As promised (about 20 years ago), here’s my two cents on The Shack (aff).
The short story:
First cent: I did not like the first two thirds.
Second cent: It finished better than it started.
The longer story:
This is not the first time I’ve started this post and that’s because I just don’t quite know what to say. So, you’re getting my raw opinion.
I don’t claim to have any good, well-researched and well-thought-out reasons why I think what I think. I’m a “gut” person. In other words, things usually either “sit right” in my soul or they don’t. Sure, my gut feelings are certainly informed by what I know to be true, but I generally don’t formulate my opinions in any kind of academic, systematic way. It just doesn’t happen like that for me; that’s why I keep Brian around.
So, maybe I’m saying you should take my opinion with a grain of salt.
Anyway, as I said, I did not like the first two thirds. Dissonance. That’s the only word that comes to mind to describe my feeling. Try as I might — and I did try — I simply was not feelin’ it. (Strangely — and a random sidenote — I felt the exact same way when reading The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I was downright mad when I finished that book. But that’s another story.)
Where was I.
Right. Dissonance. The opening drama (my worst nightmare by the way) was somewhat engaging I suppose, but the way God was portrayed? Totally not into it. I knew there was controversy surrounding the book but purposefully avoided any commentary in an effort to approach it with an open mind.
I understand the idea that God presents Himself to us in ways that enable us to relate and be open to Him, but personally I don’t think He chooses to be untrue to His character in order to do it. After all, He’s God. He transcends anything we can imagine. He knows our brokenness and meets us in it, but He doesn’t conform to it.
Just curious…did anyone else think Jesus was a total cheeseball and the Holy Spirit a total airhead? And quite frankly, the interactions between the three made me roll my eyes on multiple occasions.
But on a positive note…
By the end of the book, I was tracking with it. Once I accepted the cheese, I really appreciated some of the explanations of deep God stuff. Mack was dealing with questions we all face, he wondered how and why things happen like they do, and I thought that overall, the author tackled them quite well.
It took me forever to get through the book — mostly because I almost quit several times — but I’m glad I stuck it out. I still think there are some serious flaws in the theology, but the nuggets of wisdom in the end made it worth the read.
What did you think?
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Hi there. I'm Amy. I write here about my life and my issues. I also design blogs and websites at 
That’s exactly how I felt about the book!! Everyone and their sister was saying that this book was phenomenal, but I read it and was totally let down… I just didn’t feel the descriptions of God were… reverent (not sure if that’s the word I’m looking for?) enough… Cheesey/Airhead (as per your description) are the best descriptions I’ve felt of the authors descriptions of those characters so far.
I’m glad to know I’m not the only person who felt this way. I was starting to wonder…
But just like you, I did get a few ‘nuggets’ out of it. I just can’t get myself to recommend it to anyone…
Side note: I need a thesaurus… I over-did ‘description’… holy cow.
I really enjoyed the book. The first few chapters were hard to get through, but after that, I could hardly put it down.
I’m not sure what you mean about the way God was portrayed. Could you expand on that some?
There were some things in the book that I did not agree with, but for the most part, I felt it dealt with some issues that keep many people from God. Many people have a distorted view of God. They see Him as an arrogant one, sitting on His throne, smiting down everyone, taking away their fun, and waiting for us all to bow down to Him. They see Him as unobtainable and they feel without hope because they do not see Him within reach. I think this book shows people that God is loving, He doesn’t want us to perish, and that He desires a personal relationship with us all.
Karen’s last blog post..Clark Howard and the Smart Shoppers
You know, it is interesting to hear other people’s thoughts on it. I actually loved it. My husband? Not so much. He felt just like you did. I was uncomfortable with some things, but I think I overlooked them trying to understand the bigger picture of what the author’s intent was. My least favorite character was the Holy Spirit due to how He was portrayed. Once I understood why God was a woman, I went with it. My huge theology hiccup was the whole authority system and that the author was trying to say there was never intended to be that structure. I think scripture defies that thought pretty easily. I love stories that have emotion and that have closure. This one had both. I think that is what sold me on it was the story behind the story rather than the characters of the Godhead. I totally hear you though. It could very well be disrespectful to some degree.I think it is important for people in a certain part of their journey towards God to read it while others have no need to see God in a light that they are more comfortable with. You are right, He doesn’t conform to us persay, but we are made in His image, so any way that He might appear to us, may not truly be Him conforming to us, but rather Him just being more of His own self. I don’t know. Just a thought.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I’d be interested in The Poisonwood Bible story!
SPOILER ALERT! Don’t read further if you don’t want to know what happens in the book!
@Joanna, @Karen & @Tammy – Thanks for your comments!
I agree with you, Karen, that we humans often have the wrong idea about God. In fact, I doubt we ever have the truly right view of God since all we can do in our finite brains is compare Him to humans. The bottom line is, if we ever have a view of God that makes us feel bad or uncomfortable, we can be sure we are missing something somewhere (i.e. the problem lies with us, never Him). If we were free from the influence of a sinful world, we’d be able to see Him for all the good & absolute perfection that He is. And we’d be dumbfounded in the best possible way! But alas, here we are for the time being.
The problem for me was that, in the process of trying to get Mack to connect with God, it seemed like God was brought down to Mack’s level as opposed to Mack being brought up to God’s level. I understand the goal was to get Mack to see God in a way that was somewhat tangible yet wasn’t clouded by his earthly father issues, but I think the the unfathomability of God’s greatness and His total unlike-us-ness is far more effective in getting us to connect with Him and to be healed.
So (theological issues aside), when God was portrayed in the beginning as a large black woman who happened to be a good cook, I was less than impressed; it felt too ordinary a description of God. But towards the end of the book, like during the scene when Mack was watching his father in the midst of all the colorful people (not sure how to describe that scene!), then I was diggin’ it because it made me think of God in extraordinary and supernatural ways. I think God is cool — just like I think large black women who can cook are cool — but what makes me intrigued by and drawn to Him is the mystery and wonder of His utter perfection & goodness, not the ways He’s like me or the my next door neighbor.
Then again, if the story was about me and not Mack, it would have been written according to how I would best connect with God. And I think the personal-ness of God was the whole point.
@Richard – Oh my, that would open up a can of worms! In a nutshell, I laughed til I cried through the first half of The Poisonwood Bible but was totally turned off by the love story at the end. The cultural inaccuracy just plain ticked me off; I don’t know why.
I guess because I kept thinking, Sheesh, does every blessed thing on this earth have to be all about how we do things in America?
I didn’t really like the book. Mostly because I didn’t think the author was that great of a writer. I thought he took a cheap shot, using the death of a daughter, to make his book
“exciting”.
Interesting. I have not read The Shack, and in all honesty, have never had a desire to read it (however, after reading this review, and the comments following, I’m actually a little curious!). I’ve felt kind of like a “black sheep” in certain Christian circles because I haven’t jumped on the latest Christian band wagon.
Here is why I haven’t picked the book up. I have walked with the Lord long enough (not as long as many and longer than some) to realize there are many things about God that I will quite frankly never understand, nor be able to fully wrap my mind around: His absolute goodness and perfection – and yet still the question of why bad things happen. God is God – He’s inexplicable – and yet, He is so completely approachable and merciful. At the end of the day, I am okay with not understanding. This is not to say that I don’t struggle with the “why’s”. But it is in those moments when I am desperately searching for answers and clarity, that I am driven to my knees and calling on God for the grace to get through the situation and faith to come out strong.
In the words of Beth Moore, who I believe tackles the tough questions far better than many authors I have read: “Nothing has the capacity to cause more destruction in a believer’s life than an occurrence that makes us question everything we thought we knew about God. A heart can shatter in so many pieces that we don’t think even God could put it back together again. Sometimes we’re so upset with Him we feel like we wouldn’t let Him if He tried. God can never do Himself right and do His children wrong. God’s glory and goodness are inseperable.”
Amy Slater’s last blog post..Mother’s Day
I am so glad to finally come across someone who felt the same way about the book as I do! I just couldn’t get past the way that the trinity was depicted. I felt like I was missing something because everybody else was raving about it.
Anne’s last blog post..It’s Berry Pickin Time!
i loved it personally. the first half was a bit slow admittedly, but then i was really into it when he finally arrived at the shack. it is a fiction book and i took it for just that (although i did find it thought-provoking for sure!). i read it in 2 days and really enjoyed it!
)
Side note: I need a thesaurus… I over-did ‘description’… holy cow.
I enjoyed the Shack — it left me craving more of His Presence. Some of the points made in the book I wrote down because I wanted to further reflect on them:
– An infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children. He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of Himself as fully as if there wer no others. AWTozer
– Forgiveness is not about forgetting. It is about letting go of another person’s throat.
– You may have to declare your forgiveness a hundred times the first day and the second day, but the third day will be less and each day after,until one day you will realize that you have forgiven completely. And then one day you will pray for his wholeness and give him over to me so that my love will burn from his life every vestige of corruption. As incomprehensible as it sounds at this moment, you may well know this man in a different context one day.
– Don’t ever discount the wonder of your tears. They can be healing waters and a stream of joy. Sometimes they are the best words the heart can speak.
– If anything matters, everything matters. Because we are important to God, everything we do is important. Everytime we forgive, the universe changes; every time we reach out and touch a heart or a life, the world changes; wtih every kindness and service, seen or unseen, God’s purposes are accomplished and nothing will ever be the same again.
– Faith never knows where it is being led; But it knows and loves the One who is leading. Oswald Chambers
– Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God But only he who sees takes off his shoes The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries. Elizabeth Barrett Browning