Over the years, I have heard some of the most spiritually effective ministers being dismissed by Evangelicals as New Agers (e. g. Rick Warren and Richard Foster). Yet Rick Warren is a self-professed Southern Baptist and Foster is a devout Evangelical Quaker. What makes this slander particularly odious is the failure to define precisely what "a New Ager" is. True, channeling, western reincarnationism, astrology, and certain occult arts are rightly labelled "New Age." But practitioners of Yoga, meditation, vegetarianism, and radical environmentalism have often also been characterized as New Agers. So what do you understand The expression to mean?
The question is important because 1 in 3 Americans self-identify as "spiritual" but not "religious" and would constitute the largest religion in America, if "spiritual" could be identified as a religion. Many of these wannabe "spiritual" types seem to fit nicely within the "New Age" label. The important issue for me is this: where is the line between "New Age" beliefs and practices and acceptable evangelical beliefs and practices?
The question is important because 1 in 3 Americans self-identify as "spiritual" but not "religious" and would constitute the largest religion in America, if "spiritual" could be identified as a religion. Many of these wannabe "spiritual" types seem to fit nicely within the "New Age" label. The important issue for me is this: where is the line between "New Age" beliefs and practices and acceptable evangelical beliefs and practices?