Published by - New Oxford Review,July-August 2000, pp. 19-31
SECTION 2 of 6
TEACHINGS of THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT
What, then, do the New Age prophets teach? Let Helena PetrovnaBlavatsky,Alice Bailey, Robert Muller, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Neale Donald Walsch,David Spangler, and Matthew Fox speak for themselves - and for themotleycrew of "spirit guides," "ascended masters," and "cosmic Christs" whomthey serve.
The avatars of the New Age say that humanity is God, and that thereis no death. Hubbard states the creed of the Serpent succinctly: "Weareimmortal. We are not bound by the limits of the body" and "We cancreatenew life forms and new worlds. We are gods!" Walsch, who claims in hisbest-selling book to converse directly with "God" says the same: "TrustGod. Or if you wish, trust yourself, for Thou Art God." The "God" withwhom Walsch converses denies death, saying, "There is no 'death.' Lifegoes on forever and ever. Life Is. You simply change form." Baileysaid,"We are all Gods...." These avatars repeat the lies that the Devil toldin Eden: "You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it youreyes will be opened and you will be like God..." (Gen. 3:4-5). As adevoteeof Walsch's recently told the Washington Post, "We discovered the Godwithin....That's why we need God. Because we are God."
Since we are gods, there is no need for Christ to save us. Instead,as Hubbard says, "Multitudes of self-saviors is what we are, for thosewho have eyes to see." New Age teachers invert Christian doctrine aboutsin, the Devil, and the Fall. Hubbard says, "The serpent symbolizes anirresistible [sic] energy that is leading us toward life ever-evolving.First the serpent tempted Eve to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of GoodandEvil.... Then self-awareness came." She adds, "Evil - the devil - isevolution'sselection process that constantly weeds out the weaker from thestronger."A spirit that identified itself to Hubbard as "Jesus" told her to "loveSatan, my fallen brother."(2) Walsch's "God" says that Adam and Eve"aresaid to have committed Original Sin. I tell you this: it was theOriginalBlessing. For without this event, the partaking of the knowledge ofgoodand evil, you would not even know the two possibilities existed!"Blavatskyspoke most plainly: "The Fall was the result of man's knowledge, forhis'eyes were opened.' Indeed, he was taught Wisdom and the hiddenknowledgeby the 'Fallen Angel.'"
These New Age teachings lead inexorably to the praise of Darkness.Walsch'sstatement that God is "the Darkness that creates the Light, and makesitpossible" mirrors Blavatsky's dictum that "According to the tenets ofEasternOccultism, DARKNESS is the one true actuality, the basis and the rootoflight.... Light is matter, and DARKNESS, pure Spirit." (3) Alice Baileylikewise says that those who learn to meditate will see that "darknessis pure spirit." Followers of Bailey's New Age path will find, shesays,that "each contact with the Initiator leads the initiate closer to thecentre of pure darkness...a centre or point of such intense brilliancethat everything fades out and...at that darkest point...[is seen] apointof clear cold fire." (4) Perhaps Dante was right when he described thecenter of Hell as ice.
Theosophists make it clear that in the contest between God and theDevil,they side with the Devil. Blavatsky says, "It is but natural...to viewSatan, the Serpent of Genesis, as the real creator and benefactor, theFather of Spiritual mankind. For it is he who was the 'Harbinger ofLight,'bright radiant Lucifer, who opened the eyes of the automaton created byJehovah." (5) According to Alice Bailey, the fallen angels "descendedfromtheir sinless and free state of existence in order to develop fulldivineawareness upon earth." Spangler, like Blavatsky, praises Lucifer as"theangel of man's evolution. He is the angel of man's inner light." (6) G.K. Chesterton warns those who wander after this will-o'-the-wisp: "Ofallconceivable forms of enlightenment the worst is what these people callthe Inner Light. Of all the horrible religions the most horrible is theworship of the god within.... That Jones shall worship the god withinhimturns out ultimately to mean that Jones shall worship Jones."
Alice Bailey denies Hell and Christ's atonement for man's sin;instead,"the concept of hell" will be replaced by "an understanding of the lawwhich makes each man work out his salvation upon the physical plane,whichleads him to right the wrongs which he may have perpetrated in hisliveson Earth, and which enables him eventually to 'clean his own slate.'"Whata rotten deal Bailey offers! Instead of being saved and forgiventhroughChrist's death and Resurrection, we are left with the unforgiving lawofkarma and the requirement to right all the wrongs of all our past livesourselves.
As might be expected from a man who has channeled "a disembodiedentity"for 20 years, Spangler says, "Christ is the perfect balance toLucifer."7 Like Matthew Fox, Spangler proposes to replace Jesus with the "cosmicChrist"; "any old Christ will not do, not if we need to show that wehavesomething better than the mainstream Christian traditions. It must be acosmic Christ, a universal Christ, a New Age Christ.... The Christ isuniversal.It is cosmic. It always has been." Note the pronoun: Spangler callsChrist"it."
New Age writers follow the Gnostic tradition, denying that birth,life,and the body are good. Walsch says, "Birth itself is a death, and deatha birth. For in birth, the soul finds itself constricted within theawfullimitations of a body, and at death escapes those constrictions again."This is, almost word for word, what Alice Bailey wrote: "Birthestablishesthe soul in the true prison, and physical death is only the first steptoward liberation."
Denial of the goodness of the body leads to giving a "get out ofHellfree" card to Hitler. As Walsch says, "Hitler went to heaven," and"Thereis no hell, so there is no place else for him to go." After all,accordingto Walsch's "God," Hitler was doing his victims a favor by killingthem;his deeds were "mistakes," not crimes: "The mistakes Hitler made did noharm or damage to those whose deaths he caused. Those souls werereleasedfrom their earthly bondage, like butterflies emerging from a cocoon....When you see the utter perfection in everything - not just in thosethingswith which you agree, but (and perhaps especially) those things withwhichyou disagree - you achieve mastery." The price of "mastery" is to see"utterperfection" in Auschwitz and Treblinka. "John," the disembodied spiritwhich Spangler has channeled for over 20 years, likewise said, "Wenaturallydo not identify life with the physical body, consequently, to us, thelossof your physical form is not a tragedy.... The death of millions ofpeoplein itself is not a tragedy for us, for it simply means their birth intoour domains."
Walsch's "God" says that Hitler does not deserve blame for his acts- the rest of humanity is responsible for allowing them to happen: "Thepurpose of the Hitler Experience was to show humanity to itself."Walsch's"God" repeats what Bailey said in 1939, as World War II began: "Blamenotthe personalities involved.... They are only the product of the pastandthe victims of the present. At the same time, they are the agents ofdestiny,the creators of the new order and the initiators of the newcivilisation;they are the destroyers of what must be destroyed before humanity cangoforward along the Lighted Way. They are the embodiment of thepersonalityof humanity. Blame yourselves, therefore, for what is todaytranspiring."A similar argument has been common for a generation in Americancourtrooms:The criminal is not accountable for his evil deeds; instead "society" -everybody else - is guilty.
The New Age philosophers define evil as matter, selfishness, and therefusal to embrace change. Bailey says, "The domination of spirit
(and its reflection, soul) by matter is what constitutes evil"; atthe human level "the true nature of cosmic evil finds its majorexpression"in
"materialistic selfishness and the sense of isolated separativeness."Spangler has a similar definition of evil. It "cannot abide change" or
"complexity," is "fixated upon its sense of particularity," "is thedimension of separation," and "abhors diversity and seeks conformityand
sameness." This is the same way that some liberals in politics andthe churches describe those who are not "PC."
For New Age teachers, spiritual growth is not the fruit of taking upthe Cross and following Christ. Instead, as Hubbard says, "Your highestspiritual beings, even now, are telling you that each of you has accessto an inner teacher.... They tell you that through a process called'initiation,'you can transform yourself into an 'ascended master.'" Perhaps"initiation"is more dangerous than Hubbard lets on, for Bailey says, "each contactwith the Initiator leads the initiate closer to the centre of puredarkness."Walsch's "God" does not favor obedience to the Christian God's will:"Obedienceis not growth, and growth is what I desire." Walsch's "God" told him:"There'sno such thing as the Ten Commandments.... God's Law is No Law."Instead,this alternative is offered: "If you are to evolve, it will not bebecauseyou've been able to successfully deny yourself things you know 'feelgood,'but because you've granted yourself these pleasures...." As a result,Walsch's"God" approves of sexual activity by children and teenagers. Hubbardsays,"The break-up of the 20th century procreative family structure is...needed...."For the sake of the Divine Self, Walsch denounces fidelity and marriagevows: "Betrayal of yourself in order not to betray another is Betrayalnonetheless. It is the Highest Betrayal." Indeed, family members whowon'tmove into the New Age should be left behind. Hubbard says, "if membersof our family choose to remain where they are, we have no moralobligationto suppress our own potential on their behalf. In fact the suppressionof potential is...'immoral'...." And once our bodies, minds, and soulsare drained dry by free sex and trafficking with the spirit world, weoughtto choose to die. As Hubbard says, "When we feel that our creativityhasrun its course, we gracefully choose to die. In fact, it seemsunethicaland foolish to live on."
Hubbard rewrites the Lord's Prayer, making it a hymn to the DivineSelf:"Our Father/Mother God... Which Art In Heaven... Hallowed Be OurName...Our Kingdom Is Come... Our Will Is Done...," and ending with, "For OursIs The Kingdom, Ours The Power, Ours The Glory, For Ever And Ever.Amen."
Bibliography for SECTION 2
NOTE: Internetdocument citations are based on researchdone between September 1997 and January 2000. Web citations wereaccurateas of the time that each Web page was accessed. However, somedocumentsmay since have been moved to a different Web site, or they may havebeenremoved entirely from the Web.
[32] Barbara Marx Hubbard,Conscious Evolution: Awakening thePower of Our Social Potential, New World Library, Novato, California,1998,ISBN 1-57731-016-0, p. 212
[33] Barbara Marx Hubbard, The Revelation: A Message of Hopefor the New Millennium, Nataraj Publishing, Novato, CA, 1995, ISBN1-882591-21-6,p. 312
[34] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: An UncommonDialogue, Book 3, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1998; ISBN1-57174-103-8;p. 350
[35] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: An UncommonDialogue, Book 2, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1997; ISBN1-57174-056-2;p. 40
[36] Alice A. Bailey, The Reappearance of the Christ, LucisPublishing Company, New York, 1948; ISBN 0-85330-114-X, p. 9
[37] Hanna Rosin, "Beyond 2000: Many Shape Unique Religionsat Home," Washington Post, January 18, 2000, p. A1
[38] Barbara Marx Hubbard, The Book of Co-Creation Part II -The Promise Will Be Kept: The Gospels, The Acts, the Epistles,Foundationfor Conscious Evolution, San Rafael, California, 1993 (privatelypublished),p. 143
[39] David Spangler, Reflections on the Christ, Findhorn LectureSeries, 3rd ed., 1981; ISBN 0-905249-52-6, p. 54
[40] David Spangler, Towards a Planetary Vision, FindhornPublications,2nd ed. 1980; ISBN 0-905249-49-6, p. 75
[41] Barbara Marx Hubbard, The Book of Co-Creation Part II -The Promise Will Be Kept: The Gospels, The Acts, the Epistles,Foundationfor Conscious Evolution, San Rafael, California, 1993 (privatelypublished),p. 172
[42] Barbara Marx Hubbard, Happy Birth Day Planet Earth: TheInstant of Co-Operation, Ocean Tree Books, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1986;ISBN 0-943734-08-8; p. 22
[43] Barbara Marx Hubbard, The Revelation: A Message of Hopefor the New Millennium, Nataraj Publishing, Novato, CA, 1995, ISBN1-882591-21-6,p. 187
[44] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: An UncommonDialogue, Book 2, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1997; ISBN1-57174-056-2;p. 57
[45] H. P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine: The Synthesis ofScience, Religion, and Philosophy, Vol. II - Anthropogenesis,TheosophicalUniversity Press, 1970, "Verbatim with the Original Edition, 1888," p.513
[46] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: An UncommonDialogue, Book 3, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1998; ISBN1-57174-103-8;pp. 10-11
[47] H. P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine: The Synthesis ofScience, Religion, and Philosophy, Vol. I - Cosmogenesis, TheosophicalUniversity Press, 1970, "Verbatim with the Original Edition, 1888," p.70
[48] Alice A. Bailey, The Rays and the Initiations: Volume V,A Treatise on the Seven Rays, 1960, Lucis Publishing Company, New York,ISBN 0-85330-122-0, p. 174
[49] Alice A. Bailey, The Rays and the Initiations: Volume V,A Treatise on the Seven Rays, 1960, Lucis Publishing Company, New York,ISBN 0-85330-122-0, p. 174
[50] H. P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine: The Synthesis ofScience, Religion, and Philosophy, Vol. II - Anthropogenesis,TheosophicalUniversity Press, 1970, "Verbatim with the Original Edition, 1888," p.243
[51] Alice A. Bailey, The Externalisation of the Hierarchy,1957, Lucis Publishing Company, New York, ISBN 0-85330-106-9; p. 118
[52] David Spangler, Reflections on the Christ, Findhorn LectureSeries, 3rd ed., 1981; ISBN 0-905249-52-6, p. 37
[53] David Spangler, Reflections on the Christ, Findhorn LectureSeries, 3rd ed., 1981; ISBN 0-905249-52-6, p. 45
[54] David Spangler, Reflections on the Christ, Findhorn LectureSeries, 3rd ed., 1981; ISBN 0-905249-52-6, p. 44
[55] David Spangler, Reflections on the Christ, Findhorn LectureSeries, 3rd ed., 1981; ISBN 0-905249-52-6, p. 45
[56] G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, Image Books, 1959, ISBN0-385-01536-4,p. 76[57] Alice A. Bailey, The Externalisation of the Hierarchy,1957, Lucis Publishing Company, New York, ISBN 0-85330-106-9; p. 603
[58] Alice A. Bailey, Esoteric Healing - Volume IV: A Treatiseon the Seven Rays, Lucis Publishing Company, New York, 1953, p. 393
[59] Barbara Marx Hubbard, The Book of Co-Creation Part II -The Promise Will Be Kept: The Gospels, The Acts, the Epistles,Foundationfor Conscious Evolution, San Rafael, California, 1993 (privatelypublished),p. 246
[60] Robert Muller, New Genesis: Shaping a Global Spirituality,World Happiness and Cooperation, P.O. Box 1153, Anacortes, Washington98221,1993, ISBN 1-880455-04-8, p. 191
[61] J. Gordon Melton, Jerome Clark, Aidan A. Kelly, New AgeEncyclopedia, Gale Research Inc., Detroit, First Edition, ISSN1047-2746;p. 428
[62] David Spangler, Reflections on the Christ, Findhorn LectureSeries, 3rd ed., 1981; ISBN 0-905249-52-6, pp. 39-40
[63] David Spangler, Reflections on the Christ, Findhorn LectureSeries, 3rd ed., 1981; ISBN 0-905249-52-6, p. 107
[64] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: An UncommonDialogue, Book 3, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1998; ISBN1-57174-103-8;p. 201
[65] Alice A. Bailey, Esoteric Healing - Volume IV: A Treatiseon the Seven Rays, Lucis Publishing Company, New York, 1953, pp.392-393
[66] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: An UncommonDialogue, Book 2, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1997; ISBN1-57174-056-2;p. 35
[67] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: An UncommonDialogue, Book 2, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1997; ISBN1-57174-056-2;p. 42
[68] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: An UncommonDialogue, Book 2, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1997; ISBN1-57174-056-2;p. 42
[69] David Spangler, "Excerpts from Conversations With John,"Internet document, http://www.oz.net/jz/spiritaa.html, p. 5
[70] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: An UncommonDialogue, Book 2, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1997; ISBN1-57174-056-2;p. 54
[71] Alice A. Bailey, The Externalisation of the Hierarchy,1957, Lucis Publishing Company, New York, ISBN 0-85330-106-9, p. 135
[72] Alice A. Bailey, The Rays and the Initiations: Volume V,A Treatise on the Seven Rays, 1960, Lucis Publishing Company, New York,ISBN 0-85330-122-0, p. 144
[73] Alice A. Bailey, The Rays and the Initiations: Volume V,A Treatise on the Seven Rays, 1960, Lucis Publishing Company, New York,ISBN 0-85330-122-0, p. 753
[74] David Spangler, Reimagination of the World: A Critiqueof the New Age, Science, and Popular Culture: The Chinook SummerConferencesof David Spangler and William Irwin Thompson, July 1988 and 1989; Bear& Company Publishing, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1991; ISBN0-939680-92-0,p. 132
[75] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: An UncommonDialogue, Book 3, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1998; ISBN1-57174-103-8;p. 9
[76] Barbara Marx Hubbard, The Revelation: A Message of Hopefor the New Millennium, Nataraj Publishing, Novato, CA, 1995, ISBN1-882591-21-6,p. 281
[77] Alice A. Bailey, The Rays and the Initiations: Volume V,A Treatise on the Seven Rays, 1960, Lucis Publishing Company, New York,ISBN 0-85330-122-0, p. 174
[78] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: An UncommonDialogue, Book 2, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1997; ISBN1-57174-056-2;p. 98
[79] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: An UncommonDialogue, Book 2, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1997; ISBN1-57174-056-2;p. 79
[80] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: An UncommonDialogue, Book 2, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1997; ISBN1-57174-056-2;p. 167
[81] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: An UncommonDialogue, Book 2, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1997; ISBN1-57174-056-2;p. 105
[82] Barbara Marx Hubbard, Conscious Evolution: Awakening thePower of Our Social Potential, New World Library, Novato, California,1998,ISBN 1-57731-016-0, p. 208
[83] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: An UncommonDialogue, Book 2, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1997; ISBN1-57174-056-2;p. 97
[84] Barbara Marx Hubbard, The Book of Co-Creation Part II -The Promise Will Be Kept: The Gospels, The Acts, the Epistles,Foundationfor Conscious Evolution, San Rafael, California, 1993 (privatelypublished),p. 60
[85] Barbara Marx Hubbard, Conscious Evolution: Awakening thePower of Our Social Potential, New World Library, Novato, California,1998,ISBN 1-57731-016-0, p. 205
[86] Barbara Marx Hubbard, The Revelation: A Message of Hopefor the New Millennium, Nataraj Publishing, Novato, CA, 1995, ISBN1-882591-21-6,pp. 313-314; the ellipses represent Hubbard's explanation of eachphraseof her prayer, and the italics in the prayer are as given in theoriginaltext.
[87] Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: An UncommonDialogue, Book 3, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1998; ISBN1-57174-103-8;p. 366
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