In 1952, a New York pastor named Norman Vincent Peale penned a book
that has influenced generations that followed, called, “The Power of
Positive Thinking.” Many of his thoughts and ideas were picked up by
Robert Schuller, who repackaged them as “Possibility Thinking,” and
built a religious empire from them.
These ideas, once seen as counter to the gospel, have now become
mainstream, even in evangelical, supposedly Bible-believing
Christianity. Christianity has been completely redefined, deemphasizing
sin and lostness and separation from God and replacing it with a
man-centered, self-reliant, relentlessly positive message – grace
without the fall, redemption without the need for forgiveness.
In the Peale/Schuller world, our problem is low self-esteem and a
lack of confidence in our own abilities to do great things for God. The
solution is for us to think positive, believe in ourselves, dream big
dreams and believe that God will help us reach our dreams. Man’s chief
end is no longer to give glory to God, but God’s chief end is to bring
happiness to us.
My concern is that over time this concept has gained ground and begun
to establish itself as settled doctrine. Too many are replacing the
hard, cold facts of the true gospel with the cotton candy of self-esteem
and “you can do it” motivational approaches. A popular radio network
bills itself as “positive and encouraging.” Continue at Dave Miller
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