The Shack

So I finally picked up The Shack by William Young. Not a bad book, by any means, but I must admit that I do not understand the fascination with it. Aside from the first 60 pages, which I felt read like an amateurish Janet Evanovich novel, the rest of the book was a sincere attempt (I think) for someone to place monumental human suffering in some form of context.

I think the author could have possibly benefitted from reading Douglas John Hall's The Cross in Our Context, because I felt that in the book he mired himself in between the ideas of having a kind, generous, and benevolent god that orders the world, and a world that wishes to order itself. That being said, I would hazard a guess (without ever looking up a bio, and I don't ever remember reading anything about his denominational affiliation) that Young is a member of an Evangelical group because of his frequent references to 'choice' language. It seems as if by accident that he occasionally touches the core of Lutheran theology -- the Theogica Crucis that should define our interactions in to the world.

I was extremely happy, however, to note that he avoided Krushner's argument from When Bad Things Happen to Good People -- that bad things happen because God is not, in fact, omniscient and is clueless about ordered day-to-day life.

So, pick up the The Shack if you've been curious about the hype; just don't expect marvelous transformation.

On the other hand, if you want to read a roll-over-and-rub-me-on-my-tummy-I'm-so-enthralled book, I strongly urge you to pick up The Hammer of God by Bo Giertz. Especially if you find yourself thinking "what's really different about the Lutheran approach to things?" The Shack did not make me cry (though it was close); The Hammer of God did - but not in the 'tug at the heartstrings' way - rather, 'the this is why I do what I do' way. Just be sure to pick up the newer edition that has the last chapter translated.