Monday, March 16, 2009
First Meeting- What a Blast
That was fantastic. 13 people all talking about the Shack and the occasional tangent. We had different opinions wanted different answers and we were still gracious. I want to especially thank Pastor Mike who not only encouraged but brought it up and got it going. Thanks also to Pastor Danny who is always supportive of fellowship in love even if it is out of the box. I hope everyone else enjoyed it as well and I am excited about meeting again.
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3 comments:
Great meeting! I enjoyed listening to everyones opinion. I look forward to the next book.
Okay, I found my way here. (Whew.)
"The Shack" was certainly a challenging read, with points good and bad (in my opinion).
Good Points:
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-Whatever else, it can get people talking about Christian ideas.
-I liked how it discussed "evil", especially in relationship to an all-powerful God. (Also see "The Case for Faith".)
-It provided a comforting image of heaven, and affirmed the joy of those who have died.
-It offered some non-traditional views of God that, no matter how right or wrong, can challenge us to re-examine our own views.
Things I didn't like:
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-Representing God as female, contrary to the gender the Bible refers to Him as.
-It was "preachy".
-Lopsided emphasis on some issues: down-playing obedience; vilifying institutions like government; being overly "PC" at times (on environmentalism, showing God being squeamish about guns, bashing men here and there, etc.)
I guess my biggest issue with the book, though, was this: when a person writes dialogue for God, that person sets himself up for some very close scrutiny. And several times, I questioned the dialogue that was chosen.
Bill, nice write up. I agree that as long as we are willing to do our own homework on who we are and who God is then books like The Shack are great ways to discuss beliefs and see where others are coming from.
I am sure our oversights become much more apparent once we put them to paper. I am not so sure I would be brave enough to do what Mr. Young did with his book.
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