GENESIS: Advanced Review
Genesis is a 64 page one-shot book; a graphic novel in the purest sense of the word. It is a perfect example of what I find terrifying about what the current wave of self-help gurus claim. About ten years ago my father had me listen to Deepak Chopra, Tony Robbins, and many others. They each take the idea of positive thinking to the next level. The gurus claimed that the world obeys our thoughts. Whatever we put our intentions and attention towards would happen. When it comes to your own actions, that’s nothing really special. It aligns with what psychology tells us about ourselves and how our subconscious works. But the self-help teachers claim various degrees of influence over the world around you. In a way this is no different than prayer. What is prayer, but a focused attention on a goal you want? However, prayer as I learned it in American Protestantism is governed by an important rule - you can pray for whatever you want, but God will only grant you what is good and proper. In other words, praying for bad things to happen to your neighbor because he let his dog poop in your yard will not yield results. There’s something quite reassuring in that thought. It both focuses you on the positive and lets you know that others can’t effectively pray for your harm.
