Answers For The New Age

    Before I start this post let me ask you this. Are you following me?  I mean, have you clicked follow located in the side bar?. That is the only way you can get a fullness of my postings.
     So if you are following you have the question, Yah, I know you are trying to say it is pervasive, this New Age philosophy. And since that is so, just how do I answer them?
     Let me give you some ideas. Since there are many different answers given when you ask them what they teach... remember, it accepts all religions as being one.-- you need to realize some answers to their belief.
    When you ask about the Trinity they may tell you "He is not one individual, but an energy gestalt" In other words, God is not a Trinity but an impersonal energy field who is a sum of its parts.
     This is a Hindu concept. Both Christianity  and Judaism hold this answer in abomination. We both see God as a personal, benevolent, and loving Deity who is immanent within His creation but not part of. it.He is transcendent. Both halves of the book validate this. "Hear O Israel:, The Lord our God, the Lord is one."
    Jesus Christ to the New Age was just an avitar. To the Christian He  is "The Living God, who is the savior of all men,especially of those who believe." I Timothy 4:10."Even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles." John 10:38
    As to the doctrine of man they see man born into this world both good and divine  in his nature. Salvation thus depends upon his looking inward at his spiritual nature and recognizing he is a god.
   As you are aware, the Bible sees man differently. He is a sinner who has transgressed the law of God . There is nothing divine inside him. He needs a savior. "I have not come," said Jesus, "to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." Matthew 9:13.
    "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23 
    When it comes to a doctrine of  Judgement, Heaven and Hell, the New Age has a doctrine of reincarnation. No judgement because you are coming back.
    There is a judgement spoken of in the Bible. There will come a day when all will appear before the throne of God and rewarded or condemned for what they have done.
    The New Age has Karma and that seems to be the closest they come to Hell.
     They are cute when they deal with  evil. They say, " It is important to see that Lucifer, as I am using the term, described an angel, a being, a great mighty planetary conciousness. It does not describe the popular thought form of satan who leads man down the path of sin and wrongdoing...Man is his own satan just as man is his own salvation." David Spangler.  Satan thus becomes the "other dark side of the Force".
    Stay with me. It is getting interesting (if it hasn't before. All this is interesting)  Follow me and keep informed. Post comments. I will read and respond. Sometimes in a new posting.

Change in Thought

    Western thought began in the Greek culture many many years ago. A long time ago. It can be traced back to Socates, Plato, Aristole. They saw the universe as having a purpose and a plan for being.
   Judaism and Christianity added to thier belief system the teaching of the Bible. There was an energetic and rational  God behind it. A God who created the universe. There was a law giver. This was a basis for science because there were laws in nature. Man believed in the God of the Bible.
   That was the Western view. Over in the East the view was different. Their view tended to be that all things that exist in the universe, including man, are of no importance and therefore are temporary.Only the realm that was outside the world exists. They saw that the only way to reach it is to deny the world around them.
      Japan  and China have made some scentific progress since they have adopted some Western thought
    . But I am not looking at science here. In this blog and in this posting I wish to lok at Hinduism. It had its beginning in the Indus valley. The teachings can be found in their sacred writing, the Vedas They see these as "Revealed Wisdom".
    . For them they can go back to  about 2000 B.C. They have many gods who can cause death and disaster. In their sytem they have Brahmans or priests. They have become a high social class.
   They see the  Vedas as teaching that four classes of people came from the head, the arms, the thighs, and the feet of the creator god, Brama. The four classes then became the Brahman or priest, the Kshastriya or warrior and nobleman, and the  Vaishya which is the peasant, and lastly the Shudra or slave.
     There are four stages and four goals to be attained. But not for the girls. They are considered worthless.
     The stages are initiation, and after initiation he is considered "Twice-Born"  Now he has to go through four stages.

• Student
• Head of a house with wife and children
• A meditating hermit seeking enlightenment
• A homeless wanderer

    From here he is given four goals.

1. To become righteous and virtuous
2. To have material goods
3. To enjoy life through love, pleasure, and appreciation of beauty
4. To have spiritual victory over life

   And we must not forget reincarnation. You get another chance to get it right.
   
    This makes man himself god.

    The Bible that the Christian has says there is no second chance. "It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgement." No reincarnation.

   Stay with me. We are getting there. How are you? Any comments or questions? 
   Actually Hinduism is a philkosophy not a theology.