Has anyone read this one?



http://theshackbook.com/index.html

This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's Progress' did for his. It's that good! Eugene Peterson, author --Eugene Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, B.C.

Short bio of the author, William P. Young -

Willam P. Young was born a Canadian and raised among a stone-age tribe by his missionary parents in the highlands of what was New Guinea. He suffered great loss as a child and young adult, and now enjoys the 'wastefulness of grace' with his family in the Pacific Northwest.
http://theshackbook.com/willie.html

I just picked this book up the other day at BJ's. I have not yet started reading it.
pk

Let me know what you think when you start. Costco has it on CD and I like to read while driving.

Is this going to be like a book club?

*grin* Do you want it to be?

Oh, I think this could be fun.

I'd been planning to read it anyway, but yeah, having the possibility of discussing it with others who are makes that even more attractive.

I'm thinking it might be my turn to head to Costco...

my wife purchased it and I have read much of it.

1) There are feelers out to see if it can be made into a Hollywood movie.

2) In the important aspects it is on targettheologically and how it presents God, salvation and the issues of sin, suffering and evil.

3)For those who want to criticize it, they can find minor issues to complain about. God the Father is depected as a female African American. The Holy Spirit is presented as a female of another ethnic background. Jesus alone is male and of Hebrew background.

4) The members of the God-head are presented in typical human activity. One is depected as preparing a breakfast which includes bacon. Jesus is skipping rocks across a lake. They cook and bake and act in a human mode of action while they remain members of the God-head.

5) I strongly recommend the book. There is a lot of good discussion for groups that want to discuss the meaning of God in salvation, sin and evil.

6) In general I am surprised at the amount of theology that they got right and unconcerned about minor issues that are of no real importance. There is a lot of good inthe book for those who are willing to see it.

Great to see you here as always, Gregory, and thanks for that - it makes me want to read it even more.

Thank you for the review Gregory. Now I can't decide if I want to read it or listen to it. LOL

My copy is on its way. Looking forward to reading it!

I bought mine yesterday. So I will probably start sometime this weekend.

I am reading The Shack right now and am at the part where Mack meets the threesome at the shack and Elousia (God in the form of a black woman) is explaining things to Mack. As long as I remind myself, "This is an allegory something like Pilgrim's Progress," I am doing fine with the story and appreciating the insights.

For instance, Elousia explains that is not really a black woman but can appear in any form; she has chosen this one for Mack because his own father had ruined the possibility of a real fatherly love for him. The book has other insights on that topic that I had not thought about before.

Mack realizes that everything he is learning might be a bit different than he had always thought, and Mack feels "a cramp forming in his brain."

I feel one, too, trying to get a handle on what is being said. I think I'll get the CD, too, although the ability to reread is essential for me at this point, so I am glad for the book.

Anyone else feel like they want to underline or highlight things in this book? Especially when any of THE THREE speak. When you keep it at the allegory (I think that is the right word???) level, then I am like "Yeah, that makes perfect sense."

Also when you start to apply things in this book to your own life, does anyone else want to cry? Or is that just me?

One more thing, and I am just half way through the book, so maybe it will change; but does the mom (Nan) not seem believable? Maybe it's because this was written from the dad's point of view? But that mom just doesn't cut it for me.

Highlighting - yes. Apply to my own life and cry - yes!

When Jesus expresses his love for Papa, Mack's response is, "To be in the presence of such love expressed seemed to dislodge an inner emotional logjam ... Something simple, warm, intimate, genuine..."

Do any of us realize how purely God loves us? We tend to think it's so conditional. How many of us have experienced such love? How about on a human level? Do you express your love for your loved ones? Have you had such pure love expressed to you by anyone other than a child?

I think this type of love is missing in most of our lives. We want to protect ourselves or we see a mote in the other's eye, so we don't express it; we don't feel worthy of such love, and we can't accept it.

Another part that struck me was where Mack commented to Jesus about how surprised he was that Jesus wasn't more handsome. It is so true that "Being always transcends appearance--that which seems to be. Once you begin to know the being behind the very pretty or very ugly face, as determined by your bias, the surface appearances fade away until they simply no longer matter."

Well, I just finished it, and I am so ready to talk about it with other people. So when are we going to discuss????

I am going to lend my copy to my mom when she heads south for the winter, and I am thinking about buying a copy for all of my siblings for Christmas--especially the one I don't talk to.

Liz, it looks like there has been some discussion going on already!

I just got mine so I'll be starting it soon

I just didn't want to spoil something for anyone, if they hadn't got to that part yet. So, I guess I will wait a couple more days, then explode with the stuff that had particular meaning for me.

Liz - maybe we should start with discussing the beginning and middle parts before we start discussing the ending!

What was it about the mom that made her seem so unreal? Was it because her character wasn't very well fleshed out, or that she seemed so perfect, in addition to lacking curiosity?

One thing that has affected me about the book is in applying the thoughts and perspectives to my own relationships. Wow.

Cruising the internet on The Shack reveals that people either love it or hate it. Those who seem to hate it seem to have an anti-christian bent to start with, though I haven't gone so far as to read all the reviews.

The brief author bio on the book cover says Wm. Paul Young suffered great loss as a child and young adult. I would like to know his story.

The mom wasn't really developed enough in my opinion, but some of the things that she did, I just couldn't relate with. Had my daughter gone missing, there is no way I would leave my husband and take the other child home to wait for news.

But now for the deeper stuff: I can certainly relate to that need of hanging on to the hate and anger and sadness in order to (honor?) the actual wronged person. He had The Great Sadness that he held onto in order to honor Missy; and he felt guilty if he ever thought about giving some of that up.

Do you think it is easier to hang onto The Great Sadness, than go through the process of Forgiveness?

And what are your thoughts on the revelation (well, it was a revelation for me) that Forgiveness has nothing to do with Trust?

If you know that you don't have to trust that person then is it easier to forgive them?

Well, I finished my copy last night.

I must say that this isn't my preferred genre of reading, as I prefer non-fiction. So bear with me.

I found that I had to remind myself that this is like somebody having a dream. I could see the wisdom in some of the parts but others irritated me, for example the treatment of the 10 Commandments. I realise that this is a theological difference and I kept reminding myself, "Treat it like someone's dream."

The near-omission of the wife seemed strange to me, too, but then, this is Mack's journey and it is his truth. If he needed to keep his wife out of it, so be it, I guess.

But the book did deal with deep themes, such as forgiveness and how it works, as well as our tendency towards "independence" (we would call that "self" in Adventist circles) and the judgment of others. I did like the comments on what makes something "good" or "evil", that we usually think of those things according to what is good for us, or evil to us. It focused on our short-sightedness in that area.

So.... do you mean you wouldn't recommend this book for a book club comprised of mature Adventist couples?

Couples? As opposed to regular Adventist joes like you and me? LOL

It is not a book I would recommend for everyone. I would not recommend it for sale in the ABC, mainly because there is much (even fiction) that I would prefer over it. That plus the fact that our cost was $15.00/copy, when I can buy it on Amazon for $6.00 (which is what I did)

I would recommend it for my husband, though. He likes stories and connects with stories more readily than with history or theological books.

Book club, yes. At a book club one can expect discussions like this. I think that discussions are great.

Evangelistic tool- no.

How mature would one have to be?

Yes, these couples are all "old" -- mostly all age 55 or over. And discussions are what we enjoy. Nobody in this group gets their faith shaken by offbeat stories.

Guess I'll suggest it then. The reviews on Amazon, plus everybody's comments here, make it look like a good one for us to discuss. [We all have to come up with new books this next week, to add to the reading list for 2009.]

Hm-m-m-m. Guess you're trying to find out somebody's age??

There's a good interview with the author, and videos of his speeches about the book, at Theshackbook.com [I think that's the correct site. Anyway there's a website for the book.]

He says he did have a terrible childhood, but he didn't go into specifics -- at least not on the video I watched.

I have begun to realizer that much Truth transcends accuracy, even theological (Theology = man's theory of God) accuracy or correctness.

This book has Truth in the same way Jesus' story of the Rich Man and Lazarus.

The same applies to much good fiction and poetry. It does have a transcendent quality, at least the best of it does.

The problem, though, is that many people will no doubt use the Shack to verify their wrong views of God. When they read the Bible, it's possible they will see the Bible through the things they picked up in the Shack. I've found that when you give a story to a large class of students and ask them to tell you what they are getting out of it, it's often surprising to see what many of them think the author is saying.

I haven't read it yet myself but I plan to. I hope it's well written.

And just as equally true, as I said, can one draw from Jesus' parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus verification of a wrong view of heaven and hell, reward and punishment, etc.

IMHO, these inaccuracies and mistaken ideas tend to be far more troubling to us than they are to God.

Yes, I guess they would be troubling if they caused confusion.

It's like the Left Behind series or the Purpose-Driven Life. As expected the author will write from his experience and knowledge.

Personally I think that discussion on these popular items is a good thing.

Agreed. As long as people understand it's like a parable, but I was just on a thread a few days ago with someone who believes the parable you mentioned is no parable but the literal truth. I think that is how the majority of Christians today see it.

I'll be getting the book today. Look forward to reading it.

Have you read it yet?? Any thoughts??

finished reading and I really enjoyed it. But I can see, like john317 mentioned, how people can take it as being real.

pk

I'm just reading it now, and enjoying it. I suspect any objections I have, will come from a different place from John317's, but may amount to much the same thing. I find it a little too psychobabbly in places. It harps on the 'relationship' thing a little too much, as do most contemporary Christian churches. It's a bit like how I used to enjoy the language in 'The Message' paraphrase but now find it unbearably treacly sweet.

Still, it does a very nice job of addressing the Problem of Pain and the nature of God, and if more Christians read it I think that would be a good thing on balance.

Bravus, what you said struck a chord with me, too.

I'm currently attending a church that is more on the "young" side. The music is modern, the crowd is young, and the sermons keep us up to date with the latest mainstream Christian book releases.

I am bored, and it is a bit on the "sweet" side for me, too. I like Scripture, as it stretches my mind, but there is not much in the way of Scripture there, I'm afraid. I guess I should try getting there earlier for Sabbath School- perhaps it is there where the deep thinking is. And that is my fault, for missing out on that.

I've read the Shack, the Purpose-Driven Life and very recently watched a couple videos from the Weigh-Down Diet. I found that so bizarre, too. It had a useful point or two and some Christianspeak but mostly lacking in common sense regarding diet (focused on dietING more than the diet itself).

These things don't leave a bad taste in my mouth, just unsatisfaction. Some are merely entertainment, it seems to me.

Plus the treacle-sweetness you mentioned makes me kinda gag. I can see that it does feed some folks, so I do see its value in some circles.

Forgive the vent-ilation... You just pricked something in me that's been there for a while. I think I'm just used to deeper thoughts.

Your post caught my eye, Gail.

After the interesting comments about this book here on C/A several weeks ago, I decided to nominate it as my book for our book club [we limit ourselves to novels in this particular group]. And I ordered it from Amazon and read it quickly.

Well, I changed my mind after reading it. This book is "Pablum" and our book club members need "real meat" to chew on, to discuss, and to comment on.

It's an interesting book in many ways, but too elementary and simplistic to be a challenge to this particular group.

Perhaps if we all had bee living in a different time and culture we might have made some of the same comments about Pilgrims Progress or the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.

But, now they are religious classics and we are not as prone to make such comments.

Religioius writing has a specific purpose. Sometimes we attempt to place it in another context.

There's an interesting article here concerning the Emergent Church and where they get their theology from- http://contend4thefaith.servantsofjesusc...ecycled-heresy/ .

Here's what I think the Apostle Paul would have to say concerning The Shack-

Galatians 1:6-9

I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

I just bought it and have only read the first coupla chapters. Also jumped ahead to see what it reads like in the middle and saw God is a female. That's interesting. The thought is fascinating.

Yes, it is fascinating; to think that God "appears" as what you need. I won't ruin it for you, so when you are done reading let me know.


O.k. just "one" little thing....it is also pretty cool that God is constantly creating...in the "Mother" body it takes the form of cooking.

Now really I won't ruin anything else...just let me know when you are done.

It takes both the female and the male for mankind to be fully in God's image. The male alone doesn't completely reflect the character of God. God definitely has the nurturing-- "mothering"-- characteristics we tend to associate more with the female.

It will be an interesting book, I'm sure. I'll get back about it after I've finished it.

Yes, you kinda have to "get" it. Let us know what you think, John317.

We read the book during our worship time. The book put things in a different perspective. There are things that I don't accept. But its not the kind of book to accept or not accept. Its very interesting none the less. And I really enjoyed it.

pk

HEY ALL

A neighbor had lent me this book "The Shack"

I have read 6 chap it is light reading and a good
message but it is not biblical


dgrimm60

I know what you mean. But its very interesting none the less.

pk

HEY PKRAUSE


THE message is time less and people can learn
from this message just like Pilgrim's Progress

both are fiction


dgrimm60

Those of you who are interested in THE SHACK may be interested in the story of the personal events that led to the author writting the book. You will find this in the following article:

Young, Paul. "The Healing," GUIDEPOSTS, August 2009, pages 74 - 78 and page 89.

Here is a brief quote:

NOTE: Originally 15 copies were printed and distributed among friends. Today, more than 7,000,000 copies are in print. See page 89

I got The Shack for Christmas. I'm already into my second reading, and I love it! It's a really life-changing book.

And I love the name Sarayu. :D

Good for you, I've read it and loved it as well.

pk

I think the shack is occultism, please read this:

THE SHACK & Its New Age Leaven
God IN Everything?

By Warren Smith

“A little leaven leaventh the whole lump.”
- Galatians 5:9

The Shack is being described as a “Christian” novel and is currently ranked number one on the New York Times bestseller list for paperback fiction. Many believers are buying multiple copies and giving them to friends and family. The Shack reads as a true story, but is obviously allegorical fiction. The book conveys postmodern spiritual ideas and teachings that challenge biblical Christianity – all in the name of “God” and “Jesus” and the “Holy Spirit.” Author William P. Young’s alternative presentation of traditional Christianity has both inspired and outraged his many readers. All the while his book continues to fly off the shelves of local bookstores.

Much like New Age author James Redfield’s book The Celestine Prophecy, The Shack is a fictional vehicle for upending certain religious concepts and presenting contrary spiritual scenarios. Allegorical novels can be a clever way to present truth. They can also be used to present things that seem to be true but really are not. Some books like The Shack do both.

I was drawn into the New Age Movement years ago by books and lectures containing parabolic stories that were not unlike The Shack. They felt spiritually uplifting as they tackled tough issues and talked about God’s love and forgiveness. They seemed to provide me with what I spiritually needed as they gave me much needed hope and promise. Building on the credibility they achieved through their inspirational and emotive writings, my New Age authors and teachers would then go on to tell me that “God” was “in” everyone and everything.

I discovered that author William P. Young does exactly the same thing in The Shack. He moves through his very engaging and emotional story to eventually present this same New Age teaching that God is “in” everything.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me first provide some background material concerning this key New Age doctrine that “God is in everything.” A good place to start is with Eugene Peterson, the author of the controversial Bible paraphrase The Message. After all, Peterson’s enthusiastic endorsement of The Shack is featured right under the author’s name on the front cover.

Ironically, it was Peterson’s endorsement that caused me to be immediately suspicious of this high-profile, bestselling “Christian” book. Through his questionable paraphrasing of the Bible, Peterson had already aligned himself in a number of areas with New Age/New Spirituality teachings. One obvious example was where he translated a key verse in the Lord’s Prayer to read “as above, so below” rather than “in earth, as it is in heaven.” “As above, so below” was a term that I was very familiar with from my previous involvement in the New Age Movement. This esoteric saying has been an occult centerpiece for nearly five thousand years. It is alleged by New Age metaphysicians to be the key to all magic and all mysteries. It means that God is not only transcendent — “out there”— but He is also immanent — “in” everyone and everything.

But, as I found out just before abandoning the deceptive teachings of the New Age for the Truth of biblical Christianity, God is not “in” everyone and everything. The Bible makes it clear that man is not divine and that man is not God (Ezekiel 28:2, Hosea 11:9, John 2:24-25, etc.) In Deceived on Purpose: The New Age Implications of the Purpose-Driven Church, I quoted the editors of the New Age Journal as they defined “as above, so below” in their book, As Above, So Below:

“'As above, so below, as below, so above.' This maxim implies that the transcendent God beyond the physical universe and the immanent God within ourselves are one.” (p. 32)

My concern about Peterson’s undiscerning use of “as above, so below” in the Lord’s Prayer was underscored when the 2006 bestseller, The Secret, showcased this same occult/New Age phrase. In fact, it was the introductory quote at the very beginning of the book. By immediately featuring “as above, so below” the author Rhonda Byrne was telling her readers in definite New Age language that “God is in everyone and everything.” Towards the end of the book, The Secret puts into more practical words what the author initially meant by introducing the immanent concept of “as above, so below.” On page 164 The Secret tells its readers—“You are God in a physical body.”

Most significantly, in his book The Reappearance of the Christ and the Masters of Wisdom, New Age leader Benjamin Crème reveals that a New World Religion will be based on this foundational “as above, so below” teaching of immanence — this idea that God is “in” everyone and everything:

“But eventually a new world religion will be inaugurated which will be a fusion and synthesis of the approach of the East and the approach of the West. The Christ will bring together, not simply Christianity and Buddhism, but the concept of God transcendent — outside of His creation — and also the concept of God immanent in all creation — in man and all creation.” (p. 88)

New Age matriarch Alice Bailey, in her book The Reappearance of the Christ, wrote:

“…a fresh orientation to divinity and to the acceptance of the fact of God Transcendent and God Immanent within every form of life. “These are foundational truths upon which the world religion of the future will rest.” (p. 88) [link added]

In a November 9, 2003 Hour of Power sermon – just two months before he was a featured speaker at the annual meeting of the National Association of Evangelicals – Crystal Cathedral minister Robert Schuller unabashedly aligned himself with this same New Age/New World Religion teaching. The man who claims to have mentored thousands of pastors, including Bill Hybels and Rick Warren, stated:

“You know in theology — pardon me for using a couple of big words — but in theology the God we believe in, this God of Abraham, is a transcendent God. But He is also an immanent God. Transcendent means up there, out there, above us all. But God is also an imminent God — immanence of God and the transcendence of God — but then you have a balanced perspective of God. The immanence of God means here, in me, around me, in society, in the world, this God here, in the humanities, in the science, in the arts, sociology, in politics — the immanence of God…. Yes, God is alive and He is in every single human being!”

But God is not in every single human being. God is not in everything. One of the many reasons I wrote Deceived on Purpose was because Rick Warren presented his readers with this same “God in everything” teaching. Quoting an obviously flawed New Century Bible translation of Ephesians 4:6, Rick Warren — whether he meant to or not — was teaching his millions of readers the foundational doctrine of the New World Religion. Describing God in his book, The Purpose-Driven Life, he wrote:

“He rules everything and is everywhere and is in everything.” (p. 88)

Compounding the matter further, “immanence” has been taught as part of the Foundations class at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church. An ill-defined reference to immanence on page 46 of the Saddleback Foundations Participants Guide plays right into the hands of the New Spirituality/New World Religion by stating:

“The fact that God stands above and beyond his creation does not mean he stands outside his creation. He is both transcendent (above and beyond his creation) and immanent (within and throughout his creation).”

All of this discussion about “God in everything” immanence is to explain why The Shack is such a deceptive book. It teaches this same heresy. This book ostensibly attempts to deal with the deeply sensitive issues surrounding the murder of a young child. Because of the author’s intensely personal story line, most readers become engaged with the book on a deep emotional level. However, the author’s use of poetic license to convey his highly subjective, and often unbiblical, spiritual views becomes increasingly problematic as the story line develops. This is most apparent when he uses the person of “Jesus” to suddenly introduce the foundational teaching of the New Spirituality/New World Religion — God is “in” everything. Using the New Age term “ground of being” to describe “God,” the “Jesus” of The Shack states:

“God, who is the ground of all being, dwells in, around, and through all things….” (p. 112)

This false teaching about a “God” who “dwells in, around, and through all things” is the kind of New Age leaven that left unchallenged could leaven the church into the New Age/New Spirituality of the proposed New World Religion. And while many people have expressed a great deal of emotional attachment to The Shack and its characters — this leaven alone contaminates the whole book.

Clearly, the “Jesus” of The Shack is not Jesus Christ of the Bible. The apostle Paul chided the Corinthians and warned them that they were vulnerable and extremely susceptible to “another Jesus” and “another gospel” and “another spirit” that were not from God (2 Corinthians 11:4). In the Bible, the real Jesus Christ warned that spiritual deception would be a sign before His return. He further warned that there would be those who would even come in His name, pretending to be Him (Matthew 24:3-5;24).

Without ascribing any ill motive to William Young and his book The Shack, the author’s use of spiritual creativity seems to give a “Christian” assent to the New Age/New Spirituality of the proposed New World Religion. His mixing of truth and error can become very confusing to readers, and God is not the author of confusion (I Corinthians 14:33).

Dr. Harry Ironside, pastor of Chicago’s Moody Memorial Church from 1930-1948, emphasizes the fact that truth mixed with error results in “all error” — a direct refutation of the Emergent Church teaching to find “truth” wherever it may be found — including books like The Shack. Ironside wrote:

“Error is like leaven, of which we read, ‘A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.’ Truth mixed with error is equivalent to all error, except that it is more innocent looking and, therefore, more dangerous. God hates such a mixture! Any error, or any truth-and-error mixture, calls for definite exposure and repudiation. To condone such is to be unfaithful to God and His Word and treacherous to imperiled souls for whom Christ died.” (quoted in The Berean Call, April 2008)

The Shack has touched the hearts and emotions of many people. While there are many other examples of the author’s unbiblical liberality, introducing the heretical New Age teaching that “God dwells in, and around, and through all things” is in and by itself enough to completely undermine any value the book might otherwise have for faithful believers. To allow yourself to get carried away by this story, while disregarding the book’s New Age/New Spirituality leaven, is to fall prey to the “truth-and-error” mixture that pervades The Shack. And as Dr. Ironside warned—“God hates such a mixture.”

Before Christians buy one more copy of this book, they need to come to terms with what this author is ultimately teaching and what it is they are passing along to their friends and fellow believers.

I've got and read The Shack. The book review is worth reading and should be seriously considered.

im thinking you are going to have a hard time convincing anyone, my brother.

when it comes to emotionalism it can really be hard to then reach the reason and intellect.

its like when i try to show what the bible says about the dead to those who have had "experiences". the experiences are so strong they override the bible.

it is the same thing here. no one wants to let go of the emotional experience they received in reading the shack.

i was most fortunate when i read the celestine prophecy that i was grounded in the bible because the way that book is written it "grabs" you and carries you. it takes you almost against your will. i had to read a few sentences, put it down, pray, do other stuff, then read a few more sentences, etc,. i knew that book was new age. but those who accept without question that it is a "christian" novel have no defenses and are automatically "grabbed and taken".

it will be most difficult to get through to them, now. only if they take it to God in prayer....

You mean the review I posted? If you read the Shack you must have seen the New Age pantheism in it. I think Ellen White cautions about reading books like that but I was going to do a review of it because my son's fiance and him were both reading it and he goes, "dad how do you know its a bad book if you haven't read it?
Well, I've read the reviews and thats good enough, but I told him if he would send me the book I would evaluate it but he never did.

Right, Satan uses emotionalism as a counterfeit for real spirituality. The New Age is there too.

Where is the pantheism in The Shack?

Could someone please point out to me a place where God is not? And how this place can physically exist without God to sustain it?

God is not an essence that is in everything. He is omniscient which means He knows and sees all.He works through the agency of the Holy Spirit, and angels that are everywhere but unseen by human eyes.
God does sustain everything but He is not in everything. The belief that God in in everything is also a teaching of Eastern mysticism, and New Age concepts; one of which is the belief that God is within you that one only need to explore the inner self through meditation, chanting, labyrinths, other occult practices to find God, but what the seeker finds is the spirit of Satan, but he doesn't know that.

You have the endorsement on the cover of the Shack from the author of the Message, an occult type "Bible" that has New Age concepts some of which was explained in my review post.

"This is most apparent when he uses the person of “Jesus” to suddenly introduce the foundational teaching of the New Spirituality/New World Religion — God is “in” everything. Using the New Age term “ground of being” to describe “God,” the “Jesus” of The Shack states:

“God, who is the ground of all being, dwells in, around, and through all things….” (p. 112)


This statement from the book is pantheism. The Bible does not teach this.


Here is this from the Adventist Ministry, White Horse Media:

http://whitehorsemedia.com/blog/index.cf...4C6159A9F304D4E


Seduced by The Shack
Here are some deceptive statements made by "Jesus" and "the Holy Spirit" (so-called) in William P. Young's bestselling novel, The Shack.

"I can give you freedom to overcome any system of power in which you find yourself, be it religious, economic, social, or political. You will grow in the freedom to be inside or outside all kinds of systems and to move freely between and among them."

"You will see me in the Bible...Just don't look for rules and principles; look for relationship - a way of coming to be with us."

"Both evil and darkness can only be understood in relation to light and good; they do not have any actual existence."

"Submission is not about authority and it is not about obedience; it is all about relationships of love and respect. In fact, we are submitted to you in the same way."

"Then it is you who determine good and evil. You become the judge...that which you determine to be good will change over time and circumstance..."

"By choosing to declare what's good and evil you seek to determine your own destiny."

Don't be fooled. Such New Age notions would never be spoken by the true God of the Bible. Instead, they would come from "another Jesus" (2 Cor. 11:4) whose goal is "to deceive, if possible, even the elect" (Matthew 24:24).

I will write WHM and ask them where the page #'s are but I'm sure the quotes are there.

Here are some comments:


Rev 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. Christ speaking through John showed that the 10 commandment moral Law of God is still the foundation of His desire for man's behavior. The fourth commandment remains true to this very day. Sin is the trasgression of this Law. We can say or think anything we want but the fact remains that God still has this moral standard to which man shall abide in. Grace is underserved merit, and not a free-for-all to interpet,modify or charge any of them. The 5 manifestsions of God confirms that this vision is taking place at the very throne of God. No matter how much a man tries to twist and modify God's Law, the bible will always shine the Light of Truth to expose the error of any false docturines. Praise God Almighty for The Rock of Salvation, who's able to defeat any and all of these challanges to His Word. Lord, it is our prayer for the lost sheep to have their eyes opened to the Truth, amen
# Posted By Steve G | 5/28/09 9:48 AM


.
# Posted By (F.R.O.G) Forever Rely on God | 5/29/09 12:46 PM
The Devil sure has done his job. There are just so many different forms of deception for people to choose from. He's covered all the bases. I was stuck in confusion for so long myself. The world has enough variety to trap anyone that is not grounded completely in God's Word. Sort of the '31 flavors' of lies. I love to study the God's universe. When I'm sometimes in awe of various people like Einstein or Newton, I always remember that they've only figured out what an incredible God spoke into existence.
The AWESOME Eternal Mind of GOD. The complexity of DNA. The wonders of life. The PERFECTION. Oh what Love! Yet with all this knowledge, He has, in His Wisdom, made the Precious Truth so very clear for all mankind to understand. Holy Spirit, help us convey that they would understand, Amen.

# Posted By Steve G | 5/30/09 1:18 AM
Not only is this attack from another Jesus, this is an attack of old. As we rember way back in the garden od Eden, the devil tricked Adam and Eve. He made them believe that, eating of the tree ,they will recieve power
to know good and evil. This was the first attack on man and still exist today in every shape, form and fashion.

# Posted By Calvin Coleman Jr. | 5/30/09 12:40 PM
Haven't read the book, but some of the things quoted are true and right. I'm an SDA and if we are not careful all our relationship with GOD will be is a bunch of rules. I know we need to be careful, but it is about a relationship. Not about a bunch of rules.
# Posted By Shannon | 7/1/09 8:53 PM

I have not read 'The Shack' but if this is taken from it all I can think of is
rat poison. 99.9% good food and .1% deadly poison.
'If they speak not according the "this Word", there is no light in them.'
God bless all who are searching and may they be drawn to the Author and
Finisher of our faith; the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word.
# Posted By Judy | 7/4/09 11:23 AM


Reading a fictional novel about "Jesus" that contains pantheism is not the way to connect with God. It is another connection.The way to see error is to first know the Bible truths we need to know, and become solidified in truth.That will serve to guide us to God's kingdom safely!

QUOTES FROM THE SHACK:

http://www.spiritual-research-network.com/theshack.html

"Those who love me come from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptists or Muslims.... I have no desire to make them Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughters of my Papa, into my brothers and sisters.”
-----The Shack's "Jesus." [1,p.182]


"God, who is the ground of all being, dwells in, around, and through all things....” [panentheism]
-----The Shack's "Jesus." [1,p.112]

[
[/b]
"The esoteric spiritual traditions -- whether Christian mystics, Hebrew Kabbalists, Zen Buddhists, Islamic Sufis, or Hindu yogis -- all have specific practices to help individuals overcome this great 'illusion of separation' and to experience the One True Self, which is in us all." [2,p.149]
-----A Course in Miracles, as "dictated" to channeler Helen Schucman in 1977 by her spirit guide who claimed to be "Jesus."

ARTICLES, REVIEWS, RADIO PROGRAMS EXPOSING PAGAN, NEW AGE, OCCULT TEACHINGS IN THE SHACK


Refashioning God: RE-imagining, RE-inventing, RE-novating, RE-painting, RE-creating GOD
Refashioning God (HTML) ; Refashioning God (PDF)
By T.A. MacMahon (The Berean Call)

Mar 19, 2009 ... In an interview with Pastor Kendall Adams of KAYP Radio, Paul Young denied the substitutionary Atonement of ChristWilliam P. Young (Author of The Shack)
MP3 Radio Interview Read part of Transcript here: Shack Author Rejects Biblical Substitutionary Atonement

The Death of Discernment: How The Shack Became the Number One Best Seller in Christianity
By Eric Barger

Shocked By The Shack
By Mike Oppenheimer (Let Us Reason)

The Shack Author Denies Biblical Substitutionary Atonement
by Lighthouse Trails Press Release

The Shack Author Rejects Biblical Substitutionary Atonement
by Lighthouse Trails Blog

Quotes from Paul Young's [Author of The Shack] interview with Pastor Kendall Adams on KAYP Radio
Quotes posted at Lighthouse Trails

Read Transcript of part of the The Shack Radio Interview Transcript

Listen to The Shack Radio Interview

Listen to a shorter audio segment of The Shack Radio Interview

At The Back Of The Shack A Torrent Of Universalism
A review by James B. De Young (PDF Version - 39 pages)

Revisiting The Shack and Universal Reconciliation
A shorter review by James B. De Young (PDF Version - 9 pages)

The Shack's Wayne Jacobsen Resonates with Contemplative/Emerging Writers
by Lighthouse Trails

Update on the Shack: New Age Similarities, Popularity Continues, and Calvary Chapel Gives Official Statement
by Lighthouse Trails

Sad Thing - Pastors Endorsing 'The Shack'
by More Books and Things

Should 'The Shack' Be Attacked?
by Dave Hunt and T.A. McMahon [Play MP3 | Printer Friendly Version]

“What’s in The Shack?”
Audio - Test all Things Radio Show (Fran Sankey of Tower To Truth Ministries)

Spriritual Research Network in Agreement with Calvary Chapel Distribution Not Giving Endorsement to William P. Young's, The Shack
by Chris Lawson (SRN)

The Shack: Evangelicals "Shacking Up" with new Age Concepts
by Orrel Steinkamp

Review of THE SHACK from Calvary Distribution
by Calvary Distribution Blog (Posted by keyansoltani in Untagged, Aug 3, 2008)

Update On The Shack: New Age Similarities, Continued Popularity, and Calvary Chapel Official Statement
by Lighthouse Trails

The Shack's Wayne Jacobsen Resonates with Contemplative and Emerging Writers
by Lighthouse Trails

The Shack and Its New Age Leaven - God IN Everything?
by Warren Smith
(Former New Age practitioner Warren Smith warns of the New Age teachings in The Shack)

The Shack: Father-goddess Rising
by John Lanagan
(Exposes occult aspects, including 'Papa [female Hawaiian goddess] in The Shack)

Deceived By A Counterfeit "Jesus" - The Twisted "Truths" Of The Shack And A Course in Miracles
by Berit Kjos (Exposes dangerous occult teachings brought forth through The Shack and A Course in Miracles [spiritism])

The Shack: Imagination, Image, and Idolatry
by Larry DeBruyn
(Exposes dangerous dynamics of vain imaginations that lead to subtle and blatant idolatry - in The Shack)

Relationship On The Rocks! - The Consequence of Role-Reversals in The Shack - Pt 1
by Pastor Larry Debruyn

The Divine-Human Relationship - The Consequence of Role-Reversals in The Shack - Pt 2
by Pastor Larry Debruyn

Shocked by The Shack - "A popular allegory that changes Jesus and Christianity"
by Mike Oppenheimer (Let Us Reason Ministries)

A Reader's Review of The Shack
by Tim Challies
(An in-depth expose' of the false teachings found William P. Young book, The Shack)

The Shack by William P. Young: A Book Review
by Pastor Gary Gilley

In My Father's House There Are Many SHACKS? - A Critical Essay of William Paul Young's THE SHACK (Pt 1)
by Pastor Jeffrey Whittaker

A God Made In Our Image - A Critical Essay of William Paul Young's THE SHACK (Pt 2)
by Pastor Jeffrey Whittaker

SECULAR NEWS ARTICLES EXPOSING PROBLEMS WITH THE SHACK

'Shack' opens doors, but critics call book 'scripturally incorrect'
by USA Today

A REMINDER FROM A.W. TOZER ABOUT WRONG IDEAS ABOUT GOD

“Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow; they are themselves idolatrous. The idolater simply imagines things about God and acts as if they were true.

Perverted notions about God soon rot the religion in which they appear. The long career of Israel demonstrates this clearly enough, and the history of the Church confirms it. So necessary to the Church is a lofty concept of God that when that concept in any measure declines, the Church with her worship and her moral standards decline along with it. The first step down for any church is taken when it surrenders its high opinion of God..."

- A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (HarperCollins: San Francisco), 1961, p. 4.

NOTE FROM SPIRITUAL RESEARCH NETWORK:

As a result of posting THE SHACK page here on our Spiritual Research Network (SRN) website, the ministry of SRN has sufferred the loss of donor support. We also lost a large amount of ministry support in 2006, shortly after we began exposing contemplative spirituality / centering prayer, Christian yoga, Alpha Course affiliation with Roman Catholicism, the false teachings found in Purpose Driven materials, etc. During that period of time, as overseas missionaries, to the United Kingdom, we lost close to $1000.00/per month of missions support.

In light of these things, THE SHACK page will continue to remain here. This page, like other websites exposing the false teachings in THE SHACK, is helping to un-confuse many people who have been confused by the false teachings of THE SHACK. It is also helping people see clearly the improper and un-Christlike actions of endorsement of THE SHACK by compromising, undiscerning, and/or ignorant Christian leaders, pastors, youth leaders, etc.

The list of links ABOVE provides more than ample evidence regarding false teachings in THE SHACK. The authors and ministries that have researched, written and spoken out about the false teachings in THE SHACK have done so whilst upholding the historic, Biblical, Christian faith.

Your personal thoughts are welcome at srnadministrator [PLEASE REMOVE THIS SPAM FILTER] @mac.com Please note that all emails are read but we are unable to repsond to all emails.

In Christ,

Chris Lawson
Spiritual Research Network

Excellent posts Steve. There are way too many good books filled with precious truth, that I haven't read yet, for me to waste my time reading any kind of fiction. That would be like throwing my spiritual car in reverse, and going backwards for a while. It just wouldn't make sense.

I agree. I guess a lot of it depends on how serious we are in seeking the Lord. If we are, for me it is studying the Word of God with EGW supplements at the same time. We should acquire a good solid Biblical foundation that shows us the path to heaven and reveals the pitfalls and snares of the enemy along the way.

Its very instructive to me that Satan has been hot on my track as far back as I can remember. I don't care to share his fate.

There is a flood of books out there in Adventist land, like never before. To me, these appear the most dangerous to us. As we discussed before, More than a Prophet by G. Bradford is a perfect example of something so close to the truth that most Adventists will be led astray.

I also see adaptations, paraphrases, and other re-writes of Ellen White books beginning to appear; and I have a Steps to Jesus(Steps to Christ) at my house and it seems doctrinally sound, but the original beauty of the prose has been lost. I have not read the paraphrases yet, but this is where truth may depart. It will happen if it has not yet.

I doubt that many would approve of all the books EGW had in a library, and I suspect she would have read the Shack.

I think she would have read it, too.

:), you speak english?

:)

LOL ..

I think she would have said the same thing she said about the Book, The Living Temple by Dr. Kellogg, that also contained pantheism.


The new theories in regard to God and Christ, as brought out in "The Living Temple", are not in harmony with the teaching of Christ. The Lord Jesus came to this world to represent the Father. He did not represent God as an essence pervading nature, but as a personal being. Christians should bear in mind that God has a personality as verily as has Christ. {SpM 324.2}


It is not safe to trust in Dr. Kellogg. I dare not do it. I have not written to him much, recently, but I may have to send something soon. I have not the least confidence in his present attitude toward many things. I learn that notwithstanding all I have written regarding "The Living Temple" a book that was written under the inspiration of the arch-deceiver;
notwithstanding with many plain messages that I have delivered in the "Review and Herald" and in letters to our brethren in responsibility, Dr. Kellogg now admits only a few of the mistakes he has made, and still supposes that in former years I taught the same errors. This reveals a blindness beyond conception. All that I can now do is to watch developments closely. I can not see that it would do the least particle of good to say more than I have said. {BCL 103.1}

I have some things to say to our teachers in reference to the new book, "The Living Temple." Be careful how you sustain the sentiments of this book regarding the personality of God. As the Lord represents matters to me, these sentiments do not bear the indorsement of God. They are a snare that the enemy has prepared for these last days. I thought that this would surely be discerned, and that it would not be necessary for me to say anything about it. But since the claim has been made that the teachings of this book can be sustained by statements from my writings, I am compelled to speak in denial of this claim. There may be in this book expressions and sentiments that are in harmony with my writings. And there may be in my writings many statements which, when taken from their connection, and interpreted according to the mind of the writer of "The Living Temple," would seem to be in harmony with the teachings of this book. This may give apparent support to the assertion that the sentiments in "The Living Temple" are in harmony with my writings. But God forbid that this opinion should prevail. {RH, October 22, 1903 par. 1}

We need not the mysticism that is in this book. Those who entertain these sophistries will soon find themselves in a position where the enemy can talk with them, and lead them away from God. It is represented to me that the writer of this book is on a false track. He has lost sight of the distinguishing truths for this time. He knows not whither his steps are tending. The track of truth lies close beside the track of error, and both tracks may seem to be one to minds which are not worked by the Holy Spirit, and which, therefore, are not quick to discern the difference between truth and error. {RH, October 22, 1903 par. 2}

In regard to the faith to be cherished and preserved in these last days, very little light is given in "The Living Temple," and this light is so uncertain that it would not help God's people at this stage of their work. {RH, October 22, 1903 par. 3}


Fables Similar to Heresies in the Early Days of the Message Present in "The Living Temple"--The difficulties that have arisen have been very hard to meet, and they are far from being settled yet. One, and another, and still another are presented to me as having been led to accept the pleasing fables that mean the sanctification of sin. The Living Temple contains the alpha of a train of heresies. These heresies are similar to those that I met in my first labors in connection with the cause in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, then in Boston, Roxbury, Portsmouth, New Bedford, and other parts of Massachusetts. Through them the evil one worked upon the minds of men and women. . . .


-316- {11MR 315.3}

To Editors of Our Periodicals.--I am warned that the less our ministers handle the subject of pantheism, the less they will help Satan to present his theories to the people. Let the truth for this time be kept before them. Never, never repeat the spiritualistic sentiments, the strange, misleading theories, which have for years been coming in. {CW 93.1}

The warnings of the word of God regarding the perils surrounding the Christian church belong to us today. As in the days of the apostles men tried by tradition and philosophy to destroy faith in the Scriptures, so today, by the pleasing sentiments of higher criticism, evolution, spiritualism, theosophy, and pantheism, the enemy of righteousness is seeking to lead souls into forbidden paths.


To many the Bible is as a lamp without oil, because they have turned their minds into channels of speculative belief that bring misunderstanding and confusion. The work of higher criticism, in dissecting, conjecturing, reconstructing, is destroying faith in the Bible as a divine revelation. It is robbing God's word of power to control, uplift, and inspire human lives. By spiritualism, multitudes are taught to believe that desire is the highest law, that license is liberty, and that man is accountable only to himself. {AA 474.1}

I cannot in my wildest imaginations ever believe EGW would read the Shack for her spiritual enlightenment.She would have ceased to be the Lord's prophet very quickly.

"Those who love me come from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptists or Muslims.... I have no desire to make them Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughters of my Papa, into my brothers and sisters.”
-----The Shack's "Jesus." [1,p.182]

it certainly follows that those who reject Christianity will fail of obtaining eternal life.

This one statement is opposed to everything the Bible and Ellen White has ever written about salvation!

Yes. I think The Shack is a good book and that both Ellen White and Jesus would have read it. Good stuff.

Yes it is.

Have you read "The Shack"? Or are you simply taking the words of others' opinions about it and making them your own?

Just because words are in a book you do not have to swallow everything hook, line and sinker. EGW read the contemporary religious writings, but does that mean she hung on to every word? I sure hope not.

When I was an ABC manger, and was for 20 years, I sold a set of two books, one was Hal Lindsay Late Great Planet earth, tied in with a Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi rebuttle of that, some folks went off the deep end with me because I was selling Hal Lindsays book, which is NOT in harmony with our believes.

I also sold the top 10 best selling Christian books, if you do not know what they are reading you are out of touch and will only be able to converse with other adventists.

If reading those books will make you fall away, then it is only pushing up the time.

I notice that your proof quotes are all taken out of their most obvious context.

That's kind of a problem for your argument.