Melissa Dougherty wrote a book. Here is my review. I liked it. A lot.

I have been looking forward to reading Melissa’s book Happy Lies: How a Movement You (Probably) Never Heard Of Shaped Our Self-Obsessed World¹Melissa Dougherty, Happy Lies: How a Movement You (Probably) Never Heard Of Shaped Our Self-Obsessed World, Zondervan (January 28, 2025) since I first heard she was writing it. I have been familiar with the New Age movement and even had some freaky New Age/Occultic experiences, but I really had no idea that some of the things I was taught and experienced really weren’t New Age. It was New Thought. As Melissa put it on page five, “New thought ideas can deceive Christians before new age ideas ever will… It has more influence than it has recognition.”

Before I get into this detailed review of Happy Lies, I want to be on record as saying that I believe the Law of Attraction actually works. I took advantage of Amazon’s preorder deal and ordered the book on August 16, 2024 with January 28th 2025 as the estimated time of delivery. I’m telling you that I manifested exactly that for about six months!

Happy Lies arrived on the 28th. I finished reading it on the 29th. I wanted to write a review immediately upon completing the book, but I thought it would be best to write my thoughts and what I’ve learned after I’ve marinated on it a bit. Before you read the book, buy some highlighters, you’ll need them.

I’ve known Melissa since before she had a YouTube presence. I’m familiar with her sense of humor. It is wacky, twisted, warped, out in left field… Where was I going with this? Oh, and Melissa has a beautiful, quick-witted mind that is fully displayed in Happy Lies. Humor is one thing to do in a video, but it takes real genius to pull it off in written format.

And then there are times when you don’t hear MelissaTube voice, you hear a different voice. When you read through all scholarly research and imagine what it took her to compile and organize this information, be prepared to hear the intellectual Melissa. The amount of end notes shows how much research she put into this book. She worked hard on this book. This is a much more serious Melissa than what we usually see on YouTube.

Referring to humor again, I believe people with a good sense of humor tend to be very intelligent. That’s a deadly combination. I know Melissa is smart, but frankly, I didn’t know Melissa was this smart. She is so smart that you will learn new words never heard by mankind before. Terms like, “occult soup, and Metamystigorical”. My spell checker isn’t just red right now, it’s flashing red.

In all seriousness, I learned a wealth of information from Happy Lies. I had no idea how prevalent New Thought is, not only in the world, but also in the Church. It is common to hear TV preachers parrot new thought beliefs, but surprisingly, I’ve heard some of these ideas in evangelical churches as well, particularly mega/giga Churches. There is a difference between seeker sensitive and seeker centered Churches. Seeker centered churches tend to preach TED-Talk like sermons which resemble self-help messages, with a few Bible verses sprinkled in for credibility’s sake.

Melissa makes reference to the Hartford Institute for Religion Research on page 207, which captures the mega/giga culture well.

“According to a study by the Hartford Institute for Religious Research, the reasons people were attracted to a large seeker Church were the worship style, the senior pastor, and the church’s reputation. What kept them there? The worship style, the senior pastor, and the churches reputation.”

If you don’t understand the connection between New Thought and mega/giga churches, read the book.

Speaking of which, I think it is a good idea to share some snippets from Happy Lies. Many of these are deserving of the social media equivalency of inspirational Hallmark cards. You know, memes.

“‘Know thy enemy,- or in this case ‘know thy spiritual frenemy.’” (P.14)

“What better way to destroy God ‘s beloved image bearers than to turn them inward rather than upward?” (P. 26)

“The gospel of new thought is ultimately a self-help message of hope, empowerment, and spiritual transformation- with you as the savior.” (P. 44)

“Being made in his image means we represent him and are part of his spiritual family but our estranged from him. Being in his image has to do with our identity. We either submit to our identity in him, or we rebel against this and make him in our image. A root cause of sin is that humans aren’t satisfied being human. They want to be God.” (P.47)

“If you know your Bible and are prepared to stand for what’s true, you will be a snare to the devil’s schemes instead of an unexpected accomplice.” (P. 52)

“We’re not living in a post-truth era. We’re living in an anti-truth era.” (P.59)

“If reality had a mirror, objective truth would be its reflection.” (P.63)

“Truth is not simply a belief. A lie believed is still a lie.” (P.63)

(Melissa speaking of her past) “…it was less about finding truth and more about avoiding conflict and securing my ‘People pleaser of the year’ trophy (made out of insecurity, anxiety, sweat, and eggshells. I looked tolerant while at the same time, passing as a Christian.” (P.66)

“Relativism is humanity’s, broken attempt to justify their sin and live as their own God. It’s self-idolatry.” (P.68)

“The only way to fight lies is to tell the truth.” (P.88)

“Jesus didn’t call you to be your authentic self. He called you to deny yourself.” (P. 92)

“If we remain biblically illiterate, we tend to view scripture as self-help rather than as a way to know who God is.” (P.112)

“Jesus doesn’t save those who find themselves. He saves those who die to themselves.” (P.115)

“Knowing what you’re good at isn’t prideful. Boasting in it is.” (P.129)

“We ought to call out bad theology. It’s not divisive to do so. It’s divisive to teach bad theology.” (P.152)

“Don’t worship experience and power over truth.” (P.167)

“Ironically, in humanity’s desires to be gods, we become more like Satan.” (P. 214)

“We’re entrusted with the gospel to proclaim it, not compromise it.” (P. 218)

Hopefully, I have sufficiently baited you with plenty of juicy morsels to whet your appetite for Happy Lies. There are so many more I could have shared, trust me. Much more. Like I said earlier, invest in some highlighters.

This book will have a positive impact for the Church of Jesus Christ. It will educate those who can now be on the look-out for this heresy, and it will help people involved in it (Christian or not) to escape. Like Melissa has said, you’ve probably never heard of it before, but you’ll know it when you see it. After reading Happy Lies, you will never be able to unsee it.

So, after all of the wonderful, free endorsements that I am offering, is there anything about the book that I don’t like? Well, I’m glad you asked! As a matter of fact, there is. The only complaint I have is that the page numbers aren’t easy to read for my 50-somethingoranotherish year-old eyes. The page numbers are tiny white numbers inside of a small light gray box. I don’t know why they didn’t place the white numbers in a black box. It would stand out SO much better.

Lastly, I want to mention an unusual feature that warmed my heart. Several chapters end with a prayer for Melissa’s readers. (That’s me, and hopefully you too!) My favorite prayer was on page 71. It reads;

“Lord, in a world filled with distractions, doubts, and deceptions, help me to anchor my faith in your unchanging truth. Grant me discernment to recognize falsehood and the courage to reject it. In moments of doubt, remind me of the words of Jesus and your love for me. Strengthen my faith so that l may never waver but instead hold fast to the truth revealed in your Son, Jesus Christ. I ask for your protection against the lies and deceptions that try to lead me astray. Help me to be vigilant and steadfast, knowing that the truth you offer is the source of my hope and salvation. Empower me to share this truth with others, that they, too, may come to believe in you, the one true God.”

After reading this prayer, I wrote in the margin, “Amen. I will add this to my prayer list for Melissa.” I know she meant this prayer for us, her readers, but I think it would be a gift to give back to her if we pray this for her also. I have a prayer list of colleagues and missionaries I pray for on a regular basis. Melissa is on that list. I will be praying this prayer that she meant for us. I think that’s kinda cool.

Oh, and if I haven’t already said this before, Happy Lies is brilliant, playful, and delightful with lots of satire, sarcasm and stuff. Smart things too.

P.S. Who the heck is Mel? Let the reader understand.Ω

Keith Walker and his wife Becky founded Evidence Ministries in 1995 as a missionary outreach to Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons. Keith has been full-time with Evidence Ministries since 1999. The Walkers were both saved in 1988; Keith at a Billy Graham Crusade in Rochester, New York, and Becky through an independent study of 1st John in Mililani, Hawaii. Keith jokes that he has a bachelor’s degree in Bible from Emmaus Bible College and two black belts in cult evangelism: one in Jehovah-jitsu and another in Mormon fu. With thousands of hours of experience in witnessing to cult followers, he enjoys training Christians how to witness with gentleness, respect, practical wisdom, and humor. Website, Web Blog, YouTube Channel

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