For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions. (2 Timothy 4:3)
Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way… (2 Thess. 2:3)
Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. (2 Peter 3:17)
Here is the promised post about books I do not recommend.
Some of you may think the title of this post is a bit exaggerated. But is it really?
I would like to remind you that books are powerful tools. Reading shapes a person’s mindset and influences his or her life. Reading is brain food, and just like you are what you eat, in the same way, you are what you read.
That is why books can also be dangerous. So be careful what you read just like you are careful what you eat.
I want you to know that I prayed before writing this post. If you did not read the verses above yet, please go back and read them.
What I am about to write concerning these authors and books is not written lightly, but is done after prayer and research to provide facts that show how and why these books are actually dangerous.
Case #1:
You’ve most likely seen this book in Christian bookstores, and other websites or ads.
The cover may look innocent and it may be misleading for some. But read the title and subtitle more carefully. Sadly this book has been circulating widely among many evangelicals. Why did I say sadly? Because the book is heretical to say the least! Read and you will see.
The 4 year old, who supposedly “went to heaven” claims that He saw Jesus, who was shorter than the angel Michael, and the Holy Spirit as a blue transparent being. It doesn’t stop there.
Way of Life Ministries, does a good book review of this book, on their website, pointing out the false claims it contains. Here I are some quotes from the book review that show the statements made by Colton the boy, and his family:
“Colton says Jesus’ horse is rainbow-colored (p. 63), whereas the Bible says it is white (Rev. 19:11).
Colton says the Holy Spirit shoots down power from heaven (p. 125)..
Colton says everyone has wings in heaven except Jesus (p. 72), that the angel Gabriel sits on the left hand of God’s throne (p. 101),
that the Holy Spirit is blue and sits in a chair near the throne of God (p. 102),
and “for our Catholic friends” the book is happy to report that Mary stands in heaven beside Jesus (p. 152).”
If you want more details, read the whole article here, Heaven is for Real: A Dangerous Book for an Apostate Age. Note, I am not affiliated in any way with this ministry, but have found their article helpful and useful.
Case #2:
This may seem like a nice inspirational book about missions to Africa. If you read the description on the back, it may even convince you about how sacrificial Katie is, and what a missionary heart she has. Don’t get me wrong. I am a daughter of missionaries myself, so I am not denouncing mission work.
I love reading about the lives of missionaries such as Gladys Aylward, Hudson Taylor, Jim Elliot and many others who God used so mightily. Yet I couldn’t help but see the real motives behind this book. I watched an interview with Katie. She stated that her real goal was “to be the next Mother Theresa”. Many of us have heard of Mother Theresa described as a kind of saint, but Mother Theresa was a universalist, meaning she believed all religions lead to God.
Coming back to our book, Katie decided to leave for Africa without her parent’s approval at the age of 18. In fact her parents were against it. As long as a girl is under her parent’s authority (which is until she reaches adulthood or gets married), I believe Biblically that she must live in obedience to them.
Katie mentioned in her interview that she felt it was time to “choose between her father and God”, and so she chose to go to Africa. Yet, the Bible never tells us as young people to choose between Him and our parents- rather to submit to them, especially if they are believers, and even if they are nonbelievers, they have the God-given authority to provide guidance and instruction till adulthood or marriage.
Finally, I came across the missing puzzle piece, which explained why there were so many red flags about this book. A reviewer of the book on Amazon.com explained everything thoroughly. The author of the book, Katie Davis, is actually into mysticism and the emergent church movement. Read the review below:
“I am sadly retracting my earlier positive review due to the fact that I have recently found out that Katie stands for and believes in mystical/contemplative spirituality/emergent church types of religion. It is a departure from true, historical Christianity. She quotes on FB many mystical writer’s and thinker’s, including Brennan Manning, Ann Voskamp, Ann Dillard, etc. So it is with this knowledge that I now believe she is not Biblically sound.
Looking back at her book I now see that the emphasis is more on what she does than on Christ getting the glory. How she bows low and gives up her life for the children. The constant references to her “messy” life and how it is all so disorganized bothers me a bit. Ann Voskamp also makes reference to her “messy” life ad nauseum. To what end do they always refer to that? I have to point out also that she has taken on the viewpoint that God is in all things…meaning even the evil things that are on the earth. Also a lack of mention of sin and the need for repentance required for salvation. …unfortunately, good works minus good theology don’t amount to much.” (Amazon review).
Case #3:
I’m sure a number of the readers of this post probably admire Ann Voskamp. She has a nice blog, popular link ups and so forth. I too dropped by her blog once or twice after discovering her from another blog. As I browsed through, it seemed quite attractive, but I felt a warning tug in my heart about something there that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
Her book above is very popular among evangelical women. I am concerned however, because many women do not actually know what Voskamp’s beliefs are, or what she actually implies in her writing, because it is put in such a veiled way, wrapped in a beautiful package. In fact I am so concerned, I would have put this book as #1 on the list, but I wanted to prepare you readers for it. Since other bloggers have done a magnificent job of revealing the divergent teachings in her book, I highly encourage you to document yourself and read their posts. These are reliable people who know exactly what they are talking about because they have been involved in the false religion and worldviews that Voskamp’s book contains.
I will give you these quotes from the two articles to whet your appetite to read them and find out what Voskamp actually promotes:
“Her book One Thousand Gifts, [is] a highly poetic, eroticized, “Christianized” version of Panentheism”
“For those who aren’t familiar with what Panentheism is, Panentheism is a worldview that embraces the view that God is “in” everything.”
“Oh, how I have compassion for all of the other real women out there who have not been shepherded well, and thus discern teachings and books based only on the emotional pull, poetic writing, and likability of the teacher. I also have compassion for women who think the greatest sin is to say that a teaching is wrong because it does not line up with Scripture, but who have no fear of the Lord, nor reverence for his Word, and honestly do not think that believing a falsehood about God is a sin.”
“One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, a book that takes romanticism to a new level, using sensuality to invoke religious feelings and, ostensibly, true devotion”
Review of “One Thousand Gifts”
Case #4:
Janette Oke is a popular name, what with the movie sequel that was made from her novels, “Love Comes Softly”. My family and I even bought two or three of the movies at first, and I read some of her books too. Now you wonder, what could be wrong with it? Let me just say that I love reading good historical fiction and learning about the good old days, or reading about pioneers and early American times. I am not writing about a particular book of hers, but about the style or topics she writes, which is “Christian Romance”. Now as I said in a previous post, I do not think Christian Romance is a healthy reading choice for young women who want to honor the Lord. If you think I am exaggerated, I want you to know I’m not the only one who thinks this way, and I’ve actually found a post by another young lady who, like me, decided to stop reading Christian Romance for the right reasons. Read her story here: Christian Romance- Why I Gave it Up.
— ~ —
Well dear readers, to your relief, this is the end of the list for now! I would’ve added several more books that I feel need to be treated, but I will leave it at that for now, since there is already so much information to digest. After you read this post, go pray about it and then do what the Lord leads you to do.
I assume I don’t even have to mention the book “The Shack” since I hope you all know why that book should be on this list as well. Feel free to leave comments. I would like to hear from you.
I read ‘Heaven Is For Real’ and also noticed areas that did not match up with Scripture. I am glad you covered the other books as well, as two of them were ones I had heard of and might have considered reading.
For other readers of this blog, please remember – if a book doesn’t match up with God’s Word, it doesn’t matter if the author is sweet, kind, or portrays an image of godliness. Discernment and Biblical truth stands; sentimentality and emotionalism do not, no matter our feelings. The heart can be deceived through such tactics, but God’s Word will endure forever. Being discerning and trying the spirits is not being judgmental.
Thanks, Becky, for this thought provoking post!
I definitely agree with your first 3 but I’m not sure how I feel about Christian romance. I LOVE the love comes softly series, and compared to other Christian fiction I’ve read I don’t think Oake’s books are too romantic. For me the danger of these books isn’t romantic fantasy rather a time management issue. I have a tendency to pick up books and read them in one day, which of course means other things get neglected in their place. This is one reason blog posts are safer for me to read, I’m not sucked in for 400 pages : )
Ann Voskamp does NOT preach nor believe in Panentheism. And woe to the person who cannot see God’s hand in all that is around him/her,the blessings that He has given in our day in day out lives. That does not mean that everything is God.I think it is sad that you (and others from the links) have taken your high and mighty legalistic stand against other believers in such a way as to tarnish their testimony. The enemy is enjoying this very much. If you knew Ann personally you would realize how foolish this thought is. To think that you can “fill in the dots” from what she hasn’t said by what she has is to think that YOU are God!!!! A very scary stand to take . Shame on you and others who use your blogs to tear down the name of Christ and those who want to honor and love Him. Shame on you indeed.
I full well expect that this comment will be taken down, or tore to shreds with the legalistic talk that has preceded this article.
See my reply to Deanne here: https://heritageofgrace.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/reply-to-deann/
Thanks for sharing this useful information. I guess a lot of books have a little something that we should look out for, no book is perfect. I will be more careful about what I read from now on! 🙂 Btw, I tried that “no knead bread”, and it came out perfectly delicious! Now I can say I know how to make bread…. and it’s soo easy! Thank you so much for the recipe! 🙂
Way to go Kimmy! I’m so glad you tried out the no knead bread recipe!
Also I’m glad you read this post about the books. I hope it was helpful, and maybe you can share it with others. What else have you been doing this summer? Have you had any nice outings/vacation days?
I added the web address to this post to a post of my own recommending it! Thanks again SO MUCH for this bold-in-Christ post!!! <3
Katie,
Thanks for sharing this. I also appreciate your words of encouragement.
Thanks for sharing. I’ve heard of Ann Voskamp, and looked around her site a little, and had much the same feeling of “something isn’t quite right” that you did.
No, you aren’t the only one who feels that way about Christian Romance. I’ve not read much, but I’ve read enough to know that I don’t want to read it. I don’t want to steal my emotions from my future spouse in that way.
Kathleen,
I’m glad you agree with the facts presented about these books, showing that they are not Biblical. I’m also glad you had the initiative to leave feedback on a heavy duty type of article where many people prefer to keep silent instead of speak out their mind by commenting 🙂 Thanks for another testimony of someone who doesn’t read romance novels.
You’re very welcome. 🙂 It’s always encouraging to me to learn that I’m not alone, so I love giving that encouragement myself.
And thank you again for speaking out yourself on a subject many prefer to steer away from. 🙂