1 / 16

New Age Cults & Pantheism

New Age Cults & Pantheism. St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church Saint Paul Servant Preparation Program July 17, 2004 • Charlotte, NC http://www.stmarknc.us. Why Study New Age Cults?. If you were surprise attacked, how would you defend yourself?

beres
Download Presentation

New Age Cults & Pantheism

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. New Age Cults & Pantheism St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church Saint Paul Servant Preparation Program July 17, 2004 • Charlotte, NC http://www.stmarknc.us

  2. Why Study New Age Cults? • If you were surprise attacked, how would you defend yourself? • Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:14) New Age Cults & Pantheism • St. Mark Coptic Church • Charlotte, NC

  3. Why Study New Age Cults? • They view themselves as the “emergent spiritual tradition.” • New Age cults claim compatibility with Christianity • Many “New Agers” say they are Christian • Many Protestant & Catholic parishes embrace some New Age beliefs New Age Cults & Pantheism • St. Mark Coptic Church • Charlotte, NC

  4. Nebular • No founder, no headquarters, no organizational structure • No definitive statement of beliefs • No regulated meetings or teachings New Age Cults & Pantheism • St. Mark Coptic Church • Charlotte, NC

  5. Mixed • Descended from Theosophy, Unity, Christian Science, and Bahaism • Mix of spiritual, social, and political forces • Sociology, philosophy, physical sciences, medicine, anthropology, history, human potential, sports, science fiction, .... • Not a cult, per se, but a collection of groups New Age Cults & Pantheism • St. Mark Coptic Church • Charlotte, NC

  6. New or Aged? Founded on ancient occultism or divination, activities forbidden by God. (Lev 20:6, Deut 18:9–11, Acts 19:19) Can be traced back to Egyptian and Babylonian pagan religions. Especially resembles Hinduism, with a Western twist. Astrology Numerology Witchcraft Crystal gazing Necromancy (communication with the dead) Magic Palm reading New Age Cults & Pantheism • St. Mark Coptic Church • Charlotte, NC

  7. Beginnings Theosophy (1875), Helena Blavatsky Anthroposophy (1912), Rudolf Steiner Arcane School (1923) Alice Bailey Mind Science (1850’s) Phineas Quimby New Age Cults & Pantheism • St. Mark Coptic Church • Charlotte, NC

  8. Involvements “Global Co-Nexus” / “Global Brain” African: Zulu Baha’i Buddhism, Zen “Christianity” (=Unitarianism) Native American Confucianism Hinduism Humanism Islam Jainism Judaism Shinto Wicca Zoroastrianism New Age Cults & Pantheism • St. Mark Coptic Church • Charlotte, NC

  9. New Age: Hinduism • New Age: Absorbs all religions • Reincarnation: Krishna seen as an archetype for Christ. • Supreme being of many forms & natures • Opposing theories are different forms of the same truth • Christianity: Rejects all religions(Ex 20; John 14:6) New Age Cults & Pantheism • St. Mark Coptic Church • Charlotte, NC

  10. New Age: Monism • The worldview that “all is one.” • People and things only appear to be individual. • There is no “you” and “me” — only one big “I.” • A rock sitting in a field is not separate from the field. • The everything is referred to by New Agers as: Reality, Power, All, Mind, Force, Absolute, Principle, One, Universal Energy. New Age Cults & Pantheism • St. Mark Coptic Church • Charlotte, NC

  11. Atheism / Pantheism • If everything is one, then God must be one with everything. • In one sense, there is no such thing as God; God does not exist. [Atheism] • In another sense, there is nothing other than God; only God exists. [Pantheism] New Age Cults & Pantheism • St. Mark Coptic Church • Charlotte, NC

  12. New Age Beliefs • Man is God (cf. Shirley MacLaine). • Sin and evil are not real. • I (God) am the only thing that is real. • Satan is an illusory product of the mind. • No need for salvation. • Jesus Christ was one avatar among many. New Age Cults & Pantheism • St. Mark Coptic Church • Charlotte, NC

  13. More New Age Beliefs • Occult/satanic practices • Seances, astrology, witchcraft, satanism • Ouija boards, crystal balls, tarot cards • Trying to penetrate into “spiritual” world. • Channeling: Using a medium to talk to a dead person. New Age Cults & Pantheism • St. Mark Coptic Church • Charlotte, NC

  14. Refutations Genesis 1:1. God created everything, saw that it was good. God gave man free will, and the two wrestled. Psalm 33:13–14 “The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth.” Romans 1:18–25. Worship and serve the Creator, not objects. Logically, if we and God were of the same substance, then it would make no sense for Him to punish us for our transgressions. Yet He does. New Age Cults & Pantheism • St. Mark Coptic Church • Charlotte, NC

  15. Refutations (Cont’d) • Exodus 22:18 “You shall not permit a sorceress to live.” • Leviticus 20:27 “A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them.” • Deuteronomy 18:9–12 New Age Cults & Pantheism • St. Mark Coptic Church • Charlotte, NC

  16. Refutations (Cont’d) A cosmic force cannot be self-aware and say “I AM.” Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” God hears (Ex 2:24), sees (Heb 4:13), speaks (Lev 19:1), knows everything (1 John 3:20), judges (Psalm 50:6), loves (Prov 3:12; Jer 31:3) and has a will (1 John 2:17). New Age Cults & Pantheism • St. Mark Coptic Church • Charlotte, NC

More Related