The Shack

I'll be seeing Paul Young on July 12. Still haven't read the book, but my wife loved it.

 

The Shack: Helpful or Heretical?
A Critical Review by Norman L. Geisler and Bill Roach

 

I AM A BAPTIST AND MY FATHER IS AN ORDAINED BAPTIST MINISTER AND HAS BEEN IN MINISTRY FOR 40 YEARS.

Now with that screamed, I hope I will be heard. My father has read the Shack 3 times and continues to read, and I believe his heart is being moved by the idea of a compassionate God who will use any means necessary to draw us to him.

If necessary he will appear as a woman if we had a horrible earthly father which would make it impossible for us to see God as a loving and compassionate father.

One of the questions put to the main character was "could you have accepted a father figure?" This was the response when the main character questioned God's appearance as female.

When I come to this board I am brought to the quote, "when we want someone to do something we thing they should or we think they are wrong, we need a stern God, but when we are broken and in need of forgiveness we want a loving Jesus." The falacy in our faith is that they are one in the same.

My God is completely the the father, son and holy spirit in a loving trinity, who draws us to believe and there are many broken roads that lead the lost to finding faith in Him, and I believe Young's book will restore a generation of young men who have not had godly and loving fathers.

The Shack is a profound piece of fiction, and I am a huge supporter of the book and the Missy Project.

 

And there is nothing in this book that is Baptist or more importantly Christian. It is the worst piece of heresy to come down the pike in quite a while regardless of the authors intentions.

 

You are certainly entitled to your opinion.

There is nothing heretical in the book other than the Baptist belief that God is not female. The book doesn't imply that he is. It shows that my God is willing to do whatever is necessary to draw the broken to Him and as he is not defined by our box of an opinion, then I believe he will use whatever means necessary to draw the lost and broken to him. It is not a book of doctrine, it is a book of redemption and grace.


You want to find out the herisy in the church pick up Dr. Joel Gregory's book, So Great A Temptation, and read how deep the herisy runs. And being the daughter of a man who was on the ministry staff of a mega church for over 15 years (not FBC Dallas), I can testify to the reality of what Dr. Gregory states in his book.

So sad that the title had to be So Great a Temptation and not So Great Salvation.

:tear:

 

Oh contrare http://www.normangeisler.net/theshack.html If you want to start an other thread on some other book thats up to you but it is not the subject of this thread.

 

This is a bit off topic, but it wouldnt' be the Baptist Board otherwise...

That's not a core belief of Baptist Faith. Gender is someting assigned to physical persons, not supernatural beings. I'm not remotely impling that God is female, I'm saying that God is not limited to being a gender. There's no scripture that supports the idea that God is defined by a gender, as we humans are. In fact, in Gen 1, God creates man to be both male and female, in Him image, not just male alone.

Anyhoo, back on topic, I've never read "The Shack". I actually don't have much of an interest in religious fiction. Didn't read "Left Behind" either. There are a lot of people who do, and don't glean their theology from religious fiction. OTOH, there are some folks who read "Left Behind" and have taylored their personal theology to match that of the books. Go figure.

On the topic of heresy, in order for a fictional novel to qualify as heresy, it must proport itself as truth, and not fiction. Since both "The Scack" and "Left Behind" are both works of fiction, and the writers claim them as such, they are categorically disqualified as being heretical. If one holds such writings as heretical, then likewise are Romeo and Juliet, the collected works of the Brothers Grimm, and numerous other works of classic literature.

 

Your theory is without knowledge and in complete error. It is billed as life changing and presents the doctrine in it as truth.

The story line is billed as fiction but the theology presented in it is not.

 

No, God does not appear as a woman -ever! In fact, God the Father is spirit; He is not in even a male form. And the fullest expression of God is Jesus Christ, His Son. This is according to God's word. God is not like the Hindu gods that allegedly take on different forms.

The fact that the book has an emotional appeal - which I do not deny at all- does not make it a good book nor does it excuse some really serious errors in the book. Emotional appeals do not make everything okay.

 

I just finished it. A good read but seriously flawed theology. The whole emphasis is on redemption and relationships. It eschews the concept of Christianity and the church as we know it. And worst of all, the reader is left to believe there is no Hell. This book will do more harm than good.

 

When a book is so filled with theological errors such as these, which are in no way minor, then the few and weak positives take a back seat to what is necessary to make known. The most dangerous information is always a big lie combined with a bit of truth. It fools way to many.

 

And, unfortunately, not just religious cults!!!!!

 

Hmmm, reminds one of "The DaVinci Code," a book of "fiction" full of historical and theological errors, that influenced a lot of people's thoughts on who Jesus is.