Introduction
In today’s society, it is clear that there are various perspectives on the world. Many individuals believe that there is a greater power known as God (Christians), and others believe that the government should be the highest mode of authority (Marxists/Communists). While other groups suppose that, there should be no religion in the world (Secularists), and other individuals view themselves as the highest power (New Spiritualists). The disintegration of New Spiritualism, also known as Pantheism, and Christian theism will be covered in this debate. Only when a worldview is dissected and analyzed without bias can one determine its significance and actuality.
The Central Concern in New Spiritualism and Christian Theism
Christianity’s main argument is that there is only one God, who created both Heaven and Earth. In contrast, the fundamental tenet of modern spiritualism is that there is no single God; rather, each person is their god, making up the entire world. One of Christianity’s central tenets is that Christians must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as a condition of salvation and access to heaven (“Holy Bible: New International Version,” 2017, John 14:6). The main tenet of the new spiritualism, however, is that Jesus is not a means of entering eternal life, but rather an example of how to live. Christians view the Bible as the true Word of God but in the eyes of New Spirituality, the Bible is just another book with no more relevance than any other literature a person may read. In the eyes of Christians, sin is anything that could sever a believer’s connection to Christ. The inability to identify the three actual natures of consciousness, in New Spiritualists’ opinion, is the only sin.
The core idea of Christianity is that without a Savior, no one can be rescued from an eternity in hell. The fundamental core idea of New Spiritualism is that one should only have faith in oneself and the universe. (Myers & Noebel, 2015). Christianity views that everyone is born with sin and possesses some sin (“Holy Bible: New International Version, 2017,” Romans 3:23). On the other hand, New Spiritualism holds that a person’s good must be discovered. Living life like Jesus Christ and telling people about His atoning death are the two central goals of Christianity. According to New Spiritualism, the ultimate objective of life is to be kind and positive to become one with the world, where they cease to exist (Peters, 2022). Although both appear to comprehend what it means to be spiritual, only one thoroughly understands spirituality and what it means.
In-Depth Analyses of the Comparison
Even while Christianity and New Spiritualism share similar beliefs, there are numerous ways to understand how both differ from one another. There are many differences between them when examined in light of ethics, law, religion, biology, politics, history, philosophy, psychology, economics, and sociology. With these topics in mind, examining each worldview will provide a more thorough understanding of whether or not it can lead to a sustainable way of living.
According to Christian theology, the heavens and the universe were first created by a single Supreme Being. This belief is supported by Genesis 1:1, which states, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (“Holy Bible: New International Version,”2017). (Parr, 2019). New Spiritualism theology holds that there are various routes to Heaven and that each person is a separate deity. According to Christian philosophy, God is the only source of truth and the only thing that must be comprehended. The book of John 14:6 supports this: “Jesus claims to be the Way, the truth, and the Life” (“Holy Bible: New International Version,”2017). New Spiritualism philosophy rejects the concept of truth in place of the notion that thoughts are more than just extensions of what is in front of people,
While New Spiritualists’ ethics are guided by their intuition to discriminate between right and wrong, Christians believe that their morality is determined by the Holy Spirit, who leads them to know what is good and evil. The pantheist largely adheres to the karma theory, in which good deeds are repaid with more good deeds and vice versa. According to Christianity, biology states that humans are God’s creation, however, according to New Spirituality, each time a person dies, they are constantly rebuilt in a new existence. Regarding psychology, Christians see the mind and soul as fundamental parts of a person. It is impossible to comprehend God without any of these. On the other hand, psychology in New Spirituality emphasizes a divine awareness in which the self does not exist since its adherents regard themselves as gods. Sociology for Christians includes people coming together to confront important concerns, while for New Spiritualists, acting as an individual will lead to harmony because each person is solely responsible to themselves.
Christianity believes God created the law, but it should be written so that evil is punished and the innocent are protected. In New Spiritualism, society is not taken into account; only the activities of the individual are. They believe one should be solely concerned with oneself (Myers & Noebel, 2015). According to political theorists in Christianity, Since Christians follow the world’s Ruler; they are required to submit to the governments that exist in it. Because of whom they follow, they should be better citizens. Politics is viewed as oppressive and harmful by New Spiritualists. Though only through personal transformation will they be able to witness the tremendous change they so much want.
Christian economics is based on the tenet that everything in the world belongs to God and that His followers should take good care of what He has provided. However, according to New Spirituality economics, people’s life and everything inside of them will only be wonderful if they believe it to be so. According to Christians, history is a reflection of how God has remained constant throughout time. He is the same now, tomorrow, and forever. In new spiritualism history the concept of evolutionary godhood is held, as they believe that as individuals emerge from the shadows and gain a deeper awareness of consciousness, they will eventually realize their true potential as gods.
Logical Defense
The Christian worldview is the one I find most interesting out of these two fascinating worldviews. Not only may human experience help to understand the Christian worldview, but so can reason and scientific evidence. As a result of their belief in astrology, horoscopes, tarot reading, and channeling, New Spirituality is more reliant on mystic notions (Parr, 2019). Contrarily, Christianity firmly holds that an all-powerful God rules over everyone’s future and routes (“Holy Bible: New International Version,”2017, Jeremiah 29:11). There is a logical justification for believing that God exists and that the Bible is His inspired word.
A person can do nothing supernatural or magical; only human activities are possible. The ability to be good or bad is a capacity that each person possesses, but the ability to alter one’s fate is a power only God has. Human nature may drive us to commit the unimaginable; it leads to wickedness and greed (Upadhyay, 2020). The Christian worldview can also be accepted as valid for other natural and scientific reasons. The foundation of Christianity is the belief in God, a supernatural being who sent His only Son, Jesus, to die on the Cross. (“Holy Bible: New International Version,”2017, John 3:16). By doing this, we place our trust in a person whose authenticity we do not know and who we have never met.
However, one philosopher proclaimed, He believed in Christianity as he believed that the sun has risen: not just because he sees it, but because by it he sees everything else. What must be seen is the proof of this Man who lived to comprehend the reality of God and Jesus. The historical writings of the apostles may be found, and the genuine daily narratives of Jesus can also be found. The apostles’ writings share commonalities even if the tales are different, like in the instance of what happened after John baptized Jesus. “This is my Son, whom I love; with him, I am delighted’, a voice from Heaven says in Matthew 3:17. You are my Son, whom I love; with you, I am well delighted, a representative from Heaven told in Mark 1:11(“Holy Bible: New International Version,”2017). Further investigation reveals that God is also present in the metaphysics of all creation; He is the source of all created reality.
When attempting to understand the origins of an organism, scientists frequently examine its formation or early stages. Even then, they know that their existence is not the result of chance but instead of a creator. A strong argument in favor of this is that the more a person studies science, the more they are impressed with the concept that this planet and cosmos have a straightforward design—and a plan indicates a designer (Myers & Noebel, 2015). Although an individual cannot imagine such a circumstance, it may be feasible to have a design without a designer and a picture without an artist. One philosopher also made an excellent point about this topic when he stated that: There are numerous atheists among psychologists, sociologists, and historians but comparatively few among neurologists and brain surgeons, and astrophysicists (Upadhyay, 2020). It is easy to understand why: The first research looked at the divine design, and the second looked at human InDesign. According to peters (2022), Where God is not is more important than where He dwells. Thus through the comprehensive analysis of different philosophers, the existence of God cannot be underestimated.
Common Ground
Understanding and accepting that various people on earth hold diverse beliefs about religion and the world’s existence is crucial. Therefore, it is critical to encourage worldview concord between Christians and pantheists to face and resolve the issues brought on by the global diversity of worldviews. There are similarities between Christianity and the New Spirituality, as was already established. According to their personal religious views, both decide to live peaceful, harmonious lives. Both worldviews might result in a more peaceful neighborhood and political system with these qualities. If looked at peacefully, there would be the potential for a deeper understanding of each other’s viewpoints.
Governmental processes might be carried through more efficiently and without worldly disputes and confusion. Christianity would bring with it Jesus’ example of peace and His perspective on politicians’ regard for the truth and their decency. According to New Spirituality, everyone should talk in harmony and first point out their faults before criticizing others. They both agree on moral and ethical principles as well. New Spiritualists see that they foretell what is good and evil, but Christians look to Jesus as the model of what is good and evil. Both have the potential to unite as one, to do well, and to construct something for a larger community. As a result, communities may collaborate to help those in need and achieve a more equitable distribution of wealth. God did give His followers instructions in James 1:27 “look after orphans and widows in their affliction and to guard one against being defiled by the world”. Whether a Christian or a New Spiritualist sees it, we are all orphans wandering this planet looking for a place to call home and a person to whom we can belong.
Conclusion
In conclusion, to this debate, Christians and New Spiritualists may hold similar views. However, this is a mistake since the New Spiritualist concept is that each individual possesses all of the power. The world’s history has seen what occurs when a person is given enormous authority, like in the Holocaust, where millions of people perished at the hands of Adolf Hitler. Hitler demanded all control, and he eventually got it, but at the expense of robbing everyone else of their power. This much authority, according to Parr (2019), elevates nature and the creative order to God’s position. Suppose power was placed in the hands of a people who intended to serve themselves, as the New Spiritualists believe. In that case, this perilous route may terminate all of civilization. The worldview of Christianity promotes more peace while also fostering understanding of others who think differently than other people do. It is not about gaining control but about persuading others around us that a greater force exists that gives forgiveness and unconditional love beyond our comprehension.
References
Holy Bible: New International Version. (2017). Zondervan.
Myers, J., & Noebel, D. (2015). Understanding the times (5th ed. Summit Ministries.
Peters, M. (2022). New age spiritualism, mysticism, and far-right conspiracy. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 1-9.
The Beat by Allen Parr. (2019). 7 New age beliefs and how to immediately recognize them. [Video]. YouTube.
Upadhyay, P. (2020). Restructuring spiritualism in new life: Conversion to Christianity in Pokhara, Nepal. Janapriya Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 9(1), 135-147.