UPDATE:
A "SECRET NO MORE" OR "NO MORE SECRET"?
Well, more than a year has passed since "The Secret" exploded upon the scene. Millions of books and DVDs later, the "Secret" has spawned an industry unto itself and that actually is a good thing because it has created new jobs and unleashed all kinds of creativity.
This website was one of the first, if not the first, to question "The Secret" from a Christian standpoint, since the book relies so heavily on an impersonal Universe as the "source" and provider.
GOD MUST BE LAUGHING
But God must really be having a good laugh! Because for all the minimizing of God, Jesus Christ and the Bible in the Secret, when you get right down to it, Ms. Bryne's whole Creative Process for the Secret, which is Ask - Believe- Receive, has the New Testament in the Bible as its very foundation!
For those who say it's a secular book, "get over it, Christians," I say hogwash - for without the Bible, there IS no "Secret." In all due fairness and respect to other religions, she didn't use Islam for the Creative Process, she didn't use Hinduism for the Creative Process, she didn't use Buddhism for the Creative Process -- she USED Christianity plain and simple. Not only that , at the end of the book she encourages people to use the book as they need for guidance. Just "open this book" randomly, she says and where the pages fall will give you the guidance and answer you are seeking. Mmmmm, don't many of us Believers use the Bible in that way? Oh, but I forgot, "The Secret" is a secular book, no need to associate it with the Bible as the source for understanding the mysteries of life.
"THERE IS MORE TO THE SECRET"
Fortunately, several books have been written in response to "The Secret." One of the best is "There is More to the Secret" by Ed Gungor. He gives an extremely balanced view of the Secret, given that he is a pastor, and he openly states that he is a critical fan of "The Secret." The way he ties it altogether at the end is brilliant. This is a" must have" book in your library if you are a student of the The Law of Attraction and Christianity.
Below please find my original writings on "The Secret" and Christianity shortly after the Oprah show appearances. I find it very interesting that after a round of high-profile talk show appearances, Ms. Bryne is now nowhere to be found, apparently sensing some serious questions that have been raised about the Law of Attraction, its application and where it fits with religion.
I had heard something about the possibility of a talk show based upon "The Secret." But you know, the Law of Attraction was never ever really a secret, anyway. That's why I'm saying "No More Secret."
ONE MORE IMPORTANT THING (MAY 2008)
This is resonating in my heart as I am hearing words to this effect all over the place, especially from the TV evangelists and even within recent church services I have attended. The Bible is full of references to the words we speak and the power of the tongue to manifest e.g. "The tongue has the power of life and death" (Proverbs 18:21). Ladies and gentlemen, as children of God, we can SPEAK our reality! All we need to do is to speak a word over ourselves, encourage ourselves in the Lord as David did (1Samuel 1:30). Hallelujah! There is no NEED for "The Secret." And that millions of people have bought and are buying into this "Universe" thing is almost an insult to the Christian intelligence. And you know what, substituting God for the Universe is not good enough. If I have to "substitute" God in it, then it's really not worth espousing and certainly not worth buying.
My dear saint, if you are teeter-tottering on "The Secret" versus your Christianity, then I urge you to RUN, not walk, and open up your Bible right now and find EVERY verse that deals with the power of the tongue, the power of your words and thoughts , and speaking the unseen into the seen. I guarantee that you will be very busy. But I also guarantee that you will be fulfilled like never before because you will have unlocked the unequivocal Secret to life and it didn't cost you a thing!
Please drop me an e-mail to share your revelations or sign the guestbook.
----------------------------------------------
Original Post (February 2007):
"The Secret" Takes the World by Storm
A DVD and accompanying book called "The Secret" have taken the country, actually the world, by storm, having sold millions of DVDs and books within a record period of time. The "secret" turns out to be the "Law of Attraction" which, the book says, had been hidden, suppressed, buried and kept from public knowledge for centuries.
Many people who have been in the alternative health fields such as chiropractors, massage therapists and other healers have been students of the "Law of Attraction" for years, using it to quietly and spiritually to empower themselves and others.
The "Secret" has spawned a whole new industry. In a country that thrives on entrepreneurship, that's a good thing in that it creates more revenue, more jobs and so on. Everyday we are introduced to a "new" secret, "counter-secret," "secret" that hasn't been discovered yet. You could spend all day reading, viewing, listening to all the new "secrets." And believe me, I LOVE learning new things and keeping au courant on pop culture.
Not a "Secret" to Christians
BUT, let's not forget our foundation here. Truth be told, the real "Secret" is something that is pretty obvious to any Christian who has picked up a Bible, gone to Bible study or attended a church for any length of time: Ask - Believe - Receive. "For we walk by faith, not by sight " (2 Cor. 5-7) . I'll even go a step further and say that many religious traditions encourage maintaining a belief in a higher power and something that is invisible and not seen.
But the purpose of this web site is to speak within the Christian tradition. You see, one of my concerns as a born-again Christian is that I have worked very hard (and continue to do so) to develop a personal relationship with God. And quite frankly I wish I had developed that deep, personal relationship a long time ago for I feel like I've been "missing out" on something truly wonderful.
Faith, God and the "Secret"
The issue I have with the "Secret," is not the innate message (I'm all for the Law of Attraction, obviously) but the delivery of it. The DVD and book constantly make reference to the Universe, the Universe, the Universe, almost as though God and Jesus Christ are just par for the course. Oh, there is mention of them alright, but very casual without the sense of reverance you would expect given the subject matter.
Beyond that, as I stated above, the "Secret" has now become this big franchise, meaning that it is moving into the realm of over-marketing and over-commercialism. Remember "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"
Now we know that God does not want us to be poor. There is nothing wrong in making money. He wants us to have lots of riches -- but it is to glorify and magnify his name; to bring others to Christ and to serve a higher purpose. While many may substitute God or Jesus or the Lord in the many places that "The Secret" uses the impersonal Universe, that's fine for someone already mature in his or her faith. But what about the person just starting out in their faith? What about the person who has just accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior? What about the person who is teeter-tottering on their faith? It's hard enough as it is to keep the Christian walk without being bombarded with the "homogenized, marginalized, let's keep religion out of it" "The Secret" kind of approach. As Christians we are charged with telling the good news, commissioned to win and save souls, not to lose them. The book in no way, shape or form, does anything to lead anyone to Christ. In fact it pretty much, in my opinion, does the opposite, leading people away from the Bible if they don't already know Christ and can make the meaningful connections.
Some say the book wasn't intended to be a religious treatise and to simply take the good points out of it (like gratitude, visualization) and once again, substitute God where the almighty Universe is mentioned. I might be more accepting of that except that when you read toward the END of the book, you get an inherent sense that the writer wants you to use the book as some kind of key reference for daily living. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, either. Many books encourage you to do the same. But the ones I really want to keep as a common reference don't blatantly trivialize God and take quotes out of context either without attributing them to the Bible.
Watch Out for False Teachers
Despite the fact that the book is called "The Secret," it is like the writer deliberately wants to keep the original source a "secret," by minimizing God, the Lord and Jesus. Many people criticize Christians for wanting to see religion in everything. And I fully appreciate that point of view. At the same time, I am leery of those who seem to purposely take religion OUT of things, too. Remember what John said: "Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world ... Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully ... Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him." - 2 John 1, 7, 8-10.
A "Secret" Challenge
I challenge, I challenge many of the contributors to "The Secret" on this point -- based upon some of their previous writings and based upon some of their current comments. Listen, really listen, to some of the comments the panelists made on "Oprah" and some of the other shows and you'll "hear" exactly what I mean.
Spirituality and "The Secret"
Consequently, I have developed this website to be sure to put spirituality back into the "Secret" so that it doesn't get lost in the attraction shuffle. This website is first, dedicated to my late father who taught and gave me an invaluable "secret," an insatiable love of knowledge, learning and teaching others. I will always honor that gift he gave me. Second, it is to be a venue for the Law of Attraction - but from a Christian perspective.
I sincerely hope that in the process something will be said or information shared that will draw you closer to the Lord so that you may find your true purpose and calling in life and therefore be a blessing to others. If you do not yet know Jesus and would like to begin a personal relationship with him, then please contact me.
This website is a work in progress, so please feel free to e-mail me with your ideas for enriched content.
"Give and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed down and shaken together, and running over." -- Luke 6:38
