I received a forward this morning that appears to have been going around for at least 4 years telling me to “Be Aware of This Book” Similar to this hoax notice at BreakTheChain.org
*** Start of email ***
BEWARE OF THIS BOOK!!!
If you have children, grandchildren, or you have neighbor children whose parents you know, please take note of the info below or pass it along to
others. Schools are a distribution point to children for this book through the Scholastic Book Club.
Beware of the book, Conversations with God.
Dr. James Dobson talked about this book twice this week. It is devastating and parents and Christian schools need to be aware of this. Do pass it on to church/e-mail addressees, Parents, Grand parents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, friends.
Please pay special attention not only to what your kids watch on TV and in movie theaters and the music they listen to, but we must also be alert regarding the books they read.
Two particular books, Conversations with God and Conversations with God for Teens, written by Neale D. Walsch, sound harmless enough by their titles alone. These books have been on the New York Times best sellers list for a number of weeks, and these publications make truth of the statement, “Don’t judge a book by its cover/title.”
The author purports to answer various questions from kids using the “voice of God”. However, the “answers” that he gives are not Bible-based and go against the very infallible word of God. For instance (and I paraphrase), when a girl asks the question “Why am I a lesbian?” His answer is that she was born that way because of genetics (just as you were born right-handed, with blue eyes, etc.). Then he tells her to go out and “celebrate” her differences.
Another girls poses the question “I am living with my boyfriend. My parents say that I should marry him because I am living in sin. Should I marry him?”
His reply is, “Who are you sinning against? Not me, because you have done nothing wrong.”
Another question asks about God’s forgiveness of sin. His reply “I do not forgive anyone because there is nothing to forgive. There is no such thing as right or wrong and that is what I have been trying to tell everyone; do not judge people. People have chosen to judge one another and this is wrong, because the rule is “‘judge not lest ye be judged.”
And the list goes on. Not only are these books the false doctrine of devils, but in some instances even quote (in error) the Word of God. These books (and others like it) are being sold to schoolchildren (The Scholastic Book Club), and we need to be aware of what is being fed to our children.
Our children are under attack. So I pray that you be sober and vigilant about teaching your children the Word of God, and guarding their exposure to worldly mediums. Our adversary, the Devil, roams about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8) And how many of us know that lions usually hunt for the slowest, and weakest and YOUNGEST of its prey.
Pass this on to every Believer you know. God bless! And, if in doubt, look at the books yourself.
Galatians 6:9 Let us not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we faint not.
*** End of email ***
Dobson’s supposed authorship has been stripped from the email I received and the questions are different, but it’s basically the same thing rehashed.
From what I can see, it’s not a good book but sending bogus emails to spread the word does no one any good.
Popularity: 34% [?]
Organised religions are exactly that – organised. Crowd control for the masses.
The bible that you all hold so dear was totally rewritten at the council of Nicea by the then governing bodies in Rome. They wanted to unite all in one religion. Do you really think a god of love and the creator of all we know would demonstrate such fragile human traits as vengence and wrath. Do you think he gave us free will then basically acts upon”if you dont do it my way you will burn in hell! Does that sound like the behaviour of a god of love?
The bible if full or wonderful truths but amonst all of that is man made garbage to keep everyone in line. Most of the old testement anyway is mythology. If adam and eve were the first two people on earth then that means we are all born from incest! And apparently they had two sons so where does that leave us?
The problem with most people and most religions is that they believe theirs is the only path to god and all the others are wrong.
Conversations with god speaks the truth.
The bible speaks the truth also but the words and meanings have been twisted over the years to mean something else.
Reigion, like many other things in life should be a choice for the individual. Present our children with all the possibilities and trust them enough to make their own choices.
Love is, all there is – why fill their heads with fear and retribution.
How can one grow from that
Davyd
Dear “Davyd”
Thanks for your comments (they actually went in spam first – I’m glad I caught them). I’d like to reply. First, please know I am writing calm and not angered by anything you’ve written. And I am writing to you in a spirit of kindness and grace. Hopefully that comes through in this reply.
I understand how you see it like that but, I disagree. My experienced is they tend to be disorganized
Religion is man’s attempt to commune with God. Man often gets it all screwed up. On that we probably agree.
You have gotten some wrong information, Dave. The Council of Nicaea was (in a nutshell) to determine which writings were worth dying for and to establish practices for the early church. No scriptures were rewritten. A creed (The Nicaean Creed) was established from hundreds of churches. The vote to adopt such a creed as representative was somewhere around 300+ to 2). Those two that were disputing held to the heretical belief that Jesus was a created being and not eternal. This can be established by secular sources as well Christian ones. Don’t be so quick to believe atheist urban legends, please.
First, I am not sure vengeance and wrath are “fragile human traits.” Not in a context of justice. Which is what many churches glance over; leaving this “hell fire damnation” approach, you seem to have encountered.
He is not a “god of love,” rather God is love. It’s am important distinction. Because He is love and He is Holy, sin must be punished. For example, were someone to rape, torture, kill and bury your mother in a shallow grave somewhere… and get away with it and one day die. Wouldn’t you expect a “god of love” to judge that person? Because God is Love, He also administers justice.
Your statement seems contradictory. Wonderful truths or man-made garbage?
And if it is man-made garbage to keep people in line, it failed. Because it condemns the church as much or more so than the unbeliever. (Luke 18:9-14 comes to mind)
Actually most of the old testament is prophesy. It was in fact, prophesy (and a little of archeology) that convinced me the Bible had to have been inspired by someone beyond the bounds of time as we know it. There are hundreds of prophesies just concerning Christ. The books of the OT were hundreds of years of years apart, by various men, and yet were able to accurately depict events such as where, when and how Christ would be born, live, travel and as well as how, when and where he would die. The probability that Jesus of Nazareth could have fulfilled even some of those prophecies would be only 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. (source)
I’m not sure I see your point. The gene pool was a lot different then and people could have married their cousins or sisters without significant damage. It’s also possible that God created more people and that Adam and Eve were just the first (but I’d don’t think that’s the case).
Sure, but most have not investigated other faiths. This statement applies to Christians as well. I am wondering (and again with respect) if you have read the Bible yourself, objectively. While I was raised to go to church (do not read, raised Christian – I wasn’t) I have also investigated other faiths, because I want to know truth. Do you? I hope so, it’s why I am taking the time to respond. I’m happy to help you (or anyone else for that matter) think through this and answer any questions you may have.
Again, where’s your proof of that?
Let me see if I got this right? You find truth and instead of tell your children you want to play a game and let them see if they will find it on their own? I know of no one who does this. Even atheists and Hindus I know, don’t do that. I am raising my children to know Christ. But ultimately it will be up to them to surrender to Him or not.
Because scripture and the words of Christ say much more than that. Again, I think you are missing the Justice part of the equation. Please take time to read this. I think you’ll see where I am coming from and why i think the Gospel makes sense.
Your both as right as both you think you are!
All these words mean nothing.
Look into your heart to feel the answers.
You will know when you have the truth!
NOTHING MATTERS!!!!!!!
Try to get it
For it is said, “It’s not my works that will be done, but thy works.” So, if I am to bring you to the faith, it won’t be my doing. It’ll be God’s. You may not like what I’m about to say, but it’s rather simple. You are not privy to what I know. I know what I know because it has been given unto me. You too can have that same knowledge, but you have to ask, “and ye shall receive.”
As silly as the ‘non-believers’ may thinks this is, it’s just simply true! Why not truly seek for yourself and find out. You’ll see that I’m right.
Funny how so many people making claims against religion by saying what they think God would or would not do end up pointing fingers at religions for, well,-saying what THEY think God would or would not do.
Too bad Davyd can’t see his own hypocrisy, it’s a hoot!
)
Ron,
your reply back to Davyd over a year ago was so good. Thanks for taking the time to write what you did!
May you be blessed for stating the truth in love.
I’ve read all three books in the Conversations with God trilogy, and still refer to them regularly when I have questions about spirituality. I am Methodist and I attend church weekly unless I’m out of town. The books have helped me in my understanding of God, religion, relationships, and the list goes on. What they helped me understand most, is that if I feel the need to defend what I believe, I’m still not convinced of it myself. Debating and arguing my points helped me read, investigate, and prove to myself that what I believed was true. When I finally believed it, I didn’t feel the need to argue anymore. If someone looked at the sky with me and said, “Oh what a gorgeous green sky” I wouldn’t feel any compulsion to argue with them. When I know it’s blue, I’m sure in my belief so I don’t have a need to debate it. It has become that way in my understanding of God. Finally… I feel at peace with what I believe.
Dear Robin: Thank you for taking the time to share you thoughts. I am curious about something. Why do you not refer to the Bible on matters of spirituality? As a fellow member of the Methodist Church, I can tell you Wesley taught and the church continues to believe that Scripture is the base of all that we believe and when Scripture conflicts with anything – the teaching of the church remains that Scripture is correct (at least when properly interpreted). Yes, non-scripture books may inspire us. But we must seek God’s holy inspired and inerrant Word as first and last if we are going to be Christ-like.
And to that point, you are right. It doesn’t matter what anyone else (myself included) believes. As long as it’s true. Someone who thinks the sky is green is either color-blind or needs to know the truth. As someone who thought the sky was green once and was shown the the truth, I have an obligation to help them see the beauty of the blue sky. Because in matters of faith, we are not just talking about the difference between green and blue.. but Life and Death.
I hope you will read your Bible daily and obey what you read. I will pray with you and trust God to show you truth. Thanks again for stopping by. Please stop in again.
I read a lot of books, the Bible included. I like Conversations with God because it is written in a way that I understand and can relate to easily. I question everything I read, including the Bible. When I was young (10 or so through my 20′s) I didn’t like to think about God a lot even though I went to church. I was afraid of going to hell because I wasn’t Baptized at the time or because I didn’t pray enough, etc. After I read the material in Conversations with God, I started thinking about God continually. I began losing my fear of God and started reading Jesus’ teachings. I liked what I read about Jesus, and I began seeing spirituality in big and small matters on a daily basis. I respect that the Bible is the ultimate authority and is God’s word to many Christians, but I look in many places for God’s messages. I look for God to speak to me in my relationships to family, friends, and strangers… I look for God in my response to circumstances both big and small… I look for God in the silence… I look for God in subtle synchronicities…. I look for God in myself. I trust that God is in my being to help guide and direct me to have a greater vision for myself. This is not to say the Bible is unimportant, and I respect it is yours and many others main source for finding God’s truth for us, but it is just one of many tools for me to find God. This is the truth that God has shown to me.
So.. with no ultimate authority, how do you determine truth? By what feels right?
God is the ultimate authority for me but I look and listen to what God is saying to me through many avenues. I rely on my feelings all the time because I know they are accurate, even if my response to them may not be the highest choice….but I try. I look to Jesus’ teachings in the Bible to help me understand what I can think, say, and do in response to my feelings. I know our words are really powerful and so when I’m feeling irritated at my girls after a long day at work I try to check myself before responding in a less than Christ-like manner (I’m weak…. I usually snap at them). But my feelings are accurate… if I’m irritated there is a reason… I’m stressed. And if I’m stressed I need to determine why so I can solve it and make it go away (at least as often as possible).For me, it works best if I dig deep about how I feel so I can turn those feelings around and be more joyful and at peace. I know that if I’m feeling this way, I will be a much happier mom and the response to my daughters will be what God wants for the three of us.
Robin,
Please read the scriptures below, they helped me to realize that our feelings are not always good. So now when I am seeking answers, I search the Bible to get the truth.
Joshua 1:8 (New King James Version)
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
2 Corinthians 10:3-7 (New King James Version)
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
This helped me I hope it helps you.
Take care.
My feelings don’t always feel good even though it is good that I have them. They are a compass for me and help me understand my responses in relation to the situation. When I’m angry, I think about why I feel that way. I don’t believe anger is a feeling that I should keep on a continual basis, so if I feel it overmuch, I work on the reason for my anger rather than getting hung up on reacting to it. One feeling I’m really trying to focus on right now is fear. When I’m afraid of something, I try and figure out the reason for me my fear. This is the one feeling that keeps me from doing my best. Jesus talked about worry, and addressed it along with his observations about judging. I judge myself constantly and it finally dawned on me that my “bad” feelings were because I was judging myself. When I realize I’m mentally putting myself down, I stop the thought, and start accomplishing more within moments. It’s like a weight is lifted.
So even though it sounds like I’m endorsing that people should “go with their feelings,” I’m not. I’m just saying that my feelings are absolutely true and I believe in acknowledging them… but if I react rather than think about what I’m doing, I haven’t helped myself at all. And I too believe that the Bible offers plenty of guidance for us in regard to our behavior.
Excellent posts, both of you. Thanks for contributing.
Robin,
I hope I did not come off as someone whose knows better, I only wanted to share what helped me to learn about feelings and how to deal with them. I have been on the same journey as you to discover how to be a better person and to seek God for the truth.
Just today we saw a plane land in the Hudson River and my co-workers were so distressed wondering if it was another attack like 911 and also concerned about the people on the plane. I had to open the Bible for comfort. I read Psalm 91 and it calmed me down. I am pleased to say that all of the people on board the plane have been rescued and are safe.
Take care Robin. Thanks Ron. This all actually helped me this week.
Hi Ron, Robin and Mariejesus,
What an interesting discussion! Ron, I was touched by your excellent answers
to Davyd, Mariejesus, your thoughtful answers to Robin were beautiful. Robin, I am also on the path you are taking. The Bible is a first priority but other religious writings also comfort me and help me with difficult decisions. There are many very fine writers of such works and they are a complement to the Bible, not a replacement. I grew up in a tiny SW Georgia Methodist church, went to a Catholic boarding school where I listened to the beauty of the nuns’ evening service, was a member of the Epicscopal Cathedral in Atlanta for 32 years, have stood in awesome silence and prayer in the cave of St. John the Divine, sat in the majesty of Westminister Abbey, attended a Jewish Synagogue with friends, prayed in a tiny grotto in Croatia and at the House of Mary in Turkey and all these places and peoples helped me grow in knowledge and faith in God. And I have read parts of the Koran. Jesus is their highest prophet, above Mohammed, though they do not call Him the Son of God. And there is much more about Mary in the Koran than the Bible. God made everything and all and his power is incomprehensible. I am a Christian and always will be. But God is the Creator of all things and all beings in the Universe. And his son, Jesus, is our Light and Saviour. Jesus himself thought much, learned in the Synagogue (Jewish, I might add) talked with many different people and gave us all his powerful example and love. I don’t think we would have been given brains with enough might to explore and think if God had not wanted us to! We can study other spiritual writings, use other books as supplements, etc. to raise our understanding and I think, for me and many others, this is a good thing. We are reaching for God and God and His Son are All.
Thank you for a wonderful web site..
Ron,
your judgment is not needed…so says me
What are you talking about Marn?
That hoax comes across as twisted humor: Dr. Dobson’s call to ban “Conversations with God” juxtaposed with chairwoman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force Shirley Dobson’s call for prayer to God.
The book sounds like trash.
As far as I am concerned, anything or anyone who speaks direct contradictions in respect of the Word of God is wrong! If “Conversations with God” answers questions with answers that contradict what the Bible says, then CWG is WRONG. Some of us believe that the KJV of the Holy Bible is the in-errant Word Of God and that settles it. I know that some of the words in the KJV Bible do not appear in the oldest manuscripts and so forth, but I believe that God prepared the KJV to be my copy of what God said and wants me to know. The things that I do not understand will be explained when I meet The Lord. I believe that Jesus died for my sin punishment and then rose from the dead to prove that he was God. I have put my faith and trust in Him as my saviour. I try to live for Him. My life is pretty happy. Once in a while, there are rocks in the road, but I feel good about my life here and hereafter. Now, I might be wrong. But I am resting all my care on Him and leaving it to Him to take me to Heaven when I die. What if those who say “It is only a myth” are wrong. What hope do they have? If I am wrong, I have lived a blessed life and will die and there will be nothing after. OK. What if the unbelievers are wrong? They will be spending eternity in the torments of FIRE, FALLING, AND DARKNESS. I like my position, looking forward to an eternity in the presence of God. How do you like yours? What do you have to look forward to?
I look forward to eternity with Jesus Christ! I am just happy that He chose me from the beginning. I remember growing up in a very small town in South Alabama. I was taught in church the “fire and brimsone” kind of God. That was it. So, I grew up terrified of God. I did not know He loved me too! But, in my teens when we moved up north. I lived for a while in Kentucky. I attended a missionary church and learned that God hates sin, but loves the sinner. He gave Himself for us all. I went to the altar several times to be saved. However; I left feeling a deadness. No change. Then, one evening alone in my apartment (I was 18) I got down on my knees by my bed and prayed. I withheld nothing, my heart was laid bare before God. I cried and repented openly and fully. Then…I felt this Amazing thing…like something very heavey had been lifted off of me. Like I could fly! light as a feather! Then, through that I felt an incredible love, it was like light going through each cell of my body! I have never felt anything like that since! I loved it! I wanted to be with Jesus right then. Knowing my soul was ready if the Lord was to take me then. This incredibly indescribable pure light love flowing through each cell felt also indescriblable! The LOVE was of God and I knew it! That PURE LOVE was so clean, not like our greedy, selfish love. It was tremendous! Amazing and no words can fully describe it! I knew I had met the Holy Spirit/God/JesusChrist who is the Lord and Savior of my life! I find it hard to describe to people. Especially those who do not believe. I feel sorry for them. I am praying for them to recieve their spiritual sight. God is so wonderful. I wish they could know. I am 53 years old now, and have been through so much in life. Good and Bad, but…my testamoney is real. I can still feel that blessing of the Lord in my body. He loves us so much. I wish people would really look for Him. He is there…waiting. You just have to believe and call on Him. May God bless you in your search for the King of Kings. Lord of Lords! He is waiting for anyone to just call on Him and trust Him.
I must add…when I felt the cleansing and infilling of the Holy Spirit when I was saved…I immediately knew why the angels praise Him day and night as the Bible says! They feel that LOVE too. I cannot reject that LOVE. There is nothing worth exchanging for the LOVE of God! Nothing worth exchanging your soul for. The eternal life in Heaven will be so great. It is not about playing little harps and sitting on clouds. It is going to be so much, so special, so intense, so LOVING that we will be astonished! No words to describe the Lord are adequate! I just want everyone to know it! The special LOVE of the LORD! Hell is real and I don’t want to see anyone choose it. They have no idea that they can choose hell or heaven. They choose hell when they reject this wonderful love of God! When they reject the precious blood of the Lamb of God. Given freely and with so much LOVE.
Im an old Soldier, and i truly believe there are no athiests in foxholes. Jesus is lord. and someday every knee shall bow to him.
the book is trash do not read it. there is a god and a devil people
Having read this book myself, as well as the bible and other spiritual books/documents in my search for truth (I’ve been searching for spiritual answers for as long as I can remember), it actually amuses me just a little to see that such messages about it being ‘the devil’s work’ or whatnot is being spread around.
And the reason it amuses me because in the books themselves, there are quite a few passages saying that the books aren’t supposed to be replacements for theological texts, and not to put 100% of your faith into the words written within the pages. The books themselves don’t ask you to take them at face value, but to test everything that is written inside.
I see that many of the comments here are referencing the Bible to fight the ideas in Conversations. I am very familiar with both books. Both contain a mathematical error. Only one each, as far as I can see. These mathematical errors of each are very similar, but the newer book contains an especially strong and cunning twist. These errors are also closely related.
Stay with me here for a second.
I understand that those with Christian faith (which I used to have much of, until I was about 14) would use their appointed text (the Bible) to refute other ideas. But think of it this way: There is a whole world of people out there internalizing this new meme/virus that was either stumbled upon or engineered in the CwG books. Why don’t we focus on clearing out this mind disease by taking a non-religious view and making a non-religious argument against it. Because when we use our personal beliefs instead of abstract logic, we are only seen to be promoting our own agendas. Belief is not enough for a true debate. Knowledge is. And if you KNOW something, but you don’t know HOW you know it, that is a GOOD SIGN. The next step is to conduct research (of your own mind and everything else) and to create a sort model that makes sense to you! All models can be different but correct simultaneously. The more ways to explain something, the better, I say.
On Walsch, all I can say is that he is starting to come apart (as we see in his identity confusion/plagiarism problem). He is slowly losing his mind and I want to help him but I am not sure how yet. I see without a shadow of a doubt how his doctrine is catching up to him. He is clearly a charismatic and special man with a lot of drive, which makes his story especially tragic right now. It is a small world and maybe we can help him together.
I pray, as a humanitarian, that we will all clear our minds of the junk that they have been stuffed with. Let’s look inside to SAVE OURSELVES. Because no one else can do it for us. Heaven is here! Heaven is now! All we have to do to see it is open our eyes!
I love you all.
-Stella*
Ellie, sorry your post didn’t get approved earlier. I just now saw it. Thanks for stopping by.
Stella, If the Bible is true, than it’s perfectly legitimate to use it as a basis for argument. And your last paragraph makes me wonder a few things. Who do you “pray” to? How can you save yourself? Save yourself from what?