What is The Secret? It is the Law of Attraction at work. Stated in various ways throughout the years, here are some familiar self-help slogans:- What you focus on grows.
- What you think about comes about.
- You attract who you are, not what you want.
- You reap what you sow.
What is different - or at least more clearly stated - about this renewed interest in this personal development, self-improvement movement is the rational behind these principles of success. And that is, we now know why (it is claimed) this Law of Attraction works.
This is also where, if we're not careful, people can be led astray and mistake the natural laws of the universe for the law-giver of the universe. And I believe that that is what many of the "teachers" of The Secret have done. So while I'm concerned, I recognize that this has been human tendency throughout history. A fundamental sin to all of humankind: We end up worshiping the creation while ignoring the Creator.
In the next few posts we'll explore some of the explanations of why the law of attraction works. And we'll evaluate them in light of biblical truth. For that is the purpose of Thought Renewal - to interact with and glean truths from the genre of self-help. I want to help readers "help themselves" to the truth that God makes available through such resources, wherever they may be found. SDG
Until then, feel free to comment or start a discussion.
This is Part 1.
Read Part 2.
Read Part 3.
More del.icio.us articles on TheSecret.
7 comments:
Hey Lyndon! You're back!
"We end up worshiping the creation while ignoring the Creator." Good words, those!
I agree that those words are very true... True of every religion in fact.
On The Secret. I have two thoughts, the first is that it seems very clear to my husband and I that The Secret was purposely packaged in a way to reach the more "open" and New Age (for good reason, I suppose not too many of us Christians would buy it even if it were packaged to us). But, at least a handful of the speakers are "Christians" - attend church etc... I think it's important not to be too quick to judge on that line.
My other thought though, is that it seems to me, that even looking at what we "know" via Quantum Physics, it's all still talking about God. Just, now they have some kind of scientific backing for this God-thing. I don't see (most of) them worshipping a creation (like Druids worshipping a tree) so much as them trying to comprehend the incomprehendable...
That's my take anyway.
Megan, Thanks for your take on this topic. I'm with you, I doubt many are actually worshiping a created thing (like a tree :-) and that most are simply trying to understand a transcendent law.
But that's my point, I suppose. People are looking for transcendence in all the wrong places. We are trying to explain and put our trust in the unexplainable instead of turning to God's revelation about himself. And so my concern is that we end up merging the Universe (note that it is often capitalized) with the Creator of the Universe.
As I state in my 2nd post on this topic: "I think the real issue, or danger, in this movement is the tendency for advocates to adhere to the laws of the universe while ignoring, denying, or more likely, syncretizing the laws with the Law Giver."
When the Higher Self, the Universe, Life Force, etc (all capitalized to indicate some sort of divinity at work) is substituted for the God of the bible, then we are into idolatry. More on this in my 3rd post coming soon.
Lyn
PS Thanks for the opening encouragement, Gwynne! :-)
Thanks for the well written alert about the book The Secret.
I have bookmarked your article on del.icio.us. http://tinyurl.com/2lvdy6
The Secret is still on the best seller lists! I just blogged a red flag post about the Secret.
Many baby Christians are being deceived by the twisted Scriptures used to promote this book. Same ol' lie as in the Garden of Eden, dressed diffeently trhough history.
We need to be in prayer.
Secondly we need to visit blogs and articles exposing the Secret and bookmark (to several socialbookmarks) and comment on blogs to get the truth higher in the search engines. Please contribute!
I'm "Christian" by looking back at my past history (catholic school, baptized, etc) but I still feel compelled to The Secret. I'm looking and trying so hard to find meaning and fulfillment in my life right now. The secret seems to be pulling people into the direction of forgetting their faiths and using the secret to magically create a better life. I now find myself conjuring up most my thoughts on thinking positive and neglecting my faith.
Don't neglect your faith. Positive thinking and sincere faith are not opposites. Faith comes first (trust in Christ) and positive mental attitude is a result of knowing the truth in Christ - if God is for us who can be against us? :-)
In responce to Adam, I tell people who want to start using "The Secret" to thank The Most High God every time they see what they want in their Visions, 7 - 12 times a day. This process builds faith and brings you closer to God. Check my Blog for details sww.thesecretanddarkmatter.blogspot.com
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