What do you do, what do think, to whom do you turn and where do you begin when you have started to lose faith in the belief system you've always known? This is the crux of the theme of Clear Winter Nights by Trevin Wax.
The book is an easy read and makes use of the fictional novel format to attempt to present the limitless concepts of God's love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. There are even discussion questions in the back of the book for use with a small group or a friend with whom you can honestly explore questions of doubt and faith.
In the previous paragraph, I say "attempt to present" because I'm not certain that questions like this can be explored adequately in a novel. I think they have to be lived. A few times the author references why Chris (the protagonist) may be experiencing a season of doubt, but it felt like secondhand information. There was no emotional pull behind it. While I felt this was the basis of the whole plot, I was detached from caring why Chris would doubt in the first place. Maybe experiencing some of these situations as they happened instead of trying to convey the feelings later would have helped.
Overall, I came away from the book with the perception that the author himself may have never experienced the level of doubt he was trying to portray through his character. I could definitely be wrong in this, but in matters of faith, grace, doubting and the Abba's love, I do not believe you can write about that which you do not know. I felt the author has a firm grasp on the grace and love, but perhaps not the depth of despair you feel when you begin to question everything.
Although this sounds like a negative review, I do not want to leave it there. I do believe this book could be used as a great discussion starter for Christians. But I think it would just be a place to begin. The discussion questions contain no Biblical references and from my own experience, the Bible and prayer that is determined to break through to some type of answer are the best life jackets for surviving a "dark night of the soul".
The book is an easy read and makes use of the fictional novel format to attempt to present the limitless concepts of God's love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. There are even discussion questions in the back of the book for use with a small group or a friend with whom you can honestly explore questions of doubt and faith.
In the previous paragraph, I say "attempt to present" because I'm not certain that questions like this can be explored adequately in a novel. I think they have to be lived. A few times the author references why Chris (the protagonist) may be experiencing a season of doubt, but it felt like secondhand information. There was no emotional pull behind it. While I felt this was the basis of the whole plot, I was detached from caring why Chris would doubt in the first place. Maybe experiencing some of these situations as they happened instead of trying to convey the feelings later would have helped.
Overall, I came away from the book with the perception that the author himself may have never experienced the level of doubt he was trying to portray through his character. I could definitely be wrong in this, but in matters of faith, grace, doubting and the Abba's love, I do not believe you can write about that which you do not know. I felt the author has a firm grasp on the grace and love, but perhaps not the depth of despair you feel when you begin to question everything.
Although this sounds like a negative review, I do not want to leave it there. I do believe this book could be used as a great discussion starter for Christians. But I think it would just be a place to begin. The discussion questions contain no Biblical references and from my own experience, the Bible and prayer that is determined to break through to some type of answer are the best life jackets for surviving a "dark night of the soul".
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