The Shack

[grampster]

I did a bit of searching for a thread on the book The Shack. Couldn't find anything. Can someone point out if there is one? If not, I wonder if any have read the book and what you thought about it. I'm about half way in and it's interesting. I was a bit skeptical about even reading it, but I decided I would.

[Lenno]

The Shack

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This article is about the 2007 novel. For the film based on the novel, see The Shack (2017 film). For other uses, see The Shack (disambiguation).

Author	William P Young
Cover artist	Dave Aldrich
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Christian fiction
Publisher	Windblown Media, FaithWords, Hodder & Stoughton
Publication date	May 2007
Media type	Print, e-book
Pages	256 pp
ISBN	0-9647292-3-7
OCLC	166263178

The Shack is a Christian novel by Canadian author William P. Young, a former office manager and hotel night clerk, published in 2007.^[1] The novel was self-published but became a USA Today bestseller, having sold 1 million copies as of June 8, 2008.^[2] It was the No. 1 paperback trade fiction seller on The New York Times Best Seller list from June 2008 to early 2010,^[3] in a publishing partnership with Hachette Book Group USA's FaithWords imprint (Hodder & Stoughton in the UK). In 2009 it was awarded the "Diamond Award" for sales of over 10 million copies by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.^[4]
The title of the book is a metaphor for "the house you build out of your own pain", as Young explained in a telephone interview.^[5] He also told radio host talk show Drew Marshall that The Shack "is a metaphor for the places you get stuck, you get hurt, you get damaged...the thing where shame or hurt is centered."^[6]
Contents

[hide]

• 1 Plot
• 2 Publication
• 3 Reception
• 4 Legal dispute
• 5 Film adaptation
• 6 References in other works
• 7 See also
• 8 References
• 9 External links

Plot[edit]

The novel is set in the American Northwest. The main character is Mackenzie Allen Phillips, a father of five, called "Mack" by his family and friends.
Four years prior to the main events of the story, Mack takes three (of his five) children on a camping trip to Wallowa Lake near Joseph, Oregon stopping at Multnomah Falls on the way. Two of his children are playing in a canoe when it flips and almost drowns Mack's son. Mack is able to save his son by rushing to the water and freeing him from the canoe's webbing, but unintentionally leaves his youngest daughter Missy alone at their campsite. After Mack returns, he sees that Missy is missing. The police are called, and the family discovers that Missy has been abducted and murdered by a serial killer known as the "Little Ladykiller". The police find an abandoned shack in the woods where Missy was taken. Her bloodied clothing is found but her body is not located. Mack's life sinks into what he calls "The Great Sadness".
As the novel begins, Mack receives a note in his mailbox from "Papa", saying that he would like to meet with Mack that coming weekend at the shack. Mack is puzzled by the note—he has had no relationship with his abusive father since he left home at age 13. He suspects that the note may be from God, whom his wife Nan refers to as "Papa".
Mack's family leaves to visit relatives and he goes alone to the shack, unsure of what he will see there. He arrives and initially finds nothing, but as he is leaving, the shack and its surroundings are supernaturally transformed into a lush and inviting scene. He enters the shack and encounters manifestations of the three persons of the Trinity. God the Father takes the form of an African American woman who calls herself Elousia and Papa; Jesus Christ is a Middle-Eastern carpenter; and the Holy Spirit physically manifests as an Asian woman named Sarayu.
The bulk of the book narrates Mack's conversations with Papa, Jesus, and Sarayu as he comes to terms with Missy's death and his relationship with the three of them. Mack also has various experiences with each of them. Mack walks across a lake with Jesus, sees an image of his father in heaven with Sarayu, and has a conversation with Sophia, the personification of God's wisdom. At the end of his visit, Mack goes on a hike with Papa, who shows him where Missy's body was left in a cave.
After spending the weekend at the shack, Mack leaves and is so preoccupied with his thoughts that he is nearly killed in an automobile accident. After his recovery, he realizes that he did not in fact spend the weekend at the shack, but that his accident occurred on the same day that he arrived at the shack. He also leads the police to the cave that Papa revealed, and they find Missy's body still lying there. With the help of forensic evidence discovered at the scene, the Little Ladykiller is arrested and put on trial.
Publication[edit]

Young originally wrote The Shack as a Christmas gift for his six children with no apparent intention of publishing it. After letting several friends read the book he was urged to publish it for the general public. In 2006, Young worked with Wayne Jacobsen, Brad Cummings (both former pastors from Los Angeles) and Bobby Downes (filmmaker) to bring the book to publication. They had no success with either religious or secular publishers, so they formed Windblown Media for the purpose of publishing the book. The Shack achieved its No. 1 best selling success via word-of-mouth and with the help of a USD$300.00 website; it is often reported that nothing else had been spent on marketing up to September 2007.^[7] Additional startup funds were supplied by Brad Cummings, president of Windblown Media, who spent the maximum credit limit on 12 personal credit cards in order to publish the book.^[8][9]
Reception[edit]

The Shack went largely unnoticed for over a year after its initial publication, but suddenly became a very popular seller in mid-2008, when it debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times paperback fiction best seller list on June 8.^[3] Its success was the result of word of mouth promotion in churches and Christian-themed radio, websites, and blogs.^[2]
As of May 2010, The Shack had over 10 million copies in print, and had been at No. 1 on the New York Times best seller list for 70 weeks.^[10] The Shack was also released in hardcover, and translated into Spanish as La Cabaña.^[10] In June 2009 a German translation with the title Die Hütte – ein Wochenende mit Gott (… a Weekend with God) was released.^[11] It was also translated into Croatian as "Koliba" and it became very popular in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In his "Doctrine" video lessons, Mars Hill Church pastor Mark Driscoll criticized The Shack for presenting a non-Biblical view of the Trinity, including the use of graven imagery, goddess worship, and modalism.^[12] Evangelical author Chuck Colson wrote a review called "Stay Out of The Shack," in which he criticizes the attribution of "silly lines" to characters representing the three Persons of the Trinity, and the author's "low view of scripture".^[13] R. Albert Mohler, Jr. called The Shack "deeply troubling" on his radio show, saying that it "includes undiluted heresy".^[14] Apologist author Norman Geisler published a critique in 2012 detailing his 14 points of theological disagreement with the book (including "unorthodox", "false", "classic heresy", "non-rational", "psychologically helpful ... doctrinally harmful", and "very dangerous").^[15]
Theologian Randal Rauser has written a generally sympathetic guide to The Shack in his companion volume Finding God in the Shack (Paternoster, 2009). In the book Rauser responds to many of the objections raised by critics like Colson and Mohler.
Wayne Jacobsen, one of Young's early collaborators, wrote a detailed response to several common points of criticism. His column "Is the Shack Heresy?" was published online by Windblown Media.^[16]
Legal dispute[edit]

In July 2010 the Los Angeles Times reported that The Shack had "spawned a tangle of lawsuits over royalties and even the book's authorship."^[17] Young claimed that he was owed $8 million in royalties, Jacobsen and Cummings filed a suit against Young,^[18] Young asked the court to dismiss or stay the claims,^[19] Jacobsen and Cummings responded.^[20] Hachette, the commercial publisher involved, asked the court to determine to whom it should pay royalties from the book.^[21] On January 10, 2011 the court declared that it had been advised that the case between Young et al. and Jacobsen et al. "has been settled or is in the process of being settled" and the case was dismissed.^[22][23]
Film adaptation[edit]

Main article: The Shack (2017 film)
A movie adaptation of The Shack, directed by Stuart Hazeldine, is scheduled for release on March 3, 2017, with Sam Worthington portraying Mack, Octavia Spencer as Papa, and Tim McGraw as Willie.^[24]
References in other works[edit]

The Shack was referred to by Stephen King in his 2010 title, Full Dark, No Stars, which is a compilation of four novellas. In the final novella, A Good Marriage, the protagonist recalls that her husband recommended she read The Shack and he said the novel was "a life-changer."

[grampster]

Interesting.

[dmatic]

Hi Gramster. Thanks for bringing this up, as I, too, am interested in both reading the book and seeing the movie myself, which I plan to do soon. Probably will see the movie first, then read the book, as I have some friends who have a copy for me to share. Anyway, apparently there is much controversy regarding its 'theological' content, and many heresy hunters on the trail, so will reserve comment until I see and read myself.

Peace, dmatic

[1Ms. America]

I found the book extremely helpful psychologically and spiritually as well. I'd gone through a harrowing experience that was posing difficulty in overcoming, and a psychiatrist recommended it to me as he saw the root of my problem was with forgiveness. There were many parallels between the story and the issue I was having so the story appealed to me and managed to touch that spot that needed a certain touch.

IS it something comparable to the bible? Yes and no. The central focus is developing relationship with God, through Jesus at the prompting of the Holy Spirit, which brings us to face our sins, and to learn to forgive others of their sins. I don't mind the use of parables to accomplish this goal while others might take exception to the types of symbologies utilized to get the point across.

The goal is of course, forgiveness which is biblical as is the difficulty in doing so, at times.

Then there is the "all knowing" God who validates the protagonist's near death experience by producing actual results...the body of the child, hidden exactly as shown in the dream.

Some of the characters are utilized symbolically, ancient beliefs drawn upon. For example, Papa who represents God the father also displays nurturing characteristics typical of females. I didn't mind this portrayal at all because those 'feminine' characteristics have been evident to ME for a very long time! And don't forget, God made Adam in HIS image, and from Adam he draws woman, therefore Adam had this feminine side (so to speak) as well!

Is it unusual for God to present himself in a manner in which we can understand? NO. He presents himself in the flesh, too. He fashioned a body for himself, he sent his love in the form of a man. For the protagonist in the story, he is viewed as a black woman....nurturing and with a sense of humor.

Wisdom is frequently referred to in the feminine gender as well through scripture. Why not use a female character to represent wisdom?

Do people have near death experiences? Of course they do! Do they sometimes get distracted with something which causes them to forget about a kid? Of course they do! Most of the time everything works out fine, but sometimes disaster strikes.

I am aware enough of scripture, and my mind is capable of greater things than a 6 year old's mind so I had no problem 'transposing' what was written with the bible. This book was never intended to be a bible, but there are some parallels. SOME parallels.

When I read it, I had ZERO clue as to what was in the book, or the story or anything about it. The doctor simply pointed it out and I took his advice. It just so happens that it was exactly the right thing for me at that moment in time. I'm not sure how it would strike me now, several years later.

I'm not sure I want to see the movie because I create my own visuals when I read, and I'm rarely ever satisfied with someone else's interpretation and recreation of that. But, I have a friend who might benefit from it and so I might take him to see it.

Finally, there are certain passages in the book that made all the difference in the world for me, and I seriously doubt that can be captured on the screen.

I don't intend to discourage anybody from seeing the movie. Some people simply don't read and some do. For the former, a movie just might work out! I wanted to give my own honest take with regard to the tools the author used to convey his message. In it simplest basics, it's fine in my opinion. But for someone who has no clue about Christianity, no, it's not scripture. It just draws from it to form the basics. Go to God, confess your sins/shortcomings, forgive others, be healed.

I have no problem with that.

Finally, it's been my experience over the years that when one Christian group or another has a major issue over something like this, then it's probably a good idea to take a look at it and draw one's own conclusions. Many things are often dramatized/exaggerated in order to make a point. Common in literature/movies.

But if you take exception to big bossomed, black women who like to be creative in the kitchen as a representation of a facet of God, then this movie will fill your venomous spaces, plenty.

Oh...and Jesus WAS a middle eastern man!! He was a JEWISH middle eastern man.

No kidding, I actually know people who don't know that, and who think he was a ''Christian''.

[dmatic]

Excellent, 1MsAmerica! Thank you. I can hardly wait to see and read! Forgiveness. I heard recently that an overcomer needs to learn to forgive and to be forgiven.

One comment I'd like to add: In Exodus 6:3 God says to Moses that He appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by the name of El Shaddai and that He had not revealed to them His "name" of YHWH. I'm told that El Shaddai can mean mighty breasted one, or the "mothering", female aspects of God, whereas YHWH may reveal His Fatherly, masculine aspects. Interesting use of "Papa" as a large breasted black woman! As I said, I can hardly wait to read the book and see the movie.

Thanks again, sister!

[Samuel Adams]

Read it some years ago, the book having come highly recommended by my Dear Sister-in-law, whose angelic older sister, the perfect wife of my youth, had recently passed......

Found it to be well-written and very enlightening.

The hard core, extraordinarily small box/narrow focus of "Christianity", as it has come to be represented, can use a little shaking up, now and then.

[1Ms. America]

Excellent, 1MsAmerica! Thank you. I can hardly wait to see and read! Forgiveness. I heard recently that an overcomer needs to learn to forgive and to be forgiven.

One comment I'd like to add: In Exodus 6:3 God says to Moses that He appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by the name of El Shaddai and that He had not revealed to them His "name" of YHWH. I'm told that El Shaddai can mean mighty breasted one, or the "mothering", female aspects of God, whereas YHWH may reveal His Fatherly, masculine aspects. Interesting use of "Papa" as a large breasted black woman! As I said, I can hardly wait to read the book and see the movie.

Thanks again, sister!

I'm glad you caught the inference to the many breasted one. The book itself does those kinds of things.

[1Ms. America]

Adonai= daddy=papa

[dmatic]

I'm glad you caught the inference to the many breasted one. The book itself does those kinds of things.

Yes, It appears that God revealed Him/Herself to the earlier ones as a 'mothering' figure, and only later as a Father figure. Also, Gen. 1:27 says: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Interesting. We have much to learn, but as Jesus said, many of us are probably not yet ready to handle, or understand, what really is reality. My wife and I, Lord willing, will see the movie tomorrow afternoon.