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Is the Purpose Driven Life Biblical?

A couple of years ago, I attended a Bible study based on the book, "The Purpose-Driven Life." The book emphasizes the "feel good" part of Christianity, while paying little attention to the sacrifices involved in spiritual growth. It made a big deal out of how much God loved us, and about how bad things can't happen to you unless they are part of God's plan for your own benefit.

I did not consider the book to be evil. I just felt that it over-emphasized part of God's Word while ignoring enough Scripture to make it an inadequate guide for a Christian's life.
 
Vince said:
A couple of years ago, I attended a Bible study based on the book, "The Purpose-Driven Life." The book emphasizes the "feel good" part of Christianity, while paying little attention to the sacrifices involved in spiritual growth. It made a big deal out of how much God loved us, and about how bad things can't happen to you unless they are part of God's plan for your own benefit.

I did not consider the book to be evil. I just felt that it over-emphasized part of God's Word while ignoring enough Scripture to make it an inadequate guide for a Christian's life.
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Hmmm...I don't recall that at all. In fact, the opening words of the book are "it's not about you" - that hardly seems like a self-serving book. :confused

I don't necessarily agree w/ every detail of the book, but I think the main truths are definitely biblical. We're created for a purpose (actually 5) - to fellowship w/ believers, grow as disciples, serve others, tell others the Gospel, and ultimately worship God by bringing Him glory. I think THAT is what the spirit-led life does look like.
 
I did not read the book, but i did live not far from Rick Warrens church for many years. My close friend, & the person who taught me about discerning bad teachings, & about doctrine, who's opinion i trust 100% in such matters, has been to his church & interacted with a number of attendee's. He is, plain a simple, just another 'make myself happy gospel' preaching megachurch pastor. He stops his preaching half-way through the service to advertise his other ministries. (the church has countless number of groups for varies problems, drug addicts, various illnesses, etc). A lot of emphasis is put on these groups, even during service, almost seeming to trump any other message. And even then the message he gave was very shallow. He calls the church 'seeker sensitive', which in essence means 'we don't want to offend anyone with talk of sin, repentance, hell, spiritual matters, etc.
I also knew someone who lived in a neighborhood with a number of people who attended his church. They were frequently rude & at times even mean to this person. The attendee's children were known to bully. When my friend contacted the church directly to see if they could speak to the families about their behaviour she was told that because she was not a member of the church there was nothing they could do, in spite of the fact that the people being complained about were members.
Lastly, the 'non-offensive' attitude permeates everything they do. Church sponsored services often allow bad attitudes, poor treatment & even bad teaching because they don't want to 'offend' anyone by correcting wrong behavior. Thats all i need to know about before reading any book.
 
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