This is all from, Inside the New Age Nightmare: For the First Time Ever...a Former Top New Age Leader Takes You on a Dramatic Journey by Randall N. Baer. A very good book on the new-age. You can download the book here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/34781548/Baer-Inside-the-New-Age-Nightmare-Former-New-Age-Leader-Exposes-the-Movement-1989FOUR
THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT: A FORMER INSIDER'S VIEW
Let me tell you what the New Age
Movement is really like, from the perspective of one who has lived it,
breathed it, and worshipped it for 15 years. By holding up the serpent's
original temptation to partake of the forbidden fruit, the New
Age Movement has seduced many millions of people into accepting the
promises of personal godhood, unlimited power, and immor-tality
through reincarnation. Quite the temptation. However, there is a dark
underside to the movement's banner cries of love, light, peace, and
universal brotherhood that needs to be exposed for what it truly is.
Introduction: What is the New Age Movement?
Essentially, it is a Satan-controlled, modern-day mass revival of
occult-based philosophies and practices in both obvious and cleverly
disguised forms. In effect, it is an end- times "plague of the spirit"
propagating the "powerful delusion that they should believe the lie."1 It
is nothing more than a glitteringly seductive, broad road leading
only to eventual destruction.
The New Age is actually not anything new at all. It always has
been active throughout history in numerous and widespread Western
occult traditions and Eastern mystical religions. Over the last three
decades, however, an enormous and unprecedented massive revival
of occult-based practices has been taking place, some of it disguised
as being non-occult in nature. To many peoples' surprise, New Age
philosophy and practices have crept into the very fabric of American
society in both subtle and profound ways. The magnitude and momentum
of this movement is to such an extent that it poses one of the
fastest-growing threats to Christianity today, especially in the years
ahead as the end times unfold.
What do most people think of when they hear the term New Age?
Shirley MacLaine? Harmonic Convergence? Reincarnation? Crystal
power? Channeling? Psychic readers? In fact these are only a part of a
very broad spectrum of different New Age forms, strategies, and
practices. To make matters all the more difficult, the term New Age is
sometimes not even used when something is actually New Age at the
core. The attempt to answer the sometimes slippery complexities of
the question, "What, exactly, is the New Age Movement?" will be the
recurring theme to be explored from many angles throughout the rest of
this book.
The New Age Explosion
The New Age Movement needs to be understood as one of the
fastest-growing uprisings of the end-times powerful delusion occurring
in the world today. In fact, it has expanded with explosive
diversification in the last three decades to a much greater extent than
many realize. Today's rapid growth of the New Age phenomenon is
nothing less than a major branch of the prophesied latter-day rise of
the Antichrist forces. It is in this context that the most penetrating
insights into the greatest deceptions and dangers of the movement
are seen.
Bible prophecy warns:
"For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show
great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
Behold, I have told you in advance" (Matt. 24:24, 25).
Due to its deep and inextricable involvements in Scripturally forbidden
practices2 —like divination, witchcraft, sorcery, mediumship,
spiritism, and numerous others —the New Age opens the gates for the
adversary and his demonic legions to unleash an end times Pandora's
box of unrighteousness. In effect, the movement acts as a rapidly enlarging
breeding ground for the seeding, propagation, and unleashing
of a plaque of the spirit. The massive releasing of ghouls and demons in
the movies, Ghostbusters and Poltergeist, the New Age acts in a very
similar way in opening the gateways for Satan's demons.
Dave Hunt, in his excellent book, America: The Sorcerer's Apprentice,
comments on this theme:
"Today's world confronts a strange and growing paradox that
could very well mark a pivotal point in human history. Even as the
scientific and technological advancement which ushered in the space
age is accelerating at an exponential rate, we are witnessing far and
away the greatest occult explosion of all time."
One thing is certain: "the winds spreading the seeds of sorcery
have reached gale proportions."
The words of a leading New Age spokesman, Marilyn Ferguson,
author of the landmark New Age manifesto, The Aquarian Conspiracy:
Personal and Social Transformation in the 1980's, speak to the
magnitude of the forces in motion:
"Broader than reform, deeper than revolution, this benign conspiracy
for a new human agenda has triggered the most rapid cultural
realignment in history. This great shuddering, irrevocable shift overtaking
us is not a new political, religious, philosophical system. It is a
new mind —the ascendence of a startling worldview."
Further elaborating on the magnitude of this "benign conspiracy,"
Ferguson's book states:
"This network —the Aquarian Conspiracy —has already enlisted
the minds, hearts, and resources of some of our most advanced
thinkers, including Nobel laureate scientists, philosophers, statesmen,
celebrities, and steadily growing numbers from every corner of
American society.
"... [the] network is working to create a different kind of society
based on a vastly enlarged concept of human potential [and] ... shows
us how the technologies for expanding and transforming personal
consciousness, once the secret of an elite, are now generating massive
change in every cultural institution —medicine, politics, business,
education, religions, and the family.
"Will our present turmoil lead to a worldwide breakdown of society
— or to a breakthrough to the next step of human evolution? The
answer may depend in large measure on the influence of the Aquarian
Conspiracy."
The roots of the Movement go deep, much deeper than they would
appear at first glance. In a tempestuous world and a society filled with
millions of restless people thirsting for answers and spiritual fulfillment,
it offers a huge array of tempting alternatives to the Christian
faith —"the faith once for all delivered to the saints."7 The New Age
offers multitudes of age-old, occult-based temptations re-packaged in
the glossy modernized guise of a new, improved New Age.
The influences of this phenomenon are much more pervasive in
our society than it might appear on the surface. To cite just a few indicators
and examples:
• A University of Chicago poll showed that 67 percent of Ameri-cans
now believe in the supernatural; and 42 percent believe they have
been in contact with the dead.
• The Christian film, "Gods of the New Age," asserts an estimate
of 60-million Americans as being involved in one aspect of the New
Age or another.
• Twenty-three percent of Americans believe in reincarnation.8
• Forty million Americans believe in astrology, and there are 1-
billion astrology believers worldwide.9
• Forbes Magazine estimates that the (obviously) New Age market
does $3.43 billion in business each year.
• Business corporations (including numerous Fortune 500 companies)
spend $4 billion on management and employee programs
that subtly but distinctly are based on New Age philosophies and
practices. In some cases, employees are required to undergo these
programs if they want to keep their jobs.
• A 1978 Gallup poll indicated 10-million Americans to be engaged
in some form of Eastern mysticism. (Note: Eastern mysticism is
only one of many branches of the New Age Movement.)
• The best-selling book, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, is reported by
the author, Richard Bach, to have been channeled by a spirit, and which
is totally based on New Age philosophy, has sold over 25-million copies
and met with tremendous popular appeal. This is only one of many
examples of subtle intrusion into mass public exposure of New Age
ideas in a way not explicitly labeled New Age.
• The philosophy of "The Force" so graphically depicted in the
"Star Wars" trilogy is a veritable primer of the New Age gospel, exposing
millions of young minds in a subtle, entertaining way to the
New Age hero-image of the Jedi Knight.
• There are over 200,000 registered witches in America. Untold
numbers are unregistered.
• The use of psychics by lawyers and police departments has become
much more commonplace today than at any time before.
• The B. Dalton Booksellers chain reported a 95-percent sales increase
of New Age books during the week after Shirley MacLaine's
mini-series, "Out on a Limb," and sales continue to rise steadily.
• Robert Muller, former assistant secretary general of the United
Nations, has written a book, The New Genesis: Shaping a Global
Spirituality, calling for a globalistic "New Order" based on many
aspects of New Age philosophy.
• Jean Houston, Ph.D., one of the most renowned New Age lead-ers,
reports having led a three-day intensive workshop for 150 highranking
government officials, and other workshops included top-level corporate
businessmen and government officials.10
• Fifty-two publishing houses have formed the New Age Publishing
and Retail Alliance, whose slogan is "A Consciousness Whose
Time Has Come." In all, New Age books account for approximately $lbillion
publishing dollars per year.
• Professor Carl Raschke, of the University of Denver, a New
Age critic, calls this movement the "most powerful social force in the
country today." He adds: "If you look at it carefully you see that it
represents a complete rejection of Judeo-Christian and bedrock
American values."11
These examples are but the tip of the iceberg. Clearly, this fastrising
movement demands serious attention.
An End Times Force to Contend With
We live today in a time of revolutionary stirrings and worldwide
shakings:
The realm of orthodox science and technology is making many
awesome, world-shaking advances.
Profound worldwide socio-political changes are in motion.
National and international economic forces are shifting.
Global ecological deterioration plus the increased frequency
natural disasters have become facts of planetary life.
Many other deep-seated worldwide changes are astir.
The Biblically prophesied end-times stage is set.
Commenting on the New Age uprising, John Ankerberg and John
Weldon state in their book, The Facts of the New Age Movement:
"Thus the stage has been set for a revival of spiritism that could
dwarf earlier eras. Some have asserted that channeling will one day be
'bigger than fundamentalism.' Regardless, spirit contact has be-come
in many quarters a socially acceptable practice—and the spirits have
served notice that they intend to influence our future."12
Yes, the spirits have indeed served notice in many ways. A prime
example being Lazaris, by far the most influential spirit being channeled
in the late 1980s, who has stated this point clearly: "Those who
hide behind their masks of fear and confusion hope this thing called
the New Age will pass. However, that which is truly new in this age of
rising consciousness will be the bridge to the future and the hope of
humanity."13
The New Age makes no real attempt to hide its fundamental underlying
agenda—its "bridge to the future and the hope of
humanity." This agenda is nothing less than the complete revolutionizing
of the very foundations of not only America but the entire
world. Such a plan calls for the total restructuring of planetary civilization
into an enlightened One-World Federation in which national
boundaries and sovereignty are secondary, and "planetary citizenship"
in the "global village" is the order of the day. This innovative
orthodox science bearing many new advances combined with a "Universal
Oneness" philosophy (a neo-New Age world view) is to offer a
world in desperate need, a grand solution to profound global problems.
Apparent world peace and unprecedented opportunities for
"actualizes the human god-potential" (i.e., New Age higher consciousness)
are to be unveiled. Herein lies the Antichrist's last temptation,
offered to all the world.
What does the New Age Movement hold for the future?
One view is that it is an occult revival that will die down or level out
in due course.
Another view is that it will be rather insignificant relative to other
national and international factors.
But it also could very well be something else —a major tool of the
adversary's latter day deception that has really only just begun to hit its
stride. It could certainly be a platform upon which the Antichrist will
rise to world domination.
Dave Hunt, in America: The Sorcerer's New Apprentice, shares
some sobering thoughts to consider:
"The last time anything approaching this mass flight from reason
to mysticism occurred was in the 1920s and 30s. It was very likely this
great occult resurgence in Western Europe, and particularly in
Austria and Germany, which helped to set the stage for Germany's
acceptance of ****sm. Some historians, in fact, have referred to
Hitler as the 'Occult Messiah.'"
"... Something of great significance is occurring, and it must be taken
seriously. The last revival of occultism played into Adolf Hitler's
hands, and the eventual victims numbered in the millions.
One can only wonder where the current and far more pervasive renaissance
of such occultism will lead."14
In effect, the New Age is one of several major gateways for the
adversary to unleash his plans and forces for global domination. The
Antichrist comes bearing an innovative orthodox science in one hand
and a Universal Oneness (neo-New Age) philosophy in the other,
seated on a politico-economic throne of worldly power. A One-
World Order, headed by the ultimate wolf in sheep's clothing, offers a
desperate world many miracles, gifts, and wonders in the name of
peace, love, planetary healing and universal brotherhood.
What used to be as obvious as an orange-robed Hare Krishna
devotee or a blissed-out hippie may come today as a man in a threepiece
suit or laboratory coat.
The New Age as "Spiritual Humanism"
This movement can actually best be understood as a broad spectrum
of non-Christian philosophies and practices that can be categorized
as NEW AGE SPIRITUAL HUMANISM. The cornerstone of
this humanism is the belief that man is divine in nature, and is therefore
essentially "God" or an enlightened "God-man."
New Age man, believing himself to be divinely perfect and ultimately
all-powerful, sets himself up on a cosmic throne. This highly
touted god-man claims to have inherently unlimited powers to command
and manipulate the universe according to his sovereign will.
Man is elevated to divinity, deity, and sovereignty —the essence of the
blasphemy of New Age spiritual humanism that seeks to exalt sinful
man to godhood and to displace Jesus Christ as King of Kings and
Lord of Lords.
The New Age school of thought offers myriad substitutes and
counterfeits for the Chief Cornerstone.15 Different from the atheist/
agnostic orientation of secular humanism in many fundamental
ways, New Age spiritual humanism presents a spiritually based set of
belief-system alternatives to the Christian faith.
Just as secular humanism offers its own type of anti-religious
deceits to certain types of people, so does spiritual humanism offer
spiritually based counterfeits to an entirely different strata of people
in our society, people who hunger for and search for spiritual meaning,
truth, and fulfillment in their lives.
Secular humanism denies Deity and exalts man's own intellectual,
creative, and moral powers as the way to find true meaning in life
On the other hand, spiritual humanism affirms Deity (though a distinctly
different Deity concept than Christian theology) that casts
man in the role of a higher race of cosmic gods, with correspondingly
grandiose god-power —the ultimate "power trip."
Secular humanism puts man on an earthbound throne of scienti-fic
rationalism, self-generated truth, and self-created destiny; spiri-tual
humanism assigns man to a throne that spans the heavens and the
earth in a divine heritage of universal lordship, omnipotence, and selfcreated
glory.
In The New Age Rage, Robert L. Burrows amplifies this topic:
"Ironically, New Age spiritually echoes, and is a logical extension
of, the secularism it repudiates. Both deny the reality of the Creator,
and both see humanity as the final arbiter of truth and value. New
Age spirituality simply heightens secularism's mistakes by inflating
humanity's significance, yielding what Brooks Alexander dubs 'cosmic
humanism."'16
In Unmasking the New Age, Douglas Groothuis further clarifies this
important philosophical point: "The old-fashioned secular humanist...
said, 'There is no Deity. Long live humanity.' The new
transpersonal or cosmic humanist says, 'There is no Deity but humanity.'
God is pulled into the human breast. Scientific prowess and
rationality as the crowning human achievements are outstripped by
psychic abilities and unlimited potentials."17
However, the falseness and deep-seated dangers of the forces of
secular humanism are well documented in Christian literature. What
this book seeks to do is to help expose and define the often-underestimated
grave dangers that New Age spiritual humanism, in tandem
with secular humanism, poses as the Antichrist forces magnify their
plans today and tomorrow.
Surveying the Landscape of Spiritual Humanism
The New Age is an extremely difficult movement to define with
anything other than generalized statements. In many ways it is as
difficult as trying to represent the broad spectrum represented by the
term Christianity. Even as all Christians are united in their faith in
Jesus Christ, there are very diverse, oftentimes conflicting views between
Baptist Christians, Greek Orthodox Christians, Catholic
Christians, Pentecostal Christians, etc. So, too, there are at least as
many different sectarian schools of New Age thought.
There are no centralized organizations controlling all doctrines,
activities, or agendas. No single committee, council, or organization
dictates the doctrines and agenda, or controls all activities. The landmark
manifesto, The Aquarian Conspiracy, terms it "a leaderless but
powerful network." This characteristic has allowed room for an immense
variety of philosophies and phenomena to flourish via all
manner of diverse individuals and organizations.18 In any given large
city, there are hundreds to thousands of informal and professional
groups, businesses, organizations, classes, teachers, New Age
professionals, psychics, etc. Even in most smaller cities and towns
across America there are loose networks, organiza-tions, and
businesses of New Agers. What the movement touts as its Network
has indeed spread throughout the land, and into every available
socio-cultural niche.
The New Age spectrum runs the full gamut of types of people and
areas of society involved. What used to be an arena composed of
gurus, witches, and weirdos is now flooded with virtually every type of
person in society. Furthermore, the New Age has so many faces and
directions to its overall agenda that it has infiltrated into every
facet of American society in both obvious and very subtle, deeply
underlying ways. From religion, business, and politics to music, education,
and science the New Age has wended and wormed its way
into the very cornerstones of Western civilization —more so than
many people realize.
Let us explore this further: New Age spiritual humanism is primarily
born of a deep-seated disillusionment or dissatisfaction with
any or all of a variety of orthodox mainstream Western values and
institutions. This attitude increased primarily in the youth and avant
garde of the late 1950s and the 1960s, but throughout the 1970s and
1980s a much more across-the-board, society-wide trend toward rejecting
some or all of mainstream Western values and institutions
strongly surged.
This was born of an intense searching for new alternatives to the
problems and challenges of human existence and spiritual fulfillment.
For more and more people there was a perception that Western
society just did not provide adequate answers or fulfillment on personal,
interpersonal, societal, and global scales. Commenting on the
undercurrents of mood and thought of the ninety thousand people
attending a 1978 "Festival for Mind and Body," columnist Bernard
Levin wrote:
"What the world lives by at the moment just will not do. Nor will
it; nor do very many people suppose any longer that it will. Countries
like ours are full of people who have all the material comforts
they desire, yet lead lives of quiet (and at times noisy) desperation,
understanding nothing but the fact that there is a hole inside them
and that however much food and drink they pour into it, however
many motorcars and television sets they stuff it with, however many
well-balanced children and loyal friends they parade around the
edges of it ... it aches.
"Those who attended the festival were seeking something-not
certainty, but understanding: understanding of themselves."19
Searching For a New Age Worldview
This grass roots swell of discontent finds millions of all varieties of
people searching and experimenting in new directions for peace
wholeness, and happiness. Those people looking in New Age directions
find an eclectic grab-bag of opportunities drawing from the
foundational sources of the New Age spectrum:
• Ancient and modern occult traditions.
• Eastern and Western mystical religions.
• Neopaganism —natural religions and goddess worship.
• New Age-based psychologies.
• And modernized sorcery.
Furthermore, a host of contemporary innovations and eclectic
syntheses have blended many of these elements together into countless
New Age hybrids. American drive, ingenuity, and entrepreneurial
skills have instilled tremendous vigor to the New Age agenda.
These searching people, reaching out for new answers, new alternatives,
new directions, seized upon every facet of human experience to
remold according to sets of New Age principles. The spectrum of
issues and activities addressed is indicative of why the New Age is so
widespread today in every corner of American (and Western) culture.
These areas include: religion and spirituality; government and politics;
education; environmental issues; women's rights; psychology; art;
music; health care; science and technology; diet; child care; human
potential; creativity; sports; economics; social change; interpersonal
relationships; marriage and family; brain-mind research; and many
others.
What is important to note here is that the New Age Movement is not
just confined to obviously occult, cultic, or otherwise fringe elements
of society. Rather, New Age thought encompasses all aspects of
human experience. In essence, it is an attempt to revolutionize every
facet of life on personal, interpersonal, societal, and global scales.
There is no aspect of the human experience or societal issues that New
Age spiritual humanism does not attempt to remold into non-Biblebased
counterfeit solutions and alternatives. It is what spokesperson
Marilyn Ferguson calls the "new mind —the ascendance of a startling
worldview."
Whatever the issue, whatever aspect of the human experience being
questioned, spiritual humanism attempts to creatively draw upon
other cultures and ancient traditions and combine them with
contemporary innovations to remold the subject area into a more enlightened,
less limiting, more advanced, and more fulfilling format.
Essentially, the New Age takes all that the Bible states about human
nature, principles for living a righteous and fulfilling life, and the
Way to salvation, and attempts to redesign everything according to
supposedly superior concepts. It's a matter of taking the Creator's
perfect design for man as revealed in the Bible and trying to create
something better and more perfect.
Therefore, in reevaluating the area of marriage and family, for
example, spiritual humanism rejects the Bible's revealed wisdom as
old-fashioned or unevolved or just not my thing. Instead, it explores a
multitude of open-ended do-it-yourself possibilities that appear attractive
and viable to the new mind of New Age man. Indeed, there is
not just one perfect New Age model for revolutionizing marriage
and family, but an entire spectrum of different options are outlined
for each person to choose from according to his or her own personal
preference.
There's a basic credo that says "create your own reality according to
what feels right for you." For example, whether a person chooses to be
homosexual, bisexual, monogamous, polygamous or whatever is OK
as long as "It's right for me" or "It's done with love and no one's
hurt." This is a kind of relativistic, human-founded ethics (or designyour-
own ethics). In effect, New Age persons pick and choose from the
multitudes of options in each area of life according to their own
personal preferences. Here you pick your own truth, your own morals,
and your own wisdom. The absolute moral standards and eternal
principles of wisdom revealed in the Holy Bible are either selectively
picked through a la carte or they are tossed out the win-dow
completely.
The Alternative New Age Menu
The New Age menu encompasses the practical, the socially acceptable,
the avant garde, the routine, the down-to-earth, the adventurous,
the bizarre —all types and forms appealing to the spectrum of
humanity's tastes and interests. To provide an idea of the multiplicity of
New Age topics, here's part of the table of contents from one of the
most successful New Age media ventures, San Francisco's "New
Dimensions Radio": "Self-Help," "Consciousness, Personal Growth,
and Personal Transformation," "Body Awareness," "Holistic Health
and Wellness," "Visionary Futures," "Practical Philosophy," "Mov-ing
into Space," "Appropriate Energy and Technology," "Medicine
People and Healing Visions," "Right Living," "Evolutionary Economics,"
"Psychology Tomorrow," "Birthing, Babies, and Beyond,"
"Shamans, Sorcerers, Wizards, and Other Wonders," "Myths to Live
By," and "The Spiritual Quest."
Also, here are some week-long topics from a vacation seminar
center: "Inspired Poetics," "Writing for Enlightenment and Profit,"
"Learn to Relax," "Green Politics," "Dreams and Your Personal
Mythology," "Massage and Acupressure: Healing from the Heart,"
"New Approaches to Birth, Sex, and Death," "Communication Skills:
Talk (and Listen) Straight from the Heart," and "Personal Spirituality
and Social Responsibility."
It's easy to see from these short lists that any number of the topics
sound positive, unflaky, and even sometimes socially responsible.
Mixed in with the obviously occultic (like "Shamans, Sorcerers,
Wizards, and Other Wonders") are topics that sound like something
a concerned, thinking person might want to explore. What is not so
obvious is that each subject area is a New Age version of economics,
interpersonal psychology, space travel, poetics, self-help, spirituality,
etc. Even further, sometimes the way that the subject is presented is
not blatantly New Age but instead a quite subtle and implicit expression
of the spiritual humanistic agenda. For the unwary, spiritual
humanistic views sometimes can be assimilated without even realizing
it. It's not hard to begin seeing how the extensive branching of the
New Age Movement has opened doors at every turn of human experience,
at every angle of human issues. Few stones are left unturned in
its quest to revolutionize the world and every individual in it.
Two Major Schools of New Age Thought
Let's explore a brief overview of two overlapping but different
major schools of New Age thought:
In The New Age Journal, an article on "What is the New Age?" in
the Jan./Feb. 1988 issue generally defines the first viewpoint of New
Age thought as "Consciousness Renaissance."
"In its broadest sense, new age thinking can be characterized as a
form of utopianism, the desire to create a better society, a 'new age' in
which humanity lives in harmony with itself, nature, and the
cosmos.
"... unlike the biblical "Second Coming" or most other millenar-ian
visions, the new age being discussed today by a number of philosophers,
scientists, and social critics will not result from a future
upheaval brought about solely by God. Rather, they say society is
now in the midst of the transformation, a change potentially as
sweeping as the Renaissance or the Protestant Reformation. What's
more, it is occurring in society from the inside out, as more and more
people begin to question traditional assumptions about life, the
future of the planet, and the nature of reality."20
Consciousness Renaissance sees humankind currently experiencing the
beginning of a new spiritual and socio-political awakening, a modernday
super-Renaissance destined to lead man into a new era of
enlightened spiritual humanism. Spurning the thought of man
needing divine intervention to assist in the creation of a global
utopia, this perspective sees the awakening of "unlimited human
god-potential" as the means by which "heaven on earth" will manifest.
In essence, as man achieves higher states of "god-consciousness"
through New Age practices, heaven will dawn on Earth only through
the dawning of man's enlightened "higher consciousness."
As a leading spokesman of this position, David Spangler, writes:
"... The essence of new age thinking is the process of seeing the
heaven that is right here on earth every day, a process ... called 'renaming
the sacred.'
"... To rename the sacred is to have a different view of the universe.
... It is to re-expand those boundaries we have placed around
God, even to redefine the nature of divinity. It is to look at the objects,
people, and events in our lives and to say, 'You are sacred.'"21
What this school of thought basically asserts is that by elevating
man's consciousness, the "heaven" that always has been here on Earth is
then perceived. The veils of man's limited thinking are then lifted and,
lo and behold, heaven was here on Earth all along. Man is divine and
perfect, the world is divine and perfect, and the cosmos is divine and
perfect. Man has simply been blind to this eternal fact because he has
been veiled by a limited consciousness, a state of ignorance that needs
to be overcome by awakening into cosmic enlightenment.
The second major branch of New Age thought can be termed
"Quantum Leap of Consciousness." A quote in literature from a
New Age center in Florida typifies this school of thought: "We are on
the brink of a new age, a whole new world. In the twinkling of an
eye, mankind's awareness, our collective consciousness, is going to
make an instantaneous quantum leap into the heavens. Everything
will change in a flash of divine Light. Get ready. Your heavenly
heritage awaits. Come on in; the water's fine ... He who hesitates is
lost. ... He who chooses life is found."22
In this theory, humanity now has reached a critical phase of individual
and collective evolutionary growth. When sufficient momentum
is generated by enough people having developed "higher consciousness,"
then the entire world will be ready to make a collective quanturn
leap into a higher dimension of the heavenly realm. Earth and
humanity will literally leap in a flash of light into the heavens above.
In contrast to the Consciousness Renaissance view, this Quantum
Leap of Consciousness model is directly tied to some form of divine
intervention. Though there are a rich variety of concepts about the
nature and form of this divine intervention, essentially a sovereign and
omnipotent celestial force is said to deliver Earth into the heavens
above. Various groups attribute this intervention to different sources.
Examples include "highly evolved extraterrestrials," a "Council of
Ascended Masters," an "Enlightened World Teacher," or some other allpowerful
"divine" being(s). Earth and humanity are to be pulled up to
the next major notch on the evolutionary ladder, thereafter to be
governed benevolently by the intervening celestial force(s).
Man's task right now, according to this view, is to help generate
enough people with higher consciousness in order to meet the re91
quirements for intervention to occur. It's like meeting a quota before
the next stage of the job can begin.
The distortions of Scriptural prophecies are abundant; for example,
many who believe in the Quantum Leap of Consciousness hold
that the false prophets, earthquakes, plagues, wars, famines, etc.
prophesied in the Bible will be magically bypassed by enough people
meditating for peace, thereby avoiding this kind of "man-created
negative thinking." Furthermore, this school of thought maintains
that some other "World Teacher" or "Council of Ascended Masters"
will have divine authority in the New Age, not Christ.
Another variation on this skewed theme is that it is not the personal
and visible Jesus who returns, but rather "Christ consciousness"
that descends into the minds of all earthly inhabitants. Yet
others believe that the world will be delivered via extraterrestrials' intervention
during a time of enormous, out-of-control world tumult.
From the article, "What is the New Age?" this tension between
the two perspectives is highlighted: "Some new age fundamentalists
do predict that a literal apocalypse is imminent and that it will be
brought about by mystical, extraterrestrial, or cosmic forces. But
for many others, the new age has become a metaphor for the unprecedented
changes now occurring in many aspects of daily life, a
process of rapid personal and social transformation ..."23
Many of the Consciousness Renaissance camp try to distance
themselves somewhat from what they regard as the flakier side of the
New Age —UFO telepathic communications, crystal power, glorification
of channeling, and the like. These folk tend to focus more on
integrating increasingly socially acceptable New Age values into personal
and societal life. This is the side of the New Age that has made
especially strong inroads into areas such as the corporate business
world, psychology, entertainment media, education, health care, and
science (among others).
In terms of value-system and practical-level infiltration into
mainstream American culture, this aspect of the New Age has
proven the more successful of the two schools of thought due to its
subtler humanistic approach.
Though there is much overlapping between these two major philosophies,
the Quantum Leap of Consciousness viewpoint is much
more predisposed to the metaphysical-occult end of the spectrum. In
particular, the predominant themes lie much more towards mediumship,
spiritism, witchcraft, psychic powers, and sorceries in myriad
shapes and forms. One of the primary dangers from this branch of
the New Age is its major contribution to the historically unprecedented
unleashing of demonic forces into the world today.
What Type of People are Attracted to the New Age Spectrum?
No longer is the New Age the sole province of gurus, hippies,
witches, psychic readers, mediums, fortune-tellers, and all the other
popular associations with New Age. Today, people involved in one
aspect of the New Age spectrum or another cut across all boundaries,
come in all forms, and from all walks of life.
Marilyn Ferguson, in The Aquarian Conspiracy, comments on
the incredibly wide range of conspirators.
"The Aquarian Conspirators range across all levels of income
and education, from the humblest to the highest. There are schoolteachers
and office workers, famous scientists, government officials
and lawmakers, artists and millionaires, taxi drivers and celebrities,
leaders in medicine, education, law, psychology. Some are open in
their advocacy, and their names may be familiar. Others are quiet
about their involvement, believing they can be more effective if they are
not identified with ideas that have all too often been misunderstood."24
Here are some primary categories of people who often are attracted
to the movement. As you will see in this quick overview, it
cuts into every level of American culture.
1) Socio-cultural rebels who have a profound disillusionment
with every level of Western culture, and feel a powerful need to
search out ancient and contemporary countercultural alternatives.
This kind of person can come in any kind of guise, from an organic
farmer to a corporate business executive.
2) Regular folks looking for answers to the many challenges and
problems of human life, as well as sometimes looking for new excitement
and adventure. People looking for answers to such diverse
things as stress, psychological blocks, interpersonal communications
problems, sexual dissatisfaction, weight reduction, and many others
sometimes unknowingly can be introduced to New Age ideas and
techniques.
3) A significant number of people have carried the lineages of
mystery schools, goddess worship cults, witchcraft, esoteric elite
circles, and other such metaphysical-occult traditions and schools
throughout the centuries. There always have been New Agers continuously
active throughout history.
4) People who turn away from the Christian faith due to rebellion,
apathy, curiosity, lukewarm faith, backsliding, serious personal
problems that cloud judgment, or who are unwary.
5) People who are prone to trying new fads, trends, what's hotthose
who like to experiment, adventure, and dabble in new and exciting
things.
6) Teenagers and young adults who are finding themselves, rebelling
from authority, experimenting with new things, checking out
powerful experiences, going along with peer pressure, or trying to
find truth along misguided directions.
7) People who are bored and have a lot of extra time on their
hands sometimes wind up dabbling and experimenting with various
options on the New Age menu.
8) People who are lonely and become involved in New Age
circles to find acceptance and companionship.
9) People who are spiritually, psychologically, and/or physically
sick and who delve into New Age alternatives claiming to provide
relief, healing, and fulfillment.
10) People looking for personal power and control over them
selves, others, and/or universal forces.
The New Age has an enticement for every weakness in natural man.
Different Pictures of the New Age Spectrum
Now, let me give you several snapshots of the New Age spectrum
from different perspectives. The purpose here is not to give a complete
and exhaustive overview of the New Age; rather, it is intended more
as a helpful introduction toward understanding the multi-faceted
nature of the movement as the reader continues through the chapters
ahead.
Examples of the New Age Spectrum
Yoga; est seminars (now called The Forum); Transcendental
Meditation; developing psychic powers; subliminal cassette tapes for
self-improvement; "writing your own ticket with God" ("create your
own reality" seminars); "tapping into the powers of your Higher
Self" seminars; pendulums, dowsing rods, and the I Ching; astrology;
contacting spirit guides techniques; neopagan nature religions;
consulting psychic readers; dabbling with Ouija boards; and LSD
and other psychedelic drugs.
Some Dangers of the New Age
Deep self-delusion; rejection of Christ Jesus; false happiness and
contentment; demonic possession; physical/mental/emotional
breakdowns; love of untruth and abomination; family disintegration;
making wrong life-decisions; more frustration and discontent in
life; committing immoral acts; performing scripturally forbidden
practices; and, judgment into the lake of fire.
Examples of Obvious New Age Phenomenon
Ouija boards; astrology; yoga; past life regressions; crystal
power; Shirley MacLaine; spoon-bending with mind power; firewalking;
out-of-body experiences; astral traveling; psychic readings;
pyramid power; channeling; spirit guides; tarot cards; and witchcraft
paraphernalia.
Examples of Sometimes Not-So-Obvious New Age Phenomenon
Some types of guided mental-visualization exercises; some mentalpower
development techniques; subliminal programming cassette
tapes and videos; hypnosis; some types of holistic health care; Hatha
Yoga classes at the local YMCA; meditation techniques subtly based
on Eastern mystical philosophies; "Dungeons and Dragons"; "transpersonal
psychology"; "humanistic psychology"; world peace
meditation events; brain-drive machines; re-birthing techniques; and
some children's cartoons and toys.
Examples of Some of Today's "Hottest" New Age Phenomenon
Channeling; crystal power; contacting your "Higher Self"; going
to geographical "vortexes" (occult "power spots"); goddess worship;
world peace meditations; psychic readings; self-empowerment seminars;
occult-based success and prosperity seminars; interpersonal development
and sex workshops; and, telepathically contacting UFOs.
Thus, in this chapter we see that far from being a tempest in a
teapot, the winds of New Age spiritual humanism are blowing
through grass-roots America with alarmingly increasing force. This
mounting threat to American society and the Church is not based on
simplistic strategies but is instead a complex, multi-level phenomenon
which is an end-times force whose prophesied time has come.