The Shack by William P. Young

The Shack is one of the most thought provoking and spiritually challenging books that I have ever read.  In fact, outside of the Bible it is one of the most life transforming books I have ever read – the other two are “Joshua” and “This Present Darkness & Piercing the Darkness.” Please read that statement carefully…this book is not a substitute for the Bible nor is it totally correct in all of its theology…I am simply stating that it has had a profound impact on me.

So let me get straight to the chase…I believe this is a must read book for many reasons.  First, it will help believers wrestle with some serious theological issues facing our day.  Second, it is a burning bush experience and everyone is in need of a “Shack” experience.  Third, it is just a great narrative that will uplift you…I found myself totally into the story, it relates to a part of all of us. Fourth, it is a best seller that the secular world is reading, what an opportunity to take the truths of this book and talk to our friends, family, and coworkers about God.

I realize that some theological scholars and even some pastors may disagree with my recommendation, but for me I believe this is good for my flock of God and the Kingdom of God as a whole.  I believe God’s hand is upon this book and that God can use this book to draw His people closer to Him and also to draw unbelievers to Him.

I believe that Young has written a Christian masterpiece that will help a new generation of Christians gain greater understanding into the heart of God.  Let me also say that it will challenge those of us that have put God in a box and if this book goes against your immediate views of God you will be offended and perhaps at times even want to say that Young is writing blasphemy.  I challenge you not to do this if you fall into this camp.  Simply enjoy the book and have a “Shack” experience right along with “Mack”…in other words have a chill pill and stop making God something He is not.  If you don’t know what I am talking about good…just enjoy the book and let God draw you closer to Him.  I confess that I found myself fighting the inclination to cast my theological judgments upon this book at times.  I took advantage of this and let God sharpen my theology, but more importantly my relationship with Him.  There were moments where I had to say I thought perhaps for the first time I came closer to truly understanding God because of this book as I related it to the Scriptures.  I am a conservative evangelical and I am saying this.  So experience the renewal this book can have in your life.

Let me get this straight.  This book is a work of fiction, based on truth.  So you have to take the theological narrative seriously.  But beyond that the story line is awesome.  You connect with the characters, you feel their pain, hurts and trials.  You can feel the love of God and literally experience a redemptive work of God through the characters in your own life.  Young did an awesome job of taking a tragic experience that involves a young innocent Child and connects to all audiences.  Everyone, regardless of religion or ethics will know that it is wrong to abuse and kill a kid.  This tragedy in the book opens up the setting for the main Character (Mack) to come face to face with God at the “Shack”.  Something we all need to do with our deepest hurts and sins.

As for the theology of the book – there are many accusations.  I think people are reading to much into it, instead of relating to the story and allowing God to speak to their heart.  Again to these people I say take a God chill pill and read it again inspirationally and allow God to remind you of His redemption and Love for you.  I know I just freaked some people out.  Sorry…kind of, because I am not saying this is the Word of God…but yes I believe God can speak powerfully to us through this book.  If you are grounded in the Scriptures and have a solid grasp of theology then this book will be an awesome adventure to challenge you to apply what you say you believe, perhaps even change.  If you are lay person the story will emotionally and spiritually guide you to relate to the character and perhaps help form some simple understandings about theological concepts about God…which I found to be mostly on target.  Regardless, this book will draw you closer to God.

Let me deal with a couple of issues people are making a big deal about and give my perspective:

God as a woman -  First God is not a woman.  God is always presented to us in the masculine.  People are getting upset about something in the book that simply is not true.  People are making an issue out of nothing.  Young explains in the book why God comes to the character “Mack” as a African American women – I pictures God the Father as Aunt Jamima.  I thought it was refreshing because “God” in the book says He has come to “Mack” as a women because it is the least likely person that “Mack” would have anticipated God to be.  In other words God is getting his attention and God is breaking down all the stereotypes we have about Him.  I believe that is what God would do with us.  Each of us gets a picture of God.  Some more clearly than others and some more accurate than others.  Bur regardless we all have stereotypes about God and none of us are perfect in our view of God.  It seems reasonable that God the Father would reveal Himself in such a way to best relate to us.  In this case it was a woman.  So I say to the critics once again chill out, in no way is Young saying God is a woman….at least not from my perspective…if he comes out and says that was his intention then I would reject this purpose of the book totally…but he did not.

Holy Spirit as an Asian woman -  this goes with the script above.  Young had to put a persona to the Holy Spirit.  It made sense to me how he portrayed the Holy Spirit and I don’t believe Young was attempting to feminize God once again.  By no means is this a woman’s lib book or an attempt to make God neutral or Femine in Nature.  So again, people need to chill and enjoy the book and not get so serious about making this an issue.

The Trinity – The Triune God is a very serious matter.  The Trinity is often hard to explain and understand as it is.  Young is not attempting to be a theologian, but is writing narrative.  Some have accussed Young of modalism.  It at times may seem this way.  But I beleive this book is fiction that covers theological issues so naturally theologicans and religious people are going to pick it a part.  I believe we are reading modalism into his narrative while this is not his purpose at all.   I believe the fullness of the Godhead is upheld in his narrative.  Theologically God is one in three persons…God is one in the Father, Son and Spirit.  No one will dispute this, nor do I believe Young disputes this.  However, experiencing the Trinity as Young attempts to do in narrative is a difficult task and I thought he did a great job.   I keep in mind that any attempt to describe the Trinity gets people in an uproar that are theologically minded.  However, people are in need of gaining greater understanding of the Trinity and theologicans have failed to adequately explain it on a common bleievers term.  I believe Young does this.  I believe he opens us up to have much needed discussions about the Trinity in our congregations.  If anything look at it as healthy in this regard and stop saying it is modalism….if you can do a better job then write a narrative about encountering the Trinity.  As for me I don’t believe he is promoting Modalism.  He is not attempting to spread hersey.  This is not his intent.  Young is not attmpting to put God in modes, but he is revealing God as one which is want the Trinity is all about…the Lord our God is ONE.  Me personally, I believe that Young had one of the clearest explainations of the Trinity that I have ever read narratively speaking and I believe I have a greater understanding about the Trinity as a result.  But understand that I read this book with a proper view of the Trinity…I think some may get confused and some theologians may accuse Young of false teaching.  I understand this.  I have read numerous theological books attmempting to explain the Trinity and here Young comes out with a fiction book that connected the dots for me more clearly that theologicans such as Grudem and Wilkinson.  But it was Gruden and Wilkinson and others who gave me greater insight so that when I read Young’s work the Trinity came alive to me as never before.

Authority -I have heard the arguement that Young’s view on authority persented in this book are anti-God.  Although I struggled a little wiht the dialogue about authority I have to say that I was challenged and it made me think.  I don’t know if he is wrong or right.  I thought the dialogue among God the Father, Son and Spirit in the book about authority was revealing.  I thought Young did a good job of explaining that authority and hierarchy are things we need…not God – after all He is ONE even though I understand the hierarchy of the Godhead…the Lord our God is one.  Plese note that God is the Lord Almighty…I take nothing away from His power our authority.  I believe Yonng could have made this more apparent and he lacks detail in this area.  God has all authority…this is a point we all must know.  However, once again does this not create a great talking point among the people of God and non-beleivers.  The point I thougth Young made clear was that God will not force Himself upon us.  He is not some dictator God.  On this I agree with Young.  I do believe God is understanding and patient.  I thought Young went to the extreme on this.  I blieve we need to remember that we are saved by grace and that God’s mercy surrounds us.  He is a God of love as well as a God of authority and power.  Part of His authority, if you will, is that He gives us choice and we must come to embrace God’s power in our lives…but this never negates the fact that God is still all-powerful.

Universalism – I did not for one moment believe that Young was promoting Universal Soteriology…salvation that is universally applied to all.  I know I need Christ and I believe Young portrays that in the book although perhaps not as forceful as some may have liked.  He never denied salvation in Christ alone in this book and in fact I believe that it was reinforced beautifully that we need God throughout the book.  In my opinion, Young is not promoting the idea that we all go to Heaven but that we need God and must accept Christ.

Forgiveness and Redemption – I thought the book did a beautiful job of explaining God’s redemption in narrative.  The “Shack” encounter is all about God’s redeeming work in the character of”Mack”.  The redemptive qualities laid out in this book can touch many people…they touched me and reminded me of the day of my salvation.  I thought back about times that God’s redeeming power has helped me and others.  The power of forgiveness is presented through the character of Mack,  He has to learn how to forgive the person who murdered his daughter instead of judge him to hell.  We can all relate with the struggle to forgive and fully understanding forgiveness.  I also think it helps relate to God and how difficult judgment is even to Him.  I thought this narrative was very challenging and positive and gave a fresh perspective about redemption, forgivness, judgment and justice.

Soveriegnty and Free Will – they are both presented in the book.  For Calvinists this book will drive you nuts, because it focuses on man’s free will but also God intervening work and overall control of all things.  Young is not denying God’s soveriegnty in any fashion in this book as I read it.  He is just not presenting it to some peoples liking.  I say just read the book and stop arguing..the Clavin and Arminius argument is so divisive.  By the way I think we will discover that both men did a great work for God but neither were totally right or wrong.  Keep in mind that God is soverign and He has given us free will.  These are both facts.  It is a blend of the two that is best and that is what I believe Young attempted to do.  However, I think that Young may have at moments that he leaned to far to Free Will.  But that does not make is hersey.  He never denied God’s soeverignty over the story-line of the narrative.  In fact in the narrative at times powerfully portrays GOd’s soverignty epecially in explaining to the character “Mack” that God was with his daughter the entire time she was held captive and killed.  In the book Young makes it clear that was there and over all things…she was never alone and nothing happened outside of His soverignty.

Love and Wrath – This book presents a loving God (some may not like that and it may drive some of you wrath oriented theologians crazy).  Some think that God hates all sinners and that His wrath is the driving force of who God is in relationship to mankind.  Guess what I am not in this camp.  I believe Love is the driving force beyond God’s response to mankind.  God does hate sin and he is displeased in our sin and God at moments has regretted ever creating us.  His wrath and judgments are real and Hell is real.  But He loves people…not jsut the elect…but all of creation.  It is God’s ultimate will that all would love Him, but He knows some will not.   Jesus came to save not condemn…that is love oriented. (John 3:16-18)  His motivation was salvation not condemnation.  His motivation for the cross was love, not hatred…although He bore our sin and paid the penatly of our sin…it was out of love.  That is the God of the Scriptures.  I beleive Young tries to bring judgment into the picture and wonderfully displays God’s love and judgment together in harmony in the end.  I think Young got this right.  God’s wrath and vengenance will be poured out in His judgment…but I think God’s justice, judgment and wrath are a component of God’s love.  If you disagree…we will have to agree to disagree…but God is love and I will defend His love.

CONCLUSION:

I believe that Young has provided a great fictional work that attempts to explain many complicated theological issues.  I believe he has done a great job and may be closer than most think to the reality of the matter.  I agree with many that this book is a great work and will be influencial over many believers and those who have yet to believe.   Even to some of our liking…so my view is recommend it…make a conversational piece to teach on key doctrines.

NOTE: I am a conservative evangelical pastor.  I believe in the Trinity, I believe that there is no other way to eternal life but through Christ, salvation is in Christ alone, and the atonement of Christ was neccessary and there was no other way.  I could go on, but I just want to make it clear that I hold to core orthodox doctrines of the faith and believe in the perfect inerrant Word of God.  My allegiance is to God and God alone!