Unveiled Artist
Veteran Member
Actually, I'm not saying it is new as in it originated today (modern). New Age I'm referring to the practices and way of seeing religions that are traditionally seen otherwise. I wasn't around in the New Age generation started (70s?); so, I can't speak to much on it.
We just take a lot of beliefs of different religions and practices (and concepts like panthenism) that are old and mix and match them (Christian Wiccan is a good example) not realizing that Wicca has it's own history (which too has been modernized) as well Christianity (which was not originally "non-denominational") and they have nothing to do with each other. That, to me, seems like a New Age thing to do.
I never understood panthenism. I can't remember when I first saw it, but it seemed like a hot word. The concept, I'm sure as you say, been around for ages. I just think it becomes "new age" when it's taken out of context and made a belief of its own (as in some religions have animist concepts but animism is not a religion; likewise trinity concept has been around for ages, but trinitarian is not a religion itself). That's actually a word I haven't heard until almost recently.
We just take a lot of beliefs of different religions and practices (and concepts like panthenism) that are old and mix and match them (Christian Wiccan is a good example) not realizing that Wicca has it's own history (which too has been modernized) as well Christianity (which was not originally "non-denominational") and they have nothing to do with each other. That, to me, seems like a New Age thing to do.
I never understood panthenism. I can't remember when I first saw it, but it seemed like a hot word. The concept, I'm sure as you say, been around for ages. I just think it becomes "new age" when it's taken out of context and made a belief of its own (as in some religions have animist concepts but animism is not a religion; likewise trinity concept has been around for ages, but trinitarian is not a religion itself). That's actually a word I haven't heard until almost recently.
Actually, that's not why it's called New Age. It comes from the belief we are entering into a New Age of conscious awakening. Being new, doesn't not equate with being New Age. In practice, what New Age is probably best described is as "Experimental Christianity". I would say this because the basic premises of an externalized power that one engages with brings about the desire self-benefit. Instead of praying for God to help you, you send out positive energies for the universe to bring you into cosmic alignment, or some other type of rebranding of a theistic deity. It's earmarks are really a lack of depth of understanding both the sciences and the religions from which they co-opt terminologies.
That is factually incorrect. Panentheism has been around for thousands of years (the Trinity is actually panentheistic, the wholly transcendent and fully immanent divine). The term panetheism was however only first coined as such over 200 years ago, not 20. It was first used as a word by Karl Krause in the 18th century. So that is hardly a "New Age" term of a mere 20 year ago coined in California. Here's some better information on it: Panentheism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Panentheism was actually within the original formulation of the Trinity doctrine, as I alluded to. It was only later that this Transcendent and Immanent divine was made wholly theistic and they "Kicked Jesus upstairs" as Alan Watts rightly put it. I started a high-level topic on this some time back: Evolutionary Panenthiesm | ReligiousForums.com
It's kind of like saying that fundamentalist quoting ancient Wisdom text have "ancient beliefs". They in fact do not. There is no actual depth of understanding, and hence the words are the "right words", but hollow and vacuous soundbites, religious'ese speak. That tends to be one of the characteristics of a lot of it, if not most. Right words, shallow or atrocious meaning.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for making religious speak to a modern culture, but not to just add deep-sounding language to validate shallowness.
Anyway, I think it has its place, but its hardly anything truly "new"