NEW AGE
- OR JUST OLD
HAT?
There’s lots
of people talking about “New Age this” and “New Age that”,
but what
exactly is New Age?
People use
the term and seem to know what it’s all about but no-one
can give you a
definition of it.
We’ll look at various headings:
1. What is Old
Age?
2. What is New
Age?
3. What forms do
New Age take?
4. What is the
purpose?
5. What is the
Creed?
6. What is the
appeal?
7. Are there any
drawbacks?
8. What are the
religious forms?
9. Can
Christians be deceived?
10. Who invented
the New Age?
11. How will God
deal with the New Age?
12. What is the
end result of New Age?
13. What is the
solution?
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“...clouds
they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose
fruit
withereth, without fruit,
twice dead,
plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame;
wandering stars, to
whom is reserved the blackness
of
darkness for ever.” Jude 1:12,13.
**********************************
WHAT IS THE OLD
AGE MOVEMENT?
Since time
began, people have endeavored to
become like the gods and to practice, with ritual and ceremony, the
ancient
paths of spirituality. The holy writings of the Hindus, the mysteries
of the
Pharaohs and the mythology of the Greeks have been pursued through
caverns,
crypts, forests, mountain tops and pyramids.
WHAT IS NEW AGE
MOVEMENT (NAM)?
Today the NAM
investigates and practises these
religious mysteries in more a diverse and seemingly more culturally
acceptable
form.
“It is the
modern marketing and commercial
packaging of occultism”
WHAT FORMS DOES
NEW AGE TAKE? Meditation,
self-hypnosis, yoga, centering, motivation, pyramid power, mind control
techniques, astrology, visualization, energy channeling, holistic
therapy,
reflexology,
acupuncture,
positive perception, psychic
practices, spiritism, psycho kinesis, parapsychology, rebirthing,
karma, dream
therapy, numerology, tarot cards, fortune telling, tea leaves, runes,
the
I-Ching, auras, mantras, crystals, chakras, higher consciousness
techniques,
past-life therapy, hypnosis, affirmations, divination, reincarnation,
astral
travel, relaxation training, homeopathy, goddess worship, spirit
guides, guided
imagery, Course in Miracles, self- discovery and realisation
techniques, any
psychology and psychological counseling, educational kinaeseology,
white magic,
assertion training, stress management, ascended Masters, theosophy,
memory
healing, aroma therapy, witchcraft, Transcendental Meditation,
Scientology,
martial arts, health & wealth and prosperity seminars,
Meyers-Briggs,
anagrams, gestalt therapy, evolutionary thinking to name a few.
WHAT IS THE
PURPOSE OF NEW AGE?
Believers in New
Age practices look to attain
victory over all forms of fear and negativity by restructuring their
perceptions of the world. They hope that tapping into the power of the
subconscious
will help them conquer all foes. This will lead them to states of
personal
power,
health, wealth
and happiness.
IN
A NUTSHELL :
1. Achieve self
realization
2. Achieve self
actualization
3. Achieve inner
godhead status
4. To conquer
all personal “demons” e.g. fear
5. Restructure
perceptions of the world.
6. Achieve
personal happiness, power, health and wealth.
WHAT IS THE NEW
AGE CREED?
“Discover
your self worth, Achieve your
potential, Find yourself, Be the best you can be, Unlock the potential
inside
you” By becoming role models, New Agers hope to provide others with
a role
model for self improvement. However basically, the underlying
philosophy of the
New Age is not to be your brother’s keeper any longer, but to look
after Number
One.
ARE THERE ANY
ABSOLUTE TRUTHS IN THE NAM?
In
a word- NO! New Age truth is never ultimate and is always evolving. Any
moral
absolutes are seen to be stagnation. New Age thinker and writer Marilyn
Ferguson says that the philosophy behind New Age thinking is that
“There will
be no ultimate answers.”
The
end result is that if there are no standards of rightness and wrongness
then
the situation will be the determining factor. Many New Agers see
homosexuality,
sexual ambivalence & androgyny as being the most enlightened states
of all.
WHAT IS THE
APPEAL OF NEW AGE PRACTICES?
People
are allowed to “do their own thing”. Those who practice New Age
techniques
attempt to elevate themselves to “god” status and deny the Biblical
concept of
original sin. By so doing, New Agers hope to feel free from their
accountability to God.
In
a nutshell, the cult of the New Age hails man as the centre of the
spiritual
universe. People attempt to become gods, deify themselves and evoke the
mysteries of spirituality.
WHAT IS THE
DRAWBACK OF THE NAM?
New Age
activity is the spiritual version
of AIDS, because it destroys, covers-up or changes the Bible account of
who man
really is.
Man is
inherently sinful and only the shed blood of
Jesus Christ pays God’s penalty. The New Age philosophy has no word for
sin. The
very heart of the Bible is man’s rebellion from God through sin. The
NAM
ignores the Biblical God, denies sin and sets about helping people to
be their
own “god”.
WHAT ARE THE
RELIGIOUS FORMS OF NEW AGE?
Most Christians
self-righteously dismiss the NAM as
belonging to the world and not touching them or their church. This is
the
deception of the NAM. The following are religious beliefs that are New
Age. Can
you find yourself in the following list:
Jehovah
Witnesses, Mormonism, 7th Day Adventism,
Christadelphians, Islam, Shinto, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism,
Judaism, Unitarianism, Agnosticism, Atheism, Christian Science, Taoism,
Bahai,
Confucianism, Zoroastrianism to name a few.
CAN CHRISTIANS
BE UNWITTINGLY INVOLVED IN THE NAM?
Absolutely. Do
you know anybody in a Pentecostal
church? Faith Movement? “Biblical” Prosperity teaching? A Charismatic
church?
Deliverance ministry? Healing? New “Biblical” Revelations? Tongues
speaking?
Belief in present day Apostles and Prophets? Getting “slain” in the
spirit?
Where praise and worship is a substitute for obedience? Where wrong
Biblical
doctrine is taught? Being “slain in the spirit”? Modern church
prophecies?
Signs and wonders? Apostolic anointings? Healing lines?
These are all
man giving God a hand with
unscriptural practices that make him feel good. This is the brilliant
deception
of “New Age”
The NAM is the
chameleon that constantly changes
color to suit the surroundings. The NAM has many “Trojan Horses” being
wheeled into
churches under the guise of supposedly helping the pastor and/or the
flock e.g.
psychological testings, Holy Spirit gifting questionnaires,
psychological
counseling and so on.
WHO INVENTED THE
NEW AGE MOVEMENT?
CAIN, the son of
Adam, invented the New Age.
HE WAS THE
ORIGINAL D.I.Y’ER
(“DO-IT-YOURSELF’ER”)
When Adam and
Eve first sinned against God, He
showed them that blood sacrifice was the only way to atone for their
sins and
get right with Him again. This practice was passed down to Cain and
Abel, so
when time came for a sacrifice to be made, Cain thought he’d do it his
way and
try and impress God with goods produced by the sweat of his brow. God
rejected
Cain and his offerings but accepted Abel’s animal blood sacrifice. This
upset
Cain who promptly went and killed Abel. Cain never repented and didn’t
do it
God’s way.
Now nothing is
new, `Cainites’ have been killing
God’s people throughout history. It has been estimated that the Roman
Catholic
church has killed 70 million people who have opposed her over time. Get
hold of
Foxe’s “Christian Martyrs of the World” for countless gruesome details.
There are only
two religions in the world
1. There are the D.I.Y’ers (the New Agers) anybody you can think of who won’t trust in the blood of Jesus to have paid the sin debt in full e.g. Roman Catholics, SDA’s, JW’s, Mormons, Christadelphians, Moslems, Hindus, Jews, Buddhists and any cult etc.
2. Those who trust Jesus Christ to have done it for them by His shed blood.
Here’s an
example: People applying for jobs hand
the person interviewing them a resume designed to impress. Now many
people
treat God like this, trying to impress Him with their good deeds, good
life,
church attendance, baptism, penance and pathetic attempts to keep the
Ten
Commandments - hoping that their own self-righteousness’ will somehow
outweigh
their sins. Unfortunately for countless millions who have now found
themselves
in hell, the only resume (and righteousness) that God was interested in
was that
of His precious Son Jesus Christ. It is the blood of the spotless lamb
that
paid for the world’s sin.
HOW DOES GOD SEE
THE NAM?
In the same way
as He saw the “Old Age Movement” -
it is man’s rebellion against Him. It is man substituting his own
rescue package
for God in Jesus Christ. Now many Christians may be trusting in the
shed blood
of Jesus Christ and are saved. However, the flesh, because of its
fallen state,
is a constant battle and longs to take any glory it can from God. Enter
the NAM
- there to; help the Christian become a `better’ Christian. NAM
techniques are
all designed to make the Christian sin - anything not done in faith is
sin.
Satan is more than happy to oblige the Christian to do things not of
faith.
WHAT WILL BE THE
END RESULT OF THE NAM?
The
same as it always has been. Marvelous insights and fascinating
knowledge are
the “lying signs and wonders” of Satan and the Antichrist. Any solution
to the
fallen human condition that ignores the heart’s depravity and
salvation
only through the blood of Christ alone, is doomed to the Lake of fire
for
eternal torment.
WHAT IS THE
SOLUTION FOR MAN?
If you have been
reading this brochure, and have
recognized your involvement in New Age practices, God requires your
repentance.
God is in the business of humbling and ripping away any form of
self-esteem,
self righteousness and self support. He wants us to go to Him through
Jesus for
everything and depend on Him solely for His mercy and grace. We don’t
dare
stand before God with any righteousness of our own
BULLSEYE!
“GOD’S SIN INVOICE”
By Harley Hitchcock
