Books like The Final Quest

I don't even know where to start with this one. If it was a story, I'd say it was fine. The writing is sort of elementary and the author does tend to drone on, but it's not a bad romp for the middle school set. If it was an allegory, I'd say it was pretty typical, but that some of the theology was problematic. But Rick Joyner says this is a vision given to him while he was in a trance state at the highest level of prophetic revelation, like John experienced on the island of Patmos. These are not Rick Joyner's thoughts, but God's. And that...I have a hard time swallowing.It's not that I don't believe in visions. I do. I don't think I've ever had one, but I believe they occur. God still speaks, miracles still happen, spiritual gifts are still active in the church--I believe all of that. But when you've studied as many medieval morality plays as I have, and when you've cut your teeth on the illustrated version of The Pilgrim's Progress, you notice the earmarks of allegory. The Final Quest felt no different to me than any of the man-made religious fictions I've read (less well-written and creative than some, actually), and as this story is supposedly being presented by God, I would have expected better. That sounds crass, but it's true. That doesn't mean it isn't worthwhile. I love allegories. I always have. But The Final Quest purports to be something better than a mere story, and I just don't see any evidence to support that claim.There was nothing in the Final Quest that was beyond the scope of a human imagination. As I said, it was typical fare for religious allegory. There was a battle between good and evil, a mountain of glory the hero (Joyner) had to climb in order to learn enough to defeat the rebel host, countless conversations with Jesus, talking eagles, dead saints and angels, a beautiful treasure room and a glorious throne room. Nothing that would throw the average fantasy reader for a loop. For an allegory, it was a little more disgusting than many recent works in the same genre, what with all the condemnation vomit being spewed down by vultures of depression and the myriad mentions of demons urinating and defecating their slime on Christians. Don't read this while eating. Seriously. But by medieval morality play standards, it was pretty tame. Medieval playwrights were dirty in a way you wouldn't expect. In any case, it was more coarse than any vision I've read of in the Bible. Now, I realize that doesn't make The Final Quest not a vision, but I think it's always good practice to compare the questionable with what you know to be true. The story struck me as very dude-ly, with all the emphasis on bodily fluids and violence. The first part reads like the creative work of a seventh grade boy. It got my husband's attention, anyway. :)Another reason why The Final Quest seems to me a bit out of character for a true vision is how well explained everything was. All the parts of the story were expounded upon at length. The demonic arrows had a name (I forget what it was), the snakes entangling the prisoners were snakes of Shame, all the different levels of the mountain corresponded to spiritual truths, the eagles were prophets, and on and on. Every detail was a symbol and every symbol was explained. You know. Just like in an allegory. In the story, Jesus too was quite loquacious and exact in his dialog with Joyner. He answered all of Joyner's questions at (great) length and sermonized about all kinds of things. This struck me as odd, because one of the things I've noticed in my wrestling with the Bible is that every truth is not handed to us on a silver plate. Some of it is clear, but a lot of it you need to contend for. And I've complained often to my husband as to why the Bible isn't more obvious. So many Christians disagree on so many different points of doctrine for very good reasons with biblical support all around, and I didn't see why this is necessary. Why couldn't God just set out Christian doctrine like a textbook with numbered points and subpoints? Why do we have to work for it? Well, Joyner's Jesus in The Final Quest is rectifying this issue. He states what he wants the church to know quite plainly and with no equivocation. He doesn't speak much like Bible Jesus at all. Final Quest Jesus is quite didactic and obvious with his meaning, while Bible Jesus spoke mainly in symbols and parables, even in Revelations with the letters to the churches. It's almost as if Jesus gave up on the church ever figuring out what He really wanted to say, so He decided to make it easy for us. It's one of those things that make you go, "Hmmmm..."That said, there's a lot of solid teaching going on in The Final Quest. It speaks of love and humility and the necessity of the cross. Very good stuff. I don't want to miss highlighting that. The vast majority of what is taught in The Final Quest is biblical. But there are also a few instances of bad theology that crop up, especially near the end of the narrative. For one thing, Joyner portrays heaven as a hierarchy. It is ruled by an aristocracy, and your rank depends on how well you lived for God when you were on earth. Joyner spent a lot of time talking to people on the outer fringes of heaven--The Foolish Virgins--who got into heaven by the skin of their teeth and were cast out into utter darkness because of how they had failed God. However, all that weeping and gnashing of teeth is in the past now and they are content to stand in the outer limits of God's glory. It was of interest to me that some of Joyner's enemies were in this group. Heh. I love fictional revenge. Now, I don't know how heaven is going to operate. There may well be a ranking system, although the parable of the vineyard workers seems to point away from that. The way Joyner describes it, though, seems like a very wordly meritocracy. While the lowly people are content to be lowly and relatively far from the throne, it's hard for me to envision unity in heaven if it is so rigorously hierarchical. It doesn't seem in character with who God is or how heaven is described in the Bible. It strikes me as an entirely human conception. On top of that, there are many thrones in heaven alongside or along with Jesus' throne, and the saints that sit on these thrones are given charge over galaxies and cities. That's just weird. What do the galaxy rulers do all day? "Star, go there. Planet, spin. Now, spin faster. Comets, collide." Strange job. The city rulers thing gives credence to the idea of patron saints, which I don't think is biblical.Another problem I have with the theology is that The Final Quest propagates the idea of a great endtime revival and restoration. Joyner writes that the church in the last days will do great signs and wonders which will amaze all the people and confound the demonic horde. The church will be elevated and take its rightful place in the world. But everything in the Bible points to the endtimes being not so much fun. I don't get it. More crucially, Joyner's conversation in the book with dead apostle Paul is very worrying. Paul tells Joyner that the church has misconstrued his epistles because it takes them as foundational texts. They are not foundational. Only Jesus' words are foundational. Paul's writings are to be viewed in light of what Jesus said, not the other way around. I don't really know what Joyner's trying to get at here, but I wonder if he mightn't be a bit confused. Jesus did not physically write any of the books of the Bible. In the gospels, His words are related by others. Just as in the epistles, the words of God are related by the New Testament writers. There's no difference. All scripture is God-breathed. Theoretically, Jesus had as much to do with writing Ephesians as He did Matthew, so I don't know where Joyner is coming from on this. Aside from that, while the Bible is clear that Jesus is the cornerstone, it is equally clear that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. So Paul's epistles are foundational, as are Isaiah's prophecies and the Pentateuch. I could just chalk this up to a mistake on Joyner's part--I mean, we all err theologically on some point, right?--but this isn't supposed to be Joyner's own understanding. These are the words Joyner reportedly received directly from dead apostle Paul. That is troubling. And creepy.The Final Quest is really a mixed bag for me. I think a Christian could glean a lot from it (Joyner even encourages readers to separate the wheat from the chaff) but its being touted as a prophetic revelation direct from God makes it quite the quagmire for the undiscerning. Proceed with caution.