God on the Dock

One of the topics Mack and Jesus discuss on the dock is introduced when Jesus says, "My purpose from the beginning was to live in you and you in me." Mack responds by asking, "If you're still fully human, how can you be inside me?"

We just blow by this idea as we talk about being Christian. Having Jesus in your heart is one of those church-phrases we toss around, especially when we're talking to children about faith. I've often wondered, as Mack does, how that really works. What do we mean by the phrase? I suspect, like a lot of church-speak, we don't really mean anything by it. It's a generic code phrase for being saved (more good church-speak) and choosing to live as we believe Jesus would want us to live.

December 7: Found this video that illustrates one of the several things people mean by "Christ in you" (Colossians 1:27)

In The Shack, Jesus suggests this is a real indwelling, one person literally living inside another, not just a metaphor of some sort. Somehow we are created so as to allow for this added life to coexist with our life in one physical body. I don't know why, but this seems to me to fit in the same category as I put demon possession and such things. Good for making scary movies, apparently supported by Bible stories, but bordering on superstition. I don't know if I'm willing to call it fantasy, but it sure doesn't fit well into my orderly engineer's worldview.

Am I missing something here?

Chapters 6 and 7...

Sorry, I forgot to move us forward last week- always feel free to email me and remind me....

Let's go with chapters 6 and 7 this week.

There will be plenty to discuss, we don't have to have a 'topic'- read and write- I will put my comments later today.

(And Rob, I am still debating the idea of perfect communication from God....I will respond to that one later)

Starting The Shack

Okay, just a warning...the first part of the book is the hardest to get through. So just sit down and make it through chapter 5 in a sitting or two (and know the book really changes once it hits chapter 6).

So here is how we will at least start this thing- we will post a few questions and thoughts from the chapters- you respond on the blog and we will go from there and see where conversation leads. Once done we will move on or agree we are all utterly confused.

For these chapters, focus on these areas:

- How does God communicate with us today? Does God still communicate with us? How would we respond to a note from God?

- Why do we keep our dark secrets or Great Sadness buried within?

- What does this quote have to do with these chapters: "We routinely disqualify testimony that would plead for extenuation. That is, we are so persuaded of the rightness of our judgment as to invalidate evidencethat does not confirm us in it. Nothing that deserves to be called truth could ever be arrived at by such means."- right or wrong?

Go....

Welcome!

This is a place for books. Interesting books. Confusing books. Enlightening books.

This is also a place for talk about books. What you think about them and what they say to you about things that are important.

We hope you enjoy the books and the talk!