Andy Andrews - The Final Summit - Let's Hope Not!

Andy Andrews newest book, The Final Summit, is a classic "feel good" book in the line of "I'm OK, You're OK."  Unfortunately, it is a well-crafted book that ends with a thud. The end will be a very BIG disappointment, if you live life from a biblical worldview, since time is short and resources should not be wasted on publishing anything so meaningless.

I quickly was drawn into Andy Andrews' art of storytelling. Meeting individuals from history was very intriguing, especially getting to watch people who lived in different time periods interact. I dare not share the names of the characters included because truly this was part of the fun in continuing to turn page after page to discover who would step up next. It will be suffice to say people of all ages from biblical times to our present century were included.

I love a good plot, especially one with an interesting twist. Andy Andrews begins with an enjoyable story mastering the fact that fiction doesn't have to play by the rules of reality! He stretches the possibilities, even suspends or bends time.

This story is based upon an ordinary man, David Ponder, who given a most important task by Archangel Gabriel. David must, with the assistance of "Travelers" (famous good people throughout history), find a two word answer to this monumental question: "What does humanity need to do, individually and collectively, to restore itself to the pathway toward successful civilization?"

Five tries are given and all five are used up, each incorrect. In the end, all the rules set up went by the wayside and in a free-for-all discussion, the answer comes forth loudly spoken by one in the crowd of so many. I wont share the five wrong answers or the final right answer because I don't want to spoil the discovery in reading the book, if you still decide to do so.

Sadly, the correct answer to the final summit question was as generic catch-all that can mean anything or nothing, that can be good or evil, that is all inclusive, anything goes, you-be-the-God-of- your-life mentality. I suppose with a final answer like this, Andy Andrews felt he would please everyone. But, I feel, by not taking a stand on what he truly believes the correct answer to be, he disappoints everyone by trying to giving a warm, cozy, do-what-is-right-in- your-own-eyes philosophy. 

Midway in reading this book, I suspected the end would be unBiblical, since most of the discussion were basically trivial ideas. So while I truly enjoyed meeting the characters of history and seeing them interact with wit and knowledge, the possible answers and final ending were pitiful.

The generic "right answer" could be embraced by someone of any belief and placed importance on what we as humans do rather than who we are. The irony is Biblical truth teaches life is not about us, it is about God, and what we do matters little in comparison to knowing who we are. God created each of us to be, not to do. It is out of being who we are created to be that anything worth value is ever done. Andy Andrews' answer doesn't ever come close to the true Biblical answer that  it is only after we repent and receive new life through Jesus Christ, we are free from sin and able to trust and obey God, and thereby be restored on the pathway to successful civilization. 

Andy Andrews will definitely not offend anyone of the world, but at the same time while some might feel a pat on the back after reading the book, lives will not be changed, and the world will not be better for having read his book.