Eat, Pray, Love, and Read the Bible please!

So in case you didn't catch the reference in the title of my blog...I have a real problem with Elizabeth Gilbert's best selling book and movie, "Eat, pray, Love." If you read my post called "New Age Balonga" in January, you probably understand why.

I went and saw the movie with my sister and two of my closest friends. Throughout the movie, the four of us kept exchanging akward glances with one another. My friend, Tiffany, finally nudged my arm and whispered, "this is awful...what is this even talking about?" The four of us being devout Christians, I can understand the confusion.

Despite what the book reviews say...this story has no Christian influence whatsoever. The main theme...Just like she states in the movie is that "God dwells within us, you are the God of your own life." This irks me to no end. She completely rejects the Christian God. And for what? A hindu guru? At least our God is ALIVE. The Difference is huge. In the book and movie, (and in Hindu) you do not need to repent...you only need to realize. Realize what? Whatever it is your demons want you to realize i suppose.

I also have a problem with her theory of how to go about solving her problems. You can't just uproot and run away from everything that bugs you. You can't run from God, and you can't usually run completely away from people either. The only way to acheive "cleansing" from you sins, or "redemption" from your past, or "renewel" of your life is through the love of Jesus Christ. You will search and run for all of eternity unless you find the love of Christ. There is NO other way to recieve Salvation. Consequently, there is nothing else out there that completely fills your heart with love and desire either.

Another issue I have is her concept of the Holy Spirit. She talks about it as if you must perform rituals and excerices in order to come in contact with the Spirit. This is sad, real sad. The spirit dwells within Christians. According to the Bible, a Christian is consumed and filled by the Spirit. He is part of the Holy Trinity. It's complicated to understand, but the spirit is God and not God at the same time. What happens is when a Christian Dies, because they have "asked Jesus into thier heart," God sees the spirit within them and thier name is written in the book of life. We dont need yoga and extreme mediatation in order to have experiences with the Spirit and God. He is here with us 24/7, all we have to do is talk and listen. And trust me, he works in mysterious ways...and he WILL get your attention when needed. So pay close attention and listen carefully.

There are a million reasons why I could continue to harp on this...But I think i will stop here for now. Think on this though...Redemption is from God alone, it's free and he wants you to have it so much he sent his own son to DIE for you, You dont have to finish a list of qualifications, rituals, and sacrifices to have it, but you do have to ask for it.

God Bless
Morgan