"Whatever Became Of Melanie?" - An Insiteful Review

[Wart Hog]

A helpful, insiteful review of "Whatever Became Of Melanie?" on amazon.com.

5.0 out of 5 stars. A great introduction to the pre-Dark-Ages paradigm!
By  John W. Wallace (South Australia)

"There are many joyfully-sung hymns and choruses that proclaim that "Every knee will bow (in heaven and on earth and under the earth), and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father"(Phil 2:10,11). When faced with the awesomeness of the Creator we may 'fall down (involuntarily) as dead' (e.g. Rev 1:17), but 'bowing the knee' and 'confessing' are essentially voluntary actions even when done under duress. Would our gracious Redeemer put unbelievers under duress to bow to and acclaim Him? The Lover of our souls, Who has so gently respected our choices here and now - will He not also respect our choices in the hereafter? If you are curious about how God will have every knee (willingly) bow and every tongue (ecstatically) declaring Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God - the Father of us all - read this book!

Having held the conviction for the last 20 years that the Bible teaches the reconciliation of all things (especially all people) in Christ (Col1:20), I am very aware of the need for a book with popular appeal, that can engage with the average Christian reader's heart and mind long enough for them to start to really come to grips with the many facets of this truth. There is a lot of great material available (e.g. at www.Tentmaker.org) but unless a person is extremely troubled by the doctrine of eternal torment and has already started to reject it, they can be easily overwhelmed by the radically different paradigm of Biblical Universalism. A seeker needs to be able to quickly get an overview of all the facets and implications of the radical understanding (of the Early Church) - as opposed to the currently `orthodox' position - before they are drawn back from following the Spirit of liberation, by the fear and machinations of their cult family. By 'cult family' I mean their church - and I say this only partly tongue-in-cheek!

Any cult depends on it's adherents not only believing the cult's particular doctrines, and on misunderstanding that which might otherwise liberate them, but also on them being controlled by a grave fear that if they even so much as listen to those outside the cult, they risk being damned by God and/or rejected by the group. The 'orthodox' cult of Eternal Torment, which has captured a large majority of the western church over the last 1500 years is no different. Take for example, my fellow church member, an earnest Bible College student, and the book he was reading about Christian Universalism a year ago. Surprise, surprise, it was an unfavourable critique! But it was not the Universalism I know from the Bible -it was a caricature of Biblical Universalism that I too reject! But the book, written by a cult member, served the cult's purpose - to keep that adherent from knowing the truth, and keeping him still too scared to read Biblical Universalism from those who can expound it from their hearts and from the Bible.

So I was very interested to see what potential 'Whatever Happened To Melanie?' might have for quickly and strongly engaging with the heart and mind of someone contemplating life-after-the-cult. My opinion is that Mr Chevrier has done very well, indeed. True, one still has to be very interested in the topic to read a book that so deeply challenges current orthodoxy...but then again, the trials of life still provoke such interest.

Via the vehicle of a 'theological novel' (also wonderfully used by George MacDonald in the nineteenth century), Mr Chevrier engages the heart, through one's sympathy and identification with the main character. Alice is an over-stressed single parent whose 13-year-old child dies 'in a state of rebellion against church and God.' Her long-held belief in eternal torment is suddenly an overwhelmingly awful prison. Her grief, anger and sense of confusion and hopelessness are transformed into faith, hope and love at her daughter's funeral, as the love of God and the God of love touch her through Bible passages and hymns, previously well-known but little comprehended. The rest of the book consists of extended conversations (punctuated with little bits of story) between Alice and her a Biblical Universalist mentor, in which very many of the usual questions and concerns arise and are answered from Scripture.

It's not a story that is gripping in it's own right (as are MacDonald's 'The Curate of Glaston' trilogyCurate of Glaston, The) but the wonderful expounding of Scripture more than made up for it for me. Mr Chevrier deftly weaves and cross-weaves Scripture with Scripture with Scripture into the seamless whole of the good news of our Heavenly Father's love and majesty.

For those unfamiliar with Biblical Universalism, it involves a major reappraisal of such things as: the imaginative(!) interpretations of modern 'prophecy' teaching, the (mis)translations of the Hebrew and Greek terms for 'hell' and 'eternal', the audience relevance of Jesus' warnings of judgement (fulfilled cataclysmically through the Roman-Judeo war, 67-73 AD), the ending of the age of the Old Covenant and the beginning of the age of the New Covenant (which I personally found particularly helpful), and the historical rise (especially through Constantine and Augustine) of (the cult of) Eternal Torment leading to the Dark Ages.

Mr Chevrier has also, in my opinion, managed to present very succinctly and elegantly the major rational arguments for and against the eventual salvation of all in Christ, in a very readable form.

Whilst hellfire preaching is discredited, the fear of hell amongst Christian is alive and well. It is implicit in all those evangelistic calls that say 'Accept Jesus.. while you can...before it's too late..!' But a belief that God would allow anyone (let alone millions) to suffer agony in hell for eternity is perhaps the single greatest doctrinal hindrance to God being able to woo His children to Himself!

I think therefore that this book will be a great evangelistic tool, both for those outside the church who are already relatively free from the Cult of Eternal Torment, as well as for Christians like Alice who grieve with far too little hope after a death of an unbelieving loved one. (Every minister and every funeral director should have it available!) I also recommend it for all who think of Christianity as synonymous with a belief in hell, or who have trouble identifying an Omnipotent and All-loving Being with the God of the Bible."



Considering all that Gary has done and continues to do for us, for those interested in buying the book, the least we can do is purchase it at tentmaker.