Christianizing the New Age

[tablecorner]

If Christianity Christianized cultures as well as symbols (like the fish symbol in early iconography or the Obelisk in St.Peter’s square), can it do the same for the New Age/New Thought?

I once attended a new age business conference and was put through an “I AM” movement exercise, i still have the booklet here and was surprised to see Joel Osteen share the same beliefs.

What if Tarot cards were stripped of its occult inklings and replaced with Christian themes, now i dont know for sure what those themes are.

Our Cards Lead The Way .. - Christalignment

Not Found | Bethel

Lastly, i am thinking of the church fathers and one of them mentioned that the ark of the covenant was made from the spoils of the Egyptians.

Thank you in advance and hope to get help here as i was quick to condemn the christian new age movement as heretics.

 

[NevermoreLenore]

I find most of what Joel Osteen delivers is problematic. He basically gives feel-good pep talks that promote the health and wealth gospel, which is so contrary to the life Jesus loved.

 

[Inbonum]

You cannot authentically christianise New Age because these two are opposed. So, it is Christianity /Catholicism or it is New Age.

Tarot cards replaced with Christian themes are still occult and are still Tarot cards.
New Age is not compatible with Christianity.
Many New Agers “pray” to saints and pray New Age rosary… so did they christianise New Age? NO! It is just deception which make you sink deeper and deeper.

You can read what Catholic Church says about New Age
https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/...s/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html

Btw, New Thought movement isn’t compatible with Christianity either and I encourage you to run away from it as fast as you can.
New Age will never ever give you anything good for your soul. I know what I am talking about because I was into that for many years.

You can find very good book by Moira Noonan
Ransomed from Darkness: The New Age, Christian Faith and the Battle for Souls
She was born Catholic but later involved in New Age for 25 years and was deeply in New Thought movement and in many many other things.

She wrote great explanation why it is not good and compares alot of New Age practices with Catholic Church’s Teaching.

 

[Vico]

If Christianity Christianized cultures as well as symbols (like the fish symbol in early iconography or the Obelisk in St.Peter’s square), can it do the same for the New Age/New Thought?
…

No, because the basic belief in New Age is pantheism which is heresy.

In such a vision of a closed universe that contains “God” and other spiritual beings along with ourselves, we recognize here an implicit pantheism. This is a fundamental point which pervades all New Age thought and practice, and conditions in advance any otherwise positive assessment where we might be in favor of one or another aspect of its spirituality. As Christians, we believe on the contrary that “man is essentially a creature and remains so for all eternity, so that an absorption of the human I in the divine I will never be possible”.([31]http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/p...pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html#fn31))

And from the same source as above:
Pantheism: (Greek pan = everything and theos = God) the belief that everything is God or, sometimes, that everything is in God and God is in everything (panentheism). Every element of the universe is divine, and the divinity is equally present in everything. There is no space in this view for God as a distinct being in the sense of classical theism.

New Thought is diversified in beliefs (freedom of belief) so may include panentheism or pantheism.

 

[tablecorner]

How did you go about understanding what you understand about Pantheism, i find your post extremely difficult to understand and comprehend. On the flip side i never knew the definitions of the term had so much depth to allow precise definition.

 

[tablecorner]

Same here, a new ager of many years myself. Let us do a fun thought experiment and perhaps who are good at logic and reasoning could help us out.

If Tarot cards are replaced with Christian themes they are still occult. Ok maybe we need to know what makes up a tarot card for it to be called a tarot card. If a tarot card was bleached blank and printed over with spades, is it still a tarot card?

 

[Inbonum]

Ok maybe we need to know what makes up a tarot card for it to be called a tarot card.

It is not just about look of tarot cards what makes them tarot, it is also about spiritual things connected to those specific cards. It isn’t something that goes away when you bleach cards and put holy motives on them.
The best thing is to burn them and never use them again.

If a tarot card was bleached blank and printed over with spades, is it still a tarot card?

I don’t actually understand what would be purpose of that?

 

[Vico]

How did you go about understanding what you understand about Pantheism, i find your post extremely difficult to understand and comprehend. On the flip side i never knew the definitions of the term had so much depth to allow precise definition.

I studied religions and philosophy in college and on my own. Also studying based upon Vatican I anathemas below:

I. On God the creator of all things

1. If anyone denies the one true God, creator and lord of things visible and invisible:
let him be anathema.

2. If anyone is so bold as to assert that
* there exists nothing besides matter:
let him be anathema .

3. * the substance or essence of God and that of all things are one and the same:
let him be anathema .

4. If anyone says
* that finite things, both corporal and spiritual, or at any rate, spiritual, emanated from the divine substance; or
* that the divine essence, by the manifestation and evolution of itself becomes all things or, finally,
* that God is a universal or indefinite being which by self determination establishes the totality of things distinct in genera, species and individuals:
let him be anathema.

5. If anyone
* does not confess that the world and all things which are contained in it, both spiritual and material, were produced, according to their whole substance, out of nothing by God; or
* holds that God did not create by his will free from all necessity, but as necessarily as he necessarily loves himself; or
* denies that the world was created for the glory of God:
let him be anathema .

 

[tablecorner]

@Inbonum When i look up Wikipedia, i see that several of the Charismatic Pentacostal movement leaders were influenced by New Thought philosophy. Leaders like E.W.Kenyon, Kenneth E Hagin,Mary Baker eddy and the other Word Of Faith leaders.

 

[Maximian]

 

[vehryn]

Tarot cards exist as tools to aid in divination, and as such could be considered a sort of pythonic spirit. Is the spirit imbued in the cards themselves, or in the images upon the cards?
Even if you change all of the images with Christian symbolism, if you turn to them for divination, then you are still consulting with a pythonic spirit.

 

[Inbonum]

But they are not Catholic (according to your profile you’re Catholic) nor is New Thought Protestant thing, some of them use it but they are New Agers in the end.
New Thought just sound like something Christian but IT IS NOT. Church of Christian Science is not Christian at all.
New Age uses “prayer” to saints, to Mary as goddess, to Christ as guru or ascended teacher but that is not real prayer, that is channelling (spiritsm).
Catholic Church teaches and believes that Jesus IS God, not some guru or spirit or avatar.
Mary IS Mother of God (Jesus) - she is creature and not goddess.
Saints are holy people - creatures who help us and pray for us in Heaven.
Angels are spirits created by God who help us, protect us, pray for us and do everything in cooperation with God’s will and order.
God is creator of everything and everything is subordinated to Him. We are not gods or equal to God as New Age teaches.

Are you trying to understand all of it on your way of conversion or you are just trying to prove your ideas here?

 

[tablecorner]

I am not trying to prove my ideas here and refused to clarify my intentions for the sake of humility. Your initial post made assumptions that i was dabbling with the New Age when i was asking a hypothetical question.

from my perspective, it is alarming the fascinating that the above listed leaders are accepted by charismatic pentacostals as christians.

 

[Inbonum]

Same here, a new ager of many years myself.

You said for yourself this thing, so no, I didn’t make any assumptions without proof.

from my perspective, it is alarming the fascinating that the above listed leaders are accepted by charismatic pentacostals as christians.

To be honest that is nothing new, it lasts for decades. New age isn’t new anymore.
Btw there are catholics too who are trying to mix these two together so don’t be surprised.
One of these things is catholic /christian yoga.

I really recommend you Church’s document and the book I posted in my first post, I think it would help you to understand all these events.

Thank you in advance and hope to get help here as i was quick to condemn the christian new age movement as heretics.

New age is heresy already condemned by Church.

 

[tablecorner]

"I encourage you to run away from it as fast as you can.
New Age will never ever give you anything good for your soul. I know what I am talking about because I was into that for many years.

“you are just trying to prove your ideas here?”

You are assuming i am asking these questions because i want to participate in the new age.

 

[Inbonum]

I once attended a new age business conference and was put through an “I AM” movement exercise, i still have the booklet here and was surprised to see Joel Osteen share the same beliefs.

What if Tarot cards were stripped of its occult inklings and replaced with Christian themes, now i dont know for sure what those themes are.

Since you have interests for that theme and you already participated in New age I have a right to write you that is wrong and warn you.
I cannot know if you want to be involved again but you seem confused with these things.

Are you trying to understand all of it on your way of conversion or you are just trying to prove your ideas here?

THAT was my question since I didn’t understand what of these two you actually want - some of your answers are confusing.