Many concerned pastors have warned about serious problems with The Shack. William P. Young’s runaway bestseller is now being turned into a movie. Should Christians go to see it? Before you decide, please read the following criticisms and warnings about Young’s popular book.
Al Mohler:
The publishing world sees very few books reach blockbuster status, but William Paul Young’s The Shack has now exceeded even that. The book, originally self-published by Young and two friends, has now sold more than 10 million copies and has been translated into over thirty languages. It is now one of the best-selling paperback books of all time, and its readers are enthusiastic.
According to Young, the book was originally written for his own children. In essence, it can be described as a narrative theodicy — an attempt to answer the question of evil and the character of God by means of a story. In this story, the main character is grieving the brutal kidnapping and murder of his seven-year-old daughter when he receives what turns out to be a summons from God to meet him in the very shack where the man’s daughter had been murdered.
In the shack, “Mack” meets the divine Trinity as “Papa,” an African-American woman; Jesus, a Jewish carpenter; and “Sarayu,” an Asian woman who is revealed to be the Holy Spirit. The book is mainly a series of dialogues between Mack, Papa, Jesus, and Sarayu. Those conversations reveal God to be very different than the God of the Bible. “Papa” is absolutely non-judgmental, and seems most determined to affirm that all humanity is already redeemed….keep reading
Former New Ager Marcia Montenegro:
Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” John 20:29
Note: Many will say this is fiction and therefore criticisms of Young’s theology in this book are off-limits or irrelevant. But Young is a Christian who places God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as central characters in his book, The Shack. Why insert obvious lessons that Mack, the main character, is learning about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit if we are to assume that God in this book is fantasy or fiction? The characters who represent God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit make speeches and give spiritual information and advice. Without this, there would not be a story. The fact this book has been a bestseller renders its views of God even more significant. No book presenting religious themes and characters should be immune from examination and, if necessary, criticism. Any reader is perfectly warranted by the book itself to critique any problematic theological content…keep reading
Is THE SHACK Christian? Excerpt:
Modern fiction is also used to teach about the nature of God, and some authors are presenting unorthodox views of God because they reject him as a God of judgment. Brian McLaren of the Emergent church movement has authored a trilogy of novels. And The Shack, by William P. Young, has been a blockbuster.
Both of these authors use fiction as the servant of the theology. To teach doctrine is the purpose of the fictional story. Thus the genre is theological fiction. It would be fair to characterize Pilgrim’s Progress this way. But the theology promoted in Young’s novel is of a particularly sinister, heretical variety, in contrast to Bunyan’s story…keep reading
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