New Age
Origins: Though it truly began in the Garden of Eden, where the serpent proposed a broader path than the narrow one God truly offers, it has roots in Eastern religions.
Beliefs: It is characterized by harmony and enlightenment with all paths leading to God. God is in everything; everything is one; man himself is God; reality is relative as it is created in the mind; and personal experience validates truth. Karma, the idea of “what goes around comes around,” is another popular belief among New Agers. New Agers attribute mystical properties to quartz crystals and vortexes, and they often rely upon tarot cards or psychic readings for guidance.
Their Holy Books: As a conglomeration of belief systems, New Age has various holy books, including Course in Miracles by Helen Schucman.
Who Jesus Is to Them: New Agers do not acknowledge a personal God but instead think of the whole of the cosmos as God. At most, Jesus was a teacher whose exclusive claims they choose to discount.
Followers: About 3.5 million worldwide
Teachings on Salvation: Because of the religion’s roots in Eastern religions, New Agers often accept the concept of reincarnation, through which people live multiple lives until they finally earn a place in paradise
The New Age Path to Accept Jesus Christ as Savior
Why Truth Matters
There is no absolute truth.
You’ve heard that, and you may believe it. Maybe you think that truth is revealed to individuals at different times and in different ways. What’s true for you today may not be true for you next year, or even tomorrow.
So the one truth that many acknowledge is that absolute truth doesn’t exist. But there’s a problem with that very reasoning. If no absolute truth exists, then the very concept of no absolute truth cannot exist. That philosophical reality in itself points to a universal truth. Christ-followers call that universal truth God.
Your word is truth. (John 17:17b)
Why God Matters
You acknowledge a force that is at work throughout the universe. That force is God. Christ-followers believe God is personal, eternal and supreme over all creation, and He has manifested Himself to us in Jesus Christ.
He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. (Colossians 1:15-16)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
Why Jesus Matters
Jesus reached down from heaven to offer salvation to mankind. That’s a tough concept to get our heads around. What kind of God would do that?
Someone once explained it through a story about a farmer. Seeing a storm on the horizon, he brought his livestock into the barn. Outside the barn was a flock of birds frantically flying to and fro, sensing the oncoming storm. Wanting to protect them, the farmer tried to shoo them into the barn, but they were all the more frightened. He tried to lure them in with seed, but they still wouldn’t come into safety.
“If only I could become a bird so they would follow me,” the farmer thought. And at that moment, Jesus became real in that farmer’s heart. He fell to his knees and prayed.
God is kind. He is compassionate. And He is Jesus. And that’s the truth.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
Why Eternity Matters
Someday you and I will die, and we’ll stand before God.
. . . just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment. (Hebrews 9:27)
Problem is, every one of us has failed. We’ve lied, we’ve cheated, we’ve stolen, we’ve hurt people. Every single one of us.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
And God – who is holy and just – cannot allow sin to go unpunished, and He cannot allow sin to enter heaven. But He has made a way.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
Jesus is a gift for you to accept and cherish. Are you ready to accept that gift?