thoughts and ruminations while in exile (1 Pet. 2:11)

Traveling to any part of the world and spending time with different cultures one will notice particular idiosyncrasies that are endemic to certain people groups. This can be as simple as noticing what kinds of food people eat (or what kinds of food they will not eat), the age in which boys and girls are considered to have entered puberty, or even the traditions that are practiced during weddings.1 This reveals that each culture engages in particular activities that are peculiar to their locale.

Despite the differences that may exist from culture to culture, it is intriguing that the practicing of a certain religion is ubiquitous. It seems that the continually quoted aphorism is correct: man is incurably religious. Indeed, this is still true in our day.

Thinking of a time when America was religiously inclined one is drawn to the first and second Great Awakenings due to the preaching of Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield. Unbeknownst to many Americans, there is another religious movement out for the heart of our country. Though not as blatant as the Great Awakening, this system of thought has quietly seeped into the minds of Americans. This system of thought is known as New Age. Many know it by the appellation “New Age Movement,” or abbreviated, NAM.

While many may not have heard about the New Age Movement, it is “rapidly and dramatically reshaping man’s view of God.”2 Furthermore, it is considered to be “the most popular and widely publicized new religion.”3 Partly the reason for this is that it is filled with “celebrities and ordinary citizens,”4 which makes the “ordinary citizens” feel as though they have the approbation of the “celebrities.” In a culture that is obsessed with image, this characteristic is precisely what many desire.

What exactly is the New Age Movement? One writer says it is difficult to define,5 since “that which may be true about parts of the New Age Movement are not necessarily [true] of the whole.”6 The late Dr. Ronald Nash concurs by saying, “Clarity and consistency of thought are two qualities that do not characterize New Age advocates.”7 While many scholars have tried to define the New Age Movement, one of the most concise working definitions is as follows: “The New Age Movement is a constellation of like-minded people and groups all desiring a spiritual and social change that will usher in a New Age of self-actualization.”8

As any cultural critic can testify, “self-actualization” is heavy on the mind of our narcissistic culture. It is also hard to define this movement since “New Age spirituality is a rather eclectic grab bag of eastern mysticism, western occultism, neo-paganism, and human psychology.”9 While many scholars may define this movement differently “. . .from a Biblical perspective . . . The New Age Movement is most significantly a sophisticated, contemporary representation of the same old kingdom that has always stood in stark opposition to the kingdom of Jesus Christ.”10 Thus, critiquing this movement from a Christian perspective, the truth is, “New Age thinking conflicts with essential Christian beliefs on every point.”11 Elliot Miller describes “The New Age religion [as] thoroughly occultic and totally unchristian.”12

Considering all that has been said thus far, one of the more ironic truths is that even though the first word in the Movement calls itself “New,” the reality is that nothing about the movement is remotely “New.” The New Age Movement is an amalgamation of Gnosticism and Buddhism/Hinduism. It is an amalgamation because it pulls from each of these religions. Though it contains some residue of Buddhist thought, it does not see the world as an illusion as Buddhism does. That being said, the two systems can overlap. Peter Jones in his work The Gnostic Empire Strikes Back says “The New Age Movement is not new.” In fact, “every facet of the Movement is a revival of a feature of ancient paganism or an element borrowed from modern religious aberrations . . . mixed in varied combinations with other elements of Eastern religions.”13 Ron Rhodes has pointed out that “What we are witnessing today is a massive resurgence of second-century Gnosticism.”14

Historical Precursors To New Age Thought
Given some of the background information that has been delineated, the question should be asked, “How did New Age thought come to be accepted?” Since the majority of Americans at one time were Christians, what made New Age thinking a viable option? The main reason for this change can be traced to the Enlightenment of the 18th century.15 During this time came a worldview shift. The shift went from God-centered to man-centered. A worldview can be defined as “a set of beliefs about the most important issues in life,” a “conceptual scheme by which we consciously or unconsciously place or fit everything we believe and by which we interpret and judge reality.”16 The issue of worldviews must be mentioned because “the New Age is . . . an emerging worldview . . . that is being subtly introduced to multitudes in Western civilization.”17 Thus, in the 18th century a shift of viewing the world through a biblical lens and seeing all of creation and history as the work of God gave way to a humanistic view of the world. The mantra of humanism is/was “Man is the measure of all things.”18 Since man had complete confidence in himself, he believed he did not need God. Man began to say that he could figure out the meaning of everything through human reason. Thus, the philosophy of rationalism was born.19 This period was also anti-supernatural and the majority of philosophers were deists.20 In the Enlightenment “man sacrificed to reason, believing that within himself, he could find ultimate meaning and the reality of utopia. Man and his finite reason, became the standard of truth.”21

As mentioned, many in the Enlightenment were deists; this led to the belief that man could not know God. The results of deism led to naturalism.22 “In Naturalism, God is reduced to non-existence.”23 That was the progression; and since there was no God, there was no final authority by which to judge anything, and autonomy resulted.

Closer to Home
Though that is a short overview, with that as a backdrop one can at least see how New Age thought became a viable option. With God and His revelation out of the picture, man had to fill his void with something else since he is incurably religious. By “religious” is meant that it is human nature “to give ourselves wholeheartedly and unreservedly to something . . . [and] whatever that object of ultimate concern is for us, that will be our god. For this reason genuine atheists do not exist.”24 Understanding that the Enlightenment took place, the fact that the New Age Movement wants “liberation from ethics, from guilt, from sexual norms, and from God . . .”25 begins to make a lot of sense. In America, from the 1960’s to the 1990’s the road was paved for New Age’s positive message to take root. Kerry Mcroberts says, “America’s pluralism has provided the New Age a stage for its positive message of hope through human transformation.”26

In their book Invasion of Other gods, C.C Carlson and David Jeremiah display how America was ripe for a religious shift. They note that in the 1960’s there was the hippie movement whose cry was “make love, not war.”27 The 1970’s had the rise of the flower children. After Vietnam, and the deaths of John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. everyone wanted peace. The 1980’s were plagued by materialism. They comment that during this time “fortunes were made as inflation escalated real estate values.”28 By the 1990’s secularism had completely taken over and the repercussions followed. During the 90’s “The American scene [was] clouded with violent crime and widespread immorality.” This led to people “searching for the missing spiritual dimension.”29

The Self as The Center

Dr. Francis Schaeffer has called our times the age of non-reason, and the age of personal peace and affluence.30 All that happened from the 60’s to the 90’s led to people “searching for the missing spiritual dimension” since they replaced the true God with an idol. What was the idol? Answer: The self.

The New Age Movement is simply a self-movement with an eastern bent. Since sinful man is naturally self-centered, and the western mind has looked to the self for ultimate meaning, “the west was destined to wed with the east.”31




Key New Age Beliefs
While it is true that in the New Age Movement “beliefs are often portrayed as direct impediments to enlightenment,”1 it is helpful to understand some of their key beliefs. First and foremost, one must understand that New Age thought is pantheistic. This means that they believe “all is one.”2 In other words, there is no difference between you and God. In fact, in New Age thought human beings are a part of God.3 Dr. Wayne Dyer, whose beliefs seem to be a mixture of New Age thought and Buddhism (they are Buddhist because he believes the world is an illusion, which New Age does not), says that we should not “doubt or fear [our] divinity.”4 He goes so far as to say, “Rather than asking an external God to solve your problems for you, identify yourself as a part of the beloved divine creation that you are.”5 In his book he quotes Meher Baba who said, “The finding of God is a coming to one’s own self.”6

Aside from a pantheistic view of God, the New Age Movement “contains five significant philosophical pillars.”7 The first philosophical pillar is that “Reality is a seamless garment.”8 This means that in the New Age Movement “everything in existence is one essential reality.”9 While this is the case, they do “not believe, as classic Vedic Hinduism, that the world is illusory or Maya.”10 It is essentially monism, with a Western spin. The second New Age pillar is that “God wears the ‘seamless garment.’”11 This is the belief that God “is all in all.”12 This view says that there is “an impersonal force or consciousness [that] is the essence of all reality.”13 Thus, the New Age Movement “denies the existence of a personal God.”14 The third pillar is that “Man wears the ‘seamless garment.’”15 In essence this means that if “all is God” and man is a part of the “all” then man must be God.”16 In contradistinction to Christianity where man is made in the image of God, in the New Age, God is made in the image of man. In reality this should not be surprising. Indeed this “is the logical conclusion to a worldview that insists upon the absolute autonomy of man.”17

The fourth philosophical pillar of the New Age is “Cosmic Consciousness.”18 To be concise this teaching says that “man needs a change of consciousness, a mystical experience to be made aware that he ‘is God.’”19 They encourage “man to look within and discover his ‘true’ nature.”20 Humans should seek an experience, this view says, since “propositional revelation (such as the Bible) is considered to be a barrier to spiritual awareness.”21 Above all, in the New Age Movement, “experience is the final authority.”22 Certain methods are used to induce these experiences, such as “eastern meditation, yoga, martial arts, visualization...hypnosis...”23 What is the conclusion to all of this? They answer that “as the New Age man attunes his consciousness with the consciousness of ultimate reality, the idea of the New Age will materialize on earth.”24 This materialization on the earth is called the “Aquarian Age.” This Age will be dominated by “global peace and ultimate human fulfillment.”25 This is of extreme importance because if man fails to recognize his deity, he will not be reincarnated.26

The fifth and last philosophical pillar which attracts many is that “All religions are equal roads to God.”27 In technical terms this is known as syncretism.28 They attempt to bring opposing views together and not worry about their differences. While this may have the appearance of love and tolerance, it actually bespeaks a shallow superficiality. Mcroberts notes, “The New Age disregards both history and basic doctrinal tenets in its efforts to syncretize the religions of the world.”29 While some may be surprised at this, it should be remembered that they have no standard by which to make any judgments of right and wrong in regard to someone’s personal beliefs. The New Age does not appeal to objective truth. Rather they “appeal to inner experience without any means of objective validation.”30

Logical Fallacies

Now that some of the basic beliefs have been outlined, the objective is to see the inconsistencies and poor logic that is associated with some New Age beliefs. In some sense it is very difficult for a Christian and a New Age person to have a basic discussion on religion since the presuppositions are completely antithetical. As mentioned above, the New Age god is “an impersonal force.”31 They do not believe in a transcendent God, but rather an internal divine spark that lies within human beings. This is illogical for a number of reasons but I will mention the most glaring one.
First of all, how do they know that a divine spark lies within them?32 How could they get this information? They do not believe that a transcendent God could reveal it to them; indeed they do not believe a transcendent God exists. By denying a transcendent being, they have no ultimate authority to which they can appeal. All they have is subjective experiences which cannot be seen as objective proof. Their fundamental flaw is that they rely on autonomous reason as their basis for truth. Human autonomy cannot lead to absolute truth, and if while solely relying on autonomous reason one claims to have absolute truth, that claim is completely arbitrary.33 It is for this reason that Kerry Mcroberts has said, “Denial of the transcendent God is ultimately nihilism in sheeps clothing.”34

The biggest logical flaw in the New Age Movement is their fifth philosophical pillar. This pillar says “All religions lead to God.” This is impossible because many religions disagree with each other, and not all can be right. To make this assertion would be to deny the law of non-contradiction. The law of non-contradiction says that two opposing views cannot be true at the same time and in the same way. Interestingly enough, while New Agers want to deny this law, at other times they appeal to it vigorously. However, if the New Ager rejects the law of non-contradiction, then everything he/she says is suspect because nothing can have a definite meaning.35 Ronald Nash has said that a person cannot be a New Ager and hold to the law of non-contradiction.36 For, “if...the New Ager does utilize the law of non-contradiction when he writes, his disrespect for the law whenever it suits his purposes reveals the arbitrary nature of his claims.”37

The reason this is so important is because the New Age Movement’s denial of the law of non-contradiction with respect to religion is equivalent to saying there is no absolute truth. Indeed, this is what they say. To this the Christian replies by saying that without absolute truth one cannot know anything. If there is no transcendent God, how do we as humans know what is right and wrong?38 The problem is that upon closer examination the New Age Movement shows that while they may claim there are no absolute truths, they deny this by the way they live.39 For example, New Age guru Mark Satin writes, there is no “right or wrong-there is no ultimate answer.”40 That statement is utterly self-refuting, and why would he say such a thing if he believes he is “right,” for in his mind being “right” is impossible.

Dr. Wayne Dyer, who synthesizes New Age thought with Buddhism, says “sin is nonexistent. There are only obstacles to one’s ultimate union with God.”41 If Dr. Dyer truly believes that, someone should ask him if he thinks the persons responsible for 9/11 were sinners. Nonetheless he continues, “What we perceive to be sinful can be redirected to be viewed as an obstacle to our spiritual development.”42 Furthermore, he says that “wallowing in shame, feeling as though we have sinned and are not deserving of forgiveness is not the best way to find solutions.”43 In response to these feelings of guilt, Dr. Dyer says we should say the following to ourselves: “I have not sinned against God. I have behaved in such a way as to inhibit my complete union with God. These behaviors are obstacles to my finding a spiritual solution. Beginning right now I will work at removing these obstacles.”44 Dr. Dyer says, “Say to yourself, ‘I still have obstacles that I have imposed which keep me from a spiritual solution, ‘ rather than, ‘I am a sinner and there is no hope for me unless God sees it in his heart to forgive me.’”45 His final remarks are “Go and sin no more, because there is no such thing.”46

Upon closer examination one can see a conspicuous flaw in Dr. Dyer’s thought. After telling us that “problems” are “illusions,”47 and that “sin does not exist,” he follows those remarks by saying, “certainly you will feel remorse and do all that you can to right the wrongful acts.”48 In Dr. Dyer’s thinking, how can there be “wrongful acts”? If there is not an external, transcendent God, how can we say what is “wrong”? If something is “wrong,” inevitably that would be a “problem.” Thus if “problems” are “illusions,” wouldn’t the concept of “wrong” also be an “illusion”? He says there is no “sin” only “obstacles.” Again, what qualifies as an “obstacle”? Even if he is right (which I don’t think he is), how would Dr. Dyer be privy to God’s mind on what qualifies as an “obstacle”? Dr. Dyer’s god has not revealed himself in any form of propositional truth, so how can he authoritatively say what qualifies as an “obstacle”? In Dr. Dyer’s worldview there are no absolute truths, thus, what I consider to be an “obstacle” can be different than your “obstacle.” Yet if there are no transcendent values, what if killing millions of Jews for Hitler was not an “obstacle?” If it is not an “obstacle” for Hitler then certainly it is not a “wrongful act” for which Hitler should “feel remorse.”

At one point in Dr. Dyer’s book he says, “In the material world we often find ourselves in conflict because of our opinions about right and wrong.”49 He then says, “You cannot bring spiritual harmony into a problem resolution as long as you accept the idea that one side is right and the other is wrong. In the world of spirit there is no right side and wrong side.”50 How can he make this assertion? Saying there is no absolute truth is an absolute statement. If he is right that there is no right side or wrong side, then why should I believe he is right!

While we may wonder how Dr. Dyer can hold such views, it must be remembered that this is what society will be left with if there is no absolute standard upon which to judge certain statements. If there are no absolutes then Dr. Dyer is right and so am I. This is illogical. However, since our society operates off of an Enlightenment mentality many still believe that human autonomy can produce righteousness.

Conclusion

Dr. David Wells has noted that “Historically, all major cultures have been based on religious assumptions. But our culture, rooted in the Enlightenment and reshaped by
modernization, has broken this connection.”51 Where has this left our society? Since “Our public life does not turn to a divine or supernatural order for justification and direction...It finds its justification, its life, and its direction solely within itself.”52 Enter: The New Age Movement. Our society has kicked God out, it denies absolute truth, and transcendent values, and has said there is no meaning to life except what we make of it.53 Thus, we look to ourselves for ultimate fulfillment. We have made idols out of ourselves. This is what the New Age Movement brings. While their “Clarion call...to other religions is: ‘Come let us be one’...the New Age...excludes from its ranks only those who believe in Jesus Christ and a personal God.”54 This is what even they refuse to tolerate.

With no absolute truth or transcendent values “Our society no longer has a center of values that exerts a centripetal force on our collective life...The disappearance of the center in both society and religion has produced an emptiness.”55

Despite the many logical fallacies present within New Age thought, a religion that is narcissistic, man-centered, claims there is no sin, and that you can remove your past history,56 is bound for success in America. That being the case, Christians must know how to defend their faith, be ready for it in secular institutions, and know how to point out the weaknesses within the Movement.

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Works Cited

Carlson, C.C. and David Jeremiah. Invasion of Other Gods: The Seduction of New Age
Spirituality. Dallas: Word, 1995.
Chandler, Russel. Understanding The New Age. Dallas: Word, 1988.
Corduan, Winfried. Neighboring Faiths: A Christian Introduction to World Religions.
Downers Grove: Intervarsity, 1998.
Dyer, Wayne. There’s A Spiritual Solution To Every Problem. New York:
HarperCollins, 2001.
Encyclopedia Americana. Vol. 10. Danbury: Grolier, 1993.
Groothuis, Douglas. Confronting The New Age. Downers Grove: Intervarsity, 1988.
Jones, Peter. The Gnostic Empire Strikes Back: An Old Heresy For The New Age.
Phillipsburg: Presbyterian & Reformed, 1992.
Marrs, Texe. Dark Secrets of The New Age: Satan’s Plan For A One World Religion.
Westchester: Crossway, 1987.
Mcroberts, Kerry. New Age or Old Lie? Peabody: Hendrickson, 1989.
Miller, Elliot. A Crash Course on The New Age Movement: Describing and Evaluating A
Growing Social Force. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989.
Nash, Ronald. Worldviews In Conflict: Choosing Christianity In A World of Ideas.
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.
Rhodes, Ron. The Counterfeit Christ of The New Age Movement. Grand Rapids: Baker,
1991.
Tucker, Ruth. Another Gospel: Alternative Religions and The New Age Movement.
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989
Wells, David. God In The Wasteland: The Reality of Truth in A World of Fading Dreams.
England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.

Footnotes

1 Miller, Ibid., 16.
2 Miller, Ibid., 17.
3 Dyer, Wayne. There’s A Spiritual Solution To Every Problem. New York:
HarperCollins, 2001., 7.
4 Dyer, Ibid., 9.
5 Dyer, Ibid., 25.
6 Baba quoted in Dyer. Ibid., 27.
7 Mcroberts., Ibid., 3.
8 Mcroberts., Ibid., 3.
9 Mcroberts., Ibid., 3.
10 Mcroberts., Ibid., 3.
11 Mcroberts., Ibid., 4.
12 Mcroberts., Ibid., 4.
13 Mcroberts., Ibid., 4.
14 Marrs., Ibid., 11.
15 Mcroberts. Ibid., 5.
16 Mcroberts., Ibid., 5.
17 Mcroberts., Ibid., 5.
18 Mcroberts., Ibid., 7.
19 Mcroberts., Ibid., 7.
20 Mcroberts., Ibid., 36.
21 Mcroberts, Ibid., 7.
22 Mcroberts, Ibid., 7. By this statement one can clearly see how this Movement has infiltrated the church. Nowadays, Christians seek experiences and believe them to be binding. This is especially seen in Pentecostal and Charismatice circles.
23 Mcroberts, Ibid., 8.
24 Mcroberts, Ibid., 8.
25 Mcroberts, Ibid., 36.
26 Mcroberts, Ibid., 10.
27 Mcroberts, Ibid., 22.
28 Sycretism is the bringing together of two opposing beliefs and believing both simultaneously, even though they are contradictory.
29 Mcroberts, Ibid., 13.
30 Mcroberts, Ibid., 13. Again, we see the similarities between the New Age and Charismatics.
31 Mcroberts, Ibid., 4.
32 This is an epistemological argument. Remember, I defined this above.
33 We must consistently point this out in our debates. Our society is filled with these types of arguments. Without a standard of truth we cannot have rational interchange. If someone attempts to give an answer based on their preferences or likes and dislikes, that will not suffice.
34 Mcroberts, Ibid., 29. Nihilism is the view that says life is pointless.
35 Nash, Ibid., 140.
36 Nash, Ibid., 140.
37 Nash, Ibid., 141.
38 This is the basis for the Transcendental Argument for the existence of God. Read anything by Cornelius Van Til, Greg Bahnsen, or John Frame for great information on this argument. It is one of my personal favorites. If you’re interested in doing research on this I recommend John Frame’s Apologetics to the Glory of God.
39 For example they believe people should tell the truth, and I’m sure they would be upset if someone stole their wallet. See Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.
40 Satin quoted in Miller’s work noted above.
41 Dyer, Ibid., 32.
42 Dyer, Ibid., 32.
43 Dyer, Ibid., 33.
44 Dyer, Ibid., 33.
45 Dyer, Ibid., 34.
46 Dyer, Ibid., 34.
47 Dyer, Ibid., 17.
48 Dyer, Ibid., 34 Emphasis mine.
49 Dyer, Ibid., 133.
50 Dyer, Ibid., 133. Emphasis mine.
51 Wells, David. God In The Wasteland: The Reality of Truth in A World of Fading
Dreams. England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994., 156.
52 Wells, Ibid., 157.
53 This is known as existentialism.
54 Marrs, Ibid., 12-13.
55 Wells, Ibid., 157.
56 Dyer, Ibid., 85.





1 Corduan, Winfried. Neighboring Faiths: A Christian Introduction to World Religions.
Downers Grove: Intervarsity, 1998. 67
2 Marrs, Texe. Dark Secrets of The New Age: Satan’s Plan For A One World Religion.
Westchester: Crossway, 1987. 11
3 Tucker, Ruth. Another Gospel: Alternative Religions and The New Age Movement.
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989. 319
4 Tucker, Ibid. 319
5 Miller, Elliot. A Crash Course on The New Age Movement: Describing and Evaluating A
Growing Social Force. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989. 13
6 Miller, Ibid. 13
7Nash, Ronald. Worldviews In Conflict: Choosing Christianity In A World of Ideas.
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992. 131
8Jones, Peter. The Gnostic Empire Strikes Back: An Old Heresy For The New Age.
Phillipsburg: Presbyterian & Reformed, 1992. 18.
9 Jones, Ibid., 31.
10 Miller, Ibid., 32.
11 Nash, Ibid., 140.
12 Miller, Ibid., 28.
13 Jones, Ibid., 131.
14 Rhodes, Ron. The Counterfeit Christ of The New Age Movement. Grand Rapids: Baker,
1991. 16.
15 Encyclopedia Americana. Vol. 10. Danbury: Grolier, 1993. 468. This work gives a brief excursus of Enlightenment thought in the 18th century.
16 Nash, Ibid., 16.
17Mcroberts, Kerry. New Age or Old Lie? Peabody: Hendrickson, 1989. 2.
18 While humanism propounds this mantra, it should be noted that even this thought is not new. The idea of “man being the measure of all things” was first put forth by the pre-Socratic philosopher Protagoras (490-420 B.C.). Again, this type thinking is not new. It is simply indicative of man’s sinful nature.
19 Rationalism is an epistemological position that solely appeals to man’s reason as a source of knowledge or justification. Epistemology is the area in philosophy that deals with what we as humans know. In other words, it asks the question, “How do we know what we know, and how are we sure we really know for sure.”
20 Deism says God exists, and He created the world, but He is no longer involved in everyday human life.
21 Mcroberts, Ibid., 23.
22 Mcroberts, Ibid., 25.
23 Mcroberts, Ibid., 25.
24 John Calvin quoted in Ronald Nash, Ibid.
25 Jones, Ibid., 4.
26 Mcroberts, Ibid., xiv.
27 Carlson, C.C. and David Jeremiah. Invasion of Other Gods: The Seduction of New Age
Spirituality. Dallas: Word, 1995., 17.
28 Carlson and Jeremiah, Ibid., 17.
29 Carlson and Jeremiah, Ibid., 17.
30 See Schaeffer’s video entitled “How Should We Then Live?” for a brief exposition of this era.
31 Mcroberts, Ibid., 32.