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The “New Age” Deception

There have been many “anti-Christs” through-out the history of the Church. Anti-Christ stands for any person or teaching that opposes Jesus Christ and His teachings. One of the most dangerous threats to Christians today, if they do not have a solid foundation in God’s Word, is the popular New Age Movement that has recently resurfaced in a big way. We read in 1 Tim. 4:1, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” We know that it is also prophesied that Satan will be seen “as an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14)! This deception has permeated some segments of Christianity with its mixture of some truth and much error. Probably the reason for this is that one does not take time to truly examine the foundation of these teachings, instead accepting what, on the surface, seems loving and reasonable.

One of the most popular TV celebrities today, with a great following, is an avid promoter of this movement. She is quoted as saying, “I am a Christian who believes that there are certainly many more paths to God other than Christianity…I don’t believe that it’s the only way with 6 billion people on the planet.” Interesting! Here is a woman who claims to be a Christian and in essence is calling Jesus a liar for He says clearly in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Another prominent New Age follower says, “If you go deep enough into your religion, then you will get to the same place. The important thing is that religion does not become an ideology. The moment you say ‘only my belief’ or ‘our belief’ is true, and you deny other people’s beliefs, then you have adopted an ideology. Then religion becomes a closed door.” What this is saying is that no one should have a conviction of their own beliefs; that tolerance should supersede conviction to the point that it accepts everyone else’s belief as equal to their own so no door of belief is shut. Why? Because “all paths lead to God.” How contrary this is to the Scriptures! Jude 3 and 4 refutes such thinking, “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.” These words are as true today as they ever were!

Satan, the great deceiver, is doing what he does best! Jeremiah

29:31 says, “This is what the LORD says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Shemaiah has prophesied to you, though I did not send him, and has led you to believe a lie.” Shemaiah, a false prophet in the days of Jeremiah, led the Israelites to believe a lie and led them away from God. False prophets have been deceiving the people of God throughout history. Unless we know and stick closely to God’s Word and truly believe it is “God breathed” and our yardstick to test everything we hear, we are also in danger of being led astray.

Here are just a few teachings of the New Age Movement. These quotes are from The Course in Miracles (the New Age “Bible”) by Helen Schucman:

· “There is no sin…”

· “A slain Christ has no meaning.”

· “The journey to the cross should be the last useless journey.”

· “Do not make the pathetic error of “clinging to the old rugged cross.”

· “The name of Jesus Christ as such is but a symbol…It is a symbol that is safely used as a replacement for the many names of all the gods to which you pray.”

· “God is in everything I see.”

· “The recognition of God is the recognition of yourself.”

· “The oneness of the Creator and the creation is your wholeness, your sanity and your limitless power.”

· “The Atonement is the final lesson he (man) need learn, for it teaches him that, never having sinned, he has no need of salvation.”

The following two paragraphs are a quotation from Wikipedia, the online free encyclopedia.

“A Course in Miracles is a book considered by its students to be their "spiritual path." According to psychologist Helen Schucman, she and psychologist William Thetford ‘scribed’ the book by means of a process coming from a divine source through a form which Schucman referred to as "inner dictation."

“Drafting the Course: In 1965, Helen Schucman, an Associate professor" of medical "Psychology" appointed to the faculty of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the New York-Presbyterian Hospital" experienced a series of particularly vivid dreams.

Soon thereafter, she began to hear a ‘Voice’ who she identified as Jesus, which would speak to her whenever she was prepared to listen. Schucman reported that she heard from the Voice the words, ‘This is a course in miracles. Please take notes.’ Schucman then began to write down what she described as a form of "rapid inner dictation." Between 1965 and 1972, Schucman filled nearly thirty stenographic notebooks with words she received from the Voice. The collaborative venture between Helen Schucman and William Thetford would ultimately evolve into the Course. Eventually the manuscript totaled 1,500 pages and was placed into black thesis binders. Schucman and Thetford did not want their co-workers, professors in the psychology department at Columbia University Medical to know about the existence of the Course. They were embarrassed and considered it their ‘guilty secret.’ This process was a collaborative venture between Schucman and William Thetford, a psychology faculty member at Columbia University who was her superior and colleague. Schucman and Thetford worked together in private offices in ‘an air of secrecy,’ as they both believed that their professional reputations at Columbia would be adversely affected, if their professional peers found out about the Course. Thetford was encouraging, and in their spare time at work, Thetford typed as Schucman dictated aloud from her notes as well as directly. Revisions were made including, for example, the omission of various references to their personal lives. The manuscript went through two additional drafts, one edited by Schucman alone, and the subsequent one edited by both of them. In the third draft, the manuscript was split into chapters and sections, to which they added titles and headings. This material eventually became the Text.”

This is a movement bent on establishing a “global village” that will include the whole world, so that they will be enlightened and then peace will reign everywhere. This is in complete contradiction to the Bible’s teachings that Jesus Christ, the Prince of peace, will one day return to establish God’s millennial kingdom on this earth, at which time “the knowledge of Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the deep” (Isaiah 11:9). Only then, will mankind be guided to accept Jesus as their Savior, as they look back to the Cross that atoned for all sin. Only then will they learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9), when all evil will be destroyed. Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, may your kingdom come, and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). This is our hope for mankind, and what Christians have prayed for these past 2000 years.

It is imperative that we heed the exhortation of the Apostle Paul found in 1 Thessalonians 5:21 to, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” This means finding out the source of whatever we hear or read and comparing its teachings to God’s inspired Word.

E. Weeks