Review of a Review

I know, I know. Everyone loves this book. No fewer than forty-three people asked me "Have you read The Shack yet?"

Invariably, they responded to my negative response with something along the lines of "You have to! It changed my life! I was full of questions, and life stunk, and then I read the book, and God made sense to me, I understood quantum physics effortlessly, and all of a sudden I could spin flax into gold!"

So, what I'm about to say is going to make a lot of people pretty angry.

The Shack appears to me to be an ex-hippie's best attempt at amalgamating God, Dr. Phil, and Oprah. The writing is bad, the story is cheesy, the format is formulaic and cliche, and the theology is spotty and poorly explained at best, and downright heretical at worst.

I was not impressed. If it makes a lot of people think hard thoughts about God that they'd rather avoid, then I suppose that's fine. I'm just not sure hard thinking should be done at the expense of clear thinking. And I'm certain bad writing is no way to advance good theology (even if this were). 


    After reading this review and having read the book twice now, I would have to say I really agree with this review.  I think her summary description of the book being "an ex-hippie's best attempt at amalgamating God, Dr. Phil, and Oprah", is a bit extreme. But sometimes when people are passionate, they write and think sarcastically and it really describes what the reviewer was thinking and feeling well. Having said this, I do agree with that analogy. I also agree with her that the theologies presented in this book should be looked at carefully, and a Christian should not in any way think that they are facts. Our theologies should come clearly from the Bible. 
  I don't however agree about the writing style. A lot of the descriptions I found very poetic and picturesque. But also some of it was predictable which was disappointing. I could tell where he was going in some of his ideas. All in all, I wouldn't recommend the book for a new believer, but more for a person who has been walking with the Lord and who would know to always back whatever you hear on the Bible. 

Reflection Questions:

What should I be asking myself? Is this what I want to be doing? How do I want the world to be different because I lived in it? How do I want to be different because I lived in this world? 

   One of the things that I ask myself a lot is am I loving other people to my full capacity? Things will come up in my personal life that either confirms this, or brings something in my character up that I need to change. It is difficult at first, to look at myself and acknowledge that I'm not always doing things the way I should, but when I listen to what the Lord reveals through either Bible study, prayer, or through other people and change it, I am so much happier that I listened down the road. It becomes a good point to look back on and see how God is still shaping me. 

   Is this what I want to be doing? I ask my self this constantly. I have dreams that I know I want to happen, but where I'm at right now, am I content in this process of getting there? Of waiting on the Lord, knowing that His plan will be the right one in the end? I think that yes, I have started to realize over the past couple of years, that this is all a journey to where my dreams end (giving them up to God), and where God's dream begins (trusting that He knows best and put those desires into my heart for a purpose). 

   When I leave this place, I hope that the world will be different in the way that people who were placed in my life will know about Jesus. That even the dream that He put in my heart, will make the world different because Jesus was brought to the crowds. I hope that He used me in a way that accomplished His purposes and not just mine. I want the things that I do in my life every day to show people that it wasn't just my life I was living. I desire to be a blessing to other people and a joy to be around.

    In answer to the last question, I hope to be different living in this world because I swam "upstream". I don't want to be associated with what the world's trends were/are. I hope to be an example to others of a different life, a better life. A life filled with truth, love, and a relationship with Jesus. Also I hope that the experiences I had in my life I truly learned from and that God was able to mold me the way He wanted because of the world I lived in.

How do I relate to God? - With perspectives presented in "The Shack"

“How do we relate to God? Clearly Scripture portrays God as holy and just. We speak of grace but the issue of sin, as breaking the Law of God, is ever before us. If God is so holy that he cannot look at sin, how is it possible to know him in any real way?”

 At first glance, these questions are very intimidating. The first question is really making me take a step back and examine how I truly relate to my creator. I know that first off, my relationship with God is more personal than any of my other relationships with people. He made me, He knows me better than anyone else could and also knows me better I know myself. So sometimes, this can be intimidating. I find myself trying to cover some of my flaws and try to overlook them so I am more like Him. Or at least so I look more like Him. But in essence, this is flawed. The only way to be more like God is to give Him all of my failures and fears and surrender to Him. This way He can work in me and make me someone new.
     Also God truly is to me a father. He is also my best friend. Always there. Never failing. When I have no strength, He has more than enough. When I am drowning in regret because of my sin, He is merciful and just to forgive me, plus He shows me the way He wants me to live.
    In relation with the shack, Mack's point of view with God is very different. I think for one thing, its hard to see God as a loving father for him, because his own father was an alcoholic and died when he was young. Mack tries to ignore this part in his life and just keep it buried. I think though, at one point that his relationship with God was strong, he probably did cling to God as his father instead. However, after his little girl is murdered, he lets a rift between him and God. The book never states that he blames God, but perhaps subconsciously he does. So he ignores all of God's promptings to spend time with him on a personal level. He still goes to church, he still says he believes in God, but it is harder for him to connect with God personally because of all the hardships he has experienced.
       Now for the second question: How can we have a relationship with God if God cannot stand sin? The answer that comes to my mind is Jesus. It says in John 14:6  that no one comes to the father except through Jesus. He is our mediator. He took our sin, so we could come to the father blameless and have a personal relationship with Him.

Ethnicity Issues- Serros' Piece

Serros' has had very many interesting experiences with her ethnicity. People ask her where she is from and then when she flips the question back at them, they often don't know how to respond.
From my own experience, I just don't ever ask Latinos where they are from. I have asked some of my close friends what their background is. They tell me without hesitation and never seem to be confused about where they originated from. These people are also "white."
So I don't think I really can relate to Serros' article. I can usually tell if someone is "American" or not. Serros' appears a bit annoyed with all the questioning and this is understandable. I would be the same way.

The New Year

Ah... my mind is still trying to wrap around the fact that it is 2011! I can not believe that it is that year already. To think that in the beginning of the 20th century people thought we would be flying around in cars and be served by robots. How absurd!
Well, I can only hope that this new year is amazing and that the Lord knows what He is doing. I have many of my own expectations, and I honestly don't want to be disappointed. 2010 ended well, I have no reason not to believe that this year is going to be even better. Yes, I have some goals for this year, but not your typical New Year's resolution. I really don't want to lose weight, or anything like that. I honestly want to grow closer to God this year and be able to trust Him more and more, despite not knowing what the future holds. Another thing is I want to write poems and songs more this year, maybe even finish a fiction novel I started on about two years ago. I want this year to be a time of maturing, and really learning where God wants me to be.
I don't really know how much more I can say... I do hope that this year in college it goes well and that my family and I grow closer and make good memories, considering this may be one of my last years at home.
I also want to see our college blossom and for us all to really be knit together in purpose.
Let's just be honest though. I don't know what's going to happen and I am excited about that fact. Anything could, and I know that whatever does, it will be a new and probably stretching experience that the Lord will use in shaping my character.
Cheers to the New Year!!