The Isaiah Effect

Gregg Braden

Book Review

The Isaiah Effect by Gregg Braden essentially argues that Western man has lost the knowledge of true prayer that can bring about Biblical-like miracles. Braden argues that with the formulation of the Bible certain information was excluded so that what has been passed down to us is a watered down version of prayer that has a fraction of the power of that employed by our forefathers.

The effects of such prayer are realized by uniting thought, feeling and emotion to bring about manifest change in the environment. Braden argues that it is such attempts at prayer done by larger groups of people in concert with one another that have caused notable decreases in criminal activity in various areas. Braden even goes as far as claiming that air strikes against Iraq in the late 1990s were called off because of these attempts at transcendental prayer which restored peace to the troubled area.

Of particular interest to Braden is the potential that such a lost mode of prayer has for averting global disasters. Various prophets and prophecies are examined in The Isaiah Effect with Braden claiming that seemingly contradictory prophecies must be understood as two (or more) future possibilities. Which path we pursue is for us to choose and so, therefore, is our destination. As in Gregg's other books, he makes selective use of quantum physics to support his essentially-spiritual conclusions.

I remain torn by the work of Gregg Braden. He writes on topics of great interest to me but does so in a manner that strikes me as being pseudo-academic at best. He fails to produce a balanced argument and rather assumes that his theories are the correct ones and goes about presenting 'evidence' to prove himself correct. I should also point out that the Great Isaiah scroll of the book's title is not covered in great depth or detail. Braden presents a hodge-podge of spiritual beliefs and insights, all of which combine to support his thesis, but none of which are covered in any detail.

This book will no doubt be of interest to some and I did like the idea of charging one's prayers with emotional content but for anyone looking for hard evidence and serious study, look elsewhere.

Editors note: Since originally writing this review and posting it on the site, it has come to my attention that it appears Braden's claims about a 'new' translation of the Isaiah scroll are spurious. He is basing his writing and conclusions on a new translation that does not exist.

Readers interested in studying a translation of the Isaiah scroll can find it online here

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