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Overview

To answer this question it is necessary to first define "New Age" and survey
the basic root components and origins of New Age change strategy. In addition
a comparison of the resultant philosophy of "New Age" to Evangelical Christian
theology is needed to determine if the two are compatible.

New Age change strategy is being formulated by a very diverse collection of
special interest groups, political positions and philosophical views which has
been given the name "New Age Movement." There are two major publications that
are voices for the movement; The New Age Journal and The East-West Journal.
Because of the diverse nature of the groups within the movement it would
appear that there is no single coherent position that binds the members of the
movement together. This is not at all the case.

ORIGINS of the New Age Groups

The New Age groups are apparently brought together by underlying concepts and
philosophies from several origins. These origins include:

MYSTICISM: Mysticism here is that belief which relies on an intuitive body
of knowledge that is hidden, but can be known through transcendental reality
and which leads to union with the divine. Mysticism is linked with magic,
theurgy, prayer, worship, religion, metaphysics, science and occultism. It is
easy for a Christian to see that mysticism when it is involved with magic,
metaphysics and occultism is not Christian and should be avoided. This
distinction is less clear in the areas of prayer, worship, religion and
perhaps even theurgy (compelling or persuading the God to do or not to do
something).

The aspect of mysticism is seen through out the origins of the New Age
Movement and seems to be a distinctive quality of the movement's diverse
groups. There is a valid Christian mysticism which can be seen in the functions
of prayer, worship and the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer. It seems
that the prime difference between New Age mysticism and Christian mysticism
lies in the purpose and source of the mysticism. In New Age mysticism the
purpose of mysticism is to enable the mystic to be empowered with secret
hidden knowledge and power which will allow the mystic to control the elements
of nature.

The source of New Age mystical power is from an impersonal "Life Force" or also
called the "Other". This Other or Life Force is a reservoir of spiritual power
located or comprising a spiritual dimension or sphere which surrounds the
earth. An advertisement from the May 1986 issue of New Age Journal best
illustrates this concept. The advertisement describes the "Reiki" program; "The
inherent Purpose of Reiki science is to give YOU direct contact and personal
experience with universal energy without harm. This whole energy can be
applied to ANY particular." (emphasis the same) The advertisement defines "rei
ki" as "...a generic Japanese word meaning universal life energy." Here the
purpose of New Age mysticism is clearly to plug the individual into the
"socket" of Power, a power which is an impersonal Life force (shades of Star
Wars!). The individual having been plugged in can then use this power on any
particular area of life.

SWEDENBORG, EMANUEL was an 18th Century mystic theologian and philosopher who
influenced science, philosophy and religion. Swedenborg believed that the end
goal of creation could only be achieved through man, but the process of
achieving that goal is presently disrupted by man's misuse of freewill.

TEILHARD de CHARDIN, PIERRE was a 20th century Jesuit philosopher who attempted
to blend Christianity with evolution. He coined the words "cosmogenesis"-man is
central in the world and "noogenesis" - growth of man's mind. [actually the
word was first used by Vladimir Vernadsky] In Teilhard de Chardin's
philosophic interpretation of Christian theology a cosmic process of evolution
is moving all things toward a perfection in an "Omega" point. To Vernadsky
earth is evolving from a biological stage to a stage of global conscious human
effort (nooshpere). Chardin merely elaborates Vernadsky's view into a
convergence of all things into the "Great Christ". Thus, to Chardin all roads
lead to Christ and all things are accepted into Christ. This means all
religions on earth will evolve into Christ. To the Evangelical Christian this
is not Christian but anti-Christian. When Christ said "I am the way and the
truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
NIV", he did not mean that anyone believing anything could come to the Father.
Christ meant that through personal faith in Him as Savior one has access to the
Father. Chardin's theology is universalism mixed with evolution.

THEOSOPHY is a religious philosophy with emphasis on mysticism, esoteric
doctrine, occultism, monism and Eastern philosophy. Theosophy though ancient in
origin is presently promoted through the Theosophical Society, founded by
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and is espoused by the New Age Movement. It is
through the ideas and tenents of theosophy that the many diverse groups within
the New Age find a common ground of purpose.

The Theosophical Society affirms the following objectives:
(1) to form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of
humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or
colour; (2) to encourage the study of comparative religion,
philosophy, and science; and (3) to investigate unexplained
laws of nature and the powers latent in man. ...One of the
society's most controversial claims concerns the existence
of a brotherhood of Great Masters or Adepts, who, it is
asserted, have perfected themselves and are directing the
spiritual evolution of humanity. (Ency. Brit:Vol 18, pg.
277)

One of the fundamental principles of theosophy is that all souls are
identified with the Universal Over-Soul and are obliged to undergo a cyclic
pilgrimage through the Cycle of Incarnation.

NEW THOUGHT is a metaphysical mind-healing movement that stresses "constructive
thinking" (also known as "positive thinking"); Transcendentalism and "mind over
matter" .

Phineas P. Quimby is viewed as the leading originator of the New Thought
movement. Quimby was a practicing hynotist and firmly believed that illness is
a matter of the mind. From Quimby's writings a number of persons were
influenced who then spread New Thought ideas into other groups and movements.
These groups are not in total agreement on all of Quimby's or today's New
Thought principles, but they all share in placing emphasis on the importance of
the mind and proper thinking. According to New Thought principles, problems in
life including illness are a matter of incorrect thinking.

Groups which are usually considered to be within the New Thought movement or
have adopted New Thought concepts include; Christian Science, Unity,
Psychiana, and The I Am movement. Not all of these groups have prospered, but
the basic principles of New Thought have been accepted into a wide range of
modern day movements. Concepts like; mind-healing, divinity of man, and
material prosperity as a result of "right thinking" can all be seen today in
both secular and religious groups.

It should be noted that several groups within the New Thought camp consider
themselves Christian. The purpose of this paper is not to dispute the claims of
groups, but to show the origins of New Age and to determine whether the New Age
change strategy should be applied to Evangelical Christian churches. This
author is well aware that many groups claim to be Christian and dispute of that
claim would be and has been the subject of extended debate.

There are certain aspects of New Thought which in themselves are not anti-
Christian. Christians are to be constructive and positive in their thinking,
but Evangelical Christian thought does not and should not encourage Christians
to place their trust in "constructive/positive thinking" as their savior.
Christians are to place their trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Christians are to believe in miracles and that prayer is a viable way to
communicate their praise and requests to God. (Ryrie:14-15) But prayer is not
some power to be conjured up with which the Christian then uses to cast a
spell on the events of life. In Evangelical Christian thought prayer is not
used to manipulate God so that the Christian may then live in wealth and good
health. To accept such a view of prayer as a power to achieve wealth and health
is to deny the very ministries of Paul, Peter, John, Stephen, and others in
the New Testament who died without wealth and sometimes lived with enduring
ailments (eg. Paul and Timothy).

Resultant Philosophy and Change Strategy of the New Age Movement

From the origins of mysticism, Swedenborg, Chardin, theosophy and New Thought
there emerges a resultant philosophy and change strategy of the New Age
movement. Within popular circles this philosophy is quite benign and
unobtrusive. New Age is well represented by activists from a variety of popular
causes. The "global consciousness" expressed by Chardin fuels the purpose of
conservationists, environmentalists, Anti-apartheid, anti-nuclear groups
causes. The onward momentum expressed in Chardin's mystical evolution suggests
to New Age social change agents that solutions to society's problems cannot be
found in the empiricism of the past. New Age change agents though in agreement
with Marxist socialism in form are not willing to wait the indefinite period of
time for society to develop into a utopia. New age agents are pushing for a
radical change in history within the immediate future. (Bennis:413-425)

The philosophers of the New Age readily combine Eastern mysticism, evolution,
chiliasm and Marxism into a change strategy which claims to be egalitarian but
in fact is power-coercive in focus. Elise Boulding (whose view is echoed in the
New Age Journal) calls for a break in history which is brought on by a global
conscientization (Bennis:413-425). This conscientization is the result of
intentional learning communities who have been "awakened" by making contact
with the Other through the "dimension of transcendence." Having tapped into the
"dimension of transcendence" the members of these learning communities
willingly, excitedly and joyfully commit their lives totally to the learning
community and the task of being coparticipants with the Other in the awakening
of society. This concept is straight out of the principles of theosophy placed
within Chardin's global sphere.

Conclusion

As it has been noted, much of the New Age concepts and methods for change are
not compatible with Evangelical Christian thought. It would appear that a few
of the New Age ideas were in fact taken from Biblical and early Christian
sources and then merged with mysticism and Eastern philosophy so that the
result makes the ideas unacceptable to Evangelical Christian churches.

Apart from the philosophy certain methods and concepts have been employed and
should continued to be used in Evangelical churches. The sense of community
within the church of believers and the aspect of a teaching church society are
concepts that are seen in Biblical accounts of the early church and should be
practiced in Evangelical churches today. The key difficulty of accepting New
Age change strategy within the Evangelical Christian church lies in the focus
of change.

In Evangelical Christian thought Christ is not merely a great human who lived,
died and was then raised to be a great master of the human race. Christ is
the God-man, the ONLY begotten and INCARNATE Son of God who took on a perfect
human nature. Ryrie states:

Orthodoxy has always held that Jesus Christ was fully God
and perfect man, and that these two natures were united in
one person without forming a third nature (as Eutychius
said) or two separate persons (as Nestorious taught).

The central focus of the New Age is "man" and mankind's ability to shape its
own future through transcendental communion with each other and the wholly
Other. The "Other" is an impersonal supreme being (or force) which surrounds
the earth and other worlds [Note: there are some variations of this
description depending on the group]. This is in sharp contrast to Evangelical
Christian thought which puts the focus on God who is directing a plan for the
salvation of man through His Son, Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the
Trinity. In Evangelical Christian thought God is a Tri-Unity of three Persons
in One; whereas in New Age thought there is only the impersonal Other, a
mystical force surrounding the Earth. In New Age "all roads lead to God";
whereas in Evangelical Christian thought there is only one way to God, Jesus
Christ the Son of God.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bennis, Warren G., Kenneth D. Benne and Robert Chin, eds. The Planning of
Change. New York: CBS College Publishing, 1985.

Cairns, Earle E. Christianity Through the Centuries. Grand Rapids: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1967.

Crouse, Bill. The New Age Movement. Dallas: Probe Ministries, n.d.

Hunt, Dave and T.A. McMahon. The Seduction of Christianity. Eugene: Harvest
House Publishers, 1985.

New Age Journal. Brighton, MA: Rising Star Associates, May 1986.

Ryrie, Charles C. A Survey of Bible Doctrine. Chicago: Moody Press, 1972.

Wasserman, Harvey. "The New Age Movement: The Politics of Transcendence." The
Nation. 31 Aug. 1985, pp. 145-148.

REFERENCES

Bible. New International Version

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th ed., S.v. "Mysticism, New Thought, Teilhard de
Chardin, Theosophy"