Title: New Age Spiritualities or The New Age Movement TNAM
1New Age SpiritualitiesorThe New Age Movement
(TNAM)
2Introduction
- Definition
- Review of history and the main influences in its
development - What are its beliefs?
- What challenges does it bring to Christian
witness?
3What Does The Term Mean?
- Umbrella term embracing Eastern religions,
mysticism, occultism, etc.
4What Does The Term Mean?
- A movement, network, synthesis
- No structure, no membership, no headquarters or
hierarchy, and no statement of faith or religious
ceremonial. John Stott
5What Does The Term Mean?
- Essentially a syncretism of ideas from a wide
variety of non-Christian - Religions mixed with modern theories of
philosophy and psychology
6What Does The Term Mean?
- Characterised by a flight from the secular
worldview - Religious manifestation of postmodernity
7Historical Development
- New does not imply novel
- Drawn from ancient spiritualities in East, West,
ancient Egypt, pagan Europe, India, Western
occultism or esotericism
8Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
- 1831- 1891
- Mother died when 11yrs brought up by various
relatives - Talked with animals became a medium
9Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
- Had face to face encounter with her Hindu figure
master who told her to organise the Theosophical
Society - Married when 17 to elderly general for three
months only
10Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
- Wrote two books Isis Unveiled and The Secret
Doctrine the latter an occult classic - Both dictated from her masters, The Ascended
Masters of Wisdom more highly evolved beings
who after various reincarnations had left earths
plan and were now guiding mankind
11Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
- Adolf Hitler was a follower of her teaching
keeping a copy of The Secret Doctrine by his bed - From theosophists he derived his beliefs of a
controlling hierarchy of initiates
12Theosophists Beliefs
- All great religion and the teachings of he wise
throughout history have a certain core of basic
knowledge that is referred to as theosophy - Principle doctrines are closely connected with
Hindu traditions
13Theosophists Beliefs
- Universe is a unity based on universal laws
- Humanity is part of a general evolutionary process
14Theosophists Beliefs
- Life forms are transient but the human spirit is
eternal - Upon death the individual spirit continues and in
time will be reincarnated
15Theosophists Beliefs
- Individuals resulting earthly conditions are
determined according to the law of karma - However, within this, individuals have the power
to free themselves from all human limitations and
to experience reality directly through the
process of meditation
16Alice Bailey
- 1880 1941 first to coin term New Age
- Born in Manchester to parents of high social
standing both dying when she was young.
17Alice Bailey
- She rejected Christianity after a time in
Christian work. - She had a painful marriage and was left with
three young daughters.
18Alice Bailey
- She was "converted" to theosophy through reading
The Secret Doctrine. - She then became a channel for thirty years for
the "Tibetan Master.
19Alice Bailey
- She died just thirty days after she claimed he
had finished writing through her. - She held extreme anti-Christian and anti-Jewish
views
20Alice Bailey
- She wrote twenty four books and founded the Lucis
Trust, under the name Lucifer Publishing Company.
- Today it has 6000 members
21Alice Bailey
- Members include some of the most renowned
financial and political leaders such as Robert
McNamara, Henry Kissinger, David Rockefeller and
George Schultz, headquartered until 1980's in the
United Nations Plaza.
22Carl Gustav Jung
- 1875 1961- born in Switzerland
- Presentation of the occult as a science
- Strong family history of occultism in maternal
grandfather and mother especially.
23Carl Gustav Jung
- He had a very strong bond as a child with nature.
- He had a significant esoteric dream that proved
to be an initiation into darkness. - He worked closely with Sigmund Freud.
24Carl Gustav Jung
- He was searching for an answer to the sense of
lostness, an alienation within modern humanity - Concluded due to lack of mythology
25Carl Gustav Jung
- Impressed by the Pueblo Indians they had a much
closer relationship with the earth and a
mythology that gave them meaning
26Carl Gustav Jung
- His teachings include the concept of the
collective unconsciousness containing archetypes.
- An archetype is a universal thought form or
predisposition to perceive the world in certain
ways.
27Carl Gustav Jung
- They appear to people through dreams, myths, art
and ritual. They represent the total latent
potential of the psyche. - Some include birth, death, magic, the hero, God,
the wise old man, the demon and mother earth.
28Gurdjieff
- 1866 1949 born in Alexandropol, Russia
travelled to Paris in 1922 - Established Institute for the Harmonious
Development of Man
29Gurdjieff
- All human beings are like prisoners but are all
capable of obtaining the enlightened state - Done much to encourage transformation techniques
30Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
- 1881 1955 - born in France to traditional
Catholic family - Studied geology and became passionate about
evolution
31Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
- Developed a pantheistic blend to his Catholic
background leading to a warning from the Catholic
Holy Office on his works in 1957 and again in
1962. - Now his works have been accepted by Pope John
Paul 2 and he is hailed a great thinker and
scientific genius.
32Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
- In The Aquarian Conspiracy - arguably the most
important modern work on the New Age movement -
there are numerous different references to him. - Many powerful world leaders quote him, e.g. Al
Gore.
33Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
- Died 10/4/1955 Easter Sunday with lines of a
litany on his desk - "Focus of ultimate and universal energy
- Centre of the cosmic sphere of cosmogenesis
- Heart of Jesus, heart of evolution, unite me to
yourself"
34Edgar Cayce
- (NAM and medicine) - 1877 1945
- Born in Kentucky
- Only son of family of five children
35Edgar Cayce
- Didn't go to school but educated by a Mormon but
was introduced to Christianity as a child. - He had an "angelic" visitation when he was 13
years old and was allowed a wish - he wished to
help others with healing
36Edgar Cayce
- He discovered healing powers through hypnosis,
moving on to clairvoyant and psychic readings. - He also gave prophecies and predictions and there
were similarities to Nostradamus.
37Edgar Cayce
- He birthed the holistic health movement with the
marriage of the occult to health issues.
38Barbara Hubbard
- (World unity) - 1929 -
- Grandmother figure from privileged background
committed to bringing global unity through a
restructuring of the world's governments. - Founder or member of many political organisations.
39Barbara Hubbard
- Founder or member of many political
organisations. - She was heavily influenced by Chardin's writings.
- She became a channel for her "voices"
re-interpreting the book of Revelation.
40John Randolph Price
- (World unity) 1932 - He and his wife Jean are
co-founders of the Quartus Foundation - He champions a global society, a world religion.
- He held World Healing Day, hoping for five
hundred people to give "mental consent" for the
healing of the planet.
41John Randolph Price
- His spirit guide, Asher, communicated to him
about the destructiveness of "negative thought
patterns". When enough people think "black
thoughts" it affects the entire planet causing
tornadoes etc - called Hundreth Monkey concept -
"quantum leap".
42Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev
- (The environmental agenda) 1931-
- Grew up in home of Russian Orthodox peasant
farmers. - He rejected Christianity aged 21 and became
member of the Communist Party.
43Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev
- He became President of the Soviet Union
1990-1991. - He wrote his books with his policies of glasnost,
openness in the media, and perestroika, economic
and political restructuring or reform. - Nobel Peace Prize 1990
44Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev
- "Gentlemen, comrades, do not be concerned about
all you hear about glasnost and perestroika and
democracy in the coming years. These are
primarily for outward consumption. There will be
no significant internal change within the Soviet
Union, other than for cosmetic purposes. Our
purpose is to disarm the Americans and let them
fall asleep"
45Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev
- He launched his program in 1995 - a virtual
"coming out party for New Age elitists". - The Earth Charter and Green Cross International
are his initiatives. - Rio Earth Summit 1992 included the Convention on
Biodiversity and Agenda 21.
46Robert Muller
- (Global citizens) (Education) 1923
- Born in Belgium and raised in France he
experienced constant political turmoil. - He was a member of the French Resistance and
captured by the Nazis.
47Robert Muller
- In 1948 he won an essay prize on "how to govern
the world" - the prize being an internship in the
newly created UN. - Eventually he reached the post of assistant
secretary-general until he retired in 1986.
48Robert Muller
- He has authored 14 books. He and his companion,
Barbara Gaughen, refer to themselves as "The
Cosmic Couple". - He has been referred to as the "Philosopher" and
the "Prophet of Hope". His New Age views have
become the driving force behind his political
activism.
49Robert Muller
- His motto in his writings
- "See the world with global eyes
- Love the world with a global heart
- Understand the world with a global mind
- Merge the world through a global spirit"
50Robert Muller
- Associated with others like Lucille Green in
other organisations especially WCPA World
Constitution and Parliament Association - Now boasting a network of more than 430
organisations.
51Robert Muller
- Robert Muller became involved in education
creating the WCC Manual - World Core Curriculum.
52Robert Muller
- The Manual states The world is indebted to Dr
Robert Muller, Former Assistant Secretary General
of the United Nations, author and lecturer, for
the formulation of the World Core Curriculum in
its skeletal form. It is upon that scaffold
combined with the Ageless Wisdom teachings that
this present work has precipitated. The
underlying philosophy upon which The Robert
Muller School is based will be found in the
teachings set forth in the books of Alice A
Bailey by the Tibetan teacher, Djwhal Khul
(published by Lucis Publishing Company).
Emphasis from The New World Religion
53Robert Muller
- Mullers spiritual quest
- He grew up in a Catholic home but practised
Eastern meditation. - At the UN it was Secretary General U Thant, a
Buddhist, who left the deepest impression on him.
54Robert Muller
- It was U Thant who introduced him to Chardin's
philosophy. - His personal beliefs are summarized in his book,
New Genesis.
55Robert Muller
- In another book, My Testament to the UN, Muller
favourably quotes Sri Chinmoy, a Hindu priest,
regarding the UN's ultimate destiny "No human
force will ever be able to destroy the United
Nations, for the United Nations is not a mere
building or a mere idea it is not a manmade
creation, The United Nations is the vision-light
of the Absolute Supreme, which is slowly,
steadily, and unerringly illuminating the
ignorance, the night of our human life. The
divine success and supreme progress of the United
Nations is bound to become a reality. At his
choice hour, the Absolute Supreme will ring his
own victory-bell here on Earth through the loving
and serving heart of the United Nations"
56The Sixties
- Upsurge of interest from the counter-culture
movement - Flower power sensual freedom
- Drugs, mind trips
57The Sixties
- Beatles Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
- Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band new
holistic approach to meaning of life - George Harrisons My Sweet Lord in praise of
Krishna
58The Sixties
- Age of Aquarius musical Hair - symbol of the
initiation of a new age - Marilyn Ferguson The Aquarian Conspiracy we
are entering a millennium of love and light .
the time of the minds true liberation
59The Sixties
- Hippie trail to Nepal and India
- Hindu yogi from east to west bringing meditation
and yoga - Beatles, Shirley MacLaine
60Mass Media
- New Age concepts have become commercially
profitable especially when linked to science
fiction and fantasy - Jungian psychologists say that science fiction
has become the mythology of Western people
61Mass Media
- The Star Wars series of films
- Luke Skywalkers use of intuition rather than
computers - TV series e.g. Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The
X-files
62Mass Media
- These films however have a commercial purpose
rather than merely to propagate New Age ideas
63Recent History Of TNAM
- 1970 Findhorn Foundation
- 1982 Maitreya
- 1986 Assisi Interfaith Mass
64Recent History Of TNAM
- 1989 Canterbury Interfaith and Multifaith Event
- 1991 Proliferation of NA shops, psychic fairs,
alternative medicines, festivals
65Aims Of TNAM
- New World Order
- One World Leader
- One World Religion
- One World Political System
- One World Economic System
66Influence - Politics
- Organisations UNO, UNESCO, Illuminati
- Ecology, food supplies
- Health issues, genetics, Aryanism, abortion,
euthanasia etc
67Influence - Politics
- Disarmament, law enforcement
- Education, Feminism
- Media
68Economics
- Controls on credit, companies, countries,
cashless society, monetary union - Global finances
- Economic manipulation crucial to NA goals
69Medicine
- Ethical issues abortion, genetics, euthanasia
- Alternative medicine bridgehead
- Health food shops, holistic
70Medicine
- Infiltration, acceptance by allopathic medicine
- Sexuality issues
- Counselling and psychology based on Jungs ideas
71Education
- World core curriculum
- More of an issue in USA
- Influence of Robert Muller
72Entertainment
- Personalities Shirley Maclaine
- Films ET, Star Wars, Ghost Busters etc
- Theatre Hair
- Books, videos, tapes
73Entertainment
- Children Dungeons and Dragons, bracelets,
symbols, rainbows - Clothes fashion, symbols, jewellery
74Religion
- Creation centred spirituality worship of nature,
mother earth - One world religion worship of Lucifer
- Worship of man
- Apostasy of Church
75 World Council of Churches
- Created in 1948 pro UN a report in 1994 stated
"after the Second World War, the establishment of
the World Council of Churches in 1948 signalled
the resolve of the ecumenical community both to
work for the fuller unity of the church and to
participate in the struggle for a new just world
order".
76One World Religion
- Vatican 2 in 1962 by Pope John Paul 2 established
the Secretariat for World Religions - In 1986 an interfaith summit was held in Assisi,
Italy.
77One World Religion
- In 1993 the Parliament of World Religions was
created. This organisation issues the Templeton
Prize, of the Templeton Foundation, an umbrella
for a wide assortment of interfaith religious
activities - Gorbachev considers Pope John Paul 2 as "the
world's highest moral authority".
78One World Religion
- The United Religions Initiative headed up by Rev
William Swing of Grace Episcopal Cathedral in San
Francisco. - He hosted a Global Interfaith Summit in 1996
co-sponsored by the Gorbachev Foundation and the
World Conference on Religion and Peace - WCRP -
an organisation of strong Catholic
representation.
79One World Religion
- Muller and Swing have become facilitators for the
UN, the Vatican and the Gorbachev Foundation in
establishing the new religious order.
80Tenants Of Belief
- Cosmic consiousness
- Mans higher self capable of reaching cosmic
consciousness - Awakening of higher self is goal of life
81Tenants Of Belief
- Process of awakening is transformation
- New Age techniques help this process
- Personal transformation leads to global
transformation
82Four Pillars of the NAT
- 1 Evolution - humanity is part of an evolving
god-force - 2 Reincarnation - progress up the ladder to
perfection
83Four Pillars of the NAT
- 3 Astrology - guidance through the stars and
planets - 4 Occult meditation - music, triangles - creative
meditation, divine energy, life force, vibrations
84The Cosmos
- Pure, undifferentiated, universal energy, or
life force one vast interconnected process
considered as deity - I.e. God is all and all is God pantheism,
characteristic of Hinduism
85The Cosmos
- Regarded as living organic entity rather than
mere material object - Atoms not basic building blocks of physical world
but energy fields
86The Cosmos
- Reality is a total, all-embracing whole
- No distinction between natural and supernatural
87The Cosmos
- Dreams and fantasies of equal value to objective
experiences - Nature a reflection of ultimate reality
- Ecology therefore very important
88The Cosmos
- Undefinable reality which transcends all else may
be perceived in a multitude of forms which are
expressed in the major world religions - New Age exponents tolerant of religions
89The Cosmos
- Syncretism
- Resulted in turning back to pre-Christian tribal
religions
90Humanity
- As All is One humanity is one and part of the
divine - Basically spiritual not merely physical
91Humanity
- Individuality is an illusion there is but One
Self - Main objective is to discover the reality that
one is divine through subjective experiences of
the mind
92Humanity
- Western people need to develop right hemisphere
rather than left i.e. music, images, not
organise, analyse etc - Reincarnation the progression of the soul
through many life cycles according to the working
out of ones karma
93Humanity
- Final aim is to achieve mergence with Absolute
One - Escape only achieved through mystical knowledge
key to being awakened from our ignorance of
divinity
94Humanity
- Pain and illness derive from imbalance of
spiritual energy chi, prana - Healing requires balancing of these forces e.g.
yoga, herbs etc - Different concepts of sickness and healing than
Western secular view
95Humanity
- Individual must achieve cosmic consciousness
through individualistic means - Hence self-actualisation, human potential,
self-potential key words
96Humanity
- Emphasis on unity leads to need for world peace
important theme - Political boundaries becoming obsolete one
government to rule the world
97Values
- No absolutes all relative
- No absolute dichotomy between good and evil
they are what society labels them - People essentially good although they may do bad
things
98Values
- Sin is ignorance of unity and belief
- If All is One, then unless violence is used, no
form of sexual activity violates another persons
sanctity
99Quote
- All true mystics have agreed that the essence of
life is soul, or consciousness. That all living
creatures, whether, plants, bacteria, dinosaurs,
shellfish, animals, birds or men are, in essence,
drops in the Divine Ocean of Being, Consciousness
or Life. The material universe too, is His
creation, His play or projection, and there is no
part in which He is not present. He is within
everything there is nothing in which He is not
the inward and continuously active Creator. He
is everything, and yet He is also all in all. - John Davidson The Golden Womb and the Formative
Mind in New Humanity, April-May 1989, p 10
100Mullers Objectives
- 1 To make this planet a paradise
- 2 To eradicate from it all poverty, misery etc
engendered by power, greed and egotism - 3 To make out of all humans one family
- 4 To create a new social, political world order
for the centuries to come
101Mullers Objectives
- 5 To attain a life of fulfilment and happiness
for all humans - 6 To achieve a human family in harmony with the
Earth and the heavens - 7 To be the ultimate cosmic success of the
102Is There A New Age Conspiracy?
- Variable levels
- Some extreme views see New Age influence
everywhere - Many are ignorant lack of discernment
103Is There A New Age Conspiracy?
- The truth probably lies between but everyone has
an agenda and Satan is behind all these things
104Conspiracy?
- Marilyn Ferguson a leading New Ager claims in
her book The Aquarian Conspiracy there is a
conspiracy, but it is a conspiracy without
political doctrine. Without a manifesto. With
conspirators who seek power only to disperse it,
and whose strategies are pragmatic, even
scientific, but whose perspective sounds so
mystical that they hesitate to discuss it. i.e.
shared assumptions rather than centralised
planning
105Conspiracy?
- Russel Chandler in Understanding the New Age
argues that it seems inconsistent to assume that
such an unstructured, effervescent collection of
movements and ideas that are embraced by the term
New Age could be part of some gigantic,
centralized conspiracy against the church headed
by Satan.
106Conspiracy?
- Douglas Groothuis in Unmasking the New Age
presents a more moderate view The New Age
movement is better viewed as a worldview shift
than a unified global conspiracy. This is not to
minimize its influence but to recognize it as an
intellectual, spiritual and cultural force to be
reckoned with in all sobriety.
107Worldview Shift
- David Burnet in Clash of Worlds says In the New
Age Movement one sees the evolution of a new
worldview based upon a syncretization of Eastern
and traditional themes with secular worldview
themes.
108How Have Christians Responded?
- There has been an attempt by some to syncretise
historical Christianity with New Age thought - There has been assimilation of New Age thought
into Christian doctrine without the realisation
of error
109How Have Christians Responded?
- There has been a failure to recognise that the
new thought has appeared as a response to lack in
Christian experience and teaching
110Areas of Compromise?
- Positive confession
- Self-esteem teachings and related psychology
- Inner healing involving visualisation techniques
etc - Complimentary medicine
111The Challenge
- The church needs to
- Be a living witness to Biblical revelation and to
move from her secularisation
112The Challenge
- Be taught correctly and have answers that are
relevant to the times - To recognize the opportunity she has to reach out
to people seeking spirituality
113Transforming Worldviews
- Personal transformation to Jesus Christ
- Become convinced about the Biblical worldview
114Transforming Worldviews
- Transformation of a culture must be concerned
with changing worldviews e.g. Jesus teachings
and parables - Discover key themes for change e.g. the person
and nature of God e.g. Paul at Athens
115Quotes
- I got the impression that instead of going out
to shoot birds, I should go out and shoot the
kids who shot birds - Paul Watson (founder of Greenpeace) as quoted by
Dixie Lee Ray, Trashing the Planet, p 166
116Quotes
- Childbearing (should be) a punishable crime
against society, unless the parents hold a
government license All potential parents
(should be) required to use contraceptive
chemicals, the government issuing antidotes to
citizens chosen for childbearing - David Brower (first executive director of the
Sierra Club, founder of Friends of the Earth and
founder of the earth Island Institute), as quoted
by Dixie Lee Ray, Trashing the Planet, p 169
117Quotes
- A total population of 250-300 million people, a
95 decline from present levels, would be ideal - Ted Turner (medial mongul and United Nations
advocate), as quoted by Donald McAlvany, The
McAlvany Intelligence Advisor, June 1996, MIA, PO
Box 84904, Phoenix, AZ 85071
118Bibliography
- Clash Of Worlds by David Burnett
- The New World Religion by Gary H Kah
- Understanding the New Age by Roy Livesey
- Understanding Alternative Medicine Health Care
inn the New Age by Roy Livesey - Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow by Constance E
Cumbey
119Bibliography
- The Seduction of Christianity by Dave Hunt and T
A McMahon - Beyond Seduction by Dave Hunt
- Peace, Prosperity and the Coming Holocaust by
Dave Hunt - The Psychological Way, The Spiritual Way by
Martin and Deidre Bobgan