6 – Truth is relative so no need to share ideas
From a Christian perspective
No truth- The notion of truth does not exist. But the belief/claim that there is no truth is illogical because it contradicts itself. It is also disproved in reality.
Still due to the above, discussions and sharing of ideas with people who adopt the New Age worldview are very difficult, if not impossible.
The New Age Movement rejects the idea of an absolute truth and therefore does not have any particular source of authority. The only absolute dogma in New Age is that truth is relativistic: each person has its own reality and subjective experience: what is true for one person may not be true for another. This makes it almost impossible to discuss with devoted New Age followers. If you have a different opinion, they simply say: ‘it’s fine if you believe so, that is your reality”. But they do not think that your reality is relevant for them as well, at least not on the spiritual level. When rejecting any exchange of ideas on the subject of truth they disregard of course the fact that they become themselves intolerant and absolutists in their claims.
So for the New Agers, morality is relative since all is One. There is no difference between good and evil, right or wrong. There is no such thing as evil. Some New Agers even deny that Hitler’s actions were evil or wrong. Neale Donald Walsch, the prolific New Age writer, author of the best-selling ‘Conversations with God’, said: “Yet I have said over and over again that there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ in the universe. A thing is not intrinsically right or wrong. A thing simply is.” Some New Agers would even assert that evil comes from God. As writer Benjamin Creme states “Of course, the forces of evil are part of God. They are not separate from God. Everything is God. There is nothing else in fact but God. The forces of evil on this planet receive their energy from the cosmic astral plane.”
The desire to escape guilt and responsibility has opened the doors to a worldview devoid of judgment and of God as judge. The loss of a religious standard, mentioned above, has created a relativist climate which assumes the plausibility of all ideas. So discussions with New Agers often appear to be hopeless.
The Christian response is that the sense there is a distinction between right and wrong is universal. New Agers try to explain evil by denying its reality. But in order to deny the existence of evil they must also deny the validity of goodness. They not only deny the Bible, which condemns certain actions as wrong, but also their own consciences.
Furthermore the belief that there is no difference between right and wrong is illogical because it contradicts itself. Its adherents claim it is right to believe there is no right or wrong. But if there is no right or wrong, then how can it be right to believe that there is no right or wrong? Both the Bible and our life experiences support the Christian teaching that there is a distinction between good and evil, right and wrong. Also, the Bible clearly indicates that God is not the source of evil (see James 1:13).
Finally, the Bible teaches absolute truth. According to the Bible, God has clearly communicated to human beings his moral law (Ex. 20:1-17) for them to obey. Contrary to the New Age teaching that “there are many paths to God,” Jesus clearly taught “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
“So when talking to a New Age adopter a Christian should address the fundamental issues of this worldview- the irrationality of relativism, the inconsistencies of living out the New Ager view of the world, factual and historical errors, the biblical account of Jesus and the message of the gospel- so that they may realize there is a choice to be made instead of blurring the distinctions, and that love and forgiveness can not be found in an impersonal force but can be found in the God of the Bible.” Christoph Kreitz, Cornell University.
(Read more about the dangers of relativism and the false assumption that it is justified by Einstein’s theory of relativity, here.)
(Sources: ‘Jesus among other gods’ by Ravi Zacharias, ‘Walking through the darkness’ by Neil Anderson, http://www.4truth.net/fourtruthpbworld.aspx?pageid=8589952991)
