The Shack Author Rejects Biblical Substitutionary Atonement (church, preacher, believe)
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Telling anyone they should NOT read a certain book is almost the surest way to get someone to read it. That's just human nature, sort of like God telling Adam NOT to eat from that "apple" tree, lol.
Any book based on the Christian faith could and probably does have some doctrine alluded to that may go against someone's personal belief toward that doctrine. But it may hold something that that person needs at a particular time. Must you find out the beliefs of every author before you read their books? I loved the Narnia books. Doesn't mean I believe in everything C. S. Lewis believed in or even everything he MAY have alluded to in the books.
I read The Shack. Some things I didn't agree with. But for the most part I came away with God's overwhelming love for us. That makes the time spent in reading it seem well spent, imho.
Telling anyone they should NOT read a certain book is almost the surest way to get someone to read it. That's just human nature, sort of like God telling Adam NOT to eat from that "apple" tree, lol.
Any book based on the Christian faith could and probably does have some doctrine alluded to that may go against someone's personal belief toward that doctrine. But it may hold something that that person needs at a particular time. Must you find out the beliefs of every author before you read their books? I loved the Narnia books. Doesn't mean I believe in everything C. S. Lewis believed in or even everything he MAY have alluded to in the books.
I read The Shack. Some things I didn't agree with. But for the most part I came away with God's overwhelming love for us. That makes the time spent in reading it seem well spent, imho.
I agree. I have a friend that it really touched...brought her back to seeking the Lord. I am so grateful.
I am curious how some that are in agreement with C S Lewis' writings are so against The Shack. It doesn't bother me...I just wonder, that's all.
I liked it.. thought it was a good book overall. Its a chance to read a book and be released into anothers life (fictional). I thought the author did a good job of reeling you in and tugging on the heart strings a bit. As someone who hasn't cried since.. gosh I think 1999 it was an emotional (FICTIONAL) story for even a person as such as myself.
The one thing I do know about "The Shack" is there is money to be made by talking bad about it if you have a blog or a website. Your click counts go up cause people just eat it up. Oh.. and while you are there reading the article be sure to browse the CDs and DVDs they have to offer with such titles as "Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged". Riveting I'm sure.
You may disagree in light of how this book has affected you, but it doesn't change the fact it presents an intrinsic danger to new Christians and unbelievers.
Gee....
I remember reading The Shack as part of a 'dare' on this very Christianity forum. In fact, the dare was between myself and another Atheist. In the end, we both read it.
I can't speak for her, but I can say this. For a second there, I thought whilst reading the book that Christianity was not this horrendous, life-sucking, and venomous plague on humanity - that if I understood the book correctly, I could very well be content with those who believed in such a thing. In fact, I'm no Biblical scholar and I'd probably have to re-read the book again to find all of them but in case you haven't read it, perhaps you should. And when you do, if you have any wits about you whatsoever, you will find that the book is loaded, I mean absolutely loaded, with metaphor that alludes to Biblical quotations galore - especially the New Testament.
In fact, there's one part of the book that stays in my mind... I have this semi-photographic memory thing going on (usually it's reserved for pictures of naked women but in this case it remembered pg. 98 and this particular quote in which 'God' was explaining to the main character some things):
The problem is that many folks try to grasp some sense of who I am by taking the best version of themselves, projecting that to the nth degree, factoring in all the goodness they can perceive, which often isn't much, and then call that God. And while it may seem like a noble effort, the truth is that it falls pitifully short of who I really am. I'm not merely the best version of you that you can think of. I am far more than that, above and beyond all that you can ask or think.
Then, I found this very enlightening and summarily interesting and I hoped that Christians reading it got as much out of it as this unbeliever did on pg. 203:
It is much worse than that. It grants you the power to judge others and feel superior to them. You believe you are living to a higher standard than those you judge. Enforcing rules, especially in its more subtle expressions like responsibility and expectation, is a vain attempt to create certainty out of uncertainty. And contrary to what you might think, I have a great fondness for uncertainty. Rules cannot bring freedom; they only have the power to accuse.
Now, granted, I didn't think the book was absolutely perfect. I personally found myself a little annoyed with the main character because he seemed like a bit of an imbecile. Also, as I mentioned in the book review I gave of it many moons ago, I felt that while reading it I was listening to this song but aside from that I hardly see how it was dangerous to a person like me. No, it didn't make me a believer but it certainly shifted my perspective and perhaps hopes that the Christian religion is not necessarily about condemnation, in-fighting, accusatory remarks, and putting one another and their beliefs down... Apparently, the book was wrong which means that undying love, acceptance, and the sacrifice Jesus supposedly made for his children is not a part of the Christian religion.
I'm glad you were able to make that deterministic distinction without having read the book.
I remember reading The Shack as part of a 'dare' on this very Christianity forum. In fact, the dare was between myself and another Atheist. In the end, we both read it.
I can't speak for her, but I can say this. For a second there, I thought whilst reading the book that Christianity was not this horrendous, life-sucking, and venomous plague on humanity - that if I understood the book correctly, I could very well be content with those who believed in such a thing. In fact, I'm no Biblical scholar and I'd probably have to re-read the book again to find all of them but in case you haven't read it, perhaps you should. And when you do, if you have any wits about you whatsoever, you will find that the book is loaded, I mean absolutely loaded, with metaphor that alludes to Biblical quotations galore - especially the New Testament.
In fact, there's one part of the book that stays in my mind... I have this semi-photographic memory thing going on (usually it's reserved for pictures of naked women but in this case it remembered pg. 98 and this particular quote in which 'God' was explaining to the main character some things):
The problem is that many folks try to grasp some sense of who I am by taking the best version of themselves, projecting that to the nth degree, factoring in all the goodness they can perceive, which often isn't much, and then call that God. And while it may seem like a noble effort, the truth is that it falls pitifully short of who I really am. I'm not merely the best version of you that you can think of. I am far more than that, above and beyond all that you can ask or think.
Then, I found this very enlightening and summarily interesting and I hoped that Christians reading it got as much out of it as this unbeliever did on pg. 203:
It is much worse than that. It grants you the power to judge others and feel superior to them. You believe you are living to a higher standard than those you judge. Enforcing rules, especially in its more subtle expressions like responsibility and expectation, is a vain attempt to create certainty out of uncertainty. And contrary to what you might think, I have a great fondness for uncertainty. Rules cannot bring freedom; they only have the power to accuse.
Now, granted, I didn't think the book was absolutely perfect. I personally found myself a little annoyed with the main character because he seemed like a bit of an imbecile. Also, as I mentioned in the book review I gave of it many moons ago, I felt that while reading it I was listening to this song but aside from that I hardly see how it was dangerous to a person like me. No, it didn't make me a believer but it certainly shifted my perspective and perhaps hopes that the Christian religion is not necessarily about condemnation, in-fighting, accusatory remarks, and putting one another and their beliefs down... Apparently, the book was wrong which means that undying love, acceptance, and the sacrifice Jesus supposedly made for his children is not a part of the Christian religion.
I'm glad you were able to make that deterministic distinction without having read the book.
Thank you, Troop, it might take those more senescent in their faith to catch everything you've written here and the importance of it.
Here's the problem I have with both sides of this issue.
1-If churches are bringing this book in and trying to hold in-depth theological debates about it, well, I take issue with that. That's not the book's purpose. It was a work of fiction with an allegorical (or at least symbolic) Christian spin on it.
It's like the guy who was ranting and raving in another thread about how the Purpose-Driven Life is a bad evangelical tool and couldn't get his mind around the fact that it was never intended to be an evangelical tool. It's a book with a small section evangelizing in case someone outside the faith happened to pick it up.
So, I agree, using these books as they were not intended is dangerous and not a good thing to do.
Swing to the other side of the spectrum and you have:
2-Because every word of this work of FICTION may not line up theologically, we throw the baby out with the bath water. They can not get it through their heads that you, a die-hard, never waver, atheist(although I do pray otherwise)...that you...of all people....see a message of hope and a glimmer of Christ. In other words, you picked up a seed.
You didn't pick up the whole tree but you picked up a seed.
Now I am not endorsing The Shack, but I am also not condemning it based on here say and folks that are stretching the book into something not intended (pro and con does that).
But I can tell you this and honestly, I'm about 100% sure of this.
Some of these same people would ride CS Lewis out of town with Tolken right behind him.
Calling the things of God the 'Deep Magic'.
Can you imagine?
Seriously, carolina_guy, if someone put a book out today calling God's working 'deep magic', how would you respond?
Thank you, Troop, it might take those more senescent in their faith to catch everything you've written here and the importance of it.
Your welcome.
My thoughts in regards to what you posted are as such:
I wouldn't expect people who read The Shack to replace the Bible with that particular book. If I were a church-going Christian, I could actually see the book being brought up during a sermon or a Sunday School class and to talk about the relativistic aspects of it and how it relates to the teachings of that particular church. It wouldn't be used as a tool to replace any particular teachings of the Christian faith but as a tool to perhaps enhance certain aspects of it with metaphorical analogy.
It's rather noticeable even through this forum that people use their real-life experiences to enhance and understand their faith a little better. Even reading the book is a real-life experience that can be used to understand faith a little better.
I've read many works of classical fiction. In almost all of them, I have found phrases, quotes, and pieces of those works that I can connect with as a means of understanding my own personal philosophies and ideas. In that same light, I have also found phrases, quotes, and pieces that I disagree with. Nonetheless, it is the power of any particular work of fiction that draws us in, connects us or disconnects us and makes one ponder certain elements of life that are often considered the greatest works.
I think every self-professed Christian and even those who are not Christians but perhaps interested in studying or examining it should read The Shack. If nothing else, one should be able to examine the metaphorical analogies with it and how it relates to Biblical verse to get a better understanding of what it is the author is trying to get across. My understanding of those with faith is that even if one simple thing clears up a prior befuddlement and connects one closer to God, then it is not a bad thing.
Keeping that in mind, if there is not a single thing the book says that relates in any way whatsoever to the Christian faith, the Bible, or the understanding of both, then apparently my understanding of the former and the latter are so gravely poor and misunderstood that it is absolutely hopeless for me to ever figure out what the hell it is people are believing.
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