I recently had the opportunity to write a book review for our church newsletter. I was very appreciative to be asked do so. And a big thanks my wonderful wife for being editor who helped me condense the review from 1,200 words down to less than 800. Below is the review.
Knowing God by J.I. Packer
InterVarsity Press, 1993, 286 pages.
Overview
Do you know God or just know about Him? Do you seek to know God through Scripture or through personal experience? Are you skeptical about the Bible being divine revelation from God?
After seeing the Issues, Etc. widget, I thought creating a widget would be pretty cool. However, I didn’t really have anything to widgetize. Maybe I still don’t, but I did it anyways! Below you can find a widget that you can display on a website that points to a resource page for several reviews of The Shack. I figured that this book has been so popular that someone may find this widget useful. And I got to play with widgets!
So far I have two reviews of The Shack posted. One, The Shack Review, by a dear brother and fellow church member Wayne Elliott. The other, Uncovering The Shack, by local yet widely known Pastor Michael Youseff.
Now, I have another dear brother who I recently had a good Southern Baptist dinner with. For folks not in the know, that’s Wednesday night dinner in the fellowship hall. This brother understood the nuances and concerns of The Shack. He kept this in mind while reading The Shack and, therefore, enjoyed the book without worrying about heretical persuasions. I certainly appreciate this brother admitting there are concerns and approaching the subject as such. The irony is that this is just the position that would make me not enjoy nor recommend a piece of writing, especially, for spiritual edification. I would prefer to warn people about such a work and point them to something else.
This is a preview of The Metaphorical Safety of The Shack. Read the full post
My fellow church member bro. Wayne whose review of The Shack I recently posted informed me of another review of The Shack. Michael Youssef, pastor of Church of the Apostles, one of our neighboring churches, has reviewed The Shack in a recent sermon.
Dr. Youseff’s review, Uncovering The Shack, can be downloaded directly on mp3 here. There is also an iTunes feed if you’re interested. He actually stopped in the middle of a sermon series to review this book because he thought it was that important.
A friend from church wrote a brief review of The Shack that touches on some key points as to why we should be cautious about this book. Or maybe even disregard it all together. He gave me permission to share this review.
SHACK ATTACK - OR A CALL TO DISCERNMENT?
“Discernment is not simply a matter of telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather it is the difference between right and almost right.” -Charles Spurgeon
Knowing God by J.I. Packer
