My short answer to “Do you think Jesus would have wanted it any other way” is another question: “How would we know what Jesus would or would not have wanted?” That other post points toward the only answer that makes sense, which is to find out what we can about Jesus from the best sources we have available….

This has been happening since the first century and will continue to. We should not be afraid but do our job, to “preach the Word”.

“18Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.[d] 21I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. 23No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”

24See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25And this is what he promised us—even eternal life.

26I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.”
1 John 2

I have indeed applied critical thinking toward the Bible–in fact, three-plus years of interacting with skeptics on this blog has surely forced me to do that over and over again.

Did you use the same critical process when you read the bible?

The first was that Tolle writes of his readers, “You are the Truth!” and goes on to praise the words of Jesus, “I am the way, the truth and the life…” but in a sense that has Jesus leading the way for all of us in that we all ought to be saying this “I am the truth” about ourselves. Tolle turns the obvious exclusive claim of Christ right on its head. One may even think Jesus is wrong about his claim, but still understand that Jesus’ claim about himself is exclusive. Tolle’s approach to authorial intent is mindless blather. I gave up trying to even read some of the paragraphs because the flow of logic was so utterly absent.

The second was the number of people walking up to the book to read it and buy it, as if it was to be taken seriously and to heart.

My friend, who has been in failed relationship after failed relationship is always buying “New Age spirituality self-help” books.
He lives according to the books ideals and standards for about a week…. and then is back moping around about how much of a failure he is, how he’ll never find the love of his life, and how he’ll never be truly happy.

Recently he was talking about some hokum he got from a new book that is “showing him” how to shed his ego and “unshackle” himself from his personality…. or something like that.

Reading your post makes me think that this is what he stumbled on.
This book will be “It” for a solid month or two, then that flock will become disillusioned again and try to find the next big thing promising them to finally fulfill their lives. Whatever that is supposed to mean.