Whether or not you’ve heard the term “New Thought,” you may have encountered New Thought principles. It seems to be pervasive.
In this article I’m going to take a look at what “New Thought” claims to be, where it came from, and how it has risen in prominence in our cultural mindset. It has even slithered into areas of Catholic thought.
The Man Behind New Thought
The origins of the New Thought movement are typically traced back to Phineas Parker Quimby (1802-1866) who was, by turns, an inventor, mesmerist (make of that what you will) and healer (though not medically trained). Here are some key biographical notes written by his son, George Quimby:
“Was he a religious man? In one of his articles he says, “I have been trying all my life, ever since I was old enough to listen, to understand the religious opinions of the world, and see if people understand what they profess to believe.” Not finding spiritual wisdom, he was inclined to be skeptical, and later spent much time setting his patients free from religious beliefs… But if to believe profoundly in the indwelling presence of God as love and wisdom, if to live by this Presence so as to realize its reality vividly in the practice of spiritual healing, is to be religious, then indeed few men have been more truly religious than he.
“Jesus was to him a reformer who had overcome all his religion before beginning to establish “the Truth, or Christ.” Quimby was very radical in opposing doctrinal conceptions of Christ. He uniformly called Jesus “a man like ourselves,” that he might win for the Master new recognition as the founder of spiritual science. To him “the Science of the Christ” was greater than a religion.”
Transcendentalism and Ralph Waldo Emerson, in particular strongly influenced New Thought. New Thought, in turn, was influential in the life of Mary Baker Eddy, who was a patient of Quimby’s, and the founder of the religious denomination called Christian Science.
New Thought Beliefs
While New Thought beliefs are rooted in Christianity, it is actually a stew of Transcendentalism, eastern mysticism, and scientism. A hodge podge of other philosophies, metaphysics, and spiritualties add seasoning to the stew.
In 1914 the New Thought Alliance was formed and promulgated a Declaration of Principles. You can read the ten principles for yourself. The declaration proclaims, in short, that God is an “infinite being, spirit, ultimate reality.” It also says we can align ourselves with the spiritual law so that we can “heal, prosper and harmonize.” And, of course, we are evolving, and so New Thought reserves the right to “refine our beliefs accordingly.”
When you read those ten principles one or more of the following may come to mind – “spiritual but not religious,” the “health and wealth gospel,” the “New Age,” the “cult of Oprah,” and more than one homily delivered from some Catholic pulpits.
Keep in mind, however, that it’s a mistake to confuse New Thought with New Age. New Thought focuses on the power of positive thinking – “change your thinking, change your life.” New Age engages more directly in the occult (e.g. tarot, reiki, and astral projection).
Other implicit New Thought themes are oneness (picture those “Coexist” bumper stickers and you’re right on point) and that humanity is inherently good. New Thought says there was no “fall of man” and no original sin.
New Thought in Practice
The main New Thought “movements” are the Centers for Spiritual Living movement and the Unity movement. There are, however, many other independent initiatives, loosely coordinated through the Affiliated New Thought Network.
There are also no published estimates of the number of practicing New Thought members. Centers for Spiritual Living, the largest movement, claims to have 400 spiritual communities.
But the reach of New Thought principles extends far beyond the formal New Thought movements. Examples of New Thought figures in popular culture are Eckhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra, Tim Ferris, Gabor Mate and Rhonda Byrne.
The Law of Attraction and Manifesting
The 1956 recording by Earl Nightingale “The Strangest Secret” is an example of New Thought gone viral. “Strangest Secret” sold over one million recordings and was released as a book in 1968. It presents the concept of the power of positive visualization of a goal. But it goes on to propose there is essentially a law that if you work toward that “seed in your mind” it will absolutely become a reality. In fact, Nightingale asserts, “It not only will, there’s no way that it cannot. You see, that’s a law.” He then equates this law with the laws of Sir Isaac Newton and gravity.
In our current day, this idea of bringing our thoughts to reality by tapping into some nebulous universal law is, without much meaningful distinction, referred to as either “manifesting“ or the “law of attraction” or “the Secret.” Catholic Answers apologist Jimmy Akin provides a tidy analysis of this kind of thinking. He summarizes that goals and positive thinking are fine, but mixing them with loosely formed practices of invoking supernatural powers is a risky path to travel.
New Thought and Universalism
New Thought is an embarrassment of heretical riches. It is Pantheism (god is the universe and the universe is god), Gnosticism (spirit is good, body is bad), Pelagianism (we’re in control), really just about all of the “isms” rolled into one.
But worst of all is the Christian-centric Universalism. New Thought is heavily steeped in the New Testament and teachings of Jesus, but it sees Christianity as just one way among many. It also sees Jesus as one spiritual guide among a crowded field of gurus.
New Thought enjoys the burnish of Christianity but has no real need or commitment to it. In New Thought everyone advances spiritually along whatever path they choose.
Examples
Here are some examples from Dr. Roger Teel of the Mile Hi church (part of the Centers for Spiritual Living):
“… all thought unfolds through a law in a creative medium, such that thoughts become things. And so we have the opportunity to shape our personal universe through the work we do within ourselves”
“So the interesting thing about New Thought is that we hold that we live, move and have our being in God.”
“So we hold that Jesus was the great example. . . . while we definitely believe that we are teaching the principles that Jesus invited us to embrace, we don’t always agree with all of the other dogma and doctrine of traditional Christianity.”
“We also don’t teach that there is an entity that is the devil or Satan… We believe that the evil that humankind perpetuates comes out of ignorance and fear.”
“And I think another thing that we’re capable of doing in New Thought is realizing that, ultimately, it’s like paths around a mountain. If you visualize a mountain and there are many paths ascending…at the base of the mountain it looks like they’re so different, so far apart. But the more you walk them, and explore them, it’s as though they converge, and they converge at the center, at the top.”
Jesus – Take Him or Leave Him
Rod Serling (of Twilight Zone fame) was an active Unitarian (closely aligned with New Thought). In 1964 he delivered a speech on the topic of racism, that’s been making the rounds recently. It is an illuminating example of the attraction, and pitfalls, of New Thought.
Mr. Serling observes, “a little of man’s awareness has shown itself. A little of his essential decency, his basic goodness, his preeminent dignity has been made a matter of record. There’ll be moments of violence and expressions of hatred, an ugly echo of intolerance. But these are the clinging vestiges of a decade past not the harbingers of a better cleaner future. … We prove it by affirming our faith. We prove it by having faith in our affirmations.”
Those are pleasant and optimistic sentiments, well aligned with New Thought principles. And they are blissfully devoid of Christian reality.
Mr. Serling ignores the fallen state of man and need for redemption. Since there’s no need for redemption, there’s no need for a Redeemer. Note that there’s not a single mention of God in the speech. Instead of faith in God we will progress to a bright future by “faith in our affirmations.”
And so New Thought is the perfect spirituality for a culture obsessed with D.I.E. (diversity, inclusion and equity). New Thought is expansive enough to embrace all things except the absolute necessity of God’s grace. Nor does it embrace the objective truth of the God-given Natural Law, a healthy distrust for the “spirit of the world,” and a sober understanding of our individual brokenness.
Echoes of New Thought
Now that you’re more attuned to the New Thought tag lines, listen closely and you’ll hear them echo in the words of some prominent Catholic leaders. That’s when it’s time to do something decidedly un-New-Thoughty. Pray for them to the One True God and sacrifice for them.
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