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a Purpose driven life - 4/12/2008 5:56:48 AM
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chefy_jeffy
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this book is very inpiring......must read!
chefy_jeffy
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/12/2008 7:40:03 AM
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happyhippie
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So many people are so busy looking for their purpose in life that they actually miss what god has planned for them.
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/12/2008 5:40:48 PM
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happyhippie
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It is just more pyschology feel goodism than actual scriptural teaching.
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/12/2008 8:30:30 PM
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1love1God1way
Posts: 1985
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quote:
ORIGINAL: scottmcc1
I have not read the book. We know a missionary (Baptist) that got in trouble for using the "Purpose Driven Life".
What is controversial about it?
I am not a goals person. My life seems to work as I build on what works.
Poor theology (I'm not necessarily saying heretical, just poor).
Verses are used out of context, or paraphrased by Warren himself to match his own context.
The book is written to believers and unbelievers, but the promises are made to seem as if they apply to both (which is not always the case).
Warren misrepresents Scripture. He says things like that whenever God wants to change a person it ALWAYS takes 40 days.
I wouldn't recommend this book.
_____________________________
-Ben-
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/12/2008 8:41:55 PM
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4ChristisLove
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I just picked this book up to read again, because it's been several years since I've read it. I remember loving it, but I will have to get back to you again in 40 days. :) My relationship with Christ has taken off to a whole new level since I read it last so we will see.
I did challenge some friend's I know to read it with me....hoping to strike some interest in seeking Christ.
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/12/2008 10:34:40 PM
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sunshine4God
Posts: 5288
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From: Sterling Ct.
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I have read this book twice and love it! It is very helpful and encouraging.
_____________________________
Matthew 5:16.
"Let your light so shine before men that they will see
your good deeds and glorify your Lord".
<Its me having fun at the beach!
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/12/2008 10:50:16 PM
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brothertodd
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although a very uplifting book, Warren has taken scripture out of context to prove his points. Which makes it dangerous especially to the newer or weaker Christian.
Scripture tells us to hold all teachings in light of scripture. Like the bereans in acts Paul commended them for doing just that when he taught them.
In John MacArthurs book Fools Gold, about biblical discernment there is a chapter on purpose driven life.
_____________________________
Brother Todd, servant of Christ
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/13/2008 9:09:03 PM
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4ChristisLove
Posts: 136
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Can you give some examples of how he takes scripture out of context? Thanks!
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/14/2008 1:41:16 AM
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1love1God1way
Posts: 1985
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quote:
ORIGINAL: 4ChristisLove
Can you give some examples of how he takes scripture out of context? Thanks!
Rick Warrens version of Proverbs 18:5 "The intelligent man is always open to new ideas. In fact, he looks for them."
What the Bible says: Proverbs 18:15 "The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge."
There are no "new ideas" that we are to search for, but to uncover the objective truths in Scripture.
Rick Warrens version of Proverbs 16:4 "The Lord has made everything for his own purposes."
The Bibles: Proverbs 16:4 "The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for punishment."
Rick Warrens entire book overlooks and glosses over the seriousness and the issues of sin. But omitting the second half of the verse (prooftexting it), he is able to create his own gospel, aside from the one we are given (as mentioned in my previous post, he writes to non-believers as if they are believers).
Warren's use of Matthew 16:25 "Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self." He uses this to say that if you want a more successful life, you need more than self-help advice.
What Matthew 16:25 actually says. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." Warren, ignoring context, and using horrible paraphrases, loses the very essence of what Christ was talking about.
I could go on, but this is a start.
I will add, though, that more startling than his poor theology that he does use, is the doctrine he simply leaves out. The gospel message is presented with no notion of repentance, the cross, the reason Jesus died, or the eternal consequences of sin. He emphasizes the gifts of grace, rather than man's depravity and a need for a Savior.
God's love is emphasized, his wrath completely ignored (pg. 294 "God never made a person He didn't love.") Warren discusses that unity is the number one goal of the church. Important, yes. Primary? Hebrews 10:25 is about doctrinal purity.
Again, I could go on.
I will conclude with this. . . Warren preaches a "gospel-lite" version.
Put down the milk. Get some meat.
_____________________________
-Ben-
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/14/2008 9:09:45 AM
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dryden
Posts: 27
Joined: 1/19/2008
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I had this book as a gift for my brithday about 2 years ago.. I had read only the first part of it and haven't continued on it for a quite long period of time... I really do feel bad because I have noticed that whenever a thing pertains about God it's as if i lose any interest and motivation.. But hearing you people read the book and are really inspired by it I am thinking again of resumming to reading the book to find what am I really here for..
_____________________________
I can't help myself but I simply love to shop
First-time parents
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/14/2008 10:03:17 AM
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4ChristisLove
Posts: 136
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quote:
ORIGINAL: 1love1God1way
quote:
ORIGINAL: 4ChristisLove
Can you give some examples of how he takes scripture out of context? Thanks!
Rick Warrens version of Proverbs 18:5 "The intelligent man is always open to new ideas. In fact, he looks for them."
What the Bible says: Proverbs 18:15 "The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge."
There are no "new ideas" that we are to search for, but to uncover the objective truths in Scripture.
Rick Warrens version of Proverbs 16:4 "The Lord has made everything for his own purposes."
The Bibles: Proverbs 16:4 "The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for punishment."
Rick Warrens entire book overlooks and glosses over the seriousness and the issues of sin. But omitting the second half of the verse (prooftexting it), he is able to create his own gospel, aside from the one we are given (as mentioned in my previous post, he writes to non-believers as if they are believers).
Warren's use of Matthew 16:25 "Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self." He uses this to say that if you want a more successful life, you need more than self-help advice.
What Matthew 16:25 actually says. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." Warren, ignoring context, and using horrible paraphrases, loses the very essence of what Christ was talking about.
I could go on, but this is a start.
I will add, though, that more startling than his poor theology that he does use, is the doctrine he simply leaves out. The gospel message is presented with no notion of repentance, the cross, the reason Jesus died, or the eternal consequences of sin. He emphasizes the gifts of grace, rather than man's depravity and a need for a Savior.
God's love is emphasized, his wrath completely ignored (pg. 294 "God never made a person He didn't love.") Warren discusses that unity is the number one goal of the church. Important, yes. Primary? Hebrews 10:25 is about doctrinal purity.
Again, I could go on.
I will conclude with this. . . Warren preaches a "gospel-lite" version.
Put down the milk. Get some meat.
Thank you, I will have to reference the book again with those scriptures.
I agree that I would much rather have the meat, but I understand not all Christians (and the unbelievers) are not at my level of maturity and knowledge. So I don't think this book can hurt someone by striking up a hunger that will lead to the Word. JMO.
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/14/2008 11:06:02 AM
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4ChristisLove
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I just referenced the first chapter's scripture and see what you are saying. Thanks, I will be sure to continue to read and reference the scriptures against what Warren is saying.
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/14/2008 11:29:40 AM
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1love1God1way
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Ok, very good, 4Christ.
Thanks for taking what I had to say well. It's hard to lay out things like that against books that people really like. I just want people to understand what they are getting into.
_____________________________
-Ben-
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/16/2008 9:33:16 AM
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jeffcalloway
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The success of this book proves that people are looking for meaning in their life. I believe I read that it has sold more copies than any other hardcopy book in history (excluding the Bible). The book was written to cross mainstream Christianity to a society that is pagan in hopes to get pagans interested in spiritual matters that lead to Jesus. I have seen this happen with this book. People who were pagans become believers, followers and disciples of Christ. I wish he wouldn't use the Message paraphrase - it is like reading something Oprah would endorse.
I would argue that until you have heard Warren, preach I would not consider him "gospel lite." The book at many points is "lite", but his preaching from the pulpit is biblical and strong. No, I don't attend his church, I live in Ohio, but have attended there a couple of times and watch their services on the internet from time to time.
Jeff Calloway
author of VisionalLife:Pursuing God's Passion
www.visionallife.com
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/16/2008 2:13:32 PM
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1love1God1way
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My comments were not on Warren as a person or a preacher, but solely on an author.
There are a lot of really great books out there. This simply isn't one of them.
_____________________________
-Ben-
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/18/2008 9:49:32 AM
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faith_alone
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Everyone should check out a book titled "Redefining Christianity: Understanding the Purpose Drive Movement" by pastor Bob Dewaay.
It's relatively inexpensive (around $13) and can be ordered through his website: www.cicministry.org
He also writes a newsletter in which he has spent some time on the Purpose Driven Life.
In the radio section of his site you can find a 15 part series where he discusses his book and the Purose Drivien Life.
The fact that this book is so successful shows a serious lack of discernment in today's age. Rick Warren wants to meet everyone's felt needs but ignores the fact that we are all sinners who fall short without the blood atonement.
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/18/2008 1:23:22 PM
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Focusing
Posts: 5254
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quote:
Put down the milk. Get some meat.
Ah, but we do start life as babes ... with milk. Once we get a good handle on that, we are ready to move along.
I read this book as a brand new baby Christian many years ago. It spoke to me on a whole different level. Stepping into a Baptist church as a brand new baby Christian would have caused me to run screaming and decide I would never ever understand the Bible so why bother. (Not speaking for anyone but myself and where I was coming from in my search through various religions over the years.)
While there are much better books to be read, I will not disagree about that, I believe Rick Warren has a heart for God and desires to bring people to Him. I view his book as planting seeds ... some will take and grow, some will not. There are so many different preaching and teaching styles available today - certainly the teachers of today are much different than they were in the days of the early church - and there is a lot of debate as to who is "best" or "better" or "acceptable" ... but I believe the end result is to bring nonbelievers to Christ. Different people will hear teaching from the same person, and one person will really feel moved by the Spirit and it's entirely possible that the person sitting right next to them will feel nothing.
We are slammed with so many people coming at us from so many angles telling us to believe this or believe that, teaching from one translation of the Bible or another, and granted some translations are better than others, but I think the point is that Rick Warren is trying to present the Gospel in a manner that is nonoffensive to those who know absolutely nothing about God and His truths, and hopefully many (like myself) will take a Bible and compare it to what he has written in his book, and that will be the beginning of their digging into God's Word. That's what I did, and many of my friends did it as well. While the views along our paths vary, the book did point us to a starting place to The Path ... to Jesus.
Jesus went from town to town and taught the people in a manner that spoke to them. While I am not comparing Rick Warren, or any of the other popular preachers, to Jesus, I believe the various teaching styles available for us to pick and choose from allow us to find someone who can speak to us in a language that we understand. And that's key in having the seed take root and grow. We all offer different types of soil, and if it's the wrong kind of seed, chances of it growing can very well be diminished without the proper kind of attention. And, quite unfortunately, a lot of us do not get the proper kind of attention (mentoring, guidance).
quote:
So I don't think this book can hurt someone by striking up a hunger that will lead to the Word. JMO.
My opinion too.
I want to address the issue about The Purpose Driven Life being one of the highest selling books in history. I have even heard that it has now outsold the Bible. I don't know if that's true or not ... but rather than dwell on these numbers, let's consider that we have access to several different translations of the Bible online - free!! Never mind we can simply google a verse, and voila! There it is. Let's think about the convenience factor of that - no more fumbling around, getting frustrated because a new believer, or someone looking into God's Word for the first time, just isn't familiar with where things are in the Bible - they are pretty apt to just set it down and say forget about it. (I admit having done this many many years ago.) Is the PDL book available online? Nope. Gotta buy the book.
Now, I'm addressing this issue because I have heard the debate that people think new believers are following after the PDL book and not the Bible. I just don't accept that. I personally do not know a single person who has done this - and I know many people who have started their spiritual walk with this book. I see it as a book to be used as a tool to encourage people to dig into the Word of God - go to the Bible yourself, dig in, immerse yourself, get lost in Him and His Word and see what He is saying to you.
The bottom line is, if it's not the Bible you are reading, it's nothing but another person's interpretation and perspective.
_____________________________
Sam
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/18/2008 1:25:02 PM
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1love1God1way
Posts: 1985
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I don't think baby Christians should be taught how to proof text. . .
At least give them some whole milk then. . .
_____________________________
-Ben-
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/18/2008 1:38:14 PM
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Focusing
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You are quick Ben! 
I agree with you ... but there are a lot of people who don't know where to turn.
I think my experience with having read the book was very good, and I had several friends who also had equally good experiences, so I just cannot give an answer from my heart telling others to not read it.
I went from having read this book to an excellent Bible study group, lead by a man who had studied the original Greek and Hebrew languages, and feel that I was very fortunate for this - otherwise I'm fairly certain the seed that had been planted would have been choked out by the weeds. I know beyond the shadow of any doubt that God orchestrated all this to happen in my life, and I feel very blessed. After the leader of our Bible study moved away, I didn't have any good guidance for a while. If the seed hadn't taken root, I would have been just as lost. Without that mentoring, I don't think I would be where I am today. There were many people placed in my life during that time who encouraged me to continue along the path (but not with the type of mentoring I had received and needed).
So ... having said all that, and adding that I don't think there really is any perfect teaching plan because of our individuality ... what books would you recommend for people searching for God?
I ask simply because I'm sure there will be many people looking at this thread who are seeking direction. It could be a good opportunity to point out some better starting points.
_____________________________
Sam
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/18/2008 2:15:21 PM
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1love1God1way
Posts: 1985
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Max Lucado has a number of very simple, yet powerful books available that can really help a young Christian (or an aged one) in their walk.
Phillip Yancy has a couple books out. I really like his "What's So Amazing about Grace?" book.
John Ortberg has a book called "The Life You've Always Wanted." Solid read.
Robert Mulholland wrote a book called "Invitation to a Journey." Another solid book about spiritual formation.
I know I have some more great books on my bookshelf. . . back at my parent's house. And, alas, I cannot remember their titles.
I am glad you have had a good experience with Purpose Driven Life. I know many have. This isn't to say it can't be an effective book, but there are more, better, and richer books available.
_____________________________
-Ben-
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/19/2008 12:31:38 AM
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funny_girl
Posts: 779
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I'm sad to hear such a negative comment. I've seen nothing but good come from this book. We’ve visited Saddleback and were very impressed with the way they are trying to reach and help people. It's disheartening to read such harsh criticism from some people. Out of the abundance of the mouth the heart speaks. I think if I continue to use this forum, I'll block such negative posters from dampening my spirit. Jesus came to set the captives free.
_____________________________
"...bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as imposters; known yet regarded as unknown...poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything." II Corinthians 6:8-10
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RE: a Purpose driven life - 4/19/2008 12:33:36 AM
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funny_girl
Posts: 779
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One beautiful testimony from this book comes from a bi lingual outreach we held a year ago last Thanksgiving. After my husband gave a simple salvation message in the Chapala square a gentleman approached me and asked if he may meet the preacher. I turned to my husband and introduced them. Later, my husband told me how this man normally picked up newspapers in the airport but decided this "Purpose Driven Life" book looked interesting, bought the book as he walked into a bar to wait. After reading the first chapter he set his drink down and hasn't taken a drink since. He was an alcoholic. At that moment he gave his life to the Lord but hadn't found a church. He was just coming home and leaving his car to enter the house when he heard the salvation message in English and ran to the plaza. Willie came to church the following Sunday.
That's good fruit! Praise the Lord!
_____________________________
"...bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as imposters; known yet regarded as unknown...poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything." II Corinthians 6:8-10
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