Customer Reviews

Out of India: A True Story about the New Age Movement

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Thought provoking, biblically based the reader is taken on an awesome historical journey of colonialist India, the thoughts of a child and then going back as an adult with world experience. The reader receives the advantage without leaving the house.

Every pastor, minister, Bible teacher and parent needs to read this book, hopefully youth will also read it. But if the leadership doesn't understand what the assault is on the church, the youth will be lead astray by other means.

Matrisciana lived the live of yoga indoctrination, new age beliefs and was fully empassioned with the ideology until she was brought to the truth of the Cross and Jesus Christ. She has spent her years educating the church and whomever will listen to the truth and how deadly the philosophy of the east (as stated in the Bible) really is.

She tells and demonstrates how the false teachers of the east came to the west (America and UK) peddling their form of Eastern Religion which has moved in many instances away from the way it is practiced in India and other Asian countries.

A must read! You will see how the Emergent Church, spearheaded by Rick Warren has allowed watered down biblical principles to be fully taken over by New Age gurus right in the midst of the church. And many many others are following around the world.

For those who think the New Age has come and gone with no lasting imprint on our culture, a new autobiography by Caryl Matrisciana, who was raised in India and is now a born again Christian, will change your mind. Some forms of Hinduism have permeated even our churches. It's hard to imagine, but it's true. For anyone who wants to connect the dots on the emergent church, spiritual formation, catholic mysticism and mantra meditation, and understand how these practices are impacting today's church, you've got to read this book!

OUT OF INDIA - A Review
What do Fortune 500 companies, Oprah Winfrey, and the Star Wars movie franchise all have in common? The answer might be surprising to some, but the common thread is Hinduism. Many Fortune 500 companies today offer yoga classes as a regular employee benefit; Oprah Winfrey often has programs on both her TV and radio shows which espouse a mystical, Hindu worldview; and George Lucas' very popular Star Wars series has entranced millions of unsuspecting teens with the eastern idea of a neutral, universal energy called "the Force" which anyone can tap into and use for either good or evil.

Caryl Matrisciana's new book, Out of India, is a very thorough apologetics resource on how dangerous - and rapid - the permeation of Hindu thought into our American culture has been. In reading through this book, it occurred to me that no other occultic practice or cult group in today's American culture has had such wide-reaching influence: not the mormons, not the seven day adventists, not the jehovah's witnesses, not catholicism. It's almost impossible to pick up any newspaper or magazine today and not find at least one (and usually more) articles on some version of a Hindu practice, whether it's meditation, yoga, astrology, vegetarianism, reiki, guided imagery, visualization, or ayervedic practices like color therapy, aromatherapy, naturopathy, acupuncture, or acupressure.

Even more alarming, there is also a version of this occultic, Hindu mysticism that is regarded as Christian (yet is anything but) which has been steadily creeping into Christian churches, colleges, and seminaries all over the country. The most obvious form of this is in the emerging church, which is a sort of New Age version of the church. The heresies espoused by the emerging church are usually easy to pick out, even for most Christians today, and even after a generation of being exposed to watered down teachings via the seeker sensitive church which has left many with little or no discernment. You don't have to have taken a course on systematic theology to be able to discern their heresies because they are pretty self-evident: the emerging church denies the substitutionary atonement, the virgin birth, and the exclusiveness of the gospel. Even if we as Christians haven't studied these doctrines in depth, we at least tend to know enough to understand that you can't mess with these Biblical concepts of how we are made right with God.

On the other hand, there is a more covert form of mysticism which is slyly packaged under various Christian sounding names before being presented to unsuspecting Christians: spiritual formation, ancient future, walk to emmaus, labyrinth, lectio divina, contemplative prayer, centering prayer, and Jesus prayer are just a few of these practices, and they can be found in many churches today.

Why is this mysticism so dangerous to Christians? For starters, the Bible strictly forbids occultic practices. But it's not occultic! someone might exclaim who has just signed up for an Ancient Future class at their church. After all, if their elders approved it and their pastor recommended it, then how could it possibly be a bad thing? Well, saying that something is Christian doesn't necessarily mean that it is Christian. Remember the Israelites who grew weary of waiting for Moses at the foot of Mt. Sinai? They coaxed Aaron into creating a golden calf for them to worship. Did they call this calf "O False Idol of Gold!" No. They called it God and they worshipped it as God. (Exodus 32:1-6) It's just that it wasn't God.

Personally, my biggest issue is with the practice known as contemplative prayer. This practice originated not with the apostles but in catholic monasteries 200 years post apostolic times (about the time the first real heresies to threaten the church were gathering momentum, including Gnosticism). Contemplative prayer employs the use of some type of mantra device to control and quiet the mind. This is an occultic practice and is taught no where in scripture. It doesn't matter if the mantra used sounds Biblical (for example, "Jesus" or "Abba") just like it didn't matter to God that the Israelites tried to pretend their golden calf was really God.

The first reason this type of non-Biblical prayer is so dangerous is that it opens the practitioner up to a demonic realm through which powerful deception can occur. This can be confusing and frightening to the Christian, but can have even more devastating eternal consequences to a non-believer seeking God who is told by a pastor or elder that this is a good way to get closer to God. Why? For starters, we approach God ONLY through the shed blood of Christ. ("Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins.") Nowhere in the Bible does someone enter a mystical state and then have a supernatural encounter with God. Are there supernatural encounters with God in the Bible? Yes, plenty of them: God revealing himself to Moses, to Jacob, to Saul. But did these men prepare themselves in some way for their supernatural encounters? No, Moses was tending sheep, Jacob was sleeping and Saul was traveling along a road. God may choose to reveal Himself but it is always at the time and place of his choosing. If anyone can enter a mystical state and meet with God, well, what's the point of the Cross then? The entire book of Hebrews speaks to this.

The second problem is that the practice of contemplative prayer almost always leads to a panentheistic worldview and a universalist theology. This is very bitter fruit indeed. I practiced what is known as contemplative prayer for years, and let's just shine the light of truth and call this practice by its real name: Transcendental Meditation. TM and contemplative prayer are identical practices. When I was in my early 20's and searching for God, some friends of mine who claimed to be Christian introduced me to the practice of meditation. I knew of meditation in only a vague way, as an eastern practice. No, my friends assured me, this is a Biblical practice, and it's been around for centuries, the desert fathers of the ancient church preserved this tradition for us, and it's how to experience God, really experience God. And it only takes 20 minutes to do it! Well, who doesn't want to experience God? I was all in. That night, I followed my instructions and had my first meditation session, the first of many, many more to come over the next 10 years. I was hooked on it immediately. It seemed I had connected with God in a way my Christian upbringing had never allowed me to. I had a very powerful, seemingly supernatural encounter that left me utterly convinced that I was experiencing the presence of God. In hindsight, I believe that this encounter truly was supernatural. Satan is a liar and a deceiver, which means he doesn't show up and say, "I'm Satan! And I'm here to really mess up your life!" No, he doesn't announce his plans; he's deceptive and wants nothing more than to deceive and destroy those made in God's image. He is even given free reign on this earth to masquerade as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). Satan was more than happy to give me an "experience" if it would turn me away from the one true God.

Something else happened during my first meditation that I didn't realize until years later. I came out of that FIRST meditation session with an altered worldview. Now think about that. In the space of 20 minutes my worldview shifted dramatically. Prior to this meditation experience, as far as I was concerned all spiritual choices were still "on the table" for me: Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, paganism, etc., etc. But after I had come out of that first meditation, the Christianity of the Bible was no longer on the table for me. Why? Because Christianity is the only religion with such unbending and exclusive truth claims. ("I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life....no-one comes to the Father but through Me.") And meditation counters this claim by generating an experience where a person feels a profound sense of oneness with all and interconnectedness that "feels" counter to that exclusive truth claim. This is panentheism, and it is the bitter fruit of mysticism. The bad news doesn't stop there: panentheism generally leads to a theology of universalism, the belief that all paths lead to God. After all, if we're all made up the same divine inner essence, then we all must experience God in different ways unique to our cultures. I began to embrace more and more of my friends' new version of an "enlightened Christianity," one in which we approached God through mystical means, not the blood of Christ.

The reasoning of universalism goes something like this: What kind of cruel capricious God would deny entry into heaven just because someone has never heard the name of Christ? Universalism is the only way God could truly be loving. But as Pastor Ray Comfort [...] says, people don't end up in hell because they have never heard the name of Christ; they end up in hell because they've broken God's laws. What a desperate situation! Oh but wait, there's a little something called the Great Commission that commands Christians to take the gospel to every living creature...

Fellow Christians, we must all beware of Satan's schemes that keep us focused on ourselves and our experiences instead of doing what God intended: going into all the world to preach the gospel. Your prayer life is a little stale? Can't seem to get motivated to get into the Word? Go find someone and give them the gospel message, and let your eyes be opened to the lostness all around. That's how we get unstuck when we've lost our first love, not through mystical practices designed to generate a feeling of closeness to God; no, it's by experiencing afresh the power and the beauty of the gospel message and seeing it transform the life of someone who is lost. And in turn, there's a sweet little secret that those who are active in evangelism know about: in fulfilling the Great Commission, we ourselves are renewed and refreshed and encouraged. What an amazing plan, and how blessed we are to be a part of how God blesses the world. And how small and weak and insipid look the golden calves that we create for ourselves in lieu of doing as God has commanded.

I'm grateful to Caryl Matrisiciana for writing a book which shares her autobiographical story and also sounds a warning to Christians who are engaging in these practices and think that it's okay and that God will bless their endeavors. Our God is a jealous God and He will not share his glory. When we are in-dwelt with the Holy Spirit and begin to engage in practices that God detests, we all know what happens: our conscience goes nuts. It torments us day and night, and we engage in a fierce battle with our sin, until God finally brings us to repentance and restoration. After all, this is one of the functions of the Holy Spirit, to bring conviction. When we are saved, we belong to God, and He will not lose us. We are his. We are the one lost sheep that the Shepherd seeks after until He finds it even when 99 others are safely guarded and tucked away. We matter to him and He will not share us with this world.

But as for those who hear the truth about occultic mysticism, read the scripture that speaks to this, and then decide to continue with what they are doing, and no inner conviction ever comes, well, the question must be asked: to whom do they belong? God or the world?

What an outstanding book. It will surprise most Christians and hopefully open many peoples' eyes to the spiritual deception in this world.

This is a must read book if you have been noticing changes in the church you love and have been unsettled by those changes. This will be completely eye opening and confirm to you what you already know in your spirit... this is "another jesus" that is coming into your church. Those who are sticking their head in the sand or either under a delusion that this stuff is OK in the church will tell you "don't throw the baby out with the bath water". Don't be intimated!

The Western culture does a wonderful job of taking a cult and sanitizing it and glamorizing it to where it's not even recognizable in the Americanized form. BUT...none the less...it is what it is and no amount of "Christianizing" it will change the fact you are dealing with a doctrine of demons. Have you notice that in America, those who claim past lives through reincarnation, are always somebody famous or really cool? Like they were Abraham Lincoln's mistress or Cleopatra? They were never a beggar in a third world country! In India, reincarnation is a prison that they are trying to escape. You know what the way of escape is? YOGA!! The author explains this very clearly and you have to do a lot of justifying if you believe Yoga is just physical exercise or you are using it to get closer to Jesus.

There is so much more I could write about how the Emerging Church, beginning with the Purpose Driven Church, is nothing more than New Age pantheism. Remember, there is nothing new under the sun! Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Everything else is Satan's way to get glory for himself. Trust me... read this book if you are concerned about modern American church!

Warning: It will not make you popular when you talk about these things that really the comfortable church doesn't want to even know!!

Caryl's true Story of growing up in India, her whole-hearted embracing of a New Age lifestyle and her subsequent experience that her beliefs and practices had utterly failed her, is absolutely riveting. Her story is full of insight and hope for those searching for truth and a faith that can be counted on both to live and die by.

Redemption: Bible Prophecy Simplified

The New Age movement is really ancient religion packaged to look attractive and appealing when all it does is lead to narcissism and death. Caryl, the author, grew up in India with her British parent and eventually she traveled the world looking for fulfillment and peace, leading her seek belonging in yoga, drugs, and other new age occultism. She describes the gross emptiness she endured as she ventured in and out of relationships and new age cults, before finally falling into the arms of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Inspiring, enlightening, revealing....

This book is an excellent resource for those who want to know the origins of many of the creeping Eastern mysticism influences that are insidiously infiltrating the church today. So many of these ideas and practices seem so innocuous, and it is my opinion that most Christians have no clue as to what they are actually dabbling in when they participate in or sanction participation of these things. Forewarned is forearmed, and Caryl Matrisciana warns from the posture of experience, having been raised in the land of mid-eastern mysticism, and having lived in it's grip as well. I found the book both riveting and revolting, compelling and compassionate. But most of all I found it to be unforgettable. Everyone I've either bought a copy for or loaned my copy to has, in turn, bought more copies for others. For all who deem themselves to be a follower of Christ, i.e., a Christian: this is a must-read.

This book exposes the dangers of the new age thought infiltrating the church. The majority of the book is a well written auto biography of the authors life, from growing up in India to living in America, a documentation of how she came to Christ. The final two chapters are more technical explanation of Hinduism / new age / and the effect on the church.

The author paints powerful pictures of Indian culture from a kids perspective and a as an adult Christian living there finding out the meaning of Hindu religion. The author contrasts the Hindu religion with new age thinking, having experienced both. Finally she shows how this thought has infiltrated the church. The book shows great discernment and is a must read for any Christian dabbling in yoga or who wants to know the roots of how new age thought has creeped into Christianity.

highly recommended

If you are interested in learning about India and Hinduism this is an excellant book. I highly recommend this awesome material. Well done Caryl! This truly opened my eyes to what is going on today in our lives and in our churches. This is a reading must!

No debate. The new age has been absorbed by Christian churches. "New age speak" was present in a recent sermon I heard. There is nothing new about the new age. It's an amalgam of religions, mythologies, and spiritual practices, both Eastern and Western. I thought this would be the crux of the author's presentation, but it wasn't.

The book begins as a thinly-written memoir. Matrisciana describes her formative years in India. Then the author comes of age, re-enters Western society, and lives the high life. She is blessed with talent, good looks, success, and opportunities, yet she is increasingly lost and unhappy. Her escalating drug use and escapades ends at a meeting in the back of a Christian book store. She is saved.

All that is a lead up to pages of heavy proselytizing. When it arrives, it really is dreary and sometimes unkind. The author seems like she is typical of people who replace one form of extreme behavior with another form of extreme behavior.

Here is one error: The Beatles did not bring meditation and Hindu culture/religion to North America. The East-West movement had already been brewing among artists, writers, scholars, scientists, etc. for some time.