# Is Manifesting a Sin? Manifestation and the Law of Attraction > Wallace D. Wattles wrote in 1910 that a thought in a thinking substance produces the thing imagined. The Bible says the Word who was God made all things. - Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/new-age/manifestation-and-the-law-of-attraction - Religions: none - Denominations: none - Beliefs: New Age - Tags: new-age, manifestation - Updated: 2026-10-09 - Author: [Paul Ambrose](https://apologetics.wiki/author/hi-its-paul) ([GitHub](https://github.com/hi-its-paul)) Manifesting, as Wallace D. Wattles stated it in 1910, says a thought impressed on a formless thinking substance creates the thing imagined. The Bible says God created the world, and that the Word who was God made all things. Asking God for daily bread is not the same act as claiming that one’s own thought creates the thing. ## Key points - [Wattles, *The Science of Getting Rich*](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/59844/pg59844.txt), says, “A thought, in this substance, produces the thing that is imaged by the thought.” - He says a person “can cause the thing he thinks about to be created” by impressing thought on formless substance. - [John 1:3](/bible/john/1/3) says, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” - [Genesis 1:1](/bible/genesis/1/1) names God as the one who created the heaven and the earth. - [Matthew 6:9–11](/bible/matthew/6) has Jesus teach disciples to ask, “Give us this day our daily bread.” - [What is the New Age movement?](/new-age/what-is-the-new-age-movement) is the overview. [Angel numbers](/new-age/angel-numbers-tarot-and-numerology) is the related practice of reading signs. ## What Wattles wrote [Wallace D. Wattles, *The Science of Getting Rich*](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/59844/pg59844.txt) (1910), states: > There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the universe. A thought, in this substance, produces the thing that is imaged by the thought. Man can form things in his thought, and, by impressing his thought upon formless substance, can cause the thing he thinks about to be created. Later teachers repeat that pattern. This page quotes Wattles because his book is public domain and states the claim in his own sentences. It does not quote later copyrighted books. ## What the Bible says [Genesis 1:1](/bible/genesis/1/1) (King James Version) says: > In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. [John 1:1–3](/bible/john/1) (King James Version) says: > In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In [Matthew 6:9–11](/bible/matthew/6) Jesus teaches prayer to the Father: > After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. The one who asks is not the one who creates the bread. [James 4:2–3](/bible/james/4) says people ask and receive not, because they ask amiss, to consume it on their lusts. [Exodus 20:3](/bible/exodus/20/3) says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” ## The Christian claim Wattles assigns the creating act to a human thought. [John 1:1–3](/bible/john/1) assigns it to the Word, who was God. Christians confess that this Word is Jesus. Prayer in [Matthew 6](/bible/matthew/6) asks the Father for his will and for bread. That is a different sentence from “impressing his thought upon formless substance.” The confession is [the deity of Christ](/christianity/deity-of-christ). [Does God exist?](/god/does-god-exist) is the page on the God who gives life. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is every hope a sin? [Matthew 6:11](/bible/matthew/6/11) tells disciples to ask for daily bread. The sentence Wattles wrote is that a person causes the thing to be created by impressing thought on formless substance. Those are two different claims. ### Where does the “law of attraction” sentence come from on this page? From [Wattles, 1910](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/59844/pg59844.txt), in the three sentences quoted above. This page does not quote a later book that uses the phrase “law of attraction.” ### Who made all things? [John 1:3](/bible/john/1/3) says all things were made by the Word, and [John 1:1](/bible/john/1/1) says the Word was God. [Colossians 1:16](/bible/colossians/1/16) says all things were created by him and for him. ## Passages quoted on this page ### John 1:1–3 King James Version. > [1:1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [1:2] The same was in the beginning with God. [1:3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. ### James 4:2–3 King James Version. > [4:2] Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. [4:3] Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. ### Colossians 1:16 King James Version. > For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: ## Sources Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site. 1. [Wallace D. Wattles, The Science of Getting Rich, 1910](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/59844/pg59844.txt) (Public domain. Project Gutenberg ebook 59844.) 2. [Gospel of John, 1:1–3](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1). King James Version 3. [Gospel of Matthew, 6:9–11](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/matthew/6). King James Version ## See also - [What Is the New Age Movement?](https://apologetics.wiki/new-age/what-is-the-new-age-movement) — People use New Age for practices that treat human thought, numbers, or cards as a way to shape life or receive a message. Christians confess that God alone creates and reveals. - [Are Angel Numbers Biblical? Angel Numbers, Numerology and Tarot](https://apologetics.wiki/new-age/angel-numbers-tarot-and-numerology) — Deuteronomy 18 forbids divination, observing times, and consulting spirits. Isaiah 47 challenges astrologers and monthly prognosticators to save anyone. ## History [View history on GitHub](https://github.com/Apologetics-Wiki/apologetics-wiki/commits/main/src/content/articles/manifestation-and-the-law-of-attraction.md)