As Mack continues his conversation with Jesus, there is an interesting and unexpected turn in the dialogue. As they talk, Mack is taken aback by the beauty of the scenery, a “visual symphony.” Mack tells Jesus that he (Jesus) does great work, and Jesus replies:
And can you imagine if the earth was not at war, [...]
My favorite portions of the book are the ones in which Mack is in conversation with Jesus, represented as a homely carpenter in overalls. One of the best parts of the book is the one in which Jesus says to Mack:
Have you noticed that even though you call me Lord and King, I have never [...]
When Mack has his first face-to-face encounter with God the Father (Papa, portrayed as a big, affable African-American woman), the first person of the Trinity points out some basic problems with the way Mack has approached life.
Mackenzie, you really don’t understand yet. You try to make sense of the world…based on a very small and [...]
I had promised to write a series of reflections on lessons learned from reading The Shack. As so often happens with our best intentions, life has a way of throwing something at us that can cause us to reorder our priorities. i had such an experience last night.
Our church hosted the North Carolina United Methodist [...]
Last week I mentioned the new book by William P. Young, entitled The Shack. I am just about finished reading it, and the rest of this week I want to share with you some of the insights I have gathered from my reading. Let me say first that I do not agree with all the [...]
In my devotional reading this morning, I was taken aback by a passage from Thomas Merton. Merton, you may remember, was a Trappist monk, author, and peace activist, up until his death in 1968. His writings continue to have a profound influence upon me. Here’s what I read this morning:
What is the use of postmarking [...]
I wish that all of you could have experienced the pure joy of this past weekend. In addition to Sunday being Fathers’ Day, it was also my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary. Mom and dad had refused to allow us to have a formal reception of any kind, because that’s the kind of people they are. [...]
One final word on the matter of hell and I will let it rest. In my research on the subject, the very best comments I read were from Martin Marty of the Chicago Divinity School, and an author with whom I frequently find myself in agreement.
Marty said in the June 3 edition of the Christian Century:
The [...]
Not too long ago, I had a member who decided to withdraw from my church because of her perception that I do not believe in hell. Nothing could be further from the truth, but she never asked for any clarification from me on the subject.
The truth is that I do believe in hell, for [...]
The current issue of The Christian Century features a symposium on the subject of hell. In it, eight renowned theologians deal with the question: How should we think and talk about hell? A few representative statements for you:
Hell is a non-negotiable item of Christian vocabulary. It has scriptural roots, it is there in the earliest creed, [...]
RSS
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « May | Jul » | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | |||||