Critique of THE SHACK

Critique of THE SHACK by Bill Keller

 

THE SHACK is NOT a Christian novel, but simply more New Age heresy. It has now been made into a movie that churches are actually telling their people to see!!!

Things have not really changed since the first days of the church over 2,000 years ago. One of the problems Paul dealt with often were those who perverted the Absolute Truth of the Bible with writings that purported to be Christian and throughout the past 2,000 years men have written books about the Christian faith that compromised the Truth of the Bible.

We have never been so ripe for these types of heretical books as in the year 2016, with the better part of two generations having never even gone to church and a large percentage of those who do, being Biblically illiterate.

With believer oblivion to CHRISTIAN TRUTH, it is no wonder that a huge best-selling, purportedly Christian novel, THE SHACK, is the latest in a long line of heretical books promoting anti-Biblical ideas.

William P. Young, the author of "The Shack," is the son of missionaries whose dad also pastored churches in Canada. He went to Bible College and later graduated with an undergraduate degree in Religion from Warner Pacific College in Portland, Oregon. However, there is absolutely no information available on his theology.

The Shack is an allegorical fictional novel that conveys postmodern spiritual ideas and teachings that challenge Biblical Christianity, all in the name of God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Much like New Age author James Redfield's book, THE CELESTINE PROPHECY, THE SHACK is a fictional vehicle for upending certain Biblical concepts and presenting contrary spiritual scenarios.

Young's book moves through a very engaging and emotional story to eventually present the New Age teaching that God is "in" everyone and everything. God is not "in" everyone and everything. The Bible makes it clear that man is not divine and that man is not God!

THE SHACK presents many of the same New Age concepts and ideas that plague the controversial Bible paraphrase THE MESSAGE, written by Eugene Peterson who enthusiastically endorsed THE SHACK, as well as Rhonda Byrne's THE SECRET, and New Age leader Benjamin Crome's, THE REAPPEARANCE OF THE CHRIST AND THE MASTERS OF WISDOM.

This "God in everything" error is why THE SHACK is such a deceptive book. It teaches this same heresy. This is most apparent when Young uses the person of "Jesus" to introduce the foundational teaching of the New Spirituality, God is "in" everything. Using the New Age term "ground of being" to describe "God," the "Jesus" of THE SHACK states: "God, who is the ground of all being, dwells in, around, and through all things.." (p. 112)

This false teaching about a "God" who "dwells in, around, and through all things" is the kind of New Age leaven that Paul warned about. Clearly, the "Jesus" of The Shack is not Jesus Christ of the Bible. The apostle Paul warned the Corinthians that they were vulnerable and extremely susceptible to "another Jesus" and "another gospel" and "another spirit" that were not from God (II Corinthians 2:11).

In the Bible, Jesus warned that spiritual deception would be a sign before His return. He further warned that there would be those who would come in His name, pretending to be Him (see Matthew 24:3-5;24). William Young's mixing of truth and error can become very confusing to readers, and God is not the author of confusion (I Corinthians 14:33).

We are living in perilous times and satan is busy using tools like THE SHACK to lead people astray, as many are searching for real truth in their lives.

Believers in Christ must take the REAL TRUTH of the Bible to people who are lost and are hurting and are looking for answers. Books like this are popular because lost people hunger for the truth we have.

Let us do all we can to share JESUS who is TRUTH with them so they will not succumb to satan's deception.