Because I am an avid reader..

So I recently read The Shack which is a book that shows God in a very real way, but that draws a lot of criticism from some of the Christian world, specifically Southern Baptists. And there is something about this that really really bothers me because of a quote I read on the controversy of the book.

USA Today described the following:

"So why are critics calling it heresy?

They say Young's surprise hit, which has been in the Top 50 on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list for 10 weeks (it's now No. 17), promotes a wrong-headed view of universal salvation, as free to all as an open bar at a party.

They read Young's message as saying you can just discover Jesus' love inside yourself, turn your life over to him, and you're on your way to heaven. No need to put in time in the pews or know theology.

Albert Mohler, a leading theologian of the Southern Baptist Convention, which takes the Bible literally, trashes The Shack in his weekly radio show, calling it "deeply subversive," "scripturally incorrect" and downright "dangerous."

Says Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle: "If you haven't read The Shack, don't!"

Driscoll, whose multi-campus non-denominational church is packed with 6,000 people each weekend in the least-churched corner of the nation, says he is "horrified" by Young's book. He says "it misrepresents God. Young misses the big E on the eye chart."

This pains me to the point of tears. Because after reading the book myself and after reading that atrocious accusation that begins the quote I just referenced, I find that these so-called leaders of churches and denominations are the ones who are truly "missing the big E on the eye chart."

This is the part that truly outrages me:

"They say Young's surprise hit, which has been in the Top 50 on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list for 10 weeks (it's now No. 17), promotes a wrong-headed view of universal salvation, as free to all as an open bar at a party. They read Young's message as saying you can just discover Jesus' love inside yourself, turn your life over to him, and you're on your way to heaven. No need to put in time in the pews or know theology"

Um... EXACTLY! Is the freedom of Christ's love and redemption to every single person regardless of who they are or what they've done not one of the very fundamentals of Christianity that distinguishes from other world religions and truly exemplifies the very nature of God? It is as free as an open bar at a party! It's for anyone and everyone! How could anyone, especially those in a power of authority and well educated in theology, disagree with that? Did they skip over some of the most well-known and widely-recited verses of the Bible?

For it is by GRACE you have been saved, through FAITH—and this NOT FROM YOURSELVES, it is the GIFT OF GOD— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9 (emphasis added).

Does it get any plainer than that? All you have to do is truly discover Jesus's love, turn your life over to him, and you're on your way to heaven. There is NO NEED to put in time at the pews or to know theology. NONE! It doesn't say "For it is by Bible-reading and Church-going that you've been saved. It's a requirement from God, not a gift, so that you may judge each other." Where in the world do these religious jerks get off twisting the incredible gift of God? There is NOTHING we could ever do to earn that gift! Nothing! I'm angered to the point of tears.

Or what about:

Christ is the END OF THE LAW so that there may be righteousness for EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES." - Romans 10:4

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." - Romans 10:9-13.

It could not be any clearer! No actions required! Actions are a byproduct of a Love for God. You don't gain salvation by doing good works. You do good works because you realize how much God loves people to have sent His son to die for each and every person, and that love for people manifests itself in you through the Holy Spirit. It's all about your relationship with the Creator of the Universe! It's so much bigger that going to church and learning theology! To reduce it to that is a flat out insult to the sacrifice made by Jesus. It makes me sick.

And you know what? The Shack spoke to me far more than any other religious book, not including the Word of God itself. Churches get so caught up in the legalities and the rules to the point that they forget that Christ came so that we wouldn't be bound by the rules! It says right there in Romans - Christ is the End of the Law! Not just the Law of the Old Testamant, but the End of the Law being the way you reach God! You don't go to church to be saved. You go to church to fellowship with other believers. You go to build relationships and rejoice with those who have found the same Abundance of Life that you have, and who you can invest your life into and who can invest their lives in you. You form a community of faith and love. The things you do in that church should be out of pure love and relationship, NOT because you think you have to in order to get to heaven. Forced love isn't love! That's the whole reason we're given free will! God isn't interested in making us do anything, but hopes that we will choose to accept his precious gift. He can use any wrong choice we make to His ultimate glory and purpose, but he doesn't interfere with our right to make a choice.

I know I'm rambling like crazy, and I know I have no reason to be an authority source on this subject, but I can say this: I know the God I serve. I know Him as a Father, as a Friend, as a Comfort, and as a Guide. I know that he is a God of love and relationships. I know he's a God of forgivess and grace. And I know that He will accept any one who seeks Him with open arms. Regardless of what they've done and regardless of what they will or won't do. Faith is enough.

I tend to spend some time on Yahoo Answers in the Religion sections. Sometimes I answer. Sometimes I don't. But a recurring theme seems to show up. If an all powerful God can do anything, then why does he have to send people to hell? And here's my thought process on this: God is perfection and everything that goes along with that. Which means that God is Just as a characteristic of his Perfection. We are imperfect. That's the point of all the rules. It's first off, for our own protection, and secondly it's to show us that we are incapable of being perfect. So God, being Perfect and Just, has to receive some sort of payment for our sin imperfections. If he doesn't, then he is not completely Just, and if he is not completely Just, he is not Perfect, and if he's not Perfect, why should we trust Him to lead our lives? So in order to retain his Perfection for our sakes, the sin debt must be paid. And so he met us where we are, in the middle of our imperfection, in fully human form, as Jesus. He saw our mess, came right into the middle of it, and then cleaned it up. He took Christ who had no sin at all and allowed his sacrifice to be the payment for every sin that has ever happened and that will ever happen. All we have to do is accept it. Confess who he is. Believe that He is who He says He is. If we believe in who He is, then we naturally trust that He knows what He's doing and we do not, and therefore, trust him with our lives. I don't understand why some people try to make it anymore complicated than that. It really is that simple.

This has been quite the rant, but I feel better anyway.

Ciao.