|
By David F. Dawes
 A WIDELY RESPECTED Christian apologist has set himself a formidable task: to confront and refute spiritual teachings being promoted by one of the world's most popular media personalities.
American writer Richard Abanes is the author of The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code; End-Time Visions: The Road to Armageddon?; and Harry Potter, Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. His latest book tackles A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose -- the bestseller by Vancouver writer Eckhart Tolle, who has recently gained international notoriety through Oprah Winfrey's extensive TV promotion.
Abanes told CC.com his purpose in writing A New Earth, An Old Deception was to point out that Tolle "is, doctrinally speaking, not teaching anything new. His ideas go back to Hinduism -- and the mid-19th century, the beginning of the New Age. It is what the New Age has been teaching for decades: pantheism, and the idea that there is no sin; all is an illusion of the mind, and the only reality is the metaphysical stuff under the surface."
Like many New Agers, when Tolle uses the term God, "he does not mean God as an external being," said Abanes. "He teaches that God is an impersonal life essence that permeates the universe. He believes Christ is just another teacher of truth -- and that Jesus gradually came to understand his own divinity. When he says 'I am the Way the Truth and the Life,' according to Tolle, Jesus is saying he was that, just as we are that."
Further, he noted, Tolle "applies the divine name, I Am, to himself."
Tolle, "is packaging New Age teaching in a very attractive manner," said Abanes. "He's promising his readers answers to their felt needs; they truly want the world to be a better place. He's saying you can escape suffering -- pain, anguish and stress. You can have joy."
Continue article >>
|
Not all of Tolle's teachings are problematic, Abanes maintained. "Some things he says have some insightful practicality: teachings about letting the past go, and staying in the Now. In some ways, these are good ideas."
Tolle, he added, has valid concerns about things such as war, crime, fear and panic. Indeed, Tolle as a person seems "very endearing and sincere," said Abanes.
However, from a Christian perspective, "his teachings do not lead people to God. Spiritually, he's leading people to themselves -- into their inner selves. He is providing temporary pop psychology fixes. No long lasting true peace -- unlike what you would get from the true God."
Abanes also expressed concerns about Tolle's chief promoter. "Words cannot describe the level of influence and power Oprah Winfrey wields. Eckhart Tolle has been raised to a level of popularity which would not have happened otherwise. She has become the most powerful peddler of New Age ideas in the world. She is now beginning to get into the occult by doing past-life regressions on TV."
He referred to a video clip he found particularly disturbing, in which Winfrey said she once used to believe Christ came to die on the cross. "I get chills when I watch that."
However, some Christians are over-reacting, Abanes maintained. In response to some YouTube videos labeling Winfrey "an anti-Christ," he said: "We have to be very careful with how we throw around the term 'anti-Christ.' If we mean teachings that are against Christ, then absolutely, these teachings are anti-Christ. But I don't think she or Tolle are 'The Anti-Christ.'"
Nevertheless, said Abanes, the charismatic pair are "disseminating New Age teachings on an unprecedented level. These teachings are confusing new Christians; and there is an underlying anti-Christian message, which is raising anger and prejudice against Christians."
Consequently, he asserted, "I think that right now we need to step up and take a stand against this."
October 16/2007
|
