The Law of Attraction (LOA) is a popular belief that “like attracts like” and that your thoughts can (and will) determine your reality. What does the Bible have to say about the Law of Attraction and how should Christians respond to LOA?
In 19th century America, a new belief system emerged that came to be known as the “New Thought” movement. Based on the writings and teachings of numerous figures including (to name a few) Phineas Quimby, James Allen, Warren Felt Evans, Emma Curtis Hopkins, Myrtle Fillmore, Malinda Cramer, Prentice Mulford, and Nona L. Brooks, New Thought is essentially a pantheistic or panentheistic framework. It holds that we are spiritual beings living in an interconnected reality and that we can influence said reality through focused thought.
The runaway 20th century bestseller Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill was rooted in New Thought and helped popularize its concepts to a more mainstream American audience. Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret had the same effect on 21st century American society.
Rooted in New Thought teachings, the Law of Attraction holds that we determine our reality via our thoughts. According to the website LawofAttraction.com, LOA is “the ability to attract into our lives whatever we are focusing on.”
In his famous work The Master Key System, Charles F. Haanel wrote that “the secret of all power, all achievement and all possession depends upon our method of thinking.”
“You can look at anything in your Universe and break it down to its essence, which is energy,” explains popular LOA guru Bob Doyle in his bestseller Wealth Beyond Reason.
LOA is premised on this idea that the universe is energy and that we are energy. And that we, as beings of energy within this overall universe of energy attract things to us based on our energy vibrations.
And those vibrations are based on our thoughts.
According to Doyle, “It is your thoughts and emotions that dictate what you are vibrating, and thus, what you are magnetizing.”
Many Christians have been attracted (no pun intended) to the teachings and promise of the Law of Attraction.
There are several reasons for this. Among those reasons is the fact that some of what the Law of Attraction practitioners teach is true, namely that your thoughts do influence (“determine” and “control” are too strong) your physical reality. This is especially the case with one’s health.
However, the Law of Attraction (as explained in the video above) is fraught with problems and dangers. In fact, LOA is often a gateway to much more troubling, even perilous practices — such as seeking out “spirit guides.”
The truth is that Christians don’t need a spirit guide. Not when we have the Holy Spirit — God Himself!
And we don’t need to ask the Universe for anything. Not when we have the privilege of asking God for our needs – and even our requests that may fall short of “need.”
I encourage you to watch the video above for more on this topic.
Even more importantly, I encourage you to prayerfully dive into the word of God. It is our Creator who can best meet our needs, since He is the One who knows us the best and loves us the most.
