BotM October: The Shack

[Ammy Fae]

This month's Book of the Month is the Shack by William P. Young, suggested by ladytera.

Genre: religious philosophical
Summary: Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his great sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to the Shack for a weekend.

Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever.

Put your reviews, thoughts, and questions regarding the Book of the Month in this thread and remember that all rules apply.

[Gil]

That is so crazy! I just finished this book a couple weeks ago! I posted a thread about it on AU, but no one really discussed it...

Anyway, I'll post my thoughts in a bit

[Ammy Fae]

That's crazy. xD Tera just finished it too, and I'm trying to find time to read it. =P I'd love to hear what you think about it.

[Hravan]

Awww.... I want to read it, it sounds good but neither my college library or the county library has it...

[Ammy Fae]

I'm trying to find a .pdf file for you guys, but it may take me a while.

[Gil]

OK, this is a really condensed version of what I thought:

I thought it was an awesome book - made me laugh, cry, and think deeply about my own life and perceptions of God. Very thought-provoking, and I wouldn't go as far as to say it changed my life, but it really did shake my religious thinking. I didn't agree with everything the author said about God, but it opened my eyes, showing me that SO OFTEN I put God in a box. I assume that I've got Him figured out, and I really don't. I learned to better understand His love, and what He really wishes our lives could be like, in Him.

I don't want to spoil anything for those of you who haven't read it, so BE WARNED! SPOILERS AHEAD!



My favorite part of the book would have to be the "Festival of Friends" chapter. Just thinking about being so completely in love with Jesus, in love with everyone...I think that is what Heaven is going to be like in one way or another...and I love it. This chapter made me cry tears of joy.


/END OF SPOILERS


So yeah, that's my short little review. And I got into a discussion with a girl on another forum who was bothered by, and couldn't even finish the book, the fact that for most of the book, God the Father and the Holy Spirit are portrayed as women. Well, my thoughts on that: At first it was unsettling; just weird. But really,
it didn't bother me. God never SAID He had a gender, we just refer to Him in the masculine because it is too hard for us to understand no gender, and the Bible always refers to God as He, which could be just a cultural thing. But even if you DO have strong feelings about God's gender, don't let it stop you from reading and taking in the book. You may just be enlightened, if you let yourself have an open mind

[Ammy Fae]

I still need to get on reading it, but I'm excited about God being portrayed as a woman. On that note, I really think that it's important for some pieces of literature to make God a woman, just to shake it up a bit and make people realize that God has no gender. When I think of God, I think of a mother, because I'm very close to mine and it seems logical to me to think of the Almighty Parental Figure as female. Now, that's not the same for everyone, obviously, and for a lot of people I think they're more comfortable with thinking of God as male. Do my views, or the views of others, make the gender the "right" one? No, not necessarily. I think that God appears however we need Him/Her to appear, be it as a man, woman, child, or even animal. One of my favorite tv shows, Joan of Arcadia, depicts that excellently.

[/off topic]

I'll have to read the book and add in my two cents on that, but those are just my thoughts on God and the gender role.

[keyodie]

Hmm, sounds like an interesting book. I will look into it! =)

[ladytera]

We can't find an eBook format for this, I have found an audio download for purchase, however, and if there are any of you who would like to read the book that way, please let me know, and I'll buy it. I think, for non-violation of copyright laws and all that, I'll need to lend it individually, rather than posting to the site itself, but I'd be happy to get it if anyone wants it. There are also a couple sites that say they have pdf files for it, but they are member only sites, and I'm not sure how they work, whereas the audio files are available from major distributors.

[Gil]

Oct 2, 2008 20:58:36 GMT -5 Ammy Fae said:

I still need to get on reading it, but I'm excited about God being portrayed as a woman. On that note, I really think that it's important for some pieces of literature to make God a woman, just to shake it up a bit and make people realize that God has no gender. When I think of God, I think of a mother, because I'm very close to mine and it seems logical to me to think of the Almighty Parental Figure as female. Now, that's not the same for everyone, obviously, and for a lot of people I think they're more comfortable with thinking of God as male. Do my views, or the views of others, make the gender the "right" one? No, not necessarily. I think that God appears however we need Him/Her to appear, be it as a man, woman, child, or even animal. One of my favorite tv shows, Joan of Arcadia, depicts that excellently.

I completely agree. And that whole idea and theme is brought out in the book and addressed. It discusses why God is portrayed as a female. Love it

[keyodie]

This book is actually sitting on my desk right now... I haven't gotten a chance to read it yet, and probably won't by the end of this month. I'll read it though! And probably post some of my thoughts on it, and such.