RELIGION OF THE MIND; NOT THE HEART
Within a matter of months, your sweet 97 year old grandmother, can go from being the loving matriarch of the family; full of wisdom, kindness, and nearly a hundred years of cultural, and familial, memories and heritage, to being a frightened stranger who doesn’t even know who she is, much less any of her own family members. She asks about her brothers and sisters who have been gone for decades now, and that is when you tearfully look into her eyes and realize that, she’s not there either.
This tragic scenario plays out far too often in the aging process, and it is yet another example of the mysterious characteristics that make up the human mind and conscious thought. In the same manner that an aging brain can begin to imagine a universe in which their family has abandoned them, even when they are sitting in the same room, and in which their identity has been lost forever; a healthy young brain can begin to imagine a universe in which, they occupy the center of it, that they create all of the reality that exists around them, and in which they are in fact, the god of that universe. In the case of the older mind, illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease, is usually to be blamed; but in the case of the later, New Age philosophy, with its highly subjective religion of the mind, may be the illness involved. This blog will provide a short critique of the New Age movement in western pop culture, and its effects on mainstream culture, as well as Christianity.
There can be no doubt that human beings have a spiritual component built in to their make-up. Since the dawn of time we have been drawn to spiritual worship in one form or another; whether it be the stars, sun, and moon, the spirits of animals and other human beings, or the spiritual being that created the universe and everything in it, as is the case with Christianity. “New Age” religious ideas follow that same pattern, but there is nothing “new” about them at all. In fact, most of their philosophies can be traced thousands of years into human history, and are nothing more than a rehash of Animism, Gnosticism, Eastern mysticism, and naturalistic nihilism, repackaged for a modern society that is desperate to worship anything, other than the God of Christianity. Returning to the pagan roots of the past, “Modern folk have fled from Grandfather’s clockwork universe to Great-great-grandfather’s chamber of gothic horrors” (209). Obsessed with a, “… host of demigods, demons and guardians…” (209), new agers have invited back into the human consciousness, the same superstitious, “…spirits of the woods and rivers, the air and the darkness…” (212), that Christianity long ago drove out.
In short, New Age is not a worldview at all, rather, it is an excuse; an all-purpose, all-encompassing, fully integrated, and easily justifiable excuse, for everyone to worship exactly what they want to worship – themselves. In actuality, it is the perfect religion, inspired by the perfect creature himself – Satan. Who else could have inspired such a belief system, that would put, “…the self [as] the kingpin, the prime reality” (181), and at the same moment, take that title away from the One to whom it truly belongs, God the Father. The attraction to spiritual seekers is obvious, and, “Because of its absolute subjectivity, the ‘I-am-God’ or ‘I-am-the Kosmos’ position remains beyond any criticism external to the subject” (185). Within their minds they have conceived a reality that pleases them, and that is all that matters. Seeing themselves as god allows them to make up their own rules as they go, which inspires them to break free from the constraints of God's word and His standards of right and wrong, and good and evil. Consider the following new age mantra:
"Religion requires that you follow a particular belief system that the church and its authorities have established. Spirituality places less importance on structured beliefs and focuses more on growing consciously and evolving to our highest level as human beings. Although most religions state that God is loving and forgiving, they also teach the concept of sin and the consequences of wrongdoing. Religions often have a fear-based component to them... Spirituality is seen as love-based and does not judge actions as “right” or “wrong.” (Inoue 2014).
Given this premise, we can readily understand why it appeals to the masses in the way that it does. For those who are unwilling to be broken at the cross of Christ, must worship someone, and worshiping yourself requires no brokenness at all. This "new spirituality" is beginning to influence our society in significant ways. Obviously, the movies, video games, books, and other various forms of media are pervasively influenced by New Age philosophy. So much so, that we hardly even notice it anymore, we just accept it as part of our culture, and this is probably the most grieving aspect of it; it has already achieved such widespread acceptance in our society, that it has become somewhat invisible to us.
As a result, it has become commonplace for people in Western society to cast off the restraints of faith, “organized religion” (i.e. going to church), doctrine, holiness, and righteousness, by saying that they are just "spiritual people"; and sadly, this statement is readily acceptable, if not preferable, to saying that they are a Christian, and that is all the proof you need of its widespread acceptance.
By Pastor Glen Mustian
Works Cited:
Inoue, Alice. http://blog.yourhappinessu.com/?tag=religion-versus-spirituality. Web. 12/01/15.
Sire, James. The Universe Next Door. InterVarsity Press. Downers Grove, IL: 2009 (5th Ed.). Print.
