According to the online edition of the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an affirmation is:
a solemn and often public declaration of the truth or existence of something
https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/affirmation
An “affirmation” is a declaration, a confirmation, an assertion that something is true. So when someone repeats a phrase like: “I am beautiful” or “Today is going to be a great day!” or “I am attracting money to myself,” they are affirming, confirming, or declaring that the thing they want is already happening (or will be).
Affirmations are sometimes called “positive thinking” or “visualization,” and is often associated with meditation and cognitive retraining ideas.
Now I’m not talking about words of affirmation you use when you praise your children for a job well done, or when you simply tell them you love them. I’m not talking about the recognition and encouragement you give to a spouse or coworker when they do a fantastic job. I’m also not talking about those general “psych myself up” moments when you are faced with some difficulty, and you’re trying to work through the stress of the moment.
No, the affirmations I talk about in this blog are what you might find in the self-esteem or power-of-positive-thinking movements.
I’m talking about the affirmations that are closely aligned with the pagan Law of Attraction philosophies and are a central element of the self-help movement.
Types of affirmations
There are affirmations that cover all the realms of human experience, including the physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, mental, and anything else I missed. There are affirmations for:
- Success
- Love
- Beauty
- Money and wealth
- Health
- Healing
- Power
- Self-confidence
- Self-esteem
- Positive thinking
- Self-love
- Goal-setting
- Anxiety
- Gratitude
- A right attitude
- Inner strength
- Affirmations for the morning
- Affirmations for nighttime
- Affirmations for men
- Women
- Black women
- Black men
- Witches
So… why this blog?
I have always been fascinated by the use of affirmations that people speak when they try to convince themselves they can achieve, or receive, or believe something.
But it’s more than fascination. I’m a follower of Jesus Christ, and I’ve seen that these worldly affirmations are antithetical to the truths as found in the Bible.
Here’s a short list of a few observations and what I want to do about them in this blog:
- Christians often get caught up in worldly affirmations because of our inherent selfish nature.
- The problem with affirmations is the reliance on the self and its association with the LOA and new age philosophies in general.
- The affirmations industry is huge and growing larger.
- I want to differentiate between God’s promises and worldly affirmations.
- I want to help Christians understand that they should have nothing to do with worldly affirmations.
- I want to help anyone using affirmations and open to the truth, especially followers of Jesus, to see that affirmations are New Age and are foreign to the Christian faith.
- While I’m at it, I want to poke a little fun at affirmations to “de-affirm” people.
categories
I have two main categories, and more will be added as needed:
- The Promises of God vs the Affirmations of the World (longer posts where I talk about the affirmations industry and issues from a Christian point of view)
- Your Daily Affirmation Buzzkill (A daily post highlighting specific affirmations and shining the light of God’s word on them)
In short, this blog takes a look at worldly affirmations from a Christian perspective and enjoys itself making fun of those affirmations.
It’s for people who like to speak affirmations, whether worldly ones, or the so-called biblical affirmations.
It’s also for people who want to know the truth about the affirmations industry and how affirmations as used by the world go against the Kingdom of God.
This blog takes a look at worldly affirmations from a Christian perspective and enjoys itself making fun of those affirmations.
Affirming Jesus