I needed this book this year. With all that is going on, with not being able to do the things I love, I needed some direction in life. This book was perfect, it brought me back to reality.

Rick Warren's Spiritual Manifesto
3 December 2011

tI am going to say that this was a good book. I don't necessarily want to attack it, however I do feel that one does need to be somewhat critical of it. However, despite some disagreements I do have with his methods, I still think that this is a quite helpful in explaining why we are here and our purpose in life. Now, as you are probably aware, this is a Christian book, but it is one of those books that has the potential to appeal to and benefit a whole range of people from those exploring the faith to those who have been Christians for many years. The danger that many of us more mature Christians have is that we tend to look down on books like this with the belief that we are too far advanced for this book to have any benefit for us. Personally, that type of thought could not be any more wrong. If God is truly God then he can use many and varied things to help shape us and grow us in his image.

tPersonally, when I first started reading this book I was put off by his first paragraph stating that God had set aside this moment for us to read this book. That may well be true, but I feel that a statement like this places too much emphasis on a book that is not the Bible. I don't think Warren intended this book to replace the Bible, but the further I read through the book the more of an impression that I got that he seemed to be attempting to replace the Bible. Philip Yancy was a bit like that as well when I found a daily devotional that contained sections from his books, but nothing from the Bible.

tWhat I mean is that as you look at this book you will notice that he has taken his basic concept and moulded a whole series of books and materials around it. This, in itself, is not a bad thing, but it becomes a bad thing when it attempts to supplant God's word. Now, I did notice that he quoted a lot of scripture, but at the end, he says that he has been attempting to do what Jesus did, and that is paraphrase the concepts. However, this can lead to the danger of taking the verse or passage out of context. Further, he used many different translations, and sometimes I got the feeling that he chose a specific translation because that translation made the verse fit his point, rather than making sure the point fits the verse.

tI do think that this book has a lot of helpful and challenging aspects to it, and the aspect of being a servant is a prime example. He mentions that everybody wants to lead, and in Christian circles that is no exception. In fact, it is sad that too many Christians want to lead, and very few want to serve. Serving means doing the hard work and getting your hands dirty. That is what God did when he created the world, and that is what Jesus did when he walked the earth. He worked as a carpenter, and when he came of age (30 in those days) he left his parents to go and wander the land preaching, but while he was doing that he would also heal the sick, and at one stage he even washed his disciples feet. It is strange that many will stand in the pulpit and preach about how Jesus humbled himself by washing his disciples' feet, but they themselves would not do the same thing.

tAlso, looking at this passage (John 13) notice how he would not let himself get pushed around. When Peter objected to Jesus washing his feet (a person in leadership should never stoop so low as to perform such an undignified act, that is the job of the slaves) Jesus soundly rebuked him, and when Peter then jumped up and said, 'well, if you are going to wash my feet, you can wash the rest of me also', Jesus once again soundly rebuked him. You notice that Jesus does not let himself get pushed around.

tNow, this is what we have to watch out for as Christians. Being a servant does not mean letting people walk all over you or use you. There are boundaries that need to be drawn, and we need to know when to say to people 'enough!'. I think of those people who crave friendship and companionship, and the Christians who put up barriers so that while it is okay to befriend them at church, they will not let them enter their personal life. When that happens I think of when Jesus said that whatever you do for the least you do it for me, but whenever you ignore their plight, you are also ignoring me.

tWarren is right when he said that we are all different; each one of us is unique. However we must be careful of the other side of the coin that I mentioned above. While some may only allow certain people to have access to certain other parts of their lives, there are others who will abuse their position to lord it over you. While Jesus said that if somebody asks for your cloak, give them your tunic also, he also warned us to be wise to the world and alert of all kinds of dangers. Just because the guy in the pulpit says that that is what the Bible says, it does not necessarily mean that that is what the Bible says. Just because they use one particular version of the English Bible does not mean that that is the only version available. Me, I like the Greek because that is the original language. Granted, not everybody can read Ancient Greek (and I can barely read it, though I do consider it my second best language), but we do have access to a multitude of translations. We also have access to the Bible in audio form (since not all of us are able to read), so we can read it and have God speak to us through the scriptures in many ways.

tAnyway, this has been quite long, and I should finish up this review. In summary, yes this is a good book, and it is a challenging book, but it is not the Bible. It never will be. I would recommend reading this book, and even for those who don't like reading, you can use his 40 day reading guide (though ignore the rubbish about how many of the great people of faith had spiritual epiphanies over 40 days; while that may be true, I would suggest that only a certain few – maybe Rick Warren himself – would have their spiritual epiphany while reading this book). Don't sign the contract he has at the front of the book, rip it out and throw it in the recycling bin. Maybe it is because I have a Law Degree that makes me baulk at contracts. I would visit his church, but if joining it meant signing a contract, no thankyou, and I would probably go and look for another church – there are plenty of them out there.

Rick Warren was a customer of mine (Greatsite.com - The Bible Museum) before he released this best-selling and now extremely famous book. I find it curious that so many of my Christian friends are quick to criticize this book as being a "primer" of "Christianity 101" or an introduction to the Christian Faith and Life... and they feel it does not go deep enough theologically. That is not a valid criticism of this book in my opinion, because this book does not represent itself to be a seminary-level text of a theologically comprehensive nature. It is precisely and unashamedly what they criticize it for being: an introduction to Christianity. It is an excellent introduction to Christianity, and I see why it is so well-received. It is no substitute for the Bible, nor does it claim to be, but for those who may be intimidated by the Bible... this book has offered many millions a path toward putting aside that intimidation and encouraging them to read their Bible and fellowship with a local body of believers.

I would recommend to anyone!

Ideea cartii este una destul de buna, insa cu toate acestea nu este o carte care m-a incantat intr-un mod extraordinar.

Cartea este conceputa ca fiind un devotional pentru 42 de zile, insa capitolele, mie personal, mi se par destul de lungi pentru a fi citite in fiecare zi la timpul devotional.
Un alt lucru care nu mi-a placut este traducerea Bibliei pe care autorul o foloseste, The Message, de multe ori am remarcat faptul ca versetele erau semnificativ diferite fata de versetele din traducerea Cornilescu.

Cu toate acestea, desi unele idei trebuie luate cu sare si putin filtrate, unele capitole mi-au placut foarte mult si am reusit totusi sa identific lucruri foarte folositoare la care cu siguranta ma voi intoarce.

2,5-3/5 ⭐

heard about this from a manny pacquaio article (https://religionunplugged.com/news/20...)

I've been trying to explore my spirituality more and therefore read this book—some parts landed some didn't. a few parts were actually quite enlightening and helped me figure some stuff out. other parts didn't really fit with my understanding of the bible and felt like the author inserting his own ideas as opposed to explaining the bible. anyways i'm glad I read it

Good-tasting Poison

In his book The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren has offered readers an easy-to-read volume of unreserved encouragement. Line after line seems designed for simplicity, inspiration, and warmth. Even the font and length of the book seem to be aimed at heartening the reader. The print was large and the pages many, meant to give the reader a sense of covering a lot of ground in just over a month. Warren obviously intended this book to be a pleasant and welcoming introduction to the purposeful Christian life.
Christians are likely to enjoy many features of this book – even theologically-minded and carefully-reading kinds of Christians. In fact, many people have read and celebrated The Purpose Driven Life, so I want to spend a little time highlighting some of the probable reasons it has been so highly acclaimed. However, there are also significant disappointments in this devotional book. Therefore, I’d like to ultimately present a couple of reasons why Christians should look elsewhere for quality Christian living material.

The Book Tastes Good

Warren began his book with the abrasive statement, “It’s not about you” (17). Such a statement is surely a good one for people to read and to think about. It is objectively true (and even intuitively true), but we do not naturally live as though we believe it is. American Evangelicals seem especially interested in accommodating self-centeredness within the Christian worldview. Because of this obvious dichotomy – either life is ultimately about me or God, it cannot be centered on both – Warren’s opening words are probably a little stinging and then undoubtedly quite refreshing for many Christian readers. And Christians are right to be glad that life is really and ultimately about God.
In line with this kind of thinking, Warren pressed his readers to “begin with God” and to discover “[God’s] purpose” for their lives (17). Warren also tried to help the reader understand that “God’s purpose took into account human error, and even sin.” Assuring the reader, Warren wrote, “God never does anything accidentally, and he never makes mistakes” (23). Again, the Christian reader is likely to enjoy and even benefit from such words. Christians know that God is the starting point (Gen. 1:1), and they also know that God’s purposes stand behind all things, even bad and sinful things (Ps. 135:5-12). Warren’s words here are likely welcomed truths for many Christian readers who may benefit from the reminder that God is always at work in our lives, even during hard and bitter times.
Throughout the book, Warren repeatedly wrote of the need to believe in Jesus, to obey Him as Lord, and to demonstrate love for God by acting on love for others. Christian readers are probably happy to see such calls to know and follow Jesus in meaningful ways. I know I appreciated these calls as I read the book. Warren also wrote about the importance of Christian fellowship, the value of genuine community, and the intentional effort needed to participate in a local church. Being a pastor, I thought Warren’s statements were often full of good admonishing words, useful for some of my own church members.
It was easy to see why many Christians find The Purpose Driven Life to be a great resource for their own spiritual growth and development. As a matter of fact, just as I was finishing the book, I met a Christian young man who said that this book was the most impactful book he’d read on Christians living. And yet, there were also some very troubling and disappointing features of Warren’s book. Let me mention a couple of the biggest reasons I think this book is actually quite bad.

But the Book is Poisonous

There are more than a few reasons to place this book in the category of “bad books.” I don’t mean it should never be read, and I’m no book-burning fanatic, but I want to sound a word of warning to those who might be interested in thinking sensibly about this book. We should be level-headed about all that we read, and this book is no exception. As a matter of fact, I have some readers especially in mind as I write these words of warning. I imagine young and immature Christians reading this book, not realizing the juice is mixed with cyanide. Worse yet, I imagine non-Christians reading this book, not realizing they’re being inoculated against the gospel of Jesus Christ, their only hope in life and death.
Let me outline two overwhelmingly bad features of The Purpose Driven Life. I hope you’ll consider my warning and then spend a little time thinking about the validity of such arguments. I also hope that you’ll consider the state of your own soul, and that you’ll give effort to knowing the gospel and the God who saves. Warren’s book is bad, first, because the gospel is absent. Second, Warren assumes his reader is a Christian from the beginning. These two combined qualities make this book awfully poisonous. Ingesting either one is dangerous, but the combination is eternally lethal. Let me explain.
Nonexistent gospel. Not every book should be expected to include the gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to be clear on this point. But any book on Christian living, especially one that targets non-Christians, and even more particularly one that aims to define the “Good News” of Christianity, should absolutely include the substance of the Christian gospel. The gospel is the “Good News” after all. The gospel is the message of God’s plan to save sinners through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
On day three of his forty-day devotional, Warren finished his brief chapter by telling the reader that God will one day “do an audit of your life, a final exam, before you enter eternity” (34). It was at this point that Warren seemed to begin his appeal for the reader to become a Christian. He wrote, “From the Bible we can surmise that God will ask us two crucial questions: First, ‘What did you do with my Son, Jesus Christ?’ …Second, ‘What did you do with what I gave you?’” Warren went on to say, “The first question will determine where you spend eternity. The second question will determine what you do in eternity.” It was later, on day seven, when Warren seemed to urge his reader toward an evangelical response to the gospel.
Employing his language of the purposeful life, Warren wrote, “Real life begins by committing yourself completely to Jesus Christ. If you are not sure you have done this, all you need to do is receive and believe” (58). Warren explained belief by writing, “Believe God loves you and made you for his purposes… Believe God has chosen you to have a relationship with Jesus, who died on the cross for you.” Then Warren went on to describe the meaning of “receive” by saying, “Receive Jesus into your life as you Lord and Savior. Receive his forgiveness… [and] his Spirit, who will give you the power to fulfill your life purpose.” Then Warren invited the reader to “bow your head and quietly whisper the prayer that will change your eternity.” And then he recommended a brief, innocuous prayer.
Later still, on day thirty-seven, Warren finally sought to define the “Good News” of the gospel. Urging his reader to share the gospel with others, Warren spent a couple of lines explaining the substance of the gospel message. He wrote, “The Good News is that when we trust God’s grace to save us through what Jesus did, our sins are forgiven, we get a purpose for living, and we are promised a future home in heaven” (294). That’s it… No explanation of sin, no clarification about who Jesus is at all, and no description of what Jesus did. Obviously, a Christian could expound on this anemic content and make the gospel clear. But throughout the full content of Warren’s book, these several lines are the whole of his supposedly gospel substance, and this is simply a non-gospel.
Who is God? What is sin? Who is Jesus? Why did Christ die? For whom did Christ die? What does Christ’s death have to do with the reader? How is Christ’s work applied to the sinner? What relationship does God’s saving work have with my effort to live for Him? These are the crucial questions of the Christian life, and Warren answers none of them. He gives no substance to a message he calls “the Good News,” and this is poisonous to the non-Christian reader. He or she may think the gospel is a vacuous message, and he or she may even think the gospel has been received and applied by reading this book. He or she may believe that heaven is assured, simply because he or she has read this book. But this would be an eternally costly presumption. A gospel message with no substance is poison to those who receive it.
Christianity assumed. A hollow gospel is bad enough, but Warren did not leave the reader to his or her own thoughts about the state of his or her soul. Warren offered complete and unreserved assurance to his reader, and this even before his hollow gospel was presented. Warren wrote his book as though every reader is objectively on their way to paradise and glory.
Ten pages and one day before Warren asked his reader “What did you do with Jesus Christ?” and five days before Warren lead his reader to “believe” and “receive” the blessings of salvation (without defining or explaining the gospel at all), Warren assured his reader of God’s special love. He wrote, “You were created as a special object of God’s love! God made you so he could love you” (24).
The Bible is clear that God’s does love the world (Jn. 3:16), and God even loves sinners (Rom. 5:8), but God’s special love is only for those He saves in Christ (Eph. 1:4-6, 2:4-10; 1 Jn. 4:10). To say that everyone on the planet (at least every one of those who will read Warren’s book) is a “special object of God’s love” is to declare a universal application of God’s special love. How, then, is the reader to understand this assured promise? Is the not a promised assurance of God’s saving love?
Warren’s book is filled with this same kind of presumptuous assurance, giving the reader every reason to believe that he or she is perfectly right before God and on his or her way to eternal blessings rather than cursing. Warren wrote, “God wants a family, and he created you to be a part of it” (117). Soon after, he wrote, “The moment you were spiritually born into God’s family, you were given some astounding birthday gifts: the family name, the family likeness, family privileges, family intimate access, and the family inheritance” (119). On what basis does Warren make such family promises? On the basis that the reader is simply reading his book, I suppose.
Warren made his presumption explicit when gave an unequivocal assurance of salvation immediately after his nebulous non-gospel presentation on day seven. After urging his reader to pray an innocuous prayer, he wrote, “If you sincerely meant that prayer, congratulations! Welcome to the family of God!” (59). Warren bypassed the affirmation of the local church, supplanted any critical assessment of genuine conversion, and simply assured and congratulated his reader. Far and away, the worst poison in this book is Warren’s intention that his reader to think that he or she has read, understood, and embraced the gospel. He intends his reader to embrace every promise God has made to those who are in Christ, without the substance of the gospel and without the benefit of critically thinking through whether or not the reader has actually understood and embraced the message of Christ.

For these two reasons, I caution the reader. This book is poisonous. It could be quite lethal to the soul.

This piece by evangelist Rick Warren is based on a 40-day program. According to him, everyone who has not completely dedicated their life to Jesus has no real, objective purpose. The only purpose, says Warren, is what we create for ourselves. This is assumed to be undesirable. To further underscore his point, he asserts that without eternal consequences, there is no reason to behave morally due to a lack of long-term consequences. What he fails to understand is the simple fact that there ARE long-term consequences to everything we do, from social alliances to career advancements and personal improvement.

Logic students will likely recognise this argument as an appeal to consequences (if something is true, it has positive effects, therefore it must be true, and vice versa). It gets worse; he opens his first chapter with a "quote" from Bertrand Russel that was fabricated out of whole cloth. Russel was an atheist, and Warren apparently believes this helps prove his point (which it most certainly doesn't).

Although Warren claims that he has not written a self-help tome, it reeks of hollow and facile platitudes, along the lines of "cast aside past traumas and wrongdoings done to you" and "God loves you. He created everything about you, from your personality to your physical attributes." As the eloquent and robust intellectual Steve Shives from YouTube has sharply pointed out, these phrases will have no comfort to those afflicted from birth with a predisposition towards cancer or full-blown Cystic Fibrosis. Free will is thrown out the window, which leads to Warren inadvertently sandbagging the next premise he attempts to make. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Further evidence that reveals the dishonest claim of not being a self-help book are lines that are essentially plagiarised from The Secret. Ask. Believe. Receive. If everything was that simple, we would be able to eliminate poverty and despotism overnight, but it's not, and we clearly cannot.

Free will doesn't defend against this, especially since an omniscient god, by definition, planned everything, including the pear-shaped conclusion for his beloved creations.

Warren's purposes for human life (which he implies are better than our own self-determined purposes) basically amount to nothing more than worship, prayer and singing to god's glory. It's almost as if he is attempting to make eternal life with his god LESS palatable than eternal torture or separation. Frankly, I think he can do better. I can't imagine impoverished and emaciated children or adults turning to Christianity because the rewards will come after they are dead. If any do fall for his con game, they will likely enter mutual-murder pacts to escape their torments upon this Earth. I honestly don't think this is what the author is intending, but it seems more likely than the book's stated goal.

Anecdotes are liberally sprinkled around in an attempt to allow the reader to empathise with Warren's acquaintances, or more rarely, Warren himself.

This book has wonderful insights, terrific suggestions on how to live a better, more purposeful life. I enjoyed it very much, but knowing that I did not concentrate very well on it, I do plan to read it again later in the fall, using it as a daily devotional.

I found this book both uplifting and comforting.

All of us tend to live our live searching for an over-arching purpose which would make sense to our lives. This book is a 40 day book which made a lot of difference to me. In the confusing world we live in, one of the main causes of worry is a lack of purpose and this book deals with that.This has been a book which will leave you with the task of creating a life purpose statement which will be your constant reference in life's storms.Rick Warren has used a lot of excellent metaphors and his writing skills leave a quick impact on you. I would definitely recommend this book.

When I first began reading this book I really enjoyed it. I must mention that at the time I read this, I did not consider myself Christian. After reading the book, and a couple of other by Rick Warren, in addition to reading the bible straight through, I firmly believe that although what Warren writes may be insightful, the full implications behind his text(s) are quite far from reality and these books are intended for the purpose of becoming wealthy rather than closer to God.