"The Shack"

[sarah]

Finished the book last night. The ending felt awkward to me, but it is hard to wrap up something so grand....

[Josh]

I liked the encounter in the cave. Some good thoughts there about suffering and judgment, etc.. That scene felt very much like George MacDonald.

I have a couple quibbles with chapter 12 "in the belly of the beast". The first has to do with this quote:

"I have no desire to make them Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughters of my Papa, into my brothers and sisters, into my Beloved"

First off, and I think this is probably just a technicality, Jesus doesn't just "join" us in our transformation, he is the "means" of it, along with the Holy Spirit.

But more importantly, I'm uncomfortable with jettisoning the word Christian (as I'm pretty resistant to replacing any key biblical terms, "christian" being one of them: Acts 11:26). Christian means little Christ, and that's exactly what we are called to be. To be "Christian" is shorthand for being transformed "into sons and daughters of my Papa, into my brothers and sisters, into my Beloved". Though the term might need some dusting off, I'd really hate to see it discarded.

The other complaint I have about this chapter is a much larger discussion- more on that later.

[christopher]

I have to confess I have issues with the word "Christian" today as well.

When it was coined in Antioch, it was most probably as a perjorative to describe a radical Jewish sect that was growing in popularity, but since Peter used it as well (1Pet 4:16), I suspect it came to be an accepted title among believers.

Unfortunately, today the term has come to have the connotation in most peoples minds of a white middle-class, closed-minded, bigoted, Republican that has no compassion for the poor and oppressed.

I'd really like a term that describes a follower of Jesus as a radically self-sacrificing and loving devotee to the One King like it did in the 1st century.

I suppose the world needs to see a radical demonstration of that first though.

[sarah]

"Unfortunately, today the term has come to have the connotation in most peoples minds of a white middle-class, closed-minded, bigoted, Republican that has no compassion for the poor and oppressed."

I really agree with this, it has been a real challenge to me to come up with a way to identify my faith to others when they ask because I so don't want to be associated with that perception of what a Christian is. I don't know if the word is reclaimable at this point because so much damage is being done in it's name here in the states (and beyond). Are there wonderful and beautiful things being done as well, absolutely, but I think particularly in this region they are not the first thing people think about when they hear the term, "Christian".

For myself I have settled into a sort of pattern of showing rather than just claiming. A "preach the gospel at every opportunity. When necessary, use words" mindset. When asked I try to paint a picture of my faith that is more about the relationship I have with God than a traditional set of values and rules that I live by. Do I believe in the rules and guideline, yes, but they are a byproduct and therefore secondary to the relationship I have with God. Thus they are not an typical topic for conversation with someone who does not yet know Christ.

All this however takes conversational time and relationship to express. It would certainly be easier to have a single word, but perhaps that would then miss the whole point.....

On a side note I have literally had Christians challenge the authenticity of my faith because I was a registered Democrat! ( I am now registered independent, because I found that better fits my voting style.)

[Josh]

I think it is our job to reinvigorate the words. Constantly changing terms is just a way to maintain novelty in my opinion. If we don't live lives that stand out, whatever terms we choose will be in the dustbin tomorrow.

Here is a list of words I'm very loathe to jettison:

christian
church
sin
religion
guilt

Hmmm.... I know there are other ones.

Though each of these words has accumulated "baggage" I firmly believer replacing them with more palatable terms weakens the power of the gospel message and, again, takes the onus off of us to teach what these concepts really mean from a Christian worldview.

This is a problem with the English language in general. Once we start replacing succint words with "phrases" we diminish the power of the English language and our ability to concisely communicate.

Sorry, I'm staying on my soapbox on this one!

[Josh]

I think perhaps my soapbox sidenote derailed conversation about the shack a bit, so I moved my little rant elsewhere:

"Christian" and other words

[Josh]

Mack poured himself some coffee and walked out on the front porch. Papa was reclining on an old Adirondack chair, eyes closed, soaking in the sun.

"What's this? God has time to catch a few rays? Don't you have anything better to do this afternoon?"

"Mack, you have no idea what I'm doing right now"

Okay, I loved this vignette. It really captures the paradox of how God could be intensely at work in all things and also always perfectly at rest and joyful.

[Josh]

"I know you and everything about you. Why would I have an expectation other than what I already know? That would be foolish. And beyond that, because I have no expectations you never disappoint me"

"What? You've never been disappointed in me?" Mack was trying hard to digest this.

"Never!" Papa stated emphatically.

I'm curious what you guys think about this. Based on the flood of scripture references this passage makes me think of, it doesn't seem accurate to say that God is never disappointed by us.

Elsewhere I've posted on what I perceive to be a misunderstanding of what Scripture says about the difference between God's love and what it means to please God. There I defined God's love as completely unconditional but His pleasure as based on our decision to walk in/or cooperate with the Spirit in imitation of His Son.

I'd really like to get others' input on that, because I think it's a really important distinction. I'm also concerned about our responsibility as Christians to "rightly divide the word" in regard to this issue. Here's the link: Pleasing God It's a bit too long for here (a fair amount of Scripture)

[Josh]

Just finished! Christopher and Denice, thanks so much for the recommendation. My head is swimming with so many thoughts.

More later....

[Josh]

Rose just finished the Shack the other week. Who's next? You can borrow the ACF copy if you'd like.