This book should be wrapped in yellow caution tape reading "KEEP OUT". I rarely feel led to write a negative review of something. However, this is not just a case in which I disliked a book, but I truly believe this book to be deceptive and dangerous. Let me give you the premise of "The Shack" before I give you my reasoning for classifying it as such.
"The Shack", marketed as a Christian novel, is the story of Mack. He takes his three children on a camping trip and on the morning they are to leave to head home, his 6-year-old daughter is abducted. After searching for days, his daughter's bloody, torn dress is found in an abandoned shack deep in the woods of Oregon (maybe Washington, I can't remember). Four years later, Mack receives a note in his mailbox reading, "Mackenzie, It's been a while. I've missed you. I'll be at the shack next weekend if you want to get together. Papa" (pg. 16). "Papa" is his wife's affectionate name for God so he wonders if it is really God inviting him back to the shack. Mack does go and is greeted by three "people". Elousia is "a large beaming African-American woman" (pg. 82), otherwise known as God. Jesus is a man "dressed like a laborer, complete with tool belt and gloves. ...wearing jeans covered in wood dust and a plaid shirt with sleeves rolled just above the elbows" (pg. 84). Sarayu is "a small, distinctively Asian woman ... [who] seemed almost to shimmer in the light and her hair blew in all directions even though there was hardly a breeze" (pg. 84), otherwise known as the Holy Spirit. The next few chapters cover the conversations between these four "characters".
This is all I know about the book because that's where I closed it. With humility, I say I do have a good amount of Biblical knowledge as I've been attending Bible studies for 10 years and even more importantly I recognize the Bible as God's Holy Word which He speaks to us through and provides direction and insight. "The Shack" very clearly contradicts the Bible on many points and therefore it must be seen as blasphemous.
Just to clarify, "The Shack" may appear to be a metaphorical story as the author states in an interview, but the man has chosen God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit to be main characters in his book. No one can write a book about another person without risking slander charges, and in this case, it is not just random people but Almighty God. Here is the line from the book when you clearly see that it is God he is writing about and not just comparing his characters to God.
He knew his mind was rambling, so he focused on the question he most wanted answered. 'Then,' Mack struggled to ask, 'which one of you is God?' 'I am,' said all three in unison (pg. 87).
That statement is as close as "The Shack" comes to quoting Scripture. There is not one Bible verse included in this book. The answer, "I am", refers to the way God revealed Himself to people in the Bible.
Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is His name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" (Exodus 3:13-14)
Another thing that puzzled me is how Young's Foreword leads the reader to believe Mack's encounter with God to be a true story. And the concluding After Words section does likewise. In the interview, Young clearly says "The Shack" was a story he wrote for his children, but the typed word appears differently.
...I would not be too suprised, in spite of our concerted effort toward accuracy, if some factual errors and faulty remembrances are reflected in these pages. They are not intentional. I can promise you that the conversations and events are recorded as truthfully as Mack can remember them, so please try and cut him a little slack (pg. 13).
I'm posting this review in chunks as I didn't meant to write a dissertation but it's starting to look that way.
The book just has so greatly troubled me mainly because mainstream Christianity is embracing it whole-heartedly!! Our local Christian book store devoted an entire wall to promoting it.
When thinking of writing this review, God brought these verses to me which honestly ran a chill down my spine.
Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with their stories they have made up. ... Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. (2 Peter 2:2-3,10-12)
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