May Christians read self improvement books?
score:11
This is opinion only, but I'll throw my two cents in. I'm also not going to add in supporting Bible verses as I'll stick to commonly accepted, cross-denominational concepts that any Christian should be familiar with. (If comments ask for verses, I will come back and edit them in.)
Most of the self-help books that I've read personally are, in retrospect, based on very humanistic concepts, or the popular psychology of the day. However, many of them contain very good ideas mixed in with the psychobabble.
My personal opinion is that there is nothing inherently wrong with reading self-help books, provided that you've got a solid foundation in Biblical doctrine, and are able to discern the good from the concepts that are anti-Biblical.
Many of these books have value, and follow along with Christian teachings. Books on success often advocate following the golden rule - treating your peers, employees, customers, etc, as you'd like to be treated. Or the teach the value of honesty, integrity, etc. None of these are anti-Christian, and all are examples of how God would have us behave anyway.
The biggest pitfall that I an see with these books is that they can further the illusion among the unsaved that following the advice in the books makes them a "good person". Of course, a person has to realize that he or she is lost before they can turn to the Savior for salvation. We can all be better people, but we can never be good enough to earn our own salvation. (If we could, the Cross would not have been necessary.)
Then there are the books that teach outright contradictions to the word of God. Humanistic, or spiritual growth books that point to one new age theology or another. Again, these can be dangerous for obvious reasons. However, I still believe that someone with a grounding in doctrine with the gift of discernment can still read these books and use the knowledge for God's will. the people who fall for these lies need the Savior just as much as anyone else, and you can't refute something you don't know about.
As a parallel to this last once, many Christians study the beliefs of various cults and non-Christian religions in order to learn how to more effectively witness to those involved. It helps to provide a common starting point. Being aware of what's being taught in these "new-agey" books can be valuable for the same purpose.
The bottom line comes down to whether or not you're grounded enough in the Word to understand and discern the truth from the lie.
Upvote:2
I'm going to come from a different perspective.
Summary: You can read whatever you want, provided it doesn't take you away from God.
Self-help is a very broad category. You have everything from the Pleasuring: The Secrets of Sexual Satisfaction (PG-13 link there) all the way down to Boundaries for kids.
The problem with saying "All X is bad" is that not everything can be categorized as either "bad" or "good". Also, we, as Christians, basically have the right to do whatever we want, provided that God permits us:
1 Corinthians 10:23 (NIV)
“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive.
So then the question is: Does God permit us to read X?
In General, yes!
However, we have to make sure to try to have a pure heart--a heart for God. If a book is going to draw us away from God, we should leave it alone. Otherwise, it will be fine.
For example:
I'm sure that the book Pleasuring: The Secrets of Sexual Satisfaction is a fine book. (I couldn't say on my own authority, I haven't read it!) However, if you have problems with lust, that's probably not the book for you. However, in the confines of marriage where lust is not a problem, this book can be helpful and instructional.
Ultimately, we just have to make sure that if we do anything, it brings glory to God. Avoid the books that will pull you away from God (whether Self-Help, Fiction, or Historical) and focus on the books that will actually help you out!
Another side note is that there are actually Christian self-help books out there. Boundaries for kids is an excellent book to help parents learn to raise children and it is written by two Christians and from a Christian perspective (although not explicitly a "Christian" book).
Upvote:8
Sure, we may read them. (1 Corinthians 10:23)
But really, why read a productivity self-help book when The Ultimate Productivity blog says it all? And which is a better use of time: reading self-help books on becoming a better person, or actually helping the needy like the Bible tells us to? (James 1:27)
Self-help was suggested to Jesus in the moment of crucifixion.
Jesus chose to help others instead.
Mark 15:29-30 (ESV)
29 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!"
More post
- 📝 What was the charge that was given by the Jewish court to Jesus?
- 📝 Did St. Thomas Aquinas write anything about historiography?
- 📝 Does infant baptism determine the child's afterlife, according to practitioners?
- 📝 Does the fact that Joseph was a *tekton* require that Jesus was as well?
- 📝 The Interim Roman Missal of 1965?
- 📝 In which denomination(s) are Christians allowed to bury and hold a Christian funeral for their deceased nonreligious or just non-Christian relative?
- 📝 How does LDS theology suffer when Book of Mormon historical claims are unsupported?
- 📝 Attending two different churches
- 📝 Is the Christian concept of the Trinity influenced by Philo's philosophy?
- 📝 Do Anglicans use Latin anymore? If so, how much and for what?
- 📝 Catholic Baptism Process Pre-Vatican II
- 📝 What is the "Holy place" Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24:15?
- 📝 Are tithes allowed to be food items in the Mormon church?
- 📝 Has the impact of a practitioner's theological framework on pastoral counseling methodology been studied?
- 📝 Is Baptism of a child still valid if one of the pouring during baptism misses?
- 📝 What elements are most commonly included in an exposition of faith?
- 📝 Did Jesus use witchcraft when he said to Peter "before the rooster crows..."
- 📝 What is the Eastern-Orthodox interpetation of Romans 3:10-20?
- 📝 Is it really true that Orthodox Prosphora (unconsecrated, of course) can not be sold or bought?
- 📝 Why is it wrong to refer to "Jesus" by his given true name Yeshua?
- 📝 Where do dead in Christ rise from if they're with Jesus?
- 📝 Why are wise men common in contemporary [American] nativity scenes?
- 📝 In Catholicism, does sin compound?
- 📝 What is the army in Joel 2?
- 📝 What happened to the resurrected after death?
- 📝 What are vows? Are they relevant even today?
- 📝 What is the basis of my fractured understanding of "Sola Scriptura"?
- 📝 Are there denominations which prefer using the name "Yeshu‘a" instead of "Jesus"?
- 📝 How do the ideas of authority and infallibility relate to tradition in the Catholic Church?
- 📝 Does the 5th Veritas Covid Whistleblower on Pfizer change the Catholic Church's position on the the morality of the Pfizer vaccine?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 May Christians read self improvement books?
- 📝 Should a Protestant read the apocryphal books of the Bible?
- 📝 Should a Christian read books known to be heretical / blasphemous / against Christianity?
- 📝 Why do Christians have different books in their Bible?
- 📝 How many Christians have actually read the whole Bible?
- 📝 Why have Christians often had in their possession the Book of John as opposed to other books of the Bible?
- 📝 Which saint said a spiritual director should give his female directee books to read rather than meeting with her too frequently?
- 📝 May Christians work while fasting?
- 📝 Does the New Testament say that Christians should read the Bible every day?
- 📝 Is it necessary to read Aristotle's books in order to understand St. Thomas Aquinas's «Summa Theologica»?
- 📝 Why do some Christians believe it is moral to be a h*m*sexual?
- 📝 Why does Judaism celebrate Sabbath on Saturday and most Christians celebrate Sabbath on Sunday?
- 📝 What is the basis for saying Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
- 📝 How were the books of the New Testament chosen?
- 📝 What do Christians mean by a "personal relationship" with Jesus?
- 📝 How do Christians understand the omniscience of God in relation to the Uncertainty Principle?
- 📝 As a protestant, may I participate in the Eucharist (Communion) when visiting a Catholic church?
- 📝 How do traditional Christians defend the teaching that Paul is an authentic apostle?
- 📝 Are Christians bound to the laws of their country?
- 📝 How do Christians in support of gay marriage interpret anti-gay Bible verses?
- 📝 Why do most Christians eat pork when Deuteronomy says not to?
- 📝 Which translation of Augustine's Confessions is the easiest to read in English?
- 📝 Why were Deuterocanonical books rejected in the Reformation?
- 📝 Why doesn't the Catholic Bible include all books from Septuagint?
- 📝 What have Christians taught during past plagues and pandemics?
- 📝 Are Orthodox Christians all the same faith?
- 📝 Where do the names of books of Bible come from?
- 📝 How would Reformed Christians deal with h*m*sexual marriage of individuals prior to their conversion to Christianity?
- 📝 On what basis should Christians oppose child marriage?
- 📝 According to Evangelicals, before the Reformation, who were Christians if “Catholics are not Christians”?
