13 “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.
14 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
21 “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
January 7th, 2008 at 9:48 am
I was pleasantly surprised to hear Bezel quoting the parable of the rich man from Luke 12. That’s the opening passage I’ve prepared for tonight’s Bible study and fellowship lesson on greed vs. Christian giving.
I agree that the producers of The Secret are unwilling to see their product exposed as fraudulent, especially since Osteen’s “theology” is so similar to their own. For, if you take away Jesus and the Scripture references from Osteen’s sermons, you have The Secret.
Ah, The Good Life. It’s for those who can convince others to buy the “secrets” to it from them. What a lucrative industry fleecing Americans is, Christian or not.
January 7th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Bezel gave a nice expository
talk. Frankly, if I were the makers of “The Secret” (probably, non-believers) I too would be afraid to be outed as a fraud. As a believer, (if any of the “Secret” people are) I would be offended at being compared with Joal Osteen, champion of the Rev 21:8 cowards.
IndependentConservative reply on January 7th, 2008 at 12:34 pm :
I’m having trouble with having any doubt. I can’t see how anyone who made “The Secret” could be a true believer on the Lord Jesus Christ.
2thehilt reply on January 7th, 2008 at 12:51 pm :
Point taken. All sorts of people call themselves believers these days and do all kinds of things. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was thinking of so-called believers such as Beyonce and Steve Harvey.
January 7th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
One question: Is Wallace Wattles still dead?
IndependentConservative reply on January 7th, 2008 at 2:40 pm :
According to his Wikimedia page, he has not resurrected himself
.
IndependentConservative reply on January 7th, 2008 at 2:42 pm :
Whatever delusion he was under is still alive though and stronger than ever.
stan reply on January 7th, 2008 at 4:37 pm :
It is a wonderful thing that our faith is based on a Man that did not stay dead! His raising proves that only His words give eternal life. Mr. Wattles and every other person that took it upon himself to bring truth to humanity has only proved the futility of their genius, for they are unable to beat death as Jesus did. Their continuing death shows that God Himself rejects them and their words as a means of salvation.
Mr. Wattles’ sole concern was how to improve this fleeting earthly life by attempting to remove some elements of the curse man is under by his sin. His delusions will ensure that those who follow his and all other such teachings will abide in death, just as he does.
So, should not unending credit and admiration be extended to the One who could not stay dead? He beat the “Big One,” the one we are all in fear of otherwise. He did it by condemning sin in His own body by shedding His own blood on a cross.
The Secret teaches men to draw on the Universe for what they want. Well, let them beat death if they can. Perhaps the Universe can supply that one small favor for them. They’ll find out if it can, that’s for sure. They’ll also find out whose words will not pass away, theirs or Jesus’ words.
God help them.
January 11th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
It kinda makes you wander what does the creators of “The Secret” have to gain or lose from Osteen’s lies.
IndependentConservative reply on January 11th, 2008 at 3:15 pm :
I’d really like to see whoever does the next TV interview with Osteen, ask him if he’s ever heard of “The Secret” and just leave the question open ended, to see where Osteen goes with it.
art123 reply on January 11th, 2008 at 5:46 pm :
This man doesn’t have an answer for Christ. He may just pretend that he never heard of them. Who knows.