New Age- what is it?

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I have been hearing about this “New Age” stuff for a while now. Can anyone please help me? What exactly is this? Is it a new religion?
 
It’s far broader in our society then even what that link showed. It’s not any one religion, it’s in a nutshell, any religious belief system, not of traditional origin, that is always deeply flawed and leads you away from Christianity. It can be very subtle, like dabbling in astrology and the modern myriad of astrology like systems, to out right, follow these guidelines to get these results.

We live in dangerous times for the poorly catalyzed Catholic, anything that’s offering fame, fortune, peace, etc. that is not of strictly the Christian faith, take extra time to discern what’s being taught, and never follow blindly into any of it, for often, what seems innocent at first, leads you down a very dark path.
 
Art321 said:
I have been hearing about this “New Age” stuff for a while now. Can anyone please help me? What exactly is this? Is it a new religion?
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it is a return of pagan/occult ideas. The majority of it is a bunch of “spiritual power mongering” b.s. I wasted 13 years of my life delving into the deepest aspects of it and in the end I was driven to the edge of insanity. If jesus had not come into my life when he did I would now be either in jail, a nut house, a homeless drug addict or dead. stay away from it. all spiritual truth is found in the church.
 
jpk1313 said:
it is a return of pagan/occult ideas. The majority of it is a bunch of “spiritual power mongering” b.s. I wasted 13 years of my life delving into the deepest aspects of it and in the end I was driven to the edge of insanity. If jesus had not come into my life when he did I would now be either in jail, a nut house, a homeless drug addict or dead. stay away from it. all spiritual truth is found in the church.
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You’re partly right. It does include pagan and occult ideas (which have not driven me to insanity or death, Rhiannon be praised). It also includes a wide mishmash of Christian mysticism, Native American religion, Eastern and Hindu philosophies (often misapplied), all manner of pseudoscience (Atlantis, UFOlogy, etc) and self-help rackets. We pagans often say the difference between paganism and “New Age” is a decimal point. The guys offering to sell you a $1,500 “weekend intensive” sweat lodge/vision quest are the New Agers.
 
kenofken said:
You’re partly right. It does include pagan and occult ideas (which have not driven me to insanity or death, Rhiannon be praised). It also includes a wide mishmash of Christian mysticism, Native American religion, Eastern and Hindu philosophies (often misapplied), all manner of pseudoscience (Atlantis, UFOlogy, etc) and self-help rackets. We pagans often say the difference between paganism and “New Age” is a decimal point. The guys offering to sell you a $1,500 “weekend intensive” sweat lodge/vision quest are the New Agers.
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The reason why demon possession is on the rise lately is due to the increase in these religions, including paganism that are resurfacing. The pagan ones are really easy to spot, they worship the created, not the creator.
 
kenofken said:
You’re partly right. It does include pagan and occult ideas (which have not driven me to insanity or death, Rhiannon be praised). It also includes a wide mishmash of Christian mysticism, Native American religion, Eastern and Hindu philosophies (often misapplied), all manner of pseudoscience (Atlantis, UFOlogy, etc) and self-help rackets. We pagans often say the difference between paganism and “New Age” is a decimal point. The guys offering to sell you a $1,500 “weekend intensive” sweat lodge/vision quest are the New Agers.
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so these people are basically trying everything under the sun away from christianity to fill a void in their life with all this nonsense. If they would try Jesus, he would fill that big hole in their spirit.
 
kenofken said:
You’re partly right. It does include pagan and occult ideas (which have not driven me to insanity or death, Rhiannon be praised). It also includes a wide mishmash of Christian mysticism, Native American religion, Eastern and Hindu philosophies (often misapplied), all manner of pseudoscience (Atlantis, UFOlogy, etc) and self-help rackets. We pagans often say the difference between paganism and “New Age” is a decimal point. The guys offering to sell you a $1,500 “weekend intensive” sweat lodge/vision quest are the New Agers.
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Could you please explain this a bit more?
 
Honestly, it’s pretty, but it’s a big waste of time. I thought I was being rebellious and daring to explore Wicca, the occult, all things “new age,” etc. I spent nearly 20 years bouncing from one aspect of “paganism” to the next all the while wondering why none satisfied me.

I don’t regret exploring (well, except for the money spent on books, crystals, etc!), but I am so glad I somehow made my way back to Catholicism. I’m still making my way back slowly, but I AM BACK. I basically realized that everything I need is in God and the Church.
 
Angela, that is my cousins name, I haven’t heard from her since my mid childhood, she was taken away from a protestant cult or sorts.

Welcome home, all I can say, welcome home indeed!!! 👍👍👍
 
AngelaB39 said:
Honestly, it’s pretty, but it’s a big waste of time. I thought I was being rebellious and daring to explore Wicca, the occult, all things “new age,” etc. I spent nearly 20 years bouncing from one aspect of “paganism” to the next all the while wondering why none satisfied me.

I don’t regret exploring (well, except for the money spent on books, crystals, etc!), but I am so glad I somehow made my way back to Catholicism. I’m still making my way back slowly, but I AM BACK. I basically realized that everything I need is in God and the Church.
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Glad to have you back. Welcome home.
 
The “New Age” philosophy is gnosticism pure and simple. If you talk to these people they really don’t seem to know what they believe. It is based on “secret knowledge” that everyone pretends to have, but none actually possess. God is a vague “energy source” or “collective consciousness”, and yes, they basically worship creation rather than the Creator.
 
kempo1 said:
so these people are basically trying everything under the sun away from christianity to fill a void in their life with all this nonsense. If they would try Jesus, he would fill that big hole in their spirit.
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Well most started out as Christians and rather devout. In fact many leaders use to be highly devout Catholics. But many not only got nothing from it, they got told off for expecting anything out of it including feeling of the void. Rather these former Christians Catholic and non-Catholic were told to pay, prey and obey even if the void was still unfilled.
 
New Age is a rather generic term that encompasses a broad group of various beliefs. In a nutshell it is man-centered rather than God-centered. It is about creating your own reality. In most New Age groups you basically set yourself up as God, and everything evolves around you.
 
It is also important to mention that involvement with going to psychics, reading tarot cards, visiting “channelers”, meditation which focuses on “nothing”, and a myriad of other like things can open the door to serious problems with evil spirits.

A very good book called “Ransomed from Darkness” by Moira Noonan tells of a Catholic woman who got into these practices for many years, and how she got delivered and brought back to the Church through the intercession of our Blessed Mother.

I believe you can do a search on her name and come up with more information about “new age”.
 
JW55 said:
New Age is a rather generic term that encompasses a broad group of various beliefs. In a nutshell it is man-centered rather than God-centered. It is about creating your own reality. In most New Age groups you basically set yourself up as God, and everything evolves around you.
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And if they only realized that focusing on God, and God alone, all of these things they are seeking will be added to them. That he’s got your back in a far, far greater way then you could ever imagine. What we ask for pales in comparison to what he has in store for us. We cut ourselves short by merely thinking we want this or that, the only thing required of us is to trust him, to place our focus on his kingdom, and it all works in autopilot afterwards.
 
Dorothy said:
It is also important to mention that involvement with going to psychics, reading tarot cards, visiting “channelers”, meditation which focuses on “nothing”, and a myriad of other like things can open the door to serious problems with evil spirits.

A very good book called “Ransomed from Darkness” by Moira Noonan tells of a Catholic woman who got into these practices for many years, and how she got delivered and brought back to the Church through the intercession of our Blessed Mother.

I believe you can do a search on her name and come up with more information about “new age”.
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Thank you for the suggestion. It only makes me wonder. How did this movement even begin?
 
Art321 said:
Thank you for the suggestion. It only makes me wonder. How did this movement even begin?
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Hi.

What we call today “New Age” never really stopped. Here’s my take as an amateur historian.

As noted, the worship of false gods has been done for millennia. How this was done varied greatly and diversely through many lands and many cultures and languages. The Celts, say, had druidism. The Greeks had their Olympians. The Egyptians were all over the map. 🙂

As the prime Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) took hold, many of these beliefs of power from creation or false deities faded away, never to return as an actual faith (the Greek Olympians are one example).

But as our civilization’s power of communication increased through the mass dissemination of history (books, particularly), the old tales and records of what was practiced in antiquity had been read by new generations.

And like a toddler who learns one word and repeats it enthusiastically, some people latch on to this idea as a novelty (take the spiritualism movement at the turn of the 20th Century). Novelties, if given too much popularity without some kind of scientific or theological counter-balance, often become a new idea. Ideas sometimes become beliefs, and from beliefs, a pseudo-faith is born.

My opinion on what a true religion is that it requires the practitioner to see outside of himself, to submit to a power greater than themselves and to trust in the guidance of that power. A true religion is not self-serving; in fact, the actions of the practitioner may be more sacrificial than not to perform what is required. And, a true religion does not ask its followers to draw some inner well of mystical power to wield for themselves as if they were magical–as if they were gods themselves.

Many new-age beliefs seek to grasp control for oneself, to manipulate and wield power. Catholicism, on the other hand, leaves the control and the power to God, yet asks the follower to follow the will of God in the belief that His power knows what is best for others and oneself, whether God directly intervenes or empowers his follower to aid another.
 
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