Tag: deception

Operation Cold Heart

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.

One of the most if not the most tragic signs of the end of the age is one we tend to overlook the most-hearts in which love has grown cold. The Christian heart, indwelt by the Holy Spirit is to be ablaze with love for God and love for others. But as we witness the strategies of the Evil One being played out across the land, we understand that perhaps his primary goal is to replace the flame of a heart filled with the love of God with the icy resolve of love for self.

True agape love as it is understood within the context of the Trine God is always “other than.” The Father says of the Son, “Your throne, O God, is forever.” The Son says to the Father, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.” The Spirit glorifies the Son as God’s love is poured out in our hearts, and we cry, “Abba!” And then ultimately we see God’s “other than love” realized in the person of Jesus who gave himself for and to us. This heart of humility, preference , and sacrifice as seen in Christ is to burn within us. We are to have the same disposition as was found in Jesus who, “though he was God, did not demand and cling to his rights as God, but laid aside his mighty power and glory, taking the disguise of a slave and becoming like men. And he humbled himself even further, going so far as actually to die a criminal’s death on a cross.” This is a heart on fire with love! A stark contrast to the cold, self-centered heart we see on display in many who name the name of the Lord today.

Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.

Sadly, even now many of us are being deceived and have grown cold as deceptive spirits and demonic teachings insinuate themselves into our hearts. One characteristic that is always present in a heart grown cold is the emphasis on “my, me, and mine.” As lawlessness increases the heart can be taken captive by “causes, movements, and things.” The sad result is a heart that once burned with the love of God and others becomes a cold heart that loves itself more than anything or anyone.

Fortunately, when it comes to “Operation Cold Heart,” we have been provided with a fullproof defense: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”

Cut & Paste

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

Have you ever heard of the term epistemology? Well, in case you haven’t; epistemology is the means by which we come to know truth. In our postmodern society or post post modern society if you will, the “new” thing is to question our epistemology. How do you know the truth? Can you know the truth? Are you sure you know the truth? There are no absolute truths. Actually, this is nothing new. It’s been going on since the beginning.

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, He instructed man as to how he was to understand the world in which he found himself. The Creator was clear (“crystal”) as he provided man with the truth as to his position in creation. It wasn’t long though before man was questioned about his epistemology. Remember? ““Did God say? Did God really say? You surely will not die!” (Genesis 3:3, 4) Man began to wonder if God was being straight with him. “Perhaps God is holding out on us because He doesn’t want us to be like Him. Do I really need God to provide me with my world view? I don’t need you God; I can be you!” Then it happened, the first “cut & paste” in history. The serpent provided man with a world view we aspired to; so voila, cut & paste and we called it our own.

Our new cut & paste reality insisted that the eating of the fruit would result in enlightenment. We began to think that maybe God didn’t provide us with all we need to function at our optimum level. Our new world view ensured us the means by which we could see and know more. Today, we still opt for “the apple”: religion, spirituality philosophy, drugs, and the list goes on. The world view we have adopted plays upon man’s innate longing to know the spiritual. Man was created to glorify God and enjoy the presence of his creator; but, our adopted world view perverted the way we seek to comprehend spiritual matters. Our “truth” places man in the position of God, with his eyes opened and knowing good from evil where there is no supernatural answer to be sought. Man is the solution; therefore, there is no reason to covet relationship with God.

Here’s the skinny: If you want the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; come to Jesus. Jesus said, “I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life.” Eternal life, enlightenment, optimum functionality, and a proper world view are to be found in Jesus. There’s no need to “cut & paste” because in Christ, you can actually “interface” with God as His Spirit takes residence within you. Jesus is the Original “thought.” He is the eternal Word (Logos) of God. You were created to know God, to glorify him, and thoroughly enjoy His presence forever. Don’t settle for a cut & paste world view. Come to Jesus and know reality.

Desire

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

Christian,

After you have confused Christianity with Patriotism  …

After you have forsaken preaching the gospel of Jesus for becoming a minister of the American Dream…

After you have partnered with the world and made unholy alliances which divide you from others in the Body of Christ…

After you have argued, manipulated, and fought to secure your precious rights…

After you have voted…

When it turns out just as you hoped it would and you get everything you want, will you be able to bear it when you see with your eyes what you have truly desired in your heart?

“Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Asleep in Babylon

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

Asleep in Babylon, they dream.  As the words of the Apostles and Prophets come alive around them, they dream on.

They are oblivious to the beginnings of the stirring of the beast, and the cry of, “Come out of her my people, and do not partake of her sins.” is but an echo of His voice meant for some generation long ago.

The days of the Spirit have ceased, and God no longer speaks. All that remains is to sleep, and wait for the gospel to permeate the world. It’s easy to ignore the writing on the wall when you’re convinced you know everything.

“Take the book and open the seals.”

Asleep in Babylon, they dream. Conferences and impartations, trivial pursuit is such a deadly game. They dream on.

Who is gonna reform the Reformers? Tired arguments, stale rhetoric, and doctrinal clichés doom the next generation to invent heresies. They know something is missing, but to admit what It is would blow their theology. Lullabies are plentiful in Babylon.

Institutionalized, mesmerized, idealized- It’s over guys! Yet, it’s business as usual, sleepwalking on the deck of the Titanic. There has to be some way to save all that we have built.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”

Asleep in Babylon, they dream. If you ignore the riders on their horses maybe they’ll just go away. They dream on.

Wholesale slaughter, a loaf of bread for a days wage, deception, war, and pestilence abound. You better not touch my Chick fil a. The world is on fire. I wonder if they have an app for that.

IPhones, ringtones, a trumpet blast, and we’ll all be gone, ‘cause you know God wouldn’t let his people suffer. Hey, our worship team just got a smoke machine. That’ll go great with the angel feathers and the glory cloud!

“I find your deeds incomplete in the sight of my God.”

Asleep in Babylon, they dream. I heard Jesus came back Saturday night. Never mind that; services start tomorrow at eleven.

God American Style

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

“Then the People said, “Let us create god in our image, after our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26 USA translation)

When you listen to politicians talk nowadays, it is not uncommon to hear about having faith in God. Candidates are quick to quote the Bible and tell us that we ought to be thankful to our creator for the many blessings we have. Yep, it’s God this and God that. My question is, “What God are you talking about?” See, the funny thing is that in all this talk about God, you never hear anything mentioned about Jesus. Houston, we have a problem.

In the Bible we find that the Father has summed up all things in Christ. God said that the he has laid a Cornerstone on which everything is built- Jesus! We learn from scripture that although in the past, God spoke in many portions and in many ways, in these last days; he has given his final word in Jesus. The Bible tells us that the one who has the Son has the life, and he that does not have the Son, well, does not have the life. I John tells us that if you do not believe in Jesus as the Son of God, you have made God out to be a liar. The Bible teaches us that it is only through Christ that we can have understanding so that we can know the true God. Read the epistles of Paul and count the number of times he uses the phrase, “In Christ.” Over and over again the Bible tells that all things are in Jesus, and if you want to interact with the Father; you come through Christ. What I’m saying is this; there is no true faith in God apart from faith in Jesus. “No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.”

It seems that we here in America have created a god in our own image. We have manufactured a god who does not demand that we come to him by faith, through the cross of his Son. No, the god we have created is simply some force for good out there some where who desires that we believe in him/her/it in whatever way we deem appropriate. The god we have created demands only that we love our country, have faith in ourselves, and oh yeah; BELIEVE. Sadly, many who name the name of Jesus have rejected Christ and the offense of the cross opting instead for a generic, one size fits all god that really is no god at all.

Listen Christian, especially southern, bible-belt Christians like me. This is not Grandma Myrtle’s world. Just because someone throws around words like God, faith, and believe doesn’t mean that they are in relationship with God. Even when someone does mention Jesus, you need to ask which Jesus. Is it Jesus, absolute Lord and master, the Word of God made flesh, Messiah who by the blood of his cross atoned for our sins? Any Jesus that does not fit this description is a false Jesus. There is one God and he has revealed himself in the person of Jesus Christ. Let me put it this way; Jesus is God. We can talk about faith all we want, but unless this faith in God is expressed through belief in his Son; we are deceived and merely worshiping a god we have created in our own image.

“Goo Goo G’ Joob” (conclusion)

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

(Unfortunately, many New Age practices and beliefs have been adopted by many who call themselves Christians. It is my prayer that this series has brought to light the incompatibility of Christianity and New Age theology. This is the last segment of “Goo Goo G’ Joob,” and if you’ve not already done so; I hope you will take the time to read  parts 1&2 of this series.)

If the capstone of New Age theology is the divinity of man, the cornerstone upon which their theology is built would have to be pantheism. Indeed, it is the New Age concept of pantheism on which all New Age theology is built. In New Age theological pantheism, god is all and all is god. In fact, there is nothing but God. Consequently, in New Age theology, there is no distinction between the creator and the creation.[1] At the beginning of this discourse it was stated that various elements of New Age thought had integrated into modern ecclesia, and the concept of pantheism is one such example. Some “Christian New Agers” such as Matthew Fox have adopted a compromised pantheistic position. They believe that while God “may be found in everything, God is something more than the totality of all things. “[This form of] Pantheism attempts to retain Christian notions of a fundamental divide between God and creation, while at the same time emphasizing their unity and interactivity.”[2]

It has been said that the “force”as depicted in the Star Wars  movies best characterizes New Age pantheism in which nature is not only a manifestation of God; it is very much alive, and its life- force is considered one great organism. In Star Wars, Yoda declares, “My ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it and makes it glow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us…Feel the Force around you. Here… between you and me and the tree and that rock.”[3] Dr. Sandra Clifton agrees that this Yodistic Star Wars Pantheistic concept is crucial to New Age thought. In her book, New Age Lies Exposed: How to Stand Firm in God’s Truth she quotes Theologian and researcher James Herrick as saying, “…and pantheism is crucial to the New Religious Synthesis [Herrick’s term for New Age or New Thought]. Pantheism rejects the notion of God as personal or sovereign, instead finding divinity to be an impersonal force, energy, spirit, consciousness or mind in all things…The Other Spirituality’s god is a force to be managed, a potential to be tapped, a consciousness to be experienced.”[4]

Perhaps it is the New Age Pantheistic concept of intuitive epistemology that has extended its tendrils furthest into the modern ecclesia and consequently provides the most “danger” to orthodox Christian theology.  The New Ager would contend that since god is the ultimate truth and since god is in all things; truth can therefore be perceived in all things. Nowhere is this mindset more clearly depicted than in the Postmodern theological arena. In fact, Frederick Ferre`, author of Knowing and Value: Toward a Constructive Postmodern Epistemology, indicates that it is often the practice to view the term “postmodern” as synonymous with New Ageism.[5] Indeed, a common trait of both New Age theology and Postmodern theology is their reaction against Modern epistemology.

“The fundamental issue in the move from modernism to postmodernism is       epistemology– i. e., how we know things, or think we know things. Modernism is   often pictured as pursuing truth, absolutism, linear thinking, rationalism, certainty,  the cerebral as opposed to the affective- which in turn breeds arrogance, inflexibility, a lust to be right, the desire to control. Postmodernism, by contrast,  recognizes how much of what we know is shaped by the culture in which we  live, is controlled by emotions and aesthetics and heritage, and in fact can only be  intelligently held as part of a common tradition, without overbearing claims to being true or right. Modernism tries to find unquestioned foundations on which to  build the edifice of knowledge and then proceeds with methodological rigor;     postmodernism denies that such foundations exist (it is “antifoundational”) and insists that we come to “know” things in many ways, not a few of them lacking in  rigor. Modernism is hard-edged and, in the domain of religion, focuses on truth versus error, right belief, confessionalism; postmodernism is gentle and, in the domain of religion, focuses on relationships, love, shared tradition, integrity in discussion.”[6]

Many contend that it is the postmodern reaction against modernity that has fostered renewed spiritual interest which has taken on the form of New Ageism. In New Age / Postmodern spiritualism, these spiritualities are relativistic, and tend “to be subjective and syncretistic. Often pantheistic, or even pantheistic, they are not searching for the transcendent god “out there” but are rather on an eminent search within the practitioner to find the spirit within.”[7] And, according to the New Age Postmodernist, this search for truth can be achieved by any number of means.

“Pete Rollins of ikon (Belfast, U.K.) reports, ‘We have been actively engaged with  other faiths through the evangelism project. Evangelism has an important role but   is seen as a two-way process designed to open others and ourselves to God.’   Their evangelism project is the reverse of most forms of evangelism. They visit   people of other faiths and spiritualities and allow themselves to be evangelized in  order to learn more about other walks of life. ‘We deemphasize the idea that  Christians have God and all others don’t by attempting to engage in open two-way conversations. This does not mean we have lapsed into relativism, we still  believe in the uniqueness of our own tradition, but we believe that it teaches us to be open to all. We are genuinely open to being wrong about parts and perhaps all our beliefs- while at the same time being fully committed to them.’”[8]

And again,

“Spencer Burke’s community is prepared to learn from faith traditions outside the Christian field. There is a Buddhist family in their church. As a community, the church visited a Buddhist temple. They participated in a guided meditation with  this family. Burke celebrates the many ways God is revealed. He recognizes that the Spirit as been with these people all along. The community celebrates other  traditions, and they see them as beloved children of God.”[9]

In light of the two quotes cited above, both coming from leaders in the Postmodern/Emergent movement; it is clear that New Ageism and Postmodernism have a shared epistemology- one that cannot be embraced by the Christian.

New Age theology claims that every person and all reality is God, and therefore, any “truth” our inner selves discovers is God’s truth. By contrast, Christianity asserts that man and everything that has been created, both seen and unseen, has been created by the will of God and for his glory, that truth is found in the person of Jesus Christ, not by a realization of our own innate “Christ-consciousness.” One must therefore contend that despite the fact that many within Postmodern ecclesiastical circles have embraced various New Age tenets, an exploration into New Age epistemology and the way in which New Age theology elevates both man and creation to the level of deity proves that it is incompatible with orthodox Christianity.

 1. Ron Rhodes, New Age Movement, (Grand Rapids, Michigan- Zondervan Publishing House, 1995), 9.

 2. Daren Kemp, New Age: A Guide, (George Square, Edinburg- University Press, 2004), 57.

 3. Norman L. Geisler, Christian Ethics, (Grand Rapids, Michigan- Baker Academic, 1989), 339.

 4. Dr. Sandra Clifton, New Age Lies Exposed: How to Stand Firm in God’s Truth, (Alachua, Florida- Bridge Logos, 2009), 102.

  5. Frederick Ferre`, Knowing and Value: Toward a Constructive Postmodern Epistemology, (Albany, New York- State University of New York Press, 1998), xvi.

 6. D. A. Carson, Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church: Understanding a Movement and Its Implications, (Grand Rapids, Michigan- Zondervan, 2005), 27.

7. Lee Martin McDonald, William H. Brackney, and Craig A. Evans, (Macon, Georgia- Mercer University Press, 2007), 279,280.

 8. Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger, Emerging Churches: Creating Community in Postmodern Cultures, (Grand Rapids, Michigan- Baker Publishing Group, 2005), 132.

 9. Ibid.

“Goo Goo G’ Joob” (part 2)

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

(We are continuing our look into New Ageism)

Etta D. Jackson asserts that in the New Age there will be a fusion of man’s differentiated spiritual aspirations into a New World Religion. She also foresees a fusion of intellectual and philosophical thought between people of all stations in life that will result in a spirit of inclusiveness and mutual cooperation.[1] Ultimately though, in New Age theology, while the unified consciousness is constructed in a fashion that allows for a synchronization of differing belief systems; it is man’s belief and awareness of his own godhood that is the key to transforming the world. And, according to New Age adherents, it was Jesus himself who has shown the way as an example of a self-actualized man who had reached his full potential.

The New Age theologian postulates that The Son of God . . . is not Jesus, but our combined Christ consciousness. Jesus is one of a select company, having achieved Christ consciousness. And, every person is encouraged to acquire this same level of consciousness.[2] To the New Ager, Jesus and “Christ” are separate. The “Christ” is the perfect god concept- that awareness of the divinity within. The theology espoused by the New Ager looks at Jesus as one who possessed this “Christ-consciousness” as much as and probably more than any one who has ever lived. Jesus, to the New Ager, is just another one like Buddha or Krishna who comes along to reveal to mankind the divine potential resident within us all. Many within the New Age movement insist that throughout the world today a “Christ-consciousness” is rising at an ever increasing rate, slowly moving mankind towards the “Omega Point” in which the messiah within us all will give birth to a glorious new future.[3] (Perhaps, in today’s culture where the redefinition of terms is standard practice, the Christian should bear in mind that to many New Agers, this emerging “Christ-consciousness” is the eschatological “second-coming” the Bible speaks of.)

As Jesus is no more than an example of a man who ultimately realized his own divinity, and as there is no other being to which man is accountable other than himself, one can see how concepts such as substitutionary atonement, sin and salvation hold little to no relevance within New Age theology. To the New Ager, “evil does not exist but the belief that in its existence produces negative results; we now see that similarly, sin and guilt do not exist but that it is belief in their existence which produces negativity, especially because it legitimates and induces fear. As Shirley MacLaine puts it: ‘we are not victims of the world we see. We are victims of the way we see the world. In truth, there are no victims.’ It is only by our judgmental attitudes, towards others and towards ourselves, and by psychological projection of sin and guilt upon others and ourselves, that we keep           perpetuating the circle of fear. In a way, it is our ingrained belief in original sin that we needlessly increase suffering in the world and create “negative” Karma.”[4]

Indeed, the New Ager would be more apt to define sin as that which keeps one from recognizing his own divinity. In New Age theology, it could be said that it is this “pseudo sin consciousness,” that which stifles the attainment of the “Christ-consciousness,” that is the only sin of which man could be found guilty. And even then, it is ultimately not an issue of sin and guilt, but rather unrealized potential. And it is from this failure to reach his divine potential that man must be saved. “New Age salvation implies the full realization of the principles of self-spirituality and holism; the full realization of one’s inner spiritual potential and progress towards greater and greater wholeness. Whereas in Christian cosmology salvation takes place only after death, salvation in New Age philosophy is thought of in terms of spiritual evolution, a process that may take place in one’s own life but may continue after death…”[5]

It is clear that the divinity of man is the capstone of New Age theology. “Karma takes precedence over the atonement of Jesus Christ. Sins are cultural and relative instead of offenses toward a holy God. Hell is not a place of eternal punishment but a state of mind or negative thought.”[6] By contrast, Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ was not just an example of a self-actualized man who had reached his full potential, but rather God himself clothed in flesh, crucified, dead, and resurrected-literally. The bible makes it clear that sin and hell are more than just unrealized potential or imagined cerebral apparitions. It should be obvious to any sincere student of scripture that the first major tenet of New Age theology is in no way compatible with biblical Christianity.

To be continued…

 1. Etta D. Jackson, The Role of Consciousness in Governance, (Bloomington, IN-Author House, 2009), 41, 42.

  2. “New Age Theology,” All About Worldview. http://www.allaboutworldview.org/new-age-theology.htm, (accessed October 21, 2011).

3. John P. Newport, The New Age Movement and the Biblical Worldview: Conflict and Dialogue, (Grand rapids, Michigan- Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998), 12.

4. Wouter J. Hanegraff, New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought, (U.S.A. – State University of New York Press, 1998), 295.

5. Stef Aupers and Dick Houtman, Religions of Modernity: Relocating the Sacred to the Self and the Digital, (Leiden, Netherlands- Brill Hotei Publishing, 2010), 166.

6. Walter Martin, Jill Martin Rische, and Kevin Rische, The Kingdom of the Occult, (Nashville, Tennessee- Thomas Nelson, 2008), 191.

“Goo Goo G’ Joob” (part one)

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together

~

Lennon/McCartney

Whereas Christianity portrays God as sovereign creator of all that is, holy and entirely separate from all else; New Age theology is founded upon the idea that each individual as well as all of creation is in fact God. Although various elements of New Age thought has integrated itself into modern ecclesia via Postmodernism, a brief exploration of New Age theology will prove to the astute student of the word that such integration is to be avoided in that New Age theology is not compatible with orthodox Christianity.

Whether from Eastern religions, the occult, the new psychologies, the “frontier” theories of science, New Age politics or New Age versions of Christianity, various ideas with a common theme are converging on our culture, pressing their way to the philosophical and ideological center of society. A new world is in the  offing; a revolution in consciousness beckons. All is one-both good and evil. We  are all god-and our first-graders should no it. The mind controls all- if we only use  it. These are ideas-potent ideas-that have consequences for the whole life. They  are shaping the lives of more and more Westerners.[1]

In the quote cited above, Douglas Groothuis provides a look at the zeit geist in the 21st century as well as a succinct summation of New Age religion and theology. Many adherents of the New Age mindset would argue that they have no substantive theology in that they are not a religious movement per se. However, if one concurs with psychologist Erich Fromm’s definition of religion in which religion is defined as “any group shared system of thought and action that offers the individual a frame of orientation and an object of devotion,”[2] New Ageism clearly possesses all the qualifying characteristics of a religious movement. Indeed, New Ageism is an amalgamation of many sources including: Astrology, Channeling, Hinduism, Buddhism, Zen, Taoism, Theosophy, and Wicca.[3] In light of Fromm’s aforementioned definition of religion, it is clear that acknowledged or not; New Ageism is a religion in which man’s frame of orientation is his own created reality, and his object of devotion is himself as god.  This idea of man as god is perhaps the capstone of New Age Theology.

“According to the New Age, man must transform himself. He does this by changing his consciousness and actualizing his divine nature. In doing so he becomes aware of his inner divinity.”[4] In the early 1960s, at the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, hallucinogenic drugs were utilized to create this altered state of consciousness, but as the New Age gained momentum (largely due to the influx of Eastern religions); mystical experiences and alternative conscious altering techniques began to emerge as the new portal to divine enlightenment. According to New Age theology, “man’s self is an ideal that surrounds any demands of time and the human physical body. Expressed in another way, we are the extraterrestrial emergent[5] God. We can then conclude that our human spirit is an extraterrestrial God residing within our mortal human body, and when we meditate, our mind (intellect) comes in touch with our spirit-self.[6] Such mystical experiences led the New Agers to believe that they are truly one with the universe and a part of God. They began to believe that they had uncovered the divine potential resident in all men.[7] And, it became their goal to help everybody discover this reality.

According to New Agers, humanity can become attuned to all the powers of its godhood by achieving unity of consciousness; only the unity of all can bring the well-being of all. Unified consciousness is the key by which all men can tap into their inner-divinity.  According to New Age theology, only the unity of all can bring the well-being of all. The godlikeness within us all; perfect love, perfect wisdom, perfect understanding, perfect intelligence; can only be achieved through the unity of consciousness.[8] It is this writer’s belief that the push for global unity prevalent in the world today is a product of New age theology, and eschatological in its relevance. “The new consciousness entails a unified worldview-“we are all one- a belief in a higher power, though this being need not be clearly defined. It is about healing-healing the earth, healing the marketplace, healing the individual psychologically and physically (Heelas, 1996, p.81). Within the New age, no one belief system is better than another and all have something to offer.”[9]

To Be Continued…

  1. Donald R. Groothuis, Unmasking the New Age, (Downers Grove, Illinois-InterVarsity Press, 1986), 15.

 2. Ibid., 16.

3. Lloyd E. Sandelands, Man and Nature in God, (New Brunswick, New Jersey-Transaction Publishers, 2005), 90.

4. John Ankerburg and John Weldon, The Facts on the New Age Movement, (Eugene, Oregon- Harvest House Publishers, 1988), 21.

 5. It is ironic to this author that Mr. Mall used the word “emergent.” One is made to think of the “Emergent Church” in which many aspects of New Age theology have been incorporated.

6. Alex Mall, The New Age Chameleon, (U.S.A. – Xlibris Corporation, 2010), 55.

7. Ibid., 7.

8. “New Age Theology,” All About Worldview. http://www.allaboutworldview.org/new-age-theology.htm, (accessed October 21, 2011

9. Mara Einstein, Brands of Faith: Marketing Religion in a Commercial Age, (New York, NY- Routledge, 2008), 198.

 

 

Disillusioned: The Jesus Drug

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

Why do people use drugs? Well, you’ll get a lot of different answers to that question, but the bottom line is that people who use drugs, for whatever reason, find that their every day life is not satisfactory; therefore, there is a need for something more. It may sound crazy, but there are countless Jesus Drug addicts among us today. The Jesus Drug, just like illicit drugs, comes in a variety of forms, tailor made to suit the varying personalities of the addict. As with the abuse of narcotics, the Jesus Drug promises a never-ending high, enhanced self-esteem, and a host of other empty promises just as long as you continue to use it. Be careful though, it’s easy to get hooked, and you can get a fix on about any corner.

Jesus Drug addicts (like all addicts) come in all shapes and sizes. There are the Mystical Addicts who are hooked on that next “deep experience” with Jesus. There are the Prophetic Addicts that see Jesus as a means by which they will be lifted up to some kind of mind-reading, avenger like character. Then you have your Political Jesus Junkies, hooked on taking the country back for Jesus. Down the street, lives the Postmodern Jesus Drug addict, unsure of anything accept the fact that it is everyone else who is addicted. Then there are the I Hate the Organized Church addicts, high off of the twisted euphoria of bitterness. There are the Traditional Jesus Drug addicts still mainlining the religiosity of days gone by, hooked on form without substance. We mustn’t forget the Intellectual Jesus Drug addict, numbed to any form of emotion, ingesting his daily dose of dead religion.   I could go on, but you get the picture. When you talk to Jesus Drug addicts they rarely talk about anything (including Jesus) other than their drug of choice. They are disillusioned with their relationship with Jesus, and have come to the conclusion that there must be something more. Perhaps it is the fact that they never have truly understood what knowing Jesus is all about, or perhaps the religion being offered by your typical institutional church has failed to deliver, but whatever the cause; the Jesus Drug addicts are continuously chasing the next self-affirming spiritual high and selling their souls to get it.

Ask an addict and he’ll tell you that it’s not the getting high part that’s the problem; it’s the coming down. Many within the church today are experiencing withdrawal from the Jesus Drug, and like all addicts, the crash is leaving them confused and wondering what to do. They know that something is wrong. The Jesus Drug has failed to deliver the intimacy with Christ they craved when they first came to the Lord.  As a former addict myself, I can tell you that the first step is honesty. If you begin to sense in your heart that you may be a Jesus Drug addict, come clean. The fact that you are aware that there is a problem means that God’s Spirit is at work. Yeah, your pride will be hurt, but that is exactly what has to be crushed because it is the belief that somehow you deserve a little more that led to your being an addict in the first place.

Can I ask you something? Are you in love with Jesus or simply hooked on the Jesus Drug? Has your addiction to the Jesus Drug reduced your relationship with Christ to merely something that makes you feel better about yourself?  God has provided an awesome one step program for the Jesus Drug addict, and it is the Cross of Jesus. We go to the cross believing that God will not reject the broken and contrite heart that has been crushed and torn apart by addiction to the Jesus Drug. We go to the cross and confess that we have seen Jesus as a means of healing our broken egos and fixing our low self-esteem instead of acknowledging him as Lord. Frankly, the only cure for the Jesus Drug addict is Jesus himself. Come, taste and see that the Lord is good, and he is all you truly need.

Morgan Freeman & New Age Theology

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

This just in: Morgan Freeman says that he is God. The first thing that may go through your mind is, “Oh my goodness, he must have gone crazy!” Not necessarily. To be honest, this is a typical New Age concept. In fact, according to New Age thought or Cosmic Humanism as it is referred to by some; you, me, and everything else are God as well. I don’t know how much you’ve looked into New Age Theology, but I thought with Mr. Freeman’s latest “revelation,” now might be a good time to share with you a little of what I’ve discovered.

I was sharing with a New Ager once, and I told him that I agreed with a lot of what he said, but that I had to go with Jesus’ words when he said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father except through me.” I went on to share with this man that Jesus is God come in the flesh. Without batting an eye, he responded, “Well yeah, we all are.”

If you are about the business of being a disciple of Jesus, you will no doubt come into contact with New Age(ism) in one form or another. I put together the following outline that will give you the skinny on New Age(ism)/ Cosmic Humanism. I pray this helps you to be better equipped to share the gospel with people caught up in this deception

            New Age Theology and the Church

                Whereas Christianity portrays God as sovereign creator of all that is, holy and entirely separate from all else, New Age theology is founded upon the idea that each individual as well as all of creation is in fact God. Although various elements of New Age thought has integrated itself into the modern church, the astute student of the word recognizes that such integration is to be avoided in that New Age theology is not compatible with orthodox Christianity.

I. New Age theology (Cosmic Humanism) forms the foundation for all other aspects of its worldview.[1]

A. “The New Age movement differs from Christianity, Islam, and the secular worldviews in that it embraces neither theism nor atheism”.[2]

B. “Cosmic Humanism begins by denying the preeminence of any purported special revelation over any other.”[3]

C. “Cosmic Humanists believe that the Bible is no more the word of God than is the Qur’an, or the teachings of Confucius. New Age advocate David Spangler says, ‘We can take all the scriptures, and all the teachings, and all the tablets, and all the laws, and all the marshmallows and have a jolly good bonfire and marshmallow roast, because that is all they are worth.’”[4].

D. Christianity views the Bible as God’s revelation to man, as that which 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. (II Tim. 3:16, 17)

II. New Age theology sees Jesus as just an example of the potential of all men.

A. In that the Cosmic Humanist views the Bible as just another book, the significance of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is nullified.[5]

B. “The Cosmic Humanist sees Christ’s life as important only in the sense that it showed humanity to be capable of achieving perfection, even godhood.”[6]

1. The significance of incarnation and resurrection is not that Jesus was a human like us but rather that we are gods like him—or at least have the potential to be.[7]

2. The New Age theologian to postulates that “The Son of God . . . is not Jesus but our combined Christ consciousness.[8]

3. Jesus is looked on as one of a select company, having achieved Christ consciousness. Every person is encouraged to acquire this same level of consciousness.[9]

C. Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ was not just an example of a self-actualized man who had reached his full potential, but rather God himself clothed in flesh, crucified, dead, and resurrected.

1. John 1:1-3 teaches Jesus is God.

2. Colossians 1: 15, 16 teaches Jesus is both God and creator.

3. Romans 1:4 teaches that Christ is risen from the dead and proclaimed as the Son of God.

III. The core of New Age theology is that, “I am God.”[10]

A. According to New Age theology each of us has access to a supraconscious, creative, integrative, self-organizing, intuitive mind whose capabilities are apparently unlimited; this is the part of our consciousness that constitutes our God-likeness.[11]

B. According to New Age theology, sooner or later every human being will feel a call from the cosmos to ascend to godhood.[12]

C. “The Cosmic Humanist grants each individual the power of determining reality by creating or co-creating truth.”[13]

1. “Special revelation need not exist in books or in any other form outside of us, because each of us has our own special revelation in our higher consciousness, our own ability to get in touch with the part of us that is God.”[14]

2. “Inner soul-searching becomes the only significant means of discovering truth.”[15]

D. Christianity teaches that man is not God, but rather a creation of the one true God, who cannot by reason of his own faculties, comprehend God, much less be God.

1. Psalms 139: 13-16 reveals that man is a creation of God.

2. Genesis 1 teaches that man is a creation of God.

3. Isaiah 55:8, 9 teaches that God’s ways and thoughts are not comparable to man’s.

IV. New Age Theology consists of an “all is one consciousness.”

A. “It is important to understand that the belief that every individual is God and God is every individual is tied inextricably to the concept of consciousness.”[16]

1. “Because New Age theology has this “all is one” mentality, Cosmic Humanists necessarily believe that humanity can become attuned to all the powers of its godhood by achieving unity of consciousness.”[17]

2. New Age theology adheres to the “godlikeness within us; the perfect love, the perfect wisdom, the perfect understanding, the perfect intelligence, and when we do that, we create back to that old, that essential oneness which is consciousness.”[18]

B. According to New Age theology, “only the unity of all can bring the well-being of all.”[19]

C. The Bible teaches that God has dealt harshly in the past when man has attempted to assert his “godliness” through unity, and that only in Christ can men be truly united.

1. Genesis 11 tells of God’s reaction to a unified humanity’s attempt at godhood.

2. Galatians 3:28 speaks of the unity, the “oneness” we have in Christ.

V. New Age theology espouses the idea of reincarnation.[20]

A. The Bible, in Hebrews 9:27 teaches that once a man dies, then comes judgment.

B. II Samuel 12:23 implies that those who deny will not return in this life.

VI. New Age Theology is pantheistic in that it asserts that everything is God.

A. Pantheism is the very foundation of New Age theology.[21]

B. “Humanists worship the creation and the creator at the same time. For them, there is no difference.”[22]

C. New Age theology asserts that since we cannot “delineate between God and ourselves, how can we be certain that we can delineate between other living or dead things and God? Indeed, if all is one, perhaps everything that exists is God.”[23]

D. The Bible teaches that God is holy and entirely separate from his creation.

1. Romans 1:20 teaches that God’s attributes can be seen in his creation, but by definition he remains distinct from it.

2. Numbers 23:19 clearly says that God is not man, and therefore, man cannot be God.

3. Romans chapter one condemns the worship of creation.

Perhaps to summarize New Age theology, one could say,” every person and all reality is God, and therefore that any “truth” our inner self discovers is God’s truth. If we fail to realize our godhood in this lifetime, never fear! We’ll soon have another incarnation and another chance to achieve Christ consciousness. Ultimately, every person will achieve godhood, and total unity will be restored.”[24] By contrast, Christianity asserts that man along with everything else that has been created, both seen and unseen, has been created through and for Jesus .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

“New Age Theology,” All About Worldview. http://www.allaboutworldview.org/new- age-theology.htm,

            1. “New Age Theology,” All About Worldview. http://www.allaboutworldview.org/new-age-theology.htm, (accessed October 21, 2011).

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.

9. Ibid.

10. Ibid.

11. Ibid.

12. Ibid.

13. Ibid.

14. Ibid.

15. Ibid.

16. Ibid.

17. Ibid.

18. Ibid.

19. Ibid.

20. Ibid.

21. Ibid.

22. Ibid.

23. Ibid.

24. Ibid.