New Agers are the real Christians?

This article is from CONTENDER MINISTRIES.  I was impressed by the Rast’s, who give us a great example of how to respond to the New Age Movement with a biblical response.

 
New Agers are the real Christians –

It is people like you who are actually the anti-christ….the ‘so-called’ Christians like yourself who condemn and ridicule the new agers (or any other religion) like you do. You, like the Pharisees at the time of Christ cannot see beyond your own limited world-view. Christ was able to see the divinity in man….the wonderous power that man owns (the holy spirit) He was telling the Jewish people of this ….and they called him a blasphermer. He died telling us all that God lives inside of each and everyone of us…not just some of us…as you the Anti-Christ would like us to believe!You like to divide us…..with your judgemental, narrow-minded rhetoric, placing hatred and fear of other religions into the innocent minds of children and adults. You place New Agers and eastern philosophies in the seat of evil and yourself in the seat of God.. You point fingers at anyone you consider to be a sinner….judging their conduct as good or evil….. exactly what Christ said NOT to do. (don’t judge another, lest you be judged yourself)the power of evil (satan) lives and thrives in the division you try sooo hard to create…and you know that. The division between Christian and what you term “new age” is only in the minds of people like yourself, and other radical christians. Satan grabs hold you …in your fear of the new age, in your judgemental accusations, and in your hate and anger toward us. We (new agers) never point fingers at others because we know that all religions are in the pursuit of the same God, and eventually, through the wonderful process of self-realization (yoga, meditation, prayer, kind acts, forgiveness), we will find God because that was Christ’s ‘Way”…. that was Christ’s teaching to us!! We know that God lives in each one of us…even people like you. God doesn’t see religions, colors, sex or any other kind of groups like you do.You say we call ourselves ‘divine’…but the truth is that we are all part of God…who is divine .. thereby we have that holy spirit within each of us. However the power of this spirit is only available when it is combined with others who also have this glorious realization…. because it is in the unity of our spirits that there is power.The new age is here to stay, and unlike you and other ‘so-called’ Christians (not the Christian Jesus was) , we belive that it will be GOODNESS that prevails, not guided by intolerance and conformity to man-made religious dogma, but by tolerance for all people (love, acceptance, support) , intelligence and kindness. Your ‘Way’ toward tomorrow is paved with fear and anger. Christ spoke of Wolves in Sheeps clothing, and after reading your article on the New Age influence …. I see what he meant. You try to appear as though you were on Christ’s side, but I can see clearly that you are part of Satan’s handiwork.

CONTENDER MINISTRIES RESPONSE:

Greetings Diane, and thank you for contacting us at Contender Ministries. There seems to be a lot of anger/frustration in your message to us, but I’d like to reply to your views and interpretations of Christ’s teachings, as opposed to the name-calling.

You say that we are all divine. You contend that the Holy Spirit is a “power that man owns,” and that He dwells in all of us, as we are all part of God. You attempted to back this assertion by saying that Christ taught of the divinity of man, yet you included no scripture reference from the gospels as evidence of your claims. I have read the gospels, and in fact re-read them today before responding to your email. I can tell you conclusively that Jesus never taught that man was divine. The cornerstone of New Age doctrine has no basis in the gospels, or anywhere else in the Bible for that matter. In fact, Jesus taught quite a different theology than that which you espouse.

In Luke 18:19, Jesus said, “No one is good – except God alone.” That certainly seems to belie any claim to the divinity of man. Only God alone is good. To make any claim to divinity is to exalt our own nature, which is inherently sinful (Romans 3:23). Jesus said, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted,” (Luke 18:14). Anyone who exalts him or herself by claiming divinity will eventually learn a lesson in humility.

In John 14:16, and again in chapter 16, Jesus talks of the Holy Spirit that will remain after Jesus is taken back to God the Father. In these verses, Jesus is speaking to His disciples. He tells them that the Holy Spirit will act as Counselor to His followers. He will convict sinners of their actions. He will reside in the hearts of the followers of Christ. In no way do any of these passages indicate that the Holy Spirit will reside in the hearts of all men. The Holy Spirit does not reside in the heart of unrepentant sinners. However, if such a sinner accepts the gift of eternal life offered through Jesus Christ, and is cleansed of his sins, then he truly can receive the Holy Spirit.

You said we judge people. We do not. We recognize that only Jesus will judge men, on behalf of God the Father (John 5:22,27). A question you should ask yourself is this: If all men are divine, and all are a part of God, then what need would there be for a judge? God does not judge himself, so we cannot be parts of God. If all men are divine, there would be no need for judgment. There is a Judge though, and there will be a judgment.

Why is a judgment needed? Because the truth of the gospels is that there is a path to Heaven, and not all men are on that path. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus also taught us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son,” (John 3:16-18). Do all men believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and the only path to salvation? Unfortunately, the answer is “no.” In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus said, “For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Jesus is the small gate, and his teachings are the narrow road. You said we were “narrow-minded,” and in light of the previous verses I would have to agree. But truth is not relative, and it does not change to suit the desires of each person. Truth is inherently a narrow path. Since not all men accept that Jesus is the Messiah and the Savior of mankind, there is a need for a judgment, and Jesus will be that judge.

Jesus will be the judge of men, but we at Contender Ministries are following scriptural instructions to judge doctrines, beliefs, and theologies. We must judge them so we are not deceived by the false prophets Jesus said we would encounter (Matthew 7:15, 24:11, 24:24, Mark 13:22). As Christians, we must stand in judgment of teachings that are not in accordance with the gospel of Jesus Christ. At Contender Ministries, we expose these teachings. We do not presume to judge the followers of the false teachings, but we expose those teachings so that others might be warned, and come to salvation through Jesus Christ before they stand before Him to receive their judgment.

You said that we were the antichrist. There are actually two different versions of antichrist mentioned in the Bible. On one hand, you have Antichrist with a capital “A,” spoken of in the book of Revelation as well as Old Testament prophecy. He will be the great deceiver that will defile the temple in Israel and become possessed by Satan himself. There are also antichrists with a lowercase “a.” John defines these as follows: “Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist – he denies the Father and the Son,” (1 John 2:22). We believe that Jesus is the Christ, and we believe in the Father and the Son. Therefore, your characterization of us as the antichrist is inaccurate.

You said our “Way toward tomorrow is paved with fear and anger.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Our way, the only way (John 14:6), is Jesus Christ. We are angry at no one, and we go on without fear. In an age where Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world (as Jesus predicted), we endure suffering for Him, because our salvation with Him for all eternity is secured. He paid the price for us, and we accepted His free gift of salvation.

The belief in the divinity of man is a lie. It is, in fact, the original lie that Satan used. He convinced Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit with the lure that if she did so she would “be like God.” Satan has used this lie throughout history to deceive many. The New Age has bought into this lie. You said the New Age is here to stay. I happen to agree with you – to a point. I believe that the New Age will thrive until Jesus Christ returns to defeat the Antichrist and establish His Kingdom on earth. We urge you to resist this lie of Satan. We urge you to recognize that, like the rest of us, you have a sinful (rather than divine) nature. We implore you to turn to the one true and living God, and seek forgiveness for your sins. If you do so, God has promised to cleanse you of your sins. May God reveal Himself to you, and may you turn to Him. Then, may God bless you in your new life.

In Christ,

Ben and Jennifer Rast
Contender Ministries