Jesus and the New Age Movement (NAM)
To New Agers, Christ is merely a spiritual state (an ideal state of awareness) rather than God in the flesh. They basically deny the deity of Jesus Christ. They believe in a “Christ”, but they do not recognize nor mention His first name as being a part of “the Christ”. To them, Jesus was merely unique man who attained self mastery. Salvation through Jesus means nothing to them; since the blood of the Lamb and the sanctity thereof has been replaced with “Christ Consciousness”.
Their meaning of “Christ consciousness” is that Jesus was not the only Christ, but that He mastered the “Christ Consciousness” along with other great “spiritual masters” such as Buddha, Krishna, and Mohammed; the occult Gnostic teaching (the ancient Babylonian mystery religions) at play again.
Salvation and the NAM
In the NAM (New Age Movement) writings, sin is rarely if ever mentioned since sin does not exist in a world where everyone is god. So they cannot accept the definition of sin as the bible describes, but rather as a lack or deficiency of spiritual enlightenment. They believe that Jesus is merely a person who achieved mastery. They do believe in “the Christ”, but their Christ is not associated with Jesus. Sounds like delusionary confusion to me.
The NAM wants to make it a great mystery as to who “the Christ” is; but the bible makes it quite clear that the Lord “Jesus Christ” is God in the flesh; the great I AM! God and Jesus are One (John 8:58; 1 John 5:7)!
Sin and the NAM
There is no such thing as sin in the NAM; there can be no sin because there is no external God that judge’s sin. Since man is god, as the NAM think, man has a limitless potential for self-actualization.
Because sin does not exist, there is no need for repentance in their eyes. Other related beliefs:
– that the soul is part of the universe and never dies
– that it is reborn or reincarnated in different physical bodies in a succession of future lives
– that the good or bad “karma” earned in the present lifetime determines one’s subsequent incarnation
– that humans should seek to progress to higher states of consciousness and higher planes of existence
– that there are many different paths to the goal of spiritual perfection
– that no one path is the only correct path
All of the above contradicts the word of God in the bible (which of course the NAM rejects), and is contrary to the principle of salvation by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8-9). They also contradict the teachings of Christianity whereby Christ is the only way to eternal life as children of God (John 14:6).
Self Improvement and the NAM
The human potential movement among the New Agers is based on the false belief that we are god and that we just need to achieve an enlightened state to recognize it. They consider meditation as a primary tool for achieving this state of mind.
Unfortunately, the pride of the heart associated with NAM is actually a limiting factor, when one considers that it takes humility, and spiritual wisdom from the true God (via a relationship with Him) in order to recognize our innermost weaknesses, and our maximum potential here on earth. Only through the worship of the sovereign God and not self-worship can we expect to achieve any kind of divine immortality. Self worship and the like are just delusions of grandeur that may compromise our salvation.
Man’s Destiny and the NAM
The NAM believes the following regarding man’s destiny:
– that the salvation of the world depends upon human beings (as opposed to God)
– When enough people harmonize their positive energy and turn their thoughts to peace, the world will be cleansed (see note below)
– Since man is intrinsically divine and perfect, his only real problem is ignorance of that fact (there is obviously no place for humility in the NAM).
– that man’s mortality is actually an illusion
– That salvation in the NAM is for man to become enlightened through gnosis (experiential knowledge).
The NAM offers many occult teachings, materials and techniques to enable unbelievers to evolve into the unitive state of oneness. These techniques include but are not limited to crystals, channeling spirit guides, past-life therapy, yoga, and related techniques for achieving altered states of consciousness
Good and Evil and the NAM
Good and evil is considered non-existent in the New Ager’s utopic world view. Since all is one according to the NAM then are good and evil the same? Apparently so, since NAM along with many Far Eastern religions consider that everything is merged in one!
They believe that because “all is One,” there is neither good nor evil. They think that a person can transcend his consciousness and go beyond the bounds of moral distinction and accountability. They are not aware that the prince of this world (Satan) wants everything to be evil, he wants everything to belong to him – including the godship of the universe.
On the contrary, the scriptures of the bible make a distinct separation of good and evil, light and darkness. In the bible everything has a counter force and that is what allows for balance both in the world and the cosmos. Once one takes over, then chaos results. There must be evil in order that good can exist and vice versa. The bible warns all who call good evil, and evil good (Isaiah 5:20).
Lucifer, Satan and the NAM
New Age literature apparently denies that Lucifer is Satan or the devil. In fact they seem to elevate Lucifer (Satan), referring to him as the bearer of light. NOTE: The bible reveals that Lucifer indeed was the angel of light until he rebelled against God. He convinced 1/3rd of the angels to also rebel. He and these fallen angels were cast out of heaven.
For true Christians Christ is the light of the world. In John 8:12, Jesus declared: “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
Contrary to this basic Christian belief, some sects of the NAM teach the opposite:
– that Lucifer is a mighty being of light and the “Ruler of Humanity,”
– that pagans are not Satanists, but merely follow a non-Christian spiritual path
– that Satan is the “dark god” of the Christian faith
Most pagans do not even believe that Satan exists, and so they would never admit to worshipping him; even if they de facto were worshipping him by embracing doctrines from the dark side!
For example, a leading proponent of the NAM, says, “Lucifer came from the planet Venus 18.5 million years ago; he’s the director of our planetary evolution, he is the sacrificial lamb, and the prodigal son. Lucifer made an incredible sacrifice, a supreme sacrifice for our planet.” I guess he believes that Lucifer is “the Christ” of the NAM! Maybe so!
In Part 3 we will conclude with the NAM’s perspective on reincarnation, aliens, global religion, and the biblical perspective on the New Age Movement.
