A once popular New Age writer and practitioner named Doreen Virtue was listening to a radio show featuring a sermon by Pastor Alistair Begg about false prophets and came to the sudden realization that she was guilty of many of the sinful activities he mentioned. Little did she know, her life was about to change forever.

According to Western Seminary, where Virtue recently received her MA degree in Biblical and Theological Studies, the radio show prompted her to begin a study of the scripture and when she read Deuteronomy 18:10-12, she was immediately convicted.

“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does such things is an abomination to the Lord…”

“I just got down on my knees and started crying,” she said in this YouTube video. “I probably cried for about three days. I just kept saying to God, ‘I didn’t know…I didn’t know. I’m so sorry. I had no idea that I was defying you, that I was breaking your law, that I was sinning. Please, please Lord Jesus, take over my life.’ And i just prayed that he wouldn’t send me or anyone I was teaching to hell. And that’s when I was saved.”

This was a big move for her because, at the time of her conversion, she was a best-selling author, speaker and guest on shows such as Oprah and The View. Convinced that she had been clairvoyant since childhood, she marketed herself as a “spiritual clairvoyant psychologist” who gave psychic readings and even created angel card decks that were widely used in New Age angel therapy session.

“She had a huge product line, and a 47-acre estate in Hawaii…often seen in purple flowing robes, mixing with celebrities in L.A., she reigned as the queen of the ‘New Age’ genre,” writes Jonathon Poletti for Medium.

She admits that even though she always considered herself to be Christian, her approach to spirituality was “the-more-friends-in-the-spirit-world-the-better.” She made the same mistake so many others do when they become involved in the occult, New Age practices and yoga.

“I figured that as long as I stayed close to God and Jesus, that I could call upon anyone in the spirit world and be protected. After all, I wasn’t worshipping them, I reasoned – so I was obeying God’s law,” she writes.

“Well, I later discovered, that’s only true if you first carefully pray for God’s guidance about who to associate with and then put on the ‘armor of God’ (Ephesians 6:11). I didn’t realize that it was vital to ‘test the spirits,’ as the Bible says (1 John 4:1-6). I had an open-door policy, and unfortunately the open door can invite in unwanted beings.”

She was 59 years of age when she decided to close that door by repenting and turning her life over to Jesus Christ.

Virtue began exposing the darkness almost immediately and published a message on Facebook announcing her conversion experience while warning others away from the New Age. Unfortunately, it wasn’t well received.

“She was subsequently fired by her publisher and criticized by many of her followers,” the Seminary recounts. “Numerous videos began to emerge on YouTube with titles like ‘What Happened to Doreen Virtue?’ Her followers made wild speculations about why she had become a Christian. Some said she was the victim of government mind control, others that it was the effects of menopause. Some even argued that she was doing it for the money, a claim she attempted to refute by giving refunds for two years to anyone who previously bought her products.”

Suggesting that New Age practices such as tarot readings and following ascended masters were dark and demonic didn’t win her many friends, but the blowback did not deter her. In an effort to continue her faith formation, she entered Western Seminary in 2018 as a full-time student.

“Biblical theology was new to me,” she admits. “It was fascinating to see the whole Bible as God’s plan of redemption.”

Virtue graduated with her MA in Biblical and Theological Studies in 2021 with highest honors. Her success as a student was a confirmation to her that she was developing a biblical worldview and a new heart through Christ’s work on the cross.

As of this writing, Virtue is continuing to combat New Age philosophies to help others avoid making the same mistakes she made. She currently has 307K followers on Instagram and more than a million on Facebook. Sadly, because of continuing public persecution from New Agers, she can’t share where she lives of what church she attends, but she insists that this persecution will not stop her from reaching out to New Agers who are trapped in deception.

“We should expose the darkness,” she said. “This is a salvific issue that can make the difference between heaven and hell.”

Although our Q&A blog covered Virtue’s former New Age work quite extensively, all of these blogs have been removed from our website.

We support you, Doreen, and we pray for your continued conversion in Christ.

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