Column from Finland: When is spirituality really Christian?

There are many kinds of spirituality on offer today that closely resemble Christianity but are not. It is not always easy to know the source of spirituality. Let me give you two examples that have been worrying me lately.

Last April I was surprised to see that the Finnish Christian weekly Kotimaa published an interview with Lorna Byrne who is a bestselling author from Ireland. “Angels in my hair” is her most popular book that has been translated into many languages – also in Finnish.

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The article was very positive. There Byrne told how she prays for peace and wants to tell people about God’s love. The writer of the article also described how Byrne was so nice and a warm person. The reason for that article was that Lorna Byrne had just visited Finland. She was described as an ambassador of love and peace, the things this world desperately needs.

Salvation

But is she a Christian? In the article, she did not mention anything about salvation, Jesus, or the meaning of Jesus dying for our sins. In one earlier interview, Byrne said that she sees the souls of the dead and that they send messages for loved ones left behind. Is this biblical? I don’t think it is.

I asked my acquaintance who has taught a lot about new spirituality and new age and has also written books about that theme what she thinks of Lorna Byrne. She said that Byrne is an angel prophet of the new spirituality. “Deeply misleading”, she believed.

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Jehovah's Witnesses

Another example: When I googled the words “Spiritual person” a while ago, among the top search results was jw.org with the title: What is spirituality? Can you be spiritual without belonging to a religion? Clicking the link takes you to the Jehovah's Witnesses website, which explains how the Bible answers that first question.

Confusing. Jehovah's Witnesses talk about the Bible and use Bible verses in their teachings. But they are not Christians, and their Bible is different from the Christian Bible. Jehovah's Witnesses do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as the incarnated son of God and risen Saviour. They also deny the doctrine of the Trinity, which is central to Christianity.

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In Midsummer, the Jehovah's Witnesses had a big international convention at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre. More than 20 000 Jehovah's Witnesses were present. Finland's largest daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat did a story on the preparations for the event by interviewing volunteers. At the beginning of the story, the journalist writes how the prayer of the volunteers at the Expo and Convention Centre ended “in the name of Jesus Christ.” The article also reports that people will be baptized during the event. Confusing. Same elements as in Christianity.

Wikipedia

Last Spring I was an exhibitor at the Spring Fair in Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre. Among the products I sold were fridge magnets with Bible verses. A woman looked at them with interest and asked me if I was interested in spiritual things. I told her I was but did not explain it in more detail. Then, unexpectedly, she handed me a business card with the words: here you will find more spiritual material. I was surprised. She handed me a card that said jw.org. She was offering me the spirituality of Jehovah's Witnesses.

In the eyes of the secular people Jehovah's Witnesses are often lumped together with Christians. Wikipedia also identifies the movement as a Christianity-based movement.

There is spirituality and spirituality. Not all spirituality comes from God. Do not be led astray, my dear brothers and sisters (James 1:16). There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way that leads to death (Proverbs 16:25).