I first learned of this book while listening to a sermon on the Trinity in May of 2008. Since then I have heard very little concerning this book. There was no urgency on my part to read it. Then my mother brought a copy to my house when she came to visit. I asked her opinion and was surprised that it was so different. This sparked my interest.
A little further background if you don't mind: I went to our local library and they had never heard of it. I asked for an inter-library loan, your library borrows the book from another library. Twice they called me for more information. They could not find a library that had it. My friend had gone to a discount store and found it for $10.00. I borrowed his copy and read it in two days. As I write this the library called me back again and the librarian said, "What is up with this book! Every library that we find that has it says that it is checked out and there is a waiting list 5-10 people long." Amazing. Let me give my 2 cents. That is the actual value of the opinion. People may say that the story line is good with some theological hurtles to cross. I say that the hurtles are too many and too contrary to scripture to allow for that. God takes on the form of a woman in the 5th or 6th chapter. The Bible says that God is not a man and there are no images of God. This is what idolatry is. God does not want us to worship an image. Also if God were a female in form or attributes why did Jesus refer to God as a Father and not a mother. To the credit of the book the author makes this case at the end. But it comes after God was portrayed as a woman for all of the events of the book. This is not a writer displaying literary license. It is blatantly going against what is in scripture. Fiction or not, if this book is touching as many people as it appears to be than this is a great discredit to the author and he is purposely misleading people. The book also touches on how the Trinity communicates and functions as our one and only God. This is a mountainous task. One could only fail. The author describes the relationship of the Trinity in a way that cannot be found in the Bible. It is a beautiful description but that does not make it right. Mr. Young states that the Trinity has no hierarchy. This is interesting knowing that Jesus said that he was sent by the Father. Furthermore Jesus says that he will send the Holy Spirit. In Genesis it is the Father that says "let us make man in our image". I confess that I do not understand how it works. I only know through reading the Bible that there is some type of deference among the Trinity and we all know what it is. We baptize people in recognition of that deference: God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There is equality in the Trinity just as there is equality in a marriage. But in a marriage God sets the husband as the head of the home. This does not reduce the wife in society but it does give order in union. I will stop here. For purpose of brevity I may not have made a good case for my thoughts. William Young took on a huge task. I do not criticize his writing style or the way that he attempts to address topics of the day. I only wish that he had done a better job of sticking to the obvious things in Scripture for an accurate portrayal of the Trinity. The only reason this would become the next "Pilgrims Progress" would be through the ignorance that some may have of the Bible.