Because most of us seem to have finished The Shack already, let's go ahead and start dishing our final reviews of the book - spoilers and all. We can give ourselves a couple of weeks to do that and order Annie Dillard's Holy the Firm. And also in that time, Nicole suggests that we each post a self-introduction. I'll keep a link to each intro on the side so newcomers can be acquainted with whomever they're reading.
Also, let's make a decision right now to hush up about feeling inadequate in comparison to other bloggers here. You do not have to be an English major to understand English. Write what gets you about the book. If you mispell (sp?) a word, you're normal. We like regular peoples just as much as irregular peoples. You also do not have to believe in Jesus to be here. I'm just saying. We like peoples here, especially plain ole peoples who mess up in the way peoples do.
4 comments:
i freakin' love me some Love Shack, yea-ea-ee-yeah. the wife hates it. hates it more than any other song on the planet. and that makes me a sad panda.
i honestly liked THE SHACK. really, i did. it was nice. like sometimes it still feels good to go back and watch those afterschool specials we watched as kids just to remind us that life is good and fun and bicycles with orange flags flying high above banana seats are cooler than we remember. i was encouraged and puffed up a bit by THE SHACK - and i don't feel the least bit bad or apologetic about that at all.
i was glad to post the things that i liked about THE SHACK; however - and this is an odd thing about us as people - i think folks are more prone to jump on a discussion of negative points (where it feels like we're debating and digging deep) than to quickly disagree or agree with positive points (where it feels like you might be deflating someone's balloon - or even revealing to others that you have a balloon to deflate). with that said, the good reviews will see a lot less commentary and conversation than the bad reviews. it's just the way we've become wired. it's more fun to harp on something than to praise it.
i'm fine praising the book. and i'm fine with this book being the platform or the soapbox that the Lord may possibly use in people's lives to right their wrong views of Him. that's cool.
mrs. haines, thanks for starting this site. it's good times.
I agree. i enjoyed the book and in my opinion is one of the better christian fiction books written in the past 20+ years. This book makes you think. It makes you think about how you percieve God and your relationship with or without Him. It elicits a response that not many books have done for any number of reasons.
THE SHACK did not come close to describing God or even on aspect of God, but it did portray Him as loving, and for that i am appreciative. I think many people do not believe God is loving. I think many christians had a problem with God portrayed as only a pat you on the back sort of being.
To this i say God is patient and He doesn't come down all harsh to those who either do not know Him or are only getting to know Him. I think once you get close, He will start pushing you harder, and keeping you accountable. But, this book is not for those who have walked with HIm for ages, not for the Job's out there.
This book is for the skeptics, it is for those who are not sure, for those who are in pain, who have pieces of Mack inside them spilling out. This book is an emotional answer to these readers, and the answer is that God understands that we are upset. He understands that we do not understand Him. He understands and He will wait for us, He will love us while we roll in the dirt and bang our heads on the ground because He won't always let us have the candy bar at the check-out counter. He has discipline for us, sure, but it comes when we are closer to Home.
Because you rodents have beaten me into submission...
I agree.
thanks for the encouragement Amber...i've almost deleted my post several times...
what "got me" about reading the book--thinking about my own hurts and how i choose to hold onto them rather than trust God with them. surely He knows how to handle pain, disappointment, physical suffering! i think it's good for those of us questioning...does God really love me?
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