To the many 5 star reviewers, may I respectfully ask you to step back, take a deep breath, and then give this book a second look, viewing it only through the prism of Scripture? Upon sober reflection, perhaps you will discern that this IS an amazing book and THE book for you if, and only if...

You want to recreate God in your own image;

You find Isaiah's portrayal of a holy God seated upon His throne to be a disturbing image;

You would prefer to metaphorically cast God the Father as a loving and large black woman named "Papa," Jesus as a laid back and friendly Middle Eastern man, and the Holy Spirit as a calm and cool Asian woman;

You want a God so small that you and she/he/she can just hang out together as best buddies;

You regard the Bible as an extremely biased, narrow-minded, and insufficient revelation of God in leather binding with "guilt edges" (page 65);

You therefore believe that God talks to people today, and that whatever she or he says to people trumps biblical truth (page 66);

You believe that God is never to be feared (page 90);

You believe that Jesus' miracles do not affirm Him as God, but prove only "that Jesus is truly human" (page 99);

You want a God who does not hold people accountable for, nor punishes sin (page 119);

You want a God who does not demand that you submit to him or her, but one who submits to YOU (page 145);

You want a God who accepts everyone -- "Buddhists...Muslims, bankers and bookies" -- as his or her children no matter what their beliefs or behavior, and that Jesus has "no desire to make them Christian" (page 223);

You believe that Jesus lied when He warned, "Broad is the road that leads to destruction" (Matthew 7:13), because in The Shack Jesus says, "Most roads don't lead anywhere" (page 182).

Make no mistake... 90% of this book is spot on. But isn't that exactly what makes its 10% error so insidiously deadly? Look, we can allegorize many things, but we don't mess with the Trinity. This book is a Trojan horse subtly infiltrating the Christian community -- one that makes our God extremely small and completely manageable, a God who, in the final analysis, is no God at all.

My wife purchased it and I have read much of it.

1) There are feelers out to see if it can be made into a Hollywood movie.

2) In the important aspects it is on target theologically in how it presents God, salvation and the issues of sin, suffering and evil.

3)For those who want to criticize it, they can find minor issues to complain about. God the Father is depected as a female African American. The Holy Spirit is presented as a female of another ethnic background. Jesus alone is male and of Hebrew background.

4) The members of the God-head are presented in typical human activity. One is depected as preparing a breakfast which includes bacon. Jesus is skipping rocks across a lake. They cook and bake and act in a human mode of action while they remain members of the God-head.

5) I strongly recommend the book. There is a lot of good discussion for groups that want to discuss the meaning of God in salvation, sin and evil.

6) In general I am surprised at the amount of theology that they got right and unconcerned about minor issues that are of no real importance. There is a lot of good in the book for those who are willing to see it.
_________________________
Gregory

Although a lot of people point out that it shows the loving and caring side of God - which is certainly does, and does very well I feel - I believe the main point of the book in terms of how we relate to God is that we have to give up our independence, and become dependent on God.

... It is about how we have to trust God and be obedient to Him.

I Disagree with the major portion of the review presented earlier inthis thread. I have posted my comment on the book in a thread begun by Gail. For another view you may read it there.

Subject: IN TIMES LIKE THESE . . .
Date: Mon, 18 May 2009 19:33:18 -0700 (PDT)

Dear Friends:

If we ever needed the Lord before, we sure do need Him now!

Luke 21:36 records the following words of Jesus:
"Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and stand before the Son of Man."
"Watch and pray."

There is a voice today that is openly contradicting the Bible, and it is doing so with a very sacrilegious and irreverent attitude. "That's nothing new," someone may say. This voice, however, is enjoying incredible popularity and promotion among Christians.

That voice is being heard through the book The Shack.

Behind a disclaimer of "fiction," and under a pretense of intellect and philosophy, this book openly attacks the law of God while presenting a "better option." Here is just a sample of its utterances:

"I can give you freedom to overcome any system of power in which you find yourself, be it religious, economic, social, or political. You will grow in the freedom to be inside or outside all kinds of systems and to move freely between and among them. Together, you and I can be in it and not of it."

"Rules will never give you answers to the deep questions of the heart and they will never love you."

"You will see me in the Bible . . . Just don't look for rules and principles; look for relationship - a way of coming to be with us."

And in case we may be tempted to think it may not be referring to the Ten Commandments, this book brings them up specifically and, among other things, it says the following:

"Jesus laid the demand of the law to rest; it no longer has any power to accuse or command."

To the direct question: "Are you saying I don't have to follow the rules?" the answer from this "voice" is also direct and unambiguous:

"'Yes. In Jesus you are not under any law. All things are lawful."

And the conversation continues:

- "'You can't be serious! . . ."
- 'Child, you ain't heard nothin' yet. . . . those who are afraid of freedom are those who cannot trust us to live in them. Trying to keep the law is actually a declaration of independence, a way of keeping control."
"Both evil and darkness can only be understood in relation to light and good; they do not have any actual existence."

"Rules cannot bring freedom; they only have the power to accuse."

"Religion must use law to empower itself and control the people who they need in order to survive. I give you an ability to respond and your response must be free to love and serve in very situation, and therefore each moment is different and unique and wonderful. Because I am your ability to respond, I have to be present in you."

"Because of Jesus, there is now no law demanding that I bring your sins to mind [supposedly this is God talking]. They are gone when it comes to you and me, and they run no interference in our relationship."

"Submission is not about authority and it is not obedience; it is all about relationships of love and respect. In fact, we are submitted to you in the same way."

It is truly amazing how these statements fulfill prophecy to the letter. Note the following from The Great Controversy, page 558:
"The Bible is interpreted in a manner that is pleasing to the unrenewed heart, while its solemn and vital truths are made of no effect. Love is dwelt upon as the chief attribute of God, but it is degraded to a weak sentimentalism, making little distinction between good and evil. God's justice, His denunciations of sin, the requirements of His holy law, are all kept out of sight. The people are taught to regard the Decalogue as a dead letter. Pleasing, bewitching fables captivate the senses and lead men to reject the Bible as the foundation of their faith. Christ is as verily denied as before; but Satan has so blinded the eyes of the people that the deception is not discerned."
This statement from page 558 of The Great Controversy is referring to Spiritualism.

Going back to the utterances from that popular book: Because it has stated that "All things are lawful," it casts blame on people for "judging" and deciding what is good and what is evil while at the same time accusing them of following this "wrong" course. It states it like this:

"Then it is you who determine good and evil. You become the judge. And to make things more confusing, that which you determine to be good will change over time and circumstance. . ."

"By choosing to declare what's good and evil you seek to determine your own destiny."

Contempt for the government of God is clear in the following statements. Note how cleverly it continues to attack the Law of God:

"Once you have a hierarchy you need rules to protect and administer it, and then you need law and the enforcement of the rules, and you end up with some kind of a chain of command or a system of order that destroys relationship rather than promotes it. You rarely see or experience relationship apart from power. Hierarchy imposes laws and rules and you end up missing the wonder of relationship that we intend for you."

"As the crowning glory of Creation, you were made in our image, unencumbered by structure and free to simply 'be' in relationship with me and one another. If you had truly learned to regard each other's concerns as significant as your own, there would be no need for hierarchy."

"Just because you believe something firmly doesn't make it true. Be willing to re-examine what you believe."

Can you hear the echo of Lucifer's voice in the above arguments? He presented artful arguments (probably similar to these) to the angels in heaven before our earth was created, and in his convincing craftiness he succeeded in deceiving a third of them. Perfection did not save them from being deceived by his cunning lies.

As the great adversary (Satan), he also succeeded in his plan to deceive Eve with his "freedom" speech, and he is clearly putting his debating skills back into the limelight with increased craft and fury through this particular tool, The Shack. He is (unquestionably) actively seeking to deceive and destroy as many as are not shielded by the sanctifying Truth found only in the word of God.
"Faith claims God's promises, and brings forth fruit in obedience. Presumption also claims the promises, but uses them as Satan did, to excuse transgression. Faith would have led our first parents to trust the love of God, and to obey His commands. Presumption led them to transgress His law, believing that His great love would save them from the consequence of their sin. It is not faith that claims the favor of Heaven without complying with the conditions on which mercy is to be granted. Genuine faith has its foundation in the promises and provisions of the Scriptures." The Desire of Ages, page 126.
The context in which the "indoctrination" in The Shack takes place is the tragic death of a child who is represented as already enjoying the pleasures of the "after life," thus promoting the erroneous doctrine of the immortality of the soul.

Note the following from the book Evangelism page 608:
"Spiritualism declares that there is no death, no sin, no judgment, no retribution; that 'men are unfallen demigods'; that desire is the highest law; and that man is accountable only to himself. The barriers that God has erected to guard truth, purity, and reverence, are broken down, and many are thus emboldened in sin. Does not such teaching suggest an origin similar to that of demon worship?"
The Law of God is a reflection of His character, and because this book has chosen to seek to abolish it, it presents

A "God" who, among other things, listens to funk music, can easily call a man an "idiot," is totally self satisfied, chooses a form of speech that is not elevating and does not even reflect some type of education ("Guess that's jes' the way I is."), casts the blame for the human condition upon humanity themselves ("I am not evil. You are the ones who embrace fear and pain and power and rights so readily in your relationships."), diminishes the cross or simply chooses to be sarcastic while answering the direct question "What exactly did Jesus accomplish by dying?" The answer given is "Nothing much. Just the substance of everything that love purposed from before the foundation of Creation." (Yes, he throws some truth in his answer; however, he seems unable to disguise his contempt for the cross of Christ.)

A "Jesus" who plainly says, "My life was not meant to be an example to copy."
This false "Jesus" also spiritualizes heaven away, and states that he has "no desire to make (his followers) Christian." He is also credited with making the following statement: "The world in many ways, would be a much calmer and gentler place if women ruled. There would have been far fewer children sacrificed to the gods of greed and power." It is quite evident that he chose to totally ignore the story found in the Bible about Jezebel and her daughter Athaliah -- there indeed is no end to the depths of wickedness to which the unrenewed heart (male or female) can plunge, unless God interferes.

This false "Jesus" is further credited with presenting God as someone who "dwells in, around, and through all things -- ultimately emerging in the real -- and any appearances that mask that reality will fall away."

This, dear friends, is Spiritualism in the form of a Panentheistic view of God.
A "Holy Spirit" who says, "you will begin to better recognize my voice as we continue to grow our relationship." This totally ignores the written will of God and presumes to offer growth without the prayerful and diligent study of the Bible.

Besides perpetuating the false doctrine of the immortality of the soul, The Shack presents the New Age "doctrine" that Jesus was simply the first to "achieve" pleasing God, and that others will achieve that also. It states it like this:
"Jesus has only lived out of his relationship with me, living in the very same manner that I desire to be in relationship with every human being. He is just the first to do it to the uttermost -- the first to absolutely trust my life within him, the first to believe in my love and my goodness without regard for appearance or consequence."
And though the following statement may sound good and right, it is a lie:
"He chose the way of the cross where mercy triumphs over justice because of love."
The Desire of Ages, page 762, presents the truth regarding this:
"Through Jesus, God's mercy was manifested to men, but mercy does not set aside justice. The law reveals the attributes of God's character, and not a jot or tittle of it could be changed to meet man in his fallen condition. God did not change His law, but He sacrificed Himself in Christ, for man's redemption. 'God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.' 2 Corinthians 5:19."
. . .
"God's love has been expressed in His justice no less than in His mercy. Justice is the foundation of His throne, and the fruit of His love. It has been Satan's purpose to divorce mercy from truth and justice. He sought to prove that the righteousness of God's law is an enemy to peace. But Christ shows that in God's plan they are indissolubly joined together; the one cannot exist without the other. 'Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other' (Psalm 85:10)."
Because of its dangerous popularity, the unmasking of The Shack and its true nature became imminent. God does not want His people deceived.

The following is of utmost importance. It is found on page 558 of The Great Controversy:
"There are few who have any just conception of the deceptive power of spiritualism and the danger of coming under its influence. Many tamper with it merely to gratify their curiosity. They have no real faith in it and would be filled with horror at the thought of yielding themselves to the spirits' control. But they venture upon the forbidden ground, and the mighty destroyer exercises his power upon them against their will. Let them once be induced to submit their minds to his direction, and he holds them captive. It is impossible, in their own strength, to break away from the bewitching, alluring spell. Nothing but the power of God, granted in answer to the earnest prayer of faith, can deliver these ensnared souls."
Jesus clearly warned:

Matthew 24:23-26
Verse 23 - "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
Verse 24 - "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Verse 25 - "Behold, I have told you before.
Verse 26 - "Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers, believe it not."
And this includes "shacks" also.

The Shack - Has anyone read it?

We read it for worship along with the bible