Bible Study What Your Opinion of The "Purpose Driven Life"?

[Eskarina]

Actually they are apostrophes. I use them to emphasize certain words rather than use caps. Sorry. :

*Sighs* No, I'm the one who is sorry, I get snappy about grammar and I shouldn't. At least your not using 1337 or chat speak, right? *smiles* Maybe you could use italics to minimize confusion... Really, you don't need to put emphasis on too many words. People can usually tell where the emphasis in a sentence lies themselves. But that is beside the point. Again, I'm sorry I was snappy

Rather than continue this with a long drawn-out debate on what we should do with our 'spare' time, suffice is to say that the Bible is a very deep and meaningful book that one could spend their life-time reading and studying and still never understand it all. It is, however, the Word of God and without question, a 'good' book.

I have read a number of books written by a number of different pastors and such and find each and every one of them to be filled with more 'opinion' than 'truth'. And each and every time I find myself helpless to avoid a least a 'little' influence left behind no matter how sure I may be about my ability to discern.

I guess if knowledge is ones desire, reading is one way to obtain it. The question is, how aptly are we able to assimilate knowledge without letting it get in the way of our walk?

I have met people that have read 'purpose' yet have never even read the entire Bible. So, in these cases, do you think that they are capable of discerning whether or not it is a 'good' book? Much like those that watch movies based on Bible stories. Some of them are quite entertaining, but most are simply that; based on Bible stories. One that is unread in the Bible could certainly come away with a very twisted understanding of the true story of Exodus after watching 'The Ten Commandments'.

I simply feel that the Christian community would find their time better spent reading God's Word rather than allowing an individual that is making a profit from a 'how to' book influence their lives in a possible negative manor.

To each their own though and this thread asked for our opinions and this is mine. Once again, when a Christian sees the masses running a particular direction, it's probably not a bad idea to run the other way. This advice, of course, is just another one of my opinions.

Well, that's a pretty decent statement on things. And that's why people are asking about this book, because they want to know if it's any good to be used as a study guide.

Some people have trouble just sitting down and reading their bible because they don't understand what it's saying or how it could be applicable to their own life. Study guides are useful to them. I personally find that most study guides are restricting for me, but that's not the case for many other people. Sometimes they need help to understand.

I mean, Proverbs 5:15-17 say:

15Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
16Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
17Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee.

Would you get from a glance that this is supposed to mean "don't sleep with prostitutes"?

 

[Imagican]

On this point is what I based my previous statements. A 'study guide' is only as beneficial or accurate as the understanding of the one who writes it. The Bible is 'THE' study guide to one desiring to learn of the desires of God and how we may be able to offer them in our lives.

Some things in the Bible are beyond any one man's ability to understand. Each of us is given the understanding that we are capable of. To rely upon 'someone else' to influence our 'walk' is to deny the power of God to offer what we 'need'. If one is confused about what is offered, then I propose that they are seeking for themselves instead of that which would please God. Our command is that through 'faith' NOT understanding that we follow Christ to the Father.

I know, I know. This is NOT what we are taught by our mentors in the churches or those that would 'sell' us books that promise to teach us that which we 'should' understand. But, doesn't this same concept of allowing others to 'save us' totally refute the idea of Christ as mediator and God as our Savior? I mean, if God's will is that we understand ANY 'truth', is it beyond His ability to impart this understanding? Or, are men really able to impart something to someone that God 'hasn't' chosen to understand?

At one time there was a 'need' for the apostles to 'start' the Church. This was already accomplished two thousand years ago. Ever since then others have come along to offer 'their' interpretations of the Word and look at the state in which we find the Church today. Which of the pastors that exist in this country are teaching 'The Truth'? Are there any? I have yet to see one that I would equate with 'any' of the apostles. NO, not in power, but in humbleness and 'giving of self'. And these are those that we are to offer our worship to? Hardly my friends.

These forums are constantly bombarded with the 'teachings of men' rather than the Word of God. Quite often the 'truth' of this is even offered by the ones posting their endorsements of the 'teachings' of books written by other men.

I'm surprised that it isn't more obvious to others the folly of following the teachings of men rather than the Word itself. If the Word itself isn't enough, then I propose that NOTHING is enough.

 

[soma]

It is good to talk to people about God, but that also means to listen. When I read a book, I am listening to what another is saying about God. We can always learn, and we can always learn about God. On this forum many are talking, but few are listening so we have preaching as if some know everything about God. Is that possible?

 

[Solo]

It is good to talk to people about God, but that also means to listen. When I read a book, I am listening to what another is saying about God. We can always learn, and we can always learn about God. On this forum many are talking, but few are listening so we have preaching as if some know everything about God. Is that possible?

It is possible that some know more about God than others. :D

 

[Imagican]

It is good to talk to people about God, but that also means to listen. When I read a book, I am listening to what another is saying about God. We can always learn, and we can always learn about God. On this forum many are talking, but few are listening so we have preaching as if some know everything about God. Is that possible?

And I am forced to ask this once again: Do you think that the 'state of the churches' is on more solid ground now, after two thousand years of man listening to other men than it was at the time of Christ? Or, has this principle been the means by which we have ended up where we are at in the present age? Are we to find our correct 'path' through the words of men, or the Word of God? And if your answer is the words of men, how is one 'unlearned' supposed to be able to discern the difference between 'the truth' and 'man's truth'?

 

[soma]

Walk with the Lord and he will help you discriminate which way to go and who to listen to, he gave us ears and a mind to use.

 

[Eskarina]

Walk with the Lord and he will help you discriminate which way to go and who to listen to, he gave us ears and a mind to use.

Here, here!

 

[Imagican]

He also gave us His Word which warns us over and over again that 'this' is where the 'truth' lies, not within the words of men.

 

[soma]

Are you calling president Bush a lier? Are you saying the Reverend Fallwell and Pat Robertson are not telling us the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.?

 

[Eskarina]

He also gave us His Word which warns us over and over again that 'this' is where the 'truth' lies, not within the words of men.

And we use His Word to improve on the natural discernment that God gives us as humans. With His discernment through His Word, we can choose what we should and should not believe, whether it comes from books or from people. If we can't trust in the wisdom of man, then I should stop attending church services and home group meetings because I wouldn't want to be mislead by my minister or group leader. Instead, of abandoning Christian intitutions, I have chosen my church with the best of my scripturally tempered discernment. I was wrong the first time I chose, but now I believe that I attend the church that God intends for me to attend.

 

[Gary]

Walk with the Lord and he will help you discriminate which way to go and who to listen to, he gave us ears and a mind to use.

Here, here!

or "Hear, hear!"?



(Excuse the pun and the spelling correction; could not resist it!)

 

[Eskarina]

Walk with the Lord and he will help you discriminate which way to go and who to listen to, he gave us ears and a mind to use.

Here, here!

or "Hear, hear!"?



(Excuse the pun and the spelling correction; could not resist it!)

Thank You!

I wan't sure when I wrote it which it was supposed to be. I tried to judge on the basis of the origin of the phrase, but I couldn't decide where it was supposed to mean something like "me, over here, I agree", or "I hear/he's right, people you should hear him out." Unlike unsual, I did not bother to seek out a dictionary and so flipped a coin. Never trust Canadian currency.

 

[Gary]

No problem! I still spell most words like the English do. However, to make myself understood on the Internet, I change the flavor (or is that flavour) and even the colour...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hear_hear

Hear hear
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hear hear is an expression which originated as hear him, usually repeated. This imperative was used to call attention to a speaker's words, and naturally developed the sense of a broad expression of favor. This is how it is still used today, although one can always vary one's tone to express different sentiments; the Oxford English Dictionary noted around the turn of the century that the phrase, is now the regular form of cheering in the House of Commons, and expresses, according to intonation, admiration, acquiescence, indignation, derision, etc.

As a parliamentary cheer, hear him, hear him! is first recorded in the late 17th century and continued into the 19th; the reduction to hear! or hear, hear! occurred by the late 18th century. However, the use of the verb hear as an imperative meaning listen! is older: a notable example is the parliamentary-sounding Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear (King James Bible, 2 Samuel 20:16).

Aside from the interjection, a number of other forms are found, such as a hear, hear (originally, of course, a hear him) 'a cheer'; hear-hear 'to shout "hear, hear!"'; and hear-hearer 'a person who shouts "hear, hear!"'.

Source: Partial citation of a "words at random" posting on the randomhouse.com website

:-?

 

[Eskarina]

No problem! I still spell most words like the English do. However, to make myself understood on the Internet, I change the flavor (or is that flavour) and even the colour...

I'm Welsh and live in Canada so flavour is the right way as far as I'm concerned. Sometimes I change it online, but usually I don't.

 

[Relic]

.

Here is an old thread with aproximately 133 posts on the subject:

Purpose Driven--What's wrong with it?
Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9


In that thread, Gary porvided this quote from the following link (thank you Gary):

"As I began reading this book, the problems were so numerous and obvious that I backed up and began marking these errors. I found 42 such Biblical inaccuracies, plus 18 out-of-context passages of Scripture, supposedly used to prove his point, and another nine distorted translations. (More on some of these later in this report). In general, there is much that is disturbing within the pages of The Purpose-Driven Life. Even though he denies it, Warren is obviously a disciple of pop-psychology, which is littered throughout. "

Click here to read the whole article:
http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/warren/scripture.htm


Also, here is what I posted on the subject:
http://www.christianforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=157297#157297



.

 

[Henry]

I thought the book was watered down and boring.

 

[D46]

The Purpose-Driven Life may contain some helpful, Biblical truths, but it cannot be trusted to lead a believer on a spiritual journey that is completely true and faithful to the Word and will of God. Why? Because Warren often misinterprets Scripture to his own advantage, conjoins untrustworthy, humanistic psychological principles with Biblical truths, minimizes the importance of sound doctrine, deems holiness and biblical separation as less important than love and unity, refers to enemies of the faith as positive contributors to one's spiritual journey and promotes his entire Purpose-Driven program. For these and other reasons, believers cannot trust The Purpose-Driven Life and churches should refrain from participating in the 40 Days of Purpose campaigns.

Through formulating his own outline and principles for Christian living and subsequently "proof texting" his presuppositions by finding Scripture texts and translations that coincide with his ideas and philosophy of Christian living, Warren has effectively laid out a blueprint for Christian living consistent with what he thinks a Christian should be but not a blueprint reflecting what God desires of the believer. In other words, a believer who embarks on a spiritual journey and uses The Purpose-Driven Life as a guide may become the type of Christian Rick Warren wants him to become, but he will not become the type of Christian God desires him to becomeâ€â€a Christian dedicated to the whole counsel of God and to faithful obedience and holy living.

Any time a Christian leader minimizes the importance of doctrine and sound Biblical interpretation, he can make the Bible say whatever he wants it to say. At that point, no one can argue or disagree with his interpretation because interpretation has become relative and irrelevant. Warren specifically tells the reader that focusing on "Interpretations" of Scripture results in division (p. 162). Therefore, any criticism leveled at The Purpose-Driven Life for faulty interpretation of Scripture will be labeled "divisive." Yet, interpretation and doctrine are important and must be a central part of anyone's spiritual journey.

At the end of his book, Warren tells the reader, "In this book I have passed on to you what others taught me about the purpose of life; now it's your duty to pass that on to others" (p. 309). Warren admits that his book contains "what others taught [him] about the purpose of life" and then urges believers to propagate his discoveries. Yet believers must disciple others in the faithful teachings of the Word of Godâ€â€not Rick Warren. Believers must heed and proclaim the words of the New Testament apostles and prophets who penned the words of Scripture and commanded believers to "teach others also" (2 Timothy 2:2) and to "stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our (the apostles') epistle" (2 Thessalonians. 2:15). The Word of God is sufficient to equip the believer "for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Yes, the Bible is sufficient, and yes, God does use pastors and teachers to train and disciple believers in the truths of Scripture, but The Purpose-Driven Life is not consistently faithful to God's Word and therefore must be rejected by serious, discerning believers.

 

[AVBunyan]

From what I hear and read it is new age teaching with some verses sprinkled in - Just tells everyone they can be their best -

The writer recently sang Purple Haze in his church with a full orchestra - Sounds like a worldly - get slong, positive slop to me.

Just make it "christian" enough to fool the ignorant.

God bless

 

[starbyfar]

I thought what I read was good. Everything he said was backed up with scripture and its a great tool to use as a daily devotional. My only problem was I couldnt devote time to do the chapters daily, although they are really short. And I always wanted to read ahead. I admit that I didn't finish it, but nothing I read in there was against Christs teachings. People say that he used his own interpretations of the scripture to write the book, but duh? Any book that is written using scripture is that persons interpretation.

But Its just a really great read, id recommend going to a bookstore and just reading the first couple of pages, or chapter to see if you like it.

From what I hear and read it is new age teaching with some verses sprinkled in - Just tells everyone they can be their best -

The writer recently sang Purple Haze in his church with a full orchestra - Sounds like a worldly - get slong, positive slop to me.

Just make it "christian" enough to fool the ignorant.

God bless

thats actually a really bad analysis. the author actually spends most of the first chapter speaking out against 'self help new age books'. Sprinkled with scripture? Nearly every page has atleast 4 different scriptures referenced lol

 

[Dr Doughboy]

Hey catlover, et al. Your post intrigued me. I enjoyed the book, but it didn't take me deep enough. I am living and breathing the topic of meaning and purpose in life with my dissertation right now and just created a course on this topic. Praying 4 u all. Be blessed.