Book Review of The Shack by William P. Young

by L. J.
(Arkansas)

The Shack by William P. Young has emerged as one of the most successful books to come out in recent years. It has sold a lot of copies and is being embraced as a revolutionary work in the field of Christianity and spirituality.

Many Christian leaders are coming out with nothing but praise for the book. In addition, many Christians are in full support of the book, passing around copies and recommending it to friends.

While there are obviously some great things about the book, is it really worth all the hype? Is it actually a Christian book, or is it just another attempt to redefine Christianity from what the Bible says? The book is not without it's share of controversy as it circulates throughout the culture.

Let's take a look at what The Shack has to offer you. The book is a fictional account of a man named Mack who has gone through some unbelievable pain in his recent life. His young daughter was inexplicably murdered and Mack is having a very difficult time getting through all of the pain. He finds himself not knowing where to turn or who to rely on. His entire belief system is questioned.

Then, out of nowhere, he receives a random invitation to return to the very shack where his precious daughter was murdered. This in itself is a pretty unbelievable proposition for any parent that has endured the murder of their child. As it turns out, Mack is actually being invited to the shack for a weekend-long encounter with the Trinity.

God is represented by an African-American woman, Jesus is a Hebrew man and the Holy Spirit is shown as an Asian woman. Mack can hardly believe his eyes or his feelings once he arrives and meets all of them.

The rest of the book is based strongly on theology. It delves pretty deep into a lot of scripturally based concepts. Anytime you deal with Christian fiction, there is going to be some questionable content that many people might question.

For the most part, this book has received praise across the board. Religous leaders have come forward, claiming that it is the most profound book since Pilgrim's Progress. High praise does not always mean that it is perfect though. While many people claim to be changed forever, others are calling the book heresy. They reference scripture such as "Jesus... said to them: 'Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many." Matthew 24:4-5.

They claim that this is an attempt to soften Christianity. They believe that the book makes light of God's soveriegn authority over all of us.

Depending on which side of the fence you are on, you might love or hate this book. It might be nitpicking to take every line of text and say that it's heresy. If you really tried hard enough, you could do that to almost every book.

Overall, this is a very interesting book to read. It never gets boring from beginning to end. If you're reading it to have a spiritual transformation (like many claim that you'll have) just use your best discernment to decide what to believe.