The Far Country by Terri Buckingham. My first thought was: how audacious, to speak in God's voice. My second thought was: God speaks more clearly than this. This entire book was circular and, for lack of a better descriptor, muddy. Stephen King says a good writer uses as few words as possible. Clearly Buckingham does not subscribe to that philosophy. What gives her the right? What are her qualifications? I looked for a biography online to check her experience. Not there. Not even on Wikipedia, which I normally don't consider a good source. I consider this book to be a waste of the time it took for me to read it.

I was invited to read a free ARC of The Far Country. All opinions contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #thefarcountry

Look, I know we need more spirit power in our lives. And I know walking in the Spirit needs listening, obeying and doing what He says. That's how far I can agree with this book.

It is supposedly written in God's voice, but even when I tried reading with a listening spirit it did not feel like God's voice. This is not the God I know speaking. This is a god who depends on those worthy to defeat Satan, a god who tells me that if I am worthy to belong to the elective club I'll have a nice time during tribulation. And a god who in one chapter tells me to have nothing to do with spirit travel and two chapters later he tells me how wonderful and time-saving spirit travel will be for those who are worthy.
I'll add some quotes to show what I mean:

"Everyone is under a covenant that if they perfectly obey Me, I will keep them from sickness, and they will be perfectly content. But if there is sin, it will manifest itself in your health or mental state."

"As long as your lives are pure before Me, I won't let anyone touch you, not any human spirit not any demonic spirit."

"We created man to settle the issue brought on by satan breeching the box containing the seed of evil."

"If I am in control, the world is perfect. But the world is not perfect, so I must not be in control."

This god is also constantly talking about things he can't do because of the rules of engagement. His voice is snarky, snappy, too casual and not holy by any means.

Developing a deeper understanding into the book of Joel and how it can spark a revival in our modern church makes this an interesting read. The idea of harnessing and developing our "Spirit Power" for the times ahead seems so crazy to some people. But there have been those using evil spirits to conjure up all kinds of chaos for centuries. If we just get all of the religious concepts out of our head, perhaps we could experience so much more in the spirit.

Some may criticize the author for writing in the voice of God, but I see it as an attempt to be genuine to what she is "hearing" and "writing." This style may ruffle some feathers in the church, but it may also create a lot of good, if we follow the precepts outlined here.

Any time a book is allegedly narrated by God, in the first person, you may want to re-up your stock in red flags. Because “The Far Country” doesn’t just raise red flags. It’s bizarre, blathering text merits a whole fistful. And then some.

Indeed, the theology, pneumatology, soteriology and eschatology presented in this work is well outside the bounds of biblical Christianity. Besides some highly suspect exegesis and seriously flawed syllogisms, there’s also some major weirdness going on regarding the person and nature of God and His redemptive plan.

The “God” presented in the book, who’s the main lecturer in the text, is not the sovereign, almighty God of Scripture. Instead, He’s a weak-kneed, waffling, capricious god limited by human choices. He’s also pretty pompous. And “snarky.”

Oh, and since it's "the end of time," "grace and mercy will no longer be the law of the land.” Really? Did I miss that in my New Testament? Ditto that Christians will “ride out the Tribulation”? Rapture, hello? And communication in heaven occurs by telepathy. Riiiiight.

I expected something along the lines of “This Present Darkness.” It’s not even close. Bizarre and meandering, the text takes the form of a pedantic lecture from a badly misdrawn caricature of the nature and person of God as revealed in Scripture. (He’s holding an “invitation-only club” based on works. And you have to earn His favor. In case you were wondering.)

I can’t remember the last time I read anything this unhinged. Or just plain lousy. As in, dull as a box of rocks and twice as dense.

Don’t waste your time.

#TheFarCountry
#NetGalley