The Second Coming of the New Age: The Hidden Dangers of Alternative Spirituality in Contemporary America and Its Churches

by Steven Bancarz

Our limitations in time and space in the natural realm can cause us to view utility through a very narrow lens and cause us to misjudge the pragmatic implications of a particular belief. A seemingly pragmatic belief may turn out to be eternally destructive. Our cognitive limitations in calculating the full implications of a belief make such judgments of pragmatism near impossible in some instances. There are some things we simply cannot know ahead of time. Yet, the New Age movement tells us to find what “works for us,” even though what “works for us” right this second might have eternal consequences in the next second. This is why we need to define truth in terms of what conforms to reality, not according to what serves us.