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The Differences Between New Era And Christianity
By Wilma Melendez
Do believe that there is really no right and wrong, that whether it is right or not is decided by the individual? Or alternatively do you believe that there is definite bad karma and you pay for it in each reincarnation? Or do you believe neither- what alternative is there, if any? Do you believe that God wants every one to be saved or only some people? Do you think a religion should teach doing good to others, charity, and love? Do you believe that God is everywhere? Your answers to these questions tell whether you support the New Era movement or not.
New Era supporters believe in reincarnation, because as one pop song put it, "it takes more than one lifetime to learn". Yet the New Era movement does not try to stimulate moral values in people for them to earn their salvation. In the New Era belief, you yourself decide what it right, their values are relative, no matter what the Bible says.
In Christianity, we accept that ten million lifetimes would not be enough to learn. The more that the world progresses in technology, the worse that the weapons become. The more medicines are invented, the more billions that have no access to them because of poverty. We sin and we make mistakes.
We have only one life to live, Christians do not believe in reincarnation. Christians admit that we are all imperfect and need salvation. Yet we can all become saved from eternal suffering and have eternal life happiness with God. It is as easy as believing in Jesus as our only savior and God. New Era doctrine implies that God is mean because all can not be saved. Many people in the New Age movement misunderstand the Christian belief that God is everywhere, and instead represent it to mean that God is everything. ved, but Christianity says God has called all to be saved, even though no one is perfect, simply by believing in Jesus.
Christian beliefs are based upon the Bible and to Christians; the Bible is the only true Holy Book. The Bible tells us what is right and what is wrong. Ironically, it is New Era that does not persuade people to be good because according to the New Era, we are all good and there is no wrong.
In New Era doctrine, wrong is in the eye of the beholder, whereas in Christianity, God ask us to do good. "Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that does good is of God: but he that does evil has not seen God" (3 John 11). Many charitable organizations and Institutions of higher learning were founded by Christians, for example, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army; Harvard, Yale, and Interamerican Universities, to name just a few of the countless many around the world.
Jesus said "love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you." (Mathew 5:44) and he really lived that. Jesus did not fight back when the ancient Pagan Roman army came to arrest him and crucify him, (even though he could have done a miracle to set himself free), because he wanted to give himself in ransom for our sins. Jesus came to this world to fulfill a mission, God, the Father, asked him to do; and Jesus willingly did. His mission was to give himself to save us from our sins.
When they came to arrest him, one who was with Jesus took out a sword and cut the ear off of one of those who came to arrest him. But Jesus said, "Put back your sword, for all they who take up the sword shall perish by the sword". Jesus said he could have called thousands of angels to his aid if he so chose to, but he did not defend himself (Mathew 26:51-54). No one can live up to Jesus. This was done as an example to all of us.
Jesus, of whose one of his titles was the Son of man, said, "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Marc 10:45). The Bible says, "even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace this grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God has set to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God" (Romans 3:22-25). This means that we all need forgiveness and can receive it by believing in Jesus, who shed his blood for us on the cross.
We ourselves can not clean up guilt by saying that all we do is relatively good. If you are kidnapped by an enemy, and the enemy wants money for your release, someone must pay that ransom for you to live. The enemy is the devil who has tied us up with sin, but the savior is Jesus. A kidnapper wants a lot of money, even more than we can have. But Jesus, having never sinned, was the sacrifice that saved us because he was painfully crucified though he had no sin. His great worth paid for the salvation of all who are willing to believe in him and enjoy eternal happiness in heaven.
Jesus was the only one who said to love your enemies. Contrary to popular belief, polytheist religions do persecute Christians. Most New Era followers are polytheists, or believe in polytheism like a mix of the ancient Greek gods and various kinds of witchcraft, with Hinduism as its basis.
In the European countries and in the United States, polytheists do not usually persecute Christians because these are predominantly Christian countries and modern Christians teach that no one should persecuted for their religious beliefs. Polytheists have been positively influenced by Christians in the west. But polytheist nations in predominantly non-Christian countries are very different than the west. Polytheists in predominantly non-Christian countries persecute Christians. It is the Christian nations that are against religious persecution in the world.
Another difference between New Era and Christianity is the idea of Karma. New Era alternates between the idea that we can do no wrong and the idea that we have bad karma. Karma is the idea that you pay for what you do wrong. Karma as a belief is not "new" at all, it comes originally from India. In India, Hindus and Buddhists believe that karma is accumulated every reincarnation and you pay for the karma in the next reincarnation.
In India, karma is used as an excuse to justify the wrong acceptance of racism. They believe that people who were born with black skin are born that way because they were very evil in a past life. In India, the blacks are called the untouchables. They and anybody who is crippled or poor are denied equality and opportunities to improve their life because as K.P. Yohannan explains in his Christian book, Revolution in World Missions, according to karmic belief, Hindus believe that helping them would only worsen their condition, prolonging the time they have to suffer to pay for their bad karma.
Sadly, Hinduism keeps India poor, K.P. Yohannan adds, because the Hindus believe that rats are sacred. They will not exterminate rats even though rats eat one third of the crops and bring diseases. The cows and rats eat the crops but starving people are not allowed to eat of it.
In Christian belief, all races are made by God from one common ancestor, Adam and Eve. We are all made in God's image and deserve to be treated equally and loved as God loves us (Genesis 2:27).
The Bible tells us to help the poor. "If there be any among you that are poor of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord has given you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your poor brother (Deuteronomy 15: 7) and "And thy shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather every grape of thy vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger" (Leviticus 23:22). To glean means to pick up every last crop. Some of the crop must be left behind for the poor of the country and the poor foreigners to gather.
Jesus also taught that a man who could not see was not born without sight to pay for his sin nor for the sin of his parents (John 9:1-3). The persons with a handicap are equal to everyone and should not be looked down upon.
But from Western eyes, it is not desirable to have good karma either. Reverend Moisés Roman explained that in Hinduism belief, you reincarnate into a cow, not as a punishment, but because you have been very good and have reached a very high level of development. In fact, in Asia, it is an ideal to stop reincarnating and become free of the supposed endless cycle of birth and re-birth, whereas to a New Age westerner, it is a welcome idea to keep reincarnating.
We must examine the societal implications of our beliefs. According to economists, India, which has a free market and is a democracy, should have an excellent economy. Yet it is one of the poorest parts of the world because there is little support for equality and charity.
The Christians are the ones that have set up charitable organizations in India, but it is not yet enough. For instance, in India, Christian missionaries are beaten up and rejected by their families (from various articles from Send! missionary magazine, www.gfa.org ).
Another difference between New Era and Christianity is the implications of the belief that God is everywhere. Many people in the New Age movement misunderstand the Christian belief that God is everywhere, and instead represent it to mean that God is everything. One highly educated, western person I know prays by looking in the mirror and talking to "the God inside him". Pantheism and Christianity are very different. We are not God and animals are not God either. God is perfect, we are not.
Christians become filled with the Holy Spirit of God by believing in Jesus and asking Jesus only to come into their heart. According to born again Christians, if you have not asked Jesus to be your savior and God, then you have not invited Jesus into your temple, which is your body, so God is not inside you.
"The most high does not dwell in temples made with hands…" (Acts 8:48). When you believe in Jesus, you have the joy of Jesus dwelling in your heart, (your heart is created by God), not in statues or pictures made by human hands.
When born again Christians pray, they close their eyes and pray to God, the creator of the entire universe. They pray to God in Jesus' name, not to themselves. Jesus, God's son, said, "And whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it" (John 14:13-14).
During a time of crisis, we need to become strengthened by turning to a resource outside of our limitations. If we believe that we are God, if we believe that we make up our own values, and that we make up our own miracles; we will have mental inconsistency. We will be going around in circles, looking inside again and again for what can only be found outside of our imperfection.
I knew of one lady that would do a Tarot reading for herself over and over again on the same question, never accepting that she did not feel satisfied with the answer she got. Some Tarot readers that charge for their reading even record the session, and give the recording away, so the customer will not be asking the same questions over and over again.
We were meant for something better, we were meant to pray to God in Jesus' name, the creator and sustainer of the Universe; the only source of power, perfection, and infinite wisdom; and to receive help from him.
For books on salvation, see the author's Christian bookstore link below. I recommend Just the FAQ's About Salvation: Frequently Asked Questions, by Andreas Max; The New Age Movement, by Philip Lochhaas; and Is Jesus the Only Savior? by Ronald H. Nash.
About the Author
Wilma Melendez has been a Christian for 18 years. She attends El Sendero de la Cruz Church in Puerto Rico. You are invited to enter the author's home page for more articles and to visit our bookstore link: http://www.webspawner.com/users/howtopray
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