designed to push
man through the spiritual evolution to
godhood. Astral projection (training your soul to
have out-of-body experiences), contacting spirit
guides, and using crystals to purify your body
and mind’s energy systems are among these
practices. Many New Agers believe in
reincarnation and in Karma.
Improve one Self?
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man is the central figure. One must improve
one’s “self” to become one with nature and
god. You may also hear New Age followers using
Christian terms. This is because they view Jesus
as a man who excelled at spiritual evolution and
progression, and was tuned into his “Christ
Consciousness.” Do not be fooled, though. The
Christian terms you will hear will have a different
meaning to a New Ager than they will for you.
Christian differences with NAM
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God is an impersonal force.God is all and all is
God. He is part of creation, as are all of us.There is
no sin, only misunderstanding of truth. Man saves
himself.Heaven and Hell do not exist. They are
states of mind. Jesus is a man who exemplified
“Christ Consciousness, and the divinity that is man.
God is personal. He is our Heavenly Father who loves
us.God is the Almighty Creator of the universe, and
all within it. Man is finite, and one of God’s
creations. Rebellion from God is sin. All have sinned,
and all must be saved. Jesus Christ paid the penalty
for our sins. Only through faith in Him may man be
saved.There is a literal Heaven, and a literal
Hell.Jesus is the Son of God, and is part of the triune
nature of God.
Philosophy of NAM
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provides from personal accountability and
responsibility. Moral Relativism claims that there
is no such thing as right or wrong. Each
PERSON, in their effort to achieve oneness, must
travel their own path and make their own
decisions. And those decisions are never wrong,
provided they’re not wrong in that person’s own
mind.
What NAM does in the world
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It is a sponge that attempts to absorb all
religions, cultures, and governments.
• It seeks to unify all systems into one
spiritual, socio-economic unity.
It uses various means to have mystical
experiences with God and/or nature and/or self.
What NAM does not do
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It does not teach that man is a sinner - Rom. 5:12;
Eph. 2:3.
It does not teach that man is dependent upon God for
all things - Isaiah 43:7; James 1:17.
It does not teach that punishment is eternal - Rev.
14:11.
It does not teach that the wages of sin is eternal
separation from God - Rom. 6:23; Isaiah 59:2.
It does not teach that Jesus is the only way to God Matt. 11:27; John 14:6.
It does not accept Christianity as the truth - 2 Tim.
3:16.
Nam Views of Salvation
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Salvation in the NAM. means to be in tune
with the divine consciousness.
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In tune means to be in harmony with
reality and whatever is perceived to be
true.
Since the NAM. doesn't acknowledge sin or
sinfulness, there is no need for a redeemer like
Jesus. Salvation, to them, is simply the
realization of our divine nature. "I am not a
body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me. Salvation of the world depends on me"
Conclusion
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Only the Bible has the message of Grace. Grace
is the unmerited favor of God upon His people.
Grace is the undeserved kindness of God. Grace
is getting the blessings we do not deserve. At
the death of Christ we are blessed; we are
given grace; we are given eternal life and
forgiveness of sins. Only Christianity has the
message of free forgiveness given. Every other
religious system on earth has some form of
salvation dependent totally or in part on what
the adherents do. Not so with Christianity.
Humanity is not unlimited, but just the
opposite: it is under bondage (Romans 5:12).
Sin is its master and a deadly and deceitful one
at that.
Finally
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True morality is that which is revealed by God
in the Bible (Exodus 20). Anything else is only
an imitation, a set of ideas laid down by man
that originate from the mind of sinful man.
The Bible opposes almost all the tenets of the
New Age Movement. As Christians, we should
be watchful to recognize what is false and teach
what is true.