The Secret - Part 2

The Secret - Is Satanic!

"The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne is Satanic. I don't say this to be hyperbolic and I am not over exaggerating to make a point. The philosophy she espouses in her book is Satanic in nature and origin.

I don't make claims like this flippantly, and I have read her book(It is fairly short and doesn't take too long to read). Let me explain how I arrive at my conclusion.

The basic tenet of her philosophy is the "law of attraction". This is not a new secret. It represents the common "new age" type thinking that has been around since the beginning of time. The law is that You are in control of the universe. How you think determines everything that happens in the universe. You are the universe, you are god, you are the all powerful force that controls and even creates everything.

I didn't make that up. This is not just a paraphrase or what I think Byrne is saying. She actually writes that in her book. "You are god" is a direct quote.

Here is a direct quote:

The earth turns on its orbit for You. The oceans ebb and flow for You. The birds sing for You. The sun rises and it sets for You. The stars come out for You. Every beautiful thing you see, every wondrous thing you experience, is all there for You. Take a look around. None of it can exist, without You. No matter who you thought you were, now you know the Truth of Who You Really Are. You are the master of the Universe. You are the heir to the kingdom. You are the perfection of Life. And now you know The Secret.

Wow! When I read this book I had a visceral reaction - it made me sick to my stomach. Normally, this type of new age philosophy cloaks itself a little better. New agers don't come right out and verbalize their intended conclusion that "you are god", Byrne does.

This is Satanic! Do you remember the Garden of Eden. The serpent comes and speaks to Eve. It tempts Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 3:1-5
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Ge 3:1). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

You will be like God. That was the lie of the devil in the garden of evil. And this is the lie of "The Secret". You will be like god, because you are god. The devil has been using these lies for centuries and Byrne is just the latest in a long line of charlatans.

The reason the devil tries to deceive people to believe that they are god, that they are the master of the universe, is because if they believe that then they don't need Jesus Christ to be their savior.

More Problems:

The tenets of the secret also have problems just from a logical standpoint. Let me address a few of these.

Byrne suggests that if you just think positively about anything, if you believe you will receive and even act like you already have it, then you will get it. This can be anything from money, to cars, to relationships, to health, healing, anything at all. You don't have to work for any of these things, you just have to train yourself to think positively about these things.

If this is true, then you don't need a job, you don't need to go to school, you don't need to even eat. Just close yourself in your room and think about what ever you want and it will just materialize in your life(given enough time).

This philosophy could end world hunger. Those people that are starving in Africa and other parts of the world don't actually need food. They don't need people to teach them how to farm better and raise crops. They just need to be taught to think positively. They need to be trained to think that they are full and healthy. And without even taking a bite world hunger could end.

Scripture

I love that fact that Byrne quotes scripture to support her views. She pulls them completely out of context and applies them in a way that is completely inconsistent with the intent and meaning of the Bible.

I could go on and on, but I will leave you with this word of warning from scripture.

Isaiah 45:22
22 “ Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.

1 Peter 5:6-11
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15

13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

2 Timothy 4:3-5

3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

The Secret - Part 1

The Secret -- Is Out!

If you haven't heard of "The Secret", that is good! You can read the reviews about this philosophy and book. It is written by Rhonda Byrne and "The Secret" is the title. It has been the number one best seller on the New York Times list for the last 10 weeks. It has sold millions, made millions, and even given a two day special "anointing" by Oprah.

Here is an article that encapsulates, in a more articulate manner, my thoughts on "The Secret" by Al Mohler.

Ever heard of the "Law of Attraction?" Rhonda Byrne learned it from a book entitled The Science of Getting Rich, written by Wallace Wattles in 1910. Wattles was an evangelist for positive thinking and he promised readers that they could attract everything they wanted -- including money, fame, success, or love -- by using his "Law of Attraction."
According to press accounts, Rhonda Byrne was given Wattles' book at a breaking point in her life. Transformed by Wattles' philosophy, Byrne got to work updating the "Law of Attraction" for a new generation. She turned the idea into an Internet-based movie and a book entitled The Secret. Now, the book is a runaway best-seller, ranking number one on The New York Times listing.
We should be very concerned to live in a country in which so many citizens evidently want to be told that they, individually, are the very center of the universe. The Secret is just the latest form of American esoteric positive thinking run amok. The nation seems to endure periodic waves of positive-thinking nonsense, and every generation seems primed to believe that it can have all it wants and more. Can anyone actually believe this stuff?
Evidently so. Oprah is a big fan, as are other Hollywood and entertainment types. Byrne has attracted publicity, books sales, and attention, if nothing else.
According to Byrne, every object and mind in the universe operates on its own frequency, and minds can attract matter. "Thoughts are magnetic," she argues, "and thoughts have a frequency. As you think, those thoughts are sent out into the Universe, and they magnetically attract all like things that are on the same frequency. Everything sent out returns to its source. And the source is you." Yep. You are the center of the universe.
"You are the most powerful magnet in the Universe!," she exclaims. "You contain a magnetic power within you that is more powerful than anything in this world, and this unfathomable magnetic power is emitted through your thoughts."
If you learn to operate by the Law of Attraction, she promises, you can attract anything you want. Success, riches, material objects, weight loss, acclaim . . . all these are to be yours if only you believe.
Food doesn't make you fat -- thinking that food makes you fat makes you fat. You are not sick; you only think you are sick. Reverse the thought and you will be well. If you are not rich, it is only because you are trapped in negative mental patterns. "Every negative thought, feeling, or emotion is blocking your good from coming to you, and that includes money."
Similar teachings are represented in movements like Christian Science and in the American gurus of success who have been around at least since the mid-nineteenth century. But Byrne seems to take the argument further than most. She suggests that you are God.
"You are God in a physical body," she writes. "You are spirit in the flesh. You are Eternal Life expressing itself as You. You are a cosmic being. You are all power. You are all wisdom. You are all intelligence. You are perfection. You are magnificence. You are the creator, and you are creating the creation of You on this planet."
It is almost impossible to read those words with a straight face. Is anyone believing this?
Jerry Adler, writing in Newsweek, makes this observation:
You'd think the last thing Americans need is more excuses for self-absorption and acquisitiveness. But our inexhaustible appetite for "affirmation" and "inspiration" and "motivation" has finally outstripped the combined efforts of Wayne Dyer, Anthony Robbins, Dr. Phil and Mitch Albom. We have actually begun importing self-help--and from Australia, of all places, that citadel of tough-minded individualism, where just a couple of years ago Byrne was a divorced mother in her 50s who had hit a rocky patch in her business and personal lives. It was in that moment of despair, when she "wept and wept and wept" (as she recounted to Oprah on the first of two broadcasts devoted to her work), that she discovered a long-neglected book dating from 1910 called "The Science of Getting Rich." In it she found how to let your thoughts and feelings get you everything you want, and determined to share it with the world. She called it "The Secret."
And it was that stroke of marketing genius that turned what might have been a blip on the Times's "Advice, How-To, Miscellaneous" best-seller list into a publishing phenomenon that Sara Nelson, editor of Publishers Weekly, says "could become this decade's 'Tuesdays With Morrie'." "Nobody," she adds, "ever went broke overestimating the desperate unhappiness of the American public." Self-help books roll off the presses with the regularity of politicians' biographies, and sell much better; Wayne Dyer all by himself has written 29 of them with sales estimated at 50 million. But Byrne had something else going for her. "It was an incredibly savvy move to call it 'The Secret'," says Donavin Bennes, a buyer who specializes in metaphysics for Borders Books. "We all want to be in on a secret. But to present it as the secret, that was brilliant."
Donald S. Whitney, Associate Professor of Biblical Spirituality at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, gets to the heart of the problem with The Secret:
There's no mention of sin in The Secret. The cause of all the problems in the world and in our individual lives is merely bad thinking, specifically the failure to recognize and appropriately use the law of attraction. Therefore the solution to everything lies within us. And that, of course, eliminates the need for a Savior, a Substitute, or a Sacrifice. The cross and resurrection of Jesus become irrelevant.
More:
The problem with The Secret is that it focuses our hope selfward and not Godward. It is all about self-empowerment, self-fulfillment, and getting whatever we want. But Jesus warned, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" (Matthew 16:26). The Secret disregards the fact that God has a Law and we have broken it (James 2:10). What Byrne fails to realize about her law of attraction is that our sinful hearts deceive us (Jeremiah 17:9) and attract not only more sin and guilt, but ultimately, the wrath of God.
However, God in His mercy sent His Son to receive this wrath as a Substitute for all who will repent of their selfishness and believe in Him. And "through the true knowledge of Him"--not Rhonda Byrne's book--"His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3).
"The Secret to everything" (to use Byrne's term) is God Himself. And God, the "Great Secret," has been revealed in Jesus Christ, "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3). God has freely told us in the Bible everything we need to know about discovering the unlimited "treasures of wisdom and knowledge" found in Christ. And He remains an unknown Secret only to those who will not look for Him there.
In the end, The Secret points to the most basic question of life. Is is all about us, or about the glory of God? The elevation of the self in The Secret is truly breathtaking:
The earth turns on its orbit for You. The oceans ebb and flow for You. The birds sing for You. The sun rises and it sets for You. The stars come out for You. Every beautiful thing you see, every wondrous thing you experience, is all there for You. Take a look around. None of it can exist, without You. No matter who you thought you were, now you know the Truth of Who You Really Are. You are the master of the Universe. You are the heir to the kingdom. You are the perfection of Life. And now you know The Secret.

There is no real secret to The Secret. It is just the same old self-worship packaged for a new generation.

Can You Be A Christian and Not Go To Church?

Question: Can I be a Christian without joining the church?
Answer: Yes, it is possible. It is something like being:
A student who will not go to school.
A soldier who will not join an army.
A citizen who does not pay taxes or vote.
A salesman with no customers.
An explorer with no base camp.
A seaman on a ship without a crew.
A businessman on a deserted island.
An author without readers.
A tuba player without an orchestra.
A parent without a family.
A football player without a team.
A politician who is a hermit.
A scientist who does not share his findings.
A bee without a hive.
- taken from Wesleyan Christian Advocate


Ephesians 5:25-32

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church .
The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Eph 5:25). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

The Historical Present

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." George Santayana

This famous quote is a little misleading. When Santayana says "we are DOOMED to repeat it"this insinuates that history is a bad, negative force. There are some things in history that we do not wish to repeat, like the Holocaust. There are others that we should strive to repeat, like the emphasis on scripture (sola scriptura) of the Reformation.

How much church history do you know? Any? Some?

I don't know nearly as much as I would like, but I have learned some. Church history can have many important points of applications to our lives today.

Here is an example. Recently I read a historical biography about George Mueller who lived in the 1800's. His life challenged me greatly in the area of prayer and faith. I would love to repeat his passion and dependence on prayer.

There are many other noble reasons to delve deeply into history in general and church history in particular. Jason Duesing has written an excellent white paper article that details these benefits. I encourage you to read it and learn from history.

Learning Humility Through Church History by Jason Duesing

Mother Gives Birth, Then Coaches Game

I Love Sport, But This Is Ridiculous…

I love sports. I love to play them, and watch them. It is one of my favorite hobbies. I love my Aggies, the Cowboys, and the Mavericks. I even like to watch golf. I always thought that was boring when I was a kid, but now I like to watch it.

But, on my list of priorities sports is way down the list compared to things that really matter.

Carol Russell coaches the Nebraska-Kearney women's basketball team. She gave birth to her first child, a healthy boy in the afternoon. Five hours later she showed up to coach her team. She wasn't required to, and didn't have to, she chose to.

This woman gave birth to her child, and instead of spending time with her newborn, she felt like it was more important to coach a basketball game. Why bother even having kids if they are not going to be a priority in your life? She will never get another day of birth to spend with that special child. She will get to coach many more games, that will be just as meaningless. By the way, her team lost the game. And they didn't just lose, they were blown out 108-75!

I get the feeling, just from observation, that there are a lot of parents who really don’t like to be around their kids. Their children are not as big a priority to them as other things in their lives. It seems as if they look for any excuse or reason to get away from their kids. Imagine a family where the mother doesn’t have to work. She is able to stay home to do one of the noblest jobs on the planet, rear her kids. What a blessing until this family hires a nanny! This actually happens. They hire a nanny so the mom can have time away from the kids.

We love our kids. We like our kids. We like to be together as a family. We like to do things together. Of course, Michelle and I like a break every now and then. That is not what I am talking about. I am talking about seeing your children as a precious gift from the Lord. They are a gift that is supposed to be cherished and nurture. They are not the center of the universe, but they are also not the family pet.

Last week we took a family camping trip to Possom Kingdom Lake. It wasn’t long and didn’t cost much money. But we all were together, no cell phones or email, and had a great adventure. It rained on us, we saw loads of stars, found rocks, and went canoeing. It was a great time and hopefully will be one that we will always remember. A basketball game can wait!