at pantheism “catches on precisely because, like an old shoe, it is so comfortable” (Clark and Geisler, 1990, p. 9-10). While ancient religious philosophies may not be so familiar to us in the modern west, remember that the New Age is a “smorgasbord of Eastern and metaphysical beliefs,” (MacLean’s, p. 460). As Will Baron discovered, the more involved he became in the little group with which he was meditating, the more they gravitated towards a form of Christianity (Baron, 1990). At one point, the leader, who had led them up to that point to study the teachings of many spiritual leaders, including but not limited to Jesus Christ, all of a sudden told the group that, from henceforth, they’d only be studying the teachings of Jesus — from the Holy Bible no less. It appears that this was the intent, but they did not start there, they wended their way there. The jump from where they started to where they ended up was not a big one, because where they started was still within the range of acceptability of most people, (not limited to, but including the teachings of Jesus, from the Bible) making it easier for people to accept what was being offered “up front,” (many of whom were reactants from “organized religions,” but didn’t want to blow too far to the extreme) demonstrating understanding, and effective use, of this concept.Fairly early in Baron’s experience with the little meditation group, they had a channeling session, wherein they would stand in a circle, meditating, and the spirit of some teacher would speak through each person in the circle, so that all could hear, (Baron, 1990). He’d never done such a thing before, and did not expect that he would “do it right.” Rather than step out of the circle, though, he stayed until his turn came up. Unsure of what would happen, and somewhat skeptical, he preferred to stay than step back, because, ...
