NEW
SPIRITUALITY, OLD LIE
PART 5
By
Debra Rae
May 9, 2010
NewsWithViews.com
Truth or Lie?
To rest secure in these perilous times presupposes firm grounding in God’s truth as opposed to any counterfeit of it. In order to discern accurately between truth and a credible counterfeit, one first must know “the real thing” inside-out, top-to-bottom. For a Christian, this is accomplished through lifelong, Holy Spirit-directed study of God’s Word.
With the plumb line in hand, Christians must seek God’s will and remain in it as best they can. Morally, they must set and keep godly standards. Mentally, they must work at being fully informed and engaged, but never lose sight of Jesus. The Bible warns even Christians that, if not wary, they too are subject to deception.
A recent Gallup survey showed a surge in American spirituality, but many embrace a smorgasbord kind of religion made to suit the individual. Unfortunately, some 88% of America’s teens are un-churched and consequently unable to differentiate between Bible truth and New Thought lies.
The Hook: Inner Knowing
Modern counterparts of the ancient mysteries share these in common: secrecy, degrees of initiation and targeted self-actualization. Above all, neo-Gnostics value knowledge. To achieve so-called inner knowing, one must resist unconsciousness and be awakened to the possibility of being no longer terrestrial, but celestial—i.e., no longer a Christian, but a Christ.
A practice forbidden by scripture, auto-suggestion or “enchantment” (hypnosis) is commonly employed by New Age practitioners. Hypnosis is an artificially induced state of relaxation in which suggestibility is heightened and past-life regression allows subjects to travel back to their “past lives.”
An adept is qualified to be master over less accomplished esoterics pursuing the same goal; his is a higher state of consciousness. For mystics, transcending the mundane to attain heightened consciousness is a coveted state; however, knowledge that elevates humanity to “he who is God over all” counterfeits God’s more excellent plan that believers partake of the divine nature on His terms.
The Core Concept: Pantheism
Patron saint of New Thought, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a French Jesuit paleontologist and philosopher who effectively blended Christianity with pantheism. His trendy, neo-Gnostic error embraces a sophisticated mix of blended heresies springing from Hinduism, Buddhism, Greek philosophy and ancient mystery religions of the Mediterranean.
Advertisement
The holistic movement involves evolution into greater wholes (body, mind, spirit), its goal being the balance of forces in the universe (pantheism). The New Age mystic wrongly perceives God to be no more or less than the sum total of all that exists. At the base of all is pantheism, proclaiming all life to be God, or part of God.
In anthropology, animism is the concept of spirits residing in all natural phenomena and objects. Rooted in pantheism, animism is linked to ancestor and Nature (Gaia) worship. A glorified garden plot in Northern Scotland, the Findhorn Community claims interdependent alliance among nature, Devas (etheric archetypes for creation) and Man.
The Goal: Self-god
Self-esteem has become the unremitting mantra of mystics and secularists alike. Whereas secular humanists express their religious emotions in “a heightened sense of personal life,” cosmic humanists journey inward in search of “the higher self.” Becoming a “transformed partaker of the Divine Nature” communicates something altogether different to a New Age mystic than to a Bible-believing follower of Jesus Christ.
With intuitive insight into the nature of the divine, archetypal images (ideal forms) are highly evolved humans who have mastered esoteric philosophy by becoming one with god; hence, one with the universe. Known as the hierarchy, wise men (also called Ascended Masters of Wisdom and the Elder Brothers) claim to have evolved through successive cycles of reincarnation in reaching a state of divinity.
The Bible commands us to love others as we love ourselves. Nevertheless, counterfeit self-love, even to the point of pantheistic self-deification, is outright blasphemy. In the face of God Almighty, the Eugenic (meaning “well born”) Manifesto declares “We are interested in competing with Jesus Christ and Buddha for the destiny of man… It is now time for you to meet God. Here is god: that god is you” (James L. Hart. Eugenic Manifesto, Prometheus Press, 1997, pp. 1 and 32).
The Process: Mystical Darwinism
The Greek root of “esoteric” means “private or confidential.” Such knowledge is not intended for, or understood by, the general public. Although sacred secrets are revealed at the highest, inner level exclusively, the process of mystical evolution holds promise for humanity to awaken to it. Presumably multiple reincarnations (called transmigration) with upward mobility provide the modern mystic opportunities needed to ascend.
Centering techniques—i.e., Transcendental Meditation—are means by which higher states of consciousness are attained. A climactic “peak experience” (Omega Point) is accomplished through a variety of centering techniques.
Global transformation (known by some as Planetary Luciferic Initiation) is the mass quantum leap to so-called enlightenment, promising to usher in a new age of group-consciousness, that of Aquarius. This misguided New Age notion is promoted to the public through eco-occultists as David Spangler; authors as Paul Hawken (The Magic of Findhorn); and New Age mystics as Amory Lovins, fellow of the druid-like Lindisfarne Association.
The Trap: Convincing Counterfeits
The coming new age, the Ecozoic Age, is one which will transcend God, says misguided Gaia spokesperson Father Thomas Berry. True, Christians anticipate a golden era of unprecedented opportunity, peace and worldwide collaboration when Christ rules and reigns in the Millennium. To the undiscerning, the right use of energy among intuitive friends united by earth stewardship, sustainability, collectivism and illumination sounds like the real deal; but it isn’t.
| Subscribe to the NewsWithViews Daily News Alerts! |
Summary
Forewarned and forearmed with Bible truth, godly men and women embrace authentic wisdom from above. Their hope is not directed toward self-god released from within. Even when culture inundates them with syncretistic spirituality, Bible-honoring believers “buy the truth and sell it not.” In assessing the worth of any belief system, one principle prevails: Let God be true and every opposing man (or spirit) a liar.[2] This, they live by.
1.
Proverbs 23:23.
2. Romans 3:4.
