Friday, September 06, 2019

book review: the girl behind the red rope

title: the girl behind the red rope
author: Ted Dekker and Rachelle Dekker
publisher: 2019
date: Revell

The father/daughter duo offer a thought-provoking read in their new book: The Girl Behind the Red Rope

Haven Valley is a religious community, separated from the outside world by a red rope designed to keep the evil fury out. Through a series of events, questions arise about the existence of the fury. 

One of the key ways the Haven Valley community is kept together is by rules... rules that are rooted in fear. 

"To say you need to be protected from the darkness
only empowers the darkness as a threat".
That quote sums up the book nicely. Do we give darkness power? Where there is light, darkness cannot exist. Light does not need protection from darkness.

If you find yourself struggling with fears, doubts, and old ways of thinking and living creeping back into your life, especially if you have been a Christian for a few years, we can sometimes be distracted from God's truth. Ted and Rachelle Dekker have the main character in The Girl Behind the Red Rope say:
 "My Fury (fears) didn't have faces, but if they did, they would all be versions of me,
and for the first time I truly understood them for what they were.
My self-pity, my anxiousness, my anger, my hopelessness, my judgment, my self-criticism, my worthlessness, my victimhood, my self-righteousness, my disapproval of others, my fear of being deceived, my need to control any situation, my guilt…"

Some will probably quibble over some details of theology. But remember this is not a theological textbook. It is a novel, a story, that shows some spiritual truth.

Without providing any spoilers, the message is an important one in today's world. The storyline is not new. There are hints of it in his "Beyond the Circle" series. The idea of light and religion are much used in literature. The tension between faith and rules are as old as the book of Genesis. And that's why we need to hear the truth expressed again.


A review copy was provided by the publisher. 
All opinions are my own.

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