Part 3 of this series on the New Age explores the ethical standards of right and wrong. Because everything is God in New Age thinking, we are part of God. Therefore, we can determine what is right and wrong. This is also known as moral relativism. This has to be the case, since New Age thought begins with the assumption that God is not a Personal Being, He did not speak the Ten Commandments to Moses, so there is no ultimate, moral standard. And if God didn’t speak to Moses, then He didn’t inspire any biblical book. According to New Age writer David Spangler, the Bible is irrelevant: “We can take all the scriptures…and have a jolly good bonfire and marshmallow roast, because that is all they are worth.”
What’s more, the Bible is not just pointless; it’s the problem, along with the traditional family, church, and state. These hinder our evolution to godhood, since they deny our personal power. As outside authorities, they impose their versions of right and wrong on people. These laws create a barrier to humanity’s experience of enlightenment.
In contrast, divine revelation doesn’t come from the Bible or any outside source; it comes from within us. It stems from our higher consciousness, or the ability to get in touch with the part of us that is God. Noebel summarizes: “Inner soul-searching becomes the only significant means of discovering truth.” God is all things; therefore, we are good. Furthermore, we can tap into “God” within us and determine our own ethical boundaries.
How can we specifically determine right and wrong and evolve spiritually? Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry lists the following: “astral projection which is training your soul to leave your body and travel around; contacting spirits so they may speak through you or guide you; using crystals to purify your body’s and mind’s energy systems; visualization where you use mental imagery to imagine yourself as an animal, in the presence of a divine being, or being healed of sickness, etc.”
But moral relativism, where we each decide right and wrong, has problems. One is with the logic behind it. Saying there is no moral absolute is an absolute statement itself, which is contradictory. Moreover, if each person is the final moral authority, what happens when people disagree? Is adultery sin or not? What if one spouse is faithful and the other is not? According to New Age ethics, honoring another’s rules rather than your own truth sacrifices your godhood. Therefore, “tolerance” is key: do not judge other’s beliefs or actions. While interesting in theory, this doesn’t work in practice!
Yet judgment is inevitable, even in New Age thinking. Adherents will speak of karma, the total effect of one’s actions in his/her lifetime. “The law of karma implies that every thought or deed, whether they are good or bad, will count in determining how an individual will be born in their next life on earth.” The question arises: who is determining the karmic debt? And what standard is used to delineate right and wrong?
Moreover, if everything is God, then good and evil are one! Douglas Groothuis warns, “In the philosophy of the One, ethical distinctions evaporate; supposed opposites—light and dark, good and evil, humans and God—merge and fuse.” To state it even more bluntly, “The ‘God’ of monism is fatally flawed. Since he (or ‘it’ which is more accurate) is the one essence with creation and consciousness, God is thus the origin of the imperfection and evil in our world; the foulest deeds and thoughts of humanity literally become attributes of God.”
Using New Age ethics requires the acceptance of contradictions. Ferguson states it this way: “This wholeness unites opposites…there is neither good nor evil. There is only light and the absence of light…wholeness and brokenness…flow and struggle.” And so what we deem evil—adultery, murder, theft—is simply part of a continual struggle to reach the next level of evolution. Remember that the next time you are the victim of a crime or a sinful act.
Learn how to defend your Christian Faith
Big Questions Biblical Answers Supplemental Materials
by Brad Alles
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
Comments are closed.