~ by Kyle Peart
We’ve got a lot of information to cram into the next hour so we’re going to jump right into this, but the first thing I want to start off saying is this:
We are not hear today to just compete among other worldviews; our goal is not to just bash these other beliefs and then crown ourselves as victors. No, that’s not our purpose or our heart on the matter. Although that’s often the accusation and to be quite frank, the persona often perceived from ‘instavangelists’ on social media, that is not our goal.
Our sole and main purpose today is to share the truth, which is objective, and I’ll highlight that a little later, but it’s to share the truth, which in turn captivates and directs our minds to the One Who is the truth, the One Creator, the One Redeemer of men’s souls, named Jesus Christ.
So for those that may have past experience in these beliefs, or are currently wrestling with these ideologies, know that we love you. That’s why it was Sonny’s intention to bring us together and search the Scriptures on these things because there are so many lies out there that are deceiving and leading people to destruction
And although that sounds unloving the way the world has defined love today, know that it’s no different than you giving your child a consequence for grabbing a knife: it’s solely based in educating them in what’s wrong, that’s our heart on the matter today.
We love you, and we want you to know there is a Living Hope which has been tried and tested through thousands of generations, and you can believe it here today, because that Hope is patient, and compassionate, and available to all willing to come today.
Now for the Christians in here, let me give you a gentle exhortation on what Christ calls us to when concerning these things. Because there is a thin line between leading a person to the truth and just trying to win a conversation. And believe me, this is something I am learning on a daily basis so I’m preaching to myself as well.
2 TIMOTHY 2:24 says:
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
So remember, when we are sharing, we are shedding light on lies and deception, but we are also handling the very soul of an individual.
1 PETER 3:15 says,
…let us always be ready, to make a defense…
So here we are, preparing ourselves, getting ready. But we often miss the end of that verse:
1 PETER 3:15
…but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
That’s our goal today! To share the hope with a reasonable defense, with gentleness and respect! Other translations say meekness! That means get yourself out of the way and look at who you are talking to! AMEN?
Well, that brings us to the topics at hand. We’re going to observe the core doctrines that resonate around Hinduism, Buddhism, New Age Spirituality, and to finish, the Ecumenical Movement/The Emerging Church.
Although I could independently go through just one of these beliefs for the next 5 hours, there is a commonality between them all that has consumed and encompassed our culture which needs to be addressed intentionally! So though their beliefs may vary on certain items, the majority will agree on the bullet points we have here at hand.
Here is a quick overview of them all:
Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion, second in size only to Christianity and Islam
The word Hindu itself means “the people and culture of the Indus River Region, or the people of India”. It is stated to be the oldest organized religion existing which dates back to roughly 2000 BC
And note I say organized because Judaism is the oldest religion because it talks about the beginning of the world, the promise of the Savior to come which is promised through the Old testament, but this is the oldest “organized” religion.
The Hindus have many sacred writings that they look at for guidance which just to name a few of the main ones are: The Vedas, The Mahabharata, and last The Bhagavad Gita.
Unlike Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, Hinduism does not look back to a human founder.
The majority of their beliefs are poetic, subjective, and in the end, comes down to everything basically being an illusion, which the Hindus call Maya. It is a pantheistic religion which means “Everything is God”
Next we have Buddhism
This is traced back to a man named Siddhartha Gautama; evidence suggests he lived around 480 BC. Siddhartha was a Hindu, born and raised as a young rich kid locked in his house because his father, whom was a king, was worried his son would leave and be harmed; so his dad built a wall around the palace and treated him like royalty.
Siddhartha who “desired” to get out of there (note the quotations as that’s important later), told his dad later in life he wanted to leave, so his dad collected people and cleaned up the streets, and then let his son roam around observing certain scenes that were staged.
Upon observing these scenes, Siddhartha came to four troubling sights, which are the basic fundamentals of the Buddhists faith and come down to “Four Noble Truths”
i) The truth of Suffering: Life Consists of Suffering.
ii) The Causes of Suffering: We suffer because we desire things that are impermanent.
iii) The Cessation of Suffering: The way to liberate oneself from suffering is by eliminating all desire.
iv) Desires can be eliminated, and nirvana reached by following something called the Eightfold Path - The Path that leads away from Suffering.
This is where the quotations come into play. I was talking to my Pastor Jim Roden at the Journey Church and he stated this question that I just couldn’t miss sharing with you. He said,
“Was Siddhartha’s desire to liberate himself from desires bad or good?”
That’s a great question for you note takers when talking with people about this stuff, because in the end, Siddhartha thought that our evil in the world, the suffering, and all the bad things all come from desires, so was his desire to be set free from desire just as evil?
Kind of mind tangling, but I hope you get the point.
Next, this is where most of our time will be spent, is the New Age Spirituality Belief
The reason I want to rest here, is because this belief system really is the Rancid Buffet Table of our time. Imagine going to Golden Corral, and you’re super excited to get a really full plate of food, you pay, you grab your plate, and then you get in line, (There’s always lines there); you can smell the food, your stomach is rumbling, so the anticipation is killing you, and when you reach the counter, you see bowl after bowl, dish after dish, of spoiled food with rotten infested meats and vegetables all the way down!
That’s what we are talking about here. I don’t mean to be super demeaning, although that’s the truth, that’s what it is, but the New Age Spirituality is literally a conglomeration of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Gnosticism, and weaved all throughout with the occult.
Now if that sounds appetizing, I’m glad you are here today because do I have a nice healthy and hearty steak and potatoes dish waiting for you!
But first I’ve got to show you the corrupt food that’s being offered, for you to understand the best meal that’s being offered later on!
The reason I didn’t dive too deep into Hinduism and Buddhism is because this New Age belief system really is what the world is offering today. It’s picking from lots of different ideologies and then served on a golden self-help platter to be received well.
The majority of celebrities endorse or support in some way or form the New Age Spirituality and unfortunately it’s even infiltrating the church which will bring us to the Emerging Church a little later on.
But overall, if you don’t know key specifics of this worldview, you probably have heard terms or ideas that come from this worldview, which is why I want to heavily emphasize this.
There are Eight Fundamental Beliefs that New Age Believers follow:
We are not hear today to just compete among other worldviews; our goal is not to just bash these other beliefs and then crown ourselves as victors. No, that’s not our purpose or our heart on the matter. Although that’s often the accusation and to be quite frank, the persona often perceived from ‘instavangelists’ on social media, that is not our goal.
Our sole and main purpose today is to share the truth, which is objective, and I’ll highlight that a little later, but it’s to share the truth, which in turn captivates and directs our minds to the One Who is the truth, the One Creator, the One Redeemer of men’s souls, named Jesus Christ.
So for those that may have past experience in these beliefs, or are currently wrestling with these ideologies, know that we love you. That’s why it was Sonny’s intention to bring us together and search the Scriptures on these things because there are so many lies out there that are deceiving and leading people to destruction
And although that sounds unloving the way the world has defined love today, know that it’s no different than you giving your child a consequence for grabbing a knife: it’s solely based in educating them in what’s wrong, that’s our heart on the matter today.
We love you, and we want you to know there is a Living Hope which has been tried and tested through thousands of generations, and you can believe it here today, because that Hope is patient, and compassionate, and available to all willing to come today.
Now for the Christians in here, let me give you a gentle exhortation on what Christ calls us to when concerning these things. Because there is a thin line between leading a person to the truth and just trying to win a conversation. And believe me, this is something I am learning on a daily basis so I’m preaching to myself as well.
2 TIMOTHY 2:24 says:
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
So remember, when we are sharing, we are shedding light on lies and deception, but we are also handling the very soul of an individual.
1 PETER 3:15 says,
…let us always be ready, to make a defense…
So here we are, preparing ourselves, getting ready. But we often miss the end of that verse:
1 PETER 3:15
…but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
That’s our goal today! To share the hope with a reasonable defense, with gentleness and respect! Other translations say meekness! That means get yourself out of the way and look at who you are talking to! AMEN?
Well, that brings us to the topics at hand. We’re going to observe the core doctrines that resonate around Hinduism, Buddhism, New Age Spirituality, and to finish, the Ecumenical Movement/The Emerging Church.
Although I could independently go through just one of these beliefs for the next 5 hours, there is a commonality between them all that has consumed and encompassed our culture which needs to be addressed intentionally! So though their beliefs may vary on certain items, the majority will agree on the bullet points we have here at hand.
Here is a quick overview of them all:
Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion, second in size only to Christianity and Islam
The word Hindu itself means “the people and culture of the Indus River Region, or the people of India”. It is stated to be the oldest organized religion existing which dates back to roughly 2000 BC
And note I say organized because Judaism is the oldest religion because it talks about the beginning of the world, the promise of the Savior to come which is promised through the Old testament, but this is the oldest “organized” religion.
The Hindus have many sacred writings that they look at for guidance which just to name a few of the main ones are: The Vedas, The Mahabharata, and last The Bhagavad Gita.
Unlike Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, Hinduism does not look back to a human founder.
The majority of their beliefs are poetic, subjective, and in the end, comes down to everything basically being an illusion, which the Hindus call Maya. It is a pantheistic religion which means “Everything is God”
Next we have Buddhism
This is traced back to a man named Siddhartha Gautama; evidence suggests he lived around 480 BC. Siddhartha was a Hindu, born and raised as a young rich kid locked in his house because his father, whom was a king, was worried his son would leave and be harmed; so his dad built a wall around the palace and treated him like royalty.
Siddhartha who “desired” to get out of there (note the quotations as that’s important later), told his dad later in life he wanted to leave, so his dad collected people and cleaned up the streets, and then let his son roam around observing certain scenes that were staged.
Upon observing these scenes, Siddhartha came to four troubling sights, which are the basic fundamentals of the Buddhists faith and come down to “Four Noble Truths”
i) The truth of Suffering: Life Consists of Suffering.
ii) The Causes of Suffering: We suffer because we desire things that are impermanent.
iii) The Cessation of Suffering: The way to liberate oneself from suffering is by eliminating all desire.
iv) Desires can be eliminated, and nirvana reached by following something called the Eightfold Path - The Path that leads away from Suffering.
This is where the quotations come into play. I was talking to my Pastor Jim Roden at the Journey Church and he stated this question that I just couldn’t miss sharing with you. He said,
“Was Siddhartha’s desire to liberate himself from desires bad or good?”
That’s a great question for you note takers when talking with people about this stuff, because in the end, Siddhartha thought that our evil in the world, the suffering, and all the bad things all come from desires, so was his desire to be set free from desire just as evil?
Kind of mind tangling, but I hope you get the point.
Next, this is where most of our time will be spent, is the New Age Spirituality Belief
The reason I want to rest here, is because this belief system really is the Rancid Buffet Table of our time. Imagine going to Golden Corral, and you’re super excited to get a really full plate of food, you pay, you grab your plate, and then you get in line, (There’s always lines there); you can smell the food, your stomach is rumbling, so the anticipation is killing you, and when you reach the counter, you see bowl after bowl, dish after dish, of spoiled food with rotten infested meats and vegetables all the way down!
That’s what we are talking about here. I don’t mean to be super demeaning, although that’s the truth, that’s what it is, but the New Age Spirituality is literally a conglomeration of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Gnosticism, and weaved all throughout with the occult.
Now if that sounds appetizing, I’m glad you are here today because do I have a nice healthy and hearty steak and potatoes dish waiting for you!
But first I’ve got to show you the corrupt food that’s being offered, for you to understand the best meal that’s being offered later on!
The reason I didn’t dive too deep into Hinduism and Buddhism is because this New Age belief system really is what the world is offering today. It’s picking from lots of different ideologies and then served on a golden self-help platter to be received well.
The majority of celebrities endorse or support in some way or form the New Age Spirituality and unfortunately it’s even infiltrating the church which will bring us to the Emerging Church a little later on.
But overall, if you don’t know key specifics of this worldview, you probably have heard terms or ideas that come from this worldview, which is why I want to heavily emphasize this.
There are Eight Fundamental Beliefs that New Age Believers follow:
1) “All is One” which is known as Monism
(a) This idea literally asserts that there is no difference between humans, animals, or even rocks (to be honest with you).
(b) All things are of the same substance, which ultimately is an illusion (remember the Hindu concept of maya), but everything that exists is basic manifestations of one undivided reality.
(c) That’s the reason why the earth is sacred, why nobody can be wrong, because all are the same, and the reason why you talk to your golf ball every time you hit it, because ultimately, you and the ball are one! And I know that sounds a bit extreme, but that’s exactly what every Self Help Guru is teaching today, Dr. Deepak Chopra (a Hindu) being the most famous and well known one of the time, literally sharing thousands of tips on how to improve your life by becoming one with everything around you.
We of course know that we are not all one but have been created and held together by God Himself. Look at the very beginning of the Scriptures and we see: GENESIS 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
And then:
COLOSSIANS 1:17
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
This is what the world wants you to believe because if you can state that we are all the same then there is no intrinsic value between you and a fence post and so life becomes of no value.
2) The next belief is that “All is God”
(a) They believe that everything that exists is God which is also known as Pantheism meaning, “all is God and God is all”
(b) God is more of an ‘It’ then a He and they reject the idea of a personal creator who exists outside of creation with ultimate authority, because if you can reject that, everything is fair game right??!! [no accountability to any higher authority – other than ourselves]
(c) You are the determining factor in all equations, and you just need to realize it! We are merely a force or an energy, that contains the power of the universe within.
My friend Flynn [Huseby] and I did a YouTube video on the topic of Star Wars, check it out, but it points out the very foundation of the movie saga is - what? The Force. Folks, these teachings are literally weaved in majority of movies today, and they just call it fiction.
Yoda, Luke Skywalker, & Jesus?
What does God tell us about this?
JOHN 1:1-2
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
It’s clear that we have a Creator, and all things consist by Him, and through Him!
I remember one time we were evangelizing at the Swap Meet down the road, and Flynn was having this very intense conversation with a witch. She stated she followed all these things I’m mentioning right now, and there was a pivotal moment in the conversation where she was stopped dead in her tracks because she said that the earth was where she got her power, and she fed off the energy it gave her. Flynn, very calmly said, well, science states in the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics that all things are breaking down, which means, your god is losing its power.
And I remember she was just furious but dumbfounded on how to respond because when you look at logic, and the system that God gave us, it’s completely inconsistent to follow these new age beliefs.
Because we have a Creator, and all things have a beginning, we know that they will have an end, and that Creator sits outside of time and matter, and holds it with a compassionate, and yet righteous judgment.
So even science confirms what God says.
Now, I’m going to fly through some of these for the sake of time, but go online, there are a ton of resources online that walk through these things with in-depth studies
You can check out www.alwaysbeready.com, www.once-lost.com, www.thetruthunderfire.com; look up Mike Winger on Youtube, all great resources and available at your fingertips!
3) But the next one is the Belief in Human Deity
a) If all is one, and all is god, then following their beliefs, their conclusion is that Humans are divine.
b) That brings us to the next one which is “We need a change of consciousness”
c) Because we are divine, but a lot of us just don’t know it, we need to be awakened. Yes, we fallen asleep on our true identity, also known as “spiritual amnesia” and we need to achieve our true human potential.
4) The main practices/disciplines following this system which include:
a) Meditation, Transcendental or Mindfulness Meditation
b) Yoga – which means union, The poses and breathing are said to aid meditation and increase a person’s awareness of their divinity
c) Using Crystals, Channeling Spirit Guides, Hypnosis, Astral Projection, which is training your soul to have out of body experiences
d) All of these things remind us that we are god and you need to awaken yourself to inner consciousness
a) If all is one, and all is god, then following their beliefs, their conclusion is that Humans are divine.
b) That brings us to the next one which is “We need a change of consciousness”
c) Because we are divine, but a lot of us just don’t know it, we need to be awakened. Yes, we fallen asleep on our true identity, also known as “spiritual amnesia” and we need to achieve our true human potential.
4) The main practices/disciplines following this system which include:
a) Meditation, Transcendental or Mindfulness Meditation
b) Yoga – which means union, The poses and breathing are said to aid meditation and increase a person’s awareness of their divinity
c) Using Crystals, Channeling Spirit Guides, Hypnosis, Astral Projection, which is training your soul to have out of body experiences
d) All of these things remind us that we are god and you need to awaken yourself to inner consciousness
This of course is a fallible conclusion but consistent with the first few beliefs when following them. But folks, I’ve got a basic question for you, If you were truly divine, and didn’t know it, would you really want to waken yourself to follow that god?
I mean, what kind of God forgets that he’s God?!
Not to mention,
ISAIAH 43:10 says
“You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.
5)The 5th belief is the Oneness of Religions
a) All are correct, all put us in contact with the ultimate reality, and they are just many paths all leading to the same place. This is called religious syncretism.
b) This is where the Ecumenical Church or the Emerging Church start coming in, because if you can add a little Jesus in here and there, then you can accept everybody, and every teaching.
Except when you have to deal with the very core and foundation of the Scriptures. I mean, that’s why majority of the Ecumenical Churches are using distorted translations, I don’t even want to call them that, they are more paraphrases, and they completely dismiss the very exclusive claims from the Creator Himself.
ISAIAH 43:10 makes it clear that there are NO other gods before or after Himself. But look at the exclusivity of what else God has to tell us:
JOHN 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
ACTS 4:12
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
ROMANS 3:22
The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
And lastly, The real Lord’s Prayer in:
JOHN 17:3
And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
I’ve heard it a thousand times from the pulpit and I’m going to keep sharing it. Either Jesus was a madman, claiming exclusivity, and if he couldn’t back up what He said, then should have been labeled just that, a heretic,
BUT JESUS fulfilling all of the promises and prophecies He gave us leading up to His coming, and then performing all of those miracles here on earth, and to finish by taking on the punishment of our sins, and defeating death and the grave by His resurrection, FOLKS, HE IS THE ONLY WAY!!!
HE IS, and he couldn’t have made it clearer! AMEN!
Now, lastly, we have 3 other beliefs
6) The Belief in Reincarnation
This has to follow their ideology because if you are a god, and just learning along the way, then you just need thousands and thousands of attempts to figure it out, so you escape judgement, and responsibility for your actions
HEBREWS 9:27
“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.
We all will be giving an account for our words and actions, and this is why it’s so important to know Who the Creator is. Because on the day of my judgment, my Savior will stand in my place, and speak on my behalf, claiming me as His, because of my faith in His death and resurrection.
[note from James: Check out The FOUR PRIMARY OFFICES of the LORD GOD]
7) Moral Relativism
What’s true for you may be true for you but what is true for me is also true. Everything is subjective, avoiding all personal responsibility, removing all ultimate authority, and therefore void of all judgement.
That’s all we are talking about here. All of these religious systems are literally dancing around the same thing my five year old is trying to get away with, by using scape goats, creating lies, and doing everything necessary to escape judgment but masquerading itself by calling it religion!
It doesn’t work for the 5 year old, and it won’t work before God.
He loves you too much to act so unjustly. Our God is righteous, and because He is truth, He must hate lies. So it’s not a matter of God just working out how to justify sin to Himself, NO, He became sin, so we might become the righteousness of God.
That’s the great news! We don’t have to try to explain ourselves anymore, we get to point to Jesus, and say, I couldn’t do it, but He could!
HE COULD!
The last one point from them is this:
8) There is a coming NEW AGE
This is where the name comes from.
They believe there is a coming time where the world will progress to a time of peace and prosperity. It’s called the Golden Age and it will be a time where one nation will rule them all, one language, one government, and one religion.
And this is where we agree in a sense, except they believe it will be by progressive evolution, a time where people continue to wake to their divinity and submit to a one world system.
I don’t know if that sounds familiar to you, but in my Bible it says a time will come like that, but it’s not good.
A great tribulation will proceed before that, and this system, will be governed by the Antichrist seeking to bring about the last days.
This is not what our hope comes down to. We don’t have hope in a system that finally figures it out, BECAUSE we never will:
ROMANS 5:6 says
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
You hear that? We are the ungodly. We not only are not god’s, we act completely the opposite of God. So putting hope in a future system assuming we’ll get it right some day is hopeless.
It comes down to our hope being in the only One that sits high above us all, and came off His throne to die, so that we might live with Him.
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