Taking A Look At ‘Happy Lies’ And New Thought

There’s no question about it. Plenty of problems, confusion, and lies have made their way into churches around the world. Former CCM artist, author, and YouTuber, Alisa Childers, addresses this issue in her books Another Gospel?, Live Your Truth and Other Lies, and The Deconstruction of Christianity. Now, another female YouTuber and apologist has brought yet more lies for Christians to examine. Melissa Dougherty illuminates a false teaching you probably don’t know that you already know with Happy Lies: How a Movement You (Probably) Never Heard of Shaped Our Self-Obsessed World. The movement? New Thought.

Isn’t New Thought Just New Age?

People commonly mistake New Age and New Thought as synonyms, but though they share some similarities, these two spiritual movements are strikingly different. Unlike New Thought, New Age is closely related to Eastern mysticism. (Think: Buddhism or Hinduism.) One important aspect to remember about New Age is its complete rejection of God.

Meanwhile, New Thought masquerades as Christianity. Have a conversation with someone in the New Thought movement, and you’ll hear words such as God, Jesus, salvation, and sin. However, much like with Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, these words are redefined to fit the movement’s beliefs.

Another defining characteristic of New Thought is its heavy leaning on the metaphysical. If you aren’t familiar with metaphysical philosophy, let me try to explain it in really simple terms. It’s a way of looking at the world in which all truth is called into question. Conversations with people who see life through a metaphysical lens will lean toward the abstract. According to Dougherty, in New Thought, the influence of metaphysics has more to do with our relationship to God, specifically the hidden elements. I imagine it’s like a universe-sized scavenger hunt for truth.

Ridiculous when I put it that way, but really, how off base am I?

New Thought Isn’t Christian

Who am I to say whether or not something is Christian? I’m a housewife in rural Wisconsin with an unused social work degree. Theologian I am not. Well, for one, those details have never stopped me before, but more importantly, I am a follower of Christ who sees dangerous beliefs infiltrating churches in my own backyard. What is a Christian supposed to do? We ought to take a closer look at what we believe is incorrect by measuring it against God’s Word. If the suspicious thing contradicts the Bible, then the decision is simple. Only Scripture is infallible. So, the other thing, in this case New Thought, needs to go. I hope after learning more about it, you’ll feel the same.

Troubling Lack Of A Definition

Much like NAR, there isn’t a denomination for New Thought or a concise statement of beliefs, but you’ll know it when you see it. My ol’ friend Google offers a fairly simple AI definition. “New Thought is a spiritual and philosophical movement that emphasizes the power of thought to shape reality and achieve personal well-being. It’s rooted in the idea that the universe is fundamentally mental, and that by aligning one’s thoughts with positive and constructive ideas, individuals can manifest desired outcomes in their lives, such as improved health, happiness, and prosperity.”

It’s not a perfect definition, but I’ll admit, AI did a pretty tidy job giving an understandable summation of New Thought beliefs. And did you notice how it doesn’t sound biblical, even as a short AI summary? Let’s explore that a little bit more.

New Thought Is Christian-Adjacent

As I hope all believers would know, claiming Christianity doesn’t mean one is Christian. New Thought sits in this “I never you” camp.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”    

Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV)

We might call New Thought and other false Christian movements “Christian adjacent” if we’re feeling charitable. They fool a lot of people with their Christianese, and sometimes they even look like us. However, the rotten fruit lies beneath the first layer or two.

God

New Thought describes a God we won’t find in His Word. It teaches God is not a “he” but an “it.” God, according to New Thought, is a Divine Mind. It’s Universal. God is a spiritual source. There’s no relationship, so to speak, and God is inside every person waiting to be awakened.

Christians know this is an absolutely false picture of God. He is referred to as Father throughout Scripture (Matthew 23:9; Ephesians 4:6; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Deuteronomy 32:6; Isaiah 64:8). And we are not born with God or His power inside of us. In fact, our sin has separated us from Him (Isaiah 59:2; 1 Peter 3:18). Our need to be reconciled with God due to our sin is why we need Christ to be our Savior. No one can be both separated from God and filled with Him simultaneously.

Jesus

New Thought is really bold when it comes to the Lord Jesus. For one, Jesus is a good teacher who awakened our personal divinity. He, as a human, led the way for us to reach our full divine potential. Second, New Thought teaches the resurrection, with more than five hundred witnesses, is not literal. It is simply symbolic of our victories over life’s trials. Third, Christ is our Savior because He showed us that we’re divine.

Finally, there’s the belief in Christ Consciousness. New Thoughters will tell you that Jesus isn’t Christ, he just achieved a level of enlightenment we call Christ Consciousness, and we can all do it, too.

Christians, this is clear heresy. Not only does this deny who Jesus is, but it also elevates us to His level. Not to mention, this ignores the historical Bible account of Jesus’ literal death, burial, and resurrection.

Heaven And Hell

The New Thought take on Heaven is that…wait for it…it’s inside you. Yes, we can again find all we need inside ourselves. Are we certain Walt Disney didn’t start the New Thought movement?

Are you catching a theme yet? A lot of the focus is self. Even Hell, though its literal existence is denied, is considered a state of mind. So, yet again, it’s inside us.

Salvation

The New Thought belief regarding salvation is, like all the rest, about self. If you want to be saved, change that stinkin’ thinkin’. It sounds like a joke, and it is, of course. But…New Thoughters believe in order to be saved, one must change her negative thoughts into positive ones. It all begins in the mind. How is that different than my cutesy rhyme?

Believers know that salvation can only be attained through our repentance of sin and belief in Jesus Christ. The Bible specifically tells us we have nothing to do with it.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)

We Must Be Born Again

First, we are never going to be good enough. We cannot work ourselves into Heaven.

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 3:23

“as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one;”

Romans 3:10

Second, sin has consequences. There’s no such thing as a sin that’s “small.” If you break one of God’s laws, then it’s as if you’ve broken them all.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 6:23

“For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.”

James 2:10

Finally, there is good news for all of us. God sent his Son, Jesus, to take our punishment on the cross. He was buried, and three days later he rose back to life, defeating death. His sacrifice and victory over death means we can live, too! All we need to do is repent (turn away from our sin and toward Christ) and believe in Jesus.

“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16

“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

Romans 10:9-10

“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,”

Acts 3:19

“For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

Romans 10:13

Humans

According to New Thought, we are inherently good, define our own truth, and are divine. Um, glance back at Romans 3 again. This is utter nonsense.

The Bible

The Bible is one of many books we can turn to for spiritual guidance. It’s all a part of that New Thought scavenger hunt for truth I mentioned earlier. Everything’s relative in this movement and nothing is for certain except that Bible-believing Christians are wrong.

Christianity, unlike New Thought, holds the Bible as the standard for truth and authority.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)

The Takeaway

Melissa Dougherty shares a quote in her book from Wayne Dyer, a New Thought author and speaker, which sums up what these altered “Christian” beliefs are really saying.

“When you trust in yourself, you are trusting in the wisdom that created you.”

Wayne Dyer, Happy Lies, p.57

The New Thought Influence

If New Thought stayed in its lane, I probably wouldn’t have much to say about it, but it has quietly influenced people through various means, including teachings in church. And the worst part is that most people don’t seem to know!

1. Self-Help

What do most self-help gurus say? What’s the bottom line of nearly every self-help book? “Look within.” “Believe in yourself.” “The answer is inside, but you must unlock it.” Of course, we’re often asked to honor “our truth,” as well.

Some of my sisters in Christ might be thinking that self-help messaging doesn’t affect them because they don’t read or watch “self-help” material. That may be true, but keep in mind that these books are encouraged in most MLMs. Leaders want their downlines to think positively, visualize, and manifest success. All of this is based in New Thought and filtered down through self-help books with a Christian veneer. The same can be said for many MLM conferences. The speakers are there to pump up the audience and regurgitate self-help platitudes that are often from New Thought beliefs. Two textbook examples of authors and speakers like this are Tony Robbins and Rachel Hollis.

Too many women read these books and praise their MLM for being so “Christian.”

2. Law Of Attraction (LOA)

In my home, you’ll often hear me say, “Words matter.” The words we choose convey meaning, and we should take care to say what we mean. On the other hand, human words do not literally create reality, and I’m pretty glad that’s the case. According to LOA, though, they do.

I first heard of LOA when I saw a movie based on the book The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. The whole idea behind The Secret is that we can make reality what we want if we think and speak about the things we want as already being true. This is classic New Thought.

Have you ever heard of vision boards? Christian women and churches use them all across the U.S.A. They want to visualize their goals and stay focused, so they create boards covered in pictures of what they want. The vision board, though, is meant to manifest those desires. Maybe I want a new Mercedes, so I’ll put a picture of it on my vision board and declare I have a Mercedes. (I don’t. but I can’t say or think that.)

Joel Osteen loves to declare things. This idea of declaring something to make it happen is Law of Attraction. Like attracts like. Therefore, if I put these declarations and thoughts into the universe, they will attract what I want.

In any situation in which we assign ourselves the power to do something only God can do such change reality, who do we blame when it fails? I find it easy to laugh at LOA. If we think about the negative consequences of this belief, though, how can we not pity those who believe in it? Imagine believing your thoughts have created the disappointments and pains in your life and perhaps in the lives around you.

3. Prosperity Gospel

The Word of Faith movement and Prosperity Gospel are interchangeable these days. You know the drill. God wants good things for us. He wants us to be rich and have lots of stuff. Declare it into your life and believe it’s yours! Ugh! Why would anyone think this is true? Well, do you remember what New Thought says about humans? We’re divine or little gods. As incarnations of God, we can make anything happen.

Dougherty draws the connection between New Thought and the Prosperity Gospel really well with just two quotes.

“When Christians are poor, do they talk as if they had chosen poverty?…They are poor because they can’t help it, and their whining is pretty good evidence!…Do not allow yourselves to believe in misery…Decree against it!…There shall nevermore be any poverty known among us!”

Emma Curtis Hopkins, Happy Lies, p. 156

Hopkins (1849-1925) is a well-known leader and teacher from the New Thought movement. Her words sound eerily familiar, don’t they? Dougherty makes it plain to see with the following quote for comparison.

“When you face adversity, don’t be a crybaby…Instead, have the attitude of a victor…You must get out of that defeated mentality and start thinking and believing positively. God wants you to be a winner, not a whiner.”

Joel Osteen, Happy Lies, p. 157

Final Thought

Y’all, I highly recommend this book. Melissa Dougherty is quickly joining the ranks of women who are willing to speak out against false teachings that our sisters in Christ are naively accepting as truth. All the while, she is able to do it intelligently and in an accessible way. New Thought, in contrast to its name, is not new, and it has a chokehold on churches all over the world.

Dougherty describes New Thought in one sentence, and that sentence should encourage us all to pay closer attention to what our church leaders are teaching and what books we place on our shelves.

“When God speaks, it ends with a comma, not a period” (Dougherty, p.56). Make sure you’re giving Him the final say.

Has New Thought affected your faith?

Image courtesy of Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash.