The great contest between God and Satan is for the allegiance of men and women. At stake are their eternal relationships with God. Mankind is fallen and lives in a fallen world. In order to restore a right relationship with God and live eternally with Him, man must accept the atoning sacrifice made by God’s Son on the cross at Calvary. But Satan does not sit idly by and let that happen. The earth is Satan’s lair and reflects his spirit. The spirit of the world has plagued mankind since Satan tempted Eve in the Garden. It has been Satan’s tool of choice by which he attempts to prevent or destroy man’s relationship with God. In Chapter 1 it was said that the spirit of the world is Satan’s chameleon—always refining its outward allure to match the demands and desires of the present culture, but however it transforms itself to please man, it remains unchangeably corrupt within. Whatever the outward manifestations of the spirit of the world are in any age, at its core we find humanism—the ultimate deception by which Satan attempts to displace God in the heart of man and his affairs.
In the course of human history the spirit of the world has predominantly presented itself in two forms: spiritual humanism and secular humanism. Both promote an exaltation of self. For the last three hundred years in Western civilization, the humanistic spirit of the world has shown its secular face, and it was secular humanism that presented the greatest challenge to the American church (See Chapter 10). According to Enlightenment thinkers and philosophers of the late seventeenth and all of the eighteenth century, the ideal society was to be achieved through the never-ending progress of man and society. The tools of progress were science and reason which are used in an attempt to destroy faith in a supernatural God. But secular humanists failed to understand the true nature of man which Alexis de Tocqueville described over 180 years ago.
…the imperfect joys of this world will never satisfy his heart. Man alone of all created beings shows a natural disgust for existence and an immense longing to exist; he despises life and fears annihilation. These different feelings constantly drive his soul toward the contemplation of another world and religion it is which directs him there. Religion is thus one particular form of hope as natural to the human heart as hope itself. Men cannot detach themselves from religious beliefs except by some wrong-headed thinking and by a sort of moral violence inflicted upon their true nature; they are drawn back by an irresistible inclination. Unbelief is an accident; faith is the only permanent state of mankind.[1]
This natural inclination of man to religion and the hope that it offers presented a problem for the secular humanists. Therefore, Satan did what he always does when challenged by the truth. He resurrected a counterfeit called spiritual humanism to satisfy man’s irresistible yearning to know God.
In the twentieth century secular humanism’s promises died in the ashes of two world wars and the Great Depression. In the 1960s there was a growing alienation and restlessness, particularly among the young. Although man’s faith in progress and reason still dominates the leadership and institutions of Western civilization, many became disillusioned and sought elsewhere for answers to the basic questions of life. For those disheartened by the religious barrenness of secular humanism, Satan resurrected spiritual humanism, painted a modern face on this ages-old spirit of the world, and dressed it new clothes to fit the spirit of the age. Out of spiritual humanism was born the New Age movement.[2]
Just as secular humanism touches every institution and facet of modern life, spiritual humanism endeavors to conform every aspect of human experience and society to its counterfeit solutions which draw upon various pagan cultures, ancient traditions, Eastern religions, and modern-day psychology. To implement these solutions which claim to address the ills of modern man, New Agers promote the tenets of spiritual humanism in their “…desire to create a better society, a ‘new age’ in which humanity lives in harmony with itself, nature, and the cosmos.”[3]
The New Age movement is multifaceted and often appears contradictory, but there are common elements that connect the highly diverse array of New Age organizations and their agendas. The fundamental underlying goal is the complete revolution of society in the United States and ultimately the entire world to create a one-world federation and “planetary citizenship in the global village.”[4]
To properly describe spiritual humanism (and the New Age movement) as it attempts to entice men and infiltrate the evangelical church, we must look at the common elements of its philosophy and beliefs in comparison with the Christian worldview. To make this comparison we must examine how well the two worldviews identify and align with truth in answering the basic questions of life. These questions fall into three categories: Creation – Every worldview must begin with its ultimate origins. Where did the world come from? Who are we? How did we get to the present day? Fall – How does the worldview explain evil and suffering? What has gone wrong? Redemption – If life is to have meaning, purpose, and hope, it must address the consequences of the fall. How does each of these worldviews propose to reverse the fall, that is, to set the world right again? Without consistent answers to these questions, a worldview can offer no hope for redemption.[5]
Creation
Few men or women have more clearly or succinctly contrasted Christianity and humanistic philosophies of all varieties than C. S. Lewis, one of the greatest Christian writers and apologists of the twentieth century. He began by dividing humanity into two groups: one that believes in some kind of God (theists) and the other that does not (atheists and agnostics). The next division separates those that believe in God by the type of God they believe in. Lewis separates this group into two categories. The first group believes their god(s) (typically polytheistic) is beyond good and evil. This system of beliefs is called pantheism which is compatible in varying degrees with the beliefs of most Eastern religions. The second group believes their God (usually monotheistic) is “definitely ‘good’ or ‘righteous’, a God who takes sides, who loves love and hates hatred, who wants us to behave in one way and not another.”[6] Christianity resides in this second group.
In the Christian worldview, God existed before the universe was created, and then God created the universe and all that is within including the laws that govern that creation. God did not create man out of need. Rather, it was a will to love, an expression of the very character of God, to share the inner life of the Trinity (i.e., relationship). Man’s chief end is to glorify God (worship, reverence) through love and obedience (devotion, Godliness) while communing with God forever. Unlike all of the other elements of His creation, man was created with a free will. But creating man with a free will meant the possibility of rejection of God and His love. In other words free will carried with it the potential for rejection of God, but free will was necessary for the possibility of love.
Monism of the Eastern religions differs from creationism of Christianity. Monism’s view is that there is only one kind of ultimate substance and that reality is one unitary organic whole with no independent parts.[7] With monism as its foundation, Eastern religions teach the doctrine of pantheism in which humans progress through multiple reincarnations in their journey toward their divinity and ultimate oneness–a state in which one is oblivious to care, pain, or external reality.
In pantheistic Eastern religions, there is no personal and loving God (e.g., Hinduism, Buddhism) but a Divinity that is attributed to “…a nonpersonal, non-cognitive spiritual force field.” Ultimate pantheistic reality (truth) is a “unified mind or spiritual essence pervading all things.” The supreme goal of Eastern religions centers on a reprieve from the burden of self by losing the individual spirit as it unified with the pantheistic One. Again, the pantheistic God is not a personal Being (no consciousness or desires) but a nonpersonal spiritual essence of which everyone and everything is a part.[8] Pantheists believe God animates the universe and that the universe is almost God. If the universe did not exist, then God would not exist. Therefore, everything in the universe is a part of God.
In summary, pantheism teaches that God is everything and everyone. Therefore, everything and everyone is God. They attempt to use the Bible as support for their belief and point to David’s words in Psalms. “Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up unto heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” [Psalm 193:7-8. KJV] But David is speaking of God’s omnipresence. God is everywhere but he is not everything or in everything. If pantheism were true, everything is God (including man) and worthy of worship. But things worshiped apart from God are idols, and the Bible clearly and frequently warns against idolatry.
Fall
In the Christian worldview, mankind’s free will allowed man to think and act in ways that are contrary to God’s will and plan for His creation. When man violated God’s laws (truths) through disobedience, it was called sin, and as a result decay and death entered and affected not only man but all of God’s creation. The problem of evil and suffering results from man’s rebellion and subsequent separation from God.
In pantheistic Eastern religions, sin and separation arise because “…we don’t know we are a part of god. We think we’re individuals with separate existences and identities. This is what gives birth to greed and selfishness, conflict and warfare.”[9] In other words, the individual is separated from the One, that nonpersonal spiritual essence, and sin and suffering result because the person has not merged himself into or been absorbed by this godly essence or substance. However, in the Christian worldview, sin and suffering arise because of man’s rebellion which causes a broken relationship and separation from God, not because he fails to see himself as a part of God.
Redemption
Man’s rejection was not a surprise to an omniscient God. He knew that man would sin before He created him. God still loves man but was separated from him by sin because God is just and holy. Justice requires man to atone for his sin, but he was incapable of righting the wrongs of his rebellion. Because God is a loving God, He created a way through His son, Jesus Christ, which allows man to bring order to the chaos caused by his separation. Therefore, Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross made possible man’s redemption and return to a right relationship with God. But man continues to have free will and must choose to accept or reject Christ’s work of salvation.
Since Eastern religion pantheists believe that man and all of creation are part of god, their solution to the problem of evil and suffering in the world is reunite the individual with the god within. The impersonal, uncaring god of the pantheists does not love mankind or care about their sufferings. Help must come from the Eastern religions and New Agers who offer seekers assistance in being reunited with the impersonal universal spiritual essence/force which they believe we are an insoluble part.[10]
One practitioner has described New Age spirituality as an internal experience through which one answers the inner call of his or her Spirit—the god within. The internal experience is achieved through a combination of humanistic psychology, mystical and esoteric traditions, and Eastern religions.
The inner calling is your Spirit. Your Spirit is the part of you that is connected to and is a part of God. Your Spirit is the part of you that calls for you to take action and claim your joy, your bliss, and your abundance. It is the real you and your Spirit demands to be heard. This is what your journey is about. It’s finding that inner calling, answering it, and releasing the authentic YOU into the world![11] [emphasis in original]
To answer the call of one’s spirit and be reunified with the god within, Eastern religions and New Age pantheists offer an amazing variety of tools, practices, and techniques to help people recover a sense that they are all gods: spells, chants, transcendental meditation, crystals, centering, tarot cards, diets, self-esteem, guided imagery, positive thinking, yoga, visualization, and many more. Unfortunately, the distance between these practices and some of the things that occur in some American evangelical churches are not that far apart as we shall see in the chapters to follow.[12]
New Age movement
Following years of studying Eastern mystic religions, Randall Baer became a professional New Age teacher, holistic health practitioner, and activist. Before age 30 he had written two widely acclaimed books published by a mainstream publisher, developed a large teaching and research facility, and was a headliner on the New Age lecture circuit. Following a horrifying New Age experience with devouring darkness and demons, Baer was able to recover from the encounter, extricate himself from the New Age movement, and become a Christian. In his Inside the New Age Nightmare, Baer defines and describes its seductions.[13]
Baer labels the New Age movement as a product of spiritual humanism whose cornerstone is the belief that “…man is divine in nature, and is therefore essentially “God” or an enlightened “God-man.” Secular humanism displaces God with “…scientific rationalism, self-generated truth, and self-generated destiny” whereas spiritual humanism “…assigns man to a throne that spans the heavens and the earth in a divine heritage of universal lordship, omnipotence, and self-created glory.” While secular humanism denies Deity and proposes that man can find true meaning in life through exalting his own intellectual, creative, and moral powers, spiritual humanism affirms Deity in which man is deemed a race of cosmic gods with god-like powers.[14] However, both branches of humanism rely on man, through his own abilities and nature, to ascend and occupy the throne of self that is built on a foundation of either reason and science or self-proclaimed divinity from where he proposes to rule over a self-created heaven on earth.
Secular and spiritual humanism are two faces of Satan’s spirit of the world which work hand-in-hand to subvert man’s relationship with God. During the years 1870-1930, the American church surrendered to secular humanists much of its power and authority to direct and influence culture. Beginning in the 1960s, the culture was eventually conquered by secular humanists and faith was substantially driven from the public square and confined within the churches and the muffled voices of its members. Subsequently, Satan has intensified his attack from within American evangelical churches. As evangelical churches have accommodated the world as a means of survival, a measure of spiritual humanism has infiltrated many of these American churches. Therefore, it is imperative that evangelical Christians identify and understand the beliefs and practices of spiritual humanism and the New Age movement if they are to effectively combat those forces.
Larry G. Johnson
Sources:
[1] Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, trans. Gerald E. Bevan, (New York: Penguin Books, 2003), pp. 346-347.
[2] Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey, How Now Shall We Live? (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1999), p. 263.
[3] Randall N. Baer, Inside the New Age Nightmare, (Lafayette, Louisiana: Huntington House, Inc., 1989), pp. 87-89.
[4] Ibid., pp. 82-83.
[5] Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth, (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2004, 2005), p. 134
[6] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, from The Complete C. S. Lewis Signature Classics, (New York: Harper One, 2002), pp. 39-40.
[7] “monism,” Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, (Springfield, Massachusetts: G. & C. Merriam Company, 1963), p. 547.
[8] Pearcey, Total Truth, p. 147.
[9] Ibid., p. 148.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Mignon V. Supnet, Spirit 101, (Self-published, 2012, 2013), p. 18.
[12] Pearcey, Total Truth, p. 148.
[13] Baer, pp. v, 55, 63.
[14] Ibid., p. 84.
