I got The Shack for Christmas. I'm already into my second reading, and I love it! It's a really life-changing book.

And I love the name Sarayu. :D

Good for you, I've read it and loved it as well.

pk

I think the shack is occultism, please read this:

THE SHACK & Its New Age Leaven
God IN Everything?

By Warren Smith

“A little leaven leaventh the whole lump.”
- Galatians 5:9

The Shack is being described as a “Christian” novel and is currently ranked number one on the New York Times bestseller list for paperback fiction. Many believers are buying multiple copies and giving them to friends and family. The Shack reads as a true story, but is obviously allegorical fiction. The book conveys postmodern spiritual ideas and teachings that challenge biblical Christianity – all in the name of “God” and “Jesus” and the “Holy Spirit.” Author William P. Young’s alternative presentation of traditional Christianity has both inspired and outraged his many readers. All the while his book continues to fly off the shelves of local bookstores.

Much like New Age author James Redfield’s book The Celestine Prophecy, The Shack is a fictional vehicle for upending certain religious concepts and presenting contrary spiritual scenarios. Allegorical novels can be a clever way to present truth. They can also be used to present things that seem to be true but really are not. Some books like The Shack do both.

I was drawn into the New Age Movement years ago by books and lectures containing parabolic stories that were not unlike The Shack. They felt spiritually uplifting as they tackled tough issues and talked about God’s love and forgiveness. They seemed to provide me with what I spiritually needed as they gave me much needed hope and promise. Building on the credibility they achieved through their inspirational and emotive writings, my New Age authors and teachers would then go on to tell me that “God” was “in” everyone and everything.

I discovered that author William P. Young does exactly the same thing in The Shack. He moves through his very engaging and emotional story to eventually present this same New Age teaching that God is “in” everything.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me first provide some background material concerning this key New Age doctrine that “God is in everything.” A good place to start is with Eugene Peterson, the author of the controversial Bible paraphrase The Message. After all, Peterson’s enthusiastic endorsement of The Shack is featured right under the author’s name on the front cover.

Ironically, it was Peterson’s endorsement that caused me to be immediately suspicious of this high-profile, bestselling “Christian” book. Through his questionable paraphrasing of the Bible, Peterson had already aligned himself in a number of areas with New Age/New Spirituality teachings. One obvious example was where he translated a key verse in the Lord’s Prayer to read “as above, so below” rather than “in earth, as it is in heaven.” “As above, so below” was a term that I was very familiar with from my previous involvement in the New Age Movement. This esoteric saying has been an occult centerpiece for nearly five thousand years. It is alleged by New Age metaphysicians to be the key to all magic and all mysteries. It means that God is not only transcendent — “out there”— but He is also immanent — “in” everyone and everything.

But, as I found out just before abandoning the deceptive teachings of the New Age for the Truth of biblical Christianity, God is not “in” everyone and everything. The Bible makes it clear that man is not divine and that man is not God (Ezekiel 28:2, Hosea 11:9, John 2:24-25, etc.) In Deceived on Purpose: The New Age Implications of the Purpose-Driven Church, I quoted the editors of the New Age Journal as they defined “as above, so below” in their book, As Above, So Below:

“'As above, so below, as below, so above.' This maxim implies that the transcendent God beyond the physical universe and the immanent God within ourselves are one.” (p. 32)

My concern about Peterson’s undiscerning use of “as above, so below” in the Lord’s Prayer was underscored when the 2006 bestseller, The Secret, showcased this same occult/New Age phrase. In fact, it was the introductory quote at the very beginning of the book. By immediately featuring “as above, so below” the author Rhonda Byrne was telling her readers in definite New Age language that “God is in everyone and everything.” Towards the end of the book, The Secret puts into more practical words what the author initially meant by introducing the immanent concept of “as above, so below.” On page 164 The Secret tells its readers—“You are God in a physical body.”

Most significantly, in his book The Reappearance of the Christ and the Masters of Wisdom, New Age leader Benjamin Crème reveals that a New World Religion will be based on this foundational “as above, so below” teaching of immanence — this idea that God is “in” everyone and everything:

“But eventually a new world religion will be inaugurated which will be a fusion and synthesis of the approach of the East and the approach of the West. The Christ will bring together, not simply Christianity and Buddhism, but the concept of God transcendent — outside of His creation — and also the concept of God immanent in all creation — in man and all creation.” (p. 88)

New Age matriarch Alice Bailey, in her book The Reappearance of the Christ, wrote:

“…a fresh orientation to divinity and to the acceptance of the fact of God Transcendent and God Immanent within every form of life. “These are foundational truths upon which the world religion of the future will rest.” (p. 88) [link added]

In a November 9, 2003 Hour of Power sermon – just two months before he was a featured speaker at the annual meeting of the National Association of Evangelicals – Crystal Cathedral minister Robert Schuller unabashedly aligned himself with this same New Age/New World Religion teaching. The man who claims to have mentored thousands of pastors, including Bill Hybels and Rick Warren, stated:

“You know in theology — pardon me for using a couple of big words — but in theology the God we believe in, this God of Abraham, is a transcendent God. But He is also an immanent God. Transcendent means up there, out there, above us all. But God is also an imminent God — immanence of God and the transcendence of God — but then you have a balanced perspective of God. The immanence of God means here, in me, around me, in society, in the world, this God here, in the humanities, in the science, in the arts, sociology, in politics — the immanence of God…. Yes, God is alive and He is in every single human being!”

But God is not in every single human being. God is not in everything. One of the many reasons I wrote Deceived on Purpose was because Rick Warren presented his readers with this same “God in everything” teaching. Quoting an obviously flawed New Century Bible translation of Ephesians 4:6, Rick Warren — whether he meant to or not — was teaching his millions of readers the foundational doctrine of the New World Religion. Describing God in his book, The Purpose-Driven Life, he wrote:

“He rules everything and is everywhere and is in everything.” (p. 88)

Compounding the matter further, “immanence” has been taught as part of the Foundations class at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church. An ill-defined reference to immanence on page 46 of the Saddleback Foundations Participants Guide plays right into the hands of the New Spirituality/New World Religion by stating:

“The fact that God stands above and beyond his creation does not mean he stands outside his creation. He is both transcendent (above and beyond his creation) and immanent (within and throughout his creation).”

All of this discussion about “God in everything” immanence is to explain why The Shack is such a deceptive book. It teaches this same heresy. This book ostensibly attempts to deal with the deeply sensitive issues surrounding the murder of a young child. Because of the author’s intensely personal story line, most readers become engaged with the book on a deep emotional level. However, the author’s use of poetic license to convey his highly subjective, and often unbiblical, spiritual views becomes increasingly problematic as the story line develops. This is most apparent when he uses the person of “Jesus” to suddenly introduce the foundational teaching of the New Spirituality/New World Religion — God is “in” everything. Using the New Age term “ground of being” to describe “God,” the “Jesus” of The Shack states:

“God, who is the ground of all being, dwells in, around, and through all things….” (p. 112)

This false teaching about a “God” who “dwells in, around, and through all things” is the kind of New Age leaven that left unchallenged could leaven the church into the New Age/New Spirituality of the proposed New World Religion. And while many people have expressed a great deal of emotional attachment to The Shack and its characters — this leaven alone contaminates the whole book.

Clearly, the “Jesus” of The Shack is not Jesus Christ of the Bible. The apostle Paul chided the Corinthians and warned them that they were vulnerable and extremely susceptible to “another Jesus” and “another gospel” and “another spirit” that were not from God (2 Corinthians 11:4). In the Bible, the real Jesus Christ warned that spiritual deception would be a sign before His return. He further warned that there would be those who would even come in His name, pretending to be Him (Matthew 24:3-5;24).

Without ascribing any ill motive to William Young and his book The Shack, the author’s use of spiritual creativity seems to give a “Christian” assent to the New Age/New Spirituality of the proposed New World Religion. His mixing of truth and error can become very confusing to readers, and God is not the author of confusion (I Corinthians 14:33).

Dr. Harry Ironside, pastor of Chicago’s Moody Memorial Church from 1930-1948, emphasizes the fact that truth mixed with error results in “all error” — a direct refutation of the Emergent Church teaching to find “truth” wherever it may be found — including books like The Shack. Ironside wrote:

“Error is like leaven, of which we read, ‘A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.’ Truth mixed with error is equivalent to all error, except that it is more innocent looking and, therefore, more dangerous. God hates such a mixture! Any error, or any truth-and-error mixture, calls for definite exposure and repudiation. To condone such is to be unfaithful to God and His Word and treacherous to imperiled souls for whom Christ died.” (quoted in The Berean Call, April 2008)

The Shack has touched the hearts and emotions of many people. While there are many other examples of the author’s unbiblical liberality, introducing the heretical New Age teaching that “God dwells in, and around, and through all things” is in and by itself enough to completely undermine any value the book might otherwise have for faithful believers. To allow yourself to get carried away by this story, while disregarding the book’s New Age/New Spirituality leaven, is to fall prey to the “truth-and-error” mixture that pervades The Shack. And as Dr. Ironside warned—“God hates such a mixture.”

Before Christians buy one more copy of this book, they need to come to terms with what this author is ultimately teaching and what it is they are passing along to their friends and fellow believers.

I've got and read The Shack. The book review is worth reading and should be seriously considered.

im thinking you are going to have a hard time convincing anyone, my brother.

when it comes to emotionalism it can really be hard to then reach the reason and intellect.

its like when i try to show what the bible says about the dead to those who have had "experiences". the experiences are so strong they override the bible.

it is the same thing here. no one wants to let go of the emotional experience they received in reading the shack.

i was most fortunate when i read the celestine prophecy that i was grounded in the bible because the way that book is written it "grabs" you and carries you. it takes you almost against your will. i had to read a few sentences, put it down, pray, do other stuff, then read a few more sentences, etc,. i knew that book was new age. but those who accept without question that it is a "christian" novel have no defenses and are automatically "grabbed and taken".

it will be most difficult to get through to them, now. only if they take it to God in prayer....

You mean the review I posted? If you read the Shack you must have seen the New Age pantheism in it. I think Ellen White cautions about reading books like that but I was going to do a review of it because my son's fiance and him were both reading it and he goes, "dad how do you know its a bad book if you haven't read it?
Well, I've read the reviews and thats good enough, but I told him if he would send me the book I would evaluate it but he never did.

Right, Satan uses emotionalism as a counterfeit for real spirituality. The New Age is there too.

Where is the pantheism in The Shack?

Could someone please point out to me a place where God is not? And how this place can physically exist without God to sustain it?

God is not an essence that is in everything. He is omniscient which means He knows and sees all.He works through the agency of the Holy Spirit, and angels that are everywhere but unseen by human eyes.
God does sustain everything but He is not in everything. The belief that God in in everything is also a teaching of Eastern mysticism, and New Age concepts; one of which is the belief that God is within you that one only need to explore the inner self through meditation, chanting, labyrinths, other occult practices to find God, but what the seeker finds is the spirit of Satan, but he doesn't know that.

You have the endorsement on the cover of the Shack from the author of the Message, an occult type "Bible" that has New Age concepts some of which was explained in my review post.

"This is most apparent when he uses the person of “Jesus” to suddenly introduce the foundational teaching of the New Spirituality/New World Religion — God is “in” everything. Using the New Age term “ground of being” to describe “God,” the “Jesus” of The Shack states:

“God, who is the ground of all being, dwells in, around, and through all things….” (p. 112)


This statement from the book is pantheism. The Bible does not teach this.


Here is this from the Adventist Ministry, White Horse Media:

http://whitehorsemedia.com/blog/index.cf...4C6159A9F304D4E


Seduced by The Shack
Here are some deceptive statements made by "Jesus" and "the Holy Spirit" (so-called) in William P. Young's bestselling novel, The Shack.

"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."

"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."

"Both evil and darkness can only be understood in relation to light and good; they do not have any actual existence."

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

"Then it is you who determine good and evil. You become the judge...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."

Don't be fooled. Such New Age notions would never be spoken by the true God of the Bible. Instead, they would come from "another Jesus" (2 Cor. 11:4) whose goal is "to deceive, if possible, even the elect" (Matthew 24:24).

I will write WHM and ask them where the page #'s are but I'm sure the quotes are there.

Here are some comments:


Rev 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. Christ speaking through John showed that the 10 commandment moral Law of God is still the foundation of His desire for man's behavior. The fourth commandment remains true to this very day. Sin is the trasgression of this Law. We can say or think anything we want but the fact remains that God still has this moral standard to which man shall abide in. Grace is underserved merit, and not a free-for-all to interpet,modify or charge any of them. The 5 manifestsions of God confirms that this vision is taking place at the very throne of God. No matter how much a man tries to twist and modify God's Law, the bible will always shine the Light of Truth to expose the error of any false docturines. Praise God Almighty for The Rock of Salvation, who's able to defeat any and all of these challanges to His Word. Lord, it is our prayer for the lost sheep to have their eyes opened to the Truth, amen
# Posted By Steve G | 5/28/09 9:48 AM


.
# Posted By (F.R.O.G) Forever Rely on God | 5/29/09 12:46 PM
The Devil sure has done his job. There are just so many different forms of deception for people to choose from. He's covered all the bases. I was stuck in confusion for so long myself. The world has enough variety to trap anyone that is not grounded completely in God's Word. Sort of the '31 flavors' of lies. I love to study the God's universe. When I'm sometimes in awe of various people like Einstein or Newton, I always remember that they've only figured out what an incredible God spoke into existence.
The AWESOME Eternal Mind of GOD. The complexity of DNA. The wonders of life. The PERFECTION. Oh what Love! Yet with all this knowledge, He has, in His Wisdom, made the Precious Truth so very clear for all mankind to understand. Holy Spirit, help us convey that they would understand, Amen.

# Posted By Steve G | 5/30/09 1:18 AM
Not only is this attack from another Jesus, this is an attack of old. As we rember way back in the garden od Eden, the devil tricked Adam and Eve. He made them believe that, eating of the tree ,they will recieve power
to know good and evil. This was the first attack on man and still exist today in every shape, form and fashion.

# Posted By Calvin Coleman Jr. | 5/30/09 12:40 PM
Haven't read the book, but some of the things quoted are true and right. I'm an SDA and if we are not careful all our relationship with GOD will be is a bunch of rules. I know we need to be careful, but it is about a relationship. Not about a bunch of rules.
# Posted By Shannon | 7/1/09 8:53 PM

I have not read 'The Shack' but if this is taken from it all I can think of is
rat poison. 99.9% good food and .1% deadly poison.
'If they speak not according the "this Word", there is no light in them.'
God bless all who are searching and may they be drawn to the Author and
Finisher of our faith; the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word.
# Posted By Judy | 7/4/09 11:23 AM


Reading a fictional novel about "Jesus" that contains pantheism is not the way to connect with God. It is another connection.The way to see error is to first know the Bible truths we need to know, and become solidified in truth.That will serve to guide us to God's kingdom safely!

QUOTES FROM THE SHACK:

http://www.spiritual-research-network.com/theshack.html

"Those who love me come from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptists or Muslims.... I have no desire to make them Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughters of my Papa, into my brothers and sisters.”
-----The Shack's "Jesus." [1,p.182]


"God, who is the ground of all being, dwells in, around, and through all things....” [panentheism]
-----The Shack's "Jesus." [1,p.112]

[
[/b]
"The esoteric spiritual traditions -- whether Christian mystics, Hebrew Kabbalists, Zen Buddhists, Islamic Sufis, or Hindu yogis -- all have specific practices to help individuals overcome this great 'illusion of separation' and to experience the One True Self, which is in us all." [2,p.149]
-----A Course in Miracles, as "dictated" to channeler Helen Schucman in 1977 by her spirit guide who claimed to be "Jesus."

ARTICLES, REVIEWS, RADIO PROGRAMS EXPOSING PAGAN, NEW AGE, OCCULT TEACHINGS IN THE SHACK


Refashioning God: RE-imagining, RE-inventing, RE-novating, RE-painting, RE-creating GOD
Refashioning God (HTML) ; Refashioning God (PDF)
By T.A. MacMahon (The Berean Call)

Mar 19, 2009 ... In an interview with Pastor Kendall Adams of KAYP Radio, Paul Young denied the substitutionary Atonement of ChristWilliam P. Young (Author of The Shack)
MP3 Radio Interview Read part of Transcript here: Shack Author Rejects Biblical Substitutionary Atonement

The Death of Discernment: How The Shack Became the Number One Best Seller in Christianity
By Eric Barger

Shocked By The Shack
By Mike Oppenheimer (Let Us Reason)

The Shack Author Denies Biblical Substitutionary Atonement
by Lighthouse Trails Press Release

The Shack Author Rejects Biblical Substitutionary Atonement
by Lighthouse Trails Blog

Quotes from Paul Young's [Author of The Shack] interview with Pastor Kendall Adams on KAYP Radio
Quotes posted at Lighthouse Trails

Read Transcript of part of the The Shack Radio Interview Transcript

Listen to The Shack Radio Interview

Listen to a shorter audio segment of The Shack Radio Interview

At The Back Of The Shack A Torrent Of Universalism
A review by James B. De Young (PDF Version - 39 pages)

Revisiting The Shack and Universal Reconciliation
A shorter review by James B. De Young (PDF Version - 9 pages)

The Shack's Wayne Jacobsen Resonates with Contemplative/Emerging Writers
by Lighthouse Trails

Update on the Shack: New Age Similarities, Popularity Continues, and Calvary Chapel Gives Official Statement
by Lighthouse Trails

Sad Thing - Pastors Endorsing 'The Shack'
by More Books and Things

Should 'The Shack' Be Attacked?
by Dave Hunt and T.A. McMahon [Play MP3 | Printer Friendly Version]

“What’s in The Shack?”
Audio - Test all Things Radio Show (Fran Sankey of Tower To Truth Ministries)

Spriritual Research Network in Agreement with Calvary Chapel Distribution Not Giving Endorsement to William P. Young's, The Shack
by Chris Lawson (SRN)

The Shack: Evangelicals "Shacking Up" with new Age Concepts
by Orrel Steinkamp

Review of THE SHACK from Calvary Distribution
by Calvary Distribution Blog (Posted by keyansoltani in Untagged, Aug 3, 2008)

Update On The Shack: New Age Similarities, Continued Popularity, and Calvary Chapel Official Statement
by Lighthouse Trails

The Shack's Wayne Jacobsen Resonates with Contemplative and Emerging Writers
by Lighthouse Trails

The Shack and Its New Age Leaven - God IN Everything?
by Warren Smith
(Former New Age practitioner Warren Smith warns of the New Age teachings in The Shack)

The Shack: Father-goddess Rising
by John Lanagan
(Exposes occult aspects, including 'Papa [female Hawaiian goddess] in The Shack)

Deceived By A Counterfeit "Jesus" - The Twisted "Truths" Of The Shack And A Course in Miracles
by Berit Kjos (Exposes dangerous occult teachings brought forth through The Shack and A Course in Miracles [spiritism])

The Shack: Imagination, Image, and Idolatry
by Larry DeBruyn
(Exposes dangerous dynamics of vain imaginations that lead to subtle and blatant idolatry - in The Shack)

Relationship On The Rocks! - The Consequence of Role-Reversals in The Shack - Pt 1
by Pastor Larry Debruyn

The Divine-Human Relationship - The Consequence of Role-Reversals in The Shack - Pt 2
by Pastor Larry Debruyn

Shocked by The Shack - "A popular allegory that changes Jesus and Christianity"
by Mike Oppenheimer (Let Us Reason Ministries)

A Reader's Review of The Shack
by Tim Challies
(An in-depth expose' of the false teachings found William P. Young book, The Shack)

The Shack by William P. Young: A Book Review
by Pastor Gary Gilley

In My Father's House There Are Many SHACKS? - A Critical Essay of William Paul Young's THE SHACK (Pt 1)
by Pastor Jeffrey Whittaker

A God Made In Our Image - A Critical Essay of William Paul Young's THE SHACK (Pt 2)
by Pastor Jeffrey Whittaker

SECULAR NEWS ARTICLES EXPOSING PROBLEMS WITH THE SHACK

'Shack' opens doors, but critics call book 'scripturally incorrect'
by USA Today

A REMINDER FROM A.W. TOZER ABOUT WRONG IDEAS ABOUT GOD

“Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow; they are themselves idolatrous. The idolater simply imagines things about God and acts as if they were true.

Perverted notions about God soon rot the religion in which they appear. The long career of Israel demonstrates this clearly enough, and the history of the Church confirms it. So necessary to the Church is a lofty concept of God that when that concept in any measure declines, the Church with her worship and her moral standards decline along with it. The first step down for any church is taken when it surrenders its high opinion of God..."

- A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (HarperCollins: San Francisco), 1961, p. 4.

NOTE FROM SPIRITUAL RESEARCH NETWORK:

As a result of posting THE SHACK page here on our Spiritual Research Network (SRN) website, the ministry of SRN has sufferred the loss of donor support. We also lost a large amount of ministry support in 2006, shortly after we began exposing contemplative spirituality / centering prayer, Christian yoga, Alpha Course affiliation with Roman Catholicism, the false teachings found in Purpose Driven materials, etc. During that period of time, as overseas missionaries, to the United Kingdom, we lost close to $1000.00/per month of missions support.

In light of these things, THE SHACK page will continue to remain here. This page, like other websites exposing the false teachings in THE SHACK, is helping to un-confuse many people who have been confused by the false teachings of THE SHACK. It is also helping people see clearly the improper and un-Christlike actions of endorsement of THE SHACK by compromising, undiscerning, and/or ignorant Christian leaders, pastors, youth leaders, etc.

The list of links ABOVE provides more than ample evidence regarding false teachings in THE SHACK. The authors and ministries that have researched, written and spoken out about the false teachings in THE SHACK have done so whilst upholding the historic, Biblical, Christian faith.

Your personal thoughts are welcome at srnadministrator [PLEASE REMOVE THIS SPAM FILTER] @mac.com Please note that all emails are read but we are unable to repsond to all emails.

In Christ,

Chris Lawson
Spiritual Research Network