The Purpose Driven Life

This last year has easily been the most painful year of my life. I found myself angry at God and angry in general. I was mean, bitter, irritated, heartbroken, and sad all the time. I’d be driving home from work and bawl my eyes out while literally screaming and crying in emotional pain. Then, one day, not long ago, a book was randomly mentioned on TV and the title of the book stuck in my memory for some reason. I decided to look it up on Amazon, it had good reviews and was only a few bucks so I bought it. It sat on my desk for about a week but after one particularly rough day I brought the book outside with me, sat in the shade, and began to read. I had no idea what to expect but I felt my heart begin to change with each chapter. show more After a year full of anger, pain, and suffering this book was deliberately put into my life to point me in the right direction. I still have so much more work to do but this book showed me where to start. If any of this sounds like you maybe it can help you too. show less

You know, I've heard from people I trust that Rick Warren's sermons are very good and doctrinally sound. I will assume they are right. If so, I don't know where this book came from.

Most of the points in this book are sound, but a good chunk of it is so incredibly off that they really made me quite angry. Some of the points were small and minor, such as the statement that there is no such thing as Christian music (chapter 8), only Christian lyrics, which is directly opposed to Scripture (Psalm 150, for example -- how else can we "praise with a trumpet"). Then there are huge points, like where we suggests that we can force Jesus to come back earlier by our own actions (chapter 36).

He uses a very wide variety of Bible versions, supposedly show more because he wants to "compare translations." But he leans most heavily on paraphrases, especially The Messages, which is notorious for being just a terrible version of the Bible, filled with inaccuracies and Eugene Peterson's own theology. Obviously, Warren here is just trying to pick and choose which version of a verse agrees with himself. And then he hides the verse citations in the end notes where it is very difficult to find them so you can check his quotation.

But there are two major problems here. The first is that this is a very man-centered vision of Christianity that hardly seems to seek God at all. It is all about making God make your life wonderful. And that's wrong. Our faith is God-centered, because only He is worthy of it.

The second major problem is that this book is directed to people who don't know any better. Normally, I will give a book a few stars for being "mostly right" or "partially right," but this book is being marketed directly to people who do not know much about Christianity. It is being marketed to small groups that do not read the Bible. Therefore these people do not know better. They cannot test what is said in this book.

If a mature Christian picks up this book, he will recognize the mistakes but learn nothing new. Therefore the book is worthless to him. If a new Christian picks it up, he will learn something new, but not recognize the major mistakes. Therefore it will be harmful to him. Either way, the book should be avoided. Therefore, I must give it my lowest rating and urge everyone to study the Bible (a real translation, not what Eugene Peterson wishes the Bible said); challenge every word you read from any of these books. Look up every reference Warren makes, because half the time, he is either misquoting with a bad version of the Bible or taking the verse completely out of context.

Do this with every book you read, but, most importantly, read the Bible! show less

I was sitting in my mother-in-law's basement last week and I saw The Purpose Driven Life on her bookshelf. I'd heard of it, but didn't really know much about it, so I picked it up and leafed through. Upon casual perusal, some of the ideas seemed almost in line with buddhist teachings ("it's not about me," the idea of stripping away non-essential elements and material desires in order to reveal purpose and meaning, and the focus on service as a way of deriving meaning from life). I enjoy finding common ground between different religious traditions, so when we got back to New England, I checked the book out from the library.

Initially, I'd fully intended to go day by day as the book suggests, reading and reflecting on one chapter a day show more for 40 days. When I talked with my husband about the first chapters, he dismissed the book out of hand saying that, having been raised in a rigid-thinking evangelical Christian tradition, he'd had enough of that kind of God talk. I, having not been raised in that tradition, had no such negative associations and felt sure that I could read the book substituting my more amorphous idea of "God" each time I encountered the word.

But.

As I read more, it occurred to me that this mental translation was a lot of work and rarely resulted in insights that made any sense in the context of the book. I skipped on ahead to get a sense for what I was in for and whether it would be worth my time to continue. It appears that this book is written for an already "born again" audience. Warren's anthropomorphic, micromanaging God persists throughout, as does the idea that every detail of our lives has been predetermined since before we were conceived. The "purpose" seems to be to serve God and to build a strong church community, which is all fine but which doesn't provide much in the way of concrete guidance or even spiritual insight.

I'm sure this book is helpful to many people, but it's just not my thing. show less

Studied through this book with the folks at church. Much of what's here is a rehash of other books and sermons on Christian living. Mr. Warren does put it together in an appealing way and add his own sparks of insight from time to time.

Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren pens this forty-day devotional designed to introduce the five purposes of your life: worship God, fellowship with other believers, become more like Jesus, serve others in the church, and share the gospel with others.

My church used this years ago for a church-wide campaign of reading it together and having several sermons in a row tied into it. I couldn't remember if I'd only read parts of it or the whole thing, and all I really remembered was that his narrative voice was far too excited for my taste and that he quoted from the Message a lot. Well, that's still fairly true (though he quotes from a lot of different versions and the Message was just one of them), but I actually enjoyed reading and found show more a lot of his points personally challenging and applicable. What he has to say isn't groundbreaking, but is Biblically sound and solid, and a good reminder for anyone whether just starting on their faith journey or following Christ for awhile, on what it means to live out a Christian life. show less

The author explains his use of multiple translations and paraphrasing but it still put me off. I felt like he was making the verses fit his purpose rather than presenting them in context and according to their original meaning. It would have been nice to have in text citation for the verses instead of end notes, especially where he used heavy paraphrasing. My biggest problem with the book though is that he seemed to forget who his audience is: unbeliever or believer. Either way, the book is mental fluff.

The author does make some good points about living for God's purposes. But it's rather hyped, and his confusing use of dozens of different Bible versions leads to some verses being taken right out of context. I don't like his self-promotion (we keep being encouraged to read more of his books) or the mega-church image that his church ('Saddleback' in the USA) promotes.

But still, there's some good stuff here and there, in amongst the hype and confusion. A few thought-provoking chapters and some excellent points about worship being all we do for God, not just a few songs on a Sunday morning. Could be useful for someone who's been going to church for years but has little idea why, or even for someone wanting to know more about what show more Christianity means. show less