Friday, August 8, 2008

On "The Shack"

Glenn posted a blog that perfectly expresses my feelings about this book, even down to his hesitation to say anything. This is a book I will be skipping. I value too deeply the Holiness of God, the Biblical portrayal of the Trinity, the Church, Biblical submission, and many other ideas, to read something that may confuse those in my own mind, just for a book that makes me "feel" close to God. It's not about how close to God I feel!

I think it's terribly important that we keep our beliefs straight in our own minds, and allow God to teach us things directly from His Word. I hope this doesn't come across too harsh, but especially if you aren't reading your Bible every day, you have no business gleaning theology or comfort from a novel.

So there ya go. Done with the soapbox.

4 comments:

  1. I completely agree with you. Unfortunately, I had the book "talked up" so highly that I looked forward to reading it. I really struggled with many points the author made especially where he changed the "perceived image" of God so the main character wouldn't be able to fall to his preconceived notions about who God is. Hmm...okay. It was just a huge distraction to have such a drastic change. I could go on forever about this, but I'm glad you're deciding to not waste your time. It "could" be good for a new Christian needing to understand the love of God because that is really shown well in the book, but really, I just left disappointed. I gave it a 1.5 stars.

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  2. The problem with a new Christian reading a book like this, is they will enter their faith with false ideas, right from the start. They won't know any better! At least you had enough knowledge of the Bible to know what was wrong!

    Eh, read the Bible to understand the love of God. It's everywhere in there!

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  3. Huh. I have this book on hold at the library. I'm number 267 on the list. I think I'll take my name off the list. :) Thanks guys.

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  4. I've also been considering reading it. I have many friends and family members who have. I haven't, because I haven't even taken the time to open my Bible lately, much less a novel. I am thankful for your boldness to speak your thoughts. I think I will pass until I feel more spiritually mature to handle it.

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