SEMINAR NOTES ON THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT
By Robert Hill, editor
Keith E. Tolbert, director of ARC Fellowship, presented a two-day
seminar November 4th and 5th, sponsored by Fairlane Assembly of
God, Dearborn Heights, MI. Attended each day by more than 150
people, Keith developed this seminar in response to the rapidly
growing social entity known as the “New Age Movement” (NAM). He
gave a panoramic view of New Age teachings as well as a biblical
response.
This seminar was divided into five sessions:
1.The New Age Explosion (a survey of the scope and development
of the NAM);
2.A Critique of New Age Concepts (the underlying fundamental
teachings of the NAM analyzed from a biblical perspective);
3.Body, Mind, and Business (a review of alternative health
practices employed by the NAM);
4.Future Scan (New Age goals and Political models of the future
contrasted with biblical goals and models of the future);
5.Witnessing to the New Age Advocate (a biblical response
spoken in Christian love).
Keith opened the seminar well by asking “What do the following
have in common: fire-walking, a piece of quartz crystal,
acupuncture, last years Harmonial Convergence, UFO Traveling
Society, macrobiotic diets, and modern witchcraft?” The answer,
of course, is that these are just some of the many diverse
aspects of a social phenomenon known as The New Age Movement.
We see elements of this movement in all aspects of the media:
newspapers, magazines, tabloids, radio, TV, mass events, and
retreats. As Keith pointed out, the roots of the New Age
Movement are not new, having been grounded long ago in eastern
religions; e.g., Hinduism and Zen Buddhism. Mixed with various
19th century movements such as Theosophy and the mind sciences,
this repackaging of eastern religion and philosophy entered the
United States primarily through the 1960s counterculture.
Keith also gave us some rather ominous statistics. For example,
B. Dalton has seen a 60% sales increase over 1987 in New Age
books. This figure is represented by books such as Out On A
Limb, by Shirley Maclaine; Creative Visualization, by Shakti
Gawain; Linda Goodmans Sun-Signs, by Linda Goodman; and Edgar
Cayces Primer, by Herbert B. Puryear. Shirley Maclaines books
alone have sold over 5-1/2 million copies, including Dont Fall
Off the Mountain, Dancing In the Light, and You Can Get There
from Here. This increase in New Age book sales indicates the
growing need for an accurate, biblical analysis of these
teachings.
Throughout the seminar, Keith presented video clips, overheads,
and samples of New Age publications. These helped give a
complete view of this dangerous social movement. Questions were
entertained following each session. Afterwards, ARC made
teaching tapes and free copies of the ARC UPDATE available.
Through seminars like this the truth goes forth, expelling
darkness. If you would like more information (tapes from the
seminar are available) or if you would like to sponsor such an
event, please contact ARC
