Yesterday while in Roanoke, VA, I availed myself of the opportunity to go to two of my favorite places—LifeWay and Barnes & Noble. In southern West Virginia where I live, we have neither, so it is a special treat to wander the aisles of both bookstores. Kind of like Disney World, only way better.
My travel route first took me to Barnes & Noble—besides, I really needed a Starbucks. I was able to find a couple of interesting looking books on the discount table which I will put in the “when I get to them” reading stack. After looking at how big that stack is, it will probably take a while to get to them. The Fight for Jerusalem
will probably get read sooner rather than later, but I can imagine it will take a while to get to Behe's
book. Nothing against Behe, but his material is not light and I usually have to have some external motivation to spur me on to reading it. I can see it sitting on the shelf until I start preparing for next spring’s Psalm 19 conference.
As I was meandering the aisles I came across The Shack
. I have read several reviews on the book, including the multipage essay by Challies. I also heard what Dr. Mohler had to say about it on his radio program. After their appraisals, I was not interested in the book at all. I rarely read novels and this one seemed to be just the latest example of New Age drivel. Nevertheless, when I saw The Shack display at Barnes & Noble, I casually picked up a copy to see what all the hubbub was about. I have heard rumblings about Christians I know who are enthralled by it (to the point of teaching through it in Sunday School), so I wanted to get a glance for myself. I was taken aback by the cover blurbs—Eugene Peterson compared it to Pilgrim’s Progress! Michael W. Smith wrote that it will “leave you craving for the presence of God.” I was intrigued, but still didn’t bite. A $15 cover price for a paperback will often serve to squelch curiosity and intrigue—especially if I’m reasonably sure I’m not going to be annoyed by reading it. I sipped my coffee and resisted. Then I went to LifeWay.
After all of the controversy and charges of heresy I have heard surrounding The Shack, I was surprised to find it prominently displayed in the front of the store. In addition, it was part of a promotional sale they were having. I noticed that the tag on the shelf underneath the book was marked with LifeWay’s new warning tag (pictured above). I had read about the tag when they implemented it several months ago. I was disappointed by how tiny the font was and the fact that it was on the shelf below the book instead of on the book cover itself (the warning is more in-depth and much clearer on their website). As I saw the display and thought of the people in my church who were probably reading the book, I succumbed. Of course the sale price coupled with my minister’s discount probably didn’t hinder my decision. As I approached the register, the young man behind the counter positively gushed. He told me that it was the best book he had ever read.
I am highly skeptical about books that are runaway best sellers in the evangelical community—especially when they are at the same time runaway best sellers in the secular community. That alone smacks of New Age spiritual gobbledygook. But, now that I bought the book, I have obligated myself to read it. I will read it with my highlighter and pen, and evaluate it for myself. I have a couple of books to finish before I get to it, but within the next few days, you will see it appear in “What I’m Reading Now” in the sidebar of this blog. Then within a couple of weeks, I hope to review it.
Until then, let me leave you with a recommendation. If you can squint enough to read the words on the LifeWay warning label, heed the part that says, “Read with extra discernment.” That is what I intend to do.
1 John 4:1-6
My travel route first took me to Barnes & Noble—besides, I really needed a Starbucks. I was able to find a couple of interesting looking books on the discount table which I will put in the “when I get to them” reading stack. After looking at how big that stack is, it will probably take a while to get to them. The Fight for Jerusalem
will probably get read sooner rather than later, but I can imagine it will take a while to get to Behe's book. Nothing against Behe, but his material is not light and I usually have to have some external motivation to spur me on to reading it. I can see it sitting on the shelf until I start preparing for next spring’s Psalm 19 conference.As I was meandering the aisles I came across The Shack
. I have read several reviews on the book, including the multipage essay by Challies. I also heard what Dr. Mohler had to say about it on his radio program. After their appraisals, I was not interested in the book at all. I rarely read novels and this one seemed to be just the latest example of New Age drivel. Nevertheless, when I saw The Shack display at Barnes & Noble, I casually picked up a copy to see what all the hubbub was about. I have heard rumblings about Christians I know who are enthralled by it (to the point of teaching through it in Sunday School), so I wanted to get a glance for myself. I was taken aback by the cover blurbs—Eugene Peterson compared it to Pilgrim’s Progress! Michael W. Smith wrote that it will “leave you craving for the presence of God.” I was intrigued, but still didn’t bite. A $15 cover price for a paperback will often serve to squelch curiosity and intrigue—especially if I’m reasonably sure I’m not going to be annoyed by reading it. I sipped my coffee and resisted. Then I went to LifeWay.After all of the controversy and charges of heresy I have heard surrounding The Shack, I was surprised to find it prominently displayed in the front of the store. In addition, it was part of a promotional sale they were having. I noticed that the tag on the shelf underneath the book was marked with LifeWay’s new warning tag (pictured above). I had read about the tag when they implemented it several months ago. I was disappointed by how tiny the font was and the fact that it was on the shelf below the book instead of on the book cover itself (the warning is more in-depth and much clearer on their website). As I saw the display and thought of the people in my church who were probably reading the book, I succumbed. Of course the sale price coupled with my minister’s discount probably didn’t hinder my decision. As I approached the register, the young man behind the counter positively gushed. He told me that it was the best book he had ever read.
I am highly skeptical about books that are runaway best sellers in the evangelical community—especially when they are at the same time runaway best sellers in the secular community. That alone smacks of New Age spiritual gobbledygook. But, now that I bought the book, I have obligated myself to read it. I will read it with my highlighter and pen, and evaluate it for myself. I have a couple of books to finish before I get to it, but within the next few days, you will see it appear in “What I’m Reading Now” in the sidebar of this blog. Then within a couple of weeks, I hope to review it.
Until then, let me leave you with a recommendation. If you can squint enough to read the words on the LifeWay warning label, heed the part that says, “Read with extra discernment.” That is what I intend to do.
1 John 4:1-6
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment