Reminder from Oswald Chambers

With all this interest in The Secret and Rhonda Byrne's heresy that we are gods, a timely reminder from a classic Christian author is in order:

"The nature of sin is not immorality and wrongdoing, but the nature of self-realization which leads us to say, 'I am my own god.' This nature may exhibit itself in proper morality or in improper immorality, but it always has a common basis - my claim to my right to myself." ~ Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest (Entry for October 5 - written between 1911 & 1915!)

Self-realization is not a new thing, nor necessarily a bad thing. But Chambers took note of it's dangers nearly 100 years ago. Without God, the self becomes the arbiter of good and evil. This was the sin of the garden. And the same devil tempts us today with the same proposition: "You shall be like God." This is a fundamental flaw in the teaching of the Secret and those who advocate it's doctrines.

And note that we are not talking about whether the teachers of the Secret are moral or immoral. I am sure that many who profess to follow universal principles like the Law of Attraction are quite nice and giving people. That is not the issue. The issue is idolatry. Ultimately, the Secret is about claiming my right to myself.

If ever we travel within to find ourselves, rest assured, it will be a very short trip.

The Secret's Out!

Can't seem to keep this genie in the bottle!

The Secret is out and it's generating a lot of press - both positive and negative. I have found some balanced resources, though, and thought you'd like to get in on it before the whole universe knows about it. :-)

Here are some like-minded (and probably better stated) perspectives on The Secret and the secret behind this amazing marketing phenomenon, the Law of Attraction.

• Back in July, 2006, Kelly of Women by Grace has this to say:

  "As is always the case, when people find something that works 'universally', they have bumped into one of God's Laws for His Creation - but they're viewing it through a skewed lens, leaving Him out of the picture - or even worse - redefining Him to be Personless."

• More recently, Tom Sims of The Dream Factory states (HT to Ryan at Design Guru) :

  [The Secret] "presupposes an impersonal god called "The Universe" without specific will or personality that is more like "The Force" than God. There are forces in the universe that God created and set into motion. I am reluctant to employ them without first acknowledging their/my Creator and understanding His will. They can make me effective and successful without being centered in His purposes. I don't want that."

• In one of the most thorough reviews and biblically informed critiques of The Secret, and especially of Rhonda Byrne, the force behind this movement, Don Whitney of the Baptist Press exposes the heresy that has co-opted this biblical principle.

  But in the final analysis, The Secret is nothing more than so-called Name It-Claim It, Positive-Confession, Prosperity Theology (minus God and the Bible), built on a foundation of New Age self-deification. In other words, the book is just a secular version of what some TV preachers have taught for decades: Namely, if you will sustain the right thoughts, words and feelings, you will receive whatever you want. But The Secret adds this important twist: your thoughts can bring anything into your life because you are god.
  
  Books that promise health and wealth for their practitioners are published every day. But few associate such promises with Byrne's breathtaking audacity. She proclaims to her readers, "You are God in a physical body. 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" (p. 164).
  
  If that weren't blasphemous enough, realize that the book your neighbors and co-workers are reading more than any other also tells them, "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" (p. 183).
  
  This would be beautiful if it were addressed to the God of Heaven. But as Byrne thinks this is what we should say to the person in the mirror, it is the heresy of heresies. Her "Secret" is nothing less than Satan's original lie in the Garden of Eden, "You will be like God" (Genesis 3:5).

Well now. Hard to state it much more succinctly than that. But that shouldn't end the conversation. Tell me what your opinion is in the comment section below.


Other Christian critiques include...
1) The Secret: Creating One's Reality, by Russ Wise
2) The Secret: A Cosmic Dream Machine, by Marcia Montenegro
3) Also visit my del.icio.us archive on TheSecret