The Shack: 3000 Word Paper Individuals in society who rely on the works of what is known as Christianity have been shaken by the details released in William P. Young’s The Shack. The novel is about a family whose differentiated relationships with the Man above are questioned when complete turmoil erupts in their lives. Young displays his views of a true relationship with God through The Trinity who are main characters in the novel. The truth is, religious boundaries and institutions are placed on the God-fearing community daily to change their perception of what Christianity or any religion is really composed of.
To begin, the novel, The Shack, by William P. Young, explores the idea of religious institutions by addressing the topic of churches.
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In the book, when the Trinity was revealed, Mack was stunned by what he saw. Jesus was a middle eastern man, God was a woman whose name was Elouisa, and the Holy Spirit was an Asian woman who was more like a floating light. Modern day, Jesus is still perceived as a white man with brown, curly locs and a lamb-like face. However, Jesus, in the novel, was everything short of that. God is perceived as this big, floating, masculine, atmosphere with no human qualities who creates and loves everything. In the book, God is a very different but has some of the same qualities as the perception. The Holy Spirit is completely different as well because it perceived to have no humanlike qualities; therefore, it should not speak or communicate with any human. Mack talks about what he thought God was supposed to look like in a section of the book. He was surprised by what he saw when he saw the Three, mostly by the appearance of Jesus. Mack said that he expected Jesus to be “very male” and “very white”. God’s appearance was also shocking. God was a black woman whose name was Elouisa. She was very large and middle aged. She even listened to popular music like everyone else which especially shocked Mack. Sarayu was the name of the Holy Spirit. She was fairly young and had long black hair; she was of Asian descent. However, Mack could not ever get a good glimpse of her because she was like a “blur” or a floating light like Tinkerbell. Mack said that he never knew what exactly her features were: he knew a few distinctions of her like the fact that she was Asian. The characters were portrayed completely different from the expectations of readers. Opposers of this book believe that the characters should not have been portrayed like they were because it dishonors God. Those same people also have their own interpretations of the bible because even in the bible, it states
Through David Bergen’s A Year of Lesser and Miriam Toews’ A Complicated Kindness, one can learn what salvation means to Mennonites. Protagonists Johnny Fehr and Nomi Nickel struggle with the concept of salvation through the novels and eventually, the question of salvation remains ambiguous. It is unclear at the conclusion of both novels whether the characters have achieved salvation and whether salvation itself is the key to a happy, fulfilled life. Authors Toews and Bergen are keenly and self-consciously aware of the complex notion of salvation and address it through complex characters who are not sure exactly what salvation is themselves. These characters parallel Mennonites own confusion regarding this integral aspect of faith. The methods that salvation manifests throughout the two stories of Johnny and Nomi are unique to their particular situations but transcend beyond the stories created by Bergen and Toews. The elaborate view of salvation portrayed through these two secular Mennonite authors reflects the ambiguity of salvation that Mennonites themselves have been struggling with for generations.
Originally published in 1902, Connor writes with authority on this subject. Readers of this book receive a glimpse into the lives of historical events, morals, values, and teachings. These moral lessons are woven throughout the entire text and give readers an almost nostalgic view into the lives of the characters. Furthermore, one can see how religion is interwoven into the lives of each of the community members. Throughout this book, examples of times that the religious lesson is similar to the education one (such as respect one's elders) are plentiful. The end result of this book is that readers have a deep appreciation for both Connor's writing style and the daily events that shaped the lives of persons in
· Lewis, CS. Mere Christianity. New York: Doubleday, 1982. · McBride, David. The Story of the Church.
Why I Left the Church” by Richard Garcia is a poem that explores the ongoing and conflicting relationship between a child’s fantasy and the Church. Although the majority of the text is told in present tense, readers are put through the lenses of a young boy who contemplates the legitimacy of the restricting and constricting nature of worship. It is a narrative that mixes a realist approach of storytelling with a fantasy twist that goes from literal metaphors to figurative metaphors in the description of why the narrator left the church. The poet presents the issue of childhood innocence and preset mindsets created by the Church using strong metaphors and imagery that appeal to all the senses.
Religion and government in England had always gone hand in hand, and if one group’s ideas did not coincide with England’s laws controlling the practice of religion they would be denied. The unification of church and state within European countries led to many wars, resulting in massive debt. As England declared themselves a Catholic country, Protestants who did not hold the same beliefs needed a new homeland where they could be free to worship in their own way. This new homeland was America, and it allowed Protestants, now calling themselves Puritans, to practice Christianity without government interference. While original settlers came to America to create a Christian homeland where they could practice their faith how they wanted, America quickly became a homeland for religious freedom through a mixing pot of differing religions, cultures, and ethnicities, enough open land for them to exist together, and the key idea of the separation of Church and State.
Many interpretations have been given to Kafka’s “In the Penal Colony”. However, it seems the when evoking the parallel assertion between “In the Penal Colony” and religion critics tend to reject this thought. Doreen F. Fowler, states in “In the Penal Colony: Kafka’s Unorthodox Theology”, that the reason for such critical rejection is, “A coherent interpretation of the biblical symbols in the story, in which all parallels function meaningfully, presents an unorthodox and uniquely personal vision of traditional theology”(113). Kafka’s inversion of traditional theology is evident and, although clearly unorthodox an analysis that discards the possibility of biblical symbols in “In the Penal Colony” is a contradictory interpretation of the text it self.
From an early age Jones was exposed to religion, specifically the Pentecostal sect of Christianity. With no father figure to look up to he turned to the pastors in his church for a role model. Watching the local pastors speak moved Jones; he id...
William Arthur Ward once said, "Real religion is a way of life, not a white cloak to be wrapped around us on the Sabbath and then cast aside into the six-day closet of unconcern." Religion is the one thing that people can usually tolerate but never agree upon. Each faith seems to have an ordained assumption that they have the correct thoughts on how to life one's life or how to think about things or the way to act in certain situations. Still, each religion has its own "sub-religions." If someone refers to Christianity, there are several different religions that are blanketed under that umbrella: Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Pentecostal, and Presbyterian are just a handful. The inconsistencies that are associated with everyone's belief about religion run into deeper ruts of confusion. This confusion leads people to have distorted views as to what they believe and what their religion is all about. This is no different from the feelings about slavery by Christians in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Throughout the novel, Christianity presents itself in a few different lights; as a twisted and deformed glimmer of what religion is supposed to be with undertones of bigotry and prejudice, an innocent yet naive child that brings joy to everyone he or she meets, and as Uncle Tom himself, the standard for what a Christian is supposed to be. These different portrayals of Christian living come from Stowe's own beliefs about Christians and brings them into the light.
There are several aspects to consider when exploring the Christian worldview. There are many facets or denominations and they each have their own distinct beliefs and practices, but they all share the same fundamental beliefs. In this Paper we will explore the character of God, His creation, humanity and its nature, Jesus’ significance to the world, and the restoration of humanity, as well as my beliefs and the way that I interact with Christianity and my personal worldview.
Paul Tillich. “What Faith Is”. The Human Experience: Who Am I?. 8th ed. Winthrop University: Rock Hill SC, 2012. 269-273. Print.
The goal of this book review on Engaging God’s World written by Cornelius Plantinga Jr. is to examine his ideas on redemption, vocation in the Kingdom of God, and to explore his thoughts on Christian education as described in the book’s epilogue. Cornelius Plantinga Jr. discusses several key notes regarding redemption, such as salvation. Vocation in the Kingdom of God is another subject he touches on in relation to the way God works within His Kingdom connecting us to the ‘King of Kings’ as his ambassadors on earth. Lastly, Plantinga explains his view on how Christian education is important to sustain ourselves, earth now, and the New Earth.
At first glance, one might assume Raymond Carver’s "Cathedral" illustrates the awakening of an insensitive and insulated husband to the world of a blind man. However, this literal awakening does not account for the fact that the husband awakens also to a world of religious insight, of which he has also been blind. The title and story structure are the first indicators of the importance of the religious thesis. It is also revealed when one examines the language and actions of the characters in the story. Finally, Carver’s previous and subsequent writings give an overall background for the argument that "Cathedral" has a significant religious import.
I recently read the book The Shack, the book is based on one man’s experience with God after the horrible and gruesome death of his daughter at the hands of a serial killer. The book tries to answer many questions regarding God and his existence some of the questions being the following: where is God in a world so full of tragedy, and does, he use pain and misfortune to change other people? Mack experiences three different forms of God, The Holy Trinity. They change and shape him into a person who no longer has “the great sadness” in his life, and has a better understanding of God and his own personal relationship with him/her. However not all people may share the experience or faith the way that the author portrays it. Therefore, I have my own beliefs on God and the idea of a supreme divine being, which differ greatly from the author and most of the United States of America and much of the world.
Williams, R. (2010). Space for God: Lived Religion at Work, Home, and Play Sociology of
Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity. 2nd ed. New York City, NY: HarperOne, 2010.