There Is More to the Secret
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By now most people have heard about The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. It is a book that promises that by using the Law of Attraction that you can get virtually anything you want out of life. Although the idea seems pretty intriguing, author Ed Gungor states that there's more to the secret.
There's More to the Secret acts basically as the conscience of The Secret. Whereas The Secret encourages readers to wish for the stars, the more material possessions the better; Gungor's book asks the reader to really think about what they really want to attract. Yes, it would be great to have a new car, a big house, and gobs of money but really would that satisfy you. Even with all this stuff, you'll still be you, you'll still have all the troubles that life brings, and somehow you'll have to pay for all that junk.
I agree wholeheartedly with the author, The Law of Attraction isn't a quick fix method. Often the challenges we face in our life make the journey that much sweeter. I personally tend to believe that the Law of Attraction doesn't necessarily bring us what we want but what we need to better understand ourselves, to live a contented life, and become our genuine selves.
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"The Secret" from a Christian Perspective
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You should be advised that this book treats "The Secret" from a Christian perspective and at first, being suspicious of Christian points of view, I thought I had made a big mistake as I was convinced that the author would criticise the book and the idea as being unchristian and unscriptural and warn potential readers away from its benefits and life-changing potential, as a great many Christians might with other New Age books, theories and concepts.
I was actually introduced to "The Secret" by a Raëlian colleague and realised that it is not really a "secret", having been practiced by a great deal of Religious and Spiritual groups, under different names, such as the Power of Prayer, Magick and Positive Thinking and has even been discussed by Quantum Physicists (cf. "What the Bleep" etc). So intrigued, I wanted to read what further revelations exist and so I bought this little book by accident: it was listed as "A Perfect Partner" with Rhonda Byrne's "The Secret" and as there was no book description or review available, I went ahead and bought it anyway, thinking it would shed some new light on the subject.
I read it anyway, and I have to admit, I enjoyed most of the book. Despite the unashamed Christian message, especially towards the end, the author actually supports "The Secret" with relevant Biblical quotes, which I found not only interesting, but also a welcome relief from the often hysterical and usually inaccurate responses you can get from certain mainstream Christian authors.
There are a lot of things in this book that are of interest to a non-Christian, such as questions raised on the mechanics of The Law of Attraction and there are some pertinent comments on other aspects such as ethics. However, I do feel that the author unfairly lambasts non-Christians using "The Secret" as having no ethics whatsoever, which shows considerable bias and narrow-mindedness (remember, he is writing for a primarily Christian audience). A good many people reading "The Secret" would be coming from the New-Age or Neo-Pagan camps, which, contrary to what many Christians erroneously believe, actually do have a developed system of ethics (cf. karma, the Wiccan Rede ("if it harm none, then do as you will") and the Law of Threefold Return). However, the author is correct in asserting that some people will by-pass the ethic issues altogether and trample on the underdog to get ahead in life and I am in full agreement with him in this respect.
As I have stated, there are a number of pertinent and relevant comments and criticisms of "The Secret" in this book, which are worth reading and knowing about and I applaud the author for highlighting them but unless you are a Christian, or interested in Christian viewpoints (certainly, there will be many within the various churches and denominations who will criticise Ed Gungor as not being representative of the whole of Christendom and even condemn him as a New-Age heretic!), then this book will have little to no value to you and some may see it as a disguised and underhand way of witnessing/preaching in order to convert the unsure or unstable to the author's preferred religion, which is why I can only give it 3 stars. No doubt, if you are a Christian, then this book would work for you more and you would more than likely give it more (or less, depending on your openness to the matter).
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