The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity by William P. Young

The Shackby Anonymous

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12/04/2009: This book is great fiction, and like all good fiction, it made me think about real life. The tragedy of a girl my little sister's age being kidnapped and murdered was really hard to read. The spiritual adventure that followed for this little girl's father was entertaining, thought-provoking, and a little uncomfortable. Mack (Missy's father and the main character) finds a note in the mailbox from "Papa" inviting him to the shack where his daughter was brutally murdered. At first he thinks it is a sick joke, then the murderer's attempt to get him away from his remaining children so he can hurt them, and last he reluctantly considers it might actually be from God, since Papa is the name his wife Nan has for him. When Nan decides to take the kids and go visit her sister for the weekend, Mack takes the opportunity to travel to the shack and find out who is behind the mysterious note. He has no idea what he is in for.

At the shack (now turned into a lovely rustic cabin) he encounters Papa in the form of a hefty African American woman with a love for cooking, hugging, and talking. He also meets Jesus and Sarayu who represents the Holy Spirit. He spends a very intense weekend with this group I know as the Trinity. They have invited him there to force him to come to terms with "The Great Sadness", the lasting effects of the loss of his daughter almost three years before as well as his incorrect thinking about man's relationship with God.

I have talked to many people who love the book, but also many who have stressed to me that it is not based on the Bible. I liked the book because it challenged me to think about my own faith and how we all can put God in a box and not allow him to be the Creator he is. Though I believe that Jesus calls God "Father" for a reason, God could do anything he wants to meet a person where they are, and I think that's what he did with Mack. Because Mack had a poor relationship with his own earthly dad and because he was feeling shaky as a dad himself because of not being able to protect his daughter Missy, Papa decided to meet him as a woman instead. Would God actually do this? I don't know, but who am I to limit him?

The book made me think about the relationship that God wants to have with humans and how so many man-made ideas get in the way. The hardest part for Mack - and me, was the idea that we are not called to judge one another. That is God's work, and I know that. But I have never thought about humans that judge God when things go wrong in our imperfect world. The world that we screwed up!

One of my favorite parts is when he sits down to eat a meal they have prepared for him and he stops to say a table prayer. Then he realizes he is sitting with the very one he is praying to and looks up to see them smiling at him. He simply says, "Thanks, guys. Can I have some rice, please".

This book shows the journey of a sad man who can't get out of the depression he is feeling as the result of the actions of another. His journey includes learning to forgive the very man he blames for his misery and for the God who "allowed" it to happen. I think this fictional story helps us all to feel more human and more willing to let God love us as he does.

The Shack In My Opinionby Anonymous

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12/04/2009: At number one on New York Times Bestseller List sits The Shack. This book is about a father named Mackenzie Phillips and the loss of his youngest daughter, Missy. While on a family camping trip Missy goes missing. After days of meticulous investigation, evidence is found suggesting that she was murdered in a shack deep in the woods of Oregon. For the next four years Mackenzie and his family are heart broken and guilty. They are stuck in the past and unable to move forward from their loved one's death. Consequently Mackenzie receives a letter in that mail from God. The letter requests that he returns to the shack Missy was murdered in to meet God. Against his better judgment, Mack goes to the shack and has the experience of a lifetime. At the shack God is presented as three human beings who are all very different and unique in their own way. God helps Mack learn how to move forward and how to stop blaming himself for Missy's death. God discusses the importance of not dwelling in the past and also the significance of forgiveness. While at the shack Mack's perspective on life, the world and religion changes.

Personally, I did not enjoy reading The Shack. There was a decent story line and some meaningful messages presented through out the book, however the dialogue was awful. Conversations were redundant and confusing. God tended to restate and explain the same ideas over and over. I also did not like the way the author, Young, viewed religion. Young was very opinionated through God's conversations with Mack. He states that God didn't create the Ten Commandments intending humans to abide by them and that humans created religion. I do not recommend anyone who is especially religious to read this book. This book certainly opened my eyes to a different perspective however it was not intriguing enough to hold my attention for long periods of time.