Canadian Theological Seminary

Assignment III

Contextualized Gospel Tract

Instructor: Dr. Jake Klassen
Submitted by: Ann Camber
Date: August 25, 1999

Format: Story/ Testimony

Please note: the story is fictional but representative of the types of dangers encountered by those participating in new age therapies. The assignment is to be a way of beginnning discussion with those who may be uninformed about alternative medicine and its roots.

Janet was a successful woman in her 30’s. Everything in her life seemed to be on track until the accident.
One night, a night permanently etched in her memory, she was driving home and all of a sudden a young bicyclist on the edge of the road veered into her path. Time seemed to stand still as she tried to brake and swerve to avoid the child. She managed to only graze the bike and the child fell off unhurt except for scratches, but she was heading for the opposite ditch and a tree loomed ahead. She was helpless, and the next thing she heard was crashing and twisting of metal around her and the feeling of waves of pain in her head and back.
One year later, still needing to use a cane, and in constant pain, Janet sought out a new age therapist for help. Painkillers and physiotherapy had not helped. A friend had told her about a nurse living just an hour away who had helped others with a treatment called healing touch. It was an alternative therapy, but she heard of the wonderful testimonies of how the treatments had helped others in her position. Desperate for relief, Janet called the woman who said she could help and booked an appointment.
When Janet arrived at the home of this practitioner, she entered the office and found many pamphlets on various herbal remedies and other forms of energy healing and notices about the next Yoga program being offered in the area. The room was dimly lit and coloured in subdued shades. Janet relaxed as she waited for her treatment.
When the healing touch practitioner came in and introduced herself, she explained she learned this skill of healing touch in nursing training and it worked so well in the hospital she decided to strike out offering it as a therapy available to all. She explained that Healing Touch is an energy-based therapy. She the practitioner will use her energies to help repattern the energies in the patient and promote healing and relieve pain.
Janet lay fully clothed on the massage table and the practitioner spent some time meditating, which she explained was necessary so that she could better channel her energies. Then for 30 minutes the practitioner moved her hands in a gentle motion around Janet’s body, the touch was light and sometimes did not contact her body. Janet felt relaxed and felt a sense of energy moving as the practitioner moved her hands. After the session Janet felt somewhat better and after paying for the treatment made several more appointments.
Over the weeks Janet enjoyed the gradually decreasing pain in her back, with less pain, she was able to give up her cane. She raved about the positive effects of the treatment in her life to her friends and began asking the nurse for more information about other alternative health treatments and lifestyles. She started to meditate to relax. She abandoned all her friends and any family members who showed skepticism about her new found faith system. She found some people in her church were either skeptical, or even openly critical of alternative medicine so she stopped attending Sunday worship.
Over time the dark side of Janet’s obsession with healing touch and yoga and other new age ideas started to influence her life. Money became a problem as the costly treatments and seminars demanded a high proportion of her salary. Her marriage suffered as her husband found that his wife’s time and energies were all focused on the therapies. Anger and Depression, even imposing thoughts started to be manifested in Janet’s life. She tried to get more treatment to help but now although her body was healthy her mind was not. She started to think about suicide. She was plagued with nightmare and had trouble sleeping. As things went wrong for Janet all her “friends” in the new age movement abandoned her,unless she could afford another treatment.
Janet’s husband became desperate to help his wife and sought out his pastor. He explained his wife’s circumstances. The pastor agreed to come over and talk with Janet.
When the pastor arrived he began by asking Janet if any of the practitioners had explained the background and history of the treatment. Janet said no. The pastor explained the beginnings of healing touch in this way.
“Janet, a nurse named Delores Krieger was taught Therapeutic Touch by occultist Dora Kunz, the current president of the Theosophical Society, an organization which uses mediums, astrology, yoga, spirit guides and meditation in their practice. She also is a spiritist who looks to invisible intelligences and “ascended masters” for inspiration and guidance. Delores is the one who popularized Healing Touch in the United States. Therapeutic Touch is an occult healing practice. The practitioner is to “channel” their psychic energies to the patient.” Many of these energy therapies are based in Taoism. It too is an occultist religion. It has similar ideas to eastern mysticism. It does not fit at all within Christian practice.
Janet was shocked; no one had told her that this treatment was occultist. They had talked about the scientific proof and the growing acceptance of healing touch in the medical community. She asked “well it healed my back, what am I to make of that?”
The pastor nodded and said “Good Question Janet”. “I do not refute that you were healed by this treatment the question is if God did not heal you, the power of the Good and perfect God, by what power were you healed?” “ How else has it affected you? Has it been healing in other areas of your life?”
Thinking of the mess her life was now she answered, “I never thought of it that way,” Janet said, “ If I wasn’t healed by the power of light then I was healed by the power of darkness”. At this statement she started to shake and cry. “I hate the way I am, if things don’t improve, I want to die, please help me!”
The pastor said to Janet, “Do you want to be free of these powers that gained entry to your life through these occult practices?” You need Christ’s healing and forgiveness, and you may need deliverance. Do you want this?
Janet said yes, and for some time after that she worked through identifying and renouncing and praying for freedom from each of the new age practices that she had been involved in. Her husband sat at her side and quietly prayed as the pastor and Janet worked through the long list. With each prayer Janet felt the pressure and heaviness she felt in her mind and emotions gradually lift. She battled fear at times, anger and overwhelming sadness as she prayed through the bondage. All she wanted was freedom. God was going to supply it.
After the session with the pastor Janet’s thought life improved, and she began to get reacquainted with her old friends, who all loved her and welcomed her back, never mentioning the dark months except to say they had been praying for her. Six months after her deliverance Janet began to speak to Christian groups about her experience. Her message was this. Tell everyone you know that it is important to understand the roots and underlying beliefs behind any therapy. Don’t be drawn into alternative medicine you don’t know is free of occult or new age connections. Don’t open yourself to the attack of the enemy. Know the source. If it isn’t from God … Run from it. I found out the hard way. If you are involved in new age practices, stop going and get help and prayer from your church if they have the resources or from Freedom in Christ ministries if your church is unfamiliar with how to help.”