Uncovering the Mystery of the Modern Spiritual Movement

(Slide 1)

A new spiritual movement is growing in America. Moreover, this spiritual movement is unaffiliated with any mainline religion.

(Slide 2)

A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2017 found that 27% of Americans identify themselves as being “spiritual but not religious.” In other words, they have a spiritual world-view but it is not associated with any particular religion.

The new spirituality in America has no boarders or guidelines. It is a philosophy that has been labeled New Age.

(Slide 3)

New Age is a term that describes a movement founded upon a collection of beliefs from a variety of religions:

(Slide 4)

Buddhism, Hinduism, Mysticism, Pantheism, Occultism, Transcendentalism (divinity of nature), Reincarnation (where one moves up the ranks of deification), Sorcery, Witchcraft (Wicca), Yoga, Channeling, Divination and Ufology.

There is no official doctrine of the New Age Movement. Anything goes. People are free to take whatever wisdom or spiritual teaching, so long as it promotes personal enlightenment, deep spiritual experiences and self-deification.

Personal enlightenment/deep spiritual experiences

Why is this movement so popular?

Self-deification

Remember, we are coming out of a time where the prevalent view in society was secular humanism. This is a philosophy that embraces human reasoning and rejects anything supernatural or spiritual. Evolution and natural thought are the prevailing views. Human beings are seen as nothing more than a series of cosmic accidents.

Today there seems to be a growing hunger for spiritual things, and this new spiritual movement has tried to tapped into it! The truth is, man was created in the image and likeness of God (; NIV).

The truth is, man was created in the image and likeness of God (; NIV). In other words, humans are predisposed to God and the supernatural. We favor the supernatural over the natural. We know instinctively that there is something beyond this life.

Man is naturally predisposed to God and spiritual things. In fact, deep down we favor the supernatural over the natural. This new spiritual movement in America is capitalizing on this fact and is offering people spiritual nourishment and interaction without the traditional religious requirements of things like faith and repentance from sin.

The only problem is, it’s a lie!

This new spiritual movement in America is capitalizing on this fact and has offered man the promise of eternity AND spiritual interaction (nourishment) without the need for faith and repentance from sin. The only problem is, it’s a lie!

The very first lie proposed by Satan to man was based on a promise to offer “spiritual enlightenment” without the help of God (on your own terms). However, it was a lie.

Their enlightenment only revealed their own ‘nakedness’ (inadequacy and sin). The one thing all New Age ideology has in common is the idea that,

God is not OUTSIDE of you, or SEPARATE from you; God is your true IDENTITY (self-deification)!

God is your true identity (self-deification)!

Therefore, instead of the secular humanist idea that man is nothing more than a random accident in the universe, the New Age (postmodern) ideology states that man is, in fact, the center of the universe!

What are the Dangers of this movement?

What’s the problem with people becoming more “spiritual?” What’s wrong with people trying to interact with the spirit realm, rather than sitting on some people listening to people talk about it?

The problem is that people are seeking to have a form of “spirituality” (spiritual experiences) that do not involve God.

So, it is possible to have a form of godliness (spirituality) that is apart from God and His power. Religion promotes a form of godliness that is void of any without spiritual power. This new modern promotes a form of godliness that promises power, but not from God! Instead, it offers a power from a different (or counterfeit) source ()!

Jannes and Jambres were magicians who opposed Moses with a power from a different source ()!

There are only 2 sources of spiritual power

The source of our power either originates from the Kingdom of God or from the kingdom of the devil. There is no spiritually neutral realm where we can explore (experiment with) the spiritual world ().

Just like human beings are either for Christ or against Christ, interdimensional (spiritual) beings are also either for or against Christ. Furthermore, spiritual experiences either have their origin in God or Satan.

As we saw in Genesis, Satan’s tactic is to persuade us to seek for counterfeit experiences, knowledge and truth that is apart from God! He likes to prey on people struggling with issues of guilt, rejection and uncontrolled desires and lusts (, NLT).

This new movement targets people who are on the “fringes” of society, who are anti-authoritarian and who tend to embrace ideas that are less conventional. They are “free-thinkers” who are always following after new teachings. They are people who because issues of guilt and rejection are looking for something that will give them power over traditional forms of leadership that they feel are responsible for their pain. Finally, because they are controlled by various desires, they are looking for something that breaks with traditional values in regards to sexuality, marriage and the concept of sin.

What they don’t realize is that once you break away from God-ordained concepts of reality and truth, you expose yourself to foolishness and greater forms of darkness (sin).

NIV

When we reject the truth, we’re liable to fall into anything imaginable and believe things that are far more fanciful than what we read. Many people who have rejected the truth of the Bible see themselves as “smarter” than the rest. The truth is, they are the bigger fools!

Moreover, verse 25 should read, “Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie.” This is the same lie that was first suggested by Satan, namely that man will be like God.