[The following file may be copied and distributed freely, provided that it is printed in its entirety, without changes - Bob Hunter] +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + TESTIMONY OF AN EX-NEW AGER + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The New Age Movement is one of the most appealing, and yet, potentially, one of the most dangerous Movements in the world today. If ever there was a Movement that could unite most world religions and set the stage for the coming of the Anti-christ, this is it. It has even infiltrated Christianity to the degree that many Bible-believing Churches are unwittingly teaching New Age principles to its members. The term New Age is deceptive in itself, as there is little new in the Movement. Among its philosophies are an emphasis on discovering oneself, all of nature is God, God is an impersonal force sometimes called the Christ consciousness, all roads lead to God, reincarnation, man has a divine nature, sin does not exist, we can reach god-likeness by good works and self effort, feelings are authoritative, and meditation is cleaning our mind, emptying it, assisted by diet, posture and time of year. Recently I interviewed a former New Ager about how she became involved in the New Age Movement. ___________________________________________________________________________ Pat: "When I was in my teens I started going to psychics. I always watched Science Fiction programmes as a child, and anything with U.F.O.'s in it, or witches in horror movies. Instead of putting my life in God's hands, I went to other methods. I took a course on world religions in College, went to psychic fairs and had my future read by tarot cards several times. I would go to palm readers, tea leaf readers, as well as to a couple of T.M. sessions. I didn't know the Bible well enough to know that I should not be consulting other people about my future. I was, in fact, looking for God in all the wrong places. I prayed to God every day, even though I was in the Movement. I believe that that was the only thing that saved me. I taught others about the New Age concepts as well as going to seminars on auras, self-healing, and reflexology. In 1985, before starting to see a guru, I started to hear voices. They would help me find people in large crowds. I was instructed by my voices to go to certain people and to listen to them, and to have visions. "I went to my guru for three years, seeing him once a month. It would be like being on drugs. I would go into an altered state with my Guru helping me with crystals. I would be fine for a couple of weeks, and then come down with an awful thud. I would lose my temper, and sometimes my job. I would also wear Egyptian jewelry, along with a crystal around my neck." Why did you want to know about your future? Pat: "I didn't feel like being alone. I wanted to know whether I would ever get married, live a long life, and have any children. There was a very strong pull to the occult because of that." Was there a sense of fellowship and love that also helped to keep you in the Movement? Pat: "There was lots of love in the New Age. Everybody hugging and kissing each other. Everyone giving each other universal love, and being one with each other." Was the term "New Age" used when you were in the Movement, or had many people never heard the phrase before? Pat: "I first heard the term 'New Age' from Constance Cumbey. I didn't know about the New Age Movement, as such, when I was in it." Did any seemingly miraculous events occur during your involvement with the New Age? Pat: "I once healed my cat. I concentrated on my cat and rubbed my hands over the place where it was ill, and by feeding it and concentrating on the cat, I think that I healed it. That's what I thought, anyways." Were there some areas of the New Age Movement that you accepted and other areas that you rejected? Pat: "I believed especially in crystal healing, but I accepted everything that I was being taught." Who did the New Age Movement consider God to be? Pat: "The All-being, the All-one, everybody being one. Being part of the Godhead." Who was Jesus to a New Ager? Pat: "They told me that He was part of the seventh ray, or something like that. That He was a disciple of God, but He wasn't God Himself." If someone in the New Age Movement wanted to know about the real God, and the real Jesus, where would they turn? Pat: "To the Bible." What happened that started putting doubts in you mind as to whether the New Age Movement was the best thing to be involved with? Pat: "I was starting to get tired of going to this guru, and I felt like there was something wrong with the whole thing. It was never-ending. I wondered why there were so many past lives to be helped from, and why I was spending $40 every time I went to see my guru. The voices I heard were not allowing me to go outside or read the Bible, or visit my friends, or go to church. Finding out the truth about them, I felt like I was a prisoner in my own house. I was at the fork of the road, where I would either go completely insane or be saved, and I was saved." How did this come about? Pat: "Two of my friends took me to see Constance Cumbey, a speaker on the dangers of the New Age Movement. She took one look at me and led me aside. She, with God's grace, helped me get out of the Movement, by telling me the truth, and how God said that there was only one life, not many, as I had believed. She told me that I was being deceived by Satan himself and his demons. I went into shock and cried. I wrote a twenty-three page testimony of my experience and threw away eight green garbage bags of Occult articles. I held the Bible close to me for days after that. The voices tried to not let me go, and really became louder until I was freed from Satan's grip. The voices do come back, but not as strong as they used to. I still have to take medication to drown them out. If I stopped the medication, I would hear them trying to tell me what to do, but I wouldn't listen to them. "For a while after leaving the Movement I felt very lonely, even in a crowd of people. In the Movement, everyone hugged and loved each other. But out in the world, everything was cold. If it wasn't for the help of my friends, I would not be alive today. I now have Christian friends to see me through my journey." If different people were coming to you and saying that God wants you to do this or that, where would you go first to find out what He wanted you to believe, and to do? Pat: "I would measure everything by the Bible. I would read the Bible first to determine what was correct, and what wasn't." ___________________________________________________________________________ One can see that there is a great attraction to the New Age Movement. Everyone wants to know what their future will bring and to have powers that no one else has. It is also very appealing to believe that if you mess up this life, there will always be the next one in which to try and get things right. The Bible states, however, that we only have one chance. "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment." (Hebrews 9:27) The New Age Movement doesn't believe in sin in the way that the Bible defines it. All a person lacks is enlightenment. That person's consciousness simply needs to be changed so that he will think correctly about his oneness with the Force or impersonal presence. New Age believes that the way a person lives in this life will determine the way he will be reincarnated in the next, an idea that is as old as the Eastern religions that they follow. It also shows the way the natural man thinks. He thinks that he can transcend moral boundaries, but realizes the necessity of accounting for wrongdoing in this life. The question arises, if New Age teachings are correct, why haven't these principles of living helped improve the lives of those living in the countries where these ideas first originated? It is because mankind's problem is sin, not lack of enlightenment. The New Age Movement holds to the view that "all is one". How, then, can it account for both good and evil? Is the one "essence" both good and evil? In the Hindu religion, reincarnation involves the idea of "karma". This means that whatever a person sows in this life he will reap in the next life. The New Age Movement is inconsistent when it borrows from Hinduism and Buddhism. According to Eastern beliefs, one may come back as a dog, cow or flea. Thus, cows, for instance, are considered sacred in India. After all, it might be Uncle Herman! This idea is rejected by the New Age, as it is a very unappealing concept. So, how does one recognize and avoid erroneous teachings? For, many people besides the New Age Movement preach false teachings, many claiming to be Christian. Peter warned "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves." (1 Peter 2:1) Paul admonished the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 11:3,4 when he said "But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel, which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully!" New Agers should be commended for having an interest in spiritual matters, as do many other people, but as Paul said in Romans 10:1,2, "Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I bear witness that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge." Remember that in the book of Acts, before Paul was converted, he had that zeal, that earnest desire to serve God, and in doing so he was responsible for the persecution and murder of many Christians. He meant well, but didn't know the real Messiah or the gospel message. First of all, one must realize that feelings can change and cannot be trusted entirely. While feelings can change, truth doesn't. Just because something feels right, that doesn't mean that it is necessarily right. Pat felt at one time that the New Age teachings were right, and she was having some very eye-opening experiences. But then she realized that she was being deceived by Satan and his demons. Remember that Paul stated in 2 Corinthians 11:14 "... for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." He is going to present himself and his teachings as something that appears good, not evil, as that would be immediately recognized for the heresy that it is. Secondly, Paul also told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16,17, that "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." Therefore, all teachings about the Father, the Son Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and salvation, should be measured against the Scriptures to see if what is being taught is correct. When Paul went to the Bereans, it is stated in Acts 17:11 that, "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness, and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." Thirdly, it is vital that one get to know the real Jesus, and the real Spirit, and the real gospel. Solomon said in Proverbs 14:12 that "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." That way is the way of good works, of the good things outweighing the bad, and then hoping for the best, as we shall see next. Isaiah 64:6 says "All our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind, our sins sweep us away." Gal. 3:10 says that "All who rely on observing the Law are under a curse, for it is written: cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." James said, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point, is guilty of breaking all of it." (James 2:10) Romans 3:10,23 states "For there is no one righteous, not even one ... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." And yet, what are God's requirements for getting to heaven? Jesus said "Therefore, you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48) That is totally impossible for us to do, as the Scriptures above state. Everyone likes to say that God is love, and they would be right. The Scriptures support this belief. But what people do not want to accept is that fact that the Bible also teaches that God is just and righteous and must punish sin. "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; You cannot tolerate wrong," "The soul who sins is the one who will die," "Everyone will die for his own sin." (Habakkuk 1:13; Ezekiel 18:4; Jeremiah 31:30) He is a just Judge who must punish our sins. We would look with contempt upon any judge who let everyone free who came through his courtroom, wouldn't we? Justice must be preserved. Knowing that we are unable to save ourselves through our own good works, God sent His only-begotten Son to pay the penalty for our sins. "For as through the one man's disobedience (Adam) the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous" (Romans 5:19). Paul states that "He made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." He who was perfect became a sin offering for us. "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) Eternal life is a free gift. One can't earn a gift, as it would no longer be a gift, but something owed to us. (Romans 4:4) And how does one obtain that free gift? Paul states in Romans 10:8-10 "But what does it say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' - that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, You SHALL be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." This does not mean simply an intellectual belief that Jesus existed and died for our sins. James said that even the demons believe that there is one God, and shudder (James 2:19). In other places the demons acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, but that won't save them. It means realizing that you are a sinner in need of a Saviour and trusting in the shed blood of Jesus alone to save you. There is nothing that you can do to contribute to your own salvation but to accept the gift. The righteousness we receive is not our own, as no one is righteous (Romans 3:10). It is Christ's righteousness that we receive (Romans 5:19). It is a free gift (Romans 6:23). The way to receive it is given in Romans 10:8-10 above. Ephesians 2:8-10 states that "For by grace you HAVE BEEN SAVED through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." If we try to add anything to that grace through faith, then we are no longer saved by grace, but are trying to work our way to heaven. Romans 11:6 says "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace." The writer to the Hebrews said of Jesus, "Therefore, He is able to save COMPLETELY those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them." (Hebrews 7:25) To try and add works in order to save yourself or to keep yourself saved, would be like saying to Jesus, "Jesus, I don't think that you are able to save me on your own, or to keep me saved, but if you work from your end and I work from mine, maybe together we can get me saved and keep me that way." One last point to keep from being deceived by Satan into believing false teachings. The very last chapter in the Bible warns all who would try to add anything to or take anything away from the Scriptures. Revelation 22:18,19 says "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." Like the Bereans, we should compare everything with what the Bible says, accept only what the Scriptures solidly back up, and reject everything else, because John warned us that teachers would be adding to and taking away from God's Word, just as the Pharisees did in Jesus' day. This way we will never be deceived by false teachings and the false teachers that Peter, Jesus, and many others warned would be coming. If you would like further information, or would like to contact Pat, please write to the address below. Christian Research Institute - Canada Box 505, Station R Toronto Ontario M4G 4E1 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ THE GOSPEL "Now, Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more that five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born." 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\