Bible Study Guide – New Age (Quiz 1)

True/False

1.       True       Christianity is theistic.

2.       False     Islam is atheistic.

3.       False     The New Age movement is theistic.

4.       False     The New Age worldview is a new worldview.

5.       False     New Agers do not have a belief about God or people.

6.       True       The power and energy in Star Wars is similar to a God-character.

7.       True       New Agers look within themselves for truth.

8.       False     For New Agers, truth is objective.

9.       True       A Personal Being can communicate, but a force cannot.

10.   True       For New Agers, material (real) things are inferior to immaterial (most real) things.

11.   False     New Agers believe that people are reborn over and over again because of sin.

12.   True       New Agers are optimistic about the future.

Fill in the blanks

1.       pantheism – term for the New Age belief that all is God

2.       monism – term for the New Age belief that all is one

3.       the force – what is the energy force in Star Wars that seems to equal the New Age idea of God?

4.       Koran – where do Muslims find truth?

5.       reality – truth that which agrees with, accurately describes, and accurately explains _______

6.       horoscope – a special chart used by astrologers to determine the events in people’s lives, based on the position of the stars and the day someone was born

7.       transcendent – term that describes how God is above or beyond His creation

8.       Solomon – Israelite king who said God cannot be contained in a temple

9.       Isaiah 55:8-9 – Bible passage that says God’s thoughts are above our thoughts (book, chapter, verse)

10.   Deuteronomy 18:10-11 – Bible passage that tells us where not to look for truth (book, chapter, verses)

11.   Reincarnation- term for the New Age belief that people are reborn over and over again

12.   Karma- term for the New Age belief that good and bad works are kept track of and will determine people’s future

Listing:

1.       Explain why the New Age movement is called “new” if it’s really old.

New Agers believe there will be a “new age” or period of peace and harmony when everyone realizes their deity.

2.       Why would New Agers think that “What is God?” is a better title for a book than "Who is God?"
because "What is God?" allows the New Ager to describe God as many things, not one Personal Being (because beings are referred to as who, not what.)

3.       List 3 ways that Christians can know truth. After each one give a reference (book, chapter, verses) that defends each one.

creation – Romans 1:19-20

Scripture – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

The life and teaching of His Son, Jesus – Hebrews 1:1-2

4.       Explain the cup/ocean metaphor that one New Ager used to describe individuality/God.

if the ocean is God and all of creation is cups, we all are God because we are made from God

5.       How does Galatians 6:7-8 seem similar to Karma? How is it different?

Gal. 6:7-8 – your actions bring consequences; you reap what you sow

--------------------------------------------------------

Bible Study Guide – New Age (Quiz 2)

According to the New Age worldview, everything is God and God is everything.

Some New Agers believe that the physical universe is only an illusion. This belief is widely held in religions like Hinduism and Buddhism.

New Agers look at the visible universe through the ordinary senses.

New Agers look at the invisible universe through a mystical use of the mind.

Real yoga is a spiritual experience that empties your mind, not just exercise.

New Agers believe the earth is a living organism that gives birth to all living things. This is why they refer to earth as “Mother Earth,” and to nature as “Mother Nature.”

New Agers believe that no part of the universe is more important than any other part. This is why they believe that animals have the same rights as humans.

God is both transcendent and immanent.

transcendent – means God is separate from everything He created.

immanent – means God is present within His creation.

New Agers don’t believe that people have a sinful nature. They just believe that people are ignorant of their deity or godness.

Genesis 3 – the first sin/the fall of mankind

Hebrews 9:27-28 – “Just as man is destined to die once…”

glorification – when we get to heaven with no sin and perfect bodies

Romans 1 – when people twist the truth and what is normal

Matthew 4 – Satan tries to get Jesus to worship Satan (but of course, fails)

Commandment #1 – Don’t worship anything other than God.

Matthew 24:12-14 – the end will come

New Agers believe that history is cyclical, always going in circles without a beginning or end, and Christians believe that history is linear, has a definite beginning and end.

Revelation was written by John when he was at the island of Patmos.

God put moral awareness in each of His image-bearers to tell them that certain acts are wrong or evil, and certain acts are right or good.

Not all people believe the attacks of 9/11 were evil.

Ivory Tower – It’s easy when you’re up in an “Ivory Tower” to say that, “there’s no right and wrong. I make my own rules,” and there’s no bad things happening to you. But when you get out in real life, and bad things happen to you, it’s hard to stick to your belief. Ivory Tower = Not real life (people are living in a “bubble”)

Main Street – real life (↑see above) , practical, normal

behaviorism – there is neither good nor bad behavior.

monism – everything is one; there is no right/wrong

Karma – the total of a person’s good and bad actions that result in consequences in this life or in a reincarnated life

But…Karma and monism can’t both be true! Karma (right/wrong: yes) can’t exist if monism (right/wrong: no) exists! And vice versa! That’s a big contradiction!

ex nihilo – out of nothing