According to the Pew Research Center, more than half of American adults embrace at least one New Age belief, so it’s no wonder that adjacent new thinking ideas are creeping up into the church.
However, there is a very clear difference between the doctrine of the new age and new thinking.
The New Age Movement, a product of the 20th century, blends countless Eastern religions with pantheistic views of divinity, but new beliefs of thought emerged in the 19th century, rooted in early Christian ideas, and views Jesus as the pinnacle of spiritual enlightenment and achievement.
Melissa Dougherty, a Christian apologeur who once joined the new doctrine of thinking, appeared in the latest episode of CBN’s “Cultural Faith,” where she warned that many followers might be tempted to accept the dangerous doctrine as part of the Christian faith.
“I believe that new thoughts will deceive Christians before the New Age, because they are made to make Christians look and sound,” she says, concisely defining new thoughts as “a positive thinking movement with Jesus as a mascot.”
According to Dougherty, the “core beliefs” of the new thinking movement are that humans – themselves are “God.” But it is not found on Bible pages.
Dougherty is the author of “Happy Lies: How You’ve Never Heard That You (Perhaps) Shaped Our World of Self-Attachment,” and she approaches a new thinking movement from an interesting vantage point. As someone who once unconsciously adopted dangerous doctrines.
On the surface, some of the biblical poems that may seem to be in line with (NLT):
“So God created mankind with his own image. With God’s image he created them. Men and women created them.” – Genesis 1:27 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same work as I have done, and do even greater work, for I will be with my Father.” – John 14:12 “The tongue can bring death and life; those who like to talk will enjoy the consequences.” – Proverb 18:21
In the first passage, being made with “the image of God” means that humans have certain attributes such as soul, personality, ability to reason, and desire for truth and purpose. But this does not mean that humans are equal co-creators of God.
The second passage in which Jesus said his followers would make “even bigger works” is not a sign that humans outweigh the Son of God in the quality of their works, such as playing more impressive or robust miracles or supernatural phenomena. Rather, Jesus described those who took over him as his disciples performed a large number of works under Jesus’ name rather than in the course of three years of ministry on Earth.
In the third aisle, when Solomon argued that the words that humans speak can “bear death or life,” the author emphasized the real and important consequences that come with what people say. For example, sharing wisdom with friends can set up healthy trajectories for your own life, but withholding important information when needed can lead to serious harm.
Check out the “Culture in Culture” podcast.
Dougherty stated that the biblical context should determine how it is interpreted, not the reader’s feelings.
“What I should ask is, ‘Who wrote it?’ Why did they write it? ” “Who did they write it?” “What is the actual purpose of this message?” she said. “And then we’ll subtract (the lesson) from (the Bible).”
Watch the rest of our conversation in the video above or check out our expanded “Culture in Culture” podcast. Dougherty speaks at length about her personal testimony and how the new thinking movement is invading the Christian Church.
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