What is the New Age Movement?

Adherents of The New Age Movement mix, match and borrow from a wide variety of spiritual practices - Hinduism, Buddhism, astrology, psychic healing, crystal therapy, etc. - and create their own brand of spirituality based upon whatever "feels right." Theologians refer to this practice as syncretism and according to Christianity, this is in violation of the first of the Ten Commandments: You shall have no others gods before me (Exodus 20:3).

New Agers embrace two key spiritual themes: pantheistic monism, which can be succinctly summarized with the phrase, "All is One, One is All, All is God," and the law of karma, which holds that an individual's actions determine the quality of his existence in his present or future life (the doctrine of reincarnation is inextricably linked to the law of karma). Thus, the New Age movement holds that the individual is responsible for his own salvation.

These two overarching principles of New Age spirituality directly oppose the Christian worldview, which holds that the God of the Holy Scriptures is the Creator of all things, that we stand apart from Him (though we are made in His image) and only He is worthy of our worship. Truth and salvation cannot be found in ourselves or in the counterfeit gods of New Age religion. Only by repenting and believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ can we can experience salvation and an intimate, eternal relationship with the Father *(see note below).

Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord?

**Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and have displeased you in many ways. I believe You died for my sin and only through Your death and resurrection can I be forgiven. I want to turn from my sin and ask You to come into my life as my Savior and Lord. From this day on, I will follow You by living a life that pleases You. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen.

*Note:

New Agers believe that truth is not universal, that it varies and what works for some might not necessarily work for others. There are many religions and therefore there cannot be just one true religion, they argue. This is a fallacious argument, however. Just because there are many religions does not mean that there cannot be one true religion. Christianity is the one true religion because it is a historical fact that Jesus rose from the dead - which vindicates His claims to deity - and there were multiple post-resurrection appearances of Jesus.

** Taken from "The Apologetics Study Bible for Students"