This past Christmas, I received a card that said, “Just Believe.” The card was from an unbeliever whose spiritual welfare I care about; and because the card made no mention of God, Christ or even religion, I was troubled for my friend.
The question, just believe in what? reverberated inside me.
This phrase seemed to be as empty as those phrases I have heard actors in Christmas movies uttering: “I love the magic of the season;” “Find the magic;” “Santa will find a way,” and so on.
Such things are frequently said in the absence of any mentioning of Christ, the One whose incarnation is the true reason for the Christmas season!
[I have watched a lot of Christmas love stories on Hallmark and only heard Christ mentioned, very briefly, in one; I am amazed that in this postmodern culture, Christmas is about family, love, kindness, joy, magic, Santa Claus,… and not about Christ’s incarnation. See, Categories, Christmas, for other posts on this matter from Drs. John MacArthur and Piper.]
Today, I was moved to begin searching the internet to see what I could find out about this phrase, “just believe,” as it seems to be the most common and foundational to the other phrases noted above.
It seems that the phrase is based on the “law of attraction” (defined below the videos) that is taught by most prosperity preachers.
Listen to the initial 3 minutes of the following 20 minute video and then a portion of the following 3 short videos I used to make this point.
The first video is by Neville Goddard; it explains the law of attraction.
The Message of Video One: Just believe in your imagination; have faith in it and change the world by your faith, you can make it a better place (of course, you’d have to blatantly deny all the wars, famines, malicious political hate mongering… to see that new and improved world; but those who subscribe to the law of attraction claim that they are making it better, nonetheless).
This following video is by an all star group of singers. This song was first sung for the survivors of the typhoon Yolanda in 2014; and now, for the Covid 19 crisis. It is a beautiful song, performed with heartfelt empathy, but the message is not reasonable.
The Apparent Message of Video Two: Just believe in the indomitable human spirit; even though the situation seems hopeless, nothing can hold the human spirit down.
The next video is from a children’s film about the Polar Express:
The Message of Video Three: from the Polar Express seems to say that one will have all he needs if he believes in the magic of Christmas; one’s own heart; good feelings; gifts; family gatherings; Santa Claus and all the things postmodern people associate with the Christmas holiday, except Christ (most won’t even say Christmas because it includes His name; they call it “the holiday season”).
The last song is from Fuller House, Max’s Theme Song:
The Message of Video Four: Mikey dreams of being a rock star; Jenny dreams of fame; all they need is a little faith; just believe….
SUMMARY:
Although the goal of “faith” or “just believe” in each video is a bit different, it seems that the law of attraction is the way that these dreams are expected to materialize.
There is no mentioning of God, except in the first video wherein God is discussed in a very unbiblical manner, ideas of God are twisted out of shape to support the author’s thesis; you’d have to know the Bible to discern the extreme liberties Neville Goddard took with scripture. That is a clear illustration of how the prosperity preachers twist scripture.
There is one true message in scripture, when it is taken out of context, that message is nullified.
Therefore, all who believe that new twisted message are believing in a lie. (That is why it is so important to study scripture with the intention of discovering the one true message, as suggested in Proverbs 2, e.g.)
I chose the above four videos as a sample from the many that came up in my YouTube search of “JUST BELIEVE.”
From my tv viewing, I have a few other statements to make about the goals of the faith or believing that is encouraged above, and everywhere by the God-hating media:
they encourage belief in the Universe; faith; belief; magic; self; human will power; the human spirit; power of love….
All of these objects of belief are insufficient.
Christ, as the Bible clearly states, is the only all sufficient One who can be trusted, believed in, leaned upon for help, guidance, forgiveness….
In closing this summary, I want to reiterate that those who believe in the law of attraction, practice TM…to find their higher powers… include: New Agers; Wiccans; Satanists; prosperity preachers and their followers, most Pentecostals; Progressives; and Emergent Church goers….
All the above, believe in an alternate reality; God has given us truth and reality in scripture, those who reject that are truly creating their own reality that will evaporate in the flames of judgment very soon, a second after they die.
Their faith, beliefs, pseudo doctrines contradict reality. They have to deny that over 100 million people perished at the hands of communist regimes and war during the 20th century. They have to deny the harsh realities all around us: Christian persecution; sex trafficking; poverty; violence of all kinds; pandemics; hatred….
The Bible talks about these realities and identifies their source, sin, and the depraved hearts of mankind.
There is only one cure, Christ, see Application, below.
The Law of Attraction Defined:
In the New Thought philosophy, the Law of Attraction is the belief that positive or negative thoughts bring positive or negative experiences into a person’s life.[1][2] The belief is based on the idea that people and their thoughts are both made from pure energy, and that through the process of like energy attracting like energy a person can improve their own health, wealth, and personal relationships…In 1877, the term ‘Law of Attraction’ appeared in print for the first time in a book written by the Russian occultist Helena Blavatsky, in a context alluding to an attractive power existing between elements of spirit.[12] …The New Thought concept of the Law of Attraction is rooted in ideas that come from various philosophical and religious traditions. In particular, it has been inspired by Hermeticism, New England transcendentalism, specific verses from the Bible, and Hinduism.[29][30][31][32][33][34](From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
APPLICATION:
Listen for these phrases in the media: “just have faith;” “just believe;” etc., and see if you can identify the basis upon which the faith or belief is resting. Whatever it is, it is vain and foolish and will fail.
Consider words from the epistle of James:
Jas 2:19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.
That is, even a vague belief or faith in God is INSUFFICIENT to save one’s soul. Only Belief / faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient to save one from God’s wrath against sin; and that belief or faith must show itself in real fruit, not just words.
The demons had no fruit, they just knew that God existed and were afraid as a result.
The demons have a greater faith or belief than those of our postmodern culture; yet their faith is insufficient.
As popular as these phrases are in our culture, they should provide Christians plenty of opportunities to witness the only One upon whom effective faith and belief can rest.