Customer Reviews

We Have Been Lied To

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The religion of Christianity has gone way off track from where Jesus originally intended. For those of us brought up with "religion" we've probably been burdened and beaten by "do's and don't's" We Have Been Lied To is about breaking away from the legalism of religion that has ultimately created a whole host of wrong belief and unbelief that prevents us from walking with God and experiencing His rest, peace and abundance. I'm learning more and more every day what it means to walk in the spirit of God not the flesh of my self. This is a book I will have to read and re-read because there is so much truth that I have to digest to get rid of all my wrong belief. I had no idea I had so much!

This book provided great insight for me into why I was dissatisfied with my religion. God is real and he is good and his promises are true.

Finally, Stephen shows us the day to day part of Christian living. We often see Christianity as just going to church, saying a few prayers, giving a few dollars, and trying not to misbehave. In this book, we have a clearly written explanation of how we can be transformed through walking with God.

Stephen Villanueva has produced a true work of the Holy Spirit in this book. It has completely changed my life and given me a new perspective on God, who I thought i "knew" but really had no idea about. Through this book I began to understand God's sovereignty, His love, compassion, power, and wisdom. Please, humbly and openly buy this book and read it front to back. Throw any pre-conceived notions out the door and allow God to speak to you and show you who He wants to be in your life. This book is absolutely amazing and powerful.

We Have Been Lied To???? The title alone makes me want to dig deeper. What a breath of fresh air and a very important and thought provoking message for all who call themselves Christians! Stephen Villanueva has authored a brilliant book that will help believers truly see what it means to walk in the Holy Spirit and enjoy a true life of freedom in Christ. If you long for a real, genuine, deep friendship and love affair with the creator of the universe, then buy this book and be prepared to set out on an unforgettable journey as you learn to connect with Jesus in ways you never thought possible. This book will challenge you and I pray that it is as much a blessing for you as it was for me.

This book was so refreshing. As if the author knew the answer to every question I have ever had about God, and the Bible. His interpetation opened my eyes and my heart to knowing exactly what God wants from me. I would encourage everyone I know to read this book. To feel the words on the page deep into your soul.

I had high expectations when i purchased this book. It was suggested by someone I know who knows the author and some of the people who already wrote some reviews for the book here. They all spoke very highly of the book.
Apparently the Author was really upset with some church he went to and though he claims his target is "The Religion of Christianity", the book comes off more as a rant against Christianity in general and biblical authority in particular more than anything. Much of what the author maligns is actually not bad, but his slant is so antagonistic I don't think any church, pastor, or system of theology will do, except maybe his own-and really it seems like that's the point of the book: "Christianity is messed up-I am here to fix it" We've heard that before.
Is there room for criticism and correction in the church? Yes. But I don't think the book really offers anything constructive.
I was told, "You've got to read this book, it is so good, the guy just has so many Bible verses to back up his thesis." Well, he does have a lot of Bible verses that's for sure, but sometimes the verses apply and other times the guy is simply guilty of starting out with a pretext (a point he wants to make) and then constructs his argument and interpretation on verses taken from their original context to back up his theory. The book is fairly predictable based on the title and cover endorsements, so you will probably start to skim over pages.
The Author does seem to have an agenda though, he deconstructs true biblical faith (the first of many red flags) and then he offers his own definitions and goes from there. Those are personal pet peeves of mine. If you have an opinion state it clearly, let us know it's just that an opinion...but don't "prove" it with verses isolated from their context and original intent. This is called Isogesis. Everyone is guilty from time to time of this interpretive faux-pas but there are too many for my comfort here. Just let the bible be it's own interpreter and I will be happy. Ok, to be honest, I am not a scholar...but I can really appreciate honest, thorough, scholarly work. The book falls short on many points.
The book is way too long (nearly 500 pages, a clear indicator the guy is way too impressed with his own thoughts!)and could have been much shorter, say 200 pages.
Why is it the best authors say the most with the least amount of words? Think: Murray, Tozer, Piper, Swindoll, Chan, Driscoll, Miller(Donald), Yancey or even Keller. Each author mentioned writes with a depth and clarity and an ability to clearly teach truth that is scriptural and transformational, theologically deep, spiritually satisfying, uplifting and most importantly-easy to read. Don't confuse a difficult read with depth or substance. There are deep, substantive books out there that are hard reads like Mere Christianity-this just isn't one.
One of the author's main stomping points is about us "Walking in the Spirit" and "Only Doing what the Father Tells us" (just like Jesus did) and there is some validity to both statements, except for one thing he doesn't seem to understand-WE ARE NOT JESUS! It all seems nice in theory, just like the Communist Manifesto, but the breakdown occurs in practice.
I think the book that addresses these two points much better and in a more balanced way is "Experiencing God" by Henry Blackaby. It's written better, tackles the identical subjects, In fact, I would almost swear the Author "borrowed" most of his good points and ideas from Blackaby and then tried to add his own spin which is where he really just became redundant and overbearing.
Where Experiencing God left me with answers to my questions about God, His will, and how to hear His voice and walk it out, this book left me with questions and concerns.
But, if you are one of those people looking for another reason to be unhappy with your church you will find validation here.
One last thing, why not skip the book altogether and read Experiencing God- a much more intellectually stimulating, spiritually satisfying read-or better yet try reading your bible-it makes more sense and and is more edifying.

Read "Don't waste your time there are better books to help you walk with jesus" review, it pretty much sums up exactly how I feel about this book. Don't waste your time reading it.

I found myself skimming whole chapters and even skipping pages when reading this book. I love to read, and I love to read books about our God, but this book was a different story.

At first when reading this book I was very excited and it had came highly recommended to me. Throughout reading the book I felt like not only the "religion of Christianity" was being attacked but that the Body of Christ was also being portrayed as the enemy... and not satan. dangerous!

In the author's notes he says that he wants to be clear and that he is not trying to make some "new brand of Christianity that creates two classes of Christians"... unfortunately it does. The author comes off very strongly that the whole church is wrong and if you want to be freed you NEED his book. hello, WARNING! This kind of mindset can only cause division and exclusivity in the Body. The author makes a lot of promises that this book will free you from the religion of christianity and give you peace, joy, freedom etc... but I have had many friends read this book and it only caused more bondage and legalism in their lives. They had no rest, and they felt absolutely no hope.

If you still decide to buy the book, which I would strongly discourage, please be aware that you can buy this book new in stores for $19.99. I was surprised on how many people were over pricing it on here.