For a moment, on page 51, I put it down, hardening my heart in defense against the accusation I read in the first sentence of the last full paragraph. The thing is, I knew the author was merely expressing the words and the viewpoint of the protagonist, who was deeply wounded by someone whose offenses far exceeded any of my own. My old self-condemnation arose reflexively. But I was pretty certain this author wasn't going to leave me there. In a few minutes I took a deep breath and, cutting myself some slack, picked it back up and read on, walking with Mack through his pain and his anger to his encounter with the Creator, the Healer, the Counselor.
I'm so pleased that the author preserved the traditional names and roles for the Trinity, while at the same time choosing non-traditional images to represent two of the Persons. It's as if he was trying to challenge both traditionalists and modernists at the same time. And while there seems to be a degree of putting down formal religion, this seems carefully crafted to focus on its shortcomings, the ways many use it to exercise control and self-righteous judgment over others. I doubt that a community that truly seeks to serve Christ will feel insulted, though I'm a little concerned that anti-religionists will find their own prejudgments reinforced rather than being led to a community that truly seeks to grow in the Lord together.
All that said, I found myself encountering God's mercy and love in these pages. That is always a very good thing.
I was really hoping to bask in the afterglow for a few days. The descent from Tabor was precipitous this time (though not as steep as Mack's).
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