New heretical doctrines have come into the evangelical church during the past half century. These doctrines did not exist in the previous 1950 years of the church. That is because they are not found in the Bible. Sometimes the heresies are newly defined old terminologies, a new “understanding” of an old doctrine. But most often these heresies are easily recognizable as such because a phrase or word is used that cannot be located anywhere in the Bible.
The justification for these new doctrines is found in the overarching doctrine that the Body of Christ is evolving. The word used for this is “maturing.” Christians are told that the Body is more enlightened because we are in the last days and that we are receiving new “understandings” or “revelations” from God. Leaders are trained that there are new methods, new tools and new strategies that will usher in the completion of the Great Commission task. The old wineskin must be discarded and a new wineskin is to be put in place. This is the popular mantra for “transformation.”
Where are these heretical doctrines coming from? Often they come from the occult! This is easier than one might think, considering that these terms and activities already carry spiritual meanings. The practice of “dressing up” a pagan practice in Christianized garb has been going on for quite some time. It is not new to this generation of believers, as any student of church history knows. But what IS new to this generation, is the overwhelming number of paganized doctrines that are flooding evangelicalism without discernment or challenge.
Geomancy
Yesterday’s post discussed Green Dominionism and mentioned the term “geomancy.” Many of the new heresies that have come in through the New Apostolic Reformation have to do with the “land.” These “land” doctrines have no foundation in Scripture unless a highly allegorical method of biblical exegesis is employed. This is sometimes referred to as “replacement theology,” in which the New Testament Church is said to “replace” Israel literally and figuratively. Old Testament passages are mis-applied to the Church in unorthodox ways and/or given an esoteric meaning that is neo-Gnostic or pagan. The Latter Rain cult teaching about the endtime Church coming into the “Promised Land” as an allegory for the empowerment of the “New Breed” would be a prime example of “replacement” theology.
“Geomancy” — for lack of a better term in English — means “divination by or of the earth.” This term has very precise definitions in the occult world, some of which are mentioned at http://tinyurl.com/dcwkz or http://tinyurl.com/dpot4 . At www.geomancy.org several definitions state:
“Geomancy explores the realm where human consciousness meets and dialogues with the Spirit of the Earth. It empowers the harmonious interaction between person and place. Through the art of appropriate placement of both secular and spiritual structures, places where we pray, work and play, geomancers locate and shape spaces in harmony with both the physical and the spiritual environment of the place. Geomancers are spiritual ecologists.”
“All the Earth is sacred – it’s just that some places seem alive, and it is easier to be aware of that spiritual connection. We have found that these sacred spaces are aligned astronomically, constructed using sacred geometery, and built over Earth energy power centers.” [http://www.geomancy.org/sac-index.html]
“Geomancy” is described more generically in a New Age dictionary, The Seeker’s Handbook: The Complete Guide to Spiritual Pathfinding by John Lash (Harmony Books, 1990), as a term currently used to describe “a vast system of knowledge and practices based on the theory that the earth is an intelligent and sentient being whose natural processes are permeated by supersensible fields and currents that conform to consistent mathematical and geometric laws, not recognized by modern science, though they were carefully plotted and manipulated in ancient methods of technology and mathematics that are now being widely revived. . . .” (p. 277)
The Donning International Encyclopedic Psychic Dictionary by Bletzer (Donning Co., 1986) describes a “geomancer” as “a psychic who communicates with nature spirits,. . . also skilled in palmistry and clairvoyance.”
Doctrines and practices categorized under the generic term “geomancy” include dowsing, ley lines, labyrinths, feng shui, magic circles, Fibonacci series (popularized in The DaVinci Code book), sacred geometry, golden section, the Great Pyramid, Solomon’s Temple, etc. The term “alignment” is used in archeo-astronomy, which is coordinating things on earth spiritually with the heavens (astrology).
One can read the list above and catch a glimmer of the new heresies taught as doctrines by the New Apostolic Reformation. In the coming days, Herescope will examine a few of these heresies and explain their occult origination, including important historical information that will shed light on the real meaning behind many of the new doctrines.
The New Age doctrines of the sacredness of the land and its connection to human spiritual evolution, are particularly familiar to some discernment researchers because of its connection to education reform in the 1980-90s. Many of these spiritual terms were first introduced into elementary education classrooms in the 1990s via environmentalism and global education curricula. Many of these curricula were based on former UN Under Secretary Robert Muller’s model World Core Curriculum, which was credited to the spirit guide (Djhwan Khul) of Theosophist Alice Bailey. This curriculum teaches children various forms of geomancy. For more information on this topic, visit Berit Kjos’ excellent website http://www.crossroad.to. Be sure to note the many charts posted on this website that list OLD definitions contrasted to NEW definitions of terms — both in the schools and in the churches. This website has information that explains many ways in which the New Age terminology has crept into the Church.
Another helpful chart is posted at http://www.discernment-ministries.org/NEWAGETerms.htm, which describes “Ambiguous New Age Terms Used by Church Growth Leaders.” This chart presents a comprehensive overview of the integration of New Age terminology with neo-evangelical theology.
The Truth:
“If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou has not known, thou, nor thy fathers; Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the eath even unto the other end of the earth: Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him. . . .” (Deuteronomy 13:6-8)
More tomorrow, Lord willing!