The New Age Christian—An Accepted Oxymoron
Satan is not simply trying to draw people to the dark side of
a good versus evil conflict. Actually, he is trying to eradicate
the gap between himself and God.
BY RAY YUNGEN
he current popularity with meditative contemplative mysticism
presents a very perplexing challenge for evangelical Christian-
ity. We are now encountering the New Age or Aquarian Christian.
This term describes someone who remains in his or her home
church and professes the Christian faith but has also incorporated
various aspects of the New Age or Aquarian mindset into his or her
life. New Age author David Spangler was very optimistic about
the possibility of this integration when he wrote, “The point is
that the New Age is here . . . it builds itself and forms itself in the
midst of the old.” 1
What has fueled the momentum of this trend is the buffet-style
dining approach that has become a hall-
mark of American religious sensibilities
in the last thirty years—you take what
you want and leave the rest. Americans
are picking and blending religions as if
they were ordering espressos: pick your
espresso blend, but you still get coffee—
pick your spiritual path, but you still
get God. Whatever suits your spiritual
tastes, you bring together. The result is
hybrid New Age spirituality.
I recall a conversation once with a
woman in a coffee bar. We chatted on
spiritual subjects, and her comments
led me to believe she was an evangeli-
cal Christian. Toward the end of our friendly conversation, she
dropped a bombshell on me when she blurted out, “Well, we all
have the Christ consciousness!”
In another incident, a local pastor shared with me how a woman
he had long known as a strong solid Christian was almost swept
up by New Age thinking. Her young adult son had been addicted
to drugs and went through a drug rehabilitation program. In the
process, his counselor introduced him to New Age spirituality.
He, in turn, shared it with his mother, giving her a book to read
titled Conversations With God (a New Age bestseller).
Incredibly, she found herself being swayed by the book’s argu-
ments and began to doubt whether or not her evangelical Chris-
tianity was indeed the only way to God. Her desire to see her son
aligned with God left her mind open in welcoming the possibility
that various mystical paths were equally genuine in finding God.
It took this pastor nearly two hours to help this woman understand
the error of her thinking. Keep in mind this woman was a solid
and devoted Christian who had been living her Christian faith for
decades. If these Christians can be swayed, what about people who
T
VOLUME 8—NO. 1
are even more vulnerable to what is going on in the larger culture?
The New Age message has such a positive ring that it is necessary
to look behind the appealing facade to see what is actually there.
If one goes to a massage therapist who does Reiki, one should
know the true nature of that practice. If your doctor wants you to
meditate, you should know the spiritual dangers of eastern-style
meditation. As the world moves further into becoming a full-
fledged mystical society, it will become increasingly difficult to
escape the ideas and practices I have warned about for many years.
Christians must become aware of what is happening in order to
make informed choices about things that may adversely affect them
spiritually. In addition, many of our friends, family members, and
co-workers will be seeking spiritual solutions to the uncertainties
of our society and the world in which we live as a whole. The fol-
lowing account brings this point home like no other. A Christian
in Georgia e-mailed me with the following story:
At work a colleague who is a deacon at
the local Baptist church was telling me
about his visits to a local woman for
“Therapeutic Massage.” He said she used
“some kind of Indian technique.” I asked
him if it was Reiki and he said “Yeah
that’s it. She’s a Reiki practitioner.”
I told him what I had read in your book
about Reiki, and he got defensive. He
said, “I don’t care what it is as long as it
works.” I was floored.
I said, “You are a deacon. How can you
make such a statement?”
He answered, “There are several deacons at my church
that believe in Reiki.” I pleaded with him to do some
research on the subject, and I sent him an e-mail with
quotes off some sites that promote Reiki. Later, he told
me he could see where I was coming from but that as long
as he didn’t believe in the spiritual aspect of it, he didn’t
see why he shouldn’t participate in it. I was surprised that
there was a Reiki practitioner in the middle of rural Bible
Belt America. I guess nothing should shock me anymore. 2
One book on the Chakra system (what Reiki is based on)
clearly shows:
Many people who have open crown chakras have had a
profound spiritual experience in which their usual sense of
being separate and apart falls away and there is a feeling of
being at One with All and Everything. There is a profound
Concludes on page 11
SPRING 2020