Dear Crosswalkers,
In his book Bad Religion, author Ross Douthat examines the core beliefs of America's wave of "spiritual but not religious" teachers such as Deepak Chopra, James Redfield, Eckhart Tolle, Paulo Coelho, Neale Donald Walsch, Oprah Winfrey, and Elizabeth Gilbert (the author of Eat, Pray, Love). Douthat claims that their "creed" shares four essential beliefs. Unfortunately, many churches and followers of Jesus have "bought in" to this pop spirituality. Why? Because it is easy and caters to our self centered nature. I've listed the four core beliefs of America's spiritual culture below, with a few points comments and Scriptures to refute them:
1) All organized religions offer only partial glimpses of God (or Light or Being). Thus, we must seek to experience God through feeling rather than reason, experience rather than dogma, a direct encounter rather than a hand-me-down revelation. As Neal Donald Walsch writes in his book Conversations with God, "Listen to your feelings. Listen to your Highest Thought …. Whenever any of these differ from what you've been told by your teachers, or read in your books, forget the words."
Really? In our study of Mark's gospel, Jesus said this:
“It is what comes from inside that defiles you.For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you” (Mark 7:20-23 NLT). And then how about Proverbs 14:12 (ESV) - There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Far from listening to our feelings, we need to listen to God speaking his truth into our feelings!
2) God is everywhere and within everything—especially within you. You can encounter God by getting in touch with the divinity that resides inside your very self and soul. At the climax of his book The Alchemist Paul Coelho writes: "The boy reached through the Soul of the World, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul."
“It is what comes from inside that defiles you.For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you” (Mark 7:20-23 NLT). And then how about Proverbs 14:12 (ESV) - There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Far from listening to our feelings, we need to listen to God speaking his truth into our feelings!
2) God is everywhere and within everything—especially within you. You can encounter God by getting in touch with the divinity that resides inside your very self and soul. At the climax of his book The Alchemist Paul Coelho writes: "The boy reached through the Soul of the World, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul."
This is the old heresy of pantheism, that everything is God and God is everything. Where does Paul Coelho get the idea that the soul of the world, the soul of God, and our souls are all the same thing? It sounds like something from the psychedelic sixties! Again, Mark's gospel shows us otherwise. Jesus said, "And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?" Mark 8:36 (NLT). The Bible actually teaches there is a quantum difference between your soul and the soul of the world. "For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:16-17 ESV).
3) Sin and evil are largely illusions that will ultimately be reconciled rather than defeated. There is no hell save the one we make for ourselves on Earth, no final separation from the Being that all our beings rest within. Elizabeth Gilbert assures her readers, "There is no such thing in this universe as hell, except maybe in our own terrified minds."
Evil is an illusion? Really? Is your pain, your hurt, your struggles in life only a figment of your imagination? Hell exists only in our minds? Jesus said, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28 ESV). So we get to choose between the incoherent thoughts of Elizabeth Gilbert or the teaching of the Lord Jesus. Hmmmm... Do you really need to ponder this?
4) Perfect happiness is available right now. Heaven is on earth. Eternity can be entered at any moment, by any person who understands how to let go, let God, and let themselves be washed away in love. James Redfield writes, "At some point everyone will vibrate highly enough so that we can walk into heaven, in our same form." And Coelho adds, "I do believe in life after death, but I also don't think that it's that important. What's important is to understand that we are also living this life after death now."
This is really pathetic. Are we really willing to settle for this world as our heaven. Are we so impoverished in our souls that we are even tempted to think that heaven is now and perfect happiness can be experienced on earth. This is amazingly insensitive to the real hurts people are experiencing in this "heaven." The Bible presents a much more accurate and compelling worldview. It says, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18 ESV).
Love in Jesus,
Pastor John Christie
3) Sin and evil are largely illusions that will ultimately be reconciled rather than defeated. There is no hell save the one we make for ourselves on Earth, no final separation from the Being that all our beings rest within. Elizabeth Gilbert assures her readers, "There is no such thing in this universe as hell, except maybe in our own terrified minds."
Evil is an illusion? Really? Is your pain, your hurt, your struggles in life only a figment of your imagination? Hell exists only in our minds? Jesus said, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28 ESV). So we get to choose between the incoherent thoughts of Elizabeth Gilbert or the teaching of the Lord Jesus. Hmmmm... Do you really need to ponder this?
4) Perfect happiness is available right now. Heaven is on earth. Eternity can be entered at any moment, by any person who understands how to let go, let God, and let themselves be washed away in love. James Redfield writes, "At some point everyone will vibrate highly enough so that we can walk into heaven, in our same form." And Coelho adds, "I do believe in life after death, but I also don't think that it's that important. What's important is to understand that we are also living this life after death now."
This is really pathetic. Are we really willing to settle for this world as our heaven. Are we so impoverished in our souls that we are even tempted to think that heaven is now and perfect happiness can be experienced on earth. This is amazingly insensitive to the real hurts people are experiencing in this "heaven." The Bible presents a much more accurate and compelling worldview. It says, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18 ESV).
Love in Jesus,
Pastor John Christie
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