Is New Revelation About God Still Being Given Today?

 

I posted a series of blogs over the past few weeks that gave short descriptions of different religious belief systems to show they do not all teach the same core truth. After examining these different religions, we came to the conclusion that it’s impossible for all religions to teach the same core truth. Many of these belief systems completely oppose each other. However, still New Age teachers make the claim that all belief systems teach the same core truth.

Well now I am going to take this one step further and show how New Age teachers use this claim to teach that new revelation is given today about God. By “revelation” I mean new knowledge or ideas about God that are different than what is given in Scripture.

The New Age thinking process goes something like this:

 

New Age reasoning #1: If all religions teach the same core truth, then revelation about God doesn’t just come from the Bible or Jesus Christ. Spiritual revelation about God also comes from Krishna, Buddha, and many others. Therefore, we should all consider and practice what these “spiritual gurus” teach and say.

 

 

New Age reasoning #2: If all spiritual teachers of the past (Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, etc.) have given us revelation about God, then it may be very well possible to receive knowledge of a spiritual kind through others today. New Agers believe that these new revelations should be considered and put into practice.

Over the next few days and blog posts, I am going to tell you why I think these two reasoning’s are false. You will learn how these reasoning’s logically do not make sense and how as Christian’s we are to approach and respond to new revelation.

To end this post today, I want to give you two questions to ponder, chew on, and think about before I address this topic again in the next blog post: Is new revelation about God still being given today? If so, do you think it is supported by Scripture?

Feel free to leave a comment!

Survey: What Do You Think is the #1 Difference in Teaching that Separates Christianity From Other Belief Systems?

Today I’m asking you to be part of a survey based on the blog series I posted about different belief systems and if they teach the same core truth. Over the last two weeks I’ve posted blogs about Hinduism, Buddhism, Kabbalah, Islam, and Taoism. I contrasted their teachings to those of Christianity and came to the conclusion that each belief system has completely different teachings. There is no way you could say that they teach the same core truth. I’ve also shown how the New Age movement takes something from each of these systems and incorporates it into New Age spirituality.

Now I’d like to hear from you!

What do you think is the #1 difference in teaching that separates Christianity from other belief systems? There are many, but I want to know from you which one you think is the most significant! The following is a list of differences that I noticed right away. Which important element of Christianity do you think separates it from other religions?

• The belief in heaven and hell.
• The teaching of sin and the need for salvation.
• The belief that Jesus is God.
• The belief that Christians worship a personal/relational God and not an impersonal one.

These are just a few suggestions. Please leave a comment and let me know your answer. You can choose an answer from what I listed or add your own!

 

God Bless,

Gina

Clip art photo from Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Christianity vs. Kabbalah

 

Today’s blog features the last belief system we will be examining in this series about different religions. Our goal has been to see how each belief system differs from Christianity and also to show how each system does not teach the same core truth.

Our teaching today is about Kabbalah. How much do you know about Kabbalah and what is the first thing that you think of? Personally, the first ideas that comes to my mind are red bracelets and Madonna! The singer/celebrity Madonna has been the poster child for Kabbalah in the last decade. Sporting the red bracelet, she’s embraced this form of Jewish mysticism and has encouraged others to do the same. I have to admit, that’s pretty much the extent of my knowledge. I’m guessing that it might also be the same for you. Therefore, we are going to unpack this mystical practice and examine the basic beliefs that make up the system of Kabbalah that we see today.

The following is a list of basic beliefs and facts about Kabbalah:

• Kabbalah originates from Judaism and can only be completely understood in view of its Jewish roots.
• Kabbalist’s claim it is a hidden or secret doctrine. The Hebrew word Kabbalah means “to receive.” Thus, Kabbalah is to receive hidden knowledge.
• Kabbalah teaches that God gave Moses the written law and the oral law. Kabbalah comes from the oral law and is seen as feminine. The masculine side of Judaism is the written law.
• Hidden knowledge comes only from the oral law but is understood within the context of the written law.
• Kabbalah is a mixture of philosophy, white magic, and meditative practices.
• Even if a person does not fully understand Judaism, he or she can still gain many insights into life by studying Kabbalah’s concepts.
• Kabbalah seeks to understand the fusion between the physical and spiritual, how humans control the universe, and how they are one with God.
• The red string some Kabbalist’s wear is to ward off evil and misfortune.

There is so much more to learn about Kabbalah than what I’ve indentified in this list. Therefore, for the sake of this blog post and length, we are going to focus on the aspect of Kabbalah as a secret knowledge. You can learn more about Kabbalah from the links listed below.

Christianity doesn’t teach that there is a secret knowledge. The New Age movement, like Kabbalah, claims that the Bible teaches a secret knowledge that must be looked for beyond a passages literal interpretation. However, when looked at closely, this is not the case. Even when Jesus speaks in parables, He reveals the true meaning to the disciples. The disciples were they only people who were willing to hear and understand the Kingdom of God, unlike the Jews whose ears and eyes were hardened (See Matthew 13:13). Jesus spoke in parables to fulfill prophecy and also because if his adversaries knew what He was talking about, it would create chaos and persecution. In the end however, Jesus wanted everyone to know about the Kingdom of God. He didn’t keep it a secret!

The Kabbalist’s approach to finding truth is very different than the Christian’s approach. A Christian reads the Bible for what it is. A follower of Kabbalah reads Torah and looks beyond it’s most simple interpretation to find other meanings. They also rely on other teachings and writings beyond the Bible. In addition to Kabbalah’s rejection of Jesus as God and other important doctrine we hold to as Christians, this approach shows again that Christianity and Kabbalah do not teach the same core truth. This is because they are not coming from the same sources. If they do come from the same source, they are not interpreted in the same way. Thus, resulting in two different interpretations and meanings.

I hope this post is clear and easily understood. Again, this is only a very brief survey of a few beliefs taught from Kabbalah. For more learning and information see the links that I posted below!

www.kabbalahmadeeasy.com, www.wikipedia.com: red string

Christianity vs. Taoism

Have any of you ever heard of Taoism (also spelled Daoism)? Or, perhaps you are more familiar with the Ying Yang symbol shown above? This symbol is very common in our society today. People wear the Ying Yang like it’s the peace symbol of the seventies, when actually the symbol is connected with the belief system of Taoism.

The founder of Taoism, Lao-Tse, is believed to have lived 500-600 years before the birth of Christ, around the time of Confucius. Taoism began as a philosophy, but evolved into a religious belief system around 440 A.D when people began to worship Lao-Tse as a deity. The religion become one of three religions practiced in China. Today, Taoism has 20 million followers and is centered mainly in Taiwan.

The following are some basic beliefs that make up Taoism:

• Tao (pronounced DAO) is described as the way or the path and must be experienced. It is the first cause of the universe and is the force that flows through all life. The Tao is indefinable.
• The goal of a person who believes in Taoism is to harmonize themselves with the Tao.
• Listening to the Tao around you will bring you enlightenment. You do this by meditation and outer observation.
• The Ch’i is the breath or air given to a person.
• Taoists do not pray to God but rather seek the answer to life’s problems.
• The Ying Yang symbol represents the opposites of the universe in balance. In some traditions it is taught that the Ying represents the breath that formed the earth and the Yang represents the breath that formed the heavens.
• This information has been taken from http://www.religioustolerance.org/taoism.htm. Check out this website if you want more info.

Do you think Taoism is similiar or different than Christianity?

The most noticeable difference between Taoism and Christianity is the recognition of sin. I didn’t find anything in my research of Taoism that acknowledged sin. In fact, they believe that if people are left to their own devices, everyone will eventually be compassionate to one another without expecting anything back. Taoism doesn’t recognize the need for redemption or salvation. Instead of worshiping the God who created the heavens and earth, Taoism says “God” is just a force that people need to harmonize themselves with. There is no personal relationship between you and the Tao.

As Christians we can pray to the Father that created us, we can have a personal relationship with Him, and we have the ability to know who God is from the Bible. In contrast, Taoists do not pray or have a personal relationship with anything. Their “God” is indefinable. In my research I wasn’t able to find anything that gave any clue to what Taoism teaches about the after life. If any of you know, please comment. My wild guess is that it teaches reincarnation, but I could be wrong.

After doing this research, I found many parallels between Taoism and New Age teaching. The most noteworthy is the need to harmonize ourselves with a force. This concept is taught all throughout New Age teaching. Where have you seen this concept taught? Books, television, or school?

In conclusion, is Christianity and Taoism teaching the same thing or the same core truth? NO

What do you think?

Christianity vs. Islam

Today we are going to examine what Islam believes about Jesus and salvation. Islam is one of many different belief systems that we are going to look at this week. Our goal is to determine if all belief systems teach the same thing. New Age author Eckhart Tolle teaches in his book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, that all religions are equally false and equally true (pg. 70-71). In this week’s series of blogs we will see this is false. If all belief systems are equally true, then shouldn’t their ideas and claims agree with each other?

We have already established that New Age teachers like to take a little bit of this and a little bit of that to make up their belief system. One of the religions they like to grab from is Islam. So let’s see if Islam teaches the same thing as Christianity:

Who is Jesus?

Islam teaches that Jesus is a prophet from God, but is not the Son of God. Islam does not believe Jesus died on the cross and that He rose from the tomb.

Immediately we see a conflict between who Jesus is: God or prophet? And we also see a difference in belief about Jesus on the cross, dying on the cross, and rising from the grave.

Do these religions agree? NO. Either Jesus was either on the cross or off the cross. He either rose from the grave or did not rise from the grave. Two conflicting accounts, they cannot both be true.

What about salvation?

Islam teaches that Allah, their god, will ultimately determine if a person is saved by deciding if that person has followed god’s law. Allah chooses whether a person will go to heaven or hell. This is based on works.

Again we see a conflict of belief between Islam and Christianity. The Bible teaches that we can never live according to the law. Therefore, God sent His own son, Jesus, to be a sacrifice on the cross for our sins so we could have fellowship with God. When we choose to believe that Jesus is God and has died for our sins, we are forgiven and gain salvation. All we have to do is choose to follow Him and let Him change our lives.

Here we have examined just two aspects of the Islamic and Christian faiths, salvation and Jesus, and have concluded that they teach two very different doctrines.

Islam and Christianity cannot be equally true.

Any thoughts?