Comments on: My Review of “The Shack” http://www.birkeyblog.com/2008/08/16/my-review-of-the-shack/ the personal musings and art of Randal Birkey Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:16:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Helen http://www.birkeyblog.com/2008/08/16/my-review-of-the-shack/comment-page-1/#comment-251 Helen Sat, 16 Aug 2008 21:57:18 +0000 http://www.birkeyblog.com/?p=544#comment-251 A friend of mine who had the opportunity to meet the author of The Shack gave me a copy a few months ago and I read it. Although I wouldn't rate the book highly from a literary point of view I found the story compelling and read it all in one go. I love stories (I think most people do) Two aspects of the portrayal of God in the book struck me in particular as very powerful: 1) God is a fun person to be around - like those people we gravitate towards because we always feel better when we're around them 2) God takes particular care to connect with Mack in a way which Mack can handle, showing how much God cares about Mack as an individual. Of course the repeated phrase of God's "I'm especially fond of you" also brings that out - even though it later transpires that God is "especially fond" of other people too. I think you're right that this is an allegory of healing the author has been through himself. The huge response to the book makes me think the author has brought out some aspects of God which people aren't picking up so clearly in other places. I think a good question for the church to ask about the book is "What can we learn from the huge impact this book is having? Is there something about God people are getting from this book which we could be conveying better?" I understand Christians commenting on The Shack wanting to be clear whether they consider the book to be accurate from a doctrinal point of view, but I doubt people who read it are regarding it as a doctrine primer. I think it's more likely that it's connecting with people powerfully on an emotional level as they read over and over again that God is "especially fond of them". A friend of mine who had the opportunity to meet the author of The Shack gave me a copy a few months ago and I read it.

Although I wouldn’t rate the book highly from a literary point of view I found the story compelling and read it all in one go. I love stories (I think most people do)

Two aspects of the portrayal of God in the book struck me in particular as very powerful:

1) God is a fun person to be around – like those people we gravitate towards because we always feel better when we’re around them

2) God takes particular care to connect with Mack in a way which Mack can handle, showing how much God cares about Mack as an individual. Of course the repeated phrase of God’s “I’m especially fond of you” also brings that out – even though it later transpires that God is “especially fond” of other people too.

I think you’re right that this is an allegory of healing the author has been through himself.

The huge response to the book makes me think the author has brought out some aspects of God which people aren’t picking up so clearly in other places. I think a good question for the church to ask about the book is “What can we learn from the huge impact this book is having? Is there something about God people are getting from this book which we could be conveying better?”

I understand Christians commenting on The Shack wanting to be clear whether they consider the book to be accurate from a doctrinal point of view, but I doubt people who read it are regarding it as a doctrine primer. I think it’s more likely that it’s connecting with people powerfully on an emotional level as they read over and over again that God is “especially fond of them”.

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