The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth am I Here for?

by Rick Warren

book data

4,599 ratings, 3.71 average rating, 702 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		33%
4		28%
3		22%
2		10%
1		6%

edit

published

February 1st 2007 (first published 2002) by Zondervan Publishing Company

binding

Paperback, 336 pages

isbn

0310276993 (isbn13: 9780310276999)

description

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

find at: Amazon | Half.com | Barnes & Noble | compare prices ($4.45)…

new topic
discuss this book

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Book Challenge: Angie's read all the unread books on her bookshelf challenge.	24	301	8 days ago, 10:07PM
The Next Best Boo...: OFFICIAL SPRING CHALLENGE - 2009	6462	7311	21 days ago, 02:57PM

friend reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

lists with this book

Books I Have No Intention of Reading

261 books | 760 voters

The worst books of all time

1597 books | 11445 voters

More lists...

other reviews (showing 1-20 of 6,296)

sort: default (?) | date
filters: all | text-only

12/23/07

Skylar Burris rated it:

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 (6 people liked it)

12 comments

03/09/07

John rated it:

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 summ...more

Like this review? yes (5 people liked it)

6 comments

12/30/07

Tucker rated it:

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 ...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)

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

add a comment

10/25/07

Mike rated it:

bookshelves: philosophy, religion

Read in January, 2005

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 Orange Count...more

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

5 comments

12/27/07

Lauren rated it:

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

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

add a comment

10/04/08

Benjamin Kittleson added it

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 scrip...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

add a comment

04/27/08

☆Brittany☆ rated it:

(review of isbn 0310210747)

bookshelves: 5-stars, christian, devotionals, non-fiction, own

Read in April, 2009

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...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

2 comments

06/26/07

Jessi rated it:

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

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

1 comment

07/31/08

Amanda rated it:

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.
...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comment

10/09/08

Atomic rated it:

(review of isbn 0310205719)

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 (2 people liked it)

1 comment

09/04/08

Ron rated it:

(review of isbn 0310806356)

bookshelves: religion-philosophy

Read in January, 2003

Changed my life.

I took Warren's challenge and found that I was not where I should have been. Paradoxically, I was at that time employed by a Christian ministry highly regarded by many (and vilified by some), but I knew--I knew--that wasn't where I was supposed to be. S,o I quit my job and sought a new direction.

Not there yet by a long shot, but thanks to Rick Warren I'm on my way.

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

2 comments

03/02/08

Drew J rated it:

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 (2 people liked it)

1 comment

10/03/07

Kelly rated it:

boo. I hate this book

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

2 comments

01/19/09

Daniel rated it:

Read in January, 2007

In a way, I hated it, hated coming to this book, hated every moment of it. For years, pop-christian media repulsed me, still does. I can't abide the glossiness of it, the gimmicks, the platitudes. I had avoided virtually all contact with evangelical Christians in America since my teens and considered their writing to be beneath me. Then, a few years ago, I saw Warren on Charlie Rose and was surprised to find a fairly traditional Christian getting along so well in traditionally secular social cir...more In a way, I hated it, hated coming to this book, hated every moment of it. For years, pop-christian media repulsed me, still does. I can't abide the glossiness of it, the gimmicks, the platitudes. I had avoided virtually all contact with evangelical Christians in America since my teens and considered their writing to be beneath me. Then, a few years ago, I saw Warren on Charlie Rose and was surprised to find a fairly traditional Christian getting along so well in traditionally secular social circles. Even Bono vouched for him! Warren was popular.

Now Warren is unpopular, because of his stance on gay marriage and the fact that Obama, always the politician, stabbed his supports in the back in order to gain some cheap political points with his opposition by offering Warren the bully pulpit on inauguration day. I can't sympathize with the controversy. I oppose the government licensure of both homosexual and heterosexual marriages. I believe politicians should not be involved in marriage in the first place, regardless of the sexual orientation of the couple. It's not that I'm anti-marriage, it's that I'm anti-politician. I don't believe people should have to ask their government for permission to marry. More over, I believe that individuals should receive equal treatment from their government regardless of their martial status. At the same time, I'm a big believer in religious freedom - or freedom of conscience, really. So, if Muslims, by their own conscience, don't want to open their religious marriage ceremonies to gays, so be it, and the same holds for Hindus and Jews and everyone else. I'm not going to hold traditional Christians or Warren to a different standard than I hold any other religion.

Having given some context to my views, ironically, this controversy has nothing to do with the substance of Warren's book, which I did read after seeing him on Charlie Rose. At that point in my life, I began to understand that eloquence is not necessarily related to intelligence and that human beings, even the most plainly spoken and even the most disagreeable, often have something insightful to say. I've always been a humanist, but like many humanists, I once cared more for human artifacts than human beings. I'm starting to see more clearly now, and my effort at reading Warren helped; namely, the experience taught me that patience with disagreeable people and tolerance of unartful prose does not require a lowering of standards but an opening of the mind - reading Warren was edifying. And he's right on many points. Life is, as he puts it, "not about you," and, without contradiction, your life is not without purpose. In fact, turning your attention from yourself to others is a good way to begin understanding the Christian notion of purpose - Jesus famously challenged a rich prince to give up everything he owned for the poor; later he challenged a religious scholar to learn the meaning of the ancient saying: God "desires mercy, not sacrifice." There's a mystery to loving God with all you are and loving others as yourself. Warren's book marked a turning point in my life, a turn for the better, and I maintain, despite the ebb and flow of his popularity, that his book was a good guide for me as I went through the turn.(less)

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

09/04/07

Greycee Guevarra rated it:

(review of isbn 0310205719)

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 intereste...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comment

08/22/07

RESHMA FRANCIS rated it:

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"...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

01/02/09

booklady rated it:

bookshelves: 2005, abandoned, non-fiction, philosophy, prayer, psychology, religion, scripture, spiritual, theology

Read in September, 2005

recommended to booklady by: Jan and Sandy

Seeing Cassie's listing of this reminded me to add it to my books even though I never finished it. I did read over 3/4th of it.

When I finished Retreat in Daily Life the St. Ignatian Spiritual Exercises I was looking for something to fill the gap and a few of the ladies who had been in my group were going to read this so I thought I'd join them in it. None of us ever finished it; it was such a weak follow-up. Maybe I would have liked it better or gotten more out of it at another t...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

2 comments

06/27/09

Jonathan rated it:

bookshelves: theology

A poor book on Christianity, yet I think Jesus Christ still manages to shine through at points in the book. If you desire to learn about the Jesus Christ of the Bible there are far better books, please do not read this one. It consists of much poor theology, old wives proverbs, and does not focus on the cross of Christ (on Christ) nearly as much as it should.

Nevertheless, God can still use this book and I am sure He has, but I think God uses this book more in spite of itself rather...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

01/26/09

Ross rated it:

Read in January, 2005

When I first began reading this book I really enjoyed it. I must mention that at the time I read this, I did not consider myself Christian. After reading the book, and a couple of other by Rick Warren, in addition to reading the bible straight through, I firmly believe that although what Warren writes may be insightful, the full implications behind his text(s) are quite far from reality and these books are intended for the purpose of becoming wealthy rather than closer to God.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

04/04/09

Wendy rated it:

Read in April, 2009

I really liked this book. I listened to the audio version partly during our last car trip from Utah, and partly while exercising. The beginning chapters - I would describe as a very practical guide to worship. I'm trying to think of a good example. Let's see - there was a chapter on the importance of meditation/prayer I thought was very good - and he explained these concepts in very practical language. Rick Warren talked extensively on finding our mission/purpose in life - and doing all tha...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment