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A New Earth, An Old Lie June 9, 2008 2008, Penguin Reviewed
by Sharon Jadrnicek “'I am the way
and the truth and the life.' These words uttered by Jesus
are one of the most powerful and direct pointers to the Truth, if
understood correctly. If misinterpreted, however, they become a
great obstacle.” A quote by one of our great biblical scholars?
No, this is a quote from Eckhart Tolle's book A New Earth, Awakening
to Your Life's Purpose. This book is
quickly becoming a worldwide phenomenon for those who are searching
for definitive answers to the ultimate human questions--Who am I?
What am I doing here? Why is there so much pain in the world? Tolle
not only reiterates the questions, but he also defines the answers
using the wisdom of the world's greatest teachers and philosophers.
His book, filled with ample biblical rationalizations, joins the
ranks of the ever-widening collection of scripted pontifications
that are twisting the Christian message--”For God so loved the world”--to
fit the human mold. One Viewpoint According to
Tolle, the purpose of man is to evolve to the point of finding conscientiousness,
a oneness with the One Life Force that lives within all of creation.
The foundation of his philosophy is that man is inherently good
but living in a fog of insanity, which is ruled by the ego. All
of man's pain and suffering--greed, emotional pain, anger, anguish,
uncertainty, and inner unrest--that he inflicts on himself and others
comes from unconsciously giving control over to his ego. Tolle punctuates
his own self-importance by stating: “If you find this book incomprehensible
or meaningless, it [consciousness] has not yet happened to you.
If something within you responds to it, however, if you somehow
recognize the truth in it, it means the process of awakening has
begun.” The solution
to man's blind allegiance to the ego is the realization of the ultimate
truth - inner consciousness. This “truth” is called by many names
throughout his book: being, the mind of God, eternal life, I
am, The Kingdom of Heaven, I am that I am, and the Truth that sets
you free. And the pathway to finding this inner god quality
that we all posses is to live in the now. And so the answer
to the implied question, who was Jesus talking about when he declared,
“I am the way, the truth, and the life” is none other than man himself.
Without that interpretation you are guilty of perpetuating the obstacle
for enlightenment. And Then, Oprah So, right about
now you've mentally placed this book on the bookshelf marked Eastern
Mysticism, and you're ready to move on to a new topic. That's when
you picture Oprah, a picture of serenity, sitting across the table
from an elfish little man, gushing about true peace and Christianity: “...I believe
that Jesus came to show us Christ-consciousness,” Oprah purrs. “Jesus
came to say, 'Look, I'm going to live in the body, in the human
body and I'm going to show you how it's done.'” With Oprah's
rallying call to her approximate 26 million fans, The New Earth
has the pulpit it needs to reach the Christian world. And reach
them, they are. With about two million followers worldwide, many
are professing Christians. Although there are a few references to
other religious leaders, by far the greatest amount of time and
interpretation is devoted to the words and ideas of Jesus Christ. Deceiving Everyone? How does Tolle
pull this deception off? By using rhetoric that closely aligns with
Christian doctrine. For instance, he acknowledges heaven, worldliness,
the truth that sets you free, and that sin is about missing the
mark. The deception of his thought process is humanistic: the one
true god is man himself and Jesus is just a pointer to that truth.
This is not
the first false doctrine to undermine the Good News. A forerunner
to A New Earth is the post-modern New Kind of Christian.
Both philosophies are sweeping the country with the doctrine of
tolerance for all religious ideas and enlightenment to false interpretations.
First, critics told Christians that the gospel is too gory--too
much blood in our sermons and songs. Then they told us our gospel
is too exclusive--we're intolerant of our Muslim, Hindu, and atheist
brothers and sisters. Now, they're telling us that our gospel is
misinterpreted. Someone said
that in every lie there is a small seed of truth that makes the
lie believable. Post-moderns sugarcoat their message of relative
truth with heightened awareness for the care of the suffering masses.
Tolle validates his lie with the promise of peace and joy in a troubled
world--and lest we forget, they both promise world peace. And with
a spoonful of sugar, the lies are being swallowed hook, line, and
sinker. Jesus warned
us, “Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!'
or, 'Look, He is there!' do not believe it. For false christs and
false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive,
if possible, even the elect. But take heed…” (Mark 13:21-23).
And so while Tolle oozes inner consciousness and the postmodernists'
crusade for heaven on earth, Paul instructed Timothy to “Continue
in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those
who hear you. (1Timothy 4:16, NKJV). That is good advice.
© 2008, Sharon
Jadrnicek ---------- Sharon Jadrnicek has a BA in Sociology and holds a teaching certificate in Wisconsin. Retiring after 17 years of teaching English, she tutors at-risk students part-time. She feels confident that she's found the Fountain of Youth--grandchildren.
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