Recieved this e-mail from my cousin, and for believers it is a scary thing that is being pushed on our children. If you have children or grandchildren, work with children at church, or you have neighborhood children whose parents you know, please take note of the information below and pass it along to others. Schools are distributing this book to children through the Scholastic Book Club. The name of the book is Conversations with God. James Dobson talked about this book twice this week. It is devastating. Parents, churches and Christian schools need to be aware of it. Please pass this information on to church/e-mail addresses, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends. Please pay special attention not only to what your kids watch on TV, in movie theaters, on the internet, and the music they listen to, but also be alert regarding the books they read. Two particular books are, Conversations with God and Conversations with God for Teens, written by Neale D. Walsch. They sound harmless enough by their titles alone. The books have been on the New York Times best sellers list for a number of weeks, and they make truth of the statement, "Don't judge a book by its cover or title..." The author purports to answer various questions asked by 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 brown 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." Not only are these books the false doctrine , but in some instances quote (in error) the Word of God. And the list goes on. These books (and others like it) are being sold to schoolchildren through (The Scholastic Book Club), and we need to be aware of what is being fed to our children. The children of our nation 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, because our adversary, the devil, roams about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). We know that lions usually hunt for the slowest, weakest and YOUNGEST of its prey. Pass this on to every Believer you know. And, if you are in doubt, check out the books yourself.
You might want to research this further. I just went through the Oprah website and the Focus on the Family website and found absolutely nothing about this "book" on either of them. It is not on Oprah's reading list for adults or children and the closest I could find on Dobson's site was a positive reference to a Miley Cyrus interview that she believes she is where she is because of God's plan. This has "internet hoax" written all over it like the ones about the FCC banning things or the Proctor and Gamble folks contributing to Satanism. If it is a hoax the whole thread should be deleted! I went looking a little further and found the books tied to the author and a website called "raptureready" which purports Dobson talked about the books in March of '06! Much of the quote above come directly from that site. The addition of Oprah seems to be new and as far as i can find has no basis in fact. The books do exist though they are a number of years old now and the website of the author hasn't been updated in a while which suggests they have run their course as so much pop theology/psychology does.
I have the book and the movie. I've read it cover to cover several times. I don't believe that it speaks to the email you received, not that I don't believe you, just the email. I don't remember the website my husband goes to when he hears something that doesn't sound quite right, but when he comes home I'm going to ask him.
It's probably snopes. They're currently investigating this email http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/conversations.asp
Well, some of the user comments on Amazon back up the e-mail, and the excerpt I read online gave me pause.
Here's the Wikipedia entry. It seems the e-mail is pretty much on the mark. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversations_with_God
I think the book review is likely on point. It is not a view of God most Christians would recognize fully. But what is likely bogus is the Oprah connection and the relative currency of the Dobson comments. Those are over two years old.
I think the thing that bothers me, is that whether the accusations about the book's content are true or not, why would the book be considered an attack? Why can't it just be an alternative view?
Because rather than come out and just advocate a humanistic world view, the author tries to couch it in a "I'm just like your traditional God, I've just been misunderstood" format. It's insidious.
No, its an alternate view. I'd be considerably worried if someone bought a book for their child, and let them think God wrote it. Its this intolerance, quick to judgment, and reactionary fear that hampers the message of Christian religions.
Look, the guy has the right to be a pantheist. That's cool. The problem is that it's being sold as a variation on the Judeo-Christian view of God. It's not.
Devil's advocate here. (no pun intended) Not for anything, but where does it say that it is the Christian God that the kids are talking to? I don't see that anywhere in that email. If it IS referenced somewhere that it is the Christian God then you have a legitimate gripe. However, if it doesn't, isn't it a tad self-righteous to think that any time the word "God" is used in anything it means YOUR God? Personally...my God and Goddess would have given pretty much the same answers that the email gave. So in essence, the TS is saying that anything to do with another religious belief besides your own is a "scary thing". Hmmm....what happened to tolerance, dear Christians? Again though...if it IS being passed off as the Christian God, then you have a gripe.
I think you posted this before I got my last response to Finacious up. My problem is that this has been marketed to a Judeo-Christian audience, when it's really more of a humanist/pantheist viewpoint. I don't have a problem with an alternate view ... but be clear that it's an alternate view.
If you were to read the raptureready website I refered to, all of us might end up agreeing with Fin D and Pagan. Clearly that site has an agenda. My first objective was to throw some light on what has all the hallmarks of a hoax or at least a campaign of misinformation. Regarding the book itself, I would fully agree with Dr. AZ and in fact even Pagan's codicil, it appears the book is being marketed as speaking with the voice of the Judeo-Christian God. At that popint it becomes a "truth in advertising claim" to me. If presented as a new age or alternative view, fine. I don't object to an author trying to sell an idea. If I disagree I either don't buy the book or disregard its assumptions. But if that author is deceptive (and that seems to be the case at least insofar as the marketing goes), then I object firmly.
I did not research this when I should have. It came from my cousin who is a Deacon in his church and he is not known to send out......... unrepeatable stuff. Now where he got this I am not sure, and when I see him tomorrow night i will ask him if he had looked into the info in the e-mail. Sorry to ruffle some feathers, but IMO if the book is targeted to main stream Christianity, it is sending the wrong message that main stream Christians are teaching our children. "I'd be considerably worried if someone bought a book for their child, and let them think God wrote it." It appears that it is directed towards teens and I give our teens enough credit that they would know that it is not God's writing, but what bothers me it is not teaching what the Bible says about these issues. Truth be told this thread was not directed towards anyone that believes in any other religion, but for Christians. And if you think this is a great book and like the message it sends that is great for you. It just so happens I don't and prefer that my children learn what I believe are good strong moral values and not get sent crossed signals during this time in history they are bombarded with junk.
Fair enough. My point of contention is the email calling this an attack. You (not you, but "you" in general) don't agree with what it says don't read it. If you feel like you need to warn other Christians, that this might be counter to their message, go for it. But an attack? Really? I think it is a disservice to your faith to call something that is merely a different view as an attack. Frankly, I'm tired of the constant cry of attack, that I hear from many Christians. Whether its about gays attacking Christian values by simply being gay, or saying "Happy Holidays" is an attack on Christmas, or keeping ID out of science classes is an attack on God. I've been Christian, I remember the teachings of Christ and the Bible, and nowhere does it preach this kind of intolerance and self victimization. In fact it teaches quite the opposite, and I sincerely hope that someday, Christians as a group get back to being the compassionate and nonjudgmental people that this world so desperately needs.
If you're conceding it's something that could necessitate a warning, then I'm not sure what is bugging you about it being called an "attack."
Warnings do not constitute attacks. Warning someone this book may not be what they think it is, does not mean you're doing because its an attack. There's warning labels on everything, that's not because we're scared to to be attacked by a bottle of aspirin. Your quote, does not in any way, make the case that everything that is counter to your belief structure, is an attack. It is basically telling us to be savvy.