New Agey Christianity, part 2

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1 John 1:9

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

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Last week’s Sunday Substack, “New Agey Christianity,” seems to have been right on target with many of my readers. The many comments were very good and insightful. I’m going to use a few as a jumping-off point for this week’s substack.

Meditation

Meditation is defined as a practice focused on interactions between the brain, mind, body, and behavior, containing four key elements: a quiet location with few distractions, a comfortable posture, a focus of attention, and an open attitude. 

Meditation practices can be found in Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam. Some people practice meditation independent of any religion but are likewise looking for a sense of peace and insightfulness offered through practice.

According to The Christian Post, there are several varieties of meditation. Here are the six of the major ones:

• Mindfulness Meditation originates from Buddhist teachings and instructs participants to pay attention to their thoughts without judgment or engaging them

• Focused Meditation involves one using any of their five senses to focus their attention on something internal.

• Mantra Meditation is linked to Hindu and Buddhist traditions and involves using repetitive sounds, such as the popular “om” in hopes of clearing the participant's mind.

• Transcendental Meditation is labeled one of the most popular forms of meditation. It was founded by an Indian guru and is reportedly the most studied type of meditation by scientists. Similar to mantra meditation but more specific, it’s based on different factors that can include someone’s birth year or gender.

• Movement Meditation is linked to yoga. This practice can include walking, gardening, or other forms of light motion in which the movement guides.

• Spiritual Meditation can be linked to Christianity because reflects developing a deeper connection with God.

In Christianity, meditation is learning how to listen to what God is saying in his Word. This is different from prayer, where we are speaking to God. – communing with him – as we hear from him, and as we apply his Word to our lives.

The Bible has many references to meditating on God and on His word, especially in the psalms. Here are a few examples:

Psalm 49:3

My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

Psalm 119:15-16

I will meditate on Your precepts and fix my eyes on Your ways. I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

Psalm 145:5

On the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works, I will meditate.

It becomes pretty clear, pretty fast, that this type of meditation is completely different from the types that call on the person to “empty your mind and become one with the Universe.”

Hirelings in the Pulpit

Unfortunately, many, if not most, pastors today are employees of the church that they serve. Perhaps they went into the ministry because it was a family heritage. Or because they have an idealized view of the lifestyle and the role they would have in a community. When the elders of the church become an employer, similar to a local business, instead of looking for a man who is truly called by God, who will teach the Scriptures and shepherd the people, they will choose a charismatic “performer” who will fill the pews and assure that the church meets its budget.

When a pastor is not a shepherd of his people, if he is not willing to use every scripture God has breathed for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness  (see 2 Timothy 3:16-17). He has a job. He is what is referred to as a hireling.

What is a hireling? Jesus described that person this way:

“But a hireling - he who is not the shepherd – is one who does not own the sheep. He sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. And the wolf snatches them and scatters the flock. The hireling flees because he is merely hired help and does not care about the sheep.” (John 10:12)

In the original Greek, hireling means “someone who has been hired to provide labor or some other service in return for money or some other materialistic benefit.” When difficult decisions are to be made, instead of using the Bible as the guiding light, they satisfy their worldly master... or back out and literally flee.  

One of the comments from last week stated this, “A local Congregational church in Maine actually taught the use of Tarot cards from the pulpit. The teaching was well received by the congregation.”

How much did this person, who was called a pastor and was supposed to be led by God, know what the Bible says about divination tools?

This is similar to many of the activities of Israel before their final exile to Babylon. The King of Assyria had brought thousands of captives from across the region to live in the land of the Israelites. They worshipped the gods from their respective regions and God’s people fell into their evil practices, including burning their children alive. But the people hedged their bets: (2 Kings 17:33)

They feared the Lord and served their own gods, according to the custom of the nations from among whom they had been carried away into exile.

As I said in the previous substack, as long as they said they said they “believed” in Jehovah, these other spiritual practices are just warm, fuzzy, ‘value-added’ practices. What if Baal’s promises were missed by not worshiping that god too?

I cannot for the life of me imagine a pastor who was a true man of God would use tarot cards from the pulpit. Woe be unto him!

Losing Friends

Several people left comments last week like this:

>I’m sorry I have lost friends for standing up to some of these very “slippery” practices. 

>I have lost friends when I embraced Christianity.

Let’s go straight to the Word over this:

• Luke 6:22-23: Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven.

• 1 Peter 4:13: But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

But when we are rebuked and excluded by our friends and/or family because of Christ, we do not feel like rejoicing! We feel hurt, betrayed, and even abandoned.  We dwell on our losses and disappointments, trying to figure out how to ‘make it right.’

But from the Lord’s perspective, we could not be in a better place. We have held fast to Him, our first love. We have shown, maybe to ourselves for the first time, that we no longer live to please people but to please God. This is cause for rejoicing.

Jesus says to “leap for joy” when we are rejected for his sake. He meets us in that low place and fills us with joy. Our suffering finds favor with God (1 Peter 2:20). He blesses us because of our choice, and one day, if not in this life, the Next, He will reward us.

Today’s prayer

Heavenly Father, we praise You for Your awesome power. Lord, we want to be a vessel of honor for You. Please cleanse us from all that is dishonorable and an abomination in Your sight. Remove anything from our lives that may prevent us from being a reflection of You and Your kingdom. Remove all new age divinations that are sin, and appear to be the ‘bright and shinies’ that us draw us away from You. We lay all of our mistakes at Your feet. Fill us with a passion for Your word. Mold us, transform us, and sanctify us for Your purpose. Help each of us to demonstrate the fruit of the spirit. Let be a light unto You, showing others they need to spend their time with, and not with dangerous practices of this world. We praise You, we give thanks to You, we love You in the best way we know how. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.