10 Problems With "The Secret"
"The Secret: Ten Problems"
by Charlie Campbell (Director of The Always Be Ready Apologetics Ministry)
Jesus told His disciples that in the days leading up to His Second Coming, “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many” (Matthew 24:11). That is indeed the case. Our culture has been inundated with false prophets. The rise of the cults, false religions and attacks on the Christian faith has reached a fever pitch. The latest false prophet on the scene who has captured the minds of millions is a woman by the name of Rhonda Byrne. She is the author of a new book called The Secret (published in November of 2006).
Introduction to The Secret
http://www.alwaysbeready.com/images/...the-secret.jpg
The 216 page book, and DVD by the same title, have taken the world by storm. Oprah Winfrey has devoted two entire programs to it within the past couple of months (February of 2007). Larry King did an entire hour-long program on it on March 8. And it has been at the top of the New York Times Best Seller list ever since. It has turned into a publishing phenomenon and, what Newsweek says, “could be the fastest-selling book of its kind in the history of publishing.” The book is so in demand, it’s selling out faster than bookstores can get it back in the stores.
Rhonda Byrne, an Australian reality-TV producer, says she discovered the ancient secret through her study of religious and philosophical texts. This “secret,” according to the back of the book, “has been passed down through the ages, highly coveted, hidden, lost, stolen, and bought for vast sums of money.”
People Who Supposedly Have Known of The Secret
The book claims that a variety of the greatest people who have ever lived knew of and practiced the secret: William Shakespeare [p. 4], Beethoven, Leonardo da Vinci, Socrates, Plato, Sir Isaac Newton, The Wright Brothers, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Mother Theresa, and Jesus (p. 4, 47, 54). (Jesus? Yes, Jesus. You can’t write a book about “secrets” today and not include a mystical Hindu Jesus!).
Why haven’t more people known about this secret?
The book says, “The leaders in the past who had The Secret wanted to keep the power and not share the power. They kept people ignorant of The Secret.” [p. 2, capitals in original]
What is the Secret?
I’ll tell you. We certainly don’t want you spending $23.95 on the book to find out. The big “secret” according to Byrne is what she calls “the Law of Attraction.” The Law of Attraction, according to the author, is a law of the universe, like the law of gravity, that basically says: Whatever you think about, you attract into your life. According to the book, if you think the right thoughts, you can have anything and everything you want: unlimited joy, health, money, relationships, love, youth. But the law doesn’t just work for your advantage. If you think prolonged thoughts about possibly gaining weight, the possibility of losing your job, getting cancer, etc. those things will come to fruition in your life as well.
So present, so strong is this law, the book tells us that it has been at work in our lives all along whether or not we realize it. In fact, our present circumstances, our present life, is the result of our previous thoughts. The book says, “Your life right now is a reflection of your past thoughts.” [p.9] If you are poor, it is because you have been thinking too many thoughts about being poor. If you are overweight, it is because you have been thinking too many thoughts about being overweight (what the author calls “fat thoughts”). If you are sick, it is because you have been thinking too many thoughts about being sick. You “attracted” those things into your life with your thoughts.
What can "The Secret" do for you?
This law, this “secret,” is so powerful, Rhonda Byrne says… “There isn’t a single thing that you cannot do with this knowledge. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are, The Secret can give you whatever you want.” [p. xi, emphasis mine] This book suggests that “The Secret,” the Law of Attraction, can be used to attract “large sums of money,” “perfect homes,” “life partners,” “cars,” “jobs,” “promotions,” “the perfect body,” “high grades,” and “friends.”
The book says, “The Secret gives you anything you want: happiness, health, and wealth…Thoughts become things!...Say this over to yourself and let it seep into your consciousness and your awareness. Your thoughts become things….If you can think about what you want in your mind, and make that your dominant thought, you will bring it into your life.” [p. 1, 9, emphasis in original]
“Decide what you want to be, do, and have, think the thoughts of it, emit the frequency, and your vision will become your life.” [p. 23, emphasis mine]
And the book contains numerous testimonials of people who have learned “The Secret,” put it into practice, and who assure us that it will work for all who follow in their footsteps. For example, Bob Proctor, one of the people who Byrne quotes in the book, says, “See yourself living in abundance and you will attract it. It works every time, with every person.” [p. 12, emphasis mine].
(Suspiciously, most of the persons who share their stories seem to have some stake in all of this. Nearly all of the people who have success stories to tell, sell DVDs, books and CDs or teach expensive seminars on how you can be healthy, rich, successful, etc. And their websites are all listed in the back of the book. Hmm, interesting).
That is "the secret" in a nutshell: Our thoughts become things. This law is said to be, “the most powerful law in the Universe.” [p. 4] “The Law of Attraction,” as Byrne describes it, is as incontrovertible (not open to question or dispute) as the law of gravity.
Problems With The Secret
This book teaches many things that are contrary to the truth revealed in the Bible. Tonight we want to address some of the false teachings in the book with the hope that…
1. You will not be led astray in even the smallest degree by anything this book has to say, should you have been exposed to its teachings in some manner.
2. You will become more knowledgeable of what the Bible says regarding these matters.
3. You will be better prepared to share the truth when you dialogue with people who have read the book or seen the DVD by the same title.
The first problem we have with The Secret is this...
1. The Secret teaches that the universe is God.
This belief, that the universe is God, is called pantheism. Pantheism is the belief that all that exists is God, the rocks, the trees, the moon, your dog, you name it. New Age adherents do not typically refer to this pantheistic God, as “God” unless they are pressed on the issue. They typically refer to God as “the Universal Mind.” And that is the exact title that Rhonda Byrne ascribes to God. For example, here is a quote from the book. Notice the title (“the One Universal Mind”) and notice where this God exists… “All that exists is the One Universal Mind, and there is nowhere that the One Mind is not. It exists in everything. The One Mind is all intelligence, all wisdom, and all perfection, and it is everything and everywhere at the same time.” [p. 160]
This Universal Mind “pervades everything.” [p. 163] The Secret teaches that God, this “One Universal Mind,” pervades all things, contains all things, and is found within all things. In other words, the universe is God, and God is the universe.
Well, we have a problem with this and find it absolutely incompatible with the Christian faith. It is contrary to what the Bible teaches. The Bible says that the heavens and the earth are creations of God.
Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” It doesn’t say in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God was the heavens and the earth.” God is distinct from the universe. He isn’t the universe, He created the universe.
John 1:3 says, “All things were made through Him [Jesus] and without Him nothing was made that was made.” The things that we see around us are things that “were made” by God.”
Colossians 1:16-17 says, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things [i.e., God existed before the universe came into being], and in Him all things consist.”
Pantheism, and the idea that the universe is God, is an unbiblical, untrue belief pulled straight out of the Hindu religion, of which the New Age movement is so closely related. Now if this wasn’t bad enough (the fact that The Secret equates the universe with God), The Secret takes it a step further…
2. The Secret makes people out to be God.
Here is a quote from the book: “You are God manifested in human form, made to perfection...You are God in a physical body. You are Spirit in the flesh. You are Eternal Life expressing itself as You. You are a cosmic being. You are all power. You are all wisdom. You are all intelligence. You are perfection. You are magnificence. You are the creator.” [p. 164]
This is blasphemous! This is pure unadulterated rubbish. (And you thought the Mormons were way off for saying that we can become gods!) The author, staying perfectly in line with New Age beliefs, say we already are god! Well, this hardly needs a response. If there is one thing that the Bible is clear on, it is this: man is not God. The Bible condemns the belief that humans are divine. Far from being God, the Bible says quite the opposite. The Bible teaches:
1. Man is ungodly. Romans 5:6 says, “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”
2. Man is deceitful and desperately sick. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.”
3. Man is full of evil. Jesus said in Mark 7:21-23, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
4. Man cannot even experientially know spiritual things without God’s help. 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
And, not only is man not God, Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man.”
3. The Secret denies the existence of any objective (real) moral absolutes.
The book promotes moral relativism, the idea that there are no real moral laws that God has given mankind. “Be happy now. Feel good now. That’s the only thing you have to do….Whatever you choose for You is right.” [p. 179] According to the book, the most important thing in life according to the book is to be happy. Being happy is paramount to all else. If something is fun, and if it makes you feel good, do it. The book says, “It it ain’t fun, don’t do it.” [p. 178]. So, forget rules, morals, God commandments, “Whatever you choose for You is right.”
Adopting this mindset (“Be happy now. Feel good now.”) is dangerous for a variety of reasons. 1. It leads to greater transgressions. When laws are torn down, and not clearly posted, sin abounds. Where sin abounds, guilt accumulates, and greater will be the judgment on the Day of Judgment. 2. Living out this mindset also results in great heartache in this life, long before the Day of Judgment. One of the reasons God has given us His commandments is to keep us and others safe and to guide us into the kind of life that pleases Him. The Secret, in effect, advocates abandoning the idea that God-given rules exist and just doing what brings pleasure now.
To add to the foolishness, the book tells us, “The Universe likes speed [as if it were a living entity, with likes and dislikes!]. Don’t delay. Don’t second guess. Don’t doubt. When the opportunity is there, when the impulse is there, when the intuitive nudge from within is there, act. That’s your job. And that’s all you have to do. Trust your instincts. It’s the Universe inspiring you.” [p. 56] So, to add to the danger of the exhortation to “Be happy now. Feel good now,” the book says “Don’t delay…when the impulse is there…act.” Well, as thousands of people can attest to, the fastest way to make a mess of your life is to make decisions speedily and impulsively. God’s word tells us to make careful, wise, prayerful decisions, decisions that are in harmony with His revealed will in His word. The heart is deceptively wicked (Jer. 17:9) and is not always safe to trust. Following every desire or impulse that initially seems as though it will make you “feel good,” will set a person on a course to heartache, guilt, grief and even destruction. This is a foolish way to live. Perhaps to keep us from becoming fearful of where this kind of living might lead…
4. The Secret denies a coming Day of Judgment.
The book says, “Your life will be what you create it as, and no one will stand in judgment of it, now or ever.” [p. 177] According to the book, there’s no coming Day of Judgment that people need fear. Notice what the book says again: “…no one will stand in judgment of it, now or ever.” [p. 177] This sounds like Satan’s lie to Eve in the garden, when he said, “You surely shall not die (Gen. 3:5)!” ‘You’re not going to be judged Eve if you eat the forbidden fruit. Do what you want. Do what will make you feel good!’ Boy did Eve live to regret being deceived. And the same will be true of all who buy into the deception put forth in The Secret. There is coming a day when they will find themselves standing at the great white throne of God, spoken of in Revelation chapter 20, to be judged, the very thing they thought would never happen (See Rev. 20:11-15). Don’t be fooled, the Bible says a day of judgment is coming.
2 Corinthians 5:10 says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ…”
Jesus said in Matthew 12:36, “And I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment.”
5. The Secret encourages a self-centered, self-governed life.
According to The Secret, life revolves around you. The book says, “So your purpose is what you say it is. Your mission is the mission you [not Jesus] give yourself.” [p. 177] So forget God’s mission for your life. Forget the great commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Mankind’s purpose, according to The Secret, is not to serve the Lord, or glorify Him. No, the author exhorts her readers to: “Decide what you want. Believe you can have it. Believe you deserve it and believe it’s possible for you.” [p. 92, emphasis mine] Elsewhere it says, “Many of us were taught to put ourselves last…it is imperative that you tend to You first. Attend to your joy first. People are responsible for their own joy. When you tend to your joy and do what makes you feel good, you are a joy to be around…” [p. 119, capitalized You appears in original].
So, according to The Secret, life is not about aligning our lives with what God wants, or seeking to know His will for our lives, but deciding what we want and tending to that until we get it! Love of self is one of the root causes of much of the sin that exists in the world today. 2 Timothy 3 puts it at the top of the list of sins that will characterize the last days ("But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money...") Jesus said, “He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal” (John 12:25).
6. The Secret removes any need to be thankful to God.
The book, although it advocates being thankful for the good things in our lives, robs God of the credit and places the credit at the feet of the person who has “attracted” those things into his or her life. For instance, here is a quote from the book: “The people, the job, the circumstances, the health, the wealth, the debt, the joy, the car that you drive, the community that you’re in…you’ve drawn them all to you, like a magnet. What you think about you bring about. Your whole life is a manifestation of the thoughts that go on in your head.” [p. 20]
According to The Secret, the good that you experience in life (your job, your good health, etc.) is not something the true and living God has graciously bestowed upon you (unless we equate yourselves with God!)…you’ve done it yourself! This is absolutely contrary to what the Bible says. Deuteronomy 8:17-18 says, "you may say in your heart, ‘My power [human power] and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ “But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth…” If there is anything good in our lives (e.g., a job that allows us to make money, a roof over our head), it is a gracious gift from God (See Ps. 127:1-2; Prov. 10:22; Hos. 2:8). John the Baptist said in John 3:27, “A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given him from heaven.”
The Secret says, “Proclaim, ‘This is a magnificent Universe [notice the capital “U” the author constantly gives this word]. The Universe [not the God of the Bible] is bringing all good things to me…The Universe is supporting me in everything I do. The Universe meets all my needs immediately.’…The Universe is the Universal supply and supplier of everything. Everything comes from the Universe.” [p. 40, 163].
“The Universe is bringing all good things to me”??? “The Universe meets all my needs immediately” ??? No. The Bible says in James 1:16-17, “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. [That’s interesting!] Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow.” It is the personal, yet transcendent God, who created the universe, that richly supplies “all [our] needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
1 Corinthians 4:7 says, “And what do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”
1 Chronicles 29:12 and 14 says, “Both riches and honor come from Thee…all things come from Thee, and from Thy hand we have given Thee.”
The Secret says, "you are the masterpiece of your own life. You are the Michelangelo [i.e., the sculpture] of your own life.” [p. 23]
No. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:10, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus…” Anything good about us is because God has fashioned mankind in His image and to a certain degree we are able to reflect aspects of His character. This is nothing we are to take the credit for though (see Jer. 9:23-24).
7. The Secret distorts the facts about Jesus.
The Secret says, “Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Jesus were not only prosperity teachers [Hunh!??] but also millionaires themselves [What!!??], with more affluent lifestyles than many present-day millionaires could conceive of.” [p. 109]
Rhonda Byrne has been thoroughly deceived. All of the evidence about Jesus points to the fact that He was quite poor. For example…
• His mother Mary offered up the sacrifice of a poor person (“a pair of turtledoves, or two pigeons”) who was unable to afford a lamb (see Luke 2:24, see Leviticus 5:7).
• His father was a humble carpenter (Matthew 13:55).
• He borrowed a boat from which to preach from (Luke 5:3).
• He borrowed a colt for His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on (Matthew 21:2-3).
• He was buried in a borrowed grave (Matthew 27:60).
• When a man told Jesus that he would follow Jesus wherever He went, Jesus said, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Matthew 8:20). Jesus made it clear here that He did not own a home. “Foxes have dens [holes] to live in, and birds have nests, but I, the Son of Man, have no home of my own, not even a place to lay my head" (New Living Translation).
• Jesus said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matt 6:19-21). This verse alone negates the idea that Jesus was a "prosperity teacher."
• Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor (Matthew 19:21) and to come and follow Him. When the man was unwilling to do so, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." And when the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking upon them Jesus said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:23-26).
It is difficult to believe that Jesus would have generated much of a following saying these kinds of things if He Himself had been wealthy. The hypocrisy would have been obvious to all. Rhonda Byrne’s picture of “Jesus the millionaire” with a “more affluent lifestyle[s] than many present-day millionaires could conceive of” is absolutely ludicrous and totally contrary to the facts.
8. The Secret distorts Jesus’ teaching regarding prayer.
Trying to lend credence to her distorted view of reality, Rhonda Byrne says The Secret has been taught in a variety of religions, including Christianity [p. 4] and even goes so far as to say, “The Creative Process used in The Secret...was taken from the New Testament in the Bible.” [p. 47] Hunh? Taken from the New Testament!? And then she refers to Jesus’ words in Matthew 7. Perhaps you’ll recall Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:7-8. There Jesus said, “Ask , and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.” Rhonda Byrne hijacks this passage from its context and says that this passage teaches that anyone can tell (or ask) the universe for what they want (a new house, a new job, a skinny body), then if they believe and “feel” that it is theirs, they will receive it. In The Secret she breaks down this process into three steps:
1. Ask
2. Believe
3. Receive.
Well, there is a problem with Rhonda's interpretation. She totally ignores the context. This saying of Jesus was not given to the world at large. Jesus spoke these words to His disciples (notice the original audience mentioned in Matthew 5:1) and He told His disciples that they were to ask, not the Universe as Byrne says, but their “Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 7:11). This passage lends no support to Rhonda Byrne’s farfetched New Age name-it and-claim-it-theology. (I suppose this is the reason she does not provide the verse reference when she refers to this passage, lest anyone easily examine the context and see that it has nothing to do with her teaching). The Secret also refers to Jesus’ words in two other places [p. 54], where Jesus says, “…whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive" (Matthew 21:22) and “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24). Again Rhonda Byrne attempts to prop up her theology with references to Jesus' teachings. What she overlooks is that this promise was given to Jesus’ disciples, who would be praying in accordance with God’s will (1 John 5:14). This is by no means an unconditional promise given to the world at large so that they can “attract” large homes, nice cars and job promotions (see James 4:3). God answers prayers according to His will.
9. The Secret replaces the Bible with itself as the true source of guidance and wisdom.
Here is a quote right from the book: “If you are seeking an answer or guidance on something in your life, ask the question, believe you will receive, and then open this book [The Secret, not the Bible] randomly. At the exact place where the pages fall open will be the guidance and answer you are seeking.” [p. 172] This is another reason I have a problem with this book. The author elevates her wisdom, her writings, this book, above the inspired, inerrant Word of God. “If you are seeking an answer or guidance on something in your life…open this book” Forget praying! Forget the Bible. Read this book!!! And just flip it open randomly. And quite mysteriously, the exact answer you need will appear.
This is foolish! Open the book randomly? Sounds like Russian roulette. Can anyone believe this?
The Bible warns us in Colossians 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” 1 Timothy 6:20-21 says, “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”— which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith.”
10. The Secret gives out advice that could endanger a person’s health.
I am by no means a healthcare professional or doctor. Having made that clear, I am still concerned that statements in the book can and will put people at risk when it comes to their health. For example, the book says, “The question frequently asked is, ‘When a person has manifested a disease in the body temple or some kind of discomfort in their life, can it be turned around through the power of ‘right’ thinking? And the answer is absolutely, yes.’” [p. 128] One of the obvious dangers is that if a person buys into what Rhonda Byrne says in “The Secret,” they may postpone a professional assessment or treatment of a life-threatening disease, holding on to the assurance it can be “turned around through the power of right thinking.” [p. 128] Our outlook, thoughts, faith and hope are all beneficial to our health, but to speak in such certain terms is wishful thinking and irresponsible.
To Rhonda Byrne’s credit, there is a statement on the title page (in about size eight font) that says: “This information should not replace consultation with a competent healthcare professional. The content of the book is intended to be used as and adjunct to a rational and responsible healthcare program prescribed by a healthcare practitioner.” So there is a lawsuit-preventing disclaimer, where most people will not see it. Good enough, but then Rhonda Byrne goes on to say in the body of the book: “Think thoughts of perfection. Illness cannot exist in a body that has harmonious thoughts…Imperfect thoughts are the cause of all humanity’s ills, including disease, poverty, and unhappiness…You can think your way to the perfect state of health, the perfect body, the perfect weight, and eternal youth. You can bring it into being, through your consistent thinking of perfection.” [p. 130-131]
“Whether you want to regain perfect eyesight, dissolve disease and restore well-being, turn poverty into abundance, reverse aging and degeneration, or eradicate any negativity, focus on and love the presence within you and perfection will manifest.” [p. 173, emphasis mine]
See the promise? She says, “perfection will manifest.” That is dangerous. There are people out there gullible enough to take that to the bank. And they are. And as they wait for the disease to "dissolve" and for "perfection" to set in, they risk the chance that their disease will continue to grow worse. That is a concern.
So, that is an overview of some of the problems with “The Secret”:
1. The Secret teaches that the universe is God.
2. The Secret makes people out to be God.
3. The Secret denies the existence of any objective (real) moral absolutes.
4. The Secret denies a coming Day of Judgment.
5. The Secret encourages a self-centered, self-governed life.
6. The Secret removes any need to be thankful to God.
7. The Secret distorts the facts about Jesus.
8. The Secret distorts Jesus’ teaching regarding prayer.
9. The Secret replaces the Bible with itself as the true source of guidance and wisdom.
10. The Secret gives out advice that could endanger a person’s health.
May I exhort you brothers and sisters to continue in the faith, “…evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them; and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings [You don’t need “The Secret” you have “the sacred writings”] which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:13-15)
As you "continue in the things you have learned," I encourage you to use the popularity of The Secret to share the truth with people. Starting a conversation about God these days can be as easy as asking people a simple, non-offensive question:
“Hey, have you read “The Secret” (or seen the DVD)?”
And see what they say. If they say yes, ask them what they thought about it. And look for an opportunity to share the truth with them. If they say no, tell them a little bit about it, and what some of your concerns are about it.
