Rev. Father A. Maximiadis
Following the early 1960s, many have felt a loss of the connection with Western values that has resulted in a spiritual or psychological vacuum; a spiritless quagmire. A feeling of alienation has resulted in them choosing to reject the Judeo-Christian civilization that has provided a spiritual framework, and moral infrastructure for Western development for 2000-years (q.v.). This framework has been upsurged by an uninterrupted line of wars, which has int. al., influenced many to escape their dilemmas – problems of identity, alienation, etc. – by opting to returned to the period pre-dating the Scientific Revolution (circa 16th – 18th cc.). They preferred adopting ancient superstitious and irrational beliefs, and practices. For example, divination (Astrology, Tarot), and spiritism (clairvoyancy, mediumistic spirit channeling), goddess worship, crystals, extraterrestrials; Theosophy, and Wiccan. This is tantamount to ‘throwing the baby out with the bathwater’.
Others have looked outward – particularly towards the Asian countries – and imported beliefs and practices, namely: doctrines of reincarnation/transmigration (Samsãra), Karma, and a variety of Yoga practices. These include the Hatha and Rãja schools, which are primarily a part of the body culture, i.e., the subjective body image or concept, and sexual Yoga (Tantric). The principal objective, of the latter, is to reach supposedly blissful consciousness and enlightenment (Nirvãna) through sexual intercourse. This aspect of the Tantric tradition is not recognized by Japan’s Shingon or Chên-yen school (et al.). Sexual practices are not genetically fused but are culturally formulated. For example, in the West there has evolved a laissez-faire attitude to sociosexual mores, subsequent to the sexual revolution (1960s-70s). While in other cultures (e.g., Tibet), have, so far, retained highly regulated principals and practices unaffected by the promiscuous and deviant dynamics of Western sexual mores.
These exotic beliefs and practices are masqueraded under the New Age consumerist conglomerate, representing an eclectic combination of the metaphysical, materialness, philosophical and theological; hybridized from other cultures. These might appear entirely plausible, but they are, ipso facto, antithetical to the Western mindset. These imports have gained popular acceptance, by means of manipulation through uncritical mass media coverage (television, radio, cinema, DVDs, newspapers and magazines), particularly amongst the so-called “baby boom” generation ensuing from the post-WW II period [1945-early 60s] followed by “echo boomers”, [mid 70s to late 90s], X, Y and the MTV generations from late 60s to the present.
From Thespians to New Age Evangelists.
Hollywood was once the international leader in economic cinema [Occasionally its movies were socially meaningful, meticulously artistic, and culturally reflective.]. And was referred to as the “Entertainment Capitol of the World”, ensuing from World War I (1914-1918). – Nowadays social scientists much prefer the term “Great War” to “World War I” – to the decline of the studio system (the 1950s) (q.v.). It has since transformed into a tinsel Mecca for active supporters of the New Age movement. Amongst these high profile celebrities, are actress/dancer Shirley MacLaine, filmic Actors: John Travolta., and the controversial, gushing Tom Cruise and his highly publicized role as the proselytizer for the so-called “church” of Scientology.
Madonna and the New Age Qabbalah.
Included also is the highly contentious singer, entrepreneur, pseudo-Qabbalist; Madonna (Louise Ciccone). Madonna has since 1997, metamorphosed into a proselytizer for New Age Qabbalah. She appropriates sacred themes and symbols for her salacious performances, e.g., the Judaic holy Tefillin (Phylacteries), which has for centuries, been worn only by pious Jewish males for prayer, and for boys becoming Bar Mitzvah. She uses the Christian Church’s principal symbol, the crucifix, for her costumes; and in 1993 her on-stage Puerto Rican national flag incident. Madonna’s mega-celebrity status, and misplaced philanthropic activities will not absolve her from her cavalier profanities or irreverential behaviour.
The Oprah Winfrey Cult.
Billionairess Oprah Winfrey, the most influential TV talk show hostess and aggressive advocate of the New Age movement, has since 1985, featured major New Age proponets, and authors, on her Oprah Winfrey Television Show; with ambitions towards the Operafication of Jesus; and the obliteration of the Christian Church. She has been described by Time Magazine (1996) as one of America’s “Twenty-five most influential people”. She has unmistakable ambitions and determination towards deconstructing the Christian Church’s teachings, in the mindset of the New Age generation et al., which has raised some serious concern among the various denominations across the continental United States et al. Oprah Winfrey’s activities are reminiscent of those, viz. the Kathari (Kαθαρóς), whom in 12th – 13th cents, threatened to destroy both the Church and all the established institutions of contemporary society. She favours only New Age side of arguments based on biased judgements. To my knowledge, there have been no academics, from the theological faculties, invited onto her show. A transparent ploy to steer her audience into accepting her New Age opinions without the opportunity to hear experts question them. She is a self-appointed authority (or ought it be dilettante) of the Bible and the Christian Church. She draws her inspiration from some such occult writers as Eckhart Tolle, Marilyn Ferguson (now deceased) and Shirley MacLaine:
“As I read more of Shirley MacLaine, crystals, and The Aquarian Conspiracy, it seems to me to say what the Bible has said for years. It is just that many of us were brought up with a more restricted, limited vision of what the Bible said”.
Oprah Winfrey’s opinions are, by her own admission, based solely upon her understanding – of the Bible – extrapolated from an actress, inanimate crystals; and a New Age authoress. These second-hand opinions are preferred as her source of information rather than the Bible itself, or from scholarly books or journals. She rejects “rules and doctrines,” a transparent ploy to smite the very centre of the Judeo-Christian civilization. She prefers the somatic “feeling” God rather than the cerebral activity in “believing”. This indicates her total rejection of the Christian Church and its seven Ecumenical Councils [The Orthodox Church recognises the first seven, the Roman Catholics twenty-two, and the Protestant traditions the first four]; that since 325 been an across-the-board formal, and authorized, ‘Credo’ of Christian doctrine id est “Πιστευω/I believe” being the operative phrase in question:
Πιστευω εις ενα Θεον, Πατερα, παντοκρατορα, ποιητην ουρανου και γης, ορατων τε παντων και αορατων. Και εις ενα Κυριον, Ιησουν Χριστον, τον Υιον του Θεου τον μονογενη …
I believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, And of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, the only-begotten …
She places her own ego-driven celebrity status, over and above the authority of the Ecumenical Councils, and Holy Scripture itself, in contradicting Jesus:
λεγει αυτω ‘Ιησους, ‘Εγω ειμι η οδος και η αληθεια και η ζωη ουδεις ερχεται προς τον πατερα ει μη δι εμου.
Ιωαννην. 14.6. GNT
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John. 14.6. NRSV
Notwithstanding Jesus’ instruction, Oprah Winfrey denies the teaching authority of Jesus. She unapologetically asserts: “There couldn’t possibly be one way!” From there, it would be safe to assume that she is an apostate and can no longer claim to be a Christian.
Furthermore, she rejects the Fifth Commandment because of the phrase “A Jealous God” in the context that: “God is jealous of me! … something about that didn’t feel right in my spirit”. Evidently, she is confused with her neurophysiological misplacement of her own ‘feelings’ (‘σωμα’) with her ‘spirit’ (‘πνευμα’); rather than with the cerebral activity of her ‘mind’. Her understanding of Moses (or Mõsheh) receiving the Ten Commandments or ‘Aseret Ha-dibrot’ [Δεκαλογος – Εξ. 20. 1-17.] is, quite apparently, based on an introspective approach rather than actual objective (exogenous) phenomena, and the context of its meaning given to Moses at Mt. Sinai circa 3,524-years ago. If Oprah Winfrey had have been less subjectively involved, in assuming that: “God is jealous of me!” she might have rationalized the historical facts that existed in Moses’ time. She failed to think beyond her subjective guide, for the fledgling nation of Israel; towards healthy relationships with God and other peoples. The metaphor often used to make this claim was the metaphor of God as a ‘jealous God’.
ου προσκυνησεις αυτοις ουδε μη λατρευσης αυτοις εγω γαρ ειμι κυριος ο θεος σου, θεος ζηλωτης αποδιδους αμαρτιας πατερων επι τεκνα εως τριτης και τεταρτης γενεας τοις μισουσιν με
Εξοδος. 20.5. LXX
You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
Exodus. 20.5. NRSV
Oprah Winfrey discloses a remarkable low level of understanding of the diverse religious beliefs and practices of Moses’ day. And the prevailing tensions and conflicts that existed between the various peoples (viz., Midianites and Philistines et al.) on the Sinai Peninsula; circa 1,513BC. She is unschooled in the incontrovertible distinctions between the Yahwistic ‘monotheism’ of the seminomadic Israelites, and the ‘polytheistic’ ethnic deities of their neighbours; and the destructive effects therefrom that threatened the growth and unity of the emerging nation of Israel. The most problematic being the Canaanite fertility cults – in the worship of Ba‘al (and his consort Asherah or Astarte) – that involved imitative magic (ritualistic coitus) int. al., that supposedly controlled the elemental forces of nature; and of course, the successful continuation of human reproduction [vide: Deuteronomy, 23: 17-18, and Herodotus, Clio, 199]. Oprah Winfrey’s beliefs, or as she understands it: “feelings”, are limited to the two-dimensional and have the astute effect of omitting both the width and depth of historical, and socio-religious perspectives, of the people of Israel; and their near-neighbours. It is also in this context that the understanding of Yahweh being a “jealous” God is impressed upon the national mindset (see God as a “jealous” God), not in an autocratic or dictatorial mode, but rather simply an assertion that if God alone is God, as the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4 asserts, then they cannot worship both Yahweh and Ba‘al. And Jesus says the same in the following:
Ουδεις δυναται δυσι κυριοις δουλευειν η γαρ τον ενα μισησει και τον ετερον αγαπησει, η ενος ανθεξεται και του ετερου καταφρονησει. ου δυνασθε θεω δουλευειν και μαμωνα.
Μαθθαιον, 6.24. GNT
“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth”.
Matthew, 6.24. NRSV. cf. Lk. 16:13
Since the post-exilic period (c. 538BC) the Jews remained loyal to Yahwistic monotheism of Moses, that brought the Ten Commandments – and later the Solomonic Temple [built between 960-950BC and destroyed in 587BC] – which was unparalleled in history. Moses surpassed both the ‘henotheistic’ Pharaoh Akhenaton (reigned circa 1353 BC – 1336 or 1351–1334 BC); and Persian Philosopher Zoroaster (c. 11th or 10th cc. BC). Moses will continue being the crèam de la crème· of humanity’s greatest legal code (Tenach) for which an indebtedness that will forever be owed to the Jews.
Other interesting questions emerge, for example, what precisely, in Opera Winfrey’s opinion, that “… the Bible has said for years”? that had been allegedly ‘restricted and limited’. Was the inappropriate, injection of the noun “vision” into her discourse, referring to her own sensory modality, or a broad-base implicit opinion; based on her personal subjective experiences? Her wandering speeches are incoherent, absent of any scholarly references, historical considerations, or theological system. She alleged being: “… brought up with a more restricted, limited vision of what the Bible said”. Even though – by her own admission – her understanding of the most fundamental principals of Biblical hermeneutics and exegesis was “restricted” and “limited,” she now assumes a leadership role in leading her fans – during ‘mass trances’ – along her New Age path towards celeb-idolatry, in her own “church”; March 2008. This is tantamount to travelling in a vehicle with an unlicensed driver.
Personal opinions of Oprah Winfrey, MacLaine et alii. are characteristic of New Age’s assumptions pandering to populism (narodnik). Simplistic generalizations absent of substance has the effect of ignoring the deeper layers of the dynamic cultural, religious and historical correlatives that result in an inconsequential residue. Any opposing views from Oprah Winfrey’s television audience are met with an abrupt interruption followed by overbearing irrelevant assumptions (ignoratio elenchi); a saturation of wild assumptions. She has demonstrated an incapacity to grasp even the most fundamental principals of religious studies and allied subjects – e.g., philosophy, social science, anthropology, psychology, history of religion, etc. In October 2003, she featured discussions regarding the sexual practice of “rimming” (analingus). This raises the question – as well as eyebrows – regarding her television show as a suitable platform for biblical, theological; and ecclesiastical discussions. The complex dissimilarities between a TV Talkback hostess and a theologian are quite apart by a very long chalk. The status of a TV personality does not automatically qualify an individual as a religious leader.
New Age Heresy and Celeb-Idolatry.
Prioritizing the opinions of New Age Hollywood celebrities over and above 2000-years (q.v.) of the Christian Church’s authority, traditions and scholarship is sheer folly. New Age beliefs and practices exclude a God that revealed Himself and are characterized by an aggregation of philosophical and theological concepts extrapolated from multitudinous sources (eclecticism) e.g., Abrahamic, Dharmic and Neopagan traditions. They reject the belief – shared by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; in one God (Monotheism). This in turn would suggest that the Revelation at Mount Sinai and the legal material (Δεκαλογος – Εξ. 20. 1-17. Δευτ. 5. 6-21), attributable to Moses has no value. From that place, one can deduce that the New Agers, believe that man is an amoral being, free to live by his own rules, and accountable to nobody. Their denials of the historic records to tinselized the Church – with ludicrous two-dimensional New Age assumptions – does not obliterate the Church or the indispensable role it played in the formation of Western civilisation, or the highly influential writings of the Apostolic, Greek and Latin Fathers, e.g., Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, Irenaeus, Cyprian, Ambrose, et alii.
Cultural and Spiritual Theft.
The New Age spiritual entrepreneurs and hobbyists aspire to reappropriate the religious (and spiritual) beliefs and practices from the well established and respected institutions [or in New Age parlance “organized religions”]; whom they reject. These traditional institutions – the custodians – have for centuries, nurtured and cared for these traditions, doctrines, and dogmas; as mentioned by Saint Paul (2 Thess, 2:15); in 51AD. These entrepreneurs, aspire to reappropriate the legitimate power and authority (Matt 16:18, 28: 16-20) away from these institutions into an ambiguously defined community of transitory gung-ho glitterati. They appear to be unable to differentiate between ‘authority’ and ‘authoritarianism’. Their expropriating religio-cultural elements has not been restricted to the Christian Church. They have stolen sacred symbols, int. al., from other cultural jurisdictions. For example, Prayer Flags (Dar Cho) and Mandalas, from the Tibetan people, and sacred figures and ceremonial objects, viz., Kokopellis, ceremonial Pipes, feathers and stones, from the American indigenous peoples (Lakota tribe et alii); for commodification in their lucrative markets; as if spirituality is a saleable commodity.
A Pretext for Exploitation and Social Stratification.
Reincarnation and Karma, are the principal ingredients of New Age occultism. They are diametrically opposed to the beliefs, teachings and dogmas of the three most predominant and influential monotheistic religions in recorded history: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Both these doctrines legitimise subjugation (caste system of social stratification), and exploitation, of the oppressed and underprivileged; to guarantee their continued compliance with an anti-egalitarian system that supports the ruling elite. This has the effect of perpetuating the Karmic cycle (Samsãra) of birth and death, in an eternal abyss of hopelessness i.e., the “Wheel of the Law” [Karma or Dharma-chakra ]; for those, from whom the privileged class obtain their wherewithal for the dolce vita from exploitation and robbing rupees (Devanagari) from the poor.
Transplantation of spiritual beliefs and practices from an ancient parent culture, to the modern comforts of air-conditioned flats (or centres) in a host culture – over wine and nibbles – whether it be in New York, United States, or Sydney, Australia, may not be as congruent as might be first expected; notwithstanding their exotic appeal. The plain facts are [ethnocentrism aside], ‘East is East and West is West’. The utopian New Age tenet of establishing a religo-cultural world, both pluralistic and inclusive, without borders, ignores the unique characteristics, i.e., the beliefs and practices, history and contextualization, that each culture has which are alien to others. For example, the traditonal practice of infanticide in the People’s Republic of China, Australia’s killing of one in four children by abortion, United States’ practice of state; sponsored killing (execution) of its own citizens, female genital mutilation (FGM) in Australia, Northeast Africa, Southeast Asia, Near East, and South America. Intolerence of France’s legislature regarding L’affaire du voile islamique (the Islamic veil affair), banning devout Moslem women wearing burkas in public; and some cultures who consider Western dress code, and kissing in public immoral.
Additional to the ever increasing New Age practitioners (Reflexology, Reiki, therapeutic touch, etc) in Australian, there has also arisen various schools of Yoga particularly since the visit, in 1960 and 1962, of giggling multimillionaire Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (guru to the Beatles), who introduced a neo-Hindu movement called Transcendental Meditation (TM ©), loosely based upon the Advaita Vedanta branch of Hindu philosophy. The growth of the Yoga industry has since been enormous. In the Sydney metropolitan area, there are no less than 95 studios (q.v.), and in Melbourne 40 (q.v.).
The New Age entrepreneurs have produced a multifarious range of books, e.g., self-improvement books by which to supposedly improve knowledge and status. They also offer a wide variety of workshops and study programs including such topics as Tarot, Psychic Development, Reiki Healing, Crystal Knowledge, Numerology, Angels, Witchcraft, and Astrology. These New Age enterprises have a biparous character in that their veneer appears as a counter-cultural movement behind which are marketing practices with all the earmarks of rampant crypto-capitalism. There are no products or services that the New Age retailers can offer, for spiritual meaning, cultural identity, lifestyle et cetera. Genuine spiritual evolvement and fulfillment involve perseverance, abnegation, and contrition. There are no secret formulas or shortcuts.
“You may fool all the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all the time; but you can’t fool all the people all the time”.
Alexander K. McClure, Lincoln’s Yarns and Stories (1904).