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BOOK REVIEW: The Shack

On a Monday night in January over 300 people flooded into First Presbyterian for a special Book Club discussion of the current bestseller The Shack. (The crowd was so large the meeting had to be relocated from McClure Hall to the Sanctuary!) The great interest in this book reflected its nationwide popularity (over 3 million copies sold). During the evening discussion, many church members expressed their own personal reactions to the book—what they liked and what they didn’t, what helped them in their spiritual lives and what confused them. The following review is offered as the perspective of our Senior Pastor.

The novel The Shack has become quite a phenomenon, and has triggered wildly divergent reactions from within the Christian community. It is a fictional story about a man who spends a weekend in a shack in the Oregon mountains with the three Persons of the Trinity, and has his life and perspective changed completely. Some Christian readers have celebrated its creativity and deep insights. Others have charged it with heresy and unbiblical teachings. Why do people who share the same faith have such dramatically different responses to the same book?

One of the reasons for the different reactions stems from the different temperaments and personalities we have. Some of us are more artistic, imaginative and creative—drawn to thinking “outside the lines”; many of those who have been public in their praise for The Shack are Christian musicians, novelists and others of a creative bent. Those whose personality or training tends towards the linear, logical and factual tend to be much less comfortable with the author’s imagination; not surprisingly, seminary professors and theologians (whose business is to “cross the t’s and dot the i’s” of the fine points of Christian teaching) are among the most vocal critics of William P. Young and his first-ever novel.

Another reason for the different perspectives on the book is that our life experiences are not all the same. Those who have been deeply wounded by life’s tragedies and injustices, or who have personally experienced serious depression, have found that the book gives voice to their inner feelings and questions. Those who have felt rejected by other Christians find in Young a kindred spirit who loves Christ but has less-than-fond feelings for the organized church. And those who have not had those kinds of experiences have a harder time relating to the author and the personal journey he took that prompted him to write the book.

My own assessment of the book and its value (to believers and “seekers” alike) is that it is a mixed bag of some very good points and some very questionable points. In this respect it’s like every book ever written by mere mortals: it is less than perfect. Only sacred Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit and protected by Him from error or falsehood, is completely true and reliable. We must judge all other books in the light of Scripture.

The greatest areas of concern in The Shack are the following:

Its teachings on the Trinity
While this is the Christian doctrine that is most difficult of all for us to grasp (because it is so beyond our human logical processes), Mr. Young tiptoes along the edge of false theology in some of his comments about the nature of God and the interrelationship of the three Persons. Many have commented on his unusual portrayal of the Father (as a beefy black matron), the Son (as a young stud in blue jeans) and the Holy Spirit (as a petite Asian woman who appears and disappears mysteriously).

Its understanding of Salvation
There are hints in the book—though never spelled out clearly—that the author believes everyone will ultimately be saved, either in this world or the next, whether they have believed in Christ or not. This is a very popular modern idea, but it’s not what the New Testament tells us. Though the defenders of The Shack state that we shouldn’t require a novel to be as clear and precise as a book of theology, this important issue is treated in the book in a way that has caused great confusion.

Its handling of spiritual Truth
One of the tendencies in our modern world is to elevate personal experience above objective divine revelation as the ultimate truth for any individual. And this can lead to disastrous consequences, spiritually and morally. William Young’s own personal experiences have been so strong and so dominant in his life that at times his book seems to teach that Scripture is subordinate to one’s own feelings and experiences of God. As in the points mentioned above, his view of the ultimate authority of the Bible is not well-defined.

In spite of these flaws and inadequacies, there is no question that the book has brought a great blessing to many in their relationship with God and their understanding of the Christian life. I have observed that the greatest strengths of The Shack (as personally attested to me by dozens and dozens of our own church members) are in the following areas:

Insights into the meaning of suffering
Every one of us experiences hurt and pain and struggle in life, and it is common to wonder why God allows such trials. The perspectives of the book are of great help to many—giving them strength and comfort to bear up under trials and believe the truth expressed by Paul in Romans 8:28: All things work together for good for those who love God.

The unconditional love of God
The book reaffirms the unconditional love of God and His desire for an intimate personal relationship with each of us. The members of the Trinity speak to the main character of the novel over and over again about what love really means. William Young has helped many to grasp the significance of the statement, “Christianity is not a religion but a relationship.”

The gradual process of forgiveness and inner healing
Many people are testifying today that The Shack has helped them to forgive and move on in life. Clearly this is a profound spiritual blessing for them. People who have read in scripture and heard in sermons for years that they need to forgive and put the past behind them, without being able to do so emotionally, have found in the dramatic story of this novel the emotional key to unlocking forgiveness in their own lives.

I encourage everyone to read The Shack, not only to know what so many people are talking about, but also to decide for yourself what you think about it. If you wish to explore a wide range of perspectives and reactions from others to this book (spanning the highly-laudatory to the highly-critical), you may wish to visit the website www.theshackreview.com.

In closing, I have come to view this bestseller as being a modern reflection and companion to the Book of Job in the Old Testament. The structure of Job consists of a short plot development at the beginning, followed by extended dialogues about the problem of evil and suffering, and then a brief plot resolution at the end. That is essentially the structure and the primary theme of The Shack as well. For an excellent analysis of this critical issue from a consistently biblical perspective, you may want to read The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis or Where Is God When It Hurts? by Philip Yancey.