I recently listened to some people talk about spiritual matters. Their language perplexed me. While some of their expressions fit within my biblical worldview, other utterings did not.
I resist labeling people, but labels can aid in understanding, even though they’re more likely to produce misunderstanding.
I wondered if they operated within a New Age perspective, the melding of various Eastern and Western religious practices.
While I respect their search for spiritual enlightenment, their path is not one I embrace. My dilemma, however, was how to react to the things they were saying.
What Is Positive Energy?
One person asked everyone to “send positive energy” to someone who was struggling.
Should I interpret that as an opportunity to pray to Jesus for that person’s healing or dismiss it as heresy?
What Does Meditation Mean?
Then someone suggested meditating to find answers while bowed before an altar and with incense burning.
Could I understand that as quieting my heart before God and listening for the Holy Spirit’s direction? Or should I dismiss it?
Who Is the Divine?
A third person talked about praying to the divine.
Do I apply that as praying to the God of the Bible or reject it as making an impersonal petition to an abstract deity?
Should I Engage or Retreat?
These three questions, however, beg a bigger one—one for which I have no answer:
When confronted with divergent spiritual perspectives, can I practice my faith within the constructs of that religious structure or should I remove myself from this new age the situation?
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.
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