syncretism

syncretism

/ˈsiNGkrəˌtizəm/

Syncretism is the blending of different, often originally distinct, beliefs, cultures, or schools of thought to create a new, unique tradition or philosophy.

I am seeing a lot of this nowadays for sure. Not only within Christianity, but within the sphere of natural health/alternative medicine as well. 

Natural health is one of my passions and I fully support it. But...I have a word of caution. As a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ and the Bible, we have got to be careful of things that can creep in. Do you think that the enemy thinks "oh, they're doing things the natural way, so dang, I can't trip them up?" Um, no. That's ridiculous. 

Yes, natural is best! Essential oils, herbs, things that God put on earth for us to use for medicinal uses is beautiful. Limiting chemicals and toxins is great. Fueling our bodies with real food is glorious. But as we open ourselves up to more natural ways of doing things, other things can slip in. 

Just to put a disclaimer out there: every individual is responsible for their own journey with Jesus. Things that one person feels convicted by is not necessarily for another. Use wisdom and discernment, listen to Holy Spirit, and always use the Bible for your ground foundation and to test things by.

For me personally, God always has me check the roots to things. If something feels off, I check the root to that specific belief, practice, ministry, person, etc. It really helps to see the motive behind the thing, even if the thing looks shiny, happy, popular, helpful, friendly, etc. When your "discerner" is going off, pay attention and ask God to show you what's going on.

My "discerner" was going off when I saw trendy videos on social media about a practice called Splankna. Yeah, that's the real name of it, and it's a real therapy.

Splankna therapy was developed by Sarah Thiessen, a licensed marriage & family therapist and licensed professional counselor. She created the protocol in 1998 as a mind-body therapy that combines Christian prayer with several energy psychology protocols, including Thought Field Therapy (TFT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Splankna is like Reiki, but with a Christian twist in that it identifies the “life force” within us as the Holy Spirit and it incorporates prayer into the treatment. 

Hmm. SO many things that have their roots in eastern mysticism have been "Christianized" and repackaged in the natural health arena. Discerning Christians know that it's impossible to slap a Christian label on paganism. Philosophies based in New Age teaching have no place within the lives of believers, period. I feel like there's an overlap with the blending in the churches as well, with NAR/Word of Faith/Prosperity Gospel movement. That in itself is like a spreading cancer and has Christians everywhere completely shutting off their discernment, thus allowing these New Age practices to seep in. (More about the mixture here: Mixture in the Church, Mixture in the Church 2, and Defluffing.)

I could go on about this and other practices, but I will end it here. 

Bottom line: read your Bible, ask God for extra wisdom & discernment, and just because it seems popular in the Christian circles or it has a Christian label on it does not mean it's always legit. We are to honor God. To quote an article on Got Questions:

The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force that travels in theoretical physic pathways in the body. Eastern pantheism does not become biblical simply because a “Christian” label is applied. Splankna is a pseudo-science that is part religion, part philosophy, and wholly to be avoided. “What fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).