New Age philosophy is extremely popular these days, especially because of Oprah Winfrey, Shirley MacLaine and other celebrities, but I have no doubt this is a massive deception.
These practices (reiki, yoga, astrology, tarot card reading, etc) may seem harmless but they aren't.
It's not even a question of freedom of speech, because nobody has the right to speak lies.
'Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons' (1 Timothy 4:1)
I have to confess I studied astrology for a while, because a relative of mine insisted I took a course on the subject. I even did birth charts for my friends but I never really took an interest in it and quit after just a year. I believe the Holy Spirit was already working in me at the time and kept me safe from that filth.
Let me just give an example or two of how deceitful those astrology teachings were:
a) Jesus Christ was often mentioned and praised but He was never described as the Son of God; to them, Jesus is just another prophet or mentor. Our teacher even said once that the name Christ had no special meaning or significance, it was just a title!
b) Needless to say, discernment is not a major theme in astrology. To these guys, all spirits are friendly and great. Demons were never mentioned in those classes, not even once - it wouldn't be politically correct...
More recently, I was reading this article on Wicca and according to these guys, everything that does not offend others is morally acceptable. I stopped reading right there. This may seem logical but it really isn't, it's deceitful and satanic. According to this, suicide and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be morally acceptable and they obviously aren't.
May God give us the strength and the wisdom to avoid these false doctrines.
By the way, the relative I mentioned, who was heavily into the occult and new age practices for years, is now a diagnosed schizophrenic. Hallucinations, paranoia, violent behaviour, the symptoms are all there.
These practices (reiki, yoga, astrology, tarot card reading, etc) may seem harmless but they aren't.
It's not even a question of freedom of speech, because nobody has the right to speak lies.
'Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons' (1 Timothy 4:1)
I have to confess I studied astrology for a while, because a relative of mine insisted I took a course on the subject. I even did birth charts for my friends but I never really took an interest in it and quit after just a year. I believe the Holy Spirit was already working in me at the time and kept me safe from that filth.
Let me just give an example or two of how deceitful those astrology teachings were:
a) Jesus Christ was often mentioned and praised but He was never described as the Son of God; to them, Jesus is just another prophet or mentor. Our teacher even said once that the name Christ had no special meaning or significance, it was just a title!
b) Needless to say, discernment is not a major theme in astrology. To these guys, all spirits are friendly and great. Demons were never mentioned in those classes, not even once - it wouldn't be politically correct...
More recently, I was reading this article on Wicca and according to these guys, everything that does not offend others is morally acceptable. I stopped reading right there. This may seem logical but it really isn't, it's deceitful and satanic. According to this, suicide and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be morally acceptable and they obviously aren't.
May God give us the strength and the wisdom to avoid these false doctrines.
By the way, the relative I mentioned, who was heavily into the occult and new age practices for years, is now a diagnosed schizophrenic. Hallucinations, paranoia, violent behaviour, the symptoms are all there.