Christians and the New Age Movement Since its conception and throughout its relevant short history Evangelical Christians have been the New Age Movement's staunchest opponents. The reason for this is that many of the New Era aims and philosophies bear strong similarities to Biblical prophesies about "end times" (shortly before Jesus' second coming to earth). Satanic conspiracy Exposed in bestseller In 1983, during a period of growth in the New Age Movement, Constance Cumbley, an advocate from Detroit in the USA, published a book entitled The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow - The New Age Movement and our Coming Age of Barbarism. In this book, which became a best-seller, Cumbley exposes the New Age Movement as a satanic conspiracy with the aim of enslaving the world to the rule of Satan. ABOVE: Benjamin Creme, one of several New Age leaders who publicly honoured Lucifer (Satan). Cumbley shows that many New Age leaders, including Alice Bailey and Benjamin Crème, as well as New Age organizations such as Lucis Trust (formerly known as Lucifer Publishing Trust), publicly honoured Lucifer (an alternative name for Satan) and even tried to deify him. Cumbley also points to clear similarities between the expected "avatar" - Maitreya - and the Antichrist (2 John 1:7-11 and 2 Thes 2:1-3) or "Beast" (Rev 13) that would first appear in the guise of peacemaker to misguide people and worship Satan. According to the prophesies in Revelations 13:18, "666" is "the mark of the Beast" - the same number that is often considered sacred by members of the New Age Movement and is used as such.
Society infiltrated Cumbley and many other Christian authors who have written about the New Age Movement since consider it bigger and better organised than would appear at first glance. It comprises various "orders" and the true leaders remain hidden in the background. Apparently the movement has thousands of organisations and front organisations that have infiltrated society on various levels - including governments, defence forces, educational systems, the media, various religions, international organizations and financial institutions. Cumbley warns that the New Age Movement is more advanced in its "demonically inspired aims" to establish a single global government, single monetary system and single world religion than most Christians think. Single monetary system Various international organisations, including the World Bank, the Trilateral Commission and the International Monetary Fund, have been campaigning for the introduction of a uniform trade and monetary system worldwide. European countries' adaptation from their national currencies to the euro is the first visible step in this direction. At the same time is obvious that the use of cash is fast becoming something of the past - especially taking into consideration the growing dangers of theft and the ease with which notes can be falsified. Worldwide more and more transactions are being made electronically and a total changeover to an electronic monetary system has been predicted for the near future. Against the background of the New Age Movement's intentions to implement a single global monetary system, these events are considered by many Christians as the fulfilment of prophesies in Revelations 13:16-17: "He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name." ABOVE: One of the New Age objectives is a global, cashless monetary system.
The "mark of the Beast" that is linked to the number 666 (Rev 13:18) is said to be an electronic disk similar to that of a credit card that will be inserted under the skin in the not-so-far-off future. Personal information (identity number, driver's license, bank account number etc) will be stored on this disk. When this is implemented, power over the masses will be complete. One world religion Although several New Age groups and other organisations are working towards greater cooperation between various religions, some observers say that the World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP) will eventually propagate the unification of all religions into a single belief system. This New York-based organisation, which has strong links with the United Nations, is the biggest international coalition of representatives from different world religions. ABOVE: Getting leaders from different religions to work together is one of the aims of the World Conference on Religion and Peace. The WCRP was founded in 1970 and is currently active in more than 40 countries. The organisation's aims are to serve as a forum for leaders from all religions and to address problems and challenges and share their hopes for the future. In reality, the organisation focuses more on addressing political conflicts, disarmament, development, ecology, human rights, children and families' rights and peace education. Similarity to Nazism An interesting aspect about New Age ideology exposed by Cumbley and others is a certain similarity to Nazism. Cumbley provides a list of similarities and alleges that the New Age Movement is nothing more that the "revival of Nazism". He compares the Arian Army of the Nazis - based on the occult - with the Arian doctrines of a "transformed mankind" found in New Age doctrines.
Cumbley refers to the writings of Alice Bailey in which she declares that Jewish people originated from another galaxy than Indo-Germanic tribes (Arians) and that the Asians and black people are direct descendants from prehistoric tribes. Thus, the Occidental races ruled the world because they are the most advanced race on earth. This doctrine shows strong similarities to Hitler's anti-semitic ideal of a superior Arian race. ABOVE: The New Age obsession with a transformed mankind can be seen as a continuation of Hitler s ideal of a superior Arian race. In his book Die Götter des New Age, published in 1994, Kratz demonstrates that most New Age doctrines are identical to the esoteric philosophies on which Fascism was propagated in Germany during the 1920s and 1930s. He even provides the names of various prominent figures in the German New Age Movement that were or are Nazis. Reaction of Christians In the two decades since Cumbley's book appeared, many similar books - varying in quality - appeared, exposing the dangers of the New Age Movements. Worldwide, preachers warned their congregations from the pulpit about the dangers of this movement. Christians reacted differently to these warnings. The majority of Evangelical Christians recognise the movement as a real effort of the powers of Satan to infiltrate and mislead not only society, but also the Christian Church. Many see it as proof that the world is nearing its end and that the Antichrist will make his appearance shortly in order to establish his (short) rule on earth, which will be followed by the second coming of Christ (and the final victory over Satan and his followers at Armageddon). In some instances groups and individuals went overboard in their attempts to stop the so-called "onslaught" of the New Age Movement, which resulted in the promulgation of some absurd and ridiculous conspiracy theories. Some also used the fears created by the New Age phenomona to manipulate believers for their own benefit. This resulted in some loss of credibility.
There are also many Christians who ignore these claims because they consider it exaggerated and ridiculous. Some members of the last group - mostly liberal theologians who propagate "alternative" interpretations of the Bible and its message even incorporate many New Age philosophies in their own theologies. An example of this is the Jesus Seminar, a small group of American theologians who - amongst other things - question the godliness of Jesus, his resurrection and many of his teachings as contained in the New Testament. ==========================================================================