"The author I wish to discuss is M Scott Peck who has written a number of books, the most popular being "The Road Less Travelled", subtitled "A New Psychology of Love, Traditionally Values, and Spiritual Growth". He also wrote 2 other books which were of particular interest namely, "The People of the Lie", subtitled "The Hope for Healing of Human Evil", and, "The Different Drum", subtitled "The Creation of True Community - the First Step to World Peace".
These gained him much fame and fortune as especially the first book was continuously on the bestseller list for five years!! Although The Road Less Travelled was written before Scott became a Christian, the following 2 books were written after having become a Christian. I read these 3 books during 1994 and I was quite impressed by their insights and the very readable style in which he wrote. But then I read his follow up to The Road Less Travelled, titled "Further Along the Road Less Travelled", subtitled "The Unending Journey Toward Spiritual Growth"!!
This sequel revealed Scott's disturbing theology and which in my opinion renders his previous books suspect at best and pure deception at worst! The following are a few examples from "Further Along the Road Less Travelled" which deeply depart from Biblical Doctrine and especially his New Age and Jungian psychological philosophies:
a. "..I find distasteful the traditional idea of Christianity which preaches the resurrection of the body.."!!
b. "..I imagine Purgatory as a very elegant, well-appointed psychiatric hospital with the most modern and highly developed techniques for making learning as gentle as possible under divine supervision.."!!
c. "..The gates of Hell are wide open. People can walk right out of Hell, and the reason they are in Hell is that they choose not to. I know that is not traditionally Christian, but there are many ways that I deviate from traditional Christianity.."!!
d. "..and there are other people who are homosexual, I am convinced, genetically, and whom God created homosexual.."
e. "..The Road Less Travelled was once described as "Jung translated forthe masses,"...I was repeating things that Carl Jung...and others had said long before me.."
f. "..Shocking as it may seem, I think there is a genuine sexual element in the relationship between human beings and God.."
g. "..God is not ours to possess but we are His or Hers to be possessed by.."
These are but a few of many such statements that Peck makes throughout his book where he draws from Freud, Jung, Islam, Hindu, Buddhism, and New Age concepts, and mixes them with dubious Christian traditions, catholicism, and stories from the Bible, (most of which he believes are myths). The result is a tangled confusion of maximatic, folkloric, occultic and heretical myths and legends, which he touts as deep spiritual truth!!! Out of all this mish-mash he builds his own special psychological theories and practices!! Naturally I reject much of what he says, however, there is material that he does present in all 4 books which is worthy of note. Clearly, Peck is extremely deficient in his Biblical knowledge and he lacks the gift of faith which enables truly born-again believers to "know" the Bible as the Word of God.
By Pastor Allan Anderson MDiv, Phd.
These gained him much fame and fortune as especially the first book was continuously on the bestseller list for five years!! Although The Road Less Travelled was written before Scott became a Christian, the following 2 books were written after having become a Christian. I read these 3 books during 1994 and I was quite impressed by their insights and the very readable style in which he wrote. But then I read his follow up to The Road Less Travelled, titled "Further Along the Road Less Travelled", subtitled "The Unending Journey Toward Spiritual Growth"!!
This sequel revealed Scott's disturbing theology and which in my opinion renders his previous books suspect at best and pure deception at worst! The following are a few examples from "Further Along the Road Less Travelled" which deeply depart from Biblical Doctrine and especially his New Age and Jungian psychological philosophies:
a. "..I find distasteful the traditional idea of Christianity which preaches the resurrection of the body.."!!
b. "..I imagine Purgatory as a very elegant, well-appointed psychiatric hospital with the most modern and highly developed techniques for making learning as gentle as possible under divine supervision.."!!
c. "..The gates of Hell are wide open. People can walk right out of Hell, and the reason they are in Hell is that they choose not to. I know that is not traditionally Christian, but there are many ways that I deviate from traditional Christianity.."!!
d. "..and there are other people who are homosexual, I am convinced, genetically, and whom God created homosexual.."
e. "..The Road Less Travelled was once described as "Jung translated forthe masses,"...I was repeating things that Carl Jung...and others had said long before me.."
f. "..Shocking as it may seem, I think there is a genuine sexual element in the relationship between human beings and God.."
g. "..God is not ours to possess but we are His or Hers to be possessed by.."
These are but a few of many such statements that Peck makes throughout his book where he draws from Freud, Jung, Islam, Hindu, Buddhism, and New Age concepts, and mixes them with dubious Christian traditions, catholicism, and stories from the Bible, (most of which he believes are myths). The result is a tangled confusion of maximatic, folkloric, occultic and heretical myths and legends, which he touts as deep spiritual truth!!! Out of all this mish-mash he builds his own special psychological theories and practices!! Naturally I reject much of what he says, however, there is material that he does present in all 4 books which is worthy of note. Clearly, Peck is extremely deficient in his Biblical knowledge and he lacks the gift of faith which enables truly born-again believers to "know" the Bible as the Word of God.
By Pastor Allan Anderson MDiv, Phd.
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