Discernment
January 20th, 2009
Holding down the number one spot after 33 straight weeks on the New York Times best-sellers list for Paperback Trade Fiction, The Shack is still selling like hot cakes despite a decline in overall book sales. Even amidst the controversy over its numerous errors in orthodox theology, people just can’t seem to get enough. Why are so many people drawn to this story? For many The Shack is a poignant story that touches a chord on a very personal level. We identify with the grief and the heartache and are left feeling encouraged by redemption in the face of tragedy. But do our heartstrings really provide a reliable source for discernment?
Author William Paul Young writes a story about a man who receives a note from God, inviting him back to the abandoned shack where his daughter had been brutally murdered. There he meets with three figures who represent the Trinity: a large African American woman named Papa, a Jewish workman named Jesus, and an Asian woman named Sarayu who is the Holy Spirit. The majority of the story centers on conversations between the grieving father and the Trinity as they help him cope with his loss.
The book has received a number of prominent endorsements. Singer and songwriter Michael W. Smith says “The Shack will leave you craving for the presence of God.” Wynonna Judd says, “The story has blown the door wide open to my soul… It reminds me that though I ask, ‘Why?’, I know who is in control.” Eugene Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, says it “has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress did for his.” Even Internet Monk, Michael Spencer, normally a pretty levelheaded guy, admits, “When Mack opens the door to the shack and sees the Father, I wept.”
On the other side of the fence there are those who consider The Shack, which is promoted as Christian fiction, to be even more harmful than say The Da Vinci Code, which clearly is not. Dr. Albert Mohler says, “This book includes undiluted heresy.” Influential blogger Tim Challies writes, “Much of what Young writes is good and even helpful (again, assuming that the reader can see past the human personifications of God). Sadly, though, there is much bad mixed in with the good.”
Some of the theological issues include inaccuracies in the nature of God, the hierarchy of the Trinity, the righteousness of God and the doctrine of salvation. In addition there seems to be an underlying intent to undermine orthodox Christianity. Not surprisingly, Young reportedly is not a member of any church and is reluctant to be labeled a Christian.
Some may say, “Well let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. It’s just a story, not a book of theology.” But is it? Even an allegory such as The Pilgrim’s Progress has its basis in sound Bible doctrine. At what point does the bathwater become so murky that we lose sight of the baby?
I like what Canadian pastor/blogger, Alan Harstone has to say:
“If most readers acknowledge that Mr. Young has skewed the biblical revelation of the person-hood of God, then why are we promoting it at our conferences, churches, and bookstores? Is it because we believe that we can discern the difference between good and evil, truth and deception, so we should feel free to cull the book for “its blessings” while ignoring its obvious mistakes?
Here’s what my Bible tells me:
1. that I should “….set no wicked thing before my eyes” (Psalm 101:3) Is there anything more wicked than misrepresenting the person-hood of God?
2. that Job was a righteous man who “…shunned evil” (Job 1:1) Shouldn’t I be shunning it as well?
3. that “any one who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God….and if any one comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.” (2 John 9-11)
It couldn’t be more clear to me – I should shun this book, not embrace it.”
It’s all a matter of discernment. Isn’t it amazing how gullible we Christians can be? We’ll fall for any fad that comes down the pike without so much as an ounce of discernment for no other reason then everybody else is doing it. We’re like a bunch of little children, “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” – Ephesians 4:14. So then, how do we become more discerning? By embracing “truth” Paul says, “we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” – Ephesians 4:15.
Don’t you think it’s high time we grow up?