Not everything that seems spiritual is true Christianity, warns columnist Sari Savela. Here’s how to tell the difference.

There are many types of spirituality today that look a lot like Christianity, but are not. It is not always easy to know the source of spirituality. I will give you two examples that have been troubling me lately.

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

The article was very positive. In it, Byrne talked about how she prays for peace and wants to tell people about God’s love. The writer of the article also described how kind and warm Byrne was. 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 that this world desperately needs.

Rescue

But is she a Christian? In the article she didn’t mention anything about salvation, Jesus, or the meaning of Jesus dying for our sins. In a previous 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 so.

I asked my acquaintance who has learned 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.

Jehovah’s Witnesses

Another example: When I Googled the words “Spiritual person” a while ago, the top search results were jw.org with the title: What is spirituality? Can you be spiritual without belonging to a religion? If you click on the link, you will be taken 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 recognize Jesus Christ as the incarnate son of God and resurrected Savior. They also deny the doctrine of the Trinity, which is central to Christianity.

In the middle of summer, Jehovah’s Witnesses held a large international convention at the Expo and Congress Center in Helsinki. More than 20,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses were present. Finland’s largest daily newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, did a story about the preparations for the event by interviewing volunteers. At the beginning of the story, the journalist writes how the volunteers’ prayer at the Expo and Congress Center ended “in the name of Jesus Christ.” The article also mentions 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 was selling were refrigerator magnets with Bible verses. A woman looked at them with interest and asked me if I was interested in spiritual things. I said I was, but didn’t explain further. Then, unexpectedly, she gave me a business card with the words: Here you will find more spiritual material. I was surprised. She gave me a card with jw.org on it. She offered me the spirituality of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

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

There is spirituality and spirituality. Not all spirituality comes from God. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters (James 1:16). There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of it is the way that leads to death (Proverbs 16:25).