Perry Noble's Dangerous and Dishonest Book is Another Example of Today's Pastoral Deceptions

Dr. James Duncan has once again hit it out of the park in his latest article dealing with a megachurch pastor and his book release.

Perry Noble, pastor of NewSpring Church is releasing a book on April 1st titled "Overwhelmed". In the book Noble is telling people how to overcome anxiety and depression and worry.

But astonishingly nowhere in the book does Noble deal with the fact that he ultimately had to turn to prescription medication for treatment of his depression and suicidal thoughts.

In other words, the biblical prescriptions that Noble spends 35 chapters writing about in "Overwhelmed" is not what saved his life from suicidal tendencies - it was not the bible, it was not his 35 chapters of biblical prescriptions he was writing - it was the professional advice of a medical doctor and prescription medicine that did the trick.

But no where in the book does Noble make this admission about it being the antidepressant drugs that saved his life.

I'm not kidding.

Here are some quotes from Duncan's article:

"Perry Noble’s book on dealing with depression contains not a single reference or acknowledgement to his decision to take antidepressant drugs...Wary that I might have missed something, I asked NewSpring’s public relations director about it, and she confirmed that the Overwhelmed book does not mention Noble’s antidepressant use.

This is an astonishing omission, especially knowing that Noble suffered severe depressive episodes while he was writing the book that necessitated consultations with his doctor who prescribed the pharmaceutical help that he needed."

More from Duncan:

"When you write a biographical advice book, the reader ought to be able to assume that the advice actually worked for the author. In Noble’s case, it didn’t, yet he, his church, his publisher and his famous friends continue to promote it as a life-changing book. "

This does indeed make Noble's book dishonest and dangerous. Offering advice that he knows did not work for him, and he hides from his readers the real solution - professional medical analysis and prescription medicine under the care of a physician.

I agree with Duncan - the publisher of this book should pull the book before the April 1st release date until it is revised to include the role that medical treatment and prescription medicine played in his treatment. Or as Duncan says, a disclaimer that reads something like:

"This book may be hazardous to your health, as it was to its author. If this advice doesn’t work for you, as is likely, you should consult a medical professional who is qualified to help you."

I will add just a bit to Duncan's analysis: the book is being falsely advertised. Here is the blurb from the Amazon.com website selling the book:

"Perry Noble has stood at the edge of the abyss himself, and in Overwhelmed, he shares the keys to unlocking the chains of anxiety and despair once and for all. Building on the premise that when we shift our focus from our circumstances to Christ, everything changes, Perry walks readers through a life-altering plan for overcoming stress, worry, depression, and anxiety so we can be free to enjoy the abundant, joy-filled lives we were created for.

God knows we’re frustrated. He knows we’re tired. He knows we’re struggling. But He also knows how things are going to turn out. He is greater than anything you are going through . . . so don’t give up on God. After all, He’s never given up on you."

Perry Noble is selling a self-help book based on the premise that he has been on the "edge of the abyss" - a clear reference to his suicidal tendencies - and he has discovered the keys of unlocking "the chains of anxiety and despair".

And the solution, according to the blurb above, is "shifting our focus from circumstances to Christ", which will overcome "depression". Not just worry or guilt, but "depression - like Perry's depression that almost led him to suicide. Clinical depression.

So Noble and NewSpring are really engaging in false advertising for the book on the Amazon.com website. What unlocked the chains for Perry and saved his life - by his own admission - was not a change in focus from "circumstances to Christ", or acknowleding "God is great", or that he didn't "give up on God". Perry tried these things, even wrote about them - but ultimately it was the medicine under the orders of a doctor that saved his life.

Yet Perry keeps THAT solution hidden from the readers of his book.

Kevin Trudeau was sentenced last week to 10 years of prison for defying a court order to stop his false advertising of his book "The Weight Loss Cure They Don't Want You to Know About." What was at issue in Trudeau's trial was not the claims of the book - the "diet" Trudeau pushed in the book may have worked -  but the marketing of the book in his infomercials and the false claims made in the marketing.

That is similar to what we have here with Noble, but of course on a much smaller scale in terms of marketing effort and dollars involved. But still, Noble's book is being marketed as a "once and for all" cure of depression that supposedly did work for the author, when in fact it did not work, and the ultimate cure that DID work is kept hidden from the readers.

Noble's book is a just another example of the common deception many pastors are pulling on gullible Christians today. Many of the evangelical megachurch pastors try to Christianize and over-simplify solutions to problems, in order to deceive people into thinking their faith and their God is doing something for them when it is not, all in an attempt to gain more devoted followers. This is the deception of the "first fruits" tithing teaching - lies and half-truths from the bible to present a prescription for financial struggles that are false and do not work (and actually have the potential for great harm).

This deception is even what got us in the mess of Ergun Caner - Jerry Vines and Jack Graham allowing Caner to spin his yarns in their mega churches just weeks after 9/11 to deceive scared, gullible Christians (like I was) into believing Caner was an example of how Jesus DID save an "almost terrorist" from getting on the airplanes himself. It wasn't true. It is sick stuff, this "deception for Jesus" mentality.

But hey, maybe God's sovereign hand IS in Noble's book release date: April 1st - April Fool's Day.