|
A Contrast Between Biblical
Christianity
and New Age/Spiritistic Theology and Philosophy |
| |
BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY |
NEW AGE THEOLOGY & PHILOSOPHY |
|
GOD |
An
infinite-personal Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19; Rom.
15:2; 2 Cor. 13:14). |
An
infinite-impersonal force. God may be considered a universal law, an
impersonal principle, universal consciousness, or energy, etc. |
| Only one
true God exists (Jn. 17:3). |
Many gods
exist. |
| God is
Creator (Gen. 1:1). |
God is the
creation. |
| Religious
dualism (God as creator of the universe, material and spiritual)
(Gen. 1:1; Jn. 1:3; Col. 1:16-17). |
Monism/pantheism (God as the essence and/or emanator of all
existence). |
| |
God is holy
and righteous (Ps. 11:3; 145:17). |
God is
amoral and/or evil in his ultimate nature. |
| |
God is
transcendent over creation and immanent within creation by his
omnipresence. |
God is
immanent, not transcendent. |
|
MAN |
Man was
created in God’s image (Gen. 1:27), and as such is a finite creation
who will never become God. (Isa. 43:10; Ezek. 28:1-2, 9) |
Man in his
true nature is fully one essence with God. |
| Man is
composed of spirit, mind and body (1 Thess. 5:23). |
Inwardly in
his true nature man is divine spirit only. |
| Man was
created innocent but is now morally fallen and evil in his true
nature (Gen. 1:26-31; Rom. 3:23; 5:10-12). |
Man is
morally innocent or perfect and divine in his true nature. |
| Man was
created innocent but is now morally fallen and evil in his true
nature (Gen. 1:26-31; Rom. 3:23; 5:10-12). |
All men
experience thousands to trillions of reincarnations of the soul into
new bodies; some hold this begins with the initial process of
organic evolution and extends into higher spiritual levels of being;
heaven and hell are spiritually good or evil states of
consciousness. |
|
SIN |
A willful
violation of God’s moral law and character (1 Jn. 5:17).
|
Ignorance
of one’s personal divinity and the consequences flowing from this. |
| The basic
problem of mankind originates in his alienation from God produced
through his morally fallen nature and rebellion against God (Isa.
59:2). |
The major
problem of mankind originates from his ignorance of his divinity and
corresponding lack of use of his divine potential. |
|
JESUS CHRIST |
The only
incarnation of God, (Jn. 3:16, 18) undiminished deity and full
humanity in one person, the unique God-man (cf., Col. 2:9; Phil
2:5-9). Jesus was born the Christ (Lk. 2:11) and to deny that Jesus
was born the Christ is to be "anti-christ" (1 Jn. 4:2-3). |
Jesus is
often seen as one of many avatars or cyclical manifestations of the
impersonal God or the gods, (just as in Hinduism Krishna incarnates
Vishnu). The New Age also offers an endless number of gurus,
enlightened masters, spirit guides, etc., all of whom claim to
impart enlightenment but whose teachings, in the end, are
contradictory and destructive to human welfare. Most New Age
teachings and channeled revelations view all people as the literal
sons of God. Thus, Jesus is only an example of a man who realized
his divine nature and became enlightened; therefore through proper
use of knowledge (gnosis) the man Jesus became the
Christ (i.e, enlightened). |
| Jesus rose
from the dead on the third day, conquering death itself (1 Cor.
15:3-7) and is Lord of all and Savior of all who are His children.
Jesus alone is the way to God (Jn. 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:5-6). |
Jesus did
not resurrect from the dead but reincarnated as a higher spiritual
entity and therefore did not conquer death, since in his new
manifestation he would logically die again. (Some hold he has now
finished reincarnating and has merged into the impersonal Godhead;
therefore the person of Jesus Christ is now obliterated.) |
|
SALVATION |
Men are
saved from their sins only by personal faith or trust in Jesus
Christ. Christ’s death on the cross was a propitiatory atonement,
i.e., it satisfied God’s wrath against sin so that God could freely
forgive those who trust His son (1 Jn. 2:2; Jn. 3:16). In other
words, salvation is from moral guilt by grace through faith leading
to victory over sin and death (Ephesians 2:8-9). |
Salvation
involves enlightenment, i.e., release from one’s ignorance in
thinking one is a limited creature and/or individual personality
rather than one in nature with the impersonal God. Enlightenment
occurs through occult practice and human works such as yoga,
meditation, altered states of consciousness, etc. The stress is upon
a change of consciousness, not faith and in obedience to Christ.
Transformation and enlightenment are produced by a large number of
techniques that can be applied to either mind-body and/or spirit—
visualization, hypnosis, channeling, etc. No forgiveness from God is
needed because sin is only ignorance, not a moral violation of God’s
law. Salvation is earned, not a free gift. Man will finally perfect
himself; the atoning death and resurrection of Christ are irrelevant
and unnecessary because no sin ever existed to be forgiven. |
| DEATH |
There is
only one life prior to divine judgment (Heb. 9:27); physical death
involves the separation of the spirit from the body; spiritual death
involves the eternal separation of the spirit from God. Death is an
abnormal and temporary condition of existence and was conquered by
Jesus Christ on the cross (1 Cor. 15:53-57). Death is therefore no
longer an enemy for the redeemed (1 Cor. 15:26). |
Death is an
"illusion" and carries no final consequences. Although individuals
may be subject to karmic repercussions in the next life, inevitably,
all men (even if they have regressed into the animal, insect or
microbial stage) will eventually reincarnate back into union with
the impersonal, absolute God. Therefore, New Age philosophy teaches
universalism, that all entities will finally be "saved."
|
|
FAITH |
Faith is
personal trust in God—in His mercy, wisdom, power and love; the goal
of faith is to glorify God through one’s trust in Him and is
objectively realized in history (Heb. 11:3, passim). |
Faith is
power or knowledge/trust in the divine potential of human
consciousness; the goal is to see man glorified and deified but this
perception is primarily experienced in the subjective realm. Faith
is trust in what one’s divine mind can produce in the world, e.g.,
in the sense of creating personal reality and ushering in the New
Age millennium. |
| Based on
God’s will and power, faith can lead to genuine supernatural
miracles which are good by definition and glorify God (Heb. Ch. 11). |
Faith,
i.e., mental affirmation, visualization, occult knowledge, etc., can
produce "miracles" (psychic powers) done at man’s command through
allegedly divine power but which are ultimately achieved through
demonic power and associated with evil, glorifying the devil. |
| HISTORY |
Linear,
providential, and real. |
Cyclical,
e.g., in Hinduism periodic, eternally recurring manifestations of
Brahman; a result of its maya/lila, arbitrary, and unreal,
i.e., a dream or illusion of the Absolute. |
|
FINAL GOAL OF HISTORY AND CREATION |
The rule of
Jesus Christ over the earth and in eternity; eternal heaven for the
redeemed in Christ (personal immortality) (Rev. Chs. 21-22). |
The arrival
of the New Age millennium, ultimate absorption into the impersonal
Godhood (personal extinction). |
| Personal
faith in Christ (involving regeneration, 2 Cor. 5:17-18) will result
in some degree of transformation of society. However, a dramatically
improved world will not arrive until Christ returns physically and
rules during the millennium. A perfect universe will not exist until
the eternal state arrives at the end of the millennium.
|
Based on a
utopian view of the divine potential and powers of man, there will
be a dramatic "leap in consciousness," a fundamental spiritual
evolution of mankind. This will be identified by mass conversions to
New Age thinking, growing personal enlightenment and a religious,
social and political unity that will transcend the individual,
personal and nation-state differences which have created our current
problems. Some hold this transformation will be gradual although
many believe it will constitute a sudden massive shift in
consciousness that will occur in a relatively short period of time,
e.g., a few decades. |
| In the end,
the problems of human suffering, pain and evil are permanently
solved through Christ’s redemption (Rev. Chs. 21-22). |
Because
history is cyclical and continues forever, the problem of evil and
suffering are never resolved. There is no final forgiveness
of sin, only an eternal balancing and re-manifestation of karma. |
NATURE
OF THE CREATION |
Real,
fallen, to be eternally redeemed in a new heaven and earth (Rev.
21:1). Rational thought, doctrine, language, etc., are rooted in God
and reality since they reflect the nature of God. Jesus Himself is
described as "the Word made flesh" (Jn. 1:1-14, cf., Matt. 22:37;
Rom. 3:2; 12:2; 14:5; Acts 17:11; Titus 2:1). |
An illusion
or dream of the Absolute (e.g., Brahman), periodically destroyed
(reabsorbed back into the Absolute) and subsequently exuded from the
Absolute as illusion (maya). Rational thought, language,
doctrine, written revelation, etc., are inadequate and finally
meaningless since they too are part of the illusion or maya.
In fact, they are a positive barrier to the experience of spiritual
enlightenment which is why they must be "transcended" or eliminated. |
BASIS OF
SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE (EPISTO-
MOLOGY) |
Divine
revelation in the Bible (2 Tim. 3:16). |
Solipsistic; internal, subjective, relative. |
| ETHICS |
Absolute;
based on God’s nature and Word (1 Pet. 1:15-16). |
Relative
and amoral; based on human autonomy, situation ethics and occult
revelations from the spirit world. |
VIEW OF
RELIGION |
Only one
religion is fully true—biblical Christianity (This is a religious
exclusivism, not religious bigotry or intolerance, since
ideas are either true or false—not broad or narrow—Jn. 14:6, Acts
4:12). |
The core
teachings of all religions are the same and refer to the same God
leading to the same end point (final absorption into the Absolute,
Brahman, the One or the Void). (This is a religious eclecticism and
syncretism that ends in pantheism.) |
