Mar 31, 2017 The Shack Movie Reviews. The film, like the book, is already being harshly critiqued. Blogger Grayson Gilbert writes, “The Shack panders to the sensationalism brought on by emotional appeal and subjective relativism. If you want to hear from God, open up the scriptures and read. The Shack: Directed by Stuart Hazeldine. With Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, Tim McGraw, Radha Mitchell. A grieving man receives a mysterious, personal invitation to meet with God at a place called 'The Shack.' The Shack is an emotionally powerful and well-told story that is at times beautifully portrayed on the screen. If you are unfamiliar with the storyline, here is the summary from Wikipedia: Mackenzie “Mack” Phillips suffered physical and emotional abuse as a child at the hands of his drunken father. The Shack - Laying Her to Rest: Mack (Sam Worthington) buries his daughter.BUY THE MOVIE: https://www.fandangonow.com/details/movie/the-shack-2017/MMV70C5741.

The Shack is a well-written 'Christian fiction' book by William P. Young that has sold over 20 million copies since its debut in 2007.

Due to the intense story, for most readers it causes a flood of emotions to well up inside, masking the theological errors throughout the book.

Shattered by personal tragedy, a heartbroken father is summoned by a mysterious letter to a remote cabin in the woods. Starring: Sam Worthington Octavia Spencer Avraham Aviv Alush Radha Mitchell Alice Braga. Director: Stuart Hazeldine. PG-13 Drama Movie. 2017.

We didn't recommend reading the book when we reviewed it it 2008 (1), nor do we recommend seeing the movie that is coming out in March. Here's why:

Although The Shack is a fiction book, it attempts to address significant theological issues. But the answers given to these issues are in grave Biblical error. And more often than not, these errors go undetected by most Christians. Here are some of them...

The Shack presents an unbiblical picture of God: God the Father is personified by a large black lady named Papa.

I could stop there, as most Believers see the blasphemous problems with making God into a woman-which basically is goddess worship. But there's much more.

The Bible never teaches that God the Father takes on a physical form. Just the opposite.

'God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.' John 4:24

'...who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no manhas seen or can see.' 1Tim. 6:16

Even though God the Father is shown to possess both male and female attributes, the Bible always refers to God in the masculine gender, never female.

On page 95, 'Papa' has scars in her hands. But, of course, only Christ bore the sins of the world. God the Father rendered judgment to His Son.

The Shack presents an unbiblical picture of the Holy Spirit: God the Holy Spirit is personified by an Asian woman. But the Holy Spirit never appears as a person, much less a woman, and is always referred to in the masculine gender.

The Shack presents an unbiblical picture of Jesus: Jesus of The Shack is not Jesus of the Bible!

'...for God is not a God of confusion...' 1Cor. 14:33

There are several verses in the Bible where Jesus exercised His headship, His divine attributes. But on pages 99-100 it says, 'Jesus as a human being had no power within himself to heal anyone.' And this is, of course, 100% false. Jesus was 100% God and 100% man.

The Shack presents an unbiblical picture of the Trinity: The Shack presents all three members of the Trinity in human form, but the Bible shows only Jesus taking human form.

The Shack says on page 122-124 that the Trinity is all equal, that they don't relate to each other within a hierarchy. But the Bible says clearly that God sent His Son. The Son did not send Himself. So while the members of the Trinity are all equal, there is also a divine order of headship and submission, which is hierarchy.

'No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; John 6:44

'But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is thehead of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.' 1Cor. 11:3

The Shack presents an unbiblical picture of salvation: The Shack suggests there is more than one way to be saved. Basically, it teaches pluralism. The book states on page 182, with regards to salvation:

'Those who love me come from every system that exists. They are Buddhists orMormons... Muslims,'

The Bible disagrees:

'Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Fatherbut through Me.' John 14:6

While it IS possible that a Mormon or Muslim could get saved, they wouldn't stay in the Mormon or Muslim faith. But The Shack suggests that those in the faith are indistinguishable ... no difference. Even adding:

'I have no desire to make them Christian.'

And then it goes on to say:

'Does that mean all roads will lead to you?'

To which Jesus says:

'Most roads don't lead anywhere.'

Of course, the Jesus of the Bible disagrees:

'Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads todestruction, and there are many who enter through it.' Matt. 7:13

'Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Fatherbut through Me.' John 14:6

Yet The Shack doesn't tell people they should seek the only way to avoid eternal damnation--believing Jesus was God, came to earth, lived a sinless life, was crucified, and defeated death by rising from the dead.

The Shack presents an unbiblical picture of your relationship with God: Throughout the book, The Shack places an emphasis on your 'relationship' with God while downplaying proper doctrine. But how can you have a true relationship with God without scripturally understanding God's truth as revealed in His Word?

'...until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to amature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.' Eph.4:13

The Shack embraces Pantheism: Pantheism is the false teaching that God is everything and everything is God. Trees, rocks, animals, the sun, pets, people...are all gods. But even though God may live in a person or be present in a rock, that doesn't mean He is a person or a rock.

Don't confuse this with God being 'omnipresent.' God is not immersed in the fabric of everything, God is present in all time and space. Noted New Ager Benjamin Creme wrote in his book, 'The Reappearance of the Christ and the Masters of Wisdom':

But eventually a new world religion will be inaugurated which will be a fusionand synthesis of the approach of the East and the approach of the West. TheChrist will bring together, not simply Christianity and Buddhism, but the conceptof God transcendent-outside of His creation-and also the concept of Godimmanent in all creation-in man and all creation. p. 88

The Shack also teaches the New Age principle that 'God is in everything.'

'God, who is the ground of all being, dwells in, around, and through all things.'p. 112

This is the same garbage that Rick Warren teaches in his blasphemous 'The Purpose Driven Life':

'He rules everything and is everywhere and is in everything.' p. 88

If pantheism were true, it would not be a sin to worship the sun, moon or stars because they would, in fact, be God. But the Bible forbids it.

'You shall have no other gods before Me.' Deut. 5:7

'And beware not to lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and thestars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them...'Deut. 4:19

Funny thing, when you think about it. The same lie Satan used in the Garden of Eden, 'You can be God,' is still being used by Satan today!

Conclusion While a mature Believer may be able to read the fiction book and/or watch the fiction movie without being compromised, we believe that the dangerous theological errors in The Shack are from the pit of hell.

Reading and/or seeing The Shack movie by a mature Believer could expose less mature Believers to major Biblical error. What could have been an interesting story is actually playing with fire (i.e. Satan), which is never acceptable.

'Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like aroaring lion, seeking someone to devour.' 1Pet. 5:8

Shalom! BP

(1) https://compass.org/store/products/Article%3A-The-Shack-%252d-Book- Review.html

If you would like to print this article click here: Why the Shack is Blasphemous

The Shack is a novel by Canadian author William P. Young that was published in 2007.^[1]

The novel was self-published but became a USA Todaybestseller, having sold 1 million copies as of June 8, 2008.^[2] It was the No. 1 paperback trade fiction seller on The New York Times Best Seller list from June 2008 to early 2010,^[3] in a publishing partnership with Hachette Book Group USA's FaithWords imprint (Hodder & Stoughton in the UK). In 2009 it was awarded the 'Diamond Award' for sales of over 10 million copies by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.^[4]

The title of the book is a metaphor for 'the house you build out of your own pain', as Young explained in a telephone interview.^[5] He also told radio host talk show Drew Marshall that The Shack 'is a metaphor for the places you get stuck, you get hurt, you get damaged ... the thing where shame or hurt is centered.'^[6]

Plot[edit]

The novel is set in the American Northwest. The main character is Mackenzie Allen Phillips, a father of five called 'Mack' by his family and friends. Four years prior to the main events of the story, Mack takes three of his children on a camping trip to Wallowa Lake near Joseph, Oregon, stopping at Multnomah Falls on the way. Two of his children are playing in a canoe when it flips and almost drowns Mack's son. Mack is able to save his son by rushing into the water and freeing him from the canoe's webbing but unintentionally leaves his youngest daughter Missy alone at their campsite. After Mack returns, he sees that Missy is missing. The police are called, and the family discovers that Missy has been abducted and murdered by a serial killer known as the 'Little Ladykiller'. The police find an abandoned shack in the woods where Missy was taken: Her bloodied clothing is found, but her body is not located. Mack's life sinks into what he calls, 'The Great Sadness'.

As the novel begins, Mack receives a note in his mailbox from 'Papa', saying that he would like to meet with Mack that coming weekend at the shack. Mack is puzzled by the note—he has had no relationship with his abusive father since he left home at age 13. He suspects that the note may be from God, whom his wife Nan lovingly refers to as 'Papa'.

Mack's family leaves to visit relatives and he goes alone to the shack, unsure of what he will see there. He arrives and initially finds nothing, but as he is leaving, the shack and its surroundings are supernaturally transformed into a lush and inviting scene. He enters the shack and encounters manifestations of the three persons of the Trinity. God the Father takes the form of an African American woman who calls herself Elousia and Papa; Jesus is a Middle Eastern carpenter; and the Holy Spirit physically manifests as an Asian woman named Sarayu.

The bulk of the book narrates Mack's conversations with Papa, Jesus, and Sarayu as he comes to terms with Missy's death and his relationship with the three of them. Mack also has various experiences with each of them. Mack walks across a lake with Jesus, sees an image of his (earthly) father in Heaven with Sarayu, and has a conversation with Sophia, the personification of God's wisdom. At the end of his visit, Mack goes on a hike with Papa, now appearing as an older Native American male, who shows him where Missy's body was left in a cave.

After spending the weekend at the shack, Mack leaves and is so preoccupied with his joyous thoughts that he is nearly killed in an automobile accident. During recovery he realizes that he did not in fact spend the weekend at the shack, but that his accident occurred on the same day that he arrived at the shack. He also leads the police to the cave that Papa revealed, and they find Missy's body still lying there. With the help of forensic evidence discovered at the scene, the Little Ladykiller is arrested and put on trial.

Publication[edit]

Young originally wrote The Shack as a Christmas gift for his six children with no apparent intention of publishing it. After letting several friends read the book he was urged to publish it for the general public. In 2006, Young worked with Wayne Jacobsen, Brad Cummings (both former pastors from Los Angeles) and Bobby Downes (filmmaker) to bring the book to publication after a period of sixteen months and four rewrites.^[7] They had no success with either religious or secular publishers, so they formed Windblown Media for the purpose of publishing the book. The Shack achieved its No. 1 best selling success via word-of-mouth and with the help of a USD$300.00 website; it is often reported that nothing else had been spent on marketing up to September 2007.^[8] Additional startup funds were supplied by Brad Cummings, president of Windblown Media, who spent the maximum credit limit on 12 personal credit cards in order to publish the book.^[9][10]

Reception[edit]

The Shack went largely unnoticed for over a year after its initial publication, but suddenly became a very popular seller in mid-2008, when it debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times paperback fiction best seller list on June 8.^[3] Its success was the result of a 'word-of-mouth, church-to-church, blog-to-blog campaign' by Young, Jacobsen and Cummings in churches and Christian-themed radio, websites, and blogs.^[2]

As of May 2010,The Shack had over 10 million copies in print, and had been at No. 1 on The New York Times best seller list for 70 weeks.^[11]The Shack was also released in hardcover, and translated into Spanish as La Cabaña.^[11] In June 2009 a German translation with the title Die Hütte – ein Wochenende mit Gott (The Hut – a Weekend with God) was released.^[12] It was also translated into Croatian as Koliba and became very popular in Croatia and also in Bosnia and Herzegovina.^{[citation needed]} The book was also translated into Polish as Chata and published in 2009. There were re-editions in 2011 and 2017 due to its popularity.

However, former Mars Hill Church pastor Mark Driscoll criticized The Shack, saying that 'it misrepresents God'^[13] and called William P. Young 'a heretic'.^[14] Evangelical author Chuck Colson wrote a review, called 'Stay Out of The Shack', in which he criticizes the attribution of 'silly lines' to characters representing the three Persons of the Trinity, and the author's 'low view of scripture'.^[15]R. Albert Mohler Jr. called The Shack 'deeply troubling' on his radio show, saying that it 'includes undiluted heresy'.^[16]Apologists author Norman Geisler and William C. Roach published a critique in 2012 detailing their 14 points of theological disagreement with the book (including 'unorthodox', 'false', 'classic heresy', 'non-rational', 'psychologically helpful ... doctrinally harmful', and 'very dangerous').^[17]

The Shack Movie Wikipedia

Pastor Sean Cole of the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Sterling, Colorado, offered yet another critique appearing in Pulpit and Pen. He provides six major arguments against the content of the book and Young's portrayal of the Trinity, and offers them as major problems.^[18]

Theologian Randal Rauser has written a generally sympathetic guide to The Shack in his companion volume Finding God in the Shack (Paternoster, 2009). In the book Rauser responds to many of the objections raised by critics such as Colson and Mohler. Brad Robison, a psychiatrist and family therapist who used The Shack in his practice, wrote The Shack Study Guide (Windblown Media, 2016) to assist his patients on their healing journey. It is co-authored by William P. Young. Wayne Jacobsen, one of Young's early collaborators, wrote a detailed response to several common points of criticism. His column 'Is The Shack Heresy?' was published online by Windblown Media.^[19]

The Shack Movie In Spanish

Legal dispute[edit]

In July 2010, the Los Angeles Times reported that The Shack had 'spawned a tangle of lawsuits over royalties and even the book's authorship'.^[20] Young said that he was owed $8 million in royalties, Jacobsen and Cummings filed a suit against Young,^[21] Young asked the court to dismiss or stay the claims,^[22] and Jacobsen and Cummings responded.^[23] Hachette, the commercial publisher involved, asked the court to determine to whom it should pay royalties from the book.^[24] On January 10, 2011, the court declared that it had been advised that the case between Young et al. and Jacobsen et al. 'has been settled or is in the process of being settled' and the case was dismissed.^[25][26]

Film adaptation[edit]

Sam Worthington

A film adaptation of The Shack, directed by Stuart Hazeldine and starring Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, and Tim McGraw, was released on March 3, 2017, to negative critical reviews. Audience response was, however, more positive.^[27]

References in other works[edit]

The Shack was referred to by Stephen King in his 2010 title, Full Dark, No Stars, which is a compilation of four novellas. In the final novella, A Good Marriage, the protagonist recalls that her husband recommended she read The Shack and he said the novel was 'a life-changer'.^{[citation needed]}

It is also cited in the introduction to Richard Rohr and Mike Morrell's The Divine Dance for encouraging people thinking about the Trinity again.

References[edit]

1. ^Rich, Motoko (2008-06-24). 'Christian Novel Is Surprise Best Seller'. The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
2. ^ ^abAim at 'spiritually interested' sparks 'The Shack' sales USA Today, 2008-04-30
3. ^ ^abSchuessler, Jennifer. 'Books – Best-Seller Lists – New York Times'. The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
4. ^Gold / Platinum / Diamond Book Awards Winners, Christian Book Expo, read 2012-02-12
5. ^'The DREW MARSHALL Show – Listen Now to Previous Shows – 2008'. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
6. ^Relevant Magazine
7. ^'The New York Times- Christian Novel Is Surprise Best Seller'. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
8. ^'The DREW MARSHALL Show – Listen Now to Previous Shows – 2007'. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
9. ^Streib, Lauren (2009-06-22). 'Paul Young's Publishing Miracle'. Forbes.
10. ^Advancing the Cause
11. ^ ^abWindblown Media Official Website
12. ^Die Hütte on the German Wikipedia
13. ^Grossman, Cathy Lynn (May 28, 2008). 'Shack opens doors, but critics call book 'scripturally incorrect''. USA Today.
14. ^Mahoney, Tyler (September 9, 2010). 'Paul Young, Bestselling Author of The Shack, Challenges Seattle Pastor Mark Driscoll to 'Man Up''. HuffPost.
15. ^Colson, Chuck (8 May 2008). 'Stay Out of The Shack'. Religion Today. Retrieved 2012-12-29.
16. ^The Albert Mohler Radio Program, 'A Look at The Shack', April 11, 2008
17. ^'The Shack: Helpful or Heretical?'. Defending Inerrancy.
18. ^'The Shack: A Pastoral Review of the Popular Novel'. Pulpit and Pen. February 23, 2017.
19. ^Wayne, Jacobsen. 'Is The Shack Heresy?'. Windblown Media. Retrieved 2012-12-29.
20. ^Weinman, Sarah (13 July 2010). 'The flak over 'The Shack''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
21. ^'Case no. CV 10-3246 JFW (JCx) First amended complaint ...'US District Court, Central District of California, Western Division. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
22. ^'Case no. CV 10-3246 JFW (JCx) Memorandum of points and authorities in support of defendant Young's motion...'US District Court, Central District of California, Western Division. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
23. ^'Case no. CV 10-3246 JFW (JCx) Plaintiffs' opposition to defendant William Paul Young's motion to dismiss the first amended complaint'. US District Court, Central District of California, Western Division. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
24. ^'Case no. CV 10-03534 JFW (JCx): First amended complaint-in-interpleader'. US District Court, Central District of California, Western Division. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
25. ^'The Shack Gets Sued'. The Steve Laube Agency. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
26. ^'Case No. CV 10-3246-JFW (JCx) Order dismissing civil action'(PDF). US District Court, Central District of California. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
27. ^'The Shack (2017)- Rotten Tomatoes'. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 1, 2019.

External links[edit]

• Official website
• Interview with William P. Young by broadcaster Sheridan Voysey