The roots of Christianity and the roots of the New Age Movement are diametrically opposed. They may look similar on the surface. They do actually. However, they are as different as night and day.Let me explain. Christianity is God centered.It is God directed. The New Age Movement is man driven. The New Agers will say that they believe in God. They do. That is not the issue. However, God is made in their image. The Bible talks about man making his own god and worshiping him. This man- made god does not demand what the person does not want give. You may say,”What about strict Buddhists? They give up a lot and live a disciplined life.” I agree. However, Buddhism is not from the One True God. That goes for Hinduism, Taoism, and the rest. You are aghast. You say,”How can I be so narrow minded?” That is a valid question. If the Bible did not have internal authenticity I would agree. God does not demand blind obedience. God made man with reason, intelligence and logic. God does not expect you to SUSPEND it in order to find Him. On the contrary, God wants you to use every bit of your logic and reason.
What do you do if you want to test drive Christianity? You should test drive it. You can always put it back on the shelf. What if it were true and you didn’t even investigate? That being said, “How do you investigate if you are starting from zero i.e no understanding. First of all, you get an easy Bible. You can pray to God to show Himself to you. You can pray to the Creator of the Universe as you see Him. You don’t need to pray to Jesus. God will hear. He will start to lead you slowly but surely. At any rate, you get an easy Bible. I started with the prophecies as I am Jewish and could not start with the New Testament as I thought it was a Christian book . If you want to see Divine Authenticity, start with the prophecies. You can look them up on the computer. Then, find them in the Old Testament. The OT was written thousands of years before the New Testament. How could exact places and dates be predicted by anyone other than God? It is impossible. Any reasonable man will see that unless you are blinded.If you are blinded, pray for God to take off your blinders. Again, you don’t have to pray to Jesus. Pray to the Creator of the Universe. He will hear you and help lead you in your search. That would be a start.
Back to the New Age. The New Age god has no power. That is because he is not real. He is made up in people’s minds. Look at a true Born Again Christian. See the power in that person. You say, “I have seen lots of screw ups by that Christian person.” You have. Trust me. The closer you get the more you will see, not the less. That is why any true Christian will tell you never to look at him but to look to God. A true Christian will try to honor God but a man has an ego. The ego makes him want to do things his way and for his own gratification. So, please don’t base your relationship with God on any man. Even someone like Billy Graham will be the first to tell you that. Billy has lived as good a life as anyone. His children had problems. Franklin was a wild motorcycle riding guy who had a drinking problem. Billy’s daughter had an eating disorder. I think Billy is about as faithful a servant of God as you can get. However, he will be the first to tell you not to look at him. A true Christian points people to God not to himself.
Finally got around to reading this right now… very well written! It’s not an easy truth, but I think you explain it well! 🙂
<3 Josh
Have you ever thought about adding a little bit more than just your articles?
I mean, what you say is fundamental and all. Nevertheless
imagine if you added some great pictures or video clips
to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is
excellent but with pics and clips, this blog could definitely be one of the best in its niche.
Very good blog!
Thank you, Arch, very much for your comment. Can you elaborate some more? If you would like to put your chart up in my Personal Readings Forum, please do! You can ask any questions you have.