Experts on Nontraditional Religions Try to Pin down the New Age Movement

What is the New Age movement, and how should the church respond to it? Some have identified it as a conspiracy that intends to introduce the Antichrist mentioned in Revelation. However, others say that the movement is merely a recent expression of age-old paganism.

A recent conference in Denver attracted experts on nontraditional religions and some 300 others to try to put the New Age movement in perspective. The gathering was sponsored by Evangelical Ministries to New Religions (EMNR).

A statement prepared by EMNR and distributed at the close of the conference found no basis for an organized conspiracy behind the New Age movement. The statement defines the movement as “a spiritual, social, and political movement to transform individuals and society through mystical enlightenment, hoping to bring about a utopian era, a ‘New Age’ of harmony and progress. While it has no central headquarters or agencies, it includes loosely affiliated individuals, activist groups, businesses, professional groups, and spiritual leaders and their followers. It produces countless books, magazines, and tapes reflecting a shared worldview and vision. How that worldview is expressed, what implications are drawn, and what applications are made differ from group to group.”

The statement listed basic assumptions of New Age philosophy, including:

• God is an impersonal undifferentiated oneness, not separate from creation.

• Humanity, like all creation, is an extension of this divine oneness and shares its essential being. Thus, humanity is divine.

• Transformation of humanity is brought about through techniques that can be applied to mind, body, and spirit. Examples of such techniques include meditation, yoga, chanting, creative visualization, hypnosis, and ...

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