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"NEW THOUGHT" - Its Roots and Branches Roots: Ancient Mystery Religions, Kabbalah, Gnosticism, Rosicrucianism, Swedenborg, Theosophy, Hermetic magic... Branches: Unity Church, Christian Science, Divine Science, Science of Mind, Word of Faith, Oprah Winfrey & New SpiritualityRelated: Secret societies, Freemasons...
Note: Since these occult pathways are fast merging with contemporary "Christianity," we need to recognize and reject them -- and be prepared to warn others. While the masses mock God's Truth and dismiss discernment, we must stand firm on His unchangeable Word and follow His wonder-full narrow way!
The following links are not in chronological order:
New Thought Movement Home Page: "The New Thought movement... is a more than century-old, practically oriented spirituality that promotes fullness of all aspects of living, through constructive thinking, meditating, and other ways of realizing the presence of God. New Thought includes Unity, Religious Science (Science of Mind), Divine Science, and other groups and individuals. It was recognized as 'The Religion of Healthy-Mindedness' by William James in The Varieties of Religious Experience."
The next excerpt is no longer available at the original link. Please notice the crucial admission in the first sentence: "New Thought" is a blending of "Christianity" and the occult! As we continue to move toward a global spirituality, this synthesis between good and evil will become increasingly acceptable -- especially among the young.
New Thought: "New Thought, and the related movement, Christian Science, were based on the integration of the more traditional Christian ideas with nineteenth century metaphysical traditions. The metaphysical tradition embodies a sense of spirituality concerned with mystical experience and the importance of the power of the mind over the body particularly in terms of enabling healing. The general ideas were essentially delineated by some of the prominent writers and philosophers of the time: Emanuel Swedenborg, Franz Anton Mesmer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, and Warren Felt Evans...."During the 18th century, Emanuel Swedenborg offered spiritual interpretations based on his metaphysical thought in place of classic Biblical interpretations. Mary Baker Eddy and Christian Science would similarly make their own interpretations while relying heavily on Swedenborg's metaphysical ideas. These interpretations were obtained as a result of his communications with supernatural beings [demonic] and were numerous enough to fill several volumes. Two important elements were the very concrete elevation of the spirit over the physical matter and subsequently, according to the 'law of correspondence,' between the two mediums of existence. "Swedenborg expounded on many elements of the Bible.... New Thought would also create new interpretations of the Bible based their own metaphysical assumptions." New Thought books: "The writers featured on this site range -
Tracing the Principle of All-Sufficiency (by John Randolph Price) "The Ancients taught that to understand one's self was to understand God, and through the process of meditation, one could release the divine energy from within and transmute discord into harmony, ignorance into wisdom, fear into love, and lack into abundance. The initiate was trained to conceive the highest and noblest ideas as the vision for manifestation, and then to identify the symbols of the vision with the Master Spirit within - the Source of all....."The Mystery Schools of Asia, Egypt, Persia and Greece provided an invaluable service to human-kind by reawakening the spiritual powers in a core group dedicated men and women. And this knowledge of harmony and fulfillment continued in sacred books and secret teachings... in the Hebrew Qabbalah, by Hindu and Buddhist Mystics, in the Gnostic writings of early Christianity, and in certain passages not removed from the Bible. "Through the inspiration and teachings of Jesus, the Gnostics continued the esoteric tradition. Their writings emphasized the Oneness of God and man, the divinity of the individual, and the creative power of each soul to rise above limitation..... "From the Gospel of Philip, we are reminded of the esoteric practice of transforming vision into manifest form: '...what you see you shall become.' The Gnostics worshipped the pure spiritual Light of the indwelling Christ, and through their knowledge of thought-form energy and the principles of manifestation, they were able to cooperate with Spirit in the releasing of the creative powers -- at least for nearly 300 years following Jesus' time on Earth...."What is known today as a 'prosperity consciousness' -- the realization of God as the Source of all good -- was almost non-existent. ... The western mind was kept 'in the dark' until the institutional structure began to crack in the 1500's and the eternal principles of Oneness and Unity began to resurface. "The Rosicrucians.... Following the traditions of the ancient Egyptians and the Christian Gnostics, members of the secret society were known to transcend the limitations of the physical world through their spiritual awakening.... "Freemasonry -- 'more ancient than any of the world's living religions' according to Albert Pike -- continued the chain of the sacred Mysteries. Through an understanding of spiritual Reality and a dedication to Wisdom, Love and Service, the Master Masons attained 'supernatural' powers.... The race mind was beginning to feel the effect of this new Light of Understanding. "By the 1800's esoteric philosophy and practical mysticism were moving across Europe and America like a tidal wave. The Transcendental Movement led by Ralph Waldo Emerson began in New England; the Metaphysical Movement was ushered in by Phineas Quimby; H. P. Blavatsky and Henry Olcott founded the Theosophical Society... the New Thought Movement blossomed through the work and teachings of Charles and Myrtle Fillmore (Unity).... Alice Bailey established the Arcane School; Rudolph Steiner formed the Anthroposophical Society; Paramahansa Yogananda founded the Self-Realization Fellowship; and out of the wealth of material in the Edgar Cayce files grew the Association for Research and Enlightenment -- to name but a few contributors to the New Age of spiritual unfoldment. "It is now estimated that at least 25 percent of the population America is involved in some measure with what is considered Esoteric Philosophy or New Thought Religion.... "The Truth and the Law.... Your outer world of form and experience is a reflection of your inner world of thoughts and feelings. As above, so below. As within, so without. That is the Law."
Charles Fillmore 1854-1948: "The Unity movement was founded by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore in the late 1880s." Science of Mind: "Science of Mind is not a personal opinion, nor is it a special revelation.... It borrows much of its light from others, but in so doing does not rob anyone, for truth is universal and never personal. We need the entire revelation of the whole world. ... A successful person thinks success, and the law of mind that reacts has no other choice than to produce an effect corresponding to the causative idea. ...In short, if you can relate to the teachings of Oprah Winfrey, Deepak Chopra and Marianne Williamson, you'll feel right at home here at Visions Center."Oprah Winfrey - GROWING WINGS: THE PHASES OF HUMAN METAMORPHOSIS: "The Phases of Human Metamorphosis. Psychological metamorphosis has four phases. You'll go through these phases, more or less in order, after any major change catalyst (falling in love or breaking up, getting or losing a job, having children or emptying the nest, etc.). The strategies for dealing with change depend on the phase you're experiencing.
Phase One: DissolvingPhase Two: ImaginingPhase Three: Re-FormingPhase Four: FlyingCompare the above steps with those of the Transformational Marxist Kurt Lewin who left the Frankfurt Institute in Germany to help transform American education. See "Kurt Lewin's strategy for change:
While Lewin doesn't list a fourth point, it's understood and included within the concept of FREEZING. It's PRAXIS: The Communist concept of continual and experiential group practice. Each new social/psychological lesson must be sealed through strategic group experience. [Flying] Swedenborg: "...at age fifty-six he claimed that he entered into a new spiritual phase of his life, experiencing first dreams, and later visions of a spiritual world where he talked with angels and spirits, many of them from the Bible, such as Moses and Jesus. Amongst other things, he said these spirits guided his interpretation of the Scriptures.... By 1744, in the Netherlands, Swedenborg had completed publication of his scientific works. Shortly thereafter he travelled once again to London. "Around this time he began having strange dreams.... He was dreaming about angelic states and about demonic states, about spiritual things and material, and was often very frightened. All these dreams he analyzed and wrote down in a notebook, found a century later and published as Journal of Dreams.... He often paid little attention to the distinction of day and night, and is known to have lain for days at a time in a trance. His servants were sometimes disturbed at night by hearing what he called his conflicts with evil spirits. He himself also attests to frequent visions and communication with spirits in broad daylight, in a full state of wakefulness...."In October 1744 he was instructed in his dreams to abandon his old career as a scientist and... write about spiritual things. ...The Worship and Love of God... was published in 1745. According to Swedenborg's own account, the Lord filled him with His spirit to teach the doctrines of the New Church. God commissioned him to do this work... permitting him to see the heavens and the hells, and to converse with angels and spirits for many years." The last three references below may not be strictly "New Thought," but they do show its similarities to other contemporary spiritual movements. Deepak Chopra: "When the body leaves the soul we call that death, but the witnessing awareness, the inner self which persists, does not die. Life goes through a radical transformation in which the non-local domain of consciousness is no longer tethered to a physical body or bound by the constraints of others and material life. It’s not that the deceased can no longer have attention toward their loved ones, but the from the soul’s point of view, their physical life has completed because it is time for their evolution to continue along different themes, so a preoccupation with embodied loved ones is not typical.
"... it is the
fear of the material conditions that wrecks
the material body. It is the fear of this or that, that
prevents a channel from making for the greater supply." --
Edgar Cayce.
Todd Bentley and The Beautiful Side of Evil: "What's driving Todd Bentley? Why do thousands of people flock to his revival meetings? Some reasons are obvious. Many seek healing, financial success, spiritual experiences, prophetic knowledge and sensual entertainment. After all, Bentley puts on quite a show! Known for his heavenly visions, angelic .partners,. mystical tattoos, and irreverent .teaching,. he makes them laugh. "One of his many Youtube performances includes this outrageous dialogue with an unbiblical 'God': 'The woman was standing in the back of the room when the faith of God hit the meeting, and her tumor exploded out of her right leg, slid down her leg onto the floor! ... [God] said, '...I want you to grab that lady's crippled legs and bang them up-and-down on the platform like a baseball bat.' [loud laughter] I walked up and I grabbed her legs, and I started going, BAM! BAM! ...banging them.... She got healed!"
As our culture and social standards drift further and further away from Biblical Truth, discernment fades and spiritual manifestations grow increasingly dark, deadly and outrageous. God's warnings to ancient Israel fit our times well:
"An astonishing and
'horrible thing has been committed in the land: See also A New Mask for an Ancient Secret | From God's Truth to the "New Spirituality"New Spirituality for an Awakening Planet? | Tolle's New Earth fuels New Age revival Deceived by a counterfeit "Jesus" - The twisted "truths" of The Shack & A Course in Miracles |
