Thursday, September 18, 2008

The Shack

I recently read "The Shack" by William P. Young. I will not say too much about the book for a few reasons:

1. This book is really popular right now, and there are plenty of much better reviews out there
2. It is a pretty good book that is worth reading, so I do not want to spoil anything for anyone

My house church recently discussed the book in one of our gatherings. In preparation for that discussion, I did some online research to find what other people were thinking about the book. I was surprised to find the controversy surrounding the book and that there are a lot of Christian leaders who are vocal in their opposition to it. I was surprised by this because this book is a work of fiction and does not pretend to be some type of theological treatise. In the end, I think the book was good because it opens the door to have a common ground for starting a discussion on really complex issues involving the nature of God. You should read this book, not because it is 100% theologically accurate, but because it will force you to think about what you believe about God.

2 comments:

Jane Lee said...

Our local paper ran an article on this book. It said that God was represented as a woman. Was that accurate?

Todd said...

Jane, yes, in this fictional story, the Trinity was represented in somewhat human forms. Jesus was obviously a Jewish male, God the Father was portrayed as an African-American female (although there were other variations), and the Holy Spirit was an Asian woman (although her description was much more complicated).

Obviously, God transcends gender and any other human characteristics. You will need to read the book to see why the author chooses to portray God in this way!