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What happens when you pull your foot out of a tub of water? Does a
foot-shaped hole remain? No--the water rushes in to fill the void. A
similar thing happens when true beliefs about God no longer occupy a
person's thoughts and activities. An emptiness demands to be filled.
And the vacuum tends to draw in all the false views and notions that
come along.
The popularity of New Age ideas in this
scientific age is amazing. What moved out--or was pushed out--so
those ideas could move in? In part, because of perversions of true
biblical faith and practice, some people have gotten a warped view of
what it means to be a follower of Christ. As a result, they have
turned away from Him.
One force behind the rise of New Ageism is a
disillusionment with godless humanism, which offers no hope or
purpose. This, along with humanity's inclination to reject the truth
(Rom. 1:18-32) and the power of Satan to delude people's minds (Gen.
3:1-5; John 8:44; 2 Cor. 11:14,15), has created ideal conditions for
New Age ideas to flourish.
What's wrong with the followers of Christ?
What the apostle Paul saw occurring in the early church has continued
to happen up to the present. In 2 Corinthians 11:2-4, Paul told the
Corinthians,
For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy.
For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a
chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent
deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from
the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches
another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a
different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel
which you have not accepted, you may well put up with it.
During most of its history, the church has
been anything but the "chaste virgin" of Christ that God
intended her to be (2 Cor. 11:2). The first-century church in Ephesus
left her "first love" (Rev. 2:1-7). The church in Sardis
became spiritually dead (Rev. 3:1-6). The church in Laodicea became
lukewarm (Rev. 3:14-22).
In addition, from the time of Constantine
onward, large branches of the church have often maintained an unholy
alliance with the state. This corrupt institutional church has
encouraged such evils as the horrors of the Crusades, the wars of the
Reformation period, the Inquisition, and the witch-hunting craze.
Because official Christendom has often been on
the side of injustice, atheistic ideologies such as communism and
secular humanism have attracted millions who otherwise would probably
not have given them a hearing. Even in our day, official Christendom
can seem more interested in buildings and bank balances than in
caring for the spiritual and physical needs of the world. Such
practices have hurt the reputation of Christ and given people an
excuse to look for a more satisfying alternative.
Aren't many believers faithfully living out
their faith? Yes they are. But unfortunately, mankind's rebellious,
fallen nature would rather focus on the failures of those who claim
to follow Christ. It's easy to overlook the role that devout
believers have played in science, the abolition of slavery, the
emancipation of women, and the promotion of human dignity.
Unbelievers would rather criticize imperfect Christians than
acknowledge their personal guilt and need of a Savior.
The church founded by Christ (Matt. 16:18,19)
is still alive today. It continues to manifest vibrant
faith--especially in places where believers have been persecuted. The
fact remains, however, that the failings of the church have been an
important cause for the rise of New Age teaching.
What has happened to secular humanism? The
other prominent option for modern mankind has been secular humanism.
It can be defined as the philosophy of life that assumes that God and
the spirit world are myths, that the physical, material universe is
all there is, and that mankind and the entire universe are the chance
product of evolution. According to this view, mankind is merely a
complicated machine, life is ultimately purposeless, and terms like
right and wrong become relative. The insufficiency of this and other
atheistic ideologies has been an important factor in the rise of New
Age thinking.
Although secular humanism and atheistic
communism have been powerful forces, they have also helped to create
a spiritual void. By teaching that mankind is the product of chance
evolution, they have convinced several generations to think of
themselves as hopeless wanderers on a fearful voyage through an
immense and indifferent universe.
These atheistic idealists have tried to
conceal the ultimate hopelessness of their world-view by stealing
some of the terminology and trappings of biblical faith. They speak,
for example, of the "rights" of man and of the
"purpose" of life. But modern people are becoming
increasingly conscious of the shallowness and emptiness of these
philosophies.
What difference can we make? Humanism cannot
fill the spiritual vacuum that every human being is born with.
Neither can the religions of the East as practiced in the past. New
Age teachers claim to hold the answers, but only those who know Jesus
as Savior and Lord have the true answers. We cannot afford to be
silent. We need to proclaim the biblical truth about God, spiritual
realities, and the meaning of life.
The apostle Paul spoke out when he met with
the leading thinkers of the first-century city of Athens (Acts
17:16-34). The city was full of idols and altars, including an altar
"to an unknown god." Paul presented the God of the Bible as
the One true God, the Creator. He told them that God had revealed
Himself through Jesus Christ.
If we are to help our searching world today,
we too must boldly proclaim Christ. We must take seriously the
instructions of Jesus to be the salt of the earth and the light of
the world (Matt. 5:13-16). If people are going to listen to our
message, we must put our Christianity into action, living truthfully,
exhibiting true joy, making a difference in our world by improving
conditions, battling injustice, and proclaiming the true gospel of
Christ.
Curtis
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