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You can hardly
miss the buzz. Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres, Larry King, Montel Williams…. It
would be difficult to name a recent talk show that has not explored some
topic related to The Secret. Even WebMD weighed in with an
article entitled "The Secret: Is it the Real Deal?"1
The Secret
is the name of a book and a DVD released by Australian author Rhonda
Byrne. According to Ms. Byrne, back in 2004, when her life was falling
apart, her daughter gave her a copy of The Science of Getting
Rich, a book written in 1910 by Wallace D. Wattles. She says,
Something inside of me had
me turn the pages one by one, and I can still remember my tears
hitting the pages as I was reading it,… It gave me a glimpse of The
Secret. It was like a flame inside of my heart. And with every day
since, it’s just become a raging fire of wanting to share all of this
with the world.2
What is this
Secret? The book reveals:
The Secret is the law of
attraction!
Everything that’s coming
into your life you are attracting into your life. And it’s attracted
to you by virtue of the images you’re holding in your mind. It’s what
you’re thinking. Whatever is going on in your mind you are attracting
to you.3
The idea is
that "like attracts like,"4 so if you want something, you
simply have to think about it – in the right way, of course – and you
will get it. "You get to fill the blackboard of your life with whatever
you want."5
The principle explains that
we create our own circumstances by the choices we make in life. And
the choices we make are fueled by our thoughts—which means our
thoughts are the most powerful things we have here on earth.6
The experts
who appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show were quick to point out that the
same principle applies to the bad things in your life. If you "think
about" poverty, sickness, violence, failure, and so on, you are
attracting those things into your life, causing them to happen. For
example:
The law of attraction means
that everything that happens to you—good or bad—you attract to
yourself. Lisa [Nichols] describes it as if you’re placing an order.
"If you were at a restaurant and you ordered something, you fully
expect it to come served that way. That’s how the universe is. You’re
putting out orders—consciously and unconsciously," Lisa says. "So if
you say, ‘I’ll never have a great relationship,’ you just placed an
order."7
Wattles’ book
explains:
To look upon the appearance
of disease will produce the form of disease in your own mind, and
ultimately in your body, unless you hold the thought of the truth,
which is that there is no disease; it is only an appearance, and the
reality is health.
To look upon the
appearances of poverty will produce corresponding forms in your own
mind, unless you hold to the truth that there is no poverty; there is
only abundance.8
But once you
have decided what you want, and once you are thinking about it in the
right way, metaphysician Dr. Joe Vitale explains what happens: "And
the universe will start to rearrange itself to make it happen for you….
If you turn it over to the universe you will be surprised and dazzled by
what is delivered to you. This is where magic and miracles happen."9
The Science of
Getting Rich
As we have
already documented, Rhonda Byrne says that she was introduced to The
Secret through the book The Science of Getting Rich, by Wallace
D. Wattles. In the Preface Wattles explains that the book is a
"practical manual… for the men and women whose most pressing need is for
money; who wish to get rich first and philosophize afterward."10
In the first
paragraph of chapter 1 Wattles states: "Whatever may be said in praise
of poverty, the fact remains that it is not possible to live a really
complete or successful life unless one is rich." He goes on,
…to be really rich does not
mean to be satisfied or contented with a little. No man ought to be
satisfied with a little if he is capable of using and enjoying more.
The purpose of Nature is the advancement and unfoldment of life; and
every man should have all that can contribute to the power, elegance,
beauty, and richness of life; to be content with less is sinful.11]
As Wattles
outlines his formula for getting rich he includes the following three
affirmations, or what he calls creed statements, which the reader must
hold to with unwavering faith:
There is a thinking stuff
from which all things are made, and which, in its original state,
permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the universe.
A thought, in this
substance, Produces the thing that is imaged by the thought.
Man can form things in his
thoughts, and, by impressing his thought upon formless substance, can
cause the thing he thinks about to be created.12
Perhaps in
recognition of the fact that his ideas must seem very strange, and
possibly even unsettling to some readers, Wattles explains what must be
done to give these "truths" a chance to become firmly entrenched in your
mind:
Read these creed statements
over and over again; fix every word upon your memory, and mediate upon
them until you firmly believe what they say. If a doubt comes to you,
cast it aside as a sin. Do not listen to arguments against this idea;
do not go to churches or lectures where a contrary concept of things
is taught or preached. Do not read magazines or books which teach a
different idea; if you get mixed up in your faith, all your efforts
will be in vain.13
Wattles, who
is certainly well acquainted with the Bible, often quoted Scripture in
his book. Notably absent, however, are several passages which speak
directly to the desire to accumulate wealth. For example:
Matthew 6:19 – Do not store
up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and
where thieves break in and steal.
1 Timothy 6:7-10 – For we
brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But
if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who
want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish
and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the
love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for
money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many
griefs.
Hebrews 13:5 – Keep your
lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have,
because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake
you."
New Thought
Wattles has
been identified with a group known as New Thought.14] This
group has as its purpose to "awaken people to their divine nature."15
Teachings include the idea that God is Universal Law, "personified"
impersonal energy; that man is one essence with God; and that heaven and
hell are mental or physical conditions on earth.16
Oprah guest
and "Secret" promoter Michael Beckwith, founder and pastor of the Agape
International Spiritual Center describes his theology as being in the
"New Thought-Ancient Wisdom tradition of spirituality."17
Russ Wise suggests he is the "most troubling" of the Secret teachers
"because he represents a pseudo-‘Christianity.’ He has the greatest
ability to be used to deceive those whom God has touched by His Gospel."18
This concern
is well illustrated by Beckwith’s response to a question on The Oprah
Winfrey Show. When an audience member asked a question about heaven and
hell, Beckwith responded,
Jesus the Christ said the
kingdom of heaven is within. He didn’t say it was out there
somewhere—[he said] within. And so is it possible to consider that the
kingdom of hell is within as well?...
The kingdom of God is
actually in us, and what comes out of your mouth, what you think
about, how you express—you’re either participating in the realm of
ever-expanding good or you’re cutting yourself off from the realm.19
James Swan of
Alpha and Omega Ministries explains the problem with one part of
Beckwith’s answer.
Notice the context of the
Biblical phrase kingdom of God was completely devoid from the
answer. In Luke 17, the Pharisees wanted to know when the Kingdom
would come. When would God’s people see their prophesied theocratic
leader? Certainly Jesus didn’t believe God’s kingdom was within these
religious leaders. He considered them religious hypocrites. In Romans
14:17, Paul states, "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating
and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit,
because anyone who serves God this way is pleasing to God and approved
by men." Jesus is actually rebuking the hypocrisy of the Pharisees,
pointing out that the kingdom is an inner righteousness, not an
outward righteousness of eating and drinking, rules and regulations.
We are given Christ’s righteousness in justification. The Holy Spirit
performs his work of sanctification, making our works pleasing to God.
The answer given by the Oprah show does more than misquote a Bible
verse. It denies the Gospel.20
The Gospel, as
any careful reader will discern, is not the only biblical doctrine or
claim that is denied. In his review of The Secret, Donald Whitney
says, "It is no exaggeration to say that this book implicitly (and
sometimes explicitly) denies virtually every major doctrine in the
Bible."21]
The New
Thought influence in The Secret is troubling for another reason.
One of the tenets of New Thought groups is the idea that man is one
essence with God. Ms Byrne says,
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.22
This is
important, because it explains why The Secret is "guaranteed" to work
for you. It explains why the Universe will (must?) "rearrange itself" to
meet your demands.23 Dr. Vitale says, "Your job is to declare
what you would like to have from the catalogue of the universe."24
Is it really
that simple? Does the Bible teach that we can merely "Ask, believe,
receive?"25 John Ankerberg and John Weldon addressed this
idea in the Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions (now out of
print). They explain:
New Thought groups will
often quote Jesus, and just as often distort Him. For example, when
Jesus said, "Ask and you will receive," they reinterpret this to mean
that we are to demand or command God (Cosmic Law) to bring our divine
heritage into manifestation. Ask (demand) of the One Mind (which is
your real nature, thus a requesting among equals) and you shall
receive abundance.
Here, New Thought ignores
the meaning of biblical words and their context. The asking was to be
done "in My [Jesus’] name" (John 16:25), which involves a recognition
of all Jesus is, including His sovereignty and possible choice not to
grant our wishes. "This is the assurance we have in approaching God:
that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" (1
John 5:14).
New Thought also ignores
the Greek definition of the word "ask." Vine’s Expository
Dictionary of the New Testament points out that the common word
for "to ask" (as in prayer: John 14:13-14; 15:7, 16; 16:23-26, etc.)
is aiteo. It is distinguished from erotao, which
suggests that "the petitioner is on a footing of equality or
familiarity with the person whom he requests"; for example, a king
requesting another king in some matter. By contrast, the meaning of
aiteo "more frequently suggests the attitude of a suppliant, the
petition of one who is lesser in position than he to whom the petition
is made; e.g., in the case of men asking something from God, Matthew
7:7" [W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words,
p. 79]. Jesus never used aiteo when making requests to
the Father, which indicates His deity. But when speaking of people
requesting things of the Father, He used the word aiteo,
indicating their creaturehood. In addition, biblically, Satan is the
only one who makes demands of God (Job 1:11; Matt. 4:3, 6; Lk. 22:31).26
Who is your
God?
One final
point is important here. Rhonda Byrne concludes her book with this
statement:
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.27
In essence
what The Secret gives you is the opportunity to make your own god
– one made in your image; one who responds to your every want and
desire, regardless of the effect on anyone around you; the opportunity
to be god yourself. This is the very same offer the Serpent made to Eve
in the Garden of Eden. The consequences of her acceptance should be
sufficient warning to us all.
The
alternative is to place your trust in the God who is revealed in the
Bible. The God who is wise and good and who cannot be manipulated to
fulfill selfish desires; the God who arranged the universe by His
command. The God revealed in these verses:
For by Him [God] all things
were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have
been created through Him and for Him. (Colossians 1:16)
Worthy are You, our Lord
and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all
things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.
(Revelation 4:11)
Oh, the depth of the riches
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His
judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the
Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that
it might be paid back to Him again? For from Him and through Him and
to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. (Romans
11:33-36)
Conclusion
Russ Wise
gives an important warning in his article, "The Secret: Creating One’s
Reality," and it will serve to conclude this article. He says,
The discerning Christian
must… be well-informed of the underlying falsity of such views – to
judge rightly using the scripture as his guiding Light. Our adversary
is not asleep at the switch. He is looking for those whom he may
devour by his cunning deception. The challenge for the Christian is to
remain true to the scripture and faithful to the end. Our life’s
purpose is to glorify our Father. Jesus clarified this Truth by
saying, By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit,
and so prove to be my disciples. Then Jesus added, And this is
eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ
whom you sent. I glorified thee on earth, having accomplished the work
which thou gave me to do; and now, Father glorify thou me in thy own
presence with the glory which I had with thee before the world was
made.
We have seen… that the
purpose of the Christian life is to glorify God – not one’s self. It
is not about garnering the wealth of the world, or to live in perfect
health. Our true motivation in all that we do is to honor our Creator
and to point others to the mercies and goodness of a loving Father.28]
Notes
1 http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/the-secret-is-it-the-real-deal?ecd=wnl_lbt_032107.
2 The Oprah Winfrey Show,
"Discovering the Secret," February 8, 2007, http://www.oprah.com/spiritself/slide/20070208/ss_20070208_284_101.jhtml.
3 Rhonda Byrne, The Secret
(New York, NY: Atria Books, 2006), p. 4.
4 The Oprah Winfrey Show,
"Discovering the Secret," February 8, 2007, http://www.oprah.com/spiritself/slide/20070208/ss_20070208_284_102.jhtml
5 Byrne, The Secret,
p. 184.
6 The Oprah Winfrey Show,
"Discovering the Secret," February 8, 2007, http://www.oprah.com/spiritself/slide/20070208/ss_20070208_284_102.jhtml.
7 The Oprah Winfrey Show,
"Discovering the Secret," February 8, 2007, http://www.oprah.com/spiritself/slide/20070208/ss_20070208_284_104.jhtml.
8 Wallace D. Wattles, The
Science of Getting Rich (pdf available online at
www.UniverseOfPower.com), p. 12.
9 http://www.the-secret-dvd.net/law_of_attraction.html
10 Wattles, Preface.
11 Wattles, p. 1, emphasis
added.
12 Wattles, p. 13.
13 Ibid.
14 Http://www.humaniststudies.org/enews/?id=287&article=3.
Please see our The Facts on Minds Sciences for a discussion of
the beliefs of this group.
15 John Ankerberg, John
Weldon, The Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions (Eugene, OR:
Harvest House, 1999), p. 341.
16 Ibid., p. 342.
17 http://www.agapelive.com/index.php?anchor=about
18 Russ Wise, "The Secret:
Creating One’s Reality," Christian Information Ministries, p. 2, http://www.christianinformation.org/article.asp?artID=109.
19 The Oprah Winfrey Show,
"The Secret is Out," February 16, 2007, http://www.oprah.com/spiritself/slide/20070216/ss_20070216_284_101.jhtml
20 http://www.aomin.org/index.php?itemid=1810
21 Donald S. Whitney, "A
Review of The Secret by Rhonda Byrne," http://www.biblicalspirituality.org/secret.html
22 Byrne, The Secret,
p. 164.
23 "And the universe will
start to rearrange itself to make it happen for you ..….If you turn it
over to the universe you will be surprised and dazzled by what is
delivered to you. This is where magic and miracles happen". – Joe
Vitale in The Secret.
24 http://www.the-secret-dvd.net/rhonda_byrne_the_secret.htm
25 http://www2.oprah.com/spiritself/slide/20070208/ss_20070208_284_116.jhtml.
26 John Ankerberg, John
Weldon, "New Thought - Part 5," http://www.ankerberg.com/Articles/new-age/NA1104W1.htm
27 Byrne, The Secret,
p. 183.
28 Russ Wise, "The Secret:
Creating One’s Reality" Christian Information Ministries, http://www.christianinformation.org/article.asp?artID=109
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