- having 'the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress did for his. It's that good!" (Eugene Peterson)
- "...the greatest deception foisted on the church in the last 200 years" (Professor of NT language and literature James B. DeYoung.)
- "...a life-changer, a transformer"
- "..it hides false doctrines in a feel-good story.."
- "..spiritually profound, theologically enlightening and life impacting"
- "..will leave you craving for the presence of God" (Michael W. Smith)
While sitting in the theatre a couple of weeks back, the trailer for The Shack played. I had read this book written by W. Paul Young when it came out almost 10 years ago and I remember being riveted while reading the first few chapters but then my interest flagged a little as I continued on. Maybe I just wasn't that interested in the book at that time, or I wondered if it was just too weird for me. Perhaps, this was just not the right time to read it. I am going to delve into it again before I view the movie.The Shack is a fictional story about a grieving man who receives a mysterious letter inviting him to meet with God at a cabin in the Oregon woods, the location of his greatest pain. This leads to a weekend long encounter with three people - in fact, the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Mack, the main character, wrestles with his faith, and is transformed through this weekend encounter.
Apparently the upcoming movie has rekindled people's strong and polarized opinions about the book. Is it heresy? Is it a true picture of God's love? Is it harmful or helpful?
I sat beside an acquaintance/friend at a hockey game last night and we began chatting about church and change and.. then The Shack came up. He didn't mince words as he told me about a blog he read listing out the 12 heresies coming from this book that will lead people astray. Why would we want our friends to watch it? he pondered. I didn't say too much but interjected that it, at least, would be an interesting movie to watch, and make people think.
Honestly, I want to reread the book and watch the movie and then decide whether or not I think this book is promoting false teachings or even harmful ones. Or perhaps it's really a great picture of God's unconditional love and care for the world.
And since I'm not one to enjoy conflict, I won't be debating this publicly with anyone!
But a conversation about the book would be interesting. I would like to know whether you've read the book, if you plan to, and if you are going to see the movie. I'd like to know your thoughts on the movie, too (it's coming out in early March).
I read the book (well about 1/2 of it) when it came out and there was a lot of hype about it. I stopped reading it because I didn't like how the Trinity was portrayed by the author. When I saw a movie was going to be made about it, I was a bit sad because I thought that's what people might think of the Trinity instead of delving into the truth of the Bible. I read a good commentary about it where the person said it is the author's fictional account that he wrote to explain some things to someone going through tough times and it was not biblically based. It was like the big hype with the Da Vinci Code years ago because the very first line in it was something to do with "this is the truth" when basically it was a work of fiction. I can't remember when The Shack opens, but I know that a pastor several years ago says that usually around Easter there is some movie, documentary, TV program, book etc. that takes away from the message of Jesus and his resurrection around that time of year; almost like the enemy is plotting and planning it to take the glory away from God. Its like the book The Secret a few years back that everyone was raving over. I really should re-read the book and see the movie. I did that with the Noah movie that came out a few years ago with Russell Crowe and after I saw the movie I wrote down all that was wrong with it, i.e., not biblical, and tucked it in my Bible in Genesis so that if anyone brought up the movie I could refute that it was actually true with what the Bible said about Noah. So I'll probably do the same with The Shack to see where it flaws biblically and tell the people the truth as it is in the Bible.
ReplyDeletebetty
I read it as a fairly new Christian, and loved it, mostly because I found it raw...filled with painful feelings and emotions it helped me to grasp what I think now is a very strong understanding of the Trinity and how through challenging times in our life all Three play an important role in our recovery. I should re read it now after years of learning and see what I think. I was able to separate how the author depicted each character of the Trinity in a way that worked for the man they were reaching out to. I think it is true of all of us that we have an image in our minds relating to our own experiences what the reality will be when we are face to face with God might be different than our wild imaginings but that is how we are wired. I'd like to see the movie and take it as the fiction it is, the imaginings of another human on what it might look like a
ReplyDeleteI read it last year. I took it for what it was....a book of fiction. With that being said I did enjoy it very much!
ReplyDeleteOh my. Didn't like it at all, and would probably be one to label it heresy, but no judgement on those who enjoyed it. God works in mysterious ways. :)
ReplyDelete