"The Shack" is one of those publishing phenomena that seems to have taken the Christian world by storm. But not only is it to be found on sale in the Christian book shops, but can be bought in the mainline stores as well. And it is not just a book, but has become an industry with a web site, translations in 30 language, available on CD and plans to make it into a film. Indeed the idea of the film almost preceded the writing of the book. Typing the Shack into Google, the database comes up with 1,840,000 references to reviews, alone!! Amazon has 350 of which about two thirds give the book a 5 star rating. So what is it all about?
It is a story - fiction, but the author also describes it as "All is real and so is true", meaning that the emotions, the suffering, the pain, the healing, the understanding of God reflect the reality of the life of the author. It is not an autobiography, but many events and emotions from the life of Paul Young have been included in the character of Mack. In his personal statement on the CD and his website, he tells of his experience of being abandoned as a child and suffering child abuse, presumably referring to the time he spent at boarding school from 6 - 14 years old. He writes of his life:
"The journey has been both incredible and unbearable, a desperate grasping after grace and wholeness. [The facts of my life] don't tell you about the pain of trying to adjust to different cultures, of life losses that were almost too staggering to bear, of walking down railroad tracks at night in the middle of winter screaming into the windstorm, of living with an underlying volume of shame so deep and loud that it constantly threatened any sense of sanity, of dreams not only destroyed but obliterated by personal failure, of hope so tenuous that only the trigger seemed to offer a solution. These few facts also do not speak to the potency of love and forgiveness, the arduous road of reconciliation, the surprises of grace and community, of transformational healing and the unexpected emergence of joy. Facts alone might help you understand where a person has been, but often hide who they actually are."
The book arose from a suggestion from Paul's wife (Kim) that he should write down his ideas about God and life for his children. He started by preparing a systematic study, but quickly rejected the idea in favour of a series of conversations with God and friends. As these developed so he developed characters to put these conversations into a context, and eventually the story was written.
The Shack is a story about Mack who is trying to come to terms with the death of his youngest daughter Missey, who was abducted on a camping trip and murdered by a serial child murderer known as the Ladybug killer. Mack, a Christian, who had studied theology at university, is filled with guilt and remorse because of Missy's death and this has shaken his faith. The story starts with Mack receiving a note from "Papa" (God) to meet him at the Shack - the place where Missey had been killed. After a period of deciding who might have sent the note and whether it is a joke, he decides to go back to the shack on the offchance that he might find God. While there he does encounter God, but not as he expects to find God. The description of this encounter is the major part of the book. It is only at the end that we find out that Mack did not in fact get to the shack, but was involved in a road accident on the way. The three day encounter with God was during his time of unconsciousness in hospital, possibly a near death experience.
While the story is an account of a spiritual experience, this is primarily the setting for a theological enquiry that takes place during Mack's encounter with God, and how he does come to terms with the death of his daughter. The story is only the vehicle of the main purpose of the book, which is to present a popular, accessible theological discussion appropriate for the context of 21st century western society. It incorporates the issues of child abuse, death, suffering, relationships and spirituality - all of which are important contemporary issues in society. The book provides a contextual theology that addresses these issues. As such it has become a best seller that tackles contemporary religious questions in an accessible way. It also addresses the issues of forgiveness, redemption, religion and the church.
God is encountered as Trinity. Papa or Elousia (Father), Yeshua (Jesus) and Sarayu (Holy Spirit), with Papa being in the form of a African-American woman for the most part of the story. The Trinity is a little mechanical as three persons, although the discussions and reflections try to indicate that they are not three separate persona. The community of the trinity is through love and relationships, that reflect equality and harmony of purpose.
The story presents God as loving and caring, concerned about humans, creation (although has no problem with killing fish!) and developing relationships. God is both creator and redeemer who wants to see all people redeemed. The emphasis of the relationship with God is experiential almost to the exclusion of the place of scripture. The discussions between Mack and God are rational but they are largely presented as a means of understanding and developing the experience of the relationship with God.
As creator, God included human freedom, freedom to choose, and therefore allowed independence. Independence is seen as the source of breakdown of relationships and evil, and God's purpose is to rebuild relationships. The failures, sins and evil in the world, such as child abuse and murder are the results of bad relationships, both in terms of human to human relationships and God-human relationship. The restoration of relationships is redemption. While this can only be partially achieved in any lifetime, it will be completed in eternity. The means of redemption is the selfgiving death of Christ on the cross. The book does not explain why this is the case, but simply makes the statement that this was God's plan.
All three persona of the Trinity are very approachable, good humoured, unpredictable, kind and loving. And this is also the key to spirituality and religion. It is primarily about relationships. There is no hiding away from suffering and difficulties and there is no miraculous "happy ever after ending". Perhaps the underlying message is that whatever life brings God is there alongside in the suffering, the pain and the joy.
Conclusion.
I have read a few books that try to present Christian values and principles through fictional stories and have always found the less than credible and helpful. However, I do admit that "the Shack" is different. It is a good story and it does present good theological discussion. It emphasises the importance of spiritual experience and relationship. But I have to ask, "is it a balanced approach to the theological issues?"
