Above is a pic of my youngest daughter and me.
My Husband, My brother in Christ
"The Shack"
UPDATE: Go read THIS REVIEW. It is much more precise. If you copied and pasted it into WORD, it would be almost 9 pages long. I know. I did this because my husband asked me to. It is an excellent review that was posted 2 days after I posted this short little blurb of a review.
My husband has been subjecting himself to what appears to be a recent Christian fiction hit called "The Shack."
He began reading it because several of the nurses at the hospital are reading and raving. He also noticed that a group of people we know consider it a must-read. He went ahead and bought it... and as painful as it has been to read, he presses on.
Painful? What do I mean? Is it painful because it has a sad story?
Well, yes. Very sad story.
But most of Jon's pain comes from the lack of discernment on Biblical principals through several of the pages of the book. He literally forces himself to read it so that when the people we care about rave about the book, Jon can come from the perspective of communicating honestly and sincerely what needs to be addressed.
He just cannot understand why one reviewer of the book wrote: When the imagination of a writer and the passion of a theologian cross-fertilize the result is a novel on the order of The Shack. This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress did for his. It’s that good!
Jon can't comprehend that this Professor Emeritus Of Spiritual Theology who wrote that review actually read Pilgrim's Progress. There is no comparison.
Jon has tried very hard and sincerely to find the riveting theological lessons claimed by another reviewer. ??? And then yet another reviewer claims that this book helped him understand the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost for the first time in [his] life. ???
In the book, the Father is called PaPa and he writes a letter to the man whose daughter was abducted and murdered while they were camping. PaPa turns out to be a black woman who is God the Father. Jesus, in the book, came to life as a carpentar, and the holy spirit was a transparent Asian gardener woman.
As moving as the initial story is, the theology is really bad. Besides the example o the trinity above:
God's Word says, "...those who received him (Jesus), who believed in his name, to them he gave to right to become children of God."--Jn. 1:12.
The author of "The Shack" has God saying, "He too (the unredeemed killer) is my son." (p.224)
This book distorts who God is. The author portrays God as playful and jolly... kinda like Big Bird on Sesame Street. There is also an open theistic bent, alongside universalism.
Conclusively, be warned:
The God of "The Shack" is not the God of the Bible!
Comments
Thanks for posting this. I've recently become aware of this book through the glowing acclaims by a friend about how it changed her life and her relationship with God...how it "healed so many hurts and disappointments and bitternesses with God." Whew! This comment is from a woman who was saved over 30 years ago! I read ALL the reviews on Amazon.com (from 5 star to 1 star), and I'm anxiously awaiting Tim Challies' review. I am deeply concerned about what is in this book and that it apparently has the potential to influence through subtle deception...even those who are more mature in the faith. I have not read it yet, not sure I will. But I do want to know as much as possible about it to help steer people clear of it.
Lisa P.
Posted by: Lisa Pulliam | January 14, 2008 11:53 AM
My husband did mention a small redeeming quality in the book. It is a chapter in which the "Holy Spirit" (the Asian transparent gardener) addresses how man defines sin verses what the Bible teaches about original sin. Not exactly precise or consistent... but a glimmer.
But still not a book to recommend. At least not without a lot of warnings.
Posted by: Lisa Nunley | January 14, 2008 12:12 PM