unedited...
So (not so recently) there has been a massive turning of interest, especially among my generation, to magic, new age, and wicca. Most if not all non judeo-christian religions have the same basic foundation. Well you know that's complete hooey coming from me, I haven't studied all religions. But it seems that most religions have this element of there being innate power or energy found in creation. As human's we sense that there is something rippling underneath the fabric of the visible world--"for what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made- Rom 1:19-20" And we all have a desire to touch that power in the most intimate way. This is common to all men, you can see it in any culture around the world. I can't prove that....but I bet no one can prove me wrong either . So we all sense this power and are naturally intrigued by it—we want a piece of it. So we find a way.
Most successful religions offer their members an opportunity to touch this power; to be aligned with it. One of the reasons its so appealing is that you are not required to serve an omnipotent deity instead you are offered a chance to unite with the deity, to accept gifts from it (her) and so long as you respect the balance of the universe and do your best to be unselfish and loving, you are pretty much let loose. Can you imagine how enticing that is? In fact, I've noticed in my incredibly peripheral observation of these religions how the ultimate experience is...well it always has some sort of sexual aspect. That's one of the reasons it can be at a glance disturbing. There is a blatant appreciation for sensual experiences that makes a Christian uncomfortable. But-now hear me out- its really very similar to Christianity. The divine model God gives us of the perfect relationship between man and God is that between a man and his wife, the culmination of that being sexual--not just physical but on all levels: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh Gen 2:24" I don't think that Christianity needs to take a more sexual route or take an example from divergent religions, but we don't celebrate the good in these things nearly enough.
We are designed to unite with a higher power-doesn't that just sound so new agey? Its not wrong to desire it. I think we (Christians) approach divergent religions wrong. We try to show how immoral or divergent they are by showing how they're different from Christianity. But that doesn't mean anything to someone who already thinks the standards of Christianity are wrong. Neither do I think that we need to show how Christianity is 'like everything else' because it's not supposed to be. Instead, we need to see the common nature of man, and how all religions really are simply perversions of what God created. It’s important to show that the innate drives of humans are not where the problems lie but in how we manifest them, how we exercise them. Remember Satan is not a creator, but a perverter. The truth is that people don’t really want a domineering and overbearing god monitoring and controlling their actions. They don’t mind acknowledging a higher power as long as they are do so of their own volition and are not expected to do so. And really the power isn’t so centralized or personified, its more of an essence flowing through all of the universe, throughout creation. So in reality the “god” is the universe-“they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. Rom 1:25”These religions give people a way to touch the power of creation without having to consult with the Creator.
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