It is stating the obvious to say that ‘religion’ in Australia is steadily declining, while interest in ‘spirituality’ has been increasing for years. We hear this trend reported everywhere and, as Christians, can be tempted to find some minor satisfaction in it: “Well, she’s not a Christian, but at least my New Age cousin thinks about God a whole lot more than my atheist uncle does.”
But is this how God – the true and living God – views the ‘New Spirituality’? In Stirrings of the Soul, Michael Raiter demonstrates that much of our society’s interest in spirituality is not the beginning of a renewed, genuine search for the truth, but is in fact simply the latest manifestation of the rejection of God.
Raiter, head of Moore College’s Department of Missions and ex-CMS missionary to Pakistan, writes with a personal, pastoral touch – the voice of someone who knows the reality of living as a Christian in 21st century Australia. He does not dismiss the New Spirituality lightly. It is a huge, amorphous topic that almost defies definition, but the author chronicles the ‘explosion’ of interest in spirituality carefully, seeking to understand it on its own terms and define the movement through numerous examples.
The strengths of Raiter’s analysis are its historical contextualisation and its biblical foundation. On the one hand, rather than simply saying, ‘New Age is…’, he traces both the earliest mystic writers and how the 20th century spawned new ideas on religion, showing why contemporary spirituality has taken on its particular form. By showing that contemporary spirituality did not develop in a vacuum, nor has it always existed, Raiter helps Christians to understand the times in which they live, to withstand the bombardment of spiritual options by holding fast to Jesus, and to accurately (but lovingly) critique the New Age worldview.
At the same time, the whole analysis is firmly grounded in God’s word. Based on Romans 1, he rightly points out that much of what passes for spirituality today is really a reinforcement of our own desires and an encouragement for people to be self-centred: “Modern spirituality is more focused on the human spirit than the divine” (p. 101).
Stirrings of the Soul is written very much for the ‘insider’, for the Christian believer who is on board with evangelical attitudes to the Bible and the New Spirituality. It won’t resonate directly with those caught up in the New Age movement. But it’s wrong to criticise a book for not doing what it does not seek to do. This is a book to equip Christians to critique the New Age worldview, rather than offering that critique itself.
Perhaps most confronting for many readers will be the last chapter, where the finger is pointed at evangelical Christians themselves. Real relationship with God should be deep, profound, satisfying and, yes, emotional, Raiter says, and many Christians have over-reacted against the charismatic and New Age movements by throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Thoughtful readers will be left to ponder some big questions.

“It would be one-eyed for evangelicals not to stop and ask themselves if there is something about their expression of evangelicalism which may be contributing to the sense of spiritual dryness that many people are testifying to. Is our expression of evangelicalism really as biblical as we think it is? Or have we adopted practices and attitudes, either by habit, or perhaps because of the impact of our own cultural background that, in fact, owe more to culture and tradition than they do to the Bible?” (p. 226)