Grace San Diego

Do you see God as a man?  Do you see Him as a wise sage with a long flowing beard? The Shack, by William P. Young, will challenge your view of God.  As you read, your understanding of scripture will be tested and provoked.

Abused by a father:
Years ago I was involved in a ministry to women in the Santa Clara County Jail. Many of those women had experienced abuse by their father or their stepfather.  I noticed that when I spoke of Jesus they saw Him as a friend and savior, someone that was approachable. However, when I spoke of God the Father there was a negative reaction.  It seemed that they projected their pain on God and saw Him through the eyes of their experience.  Wow, what an irony, they were missing the redeeming power of a true loving father who favors them and wants to redeem their souls.

To anyone who has ever experienced deep pain at the hand of a parent, a brother, or a stranger, The Shack will reach your heart in a way that few books do. The sensitivity, humor, and relationship of the persons of the Godhead ring clear and reach the wounded heart in a way that may change the way you see God.  

Foundational truth:

1. God is triune, i.e. He is three persons in one divine essence.
2. Even though God is spirit He has shown Himself to man in unique and powerful ways in scripture, e.g. the burning bush.  The manifestation of God in physical form does not negate the truth that He is spirit and is eternal and living above the finite realm.
3. Salvation is through Christ alone.  Salvation is a whole work of God and is only given to those who believe.
4. The relationship of God as Father is an anthropomorphic (The attribution of human characteristics to nonhuman things such as God) term of convenience.  Specifically, God took on a role of Father/Son relationship for our understanding of Him (read Hebrews 1:5).
5. Jesus died for our sins; the Father did not personally die for our sins.  
6. Fiction is not a theological treatise. Let fiction be fiction.

As I read The Shack, my heart was broken with a view of God that I have never considered in such tangible ways.  It provoked my thought and moved me to tears several times.  I’m not sure I will ever see God the same.  My theological feet are firmly on the ground and I know what scripture teaches about God; but The Shack pushed me to look at God with fresh eyes. Unmovable truths were not moved.

Who is God?
As you read various reviews of The Shack you will hear the recurring complaint that God is not to be seen as a physical image.  This misrepresents the point of The Shack.  God is presented in a form that will accommodate Mack’s condition, a man who had an abusive father.  In the story, after Mack forgives his father, the image of God changes from a mother to a Father, now personally understandable to Mack’s healed heart.  Looking at this through a flawed “systematic theological lens” (Man’s doctrinal bent) will give rise to a rejection of the book. However, a “Biblical view” (The truth of God’s Word) will affirm the precedent of God coming to man in various forms like the burning bush or a wrestler, etc.  These manifestations help man to relate to Him. Moses realized through the burning bush that God is eternal and was therefore encouraged to fulfill God’s directive for him.  You should know that the term ‘father’ is for our understanding. God is Father by His own declaration, Hebrews 1:5 “For to which of the angels did He ever say, ‘Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee’? And again, ‘I will be a Father to Him And He shall be a Son to Me’?” Note that the Father/Son relationship takes place in time and at the point of the declaration it began, and would continue on into the future.  What was the relationship before this declaration?  God was three in one as He is after the declaration, but now there is a way for fallen man to understand the relationship of the Godhead.

Literature and Christians
It may be that the lack of literary exposure of some Christian reviewers leads to a rejection of all that is not woodenly connected to their own separatist theology.  This book takes license in presenting God as a woman to show a character trait of God. It is literature not scripture.  There is too much demand placed on the writer of The Shack by Christian critics.  Young did a great job of showing the heart of God in this literary genius. The book does not present God as a man or a woman, but rather as a spirit.  The revelation of a great ending puts the book in perspective. As you read the conclusion of the book, look back upon the story in light of Mack’s actual experience.

Did God the Father die for our sins?
The scars of the crucifixion are not only on Christ but are also seen on the wrist of God the Father.  This leads some to reject the book based on the heresy of Modalism, i.e. the view that holds there is one God with three modes of operation. We Trinitarians hold that there is one God with three individual persons.  This Trinitarian presentation of God is clearly given in the book.  There seems to be a hint of patripassionism (the idea that God the Father died on the cross) in the faint scars on the wrists of “papa,” i.e. God the Father. However, when Mack views the scars on Jesus’ wrists they are distinct and clear.  The writer’s intent was expressed when God said, it cost the entirety of the Godhead when Jesus died. He was not saying the Father died for our sins.   

Will everyone ultimately be saved?
I would have given a stronger and clearer presentation of the gospel if I were writing The Shack.  That’s why I’m a teacher and not a fiction writer.  A follow up discussion with those who have read the book could really help them to understand the gospel.  Most of these people would never come to a formal presentation of the gospel in a church somewhere.  This is an opportunity for you to talk about the truth with them. The Shack brings the gospel to those who are unsuspecting… it is genius.  The redemption through the cross is presented, but not a strongly as I would have liked.  At one point it almost seemed that The Shack was promoting a salvation of universalism, i.e. all will be saved, (page 182).  This was corrected toward the end of the book however.

Why read the Shack?
You will be inspired to a greater intimacy with a loving God who longs to reach you where you are.  You will read of a God who comes down to your level without loosing anything of His majesty.  I love God and I think when we get to Heaven we are all going to be surprised at what God is truly like.  Read with discernment and don’t follow false teaching.  The Shack is safer than some reviewers who make a living off being critical would like you think.  

As always, “love God with all your heart, soul and might…” Deuteronomy 6:5