So I read The Shack on my day off this week and I must say that it overall is a good book. Like all things that touch on theology, they come up short in some areas. But the plot is moving, I certainly had an emotional response to Mack’s encounters, and it ended very well. Could there have been more? Sure. Is the author someone I overall theologically agree with? I can say yes to this, too.
I was very happy to see the emphasis on relationship over rule making. I have to love it when a popular book comes along that denies the fundamentalist rule making theology that we hear so much about. As well Young does yeoman’s work trying to make a plot around encountering what is truly the mystery of the Trinity. This part of the book alone will spark many a good conversation over the Trinitarian foundation of our faith, and it is a conversation well worth having.
Other parts, though, raise more difficult questions. The author boldly states that the institutional church is not part of God’s desire for us. Two issues conflict with this. First is the author’s convincing argument that we are meant to imitate the Godhead’s Trinitarian relationship with one another. We are to be drawn together into relationship. Yes there is almost limitless sinfulness in how we then go and label and define that relationship, denying in myriad ways the uniqueness and Spirit-filled nature of a life lived in holy relationship, but still, we are called together. The sin is in trying to define and specify the relationship, not in having relationships. Second, this argument seems to deny the miracle of Pentecost, which is often refered to as the church’s birthday. Is there a place for Acts in this theology?
There are other issues that could be raised, but instead I hope to echo the author’s notion that underlies the entirety of the book. We are called into beautiful and holy relationship, and in that midst we will find our questions, if not answered, then at least holy and respected until such time and God reveals the truth. Amen to that.
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Tags: Pentecost, The Shack, theology
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Read “The Shack”…now back to the Bible
So I read The Shack on my day off this week and I must say that it overall is a good book. Like all things that touch on theology, they come up short in some areas. But the plot is moving, I certainly had an emotional response to Mack’s encounters, and it ended very well. Could there have been more? Sure. Is the author someone I overall theologically agree with? I can say yes to this, too.
I was very happy to see the emphasis on relationship over rule making. I have to love it when a popular book comes along that denies the fundamentalist rule making theology that we hear so much about. As well Young does yeoman’s work trying to make a plot around encountering what is truly the mystery of the Trinity. This part of the book alone will spark many a good conversation over the Trinitarian foundation of our faith, and it is a conversation well worth having.
Other parts, though, raise more difficult questions. The author boldly states that the institutional church is not part of God’s desire for us. Two issues conflict with this. First is the author’s convincing argument that we are meant to imitate the Godhead’s Trinitarian relationship with one another. We are to be drawn together into relationship. Yes there is almost limitless sinfulness in how we then go and label and define that relationship, denying in myriad ways the uniqueness and Spirit-filled nature of a life lived in holy relationship, but still, we are called together. The sin is in trying to define and specify the relationship, not in having relationships. Second, this argument seems to deny the miracle of Pentecost, which is often refered to as the church’s birthday. Is there a place for Acts in this theology?
There are other issues that could be raised, but instead I hope to echo the author’s notion that underlies the entirety of the book. We are called into beautiful and holy relationship, and in that midst we will find our questions, if not answered, then at least holy and respected until such time and God reveals the truth. Amen to that.
Like this:
This entry was posted on October 14, 2008 at 7:04 pm and is filed under General comments. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.
Tags: Pentecost, The Shack, theology
You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.