Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1992, Page 79
Book Reviews
The New Age: A Christian Critique. Ralph Rath. Greenlawn Press, South Bend, IN,
1990.
This is a very useful book. One is tempted to describe it as a “handy” book because it surveys
the whole field of New Age phenomena in a clear and orderly way. It can be used as a ready
reference by counselors as well as by victims and their anxious relatives.
The author, Ralph Rath, a West Coast journalist, gets to the point with an economy of words.
The book’s subtitle, “A Christian Critique,” enables us to know immediately where Rath is
coming from. Even with its Christian perspective, the book will prove equally helpful to
Christians and non-Christians. Rath draws upon specialists whose names are familiar in the
cult-awareness arena: Douglas Groothuis, Walter Martin, James LeBar, Elliot Miller, Bob
Larson, his fellow newsman Russell Chandler, as well as all those associated with the Spiritual
Counterfeits Project.
Since the “New Age” label is used to embrace diverse things, it is convenient to have books
like this to bring some order to the welter of confusing facts. In Part One, Rath defines his
subject in Part Two, he answers his question, “Where is it?” His response tells us that New
Age manifestations can be found in many areas of society: business, education, religion,
entertainment, health care --and frequently in the form of destructive cults. The author
observes that “the cults that arose in the 1960s and 1970s in North America are the
immediate predecessors of the New Age movement of the 1980s.” In Chapter 7 he discusses
Transcendental Meditation, Silva Mind Control, Scientology, Eckankar, and Werner Erhard’s
est. Chapter 9 deals with the appearance of the New Age in the guise of religion here we are
informed about the strangely faddish “Enneagram” and the “Course in Miracles.”
In a book of any size, inevitably one is bound to find some point of difference with the author.
One such place for this reviewer was Rath’s declaration that “Christians must be prudent and
realize that New Agers are basically out to destroy the Christian faith.” He makes it sound as
though there were a conspiracy under way that constitutes a spiritual threat. Indeed, there
may be instances where there is some conscious enmity however, in my opinion, it is more
likely that most of the real New Age aficionados have given up on Christianity and have little
interest in hastening its demise.
There is also a tendency in some well-intentioned books like this to denigrate everything that
comes from the East. While we may admit that in the past century Eastern philosophies have
had a strong influence on Western civilization, it is not reasonable to disdain Korea on the
grounds that it spawned the Unification Church or Japan on the grounds that it produced the
Nichies (Soka Gakkai). India’s centuries-old spirituality is hardly represented by TM or the
Hare Krishnas. It is disturbing to read the fairly harsh treatment given to the name and
reputation of such a deeply spiritual and sincere scholar as Raimondo Pannikar.
The chapter on the invasion of the business world by New Age thinking is one that deserves
reading by all those employers and employees who are confident that their world is immune
to the virus. Also useful is the Appendix which provides names and addresses of the national
offices of organizations working against destructive cults.
In the course of reading this book, I came across an especially satisfying paragraph. It was a
quotation from an African writing from Rome, Cardinal Arinze, who happens to be a friend and
ally of the anti-cult effort. Under the heading “Christian Response to the New Age,” this
extract presents us with a useful understanding of “dialogue.”
Book Reviews
The New Age: A Christian Critique. Ralph Rath. Greenlawn Press, South Bend, IN,
1990.
This is a very useful book. One is tempted to describe it as a “handy” book because it surveys
the whole field of New Age phenomena in a clear and orderly way. It can be used as a ready
reference by counselors as well as by victims and their anxious relatives.
The author, Ralph Rath, a West Coast journalist, gets to the point with an economy of words.
The book’s subtitle, “A Christian Critique,” enables us to know immediately where Rath is
coming from. Even with its Christian perspective, the book will prove equally helpful to
Christians and non-Christians. Rath draws upon specialists whose names are familiar in the
cult-awareness arena: Douglas Groothuis, Walter Martin, James LeBar, Elliot Miller, Bob
Larson, his fellow newsman Russell Chandler, as well as all those associated with the Spiritual
Counterfeits Project.
Since the “New Age” label is used to embrace diverse things, it is convenient to have books
like this to bring some order to the welter of confusing facts. In Part One, Rath defines his
subject in Part Two, he answers his question, “Where is it?” His response tells us that New
Age manifestations can be found in many areas of society: business, education, religion,
entertainment, health care --and frequently in the form of destructive cults. The author
observes that “the cults that arose in the 1960s and 1970s in North America are the
immediate predecessors of the New Age movement of the 1980s.” In Chapter 7 he discusses
Transcendental Meditation, Silva Mind Control, Scientology, Eckankar, and Werner Erhard’s
est. Chapter 9 deals with the appearance of the New Age in the guise of religion here we are
informed about the strangely faddish “Enneagram” and the “Course in Miracles.”
In a book of any size, inevitably one is bound to find some point of difference with the author.
One such place for this reviewer was Rath’s declaration that “Christians must be prudent and
realize that New Agers are basically out to destroy the Christian faith.” He makes it sound as
though there were a conspiracy under way that constitutes a spiritual threat. Indeed, there
may be instances where there is some conscious enmity however, in my opinion, it is more
likely that most of the real New Age aficionados have given up on Christianity and have little
interest in hastening its demise.
There is also a tendency in some well-intentioned books like this to denigrate everything that
comes from the East. While we may admit that in the past century Eastern philosophies have
had a strong influence on Western civilization, it is not reasonable to disdain Korea on the
grounds that it spawned the Unification Church or Japan on the grounds that it produced the
Nichies (Soka Gakkai). India’s centuries-old spirituality is hardly represented by TM or the
Hare Krishnas. It is disturbing to read the fairly harsh treatment given to the name and
reputation of such a deeply spiritual and sincere scholar as Raimondo Pannikar.
The chapter on the invasion of the business world by New Age thinking is one that deserves
reading by all those employers and employees who are confident that their world is immune
to the virus. Also useful is the Appendix which provides names and addresses of the national
offices of organizations working against destructive cults.
In the course of reading this book, I came across an especially satisfying paragraph. It was a
quotation from an African writing from Rome, Cardinal Arinze, who happens to be a friend and
ally of the anti-cult effort. Under the heading “Christian Response to the New Age,” this
extract presents us with a useful understanding of “dialogue.”
