Several people in our church and many of my friends have read The Shack and asked my opinion of the book.  I have heard them praise the book as life-changing and I have heard cries of heresy.  I decided to read the book and form my own opinion and I offer this review for your reading pleasure.  Undoubtedly, some will not agree or appreciate my review, but that’s OK.  I do want to say that I make no judgment of the author’s relationship with Jesus Christ, only the book itself.  Forgive its length.  I just could not address the major issues in a couple of quick paragraphs.

William Paul Young’s The Shack has been the New York Times bestseller and at the time of this review is listed as #2 among fictional works. The Shack is an emotional story of the tragic murder of a Mack’s daughter, Missy and how God deals with the pain in Mack’s life.  Though Missy’s body had never been found, evidence found in an old shack offered proof of her murder.  Mack receives an invitation through the mail to meet “Papa” at the old shack.  Mack accepts the offer even though he has no idea who “Papa” is.  Long story short, Papa is God the Father represented as a large African-American woman.  Accompanying Papa is also a Jewish man (Jesus), and an Asian woman name Sarayu who is the Holy Spirit.  The book is report of Mack’s interaction with the three. (If you did not catch it, they are the trinity)  Let me say, that the storyline quickly catches your attention and pulls at your heart strings.  I understand why so many have read the book, but what confuses me is who so many testify that their lives have been changed by it.

 The Shack is a fictional book, but prescribes a very real theology.  According to Young’s own testimony, one of the book’s purposes was to teach his children about his understanding of God.  So even while listed as fiction, it offers Young’s beliefs of God.  The testimonials on the book speak of life transformation and change.  In fact, my primary concern about the book is that people claim to be changed by the book or to have a fresh understanding of God.  The God presented in this book has little to do with the God of biblical Christianity.  When a book it written, even though categorized as fiction, and presents theology, we must insure that the theology presented is biblical.  Many will read the book and will belief it to be true.  It is my desire to look at some of the major theological problems found in the book and its presentation of God.

Several questions have been posed to me as I have discussed this book with others. Does theology really matter?  The book is fiction so it does not have to be biblically accurate?  Or they will simply tell me to “Lighten up!”  These are some of the statements and questions that have been presented to me concerning The Shack.  To answer these questions, I would say unequivocally, YES, THEOLOGY MATTERS whether we are reading fiction or non-fiction.  Theology is the foundation of our understanding of who God is and how He relates to mankind.  The Word of God offers the only accurate theology and it is important for the Bible to be our guide and not the popular writings of the day.  We cannot jettison biblical truth and theology for a “feel-good” story.  Ultimately what we believe impacts our relationship with God and with others.

So let’s get to the theological problems.  First, I will address God the Father being presented as a woman. Let me say, that I do not believe that Young believes that God, the Father is a large African-American woman.  But the question becomes for me, is it OK to portray God, not just as a woman, but as a human at all.  God, the Father is Spirit (John 4:24)  God is a real person who is not limited by a physical body.  This is known as “incorporeal.”  In scripture, we read about the eyes of the LORD, hands, fingers, etc.  This is an anthropomorphism which means that God is being described in a way that He can be understood by man, not that he actually has hands, feet, fingers, etc. You say, Brother Tony what is the big deal?  The big deal is that any time we alter the God of the Bible we detract from who He is.  Others say, well this is just a fictional story and God presents Himself a human.  This is inconsistent with scripture’s presentation of God, the Father.

The second major theological issue I will address is Young’s erroneous teaching about a hierarchy within the God-head.  God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Spirit are equally God.  They are co-eternal and co-equal. Yet the Bible teaches a distinct functional order among the persons of the trinity.  So, the Son is no less God than the Father, and the Spirit is no less divine than the Son or the Father.  Yet, the Bible does present a clear order in functionality.  The order is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.  On page, 145, Young writes, (Jesus speaking) “that’s the beauty you see in my relationship with Abba (Father), and Sarayu (Holy Spirit).  We are indeed submitted to one another and have always been so and always will be.  Papa is as much submitted to me as I to him, or Sarayu to me, or Papa to her.”   This is in complete opposition of what Jesus said in the high priestly prayer of John 17.  Time and time again, we read of Jesus doing and accomplishing the “will of the Father” or doing “what He was sent to do.” In Luke 22, Jesus, submitted to the will of the Father in the garden.  Jesus prayed in  Matthew 6:9-10 for God’s (Father’s) will.  In 1 Corinthians 11:3, Paul writes that the head of Jesus Christ is God. At no time is there a biblical report of God the Father submitting to Jesus or the Holy Spirit.  Bruce Ware said it best when speaking of the functionality of the trinity when he said, “God, the Father is supreme among the persons of the God-head.” (Ware, Father, Son & Holy Spirit, p. 46) Likewise, the Holy Spirit is in submission to the Father and the Son.  In John 16:7-15, the Word of God offers clear theology of the Holy Spirit’s submission to both the Father and the Son and His purpose in glorifying Jesus Christ

Additionally, sprinkled throughout this book are undertones of universalism.   On page 110, the Jesus figure says, “I am the best way any human can relate to Papa or Sarayu.”  Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father, but by me.”  Jesus is not the best way to relate to Papa, HE IS THE ONLY WAY!  On page 182, Jesus said that “those who love me come from every system that exists,” then lists many religions including Buddhism and Muslims.  Admittedly, I am not exactly sure what the author is trying to say, it is somewhat ambiguous, but let me say that Jesus is the only way to heaven. On page 22, the Father figure says, “In Jesus, I have forgiven all humans their sins against me.”  On pages 119-120, the Father figure states, “that I don’t need to punish people for sin, sin is its own punishment.”  Access to forgiveness is available to all humans.  Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord. (Romans 10:13)  But, for those who reject salvation through Jesus Christ, they will stand in judgment condemned by their sin to an eternal hell.  To deny this truth is to suggest that the cross was unnecessary.  God is holy and therefore He is just.  He must and will judge sin. (Revelation 20:12)

The popularity of The Shack both excites me and concerns me.  It excites me that there is so much hunger for that which is spiritual.  It concerns me because we need to be transformed and changed by the God of the Bible.  The book is entertaining, no doubt about it.  But, for transformation and theology we must go to the only book God ever wrote and that is the Bible.