new age-inplainsite.com - Ephesians 511

JULY/AUGUST 2013 New Age
http://www.inplainsite.org/html/new_age.html
[pic] The New Age - An Overview
http://www.inplainsite.org/html/new_age_overview.html
By Carol Brooks
"New" Age is not new ... it is a modern revival of ancient religious
traditions, along with a potpourri of influences: Eastern mysticism, modern
philosophy and psychology, science and science fiction, and the
counterculture of the 50s and 60s. A movement that over the last several
decades has gradually been gathering momentum over the face of this earth..
a movement fueled by the unholy forces that oppose both God and man...
shepherded by humans outside the church who have no comprehension of the
dark forces they deal with, and, of course, by an "evil and adulterous
generation" inside the church who so blithely ignore the warnings from the
God they profess to serve. This is a long article, but I see no way to condense it. The sheer
magnitude and importance of the topic warrants detailed information. As
Warren Smith so rightly says, when storms with the potential to kill are
just offshore, reasonable people make reasonable preparations. They don't
party in the face of the impending danger. They don't sit on their front
porches pretending that nothing is happening.
Jesus warned in Scripture that storms would come. He particularly warned
about those that would come at the end of time, not to be negative or to
scare us, but to prepare us, so that we would not be deceived nor
intimidated, nor frightened into compromising, or questioning, our faith.
This is not a time for celebration. This is not a time for the church to be
expecting some kind of a special blessing. This is a time to be sober and
vigilant... to watch and pray... to be spiritually prepared... to be
warning your family and friends about what is happening in the world. In
the words of the apostle Peter...
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion,
walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (1 Peter 5:8-9)
Note that I have, as always, hesitated to use the word "demonic" or
"demons", simply because both words tend to conjure up visions of what we
perceive devils to look like... horns, tails, bad teeth, red eyes and
pitchforks... beings that are slightly more amusing than
intimidating. However, the "masters" referred to here do not even faintly
resemble our preconceived ideas. Much to the contrary, they are very
powerful, highly intelligent beings, with immense powers and abilities...
against whom our only defense is God.
http://www.inplainsite.org/html/new_age_overview_i.html
Introduction and Short Summary of the Movement
The term "New Age" is an informal term derived from astrology, which
indicates that this earth, if not the cosmos, is on the verge of an
evolutionary transition from the Piscean Age of rationality to the Aquarian
Age of spirituality, bliss, and harmony of all things. [00]. The song
Aquarius by The 5th Dimension from the musical Hair, which refers to the
coming "Age of Aquarius", sounds, to most people, like wishful thinking or
an imaginary utopia. However it exemplifies the basic ideology and
aspirations of the Movement:
When the moon is in the 7th house
And Jupiter aligns with Mars,
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will fill your heart;
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius.
The vast majority of New Age beliefs and practices draw inspiration from
Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, and other ancient
religious traditions such as Native American spirituality.
The primary doctrine of the New Age is that man is a spiritual being and
God, as an energy force, is inherently within all mankind. In other words,
Man and God are one... is an "emerging world view... a way of thinking that
is being subtly introduced to multitudes in Western civilization." [01]
However man has become so absorbed in the material world that he has
forgotten his very innate nature... his divinity. Although every individual
is part of the divine, the higher a person's level of consciousness, and
the more inner harmony they can achieve, the closer they are to
enlightenment or full realization of their own divinity.
It is little wonder then, that the basic goal of most New Agers is to raise
their level of consciousness by whatever methods appeals to, and works for,
them.
Which brings us to the fact that large branch of the New Age movement
believes that the utopian age will only come about under the leadership and
guidance of a world leader/teacher. They contend that Buddha, Muhammad,
Confucius, Jesus, and many others were "christs", but one greater than all
of them... a "World Teacher" will soon come to save the world from sliding
into chaos, teaching us to live at peace and unity with each other. Perhaps
the term "world teacher" becomes a little clearer if Christians would wake
up and realize that this 'Christ' (messiah) has nothing to do with Jesus
Christ of the Bible, which leaves us with but one other choice... the anti-
christ that the Scriptures warned us about
With this ultimate goal in mind, an incredibly huge network of groups,
trusts, foundations, clubs, religious groups etc. have become focused on
making changes not only at an individual, but global level. Deeply
committed to uplifting global consciousness as a whole, they are actively
working towards creating the conditions necessary for this "world teacher"
to make his appearance. Whether we are aware of it or not, all the
doctrines and practices that focus on raising one's spirituality, or cause
one to experience a deeper spiritual reality, are each doing their bit
towards elevating 'global consciousness', and is contributing to the
success of this enormous plan.
While the movement is shepherded by non-believers who have no comprehension
of the dark forces they deal with sadly, the body of Christ that should
have been a bulwark against evil has, with apostate leaders and a
Biblically illiterate population, latched on to the coat tails of the world
and adopted practices that are DIRECTLY derived from the Occult, each
helping pave the way for the antichrist and his cohorts.
Heralded as the 'salvation of earth' or the 'new earth', this movement has
gathered immense size and power along the way, and is poised to come to
fruition. One of these days the doors will be open wide enough for evil to
cross the threshold, and the "masters" to walk the earth again... as it was
in the days of Noah. The Saturation of Our Culture
While you may not be altogether familiar with the term, the Movement (NAM)
first appeared as an entity in the 1960s and 1970s, with widespread use of
the term "New Age" starting in the mid 70s.
It has, over the last several decades, gradually been gathering momentum on
the face of this earth, and has so permeated our culture that, whether we
realize it or not, virtually every single person, both in and out of the
church, has been exposed to it. There is no leader, no official creed, no
centralized headquarters, no membership. Nevertheless, it is estimated
that, worldwide, there are millions of followers of various New Age
practices and beliefs. Diverse facets of NAM have affected almost every
area of western culture, including
Sociology, psychology, medicine, the government, ecology, science, arts,
education, the business community, the media, entertainment, sports, and
even the church. The movement expresses itself in widely divergent and
various mutated forms, from the blatantly obvious to the subtle. It is
expressed in organized religious forms such as Christian Science, Unity,
and even forms of Witchcraft. Yet, it shows up in secular forms as well, in
various human potential seminars, and much in between, i.e., transcendental
meditation, some alternative holistic health practices, and certain
curriculum in public (and private) schools... There is hardly any area of
human interest that does not have some people somewhere exploring it from a
New Age point of view. [02]
In fact, New Age teachings have even found their way into the prison
system. The book Letters from the Dhamma Brothers by Jenny Phillips
documents
"...the profound changes experienced by inmates in the four years after
completing a 10-day Vipassana meditation course taught in the Donaldson
Correctional Facility in Alabama... The course has now become a regular
treatment program at two Alabama prisons". [03] (Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India's
most ancient techniques of meditation, taught by Gautama Buddha as a
universal remedy for universal ills. The word Dhamma, or Dharma in
Sanskrit, is the collective teachings of the Buddha which lead to
enlightenment). Celebrity Endorsements
This meteoric growth in popularity has been helped in no small part by the
Internet (which has helped spawn a New Age 'Golden Age'), and celebrity
endorsements, such as when (in the 80's) "actress Shirley MacLaine
chronicled her conversion to New Age thought in several best-selling
autobiographies and multiple media appearances, which helped bring the New
Age perspective into the limelight". [04]
Much of the popularity of self-help style New Age topics can be laid
squarely at the door of the self styled guru of the New Age... Oprah
Winfrey, whose influence on the genre can hardly be understated.
"Diana Baroni, editorial director at Grand Central's Wellness Central
imprint, contends that Oprah has been the key to the genre's recent
accomplishments. "With Oprah's recommendation of Eckhart Tolle," Baroni
says, "consumers now seem to be seeking information on mind/body
philosophies that merge with the self-help category... Grubbauer at DeVorss
echoe