A Closer Look at the New Age Movement
Fra John Carlo Rosales, FFI
The author, a deacon and theology student, writes us: "About a
year ago, while I was in the waiting area of a subway station in
Rome, I happened to get one of many pamphlets that were scattered
around. I was surprised by its contents. It read something like
this: "The New Age Movement...We use crystals...occult
practices...'It seemed to say that one can try this 'New Age
program as an alternative way to solve man's problems.
"Some months ago I was able to watch a program by Mother
Angelica. The guest speaker was Constance Cumbey, a practising
American lawyer. The topic discussed was the New Age movement. I
was surprised by what Ms. Cumbey related because I didn't realize
that the New Age movement involved transcendental meditation,
reincarnation, the use of crystals, and other strange and occult
ventures. Constance Cumbey has written a book entitled The Hidden
Dangers of the Rainbow, published in 1983, which covers at length
the New Age Movement, a movement which is rapidly spreading. In
West Germany alone there are about 500,000 adherents as well as
countless sympathizers.[1] I also learned that the roots of the
New Age movement trace back to the Theosophical Society founded
by Russian-born Helena Petrovna Blavatsky in 1875, in New
York."
Special abbreviations used in this article are the following:
CCC = Catechism of the Catholic Church, translation copyrighted
1994 by Geoffrey Chapman- Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
DS = H. Denzinger and A Schonmtzer, SJ, Enchiridion Symbolorum
Def. Et Decl..., Barcelona, Herder: 1966.
GS = Vatican II, Gaudium et spes, 7 Dec. 1965.
LG = Vatican II, Lumen gentium, 21 Nov. 1964.
Origins and History
Helena Petrovna Hahn Blavatsky, born to a distinguished family in
the Ukraine, 1831, was married to Gen. N.P. Blavatsky, but soon
deserted him and left Russia. According to the memoirs of her
cousin Count Whitte, she spent some time in Cairo and Tibet
before arriving in New York in 1873. Through a common interest in
spiritualism, she became associated with Henry Steel Olcott, an
American lawyer and newspaperman and student of spiritualism, in
the formation of occult groups, culminating in the sixteen-member
Theosophical Society.[2] In 1877 she published "Isis Unveiled,"a
collection of material from Eastern thought, serpent worship,
witchcraft, alchemy, and 19th century science, which she ascribes
to her Tibetan masters but which was often taken verbatim from
fifty standard works on occult subjects in Olcott's library. In
1878, the theosophist leaders went to India and settled in Adyaar
near Madras and left William Q. Judge, an Irish-born American, in
charge of the American section.[3] In 1888, Mme. Blavatsky formed
an esoteric section of the Theosophical Society in London for
advanced study of the occult. Eventually this movement spread
among the English and Irish literary circles. In Dublin, the
Irish Theosophical Society was formed under the leadership of
Charles Johnston. Mme. Blavatsky died on May 8 of 1891 in England
and was succeeded by Anni Wood Besant who was born in London of
Irish ancestry in 1847.[4] A.W. Besant founded the Central Hindu
College at Banaras, India, in 1898 and the Indian Home Rule
League in 1916. She also became president of the Indian National
Congress held in 1917. But before she became a member of the
Theosophical Society, she wrote under the pen name of "Ajax", in
England, in favour of free thought and birth control.[5]
Meanwhile, a controversy arose in the American section which led
to a permanent division in 1894-95. Other divisions within the
movement led to the founding of the Temple of the People in 1899
at Syracuse, NY, and to the formation of the Universal
Brotherhood at Point Loma, California. These divisions were not
due to differences in doctrine but rather to the question of the
legitimate line of prophetic succession.[6]
While the divisions were going on in America, the Adyar and
London groups became associated with the Old Catholic Church[7]
by the ordination to its ranks of five theosophists, among whom
was the former Anglican clergyman Charles W. Leadbeater, who
played an important role in the formation of the Liberal Catholic
Church.[8] This Church blends theolsphical mysticism and Catholic
Sacrementalism. In 1902, Rudolf Steiner became the secretary
general of the German section. However when A. W. Besant
recognized a young Hindu named Krishnamurti as the Messiah, R.
Steiner protested and separated from the Society along with 2400
German members and formed the Anthroposophical Society in
1913.[9] There are other societies which were formed through the
Theosophical Society embracing basically the same principles.
Today, however it seems that the number of members in the
Theosophical Society has greatly decreased; nevertheless, its
spiritual ideological influence and new religious forms of
thought are largely encountered in the New Age Movement.[10]
The New Age Movement began with a member of the Theosophical
Society named Alice A. Bailey. She was an Englishwoman who
emigrated to America and who lived from 1880 to 1949. She laid
the real foundations of the New Age Movement and is regarded as
its high priestess. As a spiritist medium she allegedly received
messages from a so-called master of wisdom, the Tibetan Djwal
Khul. These messages, which she wrote under dictation from this
demonic being were published in numerous books.[11] Her secret
teachings, which to this day are followed minutely in New Age
circles, set forth "The Plan for the New World Order."[12]
According to some secret instructions, the Movement was to keep
out of the public eye until 1975.[13]
In 1968 and before, it was known as a movement advocating the
"Age of Aquarius."[14] This term is taken from astrology. The
astronomical shifting of the vernal equinox, which passes
approximately every 2000 years through a new constellation in the
zodiac, is superstitiously believed by some astrologers to affect
the fate of our planet Earth. At the turn of the century the
vernal equinox will pass from the constellating Pisces (the
Fishes) to the constellation Aquarius. Some reckon that this
already took place in 1962. The fish, a sign representing faith
in Christ, was often used by the Early Christians as a mark of
identification. Hence New Age members believe that the transition
away from the zodiac sign of the Fishes means that the era of
Christ is coming to an end.[15]
What does the Theosophical Society teach?
Having known that the New Age Movement was formed through the
Theosophical Society founded by Mme. Blavatsky, it is important
now to consider the Society's doctrine. The word "Theosophy"comes
from certain Greek words commonly translated as "divine wisdom."
It is a system of thought which has appeared in different ages,
taking different forms, and which has attempted to explain the
nature of God, the universe, and man's relation to them. Among
the Orientals it is conspicuous in the philosophical systems of
China, India and Egypt. It is seen in the works of the Gnostics,
the Neo-Platonists, and the Cabalists, and in the speculations of
Jakob Bohme (1575 - 1624), Friedrich Willhelm Joseph von
Schelling, and Johannes Meister Eckharad (1260 - 1327),
Pythagoras, Plato and Plotinus. During the Middle Ages, traces of
the teaching can be found in Masonry, and later in the Order of
Rosicrucians,[16] and it has at all times comprised the esoteric
side of the great man-made religions of the world.[17]
In the modern sense, theosophy is a modern Gnostic movement which
attempts a synthesis of religious, philosophical, and scientific
insights drawn from many traditions, but primarily from Hindu
philosophy and occult sciences. We find Theosophist denying
fundamental Christian concepts about the nature of God and the
soul. They teach that God is immanent in the world and that He is
not wholly external to creation but a part of it - this is, in
fact, pantheism. The evolution of the soul is a fundamental
doctrine of the Society. They believe that salvation comes from
evolution and at the same time deny the need for vicarious
atonement. Evolution, in the theosophic sense, is a process of
self-realization or manifestation carried on by the Cosmic Life
by means of repeated incarnations. Its alleged purpose is the
perfecting of man and all creatures. All matter contains
consciousness, which is evolving not in a mechanical way, but as
a result of a divine plan guided by intelligence. It is conceived
as a twofold movement. The first, involving an ascent into
spirit. This is why the New Age movement refuses a
rationalistic-mechanical conception of the world. In summary, the
four key doctrines that are generally accepted among Theosophical
societies, not excluding the New Age Movement, are the divine
origin of the soul in a pantheistic sense, evolution
reincarnation, and karma. The last doctrine comes from Hinduism,
and claims that the spirit advances to its goal through a
succession of earthly lives, and that the consequences of a man's
actions in his present life are reaped by his successor on earth
in a fresh incarnation.[18]
The original goals of the Theosophical Society were to establish
a library and to circulate information concerning secret laws of
nature. Later these objectives were amplified, and as of 1967 are
the following:
1. To form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity,
without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste, or colour.
2. To encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy and
science.
3. To investigate the unexplained laws of nature and the powers
latent in man.
A motto of the Theosphical Society is "There is no religion
higher than Truth." Their international headquarters where their
president resides is in Adyar, India. It is established in more
than 50 countries, and it has among its adherents members of
almost all religious sects. In America, they publish a monthly
magazine called The American Theosophist, which is sent to all
members and furnishes an exchange of ideas among the lodges.
Meanwhile, they sell a magazine called Discovery, published
annually, for non-members.[19]
Borrowing a system of doctrine from Theosophists, the New Age
Movement has given it adaptations and further development. They
advocate a need for a new way of thinking which considers all
things as interdependent, which accordingly need to be regarded
holistically. Every individual must feel a part of nature and the
whole cosmos-a micro-cosmos in the macrocosms. Thus rational
thinking, which proceeds analytically and critically and which
formed the basis of scientific method, is to give way to
synthetical thinking and intuitive knowledge based on
non-rational experience. The philosophy of the New Age Movement
aims at reconciling all opposites in such way that science and
occultism are placed on a par. All ethical values collapse, good
and evil no longer exist. All is one. This explains their move
towards a synthesis of all religions. New Agers agree with
Catholic Thomists in claiming that the ultimate goal of man is to
find happiness. Their main emphasis for the criterion of living
is on personal satisfaction and temporal success. Fear of
apocalyptic events is therefore channelled into escapism to a
utopian "world society where there are no tensions."[20]
The New Age Movement as a Religion
The New Age movement has its own "holy scriptures,"prayers and
mantras. It also has its own spiritual centres, such as the
Findhorn community in Scotland and the Esalen Institute in
California. Within the movement can be found priests and gurus, a
proclaimed "Messiah,"prophets and people with allegedly
extraordinary powers. Furthermore, the Movement proclaims that
man is God and that man created God in his own image. Indeed,
true to their conviction that "all is one,"they consider man to
be a part of the Godhead, i.e., the "cosmic consciousness"or the
"Force". All one needs to do is to discover and develop his yoga
and other methods. Ultimately, man is on his way to godhood. It
is even said that one may enter fully into the spirit of the God
of Force.[21]
Believing that God is a neutral force that can be manipulated
either for good or evil, New Age occultists are greatly
interested in learning the means by which they can achieve this.
Thus at the centre of this New Age spirituality is faith in man
in the all- pervasive energy or life force throughout the
cosmos.[22]
An essential part of the New Age Religion is the use of certain
psycho technologies. They include the following practices:
meditation, yoga, Zen, hypnosis, transpersonal psychology,[23]
and positive thinking. The growing feminism has some links with
New Age spirituality. While feminist theology endeavours to
represent the God of the Bible as being both masculine and
feminine or even as an exclusively feminine godhead, the radical
vanguard of the New Age feminist movement is already demanding
that the Christian faith be replaced by the myth of Gaia, "mother
Earth,"whose cult is now being revived and practised. What is
common among many New Age groups is a counterfeit religious
experience such as contact with demons through drugs, meditation,
psycho technologies, and other ventures. They also believe in
UFO's and extra-terrestrial beings, from which they reputedly
also receive messages. The symbols used by the Movement are
notable. For example, the occult Indo- Germanic sign of good luck
adopted by Adolf Hitler. The biblical number 666 (Apoc. 13.18)
which according to Alice Bailey, possesses sacred qualities and
which according to New Age teaching should be used frequently in
order to accelerate the progress of civilization and the coming
of the New Age. One of its most widely used signs is the rainbow,
which is meant to symbolize the bridge between man and the Great
Universal Mind, in the final analysis, Lucifer. Indeed, it is
remarkable how frequent the sign of the rainbow has become
lately. You can find it, for instance, on promotional gifts,
stationeries, clothing and toys.[24]
A few other facts about the movement
While undertaking this study of the New Age movement, I was able
to find a volume of their authentic propaganda, totally New Age.
One article, by Marilyn Ferguson, states that a Gallup poll
released in February, 1978, reported that 10 million Americans
were engaged in some aspect of Eastern religion, 9 million in
spiritual healing. Those involved in Eastern religions tended to
be young adults, college educated, living on either of the two
coasts, about equally men and women. Catholic and Protestant, at
least nominally. The author tries to justify the need for a new
religion that will satisfy man's hunger for peace and happiness
on this earth, and proposes the New Age Religion as the way this
would be accomplished. She also cites western psychologists like
William James, Carl Jung, Abraham Maslow, and Roberto Assogioli,
as trying to understand transcendent needs and the irrepressible
hunger for meaning which leads to an affirmation of the New Age
Movement. Marilyn Ferguson also wrote other material which has
contributed a lot to the awareness of New Age teaching among the
general public. "Lauding the promised land of the New Age and the
joys of altered states of consciousness, it (her literature)
propagates the New Age Plan throughout the world.[25]
Another article in the volume speaks extensively of the New World
Order, which seems to be a main concern of New Agers. Five
ethical principles are listed for the New World order. They
are:
1. The value of all human beings (despite New Agers'support for
abortion).
2. The right of all human beings to satisfaction of their basic
human needs,
physical, psychological and metaphysical.
3. Equality of opportunity for self-development for all human
beings.
4. Recognition that these principles and goals must be achieved
within
ecological tolerance of lands, seas, air, forests and the total
carrying capacity of the biosphere. (Hence their pacifism.)
5. Recognition that all these principles apply with equal
emphasis to future human generations and their biospheric life
support system. Thus they include a respect for all other life
forms, and the Earth itself a respect which is often not the same
as our Christian respect.
Intermediate goals of the Movement
Although the New Age Movement's ultimate goal is world
domination, there are numerous intermediate goals of a political,
social, and economic nature. These include the following:
- a universal credit card system;
- a world food authority which would control the world's food
supply;
-a a universal tax;
-a a universal draft, in spite of the Movement's pacifist ideas.
After the
Movement presented itself to the public in 1975, further details
came forth: -the establishment of a world economic system;
- the replacement of private ownership of credit, transport and
staple production with ownership by a world directorate;
- the recognition of biological controls on a worldwide basis of
population and disease;
- a minimum standard of freedom and welfare throughout the
world;
- a duty of subordinating personal life to that of a world
directorate. Professing peace and love, the Movement has
succeeded in blinding many of its adherents to its real goals and
deceiving them in supporting the following:
-Aryanisim, i.e., the domination of the Western races; as with
Hitler, this is linked with anti-Semitism;
- mass planetary initiation, also called "Luciferic
initiation,"i.e., an act of consecration to Lucifer.
- cleansing action, i.e., the extermination of all those who
disagree with the Movement's goals;
- abortion and artificial insemination;
- forced limitation of family size;
- genetic control;
- death control, whereby a cult is made of death, which is
regarded as a euphoric experience and the transition to
continuously new life cycles.[26]
An assessment and critique
The New Age Movement has already done much toward corrupting
morality, in our Christian sense, by creating its own values
incompatible with Catholic Christianity. At the outset it is
difficult for ordinary persons, or even professionals, to
recognize the hidden agenda of this Movement because it is
presented so nicely and so humanely and with so much concern for
the environment that it appeals to common sense to partake in
such a common concern. But in all their plans, as listed above
for the New World order, there is no due place for God. It is all
humanistic and ecological. God for them is not here on earth
where everyone will be satisfied and live always in peace. On the
other hand, such an idealistic view cannot be realized because we
are created not to live forever on this earth, but to be with God
forever in His Kingdom. That is why the Church calls our sojourn
here on earth a pilgrimage to the heavenly city. (GS 57) This is
not to mean, however, that we should neglect due care of God's
creation; rather, this involves not a lesser, but rather a
greater commitment to working with (GS 57). But the Church, to
which we are all called in Christ Jesus, will receive perfection
only in the glory of heaven when together with the human race,
the universe itself, which is so closely related to man and which
attains its destiny through him, will be perfectly re-
established in Christ. (LG 48; CCC 1042). Thus it is our duty to
make this world a better world; but we should not lose the view
of our ultimate end - God Himself. (Cf. CCC 27).
Since the New Age Movement contains the errors of Theosophy, as
we have seen, it shares the condemnation of Theosophy by the Holy
Office. This condemnation was confirmed by Pope Benedict XV on
July 7, 1919. It puts the question: Can the doctrines which today
men call theosophical, be reconciled with Catholic doctrine, and
hence is it lawful to enroll in theosophical societies, take part
in their gatherings, read their books, periodicals, journals,
writings? And replies: Negative in omnibus (In the negative in
everything). (DS 3648;ASS 11 (1919), p. 317)[27]
As we have seen above, the New Age Movement, together with
Theosophical Societies, involve occult ventures. The Church on
her part rejects such practices. The Catechism of the Catholic
Church explicitly says that "...All forms of divination are to be
rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or
other practices falsely supposed to unveil the future...All
practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame
occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a
supernatural power over others - even if this were for the sake
of restoring health - are gravely contrary to the virtue of
religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when
accompanied by the intention on harming someone, or when they
have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is
also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical
practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it.
Recourse to the so-called traditional cures does not justify
either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of
another's credulity."(CCC 2116-2117).
Another problem that induces people to abandon their Catholic
faith, or to become lax in it, and venture into the New Age
program is the problem of suffering. This is a big problem
indeed, but it is perhaps because they have lost the
eschatological view of the Christian Faith. Indeed, " the
sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the
glory that is to be revealed to us." (Rom. 8:18; LG 48) On the
other hand, Pope John Paul II treats the problem of suffering
extensively in his encyclical Salvifici Doloris, on how suffering
can be for our advantage and also for the advantage of others in
the order of charity.
Many things are involved in the New Age Movement which are not
covered in this article. However, I think that I have covered the
essentials. It should be clear that we should beware of its
dangers to human society and to the individual, and at the same
time see a need, when opportune, to warn others.
Christian Order Magzine, Volume 37, Number . January, 1996
ENDNOTES
1. Basilea Schlink, New Age, from a Biblical Viewpoint,
Evangelical Sisters of Mary, Darmstadt. West Germany, p. 6.
2. Encyclopedia Brittanica,, Vol. 18, p. 277.
3. Ibid., p. 278.
4. R.K. MacMaster, s.v. "Theosophy," in The New Catholic
Encyclopedia, McGraw- Hill Book Co., Washington D.C., 1967, pp.
74-75.
5. Eugene T. Adams, s.v. "Besant, Annie Wood" (1847-1933), from
The World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 212.
6. R.K. MacMaster, s.v. "Theosophy," in The New Catholic
Encyclopedia.
7. A loosely associated group of schismatical, autonomous
communities brought together in the Union of Utrecht in 1889,
which dissented from the First Vatican Council.
8. This Church has many similarities to the Roman Catholic Church
with regard to doctrine and the sacraments: but it does not
exclude Eastern beliefs such as reincarnation.
9. Fulton J. Sheen, s.v. "Theosophy," in The Catholic
Encyclopedia Dictionary, The Gilmary Society, N.Y., 1929, p.
947.
10. Nuouo Dizionano del Religione, ed. Hans Waldesfels, San
Paolo, Milano, 1993.
11. Basilea Schlink, New Age, p. 8.
12. This New World Order involves a New World Government and a
New World Religion, with the main political objective of global
control, and advocates the dissolution and/or destruction of
individual nation states in the interest of peace and
conservation, according to Constance E. Cumbey, The Hidden
Dangers of the Rainbow: The New Age Movement and Our Coming Age
of Barbarism, Huntington House, Inc., Shreveport, Louisiana, USA:
1983, p. 63.
13. Ibid., p. 8.
14. M. Fuss, s.v. "New Age," in Nuouo Dizionario delle Religioni,
p. 642.
15. Basilea Schlink, New Age, p. 13.
16. In Latin: Fraternitas rosa crucis, or Brotherhood of the Red
Cross. A sect of this name arose at the beginning of the 17th
century, but traced its origin to the 16th century Johann
Valentin Andrea (who used the pseudonym Christian Rosencrenz,
meaning "rose cross"), who is said to have learned Arabian magic
while travelling in the East. The sect engaged in occultism and
mysticism. From the 19th century it has been considered by some
to be a branch of Freemasonry. In recent decades there have been
at least three groups of Rosecrucians headquartered in various
cities in the United States.
17. James S. Perkins, s.v. "Theosophy," in The Encyclopedia
Americana, Americana Corp., N.Y., 1967.
18. H. M. Kallen, s.v. "Theosophist," in The World Book
Encyclopedia.
19. James S. Perkins, s.v. "Theosophy," op. cit.
20. Basilea Schlink, New Age, p. 11.
21. E. Dowling, in the introduction to The Aquarian Gospel of
Jesus Christ as quoted by B. Schlink, op. cit., p. 14.
22. B. Schlink, New Age, p. 14.
23. "Transpersonal psychology pertains to experiences reaching
beyond the limits of the individual, that is, beyond the limits
of the personality and personal consciousness. During which
experiences the person sacrifices his or her independent
personality and allows himself to be ruled and manipulated by the
psychotechnician in order to regress into prior lives or submerge
into other worlds." (B. Schlink, New Age, p. 31).
24. B. Schlink, New Age, pp. 13 18.
25. Basilea Schlink, New Age, p. 9.
26. Basilea Schlink, New Age, pp. 11-12.
27. Enrico Zoffoli, Dizionario del Cristianesimo, s.v.
"Theosophy," Sinopsis Initiative Culturale, Roma, 1992, p.
524.
Copyright (c) 1996 EWTN
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Further Reading:
Refutation of the New
Age Movement
Holy Spirit Watch
