You’ve probably heard of ‘New Ageism’ and ‘Neo-Paganism,’ but have you heard of ‘New Thought?’ Some people think they’re all in the same spiritual ‘pot,’ but they do have some important differences.

Each one is a different type of ‘thought shark’ swimming in the same waters that Christians find themselves splashing around in every day. Unfortunately, many Christian leaders have allowed (or even invited) these dangerous philosophies into churches, denominations, and seminaries. You might want to read the last part of this series to get some helpful background on that.

New Thought

‘New Thought’ is new only in the sense that this particular spiritual movement is ‘recent.’ That’s similar to ‘New Age’ and ‘Neo-paganism.’ They are both connected to very ancient thinking and behavior, but recent developments have made both of them seem more modern and palatable to the modern way of thinking and behaving.

I remember coming across ‘New Thought’ as a young Christian when I read materials written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emma Curtis Hopkins, Phineas P. Quimby, Emanuel Swedenborg, Julius Dreser, and others from the 19th century AD. I also came across a movement known as ‘Theosophy.’ Some of the names that came up in my research on Theosophy included a Russian mystic and spiritualist named Helena Blavatsky. She pulled together her ‘spiritual thoughts’ from ancient ‘Gnosticism’ and ‘Neoplatonism,’ along with a variety of Eastern religions (e.g. Buddhism, Hinduism). Blavatsky founded the ‘Theosophical Society’ in the 19th century, along with William Judge and Henry Olcott. The ‘Society’ split after her death, but it still exists today under different names across the world. Do your own research and you’ll see that it’s part of ‘occult’ (e.g. magic, witchcraft, paganistic, mysterious, hidden, secretive) thinking.

I was learning Koine Greek in the early 1970’s, so I recognized that ‘Theosophy’ (θεοσοφία, theosophia) was made up of two Greek words: theos (god, gods, divine) and sophia (wisdom). The ‘thought’ idea was that ‘Theosophists’ had ‘divine wisdom,’ ‘wisdom of the gods, philosophy of the gods.’ They supposedly had a connection to the ‘ancient masters’ who gave them secret wisdom about the universe. This, of course, was just what the ancient ‘Gnostics’ claimed.

I knew enough about Church history as a young Christian to know that the early Church had to deal with the teachings of ‘Gnostics’ (from γνῶσις, gnósis – ‘knowledge, wisdom’). The belief of ‘Gnostics’ was that they had ‘secret’ spiritual knowledge that they would share only with their followers. Early Church leaders (e.g. 2nd, 3rd, 4th centuries AD) taught that ‘Gnostics’ were heretics (false teachers) – which they were.

Fast forward to the 19th century and Phineas Qimby, Blavatsky and others picked up where the ancient Gnostics left off. ‘Theosophy’ was nothing more than Neo-Gnosticism. It was obvious to me, even as a young Christian. So, why is not obvious to Christian leaders today? Why are seminary professors teaching ‘New Thought/Gnosticism’ concepts to pastors-in-training? Why are pastors teaching ‘New Thought/Gnosticsm’ concepts to their congregations? Why are denominational leaders promoting ‘New Thought/Gnosticsm’ concepts to their followers? Something is terribly wrong and I blame it on the ‘thought sharks,’ as well as Christian ‘shepherds’ who are supposed to feed and protect God’s people.

Follow the People – Follow the Thoughts

Any journalist worth his or her ‘salt’ knows that one of the first rules of journalism is to ‘follow the people.’ However, it doesn’t take a trained and experienced journalist to find out that the leaders of ‘New Thought’ in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries came from a rotten bunch of ‘bad thinkers.’ The fact that many church leaders and Christians have fallen for this pathetic way of looking at God and His Word is absolutely ridiculous.

Everything I’ve learned about New Thought can be summed up in one phrase – “Search the Scriptures.’ Start with Genesis 3 and you’ll see that Satan’s question and lie to Eve is the basis of New Thought beliefs and behaviors. Here is the ‘Declaration of Principles’ of The International New Thought Alliance –

Declaration of Principles

  1. We affirm God as Mind, Infinite Being, Spirit, Ultimate Reality.
  2. We affirm that God, the Good, is supreme, universal, and everlasting.
  3. We affirm the unity of God and humanity, in that the divine nature dwells within and expresses through each of us, by means of our acceptance of it, as health, supply, wisdom, love, life, truth, power, beauty, and peace.
  4. We affirm the power of prayer and the capacity of each person to have mystical experience with God, and to enjoy the grace of God.
  5. We affirm the freedom of all persons as to beliefs, and we honor the diversity of humanity by being open and affirming of all persons, affirming the dignity of human beings as founded on the presence of God within them, and, therefore, the principle of democracy.
  6. We affirm that we are spiritual beings, dwelling in a spiritual universe that is governed by spiritual law; and that in alignment with spiritual law, we can heal, prosper, and harmonize.
  7. We affirm that our mental states are carried forward into manifestation and become our experience in daily living.
  8. We affirm the manifestation of the kingdom of heaven here and now.
  9. We affirm expression of the highest spiritual principles in loving one another unconditionally, promoting the highest good for all, teaching and healing one another, ministering to one another, and living together in peace, in accordance with the teachings of Jesus and other enlightened teachers.
  10. We affirm our evolving awareness of the nature of reality and our willingness to refine our beliefs accordingly.

Spiritual Garbage

That’s what many leaders in today’s churches, denominations, and seminaries have bought into people’s idea of what it means to be a ‘Christian’ – absolute spiritual garbage. The ‘thought sharks’ are having a field day with so-called ‘Christian’ congregations. Reading through the list of ‘New Thought’ principles helps explain why so many people who identify as Christians and ‘Christian’ leaders have become so ‘heretical’ in their beliefs about Jesus Christ. Tens of millions of so-called Christians deny the deity of Christ and even the resurrection of Christ. There’s a reason for that and ‘New Thought’ thinking is at the center of it.

Christ Consciousness

I want to focus on the 3rd ‘principle’ for a few moments because it goes to the heart of what’s wrong with New Thought, New Age, and many of the other heretical teachings in our churches. It’s called ‘Christ Consciousness’ –

“We affirm the unity of God and humanity, in that the divine nature dwells within and expresses through each of us, by means of our acceptance of it, as health, supply, wisdom, love, life, truth, power, beauty, and peace.”

Notice the words ‘unity of God and humanity’ and ‘that the divine nature dwells within and expresses through each of us.’ Because of my involvement in Hinduism as a teenager, I recognized this heresy right away and here it is in the teachings of many churches, denominations, Bible colleges, and seminaries.

The teaching is that all people have the ‘divine nature’ within them and can attain to being ‘Christ’ through a process of following the right path. Jesus, they say, followed that path and attained ‘Christ Consciousness.’ If people follow the teachings of Jesus, they too can become ‘Christ.’ They call it a ‘journey to spiritual enlightenment.’

Quoting one ‘Christ Consciousness’ group – 

Christ Consciousness plays a crucial role in our spiritual journey by helping us to awaken to the divine essence within ourselves and all of creation. Solancha

The point they’re making is that Jesus Christ is not the eternal Son of God. He is a man who lived a life that led Him to ‘Christ’ consciousness. He did it and so can you.

That’s extremely dangerous theology and is a type of ‘universalism.’ All humans have the ‘divine nature’ and can become ‘Christ.’ It’s just a matter of thinking the right thoughts and doing the right things.

Anyone who reads the New Testament correctly (‘rightly dividing the word of truth’) knows that the idea of ‘Christ Consciousness’ is one of the larger sharks swimming in the waters of this life. It is clearly false and the fact that people in churches are falling for the teaching is one of the sadder facts of what’s happening within ‘Christianity’ today. 

21st Century Dangers

Many 19th century ‘sharks’ brought in a variety of new ways of thinking that were simply old ways of thinking dressed up in different ‘rags.’ That means we have to follow the ‘trails’ of these sharks to discover what’s dangerous to us in the 21st century.

Have you gone to a beach and seen ‘warning flags’ near the water? Some flags warn about rip currents, some about weather-related dangers (e.g. lightning, high winds), others warn about sharks in the water. The flags are often color-coded. Flags for ‘sharks in the water’ are often red in color or even ‘red over red’ flags. You may also see a ‘warning sign’ about no swimming because ‘sharks sighted.’

Church leaders are supposed to be the ‘lifeguards’ who keep Christians safe from danger, but that often does not happen. Church and denominational leaders often walk right into dangerous waters and invite people to follow them. They apparently don’t know how to ‘read the signs.’ False preachers and teachers tell people to walk into dangerous waters – while they stand safely on shore knowing hungry sharks are waiting under the surface, just off-shore.

Christians who care about what God wants for them will pay close attention to warning ‘flags and signs.’ That means watching and listening closely to what church and denominational leaders say and do. As the Apostle Peter wrote – “there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1). The Apostle Paul wrote – “And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage)” (Galatians 2:4). Paul also wrote – “But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13). Bottom line: keep your eyes and ears open.

Celebrity Sharks

Many of the ‘sharks’ that are dangerous to churches and denominations are ‘celebrities.’ They may be famous preachers, teachers, authors, singers, songwriters, Bible study curriculum writers, publishers, etc. They may also be celebrity movie or television stars or political figures. Sharks come in many shapes and sizes.

Next Time

I will share some of the ‘celebrity sharks’ that are attempting to bite and destroy churches and denominations in the next part of our special series, Swimming With Sharks.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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