Seers: Christians and the New Age

I am republishing this very popular article from December, with some key edits. A common refrain among seers is that their pastor or other spiritual leaders have rejected them. If this is you, I hope this article offers some encouragement.A Christian recently commented on this page about how Christians often throw accusations of being part of the New Age when this person's ability to see into the spirit realm is revealed. Instead of replying to it on that page, I thought I'd offer some extended thoughts here in a new post.

I Have Been Told Nasty Things

The comments are indented and my comments follow:

I myself am a born-again Christian, but I am very careful when it comes to telling people about my experiences and the things I see and sometimes dream! I have been told some nasty things by other Christians as well as spiritual leaders. This gift is often seen as a curse and not as a blessing by most Christians.

Indeed!  I'm not surprised.  Although I am not a seer, I've been told nasty things by Christians about even having this site, about the kind of church I go to, about the spiritual gifts I move in, about the books I read, about the movies I watch, about the beverages I like, about how I celebrate Christmas, about praying for people in public, about the jobs I have worked in, and even about the clothes I (and especially my sisters, growing up) wore!I've even been warned of having a demon anointing based on how my friends and I worship God!It seems to me many Christians are so unknowledgeable of their own faith system, the Kingdom of God, their own religious texts and the worldview that produced them that they lash out in distrust, judgement, mockery, and even anger to others who walk with Jesus and move in things they don't understand.Professing themselves wise, they have become fools.So, if you have been told nasty things by other Christians, you are in good company!

New Agers Accept My Gifts. Christians Reject Me.

Yet, on the other hand, I have once been approached by New Agers who told me that they see that I am "psychic" and who frowned upon me as soon as they heard that I consider going to mediums and fortune-tellers as a taboo ...

Many New Agers have a worldview that is closer to the one that produced the Bible than many Christians have but they also live in an "many ways to God" and "all is one" mentality. Thus the New Age perspective produces love but not truth, despite having a paradigm of reality that is more accurate than many Christians have.Many New Agers are aware that the spirit realm is real and that spiritual forces interact with the physical, and the physical interacts with the spiritual.This understanding of the cosmos is the one held by those who wrote the Bible.  So why don't modern Christians embrace it?I don't have a good answer.Well, I do, but I don't have a brief answer. For starters, check out the worldview pages here. It's time for Christians to embrace the worldview that Jesus held, not the worldview embraced by scientific materialists.In the meantime, check out J.P. Moreland's Kingdom Triangle and Cris Putnam's Supernatural Worldview.

Prophetic Gift? Or Spirit of Divination?

I was left feeling very confused after that encounter, because they told me that I'm psychic, while I had a prophesy over my life that says I'm a prophetess.So if I have a prophetic gift from God, then how come New Agers can detect it?

So much can be said in response to these concerns and I love the heart and passion for God that underlines it.The short answer is simply because these New Agers have learned to see the world through their spiritual eyes: the eyes of their heart. The Christians you are running around with have not. But don't fear, because many Christians (even in America) these days are having the eyes of their heart opened and are learning to live naturally supernatural lives as representatives of the King, full of Truth and Love.

Could it be because I have a spirit of devination?

It depends on what you mean. If you mean a demonic spirit who imparts to you spiritual information (which is what I think you mean), then no. You don't have a spirit of divination.Let's flip the question. If you mean a spiritual gift from God to make things unseen and unknowable in the natural world known to you, then yes.So let's drop the New Age language: you are probably moving in the gifts of discernment, knowledge, and prophecy. It's time to develop them!God gives gifts to whom he wants in the manner he wants: it's up to us to learn to use them as God intended.Think back to what the Bible records about Moses.  He did the same "magic" as the pagans of Pharaoh's court.  But he wasn't a pagan. He didn't worship the gods of Egypt.  He later instructed Israel that these gods were in fact demons (Deut 4 and 32) and to not worship them.Think to the Magi and the Shepherds in the Christmas story. They all saw angels. The magi were not worshipers of God, but the Shepherds were.  The magi went home to their old way of life, but the shepherds stayed and spread the news. Loyalty to God in your heart is what matters, and God is the Maker and King of the other Gods.Check out Dr. Heiser's Supernatural or the more scholarly Unseen Realm for more on what the Bible really reveals about God and other spiritual beings, and why God Most High is the one to remain loyal to with heart and mind. That you move in power that the rational mind doesn't understand doesn't make your power from a demon, but from God.

New Agers are Drawn To Me Because I'm Evil?

I was also told by someone close that New Agers and people like that are drawn to me because I have a doorway opened up to Satan which needs to be closed. I don't know if that's true.

It's not.They are drawn to Jesus who lives in you. Although you may have "open doorways" and sin in your life to deal with, that is not why they are coming to you.God is calling them to you, so you can reach out to them with the hope of glory and freedom in Christ. People who are released from the New Age to step into life and freedom with Jesus often become some of the most powerful and loving Christians.

Christianity is supposed to be about Truth and Love

All I know is that I don't want it if it's not of God. I don't want to be psychic or have a spirit of devination! Sad thing was that, deep in my heart, I felt welcomed and accepted by those people, and I knew that, with them, it would be possible to develop my gift more without being rediculed or rejected for it.

It's a sad state of affairs when the New Agers are more loving and have more grace and the ability to train in the use of spiritual gifts than most Christians who are bound up with their religious traditions and scientific or rationalist worldview, but that's been my experience as well.Our God is love, however, and truth. This last half is what those in the New Age lacks. To them, there is no truth, but we know Truth is a Man: Jesus Christ.  Many in the New Age would like to be free from demonic oppression, but are afraid to step into a life with Jesus, thinking it means only truth and no love.It's time for Christians to move with power in both truth and love!Eventually, I found a church that really opened my eyes to who the Bible says I am and what the Bible says my purpose on earth is and offered training in things of the Spirit. They are out there. Keep looking.

Get Trained to...

I suggest getting trained in spiritual things and can recommend a few supernatural ministry schools. I've graduated from the School of Kingdom Ministry and recommend it above all others. You can find locations here. Of course, others exist that are also awesome.I also suggest some of Doug Addison's online courses.  He is a seer whom God rescued out of the New Age and has a powerful ministry. Oh, and he is also scorned by many Christians, so you can see, you really are in great company!

... Do the Stuff.

John Wimber was a popular musician in Las Vegas in the late 1950s, bound up with drugs and alcohol and despair. Then he became a Christian, and gave up his music career to pursue Christ, even torching his musical instruments in the California desert.He waited for a time, and then finally went to his pastor and asked, "When do we get do the stuff?"His pastor replied, "What stuff?"John said, "You know. The stuff in the bible. Healing the sick and casting out demons. The stuff Jesus did!"His pastor embodied the spirit of too many Christians by saying, "Oh, we don't do it. We just read about it."John answered, "You mean I gave up my fun life for a dead religion? I want to do the stuff!" After years of believing spiritual gifts were dead or demonic, he started doing the stuff, and taught us to do the same. You can learn more about John's testimony and how to "do the stuff" in the videos at the bottom of this page.(The rest of this visitor's comments are on the page mentioned above).

Conclusion

In conclusion, continue exploring the articles and posts on this site, especially the worldview pages, and be sure to subscribe. Keep in mind, I'm still a work in progress, and some of the older posts will reflect how I've grown and learned more about the world and God and the reality we live in.Trust God, pursue Jesus, and be filled with the Holy Spirit! Christianity is not a faith tradition, but a knowledge tradition that produces faith in the unknowable.Our faith, in other words, is built on knowledge of truth rooted in verifiable history.Take solace in that. Trust what the scriptures say and continue looking for a community of believers that will walk with you in your abilities, helping you to hone your spiritual eyes and ears to God's voice.Take care in your search, because there are some crazy groups out there that are all about power and gifts and will grab onto any kind of weird practice, but they are not rooted firmly in scripture, misunderstand the New Covenant or our Identity in Christ, or they have worldview that is not great. Discernment is definitely required to walk in the fullness of what God has for you.Understand that God is calling you to reach your New Age and psychic friends, because Jesus really loves them. He gave everything for them so that God can be in relationship with them.  And that is really good news.