| Poster | Thread | Miccah
Member
Joined: 2007/9/13
Posts: 1752
Wisconsin
| | Re: | | "The Shack" = pure garbage.
Throw it were it belongs... In the trash can.
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Christiaan
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|  2009/6/22 10:39 | Profile |
| | Diane | | Quote:
Clearly, the Shack is touching an empty, needy spot within souls. Is this an emptiness that the church has failed to fill?
[b]Yes.[/b]
Quote:
Has the church failed to convey the beauty of a forgiving relational God?
[b]Yes, grievously so.[/b]
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Is the Shack filling a void left by modern rationalism, naturalism? etc
[b]Yes[/b]
My only other response is, I read it, it's a "nice" book, I'm not given to reading much fiction, I prefer non-fiction, like the Bible. That said, if this work serves as an "icebreaker" as you put it, and brings just ONE soul to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, I PRAISE God!
Would I "teach" out of it? no, but would I "slam" it? No. I'm weary of slamming anything, I want the pure and lovely and honorable and commendable to think about, all the other "stuff" is just straw, destined for the fire, and that includes divisive issues.
That's all I want to say, in love, Jesus' love, neil |
| | 2009/6/22 12:52 | | roadsign
Member
Joined: 2005/5/2
Posts: 3777
| | Re: Lessons for us regarding The Shack | | Quote:
And yes, we can learn something from it.
Diane said
I agree!
Alive to God said: I hope you can also agree that this may not be a book for spiritual children, who are still 'tossed to and fro
And I trust that by reading my entire post you see this to be true. The challenge is to remember that our calling is not to be policemen for God. We are not in a position where we can tell anybody what to read and what not to. No, we are called to be ushers to usher people into the presence of God.
Quote:
I do realize that a preacher has to have his / her ear open to what is going on in the world, so as to be able properly to address the needs and heartaches of the hearers, but that specific calling, is not given to all
I read the Shack in order to have an informed response for friends who were enamored with it and requested and valued my opinion. Being informed opened the door for discussion. For me its tempting to simply criticize the book instead of use aspects of it as a launching point to stir others beyond it - on towards maturity and a deeper well.
The drift of my earlier post was to point out that the Shack may teach us indirectly - maybe something that we have been blind to about our society, human nature. Yes even our own response to the book may teach us something about ourselves, our attitude towards others, and even our understanding of our calling).
Frankly I have been baffled as to why the Shack would be so gratifying, when there are deeper wells. But, the calling for me is to walk beside others on the dusty road and encourage them towards God. The best way I do that is actually doing so myself.
This was the key to the success of Oswald Chambers. People could see Christ radiate through him and many were converted.
I dont think we Christians understand people very well. That was one of Chambers criticisms of his day. One day he told someone who claimed to read only the Bible and related books:
You have allowed part of your brain to stagnate for want of use.
The man who reads only the Bible does not, as a rule, know it or human life.
Diane
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Diane
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| | 2009/6/22 14:30 | Profile | roadsign
Member
Joined: 2005/5/2
Posts: 3777
| | Re: | | Quote:
I'm weary of slamming anything,
PTL, Neil!
Quote:
I want the pure and lovely and honorable and commendable to think about
Im convinced that you would really enjoy the book I am studying right now: Oswald Chambers; Abandoned to God, by David McCasland. Chambers heart desire was God and that others know God. Yet he was well versed with the literature of the day and studied it profusely. By choosing to understand people, he could relate to them. He said:
In a day when many conservative Christians denounced the theater as the devils workshop, and avoided novels ... Chambers found that both presented useful, if painfully sharp, images of the human condition.
Diane
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Diane
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| | 2009/6/22 14:37 | Profile | linda7
Member
Joined: 2006/4/23
Posts: 101
West Sussex, England
| | Re: The Multifaith agenda (The Shack) and standing up for the Gospel | | I begrudgingly paid the money and bought this book, only because a "born again Christian" who sometimes meets with our small group raved on and on about it. I'm sorry, but if a Christian has to read this to find a loving God, there is something wrong with their conversion. The book is blasphemous and mine is at the bottom of a cupboard until I again meet this person and try to discuss it with them. Now to the point of blaming the church for all the people out there who have found comfort in this book (and not love from the Christian community in sharing the gospel); perhaps they have not given us a chance. I have heard a grown Christian pastor weeping over the radio after reading it. What seems to be lacking is communication with our Lord! For all the lost souls who are relating to it, are they the ones who won't listen to the gospel message of repentance? There is none of this in the book. Is the book sending them off to the churches to seek God? If so, then we should have lots of opportunity to relate the gospel to them, so they can know His love AND His Justice.
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Linda
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| | 2009/6/22 18:09 | Profile |
| | Re: | |
Alive to God replied;
"The Sunday before yesterday, the pastor's wife was preaching about 'anointing', using material from a ministry day she'd attended that week. At the end, she used God's command to Elijah to 'anoint' Elisha, as the basis for inviting anyone who wanted to be prophesied over for some gift or other, to come forward to be anointed with oil for that gift. I was so alarmed I left the room, knowing that my cell group leader IS (dare I say it...?) a prophet, and would only 'prophesy' if GOD gave a word."
RE:..Brothertom; I sense your straining to please the Father, and Godly fear to walk with Him. Because of this, I am not worried that you will be deceived, but remember, deception spreads like a cancer; like yeast in a dough-loaf of bread. It becomes easier and easier to FEEL right, because the Spirit of conviction is dulled the more you DO and Receive the lie.
This "user friendly", universal idea that "the anointing" is a commodity that the Priest-class whips up and out, just because they are the anointed ones, is BOGUS! It IS the purist form of Nicolaitan control, and the center of power in the Babylonian system. If you believe that, and receive that, then you are controlled by "THAT".
It is also the strength of the MOTHER of WHORES herself, the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, who succeeded in instilling this exact lie into the world, in the form of transubstantiation. A big word that means that the Catholic Priest, and the Catholic Priest ONLY, has the power, the anointing to make wine real...the real and actual blood of Jesus, and the wafer, the REAL flesh of our Savior...like actually eating His skin, or part of His finger. The Priest therefore was the only one who had power over life and death, heaven and Hell.
This is the same idea, and it is anti-Christ. There is no anointing that they display, as their is no real forgiveness that a Catholic Priest can impart through their paganism, but you "believing" and "submitting" to it is the key. The "perception" of their power is all that matters, and then that becomes reality, and do not forget, that there can be a real and sensual energy that feels all positive, that Satan will ensure. This is often the thing that folks experience, and it is never grounded in the Bible. Experience always trumps Holy doctrine. They call it Apostasy.
There are no Pastorettes. It is absolutely unbiblical, and forbidden by the Apostles. You should be grounded in the Word by now, to know that, and church is not a meeting where you experience things, feelings or "anointings".
Church is the fellowship of believers, and is a Bond of the Spirit with the Redeemed , and local in it's application. It is the Saved, and also it is rooted in the daily lives that we live WITH that company. You are a part of that body, and your input and love and testimony there, needed and valuable. This is where the "anointing" lies, as the Body edifies itself in love, in community....COMMON UNION...."communion."
I hope you see this, and it is a little scary to come out of Babylon, because there is a security there. The danger is, that you will become numbed, and thereby trapped, and drained of your faith. "Let no man steal your crown!" "What is said that will lead you TO god, actually leads you AWAY from God!" ..[ Zac Poonen, on Babylon, Rev: series.]
Be brave and do the right thing. God will provide and lead you, for He has never forsaken anyone who seeks Him....my Christian love, Tom
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| | 2009/6/23 10:44 | |
| | Re: The Multifaith agenda (The Shack) and standing up for the Gospel | | Hi Brothertom,
Thank you for the thoughtful and supportive reply. I believe the Lord has a plan here, and I'm just a small part of it.
Recognising the problem is a significant step in solving it, but there needs to be more than I who wish to see it solved. I'm trusting God to keep shedding light where it will be received. |
| | 2009/6/24 17:04 | |
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