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The Shack - Caveat Lector (Let the reader beware!)
11-10-2008 | Christchurch Blog | Books | Reviews »


Folks, there's a new "Christian" novel out that is gaining wide readership. It's called "The Shack" and some people are raving about it.

It has remained on the New York Times Best Seller list for 17 consecutive weeks, selling 500,000 copies in the first 11 months. Atop the list of endorsements is Eugene Peterson, Professor Emeritus Of Spiritual Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, B.C. He writes:

"When the imagination of a writer and the passion of a theologian cross-fertilize the result is a novel on the order of The Shack. This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress did for his. It's that good!"

And Michael W. Smith says, "The Shack will leave you craving for the presence of God."

In our opinion, this book is littered with serious heretical ideas. So I wanted to both warn you and also give you some links to reviews that will help in your discernment.

In April, Dr. Albert Mohler dedicated a radio program to presenting his review of the book. He closed the radio program with these words:

"...Whenever you have an issue in which you are dealing in a narrative-fictional context with theology, you need to be really, really careful. It's dangerous enough to write theology. But when you try to put it in the form of 'theological fiction,' or 'Christian fiction,' it gets all the more dangerous because you are inventing dialogue and inventing characters. And this is one of the grave, grave problems I have with this book [The Shack]. If you put God in some kind of character format-in this case as an African-American woman-you're going to be creative and create a fictional character. Now, is it responsible to do that with the God of the Bible? I have grave concerns about that, but the concerns grow more grave when you look at the dialogue imbedded within the book and the fact that this simply, by any measure, falls far short of biblical Christianity. There is very little in this book about salvation, but there is absolutely nothing in this book that would help you to understand how one comes to be made right with God through the atonement achieved by Jesus Christ, the Son. My main issue is not with the particulars of the story-in some sense a story is a story. My problem is with what is imbedded in the story and this is a danger regardless of whether the story is presented as Christian fiction or something else. Remember, everyone has a purpose in writing a story. In this case, regardless of intention (I cannot read the man's heart), I can tell you the effect of this book is deeply subversive of the Christian faith and I think inherently seductive as well."

Dr. Albert Mohler, Radio Program: "A Look at 'The Shack'" (aired 4/11/08). Excerpt taken from the 35:14-37:07 markers.

Listen to, or download, the full radio program, click here.

Also, Tim Challies, blogger and author of The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment, has written a 17-page review of The Shack. You can download the entire review as a PDF by clicking here.
Pete Greasley