The Shack: A Novel Take on Job
Posted August 18th, 2008 by Daniel Giang
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If the book of Job were written by a contemporary middle aged guy from Oregon, chapter 5 verse 90 might read:
No longer concerned or caring about what to call God and energized by his ire, he walked up to the door and decided to bang loudly and see what happened, but just as he raised his fist to do so, the door flew open, and he was looking directly into the face of a large beaming African-American woman. [1]
And after the book had been rejected by secular publishers as too Christian and by Christian publishers as heretical [2], it would end up as the New York Times #1 trade paperback best seller for 12 straight weeks as of this writing and the subject of a front page Times story. [3]
Like Job, William P. Young’s self-published, first novel The Shack relates a theophany. We learn in the framing narrative that Mack Phillips’ life has been devastated by the brutal murder of his five-year old daughter, Missy. While his wife’s faith has remained strong (the 21st century, accepts a wife who is more spiritually mature than her husband), Mack finds himself depressed and questioning God. It is through the framing narrative that readers recognize Mack’s life as something we read in the headlines and experience ourselves much as Job’s original readers must have nodded their heads about those Sabean raiders. This allows both us and them to indentify with the protagonist’s questions and ultimate trust.
At first glance, Job’s friends do not live in The Shack. However, their role is played by the conventional church Mack remembers and especially in the seminary he attended. Repeatedly, Mack remarks to God or thinks to himself, “I never heard that in seminary.” Thus, the contrast between conventional religion and an unexpected God appears in both Job and The Shack.
In contrast with Job, it is Mack who questions God. He asks God all those questions that we say we would like to ask such as “How does prayer work?” and, of course, “If you are all powerful and good, why didn’t you protect my daughter?” Unlike in Job, all three members of the Trinity graciously respond to these questions as they lead Mack to trust and forgiveness. Whereas Job comes to trust through his experience of God’s transcendence, God woos Mack’s trust through intimacy. This contrast reveals the change in zeitgeist over the millennia. We prefer our God to respond in prosaic transparency rather than in poetry. [4]
After his theophany, Job hears God endorse his original theology in Job 42:7 before his life is restored to the status quo ante. For Mack, the framing narrative has him being hit by a drunk driver and spending weeks in coma. However, his life and family are healed and the murderer is brought to justice. That, I suppose, is the modern equivalent of having 10 more children to replace those who died.
Reactions of Christians to The Shack have included the expected charges of heresy. Critics see occult references to pagan deities, unbiblical statements, an egalitarian Trinity with identical personalities, and unsophisticated theology generally. Other Christians acclaim the book as a fresh vision of God. Eugene Peterson compares the book to Pilgrim’s Progress for our generation in a cover blurb. [1] The book is causing similar reactions among Adventists with some churches organizing study groups. I suspect there will be a response entitled “The Shack Collapses” published by Review and Herald to point out that the Bible teaches the non-immortality of the soul, the Devil exists in conflict with God, and the Holy Spirit always points a seeker of truth to the Bible.
I wish Young would have acknowledged that authentic relationships do flourish within church communities. This failure leaves The Shac tinged with a highly individualistic view of God’s kingdom.
From a literary perspective, The Shack shares a problem with many self-published books: the editor (or lack thereof). Dialect is caricatured (think Jar Jar Binks), the narrative becomes murky in places and far too much of the book consists of stilted exposition masquerading as conversation. This may be a case where waiting for the movie (the rights to which are currently being negotiated) might be better than reading the book.
Taken as one Christian’s attempt to pass on his understanding of God to his children, The Shack succeeds. Like all of us, Young is sure about some aspects of his faith. These include that God will confound our expectations, the Trinity values relationship among its Members and with humans, and the futility of human institutions such as organized religion. He sidesteps other subjects such as soteriology. Occasionally, his turn of phrase is profound. My favorite is this exchange:
“Does that mean,” asked Mack, “that all roads will lead to You?”
“Not at all,” smiled Jesus as he reached for the door handle to the shop. “Most roads don’t lead anywhere. What it does mean is that I will travel any road to find you.” [1]
This picture of a God who seeks us out in surprising ways may explain how self-published fantasy novels to end up flying off Walmart shelves and into the movies. I’m picturing Della Reese as God.
___________________________________
1. William P.Young. The Shack. Windblown Media, Los Angeles, CA 2008
2. This puts it among a collection of successful books initially rejected by multiple publishers including Lorna Doone, A Wrinkle in Time and a recent Christian critique of Nietzsche better known as Harry Potter.
3. Motoko Rich. Christian Novel Is Surprise Best Seller. New York Times June 24, 2008
4. See Edwin Thiele, Margaret Thiele. Job and the Devil. Pacific Press, Mountain View, CA, 1988 for a persuasive explanation of God’s answer to Job.
Daniel Giang writes from Loma Linda, CA where he lives with his wife, three children, and three dogs. He is a neurologist and administrator at Loma Linda University.
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Comments
Thanks so much for this review. Somehow this book hadn't been on my radar at all. I'm very intrigued after reading this review though and definitely have it on my next bookstore trip list!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this book. I just picked up The Shack for some vacation reading and after finishing the first few chapters I found myself wondering why it was a best seller. Your suggestion makes sense that people may be responding to a picture of God as one who seeks us out as well as a narrative 'answer' to the question of theodicy.
I think this has implications for evangelism. This book shares a whole lot more good news and probably no more heresy than I heard in the last Revelation Seminar I helped out with.
Thanks for a though-provoking review. This looks like a very interesting read. I love that line at the end:
“Does that mean,” asked Mack, “that all roads will lead to You?”
“Not at all,” smiled Jesus as he reached for the door handle to the shop. “Most roads don’t lead anywhere. What it does mean is that I will travel any road to find you.”
I would like to expand on Brenton's comments.
Once Jonah was in Nineveh, he delivered God's message. Wonder of wonders, the people believed God, and repented in sackcloth and ashes. Just as Jonah expected. Now he looked foolish. Never-the-less, Jonah retired to a mountain top to watch for firerworks a la Sodom. It was full sun and no shade. Just as with the fish, God prepared a vine that grew quickly and provided Jonah with cooling shade. Then God bade a cut worm to attack the vine, of course the vine quickly withered and died. Now to pile it on, God caused a hot wind to blow out of the East and the sun to beat down directly on Jonah's head until Jonah fainted and wished to die.
The teachable moment had arrived! God said to Jonah, "You have pity on a miserable kudsu vine that came up in a night and died the next, yet you would have Me destroy a great city of 60 thousand people."
Think about all the cablevision evangelists (pre-vine Jonahs) proclaiming the "Rapture" with glee and gloat over the seven years of tribulation for the "Left Behind" or even the Power Point itnerant "End Time" or "Revelation Seminar" Elmer Gantrys.
Yes we have a mission a simple one. Tell the story of Jesus, who entered a storm tossed world, lived a perfect life, died a cruel death at the hands of angry self-righteous men, rose again the third day, comforted and taught His followers for forty days, enter Heaven itself and stands as our Advocate with the Father. Covered by His Righteousness what more can we say: "Even so come Lord Jesus!" Tom
"I suspect there will be a response entitled “The Shack Collapses” published by Review and Herald to point out that the Bible teaches the non-immortality of the soul, the Devil exists in conflict with God, and the Holy Spirit always points a seeker of truth to the Bible."
How right you are, lol. Thanks for this review, Daniel. I read the book yesterday.
Yes, the writing is uneven; the Della Reese character is bit of a caricature; and the first couple of chapters are painfully windy (let's hope the film version compresses some of the scenes into flashbacks?) -- but eventually we do get into the realm of the Shack, eventually Mack comes face to face with Reality, and it changes him.
I would encourage any RevSem guy to engage Reality themselves, and spend their 14 nights with people not orchestrating screen-to-mind encounters with a belief system, but teaching people to perceive the theophany that is already all around us at all times if we will just hush and wait and open our eyes, and walk with the Revealing God.
By the way, more spiritually mature wives are very much present in the Bible if you're prepared to acknowledge them. Manoah's wife. Nabal's wife. Xerxes' wives. Zachariah's wife. Joseph's wife...
And I don't hold the Reese caricature against the author; it is mighty difficult to write from a perspective that you do not yourself live (and, judging from his acknowledgement section, verrrrrrry few of your chief inspirants live either).
Thank you for this reveiw! I have not yet read this book. In fact, I'm behind on my reading for pleasure with all the textbooks I am privileged to read for shcool. This one looks like a very worthwhile addition to the Wright library, and I take your recommendation highly!
On a related note, I appreciate attempts to contemporize the message and metaphors of Scripture, and from the sound of it, this book successfully does just that.
Thanks Dan for a great review. I think that its great to see a book like this come out.
Here are the words of someone else I admire who also liked the book:
"I felt like the portrait of God in this novel was beautiful and reflective of what we find revealed in the New Testament. And the theological and psychological insights of this book were at times profound and consistently communicated in brilliantly simple ways. A good deal of the dialogue is about the problem of evil, but the novel touches on everything from the Trinity, Incarnation and the nature of free will to the nature of relationships, forgiveness and even the role of our imagination in staying anchored in “the Now.” In fact, Young even addresses (at length) the nature of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This was the section that impressed me most. Young fleshes out how our tendency to judge God, others and ourselves lies at the root of our sin and misery. It was amazing."
http://www.gregboyd.org/blog/the-shack-a-review/
Brenton, RevSem's are proven to make people SDA. The Shack might bring some people to a deeper understanding of God, but would not make them SDA. So, where should the remnant invest its efforts? I suspect we are called to show God's character to the world whether or not all of those safe to save join the SDA church.
KM, thanks for pointing out spiritually mature wives in the Bible. I suspect that Mrs. Young is someone who the author admires and a good deal of her found its way into Mack's wife.
Jared, hope you allow yourself some time for summer reading.
Brad, See what you think. Young almost sounds like the Good News Tour, but veers off to say that humans cannot judge God. But, I agree with you and Greg Boyd that the essence of the book it to show a picture of a very friendly God.
Unique review. I like your style. I wrote a lengthy review on "The Shack" addressing the controversies.
http://tinyurl.com/56garc
Bottom line- If the focus of your faith is a relationship with God The Shack will be wonderful. If your focus is on legalism, then The Shack will disappoint.
I like the over all theme that takes God out o the box--Don't worry about yesterday or fret over tomorrow. Enjoy God now. He has it all in control. Surrender and walk in joy.
I'm giging away 3 copies o The Shack on my blog.
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