The Greater Sadness

The Shack has as it’s main theme, something the author calls, “The Great Sadness”, describing a season in a person’s life that pertains to a time of great loss and the subsequent stages of emotion and grief that naturally follow. We all go through those, and I don’t recommend taking one’s theology on what it all means to experience such a season from this book. Of course I recommend the Bible only for all matters of life and faith. While everyone’s tragedy is, well, tragic, it is nevertheless experienced on a subjective and personal level and therefore takes place within the confines of one particular human at a time. Let me suggest some far greater sadnesses with far-reaching and eternal ramifications:

Here are my “Great Sadness”es:

The Shack: What Peter calls a “cleverly devised fable” that will turn hearts away from pure doctrine. Additionally it presents an altogether different gospel and Jesus that is leading many astray. It is not fiction. Repeat after me, it is not fiction. Repeat after me, it’s not fiction. I don’t care who claims it is, I do not buy it. Period. If it were, why do so many care about it’s contents and analyze it ad nauseum?

The Emergent Church: this mess of apostasy is leading biblically illiterate youth head-long into the Laodicean New Age last days church; a liberal social gospel that denies absolute truth and last days prophecy. It is still emerging, so stay tuned.

Seeker-sensitive body counts: Another lame and shallow attempt to tell unbelievers what they want to hear, instead of godly pastors telling unbelievers what they need to have to obtain eternal life. Shameful man-pleasing.

And there are more. I will continue this as needed.

As a result of all these grievous movements, we have a generation of people who do not fear God nor live as though they could die tomorrow. We have the blind leading the blind, not knowing they will be accountable to God for not giving the true gospel and presenting the multiple facets of a God who both loves and requires justice and a penalty for sin.

Concerning the times we live in, I see the Great Sadness morphing into the Great Tribulation and not until that is all over will there be a reality in which righteousness dwells.