Opinions tend to create an effective way to look into one’s beliefs or feeling, and are used well when spoken at the right time. Though they may not always be looked upon as exactly accurate, they seem to explore our old view points and challenge us. This is exactly what Paul Young managed to do in his book The Shack. His creative outlook on issues such as the Trinity creates a unique learning outcome for many people. And though not all issues were entirely Biblically supported, he has many refreshing explanations concerning the inner workings of the Trinity.
In the Bible, there is much said about the triune unit and how it functions. God the Father chooses who will be saved... the Son redeems them... and the Holy Spirit seals them (NIV, Ephesians 1: 4-13). Also, though there are three people, there is only one God who works through the three. This concept was followed loosely in Young’s book, with “Papa” being the creator of ideas, Jesus as the friend-type being and Sarayu being more interested in Mack’s innermost feelings.
Sarayu, the first being in the Trinity, was revealed as a small Asian woman used to represent the Holy Spirit. Sarayu was the one to collect his tears at the beginning of the book, and it was she who eventually helped Mack realize the truth of Jesus’ love for him. She was soft-spoken and very wise, and much like the dove mentioned in Biblical accounts (NIV, Luke 3:21,22). She had good advice and always seemed to know what to say, yet could get straight to the point if she needed to clear up Mack’s thinking. Also, her characteristics to describe her as a human seem to be very close to what people think of when they picture the Holy Spirit. She was shown as “shimmer[ing] in the light” and had a voice like a ...
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...ome parts are questionable, the doors that were kicked wide open in peoples’ hearts are well worth the criticism that Young may be receiving. In fact, one of the collaborators of The Shack said, “We realize folks will disagree. We planned on it” (Jacobsen, “Is The Shack Heresy”). But the fact that they decided to push through the backlash and looked to Christ to be their leader, shows that this book was truly made for the glory of God, a feat that is quite admirable.
Works Cited:
Jacobsen, Wayne. “Is The Shack Heresy?” Windblown Media. 2011
http://windblownmedia.com/about-wbm/is-the-shack-heresy.html
New International Version. Grand Rapids, 1986.
Slick, J. Matthew. “ The Trinity.” Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry. 1995-2011
http://carm.org/trinity
Young, Wm. Paul. The Shack. Newbury Park, CA: Windblown Media, 2007.
...dage and Freedom. The way Tom broke both of these parts down in his way impressive. The chapter itself was very good but the two charts that I mentioned really caught my attention most of all. The chart of Judaism, Christianity, designed by Coffman. This was place strategically by Tom in a very good place in his explanation of this part of his book. Another example of a good gathering of your resources and placing them in good spots. The last two chapters are like the rest put together. Overall, this was a well-written book. It was easy to read and to understand. The more I read the book and didn’t put it down. It took me two days to read and the only reason I put it down between the days was that I fell asleep with it in my hands. When I see Tom, again I will personally thank him for writing this. I will also tell him that I got a lot out of it. Good Book!
I was a little taken back when I realized that the entire book is a Christian testimony, following the familiar pattern: man experiences trials, man denies God, man finds God. The focus on spirituality overshadows the cold case study and hard facts on DNA evidence that the reader expects. Even so, the sheer power of Johnson's story overcomes the narrative flaws and keeps the reader interested throughout. Plus, the sincerity of his Christian beliefs adds a completely different level to his compelling story. It becomes an account of a man, not just finding truth in the legal system, but also discovering a spiritual truth which guides him out of the darkness of captivity, freeing him mind, body, and soul.
To me, this whole chapter seemed like he was saying that the Bible is just a bunch of stories; since they’re all so similar. Also it was pretty hard over all to follow along with what exactly what was being argued. I feel that Alter also goes off into weird tangents which cause the reader to stop and question his writing. I can usually grasp the meaning of most text; I consider myself I good reader, but there were some parts of this chapter where it was very hard to read what he was trying to say. Several times he jumps from character to character. But overall, I understood most of what he was trying to say (at least I believe I do). I’m not sure if I would have any challenges for him, mainly because I don’t think I understood some of it (to be completely
Douglass is telling us that until we go out and get our own understanding, we will always be blind to what’s right in front of us. He is saying we can do all the praying we want for change, but until you help ourselves God won’t help you. I don’t think he found a new faith, but I do know he did find knowledge. What the slave masters were telling the slaves wasn’t a lie, but it was written for different time, the bible was always meant to be transcribed and interpreted.
I cannot exactly say what happened, as a theme, in this book because the theme keeps changing, but what I think the author was trying to do was simplify the important facts in the bible so people who don’t understand all of the “thee’s” and “thou’s” will be able to have a better understanding of what it has to offer. In chapter ten, there’s a section called “change the world.” One thing in this section that stuck out in my mind was this, “Charity is like a lever. You can move a large heavy abject with a lever. But you also need a fulcrum. That’s the gospel. The foundation. You need them both. With both, you can move the hearts of men, If the Holy Spirit blesses your efforts. You can move even the world. You can usher in peace that surpasses all understanding.” Faith is the evidence of things unseen. (Hebrews 11:1) this verse was used in a section called “faith and victory.” It brings to mind words said by a man named Billy Grahm. He said, “Have you ever seen God? I’ve never seen the wind. I see the effects of the wind but I’ve never seen the wind.” Our faith is in a constant battle with the world. Neither winning nor losing. Some may fall, others may become martyrs but we are constantly getting “reinforcements” from the side we’re fighting against. They are the people who realize that our faith in God is stronger than anything the world can throw at us.
I chose this topic for personal reasons primarily as an exploration of my own faith and my own ideas about religion. I believe that one of the reasons the book has become controversial is that religion is a very hard thing to discuss in quantitative terms. If you ask three people what it means to be Christian, you will get three different answers. Some feel being baptized is sufficient. Others feel you must accept the Bible as immutable historical fact. Still others require a belief that all those who do not accept Christ as their personal savior are doomed to hell. Faith is a continuum, and we each fall on that line where we may. By attempting to rigidly classify heavenly concepts like faith, we end up debating semantics to the point where we entirely miss the fact that we are all trying to decipher life's big mysteries.
“Young Goodman Brown” is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The literary work entails a young man’s journey into the woods one night and stumbles upon a variety of people that will change his life forever, but not for the better. The overall tone for the passage is more skeptical in the beginning as Brown tries to figure out his stand on the subject of his puritan faith, however, the it shifts towards a more traffic tenor at the end as he lives with the consequences of his choices from the night in the woods when he decided to walk along side with the weary old traveler. Young Brown proclaims during his journey, “‘Faith! Faith!’ as if bewildered wretches were seeking her, all through the wilderness… ‘My Faith is gone!’ cried he,
Dr. Hamilton, I am emailing you to update you on the anticipating changes in my project. These changes will be reflected in future assignments. The changes are including but not limit to the Freedom House of Miracles will be a 90 day program, and modified as an therapeutic community residential treatment program. The reason(s) is because of the implementation of the Wrapround service model. My project is an intervention structured program based on community-as-method, that is, the community is the treatment agent. These changes are necessary once my project was no longer a permanent housing treatment program. I will add and revise the goals and objectives to reflected these changes including transiting the residents to the next level upon
...hing “bad” happened they found a way to rejoice in the suffering. The Puritan believers were selfish with sharing their faith. A plantation missionary stated that sharing the gospel to slaves would “promote our own mortality and religion.” However the gospel and religion the masters shared with their slaves did not remain the same. The slaves were able to apply their faith to their lives, their work, and their future. The faith the slaves possessed was rich in emotion and free from preexisting regulations. In this class we focus on the many faces and interoperations of Christ that change with the seasons of history. The slave faith represented in Jupiter Hammon’s poem shows a high level of integrity and selfless, personal application of faith. The emotion and need for Christ the slaves had during this time created a new realm of relationship in the evangelical era.
These school boards and parents can claim that banning this classic will protect their children from these subjects and these thoughts, and that by doing so, they can create the world to be a perfect place with love and harmony. The religious can claim all the righteousness they want, that God made the civilized man and that without religion, we wouldn’t be where we are today. However, the true nature of these subjects isn’t in that they exist, but the fact that we simply just don’t want to think or admit that they exist within ourselves. We need to use this book as a textbook to life, or a sort of guiding hand that tells us we need to realize that without our civilizations and without our rules, the world would be a much ruthless place than it is today.
...e to the study of the bible instead of all the doubts that was created by the other criticism. To them all the odd parts and repeated phrases or parts all add to a strikingly beautiful tale. They see the bible as a literary masterpiece in which the authors used gorgeous imagery to strike at the heart of the reader to show them God’s greatness. In essence rhetorical critics want you to see the big picture instead of all the little side pictures. The J story of Genesis as well at times the P story is filled with imagery that is meant to show God’s power.
Within three Puritan works, Rowlandson and Edwards displayed their religious beliefs through their thoughts on God and mankind. One of the many Puritan beliefs was that the bible is the basis of all teaching. Such examples of this are evident in Mary Rowlandson’s work “Captivity”. Even though she was a captive, she still took note of “the wonderful mercy of God” for the simple fact that He “[sent her] a bible” (Rowlandson 67). Feeling lost, the bible brought her back to her faith in a time of need, and enlightened her on the hope that “there was mercy promised again”(67). From then on she looked to the Bible for guidance in times of despair. Throughout her imprisonment, she often pondered about “the wonderful goodness of God” when she felt anguish (66).
John Wyndams purpose for writing The Chrysalids is to teach his readers valuable lessons, which inclue that, his readers learn about discrimination in a deeper way, about how change is always an option, and how religion often affects one’s thinking. He makes it evident to his readers that judging people by their first impression is wrong. Also how change is possible but hard to achieve. More specifically religion is often used as the foundation upon which people make decisions.
The doctrine of the Trinity, as seen in the Christian bible, is primary to the Christian faith. The word “Trinity” does not actually appear in the bible; it is a theological label meant to summarize certain teachings of certain passages of scripture, and is crucial to properly understand what God is like, how He relates to us, and how we relate to Him. It may also raise many difficult questions including what does it mean that God is a Trinity? While it is difficult for us to fully understand everything about the trinity, it is quite possible to answer questions like this one and come to a solid grasp of what it means for God to be three in one.
Part of the Spirit’s ministry includes His convicting of sin in the world, guiding people to truth, and leading them into righteousness. One of the first interactions the Holy Spirit has with humans is to draw the sinner