The Five Languages of Love book by Dr. Gary Chapman ?
messiah_says:
Is this a religious book?
Is this a religious book?
How does one define a religious book?
Surely the Bible is religious, but so is a Watchtower magazine, is it not?
What is the rule by which to Gage what is religious and what is secular?
There’s no rule - it depends on how you interpret it.
You might say that because Chapman is religious, anything he writes will be religious, even if it’s under the surface. You could also say that a book is religious is the reader gets a religious message out of it, regardless of what the author intends.
So I guess the real question is, do YOU think it’s a religious book?
My personal thought, for this book, is that the main message is “secular” - applicable to religious and non-religious couples - but that Chapman’s personal spiritual beliefs are evident.
Maybe a rule would be something like:
It’s religious if the only way to understand it is if you know something about a particular religion, or are a believer.
Martin Luther King Jr. used scriptural imagery and language that made him a more effective communicator to Christians.
I’m not a member of any Jewish sect, and although I am capable of reading the Torah, I KNOW I’m missing something because its message is specifically Jewish and I’m not a member of that religion.
The corollary to this rule would be: If all people can appreciate and enjoy a book, then it’s not religious. I’m not sure if I buy this, but hey, this is all just pulling ideas out of the air anyway.