Transcendentalism is ingrained in (the church today).  In His book Making Sense of Your World: A

Biblical World View, Gary Philips writes “much transcendental thought is based on the fundamental idea that

all things are a unified whole, a concept known as monism. Everything that exists comes from the same stuff;

there is no essential difference between a rock, a tree, a cow, and a man. All “objects” are separate

manifestations in different forms of the one reality. This ultimate reality is spiritual or psychic in nature. In this

way transcendentalism denies naturalism’s basic tent that all reality is material.”

When we look at some of the strange teaching in the church today we see transcendental thought in many

church denominations. We hear about faith being a force, when it is not a force but belief and trust in

God’s ability to provide for His creation. Faith is confident, well-grounded assurance that

something we want and hope for is going to happen. It is a conviction (strong belief) of

the reality of things we hope for, which we can’t yet see. Our faith is in God who

provides. We hear name-it-claim-it., and methods to use your mind by visualize what

you want from God, making your vision become apart of what you desire.

Let Us Reason Ministries explains it this way. (Quote) The new thought movement

was Christianized by teachers in the word faith movement and was popularized by them

in the early 80’s. Speaking things into existence, visualizing in prayer, decreeing and

declaring are all part of ancient Occult spiritual practices. The Faith teaching Motto “Life

and death are in the power of the tongue” has become the standard by which

Christianity is measured today.

           They convinced people that the Spiritual dimension is able to be tapped into by

various practices of the word and faith so we can control and manipulate

material/physical world. The word spoken is first incubated in thought and will become

reality when continually spoken in faith. They were able to pawn this Occult belief

system off to the Church because of our ignorance on these matters. And we are no

better off today as so many have embraced these non biblical procedures.

            In the later 80’s and early 90’ this kind of new age practice energy came rushing

into the churches through the Vineyard movement. Called saturation prayer- they would

swoop the air toward each other as if the Holy Spirit was contained in it and bring it

upon the person they were praying for. They would pray for “more” on the recipient they

laid hands on, calling out “fill, fill.” They believed they were getting soaked in the Holy

Spirit and an immediate change was taking place.

Numerous other aberrant ideas and practices began to surface as the church (mostly

those who were charismatic) was open to what they thought was God doing a “new

thing.” But it wasn’t God and it certainly was not new, it was cold Gnosticism and

mysticism with a Christian twist.

             The teaching of the few that was once hidden to the world, known only to the

initiatives was now made known to the many. And of all places, it was being found in

churches, as the people wanted “more” from God than just His word. As Tim

Challies has put it, “If we cannot know God through His Word, then we have to find him

in other ways. It is little wonder, then, that the emergent church is embracing mystical

practices of days past. The labyrinth and Catholic mystics find their way into emergent

worship. There is renewed emphasis on meditation and new methods of preaching. The

Bible is taught as a guidebook, not as an authoritative manual for the Christian life” (Tim

Challies - Emerging Church, Nothing New Under the Sun).

             The New Age has married into our post modern age, and it runs through like the

rising waters from a broken dam, and soaking everything in its way. Now we are paying

the price of our openness to spiritual ways beyond holy writ, we can’t dry out, we have

been soaked.

             If you are convinced by an experience it is very hard to be talked out of it with

reasoning or Scripture. This is why those who get immersed in meditation or what we

know as mind altering practices (the emergent church movement) are so hard to

reach, because they no longer recognize what is right or wrong, what is biblical or not.

The lines are blurred from being diapraxed, their mind has been altered. It is a form of

cognitive dissonance that most are unaware has taken place; they do not know they are

deceived. Unless they question their experience in light of the word where truth resides

there is no way of reaching them and helping them exit the darkness they are

enveloped in. They become blind to their own self inflicted deception. A false light fills

their being that is powerful enough to slant their worldview and keep them unbalanced.

As a man thinks in his heart so is he is certainly apropos for what has taken place.

 

Unfortunately, Churches today are just as ill equipped to answer the New Age-

Occult infiltration as they were in the 80’s-90’s, but at least back then they were

interested to learn more so they can both protect the church and reach the people.

Today they are less able to cope with those who get saved out of the new age and help

them transition into sound Christian doctrine. It’s not hard to figure out why we, when

one is aware of the change inside the churches at large. It’s a reality that must one

faced that one can find themselves inside a church doing the very same practices they

did outside, only calling it by a different name. The leadership must be equipped to

protect and provide answers even if they take the stand alone. As a friend of mine made

the point as we were discussing the changes taking place, “People go insane together

in a crowd but they only regain their sanity one at a time.”