Rhonda Bryne, best-selling author and friend of Oprah Winfrey, recently released a book that she believes will change your world and your life. The book is called The Secret and it topped the NY Times Bestseller’s list for several weeks. The book is really just a rehashing of a book called The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles written way back in 1919. Wattles promoted what he called “The Law of Attraction.” Simply defined the Law of Attraction states that by the power of positive thinking you can achieve anything and have everything you always wanted. You can be rich just by thinking the right thoughts about yourself! Bryne picks up the Law of Attraction in The Secret. Both Byrne and Wattles’ thinking really just amounts to New Age philosophy repackaged, but Americans are eating it up. Bryne’s philosophy in the end simply amounts to narcissism (worship of self). If you don’t believe me let me show you, here is an excerpt from The Secret:
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.
Compare that with Colossians 1:15-20:
(15) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (16) For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things were created through him and for him. (17) And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (18) And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. (19) For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, (20) and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Rhonda Bryne would have you believe that you are the center of the universe. The apostle Paul claims in Colossians 1, not only that Christ is the creator of all things but also that all things were created for Him. In other words, everything was created and continues to exist (Col. 1:17) for Christ. Thus, Christ is the center of the universe. He is before all things. He is the “firstborn of all creation.” This doesn’t mean that he was the first to be born but is a title taken from the Old Testament which simply denotes the supremacy or sovereignty of one person over another. Christ, however in contrast to any earthly ruler is “firstborn of all creation,” meaning He is sovereign and supreme over all.
There is a huge contrast between Rhonda Bryne’s view of the world and the Apostle Paul’s. If Bryne’s view of the world is correct, God is nothing more than a dotting parent who gives into his child’s every whim. According to Bryne’s worldview, if God exists, He exists for you! Bryne’s teaching reduces God to a feeble creature that bows to our every demand and desire rather than demanding the submission of our every demand and desire at His feet–which is what the God of Scripture demands. Whoever Bryne’s god is, her God is not holy. Her God does not demand worship or deserve it. Bryne’s God is much more like you and I than the God of the Bible. Bryne’s God is a pushover and in the end Bryne would claim that you are God because everything is subject to you!
Paul’s God is holy, so holy that we cannot stand before Him unless we are completely pure (Ps 15). So holy that sinners fall on their faces before Him and cry out for mercy (Isa. 6:5), one who is glorious–so glorious that we cannot measure up to Him (Rom. 3:23). And yet, despite our sin, he chose to reconcile all things to himself by the blood of the cross (Col. 1:20).
Paul’s emphasis on reconciliation in Colossians 1:20, ought to tell us that all is not right in the world. If everything was right, there would be no need for reconciliation. But the fact is that, much is very, very wrong. Though God created everything good, his creation has undergone corruption (Rom. 8:20-21) because from Adam on (Rom. 5:12-13) we have rejected God in our sin. We have neglected to realize that we were created by and for God. In our sin we have rejected the purpose for which were created–to know and worship God.
God has chosen to reconcile all things to himself through Christ’s blood shed on the cross (Col. 1:20). Although all things are not right in the world, God has promised to make them right through Christ. He created everything and everything belongs to Him, thus everything will be reconciled back to the purpose for which it was created. Not everyone will be reconciled in the same way. Some will be reconciled through faith in Christ to eternal joy (Matt. 25:23) while others will be reconciled unwillingly and will be cast “into the eternal fire with the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41).
Everything exists for God. Everything exists for Christ. He and the Father are one (John 10:30) as all the “fullness of God dwells” in Christ (Col. 1:19). Our biggest problem is we have neglected to live in such a way that reveals that, indeed everything exists for God.
We are all probably a little bit more like Rhonda Byrne than we are willing to admit. We might not think the world revolves around us but often act like it. We get upset when people don’t act the way we want them to. We defend ourselves unnecessarily. We continually try to hide our faults. We try to make ourselves look better than the people around us and we point fingers when things go wrong. If we are honest, our biggest problem in life is that we want the world to revolve around us but it doesn’t. The world revolves around Jesus Christ. Our failure to recognize this has left us in a dreadful state–”alienated” and “hostile in mind,” toward God (Col. 1:21). This is a state we cannot change in and of ourselves. We need God to intervene, lest we remain cut off from Him.
The good news is that God has intervened in Christ. He has reconciled all things to Himself. But how will you be reconciled in the end? Will you be reconciled to eternal glory because you have believed on Christ? Or will you be reconciled in eternal punishment?
The world doesn’t revolve around you, it revolves around Jesus . . . are you living in light of this truth? Are you living in light of the TRUE secret–that everything exists for Jesus?
In my next post I will show how Christ’s reconciliation of “all things” to himself cannot mean that all will be eternally saved in the end and address the specific reconciliation of sinners through Christ’s death on the cross.
Hey Drew,
This was a really great post and book review. I have seen “The Secret” in passing while at bookstores or Target and have always been curious, “I wonder what that’s about?” I figured it probably had a mystical bent so never bothered to buy it. Thanks to your post, now I know for sure. But interesting – just from reading the excerpt that you included from the book I found myself thinking, “it is the same old lie Satan has been telling us since the garden of Eden; you too can be a God.” I swear, he never stops.
Anyway, yes you are right; Christ came to reconcile us to God and I just want to give kudo’s to the way you wrote it here – it’s really good. Look forward to reading your next post! ~Jen
P.S. And if you don’t have any plans for this, or maybe later down the road after you finish Part II, I thought I’d ask if you might consider allowing me to add it to my website “Walk Two” as a book review/article? In your name of course. Walktwo.net is literally just beginning. Something I really felt God’s leading to do and then often find myself asking Him like a doubting Thomas, “are you sure this is what you really wanted me to do?” Yet the answer always comes back as a resounding “yes.” Anyway, just thought I’d ask so no pressure or anything. As my motto is with everything, “Just pray about it.” God bless Drew!
oh man, she got byrned by this review!!
Thanks for the feedback Jen. I think you are right it is that same old lie. This wasn’t actually meant to be a book review so much as I was trying to use Bryne’s book as a spring board to talk about the preeminence of Christ in all things! I recently preached on this text at my church and used ‘The Secret’ as a contrast to Paul’s teaching in Colossians 1:15-20.
If you wanted to post this article to your website, that would be fine with me. I am not too attached with these articles that I am posting on here, their purpose is to challenge and encourage beleivers and engage the world with the gospel . . . so I am fine if they get distributed other ways.
Hey Drew,
I think that’s why I liked it so much because not only was it just a book review but also because it had such a great message. I was like, “ya, that is so right on!” But I’m glad you don’t mind me posting it to Walk Two. That is really my heart also, for my writings and for Walk Two, that it would encourage Believers and engage the world with the gospel.
Well, I will work on getting that up sometime this week and will let you know when for sure. And if you have any further questions about Walk Two or anyone else over there at Elect Exiles who may want to post something too then please don’t hesitate to ask. I will ttyl and God bless! ~Jen
The guys at the Berean Call did a review on this a while back.
<a href=”http://www.thebereancall.org/node/5571 Not sure if I can embed the link, but here it is.
Thanks for the insight Drew!
Oops. It didn’t work, but it can be copied and pasted.
Blessings on you guys.
Hi!
I would like to have dvd “secret” In russian
Would You like to help me?
I Forgot to write Now I`m in Dubai?
So where and how I can get This DVD “Secret”
Thanks
Yes. This book is great … I have read it.. is a nice book. Pls read it. Thanks a lot. I am so thankful I got chance to read this book.
Umida, I don’t think we can help you find the movie in Russian, in Dubai. In fact, I don’t think a movie has been made of it . . . yet.
Jenny, I would encourage you to re-read this critical review of the book as well as consider carefully the implications of the message of this kind of book against the clear teaching of the Bible.
Thanks for commenting, folks.
Thanks for clarifying for me Kevin!
Hi everyone;
I recently read and watched The Secret. In fact, I found this page looking for comments related to it.
I was raised in a Catholic family, I do believe in God, or the energy, or the Light, or the Force – you name it- but I do not believe in any man-made religious organization that limits people’s choices, I dont go to church, but I do pray and I do believe in well-intended actions.
I am only 27 years old, and I simply don’t understand how it is possible to see people “fighting” because of what they belive in.
I read somewhere above the following words: Satan, Pauls’, Christ, Blood, lies, dangerous implications, etc, etc.
Umida, get the movie or the book and read it.
Everyone is free to believe in anything that makes you feel good, makes you a better person, makes you WANT to help others, and more important, does not force you to make you believe your religion is the right – and only – one.
I define the word religion as a lack of tolerance in other people’s beliefs.
For those who did not read the book, you will find that there are a lot of exercises intended only to make you feel graceful for everything in your life.
Is that dangerous implications?
Thanks for your time reading my words. Hope you life is full of joy provided for what you believe in.
I agree with you Alejandro, that “everyone is free to believe in anything that makes them feel good.” But it cannot also follow that that means that everything everyone believes is right.
What I am arguing is that the book “The Secret” does not present the truth. It presents lies meant to help people feel good about themselves and acheive success. I am all for people being happy and successful but I think that the way that people will be most happy is by knowing Jesus Christ personally. If you read my post you would see that the Bible claims that Jesus is God in human flesh and the world was created by him and for him.
That is a truth claim. In other words I am claiming that it is true that Jesus is the creator and Lord of the universe. “The Secret” makes truth claims as well, it claims that you are the center and Lord of the universe. You see Alejandro, both those things cannot be true. You and Jesus cannot be Lord over the universe. One must be false and the other true or both must false, but both cannot be true if the claims contradict one another which the clearly do.
If your core belief is that the only thing that is wrong is exclusive beliefs, then I assume you think that truth is relative. If all truth is relative, then isn’t that claim that “all truth is relative,” relative as well?
This post is getting a lot of hits and I want to encourage those to read it to weigh out the truth claims of “The Secret,” just because it makes you feel better about yourself does not mean that it is true and inherently good. There are many things in this life which make you feel good or have the appearance of goodness but in the end are lies and will end in pain.
The question I would ask you is not whether “The Secret” makes you feel good but rather is information presented in “The Secret” true? If it is not then don’t waste your time believing and following its teachings–doing so could have disastrous results.
What I am claiming is the truth claims made in Scripture about Jesus being the center of the universe are true. I would encourage you to search the Bible, read about Christ and see weigh out whether the claims Christ makes about himself and the claims the Bible makes about Christ are true.
Drew, it is amazing how this posts continues to receive hits. Google is taking care of us.
You did well to present the truth and lies dichotomy, which in reality, should be a clear and present ringing bell to the urgency of the proclamation of the gospel. Alejandro, the very reason why we blog about the gospel, about the pervasive issues we deal with in this world, has everything to do with the need to bring clarity to the field of belief.
If God has not delivered his word to the world via the Bible and has not personally appeared in history to separate the lies from truth, to tell us there is only one way to have salvation and know happiness by beholding our Creator, then everything you said in your comment is fair game. You make the assumption that God is completely detached from history, therefore, anything we say and do should be completely hedonistic and pluralistic since we cannot possibly know anything apart from the subjective reality of the self.
The word of caution we have for that kind of thinking stems from the historical reality that God has said that he is to be regarded as holy by his people. His people have disobeyed and did what was right in their own eyes over and over again. The devastating effect of our humanistic hedonism is death. We have exchanged the truth and glory of our beautiful Creator and have substituted him with all sorts of dysfunctional ways of thinking in order to bring together a world of pluralism. It is our most stiff-necked attack against God.
That is the reality of the world we are living in. It isn’t, ultimately, a religious philosophy or the fabrications of a group of people in order to stick a yoke on a large number of people. It isn’t that, because we hold the highest authority for knowing truth to be the Bible. The Bible makes exclusive claims about God, the gospel, the scope and hope of hapiness, and salvation. Those who are called by God to salvation in Christ take those words to heart and are urgently pleading with those who do not believe to repent of their godlessness and be saved.
We are here to do that. Fancy arguments don’t ultimately win unbelievers to Christ. They are actively against something so radical as believing Christ could possibly be the only way. But, there he is. He is either the Savior of sinners who believe or a liar. No one can have Jesus and something else. It is my prayer when I share this with different people that God will overcome their resistance to him, and rescue them from their unbelief, rescue them from their sin, rescue them from their pluralistic love of believing whatever they want but disregarding the present reality that Jesus is the only Savior, that no one may come to God any other way.
Drew;
Thank you for your words.
I really mean to state very clear that I’m looking to learn and grow by this exchange of ideas and beliefs.
Lately, I started wondering “Who was Jesus?”, “was THERE a Jesus?”,” Who and/or What is God?”. I said in my previous post that I believe there is something higher and greater than us, but I’m not yet sure what it is.
So, you see, I respect your believing in the Bible, but to me it’s the first self-help book written. It’s a guide on how to live peacefully among others, respecting your peers, and becoming a better person… hey, that’s the secret’s core too!!
There is something that call my attention: you claim the truth. Thruth is relative…. well, I never gave it a thought.
There is no reason why there should be one exclusive thruth.
You say you are all for people to be happy, and that you THINK that reading about Jesus will make them happy.
Is there a reason I should say reading about Jesus is a lie, just because it is not what I believe in?
Are Hindus, Japanese, Chinese, and all of the rest of the world who do not believe in Jesus wrong? Will they burn in hell in the after life? But, hey, they don’t belive in after life.
My whole point Drew is to raise awareness, respect, concious and encourage others to accept different beliefs withount being judgemental.
Maybe there is one truth, maybe not. In the past they believed the earth was plane… and some were killed for saying otherwise.
All we have is today and make a better place for everyone.
Thanks
Alejandro, your thoughts aren’t new at all . . . and at the core, they probably do not intend to reject the Creator of all there is. But they do, and here is why. God was loving enough to be the major sovereign mover of the universe. He alone represents the ultimate standard of truth because his character is immutable. He is unchanging, and therefore, his Word accurately and sufficiently articulates his law (both natural and moral), his character (both immutable and lovely), and the good news that all who sin may find reconciliation with God in Jesus Christ. The Bible absolutely claims that, clear as day.
Your skepticism is as old as Adam. In the garden, their first encounter with sin was realized by their question, “Did God really say . . .?” Either the Bible lies or it tells the truth. The Bible is clear that there is no name other than Jesus Christ given under heaven by which people may be saved. There is no other Jesus. A Kirkegaard-ian leap of faith is not required to make the connection between the historical reality of Jesus Christ and the truth of the Bible. You said, “There is no reason why there should be one exclusive truth.” In the larger scope of things, that is non-sense. When two related claims or theories come into conflict with each other to the point that one must not exist in order for either to exist, something has got to give. That is the law of non-contradiction. Therefore, if the Bible claims that Jesus is the only way and something else claims there is another way, then one or both must be false, because those two competing truth claims cannot exists together. If a person believes gravity is not a reality, that doesn’t make their belief true. In fact, as soon as they challenge that law by stepping off of the roof of a building, they will realize they were wrong when they fall. Belief is not what makes something real or fabricated.
The higher idea we are trying to get at by preaching the gospel and telling people about the glory of God, the sinfulness of man, and our desperate need for a Savior has implications far greater than the present. And at least, I know this is certain, when somethings claims to be the only way and the result of believing that truth is salvation and the result of rejecting it is eternal death, we should be careful to analyze it well and take it seriously.
To answer your point about the other world faiths in conflict with Christianity, yes, those who reject Christ or who hold on to any savior apart from Christ will perish. That is why our proclamation of the biblical truth of the gospel is urgent. That is why we hold out the hope of salvation in Jesus to all people, not simply people who already believe what we believe. Jesus has been saving people all over the world from their unbelief, and continues to do so. It is God’s mercy extended to sinners who never would have come to Jesus before his grace was effected in their hearts.
It is easy to morph and form a system or loosely-connected sense of personal belief. That is exactly what every sinner has done since sin entered the world. We can thank God alone for having access to an objective truth that isn’t the result of our make-believe. That objective truth is found in the Bible, and its claims must be dealt with. Either it is true, or it is a lie. Either biblical Christianity is true and every other faith is at odds with it, and therefore, false, or Christianity is false. There are no both-ands when it comes to the God of the Bible.
Your point is well taken, Alejandro. The preaching of the gospel is not a disrespectful, judgmental proclamation. But, we believe that what is at stake concerning belief in Jesus Christ as the only Savior of sinners is far too important for us to sit on our hands and not say anything. In fact, if biblical Christianity is true, the most unloving thing we could ever do is not say anything about the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the only savior. If we were quiet, we would be hating this dying world.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and being kind enough to listen. We will certainly welcome your continued conversation here, and we would be glad to continue sharing the truth of the gospel with you.
Kschaub;
Keep my words in mind: raise awareness, respect, concious and encourage others to accept different beliefs withount being judgemental.
Our beliefs do not match, and attemping to change your view would be aggresive and disrespectful. I don’t do that. I chose to respect and let you know what I think.
For me, there was no Adan and Eve, there is no garden of Eden, and the heaven and hell are right here, on earth as we type.
And no, everybody else will not perish unless they chose to be bad people. Free will.
You are right, my ideas are not new, nor yours. They were conceived at the same time, and they will last forever, because the man needs to believe.
I always say: we don’t need to agree, we can live in the same world, on different ideas. I think there would be peace all over the world if more people view it this way. I hope we do agree on this point.
I really enjoyed this conversation today, and I’m sure it happened for a reason.
I appreciate the time Drew and you took to answer to my comments.
Regards.
Thank you for you comments Alejandro, I hope you know that we do respect you and appreciate you taking the time to read what we write. I probably don’t need to say this but I whole-heartly agree with Kevin’s response to your previous comment.
I want to politely point out a couple of things to you that I have noticed about your comments. You have continually noted that you do not agree with people who think that they have an exclusive claim to the truth. You are free to keep that view, but I want you to see that you are making some claims to what is true as well.
You claim that “there was no Adam and Eve, there is no garden of Eden, and the heaven and hell are right here, on earth.” That is a truth claim. You are claiming over and against Kevin and I that there is no heaven and hell and that there were no such people as Adam and Eve. You are free to hold that position but it runs counter to what Kevin and I believe. It runs directly counter to what Christians have believed for 2,000 years. We can respectfully disagree on these issues but both of us cannot be right.
While you may not believe that Adam and Eve rejected God in the Garden, I think maybe you might see some of the effects of the fall of Adam and Eve around you. You said yourself that there are bad people in the world and conflict and death. How did these bad things come about? Where did all the conflict, hate, and evil come from?
We believe that all the bad things in the world are the result of rebellion from God. That man has chosen to exalt himself above God and the result is that we live in a sick world. A world sick with the consequences of rebellion from God.
The Bible tells us that all people have a conscience (Romans 2:14-15). Have you ever wondered why in every people group and nation it is considered wrong to murder? That is because God created us with an inherit knowledge of right and wrong. Evil exists because we have rejected that knowledge and chosen to live our own way apart from the way that God created us to live–which is under his loving and just rule.
The Bible tells also us that we know that God exists because we see his creation all around us and we know that it could not have come about by chance. Even with this inherit knowledge of God we (mankind) have choosen not to submit to God but rather to live our own way. To live how we see fit, to determine what is true for ourselves. If God exists, HE has chosen what is true and how we ought to live. We don’t define our creator, our creator defines us.
You mentioned free will. We could talk a lot about that, but let me just say that we have all freely chosen to live our own way and have chosen to rebel against God both by neglecting to worship and enjoy him and by failing to keep his commands (i.e. we lie, we lust after those not our wives, we cheat, we wrong our neighbor, we disobey those in authority over us etc).
You said “no one will perish unless they choose to be bad people.” But who determines what is bad? Do you get to decide what is bad and what is not? Who has the perfect standard to determine whether a person is bad enough to “perish”?
We believe that God, in creating us, has rights over us and He has determined the standard by which we ought to live. If God sets the standard by which we ought to live and the standard by which we ought to be punished. The Bible tells us that God is holy and eternal and rebellion against him deserves eternal punishment.
I agree with Kevin, if God has spoken we must listen. And I believe that God has spoken in the Bible as well as in His Son Jesus Christ. So the good news is that though we have rebelled against God and have rejected his rightful rule over us, God has been merciful in speaking to us and giving us the message by which we might be rescued from our rebellion and sin. That message is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel tells us that Christ lived the perfect life completely and wholely devoted to God and that Christ never sinned. The Bible tells us the greatest news we could possibly hear–God has made away for our sin to be paid for in Christ. If you believe in Christ, he takes your sin and grants to your account his very righteousness. It is the very best news we could possibly hear.
The good news of the gospel tells us that though we are wicked and are ourselves part of the problem in the world, we can be freed from our sin and raised to live new lives of joy in Christ. If God created us, he knows what is best for us and what will bring us most joy and we believe that that is to know God through Jesus His son.
Thanks for you dialogue with us, I hope you will keep talking with us, there are many questions I did not answer and would love to talk to you further!
[...] Reconciled to Christ Part 1: The TRUE Secret :: This is our most popular article. It debunks the worldview presented in the best selling book The Secret (endorsed by Oprah) and sets forth the true purpose for which you and I exist. [...]
it’s a really goood boook and i think dat u have 2 by dat boook
Sarah, you should really read my article more carefully. I do not endorse it. I think it decieves people into making themselves God of their own lives. I believe that if you live the way that ‘The Secret’ outlines you will find that you were sadly mistaken in the end because you will come face to face with Jesus Christ who is God an who created everything and has rights over everything and when we make ourselves God we reject his rightful reign and rule.
Making yourself God is an endless cycle of disappointment that leads to Hell. The good news of the gospel is that Christ has paid the penalty for sin for all who would believe in Him so that we might be reconciled to the God who we, in our sin, have made our enemy!
Don’t settle for weak, wimpy, deceptive joys like ‘The Secret’ offers. Trust in Jesus Christ and find true, everlasting satisfying joy in Him!
I ran across this article a long time ago from a secular op-ed columnist who tried to live by “The Secret” and found that the book failed to accomplish for her everything that it promised. Ultimately she found it wanting and shallow. The article is funny but I think its telling about how intellectually shallow “The Secret” really is.
Here is the link: http://www.slate.com/id/2165746/pagenum/2/
Update:
Dr. Michael Horton recently discussed the issue of contemporary Gnosticism on the White Horse Inn radio program.
You can access the program here (April 6 and 13 commentary). In the second part of the program, The Gospel According to Barnes and Noble, Pt. 2, actually discusses Byrne’s book briefly.
Also, check out Your Own Personal Jesus. It is a related article to the contemporary Gnosticism. Horton mentions,
You can read it here.
Hi everybody;
It’s been long time since I posted my last comment here. I enjoyed the fact that we can live in a world with different believes, as long as we are understanding towards our brothers and sisters.
The following links came to me in a very unexpected way. I felt it was my responsability to share these with you to know what you think abou them:
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
I’d like to warn you, you are about to see may be shocking at the beggining, but similarities are impressive.
I’d like to hear from you soon.
Regards
Ale
o my…this book really is an inspiration…i really give thanks to the writer…and also want to wish her all the best in whatever she’s doing…..