Some Thoughts on The Shack

I read The Shack the third week in July. I remember the week because I had just returned from the Holy Spirit Conference in Greenlake Wisconsin. I admit that I couldn't put the book down. I was caught up in the story itself. But it was the theological truth behind the novel that really captured me.

The novel is controversial. There is no denying that. But readers must remember that it is a novel. It isn't a theological text and should not be read as one. When I said that there was theological truth behind the novel, I meant just that. I really haven't sorted out all of my own thoughts on how this all works out. In the following paragraphs I will set down my thoughts on the novel and point out both some of the truths and problems that I saw as I read the novel.

The story is so touching and compelling. I don't want to give away all of the plot, but here is the general idea of the story. A man takes his three children on a camping trip. On the last day of the trip his youngest daughter is kidnapped -- and killed. Of course this has a tremendous impact on the entire family, but especially the man. He feels so responsible for allowing this to happen. He also feels that God had let him down. He was depressed and angry. While in this mood, he receives a mysterious letter from Papa, the name that his wife always calls God. The letter invited him to come and meet with Him at The Shack. The rest of the story I wont discuss. You really need to read the book. It is exciting, touching, funny, shocking and probably some other adjectives that would fit equally well.

The first theological truth that underlies the novel is that God is not bound by our stereotypical ideas of what He should be like. He is. He will be what He will be. We have to deal with Him as He is, not what we would wish Him to be. I am sure that some readers are shocked at the way the author pictures God. I was certainly surprised and am not sure that I would ever picture God that way myself. But it works in the novel and it sets forth that truth. In the novel, it challenges the ideas that the man had about God. We must never put God in a box. Many years ago, I read a book by J. B. Philips entitled, "Your God is Too Small". In this book, Philips discusses many of the ways that we place God in a Box. Our thinking limits God. We don't realize that God is never limited to our idea of how He should be. I think that Young deals very well with this subject in "The Shack".

The second theological truth is the way that the Trinity works. Now I don't pretend to believe that the pictures presented in the story are exactly as it really is. In fact, I'm sure that they aren't. But within the story we are given the relationships between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We see their absolute love for one another -- no envy, no self seeking. The try to please and compliment one another. They anticipate the "needs" of one another (I know that technically God needs nothing). They exist for one another. This is so similar to the book by Clark Pinnock, "The Flame of Love, A Theology of the Holy Spirit". Pinnock discusses the relationship within the trinity as a dance of love. I think that we see this in The Shack.

The third truth is that God loves His people. This is certainly Biblical. "God so loved the world . . ." This is so clear in the novel. I don't even think that the story stretches this. It is right there. The reader doesn't have to look below the surface for this truth. God created us and He loves us unconditionally. He loves in spite of our sin. He loves us in spite of our attitudes. He loves us in spite of our doubts. Of course God wants us to trust him, to have a good attitude and not to sin -- but it doesn't make any difference as to whether or not He loves us. Like a parent, He loves His children whether they are naughty or nice.

The final truth is that Christianity is about relationship not dogma. This is not to diminish dogma, Biblical Truth and Theological Correctness. This is all very important. But good doctrine without relationship with God and our fellow human beings is worthless. This is said quite forcefully in I Corinthians 13. God wants to have a relationship with each one of us. He wants us to worship Him freely because we love and trust Him. he wants us to love one another because when we love others, we are being like Him (John 13:35 and chap. 17).

The way Young pictures all of this is merely one man's imagination. It shocks many of us and probably is not really the way it is. The value of this novel, other than a gripping story, is that there is truth behind the story. It is a truth that is all to often ignored in Evangelical Circles.