An Appeal To Biblegateway Users For Discernment

I am an avid user of Biblegateway(dot)com. I am thankful for the Zondervan team who have developed and who maintain such a readily available world-wide Bible reference website. I also admire some devotionals Bible Gateway provides free of cost. Some of them have been challenging, convicting and have helped me get a clearer picture of what I know about our God and the Bible.

I recently received, in a subscription email from Bible Gateway, a discount on some popular Christian books. 71% off, whaa?! Eager and excited, I opened it to see an offer on a book by Max Lucado – an author I admire- along with the following titles.

This post is an appeal to anyone else who plans to buy these two titles because the offer came from Biblegateway.

Please do not buy them. They do not offer wholesome Biblical counsel.

I am open to correction on this matter.

I can’t claim to have read either of the books. I own one of the books. I have been reading summaries and critiques ever since I received the Biblegateway email, here is my humble opinion on both:

“Heaven Is For Real” by Todd Burpo : A book about a boy who has a near-death experience (NDE) and miraculously “sees” heaven.
Why I don’t recommend this book? The implications of such an experience, if found countering truths given by the Holy Spirit in the Bible, should be a warning for you to not use this book to establish truth. Here is a response to this book that explains this further- http://www.gty.org/blog/B140428/heaven-is-real-hallucinations-are-not

“Wild At Heart” by John Eldredge: I feel handicapped since I have not read this book completely. The book wants to fight the weak “nice guy” version of masculinity, prevalent in churches. I think this is a great topic, but where in the Bible do we see teaching that men need to be more outdoors to truly become men?

Then I could say men need to be kings because David was one. Men need to be treasurers because Judas was one. Oops, bad example.

For those who are interested in this book, here is a more balanced review. Meanwhile, I think men need to obey Matthew 28:18-20 to be truly men.

Please know that I am not trashing the authors’ intentions. This is only a response to the content. I hope these authors are not unlike me; Christ-followers, willing to hear out and obey the truth. While anyone can write a book and add Bible verses that support their point of view, I ask – are these books in line with principles taught across the Bible?

Or are they based on 10 isolated verses, added to prove one’s point? The Bible warns us about false teaching (2 Tim 4:3). So we must be on our guard. If I ever go wrong in this aspect, please tell me – I would think it a kindness.

I am surprised that such titles are being sold from Zondervan online stores. Why should I trust any other book promoted at Bible Gateway anymore? While it should be easy for people familiar with the Bible to spot blatantly unbiblical articles or books, I am more concerned about books that have good intentions, worldly philosophies and Bible verses all mixed together. Bad recipe.

As the Word of God shows (1 Tim 6:20-21, Col 2:6-8) let us be eager to know if the best preachers and authors – your favourites and mine- are saying nothing contrary to the Bible.

Deception can happen best when trust and affirmation has been established first.

What is your take on these two books- Do you think their content respects the Bible? If there is anything I have missed, please write in.