How New? (Jesus, ritual, reject, Earth, beliefs)

[kiwimac]

Would folk here like to comment on just HOW new they feel New Age beliefs to actually be. Are they ancient thoughts / beliefs/ concepts re-born or are they a new twist on those old beliefs or maybe you feel they are something else entirely.

Let's see what folk have to say. Perhaps I could start it off by saying that one of the foundational tenets of 'New Age belief' or so it seems to me, is a profound reverence towards the Earth. But surely we also see that kind of reverence in the Shamanistic religions of old and in the earliest of the monotheist faiths, Zoroastrianism.

So how do you define 'deep ecology' as a New Age belief?

Interested to hear what folk have to say

[Enigmata]

Originally Posted by kiwimac

Would folk here like to comment on just HOW new they feel New Age beliefs to actually be. Are they ancient thoughts / beliefs/ concepts re-born or are they a new twist on those old beliefs or maybe you feel they are something else entirely.

Let's see what folk have to say. Perhaps I could start it off by saying that one of the foundational tenets of 'New Age belief' or so it seems to me, is a profound reverence towards the Earth. But surely we also see that kind of reverence in the Shamanistic religions of old and in the earliest of the monotheist faiths, Zoroastrianism.

So how do you define 'deep ecology' as a New Age belief?

Interested to hear what folk have to say

Those are all good questions and I am sure you will get varying answers from everyone. Just from the Wiccan perspective(mine) you will probably find that there are those that feel that Wicca is a system of ancient beliefs reborn. I personally believe that it is a new religion based on the beliefs of ancient times incorporating ancient beliefs and new beliefs into a belief system that compliments my love for life and nature.

It does appear that new age beliefs does have a deep reverence for the earth but there are so many different new age belief systems out there that you will find varying thoughts on this subject. Hopefully others will pop on here and give there opinions as well.

[Halcyon]

Well, from what i've seen and read, i would say that the New Age movement is a mix of reinterpreted ancient beliefs and practices, and some totally new ideas.

It seems, to me, that the New Age movement is a rejection of the post-Enlightenment era's cold logical science based outlook.
People want to see the spiritual and emotional aspects of the universe, so they revert to non-religion specific beliefs of universal love, forms of animism and spiritual interconnectedness.
This often occurs alongside rejection of the dominant religions of the country, Judeo-Christianity predominantly, although the Bible itself and Jesus are often looked up too.

In practice it takes the form of ancient practices - meditation, spirit/aura healing, crystal and herb work and magickal ritual - that have been reinterpreted in the light of modern scientific understanding, although in many cases science is often stretched to the point of pseudoscience.

So yeah, ancient belief re-born is how i see it.

[Willamena]

I don't even know *what* New Age beliefs are, nevermind how old they might be.

[kai]

Originally Posted by Willamena

I don't even know *what* New Age beliefs are, nevermind how old they might be.

well me neither really arnt they just a rehash of the old religions before the christians arrived

[Enigmata]

Originally Posted by kai

well me neither really arnt they just a rehash of the old religions before the christians arrived

Not necessarily. A lot of new age religions are based on ancient belief systems but it all depends on the religion.

[Radio Frequency X]

Originally Posted by kai

well me neither really arnt they just a rehash of the old religions before the christians arrived

Not really. They take the spiritual systems of nearly every religion (including Christianity - thinki Sylvia Brown) and use them however they want. All the New Age is, is spiritualism. It has nothing to do with old or new religions.

[Moses the God Archetype*]

Alot of the new age beliefs orignate from eastern ideas such as the vedas, puranas and upanisads, as well as buddism, so it is really not that new just recycled with a twist.

[angellous_evangellous]

There is nothing new under the sun. New Age is simply Hindu philosophy experiencing a revival in the West.