I don’t want to spoil it for those who want to spend twenty bucks on the movie or the book…okay maybe I do.
If you don’t know about The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, your friends, co-workers, or family members probably do. Millions have seen the movie and the book is one of the best sellers at Amazon.com.
It was already popular and then the wise sage of our day, Oprah, spent two days on her program talking about and lauding the book, movie, and lifestyle. And as you can imagine, her loyal followers have once again sent the sales figures skyrocketing.
And if you aren’t impressed with Oprah’s endorsement, just listen to the other names quoted in the book:
Albert Einstein
Isaac Newton
William Shakespeare
Plato
Abraham Lincoln
Winston Churchill
Jack Canfield of the Chicken Soup for your Soul empire
This is no doubt a pretty impressive, successful list of people. The Secret seems to have many success stories to point to throughout history.
So why do I care? I care because this movie and book are not intended but to be a light read, but intended to change one’s entire world-view and lifestyle. And while Oprah has been playing on the edges of Christianity for a long time, with her endorsement of this philosophy, she has fallen over the edge. And unfortunately, many thousands if not millions are tumbling with her.
This book is not something to add to one’s faith, but something to supplant it. And that is why it is so dangerous.
So what is the secret? Surprise! The secret is You! And yes I capitalized You. Because make do doubt, in this philosophy, You are God. The Universe is at Your bidding. Everything revolves around what is going on inside of You. Your thoughts control the universe. The Secret is You.
Just listen to this quote from the book from Secret Teacher James Ray:
“If you think about Aladdin and his lamp, Aladdin picks up the lamp, dusts it off, and out pops the Genie. The Genie always says one thing:
‘Your wish is my command.’
Now let’s take this metaphor and apply it to your life. Remember Aladdin is the one who always asks for what he wants. Then you’ve got the Universe at large, which is the Genie. Traditions have called it many things…We can put any label on it, and you choose the one that works best for you, but every tradition has told us that there is something bigger than us. And the Genie always says one thing:
‘Your wish in my command.'”
The author explains, “You are the Master of the Universe, and the Genie is there to serve you.”
We call the Genie God in our tradition. And it is more than tradition, it is truth. And we are not master over Him. He is not there to simply serve at our whim. What an arrogant and blasphemous thing to assert!
And just in case you think I am jumping to conclusions, the book goes on to call You the Creator. Nothing exists that You didn’t think into being it asserts. And yet, according to our tradition, the Christian faith, in the beginning, God said, “Let there be light,” and there was. It was His Word and not our thoughts that created all things.
This book seeks to act as if it is compatible with all other belief systems. It even states that the process given in this book is right from the New Testament. And while the words they use can be found in the New Testament, they are taken so far out of their context and meaning that no resemblance remains. Yes, words like “ask,” “seek,” “receive,” “gratitude,” and others might all seem familiar, but make no doubt about it this book is as foreign to the gospel as they come. The wolf often comes in sheep’s clothing.
This book is nothing new but an old idea dressed up in a red cover. It is Eastern religion’s concept of oneness packed up for your consumption. It is an amped up version of the classic The Power of Positive Thinking. It Christian Science theology distilled for the masses. It is an old as old as Adam and Eve trying to take over the glory due to God alone.
Through this book, the idea that positive thinking is beneficial is raised to the level of religion. Your thoughts send out frequencies that attract to you realities. Good thoughts attract good realities and bad thoughts bad realities. What is going on inside of you creates the universe around you. Your thoughts and other’s thoughts are the only divine reality. Readers are even encouraged to use the two words that the Scriptures use to refer to Almighty God of themselves. They are to use “I AM” to refer to themselves.
Yes, you are The Secret. Your thoughts, your feelings, your whims. And to add one deception to another, the book promises that those who embrace this idea are immortal, because in essence they are only energies. “You can never not be” it boasts in improper English. Is it any surprise in a world sinfully obsessed with ourselves, that such book is so popular. It does not surprise me. How easy it is to swallow these words from the book, “Your life will be what you create it as, and no one will stand in judgment of it, now or ever.” How easily it removes God from the picture.
Far better to rest in the secret revealed in the scriptures. Rest in the mystery revealed through Jesus Christ. Know that God has called all people, Jew and Gentiles alike, to himself through the Gospel. And having been baptized into the mystery of Jesus Christ’s saving death and resurrection, find your purpose and peace in life with Him. Jesus is the secret. Amen.
