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Does The Law Of Attraction Contradict The Bible? (Part 2)

Douglas Manning — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:00:44 +0000

In Part 1, we examined whether or not the law of attraction is biblically based. Actually, the law of attraction is not a biblical law. It is a natural law was made available to mankind, by God, regardless of religious faith. Today, we will examine whether or not contradicts the teachings of the bible, particularly with respect to material wealth and God’s purpose for our lives.

Law Of Attraction And Materialism

Many of the criticisms lodged by Christians against the law of attraction have centered around the presentation of the law of attraction in the movie, The Secret.

These Christians mistakenly believe the law of attraction is primarily focused on getting material possessions.

They are wrong for a number of reasons.

First, using the law of attraction to accumulate stuff only addresses one tiny aspect of the law of attraction. “The Secret,” was created for a secular audience. What is the one thing that is common amongst all the people of the world?

Material wealth

I have watched the movie about eight times. I can assure you that I did not get the “gist” of the movie the first couple of times. It is, quite frankly, a lot to digest.

Second, after seeing the film several times, I was able to catch the more subtle aspects of the law of attraction such as the need for gratitude, self esteem, inner peace, joy and a desire to achieve one’s purpose in life for the good of all mankind.

Didn’t catch that?

Go back and watch the movie again.

It is there.

The Law Of Attraction And Our Life Purpose

The student of the law of attraction would argue that God created each of us to live up to our life purpose. That purpose may be found by searching the desires of our heart.

Once that purpose is discovered, it is natural and right to attract material things into our lives to carry out that purpose. For example:

God gives the musician talent because God wants to create music. Therefore, a musician naturally wants a musical instrument.
God likes to grow food and he gives the farmer the passion to work the soil. But, a farmer needs land.
God desires to give to his children and he gives the philanthropist the desire to give. But the philanthropist needs money and material resources.

The attraction of certain material things in our life is necessary for God to achieve His purpose through us.

But, God also gave us free will. He will not make the musician make music. He WILL plant a seed within the musician’s heart so that the musician will WANT to make music.

Still, the musician, in an expression of free will, must ask God for the means to make the music a reality.

Using The Law Of Attraction For Material Wealth Is Not Evil

Being rich is not “evil”. God wants us to walk in abundance in all areas of our lives.

So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who keep on asking him! Matthew 7:11.

I mean, do YOU want your children to live in poverty? Okay….

Why would you think YOUR Father would want you to live in poverty?

Too often Christians have been taught that material wealth is not a godly goal. In fact, this teaching is rooted in:

a desire by the clergy to explain why so many Christians are poor, or,
a fear that God will not be faithful if the Christian dares to hope for prosperity.

Look, God is not the cause of poverty.

The Christian causes his own poverty by his refusal to practice sound money management coupled with a poverty mindset working in conjunction with the law of attraction.

Let me say it again:

God does not make you poor. You make “you” poor by having a poverty mindset (law of attraction) and failing to practice sound financial principals.

The fact is that all Christians are called to be and do great things. Unfortunately, lack of material wealth leaves many Christians in bondage to debt, ineffectiveness and mediocrity. The truth is that we each need material wealth to obtain the tools and means by which we learn, grow and expand our lives, and in turn help others do the same.

Financial wealth, in the proper perspective gives us freedom.

When we are not saddled with the worries of lack, we are more free to share our abundance with others, thereby raising them up out of a poverty mindset as well.

Wealth, like electricity, can be used for good or evil.

Where wealth is created and power is acquired by utilizing the creative power we possess as part of our God-nature/divinity, the wealth is being used for good.

Where the wealth and power is acquired to be better than those around you or for other selfish motives, wealth can be evil. Depending on intent, the result is light or darkness.

Law Of Attraction, Like Any Other Natural Law, Can Be Used For Evil

I recognize that the law of attraction, if used selfishly for evil, can contravene the Bible.

For instance, a person might want to accumulate money and possessions for the purpose of gaining power or influence over his neighbor.

However, the law of attraction has its own remedy for this type of behavior. It is called by many things in many cultures:

The concept of Karma
You sow what you reap
Whatever you send out revisits you three times over.
As a man, thinks, so is he.

All of these sayings reflect the idea that the law of attraction gives you more of whatever is in your heart.

Sure, evil people use the Law of Attraction for selfish personal gain. But, in doing so, they will attract more evil to themselves. The wicked will prosper, for a time. But, ultimately, they will be destroyed. It is in this way that the law of attraction is consistent with the Bible.

The Law Of Attraction And Satan’s Deceit

Because of the work done by Christ on the cross, we are free of the bondage of Satan. Christ has the keys and has opened the door to our prison cells. Satan’s only power is to deceive us by convincing us that we cannot simply walk out.

As a result, many of us stay in the cell.

When an elephant is very young, it is trained to stay in one place by tethering it to a pole with a small rope. As it grows, it continues to be tethered to the pole with the same small rope even though it could easily snap it with one movement of his foot.

Through clever deception, the elephant is held in place when it could easily escape.

Satan hopes that Christians continue to ignore the law of attraction.

By doing so, we remain poor sick, depressed, burned out and broken. On the other hand, Satan and his demons, who are thoroughly versed in using the LOA, can influence ungodly individuals to use the law of attraction to manifest evil schemes into reality.

Christians need to learn to utilize the power of the law of attraction. The Christian, armed with a healthy knowledge of the law of attraction is in the best position reap the rewards. After all, Christians are, or should be, aligned with God.

Christians who reject the law of attraction are not utilizing the universal power of God that lives within them to create the abundant, joyful and loving lives that God intended for His children.

Conclusion: The Law Of Attraction Was Created By God For Our Benefit

I tell you the trust, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 17:20.

Either Jesus is the Son of God and the verse above is true, or Jesus was a liar. I believe that Jesus was telling the truth. As I have begun to take his teachings literally, I have seen the truth of this verse work in my life.

The law of attraction has strengthened my belief that I live in a loving universe ruled by a loving God.

He gives me free will and free reign to create the life I desire. If I follow the purpose that He has laid upon my heart, the life I create will lead to happiness. If I follow Satan, the life I create will lead to my destruction.

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man….

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21

God intended that we lives our lives on purpose, consciously creating the desires of our heart. By ignoring the law of attraction, we are powerless, fearful, poor, sick and depressed.

Instead of standing tall and powerfully seizing the power that is our birthright, we cower while timidly begging God to intervene and make us happy.

There arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him,

“Master, carest thou not that we perish?”

  And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, “Peace, be still”.

  And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them,

“Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?”   Mark 4:37-40.

Jesus was a bit perturbed that the disciples woke him up to calm the storm when they could have easily done it themselves.

The fact is that God set up the universe so that we are responsible for calming our own storms through the power of our thoughts, intent and belief (faith).

To have it any other way, would be to deny us the power of free will.

As the song says, “I got the power!!!”

God gave us that power!

As Christians, we should embrace the law of attraction as an acknowledgement that God has indeed given us the free will to choose our lives and the power to create the desires of our heart.

So, does the law of attraction contradict the Bible?

I say No.

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Does The Law Of Attraction Contradict The Bible? (Part 1)

Douglas Manning — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:17:56 +0000

Is The Law 0f Attraction Biblically Based?

That is a question that I hear from Christians who have heard about the law of attraction, but do not want to explore it further for fear that it contradicts their Christian faith.

As a Christian, I wholeheartedly believe that the law of attraction does not conflict with my Christian faith. The law of attraction has answered for me many of the questions that have plagued Christians for centuries, such as:

Why do bad things happen to good people?
Why do the wicked prosper?
Why wasn’t my mother (brother, father, child) healed?
Why can’t I get out of debt even though I tithe?
Why are some Christians poor and some Christians wealthy?

I will bet that you can list some additional examples yourself.

The purpose of this article will be to present my opinion as to why the law of attraction does not contradict the bible. In addition, I will give some examples as to why I believe that, in fact, the law of attraction is biblically based.

But first some ground rules:

I am a Christian. I am a lawyer. I am not a pastor. So, this article represents my reasoned opinion based upon my study of law of attraction resources, my experiences using it and my study of the Bible.
I wholeheartedly believe in the freedom to believe and worship as one pleases. Even though my path has led me to Christianity, I respect and embrace the religions of others. In fact, I have learned much from the study of other religions. I have especially learned how much all of our religions are alike when you actually get past the rhetoric.
You are free to disagree with any part of this article and post comments to that effect. But, I will not be debating anyone on the topic of religion. To each his own. Live and let live.

The Law Of Attraction Is Primarily A Natural Law

The Law of Attraction is a law of nature much like the law of gravity. It is not “good” or “bad” any more than algebra is good or bad.

I mean, Muslims created algebra. Are we, as Christians, supposed to ignore these important mathematical concepts merely because they were not set forth in the Bible?……Of course not.

Mathematics, the law of gravity and every other natural law created by God are available to all of mankind regardless of religion.

Look, at one time, Christians taught that the Earth was flat and was the center of the universe. In fact, people were tortured and killed because they attempted to correct the erroneous teaching of the Church. But, once the Church painfully embraced the natural laws which held that the Earth was round and revolved around the Sun, the Church, Christians and mankind was able to move forward.

Denying the existence, power and influence of the law of attraction is the same as denying that the Earth revolves around the Sun.

Law of attraction is, likewise, a natural law. It is a concept based on the scientific principal that energy attracts energy.

Quantum physics has only recently revealed that our thoughts are actual energy amplified by our feelings. In fact, our thoughts emit a frequency, not unlike radio waves, that can be recorded and measured. The more one learns about quantum physics, the more one’s faith in the law of attraction is strengthened.

Like our thoughts, all matter is composed of energy. In fact, Einstein’s equation (E=MC²) dictates that the mass of an object is the function of its energy multiplied a constant equal to the speed of light squared. Therefore, the mass of an object is:

M=E/C²

The mass of an object bears a direct relationship to its energy. The law of attraction is used by broadcasting our desires, via thought energy, to the universe. If we send this thought energy out amplified by feelings of love, hope and gratitude, we are drawing more of these things into our reality.

The Law Of Attraction And The Will Of God

As stated above, the law of attraction is natural law separate and apart from our relationship with Jesus Christ. The law of attraction, utilizing the power present within the universal aspect of God, has nothing more to do with our relationship with Jesus Christ than the law of gravity. But, God can teach us to properly harness and use the law of attraction as we have learned to harness and use the law of gravity to our advantage

The law of attraction states that we are the creators of our lives through the thoughts and feelings we focus on the most.

I do not believe this contradicts the Bible in any way.

God gave us free will to think and feel as we choose. We can think positive thoughts and create a positive, loving, joyful reality or we can think negative thoughts and create a reality filled with pain, struggle and poverty.

Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:24

The Bible also plainly spells out the 3-step process required to receive every good thing we desire:

Therefore I say unto you, What things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. Mark 11:24

So the biblical formula is:

Ask. As Christians, we are supposed to ask God for the desires of our hearts through prayer. Christians do this through prayer. However, I believe that many Christians fail to receive the desires of their heart because they feel ashamed to ask God for what they really want. Perhaps they are afraid of disappointment. Or, Perhaps they ask God for what they “should” want. Either way, they get nothing, shrug their shoulders and say “Oh, well. It wasn’t God’s will.” In fact, they got nothing because they did not ask.
Believe. As Christians, we are supposed to have faith that whatever we ask for will be granted to us. The Bible says that if evil man knows how to give his children good gift, how much more can the Father give man. The fact is that we are to believe that God is going to be faithful. As stated above, many Christians do not realize the desires of their hearts because they ask but do not believe that God will grant their request. Or perhaps, they add the qualifier “….if it is Your Will.” The fact is that when you ask God passionately for something that is important to you, it is God’s will. What do you think is the source of your passion? Who planted that seed? God placed that passion into your heart. It is God, desiring to express Himself through man, that places the passion for music on the heart of a musician. It is God that gives the builder the desire to create. It is God that gives the doctor the desire to heal. If you ask for the desire of your heart with passion, believe that it is God’s will. Your passion is the proof.
Receive. As Christians, we are to receive the blessing of God even before it manifests itself in physical form. This is simply incorporating a belief that “it is on its way” and acting accordingly.

Have you ever ordered a pizza? Sure, what do you do?

Ask. You call the pizza shoppe and ask for a pizza to be made to your specifications.

Believe. When you hang up the phone. You sit back down on the sofa and wait patiently for the pizza. You trust that the pizza is being made and that it will arrive hot and according to your specifications.

Receive. As the delivery time draws near, you begin to get out the plates and fill your cups with ice. You get the money ready to pay the pizza delivery person. You have received the pizza even before it arrives because you know, and expect, that the pizza is being created, that it is enroute and will soon arrive.

We were created as divine creatures in the image of our Father. We have the same power and free will to direct our thoughts to whatever we desire; and, God does not interfere with our exercise of free will.

Because of the work done by Christ on the cross, we have all of the power of Christ at our disposal, including a mastery of the law of attraction. We are free and encouraged to use our power to change our lives and attract to us every desire of our heart!

Law Of Attraction Incorporates The Biblical Principle Of Gratitude

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20

Being thankful for what we currently have is the surest way to bring more good into our lives.

When we feel gratitude, it is naturally directed at something bigger than ourselves.

In fact, it would be somewhat difficult to fully utilize the law of attraction without a belief in God. How do you express gratitude when you believe that there is nothing out there?

In Part 2, We will look further at whether or nor the law of attraction contradicts the Bible. Is the law of attraction biblically based considering its empahsis on materialism and the accumulation of material wealth? The answer might surprise you.

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