Some Thoughts on The Shack

Many have asked me recently about my view of the book, The Shack. I posted these thoughts back in August of 2008. What I said then I still believe now. Blessings!! - pj



Recently a friend passed on a copy of the bestselling book, The Shack (by William P. Young) to my wife. The book tells the story of a man (Mack) whose young daughter was brutally murdered. After several years of grieving her death, Mack receives a mysterious note from "Papa" (the book's name for God the Father), inviting him to the shack where his daughter was killed to spend some time together. Mack ends up going and once there he is surprised to find the Father, Son and Holy Spirit waiting for him.

I just finished the book on Sunday night. I must say that the ending did make my eyes perspire a little bit. Would I recommend the book for others to read? I don't think so. I found the writing to be good at points and not so good at other points. But what concerns me most is that Christians are reading the book and claiming that it has changed how they view God. And that disturbs me. Why? Because I found the God of The Shack to be a very different God from the God of the Bible. Now it is not my purpose to give you a complete review of the book and show you where the book falls short. I will leave that to others who have done a far better job than I could ever do (for an excellent review on the Shack see Tim Challies' review found at this link: http://www.challies.com/archives/book-reviews/a-review-of-the-shack-download-it-here.php).

So ... let me give you just one thought. When I consider how the people in Scripture reacted when they came face-to-face with God (for example Isaiah, Moses, Ezekiel, John the Apostle), their response was far, far different than how Mack responds when he meets "God." The Shack emphasizes God's love and immanence (the fact that God is near). And it is very true that God is love ... and God is near. But I believe the qualifying attribute of God (i.e. the attribute that qualifies all of his attributes) is not love but holiness. God's holiness is the only attribute mentioned in Scripture that is taken to the superlative (in both Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4 God's holiness is so much on the minds of the heavenly beings that they shout out the fact that God is "holy, holy, holy!"). So in effect, God's love is a holy love. God's grace is a holy grace. God's wisdom is a holy wisdom. And that is not what I saw in The Shack.

So bottom line (I don't want to get too long on my thoughts - you can read Tim Challies' review for more insights) - if you feel that you have to read the book, please read it as FICTION - for that is truly what it is. And get your theology from the Word of God.


Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj