New Age Pandemic in the Church
Jan 10, 2015 0:32:28 GMT -5
Post by Berean on Jan 10, 2015 0:32:28 GMT -5
NEW AGE PANDEMIC IN THE CHURCH
Profanity, pornography, filthy programs on TV and on movie screens are occurrences we live with on a daily basis. Most of us find it vulgar and offensive. Our children are watching. We want Hollywood to stop polluting our culture.
On the other hand, the New Age movement (NAM) with its Eastern-influenced moral relativistic metaphysical thought systems is a more subtle corrupting force than the “in your face” garbage we’re exposed to by the Hollywood elites.
One of the more popular practices New Agers promote is astrology. Many Christians are now “into” this occult art. Supposed followers of Jesus Christ can tell you everything there is to know about the sign of Taurus, but not a thing about Paul from Tarsus. They’d rather read a book on horoscopes than a book of the Bible.
Yoga 1New Age “spirituality” is corrupting Christians, most of whom have no clue that they’re partaking in sorcery. Astrology, “Christian yoga,” meditation to achieve an altered state of consciousness, calling on angels, and even some of the martial arts, fall into the category of sorcery. Such practices attract a large number of Christians, like moths to a flame.
Is it any wonder there’s a New Age pandemic in the Church?
You’d have to be visually impaired not to notice all the ads pHoroscoperomoting astrology. Go online and Google “horoscope” and in minutes you’ll have a “personalized reading” by a “famous astrologer.” Horoscope.com claims that it’s “The web’s most trusted and known source of astrology, daily horoscopes, love astrology, Chinese astrology, zodiac signs, compatibility…” You get the picture.
Astrology’s being promoted via email, on computer screens, television sets, newspapers, magazines; even our cell phones are blasted with daily horoscopes. From a Christian perspective much of what NAM espouses is evil. (I’ll explain why in a moment.)
Astrology was birthed in Babylon in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. Most false systems of religion had their roots in the land of pagans that worshipped a plethora of phony gods. Astrology was all the rage with the Babylonians, especially amongst the priests who studied the “godlike science” of astrology.
In the Old Testament astrology is mocked. Speaking for the Lord, Jeremiah warned, “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them” (Jer. 10:2).
There are several traditions of astrology. The traditions used by most modern astrologers are Jyotisha (Indian), Chinese, and Western. There are so many traditions and beliefs that I couldn’t begin to cite them all. Many esoteric (mystic) movements have links to astrology. Numerology, tarot cards, palmistry and Kabbalah are a few that are well known. The current trend in the West is “psychological astrology.”
Yoga 2Several years ago I penned “Christian Yoga? C’mon!” A “Christian yoga” teacher protested, “I teach yoga and none of my students have become Buddhists or Hindu’s.” What she failed to realize is that for some people, exposure to yoga, astrology, fantasy games, séances and other seemingly innocent practices lead to greater involvement in a very dangerous world. I replied to the “Christian yoga” teacher that she has no way of knowing what the future holds for those students who were introduced to yoga through her teaching.
How One Becomes An Abomination To God
To avoid getting involved in the myriad of inherent dangers our society offers, you must listen to God! In Deuteronomy 18:9-14 He says:
When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this.
More from God in Leviticus 19:
26 You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes…
28 You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves…
31 Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God…
Moving on to 2 Chronicles 33:6:
And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger.
Now to the New Testament, Acts 7:42-43:
But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:
“‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.
Did you notice that God didn’t say “Please”? He said, “Do not.” In other words, No! The Lord was provoked to anger over it. When God is angry, “At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation” (Jer. 10:10).
Christians who dabble in astrology must consider this: If you allow a fortune teller to gaze into a crystal ball, do a psychic reading or read tealeaves, your palm or cards covered with demonic symbols to see what your future holds, God will be angry with you. Also consider this: If you deliberately defy God, He will turn away from you.
Scripture tells us that only pagans practiced astrology. No self-respecting Jew would get involved in something the Lord opposed because they feared He’d strike them dead! For example, when Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit — wham! He zapped them both.
But…The Magi Were Astrologers, Right?
Some people argue that the Magi referred to in Matthew’s gospel were astrologers. The Rev. Phil Greetham offers this observation on the Magi:
Some Bible translators such as the New English Bible or its new version, the Revised English Bible, translate ‘Magi’ as ‘astrologer’. Is this a good translation? I don’t believe that it is. It gives the modern reader a totally false picture of what the Magi did. Modern Astrologers choose to adopt a system of prediction, regardless of our present knowledge of science. The Magi, on the other hand, were interested in all verifiable knowledge. Of course they did not have sufficient understanding of the universe to realise fully the links between one event and another. Therefore they saw nothing wrong in bringing together, science, poetry, art and religion to explain and to understand the universe and what was happening in it. To them observing nature – including charting the stars, noting the movements of other objects and making predictions based on the chart, were all one and the same. Today we have a better understanding. Today we would say that observing the night’s sky was astronomy because it was recording observation which could be used to support (or not support) theories to explain what was happening. We would also say that making horoscopes from those observations was astrology because it was responding to a system of handed down ‘laws’. In other words astronomy uses observation to refine ideas, astrology uses observation to respond to fixed ideas. To the Magi, however, the idea that the positions of stars and planets have special meaning was not a fixed idea but one in which they were actively working on. In future centuries, with more scientific information, Magi had to decide whether to continue the search for knowledge and become scientists or to continue to respond blindly to handed down teachings and become astrologers. Therefore our Magi are neither astronomers nor astrologers in the modern sense. Scientific understanding had not progressed sufficiently for them to know the difference between the two. They were ‘searchers of wisdom’. If you must have a translation for ‘Magi’, I think that ‘Wise Men’ is as good as any.” (Source)
So why do millions of people hand over their lives to fortunetellers, even knowing that astrology is bogus and that it’s not supported by the scientific community? Moreover, why are self-professed Christians immersing themselves in occultism? While doing research for this piece several years ago I came across a “Christian” website (thankfully it no longer exists) that offered a forum for the “magickal and mystical Christian”:
Here you will find Christians who study esoteric sciences such as mysticism, Christo-paganism, witchcraft, astrology, occultism, tarot, Western Mystery, Kabbalah, alchemy, divination and shamanism. The forum is a friendly place designed by a Christian mage for magickal Christians. We welcome anyone who wishes to join but please remember this is a pro-magick Christian haven. Negativity has no place here.
This is anything but orthodox Christianity, brethren. It’s nothing more than Satan masquerading as an angel of light! The Bible teaches, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” It does not teach, “Occultism is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
But…Astrology Can Be Scientifically Proven, Right?
Many people argue that astrology can be scientifically proven. Well it can’t. And its provability is irrelevant because the Bible makes it clear that Christians are to have no part in stargazing or, for that matter, any occult practice. No horoscopes, Ouija board games, palm reading, séances or psychics. Tarot cards and casting Runes are prohibited – and so are charms, conjuring magic potions and any other form of witchcraft. Avoid the esoteric Christian movement (mystical branches of Christianity that study the “inner teachings” of early Christianity); stay away from anyone that advocates spiritual astrology, divination, blessings and, finally, those who appeal to angels to intervene on their behalf.
Keep your guard up! Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re going to escape all the temptations that besiege you, because you’re not going to. Don’t get me wrong. If you’re a child of God, Satan can do you no harm (unless God allows it for reasons we mere humans are not privy to). Still, he will do his level best to keep you tangled in his web of deception. Sounds grim, doesn’t it? All the same, it’s true. Satan’s one mean machine, so Christians must be armed to the teeth and prepared to go to battle with the “Prince of Darkness.” There’s only one way to protect against the darts and arrows the enemy fires at you. Put on the full armor of God!
For anyone involved in an occult practice, in obedience to the truth, and to honor God, you must give it up now. Repent of your sins. Ask for forgiveness. God will forgive you because He loves you.
Recommended:
(Links are at the link)
The Occult (links)—On Solid Rock Resources
New Age Movement—On Solid Rock Resources
Learn more about astrology:
Astrology By Dr. John Ankerberg and Dr. John Weldon
The “Gospel in the Stars” Theory
link
Profanity, pornography, filthy programs on TV and on movie screens are occurrences we live with on a daily basis. Most of us find it vulgar and offensive. Our children are watching. We want Hollywood to stop polluting our culture.
On the other hand, the New Age movement (NAM) with its Eastern-influenced moral relativistic metaphysical thought systems is a more subtle corrupting force than the “in your face” garbage we’re exposed to by the Hollywood elites.
One of the more popular practices New Agers promote is astrology. Many Christians are now “into” this occult art. Supposed followers of Jesus Christ can tell you everything there is to know about the sign of Taurus, but not a thing about Paul from Tarsus. They’d rather read a book on horoscopes than a book of the Bible.
Yoga 1New Age “spirituality” is corrupting Christians, most of whom have no clue that they’re partaking in sorcery. Astrology, “Christian yoga,” meditation to achieve an altered state of consciousness, calling on angels, and even some of the martial arts, fall into the category of sorcery. Such practices attract a large number of Christians, like moths to a flame.
Is it any wonder there’s a New Age pandemic in the Church?
You’d have to be visually impaired not to notice all the ads pHoroscoperomoting astrology. Go online and Google “horoscope” and in minutes you’ll have a “personalized reading” by a “famous astrologer.” Horoscope.com claims that it’s “The web’s most trusted and known source of astrology, daily horoscopes, love astrology, Chinese astrology, zodiac signs, compatibility…” You get the picture.
Astrology’s being promoted via email, on computer screens, television sets, newspapers, magazines; even our cell phones are blasted with daily horoscopes. From a Christian perspective much of what NAM espouses is evil. (I’ll explain why in a moment.)
Astrology was birthed in Babylon in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. Most false systems of religion had their roots in the land of pagans that worshipped a plethora of phony gods. Astrology was all the rage with the Babylonians, especially amongst the priests who studied the “godlike science” of astrology.
In the Old Testament astrology is mocked. Speaking for the Lord, Jeremiah warned, “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them” (Jer. 10:2).
There are several traditions of astrology. The traditions used by most modern astrologers are Jyotisha (Indian), Chinese, and Western. There are so many traditions and beliefs that I couldn’t begin to cite them all. Many esoteric (mystic) movements have links to astrology. Numerology, tarot cards, palmistry and Kabbalah are a few that are well known. The current trend in the West is “psychological astrology.”
Yoga 2Several years ago I penned “Christian Yoga? C’mon!” A “Christian yoga” teacher protested, “I teach yoga and none of my students have become Buddhists or Hindu’s.” What she failed to realize is that for some people, exposure to yoga, astrology, fantasy games, séances and other seemingly innocent practices lead to greater involvement in a very dangerous world. I replied to the “Christian yoga” teacher that she has no way of knowing what the future holds for those students who were introduced to yoga through her teaching.
How One Becomes An Abomination To God
To avoid getting involved in the myriad of inherent dangers our society offers, you must listen to God! In Deuteronomy 18:9-14 He says:
When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this.
More from God in Leviticus 19:
26 You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes…
28 You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves…
31 Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God…
Moving on to 2 Chronicles 33:6:
And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger.
Now to the New Testament, Acts 7:42-43:
But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:
“‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.
Did you notice that God didn’t say “Please”? He said, “Do not.” In other words, No! The Lord was provoked to anger over it. When God is angry, “At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation” (Jer. 10:10).
Christians who dabble in astrology must consider this: If you allow a fortune teller to gaze into a crystal ball, do a psychic reading or read tealeaves, your palm or cards covered with demonic symbols to see what your future holds, God will be angry with you. Also consider this: If you deliberately defy God, He will turn away from you.
Scripture tells us that only pagans practiced astrology. No self-respecting Jew would get involved in something the Lord opposed because they feared He’d strike them dead! For example, when Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit — wham! He zapped them both.
But…The Magi Were Astrologers, Right?
Some people argue that the Magi referred to in Matthew’s gospel were astrologers. The Rev. Phil Greetham offers this observation on the Magi:
Some Bible translators such as the New English Bible or its new version, the Revised English Bible, translate ‘Magi’ as ‘astrologer’. Is this a good translation? I don’t believe that it is. It gives the modern reader a totally false picture of what the Magi did. Modern Astrologers choose to adopt a system of prediction, regardless of our present knowledge of science. The Magi, on the other hand, were interested in all verifiable knowledge. Of course they did not have sufficient understanding of the universe to realise fully the links between one event and another. Therefore they saw nothing wrong in bringing together, science, poetry, art and religion to explain and to understand the universe and what was happening in it. To them observing nature – including charting the stars, noting the movements of other objects and making predictions based on the chart, were all one and the same. Today we have a better understanding. Today we would say that observing the night’s sky was astronomy because it was recording observation which could be used to support (or not support) theories to explain what was happening. We would also say that making horoscopes from those observations was astrology because it was responding to a system of handed down ‘laws’. In other words astronomy uses observation to refine ideas, astrology uses observation to respond to fixed ideas. To the Magi, however, the idea that the positions of stars and planets have special meaning was not a fixed idea but one in which they were actively working on. In future centuries, with more scientific information, Magi had to decide whether to continue the search for knowledge and become scientists or to continue to respond blindly to handed down teachings and become astrologers. Therefore our Magi are neither astronomers nor astrologers in the modern sense. Scientific understanding had not progressed sufficiently for them to know the difference between the two. They were ‘searchers of wisdom’. If you must have a translation for ‘Magi’, I think that ‘Wise Men’ is as good as any.” (Source)
So why do millions of people hand over their lives to fortunetellers, even knowing that astrology is bogus and that it’s not supported by the scientific community? Moreover, why are self-professed Christians immersing themselves in occultism? While doing research for this piece several years ago I came across a “Christian” website (thankfully it no longer exists) that offered a forum for the “magickal and mystical Christian”:
Here you will find Christians who study esoteric sciences such as mysticism, Christo-paganism, witchcraft, astrology, occultism, tarot, Western Mystery, Kabbalah, alchemy, divination and shamanism. The forum is a friendly place designed by a Christian mage for magickal Christians. We welcome anyone who wishes to join but please remember this is a pro-magick Christian haven. Negativity has no place here.
This is anything but orthodox Christianity, brethren. It’s nothing more than Satan masquerading as an angel of light! The Bible teaches, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” It does not teach, “Occultism is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
But…Astrology Can Be Scientifically Proven, Right?
Many people argue that astrology can be scientifically proven. Well it can’t. And its provability is irrelevant because the Bible makes it clear that Christians are to have no part in stargazing or, for that matter, any occult practice. No horoscopes, Ouija board games, palm reading, séances or psychics. Tarot cards and casting Runes are prohibited – and so are charms, conjuring magic potions and any other form of witchcraft. Avoid the esoteric Christian movement (mystical branches of Christianity that study the “inner teachings” of early Christianity); stay away from anyone that advocates spiritual astrology, divination, blessings and, finally, those who appeal to angels to intervene on their behalf.
Keep your guard up! Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re going to escape all the temptations that besiege you, because you’re not going to. Don’t get me wrong. If you’re a child of God, Satan can do you no harm (unless God allows it for reasons we mere humans are not privy to). Still, he will do his level best to keep you tangled in his web of deception. Sounds grim, doesn’t it? All the same, it’s true. Satan’s one mean machine, so Christians must be armed to the teeth and prepared to go to battle with the “Prince of Darkness.” There’s only one way to protect against the darts and arrows the enemy fires at you. Put on the full armor of God!
For anyone involved in an occult practice, in obedience to the truth, and to honor God, you must give it up now. Repent of your sins. Ask for forgiveness. God will forgive you because He loves you.
Recommended:
(Links are at the link)
The Occult (links)—On Solid Rock Resources
New Age Movement—On Solid Rock Resources
Learn more about astrology:
Astrology By Dr. John Ankerberg and Dr. John Weldon
The “Gospel in the Stars” Theory
link