Wayne weighs in on "The Shack"

Let me preface my comments on The Shack by saying that I love books that impact the world for Christ. I love books that help people grow in their faith or deal with the difficult problems we face in this life. With that said, I know that what I have to say about The Shack will probably not go over so well with many of my friends. Please understand that I am not judging the heart of William Young (the author) or his motives. I do feel the need, however, to test what he says in light of Scripture and hold fast to that which is true. So here we go...

I was very glad to hear my pastor say, from the pulpit, a few months ago, "If you haven't read The Shack, don't!". This echoes the sentiments of many mainstream evangelical pastors and theologians, including Albert Mohler(Southern Baptist Convention), Hank Hanegraaff (Bible Answer Man), and Mark Driscoll (Mars Hill Church in Seattle). These men call the book "dangerous", "heresy", "deeply subversive", and "Scripturally incorrect". However, many pastors are remaining silent on the issue, which has led to widespread reading of, discussion of, and study of, what the book teaches. So, with so many of my friends reading the book and singing its praises, I set out to see for myself what The Shack is all about. I had my discernment radar on, and red flags were up and waving from about Chapter 5 on through the end of the book.

The overall plot is interesting, and to see Mack work through tragedy in his life to come to a place of peace and comfort is what I believe has made this book such a success. However, the vast majority of the theological themes employed by the author are very dangerous, and if the reader is not very familiar with true Biblical theology, a warped view of God, Jesus, the Trinity, and the Bible will result.

If you haven't read the book yet, might I suggest something. Open to Chapter 6 and start reading. Without the emotional roller-coaster of the first 5 chapters to make you vulnerable to the erroneous doctrine to follow, my guess is that you will be shocked and disturbed by what you read. It reads like a bad Saturday Night Live skit, or somthing from a Bill Mahr movie. It comes complete with mockery of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Papa is a heavy, black woman with poor grammar and an odd sense of humor. Jesus is a clumsy but hard-working carpenter. Papa loves punk music. Sarayu (the Holy Spirit) is a mysterious asian woman. Papa loves being "surprised". Papa has nail scars on her hands. Young's version of the Trinity insults the Biblical portrayal of God and the Trinity.

(Hopefully just a few pages will be enough to make you put this book away and never read the whole thing.)

As I read through the pages of The Shack, time and time again I came across teachings about God that are in stark contrast to what I believe the Bible teaches. The most agregious of these errors are exemplified in the following direct quotes from The Shack:

(speaking about Jesus) "Although he is also fully God, he has never drawn upon his nature as God to do anything" (page 99).

"When we three spoke ourself into human existence as the Son of God, we became fully human. We also chose to embrace all the limitations that this entailed. Even though we have always been present in this created universe, we now became flesh and blood." (page 99)

"Jesus, as a human being, had no power within himself to heal anyone." (page 100)

I don't know what else to call those statements except blasphemy. I have not taken them out of their desired context. They are simply WRONG! Much more could be said about these and many, many other direct quotes from the book, but it would take a much longer blog!

Like I said, this is a brief review. For anyone wanting a more detailed, well-reasoned review of the actual theological errors of The Shack, I recommend the review by Christian book critic Tim Challies. He closely examines the following topics as they relate to The Shack and The Bible:
1) The Trinity
2) Submission
3) Free Will
4) Forgiveness
5) Scripture / Revelation
6) Salvation

Challies concludes his review with the following thought, which I agree with whole-heartedly: "Because of the sheer volume of error and because of the importance of the doctrines reinvented by the author, I would encourage Christians, and especially young Christians, to decline this invitation to meet with God in The Shack. It is not worth reading for the story and certainly not worth reading for the theology."

Now is it fair to criticize a fictional book based on what it teaches about theology? Maybe not. But this has grown into far more than just a fictional book. Mr. Young is now making the circuit in churches, teaching the very Shack theology discussed above. Even the nail scars on Papa's hands are part of Mr. Young's distorted teaching in churches. He even misquotes 2 Cor 5:19 to support this error! Read it for yourself, and use the verses around it to keep it in context. It doesn't take a theologian to see that the Father was reconciling the world to Himself THROUGH Christ, not by being physically IN Christ's body!

Unfortunately, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before full-fledged Bible studies will be based on The Shack. My prayer is for DISCERNMENT ... and BOLDNESS in our leaders to protect the flock from errant doctrine!

Thanks for listening! Feel free to comment!

--Wayne Wyatt