Soul Searching

Lately, I have this sort of uncanny feeling that someone, perhaps a higher source, is trying to tell me something. We have lived with the concepts that God no longer speaks directly to us for centuries now and I for one am not even sure I would know it was God. Yet, the last three or four books that I have selected without intent have all lead me to believe that there are many points about Christianity that I need to know about and learn more about. Being that these books are fiction and I picked them on a whim I find it pretty impressive.

The first book is actually a series a three books written by Sigmund Brouwer (www.coolreadings.com). They are entitled: The Angel and the Ring, The Angel and the Sword, and The Angel and the Cross. The series is written for the post middle school/early high school level reader. I bought it by accident on Amazon.com thinking it was a new adult series. Since I had already spent the extra cash, I decided to give it a quick read. Surprised at what I found, I have since passed them on and recommended them to several friends and family. Brouwer as the author takes on this persona of an Angel narrator. The writing is simplistic but it challenges every preconceived notion that you have held about Angels. You know those Hollywood devised images that create the impression of wings, danger, and power. What is the the true image of Angels? It made me stop and contemplate - "What do I really know about the supernatural world."

After reading the series of Angel books I went on to pick up Sigmund's new suspense book titled: Fuse of Armageddon. I have never held a great deal of "end of the world" beliefs. I don't waste time searching for those answers as I feel that it devalues the time I have here on earth to spend with family. I believe that God has a plan for the end of the world and really if we are honest only He has those answers. That said, Fuse took me to a place in history that I know relatively little about: Israel. It challenged most the reformed beliefs that I have grown up with and made me question my personal understanding of the "reconstruction of the temple." The book is a page turner and one that I read in about a day and half. I had to know more.

Finally, I am reading The Shack by William Young. Picked it up at my mother's house as she has purchased a few new books and has a few to read. First impression, it is a tad wordy. But it does succeed at hurting your brain as you think about the concepts within the allegory. What do we really know about God? As William points out our perception of God is once again based on human understanding and preconceived notions that are established primarily by Humans and Hollywood.

I am not finished with this one and can't tell you if I find it a good read or not. I can only say that I am amazed at the amount of soul searching that has developed over the past few months. What I really know about God, Angels, and Christianity - well I guess you could say I am being challenged.