Christian leaders not shacking up with novel

William Young’s The Shack is a best-seller for BN and has topped the NYT list. It’s a Christian genre book and that’s what makes its success surprising — and controversial. Albert Mohler, in a full-length radio program,  has called it “heresy,” and Lifeway has apparently pulled it. But in addition to sales, customer reviews say the book is enriching and renewing.

For me and other would -be writers the most interesting thing here is the book’s publishing history. Young, recently bankrupt and having lost a home of 19 years, wrote the book for his children and a few friends. They loved it, word of mouth marketing kicked in, and a best seller was born.

“Dear Mr. Young, we regret to inform you . . .”  Yes, the book, like so many other successes, was rejected by both Christian and secular publishing houses. Undeterred Young formed Windblown expressly for publishing his own novel. Then came a webpage. Barnes and Noble bought a few copies and when sales soared, ordered more. Many more.

Issues? Christian leaders say the book may be harmful. Fans say it’s the best Christian book they’re read. By the way, in the book God is a black woman.  A quick read will tell. I’m waiting for it to hit the used bookstores or be available at the library.

Young’s website gives the front matter and chapter one for readers. NYT Books has another review. And of course, blogs are weighing in on both sides.

Then is anybody wrong any more?

 The New York Times book review page (linked by RSS right) presents three editors’ lists of their ten recommendations for reading from 2007.  Most interesting is the editor’s note that “editing ain’t what it used to be.” A Harmony Books release displays a misspelled subtitle (since then corrected) on a hardcover book, “Finding Faith Without Fanatacism.” That in itself would make a good essay on carelessness, but it gets worse. The book, by Brad Hirschfield, has for its title, “You Don’t Have to be Wrong for Me to be Right.”Hirschfield is a renowned Orthodox Rabbi, speaker, activist, and author, who is committed to (from bradhirschfield.com) “teaching inclusiveness, celebrating diversity, and promoting acceptance. Grounded in biblical and Judaic scholarship, and interwoven with personal stories, You Don’t Have to Be Wrong for Me to Be Right provides a pragmatic path to peace, understanding, and hope that appeals to the common wisdom of all religions, asking important questions like:

• How can we make room for other cultures and beliefs?
• How can we balance commitment and openness?
• How can we create a world with less violence and division?”

The world may not be completely black and white in all areas. Circumstances sometimes dictate deviation from conventional thinking. But when it comes to faith, (assuming he means religious faith — in God) everyone may be wrong, or everyone may be right. But if there is disagreement, somebody has to be wrong ultimately.  If we start there, I can get behind the “world peace” theme to a degree. 

When I see a title and blurb like this (I haven’t read the book and don’t plan to) I fear that the usual suspects (Americans, Anglo-anything, Christianity) may be blamed for the world’s ills. Or if not blamed, be called upon to engage in yet more citizen-of-the-world groupthink and swallow whole chunks of what we know to be false. Or smile politely while our fellow man, that we supposedly care so much about, walks in darkness.

Happy Reformation Day!

Wednesday night at Casa Blanca we talked about Martin Luther and the Reformation over enchiladas and chili rellenos. They were mopping up as we dispersed into the rainy, deep-October night. It was church.

Bob knew about Luther, the man and the monk. I did’t know that he (Luther, not Bob) translated the Bible into German while on the lamb under a death notice. It reminded me of Bunyan. And come to think of it, Paul (the Apostle, not the logger.) Not to mention John out on Patmos, probably not a resort town at the time. Something about incarceration. Maybe if more preachers . . . no, alas, not enough jails.

 Who are the reformers today? It still has to be writers, most writing in plush offices with deluxe software suites. Whole churches change how they do business based on their books and tape series.  Maybe some were divinely inspired. Lifeway and CBD have stacks and stacks on how to make our churches and ourselves more purposeful.  Reform, after all, is betterment. Remember reform school? Sure you don’t.

One website on Luther, which contains the 95 Theses condemning the selling of indulgences, features commercial ads for Luther products! Love the irony.