Shacked Up

When people make a fuss, be it positive or negative, about a new film or book release, I make a subconscious decision to never watch or read it. I often lose out by this; the UK sitcom The Office and its comedic genius nearly passed me by. The Shack, a novel by William Young, has been causing something of a storm for the last few years. Again, I happily resolved to let it pass me by until I discovered a copy on my shelf. It had been a birthday present from Christian friends ten years ago, and I had nonchalantly filed it away. Eugene Peterson is quoted on its cover:

“This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress did for his. It’s that good!”

Two things struck me. The Pilgrim’s Progress did as much for subsequent generations as it did for Bunyan’s own, and is still doing. Comparing the two is rather bold. Secondly, Peterson was the author of The Message, a paraphrase of the Bible that many foolish people began reading instead of a proper translation. So an endorsement by him may not quite set the alarm bells a-ringing, but they do begin to tinkle.

The novel is actually very good. And the story itself is theologically wonderful- the father of a murdered child meets God, asks why evil and suffering happen, and learns to forgive his child’s killer. Great. And yet, as I read, I was troubled by little phrases and descriptions. God the Father is portrayed as a black woman. No doubt, God is no more a white man than He is a black woman, but in these days of gender revisionism, this is a dangerous concession. Likewise, the Holy Spirit is an Asian woman with a fondness for gardening and ambiguity. She claims “I have a great fondness for uncertainty.” What, the Spirit of Truth?

When the Father, called Papa, explains why he/she chooses to show him/herself as a woman, it is so we do not ‘keep falling back into your religious conditioning’. I get my ‘religious conditioning’ by reading the Bible. In His revealed word, God reveals Himself as masculine. The book therefore suggests that theology based on scripture is somehow incomplete or suspect. Therein lies the problem with this book. Therein lies its danger.

There are far better analyses and reviews online than I could possibly write, so I’ll not attempt anything like it here. But I would urge you to not bother buying the book. The pleasure of the story is annulled by the subtle errors of its theology.

Image by beate bachmann from Pixabay