The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?

by Rick Warren

published

July 1st 2003 (first published 2005) by HarperCollins Canada / Zond Books

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binding

Paperback, 432 pages

isbn

0310255252 (isbn13: 9780310255253)

description

The spiritual premise in The Purpose-Driven Life is that there are no accidents---God planned everything and everyone. Therefore, every human h...more

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John rated it:

(review of isbn 0310276993)

03/10/07

Read in March, 2005

recommends it for: No one

At its best, this book is filled with porous theology that is modestly helpful to someone who has no knowledge of Christianity whatsoever. At its worst, Warren mangles scripture to fit his own agenda (40 days to find purpose in your life) and promotes personal experience over the truth found in scripture.

This book is symptomatic of feel-good consumerized Christianity so prevalent in America today. Finding your purpose in life takes far longer than 40 days and it cannot be easily summarized (...more

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

6 comments

Brittany rated it:

(review of isbn 0310210747)

08/04/08

bookshelves: borrowed, currently-reading, devotionals

recommended to Brittany by: My mom
recommends it for: Christians

I am reading the hard cover copy but I couldn't find it on GoodReads.

I am starting this book today. I am also going to do what it suggests - only read one chapter a day for 40 days. So that means, I will finish this book in a little over a month.

The whole point of the book is to supposedly show you *why* you are on this Earth.

I've been doing a lot of soul-searching lately & I am hoping to gain some knowledge from reading this book.

"Self-help books often suggest that yo...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comments

Tucker rated it:

(review of isbn 0310276993)

12/30/07

bookshelves: finished

Read in December, 2007

recommends it for: Christians

"God made you so he could love you" (p. 24), Warren tells us, and the purpose that drives our lives should be loving God in return. "Worship is as natural as eating or breathing. If we fail to worship God, we always find a substitute, even if it ends up being ourselves. The reason God made us with this desire is that he desires worshipers!" (p. 64)

This worldview quickly becomes incoherent. Consider these two statements, made side-by-side: "You are free to choos...more "God made you so he could love you" (p. 24), Warren tells us, and the purpose that drives our lives should be loving God in return. "Worship is as natural as eating or breathing. If we fail to worship God, we always find a substitute, even if it ends up being ourselves. The reason God made us with this desire is that he desires worshipers!" (p. 64)

This worldview quickly becomes incoherent. Consider these two statements, made side-by-side: "You are free to choose what you surrender to, but you are not free from the consequences of that choice. E. Stanley Jones said, 'If you don't surrender to Christ, you surrender to chaos.' (p. 82) The first sentence is a scientific worldview. Actions have consequences that should, at least in principle, be predictable. The second sentence say that our actions have consequences that are chaotic, meaning unpredictable.

In Warren's worldview, people are pawns who unknowingly carry out a plan that is beyond their comprehension. "Most amazing, God decided how you would be born...They [your parents:] had the DNA God wanted to make you...Many children are unplanned by their parents, but they are not unplanned by God. God's purpose took into account human error, and even sin." (p. 23) Such an absolutist stance against free will is difficult to maintain. For example, if God creates everything about us, then God must have created heterosexual attraction. "You can be attracted or even aroused without choosing to sin by lusting. Many people, especially Christian men, feel guilty that their God-given hormones are working. When they automatically notice an attractive woman, they assume it is lust and feel ashamed and condemned. But attraction is not lust until you begin to dwell on it." (p. 205) But Warren does not comment on the question of whether God created homosexual attraction.

Warren says, "Of course, sincerity alone is not enough [in worship:]; you can be sincerely wrong." (p. 102) However, he shows no recognition of his own fallibility, nor even that a single sentence he has written in this book might be wrong. Assuming Biblical inerrancy, he advises: "Determine to first ask, 'What does the Bible say?' when making decisions. Resolve that when God says to do something, you will trust God's Word and do it whether or not it makes sense or you feel like doing it." (p. 187) But this is unacceptable behavior for anyone--even a Jew, Christian, or Muslim--who does not believe that the Bible and human interpretation of it is infallible. If someone is willing to do things that do not make sense even to himself and he refuses to analyze them, it is unclear how he is supposed to avoid being "sincerely wrong."

He occasionally uses weird, violent metaphors for faith: "You must move against it [fear:] with the weapons of faith and love." (p. 29) "If you don't have any Bible verses memorized, you've got no bullets in your gun!" (p. 215) "Lane Adams once compared the process of spiritual growth to the strategy the Allies used in World War II to liberate islands in the South Pacific. ... Our pre-conversion experience is Jesus saying, 'Behold I stand at the door and bomb!' (p.218) I guess this answers the popular rhetorical witticism "Who would Jesus bomb?"

To be fair, he did not intend this book as philosophy. The first half of the book assumes belief in God, in the immortality of the soul, and in the Christian version of the Bible. The second half of the book attempts to persuade committed Christians to join churches to strengthen their faith. Readers who want this material will get what they paid for. But outsiders will find it low on persuasion....less

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Skylar rated it:

(review of isbn 0310276993)

09/12/08

bookshelves: christianity, nonfiction, religion, unfinished

Read in January, 2006

He's a great marketer: his books are read as part of small groups in churches of almost every denomination. I'm glad this book seems to have positively affected so many people, but, if I am honest, I must admit that I myself was unable to read it in its entirety. To me, it seemed somewhat typical of the simplified, talk-down-to-you, kill-the-mystery, commercialized Christian devotional. But, then again, I've never been a fan of exclamation marks! I'm still waiting for the Purpose Driven board ga...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

11 comments

Lauren rated it:

(review of isbn 0310276993)

12/27/07

bookshelves: given-up, to-reread

Read in January, 2007

I suppose this book can be genuinely helpful to some people (Scott Peterson, Brian Nichols, Fidel Castro, for example have all apparently benefited from this book), but it was uninteresting to me from the get-go. I went into it with an open mind, and hoped to gain some spiritual insight from it. However, when the book immediately recommended The Purpose-Driving Journal, The Purpose-Driven Calendar, Daily Inspiration for the Purpose-Driven Life, not to mention The Purpose Driven Life DVD Study Gu...more

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Greycee rated it:

(review of isbn 0310205719)

09/04/07

Read in November, 2005

recommends it for: all of my friends

Our life now here on earth is the warm-up act - the
dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice what we will
do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: Either we are in one
now, we're just coming out of one, or we're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in
our character than our comfort. God is more interested in making our life hol...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comments

Jessi rated it:

(review of isbn 0310276993)

08/20/07

bookshelves: 2007, christianity

recommends it for: anyone.

I have to give this book FIVE stars. I bought a book, The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren in about two years ago after my remarkable time in Costa Rica. This book is strongly recommended for a reader to find a partner. This book is very straightforward truth about God and life purpose. That is why readers are encouraged to find more than one person to have a support system during their journey of reading PDL. Two are better than one. On the day of August 14, I found my partner, my mommy. We b...more

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Mike rated it:

(review of isbn 0310276993)

10/25/07

bookshelves: philosophy, religion

This was given to me by someone who was later tried for securities fraud. Ironic, no? Anyway, this book has nothing to offer you unless you have already accepted Jesus as your savior. All others need not apply. Even with that aside, this book seems pretty juvenile. Maybe being raised Catholic has biased me to expect religious leaders to have many years of rigorous theological training before pontificating on life's purpose. My wife and I visited the author's megachurch here in Orang...more

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5 comments

Atomic rated it:

(review of isbn 0310205719)

10/09/08

Read in February, 2005

recommends it for: Christians of perhaps type B personalities.

While the philosophy and prompts for personal reflection were engaging, I didn't learn anything new from this book. Even organizing my thoughts through the exercises in the accompanying workbook and viewing these things from Rick Warren's perspective didn't really provide me with anything fresh to help me move forward with fresh direction and purpose. Maybe this is better for a type B person, instead of someone like me?

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comments

RESHMA rated it:

(review of isbn 0310276993)

08/22/07

Read in April, 2007

recommends it for: everyone

when i thought my LIFE has no perfect meaning... that i was going on with boring days of 24/7 !! " PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE " came into my LIFE with a KICK of knowing what is GOD'S purpose in my LIFE !! i came to know that iam not a mistake but of GOD'S CHOOSEN ONE !! HE choose me from the FAREST CORNER of this world & appointed me to BEAR FRUITS.. FRUITS that will ENDURES FOREVER & EVER... AS YOU KNOW FOREVER IS A LONG TERM OF TIME !!
i would prefer you "ALL&q...more

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Amanda rated it:

(review of isbn 0310276993)

07/31/08

I read this book thinking it would offer something deep and real about the purpose of God and the purposes of peoples in the world. But it offered little more than a worn-out run-a-round of the phrase "God has a purpose for you." I know why this book is so popular - it, like many others, offers Christians the idea that "God's purpose" for you has something to do with getting ahead in life and having more money. It's that lame "name it and claim it" mentality.

I ...more

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Benjamin added it (review of isbn 0310276993)

10/05/08

Read in February, 2003

recommends it for: no one

I don't even know where to begin with this book... It has been suggested that the information provided within is "Christian" in its delivery... Though, I would suggest to you that everything in this world that refers to itself as Christian is not necessarily so...

Simply because a book includes Bible verses does not mean that those verses have anything to do with what the Word of God is commanding of those who would follow Him... Marilyn Manson's song lyrics contain scripture, ho...more

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Sisca rated it:

(review of isbn 0310276993)

10/04/07

Read in December, 2005

bagus sih....belajar merubah gaya hidup. and mencintai pencipta loe dengan sungguh sungguh.
belom selesai aku baca juga...suka lupa kalo harus di baca tiap hari.kayak renungan harian.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

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Jayzxy_92 added it (review of isbn 0310803063)

09/26/08

Read in September, 2008

This book taught me everything I need to know and answer every possible question I had on my mind. I was once somewhere lost in the world and was a prodigal son but after my youth pastor in Word International Ministiries gave me this book and I immediately read it. I found this book very very helpful. I'm not really into reading except the Bible and anything that teaches me something or mostly something about life but I treasure this book so much I kept reading it over and over again. Everything...more

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Drew rated it:

(review of isbn 0310276993)

03/02/08

recommended to Drew by: everyone and their mama
recommends it for: immature Christians

I think I'm the only one in the world who hated this book. It annoyed the crap out of me. It lays out a canned formula to live. Turn-off for me.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

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Lovie added it (review of isbn 0310276993)

09/18/08

The spiritual premise in The Purpose-Driven Life is that there are no accidents---God planned everything and everyone. Therefore, every human. The spiritual premise in The Purpose-Driven Life is that there are no accidents---God planned everything and everyone. Therefore, every human has a divine purpose, according to God's master plan. Like a twist on John F. Kennedy's famous inaugural address, this book could be summed up like this: "So my fellow Christians, ask not what God can do for yo...more

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Gabriella rated it:

(review of isbn 0310210747)

06/20/07

bookshelves: currently-reading, favorite, inspiring

Read in September, 2006

for those who's looking for the purpose of life....read this book..very inspiring and strenghten ur faith... :) enjoy!

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Kelly rated it:

(review of isbn 0310276993)

10/03/07

boo. I hate this book

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

2 comments

Jeremy rated it:

(review of isbn 0310276993)

07/14/08

Read in January, 2004

First off, I read this in my pre-Donald Miller life, so I need to read it again to re-evaluate how I feel about the book. But as far as I can recall TPDL seemed heartfelt and well-written, without the sneaky devices common to televangelists and charletons who, unfortunately, populate the bestseller lists and dominate the airwaves.

I have definitely become somewhat wary of popular "self-help" books written from a Christian perspective that sell a billion copies. It's partially beca...more

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Rossrn rated it:

(review of isbn 0310276993)

04/05/08

bookshelves: non-fiction, religion

Read in May, 2007

I finished Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life, which asks the question What on Earth am I here for? It also notes on the jacket that it has sold 25 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling non-fiction hardback book in history, making me probably about the last person on the planet to read it.

The book is set up to be read over a period of 40 days and since I stared reading it in January, I clearly didn't do this, but did find the book to be worth the read. Warren addresses placing Go...more

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