My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Of all the Ted Dekker books I’ve listened to so far, this has the best storytelling. The characters are interesting, the prose is excellent, and the story held my interest throughout, which is not an easy task.
The narrator of the audiobook does an amazing job.
One big disappointment was the main theme of the book, which has to do with judgment. It is repeatedly claimed that neither God the Father nor Jesus judge anyone, and that Jesus called his followers to forgive the whole world unconditionally.
It is true that John 5:22 says, “The Father judges no one …” but the sentence goes on to say, “…but has entrusted all judgment to the Son.” Jesus does judge. Indeed, his is the final judge of all mankind (2 Tim.4:1). Anyone who thinks Jesus forgives unconditionally should read his blistering condemnation of the Pharisees in Matthew 23. God does not forgive unconditionally, nor does he love unconditionally (another claim made in the book). There is a sense in which God loves the whole world (John 3:16), but not as his children. To receive his fatherly love one must be his child, which only happens through faith in Christ (John 1:11-13).
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