Book Review for The Station: A Journey of Discovery by Ileana Ramos

 In The Station a man named Tony tells a story about a young girl Lily. Lily is filled with anger, hatred, bitterness and emptiness. She embarks on a journey that she hopes will take her to a place where she can finally be released from all these scars and hurts and to fill what is missing in her life.

On her journey she meets different people. They have names like,”Trust,” “Patience," "Love", and "Forgiveness", to name a few.

Each of these people inform Lily that what she is looking for is the fountain and in order to find the fountain she must shed all the negative attributes that she clings to. She is told that the fountain is really inside of her and if she would be able to let go of her anger, bitterness, and forgive herself and others who have hurt her she would discover the fountain in herself.

Although Lilly is skeptical she eventually comes to a place through the help of these different “people” where her desire to find and experience the fountain is stronger than holding on to these destructive emotions.

At first I thought that maybe Ramos was simply providing a recipe for some “New Age” philosophy. As the story develops we are informed that the fountain is actually God who lives inside all of us and we can see God through Jesus Christ who is the personification of God.

In fact Ramos uses a lot of Biblical terms and metaphors- describing God as knocking on the door of our hearts, filling it with the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, forgiveness, self-control etc..)

But there were some key elements missing. Never once is Lilly called on to repent and have her sins forgiven through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. In fact Christ's death and resurrection are never mentioned. He is simply someone who becomes a close friend after we forgive others and ourselves.

Another unbiblical assertion is that life will be lived happily ever after.

One of the most wonderful things I have discovered about the ministry of Jesus is the truth that he came to set me free. I was in such bondage to others as well as to those hindrances and heaviness I found within my self. When Christ came into my life, the shackles that kept me in bondage were broken, and I experienced freedom for the first time in my life. All I can tell you is that I know I have found the truth for myself, because I have love, peace, joy, acceptance, and serenity in my heart and soul. (pg118)

Notice how Lily states the shackles that kept her in bondage were hindrances and heaviness within her self. She never calls it sin. She admits that Jesus set her free but she never mentions the method by which Jesus frees us from sin.

Lily talks about receiving love, peace joy et al but it's not through the forgiveness of sins. Also, the implication seems to be that we are simply going to experience these attributes like some kind of Nirvana reached on earth. (The fact that she quotes Deepak Chopra and Kahil Gibran is another clue that Ramos is not presenting the Gospel.)

That sounds wonderful but it's a false promise. While it is true that the Christian walk produces these fruits, life can become harder after becoming saved. God uses hardship to produce these and other fruits: endurance, patience and self-control. If anyone enters into a relationship with Christ thinking life is going to become a merry skip to la la land they are going to be quickly disillusioned.

No matter how much Ramos uses Christian terminology and talks of all the wonderful things Jesus can do for you when he becomes your Friend she leaves out a crucial and necessary step. That is the process of salvation.

It is our sin that separates us from God. All the anger, bitterness, hurting others, not forgiving other people who have hurt us-all stem from sin. Ramos states that God is living in us and we simply need to find him to rid ourselves of these destructive attributes. No, God is separated from us until we accept Jesus' covering of our sin so we then can fellowship with a Pure and Holy God.

Ramos never talks of salvation. She only talks about someone lost and seeking who can find the solution inside of herself. Jesus is delegated as a teacher and guide but never as He truly is: a Savior.

My conclusion? The Station is a cleverly disguised attempt to make a New Age philosophy sound Christian.

I received a complimentary copy of  this book as a member of the
Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team. Visit dorrancebookstore.com   if you would like to buy a copy of the book or to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team.