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48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspiring, September 2, 2011
The Purpose Driven Life is a devotional book, and with over 30 million copies sold, it's become quite popular. So what's all the fuss about? Well, the book offers readers a 40-day personal spiritual journey, and presents what the author says are God's five purposes for human life on Earth. They are: 1 You were planned for God's pleasure 2 You were formed for God's family 3 You were created to become like Christ 4 You were shaped for serving God 5 You were made for a mission What you're suppose to do with the book is this. It's divided up into 40 brief chapters, and the reader is urged to read but one chapter a day so you can take time to think about it's implications for your life. Therefore, you really start finding yourself interacting with the book, and not just merely "reading" it. To that end, each chapter finishes with points to ponder, a verse to remember, and a question to consider. All-in-all I found this to be a pretty thought provoking and inspiring book. The chapters are short, which I greatly appreciated due to my busy daily schedule. Additionally, I found the author's writing style easy going, which makes the book an overall enjoyable read. So if you're looking for a good book to help guide you along your spiritual journey, or a "workbook" to help you answer some of life's most important questions, I can definitely recommend you check it out. Other self-help books I liked include The Prayer Project: How Each One of Us Can Make The World a Better Place to Live - In a Few Minutes a Day.
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2,079 of 2,535 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Turning the House of God into a Den of Thieves., October 30, 2003
I try to keep abreast of things going on in the world. Sometimes things come along that are total fads: here one day, then gone and forgotten the next. It's sad to say, but as a Christian I have to admit that there are also fads in the contemporary American part of the Church. THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE is one of these. I had never heard of THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE until a couple of local churches started doing the 40-Days of Purpose campaign. About the same time, a friend of mine mentioned this book as the next "big fad in the Church", and asked me if I got a chance, to read it. He believed I would agree with him and I do. As a whole, there isn't really anything wrong with the book. Suspicious as his intentions might be, I'll give Rick Warren the credit and believe he primarily wrote this book to help Christians in their walk with Jesus. I believe that this book could be useful to a new Christian or someone who is possibly thinking about converting to Christianity. I also don't wish to discredit all those who have been helped in their life because of this book. The book is written in a very simply style that a third or fourth-grader shouldn't have a problem reading it. Warren supports much of what he says with Scripture and the book is filled with Biblical references. However, the book is filled with severals flaws. 1. Warren says he purposely uses many different translations and paraphrases of the Bible to illustrate how relevant Scripture is to our day to day lives. However, Warren tends to rely on paraphrases more than actual translations of the Bible. This is a dangerous thing. Yes, the Bible was written in such a way that the "common man" could understand it's meaning. That's why paraphrases are so dangerous; they can change the entire meaning of a scriptural passage. 2. There is hardly any reference to the Holy Spirit. I am not a member of a charismatic church, but in many dominations across the country discussion of the Holy Spirit is totally ignored. Like it or not, the Holy Spirit is the seal that differentiates Christians from non-Christians. It is an essential part of the Trinity and to deny it, by ignoring it is very dangerous, almost blasphemous. 3. Though Warren uses a lot of Biblical references, there are several times that he says "The Bible says" without actually quoting any passages from the Bible. I found this to be puzzling in a book that contains so much scriptural support. 4. Warren tends to overgeneralize things. He uses words such as "all", "every", "everyone", etc. quite often. This was one of the more disturbing elements of the book to me. When I first started reading the book, I had considered purchasing it and giving it to my mother for a gift. However, about halfway through the text, I began to seriously disagree with some of what Warren was writing. The impression that the text leaves one with is that if you don't do things the way the book tells you to, then you're not a good Christian and there is probably something wrong with you. Many of the books suggestions aren't Biblical, just suggestions that Warren feels may help people out. But the impressions those suggestions leaves is not necessarily a positive one. Therefore, I am not giving this book to my mother. 5. The other major problem I had with the book is that it is largely a piece of advertising. In various chapters (especially at the beginning), Warren discusses a point and says something like, "if you want more help with that topic, see my other book" or "see the resources of mine listed at the back" which you can purchase. It seemed like every other chapter contained at least one plug for one of Warren's resources which can be purchased. I have nothing against writers plugging there wares. I have nothing against Christian writers writing for money. I do have a problem with people using a tool that is supposed to be for evangelism but also use it as a way to advertise so that they can sell more products and make more money. Though this may not be the original intent of the author, the self-promotion throughout the book leaves a reader pondering Warren's true intentions. As I mentioned earlier, the book as a whole isn't all that bad despite the flaws. I can't rate this book lower than a three because I know that despite the flaws, there is a lot of material in the book that can be helpful to a lot of people.
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661 of 826 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good overall picture of Christianity--I had 2 criticisms, November 13, 2003
The Purpose-Driven Life focuses on helping readers answer the question, "What on earth am I here for?" Warren sets out to help readers become the people that God wants them to be. He elaborates on five truths to answer this question of why we are here. According to Warren, we exist for the purposes of worship, ministry, evangelism, fellowship and discipleship. He states that in fulfilling these roles on earth, we find and fulfill our purposes. This is a comprehensive book about how to live the Christian life successfully. It discusses most of the major themes of The Bible. Warren cites over 1,000 scriptures in the book. He rarely makes a point without quoting from the Bible. The messages of the chapters are relevant for new and mature Christians. The book is formatted in 40 chapters. Warren suggests readers study a chapter a day for 40 days, so that the reader can take time to reflect and meditate on each chapter's lesson. Each chapter ends with a main point to consider, a scripture to remember and a question to answer. I found these questions to be thought-provoking and meaningful. This book is an excellent tool for study groups to read and discuss. It emphasizes the importance of Christian character development and of becoming an active member of a community of believers. Warren provides reasons and practical ways for the reader to serve others inside and outside the church. For a church wanting to develop individuals excited and prepared to do ministry, promoting studies of The Purpose-Driven Life would help to meet this objective. Warren concludes the book by addressing each person's mission within the church and world. He also includes an appendix with further questions to initiate discussion among readers. In citing 1000 scriptures throughout the book, Warren uses 15 different Bible translations interchangeably. He explains that all translations have limitations and that he uses various translations to present scriptures in a fresh way. The references for the scriptures he quotes are in endnotes, so I was continually turning to the back of the book to discover the version and verse of a scripture. To a minor extent, I think this undermines the integrity and flow of the book. I always try to keep in mind when reading a book like this that the author's opinions are not infallible like the Bible. I say this because there are a few times while reading this book when I disagreed with an opinion of Warren's which was stated as a fact. Readers should keep in mind that opinions of Christian authors are debatable and not gospel. I don't think these two criticisms detract much from the value of this book. Warren writes that "The purpose of your life fits into a much larger, cosmic purpose that God has designed for eternity. That's what this book is about." In The Purpose Driven Life, Warren has written indefatigably about this purpose, and I think reading it will help you identify and fulfill your purpose. Craig Stephans, author of Shakespeare On Spirituality: Life-Changing Wisdom from Shakespeare's Plays
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