if you speak it, it happens - the dark side

[yunea]

I didn't really grow up with this either, but in the last couple years before my deconversion, in my New Agey version of Christianity, I heard this kind of things a lot. Not buying second hand stuff because of attached spirits, claiming that it's a "highly developed" way of living when there is "no evil" in their minds or whatever, etc. I was very involved in my faith, but even I could see that they were being unhealthy! 

 

Oh and some years earlier, I had a brief encounter with Amway when The Secret had just come out, and they were super excited about it. I wonder if they still are. 

[austere]

Wow, Nature, that's intense--does he also refuse to go to the doctor as a result? Another strategy might be to research why it is "unbiblical".

[disillusioned]

8 hours ago, florduh said:

People connecting Oprah with the book is what made it a best seller. Otherwise, the book was little more than a rehash of previous such works written over the past few decades. Oprah made this one special! I'm pretty sure the author and publisher don't mind the reason people buy it as long as they buy it.

True, and in this case I don't think the author deserves much credit anyways.

 

My issue is more that I'm sick of people caring so much about what Oprah thinks.

[florduh]

2 hours ago, disillusioned said:

My issue is more that I'm sick of people caring so much about what Oprah thinks.

Yeah, I don't get the Oprah thing either. 

[RachelSkates]

Funny all this naming and claiming seems only to work on people who have the means to carry it all through. I never see a disconnected homeless man claiming his way into a a good life. But I see some guy with friends and family and good personality and a job raising up the ranks. DUH.

[Lerk]

19 hours ago, disillusioned said:

Sorry, can't let this pass.

 

You're right. I knew it wasn't her film, but she's the one who pushed it. And it's bullshit, and I don't mind blaming her for foisting this stuff on the public.

 

It's a big part of the reason that I think she's unfit to be president.

[disillusioned]

2 hours ago, Lerk said:

 

It's a big part of the reason that I think she's unfit to be president.

 

Fortunately, I don't think there's a very good chance that she will run.

 

I'm a liberal (broadly speaking), and I was very nonplussed when everyone stated suggesting that she should run against Trump in the next election. Trump is unfit. Oprah would be marginally better IMO, but still. She is not president material. But this isn't ToT, so that's all I'll say about that.

[quinntar]

On 04/03/2018 at 10:32 PM, austere said:

Did anyone else grow up with or encounter the following particular belief:

 

If you speak negatively about your life, those words coming from your lips will then allow satan or his spirits to make those negative things happen in your life--sort of like letting a vampire cross your threshold.

 

Examples: I told someone I was feeling really sick that day and they said, "well don't speak that over your life or you'll get worse!"

 

When I had my second car accident I noted to my dad that "these things always seem to happen in January" and he immediately got really upset and said something like, "You can't say that, you need to take that back and rebuke it, because it'll come true."

 

The importance of not speaking negative things,  to the point that you were actually hampered in communicating basic facts about your life, seemed to have this massive power over the people of my church, and seemed to border on incredibly superstitious.

 

Funnily enough, it didn't really work in reverse--the most you would get is a nice day if you spoke blessings over your life, while apparently spirits could get pretry specific about things.

 

Although i know there were prosperity gospel believers in my church, the vast majority including my family didn't believe in the prosperity drivel.

 

It also never used to be there, I think the idea started taking hold of everyone around 2009ish?

 

Side note, my family also believe in curses on people's lives, and believe in cursed objects (even an object just being in a bad environment could be a bad influence on your life if you bring it into your home, even if you pray over it first.  you might need to pray over it several times before it truly becomes safe and 'clean').

 

Discussions welcome, I just want to compare notes. Does anyone have experience with this or know where these ideas might have originated?

Yep I certainly met with many Christians with that ideology, power is in the spoken word they say.

 

Kinda like that book the secret, where you send out your desire and get back the thing you desire.

 

Or just drop little hints along the way, and you'll get what you want.

[Deathportal365]

On 3/8/2018 at 5:15 PM, disillusioned said:

 

Sorry, can't let this pass.

 

I was working at a bookstore when The Secret was published in 2006. Almost nothing pisses me off more than Oprah recieving credit for books that she happens to like.

 

The Secret is a book by Rhonda Byrne. It is based on a prior film, which was also produced by Byrne. Oprah liked it. That's all she had to do with it.

 

Apologies. Rant over. Carry on.

I was working at a Barnes & Noble when that book came out. 

 

Supposedly Christian old ladies were buying it in droves because Oprah featured it. Man, those ladies could rival the Bill O'reilly/Mark Levin crowd in their vitriol if you ran out of whatever book Oprah was promoting at the moment. I remember a bunch of old ladies buying "A Million Little Pieces" because Oprah featured it. Only to find out later most of the story was made up.

[austere]

Not that this is about Oprah...