Long before I became a Christian, the only TV pastor that ever impressed me was Charles Stanley. He remains one of my favorites.

Personally, I have read some of these authors, and am disturbed by their blatant twist of the gospel. What I find more disturbing is the trend of “personality idolatry” I see within the church, where many I come in contact with claim loving this or that author, and quote constantly from them. Because these people cannot often be reasoned with, I often ask them to find the scripture that backs up their claims.

In my opinion, no one should elevate any person or book above God or the Holy Bible. I believe that it is possible that many of these authors may have genuine faith and are just people like you and me, imperfect and fallible. What they are sharing is their personal interpretation and commentary, not profound biblical truths. No matter what, where their words depart from God’s Word is where they become dangerous. If God wanted to add to His Holy Word, it would have read “to be continued” after Revelation. ((Thanking God you will not find a book of Betty in the Bible!!))

It is important to be able to discern opinion from Scripture, which requires actually reading the Bible! AND discernment comes only through the Holy Spirit, which to the best of my understanding is IMPOSSIBLE for the unsaved.

Do not rely on the wisdom of any man (or woman) for your Salvation, or the working out of your faith. In fact, Paul cautions against this very thing in 1 Corinthians chapter 2.

By the way… I have been in a Catholic book store as well and guess how many books I saw from a non-Catholic perspective?

You got it. Zilch.