The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity by William P. Young
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Book Reviews of The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity
Book Review: Contemplation and expectancy toward Him
Summary: 5 Stars
I can understand the posting of stringent reviews of this writing, as it is the last days and we must be very careful of our choices and how we lead others. While I'm not a theological superstar or much of an expert on anything, my recent reading of The Shack increases my awareness of the intricately appointed relationship with my DAD.
I'm a young Christian, most would say. While I continue to relate to Him as Elohim, Elelion, Elroi, etc. (forgive spelling), and will always remember His place enthroned and surrounded by worship, I can't help but know HIS VOICE speaks to me in a very simple language with quite succint verbage and occasionally, we just have small-talk.
It was a small stretch to picture "Papa" in the context that was presented, as well as Jesus and Sarayu (less of a stretch, really) but the overall message of relationship being the primary reason for everything and the "expectancy" of what is to come, rather than the burden of expectations is a confirmation of the closeness the Lord has drawn me toward.
Being a Native American, I've struggled with relationship with the Lord who is known by my people largely as the White Man God (which makes me cringe in my spirit to even write that...). However, the Lord has led me to understand that He is able to present Himself according to the capacity of the believer. I often see him riding in full Native attire or standing as the Warrior that He is...and other times, I see Him fully robed and seated with Jesus at His side. Whichever the picture, He speaks and reveals and confirms and His Word is the center of our relationship.
The writing of W. P. Young addresses such a "garden" of feelings, questions, and suggestions that lovingly push you into contemplation and prayer. As always, I ask the Lord, "Is this from You?"
No matter what is presented to those in love with Christ and those who are soon to be in love with Christ, we must be hearing His voice and demanding that all others be silenced in Jesus' name. The work of His hands will be continually fashioned and molded by a number of tools. While The Shack is a tool, it's certainly not THE TOOL. We don't know how the Lord might use it. It's certainly opposite of religious form and I believe the Word frees us from religious form, if we allow ourselves freedom. (I still read the WHOLE Bible, OT and New, and believe it's all a necessary part of my journey to the Lord.)
Do I recommend it? I recommend that you prayerfully consider reading the book. The Lord has been leading me through stages of my life where extreme change is taking place (spiritually and physically). My ability to receive a greater understanding of Him is increasing, through His grace. If you are able to keep your eyes on Him, you can read anything and He will reveal what is necessary for you at this time.
A shout of "thanks" to "Willie". I, too, have lived through tremendous losses that God is still walking me through. He has helped me again as I read The Shack. ~~Peace and blessings!~~
Book Review: The Shack
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read very few if any books in my life that emmulate what it would be like to meet God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit...on Earth. To even imagine and document such an encounter is a feat within itself...especially in light of the tradegy that occured, a parent's greatest fear and pain. It is utterly unexplainable and unimaginable. Paul Young successfully reached into the depths of his mind, heart, and soul to create a story that brings great healing to those who have lost a child and additionally to all of us who have struggled to understand why such great evil exists and is allowed to exist and thrive on Earth. All of us have questioned why a God of love who is the creator of all would create evil, allow evil to take it's foothold as it does, and allow it to thrive, as it does, in a manner that is unspeakable. The horrific acts and autracities that are commited on the face of this Earth on a daily basis are an oxymoron to a God of love. It has been difficult if not impossible for most of us to "get" why a God of love would create and allow such evil. This book will help you begin to understand all of this and more. It will open your heart, mind, and soul in such a way that you will finally begin to understand evil and God's love...and why they co-exist together in this world...and why it's important for us who are created in God's image that they do. It will answer age old questions that you and others you know have had in your hearts and it answers it from the innermost depths of pain, pain we all know, feel, and suffer. Young took one of the most painful experiences any of could ever feel or know and framed his story from this standpoint. His story is a work of art. His story will touch your heart, soul and mind in a way that no other story will that I know of. It will teach you, through love, what love, freedom, and indepedence are...in a brand new way. Your perception of God will change in a good and better way as this book offers great wisdom as to the heart and ways of God. Your conventional views of love, marriage, government, church, religion, and politics will be challenged and you will be enlightened and gain a fresh and new outlook about it all. It will free you from the confines of religion, ritual, dogma, institutions, governmental power that attempts to rule and control our lives, and you will begin to see and fully understad that you were created to be a free spirit in all things and at all times, without fear, guilt, or expectation by God. You will more fully understand that we are free agents and that God is a God of love, nothing more, nothing less. This book will heal your soul of any anger you feel towards God because of the pain, suffering, evil, and tragedies that God allows to exist. You will understand evil and it's purpose...it will help you begin to see behind the dark glass and you will begin to feel the measure of God's incredible grace. "Where tragedy confronts eternity"...indeed, this poiniant sentence on the cover of this book describes the very crux of this book, indeed.Book Review: Amazing!
Summary: 5 Stars
What would you do if God sent you a note, asking you to meet Him at the shack where your daughter was murdered? That's exactly what happened to Mackenzie Allan Phillips. But let's backtrack a bit. The Phillips' were the average family; a loving and devoted couple, three beautiful children. They believed in God, knew Him personally, went to church on Sundays and read the Bible regularly. The idyllic life is turned upside down when Mack and Nan's daughter Missy is kidnapped and murdered. Actually, she is one of the victims of serial killer known as the Little Lady Killer. He targets little girls, kidnaps them and kills them. The FBI stumbles upon a shack, where there is blood on the floor. It is determined that the blood belonged to Missy and that she is dead. Three and a half years pass and the Phillips family is still struggling to come to terms with little Missy's death. Nan is devout in her faith as ever; in fact, she constantly refers to God as "Papa." The oldest daughter is having difficulties though. And whatever faith Mack had before the murder is now lost.
That's when Mack receives an unmarked envelope, with a note inside. The Author of the note asks Mack to meet Him in the very shack where Missy was murdered. At the bottom of the paper it's signed, "Papa." Mack comes to the conclusion that "Papa" is actually God. He speaks to his friend Willie (who in fact is the author of this book) and the two discuss the possibility of God actually contacting him personally. While he is skeptical of God, on some level Mack's curiosity piqued and he believes that God might be there. He waits until his wife and children are spending the weekend elsewhere when he takes off and travels to the remote shack. The bloodstain on the floor is still there, but God is nowhere to be found. Enraged, Mack destroys any object he can get a hold of. He steps outside briefly and the entire area is suddenly transformed into a little piece of heaven. When he goes back to the shack, a black woman answers the door, introducing herself as Elousia...a.k.a.- God. But it's not just God the father who's there, the whole Trinity is inside. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are not what you imagine... as mentioned before God appears as a black woman, Jesus is an average looking guy clad in blue jeans and the Holy Spirit is a free spirit Asian woman.
Not to give away any of the great parts, I'll leave it at that. "The Shack" is not your average Christian novel, actually it is the exact opposite of what I expected. I smiled and cried as I read through Mark's experiences. Many of my own questions that I didn't even know that I had were answered. I find myself thinking back and snickering over certain incidents in the story, especially when Jesus is a butterfingers. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone, as long as they keep in mind that this book is not for the faint at heart. I dare anyone to read this without walking away and feeling different. The story is heart wrenching, yet inspirational, even for those who don't believe.
Book Review: Loved it! Spectacular story...my husband even cried!
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a five-point Calvinist, TULIP all the way, entrenched in good doctrine...and I LOVED The Shack, much as I loved C.S. Lewis' writings and Tolkien's. Yes, I think most evangelical Believers will see this story for the work of fiction that it is. Most of us are intelligent enough to realize that we won't all agree fully on the finer points of systematic theology of the book. That doesn't take away from the wonder and the beauty of this story. As I heard one staunch Calvinist pastor say years ago, "I'd never discourage someone from reading Tolkien or Lewis. Certain writers, if we will allow them, soften our hardened hearts and stir our bored, lukewarm souls, even if their theology is not 100 percent accurate." Maybe we should all stop throwing the baby out with the bathwater, and stop being so afraid of our emotions! As for Young's writing style, I didn't find it to be awkward or difficult, and he's certainly easier to follow than some literary giants (ever tried to read William Faulkner, Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Samuel Beckett, T.S. Elliot, Henry James? I have. Excruciating.) What, however, do I know? I'm just a thirty-something-year-old mom of three who happens to hold two degrees in Literature and have read more dry, stale theology in my life than most people twice my age. I also lost my father suddenly when I was twenty-one. He was forty-four. Since then I have become skilled at building walls in all of my relationships, focusing on tasks and "responsibilities" rather than people themselves and our relating to Jesus. While The Shack may not have answered my questions more than the Bible has over the years, it did bring a profound sense of reassurance of God's love for His people, an encouragement to live more joyfully, and a conviction that I've spent too long being satisfied with C.S. Lewis's "mudpies," when I could've been enjoying a "holiday by the sea" with Jesus Christ. I pray that readers of The Shack will "get it," and not mistake it for a non-fiction treatise on Christianity. Go to the website for the author's comments and explanations. Afterall, literary criticism is far from complete if the author's intent, background and point of view are not considered. Any critic worth his or her salt should realize this fact, though, it seems, many modern "critics" are not truly literature students but people with computers and personal axes to grind, intent on raining on others' parades because they can't write themselves. I pray for all of the rainers out there...let the sunshine of Christ in and enjoy the book! I cried and so did my normally non-crying husband...on an airplane! He just pretended it was allergies, though he didn't pretend with me. We're both frozen-chosen Calvinists, but after reading The Shack, we both have a sense of grace and freedom that we've known in our heads to be true for many years but have forgotten how great it feels in our hearts. Let Jesus tear down those walls, folks! We love Him because He first loved us.Book Review: God's not disappointed in me!
Summary: 5 Stars
If you're like me, you're probably reading these reviews to find out if this is the sort of book that will enrich your faith or lead you astray. Some of the other reviewers have left some discouraging comments about Paul Young's theology but I believer there is a precious treasure inside the chapters of this book that would be a shame for anyone to miss. I want to tell you what that treasure is and how this book has helped me to see it.
I've struggled with depression and suicidal tendencies since I was very young. At thirteen I landed myself in the emergency room after an attempted suicide. I've since gotten less impulsive, but the temptation has existed all of my adult life. One of my lowest points was following the birth of my first child when I looked at my tiny helpless baby hopelessly feeling that I lacked all he needed me to offer. Please understand that I am sharing this information in an effort to show God's work in me--not to elicit pity or create drama.
While I'd been told of God's love many times, I nevertheless thought of God as stern, hard-hearted, and stoic. I thought of Jesus as loving and compassionate, and salvation was God the Father's way of humoring His Son's preposterous desire to redeem. I lived my life so as to stay under God the Father's radar. I imagined that heaven was God's house and sinners were not allowed in, but if Jesus disguised the sinners so they looked like Him, then a few of us could sneak by unnoticed. I was quite certain that God was dreadfully disappointed in me and regretted ever letting Jesus die on my behalf. This is difficult to admit, but there was a part of me that viewed my struggles with depression and suicide as God's way of messing with me. I guess I thought He just wanted to shake me up every now and then to show me how powerful and almighty He is and how small and pathetic I am. I desperately wanted to be pleasing to God but I consistently found myself lacking on every account.
In reading The Shack, the thought that really stopped me in my tracks was in Chapter 14 when God tells Mack that because He has no false expectations of Mack, He is never disappointed in him. It suddenly dawned on me that not only was God's judgement poured out on Jesus Christ on the cross, His disappointment was absolved there, too. This is the treasure that I found in The Shack. I found freedom to simply be myself with God. My sanctification is complete in His eyes, now He's just making it complete in my eyes. I understand now why I'm here and I'm learning to find joy in this journey knowing that this life is about God revealing His depthless Love.
One more thing, there are some good theology books out there. I've read a few of them. While they may have been technically correct, none of them conveyed this idea of God's Love to me. I would trade a thousand of those theologically flawless books for one book with some difficult theology that conveys God's Love like this book does.