Within my lifetime there has been a monumental change in the churches. In the last few decades New Age Eastern Mysticism and Gnosticism has entered a majority of Christian churches. It entered very slowly, like the analogy of a frog in a pot. When the pot is slowly brought to a boil with a live frog in the pot it has been observed that it will not jump out because it does not feel the changes in temperature until it is boiled to death. The “slow boil” of New Age brainwashing in the churches started a long time ago, but even in the last 20 years or so the changes are stark. None of the New Age practices I will mention could be found in most churches at that time, and would have been soundly dismissed as unbiblical and heretical. Many will ask, “Where has the New Age entered the churches?” All you have to do is think about it a little and you will see that many churches have adopted New Age teachings and ideas and “Christianized” them, when none of them can be found in the Bible.

Pantheism

Anointing “in” objects, cities, nations

Anointing/casting out demons “from” objects

Veneration of objects, used to visualize

Slain in the “spirit”

Drunkenness in the “spirit”

The Holy Spirit today in many, many churches is treated as a substance, an “it”, and a “force” instead of the Third Person of the Triune God. This “force” can be thrown around a room and pressed into people’s foreheads. Through slain in the spirit this “Holy Spirit” manifests itself by throwing people backwards to the floor and forcing them act against their will in drunkenness and animalistic ways. Those who claim this pantheistic spirit is the Holy Spirit say that it can also inhabit and manifest itself in objects, books, cities, nations, lands and buildings. They call this “the anointing”. Objects such as chairs, tables, and doors in a room are seen as needing to be ritually cleansed of demons and filled with this pantheistic spirit force. Objects are also used to help people visualize and pray such as banners, altars, pictures, etc. None of this is biblical, but rather New Age mysticism.

Synergy

Globalism

Dominionism/Save the planet

Churches are teaching that if we can just get enough people together to pray we can accomplish whatever we desire “for the Lord” and thus bring a golden age of Utopian peace and tranquility to this world. But this is based on New Age synergy, not biblical teaching. Many Christians today have a global ethic, talk about the global church of the world, claim they can save the planet through Rick Warren’s PEACE plan or some other such methodology, when the Bible does not command us to do any of that. We are to preach the Gospel and disciple all nations, not “overthrow” the governments and marketplaces of this world as C. Peter Wagner and thousands of New Apostolic Reformation teachers are teaching. They are teaching exactly what New Agers have taught for decades, and they are joining New Agers to accomplish these goals.

Contemplative Prayer/ Labyrinth

Visualization

Centering down

Many churches are already incorporating many New Age forms of “prayer” or meditation. Contemplative and labyrinth prayer and centering down are used to empty the mind and focus on self. Visualization is used to allegedly empty the body of evil and replace it with good. This is straight New Age teaching, not biblical, yet Richard Foster and others have successfully leavened this into many churches. The Bible tells us to pray to the Lord with our mind, body and spirit. We cannot be cleansed from evil by visualization techniques, only by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, our repentance from sin, and our believing and following Jesus.

Spiritual mapping

Spiritual mapping and other spiritual warfare methods used by New Agers are now being employed in the churches and missions because of teachings of John Dawson, C. Peter Wagner and a host of other heretics. Spiritual mapping is an occult technique used by witches and shaman for centuries.

Yoga

Martial arts

Yoga, martial arts, and dances formerly done to false gods are all being adopted into the churches. Rick Warren has spoken at conferences where both contemplative prayer and yoga were taught and practiced. You cannot teach these eastern mystical techniques without some of the philosophy of those techniques also being taught, and this is exactly what is happening. Christian Harfouche is a black belt in a martial art and teaches those concepts to his followers.

Repetitive music/mantra

Singing hymns and spiritual songs that worship the Lord has been replaced in many churches by repetitive Christian mantras that empty the mind and stir up the flesh. Christians dance around, clapping and raising their hands, emptying their minds of truth and filling it with rhythmic pulsing music that drowns out reason and replaces it with emotion. This is a New Age technique used by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and many other eastern mystics.

Automatic writing

Way back in high school a man came to our school and promoted a form of automatic writing as a good method of hearing from the Lord. We were told to read our Bibles then write down anything that came into our heads in a free flowing way. When some of the kids started being honest and writing down what truthfully came into their heads, the leadership of the school quickly abandoned the idea and told us it was not biblical after all. There are those today who say they are receiving messages from the Lord directly as he physically guides their hands to write. This is an occult technique. The Lord never did that in Scripture. He spoke to the prophets and they wrote down what He said, but He did not physically guide their hands. You might ask, “What about David?” David did state this:

1 Chronicles 28:19”All this,” David said, “I have in writing from the hand of the LORD upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan.”

God did not force David’s hand to write. The Holy Spirit came upon David and “gave him understanding” of the plans of God for the temple. This means that God spoke to David and David wrote those plans down. This is not automatic writing.

Interfaithism

New Agers are very interfaith in their outlook, and now many Christians have the same sensibilities. They have already crossed all denominational and “Christian” lines, and now they are finishing the process by crossing religious lines in order to bring together a New Age unity necessary for the enemy to carry out his purposes in the world. Christians think they are serving the purpose of love and unity, but they are really serving the purposes of the enemy. We only have “unity” with our brothers in the Lord through the unity of the Spirit and the unity of the Faith (doctrine).

Universalism

New Agers are also very universal in their views. They believe everyone will end up in a good place, wherever that is, and will not suffer judgment or evil. But the Bible is clear about the judgment to come and eternal punishment. Yet many Christians today are buying into this New Age idea that God is a good God therefore He will not punish anyone, at least not eternally. They believe that God will somehow save those who have never believed in the Gospel. Even Billy Graham has stated this many times. Yet how can God deny the sacrifice of His Son and His stated will by overruling Himself with regard to the criteria to enter the new heaven and the new earth? Would God nullify the death of His only Son? Universalism is ultimately a New Age idea.

Female deities

Astrology

Auras/personal prophecy

Portents/signs

Occult practices such as the worship and veneration of female deities have entered the churches, particularly because of the influence of the Catholics and their worship of Mary. Christians are giving psychic readings to one another, claiming it is “words of knowledge”. They see auras around people, or have some kind of “feeling” about them based on something they “give off”, and then give personal prophecies. They see portents and signs in every little thing in life. For instance, they may see a bird flying over and pooping on their windshield. The next thing you know they are getting up in church and telling people the Lord told them that the devil is going to attack the church. They use the stars and other portents factors to do their Christian psychic readings.700 Club and TBN use ideas that come into their heads to claim they are getting “words of knowledge”, then read unsubstantiated testimonies on air to try to justify themselves and raise money. Yet these are all New Age techniques unheard of a few decades ago.

Postmodernism/Relativism

Feelings based discernment

The churches have become relativistic and postmodern in trying to reach the world. They have become worldly in order to reach the world and cater to their “felt needs”. People like Rick Warren do surveys to find out what people want to hear and what they want out of church, instead of going to the Bible to find out what God wants. Relativism is very much a part of the New Age. It is their worldview of reality. Everything is based on how a person “feels” about the world around them. If it feels good it must be good so do it. If you feel bad, it must be bad so don’t do it. If you do what feels bad you may have to suffer the effects of bad karma. This has all entered the churches. The Bibles states this clearly. It says that in the times of Noah, and Judges and the end times people will “Do what is right in their own eyes.” We are fully there already. Christians are being taught to use their feelings as a way to discern truth, when that is one of the worst way to test for truth.

by Sandy Simpson For Deception In The Church