{"id":983,"date":"2024-03-10T06:55:04","date_gmt":"2024-03-10T10:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thewordinevidence\/?p=983"},"modified":"2024-03-10T17:22:26","modified_gmt":"2024-03-10T21:22:26","slug":"do-you-recognize-god-in-your-bookstore-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thewordinevidence\/2024\/03\/do-you-recognize-god-in-your-bookstore-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Recognize God In Your Bookstore? (Part II)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
The Alchemist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
In the first article in this series,<\/a> I wrote about \u201cMoby Dick<\/strong>\u201d, the story about a man\u2019s arrogance and the challenge of the Whale \u201cas God\u201d that led to the entire crew\u2019s downfall.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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With Paul Coelho\u2019s \u201cThe Alchemist<\/strong>, we have a very different tale of a shepherd boy\u2019s quest to find a treasure and yet finding life along the way. In Coelho\u2019s enormously popular book, a repeating message about finding one\u2019s \u201cpersonal legend\u201d or path drives the narrative forward.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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In the book, a young boy named, Santiago, ventures out on a quest for treasure and is guided by a mysterious Alchemist who teaches Santiago about seeking one\u2019s own truth.<\/span><\/p>\n
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I read The Alchemist nearly 20 years ago. At the time, I was introduced to Coelho\u2019s typical metaphorical and sometimes esoteric writing where he often channels global religious principles and embeds them within his characters and narrative.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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As I look back at this, one of most popular novels of all time, the one thing that sticks out today as it did for me 20 years ago is that although Coelho has quite a talent for keeping his readers engaged, The Alchemist can\u2019t really decide what position it wants to take or what the core of the message it wants to convey.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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With this book, Coelho cleverly combines some pantheistic principles and places them adjacent to some metaphorical Christian characters and Biblical stories.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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But ultimately, Coelho reverses gears and does a 180 degree turn away from any sort of \u201cGod is in control\u201d mantra when he segues or riffs into finding one\u2019s own way in the world. Coelho\u2019s book has ultimately one existential message to send to its readers. He is really telling us that we are responsible for our own path and our destiny is not the responsibility of others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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Probably the most famous quotes showing this transition from pantheism to Christianity and then onto existentialism can be seen if we examine the following quotes that are also repeated in different parts of the book.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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