The Shack Written By William P. Young
Review By Larry F.D. King
But for starters, how about this:
I have recently read (and reread) a novel by William P. Young, entitled "The Shack". I have found it so inspiring and enriching that I have purchased and GIVEN AWAY some fourteen (14) copies to family and friends, for their enjoyment and edification. I encourage all of your bloggers to read "The Shack", and weigh in with their impressions. They WON'T be disappointed! I don't want to give away the PLOT of this excellent work of fiction, but suffice to say that in the course of a very good story, he turns several fundamental tenets of traditional Christian thinking completely on their HEADS! And I wholeheartedly AGREE...
I recently looked out on Dr. James Dobson's - with whom I FREQUENTLY DISAGREE for manifold reasons - website, http://www.focusonthefamily.com/, and found one link regarding "The Shack". It was a critical book review published some time ago by Tom Neven on "The Line" at: http://www.boundlessline.org/2008/06/the-shack-ramsh.html.
Tom Neven's review is titled "The Shack: Ramshackle Theology". He DEFINITELY finds fault with the book, and considers it heresy. He states that William P. Young has a "low view of Scripture, and in fact mocks anyone who believes that there is such a thing as correct doctrine". Neven goes on to say: "If one is to teach error, it is important to do away with Scripture, either by adding to it (Mormonism), mistranslating it (Jehovah's Witnesses) or simply mocking it (The Shack, Brian McLaren and some other "emergent" types)."
Here's his concluding statement:
"Young's ramshackle theology, unfortunately, is giving a lot of people an incomplete and false image of God. He is doing them no favors".
Daddy, I have a VERY hard time with Neven's review for three reasons:
1) He seems to have forgotten, or overlooked the fact that "The Shack" is a work of FICTION, not a monograph of Christian doctrine. According to the website, Young wrote the book to purge his own troubled soul and to explain his difficult upbringing to his children. Most people understand that a novelist has the right to poetic license. Probably some finer points of traditional ecclesiastical doctrine have been slightly bent or distorted. However, I don't believe that Young has BREACHED the spirit of the Bible as Holy Scripture in any way whatsoever. Further, his bends or distortions don't dilute the primary message of protagonist Mack(enzie) Phillips' - and by extension, all of mankind as creation - basic, fundamental NEED to discover and embrace a LOVED and LOVING RELATIONSHIP with the Holy Trinity.
2) After John and the other Disciples rebuked a man outside their group for casting out devils in Christ's name, Jesus himself replied, "... Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us" - Luke 9:50b (KJV). To the extent that "The Shack" promotes discussion about the Trinity, causes people to think more seriously about their relationship to Our Lord, or leads a SINGLE SOUL to a deeper, more enriched Christian life, then in my humble opinion, Young is absolutely FOR CHRIST, and the book is worth its weight in GOLD. I am persuaded that this is the intent behind Jesus' words quoted above.
3) Finally, the direct attack Neven wages against Young, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Brian McLaren (of whom I've never heard) and others, is paradigmatic of the kind of narrow-minded, "my-way-or-you're-goin'-to-Hell" thinking that divides Americans into scores of denominations and makes so MANY people SICK of "organized religion"! He'd rather be "right" (in his own mind that is) than understanding or compassionate. He'd rather be self-justified than tolerant, and he'd rather divide than unite. From my viewpoint, this is the "leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees" of which Christ warns us to "take heed and beware" in the Gospel of Matthew 16:6 (KJV).
But don't take my word for it. READ "THE SHACK" FOR YOURSELF and then give Big Head Lar' the 4-1-1!
Peezy fo' sheezy,
Lareezy
_______________________________________________
Larry W. King
Software Development
Transition train wreck.
1 day ago
4 comments:
Neven anticipated and answered the "it's only fiction" argument in another blog about "The Shack."
He did a rather good job of knocking down that argument, and you haven't really dealt with or answered any of the substantial issues he raises in his review.
Neven: 1
Daddymix: 0
If you loved The Shack, you should really check out Gita Nazareth's Forgiving Ararat, as this book too explores themes of judgment and forgiveness in the face of violence. As a fan and publicist for this book, I'm interested to see what parallels are drawn between the two. You can read the first two chapters at www.forgivingararat.com.
This book will not strike the right chord for those who are very literal in their thinking, or for the doctrine police who thinks that there can only be one explanation to everything.
I'm not necessarily a fan of The Shack, but I do feel that there are big ideas to be explored. Likewise, as truthinbooks suggested, Forgiving Ararat is an intelligent read that delves into the matter of religion, history, politics as well as the emotional struggle. For me, what Nazareth did was providing the room and seeds for debate, prompting readers to ponder and question long after the last pages. And that was what struck all the right notes for me.
- Stella
I have to say that "The Shack" by William P. Young was a very thought provoking read.
After reading the book, I was left pondering several things about it – which is a true testament to the book's worth. I had several questions on the validity of some of the descriptions of God but I had to humbly admit that there may be no answers this side of heaven for how God presents Himself to each individual.
I posted a more in-depth review of this book on my own blog www.tracysbooknook.com.
-Tracy
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