"The Secret" Compared With New Church Teachings

Solomon Keal provides a detailed examination of the popular self-help book The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne, in light of the secrets of heaven revealed in the Heavenly Doctrines.

As a Christian, you may have had people warn you NOT to read the book or watch the movie The Secret. It’s certainly not a Christian book, or written by a Christian author. Therefore, it takes a certain amount of translation to glean the truth from it. But I am a firm believer in the saying, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.” There’s plenty of “bath water” in The Secret, but underneath all the bath water, there’s a beautiful little baby of truth....

[Bath Water]
1. There’s an apparent focus on loving one’s self above others.
2. There’s an apparent focus on worldly things such as monetary wealth.
3. There’s an apparent contradiction with the way the 10 Commandments are worded.
4. There is also an apparent lack of focus on God as our Creator, and His Word as our guide.
5. There’s an apparent lack of focus on the redeeming quality of struggle in one’s spiritual path.
6. There’s an apparent lack of explanation for why bad things happen to good people....

[Baby]
1. The Secret has a focus on love.
2. The Secret has a focus on active prayer, and active faith.
3. The Secret has a focus on trust and gratitude.
4. The Secret has a focus on looking for the good (or looking for God) in all things.
5. The Secret has a focus on the reality and presence of the spiritual world.
6. The Secret has a focus on changing one’s life for the better, which is essentially spiritual re-birth.