Christ-follower, husband, pastor, student…

I apologize if it seems like all I’m writing anymore is book reviews. I read a lot this summer! What can I say.

The Shack.

It has been praised as one of the greatest Christian books since the “Pilgrim’s Progress.” In fact, some people would go as far as saying it’s the “Pilgrim’s Progress” of our time. The book is a huge success. Christians everywhere are talking about it. Oprah is talking about it. Kathy Gifford is talking about it. It seems like everyone is interested in “The Shack.”

It’s interesting to me that a book that is so immensely popular has such mixed reviews. If you look on Amazon.com for instance, you will notice that the book has a total of about 1200 reviews, with the majority clearly being in the 5 star and 1 star category. How could a book that seems so great get such mixed reviews? Why would anyone rate it a 1 star instead of a 3 or 4?

The answer lies in the subtilty of the book. Let me explain.

In my opinion, the book itself is written pretty stinking well. I think the author definitely has a talent and is able to tell a story like many people aren’t. The book, for those of you that don’t know, is a piece of fiction. It’s a story about a guy who goes through something horrible. He’s left wondering about life. He’s left searching for meaning. He’s left questioning God. It’s an amazing story about love, redemption, and forgiveness. It’s a book that you won’t want to put down.

But…

The book is brutally inaccurate in it’s theology. Brutally.

The author’s intent of the book is to teach people the doctrine of the Trinity. People are reading this book and they are saying, “We understand! I finally understand the Trinity! I get it! Amazing!” But the author’s view on the Trinity is completely and absolutely inaccurate.

Here are some ways the book is confusing people:

• It presents God as a woman not a father – this clearly contradicts scripture
• It shows people that it’s OK to recreate God in your own image – God doesn’t have a form like we do and when we put Him into a form like ours it violates scripture
• It presents God in a small, limited form – God is huge. God is so much bigger at working and thinking than this book gives Him credit for.
• It claims the Bible in an insufficient revelation of God
• God is never feared in this book – in scripture He is always feared
• God submits to humans and their will in this book instead of having humans submit to Him

Here is a clip of Mark Driscoll speaking about the book.