Publication Date:July 1, 2008 Shipping:Eligible for Super Saver Shipping Promotion:Save $10.00 when you spend $50.00 or more on Qualifying Items offered by Amazon.com. Enter code BMLSAVES at checkout.Terms and Conditions Availability:Usually ships in 24 hours
Listen with both your heart and brain....October 16, 2008 Please take note that the author originally intended this story to be for his children and grandchildren, not the general public, so for those critiqueing his literary talents, get over yourselves and try doing a bit of research before pecking away at his literary talents. The story is not meant to thrill you in the traditional sense, but rather to propose a fresh, embracing, and intensely personal (sometimes uncomfortable) way to think of God's relationship with his Creation. Worth a second read to fully appreciate the author's theology. Provides a unique viewpoint with respect to The Trinity and how frail the human attempt to interpret it. Regardless of your "religious" background, the overall message is thought provoking and the storyline taps into our greatest fear - being alone when it's all said and done and why this fear is our own doing.
This message is a real Gift!October 16, 2008 This story is a gift to a troubled world that needs answers. It is not meant to be theology or religion. It is intended to show the reader how to have a relationship with God in the Trinity. The story is touching and very personal for the main character and the author. The reader has very little difficulty identifying with the issues of love and faith. This book would be an excellent gift to anyone who is searching for Truth.
It is a must readOctober 16, 2008 If ever you have doubted the love of God, or wondered how could He sit around while the world continues in its evil ways, or if you want to know what a relationship with God should be like, this is the book for you. It is one that you'll never want to give away, but will want everyone around you to read. I highly recommend reading it - slowly and with as little distraction as possible.
Amazing! Thought provoking!October 15, 2008 If you have ever really considered your personal relationship with the Lord...............read this book! It will take your thoughts of you and the Lord to a greater revelations! So inspiring!
Miracle of a bookOctober 15, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The thing about great truth is that when we read it, no one has to tell us that it's true. We feel it. Yes, the intellect might question if it contradicts traditional teachings, but the heart and soul know what's what. I found this novel to be such a truth. It's certainly one of the most inspiring reads of my life. It's the story of a man whose daughter dies a violent death, but there is definitely nothing tragic about The Shack.
I happened to be visiting family in Los Angeles while I was reading it. One morning in prayer I asked God to use me for his purposes that day. Later I boarded a commuter train, the book in hand, and sat in the first car across the aisle from a black man. He was older and though he smiled, he kept his eyes squinted, as if they'd seen too much. When the train started, I found myself saying out loud to the woman near me, "Which way is the train going? Am I riding backward?" Immediately, the man across the aisle said, "Yes, why don't you come and sit over here." I hesitated only a moment, then rose and sat next to him, my mind uncertain, but not my spirit. At first our words were halting -- two strangers trying to make conversation. When I lifted my book, he asked what I was reading. I told him it was the story of a man who's daughter was killed and it ruined his life, but God saved him. He turned away and was quiet for a moment. Then he looked in my eyes and said his daughter had been murdered and it totally ruined his life. I listened, holding my breath, as he told me the whole story: how she died, about his years lost to drugs, homelessness, and despair. He said he'd recently pulled out of it and made plans for his life. He said he was going to buy a car, drive down south, and visit every relative he had. I looked at my copy of The Shack and said, "I think this book belongs to you." He took it and eagerly started thumbing through. After a while he said, "I never, ever ride the first car on the train." He explained there'd been an accident in which people in the first car died, so he avoided it. He said, "I didn't know why I got on it this time. Now I do. God wanted us to meet." I said, "Yes, I know."
This book is a small miracle God made through William P. Young and he multiplies it through the readers of The Shack. Like Young, I'm an author, and in my latest novel, when one character is asked what he believes, he says, "Everything. If I must choose between believing and not believing, then believing is for me. It seems closer to the truth." I can't say I believe everything just yet, but I believe The Shack.
Read it and be blessed.
J R Lankford, author, The Jesus Thief, The Secret Madonna
