There is a lot of controversy about the fictional book, The Shack. It’s been great to read all the differing opinions and articles online about the book. Some love it, some hate it, and some dismiss it all together. I read the book the summer after it came out… I think in 2007. A friend of mine loaned me his copy, and to be straight up about it, I hadn’t thought about it since.
I had been seeing more blog posts and opinion articles on it as the motion picture adaptation was gearing up to be released. The other morning I ran into a friend at a local coffee shop and after we spent a moment catching up, he asked me, “So what do you think about The Shack?”. I smiled and asked, “That sounds like a loaded question.”. We had a good chuckle.
He shared how a group of his colleagues were in conversation a few weeks back about the book and the discussion got pretty heated. I was a bit surprised by that. But after further reflection I can see how people can feel the way they do on both sides of the pro-Shack team and the anti-Shack group. Some feel it’s a full frontal assault on Christianity and others found it quite powerful as they were able to identify with the main character who suffered some incredible loss.
The Shack is not scripture. The Bible is the only authority that we have to derive our understanding of God and His nature. Theology, the study of God and His nature, for the christian comes from the totality of the canon of scripture. Fictional writings, commentaries, biographies, writings from the early church fathers and the like are great resources to help in understanding God in our context. But… this is a big ‘but’… everything must be held against the truth of scripture.
Can you go and enjoy The Shack motion picture as a christian? Without reservation, absolutely. Should you derive your understanding of God and stake your faith upon this book, or dare I say, work of art? No, we should look to scripture to see what God says about His sovereignty in the midst of loss and tragedy. We should look to scripture to derive an understanding of the Trinity. Studying the book of Job would give us great insight to the nature of God and the sovereignty of God in the life of the suffering believer.
The slippery slope we run into in the boycott of this fictional tale is, if we’re intellectually honest, we’re then boycotting and protesting The Chronicles of Narnia. While there are glaring theological deficiencies in this new Hollywood production, this is a fictional story. The Shack was originally written by Paul Young as a way for his kids to understand him more and “the God that their father was in love with”**. I commend Mr. Young for his attempt to bear his soul to his children and be vulnerable, putting his messy life and theology out there for all to see (and to criticize… but Mr. Young is making a pretty penny on this… so I don’t feel too bad for him).
Our view and understanding of God is imperfect at best. There are realities and truth in scripture that are clear and non-negotiable. I don’t feel the need to tar and feather a man who is doing his best to understand his Creator and Savior, actually wrestling with the deep things in life. I applaud those that wrestle with these things in a respectful, dignifying, and in an enlightening manner. This book/movie will be another thing that comes and goes, but the word of God remains… put your trust in that… that’s what I’m doing.
Peace.
**http://www1.cbn.com/700club/william-young-look-inside-shack