From New Age to Jesus: Steven Bancarz

[Yanni depp]

Opulent writer on the New Age movement shares his testimony going from "New Age to Jesus." I would check out his other videos if this piques your interest. He covers things he used to firmly subscribe to, under his new spiritual lense of Christ.

 

[paul1149]

Awesome testimony. Thank you.

 

[TheOldWays]

I see no problem when people try new spiritual paths. If he finds the Jesus path fulfilling right now, then power to him. One just has to be aware of how much energy they give it and what they receive in return.

 

[awitch]

I'm willing to believe he's sincere about his testimony and if he's happy then I'm happy for him.

But...
His story hits all the beats of cliche testimonies.
-I believed non-Christian beliefs and everything was awesome (house, car, money)
-Then things weren't awesome (unhappiness, feeling unfulfilled, inappropriate content, drugs, sex).
-I suddenly converted to Christianity and then all is awesome again (finally feeling fulfilled).

I wonder if he will make more money with his new site and what he'll do with it.
New age popularity has been waning for years now, so if you're making a living by talking about religion on the Internet then it makes sense to convert to whatever religion has a larger audience. And in this case, the larger audience eats up stories like this.

I'm also not sure how he goes from having a profound experience on his back porch to just accepting the Bible as a whole package. That seems like quite a leap. Sure, I had a similar profound experience but it took years to figure out what to do with it.

 

[FireDragon76]

New Age is a load of crap but that's not a rousing endorsement for Christian Fundamentalism.

 

[TheOldWays]

I'm willing to believe he's sincere about his testimony and if he's happy then I'm happy for him.

But...
His story hits all the beats of cliche testimonies.
-I believed non-Christian beliefs and everything was awesome (house, car, money)
-Then things weren't awesome (unhappiness, feeling unfulfilled, inappropriate content, drugs, sex).
-I suddenly converted to Christianity and then all is awesome again (finally feeling fulfilled).

I wonder if he will make more money with his new site and what he'll do with it.
New age popularity has been waning for years now, so if you're making a living by talking about religion on the Internet then it makes sense to convert to whatever religion has a larger audience. And in this case, the larger audience eats up stories like this.

I'm also not sure how he goes from having a profound experience on his back porch to just accepting the Bible as a whole package. That seems like quite a leap. Sure, I had a similar profound experience but it took years to figure out what to do with it.

Well there's that for sure hehe. I told many a story like his when I became a Christian again.

As for the Bible thing, it's probably because he has an experience that immediately made him believe in Jesus and along with that came the Bible. It's pretty common I think in Christian conversions.

 

[TheOldWays]

New Age is a load of crap but that's not a rousing endorsement for Christian Fundamentalism.

That's like saying Christianity is a load of crap. It's a very general statement. The New Age moniker is an umbrella for so much, that I wouldn't know what aspect you are actually talking about.

 

[Hall]

Thank you so much for that great testimony video, I've been so worried about my sister who is caught in the new age movement, nothing I say can change her mind but hope that this will...

 

[FireDragon76]

That's like saying Christianity is a load of crap. It's a very general statement. The New Age moniker is an umbrella for so much, that I wouldn't know what aspect you are actually talking about.

Most people mean by "New Age", an eclectic, non-dogmatic spiritual consumerism. The young man in the video blending spirituality and conspicuous consumption is a good example of that. It's heavily decontextualized, so that Hindu concepts like Atman are made compatible with western consumerism and individualism.

 

[TheOldWays]

Most people mean by "New Age", an eclectic, non-dogmatic spiritual consumerism. The young man in the video blending spirituality and conspicuous consumption is a good example of that. It's heavily decontextualized, so that Hindu concepts like Atman are made compatible with western consumerism and individualism.

There's a path for everyone.

 

[FireDragon76]

There's a path for everyone.

Some of us are far too concerned for the welfare of our fellow human beings to be relativists in this matter. There are some "paths" that are nonsense and should be called out.

 

[TheOldWays]

Some of us are far too concerned for the welfare of our fellow human beings to be relativists in this matter. There are some "paths" that are nonsense and should be called out.

edit: not really worth debating.

 

[Yanni depp]

His story hits all the beats of cliche testimonies.
-I believed non-Christian beliefs and everything was awesome (house, car, money)
-Then things weren't awesome (unhappiness, feeling unfulfilled, inappropriate content, drugs, sex).
-I suddenly converted to Christianity and then all is awesome again (finally feeling fulfilled).

I didnt have the car or house. And there have been very rough learning curves in my walk and there still are.

I wonder if he will make more money with his new site and what he'll do with it.

He covered that in a Q&A video.

I'm also not sure how he goes from having a profound experience on his back porch to just accepting the Bible as a whole package. That seems like quite a leap. Sure, I had a similar profound experience but it took years to figure out what to do with it.

This testimony is condensing roughly 8 years leading up to his conversion, all into 14 minutes. He does mention in this video throughout that time Jesus did have significance in his life and studies in those 8 years leading up to that point of conversion, so i think your synopsis might be a little oversimplified. If your interested you can definitely find out more.

But i just wanted to show this for your consideration. And you did, so thank you for that. Take care and God bless

 

[Yanni depp]

One just has to be aware of how much energy they give it and what they receive in return.

Luke 17:33 seems pretty apt

 

[awitch]

As for the Bible thing, it's probably because he has an experience that immediately made him believe in Jesus and along with that came the Bible. It's pretty common I think in Christian conversions.

Seems strange to me. For example, if you're indifferent to gay people (or even mildly put off) and you have this overwhelmingly positive experience sensing Jesus and then you're completely on board with the idea that god said to stone them to death. Even if that's not practiced now, there was a time when it was supposed to be.

Whenever you changed religions, how many times did you declare the prior religion was evil and dangerous and literally destroy all religious possessions from that religion?

 

[TheOldWays]

Seems strange to me. For example, if you're indifferent to gay people (or even mildly put off) and you have this overwhelmingly positive experience sensing Jesus and then you're completely on board with the idea that god said to stone them to death. Even if that's not practiced now, there was a time when it was supposed to be.

To be honest from my memory of my conversion and most of my time as a Christian I don't remember ever really having any negative feelings in regards to gay people. I think most Christians start with the New Testament where Jesus is the focus and not 4000 to 5000 year old ancient laws. I do remember it just wasn't an aspect of my Christianity I cared about. I guess since Jesus said, 'let him without sin cast the first stone' it was not my place to judge another's life.

 

[Cearbhall]

I'm glad he found something that makes him happy.

 

[cloudyday2]

New Age is a load of crap but that's not a rousing endorsement for Christian Fundamentalism.

What do you dislike about New Age?

 

[awitch]

What do you dislike about New Age?

It's not Christianity / Bible says alternatives are bad.

 

[FireDragon76]

It's not Christianity / Bible says alternatives are bad.

Not at all.

I dislike the New Age stuff because it's superstitious nonsense based on pseudoscience and often indulged in by fantasy prone personalities.