Don't Be Fooled By This Book . . .

If you believe this book you should consider the following: 1) Warren presents what the vast majority of the scientific community would consider pseudo-science without mentioning the controversial nature of it and as if it was a mainstream scientific view (see page 24); which seems more than a little deceptive, 2) Warren offers nothing more than assertions and appeals to Bible verses for his claims about complex philosophical issues like eternity, the immortality of the soul, the existence of God, etc.; He makes bold faced assertions about what anthropologists have concluded without citing any anthropological study; and, he claims that prior to "the Flood" that God irrigated the earth from the ground up, which obviously contradicts everything we know from science; and, Warren preaches that blind and unquestioning obedience is morally good, which seems like an obviously idiotic claim. These are just a few of the problems with this book and I'm only on chapter 9. If you are persuaded by this book to live your life according to God's plan, I humbly submit that you actually try thinking through the issues and not just blinding accepting what Warren asserts. The only people likely to find this book convincing are people with psychological problems and those who fall victim to fallacious reasoning. If the fact that this book is a bestseller is an indication that the people reading it are persuaded by it, then the ends times are indeed just around the corner. I wanted to give the book 0 stars, but that isn't an option.

Good personal empowerment, horrid at biblical intrepretation

When I first read this book I was quite impressed with the convictions with which it was written. The personal growth message it conveys is akin to that found in Stephen Covey's books, the primary difference being that the former purports we are here to sanctify God and the latter that we choose our destiny. The common theme in the two is that we are here for a reason and if we accept this then we can achieve tranquility and empowerment. The problem with Warren is that it is not based on the word of God. For personal empowerment this is a good book; for bible study or theology, the New York Times Crossword will teach you as much. My brother summarized Warren's formulaic writing as such:

"1) Write a book that will make people feel good. Start it with "The purpose driven..." and end it with an appropriate noun (Church, life, whatever).
2) Put enough Christian doctrine into it to sound good, but steer clear of the stuff that will make people feel bad. They might not buy your book.
3) Find verses in the Bible that will support what you have to say, even if, when taken in their proper context, they have little or no bearing on the topic that you want to talk about.
4) If you can't find a verse that supports what you want to say, try a different translation of the Bible. You'll find one eventually.
5) Sell lots of copies.
6) Go back to step one, but pick a different word to end the title."

I'd recommend this book if you are feeling down and have a good understanding of the bible as it has a great positive personal empowerment message. If you are questioning your faith, use this book only as a litmus test for the way scriptures are misinterpreted. Warren's work is a great demonstration of the manner in which a charismatic person may twist the scripture to convey a message. As a bible study aid, use this only as a "where's waldo" if you will, to finding errors in biblical interpretation.

Hokum for the dim

It's amazing how any snake oil salesman can earn a obscene living just by selling pap like this.

It can be summed up as:

Call God, believe in him and he will do nice things for you, and if you prostrate your self enough he might even treat you better than others and reward you with more money, a prettyer spouse, more children ect, than others who don't. And dont forget to buy more of this snake oil salesmans wares while you are at it.

This is total christianity as designed by the roman emperor.
Don't think for your self, bow to the divine conqueror.

After all Gods blessed plan for me has included:

Being abandon at 5 years old by my parents
Being crippled for life from childhood polio
Being hit by a drunk drive at the prime of my life (21)
Having chronic spinal pain ever since
Being inelegible for social security
Taking methodone to work and earn less than a bus driver
Constant pain, every second of my life
Praying every single second of every day
for relief and for God to show me the way and
tell me what is the purpose of this groovy life
Only to be answered with Cancer!, surgery and radiation
and the loss of my voice.

God is so wonderfull! Praise Jesus!