Thursday, April 19, 2012

Titanic Warning

titanic-warningTitanic Warning
Written by Casey M. Sabella
Published at New Leaf Publishing

About the book

Near midnight, the heralded and huge White Star liner Titanic, her invincibility never before in question, is a tiny speck on a vast ocean. Four days out on a much-anticipated maiden voyage, the luxury vessel has been fatally grazed by an iceberg.

Labeled unsinkable by an adoring public, Titanic will plunge beneath the cold waters of the North Atlantic in under three hours.

In Titanic Warning, author Casey Sabella blends a vivid re-telling of the disaster with commentary on the state of the modern-day Church and the lack of commitment to discipling the masses. How did three ships in the vicinity, called upon to rescue the 2500 stranded souls, reflect real personalities in the modern age? Are we prideful like the Titanic? Are we indifferent to the cries of humanity, like the Californian, or do we launch a rescue like the Carpathia? Does the burden to help urge us to escape from it all, like the Samson?

The questions are personal, the answers, crucial. Will we heed the warning to put salvation before gleaming monuments? May God help us board the right ship!

STUDY AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AT THE END OF EACH CHAPTER.

Who is Casey M. Sabella?

Casey Sabella has served the body of Christ as a church planter becoming ordained in 1981. His passion is to help leaders and churches work together to reach non-Christians and train them to become effective in life and ministry. He and his wife Patricia have raised four children who by God’s grace each serve the Lord fervently in ministry. Casey is the author of When a Church Goes Bad, which helps Christians break free from the pain of spiritual abuse to regain their spiritual destinies. While serving as a senior pastor of a local church in Waterbury, CT, Casey makes himself available to speak at conferences and churches that need help navigating the challenges of church life.

My Thoughts

I was somewhat attracted by the title and the subject of the book.  But as I was reading it, I became annoyed and just couldn’t believe that the author took the tragedy of the Titanic and compared it to the situation in the church in the 21st century.  Don’t take me wrong, I do see problems in the church and that unfortunately some so-called Christians are wishy-washy in the faith.   But to have the guts to take a tragedy and use it as an example for God’s wrath is hard to swallow.

What turned me off while reading the book was some of the suggestions made in the book…

While it may seem like a terrible thing to suggest at this point, could it be that God Himself sank the Titanic?

Seriously?  My breath was taken away when I read this because I don’t believe that God orchestrated this tragedy.  Though I agree that there were miscommunications and carelessness in not drilling the crew as well as misjudgment when receiving messages from other boats in the area, I cannot agree with what the author is communicating in this book.

On the next page, the author is asking this:

“Why would a loving God send 1,522 innocent men, women, and children to their death?  How could a God of justice be so cruel?  This appears to be a facet of God’s nature that we are terrified to consider.

I don’t think God purposely decided to kill these people.   The author seem to forget that we have an enemy on the planet and he would do anything to cause tragedy.  If what the author is suggesting that it is the kind of God Christianity is worshipping, I don’t want to do anything with Him.   But thankfully this isn’t the case because God is loving and wants the best of us.  

As I was reading this book, I got sick in my stomach just to think that this kind of book existed on the market.     It is pretty rare that I misjudge a book from it’s cover and the introduction of it.   However, the book isn’t what I was expecting.    Would I recommend the book?   No.   Are other people enjoying the book?   According to the reviews I have seen on amazon.ca it looks like it.   But I don’t think that everyone would enjoy it.    Like I said, I know there are some issues in the church in North-America but at the same time part of the problem are within people and our sinful nature.    We just need to wake up and follow what God wants us to do.   Simple?  No it isn’t because most of the time it will be to get out of your comfort zone and do things you wouldn’t think to be able to do.   But it’s feasible with faith as big as a mustard seed.   My question to you would be are you willing to follow God in whatever journey He has for you?

If you are still interested in reading Titanic Warning, you can find the book anywhere even amazon.ca.

Disclaimer: Thanks to New Leaf Publishing Group for sending me the above mentioned product in EPUB format for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

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