The attraction of the new age
Human beings are spiritual creatures. We hunger for an encounter with the unseen spiritual dimension. We seem to know instinctively that there is more to this life than what we are able to experience with our five physical senses. Implanted in all of us is a desire to understand the ultimate meaning of things. We want to know that the daily grind isn’t really “all there is” to our existence. 39; 16

Man has always had an interest in the supernatural, but we live in an age in which that interest has become extreme. Everywhere we go there are books and other materials related to mysticism and the occult. There are dozens of psychic telephone lines, hundreds of authors and lecturers who claim to “channel” departed spirits, and “New Age” books and other “How to” materials in every bookstore. There are thousands of Web sites dedicated to occult issues. 39; 16 the number of motion pictures and videos of the occult are mind-boggling. I dare you to go into one of the big video stores and count the number of videos for rent that have an occult theme. Satan is hell bent on drawing people into his poisonous pit of vipers. I truly believe he has cranked up the pressure, because he knows his time is getting short. So like the Pied Piper of Hamlin e walks to and fro about the earth, seducing as many people as he can to follow him.

Obviously, millions of people are turning to occult practices for answers to life’s questions. But one wonders if they should trust the answers they get . . . or the ones who give those answers. 39; 16

One thing about the New Age Movement that makes it so dangerous is that it appears to be so nice. The people are nice, the doctrines are nice and the music is nice. On the surface all of this appears perfectly harmless. This makes it appealing to people who would never dream of putting on a black robe and killing a cat or a chicken. 4; 96 Like Eve in the Garden of Eden who probably never thought that she might some day betray God. But she did, mainly because she listened to the Serpent.

America’s religious freedom provides fertile ground for alternative beliefs. The presence of so many “religious” organizations makes it easier for each new one to be accepted. At the same time each becomes less credible. The belief in absolute truth will be replaced by one’s religious preference. As more entities enter the ring, the “religious preferences” for pantheism will become the majority. Which means there will really be only one religion, designed by Satan himself. 45-44.

Ideas–new stuff–do not usually rise until the preceding order has been discredited...45-44
Hippies devised a new strategy...45-45 These ideas are not developed yet………..

The emphasis on love taken up by most New Agers is appealing, especially to young people. “Love bombing” (the free and frequent expression of love...perhaps mimicking John 13:34) is a technique employed by many cults and occult groups to lure prospective recruits. Dr. Walter Martin, an expert on cults and the occult, suggests, “that the attraction to such groups stems from the Church’s unpaid debt to society.” 4; 101

Many turn to occult philosophies because they have not seen the reality of the love of Christ at work in the Church. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ, we need to remember the words of Jesus, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”(John 13:34-35).

Others are attracted to the new religions because they want to avoid the commitment and responsibilities required by Christianity. In effect, the new religions tell such people that you don’t have to be restricted in your search. You can even become your own god. 4; 102

When an individual perceives the church to be weak and powerless, he looks for alternatives that will stroke his spiritual needs. Many of them are attracted to the New Age Movement. In fact, the New Age Movement has become the religion of choice for many disillusioned Christians. 4; 97

The search for personal meaning is a valid quest, and if the Church fails to provide the answers for that search, people will turn elsewhere. 4; 97

Satan has done a superb job of training his legions in the art of deception and lying. They have conned millions of church members into changing over to one of the cults of the New Age Movement. “Whatever you believe is right, you can create your own morality and feel good about it.” That is music in the person’s ear that does not want to be “involved” in the church. The “many roads to heaven” trick is all it takes for many people to be recruited. They don’t realize they have been deceived and are actually on the wide road to hell.

In designing the NAM, Satan has cleverly taken words, and even doctrines, with a Christian meaning and deceitfully used them in the New Age book of “nice” magic. And then unsuspecting Christians, recognizing the words as having Christian significance, are drawn into the Movement.

The most frightening aspect of the NAM is the adulation given to Lucifer (Satan), who has been described as the “God of Light and God of Good.” (1) 29;73 David Spangler teaches that Lucifer is “an agent of God’s love,” (2) He goes so far to say,
“Christ is the same force as Lucifer. . . .Lucifer prepares man for the experience of Christhood. . . Lucifer works within each of us to bring us to wholeness as we move into the New Age. (3) The light that reveals to us the path to Christ comes from Lucifer . . . the great initiator.” (4) 29; 73

From Spangler and others we see a consistent account among New Age leaders that Lucifer (Satan) is God and that Lord Maitreya is “Christ.” But as we go deeper into the New Age teachings we discover that Lucifer is really Satan and the Lord Maitreya is the Antichrist. Thousands of New Age believers have been tricked into believing that these two occult creatures are “God” and “Christ”. They believe they have found the perfect religion, where they can still be Christian and yet live like they want to. What they have done, however, is to submit themselves to the (soul) initiation into the ranks of the Beast. 29;75

Mixing ideas is nothing new for Satan’s legions. Many people who came to North America to escape religious persecution in Europe brought with them practices from their occult religions. Even today as people come from Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America they bring their own brand of religion with them. A lot of voodoo and occult practices have started this way. Such mixtures exist in certain countries where missionaries have endeavored to preach the Gospel. 4; 97 My wife and I discovered many of these practices in West Africa, where the people didn’t see a conflict at all in mixing Christianity with animism. However, before anyone can give himself or herself over to God completely they need to be able to recognize the conflict and why it is a conflict.

Actress Shirley MacLaine is a leading advocate of the New Age approach to finding personal meaning. Her books describe her search and her findings. She is a firm believer in reincarnation and karma. 4; 97 MacLaine says her “Higher Self” directs her, “There is no judgment involved with life. There is only experience from incarnation to incarnation until the soul realizes its perfection and that is total love.” (10) 4; 102

Her “search for identity” has led her to affirm, “Nothing is more powerful than the collective human mind.” (4) Her central message is fourfold: you are gods; you have lived before and will live again; there is no death; there are as many realities as there are people since we create our own reality. 45; 15

Since we create our own reality, this philosophy ultimately leads many New Agers to believe that there is no difference between good and evil, a decidedly anti-Christian concept. 4; 102