Book Review: The Shack

An associate at work insisted I read "The Shack." He wouldn't give me many details of the book but did say it revealed God's grace in personal tragedy. After a few false starts, I was able to finally start the book.

Not being a great fan of Christian novels, I was immediately disappointed but endeavored to continue reading. I confessed I was entertained by Young's prose in that he gave so much detail in visualizations of descriptions. I did become distracted as I begin to analyze his style and forgot about the message. However, all authors have their own distinct style and I should leave it at that. In chapter 7 he became C.S. Lewisesque with the transformation of the lead character's reality (Mark) into a fantasy land. Ugh..., Lord of the Rings here we go. (I enjoyed the movies but just couldn't hang with the books.)

If you have ever read C.S. Lewis, "The Chronicles of Narnia" or John Bunyan's "Pilgrim Progress," you understand how the authors use the power of metaphor and association to illustrate the character and attributes of God. Young uses contemporary metaphor to reveal God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. He lets the dynamics of the family relationship describe his understanding of the trinity. The reader can immediately identify the three persons of the Godhead by the roles Young has assigned to them. I'll admit that God cast as an Aunt Jemima type threw me for a loop at first. However, "God" explained that "She" appeared in the form that Mark identified with or needed most, i.e., a nurturing mother. Jesus was portrayed as handyman fisherman good ole' boy. I never did figure out the Holy Spirit.

Leaving Young's entertainment value behind, I began analyzing his theology. I easily concluded that Young believes in classic Pelagianism. Which is what, you ask? Let me quote from Wikipedia, "It is the belief that original sin did not taint human nature and that mortal will is still capable of choosing good or evil without Divine aid. Thus, Adam's sin was "to set a bad example" for his progeny, but his actions did not have the other consequences imputed to Original Sin. Pelagianism views the role of Jesus as "setting a good example" for the rest of humanity (thus counteracting Adam's bad example). In short, humanity has full control, and thus full responsibility, for its own salvation in addition to full responsibility for every sin (the latter insisted upon by both proponents and opponents of Pelagianism). According to Pelagian doctrine, because humanity does not require God's grace for salvation (beyond the creation of will) Jesus' execution is devoid of the redemptive quality ascribed to it by orthodox Christian theology."

Young unfortunately in his attempt to personalize the Godhead did so at the expense of the Godhead sovereignty. Young's god is similar to the one theorized by Pelagius. God created the world and sits back and observes life as it acts itself out--only occasionally intervening, but doing so as to not interfere with man's so called "freewill." Of course, God often resists the temptation to intervene because of His love for His creatures. This is not unlike a clockmaker who winds up a clock, places it on the mantle, and watches time go by. The clockmaker’s only chore is wind it up from time to time.

Young’s casual approach to illustrate the sovereign God described in the Bible leads me to think he was influenced by Harold S. Kushner's book, "When Bad Things Happen to Good People." This little book was published in the early 1980's and was a big seller. In it, Kushner trashed God’s omnipotence and omniscience. Kushner stated, "If God can't make my sickness go away, what good is He? Who needs Him? God does not want you to be sick or crippled. He didn't make you have this problem, and He doesn't want you to go on having it, but He can't make it go away. That is something which is too hard even for God." Of course, I have no idea if Young ever read Kushner, but the thought did pass my mind.
I'll give Young high marks for his description of lead character’s encounter with the judge. Young captured the key cause of our character's continued remorse and brooding over his personal loss. Our hero was blaming God for his loss and angry at God for not intervening. People murmuring and complaining about how life has "dealt them a bad hand of cards" is a stab at God.

In my counseling ministry most people seeking solutions for their problems are unhappy that God didn’t give them a better break. Whether it is a better set of parents or a more loving and responsible spouse, counselees are disappointed with God that He hasn’t given them a hassle free life. They fail to see the purpose of suffering, and certainly don’t appreciate Romans 8:28-29: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." How can "all things work together for god to them that love God?" I believe trials and tribulations ("things") help us to be more Christ like in our character and behavior.

I've met several people who have read or are currently reading The Shack. Young's talent has captured the minds of many and some are riveted to his book. It's unfortunate that they will be left with an image of God not of the scriptures. For instance, why did God create Pharaoh of Egypt? What was the purpose of the book of Job? How did Judas Iscariot glorify God? What is Romans chapter 9 talking about? The scriptures are loaded with themes and illustrations that demonstrate God's power. These events display His attributes and how they interact to create His perfect plan.

For whatever reason, Young seeks to feminize the Godhead by making two of the persons of the trinity women. On page 93, Papa says, "I am neither male nor female." That is a great stretch especially when you consider that of all the appearances of a deity to a human, or to a divine disclosure in the Bible (known as Theophany for God's appearance and Christophany for Christ), not one is feminine. If God made man in His own image, why was Adam created a man? Why not something else?

So why did Young want God to appear as a female? It’s possible with his exposure as a missionary, Young wanted to introduce diversity; whether it be in sex, races, or culture. It’s also possible he wanted humankind to identify more with God if Young could be successful in making God appear more human. If God used Christ’s appearance in the Bible as Middle Eastern man to build the His bridge, why not introduce African and Oriental women to enhance the identification? Let’s not quibble. At least when CS Lewis created the lion, Aslan, to personify Christ, the Lewis reader had no problem comprehending the comparison of a Lion to Christ.

My greatest problem is with Young’s lack of understanding of sin and salvation and the Gospel message. Let me quote on page 225, Papa says "I have forgiven all humans for their sins against me, but only some choose relationship." And later, "When you forgive someone you certainly release them from judgment."

Then what condemns a person to eternal damnation? In context, Young apparently is teaching it is the lack of a relationship that sends a person to hell. If this be true, then a relationship can only exist when one believes. So, if a person doesn’t believe, then it must be the sin of unbelief that condemns a man.

The Puritan John Owen (1616-1683), posed the following question, "For Who Did Christ Die?"

1. All the sins of all men.
2. All the sins of some men, or
3. Some of the sins of all men.

In which case it may be said:
1. If the last be true, all men have some sins to answer for, and so, none are saved.
2. That if the second be true, then Christ, suffered for all the sins of all the elect in the whole world.
3. But if the first be the case, why are not all men free from the punishment due unto their sins?

Some may answer, "Because of unbelief (or lack of relationship)."
I would ask, is this unbelief (i.e., lack of relationship according to Young) a sin, or is it not? If it is, then Christ suffered the punishment for it, or He did not. If He did, why must that sin condemn them more than their other sins for which Christ died? If He did not, He did not die for all their sins."

The Bible clearly teaches that grace is what saves and uses faith as the means. Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches that even the faith is a gift of God so we can’t boast. Furthermore, Young’s theology leaves no room for the doctrine of Justification by Faith. How is a person declared righteous before God? Young needs a clear reading of Abraham’s account in Romans.
Overall, The Shack is an entertaining read and I would put it on a shelf next to the Christian romance novels genre which my oldest son refers to as "Christian smut." It certainly doesn’t belong near Pilgrim’s Progress or near any good books on the nature of God.

If one is looking for a solid Biblically based book on how to deal with personal suffering, I strongly recommend Jerry Bridges book, "Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts" Bridges shows how we must learn about God's sovereignty, wisdom, and love if we want to know Him better. You won’t be disappointed.
Johnny is an instructor and counselor at the Gateway Biblical Counseling and Training Center, located at Edgemont Bible Church, 5100 North Illinois, Fairview Heights, Illinois, 62208.

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Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_952290_51.html

Occupation: Counselor

Mr. Johnny Kicklighter has served as a lay counselor for over 15 years. He obtained an Associates Degree in Weather Forecasting from the Community College of the Air Force. He earned a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Liberty University and a Master's Degree in Biblical Counseling from the Master's Divinity School. After serving in the US Air Force for 26 years, he retired as a Chief Master Sergeant. Johnny is Certified by the International Association of Biblical Counselors. Johnny and his wife have four grown sons and 5 grandchildren.

http://www.gateway-biblical-counseling.net

Book Review of West's Time Machine, A Novel for Youth.

Foreword Magazine called it, "a fascinating adventure through time." West's Time Machine is an exhilarating novel that is jam packed with 187 pages of never-ending action. For those who love the thrill of time travel and those who love Einstein, this book combines the two to create the adventure of a lifetime.

A year after the tragic car accident that killed West and Gina's parents, the kids come across some old boxes in a shed. The boxes belonged to their parents and to their amazement, one of them contained the parts of a 1955 Harley Davidson. West felt that his parents would love to have put that old bike together, so as a tribute to them, he and his baby sister begin to piece together the motorcycle until they at last finish it in all its glory.

The old shed that contained the box of motorcycle parts also held many other boxes with the bold white letters ‘Property of NASA,' written across them. The kids catch sight of these and asked their grandmother about them. As it turns out, their father bought them long ago at a NASA auction and thought he could build something useful from all the parts. West and Gina decide to search through the boxes to see what fun treasures they might find. They find a mysterious brown folder marked TOP SECRET. They opened the folder and found the plans for building an actual time machine. They quickly set upon themselves to build this machine from the parts in the boxes. Once built, they attached it to the side of the motorcycle.

When trying out the motorcycle, they accidently activate the time travel box, which transports them back in time to the August 5th, 1948. Here they meet Albert Einstein. He becomes fascinated by the motorcycle and takes it for a joy ride. West and Gina jump on behind him and shoot through time until they find themselves safely back at home in 2008.

The two kids teach Albert Einstein about the many technological marvels of today, like laptop computers and on-line chatting plus much more. When West's teacher takes a small break to have her baby, Einstein gets the chance to take over. Albert takes the time machine box off the motorcycle and brings it to class with him in hopes of learning more about it. When Albert isn't paying attention, one of the students begin messing with the time machine and in avertedly ends up sending the entire classroom and its contents into the past to 1875. The students are taken aback at first, but then decide that they should take this opportunity to look around a bit at their surroundings.

West encounters Billy The Kid in a jail cell window and gets talked into reaching in the adjacent window to grab the jail keys off the desk. He hands them to Billy, not wanting to leave a kid behind bars. After some interesting interactions with the local towns folk, Einstein leads them back to their classroom and turns on the time machine taking them all back to the present. This causes the students to go home, raving about the great Mr. Albert and how he caused them to become more interested in science and history. The school principal is so taken aback that he offers Mr. Albert the chance to teach West's classroom for the rest of the week.


Gina and West beg Albert to help them rescue their parents who died in a devastating car crash one year earlier. When Albert is certain that he has learned how to control the time machine, all three of them get on the motorcycle and begin traveling through time. Suddenly West and Gina's argument breaks out into a hitting and kicking fight while on the bike. They accidentally hit some of the time machine controls, sending them not to the past, but sprawling forward into the future! More than 2300 years into the future, where they find the last city left on Earth, Atlantis. The three of them get shrunk down to size of raisins so that they can enter the miniature city of Atlantis, where they find the only food sources are insects and fungus. Trying to save the people of Atlantis, they strap the time machine box to both the motorcycle and the tiny city in an attempt to bring them back to the year 2007, when food and life on Earth is plentiful and their parents were alive. When they arrived, they had only minutes to prevent their parent's car accident. The people of Atlantis offered to pay back his kindness by helping to save his parents.

It is a captivating book with adventure around every corner. They travel through time not once, but many times, encountering many oddities and wonders that stimulate the creativity and imagination of the reader. This is a must have for any library. This novel can be found at any on-line bookstore like Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com.

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Please have a look at novels West's Time Machine, and George's Pond.

West's Time Machine Novel:
http://www.amazon.com/Wests-Time-Machine-Scott-Waring/dp/0595418872

George's Pond Novel:
www.amazon.com/Georges-Pond-Created-Tradition-Charlottes/dp/0595421350

Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_799510_32.html

A Book Review: Great Resource for Group Facilitation

Anyone who is a leader or member of a group and wants to get things accomplished knows that there are many issues and challenges that groups commonly face as they seek to find creative solutions, launch new initiatives, and create high performing teams.

The Book Leading Groups to Solutions addresses how team leaders and team members can collaborate, problem solve, plan, organize, and make decisions by exploring models and tools that enable facilitators to help groups achieve their goals.

This book is not about meeting management, nor is it about how to present or speak in front of a group. It is not about how to train or teach people, though this can be part of the process.
This book is about the collaborative process of building consensus, creating synergy, and harnessing collective energy to create innovative solutions. The practical ideas guide group facilitation through combining the best individual thinking into one focused effort and creating shared commitment so that the implementation of solutions is supported and sustained long term.
With 55 combined years of experience, in research and client work, we've observed group facilitation and behaviors in many situations and have learned a few things about what makes an effective team. We also put our own facilitation skills and process to the test as we discussed, debated, and argued the merits of various approaches and theories. Even the writing and editing of the book required that we "walk our own talk" as we resolved differences, defined priorities, and created a coherent message.

We believe that the principles and suggestions in this book will help everyone who spends time in teams. Whether leading, participating as a team member, or both, you will find that this book provides a practical framework for facilitating effective teams.
"A solution is the result of many ideas coming together."

To order the book "Leading Groups to Solutions" or learn more about group facilitation and other CMOE programs, visit their website or phone one of their Regional Managers at (801)569-3444.
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_2104_22.html

Review Piano Online Books

There are number of ways to learn to play piano. You can hire a personal teacher, or go to music schools, or buy piano study books and DVDs/Videos. Whatever your preference is, there is plenty of opportunities for you to learn the piano. Here I would like to discuss and review online piano books that I came across while learning to play.

1. Rocket Piano review
As with any other new skill the best way to learn is from a live instructor. That’s why I prefer online books that are accompanied with video and audio materials. This is like taking lessons with top instructor. Online piano book Rocket Piano was developed by a top piano expert Ruth Searle. She is classically trained to Grade 8 in Solo Piano and has more than 15 years experience playing. So what will you get with this course? The following is in this course
1) 218 lessons in 3 printable E-books
2) 57 video lessons
3) 133 audio lessons
3) Rocket Jazz Piano Book
3) Rocket Piano Gospel, Spiritual and Hymns Book
4) New Rocket Piano Quizzes
5) The Chordinator teaches you to read chords in interactive game format.
6) Jayde Musica Pro is another software game that is cleverly designed to develop your ability to quickly identify the pitch of a note with its musical symbol and its letter name.


2. Piano by Pattern review
This course was developed by Scott Jordan. He also has 15 years of experience. However in his own words “it wasn't until about 5 years ago that I actually was good enough to turn some heads! (The other 10 years were wasted on piano lessons, trial and error, and just plain frustration).” The most interesting thing about this online piano course is that it teaches you to learn playing by ear. In my opinion this is a very important skill for any musician. Here is what included with this online piano book.
1) Video download course that show you how to pick and play any song.
2) The course that teaches you to "play by ear"
3) The "advanced" patterns that that makes your learning experience much more rewarding.
4) Video “Secrets to Explosive Songwriting” that teaches how to write songs using the patterns taught in this course.
5) The book titled “Read Music Now” teaches you the simple way to read the sheet music.

There is more detailed review of piano online books. I believe I found the best ones while was learning to play piano. The techniques in the courses are straightforward. Even if you think you are not talented they will help you to master playing piano. The most interesting part of these courses I found that they require minimum amount of practice time.

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Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_688975_48.html

"Money Making Secrets Revealed" E-Book Review

If you're like me you've probably fallen for some get rich quick scheme on the internet.

After wasting a lot of time and money I've come to realize that there is no such thing as getting rich quick. Trust me I've done it all from paid survey's to buying goods wholesale and trying to sell them.

I was becoming content with working my normal 8 to 5 job barely making enough money to pay my bills, until I came across The Rich Jerk

After reading the Rich Jerks website I was eager to buy his e-book. So I purchased a copy and to my surprise it was well written and had a lot of useful information. The only problem with the Rich Jerk's book was that you had to have money to make money. Now most of us are trying to find a way to make money not give more of it away.

So I did a little research to try and find out what other people were saying/doing with his book. I found out that a lot of people we're just like me. Upset they just spent their hard earned money only to find out that you had to spend more money just to make money. At this point I was ready to give up.

Until I was lucky enough to come across ThankYouRichJerk.com

Apparently a young lady by the name of Holly Mann also bought the Rich Jerk's book and put it to good use. After reading through her site I noticed that she was also selling her own e-book. Now I was very skeptical about buying hers especially after I just bought the Rich Jerk's. After reading her website I felt compelled to purchase her book. The reason I finally decided to buy her book is because she didn't promise to make me a millionaire over night (which is impossible).

What she did promise me was that she would give me the tools to make a comfortable living on the internet. Once I read her book I found some similar information that was in the Rich Jerks book. But there was also a ton of information that he didn't have. She also shows you how to make money by spending money. The thing I liked the most about the book is that she teaches you how to make money without spending it. This was right up my alley!

I've had the book for a little over a month now and I've doubled my revenue on one of my sites. I honestly didn't think it was possible to make decent money on the internet but thanks to Holly I know it's possible. The book is useful to not only new comers like you and I but also to the advanced Internet Entrepreneurs . This is NOT a get rich quick scheme it does involve some time and effort. There is not a doubt in my mind that within the next 6 months I'll be able to quit my boring job and start working from home full time.

Holly I can't thank you enough for the information. In my opinion it's worth triple what I paid for it. I'm finally on my way to the financial freedom I've always wanted. THANK YOU!!!!


Check it out at:
http://www.thankyourichjerk.blogspot.com/

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Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_23982_15.html