The Shack Review

I had to read this book after the media water cooler was all abuzz on it. I am always rejoicing when Christian entertainment gets the attention of the world (or at least Wegmans). When I first learned that the three main characters were God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, I immediately exclaimed, "this guy has got courage."

Seriously, C.S. Lewis turned down an idea to write about angels because he said they were so pure and righteous that he would just screw it up, but William P. Young goes right ahead with fictionizing the God head 3-in-1, putting them in his story.

After reading it I came up with these insights about the book. Not all of them are theological because this book is not supposed to be a sermon or a commentary on scripture.

0. The book is coated in a lovey-dovey atmosphere from the trinity. God is portrayed as an African American woman named Papa (purposely for the sake of shock appeal to the main character). The Holy Spirit is an Asian girl, while Jesus is just a fun loving Jewish man. Throughout the book the trinity is bubbling over with hugs, kisses, encouragements and high fives toward the main character. They can't get enough of him. This was Young's way of portraying God as someone who seeks people and wants to spend time with them.

1. Young writes about Jesus in a similar style that many devotionalists write about--Jesus as mystery. It seems like Young tries to nail the point that Jesus is so counter to what the church thinks that we would never even recognize him. This goes along the same lines of books like, The Jesus I Never Knew, The Radical Jesus, The Jesus Revolution. How many times can we write: Jesus is so out there, but guess what, I found out who he was and wrote about it." It seems like the Jesus in Young's story expected everyone to join a forest community and live off of righteous communism. I prefer the Max Lucado way of revealing the Lord, "Jesus is revolutionary, but here's how he fits into your everyday life."

2. The book is about the suffering of a guy named Mackenzie, who lost his daughter to a murderer. The author confronts his pain with a visit to the trinity in a beautiful paradise. Mac gets to go to Heaven, gets enchanted visions and speaks to God face to face, while they answer every one of his questions. If only it were that quick to heal. Young doesn't disgrace people who suffer, rather he wanted to show his children what he thought God was like.

Overall: I liked the boldness of this book and the statements that were made had a refreshing look. Young's Heaven and trinity is a side of spirituality that we all wish for, but always settle for less in our spiritual lives. We forget that God lavishes us in constant love. This book can sound like a long sermon, but it never gets dry or boring. While its not supposed to be based on any non-fiction, Young makes a great (and therapeutic) book for those who are hurting or just bored.