What does new age mean from a religious perspective? That question may be asked by someone seeking a more relevant spiritual understanding for things happening in their lives or the lives in their families that traditional local churches are not answering. It is for those inquiring for this reason that we will look at New Age, or New Age Christianity the religion, to address your concerns.
In comparing any other religion to New Age Christianity, we need to use an example to show the religious application. Sound confusing? It is not. Just comparing theological views and you just selecting the religion which makes the most sense to you to become close to God will not work. There is more than just agreement over theological views involved, there is the application of views into your life as well, and the role of religion itself in your life that needs explanation also. Let us say we have a large cruise ship, and we have a small passenger jet plane. Both are mechanical vehicles, and both transport people. From there on out they are both completely different and operate in completely different settings. What place if any, do either of these vehicles have in your life, and in your life path and your lessons to learn in it?
In our religious comparison, Christianity and pretty much all other traditional religions operate by focusing on God, and the correct views and information you need to learn from them to get you close to God. They start by teaching you about God, and how to build a relationship with God by diminishing yourself the individual to do so. Their premise is you are a mistake and need to be fixed to please God. The view you have of your present life and the problems you have in it are of no concern to the religion because they are all caused by your sin and are just trials to be endured. Your problems do not matter. What matters is you conform to their description of a believer and regular attender, and you come to the religion on the religion’s terms and that is all there is to it.
That was the reason that secret societies were created in the Middle Ages for Aristocracy. The affluent, open minded, and compassionate in society needed sanctuary to share ideas about government, religious and philosophical, with each other. Those were subjects for which the Church, a powerful arm of the government had authority to torture misfits and mentally weak as witches and persecute by hanging and burning those who shared views contradictory to what was in the Bible. Disagreeing with them for their answers not fitting your questions was taken as heresy and punishable by painful death. That same mentality is in most churches today. Mainstream Christianity is a wasp nest of God focused wasps painting you as simple and ignorant and in need of conformity. The emphasis is on God, and not on you solving your problems and expanding yourself.
That is the setting as we see it. New Age Christianity’s approach is opposite: We focus on you and you learning about all the beautiful complexity of you and your world. Other religion’s postures are on God, with them in between both. Our religious posture is on you as the portal to God. They say God is out there and you need them to get to God. We say God is within because He made you in His image. Moreover, the way to get to and have deepest fellowship with God is in your being your highest self, period. We want to help you remove all the barriers God has placed there preventing that from happening. The God placed barriers are for your spiritual growth and are good. The man placed barriers are bad and to rob you of you finding you.
Why did God put barriers between you and Him? Good question, to teach you something. Yours is a beautiful, complex, and complete world. You were created far more than an obscure person floating aimlessly in a sea of randomness and chaos. You were created with a mind, preset to see things a certain way, abilities, and the desire to pursue them, and that is not all. You also came with a preset life path, in a specific location, in a particular time and place in Humankind in history. So too was everyone else you have ever known or will meet. They are a beneficial part of your life as are you a part of theirs. The problems, the lacks, sufferings, and losses you have experienced were all planned as lessons with answers. You are the student; your past life is your teacher, your present and future are your time to learn and give back the wisdom you have gained to yourself and others.
Do you see a difference? In other religions it is about the religion, New Age or New Age Christianity focuses on issues about you, your world and you discovering your contribution to Humankind. If it negatively affects you finding you, then it is important for religion to help you learn about it and overcome it. That is why we discuss subjects here on many levels; emotional, social, cultural, and things such as boundaries, selfishness, self-esteem, finding God, finding our self, pride, religion, patriotism, emotional pain, feeling rejected, loneliness, fitting in, finding meaning, being overwhelmed, and others.
All sufferings contain lessons to make us stronger and bring us wisdom and greater understanding. Religion should be the vehicle to help you do that. Religion should be a toolbox to help you build yourself to your fullest. Part of the way this will happen is if you are taught to use your seven spiritual activities or gifts of your mind and heart. Old traditional religious perspective is on how God and church managements see you. And you are an invisible listening audience to all their rules you must meet for their supposedly unconditional love. New Age Christianity focuses on the importance of not how God and they see you, but on the supreme importance of how you see them, God, religion, and religious managements as well. In your world, you should come first. That means the importance of seeing things through your own eyes in all matters pertaining to you. In fixing ourselves, that is a good place to start.
Just for the record, this is an emotional and spiritual encouragement ministry. We are selling nothing here and are not at the present time even set up to take donations, and probably never will. Your healed life is our reward enough, and we are very pleased with that. If you want to, please share your strength with others in your future so our nurturing can live on.