October 14, 2006 8:38 PM
Defending your faith
This has been in my Inbox for a while - sometimes the ones that need answering most take the longest for me to get to. Sorry!
I am a Christian. I am 33 years old. I come from a "Christian" family. I have been having an on-going struggle with some in my family.
How do you answer questions from people that know better, but they just want to take a liberal spin on things? The questions brought up were: "How DO you KNOW that Christ is the only way? Other religions have THEIR beliefs too, why do YOU think that your way is the best way? Why do YOU think that Christianity isn't a cult, when the others think that they aren't a cult either?"
AACCKK!!!
All these questions from people that should know better.
What was it that made you, Barabara, grasp the concept and reality of Christ? What was it that turned you away from new-age stuff and turn to Christ? Where can I learn how to answer these awful direct and hard questions, questions that I know the answer to, but have no idea how to put them into words to say to my siblings and their spouses.
I"m sorry to bother you. :) I just knew that you weren't always a Christian and I wanted to ask someone with experience in it.
I became a Christian almost by accident - it was certainly the last thing I wanted to be!
When I got off drugs and alcohol in 1980, as my head started to clear I wanted to find out more about this "Higher Power" on whom I had learned to rely for my sobriety. Since I hadn't been raised with any teaching about Jesus, and since I was an extreme liberal, I was very prejudiced against Christians. I also lived in Marin County, where only 4% of the population goes to any kind of church at all, and where my contempt for Christians was right at home.
I got involved in the New Age, where I could pick and choose spiritual ideas to form a religion that worked for me. By 1987, Tripp and I had married and along with the two daughters I'd brought into the marriage, we'd had three sons. We'd also built a successful business and bought a home in one of the most expensive counties in the U.S. The New Age priniciples were working for us in every area of our lives - except our marriage. You can find the full story of two hard-headed liberals who surrendered their lives to Christ here.
Tripp's family was ultra-liberal and found the change in us uncomfortable and terribly embarassing. None of them has yet to share our faith. They are probably universalists - much as we were - believing that all paths lead to the same God.
The only problem with that reasoning is that Jesus flatly denied that to be the case, insisting that he was the only way to reach God. The opinion that he was just a good teacher is therefore flawed.
It is impossible to argue someone into believing that Jesus is the Son of God and the only way to reach God. It is really a leap of faith. I was a philosophy major and used to things being very complex and sophisticated. And yet somehow, when presented with the Four Spiritual Laws, I believed. And I surrendered my life. And after that everything was completely different.
My best advice is just to keep things simple and just love and pray for your family.
Here is an article I wrote for teens and young adults about communicating the truth of Jesus Christ with New Agers. At the end is an important logical response which may be helpful in other situations as well.
NOT OF THIS TREEYour best friend slides into the booth beside you, orders a latte and fumbles in her backpack for a book she’s dying to show you. Cool cover – a lotus flower on a neon orange background, “A Teenager’s Guide†across the top. Below, the title: Just Say Om: Your Life’s Journey.
“You know, like Ommmmm. That’s how I start my meditation every morning. This book has really changed my life,†she says.
The next weekend you find yourself at the Cineplex with friends – seeing some lame movie about a sad lady who finds her husband reincarnated in a young stud’s body.
Your drama teacher recommends “visualization†to help you get into character and your boss at the bike shop spent all summer talking about self-actualization.
What in the world is going on? Things keep taking you by surprise, like taking a bite of something that leaves a funny taste in your mouth.
It’s the New Age, and its ideas are poison. That’s why no matter how trivial or out-to-lunch some New Age practices appear, you need to take the underlying ideas seriously. Not just for self-protection, but because the more you understand the differences between New Age religion and Christianity, the better able you’ll be to eliminate confusion in people who are earnestly seeking the truth.
What exactly is the New Age? Impossible to narrow down, the New Age is actually a vast smorgasbord of beliefs and practices. Each New Ager fills his tray with whatever assortment fits his appetite. All is liberally seasoned with self-centeredness.
Although there are many branches of New Age thought – ranging from meditation to firewalking – they stem from an ancient stock. The roots of the New Age tree spread around the globe to India. One might think that the human condition of a country dominated by Hinduism would speak louder than words about the truth of the religion. But New Agers seem blind to the contradiction.
Instead the typical new Ager believes:
-God is in everything (pantheism)
-All things are one (monism)
-Man is God
-Mind creates reality
-One’s own experience validates the truth
New Agers do not believe in evil. Therefore, they do not accept man’s problem as separation by his sin from God. Instead, they believe that each of us has forgotten his own divinity. Therefore, the New Age solution is to seek “higher consciousness†through meditation, breathing exercises, yoga, diet, crystals, channeling. Spirit guides, and more. Each of these diverse practices has the same purpose: to awaken the god in man.
While these practices may seem too far out to pose much of a threat to those abiding in the truth, Christians need to be on guard. In recent years, New Age influence has crept into our culture in schools, corporations, and doctors’ offices. Since Star Wars, movies have become dominated by New Age spirituality.
A true understanding of New Age practices makes one thing clear: Eastern practices cannot be blended into Christianity to produce something better. Many New Agers are Universalists, believing that all paths lead to God. They fault Christians for being intolerant and narrow-minded. But God’s word anticipates this: “Enter the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the path that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.†(Matthew 7:13 NIV)
The good news is that, in a way, the New Ager’s broad acceptance holds the key to getting him back on the straight and narrow. Most New Agers hold Jesus in high regard, believing him to be a great spiritual teacher, or guru. Many study the words he spoke, although they put a different “spin†on them.
How can we reach those under such subtle deception? The answer is Jesus Himself. Since Jesus is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,†He himself can be the common ground on which the new Ager and the Christian can meet, though one stands in darkness and one in light.
Here is a five-step approach to discussing Jesus with new Agers:
1) Who do you believe Jesus is?
2) Who did Jesus say He is?
The Son of God (John 11:4)3) What did Jesus say about other spiritual paths?
“I and the Father are one.†(John 10:30)
“No one comes to the Father except through me.†(John 14:6)
4) Jesus was either who he said He was or He was a fraud.Given His claims, we can’t logically believe he was only a great teacher, for He would have been teaching falsehood rather than truth. (This is an argument by C. S. Lewis)
5) Jesus only is “the way, the truth, and the life.†(John 14:6)
New Agers are in a lot of confusion. That’s because they haven’t found the truth, but only what fits into the spiritual perspective they have constructed. As in the Garden of Eden, the lie has never changed.
But neither has the Truth. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see immediate results from sharing with new Agers. In many cases where they finally came to Christ, God had been planting seeds and watering for a long time. Remember, God loves New Age seekers too!
Barbara Curtis, a New Age seeker for seven years before learning the truth about Jesus, knows firsthand that God is bigger than the bogeyman – or any guru either.
Posted in Religion | Permalink
Comments
Barbara,
thanks for this post. My nephew is questioning things too. He has read Nietzsche and is asking question after question. I am going to print this out and send even though it is a bit different than his thoughts. Thanks for the time it took to write this.
Posted by: janet | October 15, 2006 8:51 AM
Thank you for this entry. My sisters and I were all raised in a Christian home and all made professions of faith at a young age. One of my sisters was greatly hurt by the way she was treated and how she saw her friends who were different than stereotypical "cool" teenages treated by Christians. Shortly thereafter she was introduced to new age philosophy by many of the subtle ways you mentioned above and now is a very bold, self-proclaimed pagan, holding to most of the tenets you outlined above, except that she does not view Jesus as a great teacher. She has projected the hurt she has felt from Christians onto her image of him, so that she doesn't seem to think of him much at all, except when she is in a difficult situation and asks us to pray for her. I continue to pray for her, while seeking to show her unconditional love. Perhaps I will have a future opportunity to talk with her about some of the things you mentioned. Thanks again.
Posted by: Bessers | October 15, 2006 2:37 PM
I have always found that this observation (is it by CS Lewis? Or another famous Christian writer?) simplifies things for me:
Jesus claimed to be the only begotten Son of God, the only way to heaven, and so forth. This is not reasonably argued; there is plenty of historical evidence for these claims. These claims got him killed, actually.
Either He was a liar (I hate to even type that; my Lord is no liar), or He was crazy (hate to type that, too, God forgive me), or He was telling the truth.
Read His Word and see if it is the Word of a crazy or deceptive Man. If you are honest with yourself, you will see that He is indeed the Messiah, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
That said, no one gets argued into faith. It is indeed the work of the Holy Spirit. Our job is but to present the gospel by words and actions.
Posted by: Marie | October 15, 2006 2:40 PM
Janet - I studied Nietzsche in college. He is the originator of the line "God is dead" and the hero of many nonbelievers - including me when I was one myself. Time changes things - and so does prayer. The best thing for your nephew is to see people living out their faith authentically.
Bessers - It is a mystery to me - as someone who didn't grow up in the faith - how one who has can walk away from it. But I know it happens as one of my sons is wandering now too. Again, the best we can do is love them anyway and continue to build our relationship as best we can. And pray!
Marie - I'm glad you mentioned that. I've heard it too - in fact, I was thinking of it when I wrote that article - and it is so true.
Posted by: barbara | October 15, 2006 3:03 PM
Thank you, Barbara, for contrasting the viewpoints we humans are drawn to in an attempt to feel connected, whole, or loved.
I lost a lot of time in my life, consuming the poison hidden in the aesthetics of new age thought. Eleven years. I studied everything and eventually became trained in a wellness practice similiar to chiropractic, which is very effective in reordering the body.
I studied energy field therory and awareness and associated new age ideas of crystals and spirit guides all in the belief that we were all resting in a field of love.
I renounced evil and when I encountered it in someone I just assumed that they were contracting from an absence of love, or that their personality wasnt yet integrated. I truly felt compassion for everyone in need of love and sought to provide them with loving kindness.
A series of events showed me that everything I thought was truth couldn't save me from the terror I began to experience. I realized a deep feeling I could only imagine was "separation from God".
When I asked Jesus to come into my life, Christians started coming out of the woodwork. People I didnt know were christians began offering prayer. Yet, I can also say that a dark force was working on me as well....who wants to beleive in satan? I lost nearly everything I had. It led to a complete mental breakdown..resulting in a mustard seed of Faith.
Its taken a lot of effort to detox from this poison, folks. Its a thick veneer which masks emptiness, keeping us from a real experiental relationship with our personal creator through Jesus. He's real folks, which is so amazing.
So I thank you for your site here, I have a friend who is a bodyworker who is still living in the shadows...saying Jesus was a great master like buddah, rumi, meher babba, etc. I don't really know how to talk with them.
Its really sad and difficult to talk with these friends who would do anything for you until you say,"Jesus". And I know all too well, because I was there.
Im not going to ramble on, but I find it interesting how so many people have a strong AVERSION to the name Jesus.
When you say "Jesus" to someone, they freak out.
I never blog, so I hope this is valuable to someone out there.
The evil one comes in to your life through these channels, folks...tarot, etc.
note: "Lord" perfectly replaces "OM".
prayer is something to discover!
Posted by: joel | November 5, 2006 7:48 PM
