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Book Review: The Shack by William Young

Posted At : September 23, 2008 12:03 PM | Posted By : Dr. Chuck Betters
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Book Review by Dr. Chuck Betters

William Young has accomplished in the reader what I fear the most with such books, that is, young impressionable Christians, who cannot see the bigger picture of what he is saying about the character and nature of God and about Christianity in particular, are caught up in the sensationalism. We love it when Christian authors are successful and rightly so. We then refer our friends to the "new book that has changed my life." Let me be specific. A few years ago many raided the Christian book stores to buy "This Present Darkness," a fictional story of demonism. The problem was that many believers then developed their demonology out of what Peritti wrote rather than what the scriptures teach on this critical subject. We did the same thing with the "Prayer of Jabez" phenomenon by developing a theology of prayer out of a terrible misinterpretation of one verse of scripture - and, what about the "Left Behind" series of books and movies that are rooted in false eschatology? And do you remember the book written by a Mormon woman who claimed to have an out of the body experience and visited heaven? I could go on and on.

In the writing of The Shack, William Young writes his own foreword (a place where credibility is usually established) to introduce and give credibility to the main character of his story, going so far as to explain why he himself is part of the story. This is a clever tactic to engage the reader into what they think is a real story about real people, a sort of historical novel with fictional (but not really) characters. This is why this book is having such a deep spiritual impact on its readers and why Michael W. Smith says in the puffs that "The Shack is the most wonderful absorbing work of fiction I've read in many years. My wife and I laughed, cried, and repented of our own lack of faith along the way. The Shack will leave you craving for more of the presence of God." But I say, "Does this God who Young novelizes square with the revelation of God given in the Word? I insist it does not. And novel doctrines should never be threatened or offended when questioned by the truth.

Click here to read the complete Book Review.

The Shack by William Young

Posted At : June 26, 2008 12:46 AM | Posted By : Dr. Chuck Betters
Related Categories: Book Review

There is a book that is number nine on USA Today's Top 50 list with over 500,000 copies sold in less than one year. The author, William Young, tells the fictional story of Mackenzie Phillips, a father whose child Missy was abducted and brutally murdered while they were together on a camping trip. In his grief and guilt journey, he receives a letter from God (a real letter in his mailbox mind you). In that letter "Mack" is invited by God to meet Him at the very cabin where his little girl was murdered. Mack, who struggles with a grief called "the Deep Sadness," is angry with God and is seriously wavering in his already weak faith. Thinking he was about to meet the sick killer, whom he thought was luring him to the cabin, he takes his gun but in the back of his mind truly hopes the letter is from God.

More than likely the success of this book is largely attributable to the vast American Christian market where fictional books that attempt to make a theological impact abound (a la "This Present Darkness" and "The Prayer of Jabez"). The problem with such material is that (sadly) we believers lack the maturity to sift through the error and, yes, even heresy such books teach. Oh sure, it is a fictional novel. But out of such things emerge doctrinal positions that are skewed away from the clear teachings of the Bible. This is the case with "The Shack."

In the cabin Mack meets God the Father played by an African-American woman named "Papa" who is quick witted, playful, and a great cook. He meets the Holy Spirit, played by Sarayu, an ethereal like being who runs around with an aura about her (or is it him?). He meets Jesus, played by an Al Borland-like carpenter (sic) who wears a flannel shirt and works in the wood shed. The rest of the book is about the theological journey these three take Mack on to explain to him the problem of pain and the hope that is to come.

The book is rife with error and full of sacrilege. I highly recommend that you do not waste your money. It is a very corny effort at humanizing the trinity and in so doing maximizes the heresy. The character and nature of God as revealed in the Word is tossed out with reckless abandon. It is a violation of the first and second commandments as it portrays God in such ridiculous ways. It is a clear cut effort to redact Biblical revelation to serve the emotional fetishes of "Mack." My advice? Don't waste your time on such immaturity.

Thoughts?

In His Grip,
Dr. Chuck Betters

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