A Mid-Term paper
This is a paper I had to write for one of my classes, a response paper to the novel The Shack in which a man spends a weekend with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Please read and gimme some feedback?
Tom Sietman
Freshman Expository Writing
10/14/08
Nothing is a Ritual:
The Contrast between Religion and Relationships
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hollow be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily food, and forgive us our crimes, as we forgive those who commit personal crimes against us. And lead us not into bad situations, but deliver us from evil: For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. So let it be.
When you read the Lord’s Prayer above, is it clear what parts have been altered? And as you read it, do the author’s alterations offend you, and if they do, then why? For most people, the Lord’s Prayer is a sacred and traditional prayer, one they’ve memorized word for word and line for line. This altered version says, essentially, the same thing….something holy and untouchable, not to be messed with. When we memorize something, when we do something over and over, it becomes a ritual. Even though the altered version said the same thing, it breaks the ritual.
A running, if a little underplayed, theme in The Shack is the contrast between rituals and institutions verses free loving and relationships. When talking about Jesus marrying the church, He and Mack have this little discussion:
“You’re talking about the church as this woman you’re in love with; I’m pretty sure I haven’t met her.”….”She’s not the place I go on Sundays.” Mack says, to which Jesus replies:
….”Mack, That’s because you’re only seeing the institution, a man-made system. That’s not what I came here to build.”….”As well-intentioned as it might be, you know that religious machinery can chew people up! An awful lot of what is done in my name has nothing to do with me and is often, even if unintentional, very contrary to my purposes.” (The Shack, pages 177-178)
This is an incredible….and some might say heretical….concept to grasp. Why would Young place such a seemingly unreligious exchange between Jesus and Mack in his book? The answer is a simple one: Young understands that the church is not the path to God. You don’t get into Heaven through any other means but Jesus, and that includes the rituals surrounding His worship.
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Does that mean we through out practices like communion and baptism? No, it doesn’t. What that passage, as well as Young’s message, does illustrate is that rituals such as communion and baptism aren’t necessary for admittance into Heaven; only an active, true and loving relationship with Jesus Christ is. Communion and baptism help, and often can bring one closer to Jesus, if proper emphasis is established.
Proper emphasis means the focus stays solely on God and Jesus, and does not become about the ritual itself. Several weeks before authoring this paper, the author attended a film study in which all members took communion afterwards, except for one girl. Due to her religious standards, she was prohibited from taking communion out of the four times her denomination allows. This intrigued the author because as a member of the Disciples of Christ denomination, he takes communion every single Sunday. When we think about that, and why those differences are in place, we come to a very confusing conclusion.
In the church of Disciples of Christ, they heavily teach discipline and conviction to Jesus, and understand that communion and baptism are simply means by which to reach a meaningful relationship with Him. Most denominations, however, don’t hold this sentiment: they believe that if you perform communion too many times, you will lose the meaning in it. This revelation hits hard, and we have to wonder….how much to we do, with good intention and seeking to please God, only to lose sight of those goals and focus more and more on the perfection of the ritual itself? How can we expect to worship God meaningfully and not lose ourselves to this trap?
“I came to give you Life to the fullest. My life.” Mack was still straining to understand. “The simplicity and purity of enjoying a growing friendship?”
“Ugh, got it!” (The Shack, page 180)
That’s what God wants from us, why He created us: he wants a loving, caring, deep relationship with us. God is our creator and father, our lord and king. He is also, however, our Father, our Brother, and our Sheppard. Most of all, God wants to be our friend.
So the question is simple, then, with a much more complex answer: how can we have such a deep, loving, personal friendship with the One who created the very universe, and everything within it? Why would God even want us to be with Him in such a way, when we have nothing to offer the Lord of Life that He does not already have?
The answers are deep, personal to us all. To be in friendship, in love, with God, all we must do is step forward bravely in the darkness and confess, “I cannot do this on my own!” If we allow God into the fortress of walls that surround our hearts, He will make them crumble….and protect us better then our emotional walls ever could. If we take that first step and let God in, realize just how much He loves us, then it’s very easy to learn to love Him back!
Now, back to the other question….one that may keep you from fully giving in to God’s love. Why? Why would God, ever powerful and fully fulfilled without us, want to be with us? Want to be our friend, guide, mentor, and love? Sadly, this is a question that only God Himself can answer, but I can shed a little hope for doubtful hearts, a powerful passage from The Shack:
“If you think about it, Mack,” Jesus answered, “it should be very freeing to know that you can offer us nothing, at least not anything that can add or take away from who we are….That should alleviate any pressure to perform.”
“And do you love your own children more when they perform well?” added Papa. (Note that ‘Papa’ is an affectionate term for God of Mack’s)
“No, I see your point,” Mack paused. (The Shack, pages 200-201)
God doesn’t want us for our abilities or strengths….everything we have the ability to do is given to us by God anyways, to use for God’s will. The Lord doesn’t want us to compete for his attention, either; God loves each and every one of us uniquely, because He created each and every one of us unique. God’s love is not limited, but His entire heart loves each person individually! Is it any wonder that He always is waiting for us, arms open wide, when we stray from His light? There may be only one path to God, through Jesus, but there are many paths God will take to come to us. And none of them are mindless rituals; each and every one of us will only ever know Jesus by walking with Him, talking with Him, and loving him with all our heart and soul.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:16-17)
Tom Sietman
Freshman Expository Writing
10/14/08
Nothing is a Ritual:
The Contrast between Religion and Relationships
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hollow be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily food, and forgive us our crimes, as we forgive those who commit personal crimes against us. And lead us not into bad situations, but deliver us from evil: For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. So let it be.
When you read the Lord’s Prayer above, is it clear what parts have been altered? And as you read it, do the author’s alterations offend you, and if they do, then why? For most people, the Lord’s Prayer is a sacred and traditional prayer, one they’ve memorized word for word and line for line. This altered version says, essentially, the same thing….something holy and untouchable, not to be messed with. When we memorize something, when we do something over and over, it becomes a ritual. Even though the altered version said the same thing, it breaks the ritual.
A running, if a little underplayed, theme in The Shack is the contrast between rituals and institutions verses free loving and relationships. When talking about Jesus marrying the church, He and Mack have this little discussion:
“You’re talking about the church as this woman you’re in love with; I’m pretty sure I haven’t met her.”….”She’s not the place I go on Sundays.” Mack says, to which Jesus replies:
….”Mack, That’s because you’re only seeing the institution, a man-made system. That’s not what I came here to build.”….”As well-intentioned as it might be, you know that religious machinery can chew people up! An awful lot of what is done in my name has nothing to do with me and is often, even if unintentional, very contrary to my purposes.” (The Shack, pages 177-178)
This is an incredible….and some might say heretical….concept to grasp. Why would Young place such a seemingly unreligious exchange between Jesus and Mack in his book? The answer is a simple one: Young understands that the church is not the path to God. You don’t get into Heaven through any other means but Jesus, and that includes the rituals surrounding His worship.
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Does that mean we through out practices like communion and baptism? No, it doesn’t. What that passage, as well as Young’s message, does illustrate is that rituals such as communion and baptism aren’t necessary for admittance into Heaven; only an active, true and loving relationship with Jesus Christ is. Communion and baptism help, and often can bring one closer to Jesus, if proper emphasis is established.
Proper emphasis means the focus stays solely on God and Jesus, and does not become about the ritual itself. Several weeks before authoring this paper, the author attended a film study in which all members took communion afterwards, except for one girl. Due to her religious standards, she was prohibited from taking communion out of the four times her denomination allows. This intrigued the author because as a member of the Disciples of Christ denomination, he takes communion every single Sunday. When we think about that, and why those differences are in place, we come to a very confusing conclusion.
In the church of Disciples of Christ, they heavily teach discipline and conviction to Jesus, and understand that communion and baptism are simply means by which to reach a meaningful relationship with Him. Most denominations, however, don’t hold this sentiment: they believe that if you perform communion too many times, you will lose the meaning in it. This revelation hits hard, and we have to wonder….how much to we do, with good intention and seeking to please God, only to lose sight of those goals and focus more and more on the perfection of the ritual itself? How can we expect to worship God meaningfully and not lose ourselves to this trap?
“I came to give you Life to the fullest. My life.” Mack was still straining to understand. “The simplicity and purity of enjoying a growing friendship?”
“Ugh, got it!” (The Shack, page 180)
That’s what God wants from us, why He created us: he wants a loving, caring, deep relationship with us. God is our creator and father, our lord and king. He is also, however, our Father, our Brother, and our Sheppard. Most of all, God wants to be our friend.
So the question is simple, then, with a much more complex answer: how can we have such a deep, loving, personal friendship with the One who created the very universe, and everything within it? Why would God even want us to be with Him in such a way, when we have nothing to offer the Lord of Life that He does not already have?
The answers are deep, personal to us all. To be in friendship, in love, with God, all we must do is step forward bravely in the darkness and confess, “I cannot do this on my own!” If we allow God into the fortress of walls that surround our hearts, He will make them crumble….and protect us better then our emotional walls ever could. If we take that first step and let God in, realize just how much He loves us, then it’s very easy to learn to love Him back!
Now, back to the other question….one that may keep you from fully giving in to God’s love. Why? Why would God, ever powerful and fully fulfilled without us, want to be with us? Want to be our friend, guide, mentor, and love? Sadly, this is a question that only God Himself can answer, but I can shed a little hope for doubtful hearts, a powerful passage from The Shack:
“If you think about it, Mack,” Jesus answered, “it should be very freeing to know that you can offer us nothing, at least not anything that can add or take away from who we are….That should alleviate any pressure to perform.”
“And do you love your own children more when they perform well?” added Papa. (Note that ‘Papa’ is an affectionate term for God of Mack’s)
“No, I see your point,” Mack paused. (The Shack, pages 200-201)
God doesn’t want us for our abilities or strengths….everything we have the ability to do is given to us by God anyways, to use for God’s will. The Lord doesn’t want us to compete for his attention, either; God loves each and every one of us uniquely, because He created each and every one of us unique. God’s love is not limited, but His entire heart loves each person individually! Is it any wonder that He always is waiting for us, arms open wide, when we stray from His light? There may be only one path to God, through Jesus, but there are many paths God will take to come to us. And none of them are mindless rituals; each and every one of us will only ever know Jesus by walking with Him, talking with Him, and loving him with all our heart and soul.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:16-17)