The Shack: A Review
The Shack is a work of theological fiction which has gone through multiple printings and has gone as high as #8 on the USA Today bestseller list. It is quite popular, receiving reviews such as this from Eugene Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, B.C.:
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!
Many churches have encouraged the reading of this book (including the one I attend) with the understanding that it may transform one’s spiritual life. Some Amazon reviewers have said:
The character of God in the book is from a point of view I never would have imagined, or thought of. But all the answers and conversations are right on. It really changes the way I view God, and the way I can related with him. My relationship is so much deeper now.
I truly believe that “The Shack” has the potential to shake up and alter the entire Church. This book will seriously mess with your theology — and you will be GLAD. Yeah, it’s really that good.
Wish I could take bakc all the years in seminary!… Systematic theology was never this good. Shack will be read again and agin. With relish.
I would highly recommend anyone reading The Shack (or planning to) to read this excellent review by Tim Challies. (Included in the review is a brief synopsis of the book itself.) There are some serious problems with the book from a theological perspective, which Challies does a good job explaining. Although many have obviously been positively impacted by the book, a little truth mixed with a little error (or perhaps a lot of error) can be a dangerous thing. Challies does not claim that the book is devoid of value, but that it leaves the reader with a potentially perilous misunderstanding of important scriptural truths. Here are some comments from near the end of his review (read the whole thing, if you can):
Focusing on just three of the subjects William Yound discusses in The Shack, we’ve seen that errors abound. He presents a false view of God and one that may well be described as heretical. He downplays the importance and uniqueness of the Bible, subjugating it or making it equal to other forms of subjective revelation. He misrepresents redemption and salvation, opening the door to the possibility of salvation outside of the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross. We are left with an unbiblical understanding of the persons and nature of the God and of His work in the world.
He relies too little on Scripture and too much on his own theological imaginings.
That the Shack is a dangerous book should be obvious from this review. The book’s subversive undertones seek to dismantle many aspects of the faith and these are subsequently replaced with doctrine that is just plain wrong. Error abounds.