How do you know if what you believe is really true? I remember when I first became a Christian, my brother thought I was involved in a cult. (It’s been nearly 30-years now, so I think he realizes his sister is OK.) Nonetheless, there are strange beliefs out there. How do you know when one is false? Let’s take a look at the “Law of Attraction” to help answer this question.
A friend of mine contacted me recently with concern that her sister is involved in a cult. She mentioned something about the Law of Attraction, and sent me a link to this lady who holds conferences on this movement. As a strong Christian woman, my friend wasn’t sure how to approach her sister, but she wants to “speak the truth in love.” (Eph. 4:15.)
Here is what I would say: ALL TRUTH COMES FROM GOD… but here’s the kicker — Jesus Christ said that He was the way, the TRUTH, and the life. (John 14:6.) So, Jesus is the complete truth.
ALL TRUTH COMES FROM GOD... Click To Tweet
Don’t just take one slice of truth!
To illustrate this point, I am going to use a pie to represent the whole truth metaphorically. What I’ve seen is that many people get one small ‘slice of the pie’ of truth, but they don’t see the whole pie. These people then take their pie slice and can build a whole movement based on a mere piece of the truth, instead of the whole truth as found in Jesus Christ. The problem is that there is enough truth in some of these beliefs to convince many people that they have the ‘whole pie’ of truth. That is a lie. Good lies are deceptive because they contain a slice of Biblical truth* mixed in with a lot of humanism (secular thought). The Law of Attraction is such a movement.
Esther Hicks
A woman named Esther Hicks has been conducting workshops and writing books on this subject. What the Law of Attraction states, according to Hicks, is that we are to “bring our vibrations into one with the moment… That we all have access to a non-physical stream of consciousness, and can create our own reality.”[1] Hicks takes this idea even farther, calling it the “Abraham-Hicks” technique. She suggests we create our own realty by translating thoughts from a group of non-physical entities called Abraham (unrelated to the Biblical Abraham). Hicks describes this Abraham as the “infinite intelligence” that she taps into. Esther said that this is “the purest form of love I’ve ever experienced.”
No one should ever simply believe something without asking reasonable questions. So, ask what exactly does she mean by “Abraham”? On what does Hicks base her beliefs? It sounds as if she bases everything on a personal, subjective experience. Is this reliable?
Hicks’ teachings are based on subjective experiences. That is the key — subjective experiences cannot be verified, since they are internal and personal. Hicks’ claims are not verifiable. Followers of Abraham-Hicks must simply take her word for it. There is no concrete evidence backing up her teachings.
In contrast, Christianity can be verified. It is not based on one person’s experience, but it is based on hundreds of eye-witness accounts (1 Cor. 15:6). These people saw Jesus in a new, resurrected body after he was crucified. Not only did hundreds of people see the Risen Christ alive again, but many wrote about it in historical biographies. Some ended up paying with their lives to proclaim this truth to the Roman empire! Those martyrs did not die in vain. Within a few hundred years, the entire Roman empire was converted to Christianity. Now all of this is verifiable, since it didn’t happen from a subjective, personal, internal experience. It happened because it was an historical event that many people saw with their own two eyes!
Again, Hicks’ teachings are subjective, personal experiences. She describes these experiences of the Law of Attraction by stating that one’s thoughts are like a magnet—what you think, you will attract. Hmm…That sounds familiar in some way. Could this idea be borrowed from a Biblical concept? It sounds like the Biblical truth that teaches “you reap what you sow” (Gal. 6:7), meaning you live with the results of your actions, and those actions first begin in the thought life.
You have the whole world in your hands? Ummm…. I don’t think so!
The Abraham-Hicks technique is similar to the positive thinking movement, which is another concept that the Law of Attraction borrows from. This movement was started by an occultist named William Walker Atkinson in the early 1900s. Atkinson borrowed his ideas from principles taught in the “New Thought” system. This system is not so “new” after all. The techniques taught in New Thought are what some refer to mental science, which is based in ancient Asian meditation practices designed to bring about good karma (cause and effect).
The concept that the Law of Attraction is ultimately based upon is Karma. Christians don’t believe in Karma, which is the sum of a person’s actions in this life, and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences (a.k.a. reincarnation). Instead, symbolism used in the Bible is one of farming: sowing and reaping. If you plant seeds that are good, you will grow good things, and vice-a-versa. Specifically, the Bible is referring to sowing seeds of the Spirit, which are eternal principles of Divine government set in place by God. These things include fruits of the spirit, which Paul discusses in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Christians also don’t believe in reincarnation—this life is all you get, and then you will stand before God to account for your life. There are no ‘do-overs’, as clearly stated in Heb. 9:27: “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.”
When we don’t live by the Spirit, we’re living by the flesh, or the self-focused (sinful) nature. This self-focus centers primarily on individual pleasure and personal happiness. This is what the Law of Attraction feeds on: the self. Hicks explains that your thought life creates reality in the physical realm. She encourages participants to focus on positive thoughts, wellness, and success. Who doesn’t want those things? But if those things are an end unto themselves, then the Law of Attraction is, ultimately, a selfish belief system. Christianity, in contrast, teaches a Christ-centered focus, and that means being otherly-minded, serving humanity for the benefit of all.
The Abraham-Hicks technique has a small piece of the truth pie, but where did she cut that slice of truth from? The apostle Paul spoke about one’s mental state about two-thousand years ago: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” (Phil. 4:8.) This concept of ‘how you think’ does have truth in it.
Instead of following some guru who basically borrows slices of the truth from the Bible, why not follow Truth Himself in the person of Jesus Christ? He said this, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38.)
Remember that a cult is something that cannot be verified because it is based on subjective experience or a spurious belief. It’s often led by a single person, or guru, who shares these experiences without evidence to back it up.
People SAW the Risen Lord!
* There is a good reason to trust that the teachings of the Bible are divinely inspired. How can I make such a bold claim? First, there is ample evidence showing that the New Testament documents are the most historically-attested ancient documents that we have. This means that they are genuine. Recall that all we know about history comes from written accounts. So, knowing that the New Testament is historically verified by not only the embarrassingly-large amount of manuscript evidence, but through archaeology and other, non-biblical sources[2], we can trust its sayings to be true. Its sayings contain the very words of Jesus Christ. His words, read over the centuries, have changed millions of people’s lives for the better! The New Testament shows that Jesus regularly quoted from the Old Testament, too, affirming its inspiration. Other religions simply don’t have this kind of evidence. The best evidence of all is the Resurrection! All these other gurus are either dead (or will die), but none of them have risen in a new, resurrected body like Jesus! This is why Christians are so adamant about sharing the truth – Jesus is alive, and He is the ‘whole pie’ — the Truth and God incarnate.
[1] YouTube video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmRep5MXsB0
[2] Jewish historians wrote about Christ, as well as Roman historians.
Dear Lisa
“The Law of Attraction – a Cult Exposed” was a great read.
Here’s my comment.
Your initial question is excellent: “How do you know if what you believe is really true?
I can relate to your brother’s experience.
Many people think we’re participating in some kind of cult as Christians, perhaps we are 🙂
I get hungry from seeing your pie; I miss a good pie, we don’t have so many choices here in Greenland.
It’s interesting how people pick from different religions today.
They show the same kind of behaviour as we do in the supermarkets, but they almost never pick anything from Jewish religion or Islam.
You are right. No-one should believe without asking questions; this is also true for our own Christian faith.
We need to live in a kind of reflected faith; otherwise, we’ll not be able to explain the value of our faith to other people.
I understand what you mean you say Christianity can be verified, but for me, this is not the crucial point.
It’s not the verification that gives Christianity value for me; nor is it an afterlife etc.
The thoughts expressed in the Christian tradition are simply the best alternative I’ve seen for living an excellent, valuable life committed to other people.
Your thoughts about the fundament of the Law of Attraction are interesting.
The Christian tradition does not think so highly of the self as modern culture does.
Martin Luther and the early Christian thinkers did not expect to find anything interesting by looking in the mirror as we do today.
God bless,
Edna Davidsen
Hi Edna! As always, I appreciate your comments. When I first became a Christian, I didn’t even think to question it. I simply had an encounter with God that I knew was real, and I believed. It wasn’t until questions came from non-believers that I could not answer that I began to wonder about my faith. I knew there must be answers to those skeptics’ questions, but I didn’t know the answers! So, I began a quest to learn WHY my faith was true.
I think it is vital to know the “WHY” of what one believes, because you can believe something and be very sincere about it, but you can believe something that is not true. To me, that is crucial. Why believe something that is not true? The good news is that Christianity IS true, and it is verifiable. That means you can test it to know if it’s true or not. This is not the same thing as “testing God.” This simply means one can look at the historical records to make sure that they are reliable. Of course, there are the millions of changed lives today that speak to the truth of Jesus Christ, and that is evidence in of itself! My life certainly has dramatically changed for the better. I’m sure yours has, too. God bless!
You’re welcome, Lisa.
You’re right. The first phase we’re not questioning the faith.
But at some point, it’s beneficial to do because we come out stronger on the other side.
The best questions about the fundament of our faith come from the non-believers.
Yes, it’s scary that it’s so easy to believe something that is untrue, and the funny thing is that it feels so right.
Yes, it has changed for the better; and it’s such a blessing to meet other bloggers like you who reflect on some of these same topics that I think about in my life.
Take care,
Edna
Hi! Lisa,
I loved your pie analogy! I love how you pointed out that deceptions have just enough truth in them. “Good lies are deceptive because they contain a slice of Biblical truth* mixed in with a lot of humanism (secular thought).”
There is nothing new under the sun. Vain philosophies come and go through time with slight changes or new names, but THE SON of God, Jesus, is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one gets to God without coming to Jesus!
Great point about cults not being verified and that they are subjective, and that the account of Jesus is reliable.
Blessings to you on your ministry!
Misty 🙂
Hi Misty!
You are so right in pointing out that there is “nothing new under the sun.” (Ecc. 1:9) Goes to show you these “New Age” concepts aren’t so new after all, are they? They borrow from older ideas, and revamp them to sound cool, new, trendy, progressive, etc. But when all is said and done, like Solomon said, people really haven’t changed in their characters. We have changed with better technology and new advancements in the sciences, but not when it comes to human character, sadly.
Yet, when I continue to meet a true believer in Jesus Christ, I am always hopeful. Bona fide Christians in this world bring light to the dark places and spark hope where there is none. You are one of those people, I am thinking! May the Lord bless your ministry, too.
God bless you – Lisa Q
This is an interesting read. I used to attend a church that people thought was a cult, though I still believe it is NOT a cult, I do see where people were coming from.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the Law of Attraction, and for bringing to our attention a twist of the enemy.
Thanks, Taylor, for taking the time to read my blog and your comment. God bless you – Lisa Q
Over Christmas I watched a popular movie on Netflix called “The Secret” with my oldest son. It was promoting the same “Law of Attraction”. Yes, there is truth when it comes to the power of our thoughts. “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” In other words transformation begins with our thoughts.
Without Christ becoming our life, there is only the rule of self. The Gospel message is that we need to be crucified with Christ and be “born again” into His life, by faith.
The “Law of Attraction” without Christ makes self the center, as do all cults. I was involved in a few when I was searching for the truth. They appeal to our flesh. The Christian message is that self is the problem. It can never be good enough or strong enough to earn God’s favor. Self needs to be exchanged for a whole new life in Christ.
Because I know who I am in Christ, I can see the slice of truth being promoted, but I can also discern when it is being used for selfish ambitions or bringing people to the Cross of Christ.
Thanks for bringing this to light.
>Scott
Hi Scott!
WOW! I didn’t know a movie was made on this same “law of attraction”concept. It must be appealing to many people if someone felt it deserved a movie made on the movement. You are right in saying that this movement “appeals to our flesh.” That is why I wrote this about it: “She (Hicks) encourages participants to focus on positive thoughts, wellness, and success. Who doesn’t want those things? But if those things are an end unto themselves, then the Law of Attraction is, ultimately, a selfish belief system. Christianity, in contrast, teaches a Christ-centered focus, and that means being otherly-minded, serving humanity for the benefit of all.”
I am so blessed to know the whole pie of truth in Christianity. Since following Jesus Christ, yes, I’ve had to die to my selfish nature but in that death is where I found life! I am so much happier, living as His disciple, than I ever would have living out my fleshly desires.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments! God bless you – Lisa Q