The Shack review

I read The Shack by William Paul Young over the weekend. It is a #1 New York Times bestseller and has become pretty controversial over the past several months. My wife bought it for me a few weeks ago at Borders. I put off reading it until last Friday. Some folks have called and emailed the church office asking if we have read it. I figured if people are reading it and talking about it that I should see what all the commotion is about.

First of all, The Shack is a work of FICTION. Here's the dictionary definition of fiction: 1. the class of literature comprising works of imaginative narration, esp. in prose form, 2. something feigned, invented, or imagined; a made-up story.

Some Christian dignitaries have sounded off on The Shack saying that it is a work of heresy. Why? Because God the Father is represented as a big, black woman. The Holy Spirit is represented by a small Asian woman and Jesus is a large nosed Middle Eastern man. The Trinity is illustrated as 3 different persons who share a perfect relationship with each other with no hierarchy or chain of command. (Another reason some people don't like the book. They say that there is a hierarchy in the Trinity).

I guess these critics also didn't like C.S. Lewis portraying Christ as Aslan the Lion in The Chronicles of Narnia or Bunyan's Goodwill, the gate keeper and Christ-figure, in The Pilgrim's Progess. The critics seem to have a hard time understanding how spiritual truths can be communicated in a fictional story. Is everything in The Shack absolutely based on Scriptural fact? No. It wasn't written to be. It is one man's attempt at communicating the incredible love of God. Anyone's attempt to do so would be inept.

Other Christian leaders commend the book as an incredible and important piece of Christian literature. Eugene Petersen (of The Message) compares it to Pilgrim's Progress.

What's the book about? Here's a brief summary:

In the novel's opening pages, the main character Mack Phillips tells his little daughter, Missy, the legend of an Indian princess who hurls herself over waterfalls to save her people from death. "Will I have to die to save others?" she asks him. "No," he tells her, "Jesus has done this for you." She sleeps soundly and secure in Christ.

The foreshadowing is hardly subtle: the sacrifice of an innocent life for the sake of salvation. Missy is kidnapped by a serial killer and is murdered in a filthy, deserted shack in the wilderness. Years later, Mack, still devastated, receives a note inviting him back to the shack. It's signed "Papa," the name his more resilient and spiritual wife, Nan, uses for God.

Mack's weekend at the shack is a compressed journey toward belief, forgiveness and acceptance.

But what a trip. Instead of a dump, this shack is a mansion in an Eden-like garden where God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit embrace him. For two days, they talk, eat, walk, garden and share visions of heaven, where little Missy romps happily. They tell Mack they live in a loving relationship without hierarchy, guilt or shame, all fully human, all divine. They say that through Jesus' death, God is "fully reconciled" to the whole world, so that all might discover God's love.

The Shack is an interesting story and a creative way to show God's love, grace, and patience with us. It's illustration of how the divine Trinity relates with each person is quite interesting.

Honestly, I was not that impressed with the writing. I read it quickly only because of the big-to-do about it. I can't say that it was a "page-turner" and I'm not ready to tell everyone you just have to read this book. It did remind me of one of my all-time personal favorite novels, Joshua. That is a book that I highly recommend. It can change the way you view Jesus and give you a great sense of peace and liberty. (See link to Joshua on my book list on the right.)