I just finished reading the latest controversial book in Christian circles, The Shack, by William P. Young. There's good reason for the controversy- I personally believe that some of the author's theology is flawed. It's definitely a book to read discerningly- but it's also one where you can find some good, imaginative imagery of some basic issues of faith and trust, and forgiveness.
Let's talk narrative style- if you read The DaVinci Code, you probably recall passages where the action stopped and the characters were either thinking or teaching the "Christian un-history" contained in the book. I thought that Young's narrative in the passages where his characters were expunging theology read in much the same way..I'm talking narrative style here and not about the theology of the book. Like I said before, there a few things that I disagreed with Young about, but I'm certainly not comparing the book's theology to a book as blasphemous as The DaVinci Code.
I'm not condemning Shack on theological grounds- because is a book that is meant to challenge you to think about God in new ways. You're not going to agree with all of the challenges, and I don't think you were meant to. But both in the ways that I agreed with Young and also in the ways that I disagreed with him, he succeeded in his purpose. I thought about the nature of God and applied it to my own life and circumstances. Don't read it believing it to all be true as you would Scripture. Read it with a discerning mind that can separate the wheat from the dross.
If you can read the book with that kind of discernment, it's well worth a read. But an even better choice to read is C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce, which covers these same issues and more, with even better illustrations and imagery- and is 10 times the book that The Shack is.
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