If you have not heard of the the Shack by William P. Young, you probably will soon. At the time of this writing the Shack is the #3 best-selling book on Amazon.com and is also on the New York Times best selling list. So, what is it all about?
The Story
The basic thrust of this fictional book is a father (Mack) is dealing with the pain of the loss of his daughter. She was murdered by a serial killer and he has never received closure with her death or with his anger with God over allowing her to die. Mack received a letter from God one morning asking him to meet God at the shack where his daughter’s murder occurred. Mack after some deliberation agrees to go. He arrives at the shack and meets God in the form of three persons (Representative of the Trinity) and begins to work through his grief and anger in a face to face encounter with God.
As a Work of Fiction
This is a well written and extremely creative book. It held my attention and tugged at my heart as I walked through this fictional character’s pain. I also really enjoyed certain elements of God’s love and interaction with the main character (Mack). The basic moral story that the book tells is that God does want to be involved in our life and that He also wants to heal our hurts! Therefore, it really hits us hard on an emotional level.
God Facts (Theology)
In this novel William Young makes some gross errors with concern to who God really is, how God reveals Himself to us, and what it really meant for Jesus to come into our world. For instance on page 95 of the book Mack notices that God the Father bears the marks of the crucifixion on His hands. This is a heretical stance known as modalism / sabellianism. Well known apologist Dr. Norman Geisler has sighted 14 incorrect teachings in the Shack.
If you decide to read the Shack, please understand that you should not build a definition of who God is or how He wants to be involved in your life personally. If you have a desire to know these truths: Read the Bible, ask your Teaching Pastors about these truths, or ask them for recommended books on the topics.
For Further Research
1. Wikipedia: Search “The Shack”
2. Chuck Colson: http://www.breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=7830
3. Norman Geisler: http://www.normangeisler.net/theshack.html
All of us are working through life. For me faith is not a separate part, but an integral part of navigating life. This BLOG is place where I can share my thoughts, struggles, and wins regarding my journey with the hope of learning with you and from you.
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This awesome Larry. I haven't read the book, but Jaime has. She loved it. Very cool stuff
ReplyDeleteI agree with Larrys' assessment of the book. However, I am always hesitant to label any view as " heretical " unless it is in clear contradiction to biblical truth. Many beliefs that we hold in the modern church would have been heresy in previous generations.
ReplyDeleteGreat job Larry.
Great post Larry, when will u post some more stuff?
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book Larry. It's awesome that the Holy spirit can give us the ability to discern the difference between assertions that antithetically parallel one another.
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