The Shack: Good Christian Entertainment or Undermining of the Faith?

Our publisher Jerry Nordskog has taken a personal interest in the controversy over The Shack.  This bestseller has obviously struck a resonant chord with its readers.  Amazon.com once listed The Shack as number five ranked seller in the Christian Literature and Fiction-Mystery category.* 

Moreover, the book seems influential.  According to Amazon's customer ratings, at one point, 2421 readers out of 3797 reviews gave The Shack five stars.  Another 551 gave four or three stars. Thus nearly 80% of readers who rated the book apparently approve of it.  One assumes they also approve of its message. Within our own circle here at NPI, we know of several local evangelical pastors who view the book favorably.  Again, we assume these men of God approve of the basic message of the book.

On the other hand, numbers of accomplished Christians express concern over The Shack as Biblically unorthodox on numbers of important theological points, and therefore counterproductive to the Gospel.

Therefore as a public service, we here republish two critical articles on The Shack. We are also posting links to three other articles.  Two of these additional essays are critical. The third was written by a collaborator on The Shack, and defends the book.  We will let these articles speak for themselves.

Editorially, NPI affirms our belief that the weight of an innovative notion with respect to the Bible and the Christian faith rests on the shoulders of the innovator.  The instrument should sound a clear, and not an indistinct note, when the Gospel is in question.

God uses many means to reach people for Himself, turning even things men intend for evil into something good.  Nonetheless, we reject any expression of man when that expression diminishes God's glory or detracts from Christ's Gospel. That the communication device is a fictional story is no excuse.  Again, how Christians represent God in the earth is important no matter what the medium.

The Shack has been characterized as an entry point.  Entry point to what?  If one responds to an altar call on false grounds—one where the true Gospel was not properly shared—is it helpful or harmful to the cause of Christ? Can it be called a true conversion?  Yes, God may use it as a step toward a true relationship with Him.  But possibility is no excuse for representing sloppy or purposefully bad theology in the name of establishing Him.

We hope you will enjoy these articles and be edified by them, for the glory of God and the furthering of His Gospel and Kingdom, according to the Holy Scriptures. Although these articles are collectively a long read, we urge you to plow through them. This is a most important issue. —Ed.

*October 15, 2009

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Review of The Shack, by William Paul Young

By James B. DeYoung

Seldom does one have the opportunity to review a work of fiction written by a friend that has risen to the top of best seller lists. Recently The Shack has been approaching sales of one million copies. There is even talk about making the book into a movie. But while the novel breaks sales records, it also breaks with the traditional understanding of God and Christian theology. And therein lies the rub. Does a work of Christian fiction have to be doctrinally correct?

From the viewpoint of the plot, the story is quite common. The book is the fictional retelling by Willie of the story of his friend, Mackenzie Phillips, who has been estranged from God for several years. His past experiences under an abusive father leave him bitter toward God, the Bible, and the ministry. When his youngest daughter is kidnapped and brutally killed in a mountain shack, Mack's anger freezes his total outlook in sadness and despair. Then one day he returns to the shack and encounters the Trinity in the form of a large African woman (“Papa” =the Father), a Jewish carpenter (=Jesus Christ), and a small Asian woman by the name Sarayu (=the Holy Spirit). By their discourses with Mack these three lead him on a mythical journey to discover a fresh meaning of God's love and forgiveness.

Read On For Complete Essay»

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"What You Need To Know About The Shack": A Review Article

by Barry Traver

William Paul Young's theological novel The Shack is a contemporary phenomenon that pastors, elders, and deacons must reckon with. Why? One reason is that—like it or not—so many people (church people and those outside the church) are reading the book.

Here are some of the specifics: The Shack was number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and since its original publication in 2007 (in spite of being self-published by an unknown author through an unknown publisher) it has sold two million copies. At the time this review was written, The Shack had received a total of over two thousand customer reviews on Amazon.com (most books get only half a dozen or fewer customer reviews). Two-thirds of the reviews of The Shack give the book the highest rating (five stars), many of the reviewers testifying “the book changed my life.”

It is important to recognize that the positive responses (on and off Amazon) are coming not only from those outside the Christian faith, but also from those who profess to be evangelical Christians. One oft-quoted example is Eugene Peterson, professor emeritus of spiritual theology, Regent College. Here is Peterson's praise (which can be found on the front cover of the book):

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 Progressdid for his. It's that good!

But is The Shack that good? And is the teaching of The Shack in line with Bunyan and the Bible?

Read On For Complete Essay»

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Links to Additional Articles:

“Is The Shack Heresy?”
A pro-Shack article by Wayne Jacobsen, collaborator on The Shack
http://windblownmedia.com/about-wbm/is-the-shack-heresy.html

“The Shack: Helpful or Heretical?”
A Critical Review by Norman L. Geisler and Bill Roach http://normangeisler.net/theshack.html

“Refashioning God”
by Tom McMahon, The Berean Call Newsletter
http://www.thebereancall.org/node/7947

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