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The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity
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| Custom Reviews: | |
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| Know its limitations and look for more than "experiences" | |
|  | I will probably update these brief comments later...
Pluses:
I think it does a good job bringing the point in that God is a "Person" and that His ablity to relate to people is based upon the fact of the Trinity itself. This point alone can be beneficial in apologetics of the God of the Bible vs. other gods.
That God is "deeper than rules" is related to this and I think is brought forth in a thought provoking manner.
Suffering and injustice being seen from a perspective outside of our temporal vision is another big plus.
Minuses:
The book leans too much on having a "relationship" with God as if we as fallen humans can just somehow learn to "stop and listen to the Holy Spirit" at any time. Only One did and His doing so perfectly all of His Life is the basis of any hope we have of a "relationship" with God. As fallen beings are not able to hear so clearly and there is no mention of using the Bible as a guide to those issues of morality that we often get murky on and need to be challanged about.
No real need for the Community of the Saints is mentioned especially about such things as Historic Christianity hammered out to separate itself from cultish belief systems (yes, the creeds of old which some consider to be a "religious, dirty, thing"). Kind of a "you hear from the Christian God and I'll hear from the Christian God" and we should just be able to get along fine.
I would recommend the Lutheran work of fiction, "The Hammer of God" as an illustration as to why holding to doctrinal beliefs can be important.
| | | At the risk of sounding sensationalistic, I would like to have returned to me the hours of my life I spent reading this book. I will give the author two stars for creativity. However, the rest of the book can best be described as . . . unusual. If you are a person with strong Christian beliefs you may find this book offensive. In The Shack, God the Father is a stereotypical large woman, the Holy Spirit is a fairy flying around the room, etc. Perhaps for some individuals, this comes across as a well written book. To me it seemed contrived.
| | The Shack, brings the trinity and God's purpose of life to heart | |
| | The first three chapters are startling, horrific and make you more appreciative of your own life, and those you love. The solution of getting over a dead kidnapped child? Only God can heal, and the pain will still be there. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit come alive in real compassionate and wise characters, giving the griever a chance to see life from the infinite source and a larger perspective. The Shack
| | | From what I hear Evangelicals think William P. Young is too liberal, while other complain the book isn't "Christian" enough. I find the theology fascinating, pushing evangelicalism to its limits (a good thing) and opening the door for discussions. I used to be an Evangelical Christian myself and although I no longer quite hold to that paradigm, I enjoyed the book and found some of my own experiences with God reflected in it.
| | Fiction - but a good point to begin reflection | |
| | I have spent a good amount of time deciding how to best describe my thoughts on "The Shack" without letting myself become caught in either of the extremes which seem to have developed over the content. I always become skeptical when I see this sort of excitement develop over a book. At the same time, I feel strongly that this was not a "middle of the scale" experience for me as I read it.
I found caution and constant perspective to be useful as I considered the author's message. Having let the content "sink in" for a few days, I believe I will recommend the book to others with the caveat that they too approach with a clear understanding that the book is fiction and intended as such - but that it is a very useful point from which to base a personal reflection. As a discussion of the Trinity and as an examination of institutional religion vs. a spiritual relationship with each of the three persons of the Holy Trinity - it was very powerful.
I found the idea of the three persons of the Trinity in relationship with one another - and in turn with us (me) as compelling and stimulating. The book was a good way to approach some very dense theology which the book does well to "point to" without asserting an academic character. To think for a moment that "The Shack" gives any academic treatment to certain theological truths is to give the book way too much (read inappropriate) credit. Any thoughts of using the text to learn these truths should be avoided. However, reading it as a healthy challenge to what you think you know, or reading it to form the basis for your own reflection from which to learn would be far more appropriate.
I give "The Shack" 3 stars. Five stars would mean it was near perfect - and this book misses that mark for the following reasons: I felt a little rushed in the final resolution; the conversational style and word choices were just a little off-putting - (detailed below); and the book can be damaging to a reader who approaches the text with the hope of finding the key to their understanding of God.
As to the style of the author: Without any disrespect intended to the author's first work - the style is just a little abrasive for me because of the characteristic flowery adverbs that are sprinkled generously throughout. To use the style of the author and a scriptural paraphrase to explain - As I read, I wanted to experience a beautiful and expansive field of wheat... but the author went into the field at night, and sowed daisies among the wheat seeds. As the seeds grew together, and as I then later experience the book, I was too often distracted by the shock of the bold flowers that were randomly mixed in and among the good grain that I much preferred to experience...
The book has a certain lack of luster and professional polish - but that I think is precisely what also made it fascinating. When you read "The Shack" (and you should) just be careful you don't then go out into the world and start manufacturing consolations for yourself and attributing them to Sarayu.
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