Scriptures taken out of context

I’m currently putting together an apologetics and worldview resource for my students, looking at how Christian scriptures are taken out of context and used in the New Age to justify their beliefs. For example, some people might use Luke 17:21 “the kingdom of God is within you” to justify that Jesus himself taught that we’re all at one with God, and that we have the divine essence within ourselves, making us divine. I’m looking for any other examples that people might be familiar with, if they’ve had these type of conversations with people of this worldview. I also think this is really worth considering as preparation for any evangelism opportunities we may have in the future. I’d be grateful for anyone to share ideas here, please :slightly_smiling_face:.

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Hey, Alison! I have JUST begun stepping into learning about New Age because of someone who joined our Christian homeschool co-op who I am thinking has brought some of those ideas into her embracement of the Christian faith. I do not know much about it, but Melissa Dougherty is a Christian You Tuber who does apologetics and theology. She is an ex-New Ager and has done a lot of videos on New Age. She brings up a lot of Scripture taken out of context by New Agers to support their beliefs and teachings. She’s solid on her teachings :). He name is the name of her channel. She also talks about New Age beliefs in a talk with Alisa Childers.

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Ah yes, thank you for the reminder of her channel! I haven’t listened to her for a while and had forgotten. I had originally started tuning into her videos for the theological unpicking she did of Watchtower teachings. I’ll go back and have a look at her New Age videos, thanks.

This is also for our homeschool coop too. We live in an area full of New Age practitioners. I spent two terms covering the foundations of Christianity with the students, and now we’re looking into cultural messages around us to learn discernment and critical thinking. New Age beliefs are throughout the ‘secular’ culture too, so I think it’s an important one to grapple with.

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