Preface.
In recent decades in Western countries, we have been able to
observe a strong trend away from the Christian faith.
Churches have lost members, and it is no longer so popular
to believe in the Christian God or adhere to Christian
morals. It has been replaced by a worldview based on atheism,
in which Darwin's theory has played a decisive role. It is
thought that if God did not create the universe and life,
why should believe in the existence of God and the teachings
of Christianity? This is how people think in this worldview
based on atheism.
However, atheism has not satisfied all people as a
worldview. Their interest and search has begun to reorient
towards religion and the supernatural. However, they have
not necessarily sought guidance from the Bible and the
teachings of Jesus, but their interest has been directed
towards Eastern religions and various occult activities.
This movement has been named neo-spirituality and also New
Age Movement. It is a fragmented, leaderless movement
without any umbrella organization, but which includes the
most diverse philosophies and activities: the basic
doctrines of Eastern religions, reincarnation and the law of
karma, the teaching of the divinity of everything and man,
the idea of many roads leading to the destination,
meditation, yoga, visualization , relaxation therapies,
holistic medicine and health, hypnosis, spiritualism or
channeling which means conveying messages from the dead and
spirit beings, astrology, tarot cards and other forms of
divination, UFOs, spirit guides, witchcraft and spells,
higher self, angels, energy and spirit healing,
enlightenment and New Consciousness, Theosophy,
Anthroposophy…
But what to think about the new spirituality?
Representatives of the neo-spirituality may themselves think
that they are on the threshold of a new consciousness and
that we are entering the Age of Aquarius.
Instead, in their opinion, the Christian faith represents an
outdated view, the so-called the age of fish. In general,
the representatives of the neo-spirituality have an arrogant
attitude towards those who stick to the teachings of Jesus
and the apostles. They consider the representatives of
Christianity narrow-minded and behind their time.
But but. Are the representatives of neo-spirituality
right or are they victims of deception and lies? In this
article, we try to familiarize ourselves with this topic.
There are many reasons to suspect supernatural deception in
this area. That's what we're going to find out next.
1. Are the representatives of neo-spirituality Hindus?
If you look at the literature of neo-spirituality and the
New Age Movement, you will soon notice that there is
something familiar and common to one world religion. "This
is Hinduism," can be said by a person who has studied the
contents and backgrounds of religions. Neo-spirituality has
a lot in common with this world religion, but it is another
matter whether the representatives of neo-spirituality
consider themselves Hindus. Probably not, but in practice
many of them are. Hinduism includes e.g. the following
teachings, which also appear repeatedly in the books of the
New Age Movement. We are going to examine these teachings
and their accuracy.
• Creator and creation are one. There is no Creator God who
made the universe and is separate from it
• The divinity of everything and man
• All roads are equal
• Good and evil are one
• Yoga and meditation
• Reincarnation and the law of karma
Rabindranath R. Maharaj, a former Hindu guru who turned to
Jesus Christ and allowed himself to be saved, makes the same
point in his book Death of a Guru . He noticed in the late
1960s, while traveling to the West, how Hindu philosophy and
lifestyle began to fascinate people. The foundation and
roots of the current neo-spirituality and the New Age
Movement are in Hinduism:
What amazed me the most was the discovery that the
philosophy of the entire protest culture of drugs, rebellion,
and rock music was fundamentally Hindu: the same lies about
the unity of all life, vegetarianism, upward evolution
toward oneness with the universe, and that everyone could
choose any path. I noticed that thousands of young people
weren't just falling off and turning to drugs: they were
practicing Transcendental Meditation and various other forms
of yoga. Their whole world of thought was obscured by the
mysticism of the East. Almost everyone began to accept the
incarnation, which killed all belief in the resurrection of
Christ. These two are absolute opposites of each other.
Slowly and more and more convinced of the danger, I became
convinced that Satan had come up with a very clever plot: he
was infiltrating the West with the mysticism of the East. I
could see that few Christians understood his plan and were
prepared to oppose it. Was God preparing me, a former Hindu,
to sound the alarm to the millions in the West who were
falling for an Eastern philosophy that I knew to be wrong? I
began to pray seriously to find out. (1)
2. Are the Creator and creation the same?
There is one clear fundamental difference between Hinduism
and Christianity: in Hinduism, the Creator and creation are
the same, but the Bible teaches that the Creator made the
universe and life. These two opposite views are mutually
exclusive. They cannot be true at the same time. The
representatives of neo-spirituality usually reject the
following verses of the Bible, which tell about God's work
of creation and how he is separate from the creation He
created:
- (Acts 17:24,25) God that made the world and all
things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth,
dwells not in temples made with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he
needed any thing, seeing he gives to all life, and
breath, and all things;
- (Rom 1:20-22) For the invisible things of him from
the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood
by the things that are made, even his eternal power and
Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not
as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their
imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
- (Rev 4:11) You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and
honor and power: for you have created all things, and
for your pleasure they are and were created.
- (Rev 10:5,6) And the angel which I saw stand on the sea
and on the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
6 And swore by him that lives for ever and ever, who
created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the
earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the
things which are therein, that there should be time
no longer:
How should this matter be approached? The best starting
point is to state that the universe and life have a
beginning. They are not eternal, and even atheist scientists
admit that. The sun and stars have not shone forever -
otherwise their energy reserves would have been exhausted -
and life is not eternal, because life on Earth is tied to
the existence of the sun. Since the sun is not eternal, life
could not always have existed either.
This is where atheism and the pantheistic worldview run
into problems. Neither can properly explain the beginning of
the universe and life. In atheism, the existence of a
Creator God is not acknowledged, and in pantheism, god is
the same as creation, which means that creation should have
created itself. It is a logically unsustainable idea.
In Western countries, belief in creation has been
abandoned, but God's creation is the only reasonable
explanation for the existence of the universe and life.
There are stories in school books and TV programs about how
galaxies, stars, the solar system and life on Earth have
arisen by themselves, but they have nothing to do with
science. They are atheistic stories based on imagination,
nothing more. It is a question of believing in things that
cannot be proven, and against which the evidence clearly
stands. E.g. the following quotes explain how the Big Bang
theory contradicts the evidence:
The universe, born from the cosmic explosion 13.8 billion
years ago, expanded rapidly and then cooled. It is expanding
at an ever-increasing rate and is mostly composed of unknown
dark matter and dark energy...or what?
This well-known story is generally accepted as
self-evident scientific fact, even though there is almost no
empirical evidence—and even though the number of
contradictions keeps growing as observations of the distant
universe are made. (Ekeberg, B., Cosmology has some big
problems, blogs.scientificamerican.com, 30.4.2019.)
New data differs enough from the theory’s prediction to
destroy the Big Bang-cosmology (Fred Hoyle, The Big Bang in
Astronomy, 92 New Scientist 521, 522-23 / 1981)
As an old cosmologist, I see the current observational data
repealing theories about the beginning of the universe, and
also the many theories about the beginning of the Solar
System. (H. Bondi, Letter, 87 New Scientist 611 / 1980)
There has been remarkably little discussion of whether or
not the big bang hypothesis is correct... many of the
observations that conflict it are explained through numerous
unfounded assumptions or they are simply ignored. (nobelist
H. Alfven, Cosmic Plasma 125 / 1981)
David Berlinski:
”It is pointless to argue that something comes into
existence out of nothing, when any given mathematician
understands this to be complete nonsense” (Ron Rosenbaum:
”Is the Big Bang Just a Big Hoax?
David Berlinski Challenges Everyone.” New York Observer
7.7.1998)
So there were quotes related to the big bang theory. It
clearly contradicts the evidence. However, the same problem
occurs in other atheistic theories. No atheist scientist,
for example, knows how life could have arisen by itself.
Furthermore, Darwin's theory clearly contradicts the
evidence. If gradual evolution from a primitive cell were
true, it should be visible in the fossil record, but it is
not. For this, we take quotes from representatives of
natural history museums. These museums should have the best
evidence of evolution if Darwin's theory were true, but
there is no evidence of gradual evolution. This clearly
refers to God's work of creation:
Stephen Jay Gould (American Museum):
I do not want in any way to belittle the potential
competence of the gradual evolution view. I want only to
remark that it has never 'been observed' in rocks.”
(The Panda's Thumb, 1988, pp. 182,183).
Dr. Etheridge, world-famous curator of the British Museum:
In this whole museum, there is not even the smallest thing
that would prove the origin of species from intermediate
forms.
The theory of evolution is not based on observations and
facts. As comes to speaking about the age of the human race,
the situation is the same. This museum is full of evidence
showing how mindless these theories are. (2)
None of the officials in five large paleontological museums
can present even one simple example of an organism that
could be regarded as a piece of evidence of gradual
evolution from one species to another. (Dr. Luther
Sunderland’s summary in his book Darwin's enigma. He
interviewed many representatives of natural history museums
for this book and wrote to them aiming at finding out what
sort of evidence they had to prove evolution.
(3)
3. The divinity of everything and man
Within the New Age Movement, the Hindu doctrine that the
cosmos is god and man is part of the same god is repeatedly
taught. In principle, there has only been a name change: the
universe, or cosmos, including man, has been named god,
Brahman. However, this Hindu name is not usually used in the
western New Age Movement. Usually it is talked only about
the divinity of man.
What is the issue here in the light of the Bible? It's a
matter of the creature exalting itself as equal to the
Creator, even though it is not. Man worships the creature
more than the Creator, as it is written:
- (Eze 28:2) Son of man, say to
the prince of Tyrus, Thus said
the Lord GOD; Because your heart is lifted up, and you
have said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in
the middle of the seas; yet you are a man, and not
God, though you set your heart as the heart of God
- (Rom 1:22-23,25) Professing themselves to be wise, they
became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an
image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four
footed beasts, and creeping things.
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie,
and worshipped and served the creature more than the
Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
- (Acts 12:21-24) And on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal
apparel, sat on his throne, and made an oration to them.
22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is
the voice of a god, and not of a man.
23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him,
because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms,
and gave up the ghost.
24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.
The question is, if creation is god and man is also god, why
is this not known immediately? In Hinduism, they talk about
maya, or an illusion, which prevents us from seeing this,
but if this is the case, then it is a question of a rather
ignorant and weak god. How can a god be so ignorant that he
doesn't even know and feel his own divinity? Of course,
everyone can believe what they want, but it is easy to
conclude that it is an obvious lie. It would be easy for
everyone to prove their divinity simply by creating, for
example, a moon-sized object in the sky. It shouldn't be a
problem if this worldview is true.
On the other hand, it is worth remembering the first
commandment, which was already given thousands of years ago.
It urged not to serve idols alongside the one true God. In
Hinduism and its western form, i.e. the New Age Movement,
this has not been followed. It is estimated that there are
even more than 300 million gods in Hinduism in addition to
Brahman:
- (Exodus 20:1-4) And God spoke all these words, saying,
2 I am the LORD your God, which have brought you out of the
land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 You shall have no other gods before me.
4 You shall not make to you any graven image, or any
likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in
the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
The following discussion points to the same thing. In it,
Rabi Maharaj tells how, as a Hindu, it was difficult for him
to defend the pantheistic notion that everything was part of
God. The boys' awkward questions embarrassed him and he got
defensive. In his book, he describes a problematic situation
that clearly demonstrates the falsity of pantheism:
"Is it true that Hindus believe that everything is God?"
I nodded. I looked uneasily at the boys who represented
different races and religions, who had gathered to talk me
into the bag. It started to become a regular habit and the
other Hindu boys carefully avoided giving me any kind of
support. They seemed downright scared or ashamed.
"Do you mean that a fly is God, or an ant, or or a dung
beetle?" The small crowd standing around me burst out
laughing.
You laugh because you do not understand," I said proudly.
"You see only an illusion, but you do not see the One Real -
Brahman."
"Are you God?" asked the Portuguese boy in disbelief.
I didn't dare to hesitate or pull back - then I would
have looked even more ridiculous. "I am," I replied firmly,
"and so are all Hindus. They just need to realize it."
"How can you be aware of things that are not true?" he
snorted contemptuously. " You didn't create the world!" (4)
4. Do all roads lead to the same goal?
One popular view in neo-spirituality and the New Age
Movement is the idea that all religions are the same and
basically teach the same thing. It is thought that people
can take different paths that eventually lead to the same
mountain top, to the same God. However, representatives of
neo-spirituality are generally critical of the view that
there is only one way, Jesus Christ, as taught in the
Christian faith. They consider this view too narrow-minded
and limiting.
What is the problem with this view? It ignores the
differences between religions and claims that they do not
matter. However, it is logically impossible for all
religions to be true at the same time. Salvation cannot be
simultaneously from grace (Jesus' work for us) and
works (the most common concept in religions),
reincarnation (Hinduism, Buddhism) and
non-reincarnation (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)
cannot be true at the same time. Similarly, the number of
gods varies in religions, so they basically do not teach the
same thing.
This view, which appears in neo-spirituality and the New
Age Movement, is characteristic of one world religion,
however: Hinduism. It teaches that all roads lead to the
destination and are equal. The representatives of
neo-spirituality thus show again that they believe the same
as Hindus believe. In the Hindu holy book Bhagavad-Gita it
is written:
Oh Paartha, no matter how the people approach me, I will
receive them; whatever way they use, it is also my way.
What about the criticism in neo-spirituality to the teaching
of Christianity that there is only one way, Jesus Christ?
These people should take into account that this view is not
an invention of modern people, but Jesus Himself taught it.
If we do not believe His claim, we claim that He actually
lied, which is a heavy accusation:
- (John 14:6) Jesus said to him, I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.
- (John 10:9) I am the door: by me if any man enter
in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and
find pasture.
Jesus also taught about the broad way that does not lead to
God but to destruction. Is this the very view that exists in
neo-spirituality? These people believe that many roads will
lead to the destination, but what if they lead to
destruction, as Jesus warned:
- (Matt 7:13,14) Enter you in at the strait gate: for wide
is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction,
and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which
leads to life, and few there be that find it.
5. Is there a difference between good and bad?
One of the teachings of Hinduism and the New Age Movement is
that everything is one, that is, everything is god. It
actually means that evil must also be God. The unity of
everything thus means the elimination of the difference
between good and evil, and that is one of the weak points of
pantheism. For example, Shirley MacLaine , a well-known
actress and leading figure in the New Age Movement, has
argued in her books that the difference between good and
evil has disappeared. Similarly, MacLaine's Higher Self had
taught her:
God energy is not a judge of people. In fact, there is no
judgment in life. There is only the experience of
incarnating into another until the soul realizes its
perfection, and that is total love... Until humanity
realizes that there is in fact no good and no evil, there
will be no peace on earth. (5)
What can be answered to the previous one? Yes, there is
still a difference between right and wrong, even if people
and spirit beings claim otherwise. Even in Hinduism and
neo-spirituality, there is a general belief in the law of
karma, where people's good or bad deeds affect the next
life. This contradicts the previous doctrine. Similarly,
many representatives of neo-spirituality can talk about love
and peace as things to strive for, or rightfully criticize,
for example, the injustices that have happened in the
Catholic Church, so they are not always very consistent
themselves (the same inconsistency also appears in the
previous quote). Yes, the difference between right and wrong
is known to every person, and it is good that this is so.
Among other things, the following verses of the Bible refer
to it, and how this matter shows that the Almighty God will
one day judge every person:
- (Romans 2:14-16) For when the Gentiles, which have not the
law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these,
having not the law, are a law to themselves:
15 Which show the work of the law written in their
hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their
thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one
another;)
16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men
by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
- (Mark 10:19) You know the commandments, Do
not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear
false witness, Defraud not, Honor your father and mother.
6. TM and Yoga
There are many kinds of functions and activities in
neo-spirituality. Not everyone participates in every
activity or subscribes to all its ideologies. Two such areas
in the West are TM, transcendental meditation, and yoga.
They are practiced by hundreds of thousands of people who
may not be interested in other areas of neo-spirituality.
These methods have often been promoted in Western
countries in the name of science. For example, it has been
said about TM that it is not a religion, but a relaxation
method. In it, people chant some mantra for long periods of
time and try to reach a state of peace. (Jesus warned
against this kind of vain babbling, Matt 6:7: But when you
pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they
think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.)
However, TM, or passive meditation, is strongly
connected to Hinduism. It is one of the most important areas
of Hinduism. In his book "Meditations of Maharishi Mahes
Yogi" on page 168", the Maharishi, who brought this
method to the West, has directly admitted that TM is related
to the attainment of god consciousness, but it should not be
marketed in this way but for health reasons: "You cannot
ask a person today to meditate , so that he would gain
god-consciousness, but we can ask him to meditate, saying
that through it he can better enjoy the world, sleep better
and be properly awake during the day".
Another quote from Maharishi's book brings out even more
clearly the religious and Hindu character of TM. The
Maharishi wrote that the purpose of reciting the mantra is
to connect with living gods and higher beings. Can you say
this more clearly?
We do something here according to Vedic rituals, we repeat
certain words and they affect the other worlds, they draw
the attention of the gods or higher beings living there to
us. The whole purpose of knowing the mantra or Vedic chants
is to create a connection between these higher beings who
live in the different levels of creation and man. (Meditations
of Maharishi, pages 17 and 18)
What about yoga and its practice? It has also been
successful in Western countries based on the fact that it
has been presented as an exercise and relaxation method that
has a positive effect on physical and mental health.
However, in Eastern religions, yoga is not only
gymnastics, relaxation or breathing exercises, but the
purpose of yoga is to bring a person through physical
exercises into contact with the Hindu god Brahman - the word
yoga means to connect and connect. There are no neutral
techniques in yoga, but yoga practices are designed to cause
a trance state in which the mind is emptied and thus a
connection is made with everything, Brahman.
"All yogic paths ultimately lead to the same destination -
union with Brahman, or God - and the teachings of all must
be assimilated to achieve true wisdom." (The Sivanda
Companion to YOGA, by Lucy Lindell, Fireside Books, 1983, p.
18)
Rabi Maharaj, who as a Hindu guru practiced passive
meditation and yoga for years, has warned against these
methods. They are not neutral methods, but in them a person
actually opens his mind to misleading spirits, i.e. to the
entry of demons. As a result of them, a person can have all
kinds of false experiences from the spirit world.
TM is disguised Hinduism portrayed in misleadingly
scientific terms. Its religious nature is denied, and thus
Western people are misled.
Feeling compelled to expose such deliberate and cunning
lies, I began speaking out more boldly in public to warn
those drawn to yoga, meditation, and other forms of Eastern
mysticism of the satanic trap they were stepping into. I
started getting invitations to universities to speak about
different religions or to find out the differences between
Hinduism and Christianity. After all, I knew Hinduism
through and through. Soon I also received invitations to
several different countries. My activities were no longer
limited to Europe alone. (6)
7. Reincarnation and Karma
Reincarnation and Karma are familiar to most Westerners
through school education. They know these doctrines are
related to Eastern religions because they have been taught
them. The same things also belong to the New Age Movement
and neo-spirituality. It is a different matter whether these
perceptions are true. At least they are contrary to
Christian teaching, because Jesus and the apostles taught
that there is only one life and after that comes judgment.
For example, it is written in the book of Hebrews (Hebr
9:27): "And as it is appointed to men once to die, but
after this the judgment."
Next, let's go through some of the problems associated
with these doctrines and their validity:
• If reincarnation were true, everyone should remember it.
However, why do 99.99% of people not remember their past
lives? Doesn't this clearly prove that past lives never
existed? Even H.B. Blavatsky, the founder of the
Theosophical Society, and the person who perhaps most
popularized the doctrine of reincarnation in the West in the
19th century, has said of our forgetfulness in this area:
Maybe we can say that in the life of a mortal person, there
is no such suffering of the soul and body that would not be
the fruit and consequence of some sin that has been
committed in a previous form of existence. But on the other
hand, his current life does not include even one memory of
those.
(7)
It is true that some people claim to have remembered their
past lives, but these memories cannot be trusted. For
example, a considerable number of people have registered in
America who claim that at some point they lived as Cleopatra
or Napoleon! Similarly, there are over a hundred
incarnations of H.B. Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical
Society (previous quote), known around the world! It is
clear that people's memories are based on a lie. Admittedly,
it is true that sometimes accurate information may be
involved, but that does not prove reincarnation itself.
Deceitful spirits can give people accurate information to
deceive them.
Daniel Home, one of the most famous mediums of his time,
has taken a stand on the matter. His words show how people
can deceive themselves in this area. He had met e.g. 20
Alexander the Great and other famous people, so such
flashbacks cannot possibly be true:
I have had the pleasure of meeting at least twelve
Marie Antoinettes, six or seven Mary, Queen of Scots, a
whole group of Louis the Greats and many other kings, and
about twenty Alexander the Greats, but never an ordinary
person like John Smith. I really would want to meet such an
unusual case.
• How was it in the beginning when there was no karma from
previous lives? Because, as stated at the beginning of the
article, the universe and life have a beginning. Even
atheist scientists admit it. The former practically means
that everything should have been perfect at the beginning,
and the cycle of reincarnation would not have even started.
It is difficult to explain the problem of the beginning
through pantheism. Where has bad Karma come to earth if it
was not there in the beginning?
• Concepts about the form in which a person can be reborn on
earth vary. In Eastern concepts, a person can be born as an
animal or even a plant, but generally in Western countries
people are taught to always remain human. For example,
spiritualist and writer Allan Kardec, who was born in the
19th century, taught like this: "The embodiment of
spirits always happens in the human species; it would be a
mistake to believe that a soul or spirit could be embodied
in the body of an animal.”
(Allan Kardec: Henkien kirja, 2010. Published by the
International Spiritist Council).
However, in anthroposophy originating from Rudolf Steiner,
for example, it has been taught that the incarnated soul
could have lived as an animal, a plant and even a stone. In
a book published by the Finnish Anthroposophical
Association, Werner J. Meinhold has written as follows: "First
there was a series of human incarnations, and behind them a
phase of animal incarnation and further back, a phase that
consisted of plant incarnation. After that we went even
further back into the mineral world.” (8)
The question is, why do perceptions vary so much in the
West or between East and West? In the East, this doctrine
has been taught for centuries, but there they believe the
complete opposite of what e.g. Allan Kardec taught.
It gets even weirder if you compare the ways to get rid
of reincarnation. In Hinduism, liberation is believed to
occur when one realizes one's divinity and one's connection
to Brahman. The Buddha, on the other hand, did not believe
in gods, but taught liberation from the cycle through the
practice of altruistic mood and a moderate lifestyle. This
shows how contradictory the teaching of the doctrine of
reincarnation and karma exists.
• The doctrine of reincarnation includes the law of karma.
The question is how it works, because no impersonal law can
remember the lives of billions of people, their good and bad
deeds. An impersonal law cannot plan people's living
conditions in advance either; it always takes a person. Or
what power distributes bodies to people and by what criteria?
And what should everyone do so that he is not born as a fly
in his next life, but that he could be born, for example,
into a royal position or rich? Those who believe in
reincarnation rarely ask themselves such questions.
• If reincarnation were true, the world should become a
better place all the time as people learn from their past
experiences. Each generation should be better than the last.
However, this doesn't seem to be happening, people are still
doing wrong, and there doesn't seem to be a turn for the
better. This contradicts the doctrine of reincarnation.
If reincarnation were true, the population should also
decrease all the time, because some meritorious souls leave
the cycle. Why is the population not decreasing, but the
population right now is several billions larger than, for
example, a hundred years ago and compared to what it was a
couple of thousand years ago? Population growth is
incompatible with the doctrine of reincarnation.
8. In connection with what?
When a person joins the New Age Movement and the paths of
neo-spirituality, it is inevitable that at some point he
will come into contact with different spirits and beings. It
can happen in a person's private devotional practice, e.g.
due to long-term meditation or by participating in
channeling sessions, which is the same as spiritualism. In
practice, in channeling sessions, the channeler or medium
usually goes into a passive trance state and lets the
spirits speak through them. It is most commonly believed to
be in contact with the spirits of the dead. They may appear
as good spirits who now reside in the spirit world and guide
and help others on their spiritual path. However, contact
can also be made with the following beings and elements:
• goddess and god
• four air directions
• powers behind the elements of earth, air, water, fire and
spirit
• gods and goddesses from different mythologies such as Isis,
Set, Venus, Aphrodite, Thor, Odin, Artemis (cf. Apt 19)
• angels
• in Hinduism, Krishna, the mother goddess Kali and
thousands of other deities
• saints
• UFOs and aliens
• members of the Great White Brotherhood
• gnomes, fairies, spirit beings
• higher self, spirit guides
• internal advisor
• animal spirits in shamanism
• energy
• Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Some representatives of
neospirituality believe that they get their messages from
Jesus and the Holy Spirit
Usually, when representatives of neo-spirituality are in
contact with spirit beings, they believe that they are only
in contact with good spirits and try to ward off evil
spirits. They don't think about the possibility that the
spirits who pretend to be good spirits could also be
deceivers. (The same concept appears in the Harry Potter
books, because one of the teaching subjects of the wizarding
school is protection from evil forces.). This perception
was manifested e.g. In the life of Nicky Cruz's parents when
they practiced witchcraft and spiritism. At first they did
not consider the possibility of a lie, but the truth dawned
on them towards the end of their lives:
“My father’s death is another strange story that I'll tell
in another chapter, but I want you to understand that even
though he practiced spiritism and claimed that he was friend
with ‘good spirits’, he knew that they were evil spirits who
were actually not his allies.
He was their terrified slave instead.
(...) He was highly respected!
And he convinced himself that he was doing a great deal
of good with this power. Sick people were healed (...) even
though dad noticed that he was dealing with demons and
making pacts with the forces of darkness. Sad people
rejoiced when they were able to talk with “their long-gone
spouse”... even though my mother had to sometimes give
herself over to wild, bad spirits.
(...) When my mother and father started to practice
witchcraft, they couldn't imagine that the evil spirits
would take advantage of them. They sincerely thought that
they were helping people with the assistance of good spirits.
They quickly learned the terrible truth.
My father was so deeply under the power of spirits that
he spent almost eighty years without Christ.
The truth dawned on him the moment when he took a step
towards the Savior.”
(…) (9)
The possibility of a lie should therefore be taken into
account. Although spirits may appear helpful, wise, friendly,
and some may even experience physical healing, the
possibility of deception should not be ruled out. One
indication of a lie is that spirits repeatedly oppose the
teachings of Jesus Christ, even though people worldwide
regard him as good and his teachings as important. The
spirits reject Jesus as he is presented in the Gospels,
which are the best historical sources of Jesus' life. They
repel e.g. Jesus' teaching about hell and that he came to
save people (John 3:16,17). Likewise, they can present Jesus
as some kind of Eastern guru who achieved enlightenment and
"Christ-consciousness", even though the Bible teaches that
he was and is the Creator of the universe who became a man
(John 1:1-3,14). If the spirits were really good, shouldn't
they agree in everything with the teaching that Jesus
himself taught? However, this does not happen.
It is therefore good to note that we can be deceived. The
Bible speaks in many places about the ruler of the air power
and the evil spirit world, whose sole purpose is to mislead
people and ultimately lead them to hell. It is foolishness
to pass over the following verses lightly and not consider
them. These things were certainly known in the society of
that time, and that is why these teachings have not been
included in the Bible for nothing. They are for our benefit
so that we don't get lost. We can be deceived already if we
do not consider the possibility of a lie:
- (2 Cor 11:14) And no marvel; for Satan himself is
transformed into an angel of light.
- (2 Cor 4:3,4) But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to
them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds
of them which believe not, lest the light of the
glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine to them.
- (Eph 2:2) Wherein in time past you walked according to the
course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children
of disobedience:
- (Eph 6:12) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness
in high places.
- (John 8:44) You are of your father the devil,
and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a
murderer from the beginning, and stayed not in the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he
speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
- (1 Peter 5:8) Be sober, be vigilant; because your
adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking
whom he may devour:
- (Matt 12:43-45) When the unclean spirit is gone out
of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and
finds none.
44 Then he said, I will return into my house from where I
came out; and when he is come, he finds it empty, swept, and
garnished.
45 Then goes he, and takes with himself seven other spirits
more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there:
and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even
so shall it be also to this wicked generation.
- (Acts 5:16) There came also a multitude out of the cities
round about to Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and
them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they
were healed every one.
- (Acts 8:6-8) And the people with one accord gave heed to
those things which Philip spoke, hearing and seeing the
miracles which he did.
7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came
out of many that were possessed with them: and many
taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
8 And there was great joy in that city.
- (Acts 16:16-18) And it came to pass, as we went to
prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of
divination met us, which brought her masters much
gain by soothsaying:
17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These
men are the servants of the most high God, which show to us
the way of salvation.
18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being
grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the
name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out
the same hour.
- (Mark 1:32-34) And at even, when the sun did set, they
brought to him all that were diseased, and them that were
possessed with devils.
33 And all the city was gathered together at the door.
34 And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and
cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak,
because they knew him.
What happens in channelling sessions?
Raphael Gasson, a former active psychic who initially
believed he was dealing with spirits of the dead, has
weighed in on the subject. He stated that during the first
sessions, the medium learns to “relax his body and
concentrate his thoughts on one single thing until he has
reached a passive state, which can be considered
self-hypnosis, and the result of which is that he can not
control of his thoughts. The person becomes an automaton
through which evil spirits operate, taking advantage of his
passive state." (10)
In medium sessions and channeling, it is therefore a
matter of people giving way to deceitful spirits whose sole
purpose is to take people away from God and into hell. At
the point when a person tries to get rid of these spirits
and channelings, the spirits' resistance usually begins.
They don't want people to turn to Jesus Christ. Among other
things, the following verses warn against turning to the
dead. It is much more reasonable to turn to the living God:
- (Lev 19:31) Regard not them that have familiar spirits,
neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am
the LORD your God.
- (Lev 20:6) And the soul that turns after such as have
familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring
after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and
will cut him off from among his people.
- (Deut 18:10-12) There
shall not be found among you any one that makes his
son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses
divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a
witch.
11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits,
or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12 For all that do these things are an abomination to the
LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD your God
does drive them out from before you.
- (Lev 20:27) A man also or woman that has a familiar
spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death:
they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be on
them.
- (2 King 21:6) And he made his son pass through the fire,
and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt
with familiar spirits and wizards: he worked much wickedness
in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
- (1 Chron 10:13) So Saul died for his transgression which
he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the
LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one
that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it;
- (Isa 8:19) And when they shall say to you, Seek to
them that have familiar spirits, and to wizards that peep,
and that mutter: should not a people seek to their God? for
the living to the dead?
When the Bible forbids turning to the dead, it is because
people then actually have to deal with deceiving demonic
spirits. They can impersonate the spirits of the dead and
deceive people. Evil spirits are able to do this because
they have observed people's lives and because they are very
intelligent even though they are evil.
Examples of how evil spirits can pretend to be people's
close relatives or acquaintances can be found in the books
of neospiritualists themselves. For example, Allan Kardec
mentioned a few such cases in one of his books
(Meedioiden kirja / Les Livre des Mediums). One lady was
visited by her brother and on another occasion by a nearby
fruit seller, even though these persons had not died and
were physically several miles away at the time of the
appearance. The persons themselves knew nothing about the
appearance, so the deceiving spirits had actually appeared
to this lady or she saw a vision that came from them.
We will look at a few more examples that show how evil
spirits can impersonate the spirits of the dead and deceive
people. This happens repeatedly in spiritualist sessions:
During the Second World War a Scottish woman had been
informed that her husband "had been lost in a battle". She
waited and prayed for her husband to return but it seemed to
be that the man had died. Believers who meant well urged her
to go to a spiritualistic session and try to get connected
with her husband.
The woman went and to her surprise, a creature who
greatly resembled her husband appeared. They spoke together
and the voice of the creature was as happy as her husband's
voice had always been. It made her shiver when they spoke
about many personal issues. Imagine her surprise and shock
when a few months later her husband, without any warning,
arrived home as healthy and vigorous as he had ever been. He
had not even been wounded. (11)
As I have already said, all my life I have known the reality
of the diabolical interest in me. Once, as a young man, I
was away from home for several days. One night I had a
terrible dream. I could clearly see the door of the room
where I was sleeping and felt a horrible certainty that an
inexplicable, horrible being would come from that door.
Surrounded by terror, yet still asleep, I saw the door
slowly open and my mother's ghost standing in the doorway. I
can still see her in my mind as I saw her then, perfectly
like my mother in every detail of her features. He was
wearing the same brown suit I had seen him wearing when I
left the house a few days earlier.
The shocking thing was that I knew it wasn't my mother.
I was fully aware that he was NOT present as he was at home,
about 15 miles away. In my dream he walked across the floor
to my bed, bent over me and woke me up with a kiss. I woke
up to the demon's unpleasant presence. It had disguised
itself as my mother and had now completely abandoned the
resemblance. I was a Christian then and in the name of Jesus
Christ I told the creature to leave and it didn't last long!
Since then, I have been especially aware of how easily
evil spirits can impersonate our loved ones. They can; and
they will even go farther than that because they pretend to
be others as well as those who are close to us. (12)
9. Expanding consciousness
As stated, one of the basic teachings of Hinduism is the
experience of enlightenment. It means that man realizes his
divinity and that he is one with the universe, Brahman. To
experience this, Hindus can practice meditation and yoga for
years.
The same idea of enlightenment and expansion of
consciousness has entered neo-spirituality, which talks
about "higher consciousness", "self-realization", "creating
one's own reality" and spiritual growth. In order to reach
this goal, the most diverse methods can be used: drugs,
passive meditation (e.g. the background of most mediums
is long-term passive meditation. However, the alphabet board
is also the background of many beginner mediums),
hypnosis, creating mental images, i.e. visualization (silva
method and other methods. Likewise in role-playing games one
can visualize deities, monsters, dragons and spirits. As
these beings begin to be summoned and imagined, they may
gradually become real and appear.), yoga, a certain kind
of peaceful New Age music, mindfulness, ritual dance or
direct contact with the spirit world.
In many of these methods, the essential thing is to make the
mind passive. In ordinary meditation and study the mind is
active, but in neo-spirituality the passivity of the mind is
the goal, as it is considered necessary for the expansion of
consciousness.
What is really going on here?
In it, people open their minds to demons, evil spirits. They
gain contact with the spirit world, allowing demons to
influence their minds and give them all kinds of deceptive
visions; show things that are not really there. (However,
there can also be accurate information, as some soothsayers
have. For example, in the Acts of the Apostles, it is told
about a damsel possessed with a spirit of divination and
which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying,
Acts:16:1.). These visions are a kind of states
comparable to sleep. They may appear to be real to the
person who sees them, but are not actually true. For example,
Rabi Maharaj told in his book Death of a Guru how he was
transported by astral projection to distant planets and how
he saw Hindu gods. He later told how they were deceptive
delusions given to him by demons. He noticed that drug users
had similar experiences and warned them based on his own
experiences:
“I did not need substances to see visions of other worlds or
supernatural beings or to feel unity with the universe or to
feel that I am “God”, I told them. “I achieved all that
through transcendental meditation. But it was a lie, a trick
of evil spirits to gain the upper hand over me when I freed
my mind from my own control. You are being deceived. The
only way to the peace and satisfaction that you are looking
for is through Christ.” Since I knew what I was talking
about and had experienced it myself without drugs, many of
these drug users took my words seriously. (13)
Mentally ill people can have similar hallucinations and
delusions - things that don't actually exist. Some can see
pink elephants, goblins, fairies and all kinds of different
things. For example, in the Suomen Lääkärikirja in the
1950s, it was written about how people can have these types
of fantasies. Of course, every person has similar imaginings
in ordinary night dreams. In them, people can fly and do the
most different things. However, the same thing happens to
mentally ill people when they are awake. It's the same with
drug users. Many drug users have remained on a permanent
drug journey, and as a result had to experience similar
experiences as shown in the following example:
A symptom of ego disorders is often depersonalization, when
the patient's world seems to have become unreal or
fairytale-like. Experiences of influence are easily
associated with this, z-patient believes that he has
mysterious powers with which he controls others or which
influence him so that he cannot act himself, but some
strange person or spirit acts on him... The patient has
strong hallucinations, he sees flames, sees and hears Christ,
angels, etc... In a state of ecstasy, the patient believes
that he has received a great saving mission, he is the
prophet Mikael, etc., or he thinks that he has solved the
riddle of the world, for example by means of a 'sine curve'.
(14)
As stated, when the New Age movement and neo-spirituality
aim to expand consciousness, it's about the devil showing
people things that don't necessarily exist. God can also
show a person visions and dreams, but there is a clear
difference between how God and the devil work. God never
wants our minds to be inactive, but for our minds to be
sober, clear and in full operation. The devil, on the other
hand, works through man's passive mind and that man is like
an automaton. The best example of this is mediums (channelers),
where evil spirits operate, often appearing as the spirits
of the deceased. The medium himself may be completely
unaware of the information he is conveying to other people.
The following example also points to how many visions
are not necessarily true in reality. It is about UFOs, which
are often mentioned in the literature of the New Age
movement and in neo-spirituality. These people believe that
UFOs are real spaceships with advanced aliens traveling on
them. However, it is interesting that many UFO sightings are
characterized by the fact that UFOs can disappear and appear
suddenly and change shape, indicating that they are not real
spaceships. Some have stated that the UFOs have not been
mechanical in any sense, but the eyewitnesses have felt as
if they were alive.
In any case, the following examples show how UFOs are
not necessarily real mechanical spaceships from outer space,
but that it is a question of the inner visions of the mind.
These honest descriptions are from the book "Uri Geller,
elämä ja mysteeri" by Andrija Puharich (pp. 190-191, 353):
Uri, Ila, and I sat on the back seat of the command car, the
driver and two other soldiers on the front seat. Suddenly,
Uri pointed his finger directly at the peak of the mountain
under the spacecraft, asking them in Hebrew, "What is that?"
All three looked directly at the spacecraft, saying,
“There is only a mountain and a blue sky. What do you see?"
Uri did not want to say what he saw, but urged them to look
closely at the point in the sky where the spacecraft was.
None of them saw the spacecraft. Finally they asked Uri, "What
is so important about that point?"
Uri said lightly, "I believed there was a UFO." They took
his words as a joke and turned their eyes away from the
mountain. Uri, Ila, and I – on the other hand – watched as
if enchanted. (…)
Yes, I admit that it is possible that there was no
spacecraft. Three soldiers in the command car did not see
anything, because there may have been nothing to see in the
first place. I admit that the picture of a spacecraft was
already there in our minds. However, I believe that some
highly intellectual being put that vision there. The flight
of the magnificent metallic spacecraft above the desert of
Sinai is still a clear picture in my mind today.
Others were driving along the road in the same direction as
we, while others were driving in the opposite direction. The
three of us noticed quite soon that the other drivers were
not looking in the same direction as we. I knew, on the
grounds of earlier experiences, that these displays were
“for our eyes only”. I could not understand how others did
not see what we saw, since the entire area was brightly lit.
10. Angels in neo-spirituality
In neo-spirituality, you may often hear talk about good
things: light, peace, love, change for the better, happiness,
spiritual growth, new awareness, harmony... Such sayings
often appear in the literature of this area. In addition,
the representatives of neospirituality believe that they are
always connected to good forces and spirits. They may admit
that there are evil and hypocritical spirits among the
spirits, but that they themselves are not connected with
them.
One phenomenon occurring in the new spirituality is
strong talk about angels. There are constantly more angel
books, angels are talked to and they convey messages to
people. It is not taken into account that according to the
Bible there is also Satan and his angels and that Satan can
act as an angel of light. These beings can speak good things
and appear as good angels, although their only purpose is to
deceive people and lead them away from God. In addition,
many religions such as Islam have originated through an
angel. For example, the "angel Gabriel" appeared to Muhammad
when Muhammad was meditating. However, the message of the
angel who appeared to Muhammad is completely opposite to
what Gabriel spoke in the Bible. It shows that it cannot be
the same Gabriel. For example, the following verses talk
about Satan and his angels:
- (2 Cor 11:13-15) For such are false apostles, deceitful
workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed
into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be
transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end
shall be according to their works.
- (John 8:43-45) Why do you not understand my speech? even
because you cannot hear my word.
44 You are of your father the devil, and the
lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the
beginning, and stayed not in the truth, because there
is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his
own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
45 And because I tell you the truth, you believe me not.
- (Rev 12:7-9) And there was war in heaven: Michael and his
angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon
fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more
in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent,
called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world:
he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out
with him.
- (Matt 25:41) Then shall he say also to them on the left
hand, Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels:
In Paul's time, there were similar people as today there are
in neo-pirituality and in the New Age movement. In the
letter to the Colossians, Paul told about people who were
pleased with humility and the service of angels and who
boasted about their visions. These words of Paul describe
many people working in the New Age movement who have similar
experiences. The overemphasis of angels does not only happen
in modern times, but it was characteristic of people already
a few millennia ago.
- (Col 2:18) Let no man beguile you of your reward in
a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding
into those things which he has not seen, vainly
puffed up by his fleshly mind,
So how do you know if it is God's angels or false angels?
First, God's angels never appear by man's will, but only by
God's permission, usually in some emergency situations. On
the other hand, if a person repeatedly gets in touch with an
angel, it is certainly not God's angel. We should always
turn to God in heaven and not to the angels, otherwise we
will be led astray.
God's angels do not give continuous teaching to people or
new divine revelation because we have already been given the
Bible, God's word. Most heresies have started precisely
because an angel or spirit guide has appeared to people
(cf. Gal 1:8: But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach
any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to
you, let him be accursed.) .
One distinct feature of God's angels is that they always
glorify Jesus and do not rise above him or lower him to the
level of other people. They also acknowledge his divinity
and that he is the incarnate Christ, the Messiah, the only
Son of God. If this following confession, which is mentioned
in the letter of 1 John, does not appear in the angelic
revelations, they should be rejected immediately:
- (1 John 4:1-3) Dear friends, do not believe every spirit,
but test the spirits to determine if they are from God,
because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that
confesses Jesus as the Christ who has come in the flesh is
from God,
3 but every spirit that refuses to confess Jesus, that
spirit is not from God, and this is the spirit of the
antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now is
already in the world.
When God's angels always glorify Jesus Christ, the incarnate
only Son of God, they also do not accept any worship
themselves, but always turn it back to God, a good example
of which is the following description in the Book of
Revelation. On the other hand, special names of angels or
people's overly detailed descriptions of them are usually a
sign that they are not God's angels, because God's angels
never want attention to themselves. In neo-spiritual
literature, there are often such detailed descriptions,
which describe the appearance of angels in detail and what
they do on a daily basis.
Chantel Lysette's book ”Kuiskauksia enkeleiltä”
(2013, Helsinki: Delfiinikirjat) can be considered the best
. In it, for example, Archangel Michael is said to be the
patron saint of sports and the police, the supreme patron of
nudists, that he loves football, eats pizza and likes to
dance to rock, disco, gospel and other music styles. Such
detailed descriptions clearly show that it cannot be an
angel of God.
- (Rev 22:8,9) I, John, am the one who heard and saw these
things, and when I heard and saw them, I threw myself down
to worship at the feet of the angel who was showing them to
me.
9 But he said to me, “Do not do this! I am a fellow
servant with you and with your brothers the prophets,
and with those who obey the words of this book. Worship
God!”
11. Where is health sought
As stated, several areas are included in neo-spirituality.
One of them is alternative medicine, or holistic medicine,
where the emphasis may be on treating the whole person and
not just focusing on the disease, which in itself is a good
goal. Similarly, such neutral things as diet and the
importance of emotions can be emphasized, which certainly
affect everyone's health. In general, it can be said that
this area is a collection of several healing methods, and
sometimes it is difficult to distinguish from which source
each method is. However, good criteria are e.g. the
following things:
• Unscientificity. Many methods of alternative medicine are
unscientific and their working mechanisms and scientificity
cannot be proven in laboratory conditions and by examining
the human body. For example, in acupuncture, it is believed
that a person has 12 meridians and approx. 700 acupuncture
points, but they have not been detected (other similar
methods are polar therapy, shiatsu, psychokinesiology...).
Blood vessels and nerves can be found in humans, which are
easy to observe and prove, but meridians and acupuncture
points have not been found, even though autopsies and
microscopic examinations have been used to help. The places
where the points and meridians should be have not been found
to differ in any way from other parts of the tissue.
In some methods, some parts of the body are believed to
represent the whole body. For example, in reflexology, it is
assumed that treating the soles of the feet can affect the
health of the entire body. Similarly, in auricular therapy
and iris diagnostics, it is assumed that the ear or eye
represents the whole body in miniature. Scientifically,
these concepts have been impossible to prove.
What about homeopathy? It is based on the concept that
similar heals similar. If someone has diarrhea, for example,
then in homeopathy it should be treated with castor oil,
because it causes diarrhea in a healthy person. However,
castor oil and other homeopathic remedies should always be
given diluted, so that perhaps one millionth or none of the
original active ingredient is left - in fact, the more
diluted the remedy is, the more effective it is. In addition,
the use also involves shaking between different dilutions,
because that is when the invisible "life forces" are
released for human use.
However, when it comes to homeopathic medicines, it is
impossible to scientifically prove their effectiveness. How
could substances that would normally cause the symptoms of
the sick cure the disease? Or if the medicine has been
diluted to a part per million or more of the original
substance, such quantities of medicine can have no effect;
or their effectiveness is based solely on human belief and
the placebo effect, as may have been presented by official
medicine.
• Energies and energy flows often appear in the field of
alternative medicine. However, does neutral energy exist in
this region? Just as little as car faults or computer
problems can be treated by increasing the energy flow,
neutral energy can cure a wide variety of diseases just as
little. Vibrations and cosmic energies in healing are always
personal and people are connected to them. In general, the
background of energy healers is that they are in contact
with spirit guides, believe in reincarnation, practice
meditation and are connected to the activities of the New
Age movement.
• Spirit healing, where the healer is usually in a light
trance and in contact with healing spirits beyond the border,
is one area of alternative medicine. Healer spirits are
believed to be deceased people, usually doctors, who now
work across the border healing the sick. Here, the teaching
of the Bible, which forbids contact with the dead, is
rejected.
- (Deut 18:10-12) There
shall not be found among you any one that makes his
son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses
divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a
witch.
11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits,
or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12 For all that do these things are an abomination to the
LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD your God
does drive them out from before you.
• As stated, representatives of neo-spirituality do not take
into account the possibility of fraud. This is also true in
the area of healing, where they believe they are connected
to doctor spirits and other so-called good spirits. This has
often been referred to as white magic, as a distinction from
black magic, because it aims to connect only with good
forces and to bring about good.
However, the fact is that in both of these areas, black
and white magic, there is a connection with treacherous
spirits, not good ones. Even Anton LaVey, who served as the
high priest of the Church of Satan, has stated that white
magic involves exactly the same forces as black magic. He
stated that "People who take part in the ceremonies of
white magic stand inside a pentagon to protect themselves
from the 'bad' powers they call to assist. (...) From the
eyes of a worshipper of Satan it feels phony to protect
oneself from the same powers that are called to help.” (15)
Sometimes healings really happen when people go to spirit
healers, energy healers and participate in other New Age
activities. However, as a person's body heals, their soul
becomes bound by demonic forces. It can manifest as
psychological symptoms, or the person may be allowed to be
completely at peace until his conversion (because Satan
considered the person a sure case). Instead, as soon as a
person turns to God, he may have to go through hard battles
until he is freed from these forces. Sometimes it's a long
process. That is, if you yourself have been involved in
occult healing, in order to be freed, you must confess your
sins in this area, say a prayer of renunciation of the
powers of the enemy of the soul, and then command them to
leave in the name of Jesus Christ.
12. Why should you suspect fraud?
As stated, there may be sayings that seem positive in
neo-spirituality such as light, peace, love, spiritual
growth, new awareness... These sayings often appear in books
in this field.
However, good words do not guarantee that people are
right. The possibility of deception should be taken into
account because, for example, Jesus spoke of the devil and
his angels (Matthew 25:41) and that the devil is a liar and
its father (John 8:44). In general, in the new spirituality
some kind of value is given to the teachings of Jesus, so
they should also take these words of Jesus into account.
However, what is special about neo-spirituality is that
this movement rejects most of the teachings of Jesus and the
apostles he appointed. Why was this so, if Jesus was
perfectly good and sinless, and if he spoke the truth, as he
himself claimed (John 8:45,46: And because I tell you the
truth, you believe me not. Which of you convinces me of sin?
And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me?)?
Thus, neo-spirituality teaches an impersonal God,
reincarnation, the divinity of all things, that there are
many ways to salvation, that there is no difference between
good and evil, that there is no judgment and hell, and in it
is rejected Jesus' atonement work for the forgiveness of
sins, and that He is the only way to salvation. In
neo-spirituality, all these essential things that Jesus and
the apostles taught are rejected. Representatives of
neo-spirituality can accept Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and
moral teachings, but they do not accept other doctrines.
They believe more in the Hindu worldview than what Jesus and
the apostles taught. They do not consider that the doctrines
they believe in could be from demons as Paul wrote. In
another passage, Paul also wrote about fables that people
will turn to. This has actually happened when atheist
scientists believe in e.g. the Big Bang or the self-creation
of life. However, also in neo-spirituality there are similar
things comparable to fables that can be believed.
- (1 Tim 4:1,2) Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the
later times some will desert the faith and occupy themselves
with deceiving spirits and demonic teachings,
2 influenced by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are
seared.
- (2 Tim 4:3,4) For there will be a time when people
will not tolerate sound teaching. Instead, following their
own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves,
because they have an insatiable curiosity to hear new things.
4 And they will turn away from hearing the truth, but
on the other hand they will turn aside to myths.
Another notable feature of the neo-spirituality is that the
teachings it contains are often contradictory. For example,
something as essential as whether one can be reincarnated as
an animal or a plant differs considerably in different
circles. If reincarnation were true, this teaching should be
consistent always and everywhere. However, that is not the
case. Likewise, the way to break free from the cycle of
rebirth should be consistent always and everywhere. However,
Hinduism, Buddhism and western neo-spirituality have
different concepts.
Aila Ruoho has brought out the contradictions in
neo-spirituality in her book "Henkisyyden harhapoluilla".
She read many books of this area and found that what was
held to be true in one book was disproved in other books and
vice versa. This does not provide a reliable basis for the
teachings found in neo-spirituality:
One clear feature of neo-spirituality literature, of which
there have already been several examples above, is
contradiction. A casual reader of books is unlikely to
notice or remember the contradictions. However, when you
read as much as possible on the subject over the course of
several months, the situation is different: when you have
read a completely different explanation of something the
week before, the next author teaches the complete opposite.
Here comes the astonishment. What are the reasons for the
differences? And if everything is believed to be in constant
change, why publish "information" that is only valid for a
short time.
... In the strangest situation, contradictions can be
found within the same work...
... Ritva Fagerström urges to selectively search for
information from the "second level". He advises to read the
experiences of spiritualists, the studies of scientists as
well as works received by automatic writing. Fagerström
reminds us: "Do not believe everything at once, for you will
find information in different books that you will find to
refute each other." (16) In other words,
Fagerström admits that the books of different authors are in
glaring contradiction in many respects. (17)
As stated, neo-spirituality is based mainly on one world
religion: Hinduism, which is the main religion of India and
has been for over 2000 years. Many Hindus may be
warm-hearted people, but Hinduism, where cows are considered
gods and rats are protected, is a hindrance to the
development of society. Rats destroy a considerable part of
the grain, and this has maintained famine in this country.
Rabi Maharaj, a former Hindu guru refers to the same
subject. He believed that Hinduism, with its fatalistic
belief in karma, reincarnation and false gods, was the root
cause of India's problems. He stated that it is the
blindness of Western people to turn to Eastern mysticism for
enlightenment. People in the circle of neo-spirituality are
often blind to this. They are also blind to the blessings
brought by Christianity, such as the birth of written
languages, literacy, hospitals, caring for the poor, better
status for women, schools...
It is impossible to describe India to people who have not
seen it for themselves. The misery, poverty, disease and
superstition are shocking. The villages are awful too, but
only when the visitor sees the millions and millions of
people crowding the cities of India will they feel sheer
terror. (...)
My heart hurt when I looked at the suffering multitudes
of India. I wondered why the western people are searching
for spiritual information from India. From experience I knew
that Hinduism, its fatalistic belief in karma, reincarnation,
and wrong gods was the basic reason for the problems in
India. It was the blindness of the western people that made
them turn to search for enlightenment from eastern mysticism!
There was nothing else but darkness, and the anguish of
India proved very clearly how deep this darkness was. Such
an enormous deceit could only come from the same devilish,
intelligent source that drives millions of people to destroy
themselves because of the apparent paradise of drugs. (18)
And what are the consequences when a person embarks on the
paths of neo-spirituality? Hardly anyone initially thinks
that there could be any negative consequences as a result of
studying parapsychology, practicing meditation,
participating in spiritualism, or engaging in other
neo-spiritual activities. Many may think that there is an
exciting and interesting research journey ahead, where new
landscapes are opening up, and maybe this is the case at the
beginning. If a person has not progressed very far in his
studies, he may not have experienced negative consequences
yet.
However, the longer a person is on the path of
neo-spirituality, the more likely he will start to face
negative consequences. At first they may have short-term
experiences of energy and peace that draw them deeper into
this world, but gradually they may experience distressing
experiences, mental disturbances, experiences of being
constantly followed, disturbing visions, meditation
psychoses, episodes of unconsciousness, obsessions with
self-harm or other and more different consequences. The
following words of Jesus fit this very well (John 10:10,11):
"The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and
to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that
they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd:
the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep."
The following quote is related to the topic. It's from
Ultra magazine, which is one of the most well-known
publications in the field related to the neo-spirituality in
Finland. It is an article in which the author tells how many
people have had mental health disorders after they started
practicing border knowledge. These are matters where, based
on the Bible, it is a question of false spirits, i.e. evil
spirits. Those who deal with boundary knowledge usually do
not understand this themselves, because they do not believe
in the teaching of the Bible that the evil spirit world
exists and deceives people.
Need for Crisis Service in the Area of Occultism
What exactly is happening in the area of occultism? Have we
gone too far to something that many can no longer cope with
on their own? The much-talked about expansion of
consciousness in the Age of Aquarius apparently happens too
quickly, the chakras are opened too early. After all, they
should be allowed to unfold in peace by themselves as a
person is ready to withstand the sharpening of his psychic
abilities.
Many of us are so eager to see, hear, and experience
things beyond our limited physical senses that we will do
almost anything to speed up the process of opening our
astral sight and hearing. Unfortunately, the consequences
are not completely clear.
The opening of astral vision before the protective
mechanisms are built is frightening. Apart from figures,
some people can see distorted, mischievous faces, even
exceptionally moving ones, whose appearance in a dark room
is a very unpleasant experience.
As a result of the opening of the astral hearing, the
domestic peace of the human polo has gone. He is guaranteed
to never be alone. Sometimes he is controlled by only one
zealous harasser who has comments on everything his victim
does. This calls for doing all kinds of crazy and dangerous
things; to walk to the edge of a cliff or drive a car into a
ditch. The victim is intimidated and threatened with all
kinds of accidents. Sometimes the harasser announces his
name, which may be the same as the dark lord's... (19)
Other comments tell more about the same topic. They are
about UFO phenomena, the consequences of which are negative.
Some people may experience physical improvement, but in the
long run, people's joy in life decreases. The consequences
of UFO experiences are similar to what the occult (spiritism,
witchcraft...) has been found to be in general. The first
comment is from well-known UFO expert John Keel. He mentions
in one of his books:
Working with UFOs can be just as dangerous as black magic
(…) the consequences range from paranoid schizophrenia and
demonic mania to suicide. (20)
John Keel continues his account of the usual consequences in
the lives of UFO contactees:
I have watched helplessly as UFO contactees sank into a
hopeless state of personality decay and became insane or
even committed suicide.
So there are a few examples of how progressing on the paths
of neo-spirituality can lead to bad consequences. Many have
ended up in unnecessary trouble because they have gone to
the wrong areas. Spiritism, meditation or passive
contemplation, automatic writing, yoga, visualization,
hypnosis, astrology, tarot cards, pendulum, palmistry and
other forms of divination or visiting a fortune teller,
spirit guides, role-playing games, energy and spirit healing,
witchcraft and spells, oriental self-defense systems,
parapsychology and the connection with false angels and UFOs
that open the gates for treacherous spirits affects a
person's life.
If a person surrenders his life to Jesus Christ, the
situation can change and the spirits have to flee. This is
what happened in the life of Hindu guru Rabi Maharai and his
family when they turned to Jesus Christ. There had been a
disturbing spirit in their house in the past, which they had
thought was that of Rabi's grandfather, Nana, when in fact
it had been demonic spirits all along. However, after their
conversion and when they had destroyed by burning all the
magic instruments and idols, the haunting ceased:
I felt the same way about Shiva. I feared this god the most
and therefore worshiped him the most to appease him. But
Nana's spirit was not appeased. It constantly frightened us
with wildly running or stomping steps. They were followed by
an unpleasant smell that stuck everywhere. Objects were
thrown out of cupboards or pushed down from tables.
Sometimes this happened right in front of our wondering eyes.
… Now we all had one common desire – to be freed from all
the bonds of the past and the forces of darkness that had
blinded and enslaved us for so long. The others joined us,
and together we carried the great altar. When the prayer
chamber was completely empty, we swept it clean. We
carefully inspected the entire house, searching for every
magic item, amulet, fetish, religious image, and piece of
art. We threw them all in the rubbish heap behind the garden…
Rejoicing that we were now freed from the fear that had
previously bound us, Krishna and I broke the idols and
religious images, including the one depicting Shiva. A few
days ago, I wouldn't have dared to think of doing something
like that. I had been afraid that the Destroyer would kill
me instantly. However, the iron grip of terror that had held
me in its grip for so long was broken by the power of Jesus.
No one gave us instructions on what to do. The Lord had
opened our eyes.
… Another change, which was not visible from the outside,
meant even more to us. Nana's haunting footsteps were no
longer heard. They no longer paced furiously back and forth
in the hall or pounded on the Bedroom doors. The strangely
disgusting smell which had often accompanied these phenomena
and which we had never been able to trace had disappeared
forever... We finally understood that the cause of these
phenomena had not been Nana's spirit, as we had thought, but
spirit beings which the Bible called demons... I now
understood, that in yogic trance and meditation I had met
these beings disguised as Shiva or some other Hindu deity.
(21)
13. Called to freedom
If a person has gone on the paths of neo-spirituality, he
probably has a strong resistance to Jesus Christ or to the
teaching that He is the only way to salvation. However,
Jesus himself made such claims about himself. According to
the Bible, he is God who came from heaven, the Son of God,
in whom we should believe so that we do not die in our sins.
Through Him we can receive the gift of eternal life:
- (John 8:23,24) Jesus replied, “You people are from
below; I am from above. You people are from this world; I am
not from this world.
24 Thus I told you that you will die in your sins. For
unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”
- (John 5:39,40) You study the scriptures thoroughly because
you think in them you possess eternal life, and it is these
same scriptures that testify about me,
40 but you are not willing to come to me so that you
may have life.
Therefore, receive Jesus Christ into your life, and do not
reject him! According to the Bible, he stands outside the
door of our heart to enter our lives. If a person receives
and welcomes Jesus Christ into his life, he becomes a child
of God:
- (Rev 3:20 ) Listen! I am standing at the door and knocking!
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into
his home and share a meal with him, and he with me.
- (John 1:12) But to all who have received him – those who
believe in his name – he has given the right to become God’s
children
What about liberation from evil spirits and bonds? If a
person has been deep in the neo-spirituality and the New Age
movement, he has been betrayed and bound by false spirits to
some extent. They want to keep a person's mind confused and
bound, so that he does not get free. However, man can be
completely freed through Jesus Christ, who has defeated all
the forces of darkness on the cross. Jesus appeared so that
"he might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8).
Therefore, when you want to get free, you should consider
the following things:
• Surrendering your life to Jesus Christ is the first step.
Let Jesus be Lord of your life, not just Savior. You can
pray the salvation prayer, for example, in the following way:
"Lord, Jesus, I turn to You. I confess that I have sinned
against You and have not lived according to Your will.
However, I want to turn away from my sins and follow You
with all my heart. I also believe that my sins have been
forgiven through Your atonement and I have received eternal
life through You. I thank You for the salvation that You
have given me. Amen."
• The prayer of renunciation and resignation from the works
of darkness and the devil is essential. A person can declare
to Satan and evil spirits out loud, for example, in the
following way: "I renounce you, Satan, and all evil
spirits and works of darkness, and I surrender my life to
Jesus Christ, who is now the Lord of my life." If
reciting this gives you difficulty and you are about to lose
consciousness or feel confused, command the powers of the
enemy to leave in the name of Jesus Christ so that you can
finish reciting it.
• Ask God to take away all your wrong connections with the
spirit world and your talents from the wrong source. If you
repeatedly see spirits, an aura, and connect with the spirit
world, this prayer is important. You may also command all
the powers of the enemy that are giving you the ability to
connect with these powers to leave in the name of Jesus
Christ. You can pronounce it, for example, in the following
way: "All the spirits in me and around me, who do not
recognize Jesus Christ as God incarnate, leave in the name
of Jesus Christ!"
• Confess all the sins of the areas in which you have been
involved; spiritism, visiting a fortune teller, passive
meditation... (1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness). By confessing your sins, you
close the devil's right to influence your life in these
areas. You should be careful in this matter, because the
devil has a legal right to influence all those areas where a
person has not yet repented and confessed his sins to God.
After confessing the sins weighing on your mind, you can
command the forces of the enemy to leave all these same
areas in the name of Jesus Christ. These prayers and
commands can be recited, for example, in the following ways:
Oh Lord, Father, forgive me for taking part in spiritualism,
spirit healing, etc. Thank You that You forgive me and
cleanse me of all unrighteousness through the blood of Your
Son Jesus.
Satan and you demons, I have confessed to God that I have
taken part in séances, spirit healing, etc. Now you have no
more legal right in these areas, because through the blood
of Jesus I have been forgiven. Therefore, I command you now
in the name of Jesus Christ to leave me and my surroundings,
and never to return!
• Forgive other people! If you yourself have accusations and
resentment towards others, give up your accusations and
forgive those who have wronged you. Many do not break free
because they refuse to forgive. However, forgiveness is a
decision of the will, not an emotion. Emotions can follow
later. Jesus taught on the subject (Matt 6:14,15): “For
if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you: But if you forgive not men their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
• Family inheritance, especially if the family has engaged
in witchcraft and occult things or sworn oaths (e.g. Masonic
oath), can be an obstacle to the emancipation of some people.
They may suffer for the sins of their fathers and be under a
spiritistic strain. Therefore, if you know there are such
things in your family, confess them to God and ask Him to
break the false ties that have come by inheritance. You can
also command all enemy forces that have come by inheritance
to depart in the name of Jesus Christ. You can pronounce
these things e.g. in the following way:
Oh Lord, Father, I confess to You all the sins of my
ancestors and parents such as witchcraft, spiritualism,
spirit healing, immorality, false oaths, etc. and I
dissociate myself from them. Thank You that I can be free
from the effect of these sins and from all the evil spirits
through the atoning work of Jesus. Thank You that my
spiritual inheritance comes from Jesus Christ and not from
the sins of my ancestors. Amen.
"Satan and you evil spirits, I have confessed to God the
sins of my forefathers and parents, and the false oaths, and
renounced them. Now you no longer have any legal right in
this area because through the blood of Jesus these things
have been forgiven and their influence has been cut off.
Therefore, I command you now in the name of Jesus Christ to
leave me and my surroundings, and never to return!"
• If a person has been deeply involved in the occult, it is
good for such a person to know that he may have to fight the
aftermath for weeks, even months. Even if he has experienced
liberation, he may not be at peace, but the devil is still
trying to harass him from outside. It is part of the weeding
process that a person may have to go through because of
having previously made their mind inactive and given place
to the devil.
Of great importance in this area is the stable attitude
of the will and resisting the enemy. When a person actively
resists the devil and his interference and maintains a
stable attitude of will, the forces of evil have to give up
before long. So don't give up, but keep the attitude of hope!
The following verses are very relevant:
- (Rom 8:38,39) For I am convinced that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are
present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will
be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
- (James 4:7,8) So submit to God. But resist the devil
and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure,
you double-minded.
REFERENCES:
1. Rabindranath R. Maharaj: Gurun kuolema (Death of a
Guru), p. 162,163
2. Thoralf Gulbrandsen: Puuttuva rengas, p. 94
3. Cit. from "Taustaa tekijänoikeudesta maailmaan", Kimmo
Pälikkö ja Markku Särelä, p. 19.
4. Rabindranath R. Maharaj: Gurun kuolema (Death of a
Guru), p. 81
5. Shirley MacLaine: Dancing in
the Light
6.
Rabindranath R. Maharaj:
Gurun kuolema (Death of a Guru), p. 183
7. Cit. from "Jälleensyntyminen
vai ruumiin ylösnousemus", Mark Albrecht, p. 123
8.
Nothart Rohlfs (toim.) (2004): Entiset elämät ja nykyisyys:
toisistaan poikkeavia näkemyksiä jälleensyntymisestä ja
kohtalosta. Publisher: Suomen antroposofinen liitto
9. Nicky Cruz:
Juokse henkesi edestä, p. 29, 178
10. Raphael Gasson: The Challenging Counterfeit,
Plainfield, New Jersey: Logos Books, 1966, p. 83
11. Roy Allan Anderson: Henkimaailman salaisuudet (Secrets
of the Spirit World), p. 94
12. Basil Tyson: Ufot, taivaallinen arvoitus", p.
81,82
13.
Rabindranath R. Maharaj:
Gurun kuolema, p. 161 (Death of a Guru)
14. Martti Kaila: Sielulliset häiriöt, Suuri
lääkärikirja, WSOY 1955, p. 864, 866)
15. Feorge Vandeman:
"Psykisk Roulette", p. 156. Cit. from "Kauko-ohjattu",
Ingerlise Provstgaard, p. 68
16. Ritva Fagerström (1991): Portti elämän jälkeen:
viestejä automaattikirjoituksella. Publisher: Oy Aquarian
Publications
17. Aila Ruoho: Henkisyyden harhapoluilla, p. 255-257
18. Rabindranath R. Maharaj: Gurun kuolema (Death of
a Guru), p. 190
19.
Ultra 12/93, Rita Castren
20.
John R. Keel:
"UFOs: operation Trojan horse", p. 220.
Cit. from "Rajan taakse ja takaisin", Maurice Rawlings, p.
203
21.
Rabindranath R. Maharaj:
Gurun kuolema, (Death of a Guru)
p. 70,134,138
More on this topic:
Is reincarnation true? Reincarnation and
soul migration. Read why it doesn’t make sense to believe in
reincarnation
Buddhist teachings in review. Are they true or not?
What are UFOs? Read why there is no reason to believe that UFOs are
spacecraft from alien planets or space, but that they are
deceptive spirits
Spiritualism. Mediums, channeling, ghost phenomena, automatic writing. Read
why it is not worth believing that the forces behind these
phenomena are good, but that it is a case of deception
Wicca
and witchcraft. What do the Wicca cult consist of and what power influences
behind it? Wicca members and witches do not consider the
possibility of fraud
Alternaive medicine. What power is behind the different therapies like spiritual
healing, energy healing, Reiki and acupuncture? Are they
neutral forces or false spirits?
What is God like? Read
why it is not worth believing in the Hindu and pantheistic (divinity
of everything) conception of God
Are there many ways to God? Hinduism and the New Age movement, the notion that all roads
lead to the same God. Why is there no reason to believe this
notion?
Near death experiences and damnation. Near-death experiences and leaving the body. What is behind
the border and is everyone's destiny good after death? Learn
why hell needs to be taken seriously
Mother Amma and God. Karma or grace? Why can't Mother Amma forgive sins? Only a
true and loving God can do that
Worldviews in comparison: naturalism / atheism, pantheism,
polytheism and theism. Read why Christian theism is a
sensible worldview
