Rating: 
Summary: A meaning to your life
Review: As A reviewer wrote 'simplify your decisions, give meaning to your life, and, most importantly, prepare you for eternity' I also say the same thing. This book has made me rethink my life and how I will live it. I was raided in an abusive home, I have hated everything around me and never fully understood the meaning behind anything. I had gotton NIGHTMARES ECHO by Katlyn Stewart...read it and started to make some realizations about my own life. Then this book comes along, like fate it took me by the hand and helped me to understand so much more. The two books together gave me a clearer picture of my past, and how to change my future.I desperately needed these books. I can find some meaning to my life.
Rating: 
Summary: A Kiss Of Death
Review: Satan knows scripture and he has read "Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world". He knows Luke 10:19 where we have been given power over all power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means harm us. The devil's only recourse in defaming God is in hiding the power from the church that Jesus gave us. He does this by convincing people to submit to his attrosities by professing that it's part of "God's perfect plan" for their life. And the biblically illiterate church has taken the bait hook, line, and sinker.
This material is Jim Jones' "kool aid" in book form. I expected rave reveiws from certain denominations who subscribe to the predestination doctrine which leaves us meerly "puppets on a string"........but for those leaders who did in fact "tary until they be endued with power", rave reveiws are inexcusable. There will be blood on all hands who promote this book because it compels you to lay down an let the devil walk on you.....or worse! In this war called life, it's learn to play..... or be played!
You can no longer plead ignorance as I have now exposed the odorlees, tasteless, colorless arsenic mixed in this very tall glass of good tasting, healthy orange juice. This book is a very illusive, subtle ploy to strip the church of it's power and paint a picture of a god that no one would want.
Many of the scriptural references are out of context or from versions that veers far from the original Hebrew and Greek definitions. In some places only half of a verse is given, which if quoted entirely would radically change it's ability to support the author's opinions. His predestination theology is in total contradiction of the true gospel. Don't let a huge following deceive you. The majority can be and often is wrong.
I emplore you to check the validity of the opinion of the one whose hand is on the spoon that you let feed you. God gave us power to fight all our pain and problems but Satan tries to hide it under the quise of part of "God's purpose" so we won't fight anything. Don't forget.....he's into torture! Pride has blinded most from seeing that they may have been deceived. They had rather suffer and die than admit they may be wrong. Pride goeth before the fall!
This message will stop the supernatural flow of God's power dead in its tracks because it makes it impossible to receive by faith as the Bible instructs. And the devil smiles as he rubs his hands together and says "mission accomplished". But is it???....."When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall raise up a standard against him"(Is 59:19). And he chooses the foolish,weak,base,and despised things to confound the wise(1Cor 1:27).
This book is mostly "doctrines of man" professed to be truth. Truth tainted with tradition is not truth and the pure truth is the only thing that will make you free to experience abundant life.
My heart breaks for the author because if he ever allows tradition to be stripped from his eyes and he realizes the monumental way that he has cruicified the Lord by profaning his name, he will sling the "30 peices of silver" and feel like hanging himself as Judas did. (Not that he did anything with malicious intent, he's meerly a pawn. Proverbs says that there is a way that seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof is death. 14:12 & 16:25)
Discovering our specific purpose is not worth calling God a "Hitler". Our main purpose is to make God look good, not like a terrorist or worse. We are His ambassadors, His represenatives. Saying that He "allows" the horror is the same as saying that he "sends" the horror.
Burn this book because it's paralizing the church and read the Bible. Sober up church! You're driving drunk on ignorance! "Be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is (Eph 5:17). "The thief cometh not but for to kill, steal, and destroy: I am come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (Jn 10:10).
There are still "seers" today and you need to thank God for them! Just because someone does not hear the music does not make the dancer an idiot. But many are so selfrighteous that they assume that if they aren't aware of something, it doesn't exist. I'm well aware that you get nailed to a cross when you attempt to save people from theirself.....but sometimes love will drive the nails in it's own hands.
I only gave this book 1 star because I couldn't submit a reveiw without a star. It doesn't deserve the stars that the masses have given it.....but of course, it was the masses (and their "herd" mentality) in the church that crucified Jesus.
On pg. 23 Mr. Warren says that if God has to rape or commit adultry to accomplish his purpose, he will. Pg 43 says he will test you with senseless tragedies. Pg 109 says that God removes our feelings so we won't depend on them. Pg 173 says that life is supposed to be difficult. Pg 193 says God depends more on circumstances than our reading the Bible to make us more like Jesus. Pg 195 says that accidents are incidents in God's "good" plan for you. Pg 196 says his plan for you involves illness,debt,diasters,divorce,and death and that he will use a sledgehammer if he has to. Pg 198 says he will say "no" to your request for relief to train you. Pg 199 says whenever we try to avoid or escape the difficulties in life, we short circuit Gods process and you need to stick it out, staying with God's plan so you'll be there for the promised completion.
All these horrors and heresies are from Satan and Mr. Warren has been deceived and has now fed this poison to over 6 million people and has cruicified Jesus all over again. This book is about a "purpose driven life" alright.....but whose purpose, God's or Satan's ? You better "pack your own parachute" because if you let Rick Warren pack it, you're in big trouble! Pray for the 6 million plus that this book has tied to the track because there's a train coming!
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but read SB 1 or God by Karl Mark Maddox
Review: This book is well written easily understood but far from being balanced. I have to say it more or less fits a fundamental approach, but some areas of the Christain advanced walk are explored. However there is real need for balance in the book of our humanity and spirituality with each other as well as our focus on divine guidance. I believe it is a huge and critical problem that we do not have more books that equalize our walk with each other and God, these books only confine our eyes and spirit to the creator and not to each other who we need to live with in our purpose. The most complete and balanced book I have ever read on purpose in life is SB 1 or God by Karl Maddox, nothing beats it.
Rating: 
Summary: Paraphrasing: Tread Lightly Reading The Book
Review: I had a problem with reading Rick Warren's paraphrasing. It took away from the context. I had to look in the appendix for the reference scriptures find them then discern if the paraphrase was correct. Once I did that it was hard to focus. Flipping back and forth is enough and then to have to look in the Bible for the true verse was irritating and distracting.I can say that this book taught me more about discernment, the Bible and paraphrases, and how to interpret what information is relevant to me. To all readers, tread lightly in reading this book. If you totally get caught up in the book and do not discern or reference the Bible, you may be misinformed. This is good awakening tool as for studying the Bible and determinining what messages to follow in life.
Rating:
Summary: Crude Gospel Tract Disguised As A Self Help Book
Review: I found this book depressing. The author claims to be interested in helping readers find their purpose in life, but in the end he's only interested in having them ape his own purpose in life: trying to convert people to his fundamentalist sect of Christianity. He claims that everything he says is "grounded in the Bible", which simply means that he scours the Bible until he finds a verse that can be taken out of context and applied to his thesis; he also uses a bewildering array of translations in order to make the Biblical text say whatever he needs it to say at a given moment. The fact that he treats the Bible this way is all the more disturbing since he paints the Bible as the "Owner's Manual" for human beings. He explicitly tells his readers that they should cast away their reason and follow the Bible instead. Reading the Bible with the critical mind disengaged is a dangerous business. It has led to much violence and tragedy, from parents beating their children because the author of Proverbs thought that it was a good idea to the witch burning, patriarchy, and genocide encouraged in the codes of Leviticus. The author also has a habit of attacking things he doesn't understand. Early on he criticizes other self help books (even other Christian ones) for not taking his One True Approach. At one point he mocks the practice of meditation, calling it "letting your mind wander". Anyone with even a cursory knowlege of meditation will know that it is anything but. This seems to be the type of book that many fundamentalists seem to enjoy: an easily digestible tract, arguing for beliefs that they already hold, challenging nothing they hold sacred, peppered with lots of little quotes and ancetdotes in order to encourage them that their beliefs are not as strange or outlandish as they in fact are. I do believe that one can find one's life's purpose in following Jesus Christ; but as I recall He gave an example of radical questioning and a reluctance to settle on easy answers. He had nothing but contempt for the Pharisees who taught blind obedience to convention. Warren is one of the "Blind leading the blind, so that both fall into the ditch."
Rating:
Summary: Do not waste your time and money
Review: This book is not worth the paper it is printed on. "But it has sold 10 million copies," you say, "it must be all right." The very fact that it has sold 10 million copies should be a cause for concern. Truth is never inclusive, it is ALWAYS exclusive. If 2+2=4, then 1+2 cannot =4. Truth is absent from this book. The Gospel that Warren presents at the end of chapter 7 is a false gospel. Warren is sending people to eternal damnation almost as fast as he is selling books. He uses 15 different translations and paraphrases of the Bible. Why? So he can find the one that says what he wants it to, of course. He twists scripture and uses out of context scripture, and uses paraphrases preceded by the phrase "the Bible says." A paraphrase is NOT the Word of God! It is a man's "paraphrase" of what he thinks that God is saying. To say that a man's paraphrase is the Word of God is heresy! Warren has no respect for the Word of God, and he believes that he has the right to do what he wants with it. How arrogant can you be? Another cause for concern is the way this book has crossed denominational and religious barriers. Most, if not all, Protestant denominations have used this book. Catholics have used this book. Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists have used this book. Well, if all of these people are using this book it must be good. These people cannot even agree on THE WORD OF GOD, how can they agree on a book that is, supposedly, based in the Word of God? That's an easy answer, IT'S NOT! If you are looking to grow as a Christian or are a non-believer looking for the answer to your "problems," spend the next 40 days studying the Gospel of John. This is the Word of God. You can't go wrong studying it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for Godly Personal Growth through Holy Spirit
Review: Some of it was kind of childish, but in general I thought this was a good book on ways to understand Christianity, coincidence and to trying to find one's purpose. I would recommend "Psychic Gifts in the Christian Life - Tools to Connect" by Tiffany Snow as a way to get better at creating and fulfilling desires, and one's purpose, in relation to God and others, also. Also, all the books by Tommy Tenney, i.e. "God Chasers" series, are good, well written and enlightening. I know there are many churches who are doing good things with the "Purpose" books, but I would consider it more of a group/church thing than a personal getting-closer-to-Jesus thing. Try Snow, Tenney, or C.S. Lewis instead.
Rating:
Summary: Huge Disappointment
Review: This book was a huge disappointment after reading Warren's fantastic "Purpose Driven Church" This book may be of some use for new Christians, but for most anyone else it's a waste of time, and falls far short of its promise to show life's purpose. The book starts off with some very questionable numerology; and doesn't really improve from there. Warren's exposition is shallow and superficial. Biblical quotes are from paraphrases, and often the book simply mentions "the Bible says". Furthermore, there is no justification or explanation as to why the Bible may be an authoritative source. As a Christian this book greatly disappointed me. I don't feel comfortable recommending it to anyone, whether they are Christians or not. In the end, Christians would be better off avoiding this book.
Rating:
Summary: It's very easy to put this book down
Review: This book is just more evangelist fluff. If you love metaphors and you hate yourself, this book is perfect for you. It has nothing to do with discovering your purpose.
Rating:
Summary: Not perfect, but suggests healthy perspectives of faith
Review: While some may have lots of criticism about this book, I'd say just give it a chance. You may not agree with everything Rick Warren says in terms of theological and philosophical views and issues, but it could be helpful for those who are struggling with faith, especially Christians who aren't sure exactly what they're called to do. This book may not give you all the answers, but it will help you think more thoroughly about your attitude about life and why it is necessary to believe in God of the Bible.
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