Anyone Read the Shack?

[dwayner79]

The Shack


Its being heralded as the Pilgram's Progress for our generation. Has anyone read it? Thoughts?

[kevinmiller]

Never read it but it does look interesting.

[Jerry]

I have read a couple of reviews. It is filled with heresy.

BEWARE OF THE SHACK (Friday Church News Notes, May 9, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from ?The Shack: Father-goddess Rising,? Lighthouse Trails Research, April 23, 2008: ?Many are crediting The Shack, the novel by William P. Young, with revolutionizing their faith. With themes of overcoming loss, working through anger, and restored relationship between man and God, Young?s novel has excited many within the Body of Christ. Young has appeared on CBN, and has garnered fans across the country. The Shack, continues to sell briskly. Yet, in the midst of such enthusiasm, does The Shack glorify Jesus Christ--or contradict the Bible with a false image of the Lord our God? The novel?s main character, Mack Philips, has lost his daughter. She has been murdered, her bloodied dress found in an isolated shack. Four years later Mack receives an invitation from God to spend time with the Trinity in the very shack where the dress was found. Nowhere in the Bible do Father, Son, and Holy Spirit simultaneously assume physical forms on earth. The Shack, however, portrays Jesus as a carpenter, the Holy Spirit as an Asian woman, and God the Father as a large black woman named ... Papa. ... At one point the book?s version of Jesus praises the fictional Father-goddess, exclaiming, ?Isn?t she great?? In the entire Bible there is not one single reference to Father, Son, or Holy Spirit--or to any of His angels--as female. ... There is an apparent dismissal of the importance of Scripture, which is reflected in slippery theology found throughout the novel. Young writes, ?Nobody wanted God in a box, just in a book. Especially an expensive one bound in leather with gilt edges, or was that guilt edges?? ... The Father-goddess of The Shack, it seems, is never about guilt or punishment. She benignly informs Mack, ?I don?t need to punish people for sin.? ... An excellent writer, Young plays to emotion and touches on legitimate hurts and concerns. The author excels at imbuing his deity with attributes of love, forgiveness, and mercy, and this is what many people have responded to. Increasingly in novels and movies the Lord is blithely used as one of the characters and given words from the mouth of man.?

Taken from: http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/fridaynew ... 80509.html

[Guest Guest]

Any book that portrays God as a female is not worth reading, IMO.

[joyfulpraise93]

Sounds creepy...I'll just stick with the Original Pilgrim's Progress....it's still good enough for modern times. :)

[HappyChristian]

No, haven't read it yet. I just put it on hold at the library. Hopefull I will get it soon - it does sound interesting.

[Jerry]

Pilgrim's Progress is such an excellent book. It uses Bible symbolism and allegory to get solid Biblical truths across - it doesn't contradict the Bible to make some kind of religious story, like The Shack does.

[Kayla]

Personally not thrilled with it. I read the first couple chapters at work when we first got it in. (I work for Mardel Christian Bookstore)

[Guest Guest]

I wouldn't say that The Pilgrim's Progress is really that great of a book. It's definitely written very well, but there's a lot of questionable stuff in it. (If he loses the scroll, he's lost his salvation? If he drinks the poison and commits suicide, he can't go to Heaven? stuff like that...)

[dwayner79]

I have read a couple of reviews. It is filled with heresy.

BEWARE OF THE SHACK (Friday Church News Notes, May 9, 2008, http://www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from ?The Shack: Father-goddess Rising,? Lighthouse Trails Research, April 23, 2008: ?Many are crediting The Shack, the novel by William P. Young, with revolutionizing their faith. With themes of overcoming loss, working through anger, and restored relationship between man and God, Young?s novel has excited many within the Body of Christ. Young has appeared on CBN, and has garnered fans across the country. The Shack, continues to sell briskly. Yet, in the midst of such enthusiasm, does The Shack glorify Jesus Christ--or contradict the Bible with a false image of the Lord our God? The novel?s main character, Mack Philips, has lost his daughter. She has been murdered, her bloodied dress found in an isolated shack. Four years later Mack receives an invitation from God to spend time with the Trinity in the very shack where the dress was found. Nowhere in the Bible do Father, Son, and Holy Spirit simultaneously assume physical forms on earth. The Shack, however, portrays Jesus as a carpenter, the Holy Spirit as an Asian woman, and God the Father as a large black woman named ... Papa. ... At one point the book?s version of Jesus praises the fictional Father-goddess, exclaiming, ?Isn?t she great?? In the entire Bible there is not one single reference to Father, Son, or Holy Spirit--or to any of His angels--as female. ... There is an apparent dismissal of the importance of Scripture, which is reflected in slippery theology found throughout the novel. Young writes, ?Nobody wanted God in a box, just in a book. Especially an expensive one bound in leather with gilt edges, or was that guilt edges?? ... The Father-goddess of The Shack, it seems, is never about guilt or punishment. She benignly informs Mack, ?I don?t need to punish people for sin.? ... An excellent writer, Young plays to emotion and touches on legitimate hurts and concerns. The author excels at imbuing his deity with attributes of love, forgiveness, and mercy, and this is what many people have responded to. Increasingly in novels and movies the Lord is blithely used as one of the characters and given words from the mouth of man.?

Taken from: http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/fridaynew ... 80509.html

Good to know Jerry agrees with Mark Driscoll. :saint

Its fiction. Its personification. Its no different then showing God as a Lion or the Shining Ones. Its not meant to be taken literally. Nor should people define there theology off of it (like some other books we know).

[Jerry]

The loss of the scroll was the loss of his assurance (not of his salvation) - and that is Biblical.

If he drinks the poison and commits suicide, he can't go to Heaven?

Don't know what you are referring to here - unless you are talking about when he was locked up by the Giant. Nowhere does that passage indicate loss of Heaven or salvation. You were probably reading something into that. Let me know if that is what you were thinking of though, then I could go look passage up. I think that section is really great - because it was remembering that he had the promises of God (the key) that got him out of that dungeon of despair.

Its fiction. Its personification. Its no different then showing God as a Lion or the Shining Ones. Its not meant to be taken literally. Nor should people define there theology off of it (like some other books we know).

The Shining Ones were angels - and that is a Biblical picture, if you look at some of the descriptions given in the Bible. The difference is The Shack contradicts the Bible in its fiction - that makes it wrong, no matter how you look at it. Why should someone be entertained by error? I hate C.S. Lewis' writings, but at least Jesus IS portrayed in the Bible as a lion. God is NEVER portrayed in the Bible as a woman or a girl - and the Trinity does not have three bodies (only Jesus took on a body).

But hey, it calls itself Christian, go ahead, it must be Christian; therefore is completely okay to read and be spiritually edified by, even if it is poision to your soul - as long as YOU like it, that's all that matters. God understands. (Yes, that is sarcasm.)

[HappyChristian]

Hmmm...didn't see Cloud's review before I posted. Don't know if I will read it now - one of my co-worker's is wanting to read it, so I might, to discuss it with her. We'll see.

[Guest Guest]

The loss of the scroll was the loss of his assurance (not of his salvation) - and that is Biblical.



Don't know what you are referring to here - unless you are talking about when he was locked up by the Giant. Nowhere does that passage indicate loss of Heaven or salvation. You were probably reading something into that. Let me know if that is what you were thinking of though, then I could go look passage up. I think that section is really great - because it was remembering that he had the promises of God (the key) that got him out of that dungeon of despair.

That's exactly the part I was talking about. I don't have the book next to me or I'd look it up myself. If you could look it up and maybe find quotes that prove it isn't teaching that suicide causes you to lose your salvation, that would be great. :smile

I also remember something in the second part of the book, where Christiana and the children are walking through Vanity Fair. The children were warned not to put on the worldly clothing (they had to stay in white robes or whatever), but it seemed like if they put on this worldly clothing they wouldn't be able to get into Heaven if they were still wearing it. It's been a long time since I read the book... so this is all just what I remember from the ideas of what I saw when I read it.

It would be awesome if someone could prove that I totally misread these parts of the book, but I've talked to some other people who read the book and they agreed with me.

[Guest Guest]

This Shack novel is extremely dangerous fiction, the way it depicts God is profane to the core.

[futurehope]

Good to know Jerry agrees with Mark Driscoll. :saint

Its fiction. Its personification. Its no different then showing God as a Lion or the Shining Ones. Its not meant to be taken literally. Nor should people define there theology off of it (like some other books we know).

I know I shouldn't ....... but are you also going to tell me that Mel Gibsons "The Passion of the Christ" is okay too? Maybe we should all just go pick up Harry Potter while we are at it. Honestly, fiction or not, there should be no place in our lives for the type of blasphemy that this book obviously portrays. As to the comment of the lion, isn't Christ called the Lion of Juda??