Saturday, January 31, 2009

Some Thoughts on The Shack


As of today, The Shack has been #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List for 36 straight weeks. At the time of this writing, The Shack was the #6 best-selling book of all categories on Amazon.com.

I cannot remember when I've finished a book and then promptly began it a second time the very next day, but that's exactly what I did with The Shack a couple of weeks ago. I finished my second reading of the book a few days ago.

I found the book to be quite powerful. Realizing that the book is controversial, I nevertheless am giving the book a qualified recommendation and am encouraging my friends to read it discerningly.

Some of the critiques that one reads of Young's work are theological. I do not believe it's invalid to criticize the theology behind a creative piece of fiction, but I do think it's unrealistic to expect comprehensive systematic theology from such a work. Some things are simply not addressed in a work of fiction that we would expect to be addressed in systematics. And so I'm hesitant to agree with those critiques that have foundation in a charge of incompleteness. Nevertheless, I did find theological shortcomings in the book though I also appreciated other aspects of the work.

I did not agree with all of the comments in the book regarding authority and hierarchy. I got the impression from reading The Shack that all hierarchy is an unmitigated wrong. I, on the other hand, believe loving authority is not only legitimate on earth but that we also see it in the Godhead (in distinction from what Sarayu claims on p. 122).

I also was not sure what Young was getting at when he had Jesus say that He did not wish for folks to become Christians (p. 182). I have no problem with anyone saying that organized Christianity does not always equal true Christianity, but Jesus comments here seemed to be overstatement.

One critique of The Shack is that it promotes Ultimate Reconciliation (UR). When I read the book, I wondered about this myself. My feeling is that the book had the flavor of Ultimate Reconciliation. Moreoever, Young's story collaborator Wayne Jacobsen in his article Is THE SHACK Heresy? asserts earlier drafts of the the book did reflect William P. Young's leanings toward Ultimate Reconciliation at that time.

However, Jacobsen writes, "While some of that was in earlier versions because of the author’s partiality at the time to some aspects of what people call UR, I made it clear at the outset that I didn’t embrace UR as sound teaching and didn’t want to be involved in a project that promoted it." However, Jacobsen also implies in his article that the collaborative process itself had an affect on Young's theological views including, it would see, any predispositions Young had toward UR. And I believe Young when I have heard him say emphatically in subsequent interviews that he believes in Hell.

Regarding the critique that the book does not accurately convey the Trinity, for myself I was not looking for it to definitively portray the Trinity. It's a work of creative fiction and clearly the author took some liberties. When I have taught theology I have told my students that the day that I explain the Trinity to them in such a way that they go, "Ok, now I get it! That makes perfect sense" that is the day that they can be assured that I have no idea what I'm talking about. We should not be shocked that our finite minds cannot completely comprehend the One Who is infinite. And I felt that there was a definite tension in Young's portrayal of the Trinity that was consistent with the mystery of "God in three persons." But do I think Young got it right? No, of course not. But I do feel that he gave an interesting portrait of God.

One aspect of the book I appreciated was the honest treatment of the most difficult theological question encapsulated in Mackenzie's terrible tragedy: Why would a loving, all-powerful being allow six-year-old Missy to be brutally murdered? I was satisfied that Young did not attempt to provide a definitive theodicy but that in the book the author gave some hints toward an answer that had to do with humanity's freedom to choose. I personally believe that a completely satisfying theodicy is not possible this side of the Jordan. I appreciated that Young did not wrap this theological problem up in a artificially contrived bow.

But perhaps the aspect of the book I appreciated the most was the portrayal of God's personal involvement with Mack. I do believe that God's omnipotence implies his ability to deal with each of his creatures with loving individuality. It was moving to see Young's portrayal of this.

And so I found the book helpfully provocative but I am sensitive to, and in some cases sympathetic with, those who might critique its theology in places. I am also open to being shown that I have missed theological deficiencies in the book that should be highlighted.

But all these concerns expressed, I cautiously recommend The Shack as one way to helpfully challenge our paradigm of God in a way that might lead to a fuller understanding of Him.

Other Information Available Online About The Shack:

Monday, January 26, 2009

all tim keller, all the time

Just took a look at this great site after learning about it from my friend dj chuang.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Talking with Pete Rollins about Knowing

Peter Rollins and I are talking about knowing on Tony Jones' blog after he critiqued a comment I made in the Ten Years Out article on the history of the emerging church in North America.

Reminds me of the chat Brian McLaren and I had about epistemology 8 years ago (which I mentioned to Peter, as I thought it might be relevant to his critique.

Next-Wave has a New Editor

Next-Wave's new editor is Scott Bane. Many thanks to Bob Hyatt for his two year stint in the same role. Next-Wave's founder and publisher, Charlie Wear, talks about the history of Next-Wave and this transition here.

Monday, January 19, 2009

The Emerging Church: Diverse Voices in North America and the Worldwide Conversation

Be sure to check out the good conversation in comments on Andrew Jones' blog post around the Next-Wave Retrospective on Ten Years of the Emerging Church in North America.

There's a healthy interest in hearing more about the history of the emerging church in the rest of the world and more about the diversity of voices in North America that were not represented in the article.

Next-Wave's publisher Charlie Wear expresses a desire for more articles covering these other aspects of the emerging church.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Ten Years of the Emerging Church: A Retrospective

Charlie Wear of Next-Wave asked me to pen a piece on ten years of the emerging church in North America. To pull this together I interviewed:

The piece was published today and can be found here.

The interviews behind the piece (which covered more topics than I did in the article) can be found here and here.

Comments welcome!

Friday, January 02, 2009

Info Request: Best Bruce Cockburn Albums?

Ok, Papa's mentioning of this artist in The Shack and that Brian McLaren and other friends like him have prompted me to buy a Bruce Cockburn album?

Suggestions?