New Age Religion
by Dr. Phil Stringer (Florida)
"As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other
gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."
(Galatians 1:9)
* * *
Every culture is either created by a set of religious beliefs or spawns a set
of religious beliefs. For the last 30 years eastern mystic religions have
increased in popularity in the United States. Some have taken an American
flavor, using Christian terminology with new eastern mystic definitions.
Others maintain their oriental trappings. They are often referred to as
the "New Age movement." The New Age movement is fast becoming
the religion of the "new American culture."
EASTERN MYSTIC RELIGIONS
Many Americans are curious about the number of eastern religions becoming
popular and gaining followers in the United States. Zen Buddhism,
Transcendental Meditation, Bahai, Hare Krishna, Sun Myung Moon's Unification
Church, the Divine Light Mission and a multitude of smaller movements are
attracting thousands of young Americans.
These eastern mystical religions are confusing and challenging to many
Americans because of their entirely different epistemology (theory of knowledge
or understanding). Classical western society is built upon the use of
facts, objective truth, and reason. Ideas require rational
explanations. To the eastern mystic, knowledge is entirely subjective --
they cannot expect to put truth into words or expect another to understand their
religious experiences. Personal inspirations and inner feelings are the
basis for everything, and all truth is individual and relative.
CORRUPTION OF BIBLICAL DOCTRINES
This different approach to life and truth can be seen in the way eastern
mysticism corrupts basic Christian doctrines.
Sin
To the eastern mystic, sin is the ignorance that keeps a person from being
true to himself, from being consistent with his inner desires and
feelings. There is no moral standard outside of the individual's
conscience. Failure to follow a person's own moral standard is sin and the
root of all discontent. This is especially attractive to many modern
Americans who want to talk themselves out of the guilt their lifestyle causes
them to feel. This attitude is also common among modernistic Christianity
and much of modern sociology and psychology.
Since the fall of Lucifer in Isaiah 14:12-15, the essence of rebellion
against God has been for one of God's created beings to insist that he will do
things his own way regardless of the commandments of God. It is because of
individuals' choosing to go their own way rather than God's that the Lord Jesus
had to die to provide redemption for man (Isaiah 53:6). Eastern mysticism
defends and promotes this independence of spirit rather than trying to solve the
real sin problem.
Salvation
Salvation to the eastern mystic involves the experience of "the oneness
of yourself with the universe." This experience is not describable,
and only the person involved can tell whether or not he has really experienced
this "oneness." Salvation does not involve changing what they
are or being regenerated, but simply in realizing what they already are.
The mystic recognizes that there are many ways to achieve this awareness and
each of these different methods is call a Yoga (notice Galatians 1:6-9).
Some of the basic yogas are:
• Jnana Yoga -- intellectual discipline;
• Karma Yoga -- good works;
• Tantric Yoga -- sex;
• Mantra Yoga -- chanting and meditation;
• Hattha Yoga -- physical discipline;
• and Bhakti Yoga -- devotion to a spiritual master.
The ultimate goal of all of the forms of yoga (according to the mystic) is to
enable the individual to hear the "Divine Voice" speak within him.
God
The eastern mystics recognize many incarnations of "god" in human
history. Such leaders as Buddha, Krishna, and Mohammed are considered to
be these special revelations of god upon the earth. To the mystic, Jesus
Christ is just another one of these manifestations -- in no way the only
representative of God or the visible expression of the Godhead (Hebrews
1:1-2). For all their sincerity and what are often good works, this
mistake alone is enough to keep the mystic from genuine salvation (Acts
4:12). It is important that the Christian not be confused by the mystic's
references to Jesus Christ -- they are not talking about the Jesus Christ of the
Bible.
The Scripture
Eastern mystics recognize "scriptures" only as religious documents
which help an individual realize the oneness of himself with the universe.
The most common books used by the mystics are the ancient Hindu writings, the
Vedas, and commentaries on the Vedas. Much of this literature deals with
Bhakti Yoga. The most influential book of the Vedas is the Bhagavad Gita
which deals with the supposed incarnation of Krishna. They recognize that
other books have some value in helping one realize his quest for
"oneness," but they do not recognize any literature as divine,
infallible, revelation from God.
Meditation is a key practice in all of the eastern religions. This
meditation is a far cry from Biblical meditation because it involves
contemplation of oneself rather than God. This type of meditation is just
another form of exalting self and ignoring the true God.
To some mystics the use of drugs plays an important part in a religious
experience. Drugs give them a personal experience that they cannot get
without such chemicals, and many claim that this "expansion of their
consciousness" enables them to find the ultimate experience.
There are many problems in the mystic's approach to life. They cannot
truly judge mystical experience. they have no criteria for understanding
what they are experiencing and being sure of its effect upon them. The
mystics have no way of proving that mysticism is really the ultimate life.
They must place their faith of life and eternity on something which cannot be
proven or studied objectively. Is peace of mind and inner harmony a
guarantee of truth and value? The mystic's eternity is staked upon his
peace, but where is his assurance that this peace is real and lasting? His
religion is only as perfect as his own emotions and intellect. He has
nothing of the assurance of a divine verbal revelation from God that Christians
have in the Bible.
Satan
The mystics are totally ignorant of the activity of Satan. They do not
consider the possibility of Satan's deception or demonic activity. Satan
does indeed appear to the mystic as an Angel of Light. His ignorance of
the work of the devil in the midst of his spiritual search, leaves the mystic
wide open to Satanic deception. Mystics fail to pass the first and basic
test of Christian truth found in I John 4:1-3. They do not acknowledge
Jesus as the Christ -- the only incarnation of God the Father and God Himself as
described in John 1:1-3. They cannot offer any objective truth as
revelation from God.
The other main fallacies of mysticism are summarized as follows:
• belief that peace is available without a Saviour
• belief that sin is not the basis for man's problems
• belief in a divine spark within every man
• emphasis on renewal and not regeneration
• presentation of no clear, objective reality
• total lack of any moral absolutes
It is worth nothing that these are the same basic principles of modernism and
Unitarianism. It is easy to see how these could one day be combined into a
one world religion.
It is interesting to note that some of the same people who are deeply
offended at prayer and Bible study in the public school system are promoting the
use of New Age concepts in the schools.
NEW AGE RELIGION AND AMERICAN EDUCATION
The late Beverly Galyean developed three federally funded educational
programs for the Los Angeles Public Schools using guided imagery and
meditation. She described her educational philosophy:
Once we begin to see that we are all God, that we
have the attributes of God, then I think the whole purpose of human life is to
reown the God-likeness within us; the perfect love, the perfect wisdom, the
perfect understanding, the perfect intelligence, and when we do that, we create
back to that old, the essential oneness which is consciousness.
In the Spring, 1990 Community School Program for Wake County Public School
System of Raleigh, North Carolina, a course in Kundalini Yoga was offered for
high school students and adults. The following description of the course
was offered by Bob Larson in Straight Answers on the New Age:
According to Hindu yoga teaching, spiritual energy at
the base of the spine, in the form of a serpent (Hindu goddess Shakti), that
seeks ascension to the brain to form a psycho-sexual union with the Hindu god
Shiva, resulting in "enlightenment."
The April, 1990 issue of the Arkansas Citizen reports the widespread
use of "counseling programs said to be for the reduction of stress, New Age
meditation, and visualization techniques, have been introduced ... DUSO and
Pumsy Programs are by far the most prevalent New Age curricula."
The October, 1989 newsletter of Concerned Women for America documents how
parents in Oklahoma and Maryland discovered a whole array of New Age courses in
public schools, promoting "the attainment of higher levels of consciousness
... even encouraging children to go home and try with their Ouija boards."
Russell Chandler, religion editor for the Los Angeles Times, reports
in his book Understanding the New Age:
Children in the Los Angeles City School System have been taught to
imagine they are one with the sun's rays. In doing so, they are told that
they are part of God, "[T]hey are one with Him."
Christians should not be fooled by New Age Religion even when Christian
terminology is used. New Age religions, movements, and practices are just
the religious expression of a culture in rebellion against God.
Dr. Phil Stringer is Executive Vice President of Landmark Baptist College,
Haines City, Florida.
