Indus Apologetics Journal

The New Age Movement By Dr. Johnson C. Philip & Dr. Saneesh Cherian: “New Age” is a term seen frequently in personality-development books and magazines these days. They claim that we are in an age when humans can take total control of their bodies and minds. Contrary to what the name suggests, the New Age Movement is a very ancient Cult, and they claim it to be “New” only to deceive people. Plenty of Christians have become spokesmen and agents of this movement without realizing it for what it is. The New Age Movement has its origin in Satan who promised to Eve that by eating the forbidden fruit, she would become “like God”. Realizing this promise is the basic promise and quest of this movement.

The pursuit to become like God became an organized movement with Nimrod and the Tower of Babel. There one observes the seeds of the first one-world religion and government, both contrary to the course of human history as decreed by God. Consequently, God dispersed this movement. Yet Satan, the architect of this movement, continued in his struggle to raise up another all-world religious and political union. The story that unfolded in the millennia that followed is quite complex, but what one needs to know took place only in about one century.

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Christian Culture Today, Not Yesterday or Tomorrow, P. Andrew Sandlin

The question is not whether we should work toward a Christian culture. Of course we should. The Reformed Faith - more importantly, the Bible - demands the Lordship of Christ in all of life. This is part of what it means to be Reformed - and, I would add, Christian.

What, by the way, is culture? It is the dominant, inner religious conviction of a society that is manifested externally in its arts, its education, its economics, its law, its politics, its science, its technology, and so on. Religion is the bones, and culture is the skin, of a society. Let’s hear the last line of Henry Van Til’s newly re-issued classic The Calvinistic Concept of Culture: “[A] people’s religion comes to expression in its culture, and Christians can be satisfied with nothing less than a Christian organization of society” (p. 245). We all agree - or should agree-with this conviction.

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Doin’ Good Ain’t Bad, Shawn T. Roberson

Sola Gratia! Sola Fide! Reformation battle cries, these two phrases show the emphasis placed upon a correct view of justification. With Paul, the Reformers declared that salvation is solely by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8). Their fight continues today, as many still attempt to give man credit for some small contribution to the work of salvation. Salvation is sometimes illustrated by pictures of a dying man simply having to open his mouth to accept a healing medication from the hands of Christ, or of a drowning man reaching for a lifeline thrown his way by Christ. Problems with these illustrations arise when we consider the fact that Paul says we were dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1) — not sick or dying. Dead men cannot open their mouths or swallow medicine. They cannot reach out for a rope. All they can do is lie motionless. The condition of death itself prohibits action. If anything is done for a dead man, someone other than himself must do it.

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Philosophy: The Need For It: Who Needs Philosophy? Once a person understands that philosophy is a set of ideas and insights that meaningfully relate life and existence on the earth, he realizes that philosophy is an essential subject related to life and survival. Yet many shrug their shoulders and say they do not need philosophy. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Human life is a complex phenomenon. A person makes hundreds of thousands of conscious and unconscious decisions during his life, and a good number of those decisions are related to the ultimate realities of life. Nobody can make a right decision without the right philosophy. Consider a schoolteacher in a difficult subject like physics. It is in his power to make the subject easy and interesting, or tough and traumatic. The question is, what motivates him to work hard and do his best, especially if mediocrity is sufficient to keep his job? Further, since he determines the final grades of students in physics, he could easily give the highest possible grades to every student, keeping the students as well as the school management happy. What would motivate him to opt for the tougher path of hard work, good teaching, and honest grading? One might say that the rules imposed upon this person should get the job done, but there are several problems with that approach. First, rules only apply pressure. They do not provide motivation. Second, why should people make rules in the first place if there is no philosophy about essential duties in the first place?

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