I remember reading the fad book "The Secret" several years ago at the behest of some in my family. Discussions soon followed. I also remember feeling somewhat skeptical about the conclusions drawn by the author, in that something seemed missing from her thesis. However, I had to leave it at the fact (or so it seemed to me at the time) that she was attempting to turn a new-age principle into a law of physics. And I let it go at that.
Fast-forward to today. Recent events in my life -- most notably the death in January of my father -- have given me a chance to re-evaluate my own life. In addition, I have made some wonderful new friends through the blog of Dr. Richard Beck (Experimental Theology), and have had many fruitful discussions, both over there and here, as well as through email.
Those who know me best know that my greatest objection to Christianity is the insistence on a "personal relationship with Jesus". My difficulty with this concept stems from my Empiricism, i.e., I only "know" about "personal relationships" because of my limited experience in this Reality. My whole life has been shaped through my interaction with other live human beings. How, then, to carry on a relationship with an ephemeral concept or idea?
I stumbled onto a one-hour independent film on the free version of Hulu the other day. The film is a discussion of the book "The Secret", and their collective ideas shine a new light on the book and its conclusions. If you have a hour to spend, I recommend it.
Thanks for sharing that Sam. I never read the book, and only remember hearing a little about it, but from what I gathered in watching the first 25 minutes or so of the video is that it espouses a worldview very much like that of the "prosperity gospel," or the notion of "salvation by faith" that is the basis of orthodox Christianity. Very simply, these all say that if you "have enough faith" you will be rewarded... with prosperity, with salvation, or whatever you see as the "reward." It then becomes a competition to see who can show themselves as the ones with the most "faith" (or positive mental attitude), and thus prove that they are better than the rest... and for the Christian, more deserving of God's grace (the epitome of an oxymoron). Of course, since this would be self-righteousness in its highest form, in order to avoid that image the "Christian" will always publicly assign all credit to God, while quietly assuming that it was his own proper, and thus "better," use of his "free will" that deserves the credit.
ReplyDeleteIt is all nothing less than "salvation by grace.... especially for those who really deserve it."
Yes, Jim -- that does seem to be the essential message of the original book. These critics, however, in the latter part of this new video, seem to recognize this. They then go further to express the idea of Jesus as "the reason" behind the "secret". I think their ideas are more compelling than those of the original author, since the "Law of Attraction" could just as easily be seen as "gravity".
ReplyDeleteWhat you say makes perfect sense to me. My effort to "attract" anything even approaching salvation is really pointless given the idea of Grace. There really is nothing I can either say or do to "deserve" or "attract" something freely bestowed by God.
"There really is nothing I can either say or do to "deserve" or "attract" something freely bestowed by God."
ReplyDeleteWell said my friend.