Spirit Science is a video series on an Internet website that explores spirituality from a humanistic, New Age point of view. Spirit Science purports to rediscover ancient wisdom, lost through the ages, and to offer a view of reality midway between the seemingly opposite views of religion and science. According to the Spirit Science website, “Consciousness is the key factor that brings both Science and Religion into each others [sic] arms. Consciousness is the understanding that you are more than your physical body, you are a conscious being that is one with everything in reality, and that the experience is the reason for doing anything!” According to Spirit Science, we are all “god.” It is about human unity leading to higher consciousness.
The video series that teaches Spirit Science states that it is not a religion. Rather, it is a call to people to find out what they want and then go do it. The series begins with a discussion of the mind, body, and spirit/soul. While religions have attempted to address humanity’s spiritual nature, they propose only discordant, non-concrete answers, and that’s where Spirit Science says it can help. According to Spirit Science, humans create their own realities, both individually and as a whole, through the power of thought.
Other video discuss chakras, or energy points within the body; channeling; crystals; astral projection; the reality of Atlantis; the existence of Martians; and “sacred geometry.” Interestingly, the text accompanying the channeling video includes a warning that “Channeling as a mediumship might not be as safe as realized. . . . When a being comes INTO the body, and basically uses the body to convey messages (of course with the willingness of both parties), can [sic] have affects [sic] on the DNA of both parties. Because of this, the benevolent beings in the universe tend not to channel.” Christians will recognize this warning as a realization that demon possession is possible. The Spirit Science website FAQ section includes a similar warning, from a site user, about “dark forces” present in Reiki.
Common themes in the videos are experience, imbalance, collective consciousness, and the need for unity within oneself and with others so that we may all awaken to a higher level of consciousness. At the beginning of one movie, the narrator says, “Don’t believe or disbelieve anything we discuss in Spirit Science. Simply have your own experience.”
In trying to bridge the gap between science and religion, Spirit Science uses many biblical allusions, including references to Noah’s flood, Moses, and Jesus. The videos present Jesus as the inter-dimensionally conceived child of Joseph and Mary who was to carry out the plan of the “Ascended Masters.” Basically, Jesus was sent to earth to demonstrate a higher level of existence to people. Spirit Science describes the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus as examples of what each human has the power to experience.
The Spirit Science site’s own recognition that it is an exploratory theory rather than a statement of truth is both encouraging and potentially dangerous. On one hand, the site seems open to admitting that not everything it says is correct. On the other hand, such an open stance may make Spirit Science seem safer to explore than it actually is. The site recognizes the dangers of Reiki and channeling. More importantly, though, is the site’s misdirected foray into the world of the spiritual, the esoteric, and the occult. Spirit Science recognizes bits of truth—that our spirits are important aspects of who we are and the reality of the mind-body connection. However, it does all this apart from God.
Spirit Science anticipates that things are about to change in the world. Christians know that Christ is coming again. It is not that our earth is shifting into a new dimension or that humans are about to ascend to a higher level of consciousness. Our earth is progressing toward a time of great delusion and tribulation before Jesus ushers in His Millennial Kingdom. To a believer grounded in truth, Spirit Science is a clear lie of the enemy. Nuggets of truth, even biblical stories, are woven in, but the promotion of occult practices, psychic meditation, and New Age thought is completely wrong. It is a typical deception of Satan—take a nugget of truth, twist it, and mix it with appeals to the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16).
In Spirit Science people are told they are the masters of their own fate and encouraged to seek after “joy.” They are told to create any reality they want. They are led to believe that special knowledge is the key, in many ways similar to the gnostic heresies present in the early church. In contrast, Christians are called to rely on the sovereignty of God, to trust in His plan, and to diligently work to bring it to fruition. It is only in Christ that our joy is made complete (John 15:11).
Second Timothy 3:4–5 speaks of people who are “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.” Spirit Science falls into this category.
