Article review: by Thomas Ivan Dahlheimer

Excerpts from:

The New Spirituality
- Dismantling and Reconstructing Reality



Peter R. Jones

Our culture is reaching a tipping point of momentous implications where the "New Spirituality" may well represent the next phase of the faith and practice of modern autonomous humanity, whose goal is nothing less than the construction of a new Sodom and Babel.

Few were expecting this. Most merely saw a cloud the size of a man's hand appearing on the Western horizon. That marginal "hippy" revolution of spiritual and sexual experimentation would quickly dissipate. The real threat was secular humanism. The fact is this New Age "cloud of unknowing" has morphed into a perfect storm of latter rain that intends to irrigate the entire planet with the Aquarian "living water" of integrative monistic oneness.

The cloud has become a tsunami; the Sixties' sexual liberation was not a mere dream of hippies who had opted out of public life. In fact, in a long march through the institutions, the "Flower Power" children cleaned themselves up and became the "establishment" them-selves. They have demonized the patriarchal society of Western and biblical civilization as the greatest expression of human evil, and replaced it with a radical egalitarianism that knows no gender roles and believes that the murder of unborn babies is not only settled law but vital to the emancipation of women. In one generation, this sexual liberation has become public policy. The ideas behind these social changes are deeply and spiritually pagan-as even a cursory examination of Romans 1:18-28 will show.

More excerpts:

Indeed, the Sixties was a spiritual revolution that has now morphed into a worldview that promises to alter how we all believe and act in the planetary era. The New Age began to change when the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who died February 4, introduced notions such as tran-scendental meditation, "mantra," and "karma" into the mainstream through converts like the Beatles, Mike Love of the Beach Boys, Mia Farrow, Merv Griffin, Joe Namath, and Deepak Chopra. Marilyn Ferguson published her significant work, The Aquarian Conspiracy with the significant subtitle Personal and Social Transformation in the 1980s, in which she asked hundreds of scientists, philosophers, and spiritual seekers to name the person most influential in their lives: first and second were Teilhard de Chardin and Carl Jung!

Clearly, we were no longer dealing with chakras and crystals, but with a spiritual/intellectual worldview movement based on "spiritual" evolution and the new psychology of the subconscious. It was Jung who said, "We are only at the threshold of a new spiritual epoch." This epoch of the New Spirituality claims to be able to put our deconstructed world back together again scientifically, philosophically, economically, geo-politically, ecologically, and spiritually through the power of the myth of the divinity of Nature. James Herrick calls this movement the "New Religious Synthesis," and believes it has already eclipsed traditional "Christian" culture.
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Except: The Major Themes of the New Spirituality

God-The Christian God is transcendent, the pagan godhead is immanent.

Jones believes that traditional Christianity views God as "transcendent", meaning God is above and apart from the universe. Theists generally claim that attempts to make God immanent in humanity and nature are pantheistic, and therefore, unacceptable to theistic religion. Jones also believes that the New Spirituality views God as being "immanent", or exclusively in the Universe and manifesting impersonally as the Universe. He is wrong about this. The New Spirituality does not view God as being pantheistic, The New Spirituality views God as being, both, panentheistic (transcendent and immanent-in all things) and "pantheistic," (the part of God that is in all things is viewed as being the Universe), and because the Universe will come to an end, God is, ultimately, viewed as being totally transcendent. And in a way God is already viewed a being totally transcendent, because everything that is temporary is considered an illusion.

Jones also believes that traditional Christianity views God as being above and apart from human beings (or transcendent in another way)... and that Christianity's New Spirituality (a type of New-Age hippie spirituality) views God as "immanent" or within every person. This is true, the New Spirituality views God as being within every individual human being. And it views each individual as being essentially God-in the same way that Jesus is God, infinite, extending indefinitely, even beyond the boundaries of the universe, being both immanent (in the universe) and transcendent (beyond the universe), and ultimately, totally transcendent, believing the universe will not last forever, but that God will last forever. Hinduism, likewise, believes that "what we know as our own self goes all the way to the point of absolute identity with the supreme Being."

Excerpt: Nature-According to York, in paganism there is a "comprehension of nature's inherent vitality" reifying nature into "a divine object worthy of worship...[seeing] nature and humanity as essentially divine.

The New Spirituality views nature as being essentially "divine," but it does not advocate worshiping It. Jones wrongly indicates that the people of the New Spirituality are pantheistic monists who worship Nature. Wikipedia states: Much Hindu thought is highly characterized by panentheism and pantheism. The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Yogi whose teachings the Beatles promoted, was a Hindu.

When referring to the divine entity that is the expression of God that is immanent and exclusively in the Universe, and who is the Universe/Nature, or the "Earth"-including the cosmos that surrounds it, David Spangler, one of the founding figures of the modern New Age movement, wrote: "It is generally not accorded the status of being the ultimate source, or Creator, but might be looked upon as a great angelic or archangelic being presiding over the well being of the world, or as the gestalt, the wholeness of all the lives and patterns that manifest upon, and as, the earth."

Another expert on this topic, Jame Lovelock, has compared the statue of this entity with the Roman Catholics' "Mother Mary." Lovelock wrote: "What if Mary is another name for Gaia?" Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, is not worshiped.

God Almighty, the God who can create a living and [essentially] divine entity from Its own spiriutal energy created "Divine Nature." God Almighty is the God accorded the status of being the ultimate source, or Creator, and It alone is worthy of worship.

Father Mitch Pacwa, a world renowned lecturer, author, spiritual director and the host of TV shows on Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), is the author of an article entitled: Catholicism for the New Age: Matthew Fox and Creation-Centered Spirituality. In the article Pacwa states that Fox and others make "explicit claims of panentheism". Pacwa also states that he believes that explicit panentheism "holds that the creation is inherently divine" and "masks as explicit pantheism." In addition, Pacwa first states that Fox claims to be a panentheist, and then he indicates Fox is actually a pantheist.

Actually this type of panentheism, "explicit pantheism", is not pantheism as it is generally understood . This type of panentheism holds that only the immanent part of God, the part of God that is in the universe, is pantheistic. This type of pantheism is also found in theopanism. Theopanism holds that God is, both, panentheistic and pantheistic. The Hindus call the pantheistic part of theopanism or "explicit panentheism" by the name Brahma. Brahma is essentially the World Soul, He is the Universal Mind and He physically manifests as the Universe/Nature or the Earth-including the cosmos that surrounds it. Brahma has a female aspect and She is earth centered and has a personality. A popular New Age and United Nations name for Brahma's female aspect is Gaia. Rev. Matthew Fox uses this name for Brahma.

Brahma and Prakrti are Nature. Brahma is the Creator and is visible as Nature. Vishnu is the Presrver. And Shiva is the Destroyer. Prakri is the the totality of who the World Soul is. Prakrti is composed of the three aspects of God, which are tendencies or modes of operation, known as sattva (creation), rajas (preservation), and tamas, (destruction).

Fox's expression of Creation-Centered Spirituality is "explicit panentheism." The expression of pantheism within "explicit panentheism" is radically different than the type of pantheism that holds that God is exclusively in the Universe, is impersonal and worthy of worship. New Age spirituality/The New Spirituality - and Matthew Fox's expression of Creation-Centered Spirituality is "explicit panentheism" and it holds that Brahma/Gaia is only fundamentally good or essentially divine and is therefore not worthy of worship.

After reading articles and books by New Age movement leaders, I wrote:

(1.) The belief in a world soul that is honored and prayed to, as is Gaia, by New Age Gaians, is not just a contemporary belief and spiritual practice. This belief and spiritual practice is ancient and found in both Eastern and Western culture.

(2.) The world soul is a spiritual principle having the same relation to the physical world as the human soul does to the body. New Age Gaians of the New World Religion believe the world soul (Gaia) is not accorded the status of being the Ultimate Source, or Supreme Cosmic Spirit, but might be looked upon as an archangelic being, or Brahma in the Hindu religion, or the White Buffalo Cafe Woman in the Lakota people's Native American religion, or Mary the mother of Jesus in the Roman Catholic religion.

(3.) The world renowned James Lovelock wrote: "What if Mary is another name for Gaia?" Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, is not worshiped.

(4.) When referring to Gaia as the world soul, David Spangler, one of the founding figures of the modern New Age movement, wrote: "It is generally not accorded the status of being the ultimate source, or Creator, but might be looked upon as a great angelic or archangelic being presiding over the well being of the world, or as the gestalt, the wholeness of all the lives and patterns that manifest upon, and as, the earth."

(5.) Robert Muller (1923 - 2010), who was for a time the Assistant Secretary-General of the UN and called the "Prophet of Hope, wrote, "Hindus call our earth Brahma, or God, for they rightly see no difference between our earth and the divine." Brahma is not the Hindus Supreme Cosmic Spirit, or almighty God, and is considered somewhat corrupt. Hindus believe Brahma is divine, but most Hindus do not worship Brahma, or the Earth.

(6.) The New World Religion views the world soul as the spirit of the "earth"-including the entire cosmos, physically manifesting itself as the "earth", or Brahma/Gaia, who presides over the well being of the world and is subject to the authority/will of God almighty.

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A Hindu/Hippie New Age/Christian New Spirituality/Creation-Centered Spirituality (explicit panentheism) belief:

Brahman/"Father" (God-who is monistic) manifested some of Its spiritual energy as an imperfect God called Brahma/Gaia. Brahma/Gaia then became the Universe. By manifesting as Brahma/Gaia and then creating the Universe, Brahman/"Father", while remaining transendent, also became, immanent, visible and personal to us for a while. The material Universe will be around for a while, but It will eventually come to an end. Its spiritual energy will then return to its source, Brahman/"Our Father in Heaven".

The universe is a part (but not the whole) of deity. When viewing the Universe as a part of who God is, She/He is preceveive as God-immanent, personal and manifesting as a monistic oneness of all the cosmos. The medieval mystic Meister Eckhart states: "Being is God's circle and in this circle all creatures exist. Everything that is in God is God."

In respect to the part of God that is immanent (in the universe) and manifesting as the Universe, it is true, as stated by Jones, that the 1960s hippie New Age "cloud of unknowing" has morphed into a perfect storm of latter rain that intends to irrigate the entire planet with the Aquarian "living water" of integrative monistic oneness. However, Jones' statement is ultimately incomplete, God is greater than the Universe and transcends It. And there is, both, a type of intergrative monistic oneness associated with the universe, and there is also a type of monotheism (or personal expession of God) associated with the Universe.

Pantheism is the belief that everything composes an all-encompassing, immanent God, or that the universe (or nature) is identical with divinity. Pantheists thus do not believe in a personal god.

While pantheism asserts that 'All is God', panentheism goes further to claim that God is greater than the universe and transcends it. The Universe is the manifested part of God. The Universe is the pantheistic expression of God. But as She/He relates to God-in a panentheistic setting, She/He is a personal expression of God.

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

According to Sehgal, "the Vedas and the Upanishads preach and propagate neither pantheism nor polytheism but monotheism and monism". There are many Gods, but they represent different aspect of the same Reality. Monism and monotheism are found intertwined. In many passages ultimate Reality is represented as immanent, while in other passages ultimate Reality is represented as transcendent. Monism sees Brahman as the ultimate Reality, while monotheism represents the personal form of Brahman.

Jeaneane D. Fowler too discerns a "metaphysical monotheism" in the Vedas. The Vedas contain sparse monism. The Nasadiya Sukta of the Rigveda speaks of the One being-non-being that 'breathed without breath'. The manifest cosmos cannot be equated with it, "for "That" is a limitless, indescribable, absolute principle that can exist independently of it - otherwise it cannot be the Source of it." It is the closest the Vedas come to monism, but Fowler argues that this cannot be called a "superpersonal monism", nor "the quintessence of monistic thought", because it is "more expressive of a panentheistic, totally transcendent entity that can become manifest by its own power. It exists in itself, unmanifest, but with the potential for all manifestations of the cosmos.

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Excerpt: To be sure, the New Spirituality is not an organ-ized religion, but neither is it a mere hodge-podge of unrelated notions. Scholars of religion identify two coherent types of spirituality: 1) esoteric (inner) pagan religion, the God within, finding truth within the human heart, since humanity is divine; and 2) exoteric (outer) theistic religion that finds truth beyond the sphere of nature and humanity in the person of God, Creator, and Redeemer. These two religious possibilities are radically antithetical, as Paul said with surprising clarity 2,000 years ago (Rom. 1:25)

The pagan type of spirituality mentioned above could be put in the context of pantheism or panentheism and pantheism. Jones wrongly believes the New Spirituality preaches and propagates pantheism, when in fact it preaches and propagates panentheism and pantheism.

God, who is Spirit and impersonable, both, transcends the Universe and is in the Universe, and while in the Universe...God is also immanent, personal and visible, She/He is the Universe. This is a type of pantheism/panentheism where God is precieved as being both personal and impersonable, visible and invisible, as well as immanent and transcendent.

God is love and bliss. God is intelligent. God is impersonal in respect to Its transcendent state of Being. God-transcendent is unqualifed, or neither male nor female. God has no personal name. God has a will and intent. God created the Universe by manifesting a part of Itself within a realm of divinity that was imperfect or somewhat corrupt. By doing so a part of God -- the part that is immanent in the creation -- became personal and visible to us for as long as the Universe exists. God preserves the Universe and in due time God will destroy the physical Universe. Its sacred spiritual energy will then return to God and become a part of God's transcendent Self. All human beings will then know Themselves as God and will be eternally happy.

Here is a footnote excerpt from the book Autobiogaphy of a Yogi, by Paramhansa Yogananda:

Father, Son and Comforter: These Biblical words refer to the threefold nature of God as Father, Son, Holy Ghost (Sat, Tat, Aum in the Hindu scriptures). God the Father is the Absolute, Unmanifested, existing beyond vibratory creation. God the Son is the Christ Consciousness (Brahma or Kutastha Chaitanya) existing within vibratory creation; this Christ Consciousness is the "only begotten" or sole reflection of the Uncreated Infinite. Its outward manifestation or "witness" is Aum or Holy Ghost, the divine, creative, invisible power which structures all creation through vibration. Aum the blissful Comforter is heard in meditation and reveals to the devotee the ultimate Truth.

When Jesus disciples asked Him to show them the Father, Jesus said "when you see Me you see the Father." At the time, Jesus' identity was one with Brahman. Jesus had the ability to lower His identity down to the level of Brahma. So when Jesus said "the only way to the Father is through Me" He was in the Brahma (Son of God) state of Being or identity.

Sri Yukteswar said: "Jesus meant, never that he was the sole Son of God, but that no man can attain the unqualified Absolute, the transcendent Father beyond creation, until he has first manifested the 'Son' or activating Christ Consciousness within creation. Jesus, who had achieved entire onenness with that Christ consciousness, identified himself with it inasmuch as his own ego had long since been dissolved."

The path to the unqualified Absolute, the transcendent "Father" beyond creation is through the creation. We need to first become one with the Universe, who is an imperfect expression of God, and then we can become one with the "Father" who is perfect.

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More on this topic:

I do not believe in a literal interpretation of Genesis, but there are some truths that can be gleaned from it. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve perceived them-selves to be [essentially] one with God and each Another. They also perceived themselves to be essentially one with Nature. In addition, they also perceived good and evil as being [essentially] the same.

Then Satan temped them to eat the forbidden fruit from the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Eve told Satan: God says we mustn't eat it or even touch it, or we will die." Satan said to Eve: "That's a lie!" "You won't die! God knows very well that when you eat it you will become like Him - you will know good from evil!"

Then Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. After eating it they perceived good and evil as being [fundamentally different], and no longer [essentially the same]. They also perceived themselves to be no longer [essentially] one with God and one Another, and neither did they perceived themselves to be [essentially] one with Nature. They now perceived themselves to be fundamentally separate from God, each another and nature.

They had acquired a false identity. They believed that they were a combination of their outer personalities and their bodies. They had lost their awareness of their true identity, or their inter Self, wherein they perceived their [essential] oneness with God, Each Other and Nature.

Today, the vast majority of people on earth have this false identity. The people of traditional Christianity/Catholicism wrongly believe that Jesus Christ came to assure them that who they believed themselves to be was who they truly were. And that He would eventually restore the creation/earth back to its supposed paradise state of existence, or to the way it was before Adam and Eve committed "original sin." And that after restoring the creation/earth back to its supposed paradise state of existence He would place saved Christians in it, where they would live forever.

Modern-day scientific discovery has clearly revealed the truth - that the creation was not without corruption and death for planets, animals and humans prior to when the first humans lived on earth and supposedly committed "original sin."

Hindu and Buddhist meditation (also "Christian Zen meditation"), a particular type of contemplation and good works (especially including prayer for some people) eventually separate people from their false identities and reveal to people practicing these spiritual disciplines their true identity, the same identity that Adam and Eve had before they sinned. Jesus came to help us gain our true identity and usher in a new age and new world order, including a one world government and one world religion.

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Information about the New Ager's God: A prayer to the New Age/Hindu transcendent Supreme Being/Spirit, "the only Refuge and Object of adoration."

(Worship of the Supreme Brahman)

I bow to Thee, the pure Intelligence manifested in the universe.

I bow to Thee Who in His essence is One and Who grants liberation.

I bow to Thee, the great, all-pervading attributeless One.

Thou art the only Refuge and Object of adoration.

The whole universe is the appearance of Thee Who art its Cause.

Thou alone art Creator, Preserver, Destroyer of the world.

Thou art the sole immutable Supreme, Who art neither this nor that;

Dread of the dreadful, Terror of the terrible.

Refuge of all beings, Purificator of all purificators.

Thou alone rulest the high-placed ones,

Supreme over the supreme, Protector of the Protectors.

O Supreme Lord in Whom all things are, yet Unmanifest in all,

Imperceptible by the senses, yet the very truth.

Incomprehensible, Imperishable, All-pervading hidden Essence.

Lord and Light of the Universe! save us from harm.

On that One alone we meditate, that One alone we in mind worship,

To that One alone the Witness of the Universe we bow.

Refuge we seek with the One Who is our sole Eternal Support,

The Self-existent Lord, the Vessel of safety in the ocean of being.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/maha/maha03.htm

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When traditional Christianity is Hinduized a new gospel of Jesus Christ becomes manifest. It is compatible with modern-day science, where as the old gospel (traditional Christianity) is not.

Biblical words that refer to the threefold nature of God as Father, Son, Holy Ghost are expressed as Sat, Tat, Aum in the Hindu scriptures.

Two quotes from the book Autobiography of a Yogi:

"God the Father is the Absolute, Unmanifested, existing beyond vibratory creation. God the Son is the Christ Consciousness (Brahma or Kutastha Chaitanya) existing within vibratory creation; this Christ Consciousness is the 'only begotten' or sole reflection of the Uncreated Infinite. Its outward manifestation or 'witness' is Aum or Holy Ghost, the divine, creative, invisible power which structures all creation through vibration. Aum the blissful Comforter is heard in meditation and reveals to the devotee the ultimate Truth."


"Jesus meant, never that he was the sole Son of God, but that no man can attain the unqualified Absolute, the transcendent Father beyond creation, until he has first manifested the 'Son' or activating Christ Consciousness within creation. Jesus, who had achieved entire oneness with that Christ consciousness, identified himself with it inasmuch as his own ego had long since been dissolved."

Jesus identified himself with Brahma, the Son of God and the creator of the universe. Every human being is Brahma, including Adam.

Before the creation of the universe, Brahma generated a female partner, generally acknowledged as Saraswati, out of his own substance. She is his daughter as well as his wife. And before the cration of the universe Brahma lusted/sinned by defiling Saraswati.

Akin to the fall of Adam from the grace of God and the subsequent loss of Eden, the lust of Brahma signifies the downfall of humanity. Hinduism believes that basic desires hinder total salvation, or reconciliation of the individual soul with the Supreme Spirit (Brahman), referred to (in the Bible) as "God the Father."

It is symbolic that the God (Brahma) that was the first manifestation of the Brahman fell prey to that which prolongs separation from the Brahman. So it is that creation succeeded -- through the fall of Brahma from absolute sublimity.

Science teaches that when life first became manifest on earth around 3.8 billion years ago, so did death and corruption. The old (false) "gospel of Jesus Christ" teaches that death and corruption became manifest on earth after the first humans (Adam and Eve) committed "original sin", which according to science would be about 200,000 years ago in south Africa.