random thoughts... My name is Aaron, sometimes called Max because it's my middle name. I recently married a beautiful woman who just so happens to be the love of my life.

I love books. Some of my favorite childhood memories include times reading great stories. This is the reason I signed up with Blogging for Books.

I was so excited to get the first book I had picked to review: "The Chasm", by Randy Alcorn.

I'd never before had a chance to read any other works by Alcorn, and, because I'm an avid reader of fiction, I figured this would be a good place to start.

I was SO wrong.

I've heard from many trusted sources about how great Alcorn's non-fiction materials are. However, I found myself sadly disappointed when I began reading this work of fiction.

"The Chasm" is the story of Nick Seagrave, a middle-aged business professional who finds himself in a dark world filled with hidden danger.

Had I known this story was a condensed version of the book "Edge of Eternity," also by Alcorn, I would not have chosen "The Chasm" as my first read.

As a work of fiction, I found the narrative to be rushed and a bit forced. It felt like a roller coaster ride, and not in a fun, exciting way. I was pushed from one monumental moment to the next before I had a chance to properly digest what was going on.

I don't know if it was the author's intention, but the main character, Nick, comes off as rude, arrogant, and, honestly, somewhat of a jerk. Multiple references of others as "ignorant, little people" doesn't easily endear me to Nick or the author.

The story didn't do much for me as an allegory either. The dark hopelessness of life without Christ is painfully obvious and overindulged. Not only has this symbolic story been done before, it's been done with more grace and creativity.

I can usually devour a 700+ page book in less than a week. It took me more than a week to finish this 110 page story. I had to force myself to pick it up and complete it. Had it not been for the requirement of this review, I seriously doubt I would have kept reading after the first few pages.

There is also a Readers Guide at the back of the book that asks questions about each chapter. after forcing myself to finish the book itself, I couldn't bring myself to even consider reading, much less answering, the questions.

All of this to say that, for me, "The Chasm" just didn't deliver.

I would not recommend this book to anybody.



I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

Okay, so I totally stole this quote off of Pete Wilson's blog. Who, in turn, got it from The Kingdom Life, by Dallas Willard.

"Ideas and images are the primary focus of Satan’s efforts to defeat God’s purposes for humankind They form the primary arena of the battle of spiritual formation. When we are subject to Satan’s chosen ideas and images, he can take a holiday. When he undertook to draw Eve away from God, he did not hit her with a stick but with an idea. It was with the idea that God could not be trusted and that she must act on her own to secure her own well-being."

If you go to his blog, you can see the great discussion they're having about what we must believe about the attributes of God in order to follow and honor Him with our lives.

After reading that quote, my heart and mind attached to the last two sentences; where Willard mentions that Eve was drawn away by an idea. Now, the discussion of Original Sin and who's fault it was has been argued one way or another I don't know how many times. What drew me to these words was the underlying theme of TRUTH vs. LIES.

This is something we all struggle with. Everyone struggles with sin, in one form or another. And we all struggle between what we believe to be true and what we believe to be false.

For a good portion of my life I danced between both camps; choosing one over the other as it suited me at the moment. In my heart I knew there was a God, that He loved me and died for me, but I was also set in doing whatever I wanted when I wanted to.

As I grew up, I learned to tell the difference between what was truth and what was a lie, but I still struggled with applying it to my life. Sometimes the lies we let ourselves believe are so powerful, or so ingrained, that they become the "truth" we base our lives upon.

It wasn't until three years ago, when my life became a train-wreck of a mess, that I began to realize just how much the battle between truth and lies was effecting me. Since then I've been more aware of that conflict in myself and others around me.

This was the same issue Adam and Eve dealt with at the beginning of time. Will I trust and believe in what God told me is true, or will I give into a convenient lie?

Will we trust in our Creator and His timing, or will we work out for ourselves what WE think we need when WE decide we need it?

Even after realizing the conflict, and being aware of it, the struggle continues.

"When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen."