The Shack

Imagine yourself walking down a pathway, sides strewn with signs, declaring in bold print, "Beware, huge chasm ahead!", "Beware, huge drop off 50 feet ahead!", "...ten feet ahead!" and so on. It would indeed be a foolish person who rushed ahead heedlessly, ignoring their peril. What a different story it would be for that same person to be out on a leisurely stroll down a beautifully landscaped pathway, when without warning, they arrived at the same precipice of danger, to be either saved by quick reflexes or to plunge to a horrible death. Michael Youssef, Pastor of The Church of the Apostles, in Atlanta, GA has stated that "a half truth, an "almost right", is far more dangerous than out and out evil. Relevance? When we are lulled into a false sense of security, we are not as diligent as we will be when we clearly identify danger signs flashing before our eyes. The church specifically, and American readers in general may be running headlong toward just such a theological cliff as they have read, interacted about, and made claims of the life changing power in William P. Young's The Shack.

I realize that many of you may have read this book and were moved by its beautiful portrayal of the loving and inclusive inter-relatedness of the members of the Trinity. Or you may have come away, stunned by the compelling reality of the indwelling presence of Christ, or the glorious picture of what Earth could be like if not broken by the effects of the fall. Like me, you may have been struck with the vital role of relationship in the work of the Holy Spirit within us. Or you may have just been pulled along in the current of a cultural love affair with this book, which is currently number 12 on the Amazon best seller list. It has been reviewed by 3,564 readers (compared to the number one book, Mastering The Art of French Cooking, reviewed by 85 customers). What a staggering difference! Something is clearly afoot with the almost universal appeal and acceptance of The Shack.

So what is so wrong with The Shack? Why the outcry from all of those "theological types" (and a some of the rest of us) about the danger of this book? Why stir up controversy? Aren't these concerns just overreactions or doctrinal nitpicking? My contention is that it fits Michael Youssef's warning about the danger of half-truths, and "almost there's", being more dangerous than out and out evil; while embracing it's views unquestioningly are the equivalent of plummeting over a spiritual cliff.

First, there's a special danger in packaging philosophy or theology in a fictional genre. The truth of the matter is that when anyone describes God, the Trinity, how a person can receive eternal life, and an afterlife, they have crossed a line into Theology. When encountering a powerful story, people are often disarmed by the emotional response that it evokes, and caught up in the story itself. People will say, "it's just a story, not meant to instruct or be a theology textbook". The potential danger of stories can be in that they inspire, motivate, teach, and influence. Words convey meaning, and words frame ideas and ideologies. Obviously, few read a work of fiction as alerted to the author's worldview, or theological beliefs, as they would to a book on systematic theology. Does that mean that the authors of both types of books are neutral, or non-theological, in their views? Of course not! Neither author or reader comes to any written text "tabula rasa". We all have prior knowledge and experience that come with us, which is reflected in the content of what we write or the understanding of what we read. Ask the authors of books on topics of Opus Dei, The Holy Grail, or the sacred feminine cults if they saw an increase in sales after the book and movie, The DaVinci Code was released. Jesus understood the power of a story in His use of parables throughout His teaching ministry. Stories move and influence the human soul.

At one time, when even the general public were somewhat Biblically literate, and believers knew doctrine more intimately, a book like this would never have been viewed as evangelical, neutral, or compared to Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. The sad state of affairs is that today even those of us in the church are not grounded enough in our theology to read through The Shack, and identify the warning signs, and inherent dangers. I think an evidence of this is it's being sold in Christian book stores as well as by secular booksellers. The only rational I can see is that it's a huge money maker. Why have we all become such undiscerning readers? Could some of the reason for this lack of discernment be a general distaste for studying doctrine, seeing it as the proprietary realm of the seminarian? Certainly we can say that our theology is often fuzzy at best. Only as we grow in developing a robust view of God's majestic story as it unfolds His redemptive work, will we be able to embrace theology as essential, and the study of God and His purposes as practical, rather than being dry and seminary bound. Young has a view of God that is sometimes clear, and often vague. We, the church must become better equipped to respond to it's half-truths and "almost right" views that lead us toward a powerless gospel, and weak and diluted theology, leading to an insufficient faith. As Charles Colson has said, "Stay out of The
Shack!"

In my next post, I'll share some specific concerns that I have about the theological content of this book.