The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity by William P. Young Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity
Book Review: "Faith does not grow in the house of certainty"
Summary: 5 Stars
William P. Young's "The Shack" is the most fully-realized and artistically successful modern-day fable since Mark Fisher's 1990 classic The Instant Millionaire: A Tale of Wisdom and Wealth. Both books center around physical journeys as well as inward, spiritual quests. The book is loaded with "payoffs"...bits of crystal-clear wisdom that usually come at the end of an extended exchange between characters. I won't offer any spoilers (beyond the one I used for my review title).
Simply put, it's a book about the relationship between God and man (or the lack of one). It's human nature to "connect the dots" by looking out, never in, and "looking in" with honesty and humility is where God is found.
Most readers will see at least a little of themselves in Mack Phillips...maybe more than a little. We all tend to spin in our own orbits, create our own realities, and fill up our knapsacks with the burdens we choose to carry. Some people fail to "make room for God" because they see Him as the source of their suffering and pain, their lack, their fears, all of the negative things. That's one way people choose to define God. There are other ways. That's what this book is about.
Very highly recommended.
Book Review: "I will travel any road to find you!" ~Jesus
Summary: 5 Stars
"Does that mean that all roads will lead to you?" -Mack ...."Not at all...I will travel any road to find you."-Jesus. William P. Young is determined to rewrite confused Christian truths: "The world is not a playground where I keep all my children free from evil." "Emotions are colors of the soul..." "Abuse goes back to Adam." "Your world is severely broken." "Love overides all sin." Young expresses that we are free to choose God and are not prisioners forced into Chrisian faith or religion. I love the visuals encapsulated in the heart of this piece "where tragedy confronts eternity". "Dreams are sometimes important, you know. They can be a way of openin' up the window and lettin' the bad air out." Accept the creative bent as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit take on new characters...refresh the dullness of the mind ...The Author has offered me a new picture of the trinity and negociated in my mind with what I have unwillingly refused to hear till now...Take a new look at power, pain, death, and trust. Read...and take a mental vacation that may change the course of your spiritual footprints (belief).
-Jennifer Hope Webster, Author,
-Mis Charlas con Dios: Diario De Oracion; -Chat with God: 40 days, Prayer Journal...
-President & Founder of ChatwithGod.org Ministries, Inc.
Book Review: "Love Shack," indeed!
Summary: 3 Stars
I've found the discussions and debates about this book to be more interesting than the book itself. Poor hapless Paul Young seems to be an equal-opportunity offender. Conservative Christians may consider him heretical and even blasphemous. New Agers may accuse him of espousing Christian orthodoxy. Agnostics and atheists may be annoyed at family members and friends who foist this book off on them as part of the "Missy Project." I'd assume that Young is giggling en route to the bank, but I choose to believe that his motives are more altruistic than mere financial gain.
I agree with many of the criticisms of the book. It isn't especially well-written. Some parts I found fatuous, other parts simply boring. Theologically, it's not exactly higher-order hermeneutics (though it doesn't purport to be). I understand its attraction, though, especially for those who have been victims of inexplicable traumatic loss, a population that may include most of the world nowadays. The message of the healing grace of God is attractive and, for me at least, rooted in Biblical verities, albeit with a rather lopsided spin.
I'm a bit uneasy with the blanket assumption that those who are enthusiastic about this book are simply unenlightened regarding the Bible. Most of the people I know who have recommended the book to me are life-long readers and students of the Bible: Some are seminary graduates who have read the Old and New Testaments in the original languages and find no heresy here. Frankly, I'm more concerned about the "dumbing down" of contemporary worship than the impact of The Shack.
Book Review: "Love, Papa"
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is eye opening (to say the elast), in the sense that it opens the eyes of one's heart. Having been a Christian for 20 years I had my own views about the manifestation of God's love for humanity. I believed with all my heart that I understood, as best a mere mortal could, the kind of love God feels for us. Until the author introduced Sophia to us. When Mack is told to choose two of his children to be sent to heaven and the other three to be sent to hell, my heart momentarily stopped. To understand that God is presented with this choice constantly is excruciatingly eye opening. Knowing that there are people, presumably christian people, who pray for God to damn to hell an individual, a monster in the eyes of society, who caused them such pain as is discribed in this story, knowing that God loves this person who's praying, but also knowing God loves this person they're wanting damned, that brings things into clear focus for me now. We're all God's children. Whether we accept Him or not, does not change the fact that He loves us all the same and it breaks His heart each time one of His little ones opens their eyes in hell.
You will grow to love God more through the journey you take with Mack in this wonderful book. But more importantly, you will better understand the love God has for you, and each of us He created. God Bless you!
Book Review: "THE SHACK" is a great witnessing tool!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was moved greatly by the testimony of this wonderful work. It touched the deepest part of my spirituality and caused me to review my own stance in the loss of a loved one or something so dear and near to one's heart. I have recommended this book to all of my friends, church members and others who may be searching for a better understanding of the Holy Trinity and how it operates in our world and in our lives. I will certainly read it again soon!!