The New Age still matters because it is the best resort we have to age-old traditions of wisdom. I wanted to say that up front, even though I have never used the phrase "New Age" in any talk or writing. The New Age has become a byword for any cheap shot or automatic sneer directed toward a carnival of spiritual noodles and charlatans. But that's not the whole story, or even reality. Behind the label is something very different--a loose coalition of people who want to reach beyond organized religion and its many drawbacks.