Thursday, March 26, 2009

The Shack

WM. Paul Young’s The Shack, a work of fiction, is a controversial novel, due in part to the religious ideas that are presented, many of which deviate wildly from normal theological assumptions. Mackenzie Allen Philips, known familiarly as Mack, has had childhood troubles in the past, mainly dealing with the abusiveness of his father, and since that time has found that communicating with God is difficult. Mack’s wife familiarly refers to God as Papa, but Mack’s insecurity in religion does not allow him to be so close to a God he has come to, in a sense, fear. The story begins with another tragic occurrence in Mack’s life. Mack’s young daughter, Missy, is abducted on a family camping trip. The abductor is known as the Little Ladykiller, a name derived from his sick methods of leaving a ladybug pin at the site of each child he has stolen. None of the children are ever recovered after this sicko takes his victims far away and brutally murders them. Mack finds a prodigious chasm open in front of him in this part of his life, The Great Sadness, which is filled with pain, hurt, grief, and a total personal abandonment from the presence of God.

Several years later, Mack receives a mysterious letter addressed to him from God. Mack decides to drive back to the site of Missy’s brutal death to try to seek some comfort from the anguish still tormenting his core. When there, he slips away into an almost dream-like illusion where he meets God, an African American woman, Jesus, a Middle Eastern carpenter, and the Holy Spirit, an Asian woman with a shimmering appearance. This trinity begins to rebuild the bridge in Mack’s faith and imparts onto Mack the many great values and misconceptions of the Christian religion. It is not until after this weekend meeting with God that Mack begins regaining a grip on his emotions after Missy’s death.

Though this novel was difficult to read in some sections due to the rich concepts presented, I thoroughly enjoyed such a read. I cannot truthfully promise that I agreed with many of Young’s ideas on religion, but just the experience of expanding my knowledge on the creations and miracles of God was well worth the time I took reading such a work of delightful literature. As one such example of Young’s difficult points, the idea of God being a black woman was a little difficult to swallow. At an early age I was taught differently, but challenging my pre-held assumptions in this book was an enjoyable and thoroughly educational experience. Young has allowed me to connect more fully to my own God by thinking such powerful thoughts through and considering their implications on my own faith.

I would recommend such a read to anyone wishing to supplement and expand their knowledge of religion, continue to grow in faith even more, or to simply learn new points to be used to challenge the faiths of others. Either way, Young’s The Shack is a remarkable ship that spirited me away to embark on a journey of faith and personal analytical questions.

4 comments:

  1. I am catholic and in saying that certain ideas over religion are ingrained in my head. I’m not saying that I don’t understand people of different religions or don’t bother to be friends with people of different religions. I just mean that a woman representing God is a strange new thing to me as I have been taught that God is male. Despite that, I think that God being a woman is not a bad concept to get people thinking over their chosen beliefs. Maybe to unite a diverse world there needs to be new ideas on the face of God for people to relate to God better.
    Turner, I applaud you for having read this book that contradicts some of your beliefs. Many people would have not done that and continued their lives in ignorance. I am inspired to read this book from your account.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, when I saw that this post was about “The Shack” I was so pumped! I’ve heard only positive things about Young’s interesting portrayal of the Trinity and the cool thoughts that this book presents. I’ve wanted to read this book for a while now, and to be honest, I don’t have a good excuse for why I haven’t picked it up yet. I recently read a book called “Prayer” by Phillip Yancey (which is excellent!) and my next choice is between “The Shack” or “The Reason for God” by Tim Keller. I really love reading these Christian religious books because I enjoy hearing other believer’s thoughts on our beautiful God. I also want to read “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis as well as his other letters/essays, because honestly C.S. Lewis is such an awesome author and his faith genuinely shines through his writing. As for sermons, there are so many great pastors that have podcasts nowadays, and just a few of my favorite are John Piper, Paul Washer, and Marc Driscoll. So it’s good to hear your input on this book, and hopefully you can check out some of the above authors/pastors!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Shack does seem like a very interesting and potentially controversial book. I remember my dad read it about a year ago. He told me a few little details about the story line. This small amount of information he gave me sparked a bit of curiosity mainly about the African American woman who represents Jesus, but after reading this review, I am even more excited to experience this novel for myself. This book is unlike the typical girly teenage novels I would pick off the shelf to read in my free time, in fact I think that if I read the back of this book the kidnapping part of the story would probably scare me away. However the religious aspect of this book intrigues me. I will definitely have to read it for myself.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I had never heard of this book before reading this post but I am now intrigued by your description. I can’t honestly say that I have never thought of God as either male or female. This book sounds like a very interesting book about a great internal journey. Not only am I interested in the spiritual topics in this book but I also find it to have an interesting plot line. This book sounds like a great source of insight about diversity of religious beliefs. Your description of this challenging book is really captivating and I will definitely be reading this book in the future.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.