Although there are areas in which the 20th century New Age movement can be
loosely defined, and some have capably done this, the scope of New Age
philosophy is too diverse and widespread to be conveniently systemized,
and too widespread to be dismissed as just an extension of hippyism or
bohemianism.
Many New Age books are available, and quotes from these clearly
demonstrate the central ethic of this movement. The father of the New Age
movement, Roman Catholic Jesuit priest Pierre Tielhard de Chardin wrote
that he dreamed of a time when every man would realize his own godhood.
One of the most prolific New Age writers, Shakti Gawain says that these
philosophical concepts will provide us "with the means to be our own
instruments in drastically and positively changing our lives."
If we jump from these basic conceptual statements to the startling full
page ads of the Tara Foundation (April 1982) boldly asserting that Christ
had already arrived on earth and will soon manifest himself, we might
wonder, at first glance, what connection this Christ, the "Lord Maitreya"
has with New Age philosophy. We will soon start to see an insidious
connection. This full page ad, appearing in approximately 20 major
newspapers, had a stunning statement.
It said, "Throughout history, humanity's evolution has been guided by a
group of enlightened men, the Masters of Wisdom. They have remained
largely in the remote desert and mountain places of earth, working mainly
through their disciples who live openly in the world. The message of the
Christ's re-appearance has been given primarily by such a disciple trained
for his task for over 20 years. At the center of this `Spiritual
Hierarchy' stands the World Teacher, LORD MAITREYA, known by Christians as
the CHRIST. And as Christians await the Second Coming, so the Jews await
the MESSIAH, the Buddhists the FIFTH BUDDHA, the Moslems the IMAN MAHDI,
the Hindus await KRISHNA. These are all names for one individual. His
presence in the world guarantees there will be no third World War."
Then we remember that New Age philosophies declare man's godhood, and,
in so doing, they dethrone God in the hearts of men. The dethronement of
God in human thought is necessary before any false god or substitute god
could be manifested. Therefore New Ageism can be seen as a movement that
prepares its adherents for the final enthronement of Satan's anti-God by
using the ages-old ploy, "Ye shall be as god." In wresting humanity from
God, Satan will think he has achieved his purpose of ascending to the very
throne of God. Any successful invasion of God's unique and infinite
standing would of course destroy the uniqueness and infinity of God, and
would be to Satan the success he has been working for. However, as has
already been pointed out, God's remaining God does not depend on a
majority vote of His creation.
It would not be possible to exhaust the subject of the New Age movement
in a study one hundred times this size. However, following are some facts
concerning things that are actually happening in our midst. I will not
attempt to give them in any particular order, but I believe that, as you
review these facts, you will be convinced that there is a satanic movement
afoot to try to defeat God, that Genesis 3:5 is the factor that ties all
of the satanic movements together, and that these are being solidified in
the New Age movement, which will in large part provide the basis for
Satan's super church, which will combine New Age philosophy with Roman
Catholic theology and structure, with the charismatic movement as the
practical catalyst.
1. It is possible to find booklets advocating Transcendental Meditation
in many Roman Catholic churches today. TM, as most people know, is a Hindu
concept also closely allied to Buddhist meditation aimed at opening the
mind to anything and everything with no regard for past sin or future
judgment, and the result will be world happiness, peace and health. The
aim of this meditation is often called "Self-realization."
2. Another Hindu philosophy is unearthed in "Silva Mind Control." A
Roman Catholic priest and nun are co-teaching a course in Silva Mind
Control in a Roman Catholic church in Detroit.
3. The Tara Center says the Lord Maitreya has the following attributes:
a. He is a world teacher for all humanity
b. He is a modern man concerned with modern problems - political, economic
and social
c. Since July 1977 he has been emerging as a spokesman for a group or
community in a well known modern country.
d. He has extraordinary spiritual power
e. He will communicate to all humanity through a world-wide radio and
television broadcast.
As we look at contemporary religious leaders, one man who could now fit
into this description - pope John Paul II
4. The three things the Lord Maitreya will combat will be hunger,
injustice and war. If you read the American Bishops' recent letter, you
will find these three emphasized, as indeed they are in all of Rome's
social pronouncements.
5. In the Graduate Theological Union of Berkeley, California, there are
Catholics, Protestants, Jewish, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and New Age
groups.
6. A famous radio teacher said, "It is not the object of your faith,
but the result of your faith that is important." He probably didn't mean
this to sound like New Age philosophy, but that is just what it is.
7. Another basic New Age concept is echoed by many Christian
psychologists who tell us we must develop a healthy self-esteem, and learn
to "feel good about ourselves."
8. A New Age statement: "The Wisdom of India, her philosophy and
achievement, must be known to Europe." An interesting insight into the
state of India after centuries of "wisdom" found in Hinduism is contained
in ESCAPE INTO THE LIGHT by Rabi Maharej. When this young boy was still a
devout Hindu, school mates questioned him about the extreme poverty of
India. Rabi writes, "Certain books I had read, however, left no question
in my mind that the land of my religion was exceedingly poor. How could
this be the result of thousands of years of Yoga, improving karma, and
upward reincarnation toward the oneness with Brahma?"
9. Karl Adam, a Roman Catholic priest and historian, in THE SPIRIT OF
CATHOLICISM wrote in 1928, "A religious historian of the fifth millennium
A.D. will, without difficulty, discover in Catholicism conceptions and
practices which will derive from India, China and Japan."
10. The New Age movement was the subject of a cover story by TIME in
December 1987. The cover had a picture of Shirley McLaine, with the words,
"Om. - The New Age starring Shirley McLaine, faith healers, channelers,
space travelers and crystals galore." (According to ex-Hindu Rabi Maharej,
the religious [usually celibate] Brahman "would always begin his
meditation with the repetition of the single word OM. The highest
vibration and the most difficult to pronounce, like all mantras OM must be
taught by a guru. In the Vedas [primary scriptures of the Hindus] it is
said that `Brahma saw this OM [his] own symbolic syllable. Therefore the
Brahman who, desiring whatever he wants, sits on sacred grass facing east,
and repeats this imperishable OM. For him all objects are realized and all
acts are successful.")
11. In the TIME article, "New Age Harmonies", correspondent Mary Cronin
visited Bob Johnson, a 54 year old man who was supposed to represent a
"tutelage" of spectral beings from Alpha Centauri, the nearest of the
stars.
The reporter asked, "Is all this interest in channeling and crystals a
fad or something more?"
"It is both: a fad for some, a way of life for others. We would say
there are more true spiritual seekers today."
"Can you tell me about one of my former lives?" asked the TIME
correspondent.
"You have been a sailor. A man. You understand the Spanish Armada? You
tried to attack England! You considered it to be a heathen country because
they dropped Catholicism."
"What did I learn from that life?"
"To swim very well. You almost lost your life. Your ship was broken up
around the northern coast of Ireland. You were in the water for days. It
was very painful."
12. THE CHRISTIAN NEWS (12/14/87) reports, "An estimated 1000 people
came to the Capitol Hilton for a Nov. 25-29 conference, the theme of which
was `Enter the Aquarian Age.' The event featured Elizabeth Claire Prophet,
who conference literature said was `Messenger for the Ascended Masters'
and `Mother of the Flame.'
"Elizabeth is the founder of Summit University and Montessori
International - private schools centered upon principles of academic
excellence and interaction with the innate genius of the soul.
"This New Age cult is getting more publicity all the time.
"Elizabeth Claire Prophet demotes Jesus to the level of Buddha, Ghandi,
etc. An usher at a conference session told me she could become the Son of
God just like Jesus is."
13. In the October 1987 ETERNITY, Dave Hunt writes of Paul Cho, the
pastor of the 600,000 member church in Korea, "Cho says that you cannot
have faith to believe that your prayer will be answered unless you
visualize. The problem with that is, first of all, it's not taught in the
Word of God. Secondly, when I do this, what am I having faith in? I'm
having faith in my ability to visualize. Faith is in God. It grows out of
a relationship of trust and obedience and love with God where I get to
know Him and I have real confidence in Him and He begins to reveal His
will for me.
"The basic concept of Cho's fourth dimension concept is: A line is one-
dimensional; a plane is two-dimensional, the two include the one; a cube
is three-dimensional, the three include the two. That's accurate. That's
basic geometry. Then he takes an unwarranted leap. He says the fourth
dimension is spirit. There is no basis for putting spirit in that kind of
cause and effect dimensional relationship with this space, time, matter
universe. Having done that, and following his analogy, he says the four
include the three. I'm not accusing Cho of deliberately leading the church
astray, but whether he knows it or not, he has just given us the Hindu
concept of God - that God is everything. Now, having given us that, he
says God creates out of Himself, so whatever He creates comes out of
Himself, like giving birth. How does he do that? He visualizes."
14. Another disturbing note about Paul Cho comes from the same issue,
where he is also mentioned as being one of the speakers at the 1988
Convention of Religious Broadcasters, along with Pat Robertson, Billy
Graham, E.V. Hill, D. James Kennedy and Chuck Swindoll. Thomas Chmelovski
writes, "The November 23 WORLD published a lengthy article on Paul Cho,
who once prayed that a woman be married to a husband with specifically-
listed characteristics by saying, `O God, I am ordering you to send her
this kind of husband in the name of Jesus Christ.' One of Cho's most
controversial teaching is that of `visualization' where a person becomes
`pregnant' with what they are praying for. Who claims to be `pregnant'
with his church's containing one million members by 1990.
"One of [Cho's] most outspoken critics has been Dave Hunt. When asked
about Hunt's THE SEDUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY, Cho said, `I will only receive
his challenge when he raises up a half-million member church. Then he can
raise up questions and I'll answer.'"
15. A very interesting New Age prototype can be seen in Adolph Hitler.
A close study of his thinking indicates he was immersed in Hindu
philosophy, yet by religious structure he was a Roman Catholic. It is also
interesting to see Hitlerian concepts of genetic control, euthanasia and
racial supremacy surfacing in many places today.
16. Hundreds of instances of New Age activity both within and without
organized Christianity could be cited. Both Constance Cumbey and Dave Hunt
have given us excellent documentation of these in their books. What we
would like to do now is to attempt to draw all of this together in a brief
and comprehensive formula that we will be able to understand and work
with.
We must remember the fountain head of all that dishonors God, and the
end to which it is all endeavoring to proceed. Satan said both statements,
"I will be like the most High" and "Ye shall be as gods."
This latter is the avowed goal of Hinduism and its American
counterpart, Mormonism. The fact that both of these systems are now
gaining respectability in the Western world is a sign of the times in
which we live.
Other religious thoughts teach man's participation in his own
salvation, and whenever man achieves the factor that completes his
salvation, he has become as god. Therefore every religion in the world
(aside from biblical Christianity) is a part of Satan's monstrous
religious deception. This will work itself out in three ways:
PHILOSOPHICALLY. It is evident that Eastern religions, mostly Hinduism,
but to a lesser extent Buddhism and other groups, are supplying the
philosophies upon which man's present-day religious concepts are based.
These Hindu philosophies are not creeping, they are leaping into both
religious and non-religious groups. Their invasion of our public school
system is alarming.
THEOLOGICALLY AND STRUCTURALLY. Satan is not just building a
philosophy, he is building a counterfeit church. The only group in the
world that has the necessary structure to promote a world religion is the
Roman Catholic Church. It is an established fact that this system is
itself being infiltrated by Hindu philosophy, and that it has deliberately
altered some of its theological foundations to accept and assimilate non-
Christian people and ideologies.
PRACTICALLY. While philosophies and theological structures can appear
to be coalescing, some practical catalyst is needed to bring it all
together in its entirety. This catalyst is provided by the charismatic
movement, the first accepted world-wide movement that has been able to
effectively destroy doctrinal distinction. The outward manifestations of
this movement also have deep roots in many non-Christian systems.
From A WAY OF MEDITATING THE JESUS PRAYER by Priest
Thomas Fidelis, Dove Publications.
"One of the more remarkable
phenomena of the religious climate of our times is how so many
Christians eagerly turn to the Far Eastern religions to aid them in their
search for God. Gurus, swamis and Zen masters also have come to the
West and won numerous adherents.
"Nearly all these oriental religions make use of the mantra as the first
and principal means for prayer and meditation. A mantra is a sacred
word, phrase or sentence...The meditator constantly repeats this word
or phrase...(It) is a powerful aid for polarizing the mind and deeper
faculties so that they can transcend their own natural operations, and
this become one with the sacred.
"The use of a mantra...is not new to Christianity. From Apostolic times
the short prayer, `Lord have mercy'...has been and still is used.
"For my formal meditation, I go to a quiet, solitary place, and take up
a relaxed sitting position. Closing the eyes, I concentrate my full
attention on my eyelids...I tell myself to relax the eyelids...
"When the body is completely relaxed, I start the count-down exercise.
Beginning with ten, I count down to one very slowly...10-9-8-7. Here I
pause to say, `I am going down deeper and deeper,' continuing with
6-5-4. Again I stop to say `deeper and deeper' then finishing with 3-2-1.
At this point a deep calm has come over me...
Now I let the Jesus Prayer come on itself. My chosen formula is CHRIST
MERCY, inhaling on CHRIST and exhaling on MERCY. For a few
minutes I breathe the prayer in this manner. As this continues, the
breathing becomes slower, until it is hardly noticeable, with the words
also getting fainter, more refined. It is at this deep interior level that
sometimes the word `CHRIST' fades out, leaving me in a sort of
felt-immediacy of the Person of Jesus...by experiential faith I am
consciously aware of His Sacred Presence. Thus the prayer mantra has
accomplished its work, leading me into the felt-presence of the
Mysterious One, the Personal Reality behind the Name.
CATHOLIC JOURNALS
From THE MONITOR (Trenton, NJ), 5/16/91. "`Jesus Prayer' offers
healing for the mind, soul and body. Since the third century Catholics
have practiced the `Jesus Prayer" - the simple utterance of `Lord'
upon inhalation and `Jesus' upon exhalation - to enhance settledness and
peace of mind. Prayerfully whispering `Jesus' when breathing out joins
mind and heart into the peaceful presence of the risen Jesus. Done in a
slow, deliberate manner, the Jesus Prayer helps create an attitude of
peace. As a result, healing grace abounds - even for the physical body."
The author, Dr. Paul DeBlassie, is featured on four new audio
cassettes produced by Liguori Publications
HEALING FOR
HEADACHES WITH THE JESUS PRAYER
HEALING FOR HIGH
BLOOD PRESSURE WITH THE JESUS PRAYER
HEALING FOR
HEART DISEASE WITH THE JESUS PRAYER
HEALING FROM
CANCER WITH THE JESUS PRAYER
From CROSSWINDS, Santa Fe, NM 7/92, page 31.
"Holistic
Spirituality and Psychology. "...perhaps the most intriguing is a
program July 14-19 on Holistic Spirituality and Psychology. This program
will explore the theme of how to achieve a holistically spiritual life
through diet, exercise, meditation and prayer...A number of speakers . .
.including...several yoga instructors including...director of New Mexico
Academy of Massage..."
RELIGIOUS JOURNALS
From FOUNDATION, July/August 1990. "THE COMING OF THE
COSMIC CHRIST" is the title of a blasphemous book by Matthew Fox,
Roman Catholic theologian (see SECULAR JOURNALS, below). On
page 228 under Section 29 titled "The Cosmic Christ and Deep
Ecumenism," Fox writes as follows: "The Cosmic Christ and the living
cosmology that the Cosmic Christ ushers into society and psyche have the
power to launch an era of what I call deep ecumenism.
Deep ecumenism is the movement that will unleash the wisdom of all
world religions - Hinduism and Buddhism, Islam and Judaism,
Taoism and Shintoism, Christianity in all its forms, and native religions
and goddess religions throughout the world. This unleashing of wisdom
holds the last hope for the survival of the planet we call home.
Universalism is a common characteristic to all the traditions of the
Cosmic Christ in the Scriptures and in Western history that we have
considered above." Although the pope officially "silenced" Fox for one
year because of his heretical writings on a variety of subjects, Fox's views
are becoming more and more popular both inside and outside the Roman
Catholic Church. Fox's censure by his church has only given him greater
publicity. Furthermore, the view of "Deep Ecumenism" he sets forth is
very little different from the views of many ecumenical leaders. True
wisdom is to be found only in the Word of God, not in the religious
traditions and philosophies of ungodly men
From WATCHMAN EXPOSITOR, Vol 10, No 9, 1993
"...The leaders
of the Contemplative movement write frequently of the affinity of their
method and belief with those of Eastern religions...The form of the
Centering Prayer closely parallels that of Transcendental Meditation and
Yoga. The goal is also very similar. Like T.M., one is instructed to find a
place without distractions, to choose and repeat a sacred word (mantra),
designed to help you focus and block out any other distracting force."
Quote from THE DIFFERENT DRUMMER by Dr. M. Scott Peck,
"Meditation can be best defined as the process by which we can empty our
minds...what Zen Buddhists call 'No Mind.' Its goal is to make the mind
like a blank page...The virtue of meditation is that whatever comes into our
emptiness is beyond our control."
SECULAR JOURNALS
From THE SACRAMENTO BEE, B1,B9, April 13, 1992.
"Is priest a
`danger' to Catholicism? Theologian espouses `creation spirituality.'...At
his Oakland institute, Fox has assembled a faculty that includes an
American Indian shaman, a Yoruba priestess and a witch named
Starhawk...Fourteen books by Fox have sold more than 700,000
copies...`It's a theological Okefenokee Swamp,' says the Rev. Mitchell
Pacwa, a Jesuit priest and professor of Scripture and Hebrew at Loyola
University in Chicago. Pacwa studied Fox's writings and discussed them
in a recent book, `Catholics in the New Age.'`...Christians should know
that this is not Christianity, and don't mix the two up.' If you're going to
make a choice for the New Age, then go ahead. But know this fact: The
emperor is running around buck naked.'"
From THE PHILIPPINE STAR (Manila) 8/25/94
"Jose Silva, founder
of the world-famous Silva Method [received] the Special Apostolic
blessing bestowed on him by Pope John Paul II on the occasion of his
80th birthday recently. ...Reports reaching Silva International say
Vatican has given its approval to the Silva training course."
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