Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover

Titles have always intrigued me. While I am not the best at coming up with titles, I am drawn to certain books or articles based solely on the title.

There is a popular book that, it seems, is trying to draw readers based solely on its title, and it is working. The name of the book is Conversations with God by Neale Walsh. There is a follow-up version that is also very popular entitled Conversations with God for Teens. Many times a “Christian” writer will use a snappy title like these and the book will contain some good, even if the volume is not written by a member of the New Testament Church.

These books, however, are as wrong as wrong gets. The book for teens is written as a question/answer book. Young people submit questions and the writer is giving answers as though he were the “voice of God.” While that is scary enough, wait until you read what some of the answers–supposedly given from the Heavenly Father–are.

One girls asks “why am I a lesbian?” The answer given is that she was born that way. But the writer (again, speaking “for God”) does not stop there. Instead, he goes on to tell the young woman to “celebrate” her differences!

Another girl put forth this 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?” What is the answer “from heaven”? The writer says, “Who are you sinning against? Not me, because you’ve done nothing wrong!”

One final example, and the one that leads to all the others is this: one youngster asks a question pertaining to God’s forgiveness. Part of the answer states, “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” (emphasis added).

Does that sound anything remotely like what the God of the Bible would say? If it is, then why is there anything in the Bible about sin? Why did God’s Son have to die if there is nothing that is wrong?

Many parents will buy this book for their children because the title is so catchy, and it sounds like a good devotional-style book. The “teachings,” such as they are, however, could ruin a young soul for many years. Or worse…

NOTE: I would like to thank Gail Coan for sending me an email about this book. Most of the information in this post comes from that correspondence.