The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears

Intro to The Circle Maker

The Circle Maker introduces us to the legend of Honi the circle maker. Honi drew a ritualistic circle around himself in the sand wherein he prayed that God would pour forth rain. According to the author, Honi prayed with “the authority of the prophet Elijah” (p. 10). The rain came (or so they say).

Honi’s full name is Honi ha-M’agel and his tomb is in Hatzor HaGlilit, Galilee. Though Honi is referred to in the ancient Jewish writings (Talmud, Midrash) and also by Josephus, he is not found in the Old Testament Scriptures.

One might think this is just a nice little inconsequential legend we can read about and move on. But Batterson informs his readers that they should “imitate” Honi’s method of drawing prayer circles. He writes, “The earth has circled the sun more than two thousand times since the day Honi drew his circle in the sand, but God is still looking for circle makers” (p. 13). The question then becomes: Should Christians imitate this practice?

Some would say an emphatic yes! Popular leaders such as Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth encouraged circle-making at her True Woman Conference in 2012 as well as in 2014 on her Seeking Him podcast episode titled Inside This Circle. Jen Hatmaker has promoted it on her website as well. Also, John Ortberg, pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, said, “Honi the circle maker is a long-time legendary figure, and Mark Batterson is well on his way. You will love the freshness of this approach to prayer.”

This is where we have a problem. A big problem.

God has never mentioned in Scripture that prayer should include drawing circles, rather figurative or literal, around ourselves or anyone else! Why would leaders within Christendom be promoting something drawn from legend? It causes great confusion for God’s people.

Let me explain several concerns about the teachings found in “The Circle Maker.”

Concern # 1 – Sacred Symbol

Batterson writes that Honi’s circle, which he drew in the sand and of which he was in the center and prayed – became a sacred symbol. (p. 11) Did you catch that? A story and its practice – not found in the Bible – is a sacred symbol for Christians?!

The practice of circle-making is actually found in pagan religions and witchcraft (as some have pointed out). It was most recently introduced into the church through gypsy culture. It is reported that there was a famous gypsy revivalist from the late 19th and early 20th century, named Rodney ‘Gipsy’ Smith, who used circle-making. The practice of integrating the “gypsy circle of protection” into Christianity is widely attributed to Smith.

An actual sacred symbol is something that represents a spiritual revelatory truth from God. For example, baptism represents our being united with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection; communion represents Christ giving His life for the salvation of His people; the burning bush represents God revealing Himself to Moses and giving Him instruction.

Whereas, circle-making is an image or representation of some activity done on our part that supposedly becomes a place where we meet with God. That sounds more Catholic than anything.

So, why would a legend found in pagan teachings, and not found in the Bible, ever be a sacred symbol for Christians to imitate?

Concern # 2 – ‘Me’ at the Center

There may be some confusion with the picture that is painted by the practice, which is someone standing in the center of a circle and praying. Praying to the God of the Bible means praying in His will. Batterson writes, “Drawing prayer circles starts with discerning what God wants, what God wills” (p.14).

But with circle-making prayer, who is in the center of the circle? Quite odd. If our prayers start with God, why would I draw a circle around me?

We must question whether this kind of praying truly is about God’s will being at the center. And, when we hear of revivals that call for prayer circles, we must wonder whose revival it is.

Concern # 3 – Prescriptive Praying

Another questionable teaching in the book is found starting on page 13 where Batterson argues that boldness and bigness are two things God is pleased with when we pray. You might be thinking it is good to have confidence before God in praying. Indeed, that is true.

“This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” 1 John 5:14-15

But Batterson takes Biblical descriptions of God working, in an historical context with specific commands to obey, and turns them into a prescription for us to follow and claim as ours. For example, the story of Joshua really becomes all about – us imitating Joshua (p. 15). The problem with this is that we don’t receive specific promises/commands from God like Joshua did in order to be able to pray with “bigness and boldness.” True faith does please God, but it is based in God’s Word. It is not birthed in us or by us, nor do we whip it up in our own power.

The fruit that God brings to glorify his own name in the life of the believer is for those who abide in Christ as Christ abides in them. (John 15:7-8) The Christian has great boldness of access into His presence because of the blood of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:19). This boldness is based in His provision of our access to him without circles. It is not based in our ritualistic prayer circles that are centered on how we have decided He might best be glorified by doing what we “boldly” desire. The picture Batterson paints goes way beyond the Biblical witness.

Concern # 4 – Invoking Deity

Further, Batterson writes that “prayers are prophecies. They are the best predictors of your spiritual future.” (p. 14) There is something incredibly deceptive with this idea. Prayers are us talking to God. Prophecies are the truths God has spoken found in the Scriptures. In God hearing us and answering us, it can build great assurance in our hearts regarding His working in our lives.

But please make no mistake about “prophecies” though. Scripturally speaking, true prophecies are God’s Word. False prophecies are men and women attempting to play God and speak for God, and in this instance, the image of “praying God’s words!” False prophets and prophecies are not sent by Him nor do they represent Him.

Batterson essentially uses prayer as an attempt to invoke the deity to do our bidding and calls that faith. But if we think we can shape our lives by what we pray, how is that seeking God and His will? There is a huge difference between humbly submitting to the Holy Spirit through prayer and petition according to the truths of God’s Word versus summoning God to do our bidding which we assume is His will.

Conclusion

This is where we must stop and confess that circle-making prayer goes way beyond the Biblical concept. Circle-making prayer as Batterson describes it and all such prescriptive ritualistic practices of men are nowhere to be found in the Bible – except the places where we are told to flee false worship in the Old Testament! Drawing a circle around oneself and invoking a spirit being is found in paganism and witchcraft. You should absolutely run away from such teaching! It is not of God.

Sadly, Mark Batterson has popularized the “circle-making” phenomenon which has now swept through neo-evangelicalism. Instead of rejecting it, many have embraced and practice it. This is the sad state of the visible church. Somehow, many think we can borrow practices from paganism for a “new” Christian practice and come out unscathed.

In reality, that mindset sets the stage for a continual downward spiral and is yet another piece of “the falling away” puzzle. Unfortunately, there already are many and will be plenty more false doctrines that ride in on this deceptive carpet. Are you on guard, Christian?

The following is a brief review of The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones published in 2007.

The Jesus Storybook Bible

The purpose of reviewing The Jesus Storybook Bible is to decipher whether the author/editors of this children’s book are engaging in artistic license at their best or mixing the biblical message with lies. I will introduce a few questions and make some observations that will hopefully help us understand what is actually taking place here.

Let’s begin with the opening page of the book which says:

“God wrote, ‘I love you’ – he wrote it in the sky, and on the earth, and under the sea. He wrote his message everywhere! Because God created everything in His world to reflect Him like a mirror-to show us what He is like, to help us to know him, to make our hearts sing. The way a kitten chases her tail. The way red poppies grow wild. The way a dolphin swims. And God put it into words, and wrote it in a book called ‘The Bible’.”

Let’s stop right there. Is this true?

I would suggest there are four critical theological issues on this very first page of The Jesus Storybook Bible. They are:

1. God writes I love you by means of the creation.
2. That very creation reflects Him like a mirror.
3. We can know Him by looking at that reflection in the creation.
4. These previous 3 things are written in the Bible.

According to the author, all four of these things are true as she looks at and interprets Psalm 19:1-2. Would the Jesus of the Scripture be able to read those introductory statements and know that this was His Father that was being talked about? I do not believe so. Let’s look at each claim, in light of Psalm 19.

First, the author writes: “God wrote, ‘I love you’ – he wrote it in the sky, and on the earth, and under the sea. He wrote his message everywhere!” In order to accurately test this claim, we must first grasp what the 19th chapter of Psalms is stating.

Psalm 19 is divided into two sections: God’s works and God’s words. Verses 1-6 state that the works of God’s hands (ie. heavens, days, nights, sun) display His greatness, goodness, eternality, and omnipotence – using personification. The second section, verses 7-14, states that the words of God are perfect, sure, right, pure, true, and more desirable than gold.

Unfortunately, the author has looked at Psalms 19:1-2 and incorporated the concept that the works of God literally speak to us – that God put His words in His works. But this text states that nature displays or is proof of God’s greatness. It tells of God, of His powerful attributes. In this case, it specifically equates the glory of God in verse 1 as specific attributes of God seen using what He has created. It is not “speech” about His “love.”

Let me ask you, does Scripture ever state that God’s creation tells us of His love or that He speaks about His love through the creation? No. The truth is that God “wrote I love you” when He put Christ on the cross to redeem sinners from His holy wrath. He did more than just write it, He demonstrated it. (See The Gospel) Thus, the author has taken a passage that speaks of God’s greatness and uses it to introduce God’s love.

The next statement by the author, “Because God created everything in His world to reflect Him like a mirror…,” also causes a very serious theological problem. The word “reflect” means: To give back or show an image of; to reproduce. (Dictionary.com) So, for the author to say that creation reflects God like a mirror is to say that we can look at nature and we will see God in it. But, God is not “in” His creation in this sense. He is separate from it.

This brings us to the two biblical attributes of God – His transcendance and His immanence. God’s immanency or closeness does not contradict the fact that God is transcendent or different than His creation. We need to see these two biblical concepts as truth that is contradictory to Panentheism. Bob DeWaay says it very well in his article Romantic Panentheism, a Review of One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp:

“That God is not limited spatially (there is nowhere where He is not – Psalm 139:7-10) is a valid, Biblical concept. But panentheism describes an ontological, not spatial category. Ontology is the study of being. It is the study of what something is in its essential nature. Panentheism teaches that God’s essence or being is in everything. This is not the doctrine of omnipresence (though it would affirm it).

If God in His essence and essential being is found in everything, then there is nothing unique about Christ (which is precisely the New Age claim). Biblically, nature does not reveal God and His glory in the same way Christ does. Nature reveals God obliquely and only in a condemning, not saving, way. Christ reveals God in His divine nature and speaks God’s inerrant words. Jesus spoke inerrant, binding words that will be our judge on the last day (John 12:48). The moon does no such thing.”

Creation is simply proof that there is a Creator and not a reflection of Himself. If we think we know Him through the creation, since the author states He is reflected in it, it gives false comfort.

In Romans 1 & 2, Paul talks about God, the creation, and the general revelation of God in every man’s conscience as a condemning thing rather than a comforting thing. Paul does not say that the creation itself gives knowledge of God nor that it shows God “in” it. In fact, Paul is saying that all mankind responds to God’s general revelation by rejecting Him and exchanges it for idolatry. It is only through His unveiling our eyes that we realize our sinful state and can come to God because of what Jesus has completed on the cross – special revelation.

The false doctrine of Panentheism attempts to “trump” the exclusiveness of the incarnation. Read the following texts of Scripture and ask yourself “Is God seen in the creation or is He only seen in the incarnate Son?”

John 1:18 “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”
Colossians 1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
Hebrews 1:3a “And He is the radiance of His glory, and the exact representation of His nature…”

The truth is that it’s only in His Son that we can “see” the invisible God. Unfortunately, the author has just embedded her storybook bible in the belief known as panentheism which says that the universe is contained within God and that the universe is part of God. It is the view that God is in all, and yet He is greater than the all. It then follows that He can love us or reveal Himself through this creation since He is part of it. (For more on panentheism, see Panentheism, What is That?)

But, the Christian worldview is not that He somehow personally loves us in the creation or makes Himself known to us through the creation. Instead, we are separated from this God because we are “dead in our trespasses” (Eph 2:5). If He loves us through the creation, and He makes Himself known through that creation, why would we even need Jesus?

When I look at a pretty flower, I do not see an essence of God in that flower nor do I know him better having seen His creation. So, if He does not reflect Himself in that flower, for the author to say “…to show us what He is like, to help us to know him, to make our hearts sing. The way a kitten chases her tail. The way red poppies grow wild. The way a dolphin swims.” is a false concept.

So, when the author next states, “And God put it into words, and wrote it in a book called “The Bible”,” she has come to a false conclusion. Based on this first page of the book, the reader is now in the mindset that the Bible says they can look anywhere to see and know God, that He loves them by means of creation.

This sets the tone for the rest of The Jesus Storybook Bible, giving it a superimposed “feel good” disposition in which “Every story whispers his name” as the subtitle reads. Let’s pause right there. The word whisper means: to speak softly, or under the breath, so as to be heard only by one near at hand. Is that how God has told us He loves us? No, God did not romantically whisper that He loves us, but rather He demonstrated His love for us by having the Holy Lamb of God die on Calvary bearing the wrath of God for our sin.

The thought that God’s love is easily accessible and written everywhere is commonly known as Romanticism – an exaltation of the primitive and the common man, an appreciation of external nature, an interest in the remote, a predilection for melancholy. (Webster-Dictionary) The demonstration of God’s love on Calvary was not a romantic whisper. It was God loving His fallen creatures in a demonstration of His justice and mercy. This is the glory of God in His Son demonstrated to the world.

Now let’s take a look at the first story which is titled “The Terrible Lie” (starts on page 28).

“Eve picked the fruit and ate some. And Adam ate some, too. And a terrible lie came into the world. It would never leave. It would live on in every human heart, whispering to every one of God’s children: ‘God doesn’t love me.'”

The author’s explanation of “The Terrible Lie” is not the biblical explanation of Satan’s lie. The lie was actually Satan’s spin on what God said about eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The lie was not something that came into the world as a result of Adam and Eve disobeying and eating the fruit. It should be titled “The Terrible Fall,” not “The Terrible Lie.” The real question now is how could a Holy God love sinful creatures who rebelled against Him. Therefore, I reject the notion that the lie is something in a human heart that whispers “God doesn’t love me.” Unfortunately, the author has a spin on “The Terrible Fall.”

The reality is the author has introduced – to children – a different view of the God & Father of Jesus and a different understanding of the nature of the fall than the Bible does. As we have seen, there are some clear indications that the author is viewing Jesus’ Father as a Romantic Panentheistic Deity and the Fall as something altogether different than the Biblical description.

So which is most important: This “imported” myth that is the setting for the “Jesus” storybook bible? Or, the stories of Jesus in the Bible that give us a different picture, a different setting, the true setting of why the real Jesus had to come in the first place. Why should we settle for this “mixture” of lies? Is that the way to help our children know the true and living God?

If we are seeking to actually glorify the Lord Jesus Christ of the Scripture, why would we settle for introductory myth and ambiguity about God’s love and knowing Him through creation? Didn’t Christ get into serious trouble with fallen man because He came to make the name of His Father known? That very revelation given by Christ is being “defused” in the introductory statements!

Shouldn’t we warn about that instead of recommend it? What Jesus is it that would give this book an introductory “nod/whisper” to this characterization of His Father?

Why highly regarded evangelicals are recommending this book without pointing out these theological issues is rather disconcerting. I have seen two positive reviews: One is by Tim Challies on his blog and another is by Justin Taylor on The Gospel Coalition blog. However, you can read reviews similar to this one that point out the theological errors: one is by Cody Libolt on Pulpit and Pen, and another is by Josh Niemi on Expository Parenting Ministries.

News Update: As of July 2020, Keith and Kristyn Getty will be featuring Sally Lloyd-Jones (author of The Jesus Storybook Bible) at their digital conference, Sing! Global 2020. This can be seen by the Getty’s own Facebook advertisement below. The event is to be held Aug. 30 – Sept. 2, 2020, and will feature a wide array of speakers and artists.

Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul

The Message of Captivating

As I began reading Captivating, I was anticipating reading about the gospel. I read the entire book and I never read the gospel message – not in its fullness. I did read a few true things, but those truths were quickly encapsulated by many false statements, confusing anyone who is trying to gain wisdom and knowledge. Truth mixed with error is not absolute truth.

Before I attempt to show you specifically how Captivating twists biblical truths which in return creates a mythical story, let me first give you an overview of the book and its authors.

Back Cover: “The message of Captivating is this: Your heart matters more than anything else in all creation. The desires you had as a little girl and the longings you still feel as a woman – they are telling you of the life God created you to live. He offers to come now as the Hero of your story, to rescue your heart and release you to live as a fully alive and feminine woman. A woman who is truly captivating.” (See description of Captivating)

A little about the authors: Stasi Eldredge, along with her husband John who wrote Wild at Heart for men, wrote this book for women in hopes they will join in and “take a journey of discovery and healing.” The Eldredge’s say that they pray this book will be used in women’s lives to bring healing, restoration, joy, and life; and to draw women closer to God’s heart – and their own hearts.

Main goal of the book: To describe the longings of a woman and what she should do with those desires; to define the role of a woman and how to be feminine referencing a relationship with “God”; to answer “Your One Question: Am I captivating?”; to reveal that beauty is the essence of a woman; to disclose a woman’s true beauty which has been hidden and suppressed because of her wounds caused by others.

Main concern about the book: It exalts women: her heart, her wounds, her beauty, her longings for romance, her relationships, her capability to give life, and her need for adventure. The author falsely equates woman with the God who created her. (This will be further explained later). The word “feminine” (or a form of it) appears 11 times just on the back cover and the introduction. Feminine means “pertaining to a woman; having qualities traditionally ascribed to women.” This clearly illustrates who is in the spotlight. Not Jesus Christ, but women.

There is mention of “God” and “Jesus” throughout the book, but they are used subjectively for women, for her own story. Hence the quotation marks. There is no accurate biblical definition of the “God” that the Eldredges refer to. Neither is there mention of the fact that women are sinful and in need of a Savior which is Jesus Christ because of His completed work on the cross. The book completely ignores the transformation that should take place in a woman’s life if she has been reconciled to God by Christ’s blood.

It says in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…” These are the characteristics that should define someone, anyone, indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Women are no exception. We were created by God “…male and female He created them…”Genesis 1:27. Women are not in and of themselves beautiful, glorious, nor an incarnation of the one true God. We are, however, sinners, “All have sinned…” Romans 3:23.

Now let’s address some of the actual content of the book and how it misrepresents God’s Word.

p. 27
True Statement: “Most women define themselves in terms of their relationships, and the quality they deem those relationships to have.”
Followed by a false statement: “…This is not a weakness in women-it is a glory. A glory that reflects the heart of God.”

Why is that false? If we say that our hearts reflect the heart of God, we have put ourselves on the same level as Almighty God as if we know what God feels and thinks. Romans 3:10-11 says “As it is written: There is none righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Women are sinful, not glorious, and as new creatures in Christ we must put that sinful nature to death.

p. 28-29
True: “…our God is a tenderhearted God who yearns for relationship with us.”
False: “…We see him as strong and powerful, but not as needing us, vulnerable to us, yearning to be desired.”

Why False? God is not vulnerable to anyone or anything. I John 3:19-20 says, “This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” Further, Colossians 1:15-17 says, “He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves…He (Christ) is the image of the invisible God…He is before all things and in Him all things hold together…” God is the one who holds everything together. He does not rely on women for anything.

p. 32-33
True: “…God is your only hope.”
False: “…God calls us to a life involving frequent risks and many dangers….That longing in the heart of a woman to share life together as a great adventure – that comes straight from the heart of God, who also longs for this.”

True: “God is essential. He wants us to need him-desperately.”
False: “Eve is essential. She has an irreplaceable role to play. And so you’ll see that women are endowed with fierce devotion, an ability to suffer great hardships, a vision to make the world a better place.”

Why False?Matt 16:24 “Then Jesus said to his disciples, If anyone should come after me, He must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Nowhere in Scripture does it say that women are to live a risky and dangerous life. We are to live a life that is in Christ, worthy of the Lord, and fear God. David says in Psalms 34:3, “Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.” We are called to glorify the Lord, not live dangerously.

p. 36
True: “…Beauty is the essence of God. The whole world is full of his glory.”
False: “Beauty is the essence of a woman. We want to be clear that we mean both a physical beauty and a soulful/spiritual beauty. The one depends upon and flows out of the other.”

Why False? Spiritual beauty, according to Proverbs 31, has nothing to do with physical beauty, but everything to do with fearing God, gaining wisdom, and modeling godly characteristics. “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” Proverbs 31:30

p. 44
True: “Even when relationships are good, it’s never enough.”
False: “Eve was given to the world as the incarnation of a beautiful, captivating God – a life-offering, life-saving lover, a relational specialist, full of tender mercy and hope. Yes, she brought a strength to the world, but not a striving, a sharp-edged strength. She was inviting, alluring, captivating. Is that how you experience the women you know? Is that how people experience you?”

Why False? Genesis 2:18 “The Lord God said, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Eve was created to be Adam’s “helper” meaning she was “fit for him”. She was not the incarnation of God, for there is only one God. Isaiah 37:16 “O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.”

p. 84
True: “He (Satan) wanted the attention, the adoration for himself….Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.” Ezek 28:17
False: “Satan fell because of his beauty. Now his heart for revenge is to assault beauty.”

Why False? Satan fell because of his heart, not because of his beauty. His heart was proud. He wanted to exalt himself to be like God.

p. 116
False: “He knows what takes your breath away, knows what makes your heart beat faster…It may not come the way we thought, or perhaps even thought we desired it to.” She goes on to describe how her husband John was at the beach on a business trip and a whale came up on shore and he immediately knew it was a gift from God. She wanted a whale too. She wanted to experience God’s love for her, personally.

Why False? Stasi is equating God’s love for her based on experiential circumstances, not on Christ’s death. “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.” I John 3:16

p. 130
False: “The essence of a woman is Beauty. She is meant to be the incarnation – our experience in human form – of a Captivating God. A God who invites us.”

Why False? Again, women are not the incarnation of God: Exodus 8:10 “…there is no one like the LORD our God.” And, beauty is not the essence of a woman. I Peter 3:3 says, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

p. 172
Stasi’s mom had found a list of drugs she was taking.
False: “I was shamed by her discovery. But I did not repent. No. Not yet. Instead, I became even better at hiding. I was sexually promiscuous during my college years…searching for the elusive feeling of being wanted, of being thought beautiful…By the grace and to the glory of God, I became a Christian my last year in college. Jesus quite literally saved me.”

Why False? You might be thinking, “That’s great! Stasi became a Christian. What could possibly be wrong or false about that?” Based on everything we have seen from the book thus far, Stasi’s definition of a “Christian” woman has been inaccurate. She has equated women (the created) with God (the Creator). She does not give any further explanation here as to what it meant for her to “become a Christian.” She does not say why Jesus saved her (that she is a sinner) nor how Jesus saved her (that He had to give His life for her) nor that she has been crucified with Christ (how her life has changed because of knowing Christ). Do you get my point? She vaguely mentions Jesus, but just what Jesus is she talking about because there is so much she leaves out!

p. 195
False: “Now, often the hardest person to fight for is…yourself. But you must. You heart is needed. You must be present and engaged in order to love well and fight on behalf of others. Without you, much will be lost.”

Why False? “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9

p. 212-213
False: “…the invitations of Jesus come to us in many ways…You will find that as God restores your heart and sets you free, you will recover long-lost passions, long-forsaken dreams. You’ll find yourself drawn to some vision for making the world a better place. Those emerging desires are invitations-not to rush out and attempt them immediately. That also is naïve. They are invitations to bring your heart to your Lover and ask him to clarify, to deepen, to speak to you about how and when and with whom.”

Why False? The correct phrase would read: “The invitation (singular) to come to the Father was given to us through Jesus and by Jesus.” For John 14:6 says, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No ones comes to the Father except through me.'”

p. 217
False: “God really does want you to know who you are…So, may we take a moment and remind you who you truly are? You are a woman. An image bearer of God. The Crown of Creation. You were chosen before time and space, and you are wholly and dearly loved. You are sought after, pursued, romanced, the passionate desire of your Fiance, Jesus. You are dangerous in your beauty and your life-giving power. And you are needed.”

Why False? We already know who we are as women based on Scripture. It’s clear. We were created in the image of God and are sinners. We “…were dead in your trespasses and sins…” (From Ephesians 2:1-9). We do not have any special life-giving power. That power is reserved for Christ. For “God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him (Christ), and through him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through His blood shed on the cross” Colossians 1:19-20. If you believe that Christ died for your sins and rose again, you become alive with Christ by putting off the sinful nature.

To conclude, it is imperative to keep in mind passages such as 2 Timothy 4:3-4.

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4

Also, Isaiah 8:20 says, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.” What should those of us who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb do with teachings and books like Captivating? We should shun evil and guard the truth.

For More on the Eldredge’s

See a review of John Eldredge’s book “Wild at Heart”: Braveheart vs. Mister Rogers: John Eldredge’s Walk on the Wild Side

The following is a review of Chapters 1-7 of Rick Warren’s book ‘The Purpose Driven Life®’ published in 2002.

Turn on the news or skim the newspaper, and you will quickly see that The Purpose-Driven® Life by Rick Warren has a strong appeal to a variety of people. There must be a reason for this. Is its message so profound and precise that one can meet the God of the Bible between its covers? Or, just the opposite, does it have an obscure message allowing any reader to extract what is relevant to them? The real message of this book may be found simply in noticing the wide array of people enamored with it! As we will see in this review, the book’s underlying message exhibits philosophies and “wisdom” which could be purposefully laying the groundwork for a growing world religion and humanistic spirituality.

Introduction

The first seven chapters of The Purpose Driven Life (PDL) are filled with talk about the love of God, something everyone enjoys hearing about. However, many don’t realize the love of God we enjoy hearing about is really only His love in the original creation! Let me explain.

The book begins with the title “It All Starts with God.” But it should state “It All Starts with God’s Original Intention in Creation.” Scripture gives very little knowledge on the original intention of creation. But the original intent is over and done with anyways because of the fall of man! We can, however, conclude from Scripture the following:

∗Are we fearfully and wonderfully made? Answer: Yes
∗Shouldn’t this wonderful fact save us? Answer: No

∗Isn’t it wonderful that we have an internal revelation from our Creator that we are eternal creatures? Answer: Yes
∗Doesn’t this wonderful revelation give us a sure hope of eternity with Him? Answer: No

∗Isn’t it wonderful that when we look at the creation we know there must be a Creator? Answer: Yes
∗Does that mean we each have the internal potential to know this Creator in our present condition? Answer: No

∗Is each of us created in the image of God? Answer: Yes
∗Is “salvation,” then, just seeing oneself in this light? Answer: No

Thus, we can conclude the hope of true salvation is not based in “general revelation” (which is the term that has been coined to describe the above types of questions).

In the first three chapters of Romans when Paul is laying out the gospel message, he first shows how utterly needy and depraved we are as fallen man within the creation! Every man is without excuse. In fact, even the revelation that there is a God is skewed by the fallen human heart. Paul uses the word “exchange.” Even though we have revelation of the fact of God, our sinful hearts won’t acknowledge that revelation, but rather “exchange” it for false worship. The reason we do this is because of our fallen idolatrous hearts. This is the foundation Paul uses to then show us the need for a Savior! On the other hand, Warren lays the groundwork for his “gospel” using the exact opposite tactic. Yes, he, like Paul, spends time talking about God the Creator. He will even talk about “sin” later on. But, the reasons and goals seem different.

Chapter One – Purpose in Creation or Purpose in Redemption

This chapter is marketed as “everything starts with God.” But in reality, it is all about the image of man as related to the original creation. The problem with this is that being born into this world does not equate to being born “by his purpose and for his purpose” (p.17) in a necessarily good sense. If we were not fallen creatures in Adam, we might agree with Warren when he states in a positive manner “You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.” But the reality is that we are born “in Adam” a sinful creature rebellious to God.

Warren quotes Colossians 1:16 to introduce his first chapter. This quote is specific to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the preeminence of Jesus Christ as Lord over all of His creation. Warren does not include the full text which also says that he created all things “whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.” Why is this significant? It is this: Jesus Christ is Lord over everything that has been created, whether it is in rebellion to Him or not! He reigns over it! We must not prematurely take assurance or comfort in the fact that He has made everything for His purpose because even the devil and hell itself fulfills a specific purpose of God.

Next, we must ask, if this chapter really is all about God, why does Warren misquote and misapply texts of Scripture that enhance man’s image in his fallen state? The following three points in chapter 1 confirm this:

1. 1. Warren says (p.18) “Many people try to use God for their own self-actualization…” He then denies that is what his book is about. Then continuing with his thought two paragraphs later on the very next page he quotes from The Message Bible: “Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.”

The same Scripture in the NASB says: “For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it.”

The same Scripture in the KJV Bible says: “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.”

The Message Bible misquotes Holy Scripture! The context of the passage in question is of course the verse before: Matthew 16:24 “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (KJV)

Ponder for a moment the mistranslation “self-sacrifice is…my way” versus the true meaning “whoever loses his life for My sake.” This is not about self “doing” through “self-sacrifice” so “self” can attain a “self” identity. In context, it is about self “dying,” and it is about the new object found, which is Jesus Christ Himself, and not that which is supposedly the “true” self. This is the death of self to Christ. It is conversion, not self-actualization through self-sacrifice. It is about a new identity, but only as it relates to Jesus Christ and for His sake.

Even though he says his book is not about self-actualization, Warren uses a mistranslation of Scripture to make this text seem like it is about self-actualization – which it is not. The Message Bible quote is obviously a very poor paraphrase of the Holy Scriptures which is then used by Warren to support his point.

1. 2. Warren claims (p. 20) that we can have “God’s wisdom” from the Word of God. He then quotes about God’s wisdom from 1Corinthians 2:7. Yet, on the next page in describing this “wisdom” he tells a story of someone who had an “experience” of deity. (p.21) “Suddenly, all by itself, a phrase appeared: Without God life makes no sense. Repeating it in astonishment, I rode the phrase up like a moving staircase, got out of the metro and walked into God’s light.” (He then summarizes your purpose for life (via his book) as though you are walking into the light.) That statement should be found in a book on New Age Mysticism so that you couldn’t miss what it really is! How disconcerting that you find it in this “Christian” book. The good thing is that it doesn’t matter what it is labeled. It only matters if it is truth.

God’s wisdom that Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 1:17-2:2 is the real wisdom of the cross! Warren uses this very passage to support his own version of wisdom! Jesus had to be crucified because we are sinners! This is the only way we can be saved. The wisdom of the cross is that God can still be a holy God and yet can save sinners in the foolishness of the gospel preached. This wisdom is not that we can decide through some mystical experience that we need God and we secure the knowledge of God by our walk into the “light.” Salvation is of God and is based in the message of Christ crucified for sinners. Thus, Warren’s example leads us astray from Scripture.

1. 3. Warren’s own interpretation of 1 Corinthians 2:7 leads us astray as well.

Here is his quote from the Message Bible: “God’s wisdom…goes deep into the interior of his purposes…It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest – what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us.”

Now let’s read the same passage from the New American Standard Version: “But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the ages to our glory;”

Now we read from the King James Version: “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:”

As you can see, the Message Bible is misquoting the Holy Word of God once again! God’s wisdom is the reality of His being able to save us through the gospel as Paul had already made clear in 1 Corinthians 1:17-2:2. That is what is to “our glory.” It was determined this way from eternity, and it is His wisdom, Christ crucified for sinners! In our conversion, He makes us new creatures in Christ Jesus with a new life from and in Him. This wisdom is not “God bringing out his best in us.” In fact, the Scriptures say that our “old man” (sinful nature) was crucified at Calvary when we were placed “in Christ.” (Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:6) God did not “bring out his best in us” in crucifying Christ. In Christ Jesus, He forgave us all of our sins, identifying us with His crucified Son on Calvary, and recreating us anew, giving us a new heart!

Unfortunately, Warren introduces you to a different wisdom and labels it God’s wisdom. You might not have even noticed since you were reading a “Christian” book. Instead of your thoughts entering the door of “Christ Jesus crucified” they were taken through the door of “mysticism/humanistic philosophy.” The reality is that the “wisdom” throughout this book is consistent with the example and the Scriptural mis-quote cited above. It has nothing to do with the wisdom which Paul describes in 1 Corinthians.

Thus, Warren begins his book by laying a humanistic philosophy based in the original creation as if the fall was inconsequential to you. At the same time, he is negating and twisting Scripture which clearly describes to us the need and provision in Christ of His life and a new creation via His crucifixion, resurrection, and our death and new life in Him.

Chapter 2 – No Accident Here

“You Are Not an Accident” is the title of the second chapter of PDL. Therefore, Warren continues with his theme of “purpose” through an understanding of the original creation. But now he is keying in on specifics: “This really is about God creating you.” According to Warren, the thrust of this theme of purpose via an understanding of the original creation is even found in the New Testament Scriptures, that is, in his misuse of the Message Bible and misapplying Scripture yet again! The following three examples prove this:

1. 1. (p.24) “Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love.” (From the Message Bible, Ephesians 1:4a)

There is a key piece of the verse missing from the Message Bible. If we read the KJV, it says, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,” and the NASB says, “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.” This love is a love Christians receive in Christ. The fact is that God’s love is a love for His new creation through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. Paul says in Ephesians 1 that we are blessed because we are now “in Christ” via the new birth, not because we are simply born into this world. We find this was God’s plan from long ago and we now have and know about this blessing through our conversion. The Message Bible makes salvation seem universal.

1. 2. (p.24) “God decided to give us life through the word of truth so we might be the most important of all the things he made.” (James 1:18, NCV)

Once again, Warren uses a bad translation of this verse to misapply Scripture and imply a universal concept of purpose rather than the specific concept found only in Christ. James 1:18 from the NASB says, “In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be, as it were, the first fruits among His creatures.” And the KJV says, “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.” This text is not about birth in the original creation. This text is about new birth through the gospel of Jesus Christ!

1. 3. (p.24) “God formed the earth…He did not create it to be empty but formed it to be inhabited.” (Isaiah 45:18, GWT)

This text about creation is in the context of God’s redemptive purposes for Israel as their Savior! Let’s read it in it’s full context.

“Truly, Thou art a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, Savior! ….Israel has been saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation;
You will not be put to shame or humiliated to all eternity.
For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens
(He is the God who formed the earth and made it,
He established it and did not create it a waste place,
But formed it to be inhabited),
I am the Lord, and there is none else….
And there is no other God beside Me,
A righteous God and a Savior;
There is none except Me.
Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other” Isaiah 45:15-22, NASB

God is the Savior of Israel, who is the special object of His love. Isaiah states God’s love is a specific redeeming love, not a universal original creation love. Warren’s comments just before and after his quote, twists this concept into a universal love for creation apart from God being a Savior. Martin Luther described it as the humanistic “theology of glory” versus his Biblical “theology of the cross.” Luther saw verse 15 as pivotal to his theology of the cross. “Truly, Thou art a God who hides Himself.” For Luther, God’s “glory” is now hidden behind His cross!!! One can not see it or know it clearly – unless you truly behold the One who died on Calvary, the Lord Jesus Christ!!!

The New Testament makes it clear that Christ was given to make us “new creatures in Christ.” Even though we are fallen creatures, it is not “outside” God’s love to use Christ’s death on Calvary to redeem us. John 3:16 starts with the adverb “thus” or “so” which relates the love expressed in Christ to what went just before this familiar verse. The children of Israel were  being bit by serpents and dying in the wilderness. God intervened. That is redeeming love!

In conclusion, the truth is “It is all about God’s love in Christ Jesus.” The truth is not as Warren implies, “It’s all about God’s love in the original creation!” God’s love was planned from eternity for His own people and exhibited in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ! Warren misapplies Holy Scripture disregarding mankind being born into a fallen state of rebellion to God.

Chapter 3 – The “Driving Force”

This chapter begins with the question: “What is the driving force in your life?” This question implies that each person has a mis-appropriated drive and that this drive must be targeted or channeled toward good. Warren lists five reasons why the human condition can miss the “good” goal and suggests there are many other reasons. He says the problem is because this force that drives your life hasn’t come under the guidance of God’s purposes. In other words, it is misdirected, unfocused and misinformed. But are our lives directed by some misguided force? On the contrary, Jeremiah 17:9 gives a different assessment of this “force” that drives your life: “The heart is more deceitful than all else, and is desperately sick, who can understand it?” (NASB) What is the driving force in my life? Could it possibly be a deceitful heart? Yet, Warren is saying this is what the “God of the Bible” is all about: He is there to grant purpose to our misdirected “driving force” of life. Nothing could be further from the truth! 

God is the author of new life in Jesus Christ, not a refocused or redirected old life. You might say that Warren informs his readers that God is in the business of giving “fresh” starts, so what is the problem? God is in the “business” (if we can say that) of recreating. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says: “Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” (NASB) The “fresh start” comes from a “new heart” given in a new creation according to this passage. (The old “driving force of life” heart is crucified.) It is God who establishes this new relationship when He saves us. {It can be generally noted in Warren’s writings and even his website that he often thinks like this: I will show you how you can establish a relationship with Jesus Christ.} 

The reality is that we have the “fresh start” only as the result of being saved, and it is Christ that does it. Not vice versa. It happens when we acknowledge our need for a Savior from sin, not our need for an avatar of purpose who Warren says is the God of the Bible and is evidently also the author/creator of this “driving force” of life. The real Jesus is Savior from sin not Avatar for purpose whom we then call “Savior.” Yet again, Warren’s humanism remains intact and his points are enhanced toward his ultimate conclusions.

Chapter 4 – Death as “Unfair”

The results of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden were total and devastating. They are (not were) spiritual     and physical death, along with a few specific curses for Adam and Eve and the serpent. It was the just due of man before a Holy God and it was God’s curse upon their disobedience. Yet Warren says that “death always seems unnatural and unfair.” (p.37). Why does he throw this “spin” upon the curse of God? 

The real tragedy of death is the second death which is eternal separation from God. Apart from Jesus Christ, the condition of any human is eternity without God. We are spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. (Ephesians 2:1) Death is what our Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ had to conquer on our behalf! Unless God in His infinite mercy and grace saves us through the gospel, we remain in our already lost condition. Let me say this again: unless Jesus Christ in His infinite grace and mercy saves you and I from our sinful condition, we have no hope! Physical death is not unfair. It is a curse, and God’s curse at that. It is the result of our sin before a holy God. Physical death is definitely not a “door to eternity” (p.40) that we go through which will be our “birthday into eternal life” (p.40) as Warren states. Death is the result of our disobedience in Adam! Unless we already possess the life of our Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, that will be a very awful day indeed.

Carefully note in the first 7 chapters that Warren never clearly presents Christ Jesus as the Resurrected Lord, the One who conquered death, destroyed the powers of darkness at Calvary, and the Coming King on the clouds of heaven! Yet, two chapters later, he will offer a prayer you can quietly whisper. He says if you pray this, you have “believed” and “become a part of the family of God” (pg 59). However, it is spiritually deadly to present death as unfair, when it is actually a curse. To present death as a “door,” and that a “Jesus” is waiting for us on the other side of this door is our “birthday” and to not mention that death is what our resurrected Lord and Savior Jesus Christ had to conquer on our behalf is also spiritually deadly! But this is exactly what Warren has done! The real Jesus is Lord over hell, death, and the grave. He is not the “Lord” waiting for us on the other side of this door called death.

Chapter 5 – Getting a “handle” on life

“How you define life determines your destiny.” (p.41) Ponder that statement for a moment. I am sure that the last time you looked at the stars in the heavens this is the exact phrase that crossed your mind – am I right?? Warren has this incredible capacity to say or give the impression that he is being God-centered in his thinking. Yet, everything is turned back upon man as being the central focus. “Seeing” is “shaping” according to Warren’s view of life.

This chapter has a section that deals with the tests and trusts of our lives as a stewardship before God. They are probably accurate statements for the most part. But what is their context? Is Warren saying man is a creature or determinator? Warren has brought “God” into the picture, but is it the sovereign God of the universe? Do his stewardship statements become misstatements because they are not centered upon the reality of life from God in Christ Jesus? They don’t seem to be based on the sovereignty of God in such life.

This chapter is about the possibility of you gaining or reclaiming or refocusing a life which he then calls the purpose-driven® life. In the process, you shape that life. That can’t be the Christian life because the Christian life is about Jesus Christ giving us His life. The Scriptures state that “in Him was Life” and that “He who has the Son has Life.” First, we have a new life in Christ Jesus. It is His life given for us and to us. Because we have been purchased by Him based on His redemption at Calvary, our lives are not our own. So then, how could it be about you shaping your life when such life is not your own? It is supposed to be about the new life a Christian has been given as a gift through the Lord Jesus Christ. The stewardship then is our continual response to His sovereign work in and through us. Therefore, we don’t determine our stewardship because we don’t determine our destiny. This new stewardship we are given is within the framework and sovereign control of an all holy, loving and providential Creator. Unfortunately, Warren’s humanistic underpinnings once again shine brightly.

Chapter 6 – Citizens, Strangers – And Rejected

Most people don’t act like the world is their temporal home. Maybe that is why it has to be told to us. In this chapter, Warren tells us that our life is a temporary assignment. True! He says it is a mistake to assume that the goal of God for your life is worldly success. True! And that every one of us really has dual citizenship. True! And that the physical place called “this earth” is not our final home. True! Now, the next thing to follow should be: As a disciple of Jesus Christ you have the potential to be reviled and misunderstood and labeled an enemy by the “god” of this present evil age along with those upon this earth. In fact, such disciples of Jesus Christ have the potential to be put to death for their beliefs. Oops! Warren has left that out. 

The lofty thoughts as presented in this chapter have nothing to do with the “cutting edge” nature and character of Holy Scripture, the call of Jesus Christ for His disciples, the experiences of all the Apostles, let alone Jesus Himself, and anything remotely associated with the challenges of the Christian life. Meaning, the rest of the world knows “Christianity” differently compared with the “Americanized” version of the Christian life. Why don’t Americans suffer for the gospel of Jesus Christ? One reason only. We refuse. We must only be “contagious” Christians. That is certainly better than being an “obnoxious” Christian. But, it is not what it means to be an ambassador of another kingdom when that kingdom is absolutely contrary to your present living quarters. 

Paul uses the metaphor of “aroma” in describing the Christian life in this world. (See 2 Corinthians 2:14-16) This aroma is two different scents depending on the condition of the person you happen to be rubbing elbows with at the moment. Although Warren says Christians are strangers in this world and citizens of another place, he ultimately just has us “passing through” and pretty comfortably at that, which is most unfortunate. It in no way even remotely helps us begin to understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. This kind of “discipleship” only flies in Western culture.

Chapter 7 – “Failing” to Give Glory to God

Well, it’s time to roll up your sleeves. Fallen man is now going to live for the glory of God. How can fallen man bring glory to God? Warren lists five reasons. He once again has fallen man look to the original creation, specifically Gods’ glory in the creation, to bring us to “faith” and the all important “purpose-driven®” life. Warren says even Jesus lived this purpose-driven® life, so you can too! Oops! Oops! Oops! Warren takes his readers through a series of missteps to bring Jesus to our level and raise fallen man to Jesus’ level. Follow along the steps:

1. 1. On page 54, he lists a series of opportunities that God has given for fallen man to “see” God’s glory. Jesus is one in the list. NO! Jesus is NOT one in a list! Jesus is the ONLY way to “see” God’s glory.
   2. Immediately following this statement, Warren has a perfect opportunity to tell us that Jesus is Unique and Incarnate Deity. He quotes John 1:14. But he leaves from the quote: “glory as of the only-begotten from the Father” which is a specific reference to His deity. This is in the context where he says that Jesus is one who “illumines” the world. Many people and religions in the world view Jesus as someone who “illumines” the world, including those who believe in the “Christ” of the New Age movement. Some view him even as someone who came into the world but not uniquely. But they do not see His uniqueness as Incarnate Deity, and Lord and Savior in their Biblical context. Even the word “son” is not defined specifically in many peoples’ minds, nor is it by Warren. In the Scriptures, however, it is used very uniquely of Jesus.
   3. On page 55, “Jesus honored God by fulfilling his purpose on earth. We honor God the same way.” Once again, Warren belittles the uniqueness of Christ and elevates the abilities of man. Within the immediate context it is about us “refusing to give glory to God” and so now it is time. But, the truth is that we can’t not refuse apart from the unique ministry of Jesus Christ! It is not Christ’s example for us to then also “copy” because we decide we too can live to God’s glory. It is the reality of our obedience within the context of Christ’s redemptive work and His saving and recreating us. He is the only reason we can live to God’s glory and the glory of the gospel.
   4. On page 57, Jesus struggled with following a difficult path to bring glory to God – just like you. When he was facing His crucifixion was when this was made clear. Warren states “Jesus stood at a fork in the road. Would he fulfill his purpose and bring glory to God, or would he shrink back and live a comfortable, self-centered life? You face the same choice.” Why does Warren think that Jesus can shrink back and live a “sinful” life?? How in the world can either you or I be facing the same choice in the same way that Jesus did? Do you see this quote as belittling to our Savior and as self-glorifying of man? This takes place just moments before people are asked to “believe” in him. Why does it sound to me like you are really being asked to “believe in yourself?”

So now we come to the ground of the cross. What do we find there? After 7 chapters Warren asks us to consider: “It’s time to settle this issue. Who are you going to live for – yourself or God?” (page. 58)

Not – it’s time to understand you are a fallen sinful creature.

    Instead – “believe you’re not an accident”

Not – it’s time for you to be crucified!

    Instead – “believe you were made to last forever”

Not – it’s time to realize the Savior bore the wrath of God for your sinful condition!Instead – “believe that no matter what you’ve done, God wants to forgive you.”

Not – it’s time to repent of your sins.

        Instead – “believe God loves you and made you for his purposes.”

Not – it’s time to be broken and amazed at holy, redeeming and unmerited love.

        Instead – “believe that no matter what you’ve done, God wants to forgive you.”

So when you look at the cross, what do you think? “Who are you going to live for…” Or – Is this what it cost My Lord and Savior? As the hymn states: “What wondrous love is this, that caused the Lord of bliss, to bear the dreadful curse – for my soul.”

The sad fact is that Warren soothes our souls instead of allowing the Spirit of God to bring conviction to us of our sinful ways. He does this through a combination of two things. First, is the constant emphasis on general revelation in the original creation. These things always find a “yes” response in the human heart!! But second is the constant watering-down of     the abiding and enduring realities of man’s already present fallen and lost condition before a Holy God. The lack of horror of that condition before a holy God – which Jesus Himself clearly understood in the Garden of Gethsemane – since He would bear that penalty! These two things are a spiritually deadly combination. The final stage is     set for us along this path by his expressing his gospel in terms of “whispering” a prayer that puts a change of eternity in your hands – instead of being “convicted” by the Spirit as a sinner with sorrow for that sin, repenting and trusting the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. Only He can change a destiny.     Warren’s gospel is not about our conversion in Jesus Christ. It is not about the “crucifixion” of our sinful nature. “Let Jesus do the dying – I want to live!” seems to be its’ mantra. Unfortunately, the western world is     filled with this kind of “gospel” message. It is not about Christ Jesus crucified for sinners as Paul preached. The Apostle Paul said he gloried in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 6:14) and that the word of the cross (i.e. its’ meaning“) is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18). The same text says the saved view it differently. It is the power of God.

Since this chapter is about “failing to give glory to God” let’s look at three fundamental concepts as it relates to God’s glory and man’s failure to give glory to God:

1. 1. Romans 1:23 – This text says about man that we “exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man…” In man’s fallen condition, he is most willing to exchange a true view of God’s glory for a perverted one. How does man do this? He exchanges the revelation of the character of God as revealed in the Holy Scriptures. If we don’t like the fact that God is holy, we pervert His image. If we don’t like the fact that God’s love is specific through His Son, Jesus Christ, we make it universal. If we don’t like the fact that God’s wrath is revealed from heaven, we say that His love in Christ already has affected our eternal outcome. We just don’t know it yet, etc. We repaint God in our image and then “accept” or “believe” him. We should be careful that someone doesn’t help us do this. We cannot exchange the revelation of the God of the Bible as One who is ALL Holy and ALL Righteous and ALL Loving and in ALL of these Immutable – so that he is then made palatable for fallen man. If we do, we have exchanged the images. Yet, we have still been told it is “gospel.”

1. 2. The outcome of exchanging the glory of God is “double-speak.” Warren says he is helping us to glory in God. And yet, clearly, he glories in man bringing his “driving life force” under the direction of the Creator. But as such, it cannot possibly be glorying in God because it does not glory in the God who recreates us in Christ Jesus through the message of the cross. That is not what Paul or any of the apostles preached or expected to take place in the word of the cross. Warren’s “gospel” strokes and soothes our Adamic ego to then bring it to “faith.”

3. In a careful reading of the Apostle Paul in the Holy Scriptures as relating to “glory” one finds a very important fact. He did not glory in the God of creation, he did not glory in the “feelings” he got through worship, he did not glory in what he had accomplished, he did not glory in his own Christian life or walk – he only gloried in the cross of Jesus Christ – by his own words! (Galatians 6:14) Warren is quite content to have the cross be one of a number of things which seems to be in our hands to bring glory to God. If we do this we no longer glory only in the Lord Jesus Christ of the gospel.

Conclusion

As I stated in the introduction, Warren could be, in this book, laying the groundwork for a growing world religion and humanistic spirituality. Further proof of this conviction is found in the first session of his “40 Days of Purpose” video tape (Fall 2003). Warren introduces, to an innumerable amount of churches, this book which supposedly introduces people to Christ, and yet fails to even mention that Jesus had to go to Calvary to die for our sins! Does that sound like “glorying” in the God who placed His Son on the cross for you? Yet he leads people in a prayer and welcomes them into “the family of God.” Many Christians sit under the preaching of the tape not even realizing that is what has happened! Not realizing it was a different gospel means you were mesmerized into believing it was something that it was not! What spirit did that to you? Unfortunately, people who prayed the prayer were told something they should have never been told based on his “gospel” presentation. 

The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Only the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. The Holy Spirit has absolutely nothing to do with an unholy gospel even if you pray until you are blue in the face! True Biblical faith only comes in the preaching and receiving of the true gospel. When someone arrives (even via a video tape) and delivers a “different gospel” there is a Scriptural understanding and obedience which all true Christians should realize at that point. {Carefully read and understand your call in Galatians 1:6-10 and 2 John 1:8-11} This is why my review of this book is so forthright. I simply see in chapters 1-7 a continuation and confirmation of the first session of the video tape. There is something far worse than not being converted to the Lord Jesus Christ of the gospel. It is not being converted and then being told that you are going to heaven. Pray this doesn’t happen to you or someone you love.

Velvet Elvis

After reading Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell, I was quite saddened because I know that many in our day will probably buy into the relativistic thought.

Below are a few quotes by Rob Bell in Velvet Elvis followed by Scripture and my comments. You will see Bell leads one through a mystical journey of “self-discovery and change” – not based in propositional truths found in Scripture, but in his own inner feelings of spirituality and well-being. You will see this as the quotes and comments unfold.

1. “The Christian faith tradition is filled with change and growth and transformation. Jesus took part in this process by calling people to rethink faith and the Bible and hope and love and everything else, and by inviting them into the endless process of working out how to live as God created us to live.” Velvet Elvis, p. 11

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1,14 ESV

Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. John 17:17 NASB

Comment: Jesus had people “rethink” because they didn’t think correctly to begin with! Why? They needed to come to an understanding of the Scripture as God’s truth because they/we are blinded by our own sinful ways of thinking. Because they didn’t understand the Scriptures, He had to open their eyes for that to happen. Is studying the Scripture meant to be an endless process for the actual purpose of not finding the truth but still somehow sensually and mystically enjoying the journey?

Scripture was/is for the purpose of knowing and obeying the truth that was already revealed but newly discovered by individuals. We continue to “learn” because there is so much to learn, not because truth is elusive or changing! We change as we have a new found understanding of the truth of Scripture as our minds and hearts are illuminated by the Holy Spirit of truth. In an attempt to come to personal and experiential truth, Bell bypasses that important point. Truth in the Lord Jesus Christ of the Holy Scriptures is both propositional and incarnational.

2. “Times change. God doesn’t, but times do. We learn and grow, and the world around us shifts, and the Christian faith is alive only when it is listening, morphing, innovating, letting go of whatever has gotten in the way of Jesus and embracing whatever will help us be more and more the people God wants us to be.” Velvet Elvis, p. 11

Beloved, while I was making every effort to write to you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Jude 3, 4 NASB

Comment: Bell says the “Christian faith” is to change if it is to continue being alive! But, the “Christian faith” has been ONCE AND FOR ALL delivered to the saints and is in Holy Scripture. We are changing. It is not. It is “that” life that makes us alive and it is revealed and given to us in the Word of God. We are being conformed to Him because we are embracing that which speaks of Him – the Word ministered by the Holy Spirit of God. Then, he once again says, “Let go of what has gotten in the way of Jesus.” Since when does the Christian faith as revealed through the Word of God “get in the way” of Jesus? He jumps from a propositional category to a “living-mystical” category and those who are not discerning are none the wiser.

The only way the “Christian faith” could get in the way of Jesus is if we actually bought into his little “spring-world” that he talks about on p. 27. In a nut shell, he compares two “ways” of looking at truth. One is brick-world and the other is spring-world. The bricks are as in a wall and the springs are as in a trampoline. He takes things like virgin birth and trinity and inspiration and would rather live with these in his spring-world. That way they are flexible: they can be set aside or break or bend or whatever. How really solid are these “truths” anyhow if we consider rethinking one of them and in so doing they “might change?” No problem according to Bell. We can still keep jumping in spring-world. I guess in one sense he is saying don’t let anyone rob you of the joy of jumping in your self-created spring-world. Propositional truths might tie you down!

But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance. Luke 8:15 NASB

“And as a part of this tradition, I embrace the need to keep painting, to keep reforming. By this I do not mean cosmetic, superficial changes like better lights and music, sharper graphics, and new methods with easy-to-follow steps. I mean theology; the beliefs about God, Jesus, the Bible, salvation, the future. We must keep reforming the way the Christian faith is DEFINED (emphasis), lived, and explained.” p. 12

Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. Psalm 86:11 ESV

The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. Psalm 119:160 ESV

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:31, 32 ESV

Comment: The above texts of Scripture speak quite plainly don’t you agree? The Bible defines the Christian faith, not us. The object of the Christian faith is Jesus Christ Himself. His work in His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension defines us in our identity with Him. He is the center. We are not.

Bell furthers relates on p. 83 the following:
“And the Bible keeps insisting that Jesus is how God put things together. The writer Paul said that Jesus is how God holds all things together. The Bible points us to a Jesus who is in some mysterious way (emphasis added) behind it all. Jesus is the arrangement. Jesus is the design. Jesus is the intelligence.”

And about a couple being married, Bell says on pages 76-77:
“The same force that brought them together holds the whole world together. I then asked, ‘So today, your wedding is about something far more significant than just the two of you becoming husband and wife, isn’t it?’ They then said they would call this glue, this force, God.”

It would seem he is re-inventing the God of the Scripture as a panentheistic deity through his choice of language. Panentheism is the view that the world is contained in and is a manifestation of the divine. But, on the contrary, God is a Personal Being that is all powerful and transcendent – not a force or glue of which we have “mystical amazement.” I guess it should come as no surprise that Rob Bell’s speaking tour in the summer of 2006 was titled “Everything is Spiritual.”

Comment: Velvet Elvis has little outright panentheistic speech as sighted, but panentheistic thought seems to be interwoven deeply within the framework of the book.

The Apostle John warned of the spirit of antichrist that would invade the church even in the days of the apostles themselves. Even though present in the church they spoke what was actually false spiritual wisdom from the world.

They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. I John 4:5-6 ESV

And the Apostle Paul relates the following:

These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. I Corinthians 2:10-16 ESV

Paul says that spiritual truth is made clear in the mind of those who have the Spirit! It doesn’t come in vague categories or mystical experiences, rather in spiritual words written down in Holy Scripture. We interpret and understand these texts of Scripture as any other human writings except for the fact that they are ultimately breathed out by the Holy Spirit through the authors. That same Spirit illumines these truths to our minds! It is articulated in human words and language, but because it is God’s revelation via God’s inspiration, it is God’s TRUTH! (You find several instances in Velvet Elvis where Bell clearly downplays the role of God as Scripture was written.)

So, what does Velvet Elvis bring to the table to help in understanding the difference between spiritual truth and spiritual error? On page 40, there is one rather irrational and mystical moment where Bell tells of an experience he had after college while working at a youth camp. He was asked to speak for chapel and had an “experience” which was quite “Moses like” in that he took off his sandals because he knew the ground he was standing upon was holy. He depicts that an internal voice communicated with him in words that were clear and concise: “Teach this book, and I will take care of everything else.” He relates that in those moments his entire life changed and that it was like a rebirth. Yet, he spends the entire book articulating how vague, unknowable, mysterious, questioning, and difficult The Holy Scripture is! How is it that one can hear a “clear and concise” voice (with accompanying words) to teach what he hammers at over and over again as ultimately unknowable in Biblical Words? So, it is somehow okay if this inner mystical voice is clear, but not okay that the Spirit could breathe out clear and concise words through the Scriptures for all the saints? He is clear about his mission if he knows he has a mystical, sensual, experienced based “Savior.” But that isn’t the Jesus of the Bible. If you want to understand the “spirit” of the emerging church, Velvet Elvis may be the best and only book you will need to read. But go to your public library and check it out – don’t buy it.

The only conclusion a Christian can come to after reading Velvet Elvis is that it is a repainting of Christianity itself. It redefines the Lord Jesus Christ of the Scriptures and turns him into the “smiling-jumping” Christ with you as the center of a mystical, self-worshiping generation.

Self Esteem: The New Reformation

“If only we could love ourselves enough to dare approach God, what constructive dreams he would give us!…

But we feel too unworthy. So one layer of negative behavior is laid upon another until we emerge as rebellious sinners. But our rebellion is a reaction, not our nature. By nature we are fearful, not bad. Original sin is not a mean streak; it is a non-trusting inclination. The core of original sin, then is LOT – Lack of Trust. Or, it could be considered an innate inability to adequately value ourselves. Label it a ‘negative self-image,’ but do not say that the central core of the human soul is wickedness. If this were so, then truly, the human being is totally depraved. But positive Christianity does not hold to human depravity, but to human inability. I am humanly unable to correct my negative self-image until I encounter a life-changing experience with nonjudgmental love bestowed upon me by a Person whom I admire so much that to be unconditionally accepted by him is to be born again.”

Robert H. Schuller, Self Esteem: The New Reformation, Word Books, 1982, pp. 66-67.

(Schuller gives a follow-up golf ball illustration to confirm his point here. See pp 67-68.)

The above quote is Christian Humanism in a nutshell. Notice the following false doctrines:

1. A proper approach to God is gained based on loving ourselves and then daring to enter His presence.

• • Versus God’s revealed reason for entry and accompanying attitude: “Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,…let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:19-22 NASB

2. Our outer nature of negative behavior (which is evidently based in low self-worth) flows out of an inner nature of fear and non-trusting inclination. This inner core of sin is thus redefined as the inability to value ourselves.

• Versus God’s view of the fallen human nature: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9 KJV
•  “And He was saying, That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” Mark 7:20-23 NASB

3. Normally one would look at the cross of Jesus Christ and see that this is the demonstration of redeeming love. Schuller actually insists that God’s love is a non-judgmental love and so totally undermines the meaning of the cross of Jesus Christ! (Notice: the new birth is unconditional acceptance as well.) The Jesus of his version would actually have been stupid to go to the cross! His version of Jesus could have just simply walked the earth and taught us how to look at ourselves differently and then we would have salvation. And, of course, his Jesus is not the real One.

• • Versus the real meaning of God’s love and the nature of man and God: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” Romans 5:8,9 NASB

So, when Schuller has a smile on his face and says ‘Jesus loves you and so do I’ – do you really know what he actually means? If he would say Jesus saves us from our sin, do you immediately ask the question: What “Jesus” and what “sin” does he mean? You should.

For More on Self Esteem: The New Reformation

Self-esteem, the New Christian “Virtue” Part 2: Robert Schullers New Reformation – By Bob DeWaay

The following is a review of the original edition of Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard J. Foster published in 1978.

Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth

The first chapter of Celebration of Discipline is titled The Spiritual Disciplines: Door to Liberation. Richard Foster states that the purpose of spiritual disciplines are “to explore the inner caverns of the spiritual realm.” Have you ever seen in the Holy Scripture where this is to be the goal of the Christian life?

Foster continues by saying that even people who are not Christian should practice spiritual disciplines because the only requirement is a longing after God. What? (See Acts 4:12) One can only wonder how it is possible to long after the true and living God without first coming to Christ. But Foster makes room for it.

The second chapter is titled The Discipline of Meditation. Under this introductory title, Foster favorably quotes both Thomas Merton and C.G. Jung. The first sub-heading is Understandable Misconceptions. In this section he exalts Catholic mystics and others. These would include Francois Fenelon, Madame Guyon, Francis de Sales, George Fox, and Meister Eckhart and favorably quotes Morton Kelsey.) He says there is a vast difference between “Christian” meditation and Eastern meditation. (We are soon to find out what his “Christian” type of meditation involves.)

Foster’s second sub-heading is Desiring the Living Voice of God. In this section, he says that we abrogate our role as priests and he sights the Old Testament and specifically the people of Israel and Moses as examples. This is most unfortunate because Moses was the Mediator and God spoke to him.

Through Moses, God gave the priests instruction on how they should function as priest, the nature of the mediation, and the function of the High Priest and the nature of that mediation. If you have read the Old Testament, you know that it is detailed instruction. Of course Jesus Christ is our only mediator in the New Covenant. Foster downplays the role of a Mediator yet “boldly calls us to enter into the living presence of God for ourselves.”

It is true that if we are in Christ we are all priests unto God, but it is ONLY because HE is our perfect High Priest, Himself. It is HIS mediation that allows us to be priests. Up to this point Foster hasn’t made mention of the fact that HIS mediation for us is known to us because we meditate upon the objective Holy Scriptures.

The Scriptures reveal to us just exactly how it is that Jesus Christ is our Mediator. Meditation is not the mediation. Jesus is the mediator. He has sent the Holy Spirit to make known to us our Mediator, Jesus Christ, as we meditate on the objective Scriptures. I don’t think I am overstating it when I say that up to this point Foster looks at “meditation” as something special for its own sake. It is highly subjective and man-centered. But you can read it and judge for yourselves. If that is all I had, I wouldn’t be doing this review.

Foster has a further subheading in this chapter titled: “How to Meditate – First Steps.” No where in this section is the Holy Bible the object on which our thoughts meditate! Very revealing! Yet we are to be “open” to the voice of God.

The only time Foster has anything about the Gospels in this section is when he wants us to utilize all five senses in picturing the events. (The objective thoughts of the texts understood by our minds is not mentioned.) Yet he soon introduces the idea of being convinced that dreams can be a key to unlocking the door to the inner world… (p. 23) and then gives practical suggestions on how to insure this happens to the greatest advantage.

His next subheading: “How to Meditate – Specific Exercises.”  He begins talking about “centering down” and body positions in prayer. He then takes you through a step by step process of “concentrating on breathing” with the instruction to become silent outwardly and inwardly. We are to be attentive to the inward living Christ.

He should have added: Never mind that there is absolutely no instruction like this in Holy Scripture! Never mind that your “evangelical” church statement of faith probably says something like the Scriptures are our SOLE authority for faith AND PRACTICE. Just do it because this is a “door to the inner world” as he has stated.

Unfortunately, this is the door to opening your mind to the “spirit realm.” What is so amazing is that he conveys the concept as if we are to understand that this is what a “Christian” is supposed to do. It is just “matter-of-fact.” He assumes we all should know this and be helped in our spiritual growth by doing this, by opening yourself to the “spirit realm” through breathing techniques and dreams. This has absolutely nothing to do with Christianity! In fact, “making contact” with the spiritual realm is strictly forbidden in the Scriptures and neither you nor I have any idea of what the consequences might be.

This is where we can introduce the word “occult” into our discussion. (I am using the word in its very broadest sense.) This word literally means “hidden” things or “unrevealed” things. No human being is supposed to “look into” those hidden things. This is why God Himself communicates to us Himself through His revelation – the Word of God. This is done by His Spirit telling us the truths of who He is through the Scripture and relating Himself to us by those means. Us knowing God is man-ward! I hope you understand what I just said. It is because He saved us and sought us and is Himself our High Priest who mediates Himself to us through HIS WORD that we can come to Him. But we cannot pick our own path!

Foster wants us to pick our own path and call it gospel. He wants us to pick our own path and call it spiritual growth. He wants us to pick our own path by entering into the spiritual realm through techniques. If you are an American you have the right to pick your own path and you better not say my path is wrong. Plus, I have wonderful spiritual experiences just like you. Really?

Foster, in a nutshell, says you can pick your own path and Christ will come to you! (Foster has you “sense” the facts of Calvary as a present active participant through your imagination and then says “Jesus Christ will actually come to you.” p. 26)   At this point you should get a good dictionary and look up the word “conjure.” Because the real Deity CANNOT be conjured!

We are not supposed to make “contact” with the spirit realm or have anything to do with it and then make the silly mistake of thinking “Jesus actually comes to us” through our spiritual techniques. God’s true presence in us as Christians or with us as we are assembled is NEVER conjured through inappropriate means!!! If we think it is – the wrong deity(ies) is/are showing up and we are being deceived.

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of the law.” Deuteronomy 29:29 NASB

“There shall not be found among you anyone who…uses divination…or one who interprets omens…or a medium…For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD;…” Deuteronomy 18:10-12 NASB

If this is not bad enough – he takes you through an experience of “guided imagery” which I can only best describe as a self-induced trance like state of mind. (p. 27) It is for the purpose of “inner communion” with God. You are to picture yourself in a quiet place (he describes it vividly) where you end up on your back looking up. You are to then have a deep yearning to go into the upper regions beyond the clouds. Then he has you imagine your “spiritual body” rising up out of your “physical body” for a soothing joy ride into “outer space” for a brief period of time. All this guided imagination is for the purpose of you to rest in His presence and note carefully any instruction given.

Never mind that the Bible doesn’t give us any instruction in regards to us using our fallen imagination as a means to contact deity!

Foster’s book is a sad commentary on the state of those who read these kinds of things and think they are special. Truth comes to us as light and lies come to us as “light”, and we should know the difference.

This is a critique of the original edition of ‘Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth’ by Richard J. Foster (Harper & Row Publishers, Inc.; New York, N.Y.; 1978). If you are interested in this subject area, I suggest that you obtain the original 1978 copyrighted edition of ‘Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth’ by Richard J. Foster. I have heard that this edition has many things in it which are not in subsequent editions. If this is true, it is not hard to figure out why. The false teachings in it are overly prominent and, thus, easily exposed. They are “frightening!” This is convenient for critique because Foster overtly states what might only be insinuated in later editions or may have been left out, but should be considered, especially since many of his ideas seem to be “bursting forth” in our day.

For More on Richard Foster

Richard Foster and the Be Still DVD By Ray Yungen, Lighthouse Trails