"Mack" Philips took his three children on a family camping trip while his wife visited her sister. Just as they were about to leave the campsite, the two older kids decided to take a last canoe ride before heading home. As their canoe overturned, and Mack went to help them, his back was turned and the unspeakable happened. Mack's youngest daughter,Missy, was abducted by a known child predator. After a massive search, evidence of Missy showed up at an abandoned cabin. Although they never found her body, everyone knew the worst had happened. For the next four years "a great sadness" fell over Mack and his family, until a note from God showed up in his mailbox. What happens next will move you to a greater understanding of God's unfailing love for us all.
Mackenzie Allen Phillips's youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation, and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later, in this midst of his great sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change his life forever.
Wm. Paul Young was born a Canadian and raised among a Stone Age tribe by his missionary parents in the highlands of former New Guinea. He suffered great loss as a child and young adult and now enjoys the "wastefulness of grace" with his family in the Pacific Northwest.
Eugene Peterson says this book is as good and as important as The Pilgrim’s Progress. Well, it really is not. It is neither as good nor as original a story and it lacks the theological precision of Bunyan’s work. But really, this is a bit of a facile comparison. The Pilgrim’s Progress, after all, is allegory—a story that has a second distinct meaning that is partially hidden behind its literal meaning. The Shack is not meant to be allegory. Nor can The Shack quite be equated with a story like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe where C.S. Lewis simply asked (and answered) this kind of question: “What might Christ become like if there really were a world like Narnia, and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?” The Shack is in a different category than these more notable Christian works. It seeks to represent the members of the Trinity as they are (or as they could be) and to suggest through them what they might teach were they to appear to us in a similar situation. There is a sense of attempted or perceived reality in this story that is missing in the others. This story is meant to teach theology that Young really believes to be true. The story is a wrapper for the theology. In theory this is well and good; in practice the book is only as good as its theology. And in this case, the theology just is not good enough.
Because of the sheer volume of error and because of the importance of the doctrines reinvented by the author, I would encourage Christians, and especially young Christians, to decline this invitation to meet with God in The Shack. It is not worth reading for the story and certainly not worth reading for the theology. -- Tim Challies
Average Rating: 3 out of 5 stars(3 out of 5 stars)
8 of 1890 Reviews Showing:(View All Reviews)
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by William Rodney (Pineville, LA), November 19, 2009
Very Emotional story that really brings out the best of many emotions. I really enjoyed the book and would recomend it to others. It taught me that there is always a better relationship to be held between me and my Heavenly Father!
0 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by RealMenPray (US), November 14, 2009
Gross! What a deceitful book...definitely a F-A-R cry from God's Word! "Jesus says to come unto Me, all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (I haven't rested since reading the 2nd chapter, all I can do is pray for those who've strayed, by William P Young (Hope he's not into Koolaide!--Now The Shack is a fire-starter!)
0 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Rose (Daly City, CA), November 13, 2009
Beware Christians! There's a lot of heresies in this book! We cannot combine truth and error! We have to ask the Holy Spirit for spiritual discernment when we decide to read books such as these. We have to remember that there is only ONE WAY to our Father in heaven and this book contradicts that. There is something seriously wrong with that in itself.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Stephen Scott (Keene, TX), November 12, 2009
This was a great read. It is a great book. It brings joy, and sorrow. But the main point, is; it talks about how we are to have a servants attitude, and sew the Love of Christ. To shine our light. I have been a spirit filled man since 1990, do not like to use the term christian. It is used too loosely today. I do not know what Tim Challies has against the book. I guess he like so many others always belives God can't transform himself in to someone different than what is in their mind. He's God so I guess he could walk right up to you looking like anyone he wanted to.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by reagan (lynnwood, WA), November 09, 2009
IT WAS GREAT. I loved this book. It was a great uplifting book but at the same time you feel all emotions. It will leave you smiling crying and laughing
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Ruthe Fonfrias (Sarasota, FL), November 09, 2009
It is a wonderful story - very different approach in Christian fiction. The lessons taught ministered to me and opened my eyes to more of God's love. It helped rid me of some preconceived ideas. 11/09/09
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Eileen Armagost (Union City, PA), November 08, 2009
A very thought provoking book. I loved it. It keeps your interest. Finally a book that describes God as he is, a loving God, not a mean God. I want to buy the book for everyone I know. I don't want to share my book for fear it won't come back and I want to read it several times. It's one of those books that you get more from each time you read it. I love it and I haven't finished it yet.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Karen Kehr (Middlebury, IN), November 06, 2009
THought this book was excellent and powerful. I recommend it to friends who have suffered or are suffering with the reminder that it is fiction not fact.
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