As I was reading a book by Jim McGuiggan called The Book of Isaiah, I noticed a sentence describing the religious climate of Judah during the reign of King Manasseh (2 Kings 21).  He said, "Religion was at an all-time high and morality and spirituality were at an all-time low."  It's true.  Manasseh was involved in all kinds of religious activity.  He erected altars for Ball and Asherah.  He worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.  He built altars to the host of heaven in the house of the LORD.  He sacrificed his son by burning him with fire.  He practiced witchcraft and divination and dealt with mediums and spiritists.  All of these things you can read for yourself in 2 Kings 21:3-9.

What a horrible time!  Wouldn't it be terrible to live in a time when people worship whatever they want?  How silly to believe the sun, moon, and stars have any power over our lives.  How depraved to turn towards witchcraft and divination, palm readers, Torah cards, mediums, channels, seances, horoscopes, for spiritual direction.

People call it the "New Age" movement.  There's nothing "new" about it.  This stuff has been practiced ever since the beginning of time.  Men try to find spiritual meaning in things around them.  Many believe they have reached a higher spiritual plane if they can "break through" to the spiritual world and speak with the dead, with ghosts, with spirits they believe are all around.  I am not denying at all that there is a spiritual reality - I know there is.  But the "new age" movement does not see it as a reality.  It is very much rooted in the post-modern idea of nebulous truth.  There is no reality, they say.  Each person must find his own truth, they say.  These people have not reached a high spiritual plane, but they are stuck in a rut designed by Satan. 

Remember Jesus said in John 8:32, "And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."  There is a solid truth that frees us from all this RELIGION of the world.  God calls us to MORALITY and to SPIRITUALITY.  He calls us to PURE and UNDEFILED religion (James 1:27).  This is rooted in a love for the true God - Jehovah.

We live in an age of religion, but mostly it's a cacophony of weird ideas, modifications of the truth, and superstition.  Let's press on to freedom with the book which holds all truth.  We don't have to fear all the crazy ideas which the world puts forth (carried about by every wind of doctrine, Eph. 4:14).  We can stand firm on solid ground!

God bless,
Nathan