Ask, Believe, Receive
Tim Watkin writes in yesterday's Washington Post concerning author Rhonda Byrne's book about success and happiness, "The Secret."
It's the publishing phenomenon of the year so far, a small book with a parchment-brown cover engraved with the image of a red wax seal.
"The Secret," its title proclaims matter-of-factly, as if the slim volume held the answer to life's deepest mysteries. Which is precisely what it purports to do. Written by an Australian television producer, this latest contribution to the bursting shelves of New Age self-helpiana has come out of nowhere to sell more than 1.3 million copies in the United States alone.
Read it all and see (1) what a great opportunity this phenomenon provides for discussing a Christian perspective of how the world works, and (2) whether you can differentiate "The Secret" from the prosperity teaching that one encounters from time to time in the Church.