Christian.net

Rescued From 20 Years in the New Age Movement

by Cathy Fowler

from the Christian Research Newsletter, Volume 2: Number 6, 1989. The personal testimony of Cathy Fowler.

The Editor of the Christian Research Newsletter is Ron Rhodes.

I was a trueblue New Ager for 20 years. Over those years I had many experiences with spiritual powers -- or "forces," as they say. And I know they exist and are extremely powerful. If someone had told me at that time that I was tampering with Satan's kingdom, I would have laughed in their face!

In fact, the reason I moved to Sedona, Arizona, was because it is such a strong metaphysical area and community. Sedona is advertised widely in metaphysical and occult circles as one of the few "vortex areas" in the United States. (A "vortex area" is an area where the veil between this world and the spiritual world is allegedly very thin, so to speak. New Agers believe there is a higher concentration of psychic or cosmic energy in such areas.) I thought I could really find and experience "higher consciousness" in Sedona. And guess what! I did. But through a totally unexpected source -- the Lord Jesus Christ!

The funny thing is that I grew up attending a Baptist church and spent the first 18 years of my life going to church at least three times a week. I was even baptized. But I never had a personal relationship with Jesus. How do I know? Because I have one now -- and I know I've never had this before.

Many Christians ask me how I ever could have left the church for "New Age" thinking. Didn't I realize what I was mixed up in? The answer to that is a big NO! I was always the curious sort and even when I was very young, I sensed the spiritual side of life. However, when I asked too many (or "wrong") questions in Bible studies or at home -- or asked for genuine, credible reasons for the Christian faith -- I was always hushed with blanket answers like, "Because the Bible says so, that's why!"; no further explanations were ever given. What all this really sounded like to me was, "Shut up and don't ask questions."

So I started looking for answers elsewhere. And I thought I had found answers too -- in astrology, eastern religion, yoga, reincarnation, crystals, channeled information, and meditation. I had arrived in the New Age.

As I look back over these years, I can say that channeling is probably the most dangerous of the New Age practices from my experience. New Agers take every word that comes out of the channeler's mouth as the "New Gospel." I was no exception to this.

It took me 20 years to build up a New Age belief system, with new ideas being added all the time. Would you like to know how long it took the Lord to knock this belief system down? Just three months! I was led to books written by Christians about the New Age movement, and I also had a very close Christian friend who prayed for me on a regular basis. The books quoted Bible verses and led me back to God's Word which I hadn't looked at a single time in 20 years.

My Bible was on the bookshelf along with my more than 180 New Age books. And guess what I found inside it when I opened it up for the first time? A little daily devotional book opened to a page entitled, "Test The Spirits." All those 20 years, the warning was there waiting for me to see it.

I could go on and on, but let me just wrap this up by saying that I praise God every day for loving me enough to rescue me -- even though I had turned my back on Him by my involvement in the occult. How gracious the Lord is! My life has totally changed since a year ago last summer.

My daughter, who is now 16, was also interested in some of the occult activities I was involved in and showed some genuine ESP-type abilities. But now she's deeply involved in a youth ministry here which is an extension of the Bible church we now attend. She has accepted Jesus Christ and can see the evil deception going on under the guise of the New Age movement.

One last thing. Many church-going Christians either ignore or are afraid of people involved in the New Age movement. Many Christians are so wrapped up doing their church activities that they rarely attempt to tackle the "outside world." But New Agers are easier to convert than most people might think. Why? Because unlike the average person, they already have a strong belief in the spiritual world; they just don't realize exactly what spiritual world they are mixed up in.

So please don't ignore New Agers or laugh at them or give up on them. Give them one of the many fine books on the New Age movement written from a Christian perspective as well as a pocket Bible. Miracles happen every hour of every day through Jesus.

End of document, CRN0018A.TXT (original CRI file name),
"Rescued from 20 Years in the New Age Movement"
release A, March 21, 1994
R. Poll, CRI

A special note of thanks to Bob and Pat Hunter for their help in the preparation of this ASCII file for BBS circulation.

Copyright 1994 by the Christian Research Institute.

COPYRIGHT/REPRODUCTION LIMITATIONS:
This data file is the sole property of the Christian Research Institute. It may not be altered or edited in any way. It may be reproduced only in its entirety for circulation as "freeware," without charge. All reproductions of this data file must contain the copyright notice (i.e., "Copyright 1994 by the Christian Research Institute"). This data file may not be used without the permission of the Christian Research Institute for resale or the enhancement of any other product sold. This includes all of its content with the exception of a few brief quotations not to exceed more than 500 words.

If you desire to reproduce less than 500 words of this data file for resale or the enhancement of any other product for resale, please give the following source credit: Copyright 1994 by the Christian Research Institute, P.O. Box 7000, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688-7000.