So is the “New Age” still a thing?
The term “New Age” is defined as “a broad movement
characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture, with an
interest in spirituality, mysticism, holism, and environmentalism.” In the religious sense I think it would be
that which embraces any religious beliefs and practices that offer an
alternative to Christianity or other world religions.
Back in the 70’s and 80’s it seemed to be all the rage, with
alternative religious ideas and organizations springing out of the woodwork,
and many Christian authors warning about the rise of the New Age. It was alarming, and seemed to be out of
control to me as a young Christian. But
then again, I wasn’t out on the streets talking to average people, and my alarm
came more from their books and other publications about cults and extremist
groups than from my own personal experience.
Now my impression is that the majority of people I meet on
the streets and in the marketplaces of Chicago are very comfortably and
seductively led astray from biblical Christianity not by an organized New Age
cult group, but by relatively unorganized forces within society such as materialism
and secularism, devotion to science or the self-righteous teaching of
unbiblical or misguided church leaders.
New Age groups are still out there however, and I never
would have guessed that Arvis, the elderly gentleman I met at the park a few
weeks ago, was heavily involved in a New Age group that uses “hypno-therapy” to
help people discover past lives and possible explanations for problems and behavioral
tendencies in this life.
Arvis’ organization reminds me of the “Church” of
Scientology, which was begun by prolific science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. This self-promoting and hedonistic man believed
that the ultimate legacy he could leave on this earth would be to invent and
establish his own religion. His
best-selling book “Dianetics” led to the establishment of Scientology as a very
profitable religious enterprise for his followers.
In the same way, the founder of Arvis’ religion, which I don’t
want to give publicity to by naming, was also a prolific writer and now that he
has died his followers are also reaping the benefits of his very profitable
religion. Arvis was so enamored with its
beliefs that I could barely get a word in about the Gospel, though in the end I
did ask a few questions that caused him to refer me to Charlie, his mentor, a
younger man who was also with him there at the park. (Charlie and I set up a meeting over coffee,
but as of this writing he had cancelled it and not set up another.)
Can I prove “hypnotherapy” is a fraud? The teachings of Arvis’ organization are said
to be based on thousands of case studies that are claimed to prove the existence
of past lives, which are collected in several books. As a Christian I have only nominally checked
into this organization. But I feel I
have seen enough. With the Bible as my
guide, I feel I don’t need to put much time into checking it out for two
reasons:
1.) I would conclude that the founder was probably lying for
profit, based on warnings such as this one from 2 Tim. 3: “There will be
terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of
money, …. — having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to
do with such people. They are the kind
who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are
loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always
learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and
Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth.”
Or 2.) Maybe the founder willingly or naively cooperated
with spiritual forces to produce seemingly rational evidence from the many hypnotherapy
sessions, opening themselves and their patients up to unseen spiritual forces
like those we are warned about in Ephesians 6:
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the
rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Either way, I think I recognize the “New Age” when I see it,
and I know it is really nothing new as it dates back all the way to Jannes and
Jambres, the magicians of Pharoah’s court, and it will probably continue on
into the future as long as there are those who actively seek any alternative to
the good old Gospel story.
Thank you, Arvis, for allowing me to record our
conversation. It can be seen HERE
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