Customer Reviews: Read 23 more reviews...
 Too many doctrinal errors October 8, 2008
George P. Vanpopta (Ottawa, ON)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Shack, the sensational best seller by William P. Young, is a pretty gripping story. Mack's little daughter, Missy, is kidnapped and murdered while Mack is on a camping trip with his three children. The place where she was killed, a shack in the mountains, is discovered, though Missy's body and the killer are not found.
Some time later, Mack receives a letter from God, "Papa", inviting him back to "the shack." Mack goes to the shack and meets the Trinity there. God the Father is an Afro-American woman; Jesus is a blue jeans-wearing man; the Holy Spirit is an ethereal woman called Sarayu.
In unique sessions with each of the Trinity, Mack struggles with anger against his abusive father and his hatred against Missy's killer. After he forgives his father, God the Father appears to him, for the rest of the story, as a man. After Mack forgives the murderer, God leads Mack to Missy's body and the four of them bury her. Mack, then, returns home to his wife Nan and his other two children.
It's a very imaginative story, but contains some serious theological difficulties.
Young, runs into trouble with the second commandment which says that we are not to make an image of God in any way and that God cannot and may not be visibly portrayed in any way. When Young "paints a picture" of God with words, he bumps up against the second commandment. Arguably, one could portray Jesus, since he is a true man, but one may not portray the Father nor the Holy Spirit. "You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman." (Deu 4:15,16).
Young's view of the Trinity is not right. God the Father, at one point in the book, says that he is truly human in Jesus and has scars on his wrists to prove it. The wrong teaching that Young subscribes to at this point is likely patripassionism, the teaching that the Father also suffered. Young confuses the persons of the Father and the Son. The ancient Athanasian Creed warn against this.
Young also espouses a wrong view of the extent of the atonement. Whereas scripture teaches that Christ dies for the forgiveness of the sins of his people, Young says that God has forgiven all sin in Christ and that it is up the human individual to choose relationship with the Father. His view of the atonement is Arminian; his view of man's unregenerate will is Pelagian.
Although it's a nice story to read, I cannot recommend The Shack because of its many doctrinal errors.
 Sorry October 4, 2008
C. Russwurm (Ontario, Canada)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
It's a rare book. The first I've ever thrown into the trash bin having read three-quarters of it. It promises something new but delivers the same brainwashing as Sunday School. Sorry to offend people, but there is no new information here....just someone trying to tug your heartstrings into Christianity with the murder of an innocent little girl. Wake Up!
Theologically Unsound September 26, 2008
Victoria Lechler (Alberta, Canada)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is an emotional book. The story captivates as we read it. Unfortunately, it is theologically unsound. Jesus in the book comments that most roads lead nowhere whereas the Bible says that most roads lead to destruction. There are nail prints on "Papa's" hands in the book, in the Bible God the Father and God the Son are distinct - only Jesus died on the cross. There are just so many to mention. This is not just a novel, Mr Young holds to these theologies and preaches them. Please fellow Christians, use discernment when reading this book, don't decide it is good because of a feeling, read it with your Bible open and ask yourself if what Young is saying matches scripture. If it doesn't then how can you support this book? Please don't share it with unbelievers in hopes they will see God's love and be saved. All it will do is make them wonder who God is when/if they open their Bibles.
a waste of my "book budget money"! September 21, 2008
L. Davison
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The story is engaging,until "God" appears..goes downhill from there,ridiculous without the humour. I regret trusting a "recommend read list".LD
A little naive and patronizing September 15, 2008
T. Kharitonova (Calgary, AB)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book was simple with a good message, however the lack of depth of thought was a big turnoff for me. It never really addresses the hard hitting questions we would really ask God if we could just have a chat with him, instead copping out with a diving will/divine plan which we with out stupid little minds could not possibly understand.
I find it hard to believe that the creator of the universe would endow us with the capacity to study the edges of the universe, deal with dark matter and probe theology and then talk down to us.
The book also requests us to give up the independence and come back into the fold of unquestioning relationship with the almighty, we were never meant to be independent, hence all our problems. I find this thinking incredibly naive and patronizing. The lack of deep thought in this book shines from every page where the main character breaks down in tears after facing his ghosts or gets enveloped with divine love.
The book jacket says the author suffered in his early years and it shows in his quest for a parent figure on every page. For those of us better equipped to deal with life's trauma and drama this book is simply not enough.
|
