Book Review: "The Shack"

I hope to start a trend here...and give some reflections of books that I read that may be helpful to you. I constantly have a book open somewhere. In fact...as of now...I have four in process and just finished this one.

The Shack, by Wm. Paul Young was published in 2007. It is a fictional tale of a man's encounter with God resulting from a crisis of faith. I was first made aware of the book several months ago by two guys I respect. One is a professional counselor and the other is a friend. Both spoke highly of the book...so I picked it up recently at Lifeway and put it beside the bed to dig into. I don't really get into fiction too much anymore...so I was a bit hesitant. I also read things from a "critical" point of view...looking for theological and cultural implications that are useful or harmful to the people I know.

The general story line goes like this. A man experiences a crisis of faith (his daughter is abducted and murdered during a family vacation.) The man, who was portrayed as a "nominal" Christian began to ask the tough questions we all consider from time to time: "Why would a good God allow evil things to happen to us and the people we love?"

The book answers this question in an adequate way. Because God does not override the freewill (free agency) of humanity, He does not stop evil (necessarily) from taking place. He grieves over it as well. He hates how it hurts others. At the same time, God can and often does use the circumstances surrounding the evil to grow, shape, mold, and help people...and ultimately glorifies Himself. This sounds somewhat like a cliche since it does not settle well with the victim of crime. Nonetheless...life is ultimately not about us. We do not exist for ourselves, but for Him who created us.

While the book does offer an explanation for the presence of evil...and a purposeful explanation for why God does not always intervene to stop evil from occurring...it does great violence and (I believe) unnecessary damage to a biblical understanding of who God is.

• There are a number of errors dealing with the Trinity. The Trinity is a difficult doctrine to explain...and is further complicated by the unbiblical assertions made here that there is no hierarchy involved within the Trinity or between God as Creator and us as His Creation. This is simply not true. It does not "square" with the Bible.
• Young took it upon himself to exercise creative license in portraying God and the Holy Spirit as feminine in the story. This was unnecessary since it was not a biblical revelation and it has direct impact on the discussions pertaining to gender that are prevalent in our cultural context today.
• There is a prevailing emphasis on the value of an "experience" with God over a biblical understanding of God as revealed in the Scriptures. The understanding of God that comes from the Scriptures is discounted in relation to an experience with God. The subtle move is really a "jab" taken at those who value Scripture as God's self-revelation and value it as the "norming norm" for Christian life. From the Scriptures...we KNOW all that God has revealed to us. He revealed all that was necessary to us for us to understand and relate to Him as we were designed to do. The subtle nature of the implication that we are limited in our understanding of God if all we rely upon is the Scripture is seen in an interaction between the main character and Jesus. The main character (Mack)...a seminary graduate...explains that he must have been taught all wrong in how to understand God. It SEEMS that the author's intent is to radically redefine Christian doctrine...or to at least open the door to the possibility that orthodox Christian Doctrine may be in error. To undermine the very foundation of biblical truth...is dangerously irresponsible.

There are many other false propositions in the book. It asserts that God is at times "submissive" to humans. Biblically...God is never the servant of man. This is purely and wholly false. The book asserts that Jesus is "the best way that any human can relate to [God the Father] or [the Holy Spirit] (p.110)."Jesus is not the best way to relate to God (John 14:6). He is the only way.

All in all, I found the book very disturbing. The value of the explanation of evil was greatly overshadowed by the irresponsibility (at best) or subversive attempts (at worst) of the author in presenting a new theology of God by implication. I would highly discourage anyone from spending the money to own the book. I would discourage recommending the book to anyone...but especially to those who are young in the Christian faith or who have not developed a strong foundational understanding of the Person and Nature of God. It is one thing to recognize error and reject it. It is another to be unable to recognize it and assimilate it into a false understanding of God.

Some may say, "Chris...this is just 'fiction' and as such, it makes no theological propositions. It is simply a story of a man and his quest for answers." Let me resond. It is not just fiction. It is religious or "Christian" fiction and makes/presents arguments for a new understanding of God (theology), that is inconsistent with any orthodox understanding of God held by Christians. The book implies matters that are in direct contradiction with biblical truth and attributes these to implications to statements of God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. In Christian circles...this is (at best) error, and (at worst) heresy.

I am including a couple of links to others who have reviewed the book. I intentionally waited until after I read it before reading their reviews...so as not to be tainted. They are a bit more comprehensive and (arguably) better researched and written than my own.

http://www.challies.com/archives/book-reviews/the-shack-by-william-p-young.php

http://www.albertmohler.com/radio_show.php?cdate=2008-04-11

I hope you found the review helpful and maybe it will save you $15 the next time you think of buying it.

Grace,