| The Shack | 
 enlarge | Author: William P. Young
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 22
Media: Paperback
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0340979496
EAN: 9780340979495
ASIN: 0340979496
Publication Date: July 17, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New - Same Day Dispatch from Chester, England.
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 the shack September 3, 2008
This book is a must for every hurting struggling Christian that once again needs conformation that God loves them.
 A controversial but rewarding time with God in the Shack August 31, 2008
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
How on earth do you articulate what it is like to know God? I'm not just referring to knowledge about God - but knowledge of God. And I mean, really articulate it? Preachers are quick to remind us it's all about relationship not religion, and rightly so. But what does that actually mean? We all know what we think it means, but what about in practice, in reality, in everyday life?
One problem is that God is God. That sounds dumb, but it's one of the great Godness things about God that he is beyond us, beyond the finite. But because we are not, everything we say about him is going to be limited to some degree by our human limitations - we are finite creatures whose very language is confined by our existence, not his. We simply do not have the words to encompass an infinite God, let alone describe the experience of knowing him. But that does not mean our words are pointless or empty. They can still paint pictures and evoke reality.
Of course, our predicament is transformed when God himself gives us the vocabulary. He alone can bridge the chasm between the infinite and finite. And that is what the Bible essentially is. He speaks in words that are both intelligible to us and that articulate divine reality; and the glory of the Incarnation is that God does this to perfection. By accommodating himself to our level, Christ made the invisible visible, the remote tangible and the infinite finite. So when we relate to human friends, we have intimations of our relationship with our divine friend.
And that I think is partly what's going on in William Young's THE SHACK. This book brings this divine relationship into breathtakingly vivid reality by bringing God the Trinity right down to earth in human relationships. That's a pretty daring thing to do; some would say it's even dangerous. For while that is precisely what the Incarnation of the 2nd person does, it's quite another thing to do this for the Trinity as a whole. So it's fair to say that I've never read anything quite like this book. And despite some personal quibbles and John Crace's cynical and bolshie precis in The Guardian, I still think it's hugely helpful and lendable.
Eating with God?
Without giving too much away, Mack (beset still by his `Great Sadness') encounters the Trinitarian God in a disused shack in the Oregon wilderness. 4 years before in that very shack, Mack's 5-year old daughter Missy had been abducted and probably killed. As the result of a weird letter, Mack returns and spends an extraordinary weekend with God. There they are, all 4 of them, chatting, laughing and eating round the kitchen table! Mack + Father, Son & Holy Spirit. It is utterly captivating. Mack, the flawed, agonized and uncomprehending man, is drawn into the wonderful dynamic of divine love. And where better to do this than over a meal.
This has clear biblical precedent. Some of the disciples' most life-changing encounters with Jesus happened over food (eg Jesus' anointing by the 'sinful woman', Zacchaeus, the Last Supper, the post-Resurrection beach BBQ). And heaven is frequently alluded to as a (wedding) feast (Isaiah 55, Matt 22, Rev 19).
But of course this is extremely risky ground. Words are placed into the mouth of each member of the Trinity, and each person is given some sort of form. Nothing in the narrative fits exactly with what one would expect. Which is where its power lies. For every chapter makes you THINK - about what you really believe and why, about what is actually biblical as opposed to what is culturally assumed.
Heresy hunters will assume this book offers them a field-day (and the fact that it reached the New York Times bestseller list will only confirm their worst fears). And there are certainly questions about the book (to which i'll return) and it doesn't always avoid elements of American schmaltz. But this is fictional narrative, don't forget, and i did feel it was right more often than it was wrong. It confronts, without trite or easy answers, the biggest theological problem for the contemporary mind: divine goodness and human suffering.
Mack's suffering is every parent's nightmare, particularly close to the bone after the media-frenzied horror of Madeleine McCann's disappearance. But as Mack is drawn back to God by the most sparkling intimacy and joy, so are we. This book is truly a tonic for a tired, cynical and faithless believer (which describes me more often than I'd like). In the course of its affecting narrative, biblical realities come across strongly:
* The Persons of the Trinity are in constant, dynamic relationship, which is one of profound mutual love and commitment. It is a love that draws in and never excludes. And as Mack is drawn in, so are we.
* But most importantly, God's Sovereignty is fundamental throughout the book - even in the face of terrible circumstances. And strikingly, the love of God is what underpins this sovereignty. This is a truth that seems in short supply in too many believers' theology matrix.
* Mack's reaction to his daughter's disappearance is not so much to reject God's sovereignty but his goodness. He finds it impossible to trust him. This is a book about having that trust renewed - and it is fascinating how the book shows Jesus being the one that Mack most easily relates to initially, because of his shared humanity. But because of that, he is drawn to the others. It is all about knowing him - not about being religious.
* At times, the book might appear universalist (not least because of how the Holy Spirit is initially described) and hardly seems to mention the atonement - but these fears are eventually allayed. While not spelled out, the wonder of what Jesus is and has done underpins everything.
But there are still some Eyebrow-raisers
* The Father is initially encountered as an African American woman - John Crace's precis bitingly assumes that this is because it is written by an American liberal (but at least's she's American, he states). At first all one's theological hackles are raised by this theological outrage (!)- but as the book goes on, it seems to me to be fully justified and explained, if one would just give it the initial benefit of the doubt. If she reminded me of anyone, it was the Oracle in the Matrix movies.
* A bit more worrying are the marks of the cross (stigmata) on the Father's body. Is this verging uncomfortably close to the old heresy of Patripassionism which states that the Father himself suffers on the cross. If the point is simply that the Father is fully committed to the Son's mission to make atonement on the cross (in defence against the charge of cosmic child abuse) then fair enough, I suppose.
* Where does the church fit? Religion and institutions are in the book's firing line, and rightly so, because in themselves, they always fail to help a person in the face of pain. But the book could have done more to show how God's intention is to build a community through which he can work and dwell on earth.
* But my biggest concern in all this is the almost total omission of the doctrine of God's holiness. It seems to fall into the classic error of assuming that divine love/forgiveness and divine holiness are mutually exclusive - and of course, we all know which one we'd prefer. This is to miss the fundamental coherence between the two brought about by the cross. And from an apologetic point of view in a suffering world, divine holiness is essential.
The bottom line, though, is that this book makes us want to know God better and deeper - or to be more precise, to know the Trinitarian God revealed through Christ, and as a result, to trust him in the face of whatever life flings at us. How many other best-selling novels do that? And I think that this is probably what lies behind Eugene Peterson's rather over-blown endorsement. Well, it's nothing like the biblical, allegorical genius of Bunyan - but it IS a book to deepen faith that is getting a much wider airing than most Christian books. I guess, as fiction, it is more like an extended sermon illustration, with all the benefits and limitations that implies. No illustration is perfect - but they do reveal truth - as does the Shack. So read it and make your own mind up.
 Eeerrrmmm... Still not sure August 29, 2008
Looking through the books at the airport I tried to choose 2 books which looked like a good read. With the rave reviews I thought I'd buy this book. It starts off really well and then descends into, what can only be described as, some sort of weird sh*t! I don't understand all the hype as I really didn't get it. Life changing it is not. If you want a new modern out look on God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit then go ahead and read it, otherwise steer clear. It is well written but just extremely odd! Deadline, the 2nd book I bought was extremely good and well worth a read.
 Putting words in the mouth of God? August 29, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
"The shack" is a very interesting concept, in that from about a third of the way in, then up to a chapter from the end it is effectively a dramatised theological treatise. It is remiscent in some ways of the "Conversations with God" series by Neale Donald Walsch, only written by a Christian and not purporting to be factual.
Don't pay too much heed to the testimonies lauding it's ability to make you cry - I admit to having a lump in my throat at the relevant points myself but this is nothing to do with the author's literary dexterity, rather simply the inherently heart-breaking nature of the subject matter.
As a Catholic I was keenly aware of the evangelical protestant slant of the theology being conveyed, yet despite this the overall sensation was one of warm reassurance that there is more that unites us than divides us. The explanations of the Trinity and God's benevolence are excellent - though perhaps a little familiar if you've read much C.S.Lewis. The portrayal of the divine characters is very clever if you can get over the temptation to find them irreverent (something the author clearly had in mind to encourage). At times the number and nature of the questions asked by the main character does make one question whether he really has been through seminary!
The only unpalatable bit for me what the rather full-force assertion of typical evangelical ecclesiology (beliefs about the nature of the church) in chapter 12, as our author brassly puts the following words in the mouth of Christ: "I don't create institutions. Never have, never will." This is a forceful claim against the existence of a 'visible' church, in the face of copious biblical and historical evidence, and it's somewhat ironic that this chapter is opened with quotes from Blaise Pascale and G.K.Chesterton; two passionate Catholic apologists who strongly defended the Church as a divinely appointed institution. And perhaps I read too much into it, but it also seemed a rather deliberate sideswipe at tradition that the divine characters, towards the end, share bread and wine "without ceremony or ritual".
The author is rather more accomodating in most other areas. Overall a very enjoyable and enlightening read, although one must be extremely careful not to be drawn into thinking that the words spoken by the divine persons in this work of fiction should be accorded any special authority thereby. Despite their tone, they are not 100% doctrinaly sound. This should not matter in a fiction story, but somehow, in this case, it does, because the author seems to be trying to teach you something.
Enlightening and Challenging August 27, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
The genre of theological fiction is unusual and interesting. The book review on the back references Pilgrims Progress as an ancestor to this book, but I would suggest it has its roots in more contemporary non-Christian spiritual fiction such as the The Celestine Prophecy or The teachings of Carlos Castaneda (The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge (Arkana)). This is not a criticism - saying he is writing in a New Age genre - but just an observation that a lot of people today find such a genre (spiritual/theological fiction) a useful way into spirituality, and therefore the genre is something Christianity should explore further.
The teachings within the book may be challenging for some orthodox Christians, ideas such as that God does not punish sin ("I don't need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It's not my purpose to punish it; it's my joy to cure it", p.120), God has no expectations of us ("Honey, I've never placed an expectation on you or anyone else", p.206), God does not want people to be Christians ("those who love me come from every system... I have no desire to make them Christian", p.182) and that God expects the salvation of everyone ("through his death and resurrection I am now fully reconciled to the world... the whole world", p.192). These ideas are expressed by contemporary Christian thinkers such as Thomas Talbott (The Inescapable Love of God), but are unfamiliar to many Christians.
Nevertheless as many reviewers have said, the theology is to some extent secondary as the primary message of the book is that God is love and that wants to enter into a loving, healing, trusting relationship with each of us, and this is certainly not heretical Christian teaching. This message is expressed powerfully, imaginatively and creatively and is what makes the book definitely worth five stars.
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