The entire law is summed up in a single command:"Love your neighbor as
yourself." Galations 5:14
As a Christian and an avid practitioner of the Law of Attraction, I have recently discovered that many people tend to view both practices as seperate. Some Christian friends have referred to those who apply the law of attraction to their lives as "cultish". This judgement prompted me to consider connections between the basic principles of Christianity---assuming there are some--- and the the principles of the law of attraction.
First, I want to identify the sources I am using to discuss these connections. For Christianity, I will refer to the Bible and the Apostles Creed. For the Law of Attraction, I will use Rhona Byrne's highly successful book, The Secret, as well as some of the teachings of and wisdom of praticitioners of the law of attraction such as Esther and Jerry Hicks and, of course, Abraham. I will also refer to the Optimists' Creed, which was orginally published under the name "Promise Yourself" by Christian Larson in 1919.
In my consistency of living a Christian lifestyle, I use the Bible as a reference, a source of peace and guidance. As a practitioner of the law of attraction, I continue to refer to publications written about this practice, and I associate with others who live their lives according to "the secret", whether they are aware of it or not.
Since the Bible is the more accepted form of reference for this discussion, I will begin each topic with the basic principles of the Law of Attraction, then defend them with passages from the Bible. In the near future, I will offer commentary on each one, but for now I am asking your responses to them so I may quote my friends.
I will begin by posting one of the most common versions of The Apostles' Creed:
(note: The Apostles Creed is not found in the Bible, but Christians wrote it hundreds of years ago as a way to summarize their beliefs.)
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
maker of Heaven and Earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
born of the Virgin
Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified,
died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy
Spirit,
the holy *Christian
Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection
of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
*some versions state catholic church as opposed to Christian Church. It is important to recognize the definition of catholic as: "including or concerning all humankind; universal"
Common Similarities:
To me, the most obvious and relevant connection between the Law of Attraction and Christianity is Faith. Faith, according to Webster's Dictionary is
(1): firm belief in something
for which there is no proof (2): complete trust
In order to receive all the glory that we deserve in this world, we must first have faith that we deserve it and that we can and will get it. Faith in God, faith in the Universe (which, to me, are One, as God is One), Faith in whichever Deity one allows each of us to believe that we are one with creation. As we believe that we are one with creation, we then become able to create, as our Creator intends. Ultimately, we will receive exactly what we want. The secret, the basis of true Faith, is to KNOW what we want and also KNOW that we will receive it.
Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his
prophets and you will be successful. 2 Chronicles 20:20
LOA Basic Principal: You get what you think about, whether wanted or unwanted.
Biblical Evidence:
Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap
whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption
from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from
the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will
reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. Galatians 6.7-9
Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you
believed, you would see the glory of God?"
So they took away the
stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard
me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the
people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."
When he
had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man
came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around
his face. John 11-40-44
LOA Basic Principal
: Asking the Universe for what you want is your opportunity to get clear about what you want. As you get clear in your mind, you have asked.
Biblical Evidence:
Prayer: Moses replied, "When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out
my hands in prayer to the LORD. The thunder will stop and there will be no more
hail, so you may know that the earth is the LORD's. Exodus 9:29
"O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant,
saying, 'I will build a house for you.' So your servant has found courage to
offer you this prayer. 2 Samuel 7:27
O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to
the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant
success today by granting him favor in the presence of this
man. Nehemiah 1:11
By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to
the God of my life. Psalm 42:8
LOA Basic Principal: Believing involves acting, speaking, and thinking as though you have already received what you've asked for.
Biblical Evidence:
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11: 24
So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock
and the door will be opened to you. Luke 11:9
LOA Basic Principal: Receiving involves feeling the way you wll feel once your desire has manifested. Feeling good now puts you on the frequency of what you want.
Biblical Evidence:
He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of
people were brought to the Lord. Acts 11:24
Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were
added to their number. Acts 5:14
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see
him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious
joy, 1 Peter 1:8
for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:9
LOA Basic Principal: Be grateful for what you already have and you will attract more good things.
Biblical Evidence:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one
another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with
gratitude in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures
forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34
LOA Basic Principal: Focus the qualities you love about yourself and others and the law of attraction will you will show you more great things about you and them.
Biblical Evidence:
The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as
yourself." Galations 5:14
LOA Basic Principal: All forms of matter and energy are attracted to that which is of a like vibration.
Biblical Evidence:
so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should
have equal concern for each other. 1 Corinthians 12:25
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave
thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were
darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the
glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and
animals and reptiles. Romans 1: 18-20
For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did
not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
1 Corinthians 4:7
You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge,
my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who
sent me. John 8:15-16
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...Genesis
1:26
So Abram said to Lot, "Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or
between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. Genesis 13:8
Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of
observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is
justified by faith apart from observing the law. Is God the God of Jews only? Is
he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one
God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through
that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather,
we uphold the law. Romans 3 27-31
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret
place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth" Psalm 139:15
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with
God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking
the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And
being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and
became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Philippians
2:6-8
"If I have denied justice to my menservants and
maidservants when they had a grievance against me, what will I
do when God confronts me? What will I answer when called to
account?
Did not he who made me in the womb make
them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?Job
31:13-15
LOA Basic Principal: We are what we think.
Biblical Evidence:
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Proverbs 23:7
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave
thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were
darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the
glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and
animals and reptiles.
Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it
forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John
8:34-36
Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews.
Instead he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim,
where he stayed with his disciples. John 11-54
LOA Basic Principal: You get what you put your energy and focus on, whether wanted or unwanted.
Biblical Belief:
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness
and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may
be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For
since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and
divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made,
so that men are without excuse.
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to
sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They
exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things
rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Romans 1: 24-25
LOA Basic Principal: Energy attracts like energy
Biblical Evidence:
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on
its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds
and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5 (?)
Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never
walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12
LOA Basic Principal: Everything draws to itself that which is like itself.
Biblical Evidence:
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. John 9:4-6
The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do
what pleases him." John 8:29
I and the Father are one. John 10:30
Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even
though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and
understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." John
10:37-38
LOA Basic Principal: The feeling of love is the highest frequency you can emit. The greater the love you feel and emit, the greater power you are harnessing.
Biblical Evidence:
When Lazarus died, Jesus spoke with
his sisters:
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the
Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and
troubled. "Where have you
laid him?" he
asked.
"Come and see, Lord," they
replied.
Jesus wept.Then the Jews said, "See how he loved
him!"
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you,
being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with
all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is
the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may
be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians
3:17-19
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of
love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was,
and who is to come, the Almighty." Revelations 1:8
What about Jesus?
Jesus was the ultimate example and practitioner of the Law of Attraction. After healing a blind man, Jesus said to him,
"For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those
who see will become blind."
We perform miracles everyday. A friend of mine envisioned the person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, and is now married to that person. She knew him before she ever met him.
After years of longing to become a mother, but believing that it would never happen for me, one day, I finally and faithfully believed that I would, in fact, become a mother. That very day, a mere thirty minutes after I made stated aloud that I will be a mother, I received a phone call that would forever change my life. One week later, our son was in our home.
Miracles. Why aren't they recorded?
In the book Life By Heart, I share how God gave me a son through faith.
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