BOOKS: The Secret

  • Thread starter Thread starter Thnknprblm
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A good friend of mine who is Catholic was really screwed up by this book and video. He got to the point where he was convinced that he was Jesus Christ and that his daughter would soon reveal that she was the Holy Spirit. It went into slightly psychotic episodes and really hurt them more as a family. To read his memoirs of those days a few months ago, it is really scary.

We have a popular radio host in town promoting it everyday, with his bubbly and fabricated “radio voice” he makes it sound very positive. I guess evil usually does look good and tempting in a sort of strange way.
 
I’ve read some of it. It’s seems like the placebo effect applied to life in general. I agree that when we are thinking postively we accomplish a lot more, but it goes too far will the whole “ask the universe” stuff.
 
I saw the DVD for The Secret and heard most of the audiobook. It is a load of nonsense, but with a few grains of truth blown out of proportion.

Our thoughts do have power which is why we have to guard then since we can sin or do harm with them. Positive thinking is also helpful as far as seeing a glass as half full but not the new age version of it.
Confirmation Bias is what is powerful, but it is more Psychological not Metaphysical. One can look up Confirmation Bias online and get good definitions but it is influenced by pride and the fact that some people would rather have bad things happen than to admit they were wrong…
For example if we prejudge a person and say they are trouble and we will not get along or this person has nothing in common with me… Even if we are worng we will only see things that confirm our beliefs and may subconsciously turn our heads to any evidence that our first impressions were wrong. The Secret makes it look like we have complete control over everything and denies God’s providence. This can create a “blame the victim” mentality.

I guess according to the Secret instead of sending missionaries to feed the poor just send them all copies of this book and they will all be rich. And why worry about swine flu and shots or hand sanitizer since well only get sick if we think swine fluish thoughts…

To a “conservative” Christian the term “take responsibility for our lives” sounds quite pious, but the way the Secret implies it is totally different and pantheistic…
 
I have noticed that this “the secret” movement is running rampant in protestant circles, does any one know if EWTN or any Catholic preachers have any videos or info on this subject?
i Know is new age stuff thus makes it incompatible with Christianity but i would like to show this to some of my friends cause all they hear is how good it is from some of their pastors. :confused:
 
DChacon said:
I have noticed that this “the secret” movement is running rampant in protestant circles, does any one know if EWTN or any Catholic preachers have any videos or info on this subject?
i Know is new age stuff thus makes it incompatible with Christianity but i would like to show this to some of my friends cause all they hear is how good it is from some of their pastors. :confused:
Click to expand...
You don’t even need a video, Chacon: just ask your friends whether everything bad or negative that ever happened to them was bec. they didn’t think positively enough (bec. “The Secret” is nothing more than Pealism repackaged). Ask them if the twisters, tsunamis, hurricanes and earthquakes—oh, and the Shoah!—are all the fault of the victims not thinking positively enough. If your friends are biblically literate, you can also refer them to the verses in the O.T. that deal with sorcery (bec. make no mistake about it: the whole mind-over-matter nonsense is nothing more than a [foolish] upgraded version of sorcery).
 
Wow, I didn’t realize that about The Secret. I work at a bookstore, and I’ve seen a few Protestant Christian anti-Secret books. One of them is them called THe Secret Revealed, by Garlow & Marshall. Another, I believe, is called The Truth behind the Secret. Both of these Protestant authors attempt to completely debunk the nonsense of THe Secret, which as you know is wildly popular.

But even worse than the original – there’s a book called ‘The Secret for Teens’. So horribly insidious, and parents truly believe that they’re doing something good for their kids by buying it. These are people of good will with good intentions, who believe this book is an innocuous, success-minded, spiritual work. Please pray for these folks, and for all who buy into this movement!!
 
Chancellare said:
The bottomline question perhaps is:
Are the concepts in the Law of Attraction against the Catholic CCC?
Also, I’m just wondering if the average Catholic who has not read the Rhonda Byrnes book can perform (professionally or in business) better than those who did not.
To avoid being mislead, we need a good counter suggestion to the said book and which need not be based on ‘new age’. Can somebody recommend such book?
Click to expand...
Somebody please answer this? particularly italics part. thanks!
 
i just found this article… very interesting.

I’m sure you’ve heard of The Secret - the sensational book and movie created by Rhonda Byrne. Long before the lessons of The Sectert were published, Venerable Father Solanus Casey was practicing it in various parts of the US.

Here are the lessons of the Secret or the Law of Attraction in accordance to Catholic teachings.
  1. Rhonda Byrne said that the Law of Attraction is the Great Secret of life. I don’t want to disappoint Ms. Byrne, but she isn’t the discoverer of this truth. The One Almighty God revealed this in the Old Testament. We learned from the very first verse of Genesis that God’s thoughts became things. And it’s the same with humans as well. Our thoughts drive everything that we do or don’t do.
  2. The Secret exposed that it’s impossible to feel bad and at the same time to have good thoughts. Throughout the Bible, we are told to not worry because it will paralyze us. Jesus Himself warned us about this. So did Fr. Solanus Casey to all the people he ministered to during his lifetime.
  3. Rhonda Byrne specifies that there are Secret Shifters - things that can change our feelings and shift your thought frequency in an instant. Among them are pleasant memories, nature and favorite music. We Christians have one more - PRAYER!
  4. The Secret says that the feeling of love is the highest frequency you can emit. Once again God beat Rhonda Byrne to it by revealing it to the prophets more than 4,000 years ago. In fact Jesus took it one huge rung higher by telling us to love our enemy even.
  5. Rhonda Byrne says that if we want anything we should just Ask, Believe and Receive. Of course for her it was some inanimate thing that exists in the void of space to ask of. Chiristians call this “thing” God. Jesus told us this 2,000 years ago and Solanus Casey told all his petitioners to ask God with the faith in His promises and to be willing to be open to what we ask for even if we have to change our lives to receive it.
  6. The Secret teaches people to have a grateful attitude for everything you have. This is not new teaching at all. Christians trumped her centuries ago by practicing this. Fr. Solanus Casey is known to say “Deo Gracias” for everything that happened to him including unpleasant things.
  7. Rhonda Byrne tells her readers to give thanks in advance. Fr. Solanus Casey went a step further in always thanking God ahead of time for giving him what he asked for and for how God intends to answer his prayers. In short Fr. Casey believed that God’s will be done rather than his.
  8. The Secret advises that at the end of the day you should reflect on the events of the day. Christians practiced this in their bedtime prayer and thank God for however the day went.
  9. The Secret claims that life is meant to be abundant. Jews and Christians knew this for thousands of years that that was the reason God made humankind - to live as abundantly as He does.
  10. The Secret tells us to be generous. Throughout the Bible, there are teachings to always be generous not just in monetary terms but also to be kind to others. Fr. Solanus Casey practiced these with everyone he met.
Move aside Rhonda Byrne. Your Secret was known to Jews and Christians millenia ago. Just reading the Bible, would have revealed The Secret to you.
If you want to learn more about the life of Fr. Solanus Casey (and practice the Law of Attraction the Catholic way), check this out, Thank God Ahead Of Time - The Life And Spirituality Of Solanus Casey.

By the way Father Solanus Casey is the first US born man to be made “Venerable” by the Vatican.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top