tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post4625627583528094649..comments2023-05-14T07:51:18.017-05:00Comments on The Suburban Christian: The Shack: Theology, narrative and the cultural momentAl Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407264726681695790noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-76691886335543072262011-03-31T21:07:29.829-05:002011-03-31T21:07:29.829-05:00great post! Makes a nice change from the usual arg...great post! Makes a nice change from the usual arguments that only reveal more of the writers skewed theology / inattention to their own blindspots!Brook Warnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00446393589867145873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-49704462274865952202009-04-23T14:16:00.000-05:002009-04-23T14:16:00.000-05:00Hello! I came across your post while I was post-re...Hello! I came across your post while I was post-reading surfing for in-depth conversations about this book. So, thanks for your words! It's good to see people talking about this book because it does have a lot to offer after you peel back the layers.<br />Also, I thought you'd be interested in something else I came across in my searchings (I love sharing my good research finds). It's a religious publisher that has online Bible studies and they have two on The Shack. One is about the book itself and the other just came out this week and is about the theology of the book. Thought you and your friends might be interested. They actually had a bunch of cool studies on the site: www.thethoughtfulchristian.com<br /><br />Well, enjoy your day!Lerinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10653067680000047896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-51745225250132247802009-03-29T16:54:00.000-05:002009-03-29T16:54:00.000-05:00Dear Al,Just wanted to say thank you so much for t...Dear Al,<BR/><BR/>Just wanted to say thank you so much for this casual review of The Shack (I actually first encountered it last summer, when you wrote it and still come back to it). I think it's the best I've read - fair, insightful, gracious, and appropriately critical all at once. I've recommended it (via a link) to several people, who have very much appreciated it.<BR/><BR/>I am a fellow PhD student (across the Border, in Hamilton, Ontario), studying theology & ethics (and did one of my comps on the Trinity). I think your comments were apt and very well put.<BR/><BR/>Thanks again!!Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13394167997252687486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-66607520399711690022008-09-27T10:16:00.000-05:002008-09-27T10:16:00.000-05:00Our church is reading this in a book club. It is h...Our church is reading this in a book club. It is helpful that you see this as fiction. I was under the impression that the author thought of this as a memoir.Friar Tuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18404281343475373969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-32386519490165746642008-09-05T11:12:00.000-05:002008-09-05T11:12:00.000-05:00Thanks for posting on this Al! When I went to the...Thanks for posting on this Al! When I went to the Donkey Congress where we discussed The Shack, I'd actually not read the book, but the discussion there prompted me to want to read it. So I told myself that if I saw it in the airport on my way to Alaska, I'd buy it. So I did, and I did. <BR/><BR/>I'm about halfway through the book, and the pace of the book has definitely slowed down. In fact, I'm finding that I'm having a hard time finishing it, because of its didactic preachiness (glad you mentioned those things, so I know I'm not alone!). I found myself observing how much more powerful the book could've been if the author had been able to have Mack slowly and experientially realize these things that God was coming straight out and telling him! <BR/><BR/>Anyway, all that to say, I appreciated the Donkey Congress discussion and I'm glad to read your further thoughts on the book.Elainahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12024131764111112826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-80011620039891827172008-08-26T10:59:00.000-05:002008-08-26T10:59:00.000-05:00A timely post for me, Al - I just read the book wh...A timely post for me, Al - I just read the book while on vacation. I summed it up to someone similarly - how the plot was just ok (and sometimes a little over the top), but the author seemed to be using it for some interesting conversations about God and suffering... <BR/><BR/>As I was reading, I do remember thinking, hmm, I wonder what my Systematic Theology professor would think of this portrayal... and thanks to your post, now I know! :)Sabrinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13391327570214287323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-52716407010395130382008-08-26T09:31:00.000-05:002008-08-26T09:31:00.000-05:00Thanks, Justin. Feel free to contact me via my blo...Thanks, Justin. Feel free to contact me via my <A HREF="http://robertvelarde.blogspot.com/" REL="nofollow">blog </A> with any questions or comments about <I>Conversations with C.S. Lewis</I>. Or drop me an e-mail at conversationswithcslewis at gmail dot comRobert Velardehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03665635776181855486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-22856853529922199012008-08-25T23:37:00.000-05:002008-08-25T23:37:00.000-05:00I appreciate your feedback - just picked up your b...I appreciate your feedback - just picked up your book and am beginning to read it tonight . . . .Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03449313281734493702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-40409429393607196582008-08-24T23:09:00.000-05:002008-08-24T23:09:00.000-05:00Al, thanks for your insights and for your kind men...Al, thanks for your insights and for your kind mention of my book <I>Conversations with C.S. Lewis</I>. I haven't read <I>The Shack</I>, but as you know I tried to present a fictional narrative in my book that offers insights into the life and thought of C.S. Lewis via a fun series of imaginative discussions. I, for one, find this sort of approach much more appealing to the average reader than a dense academic tome.Robert Velardehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03665635776181855486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-70898592739537213982008-08-23T18:29:00.000-05:002008-08-23T18:29:00.000-05:00Greetings Al HsuOn the subject of the trinity,I re...Greetings Al Hsu<BR/><BR/>On the subject of the trinity,<BR/>I recommend this video:<BR/><A HREF="http://www.jesusishuman.com" REL="nofollow">The Human Jesus</A><BR/><BR/>Take a couple of hours to watch it; and prayerfully it will aid you to reconsider "The Trinity"<BR/><BR/>Yours In Messiah<BR/>Adam PastorAdam Pastorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15340033095309858240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-8793033819805099362008-08-22T14:52:00.000-05:002008-08-22T14:52:00.000-05:00Jenell - I saw your post(s) about Eckhart Tolle an...Jenell - I saw your post(s) about Eckhart Tolle and the commenters you got on Emergent Village. I didn't mean to slam Tolle uncritically (I've not read him, and I know you and others have read him profitably) - I guess my point is just that given the choice between an explicitly Christian/Trinitarian work and one not, I'd rather see the Christian one find popularity.Al Hsuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04407264726681695790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-26459945224544020462008-08-22T12:41:00.000-05:002008-08-22T12:41:00.000-05:00Hey, what's wrong with reading Eckhart Tolle!?I ap...Hey, what's wrong with reading Eckhart Tolle!?<BR/><BR/>I appreciate your post - I read a briefer review of The Shack, and yours elaborates well.Jenell Williams Parishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08347811275921462284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-44630561947231546742008-08-22T07:40:00.000-05:002008-08-22T07:40:00.000-05:00I think you have a good take on this and interesti...I think you have a good take on this and interesting to hear the perspective from some people in the publishing industry. I especially appreciated the way the author made me think about the Trinity, in terms of God being a relational God, that relation beginning in the Trinity. I don't know that this book is up there with Pilgrim's Progress or C.S.Lewis but no doubt a powerful message for people today.Diannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08168170797649139322noreply@blogger.com